The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)s Secretariat held a virtual ceremony on Saturday to mark the blocs 53rd founding anniversary under the theme ASEAN 53: A Cohesive Journey to Recovery.

Opening the event, ASEAN Secretary-General Dato Lim Jock Hoi said that under Vietnams strong and able Chairmanship, ASEAN remained focused in undertaking important milestone exercises, as the region demonstrates commitment in its integration journey.

Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh

Noting that the region is gradually adapting to the ''new normal'', Dato Lim underpinned the significance for ASEAN to develop a robust, holistic and pragmatic post-pandemic recovery framework to mitigate socio-economic effects, while continuing to advance regional economic integration.

Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi rallied for all ASEAN member states to continue to work together in fighting the pandemic.

"ASEAN must always cooperate to maintain our regional peace and stability, and not to be dragged into the storm of geopolitical tension or being forced to choose sides," she said.

"Therefore, the region must stay ahead of the curve to maintain our centrality, maintain our relevance and be at the driving seat in turning rivalry into cooperation, distrust into strategic trust."

Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh noted that over the past 53 years, ASEAN has many times shown its strength from solidarity and the capacity of recovery.

By embracing 10 member nations, ASEAN has turned Southeast Asia from a land of discord to a land of concord, from confrontation to cooperation, and from poverty to dynamic development, he said.

Minh noted that the ASEAN Community today has become a big family of six hundred and fifty millions people with a combined GDP of US$3 trillion and as a peaceful, stable and resilient region with dynamic, vibrant economies.

Turning the vision into actions, ASEAN has promoted the interest of nations as well as peace and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region.

Minh said the association is entering an important period. The new dynamism amid the geopolitical situation and emerging regional and global issues require the association to become more united and active for adaptation. Working together, all nations can overcome all challenges and move forward, he stated.

The Deputy PM believes all countries in the region should increase efforts to reinforce the Community, while staying positive and active in promoting the partnership between ASEAN and dialogue partners, and ensuring the regional architecture in which the open, transparent, inclusive and rule-based ASEAN plays the central role.

The year of 2020 also marks Vietnams 25 years of ASEAN membership, he noted, vowing that with the countrys commitments and experience in the past 25 years, Vietnam will make more active contributions to the association.

Under the chairmanship of Vietnam this year, ASEAN has applied measures for peoples health protection and economic recovery. The association has taken the pioneer role in regional efforts against the COVID-19 pandemic, and reformed its operations, deepening its foreign relations, thus enhancing its international status, he said.

Minh said Vietnam will continue to work closely with neighbours and friends to build a strong and united ASEAN, one that is indispensable for peace and prosperity within the region and beyond, in line with ASEAN's principles and value of 'Think Community, Act Community'.

The online celebration was broadcast on ASEAN's website and social media platforms. Along with the official speeches, the online celebration featured congratulatory wishes from ASEAN citizens, ASEAN's external partners and special musical performances by the region's youth and a Thai-based social enterprise, C ASEAN Consonant.

VNS
The Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC) has reported that one patient diagnosed with Covid-19 has died, and that 174 new cases of the virus have been confirmed in Ireland today.

There has now been a total of 1,772 Covid-19 related deaths in Ireland since the outbreak began.

As of midnight last night, 174 further cases of Covid-19 were confirmed by health officials - the highest one-day total since May.

There has now been a total 26,644 confirmed cases of Covid-19 here.

Of the cases notified today:

124 are men / 48 are women

69% are under 45 years of age

112 are confirmed to be associated with outbreaks or are close contacts of a confirmed case

5 cases have been identified as community transmission

110 cases are located in Kildare

27 are located in Dublin

7 are located in Cork

7 are located in Offaly

6 are located in Meath

17 more are spread across thirteen other counties - Carlow, Cavan, Clare, Donegal, Galway, Kilkenny, Laois, Limerick, Mayo, Roscommon, Tipperary, Wexford and Wicklow.

The HSE says that it is now working to identify any contacts the patients may have had, and is seeking to provide them with information and advice to prevent further spread.

Acting Chief Medical Officer, Dr Ronan Glynn said this evening: While todays numbers of confirmed cases are high, they are not unexpected.

"As I said last night, we are expecting significant numbers of cases to be reported over the coming days.

Throughout this week, we have been testing all workers in facilities where outbreaks of Covid-19 have been identified as well as close contacts of those people who have received positive results.

"Tonights figures are a reflection of these measures with 118 of these cases linked to the counties of Kildare, Laois and Offaly.

Our priority now and our reason for recommending the proactive measures announced last night, is to avoid these cases and clusters leading to widespread community transmission of the disease.

50 of tonights cases are located outside of these three counties and around the rest of the country.

"I once again ask everyone regardless of where you live in the country to take every precaution possible to help us control the spread of this disease and protect our most vulnerable.

"This means continuing to wash our hands, keeping 2 metres apart from one another, avoiding crowds, wearing face coverings where appropriate, covering our coughs and sneezes and downloading the Covid Tracker app.

Professor Philip Nolan, Chair of the NPHET Irish Epidemiological Modelling Advisory Group, said:

As outlined by the Acting Chief Medical Officer at the press conference last night, the 14-day incidence per 100,000 population in Kildare, Laois and Offaly is worryingly high.

"While the national incidence stands at 16.3 per 100,000, in Kildare it stands at 130.3, in Laois it is 69.7 and in Offaly it is 89.8.

Should these cases result in widespread transmission, it could undo a lot of the good work that we have done as a country so far to control the spread of this virus.

The measures introduced by NPHET last night represent a proactive and proportionate response to the current situation in these counties."
In a demonstration punctuated by grief and anger, dozens gathered outside the Lebanese consulate in Outremont Sunday to call on the Canadian government to stop recognizing the legitimacy of the current Lebanese regime.

The protest comes almost a week after an explosion devastated Beirut, killing nearly 160 people and injuring almost 6,000.

The explosion last Tuesday was fuelled by thousands of tonnes of ammonium nitrate that had been improperly stored at the city's port for more than six years. Apparently set off by a fire, the blast was by far the biggest in Lebanon's history.

Since then, groups in Montreal have organized various events, including vigils to mourn the victims and demonstrations to demand political change.

Protesters on Sunday said the government's decades of negligence and corruption is to blame and they are calling for Canadian authorities to cut all ties with the regime and to expel the ambassador in Canada and the consul general in Montreal.

Albert Mouawad has been attending protests against the Lebanese government every week since October, but he says the recent blast makes things all the more urgent.

Mouawad said all Lebanese Montrealers should take this as an opportunity to unite for a common cause and remove the government.

"Regardless of our differences and how we see the economy, and how we think social life should be in Lebanon, we have to put these things aside now and then try to unite in one goal, which is to overthrow this government," he said.

Simon Nakonechny/CBC

Ingrid Gedeon moved to Montreal from Lebanon 15 years ago. She has always dreamed of going back to the place she once called home, but she said that dream was torn away last week.

"My earliest memories, my happiest memories were from there," Gedeon said.

"I'm just so sad that nothing's left. There's nothing left to go back to and we're going to have to build everything from scratch."

Sara Ghandour, who also moved to Montreal from Lebanon, said her family just missed being hit by the explosion but several of her friends lost their homes.

Story continues

She hopes the explosion will act as a wake-up call for Canadians that things need to change.

Simon Nakonechny/CBC

"This is not just another explosion. This is not just something that happened in the Middle East that we can post about and share condolences with to our friends and then move on again," she said. "This is a crime against humanity."

In a statement Sunday, Adam Austen, a spokesperson for Global Affairs Canada, said the Canadian government will continue to support the people of Lebanon as they try to bring about change and will "continue to advocate with the Lebanese government to these ends."

Austen said the Canadian government has repeatedly called on Lebanon to implement reforms since October 2019.

"The deterioration in economic, social and political conditions since October 2019, which has been compounded by the government's continued delays in implementing reforms and by the COVID-19 pandemic, is of great concern to us," Austen wrote.

On Thursday, International Development Minister Karina Gould said direct aid will go to "trusted" humanitarian groups, and not to the Lebanese government.
A fire broke out at a hotel being used as a Covid-19 facility in Andhra Pradeshs Vijayawada city early on Sunday, killing 10 patients and trapping several others, police said.

The hotel  Swarna Palace  was being used as a care centre for Covid-19 patients by Ramesh Hospitals, a popular private hospital. There were about 30 patients of the coronavirus disease and 10 medical personnel at the time of the accident.

Vijayawada city police commissioner B Srinivasulu said the control room had received a call at around 5.15am about the fire breaking out in the hotel. We rushed tenders immediately and the fire was brought under the control now, he said.

About 17 patients were brought out safely using ladders. Two staff members, including security guard Krishna Reddy, jumped from the second and third floors of the hotel after the fire.

So far nine bodies have been brought out and they were found to have died of suffocation. Rescue operations were underway with teams of the National Disaster Relief Force (NDRF) swinging into action when the reports last came in.

Smoke billowing out of the hotel surrounded the entire area, causing suffocation to the patients inside the rooms. The patients were crying for help from their rooms on the top floors, eyewitnesses said.

Unable to breathe, some patients were seen trying to jump from the top floors. However, fire and police personnel reached them with the help of ladders.

Officials said an electric short circuit is said to have caused the fire. Staff noticed flames from the first floor at around 5 in the morning. Flames spread to the third to fifth floors quickly. Patients were on the third, fourth and fifth floors of the hotel.

Authorities were trying to bring the patients out safely and shift them to another hotel at Labbipet area.

Endowments minister Vellampalli Srinivas and top police and district officials reached the spot to supervise rescue operations.

Andhra Pradesh chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy expressed shock and grief over the accident at Swarna Palace hotel in Vijayawada and enquired about its cause.

Jagan Reddy has also directed officials to take up rescue measures and admit the injured to nearby hospitals. He also instructed officials to conduct an inquiry into the accident as he announced an ex gratia of 50 lakh to each of the families of those killed in the hotel fire.

Governor Biswabhushan Harichandan also expressed his deep shock over the accident and expressed his condolences to the bereaved families.

Shocked and distressed by the news of fire at a Covid centre in Vijaywada, Andhra Pradesh. NDRF teams have joined the local authorities in relief operations. Prayers for the families of the bereaved and safety of others, G Kishan Reddy, Union minister of state for home, said in a statement.

Kishan Reddy is a member of Parliament who represents Secunderabad in the Lok Sabha.

Eight people were killed in a fire in the intensive care unit (ICU) of a private Covid-19 designated hospital in Gujarats Ahmedabad on Thursday. Police had said the fire broke out due to a short circuit on the fourth floor of the hospital.
This is the third document of its kind sent to localities by the Health Ministry in recent days in a bid to speed up the verification and management of people who travelled to Da Nang in the past month.

According to the document, localities were urged to accelerate the traceability, verification and listing of all arrivals and visitors to Da Nang from July 1 to 28 who then returned to localities across the country.

All suspected cases of COVID-19 who had close contact with COVID-19 patients and cases in high-risk areas must be closely monitored and tested and placed under medical quarantine if needed.

*On the same day, 269 Vietnamese citizens returning home from abroad were announced as having completed their medical isolation period of 14 days in Quang Ngai province according to regulations.

The Vietnamese citizens came back to Vietnam on July 24 through Da Nang International Airport and were brought to two concentrated isolation facilities in Quang Ngai province.

*The Da Nang C Hospital has reopened from 0:00 on August 8 to receive new patients after a 14-day blockade and after all medical staff and inpatients tested negative for the COVID-19 virus.

*Hanoi will impose sanctions on people who do not wear facemasks in public places from August 7 in a bid to prevent further infections and outbreaks of the coronavirus pandemic.

The information was announced at a meeting between permanent Government cabinet members with ministries, sectors, provinces and cities held on August 7.
The Albemarle County school division has redefined internet access as it prepares to start the school year mostly online.

The division is focusing efforts on ensuring students have internet capable of streaming video and audio at the same time, which will be required for virtual learning and online classes that will be taught live. Those who dont have that level of internet service will have the option to go inside school buildings for online classes.

With the closure and the situation were finding ourselves in facing virtual learning, the project has shifted to no internet also meaning that you cant get an adequate enough connection to stream video, said Christine Diggs, the divisions chief technology officer.

The division doesnt yet know the capability of students internet access but is working to gather that information. Bert Jacoby, the divisions coordinator of digital equity, is leading the effort to connect families to the internet.

Broadband internet access is not consistent across Albemarle. The Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission last week discussed forming a regional partnership to tackle the issue.

In recent years, the local government and the Albemarle Broadband Authority have worked with different groups and internet service providers to expand the countys fiber-optic network.

Diggs said the division is supporting those efforts to build out the internet infrastructure.

In the spring, about 685 students in Albemarle County reported not having access to the internet either because their families couldnt afford it or they couldnt get a signal in their area. Kajeet Wi-FI hot spots that connect to the internet via a nearby cell signal helped some of those students.

For this school year, the division estimates that about 700 to 1100 students either live in households that dont have adequate internet or cant afford it.

For those who cant afford it, the division is planning to foot the bill through the Comcast Internet Essentials program, which costs $9.95 per month per household.

Diggs said the program now allows schools to sponsor families, so those who qualify and are interested can apply to Comcast and then the invoices will go directly to the division.

Additionally, the hot spots will have unlimited data; in the spring, those hot spots had a cap on how much data they could use.

Video will eat up data in a heartbeat, Diggs said. ... We realized we really need unlimited data plans, and for some households, we may need more than one hot spot.

In Charlottesville, where internet and cellphone service is more consistent, the school system provided students with Wi-Fi hot spots and laptops. The city School Board recently discussed improving the quality of the service.

How do we get all of our families to have the internet that I have, so that they can get all four of their kids online for the school day? city School Board Chairwoman Jennifer McKeever said. This is a dramatic ask of our hot spots.

Pat Cuomo, director of technology for Charlottesville City Schools, said at Thursdays School Board meeting that they have plenty of hot spots for families.

We havent had people banging on our doors for hot spots, he said, adding that the need is for high-speed internet.  Its not a complicated solution. I think its more of a costly one.

McKeever asked to hear more about internet access among students at the boards next meeting on Sept. 3. The city and county school divisions start the school year Sept. 8.

A lack of quantitative data about broadband access in the area has hindered efforts to expand it, though local groups are working to gather better information. To report internet speeds, go to broadbandsurvey.k12albemarle.org.

This year, the Virginia Department of Education is requiring schools to report information about internet access among students.

To get at that granular level as well is really going to help because the biggest challenge all along to solving this problem is getting that accurate data, Diggs said. In conjunction with us caring deeply about it also, now the state cares deeply about it, and requiring information will be really helpful.

For Albemarle County, the initial focus when schools closed in the spring was on determining which students had internet and which did not, not the quality or speed of the internet connection.

Now, it really comes right down to, can I stream video and audio simultaneously for a sustained period of time? Diggs said.

Before the pandemic took hold in March, Diggs and division staff had been working on a plan to connect more students to the internet, opting for Wi-Fi hot spots over a previous effort by the division to build its own internet network.

To help finance that plan, the division leased its broadband spectrum in February to Shentel for $8,100 a month. That money is funding efforts for the coming school year, and the division is applying for grants to help.

We had embarked on this project and were really down the road on it, and now were on the speedway, Diggs said.

To help students access virtual learning, the division deployed the Kajeet Wi-Fi hot spots, Chromebooks and iPads to students. Another 1,600 iPads have been ordered to give a device to every student, kindergarten to second grade. Currently, students in third grade and above receive their own device.

As part of Stage Two of the divisions reopening plan, students who dont have internet or an adequate Wi-Fi hot spot signal will be invited to the school buildings or can complete school work via paper packets, flash drivers and recorded videos.

A select group of students with special needs and English-language learners also will be invited for online classes in the buildings in Stage Two.

During the spring closure, Albemarle County expanded the Wi-Fi signal strength to school parking lots, but that was a short-term stopgap, Diggs said.

The feedback that weve heard is that people would much rather either be in their home or inside somewhere to be able to effectively do their work, she said.

The parking lot service was to provide access in an emergency situation, Diggs said.

But for a more sustained virtual learning environment that were trying to prepare for the fall, the access inside our schools will be more beneficial than in our parking lots, she said.

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By Michelle Feldman and Vanessa Potkin

The Memorial Day killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis officer who had racked up 18 misconduct complaints over two decades -- yet was only reprimanded twice -- has reignited a national movement for police accountability.

Unchecked police abuse is not only taking innocent Black lives on the streets but also in courtrooms through wrongful convictions. Two-thirds of wrongfully convicted New Jerseyans are Black, and many were unjustly imprisoned by corrupt officers. In these cases, while the innocent person was behind bars, those who actually committed the crimes remained free to harm others.

Two years ago, Eric Kelley and Ralph Lee were exonerated of a 1993 murder in Paterson after spending 24 years in prison. Richard Reyes, the lead detective in the case, was largely responsible for putting them there. Reyes was central in the police interrogations in which the men were beaten and threatened until they allegedly confessed. There were no recordings or notes of what happened -- only a statement typed by Reyes. In addition, Reyes used suggestive tactics to get one eyewitness to identify Lee, and failed to disclose that another eyewitness said the assailant was not Kelley or Lee who he knew. In 2018, DNA testing proved the men were innocent and revealed the identity of an individual who may have committed the crime.

While Reyes was a rookie at the time of Kelly and Lees convictions, his problematic behavior continued. He rose through the ranks of the Paterson Police Department to lead Internal Affairs. In 2015, an African American police lieutenant filed a lawsuit claiming that Reyes suspended him in retaliation for complaining that Internal Affairs failed to address racial incidents in the department.

Even after these incidents, Reyes was promoted to lead a major crimes unit where he worked until his retirement. The price of his misconduct will be paid by taxpayers. The City of Paterson settled the retaliation lawsuit and Kelley and Lee have both sued the police department and filed for state compensation.

How can New Jersey prevent what happened to Eric Kelley and Ralph Lee from happening to others? The first step is lifting the veil of secrecy on police misconduct. New Jersey is one of 21 states where officer disciplinary reports are confidential and access is limited to Internal Affairs units within police agencies.

There are two ways this lack of transparency increases the risk of wrongful convictions. First, it allows officers who engage in illegal or unethical activities to remain at their jobs and continue their bad behavior. The communities that fund police salaries cannot demand the removal of officers who brutalize or frame people because their identities and actions are hidden.

Second, secrecy prevents fair and accurate outcomes for people facing life-altering criminal charges. If the case against a defendant is built by an officer who has a history of lying, coercing witnesses and fabricating evidence, that would affect judgments about innocence or guilt. However, prosecutors, defense attorneys, judges and juries are usually kept in the dark about this information.

The New Jersey Supreme Court has created a Catch-22 in which defendants can only access police misconduct files if they already know about the misconduct. Without these reports, the truth-seeking function of the justice system is compromised. The accused cannot raise concerns about the reliability of an officers investigation or their credibility upon which cases often turn. Defense attorneys may advise their clients to plead guilty to charges they might have otherwise recommended fighting at trial. When cases do go to trial, judges and juries cannot properly evaluate testimony and evidence to reach valid conclusions.

New Jersey has an opportunity to shine light on police misconduct with Senate Bill 2656, sponsored by Senator Loretta Weinberg, D-Bergen. The legislation would make law enforcement disciplinary records accessible under the state Open Public Records Act (OPRA). The legislation would allow communities to monitor abusive officers and demand disciplinary action. It would also ensure that defendants can access the full backgrounds of the detectives who stand between them and prison.

The first step in stopping officers who brutalize and frame innocent people is to bring their misconduct out of the darkness. The New Jersey legislature should pass S.2656 to enhance public trust, fairness and accountability in the criminal justice system.

Michelle Feldman is the state campaigns director and Vanessa Potkin is the post-conviction litigation director for the Innocence Project, a national organization dedicated to exonerating the wrongfully convicted. Potkin represented Eric Kelley in his exoneration.

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BEDMINSTER, N.J. President Donald Trump has bypassed the nations lawmakers as he claimed the authority to defer payroll taxes and replace an expired unemployment benefit with a lower amount after negotiations with Congress on a new coronavirus rescue package collapsed.

Trumps orders on Saturday encroached on Congress control of federal spending and seemed likely to be met with legal challenges. The president cast his actions as necessary given that lawmakers have been unable to reach an agreement to plunge more money into the stumbling economy, which has imperiled his November reelection.

Trump moved to continue paying a supplemental federal unemployment benefit for millions of Americans out of work during the outbreak. However, his order called for up to $400 payments each week, one-third less than the $600 people had been receiving. How many people would receive the benefit and how long it might take to arrive were open questions.

The previous unemployment benefit, which expired on Aug. 1, was fully funded by Washington, but Trump is asking states to now cover 25%. He is seeking to set aside $44 billion in previously approved disaster aid to help states, but said it would be up to states to determine how much, if any of it, to fund, so the benefits could be smaller still.

Many states already faced budget shortfalls due to the coronavirus pandemic and would have difficulty assuming the new obligation.

Trump hopes the four executive orders he signed will signal to Americans that he is acting where Congress will not to address economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic, which has upended nearly all aspects of American life. Its unclear what the economic impact of his actions will be, and his orders do not address several areas that have been part of the congressional negotiations, including funding for schools and state and local governments.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer dismissed Trumps actions as meager in the face of economic and health crises facing Americans. Democrats initially sought a $3.4 trillion package, but said they lowered their ask in talks to $2 trillion. Republicans had proposed a $1 trillion plan.

Trumps Democratic opponent in the presidential race, Joe Biden, called the orders a series of half-baked measures" and accused him of putting at risk Social Security, which is funded by the payroll tax.

Trumps embrace of executive actions to sidestep Congress ran in sharp contrast to his criticism of former President Barack Obamas use of executive orders on a more limited basis. Though Trump cast it as a necessary step given the deterioration of congressional negotiations, the president himself was not an active participant in those talks.

The orders will take care of pretty much this entire situation, as we know it," Trump said, despite the fact that they are far smaller in scope than congressional legislation, and even aides acknowledged they didnt meet all needs.

In addition to the extension of some unemployment benefits, Trumps orders call for a deferral of payroll tax and federal student loan payments and efforts to halt evictions. The evictions executive order directs the Treasury and Housing and Urban Development departments to identify funds to provide financial assistance to those struggling to pay their monthly rent.

Trump said the employee portion of the payroll tax would be deferred from Aug. 1 through the end of the year. The move would not directly aid unemployed workers, who do not pay the tax when they are jobless, and employees would need to repay the federal government eventually without an act of Congress.

In essence, the deferral is an interest-free loan that would have to be repaid. Trump said hell try to get lawmakers to extend it, and the timing would line up with a post-election lame-duck session in which Congress will try to pass government funding bills.

If I win, I may extend and terminate, Trump said, repeating a longtime goal but remaining silent on how hed fund the Medicare and Social Security benefits that the 7% tax on employee income covers. Employers also pay 7.65% of their payrolls into the funds.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., issued a statement saying he supported Trump exploring his options to get unemployment benefits and other relief to the people who need them the most. Like Trump, McConnell accused Democrats of using the coronavirus package negotiations to pursue other goals.

The Democratic chairman of the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee, Rep. Richard E. Neal of Massachusetts, accused Trump of brazenly circumventing Congress to institute tax policy that destabilizes Social Security. He also cited a threat to Medicare funding.

The use of executive actions drew criticism from Republican Sen. Ben Sasse of Nebraska. The pen-and-phone theory of executive lawmaking is unconstitutional slop," said Sasse, a member of the Senates Judiciary and Finance panels. He added that Trump does not have the power to unilaterally rewrite the payroll tax law. Under the Constitution, that power belongs to the American people acting through their members of Congress.

With no deal on virus relief in sight, lawmakers went home on Friday with instructions to be ready to return for a vote on an agreement. A stalemate that could stretch well into August and even September was possible, casting doubt on the ability of the Trump administration and Democrats to come together on a fifth COVID-19 response bill.

Often an impasse in Washington is of little consequence for the public but this would mean more hardship for millions of people who are losing enhanced jobless benefits and cause further damage to the economy.

Schumer said the White House had rejected an offer by Pelosi to curb Democratic demands by about $1 trillion. Schumer urged the White House to negotiate with Democrats and meet us in the middle. Dont say its your way or no way.

The breakdown in negotiations over the last several days was particularly distressing for schools trying to reopen . But other priorities were also languishing, including a fresh round of $1,200 direct payments to most people, a cash infusion for the struggling Postal Service and money to help states hold elections in November.

Senate Republicans were split, with roughly half of McConnells rank and file opposed to another rescue bill.

___

Associated Press writer Andrew Taylor in Washington contributed to this report.

Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor
Dacre Montgomery is a man of many talents.

And on Saturday, the 25-year-old Australian actor revealed that his first book of poetry, DKMH, is now available for fans to pre order.

'Can't wait to share this with you all!' he wrote as he unveiled the cover to his 6.5million Instagram followers.

Big news: Netflix star Dacre Montgomery, 25, (pictured) has revealed his first book of poetry, DKMH, is now available for fans to pre order

'I'm honoured to feature David Stenbeck's cover artwork and fellow actor Sam Corlett's illustrations,' he continued.

The Australian actor is set to release a book of poetry with publisher Andrews McMeel, the same publishing house behind Cody Simpson's poetry book.

It will showcase Dacre's collection of poetry and prose, while offering fans a detailed analysis of ego, love, anger, and anxiety.

According to the publisher's website: 'Each poem investigates our individual driving forces and how experiences shape us into the humans we are, deeply personal yet strangely familiar and universal.'

'Can't wait to share this with you all!' he wrote as he unveiled the cover to his 6.5million Instagram followers

Although he found fame as Billy Hargrove in the Netflix series Stranger Things, Dacre has made no secret of his passion for poetry.

In an interview with The New York Times in July last year, he spoke about his poetry podcast, DKMH, describing it as 'a very cathartic experience'.

'I've been doing a podcast for over two years. It's kind of an amalgamation of beat poetry that I've been writing for a long time, and I collated into six distinct tracks,' he said at the time.

Multi-talented: Although he found fame as Billy Hargrove (pictured) in the Netflix series Stranger Things, Dacre has made no secret of his passion for poetry

'Eight months ago, I started approaching musicians around the world to help me compose scores that I could narrate my beat poetry to.'

Dacre's hotly anticipated book of poems will be released on October 27.

Fans can preorder the book here.
Voters in Belarus go to the polls on Sunday amid mounting protests against President Alexander Lukashenko, Europe's longest-ruling head-of-state.

By Stefan J. Bos

Belarussians crowded polling stations despite the ongoing the coronavirus pandemic, though many were seen wearing masks. Lukashenko, who dismissed fears over COVID-19 as a "psychosis" and recommended drinking vodka, is seeking a six-term in office.

Though he was due to win, the 65-year-old's grip-on-power has been questioned by his younger and inexperienced rival Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, 37. Tens of thousands of people attended her rallies, including the largest since the collapse of the Soviet Union.

The former English teacher has been campaigning on behalf of her jailed husband, the popular online blogger Syarhei Tsikhanousky. He has remained in jail since his arrest in May on charges of assailing a police officer. He has dismissed the allegations as a provocation.

Last week, Belarusian authorities opened a new probe against him on charges of planning to stage "mass riots" with 33 Russian private security contractors detained the previous month. Russia has rejected the allegations, saying the men were en route to another country.

Tikhanovskaya is concerned about her family. "I received a phone call saying that they would put me in jail and send my children to an orphanage," she recalled.

Children of opponent sent outside country

Tikhanovskaya said she sent her 10-year-old son and five-year-old daughter to a European nation that she declined to name because of threats. She made the difficult choice because "There must be a symbol of freedom."

More than 1,000 people have been detained for taking part in opposition protests in recent months. Media have been targeted as well. Over the weekend news emerged that freelance journalist Alexander Burakov of Germany's international broadcaster Deutsche Welle (DW) was detained.

Burakov, who reports from Belarus for DW's Russian-language service, was given a 10-day prison sentence on Friday after being arrested earlier in the week, the broadcaster said. He has denied the charges of "petty hooliganism" and is considering appealing, said DW, which condemned the ruling.

His arrest comes as the unusually strong demonstrations by opposition supporters continue. They come amid public frustration with the nation's troubled economy, political repression, and perceived weak response to the coronavirus pandemic.
Blood dries on the concrete at the Clayborn Lewis Community Center Playground at 38th and Poplar Streets the morning after six people were shot in Philadelphia on Sunday, August 9, 2020. Read more

Three women, two men and a 17-year-old boy were shot late Saturday night in a playground near the Philadelphia Zoo in what the police commissioner decried as a senseless act of gun violence.

Police said officers responding to a 9:21 p.m. report of a shooting at 38th and Poplar Streets in West Philadelphia, the site of the Clayborn Lewis Community Center Playground, found three female victims in the park  a 59-year-old shot in the left foot, an 18-year-old shot in the right arm, and a 24-year-old shot in the right thigh.

All three were taken to Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, where an 18-year-old male with a gunshot wound to the lower back also arrived, reporting he also had been shot at 38th and Poplar, police said.

Shortly after, two additional male victims  one 17, the other 18  arrived at Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, each shot in the left leg, police said.

The 17-year-old became the citys 100th child shot this year, according to an Inquirer review of police statistics. About a half-hour later, an 11-year-old became the 101st, suffering graze wounds to the back of his head and right shoulder, police said, in the 6000 block of A Street near Olney Playground. He was in stable condition Sunday at St. Christophers Hospital for Children. And Sunday night, another 11-year-old was grazed by bullets and was in stable condition at Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia.

We are devastated by the senseless act of gun violence that occurred tonight at 38th and Poplar, Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw said in a statement issued shortly before midnight. These acts of lawlessness have no place in our communities; and I remain steadfast in that we will hold accountable those individuals who seek to cause harm in our city.

No arrests were reported. The playground victims were in stable condition, police said.
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EAST ST. LOUIS --

"You live in these neighborhoods. If you want them to be safe, you have to call us if you see something that doesn't look right, " Perry said Saturday. "If you hear an argument or something getting started, don't wait until something happens, call the police. I guarantee you if we work together, we can stop some of these shootings."

In an interview with the BND, Perry discussed his concerns about gun violence and the city's nightly restrictions on businesses.

Perry said he is concerned about the increase in violence, and police are taking steps to try to stop it. Twenty-three people have been homicide victims in East St. Louis through this weekend. The latest shooting deaths were Thursday and Friday nights.

"We had a bad July. ... Until this bad period in July, we were way down. But the loss of one life to gun violence is not OK," Perry said.

Younger people are turning to guns

Perry said he is alarmed that people wielding guns appear to be younger and younger.

"We have to have more men who are role models spending more time with these kids rather than letting them spend all of their time on video games and in the streets, " Perry said. " They have to get them engaged in positive things."

Perry said that he wants the citizens of East St. Louis to know they are his top concern, and that when the community supports its police department and alerts authorities prior to something happening, officers can possibly stop a violent situation from occurring.

"My number one concern is our citizens. We are beefing up our patrols and are monitoring closely known hot spots," he said. "We want anyone who is doing illegal things in East St. Louis to know it is just a matter of time until we arrest them."

Perry said he is frustrated that young people are turning to guns when they are angry with another person.

"This is not the way, " the chief said. "Individuals who let their anger lead them to pick up guns have to know using guns is not the way. We need the men in our community to step up with us and work with the young people in our city."

City officials ease business restrictions

Perry said the city has eased its nightly restrictions on businesses.

Beginning July 28, businesses were required to close to walk-in traffic at 10 p.m. daily as an extra precaution against coronavirus and to help address nighttime gun violence. The restrictions now begin at midnight daily, the chief said. Drive-through window service is not affected.

"All of our stores and businesses have been in compliance with the protocol of using PPEs," Perry said. "As long as everyone cooperates, we will not shorten the curfew hours. But, if it becomes a problem, we will move it back."

Perry said people should continue taking the virus seriously and following recommended precautions like wearing masks.

East St. Louis implemented its restrictions after Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker called on local governments in the metro-east to take action to curb the spread of COVID-19.

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Cheryl Schneider was leaving the checkout counter at her local Target Wednesday when she saw them.

Two men, just a few feet away from her, their faces completely exposed.
Ejaz Kaiser By

Express News Service

RAIPUR: In a one of its kind theft, a large amount of cowdung was stolen at Rojhi village in Koriya district of north Chhattisgarh. The incident comes days after the Bhupesh Baghel-led Congress government launched the unique 'Godhan Nyay Yojana' scheme aimed at procuring cowdung at Rs 2 per kg from livestock and dairy owners.

Lalla Ram and Sem Lal, both farmers lodged a complaint with the local Gauthan Samithi (a body that manages cattleshed premises) after they found over 100 kg cowdung missing. The farmers had accumulated the cowdung to sell it to the state government.

Worried over this new form of crime, the samithi members decided to approach the police and filed a complaint.

The state government, on August 5, had transferred Rs 1.65 crore to the accounts of over 46000 cattle owners under the new scheme. In recent months, it had added economic value to cattle dung that witnessed innovative, useful and eco-friendly products moulded out of it. This included rakhis, earthen lamps, idols, nameplates, among other accessories.

The cowdung was taken away by the locals only who apparently witnessing the exasperation among the villagers and the Gauthan samiti returned it. The issue of theft raised much concern among the villagers. The issue was amicably settled before it could reach the police, said Sangeeta Lakra, the Koriya district public relation officer.

In Chhattisgarh 5300 Gauthan (cattle-shed premise) have so far been sanctioned under the Suraaji Gaon Yojana, out of which 2408 in rural areas and 377 in the urban are operational.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-09 01:02:46|Editor: huaxia

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HANOI, Aug. 8 (Xinhua) -- Foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) released a statement on Saturday, marking the bloc's 53rd anniversary.

The statement recalled the aspirations of the 1967 ASEAN Declaration to promote regional cooperation in the spirit of equality and partnership, and contribute towards peace, progress and prosperity in the region.

Noting the achievements made by the ASEAN in the past 53 years, the ministers reaffirmed their commitment to ensuring the effective implementation of the ASEAN Community Vision 2025.

Mentioning "growing uncertainties resulting from the changing geo-political dynamics in the regional and global landscape," the ministers reiterated their commitment to maintaining Southeast Asia as "a region of peace, security, neutrality and stability," and reaffirmed the need for the ASEAN to remain united, cohesive and resilient in promoting its purposes, principles and common interests as enshrined in the ASEAN Charter.

The statement also calls for continued building of "strategic trust and mutual confidence among countries" through continued dialogue, win-win cooperation and practical confidence building measures to create a peaceful environment conducive for sustainable growth.

Established in 1967, the ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Enditem
In Toronto and Vancouver, the two cities in Canada with the highest costs of living, renters have gotten a reprieve during the pandemic from most kinds of evictions and rent increases.

But as the moratorium on evictions was lifted in Ontario at the beginning of August, and will end on Sept. 1 in British Columbia, experts warn this will trigger thousands of eviction notices  and long-standing tensions between landlords and tenants may reach a tipping point.

In interviews with the Star, both landlords and tenants say they have felt unfairly judged and stereotyped throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, both landlords and tenants have, in this rare moment, also found something they can agree on: The system is broken on both sides. In Ontario, more than 6,000 people face eviction for nonpayment of rent during the pandemic. In B.C., the provincial government said that 12 per cent of renters made partial payments to their rent during the state of emergency.

I have a (six-figure) income and cant complain, said Jason Boyes, 35, who is an industrial mechanic living in Vancouver. But now that Im my households main income earner  if we are feeling the pinch, how is urban living even possible for lower-income people?

Something needs to change. This current system isnt working. Developers promise to build affordable units, but then the building is done and they jack up the rent to often double what they promised, and the government lets them get away with it, he added.

His rent for a two-bedroom condo in Metro Vancouver is $2,295 a month plus utilities. Boyes, who has an investment property located in rural interior B.C. which he rents out, moved to Vancouver in 2014 in search of better-paid work.

While he is a tenant, he is also a landlord and sees both sides of the situation. He is fed up with the lengthy bureaucratic processes that lead to landlords being saddled with huge bills for too long.

When my tenant refused to leave for three months, I had to take a second job to cover the costs of maintaining the house and the mortgage, Boyes said.

Im lucky my tenants this year have been able to make their rents, because I dont know how we would cope if they didnt. We just had a baby and my wife isnt working, and we have to pay high rent each month, too.

Sarah Lindsay, who is in the middle of packing up her home to comply with an eviction notice she received right before Christmas 2019, agrees that many small-scale landlords have their own financial stressors and try to be fair to their tenants.

Since 2003, she has lived in a small heritage house in Mount Pleasant in Vancouver, and her landlords had not raised her rent once. She only paid $950 a month, until a developer purchased properties in the area and evicted residents to make way for a multi-storey development.

The temporary ban on evictions during the pandemic gave Lindsay more time to shut down her antiques business in the city, and compete with other Vancouverites to find an affordable rental far away from the city centre. But now as COVID-19 cases continue to climb in B.C., Lindsay is shocked that the province would allow evictions.

At one place I saw, there were about a hundred people mostly from Vancouver putting in bids with many not wearing masks  In (another) place, a landlord told me the pandemic was a farce and wouldnt give me any social distance, she said.

I worry that someone whos sick wont get tested, and will keep looking for a place and infect people because of the urgency and stress of needing a home while the pandemic is still ongoing.

The pandemic has caused undue stress on low-wage earners, and ripples of the economic downturn have reached even those who normally could afford housing with ease. All of the people that the Star spoke with said astronomically high housing costs in some Canadian cities amounts to a human rights crisis  potentially forcing people into precarious living situations during a pandemic.

Before COVID-19 hit, B.C. resident Rick Long said he had never missed a rental payment in his life.

He feels discouraged that whenever the plight of tenants come up in public conversations, people like him get judged for not having enough savings.

We dont know if well have a home in a few months, said Long. The 53-year-old recently invested most of his savings to launch a social media marketing company.

I dont think people realize that people who are self-employed dont have a lot of savings because all the savings goes into our businesses. And this is Vancouver. How many people are making enough each month to save?

While Long worked day and night to grow his business, his wifes income as a dental hygienist covered most of their living expenses, but dental offices were among the first businesses to close in March. Even as some have reopened, clinics are taking far fewer patients because of the need to thoroughly sanitize between appointments.

The rent for their small townhouse in Surrey, B.C. is $2,150 a month and this spring, the couple were only able to pay half of that. When Long emailed his landlord to ask if they were going to get evicted after Sept. 1 if they cannot pay the rent in full, he received no reply. Now, they dont know whether to start packing their bags.

Research by rental website PadMapper found a decrease in the cost of one-bedroom units by 8.3 per cent in Toronto and by 5.9 per cent in Vancouver in July. According to a report by Urbanation, the vacancy rate for rental units rose to 1.8 per cent in the GTA in the second quarter of 2020 and the availability rate  which includes units where renters have provided notice that theyll vacate  rose to 3.2 per cent.

But while rent has decreased, price points remain high: PadMapper found that rents for one-bedroom units average $2,100 in Toronto, and $2,070 in Vancouver.

Jeffrey Canton, who is currently renting in Torontos downtown Annex neighbourhood, says that the cost of a one-bedroom apartment still far exceeds what hes able to pay. I moved into the space that Im living in just four years ago, Canton said. Since then, rent (costs) have more than doubled.

The 61-year-old was issued an N12 eviction notice for his landlords personal use of the unit shortly before the pandemic hit. Due to the 60-day notice period overlapping with the eviction moratorium, Canton remains in his basement suite, but is actively searching for new housing. The struggle to find adequate housing at a decent price has left Canton feeling unprotected, and that the system is broken, he said.

I have been unable to find almost anything comparable that I can even afford, Canton said. He acknowledged that it can be problematic  for landlords not to receive rent from their tenants during the pandemic, but disagreed with the idea that those seeking affordable housing should leave the city to find it.

Why should I have to leave the city in order to find affordable housing? I mean, Ive lived in Toronto my entire life.

In an email to the Star, a spokesperson for the Ontario Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing said Bill 184, which has been criticized as paving the way for fast-tracked evictions, means that adjudicators must consider whether a landlord attempted to negotiate a repayment agreement with their tenant. The bill reinforces to landlords the necessity of exploring repayment agreements and maintaining tenancies  rather than resorting to evictions, the statement continued.

A spokesperson for the B.C. Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing said in an email that the vast majority of renters have been able to pay rent during the pandemic, and advised renters still experiencing financial difficulty as a result of COVID-19 to explore other programs from BC Housing including the Rental Assistance Program (RAP) and Shelter Aid for Elderly Renters (SAFER).

In response to criticism from landlords that dispute processes take too long, the spokesperson said the average time for the Residential Tenancy Branch to process monetary disputes is 16 weeks. The RTB has created an online option to help cut wait times.

Murray Martin, a representative for BC ACORN (Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now), told the Star the organization is pushing for rent forgiveness for tenants that cant meet their obligations before the B.C. eviction moratorium lifts on Sept. 1.

If someone during this time is still owing rent  its probably that they cant afford to pay rent, Martin said, adding that up to 15 per cent of B.C. renters either couldnt meet their rent obligations or couldnt pay in full. So its not like thats going to stop in September and all the prices are magically going to be going down.

In Toronto, ACORN rep Peter DGama argued for a repeal of Bill 184, which tenant advocacy groups warn could make it easier to evict tenants without a hearing if they dont agree to rent repayment plans. ACORN is calling for no COVID evictions and also for rent forgiveness during this time of the pandemic, DGama said.

A rent freeze would allow renters to get back on their feet, he said, adding that if things worsened due to a second wave, (renters would) still have some security ... then theres no pressure to choose between food and the rent and other necessities.

But Boyes said rent forgiveness would only overburden landlords, who are often erroneously stereotyped as being extraordinarily wealthy. There are a lot of renters on Facebook groups talking like theyre owed housing by somebody, and dont need to pay, Boyes said. I can understand peoples struggles with housing, since I have to deal with it myself, but its not fair to landlords to have that sense of entitlement..

Anthony Wu is a first-time landlord in Toronto. He says he worked hard to purchase an apartment to rent out for a modest income while his immigrant family lives with relatives in Toronto. Now he also feels burned by Canadas rental system.

Our tenants stopped paying rent in January, when it had nothing to do with COVID-19. We were sympathetic at first, but it seemed like they were making up one excuse after another, and when I tried to speak with them in person, they refused to open the door for me, Wu said.

Wu filed a complaint to Ontarios Landlord and Tenant Board in February, and has not received any information about a hearing date. He is shouldering all the costs of the apartments mortgage and other costs, and sees no end in sight.

I think its so sad that Im not able to support and give extra income to my family, said Wu, who splits his time between Hong Kong and Toronto.

In Hong Kong, this rarely happens where a tenant would stay in an apartment without paying rent. People would prefer to move out if they cant afford a place rather than be seen as taking advantage of a landlord.

Joanna Chiu is a Vancouver-based reporter covering both Canada-China relations and current affairs on the West Coast for the Star. Follow her on Twitter: @joannachiu

Jenna Moon is a breaking news reporter for the Star and is based in Toronto. Follow her on Twitter: @_jennamoon

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The design for NS Square was unveiled by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in his National Day message on 9 August 2020. (SCREENSHOT: Prime Minister's Office/YouTube)

SINGAPORE  The upcoming NS Square at Marina Bay will be the central focus of Singapores new downtown, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, as he unveiled the design of the development.

Delivering his National Day Message on Sunday (9 August), Lee said the design contract for NS Square has been awarded. The permanent space to commemorate National Service will be aligned on a central axis, with The Promontory on the opposite side of the Bay. The platform will become a red dot, shining bright in our city.

Replacing the Float@Marina Bay, the NS Square will feature a gallery to showcase Singapores National Service story, and honour the contributions of national servicemen past and present. It will also be a community space and future National Day Parades will continue to be held there.

NS Square will hold future National Day Parades said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in his National Day message on 9 August 2020. (SCREENSHOT: Prime Minister's Office/YouTube)

Lee said that when Singapore holds the National Day Parade at the Padang, or at the Float@Marina Bay, the audience can see the Marina Bay skyline in the background and see how far Singapore has come.

When National Service recruits complete their Basic Military Training and hold their passing out parade at the Float in the presence of family and friends, it helps them to understand what they are defending, he added.

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A fire broke out at a hotel being used as a Covid-19 treatment facility in Andhra Pradeshs Vijayawada city early on Sunday, killing 10 patients, officials said.

About 31 patients of the coronavirus disease were in the facility, most of them deep in sleep, along with six medical personnel and six hospital staff in the facility at the time the fire broke out. The 10 victims suffocated to death.

The hotel  Swarna Palace  was being used as a care centre for Covid-19 patients by the privately run Ramesh Hospitals.

According state health minister Alla Kali Krishna Prasad, the fire broke out at around 4.45 am on the ground floor of the hotel and spread to the first and second floors. Preliminary investigations by the police revealed that the fire was the result of a short-circuit in the electric wiring.

Also read| Andhra Pradesh: FIR registered in Vijayawada fire incident

Flames engulfed the building and thick plumes of smoke billowed from the entire building. Some the medical personnel and hotel staff managed to escape by running out and four of them jumped off the first and second floors to save their lives. A security guard, Krishna Reddy, suffered injuries by falling to the ground.

Many of the patients were fast asleep when the fire broke out. Some young patients tried to run out of the rooms but did not know how to escape because of the fire and smoke that engulfed the building. .

I did not know in which direction I was moving. I managed to open the window panes and come out shouting for help. I picked up courage and informed the police, a young patient, Pavan Sai, said in a video message.

Vijayawada city police commissioner B Srinivasulu said the police control room had received a call at around 5.15 am about the fire breaking out in the hotel. The minister, however, said the fire station, which is situated less than a kilometre away from the hotel, received the first call at 5.09 and within five minutes, the fire tenders arrived at the scene.

The fire was brought under control within a couple of hours, the minister said. After putting out the fire, the firemen and personnel of the National Disaster Response Force brought out the bodies of 10 patients. The bodies were shifted to the Vijayawada government hospital for post-mortem.

The dead were identified as: Kosaraju Suvarnalath (42) of Nidabrolu village of Ponnur block in Guntur district; Dokku Siva Brahmaiah (59) of Machilipatnam in Krishna district; Potluri Purnachandra Rao of Kodali in Krishna district; Sunkara Babu Rao (80), Indira Nagar, Vijayawada; Majji Gopi (54) of Machilipatnam; G Venkata Jaya Lakshmi (52) of Kandukuru in Prakasam district; Venkata Narasimha Pavan Kumar (40) of Kandukuru in Prakasam; Sabbili Ratna Abraham (48), Rajakumari (40), both from Jaggayyapet; and Maddali Raghu (40) of Moghulraja Puram, Vijayawada.

In all, the firemen rescued 18 Covid-19 patients, mostly by bringing them out through the windows, using ladders. All the rescued Covid-19 patients were taken to Ramesh Hospitals, where they were declared out of danger. Three others were moved to a different hotel.

Endowments minister Vellampalli Srinivas, district collector Imtiaz Ali and director general of police Gautam Sawang supervised the rescue operation.

Following a formal complaint from Vijayawada Central tehsildar (block revenue official), the police registered criminal cases against the managements of Ramesh Hospitals and Swarna Palace Hotel under Sections 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) and 308 read with 34 (acts amounting to culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of the Indian Penal Code.

The tehsildar said Ramesh Hospital had a memorandum of understanding with Swarna Palace Hotel to operate a Covid-19 facility on a paid basis. It appears that the management of the hotel and Ramesh Hospitals had known that there are electrical defects in the lodge (hotel), and as rectification of defects involved a huge amount, they avoided repairing it. Knowing the fact that if the defects were not rectified, there is a possibility of an accident, they opened the Covid-19 care centre, the official said.

The health minister said a committee had been formed to prepare a detailed report on the fire within 48 hours. Preliminary report says the hospital and the hotel managements are at fault. We asked for a detailed report so that stringent action can be initiated against those responsible, the minister said.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Sunday announced ex gratia of Rs 50 lakh to the kin of the deceased. He ordered an in-depth probe into the incident

Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his condolences and spoke to the chief minister over the phone about the fire.

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CONNECTICUT  As parents across the state debate how or even whether their children will return to class in the fall, school superintendents are racking up accolades on how well their systems perform.

The latest trophies come from personal finance website WalletHub, which has named Connecticut's public schools second best in the nation, just behind those of neighboring Massachusetts.

The Nutmeg State scored particularly well with some new criteria beyond the traditional metrics of academic excellence and standardized test scores. Connecticut ranked No. 1 in the category of COVID-19 response, for instance, and 20th in bullying incidence rate.

Money, of course, matters in school district performance, as it does in just about everything else. Research from the Albert Shankar Institute concluded that "On average, aggregate measures of per-pupil spending are positively associated with improved or higher student outcomes." To really make a difference, that money needs to be spent on bringing down class sizes, and recruiting/retaining the best teachers. Connecticut was 6th in pupil-teacher ratio, which no doubt helped the state achieve its first-place ranking for median ACT scores, and third-place rank in reading scores.

Public elementary and secondary education money usually flows from three sources: the federal, state and local governments. According to the U.S. Department of Education, states contribute nearly as much as local governments, while the federal government supplies the smallest share. But the coronavirus may soon be messing up all the math. More parents are looking at private schools this fall, as their already smaller class sizes allow them to fully reopen and still maintain social distancing where their public rivals cannot. But other research indicates there may be an exodus from pricey private schools as parents whose income has taken a beating during the pandemic look for ways to make ends meet. Where the ball stops, nobody knows...



Story continues

Paul Hill, Emeritus Professor in the College of Education at the University of Washington, told WalletHub that schools' climb out of COVID will be "inconsistent and messy. In the long run, there will be more distance learning and more choice outside what a given school can provide. Working this out will take time, as parents' and employers' scheduling needs will matter, and districts have never before really considered these things. Biggest internal barrier: all money tied up in teacher salaries; schools will need teachers, but they must be able to make tradeoffs, e.g. to pay for superior online courses."



In order to determine the best school systems in America, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across key measures of quality and safety. Here's how Connecticut scored:



12th  Math Test Scores

3rd  Reading Test Scores

6th  Pupil-Teacher Ratio

1st  Median ACT Score

21st  Percentage of Licensed/Certified Public K12 Teachers

13th  Dropout Rate

20th  Bullying Incidence Rate

26th  Percentage of Threatened/Injured High School Students

1st  Statewide School Closure due to COVID-19

Although Connecticut students shined on the ACT, Massachusetts schools were magic when it comes to standardized reading and math scores:

Highest Math Test Scores:

Massachusetts Minnesota New Jersey Virginia Wyoming

Highest Reading Test Scores :

Massachusetts New Jersey Connecticut New Hampshire Tie: Colorado and Utah

Below are the top ten states with the best public school systems, according to the WalletHub research. The complete report can be found here.

Rank State Total Quality Safety 1 Massachusetts 71.73 1 1 2 Connecticut 66.25 2 19 3 New Jersey 65.64 3 15 4 Virginia 63.75 4 3 5 Vermont 61.64 8 4 6 New Hampshire 61.27 7 6 7 Minnesota 59.89 6 22 8 Wisconsin 59.66 5 24 9 Delaware 59.65 15 2 10 Maryland 58.51 11 9

This article originally appeared on the Across Connecticut Patch
Christian author admits pandemic has triggered panic attacks, shares how church can respond

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Christian author Craig Denison, who pens the popular devotional First15 reaching 1.4 million millennials daily, opened up about how the global COVID-19 pandemic has heightened his own struggle with anxiety and offered practical advice on what believers and churches can do to help those suffering from panic attacks.

In a recent blog post, "Im a Christian author, and I keep having panic attacks, the author admitted that hes has had five panic attacks since March. Although he said he felt like a phony as a leader because of his struggles, Denison decided to be transparent because he knew he was not alone.

According to a 2020 study released by Anxiety and Depression Association of America, an estimated 31% of all adults will experience an anxiety disorder at some point in their life.

Denison, son of a pastor, releases a daily devotional which guides over a million believers into a new experience with Gods presence every day. He and his wife, Rachel, are also worship leaders at Denison Ministries. He is now using his influence to help others suffering from the surge of worry and concern in todays world.

The following is an edited transcript of The Christian Posts interview with Denison where the author candidly shares of his battles, reveals why he believes panic attacks are so prevalent today and offers tips for Christians and leaders on how to navigate anxiety.

Christian Post: What inspired you to be so transparent and write "Im a Christian author, and I keep having panic attacks?

Denison: One of the most powerful ways I grow as a human and as a child of God is having an opportunity to hear the lived-experience of others. With so many believers struggling with anxiety, stress, and even panic attacks in these uncommon days, I was hoping to simply bring peace and edification to other believers like me. You can love God wholeheartedly, be pursuing Him, even leading other believers in a pursuit of God, and still struggle. None of us are perfect. All of us are in need. And it's in the declaration of that need that God meets us most powerfully with His unconditional love and peaceful presence.

CP: Why do you think there is such a stigma against the thought of being a Christian and having a panic attack?

Denison: As believers, I think we wrongly carry an expectation of perfection. With all of God's promises, and lengths He's gone to for us, I think we wrongly expect our lives and the lives of our fellow believers to always be thriving. But the practice of our faith, even something like the receiving and embodying of peace isn't a practice of perfection, but a willingness to keep showing up in the good and bad with faith, hope, and love.

CP: Is a panic attack a lack of faith? Why or why not?

Denison: For me, nothing about my experience with panic attacks seem related to a lack or abundance of faith. Life gets tough sometimes. This year has been hard on all of us. For me specifically, I've learned through panic attacks that I belong to about 15% of the population that have a slightly different brain chemistry than the other 85%. My mind is simply highly sensitive to stimulation and reaches a level of overwhelm sooner than the majority of people. It's through an abundance of faith that I can experience God's grace and love even in moments that don't align with what I believe to be God's perfect hope for us in eternity.

CP: Why do you think the younger generations are suffering so much from anxiety?

Denison: Every day our technology brings us face to face with the suffering and depravity of our world. From social unrest to the pandemic, to an economic downfall, to political and faith division, we're consuming more stressful content than we could have imagined possible. When polled, even working adults stretched across six continents said that they were stressed more often than not. As a society, stress really has become our new normal. We live as if peace is for the best of moments, not something to be hoped for or expected.

As younger generations consume more and more media, and make space for less and less of those practices that produce peace, an epidemic of anxiety will be the result.

CP: What are some things people should do when experiencing that form of intense anxiety?

Denison: When I'm experiencing a panic attack, I try first to allow my emotions and feelings to come as opposed to suppressing them. I try to choose not to be overwhelmed additionally by the fact that I'm having an attack, but to acknowledge that my experience is valid and real and that it will subside. From there I like to find a dark, quiet place, where I can lay down and close my eyes until I regain some sense of normalcy. I've had times wherein about 15 minutes I feel like I can function normally, all the way to a sense of being on edge for the better part of a day. But validating my experience and choosing to think of myself gently and kindly, the way I believe my heavenly Father sees me, has been incredibly helpful.

CP: How can family members, the church and others support someone that experiences panic attacks?

Denison: With my wife, Rachel, and my two young boys, they know to simply allow me to have some space when a panic attack comes. Rachel treating me gently and kindly during this season has been such a sweet response that has sincerely brought us closer as a couple.

For the church, I would recommend some teaching around the current societal experience with stress and anxiety combined with some grace. Allow for the sharing of some lived experience before jumping to applications and answers. As vital and important as spiritual disciplines are, don't simply put at odds your congregation's tough experiences with biblical answers. Allow for time to process, to journey towards peace. Normalize the daily work of practicing peace, with bumps in that road from time to time. Encourage therapy and counseling. And see anxiety and stress as a major societal problem that deserves an ongoing and concerted effort from the church staff.

The last thing I would say is that the work in churches needs to begin with leaders self-assessing, and helping their staff assess their own stress levels. Church leadership is often documented as one of the most stressful jobs someone can have. We have to change the level of inner abundance within church work if we're going to be able to meaningfully engage in helping our congregants find inner abundance for themselves.

CP: What steps can someone take to help avoid getting overwhelmed in these trying times?

Denison: I now begin almost every day with a journal, simply checking in with myself. Processing through questions like "How am I feeling today?" "What is my body telling me?" And then inviting God into the answers to those questions has been incredibly helpful. I would also sincerely encourage someone struggling with feeling overwhelmed to find a counselor or therapist and to also find safe relationships you can be open and vulnerable with.

CP: Is there anything else you'd like to add?

Denison: Every day we release free guides to God's presence with a time of worship, reading, self-reflection, and prayer. If you're wrestling with feeling overwhelmed and stressed in these uncommon days and would like to have a guide to a daily experience with God, you can go to First15.org to sign up for free.
Mohamad Awada said he cries every time he watches the news about the explosion in Lebanon  his home country.

"I felt like the explosion fled overseas and reached me," he said. "It's emotional in every aspect."

Awada volunteers with the Alberta Muslim Social Association in Calgary, which is collecting donations to support the victims of last week's devastating explosion.

The explosion happened when 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate, a highly explosive chemical used in fertilizer, ignited. At least 150 people were killed, thousands injured and 300,000 displaced from their homes. An investigation into the disaster will focus on possible negligence around the explosive material's storage.

Thibault Camus/AFP/Getty Images

The blast also destroyed medical supplies and food at the capital city's port, at a time when Lebanon was already in the throes of a financial crisis.

"I can't imagine how bad it is right now," said Mahmoud Mourra, the association's chairman. "When I talk to my friend and my brother back home  they tell me no matter how bad you can imagine, it is worse."

Mourra also grew up in Lebanon and has family in the area.

"God bless us that that explosion took place after 6 o'clock, and the port closes at 3:30 p.m. If this thing had blown up at 3 o'clock, the number could have been way worse," he said.

Hala Ghonaim/CBC

"I'm so proud to be Canadian  but it's also very hard to see your mom in pain, and that's how I feel about Lebanon," Awada said. "To the Calgary community, please be generous, please try to help as much as you can  good things always bring good things. What you do for good will come back to you as good."

The association is accepting monetary donations, which will be sent directly to the Lebanese Red Cross or other non-governmental organizations, as well as non-perishable food and other essential items that will be shipped overseas by Aug. 20.

Canada has announced it will send up to $5 million in humanitarian aid to Lebanon.

More than 10,300 Albertans were born in Lebanon, according to Statistics Canada's 2016 census. Of those, more than 4,000 live in Calgary.

Items can be dropped of between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. at 521 35th Avenue N.E., or donors can request pickup by contacting the association.
Jaipur, Aug 9 : Eleven members of a family that had migrated from Pakistan were found dead on Sunday morning at a farmhouse in Lodta Achlawata village in Dechu police station area in Jodhpur district, officials said.

Police officials told IANS that the incident came to light when they received information around 10 am from the villagers.

"While 11 persons were found dead, one was alive. However, he was clueless about the incident. He claimed that he was sleeping outside and did not know what had happened. He said when he went inside his house, he saw bodies of his family members and shouted for help," police said.

District Superintendent of Police (Jodhpur Rural) Rahul Baruth and other officers were at the site and investigating. Police has sealed the house and the area around it.

Police officials said they are trying to probe if the dead persons had consumed poison, or there was leak of poisonous gas, or if they were murdered.

The migrants were into farming on land taken on lease.
Highlights

While the Oli govt is disputing with India on birth of Lord Ram, Lipulekh-Kalapani area, the Modi government is cementing its people-to-people contact not withstanding the current political differences.

In this context, India today gifted 10 ventilators to Nepalese army chief Genral Puran Chand Thapa as the coronavirus is spreading in the Kathmandu and Pokhra valley.

Despite India at one point banning the export of HCQ, the Indian Army ensured that their Nepalese counterparts got the drug as and when required.

Puran Chand Thapa is also the honorary General of Indian Army.
Shia LaBeouf's latest movie, The Tax Collector, is being savaged by critics who have called it 'incompetent,' 'a bloody mess' and 'one of the most atrocious viewing experiences of the year'.

The crime thriller, which also stars Bobby Soto and premiered on August 7, was written and directed by David Ayer, who was also behind films Suicide Squad, Training Day and Fury.

The movie follows LaBeouf and Soto's characters, Creeper and David, as 'tax collectors' and enforcers for Los Angeles crime lord The Wizard, Jimmy Smits.

Critics have savaged David Ayer's new film, The Tax Collector, which stars Shia LaBeouf (left) and Bobby Soto (right) and premiered August 7

Rotten Tomatoes lists the movie's critics' score as being just 18 percent, indicating it's 'rotten'

Earlier in the year, the movie made headlines when people accused LaBeouf of being in 'brownface' for portraying a Latino character despite being white, a claim that Ayer has refuted.

Ayer tweeted on July 1: 'Shia is playing a whiteboy who grew up in the hood. This is a Jewish dude playing a white character. Also the only white dude in the movie.'

Now, that the movie is out, however, it's drawing negative attention for a whole different reason - including it's stereotyped portrayal of Latinos, over-the-top violence, incoherence and bad dialogue.

As of Saturday, Rotten Tomatoes has given The Tax Collector a 'rotten' critics' score of just 18 per cent, based on 34 reviews, while its audience reviews stand at just 50 per cent based on eight reviews.

'A taxing and ill-advised crime drama, The Tax Collector fails to accrue much meaningful interest,' is Rotten Tomatoes' summary of the movie.

The Los Angeles Times started its review by noting that 'toxic macho energy permeates' the movie and describes it as 'a viciously exploitative bloodbath that regurgitates the negative image of Latino people still so pervasive in media'.

The Tax Collector centers around two men who work as enforcers for a Los Angeles crime lord. Shia LaBeouf (right) got a real tattoo of his characters' name, Creeper, on his chest for the role

Critics tweeted out their not-too-flattering thoughts and reviews about The Tax Collector

Critic Carlos Aguilar goes on to call it 'one of the most atrocious viewing experiences of the year' and says that the movie 'relies on a trite visual language built on obvious flashbacks and bland imagery that match the unimaginatively dreadful writing where every Latino in sight is a gangster.'

The New York Times, meanwhile, called the movie 'generic' and noted its 'madly illogical plot.'

The Tax Collector was written and directed by David Ayer, who was also behind Suicide Squad and Fury

Critic Jeannette Catsoulis wrote the characters were 'primally motivated and hilariously hackneyed,' noting LaBeouf - and his costars - was 'constrained 'throughout by the weight of the stereotyping and dialogue that doesnt stand a chance against the violence'.

The Hollywood Reporter called it a 'well-acted film' and said that it had 'a lot of admirable aims, such as creating layered roles for the Latino acting community and spending production dollars in areas that could benefit from the economic boost'.

But despite the goals, 'this grim bloodbath feels too routine to be of much interest', critic David Rooney wrote.

Although he praised LaBeouf's performance in the film, he wrote that: 'There's too little depth to make you care about the characters and too little imagination at work to make The Tax Collector pay.'

IndieWire, however, blasted LaBeouf's performance in the 'bland' movie, noting that the actor 'stares and struts his way through a cartoonish and culturally insensitive performance as a troublemaking thug named Creeper that most certainly did not require him to get his characters name tattooed across his chest.'

The 52-year-old filmmaker explained: 'Shia is playing a whiteboy who grew up in the hood. This is a Jewish dude playing a white character. Also the only white dude in the movie'

Critics disagreed on whether LaBeouf's (left) performance was well-done or not

Comedian George Lopez also starred in the movie, playing David's uncle, a criminal who also owns an auto repair business

The public also took to Twitter to express how bad they though the movie was after it debuted

While filming the movie, LaBeouf tattooed 'Creeper' across his chest, beneath a portrait of his mother cradling a rodeo cowboy meant to symbolize his estranged father, according to reports.

Critic Eric Kohn, who gave the movie a D+, also called LaBeouf's performance 'two-bit Latino burlesque' and said that the movie's script 'feels like it was written for video game cutscenes'.

The movie was also said to be 'a slog of vulgar threats and violent outbursts'.

Variety's review stated that the movie is 'bloody, barely coherent and about as fun as having your face dragged across asphalt from a moving SUV.'

Critic Peter Debruge also called The Tax Collector a 'bizarrely edited action movie', but pushed back against claims that the movie was racist, writing 'while its true that there are virtually no non-criminals in the movie, its small-minded to suggest that Ayer is implying that everyone in South Central is some kind of gangster, or that the way any of these characters talk  including the Chicano-accented mumblings of lone white boy LaBeouf, appropriated from those around him  represents all Latinos.'

RogerEbert.com gave the movie a thumbs down, with critic Brian Tallerico calling he film 'so deeply incompetent that it practically defies criticism.'

'Once you get past the horrifically casual racist stereotypes, non-existent character depth, incoherent plotting, cliched dialogue, and baffling editing, whats perhaps most insulting is how numbingly boring the whole affair ended up,' Tallerico wrote.

'If youre going to make a movie this lazily, at least try to make it fun!'

He goes on speculate that coronavirus might've been responsible for the way the movie turned out.

'I dont know if the blinding ineptitude in terms of basic elements like editing and plotting in the second half of this film could be attributed to COVID-19, but thats the kindest thing I can presume,' he wrote.

The Chicago Sun-Times reviewer, Richard Roeper, claimed the movie is an 'underachieving, exceedingly violent urban gangster film with a meandering storyline and a contrived final twist.'

Although he did note that there are 'intriguing setups in the well-paced early going.'

The Wrap's Steve Pond wrote the movie 'trots out a lot of posturing and a lot of gang-movie cliches but flails instead of giving us much reason to care' and that its an 'over-the-top exercise in melodramatic brutality.'
09.08.2020 LISTEN

The Peoples National Convention (PNC) Greater Accra Region has distanced itself from flagbearer hopeful, Mr. Samson Asaki Awingobit after describing him as a disgrace and unfit.

According to branch group, the former parliamentary candidate for the Ashaiman constituency is vying for the top-most position of the party after disrespecting the party structures and also violating the party constitution.

The group explain that since contesting for the parliamentary elections in 2008, he has since not participated in any PNC activities.

The PNC Greater Accra insists that this goes contrary to party constitution which states that, a member should be in good standing and must have paid his dues before he can contest for any position.

After making several allegations, they indicated that Mr. Samson Asaki Awingobit is not fit for purpose and a disgrace to our party. The entire region, therefore, disassociates itself from Mr. Samson Asaki Awingobit, his campaign team and any other matter related to him. We don't know him from the region as he claims and we don't have anything to do with him.

The group has sent a strong warning to any aspirant who intends to demean the party's image to desist from such conduct.

Full statement below:

GREATER ACCRA REGION DISASSOCIATES ITSELF FROM SAMSON ASAKI AWINGOBIT.

The PNC Greater Accra Region held a general meeting on 8th August. The meeting was held to discuss the impending elections and the rules of engagement in the upcoming internal elections of the Party.

The region resolved that, the nomination has been opened for all PNC members interested to contest for the polling station, ward and constituency elections and subsequently the regional elections by the end of August, 2020.

The region also noticed with concern that one among the flagbearer aspirants of the party in the person of Mr Samson Asaki Awingobit claims he hails from the region, Ashaiman constituency to be precise. Indeed, Mr Asaki was the parliamentary candidate in 2008 for Ashaiman constituency. However, ever since the 2008 elections, he has not participated in any PNC activities. The PNC constitution states that, a member should be in good standing and must have paid his dues before he contest for any position. In his case, he is bidding for the highest position of the party. In this regard, he has disrespected the party structures, violated the party constitution and therefore not in good standing as far as the Greater Accra region is concerned.

The flagbearer hopeful Mr Samson Asaki Awingobit further alledged through the media allthat, the Greater Accra Regional executives took some 17 bags of 'TUGIMI' rice and oil for themselves and their families instead of sharing to the vulnerable during the lockdown.

We find this statement so unprofound, demeaning and an insult to the PNC fraternity. No leader of a political party will come on traditional media to announce he has given goodies to his party faithfuls.

This clearly shows that Mr Samson Asaki Awingobit is not fit for purpose and a disgrace to our party. The entire region therefore disassociates itself from Mr Samson Asaki Awingobit, his campaign team and any other matter related to him. We don't know him from the region as he claims and we don't have anything to do with him.

Henceforth, the region is sending a strong warning to any aspirant, who intends to demean the region's image to desist from that immediately.

Signed

Hon Bala Maikankan

Chairman, Greater Accra Regional Chairman
The Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST) has said its stamp duty account was opened by the Central Bank of Nigeria under the Treasury Single Account (TSA), in consultation with the office of Accountant-General of the Federation.

The service made the clarification following a tweet by the Director of Communication and Liaison of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Abdullahi Ahmad, alleging that NIPOST operated an illegal stamp duty account.

The FIRS is determined to not only ensure that all monies collected by NIPOST into its illegally operated Stamp Duties Account are fully remitted into the Federation Account but also make sure that any kobo not accounted for in that account is legally recovered, Mr Ahmad had tweeted.

In its response through a statement by its spokesperson, Franklin Alao, NIPOST said the account was opened in the name of NIPOST Stamp Duties Collection Account when CBN gave instruction to Deposit Money Banks (DMB) to commence the deduction of #50 stamp duties from bank customers accounts.

The account belongs to the Federation and NIPOST does not have access to whatsoever monies lodged into the account. As such, the question of illegality and misappropriation does not arise.

NIPOST wishes to reinstate that under the extant laws of Nigeria to wit NIPOST Act 2004 provides and vests solely in NIPOST the power to print adhesive postage stamps, which is the instrument for denoting documents and other transaction instruments in compliance with the provisions of the Stamp Duties Act. Historically, the Post in Nigeria, just like in the comity of nations, has at different times produced adhesive postage stamps and revenue stamps for the Federal Government. It is to this end that NIPOST seeks the proper implementation of the Finance Act.

NIPOST is therefore taken aback when FIRS took to the tweeter to call out the Chairman, NIPOST Board, Maimuna Abubakar, who only tried to bring the attention of the Service and public that NIPOST would be emasculated if the Act is not properly implemented.

This is more so when there was a meeting between FIRS and NIPOST in July 2013 in the office of the Executive Chairman of FIRS and resolution reached that NIPOST is statutory duty-bound to provide the stamps to be used by FIRS at both federal and state levels, it said.

It also said it wishes to reassure members of the public that NIPOST as a responsible government institution has always operated within the ambit of the law.

We, therefore, urge the general public to disregard the statement credited to the Director, Communication and Liaison, FIRS on the issue.

NIPOST and the FIRS recently engaged in public spat over which agency has the responsibility to collect stamp duties.
Foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have vowed to maintain Southeast Asia as "a region of peace, security, neutrality and stability" amid "growing uncertainties resulting from the changing geopolitical dynamics in the regional and global landscape," according to a statement they released on Saturday.

The statement, issued in honor of the bloc's 53rd anniversary, reaffirmed its members' commitment to ensuring the effective implementation of the ASEAN Community Vision 2025.

It also called for continued building of "strategic trust and mutual confidence among countries" through continued dialogue, win-win cooperation and practical confidence-building measures to create a peaceful environment conducive for sustainable growth.

Established in 1967, the ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

Attendees of the ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Retreat pose for a group photo in Nha Trang, Vietnam, January 17, 2020. /Xinhua

South China Sea tensions

The statement comes amid worsened relations between China and the United States, with the latter repeatedly sending its military aircraft and warships to the South China Sea, over which China and some ASEAN countries have territorial and maritime disputes.

Last month, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, said "Beijing's claims to offshore resources across most of the South China Sea are completely unlawful." The U.S. Navy also carried out large-scale exercises in the region recently.

In response, Beijing criticized Washington for disregarding the efforts of China and the ASEAN countries for promoting peace and stability in the South China Sea. Although the U.S. is not a country directly involved in the disputes, it has kept interfering in the issue, stirring up tension and inciting confrontation in the region, said a spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in the U.S..

An aerial view of an island, which is part of the Xisha Islands, Sansha City, south China's Hainan Province. /Xinhua

China and the ASEAN countries are "advancing the consultation on a Code of Conduct (COC) in the South China Sea," the spokesperson said.

The two sides have finished the first reading of the Single Draft Negotiating Text of the COC and are expected to complete the consultations by 2020.

On the occasion of ASEAN's 53rd founding anniversary, Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi warned that the bloc must not be forced to choose sides.

"ASEAN must always cooperate to maintain our regional peace and stability and not be dragged into the storm of geopolitical tension or being forced to choose sides," Marsudi said.

"Therefore, the region must stay ahead of the curve to maintain our centrality, maintain our relevance and be at the driving seat in turning rivalry into cooperation, distrust into strategic trust," she added.

Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh stressed that a strong and united ASEAN is indispensable for peace and prosperity within the region.

(With input from Xinhua)
Pope appoints 6 women to previously all-male Vatican council

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Pope Francis has appointed six women to a high-level group that oversees financial matters in Vatican City that was previously only comprised of men.

The head of the Roman Catholic Church appointed the six women to the Council for the Economy, which was created in 2014 by the pontiff.

Announced Thursday, the new female appointees are Charlotte Kreuter-Kirchhof and Marija Kolak of Germany, Maria Osacar Garaicoechea and Eva Castillo Sanz of Spain, and Ruth Kelly and Leslie Ferrar of the United Kingdom.

Kelly and Ferrar each have public service experience, with Kelly having served as a minister in the government of former Prime Minister Tony Blair and Ferrar being a former treasurer for the Prince of Wales.

It is wonderful to see the pope's commitment to promoting women to decision-making posts in the Vatican, said Kelly to the National Catholic Reporter.

In addition to the six women, the membership will include one male lay leader and eight cardinals, among them Cardinal Joseph Tobin of New Jersey.

I see their nomination as an effort by Pope Francis to ensure greater opportunities for women to offer their gifts in service to the church, stated Tobin to the NCR.

He clearly considers the academic formation and vast experience of these colleagues as crucial contributions to one of his cherished priorities, the ongoing reform of the financial administration of the Holy See.

While stopping short of supporting female ordination, Francis has had a record of appointing women to prominent leadership roles within the Catholic Church.

In April 2018, Francis appointed three female theologians to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which is tasked with defending Catholic doctrine.

The 2018 appointments marked the first time that women and laity were represented in the CDF, a move that the Vatican paper L'Osservatore Romano labeled "historic."

Later that year, Francis was asked about opening the door to female ordination, but he rejected the idea, while stressing that there is no Church without women.

With sacred orders, you can't do anything because dogmatically it doesn't go  and John Paul II was clear and closed the door, and I won't turn on this. It was a serious thing, not capricious, said the pontiff at the time, as reported by Crux.

But we mustn't reduce the presence of the women to their role ... No, it's a thing that man can't do. Man cannot be the bride of Christ. It's the woman, the Church, the bride of Christ.
PM Modis statement came a day before the inauguration of the submarine optical fibre cable link project that connects Chennai and Port Blair.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi while interacting with Bhartiya Janta Party workers on Sunday via video-conferencing said that high-speed broadband connectivity will help the people living in the Andaman and Nicobar islands to connect virtually with people from other parts of the country.

I'm sure that high-speed broadband connectivity that will be launched tomorrow will help people of Andaman & Nicobar Islands to have a virtual connect with other parts of the country. Everyone will be able to avail the benefits of all kinds of online services, amid pandemic, PM Modi said while interacting with the BJP workers, as reported by ANI.

PM Modis statement came a day before the inauguration of the submarine optical fibre cable link project that connects Chennai and Port Blair. The fibre-optic link also connects Port Blair to Swaraj Dweep, Great Nicobar, Car Nicobar, Little Andaman, Long Island and Ranghat group of island.

In his address, PM Modi also said that the 12 islands of Andaman and Nicobar had also been chosen for the high impact projects. 12 islands of Andaman and Nicobar have been chosen for the expansion of high impact projects, PM Modi said adding that the government was planning to focus on sea-food and organic products in the area.

India is fortunate that we have various things in different areas which can be developed. In Andaman & Nicobar we are going to lay emphasis on industries related to sea-food, organic products & coconut-based products, PM Modi added.
Weve said it time and again: Maybe theres something in the water or in the air. Perhaps its the fact that our boroughs community spirit brings out the best in its residents.

Another Staten Islander has reached the century mark  plus four.

And as life expectancy increases worldwide, and the number of centenarians rises rapidly, this distinguished group of super-seniors are among the fastest-growing segment of the population  with numbers doubling every decade.

John Conforti during his younger years. (Courtesy/Chris Pavia)Staten Island Advance

The latest borough resident to be added to our list is John Conforti, a Bulls Head resident who turned 104 on Aug. 4.

The son of parents who immigrated from Sicily, Johns and his family settled in the United States during the early 1900s. One of 10 children, John was reared in Brooklyn and joined the work force as a longshoreman.

A spiffy dresser, John was always seen smartly attired in a suit and tie.

John Conforti turns 104. (Courtesy/Chris Pavia)Staten Island Advance

To this day he enjoys recounting stories from the good ole days. Through it all, hes continues to remain upbeat, happy and extremely positive  and always encourages family members to do the same.

A great patriot with a strong affection for the USA, John has a powerful work ethic and advises his family to never be lazy or complacent.

During his younger years, John worked on the docks of Brooklyn and spent time as a riveter on a number of ships. And he always took great pride in his air-conditioned cars, said grandson Chris..

John Conforti. (Courtesy/Chris Pavia)Staten Island Advance

And though he lost a leg in an an accident, Johns still graceful on the dance floor and was able to dance with the aid of a walker on his 100th birthday  just as he did on his 104th.

He has spent his life defying the odds and mortality, Chris added. He beat cancer, lost an eye, survived a heart attack, beat a tragic accident, single and double pneumonia and back surgery and is still going strong. His wish is to reach 105.

Gifted with a musical gene, the birthday celebrant loves Italian music and enjoys singing tunes to his children and grandchildren. And he still listens to Jerry Vale, Jimmy Roselli and Frank Sinatra.

His reputation for being a good cook was well known within his neighborhood and he was always willing to share his cooking recipe secrets, says Chris. Happy birthday dad from Mary and Eddie, Michael and Barbara and all of your grandchildren, their spouses and many great-grandchildren.

Happy 104th, John!
Even amidst the gloom, the spirit of solidarity is alive as young people got together at the Kannur airport to prepare food for passengers who were landing in the odd hours of the night. These are the passengers in flights going to Kozhikode diverted to Kannur and Cochin after the fatal crash.

A few users posted pictures on Twitter of young volunteers preparing food packets for the incoming passengers.

In a tweet by one Alinda Merrie Jan, the caption read: "All flights that were to land at Karipur are now to land at Kannur following the jet crash. Since the flights are to reach late and at odd hours, the youth of Mattannur in Kannur are busy arranging food for passengers."

All flights that were to land at Karippur are to land at Kannur following the jet crash. Since the flights are to reach late and at odd hours, the youth of Mattannur in Kannur are busy arranging food for the passengers. pic.twitter.com/2SyAyGDlD7  Alinda Merrie Jan  (@alindaMjan) August 7, 2020

Over the past few days, people from Kerala have gone out of the way to offer help to the survivors of the plane crash and passengers landing at other airports due to diversion in air traffic.

Within minutes of the crash, dozens of locals rushed to the spot and initially helped the fire force team to evacuate those who were on the ill-fated flight.

In fact, it was a team of locals that rescued some 30 injured, including the pilot and co-pilot, and rushed them to hospitals.

1. Air India flight crash at calicut.

People rescued travellers and crews without fearing Corona during crisis..

2. People staying near blood bank at midnight.

3. Making ready of food for diverted flights travellers.

This is kerala #AirIndiaCrash #CalicutAirCrash #Calicut pic.twitter.com/8aAPHbw2L9  Nikhil v v (@nikhil_v_v) August 8, 2020

While some were still helping in retrieving the injured others did their part by controlling traffic and making it easier for ambulances to enter and exit the airport with the victims.

When hospitals faced acute shortage of blood, hundreds of people gathered to donate blood.

Numerous charities and help groups chipped in to help everyone in need.

The Air India Express flight from Dubai with 190 on board overshot the tabletop runway at Kozhikode airport on Friday night while landing in heavy rains and fell into a valley 35 feet below and broke into two, killing at least 18 people.
For the past 17 years, my friends and I have organized a peaceful vigil for nuclear disarmament on Hiroshima Day, Aug. 6, at Ashley Pond Park in Los Alamos, where the actual Hiroshima bomb was built.

There, sometimes with as many as 400 others, weve been calling for the abolition of nuclear weapons; the closing of the nuclear weapons labs; the cleaning up of the environment; and making reparations to the downwinders and Indigenous people whose land was stolen.

This year, the pandemic forced us to host an online commemoration instead with speakers, such as Jay Coghlan of Nuclear Watch New Mexico; Roshi Joan Halifax of the Upaya Zen Center in Santa Fe; Dr. Ira Helfand of the Nobel Peace Prize group, the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons; and, for the first time, Archbishop John Wester, who spoke of his recent visit to Hiroshima, Pope Francis recent urgent call to abolish nuclear weapons, and his hope for a more peaceful New Mexico.

We remember what the United States did  what New Mexico did!  75 years ago when we killed 200,000 people at Hiroshima and another 40,000 people in Nagasaki. We try to repent of this evil by recommitting ourselves to the long, hard work of nuclear disarmament by building a global grassroots movement for the abolition of nuclear weapons and war, starting with the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons.

Nuclear weapons have totally failed us. They dont make us safer; they dont provide jobs; they dont make us more secure  those are age-old lies. Instead they bankrupt us, economically and spiritually.

According to the Doomsday Clock, we are in greater danger now than ever. A limited nuclear war between India and Pakistan is very possible; an all-out nuclear war would end life as we know it. We cannot continue down this path. If we spent billions instead on teaching and building nonviolent conflict resolution programs around the world, we could move closer toward a future of peace.

To the employees of the Los Alamos lab, Sandia and the nuclear weapons industry, I urge you not to waste your one precious life building weapons to vaporize millions of sisters and brothers. Quit your jobs and find pro-human, nonviolent work.

To the Christians who work at the Los Alamos lab, I invite you to follow anew the nonviolent Jesus who commands us to love our enemies. Quit your jobs, join his campaign of nonviolence, and become a nonviolent peacemaker like him.

To New Mexicos elected officials, I beg you to stop funding nuclear weapons development; instead, fund the needs of the people for better schools, jobs, health care, food, housing and environmental cleanup.

To the people of New Mexico, I call you to imagine a new New Mexico free of nuclear weapons and poverty, for a new land of nonviolence, and work to make that vision come true.

This 75th anniversary should not just be an interesting historical marker; it should be a turning point, when New Mexico renounces its evil legacy, and charts a new course for itself and humanity, when together we choose a new nuclear-free future of peace and nonviolence.

The Rev. John Dear, formerly of Santa Fe, is the author, most recently, of Praise Be Peace: The Psalms of Peace and Nonviolence in a Time of War and Climate Change, and works with CampaignNonviolence.org. He now lives in Cayucos, California.
BEIRUT - The Latest on the explosion in Beirut (all times local):

10 p.m.

Lebanons environment minister has resigned.

Kattar Demianos is the second Cabinet member to step down amid anger in the country following the blast that ripped across the capital of Beirut.

Demianos said in a statement late Sunday that hes leaving the government in solidarity with the victims. The blast killed 160 people and wounded 6,000.

He described the ruling system in Lebanon as flaccid and sterile and says its wasted several chances to reform.

Demianos had offered his resignation earlier Sunday but was in talks with Prime Minister Hassan Diab.

People in Lebanon have blamed the explosion on negligence and mismanagement. Angry protests followed amid calls for government officials to resign.

Another Cabinet member stepped down earlier Sunday.

___

9:10 p.m.

French organizers say international donors have pledged a total of 225.7 million euros, or $298 million, in emergency aid during conference for Lebanon.

Sundays donor teleconference was hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron.

International leaders, government officials and international organization participated, including President Donald Trump.

Donors promised to provide emergency aid, focusing on medicine and hospitals, schools, food and housing.

The rebuilding needs of Lebanon are immense, but so is the question of how to ensure the millions of dollars promised in international aid is not diverted in a country notorious for missing money, invisible infrastructure projects and its refusal to open the books.

___

7:30 p.m.

Over 30 participants to the international aid conference for Lebanon have pledged help for a credible and independent investigation into the Beirut explosion.

They also said that support to the countrys recovery will need to come with reforms demanded by protesters.

International leaders, government officials and international organizations participated Sunday in the teleconference co-organized by France and the United Nations to bring emergency aid to Lebanon. President Donald Trump was among the participants.

They issued a joint statement saying, In these horrendous times, Lebanon is not alone.

The conference aimed at mobilizing aid from Europe, the U.S. and regional states to provide medicine, care, food, and housing.

-

6:45 p.m.

The European Commission has pledged additional 30 million euros ($35 million) at an international donors conference for Lebanon after deadly Beirut explosion.

The EUs executive body said in a statement this comes on top of 33 million euros ($39 million) in emergency aid previously announced.

The new EU funding will be channeled to UN agencies, NGOs and international organizations and be strictly monitored, the statement said.

European Council president Charles Michel called during the conference for an independent and credible inquiry into the cause of the explosion and said that he European Union and its member states stand ready to assist.

___

6:45 p.m.

The head of the International Monetary Fund is warning Lebanon again that it will not get loans from the institution unless it reforms its government.

Kristalina Georgieva made the comments Sunday during a pledging conference after the blast this week at its port damaged large parts of its capital, Beirut.

She said: Current and future generations of Lebanese must not be saddled with more debts than they can ever repay.

Thats why she said the IMF requires debt sustainability as a condition for lending. She added that the financial system must be solvent as well.

___

6:45 p.m.

Saudi Arabias foreign minister has called for a transparent and independent investigation into the blast in Beirut.

Prince Faisal bin Farhan made the comment Sunday during a pledging conference for Beirut.

The Foreign Ministrys Twitter account later quoted him as saying the kingdom offered its condolences and had sent 290 tons of aid to Lebanon.

___

5:40 p.m.

The emir of energy-rich Qatar has said that the Beirut blast is a dire circumstance that Lebanon cannot get over on its own.

Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani made the statement Sunday during a pledging conference for the crisis.

He posted a clip of his comments on Twitter.

Sheikh Tamim said that strengthening national unity was needed in Lebanon after the blast. He also said unifying and strengthening the government and societys response, as well as providing international aid, also was important.

___

5:40 p.m.

Cyprus president said hes ready to place the island nations sea and airports at the disposal of the international community for conveying humanitarian aid or any other assistance to neighbouring Lebanon.

President Nicos Anastasiades says Cyprus will send 40 more tons of medical supplies, generators, clothing and nonperishable food to Lebanon on top of the five tons that have already been dispatched.

Anastasiades said in a statement during Sundays Lebanon support teleconference that Cypriot rescue crews and sniffer dogs are already in Beirut and more could be dispatched if Lebanese President Michel Aoun requests it.

Additionally, the Cypriot president pledged 5 million euros in financial aid.

Cyprus is about 130 miles (207 kilometres) from Beirut.

___

5:05 p.m.

Spains government says it will send emergency aid to Lebanon, including medicine and medical supplies, to help after last weeks massive explosion in Beirut.

The shipment will include 10 tons of wheat donated by the Olof Palme International Foundation. Several containers of wheat were destroyed in the explosion.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said in a statement that Lebanon will need a lot of support to cope with the damage.

Spain has 610 soldiers on a UNIFIL mission in Lebanon, second only to Italy.

___

4:35 p.m.

Britain has pledged 20 million pounds ($26 million) to help feed people in Lebanon after last weeks massive explosion in Beirut.

The U.K. government announced the aid during a virtual international donor conference for the country on Sunday.

It says the money will go to the World Food Program to provide food and medicine for the most vulnerable.

Britain has previously pledged 5 million pounds to Lebanon and is sending specialist medics and a Royal Navy survey ship to Beirut. The ship will help assess damage from the blast fueled by thousands of tons of ammonium nitrate, which levelled Beiruts port and devastated much of the city.

___

4:20 p.m.

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas says his country will provide an additional 10 million euros in emergency aid to Lebanon following the explosion that killed more than 150 people and injured thousands more.

In a statement Sunday, Maas said that even after the worst of the rubble is removed there will remain a lot to do because even before the disaster Lebanon faced overwhelming challenges.

Maas said that without urgently needed reforms there can be neither sustainable change nor stability.

Berlin is the second biggest bilateral donor to Lebanon, according to the German Foreign Ministry. Since 2012, Germany has provided more than 1.2 billion euros in development aid to the country, as well as 634 million euros for humanitarian work.

___

4:20 p.m.

France is sending a helicopter carrier and a cargo ship loaded with aid and supplies to Beirut as the country is organizing an international donors conference for Lebanon.

The French foreign affairs ministry said in a statement that the two ships come in addition to eight flights scheduled since the Beirut devastating blast to bring experts, rescue workers and supplies.

The Tonnerre helicopter carrier, which has a hospital onboard, is leaving on Sunday the port of Toulon, on the French Mediterranean coast. It is carrying medical equipment and staff, engineering forces, construction materials and food aid including flour, baby food and drinking water.

A cargo ship loaded with aid will also leave France in the coming days.

In total, France is sending 18 tons of medical aid including medicines, vaccines and hygiene kits and 663 tons of food aid, the foreign ministry said.

___

4:10 p.m.

A top USAID official says $15 million in American assistance in response to the port explosion in Beirut will not be under the control of the government there but is intended to go directly to those who need it most.

Speaking ahead of his departure for Beirut, John Barsa said Sunday that assistance would be directed to medical authorities at the American University of Beirut and the American Lebanese University.

The U.S. is providing money to the World Food Program for emergency meals for about 300,000 people affected by the explosion at the Beirut port in addition to emergency medical kits, U.S. officials said.

__

4:10 p.m.

Pope Francis has renewed his appeal for unity within Lebanon and for help from abroad as the nation reels from the devastating explosion in Beiruts port.

In remarks Sunday to the public in St. Peters Square, the pontiff said the catastrophe calls on everyone, beginning with the Lebanese, to work together for the common good of this beloved country.

Francis cited what he called Lebanons particular identify, which has emerged over the course of time as a model of living together.

But he acknowledged the fragility of such co-existence in such a trying time. Still, he said. he is praying that, with Gods help, and everyone genuine participation, Lebanon may be reborn free and strong.

He also appealed to the international community to generously aid Lebanon at this time of tragedy.

___

2:55 p.m.

A team of German engineers sent to Lebanon to help search for people trapped in the rubble after last weeks explosion in Beirut is returning home, having failed to find any survivors.

Joerg Eger, who heads the THW agencys rapid rescue team in Lebanon, said Sunday that a number of specialist engineers would remain in Beirut until Thursday to assist in determining the safety of buildings affected by the blast.

TWF is a federal agency, but most of the people who go on missions are volunteers.

___

2:35 p.m.

French President Emmanuel Macron said that an international donors conference is aiming to show global support for Lebanon after the devastating Beirut blast.

Over 30 international leaders and government officials were taking part Sunday in the video conference co-organized by France and the United Nations to raise money, including President Donald Trump, Jordans King Abdullah II and Egypts President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi. Officials from China, European countries and Gulf countries were also attending.

Turkey and Russia, absent from the conference, are expected to provide aid as well, Macron said in his opening speech.

Macron, who was the first foreign leader to visit Beirut in the wake of the explosion, said emergency aid will focus on providing medicine, care, food and housing.

It is important that aid goes as quickly as possible to public and private actors, NGOs and the civilian society, under U.N. supervision, he added.

Macron also called on Lebanese authorities to carry out essential political and economic reforms to fight corruption in the country.
That would somewhat echo the per-student foundation aid the state took away back then and that Groene felt would more effectively deliver tax relief  with higher state funding, more fairly allocated  in his plan that Nebraskas schools wanted nothing of.

It probably wouldnt have lasted anyway.

We know Erdman spoke for many outside Omaha and Lincoln last week in saying the only true property tax relief reduces ones final tax bill from the year before.

But even our most dramatic tax-relief efforts  abolishing property taxes for state government in the 1960s and slapping the tax-rate and spending lids on local governments in the 1990s  couldnt permanently deliver that.

We also have to pay for the government we want, especially locally.

Thats the price of having (for example) good schools and good city services, plus 93 counties of all sizes instead of fewer, larger ones. (Wyoming has only 23.)

But its time to sum up the two key truths western Nebraska has learned, or relearned, during the two years of the 106th Legislature:
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.
Defence minister Rajnath Singh will launch the Atmanirbhar Bharat Saptah (self-reliant India week) at 3.30 pm on Monday, in keeping with Prime Minister Narendra Modis vision for a self-dependent India with increased local manufacturing.

Earlier on Sunday, Singh announced that India will stop the import of 101 weapons and military platforms like transport aircraft, light combat helicopters, conventional submarines, cruise missiles among others on a staggered basis till 2024.

The move is meant to give an impetus to domestic defence production. Singh said the defence ministry is now ready for a big push to encourage indigenous defence manufacturing in line with Prime Minister Modis clarion call for an Atmanirbhar Bharat (self-reliant India).

ALSO READ | Rajnath Singh announces import ban on 101 defence items. Heres the full list

Big and tough decisions are being taken to promote self-reliance in domestic defence production, the minister said while speaking at an online event.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will also present a new outline for a self-reliant India in his address to the nation from the ramparts of the Red Fort on August 15, Independence Day.

PM Modi first mentioned about his vision for an Atmanirbhar Bharat (self-reliant India) in his address to the nation on May 12 while announcing a 20 lakh-crore economic stimulus package to boost the economy hit by the Covid-19 pandemic. Since then, various ministries and departments have announced a slew of measures to encourage domestic manufacturing in key sectors.

ALSO READ | PM Modi to present new outline for self-reliant India on August 15: Rajnath Singh

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will present before the nation some new outlines for a self-reliant India in his address from the ramparts of the Red Fort on Independence Day, the defence minister said on Sunday. He explained that the country may not be able to protect its sovereignty if it was not adequately self-reliant.

Our government will not allow any harm to Indias self respect and sovereignty at any cost, Singh said.

The defence minister said big weapons systems will now be produced in India and the country will look for their export to make it a hub of defence manufacturing.
He quit his father's media empire after criticising its coverage of climate change. Now James Murdoch  youngest son of tycoon Rupert  is among a group of investors who have ploughed almost 22million into sustainable American agriculture firm AppHarvest.

The start-up is building the world's largest greenhouse and hopes to open the huge indoor farm in Kentucky in the autumn.

It says the 2.76million sq ft greenhouse can reduce water usage by 90 per cent. The funding will be used to hire workers and the firm hopes to have 300 staff by the launch.

Growing business: James Murdoch, with wife Kathryn, is backing indoor farms

Murdoch Jnr invested in AppHarvest through his investment firm Lupa Systems, which he launched last year to back start-ups.

He stepped down last year as the chief executive of 21st Century Fox following its takeover by Disney. He used the estimated $2billion (1.5billion) he made from the deal to launch Lupa, where he is chief executive.

Last week, he quit the board of News Corp, which owns newspaper titles in the UK including The Times and The Sun, citing 'disagreements over editorial content'.

He and his wife Kathryn criticised News Corp and Fox News for their coverage of the Australian bushfires earlier this year, expressing frustration over the 'ongoing denial' of climate change.

Murdoch-owned titles account for about 70 per cent of newspaper circulation in Australia.
HALIFAXChristopher Downey finished building his home in 2002 on a parcel of land in North Preston, N.S., that has been in his family for generations.

But it was only in late July that Downey says he found out the province intends to issue him a certificate of claim to the land upon which his house was built  the first step in his years-long fight for title.

Its been a long journey, but the truth always prevails, and I think it came down to just the government doing the right thing, the 66-year-old said in a recent interview.

Downey is among scores of Black Nova Scotians who have struggled for years to have their title claims recognized. But now, after he won his case in Nova Scotia Supreme Court, the province says it is going to make it easier to settle land claims.

The problem dates back to the 1800s when the Nova Scotia government distributed land to white and Black Loyalists  people who stayed loyal to the British Crown and moved to Canada following the American Revolution.

Downey said his ancestors fought alongside the British in the War of 1812 on the promise they would be granted land in what is now North Preston.

Yet while white settlers received title to fertile ground in present-day Nova Scotia, their Black counterparts were allowed to use and occupy the lands they were given, but were not granted legal title.

In 1963, Nova Scotia passed what is now known as the Land Titles Clarification Act, which aimed to provide Black Nova Scotians with a pathway to legal ownership of lands that in many cases had been in their families for decades.

The act applies to 13 predominantly Black communities, including Cherry Brooke, East Preston and North Preston, all on the outskirts of Halifax. But lawyers, human rights advocates and African Nova Scotian communities have long complained of a burdensome, costly and time-consuming process to apply for title.

Downey took his case to the Nova Scotia Supreme Court, which last month ordered the government to reassess his application for a certificate of claim after it was rejected on the basis the father of four could not prove he had lived on the land for 20 consecutive years.

The court said the government was unreasonable in applying that standard, known as adverse possession, in Downeys case. Downeys great-grandfather, Peter Beals, and wife, Heidi, settled on the land in 1913, the ruling states.

African Nova Scotians have been subjected to racism for hundreds of years in this province, Justice Jamie Campbell wrote in the decision. That has real implications for things like land ownership. Residents in African Nova Scotian communities are more likely to have unclear title to land on which they may have lived for many generations.

Downey said he and his wife, Christselina, were overjoyed by the courts decision. The impact is tremendous ... With this case, we feel that now it will open the door for most of the residents in this community to actually obtain their certificate of claim, he said.

Scott Campbell, the lawyer who represented Downey at the Supreme Court, said the minister of lands and forestry will issue Downey a certificate of claim subject to the resolution of any outstanding liens, or any debts that have been registered against the land.

While were not there yet, this is a significant step forward and we appreciate the ministers efforts in this regard, Campbell said in an Aug. 4 email.

Lisa Jarrett, spokeswoman for the Department of Lands and Forestry, told The Canadian Press in a July email the province had accepted the Supreme Courts decision in Downeys case and was working to quickly change its adverse possession policy. Jarrett later confirmed on Aug. 5 the government was finalizing Downeys certificate of claim.

The province is looking at whether the 20-years adverse possession test affected other applicants, but Jarrett did not say how many people could have been impacted. Nova Scotia has received over 360 land claims to date, she said, and the owners of 130 parcels of land have received title.

We will continue to look for ways to streamline this process and remove barriers wherever possible, Jarrett said.

Campbell said the government indicated in court it had applied the 20-years adverse possession test since at least 2015  meaning many families may have had their claims denied on that basis. He said he hoped the courts ruling would push Nova Scotia to engage with historical experts and Black community members to better understand how to implement the 1963 Land Titles Clarification Act.

With all of that information, my hope is that it will provide the minister and his department with a framework by which they can more appropriately and fairly assess applications, Campbell said.

Downey said while his certificate of claim is nearly approved, he and his family still have several steps ahead of them before they can get ownership of the land.

After a certificate of claim is issued, a notice must be posted to allow anyone wishing to make their own claim to the land to come forward. If there are no competing claims, then a certificate of title can be issued.

But Downey said his case shows the government can  and should  recognize the land claims of Black Nova Scotians.

It would have been nice to have it corrected years ago, but it can be done, said Downey. Its not a long process. It can be done within days, minutes, and they proved that it can be done without waiting years and years.

People have actually died waiting, so it doesnt have to come to that.

Read more about:
What is the biggest challenge/opportunity in the next two to five years: The challenges of running a small charity are numerous. One big challenge is lack of access to corporate executives and their resources. Another challenge is lack of access to philanthropic circles. 2020 has been unusually challenging in that many families we serve lost their jobs because of COVID-19. Meanwhile, our corporate donors also experienced huge losses and may be less able to give. In the next year, our board of directors hopes to grow our multiyear scholarship partnership with the VCU School of Education as well as form additional multi-year partnerships with other corporations.
The government, backed by the powerful militant Hezbollah group and its allies, announced it is defaulting on Lebanons sovereign debt and has since been engaged in difficult, internally divisive talks with the International Monetary Fund for assistance. The coronavirus restrictions deepened the impact of the economic and financial crisis and fueled public anger against the new government. Lebanese have criticized Diabs government for being unable to tackle the challenges, saying it represents the deep-seated political class that has had a hold of the countrys politics since the end of the civil war in 1990.
Bangkok:

Thai authorities have ordered a controversial Buddhist temple to suspend its 24-hour TV channel, as police redouble efforts to arrest the spiritual leader of the scandal-hit sect.

A cat-and-mouse game between investigators and the powerful Wat Dhammakaya temple in Bangkok has staggered on for months over allegations its former abbot accepted illicit funds.

Police are reluctant to raid the super-rich temples 1,000-acre compound after previous attempts saw thousands of devotees of the breakaway order turn out to defend the 72-year-old monk.

Authorities suspect Phra Dhammachayo of accepting embezzled funds worth 1.2 billion baht (USD 33 million) from the owner of a cooperative bank who was jailed.

Eager to avoid clashing with devotees on temple grounds, police have repeatedly allowed deadlines for the monks surrender expire.

But the stand-off has heated up in recent weeks, with authorities leveling new accusations against the well-connected monk and moving to target the temples acting abbot for sheltering him.

Yesterday Thai broadcasting authorities ordered the temple to suspend its television channel for 15 days, citing inappropriate content.

The channel appeared to be off the air on Thursday.

Colonel Paisit Wongmuang, chief of Thailands Department of Special Investigations (DSI), accused the temple of using its media arm to lure supporters to the compound and thwart polices attempted raids.

In previous searches we found that the temple has used television as propaganda to attract people to come for (religious reasons), but instead used people to meditate and block the temples gates, he said.

The satellite station, called Dhammakaya Media Channel (DMC), broadcasts across multiple continents and airs everything from meditation teachings to cartoons and daily news.

It is part of a broader PR arsenal, including print media and active social media pages, that has established Wat Dhammakayas presence in countries spanning the globe.

In a statement released yesterday, the temple denied the polices allegations and said it was preparing to fight the black-out order.

While the movement says its core focus is on teaching meditation, critics accuse the sect of propagating a cult-like brand of Buddhism that promises benefits in the afterlife in exchange for donations.

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Larry Brannagan has worked in a grocery store for most of his life. His father, also Larry, owned and operated Mr. Bs Grocery Store in Wood River. Brannagan followed in his dads footsteps and has owned and operated his own store, Larrys Market, in Shelton for 35 years with his wife, Joanne.
Across the board, Montanans point to our great outdoors as their reason for living here. At the same time, theyre worried about losing access. During the Miles City listening session held by the Montana Outdoor Heritage Project, over 70% participants indicated that loss of access to public lands and rivers for hunting, fishing and recreation was their greatest concern. We need to protect and improve public access not just for ourselves, but for the generations that will come after us. They deserve to enjoy the same outdoor opportunities that we do today.

Additionally, study after study demonstrates the importance of spending time outdoors, for both physical and mental health, a reality that the COVID-19 pandemic has driven home. By improving access to our outdoor resources, we can help our communities become healthier and happier.

Our plan

Currently, the Lower Yellowstone Coalition is working on a proposal to designate the Lower Yellowstone River corridor as a recreational management unit, which would ask Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks to pursue new and improve existing recreation opportunities including new river access and fishing sites, boat ramps, campsites, restrooms, visitor centers, interpretive trails, and possible state park designations. Theres a long road ahead of us to help the Lower Yellowstone fulfill its potential, and we hope youll join us on the journey.

Brenda Maas is the marketing director at Visit Southwest Montana, Ruth Baue is a Treasure County commissioner and fourth-generation farmer from Hysham, and Kali Godfrey is a Sidney city council member and director of Richland County Communities in Action.

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An on-duty Department of Public Safety trooper was accused of sexually assaulting a woman whom he forced into his patrol vehicle, according to court records.

Lee Boykin Jr., 31, was released Sunday afternoon from the Harris County Jail, where he was held on $100,000 bond. The Houston Police Department handled the investigation.

The alleged assault happened around 9:45 p.m. Friday when a woman accepted a ride from a friend while walking back to a hotel with her husband. Boykin pulled over the car and the womans friend drove into the Express Inn parking lot at 9025 North Freeway, where she was expected to meet her common-law spouse, court records show.

The trooper, wearing his uniform and driving his marked car, handed the driver a traffic ticket for failing to signal a lane change and told the woman to get into his patrol vehicle. She complied and was told to sit in the front passenger seat.

She asked what she had done and the trooper repeatedly told her to shut up.

During the drive, Boykin looked up her criminal history and told her she had a warrant out for her arrest. He then drove to a dark parking lot at 10700 North Freeway and stopped next to a dumpster. He allegedly asked her to get out and to perform oral sex on him, court documents reveal.

Afterward, she said Boykin placed his hand on his gun and told her to run.

The woman went to a restaurant to call police and flagged down a Houston officer in the Long John Silvers parking lot.

Records show police spoke with the womans spouse and friend. Both men corroborated what happened prior to her leaving with the trooper.

The trooper, while speaking to a Texas Ranger, and an HPD investigator, said the encounter was consensual. Of the car ride, Boykin said the woman denied having a warrant out for her arrest, so he called dispatch to provide a photo.

He initially said the encounter ended with Boykin dropping the woman off near the restaurant, but later he admitted to asking the woman for oral sex. She agreed, he said.

The woman soon left, Boykin said, and he lingered at the parking lot to finish paperwork.

Soon after Boykins arrest, the state law enforcement agency suspended him and initiated the process to terminate his employment, officials said in a statement.

Boykin, who lives in Spring, patrols the Katy area and has worked with DPS for about four years.

nicole.hensley@chron.com
Men rest on the banks of the Niger River in Niamey, Niger, on Feb. 20, 2016. (Joe Penney/Reuters)

Gunmen Kill 6 French Tourists, Their Driver and Guide in Niger

NIAMEYGunmen on motorcycles killed six French tourists and their Nigerien guide and driver in a wildlife park in Niger on Sunday, a senior official and a security source said.

The group was attacked in a giraffe reserve in the West African countrys Koure area, the governor of Tillaberi region, Tidjani Ibrahim Katiella, told Reuters.

They were intercepted and killed, he said, confirming that six French people and two Nigeriens died. A Niger security source said the Nigeriens were a guide and a driver.

French President Emmanuel Macrons office confirmed that French nationals had been killed in Niger. It said Macron spoke on the phone with Nigers President Mahamadou Issoufou, but provided no further details.

There was no immediate comment from the government in Niger.

The French government warns people against travelling to large parts of Niger where terrorist groups including Boko Haram and an affiliate of ISIS operate.

The Koure Giraffe Reserve, around 65 km (40 miles) southeast of the capital Niamey, is a popular attraction in Niger, a huge country that borders seven states in an unstable region including Libya, Mali, Chad, Algeria and Nigeria.

Terrorists linked to the ISIS terrorist group killed four U.S. soldiers in an ambush in Niger in Oct. 2017, an attack that increased scrutiny of U.S. counter-terrorism operations there.

France, a former colonial power in the region, also launched a coalition of West African and European allies in June to fight Islamist militants in the Sahel region that includes Niger.

It has deployed thousands of troops in the arid region south of the Sahara desert since 2013. But militant violence has been on the rise.
Companies do not cut their dividends on a whim. Investors buy shares in these firms for a reason and bosses know that they will almost certainly be punished if payouts are suddenly reined in or cancelled altogether.

But, in the past six months, half of the FTSE 100 index of Britain's biggest listed companies have done just that. Savaged by the coronavirus pandemic and fearful about the future, they have chosen to cut or can dividends, often shocking investors in the process.

Last week alone, BP halved its dividend and said quarterly payments of 4p per share would be the new normal as it tries to become a 'clean energy' company rather than an oil and gas giant.

Fired up: Tobacco giant Imperial Brands, now moving into vaping, yields high returns

ITV scrapped its interim dividend and put future payments under review. Aviva partially restored last year's final dividend but said shareholders would receive 6p rather than the 21.4p that the company had promised back in early March.

New chief executive Amanda Blanc has also put the dividend policy under review, which normally means payments will be lower in future.

Some businesses have kept dividends at the same level as last year but few have been brave enough to raise their payments or make bold promises about the months ahead.

WHERE TO SEARCH FOR INCOME NOW

Even so, there are still plenty of high-yielding stocks in the FTSE 100. Yields are calculated by dividing the annual dividend payment by the share price itself. This shows the yearly income that individual stocks will pay.

The average yield for all 100 companies remains above 4 per cent  comfortably ahead of savings rates  and a few stocks are offering double-digit yields.

The Midas Dogs of the Footsie portfolio tracks the ten highest-yielding stocks in the FTSE 100 index. When we last analysed the portfolio a year ago, the world was a very different place.

No one had heard of Covid-19, almost no one was thinking about a global pandemic and financial markets were mostly focused on Brexit and Boris Johnson's new premiership.

At that time, our top two Dogs were housebuilders Persimmon and Taylor Wimpey, followed by Russian steel firm Evraz, cigarette maker Imperial Brands, utilities BT and Centrica and insurers Direct Line, Standard Life Aberdeen, Aviva and Legal & General.

Four of the stocks were yielding more than 10 per cent and all bar Centrica were offering yields above 8 per cent.

Centrica and Direct Line have since been kicked out of the FTSE 100, five more have cancelled or cut dividend payouts and Evraz is expected to deliver a reduced dividend this year. The jury is out on Standard Life and L&G. Both have been hit by the pandemic but seem committed to robust dividend payments.

How we pick top ten tips The Midas Dogs of the Footsie portfolio tracks the ten highest-yielding stocks in the FTSE 100 index. It looks at prospective yields, which are calculated by dividing the next forecast annual dividend by the share price and turning that number into a percentage. Midas reassesses the portfolio on a regular basis, removing stocks that are no longer top yielders and replacing them with those that are, to the same value. In this column, our calculations are based purely on the share price, so we do not include the dividends received by investors. Adding them in clearly boosts the overall returns.

A NEW BREED OF DIVIDEND DOG

Perhaps not surprisingly then, the Dogs portfolio looks rather different today. The housebuilders are gone. BT is gone. Centrica and Direct Line have been demoted.

But Standard Life and L&G remain, along with Imperial, Evraz and Aviva.

Even though some of their forecast dividend payments have reduced, their share prices have fallen too so their yields (which rise as the share price sinks) remain buoyant.

These five are joined by a quintet of new pups  insurer M&G, pensions group Phoenix, mobile phone group Vodafone, British American Tobacco and BP.

It has been a long while since the Gauloises, Winston and Rizla owner Imperial Brands was in the portfolio with fellow cigarette maker British American Tobacco, the firm behind Lucky Strike, Dunhill and Rothmans.

A growing number of investors are shunning the entire tobacco sector, partly because they do not want to put their money into products that kill but also because they think these businesses will not deliver long-term returns.

That creates something of a vicious circle so Imperial and BAT shares have both been on a losing streak. At 24.92, BAT has more than halved in value in the past three years alone.

Imperial has fared even worse, slumping from more than 40 in 2016 to 12.49 today. The Rizla maker has had a particularly rough time. In February, the group issued a profits warning, after a crackdown on flavoured vaping products in the US stymied efforts to move away from traditional cigarettes.

Three months later, Imperial duly announced a 20 per cent slide in operating profits and a 30 per cent cut in the dividend, implying a total 2020 payout of 138p a share.

Yet today, the stock is yielding 11 per cent. The dividend may have fallen but it remains comparatively generous and the tumbling share price has kept Imperial's yield on a high.

BAT has also suffered from growing antipathy towards cigarettes but the firm is proving more resilient than its rival. Last month, chief executive Jack Bowles announced growth in revenue and profits for the first half of the year and said total dividends for 2020 would amount to 210.4p, slightly up from 2019.

The shares are yielding more than 8 per cent.

Mobile phone group Vodafone joins this year's Dogs of the Footsie portfolio

CAN TOP DOGS KEEP PAYING?

For followers of the Dogs  and any other investors in high-yielding shares  there is one key question: are these dividends affordable?

All too often, companies will cut back on investment or dip into their reserves so they can maintain or increase their dividends. A short-term fillip for shareholders, the strategy can backfire over time, as firms gradually realise that they simply cannot afford to carry on regardless.

Imperial has already bowed to the inevitable and cut its payout by a third but the 11 per cent yield suggests that City watchers expect a further cut.

BAT is on a lower yield but its dividend is covered just 1.5 times, meaning that for every 1p it pays out, the group earns 1.5p.

Most stockbrokers like to see earnings cover of two times or more, which implies that either BAT's earnings need to rise or a change in dividend policy could be on the cards.

British American Tobacco, the firm behind Lucky Strike, Dunhill and Rothmans, is proving more resilient than its rival Imperial Brands

That is exactly what happened to BP. New chief executive Bernard Looney recognised that he could not cope with a persistently low oil price, invest fortunes in clean energy and keep shareholder payouts at previous levels.

Something had to give and last Tuesday, Looney delivered his dividend declaration.

Shareholders initially rewarded the boss for having the courage of his convictions and BP shares rose through the week, opening on Monday at 2.75 and rising to 2.87.

However, the stock has still fallen more than 40 per cent over the past year, so the shares are yielding 7 per cent, which brings BP back into the Dogs portfolio after a three-year absence.

Looking ahead, BP faces an uphill struggle, as the coronavirus pandemic eats into demand for fossil fuels. But the rebased dividend looks relatively secure, unless economic conditions become markedly worse.

Steelmaker Evraz, where Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich owns a 27 per cent stake, is also suffering from the tough coronavirus-induced environment. Falling demand sent profits plunging in 2019 and last week the group announced further declines in sales and profits.

Yet chief executive Alexander Frolov seems determined to keep up dividend payments, confirming a 20c (15.2p) a share interim payout and suggesting Evraz remains confident about its prospects.

Brokers are less confident. The shares fell as the results were announced, they have slumped by nearly 50 per cent over the past year and are now on a yield of more than 8 per cent.

However, analysts have been wrongfooted by Evraz in the past, expecting a savage cut in the dividend, only to find that Frolov keeps on paying out.

They probably do things differently in Russia.

KEEPING AHEAD OF THE PACK

Overall, our Dogs have performed poorly this year. We restarted the portfolio in March 2012, investing a nominal 10,000. Today, it would be worth 12,118. That compares with 14,675 a year ago and more than 17,000 in 2018.

Yet our Dogs are still outperforming the FTSE 100. A nominal 10,000 invested in the index of the 100 biggest firms listed on the London Stock Exchange in 2012 would be worth just 10,104 today.

The Dogs are struggling but they are still ahead  and still paying higher dividends than the rest of the index.
During Emily Ramshaws maternity leave four years ago, she heard many conversations around electability and likeability. These gendered conversations sparked an idea.

We were having those conversations because there was a woman running for president, Ramshaw says. And I thought to myself, What would the news environment look like if there was a news source, a politics and policy news source, that was by women and for women?

With a newborn at home, she put her idea on pause.

But four years later, it came back to me in another election cycle, a historic election cycle where we had more women running than we'd ever seen before, and these same conversations around electability and likability were at the forefront. And in that moment, I just thought, You know what? I thought about this four years ago, I can't wait another four years. I have to get this off the ground.

Related: 7 Ways to Improve Focus and Performance

Ramshaw talks with Jessica Abo about The 19th*, a nonprofit, nonpartisan newsroom focused on women, politics and policy. She also shares tips on how to get involved in the political process and provides details about The 19th*s upcoming virtual summit.

Jessica Abo: When people go to your site, what will they find?

Ramshaw: What they will find at our site is not the day's news but pink. They will find serious journalism that really aims to expose the disparities, the ways that women remain at a disadvantage in virtually every arena, whether it's the healthcare system, whether it's the economy, whether it's representative government and the ways that women of color, in particular, have faced the hardest hits.

Where do you have staff around the country?

Ramshaw: We are launching with what is probably the most diverse newsroom staff of any news organization in America. These are predominantly women of color who are based all over the country, whether that's Des Moines, whether that's Orlando, whether that's here in Austin, Texas, in D.C., L.A. We're across the country and aiming to truly reflect the nation's women by being scattered around the places where the nation's women live.

You've spent many years working as a journalist. Tell us a little bit about what you've learned when it comes to entrepreneurship.

Ramshaw: First of all, I had never raised a single dollar before we decided to start The 19th, which I describe as really an entrepreneurial nonprofit. I knew how to run a newsroom. I knew journalism like the back of my hand. I knew storytelling. What I didn't know was really how to start a business from scratch.

One of the things that I've learned in the last year that we have been trying to build this venture is how to make a compelling case for the work that you're trying to build. It's how to ensure that people financially get behind your message and your mission. It's building a sustainable business plan, an organization that is self-sustaining and really encourages extraordinary women journalists to leave their jobs to come work for us  that sort of pathway and a track record of success.

It's been an unbelievable year, a really steep learning curve for me, but really thrilling all the same.

If someone is thinking, Wow, getting involved in the political process is so overwhelming, what are some small steps that people can take to get involved?

Ramshaw: The first is to vote in every single election. No election is too big or too small. That means everything from your school board to president. It is the absolute best way that we can extend our voice and our collective strength, and so that's the first place to start.

The second is it's really meaningful to go to your local city council meeting and see how the sausage gets made in person. The legislative policies that most directly affect women's lives are happening in their home communities. Start there, and if you're feeling ambitious, head up from there to your state legislature, testify before a legislative committee. You will never see government in more direct action than you will there.

Related: How to Make Your Brand More Cohesive

Three for me would be get out of your echo chamber. We all spend a lot of time in our own curated Facebook feeds, reading the news sources that we really trust. We aren't going to move the needle, particularly on gender equity, if the same women are talking to the same women all the time. We need to understand what the people who disagree with us think, why they think that way, empathize with their decision-making. That starts with leaning on and learning from sources of news and information that you aren't totally comfortable with.

And then the final thing is if you check all of those boxes and you're still wanting to get even more engaged, run for office. We know that at virtually every level of government, women are underrepresented, whether that's running for city council or running for the presidency. An organization that's doing really great work in this arena is All in Together. You can check them out on their website. They're working to get nonpartisan women more deeply civically engaged, encourage them to run. It's a really great starting point if you're looking for information on how to get more involved.

For the people who want to get involved from the comfort of their home, you have a virtual summit coming up. Tell us a little bit about that.

Ramshaw: The 19th obviously is launching its news platform, but the week of August 10 through August 14, we are hosting a week's worth of virtual programming aimed at really elevating women's voices around the anniversary of the Centennial of the 19th Amendment. You can expect to see Hillary Clinton, Kamala Harris, Stacey Abrams, Elise Stefanik, Melinda Gates, dozens of first-time elected officials, the first trans woman to be elected to a legislature, the first Native American woman in Congress in this country. And beyond that, some incredible arts and performances. Meryl Streep doing some really amazing suffrage readings with Zoe Saldana. We'll have the entire New York Philharmonic Orchestra performing the work of Black women composers. The Go-Go's are getting back together, the first all-female band to top the Billboard charts. It's free, you don't want to miss it. You can check us out at 19thnews.org.

Related: How Your Company Can Have a Positive Social Impact

Related:

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India announced on Sunday that it will ban the import of 101 types of weapons and ammunition over the next five years  from artillery guns to light military transport aircraft and conventional submarines to long-range land attack cruise missiles  in a significant step on the long road towards achieving self-reliance in the defence sector.

The detailed list of equipment published by the defence ministry has spelled out that the import embargo will kick in between December 2020 and December 2025 for different categories of military hardware.

The government has also created a separate budget for the purchase of locally produced military hardware.

Our aim is to apprise the Indian defence industry about the anticipated requirements of the armed forces so that they are better prepared to realise the goal of indigenisation, said defence minister Rajnath Singh, who made the announcement on Twitter.

Later in the day, the defence minister said at an online event that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will present a new outline for a self-reliant India in his address to the nation from the ramparts of the Red Fort on August 15.

Also read| Centres move to ban import of 101 items will give major boost to defence sector: Amit Shah

He also referred to his announcement on defence import ban and said the Modi government was taking big and tough decisions for a self-reliant India. The coronavirus pandemic has shown that a country may not be able to effectively protect its sovereignty if it is not self-reliant, he said, adding: Our government will not allow any harm to Indias self respect and sovereignty at any cost.

The move to ban the import of the 101 items is expected to give a push to Prime Minister Narendra Modis Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan (Self-reliant India Movement). In May, the government announced that it would notify a list of weapons and equipment that cannot be imported.

The military hardware on the negative import list includes assault rifles, sniper rifles, short-range surface-to-air missiles, beyond visual range air-to-air missiles, corvettes, missile destroyers, light combat helicopter, ship-borne cruise missiles, light combat aircraft, a variety of radars and different types of ammunition.

The ministry will take necessary steps to ensure that the timelines for the production of the equipment on the negative import list are met, Singh said. The list includes wheeled armoured fighting vehicles (AFVs), with an embargo date of December 2021. The army is expected to order 200 AFVs at a cost of more than ~5,000 crore, he said.

The list of weapons banned for import will be reviewed every year.

More such equipment for import embargo would be identified progressively by the Department of Military Affairs in (DMA) in consultation with all stakeholders. A due note of this will also be made in the Defence Acquisition Procedure to ensure that no item in the negative list is processed for import in the future, the minister said.

This implies India will have to compulsorily develop technology for defence systems and platforms figuring on the negative import list, experts said. One of the key responsibilities assigned by the government to the DMA, headed by chief of defence staff General Bipin Rawat, is to promote the use of indigenous military equipment in the armed forces.

The list has been put together by the ministry after several rounds of consultations with all stakeholders, including the military and the industry, and factoring in the future capabilities of the defence sector to locally manufacture equipment and ammunition.

Almost 260 schemes of such items were contracted by the tri-services at an approximate cost of ~3.5 lakh crore between April 2015 and August 2020. It is estimated that contracts worth almost ~4 lakh crore will be placed upon the domestic industry within the next six to seven years, Singh said.

He said the ministry has split the capital budget for 2020-21 between domestic and foreign capital procurement routes. A separate budget head has been created with an outlay of ~52,000 crore for domestic capital procurement in the current financial year, he said.

From raising foreign direct investment (FDI) in defence manufacturing to creating a separate budget for buying locally made military hardware and notifying a list of weapons/equipment that cannot be imported, the government had announced a raft of measures to boost self reliance in the defence sector in May 2020.

Its a good start to a very long journey ahead, said Air Vice Marshal Manmohan Bahadur (retd), additional director general, Centre for Air Power Studies.

While the Indian private industry, especially the micro, small and medium enterprises, would be expected to perform as per a time schedule and a quality yardstick, the government will still have to handhold the small players through financial and policy support, Bahadur added.

Imports account for 60-65% of the countrys military requirements and it has signed contracts worth billions of dollars during the last decade for weapons and systems including fighter jets, air defence missile systems, submarine hunter planes, attack helicopters, heavy-lift choppers and lightweight howitzers.

Defence Research and Development Organisation chief G Satheesh Reddy told Hindustan Times that the country had the capability to develop and manufacture the military equipment on the negative import list within the prescribed embargo timelines.

PLR Systems chairman Ashok Wadhawan said, The items on the list can and will have to be produced domestically. If there are any capability gaps, they will have to be filled as there is no other option. PLR Systems is an Indian joint venture with Israel Weapon Industries (IWI) and it is competing for contracts to supply assault rifles, light machine guns, carbines and sniper rifles to the military.

India was the third-biggest military spender in the world last year after the United States and China, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (Sipri) said in a report released in April.

Confederation of India Industry director general Chandrajit Banerjee said the announcement of the negative import list marked the launch of a new glide path for Atmanirbhar Bharat. The announcement of ~52,000 crore for domestic capital procurement coupled with the list of 101 items for import embargo gives a tremendous boost to Atmanirbhar Bharat and indigenous defence manufacturing, he added.

Former Union minister and Congress leader P Chidambaram said the defence minister promised a bang on a Sunday morning and ended with a whimper. He was referring to a Twitter alert by Singh on an important announcement an hour before the defence minister gave out details of the move to achieve self-reliance.

Also read| Rajnath Singhs import embargo high sounding jargon: Congs Chidambaram takes a jibe

Chidambaram tweeted: Import Embargo is high sounding jargon. What it means is we will try to make the same equipment (that we import today) in 2 to 4 years and stop imports thereafter!

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Last week began with a dinner at The Garrick Club and finished in AllBright, a young women's networking club.

The Garrick is the complete opposite of AllBright. Founded in 1831, it still  staggeringly  does not accept female members, and its rules state that the club should never be used for business, although we all know that some of the most important connections are made without a laptop or sheaf of papers on the table.

The Garrick epitomises the culture of the old boys' network that has kept men at the top for centuries. Despite all the advances of recent years, many women are still fighting against lower pay and for a greater voice.

But for the vast majority of today's younger generation of men, for whom that old-school-tie culture is as distant and irrelevant as the land of hope and glory, it must at times seem as if the playing field, rather than being levelled, is skewed in the opposite direction.

You only have to look at Instagram and millions of T-shirts to see the flood of female empowerment messaging and hashtags urging women to feel proud, clever, strong and beautiful. I might be missing something, but I'm not spotting any of that coming from men.

And I don't believe that's because they all feel they are already proud, clever, strong and handsome. University entrance is now dominated by girls, with even the most traditional Oxford colleges showing a greater female UK intake last year.

You only have to look at Instagram and millions of T-shirts to see the flood of female empowerment messaging and hashtags urging women to feel proud, clever, strong and beautiful

The Booker Prize longlist of 13 features only four male writers, explained by the fact that apparently nobody is interested in reading their stories.

Even the phrase 'old master' as a descriptor of artistic value is under threat. Close to my home there is a small, newly opened women's workspace offering a place 'to work and feel better'.

But flip that over and imagine what the reaction would be to a placard heralding a men-only venue. It would be instantly pilloried as a bastion of sex discrimination and I can't picture a man who would feel comfortable joining it.

No doubt the fact that I'm the mother of a son makes me feel this way (interestingly, I've no evidence that he shares my concerns).

But it seems to me that in the laudable mission to promote women, we are in danger of creating a generation of disenfranchised young men, who are left there holding the door open for us, not from good manners, but because they can no longer get through themselves.

United by a lust for sexy French spies

NOBODY likes conforming to stereotype but I fear we are now a household of silver streamers.

Frankly, with my expensive hair colour, I don't much like being referred to as a silver anything, but it's certainly true that being over 54 and having a new-found addiction to on-demand TV, I fit the description.

Pre-lockdown, we usually watched TV separately, with very different preferences. David was more likely to be immersed in serious political documentaries (and reruns of Midsomer Murders  sad!), with me bingeing on domestic chillers like the recent The Secrets She Keeps, or talking-point dramas such as Michaela Coel's I May Destroy You. But the divisions have crumbled, and over the past few weeks we have just finished off four seasons of the French spy thriller The Bureau. In glorious togetherness.

I've had a bit of a crush throughout, as do the whole 'bureau' (aka the French secret service), on the enigmatic central character played by Mathieu Kassovitz, while David is more fickle, swapping his appreciation between the various skinny, long-legged female spooks.

Who would have thought it would take a global pandemic and a series rooted in torture and mayhem to have us seated companionably alongside each other for the first time, a modern-day Darby and Joan? (stock photo)

Who would have thought it would take a global pandemic and a series rooted in torture and mayhem to have us seated companionably alongside each other for the first time, a modern-day Darby and Joan?

And most importantly when will series five be available over here?

Racist? I thought it was pretty wallpaper

Back in the 1980s, this newspaper's books critic Craig Brown and I often lunched in the Rex Whistler restaurant at Tate Britain. It seemed a very civilised place to meet  a bit of culture and nice wine. Also part of its appeal was the Whistler mural currently under attack for including a racist narrative.

Pictured: Chef Richard Oxley sitting in the restaurant with the mural 'Expedition in persuit of rare meat' painted by Rex Whistler between 1926 and 1927 in the background

I have to admit that I didn't look at it very carefully when we ate there and thought of it much like pretty wallpaper, so I missed the depictions of slavery and imperialist attitudes among its turquoise mountains and emerald forests.

But now they have been drawn to my attention, I still think it's a magical piece of decorative art and hope that the Tate doesn't give in and get rid of it.

Lockdown's over, so no one calls any more

At the start of lockdown, we all started chatting on the phone again. People who hadn't contacted me verbally in years actually dialled a number and had a conversation.

I'd hoped that this might continue, but already the phone calls are drying up.

Now we've bored ourselves rotten discussing our Covid lifestyle or the horrors of housework, we have little new to report, so I fear it's back to the texts.

Kate doesn't need to look like a meringue

ANOTHER day, another midi dress for the Duchess of Cambridge.

Gone entirely is her traditional Royal style of block colour and tailoring, and in its place are patterned, button-through dresses floating around her calves.

In this she's not alone. Most of us are wafting around in long dresses at the moment. That's fashion. But sensibly she's avoided the puffy sleeves and balloon hems currently beloved by fashion influencers.

STYLISH: Kate in Wales last week. Sensibly she's avoided the puffy sleeves and balloon hems currently beloved by fashion influencers

In the fashion bubble it's absolutely OK to look like a meringue, but after so many years of having to see herself in pictures, the DoC knows that a well-defined shoulder and neat waistline is a much safer bet.

August is the month that terrifies me

What is it about August? Far from being the newsdesk silly season it's always spoken of, it's actually the most disaster-prone month.

This year, the month opened with the devastating explosion in Beirut. Previous Augusts have included Hiroshima, Hurricane Katrina, the Manchester air crash and Britain declaring hostilities with Germany at the start of the First World War.

What's coming next?
In March, with the coronavirus lockdown in full swing, Chrissy Sample was feeling anxious. Furloughed from her job and stuck at home with her 8-year-old son, she was also pregnant with twins, who were due in mid-July. Although she often felt immobilized by an intense pain in her legs and lower abdomen, her doctor regularly told her that those feelings were normal.

Sample had seen her regular obstetrician, but as a 34-year-old woman carrying more than one child, she was supposed to frequently see a high-risk obstetrician. But the earliest in-person appointment she could get was in late March, when she was already 25 weeks pregnant.

I felt like I needed my hand held for this pregnancy, but they never had time to see me, she said.

COVID-19 protocols kept her husband from joining her, so Sample was alone as she watched the obstetrician move the sonogram wand across her belly, first casually, then urgently. Looking pained, the doctor then told Sample that she heard only one heartbeat.

I was hysterical, Sample said. After a more thorough examination, this physician said the baby had died within the previous three days and noted, with evident sadness, that the death probably could have been prevented had she seen Sample sooner.

The pandemic has laid bare the role that race plays in the health of New Yorkers. In this highly segregated city, which has long had significant racial disparities in everything from cancer deaths to life expectancy, it is now well established that Black and Latino New Yorkers die of COVID-19 at more than twice the rate that white people do.

Its often difficult to know why any one patient receives what she believes to be substandard care. But the statistics show that pregnant women of color are more likely to face undesirable outcomes for reasons that public health experts are trying to understand.

Across the United States, Black women are three to four times more likely to die of childbirth-related causes than white women. In New York City, however, Black women are eight to 12 times more likely to die. Black infants in the city are also three times more likely to die than white newborns  a gap that is nearly 50% greater than the national average. Researchers say that most of these deaths are preventable.

Story continues

Whatever the underlying causes, it seems clear that COVID-19 is making things worse.

Black birthing people are already more likely to die, regardless of their income or education, said Joia Crear-Perry, an obstetrician and president of the National Birth Equity Collaborative, a nonprofit dedicated to eliminating racial disparities in birth outcomes. Now, with COVID, resources are scarce and hospitals dont have what they need. Who bears the brunt? The people least likely to be listened to.

It is too soon for official data on the effects of the pandemic on maternal and infant health, but the anecdotes are worrying.

In July, Sha-Asia Washington, a 26-year-old Black woman with high blood pressure, died during an emergency cesarean section at Woodhull, a public hospital in Brooklyn. According to her family, doctors rushed Washington to an operating room after they gave her an epidural, which she had felt pressured to accept. The baby survived, but Washington died of a heart attack. A representative from Woodhull declined to comment on the case.

Then theres the swift shift from in-person visits to telemedicine, which has allowed more vulnerable women to slip between the cracks.

In April, Amber Rose Isaac, a 26-year-old Black woman, died after an emergency C-section at Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx. According to Bruce McIntyre, Isaacs boyfriend, she had been complaining of serious fatigue and shortness of breath, but her obstetrician seemed to dismiss her concerns, and Isaac had trouble getting an in-person visit.

Frustrated with her care, Isaac tried to arrange to deliver at home or at a birthing center, but after scanning her medical records, a midwife told Isaac that her platelet levels were dangerously low, putting her at high risk because her blood wasnt able to form clots easily. This was news to us, McIntyre said. At least five doctors signed off on Ambers paperwork while her platelet levels were dropping, and nobody told us. They didnt see us in March at all.

When Isaac came to the hospital for an appointment on April 18, doctors held her for days and then induced labor on April 20, more than a month before she was due. During emergency surgery, Isaac bled to death, partly owing to her low platelet levels, McIntyre said, but her son survived. McIntyre accuses the hospital of negligence: She was voicing her concerns all the time, and no one would listen to her. A Montefiore spokeswoman said privacy laws prohibit comments about specific patients.

The hospitals that have been most overwhelmed by the pandemic are the same hospitals that Black and brown women in New York City are predominantly giving birth in, said Mary-Ann Etiebet, a New York-based physician and director of Merck for Mothers, the pharmaceutical companys initiative to address maternal mortality. Etiebet volunteered at a Brooklyn public hospital during the height of the pandemic and saw for herself the huge operational burden of increasing intensive care capacity fivefold in two weeks. Despite these inequities, the states latest budget bill, signed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo in April, includes $138 million in Medicaid cuts to the citys public hospitals, which mostly serve Black and Latino residents.

Yet the citys racial disparities cannot be blamed solely on hospital quality. A study published this year in the journal Obstetrics and Gynecology found that even when Black and Latina women gave birth in the same New York City hospitals as white women and had similar insurance, they were still more likely to experience a life-threatening complication than white mothers. Across the city, the risk of a near-death experience was 52% higher for Black mothers and 44% higher for Latinas than white women, regardless of insurance and after adjusting for other risk factors, such as diabetes and hypertension.

A 2016 citywide study found that Black women with a college degree were more at risk of a near-fatal childbirth emergency than women of other races who had never graduated high school.

America has the worst maternal-health problems in the developed world, and theres no way to understand this without putting racism front and center, said Neel Shah, an assistant professor of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive biology at Harvard Medical School. He noted that physicians have been medicalizing Blackness since the end of the Civil War, explaining health problems as a consequence of physiology and personal choices rather than as a product of poverty or racism.

Studies have shown that health providers consistently underestimate complaints of pain in Black patients compared with white ones. And, Shah said, the algorithms hospitals use to manage care for patients also tend to weigh the needs of Black and white people differently. In obstetrics, for example, hospitals regularly tell Black women they are less likely than white women to have a successful vaginal delivery after a C-section, regardless of other details. The accumulation of all of this is that Black people get less care, Shah said.

In mid-April, nearly three weeks after Chrissy Sample lost one of her twins, she was home with her son in Brooklyn when she began feeling intense pains. I had been so conditioned to discomfort that I didnt know what was alarming, she said. She was sitting on her bed when she heard a popping sound and began bleeding profusely.

Her husband, who is a lieutenant for the citys police department, rushed home and sped her to the hospital, where she delivered her surviving twin in an emergency C-section. For nearly two months, Samples newborn, Cassius, remained in the hospitals neonatal intensive care unit. When he was born, he weighed less than 3 pounds, but on June 6, Sample brought him home. Hes a fighter, she said. He earned his name.

Sample, who has private health insurance through her husbands job, had assumed she lost one of her babies because her obstetrician had been inattentive and COVID-19 was making care harder for everyone. But after talking to friends, she began wondering if her problems had to do with the fact that she is Black.

Friends kept telling me that when youre a Black woman, you really have to find a way to get people to listen when youre in pain, Sample said.

Her obstetrician, who is white, has since assured her that the throbbing soreness around her C-section scar is normal, but Sample said she finds it hard to trust her now.

Women of color who worry about their care often seek out health workers who look like them. After an uncomfortable experience with a white obstetrician, Laz Davis, a 38-year-old Brooklyn woman pregnant with her first child, decided to have a home birth with a Black midwife and a Black doula in late June, even though her insurance did not cover an out-of-hospital birth.

In this country, you never know if the way youre treated is because youre Black or the person is a jerk, Davis said. Ive learned how to advocate for myself, but sometimes I dont want to have to be strong, she said. Sometimes I just want to be nurtured.

Emilie Rodriguez, a Bronx-based doula and founder of Ashe Birthing Services, said health care providers typically treat her Black and white clients differently  a contrast confirmed last year by a nationwide study in the journal Reproductive Health. Rodriguez has found that nurses and doctors are often more responsive when a white mother complains about pain or expresses concern about a procedure. When a mother is Black, however, providers are quicker to judge her as noncompliant, she said, adding, Ive almost lost two Black clients in hospitals because they were ignored.

Shah, the Harvard obstetrics professor, said he is concerned that new hospital policies that limit visitors during the pandemic have made it harder for pregnant women to secure the advocacy they need. We have extremely good data that show that an advocate, particularly a professional one, improves outcomes. On the margin, it can even be lifesaving, particularly for mothers with less agency to begin with, he said.

Simone Colbert, a Brooklyn-based doula who often works with low-income women of color, recently supported a 19-year-old Black mother at a public hospital in Brooklyn over speakerphone. Colbert sensed the hospital was rushing this woman, who ended up having an emergency C-section, but she felt there was little she could do without being physically in the room. I was on the phone trying to make sure she was asking the right questions, she said, but Im not there to talk to the nurses. Its so hard.

All across the city, hospitals are reporting higher rates of inductions and C-sections as well as an uptick in premature babies for Black and Latino mothers, said Sascha James-Conterelli, president of the New York State Association of Licensed Midwives and a chair of the states task force on maternal mortality and disparate racial outcomes. What the pandemic did, she said, is underscore the disparities that already existed.

In April, Sophia Louis, a Black doula in the Bronx, became so concerned about Black and brown expectant and new mothers during the pandemic that she began offering free counseling through her Instagram account. One woman sought help because she had no idea how to care for her third-degree perineal tear. She used her camera phone to show her stitches, and Louis noticed what seemed to be an infection and pushed her to call her provider, who prescribed antibiotics.

Because of the pandemic, mothers are being discharged so quickly that they dont have proper information about how to care for their wounds or how to breastfeed properly, Louis said. Many women did not get lactation support in the hospital, and their babies are not gaining enough weight. Other mothers are showing signs of anxiety or depression, which Louis believes have become more common because the women are isolated from friends and family.

The social isolation, together with the loss of her son, has been hard on Sample. First, there were no baby showers. Then there was no baby, she said. Its just a sad time. She marvels at her son Cassius, who has been growing steadily ever since she got lactation support. But she mourns the twin she never really got to meet, whom she named Apollo.

Sample wishes she could warn other women  especially Black women  about the challenges of being pregnant during a pandemic. Its scary. You end up feeling really alone, she said. I would hate for this to happen to anyone else.

Emily Bobrow c.2020 The New York Times Company
Sudan has threatened to withdraw from the talks if Ethiopia insists on linking an agreement on the dams filling to negotiating a deal on sharing the waters of the Blue Nile

Sudan has announced that it will boycott negotiations on the disputed Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) scheduled for Monday over Ethiopias non-commitment to the talks agenda, Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya TV reported on Sunday.

A Sudanese government source said Khartoum refuses to return to the African Union (AU) brokered talks without a commitment by Addis Ababa to an agreed upon agenda focused on the rules of filling and operating the dam.

He added that the AU has suggested a return to negotiations to discuss the contentious points, but the proposal was rejected by Sudan.

Renewed AU-sponsored talks over the multi-billion-dollar project were launched last month between the three countries, and the US and the EU attended as observers. The talks stumbled last week after Egypt and Sudan called for the suspension of meetings for internal consultations after Addis Ababa proposed a new draft on filling guidelines.

Egypt said the draft proposal put forward by Ethiopia lacked guidelines on the operation of the dam, any elements indicating a binding deal, or a legal mechanism to settle disputes.

Sudan had threatened last week to withdraw from the talks if Ethiopia insisted on linking an agreement on the dams filling to a deal on sharing the waters of the Blue Nile.

Sudanese Irrigation and Water Resources Minister Yasser Abbas said in a press conference on Saturday that he was surprised by Ethiopias proposal on the water shares, which he described as dangerous.

He said his country has asked to postpone the latest round of negotiations for a week for consultations and in objection to Ethiopias inconsistent stances during talks.

Abbas also announced the formation of a committee tasked with examining the possible future scenarios.

Meanwhile, Othman Mostafa, a member of the Sudanese negotiating team, told Sky News Arabia that Ethiopias inclusion of water-sharing in the talks was a deviation from the Declaration of Principles (DoP) signed between Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan in 2015.

He said most of the technical aspects in the agreement have been settled; yet the main obstacles remain in the binding nature of the agreement, which Ethiopia rejects.

Mostafa said that a binding agreement is the only means of ensuring the safe operation of the dam and to avoid any possible negative consequences, especially on Sudans Roseries dam, which is located 100 kilometres away from the GERD.

Ethiopian foreign ministry spokesman Dina Mufti said last week that his country cannot sign a binding agreement that requires it to release specific quotas of water from the dam to downstream countries Egypt and Sudan.

He did, however, stress in a press conference on Friday that Addis Ababa does take into account Egypt's and Sudans concerns regarding periods of drought, yet cannot decide on the matter at present.

He also said that attempts by the US and the World Bank to pressure Addis Ababa into signing what it described as a lopsided deal would damage tripartite negotiations with Egypt and Sudan.

Addis Ababa announced last month that it had achieved its first-year target for the filling of the dams reservoir due to the rainfall season. The move was condemned by Cairo and Khartoum, both of whom sought a legally binding agreement before the dams filling.

Egypt has sent a letter on Wednesday to South Africa, which currently chairs the AU, reaffirming Cairos rejection of Ethiopias unilateral initial filling of the GERD and the new Ethiopian draft proposal.

In its letter, Cairo said the Ethiopian proposal, presented on Tuesday, violates directives by the AU in July calling on the three countries to swiftly finalise a legally binding agreement.

The nearly completed $5 billion dam has been a source of contention between the three countries. Cairo fears the project will significantly cut its crucial water supplies from the Nile River, while Sudan fears it could endanger the safety of its own dams.

Ethiopia says the massive project, which it hopes will make it Africas largest power exporter, is key to its development efforts.

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By Tammy Murphy and Lisa Asare

Earlier this year, through the Office of the First Ladys Nurture NJ initiative, we announced the development of a strategic plan to improve birth outcomes and achieve equity in maternal and infant health. This initiative is of urgent and grave concern, as the United States is ranked 55th in maternal deaths in the world. Worse, New Jersey is ranked 47th in the nation, and for mothers and babies of color, the situation is even more dire.

In fact, a Black woman in New Jersey is nearly five times more likely than a white woman to die from pregnancy-related complications, and a Black baby is three times more likely than a white baby to die before his or her first birthday.

To end this shameful and deadly reality, we set the bold goal of reducing maternal mortality by 50% over five years and eliminating racial disparities in birth outcomes. Since that announcement, the COVID-19 pandemic has placed extraordinary new hurdles in our path  but we have not been deterred.

When the global pandemic hit, pregnant women became particularly vulnerable to stress, anxiety, and fear. In many cases, prenatal care switched from in-person appointments to telehealth, access to testing and supplies were scarce, hospital visitors were restricted, and questions about the safety of breastfeeding and post-partum care were overwhelming both mothers and their caregivers.

New mothers need a lot of support. To boost the support they receive, Nurture NJ has been built as a public/private partnership, led by the Office of the First Lady and funded by The Burke Foundation, the Community Health Acceleration Partnership, and The Nicholson Foundation.

Through our Healthy Women, Healthy Families program, the state has invested $4.7 million to improve health and birth outcomes for women of color. Essential to this program is increasing access to doulas, trained professionals who provide physical, emotional, and informational support before, during, and shortly after childbirth.

Multiple studies show that doula care can lead to lower rates of maternal and infant health complications, fewer preterm births and low-birth-weight infants, lower rates of Cesarean sections, and higher rates of breastfeeding. Amplifying mothers voices and listening to their needs, community-based doulas have statistically improved birth outcomes for mothers of color.

To expand this critical support, the state partnered with Uzazi Village to train 80 community-based doulas who serve mothers-to-be in Newark, Trenton, Camden and Atlantic City. The doulas in this program come from those very same communities and have already assisted more than 350 women with their births. And, last year, Gov. Phil Murphy signed a package of bills into law to combat New Jerseys maternal and infant health crisis, which included Medicaid coverage of doulas.

When the pandemic overwhelmed our hospital systems, drastic measures were taken to preserve personal protective equipment and resources, ultimately forcing mothers to limit the number of support people present during their labor and delivery. Given our dire maternal and infant health statistics, we knew, however, that we needed to get our doulas back into hospitals as soon as possible.

Together with our funding partners, we engaged the New Jersey Health Care Quality Institute, a non-partisan, non-profit organization dedicated to improving the safety, quality, and affordability of healthcare for everyone, to develop the New Jersey Perinatal Care During COVID-19 Work Group report, which now serves as a guide for health care providers and hospitals throughout New Jersey.

The reports recommendations outlined steps needed to prioritize pregnant women during the pandemic, as they are at increased risk for hospitalization, intensive care admission and ventilator use. Based on the report, the state issued an executive directive designating doulas as essential to patient care. Thanks to our partnership, a woman may now have a support person and her doula present throughout labor, delivery, and her hospital stay - recognizing that doulas are a critical pillar of a mothers support team and must not be sacrificed.

There is no denying that COVID-19 has presented new challenges and obstacles to resolving our maternal and infant health crisis, but our commitment to protect the mothers and babies of New Jersey has not wavered. In the last few months, our nation has seen what New Jersey is capable of when we prioritize the health of the most vulnerable. We may be in the middle of one of the greatest challenges of our time but we have never been more certain that together we will continue to build a village of support for our mothers and make New Jersey the safest and most equitable place in the nation to deliver a baby.

Tammy Murphy is the First Lady of New Jersey and the founder of Nurture NJ.

Lisa Asare is the assistant commissioner of Family Health Services in the Department of Health, a partner of Nurture NJ and the Black mother of three children.

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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.
Weve been having a lot of protests. Some are legitimate protests; others have not been legitimate. This right here has been a direct response to one agitator being on the scene, getting people all worked up, without having the full story, Talley said.
As the Ondo State governorship election draws closer, the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Eyitayo Jegede, has visited a former president, Olusegun Obasanjo, to seek his support.

PREMIUM TIMES gathered that Mr Jegede visited Mr Obasanjo in his Abeokuta residence, in Ogun State, on Saturday.

Mr Jegede also confirmed the reason for his visit to the elder statesman in a post showing his picture with the former president on Twitter.

Seeking support of the elders, the next 63 days will no doubt be decisive, we will succeed. God our help!, he wrote.

Seeking support of the elders, the next 63 days will no doubt be decisive, we will succeed. God our help! pic.twitter.com/Q8Gk4EbvLL  Eyitayo Jegede SAN (@TayoJegedeSAN) August 8, 2020

Mr Jegede is a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and a former Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice in Ondo State.

He is also a former Chancellor of Anglican Communion of Jalingo, Taraba State. He was once the Chancellor of Anglican Dioceses of Yola and a member of Implementation Committee of American University, Yola, Adamawa State, as well as a member, Chairman Board of Governors, ABTI Academy International School and member, Board of Trustees, Elizade University, Ilara Mokin, Ondo State.

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He was the winner of the PDP primary in 2016, polling 760 votes but lost to Rotimi Akeredolu of the All Progressives Congress in the election.

He is, again, the major contender against Mr Akeredolu in 2020 and has vowed to defeat other contestants.

The election is expected to hold between 17 parties and candidates on October 10.
Funds pledged at virtual conference to go towards aiding recovery in healthcare, food security, education and housing.

Beirut, Lebanon  A host of nations have pledged nearly $300m in humanitarian assistance to Lebanon at a conference aimed at rallying international support for the crisis-hit country days after a debilitating explosion in the capital, Beirut.

In a joint statement after Sundays virtual event, the donor countries said the financial aid will be directly delivered to the Lebanese population and offered support for an impartial, credible and independent inquiry into Tuesdays disaster that killed more than 150 people and wounded some 6,000.

The office of French President Emmanuel Macron, who led the conference, said the meeting raised pledges worth almost 253 million euros ($298m). In his opening remarks, Macron said the funds would primarily support healthcare, food security, education and housing.

The Lebanese authorities must now implement political and economic reforms demanded by the Lebanese people and which alone will enable the international community to act effectively alongside Lebanon for reconstruction, Macron said.





France has organised four donor conferences for Lebanon in the last 20 years where more than $20bn was pledged, mostly conditional on reforms that were not implemented.

Lebanon today is suffering from a major economic crisis and a growing coronavirus outbreak as well as the devastating aftermath of Tuesdays explosion that left up to 300,000 people homeless.

At Beiruts port, the epicentre of the explosion, grain silos were eviscerated while hospitals and schools across the city were destroyed.

This drone footage provides a closer look at the devastating aftermath of the #Beirut explosion that destroyed parts of the city, killing at least 158 people and injuring thousands. pic.twitter.com/axuQD6HzX5  Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) August 9, 2020

Some 36 countries and international institutions participated in Sundays online conference, which was held under the auspices of the United Nations and whose attendees included US President Donald Trump, Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Jordanian King Abdullah II and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.

Pledges included 63 million euros ($74m) by the European Commission; 50 million from France ($59m); $50m from Qatar; $41m from Kuwait, $26m from Denmark; $20m from Germany; five million euros ($5.9m) from Cyprus and $5m from Canada. Other nations have previously pledged aid, including the United States with $17m.

The sums will be routed through the UN, international organisations and NGOs, rather than the Lebanese government  in line with the demands of large swaths of the Lebanese public who fear the funds would be lost to corruption.

Macron said the assistance would be closely monitored by the UN and come with support for an impartial, credible and independent investigation into the causes of the disaster at the port.

It is a strong and legitimate demand of the Lebanese people. Its a matter of confidence and the means are available and must be mobilised, he added.

People throw stones during anti-government protest following Tuesdays massive explosion which devastated Beirut [Hassan Ammar/AP Photo]

The French president also reiterated calls made during a visit to Beirut earlier this week for reforms to Lebanons crippled energy sector  which bleeds up to $1.5bn per year  in addition to the public procurement system, fighting corruption and auditing the central bank and the financial sector.

It is up to the countrys authorities to act so that the country does not sink and to respond to the aspirations that the Lebanese people, legitimately expressed at this very moment in the streets of Beirut, Macron said. We must all do everything together so that neither violence nor chaos can win.

The conference came as angry protesters took to the streets of Beirut for a second consecutive day on Sunday, clashing with security forces who fired tear gas to disperse the crowd.

The Lebanese Red Cross and the Islamic Emergency and Relief Corps said 728 people were wounded at Saturdays large protest when security forces used tear gas, rubber bullets and, in a number of cases, shotgun shells containing metal pellets.

We have reached our limit. Enough corruption, enough negligence. Lebanese riot police fired teargas at demonstrators in #Beirut amid growing protests over this week's devastating explosion. pic.twitter.com/cdXY5rhm9f  Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) August 9, 2020

Many Lebanese blame the countrys ossified political class for the horrific explosion on Tuesday. Some 2,750 tonnes of highly explosive ammonium nitrate had been stored at Beiruts port for more than six years, with a range of security forces, the judiciary and politicians having knowledge of their existence but failing to act to mitigate the danger.

As fury boils over, Lebanese have taken to sharing pictures of nooses, implying the execution of politicians, and on Saturday staged a mock execution of the countrys political leaders at Martyrs Square, in central Beirut.
Recently, about 7.5 tonnes of longan originating from Mekong Delta provinces arrived in Australia on August 6 while 9 tonnes of longan grown in Hai Duong province are being packed to be sent to Australia to participate in a longan promotion programme held by the Vietnam Trade Office in Australia.

All batches of longan are imported and distributed by 4 Ways Fresh, a company based in Australia specialising in the production and trading of agricultural products.

Director of 4 Ways Fresh Ly Hoang Duy said that Vietnamese fresh longan has created a good impression on Australian consumers and has become one of the popular products in this market.

In addition, Vietnamese longan has a lower price than longan grown in Australia but its quality is somewhat more special thanks to its characteristic aroma, small seeds and sweetness.

Vietnamese longan can also be harvested all year round, helping importers utilise its market advantage.

Duy said that his company has imported approximately 30 tonnes of Vietnamese longan mainly from Mekong Delta provinces since early this year. It is also expected to increase its longan imports to 10 tonnes of longan per week from Northern provinces to meet the consumer demand.

Vietnamese fresh longan was officially allowed to enter Australia in August 2019, becoming the fourth Vietnamese fresh fruit to be present in one of the most demanding markets in the world.
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
CASS COUNTY, MI  Two people were transported by ambulance and air to a Kalamazoo hospital after a Saturday night crash in Cass County.

Olivia Hines, 25, of Dowagiac, and Jordan Hawkins, 28, of Marcellus Township, were riding a motorcycle westbound on Marcellus Highway, near Finch Road, when a pickup truck pulled out of a driveway into their path, a news release from the Cass County Sheriffs Office states.

Hines and Hawkins, neither of whom were wearing a helmet, were thrown from the back of the motorcycle as a result of the collision, according to the the sheriffs office.

Deputies respond to the crash at about 9:13 p.m. Aug. 8, where they learned the motorcycle ridden by Hawkins and Hines had collided with a pickup driven by a 21-year-old Three Rivers man.

The Three Rivers man was wearing a seatbelt and alcohol was not a factor in the crash, deputies said.

Both Hines and Hawkins were transported to Ascension Borgess Hospital in Kalamazoo.

The case remains under investigation at this time.

Also on MLive:

Kalamazoo Public Safety officers rescue dog from thick marsh

Sunday, Aug. 9: Latest developments on coronavirus in Michigan

Not even a pandemic could stop this tribute to Michigans Woodstock
A 12-year-old has died after falling into a river in Scotland today, police have confirmed.

Police crews and the emergency services, including a helicopter, rushed to the River Leven in Balloch, West Dunbartonshire, at 6.46pm to reports of two people missing in the water.

One person was reportedly recovered safely, while the young girl, who was recovered from the water at 9.45pm, was sadly pronounced dead at the scene.

A Police Scotland spokesperson said: 'Around 6.45pm on Sunday, 9 August, police were called to a report of a 12 year-old girl in difficulty in the River Leven, near Balloch Bridge.

'Emergency services attended and searches were carried out. Around 9.45pm, the young girl was recovered from the water. Sadly she was pronounced dead at the scene. Her relatives have been informed.

Emergency services, including a helicopter (pictured), rushed to the scene in Balloch, West Dunbartonshire, at 6.45pm today

Police officers were joined by firefighters and members of the Coastguard in the search

'Enquiries are ongoing to establish the full circumstances of the incident, but the death is not being treated as suspicious and a full report will be sent to the Procurator Fiscal.'

Earlier today a Scottish Fire and Rescue Service spokesperson said: 'We were alerted at 6.46pm on Sunday, August 9 to reports of a person in the water in Balloch.

'Operations Control mobilised two appliances and two water rescue units to the scene at Balloch Bridge.

'Firefighters currently remain on the scene working to assist their emergency service partners.'

A spokesman for the the Maritime and Coastguard Agency previously said: 'At 7.09pm this evening we were asked (by the police) to send the HM Coastguard search and rescue helicopter from Prestwick to assist Police Scotland at a search at Balloch, Loch Lomond.'

A helicopter flies across the River Leven in Balloch as police desperately try to find the missing girl

West Dunbartonshire Police warned motorists that routes near Balloch Road had been closed

Today West Dunbartonshire Police confirmed that routes near Balloch Road had been closed.

In a statement on Twitter the police said: Motorists are advised that Balloch Road is currently closed between the A82 roundabout and Carrochan Road, Balloch due to an ongoing police incident at the River Leven.

'Please use an alternative route.'

The incident comes just a day after a man in his 20s drowned in a water-filled quarry at Bawsey Pits near King's Lynn, Norfolk, after 'getting into trouble in the water'.

Emergency services were called to the scene at about 11.30am when the man was reported missing.

On Sunday a woman in Waxham also died following reports that she had been struggling while in the sea.

Emergency services were called to the scene at 5:30pm this afternoon but the woman was pronounced dead on arrival at hospital.
Andrew Phelps and Douglas Toomey

Phelps is director of the Oregon Office of Emergency Management. Toomey is a principal investigator of the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network and a professor of earth sciences at the University of Oregon.

If nothing else, 2020 has driven home the invaluable need to prepare for a disaster before it strikes. COVID-19 serves as one of the strongest educators in modern history. And yet,the catastrophic impacts of a Cascadia Subduction Zone earthquake will make the devastation of the pandemic pale in comparison.

The facts speak for themselves: earthquakes pose a very real threat to Oregonians. Geologists tell us there is a 7% to 12% chance a magnitude 9-plus earthquake will impact Oregon and Washington statewide in the next 50 years. Within the same timeframe, there is a nearly 40% chance of a magnitude 8 to 9 earthquake hitting Southern Oregon and Northern California.

The bottom line: Oregon is at severe risk. We know this disaster looms. It is our responsibility to prepare, limit human and economic loss, keep Oregonians safe and create conditions for a resilient and speedy recovery.

Earlier this year, Oregons lawmakers announced an agreement to make two significant investments in earthquake readiness: the continuation of efforts to retrofit the Oregon State Capitol building and a $7.5 million investment in ShakeAlert, an established earthquake early warning system for the West Coast. Unfortunately, a walkout over climate legislation prematurely ended the 2020 legislative session, leaving those two critical actions unfunded.

As the Legislature convenes this week to address the states pandemic-induced financial crisis, we urge lawmakers to move forward with both of these investments.

Retrofitting the Capitol is vital for ensuring lawmakers can convene to support Oregonians after disaster strikes.

Of likely greater interest to the public, however, is the ShakeAlert earthquake early-warning system, which relies on a network of individual seismic sensors throughout the region to detect significant earthquakes and issue warnings to residents before shaking begins  seconds or even tens of seconds in advance. That advance warning can save lives and protect infrastructure from failure or destruction. Hospitals, transportation systems, utilities, and educational environments can power down equipment and protect critical operations and infrastructure. Oregonians can get under a table or desk for protection before shaking begins. Fire stations can open firehouse doors before the electricity goes out, allowing immediate deployment of emergency vehicles.

The 2011 Tohoku Earthquake demonstrated real life benefits of these early warning systems.With the earthquake recognized as serious within 30 seconds of its initiation offshore, the system issued cell phone alerts to millions of Tokyo residents, giving them about 30 seconds warning of the incoming shaking and aftershocks. Lives were saved in the precious seconds provided by early warnings.

For Oregon to contribute timely and accurate information to the ShakeAlert system in the Pacific Northwest, we must have enough sensors in the ground across urban and rural areas to meet federal standards. Right now, Oregons seismic sensor network is only about 50% complete. Providing $7.5 million would finish the buildout and allow rollout of the warning system as soon as fall 2021.

California and Washington have already invested in ShakeAlert, joining earthquake early warning implementation efforts around the world. ShakeAlert is in place in the metropolitan areas in California, providing public alerts to all residents and visitors of California via their mobile phones.

Through the leadership of Oregons congressional delegation, the federal government has invested millions in ensuring the West Coast is prepared for The Big One. California and Washington state legislatures have done the same. Its time for Oregon to do our part to contribute to regional safety and resilience.

COVID-19 has taught us we can save lives and mitigate damage by investing in preventive services and preparedness programs. As the director of Oregons Office of Emergency Management and a researcher with the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network, we recommend state leaders make these critical and timely investments to help us do exactly that when The Big One comes.

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JERSEY CITY  When Tatiana Cruz first joined the Boys & Girls Club at 9 years old, she was nervous, anxious and didnt want to be there. But now, at 17, she said its helped shape her into the person she is today.

Cruz, of Jersey City, was named the Boys & Girls Club New Jersey Youth of the Year on Friday. Cruz said its more than an award  now she feels shes a role model for all youth, especially minorities.

The title is given to 15 youth club members throughout the state, but only one is recognized as the New Jersey Youth of The Year. Recipients are each awarded $2,500 in college scholarship. Cruz won an additional $10,000 in scholarship money from the state title.

Its amazing to be chosen, Cruz said. Im essentially the role model for club kids, and non-club kids... To be able to promote an organization that cares so much about social justice issues, promoting college career readiness... especially to minority kids.

Before her club days, Cruz, a half Colombian and Filipino-American, spent her summers watching YouTube all day long, she said. Her parents worked a lot, but she said they wanted her to get out the house.

And then the Boys & Girls Club in Jersey City came into her life. Though she was nervous, she said she grew to love it. One of her favorite memories is when she went on a field trip to a farm and picked up fresh peaches.

But there were more impactful activities at the club that she said helped her mature.

Cruz serves as Hudson Countys Keystone Club president and secretary. The club focuses on teen outreach and academic success, to name a few. Last year, Keystone raised thousands of dollars for kids in Haiti to build a school and help them buy supplies, Cruz said.

But she wasnt only busy there.

Cruz attended Ronald E. McNair Academic High School where she finished with a 3.7 GPA. Aside from her studies, the 17-year-old said that a couple of years ago she noticed how stressed students would be at the Jersey City school  so she helped start the Health and Wellness Club.

The academic toll that it takes on students is so great and its not healthy, Cruz said. Its not a healthy environment.

At the school club, Cruz helped run meditation sessions as well as organize cooking workshops to help students get their minds off of work.

And though Cruz was in charge of this, she was never one to stop working.

I always say busy hands are happy hands, she said.

Cruz is a food runner at a restaurant in Downtown Jersey City, works different positions at Jollibee and is a cashier at Panera Bread. She also volunteers at the Jersey City Medical Center.

She said the food jobs are to help her rack up extra cash, especially for Rutgers-New Brunswick, where she plans to study Neuroscience for the next four years as an aspiring physician.

Its always something Ive strived to be, Cruz said. A lot of my family members work in the healthcare field.

And for her, the $12,500 scholarship money is a weight lifted off her shoulders, she said.

Next for Cruz is the competition for the Northeast regional title for Youth of the Year in September. If shes named the regional winner, shell be awarded an additional $20,000 in college scholarship money. Six youth  including five regional winners and a military youth winner  will then advance to compete for the Boys & Girls Club of Americas National Youth of the Year, who will earn an extra $50,000 college scholarship.

Candidates compete through an application including essays, resume cover letter and one-on-one interview.

(When I was named Youth of the Year) I was questioning it, honestly, Cruz said, laughing. I was like, Is this real? Did I hear my name correctly? I was about to cry. I was trying to hold back tears of joy.
Six months into the COVID-19 pandemic, we remain in the frustrating position of not being able to meet the testing demands of our community.

COVID-19 tests remain a resource that needs to be preserved for the most appropriate medical uses. Recently, the CDC clarified that COVID-19 test-of-cure, to verify that a patient has recovered, should not be used to determine return-to-work except for those with severe immunosuppressive disease or health care workers leaving isolation before the 10-day post-onset of symptoms.

As the largest private resource for COVID-19 testing in this area, we have been performing 1,500 tests daily in our community since June 1. A common rationale for a test has become my employer requires a negative test before I return to work. This test-of-cure is not beneficial and may provide some with unwarranted confidence about the health of their employees and keep people needlessly out of work.

In the early phase of the pandemic, the CDC required two negative tests at least 24 hours apart prior to releasing an infected person from medical isolation. Since mid-March, there was a second set of criteria for release called symptoms-based strategy, or SBS, which the CDC has also updated.

The requirements for SBS release from medical isolation are at least 10 days since the onset of symptoms and no fever for 24 hours, with symptoms improving (not resolved). We have been applying these medical criteria for COVID-19 patients at our facilities since they were introduced.

Not only is a shortage of test capacity an issue, but the interpretation of a test that remains positive is a very real problem. Though some may have detectable virus particles or proteins produced by the virus in the respiratory tracts for weeks and hence a continued positive result, these remnants are not infectious. Not only does this type of testing keep individuals needlessly out of work and isolated from their communities, but it enhances the fear and anxiety associated with this illness.

On ExpressNews.com: The man behind the mask rule: Texas Rep. Louie Gohmert catches COVID, and criticism

For employers mandating return-to-work testing, reviewing the clarification from the White House regarding the Families First Coronavirus Response Act is important. This established that evaluation and treatment for COVID-19 would be entirely covered by insurance plans, with no cost-sharing on the part of the insured. Examples include waived deductibles, no copay or coinsurance.

The clarification was that testing required by employers for return-to-work is not included under this coverage. Thus, a question becomes who will cover these expenses, employer or employee?

Dr. David Gude is the chief operating officer and a practicing physician at Texas MedClinic.
Dear Reader,

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By Express News Service

CHENNAI: DMK MP Kanimozhi on Sunday said a Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) officer at the Chennai airport asked her if she was an Indian, when she asked the woman official to speak in Tamil or English.

Kanimozhi said she reached Chennai airport on Sunday to board a flight to Delhi when a CISF woman officer issued certain instructions. Since she couldnt understand what the officer was saying, she asked her to speak in English. To this, she asked, Dont know Hindi. Are you an Indian?

 ...I would like to know from when being Indian is equal to knowing Hindi, she tweeted. Kanimozhis tweet was widely shared across various social media platforms and the tweet gained more than 4,500

retweets and 12,500 likes within three hours of tweeting.

Speaking to The New Indian Express, Kanimozhi said, for her question of are you an Indian, I replied that you cant decide who I am and left the place. Though I did not register any complaint except the tweet, The CISF official met me at the Delhi airport and expressed their apologies and they said it shouldnt have happened and they assured me of proper action. Later, the DIG, CISF, Chennai also called me and apologised for the incident".

Meanwhile, CISF tweeted, We sincerely acknowledge your unpleasant experience. Kindly DM journey details; the name of airport, location, date, and time of the incident for appropriate action in the matter. The CISF has ordered an Enquiry into the matter. It is not the policy of CISF to insist upon any particular language.
The Westcourt Hotel, in Drogheda, Co Louth, could be reopened by a group of investors, despite its holding company filing for liquidation, according to local media reports.

According to the Drogheda Leader, a local newspaper, a group of investors including some of the existing owners have committed to reopening the hotel once it is economically viable to do so.

The newspaper reported that the trading company which owns the hotel business, Powerscourt Hotels Limited, is a different entity to the one that holds the hotel property.

Despite Powerscourt Hotels seeking to appoint a liquidator, the ownership of the hotel property itself is not for sale, the paper said. The building's owners are understood to be determined to reopen once it is possible and when Covid-19 has passed.

Ergo understands the meeting of creditors is to take place on August 14. Eamonn Leahy of Leahy O'Riordan Chartered Accountants, is expected to be appointed as the liquidator.

Ergo has spoke with one creditor who shared his frustration with the hotel. He claimed creditors would receive nothing and there is concern about jobs at other businesses in the area due to the credit already given.

It is understood that around 70 staff at the hotel were recently told that it would not be reopening for the "foreseeable future".

According to the most recent accounts for Powerscourt Hotels, which has operated the hotel since 1989, for the year ended March 2019 it owed creditors in the year ahead just over 1.8m.

Dubliner looks to shake up corporate intel marketplace

Corporate intelligence providers, used by companies for due diligence ahead of significant investments, have traditionally been considered opaque and the sector has even been associated with former spies.

Dubliner Stewart Kelly, who has spent the majority of his career involved in corporate intelligence, is looking to change that with the launch of his new company, Ground Truth Intelligence (GTI).

Headquartered in London, Kelly has responded to market feedback, mainly from intelligence managers regarding the opaque nature of sourcing investigations. He set up GTI, an online tool which will allow clients to source investigative support in a transparent, tech-enabled manner across multiple jurisdictions and requirements.

GTI's first funding round, worth 400,000, is mostly filled.
Dilday, a member of a longtime Long Beach family, died unexpectedly of a heart attack in his sleep at his home Jan. 10, according to his wife, Diane.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-09 15:58:55|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

LAGOS, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) -- At least eight gunmen have been killed in a combat operation by police in Nigeria's northwestern state of Katsina, a police spokesman said on Sunday.

A group of more than 40 unidentified gunmen attacked a village in the state on Thursday, state police spokesman Gambo Isah said in a statement made available to Xinhua in Lagos.

A police team responding to the attack was ambushed by the gunmen on their way to the village. One of the gunmen was killed on the spot in the crossfire while others escaped with serious gunshot wounds.

In addition, search teams of police and members of the affected community on Friday discovered seven more corpses of the gunmen with gunshot wounds near an adjacent village, Isah said.

He noted that two villagers were killed in the Thursday attack by the gunmen who also rustled 30 cows from the village.

Police also recovered some cash and empty shells of live ammunition from the bodies of the dead gunmen.

Northern Nigeria has seen a series of gun attacks in recent months, leading to the deaths of troops and civilians. Security forces are engaged in several operations in that part of the country to root out illegal armed groups. Enditem
Sure, it might be warm Wednesday, but what about the rest of the week?
The disastrous failure of the political forces that value plurality, diversity, equity, fairness and social justice to get political traction compels us to rethink, re-strategize, regroup and reorganise. Such an effort cannot be made by daydreaming or being an armchair critic.





by Lionel Bopage





The general elections on 5 August had turned out to be an outstanding victory for the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), the Rajapaksa Family and the Sinhala Buddhist nationalists representing both the elite and ordinary members of the countrys majority community. Despite many allegations made about the corrupt and criminal acts of certain candidates put forward at the election by some of the political parties, the electorate elected most of them. Sadly, the candidates who are known for exposing corruption and criminality in the country  the very people who have demonstrated their credentials to be promising parliamentarians  have not been elected. At the same time, it is heartening to note that some of the candidates who were credibly alleged to be robber barons during the 2015 regime have been outed.













Those who planned the election campaign of the SLPP have undoubtedly achieved their expected outcomes. From my point of view, a victory of this magnitude provides a great opportunity which could be used for the benefit of the country and its people. It also brings up a more worrisome scenario where militarisation of the democratic institutions will continue, concerns of minorities will be ignored, and erosion of the rule of law and less transparency and accountability are most likely to occur. This victory has opened a new chapter where the government could perform at its best or at its worst.





Best case scenario





The architect of the SLPP recently made a statement saying that the new regime respects the opinions and views of the people, will continue to represent the needs of the people after forming a government. With the thumping majority they have got in the parliament, they should have no excuse for not doing what is needed for the benefit of the society. When the Rajapaksa regime led the campaign to defeat the Tamil militancy solely based on a strategy of war, we were critical of that approach. After the military defeat of the LTTE the regime had a unique opportunity to address the issues that caused the civil war by developing a just solution to the Tamil National Question. Even now these issues remain unresolved and keep festering. A historic opportunity was missed. Had this been handled with honesty and statesmanship, it could have paved the way for the regime to stay in power for a long time, with the possibility of Mr Mahinda Rajapaksa even becoming a Nobel laureate.





Sri Lanka had several such opportunities in the past when different political persuasions were brought to power by the electorate with a two-thirds or even higher majority. Mr S W R D Bandaranaike, Mrs Sirimavo Bandaranaike and Mr J R Jayawardena, all had the same opportunity, but they did not rise to the occasion due to their self-centred desire to remain in power which they could only do by catering to the partisan needs and demands of their political factions. Most of the time, these factions could not see beyond the tunnel vision of a monocultural unitary state and their own corrupt financial interests.





The SLPP campaign was based on the premise that the government of Sri Lanka has been at the mercy of the minority parties  as constituent parties in the parliament  with regards to policy formulation. In fact, from 1956 till 2015, the minority parties did not play any major policy determining role as constituent parties of government. Despite this, for nearly 60 years there was no constructive solution proposed or implemented to address the numerous issues the minority communities had raised. Now that the new government is free from the elements that the SLPP identified as racist, there is another great opportunity to concretely address the power-sharing issues with minorities and create a better country for all.





This is the best possible scenario I could hope for against all historical precedents.





Worst-case scenario





At the election, the plea of the SLPP leadership was to grant them a two-thirds majority to change the constitution to rearrange the power relationships between the parliament and the president. Yet, under the current constitutional arrangements, the brothers, Gotabhaya and Mahinda continue to enjoy the totality of presidential and prime-ministerial powers between them. Whatever the changes that would be made in the future, the totality of constitutional power shared between the two brothers will remain the same. Only the checks and balances that scrutinise their activities by parliament and independent commissions are open to manipulation.





Having received an overwhelming majority and not at the mercy of the so-called minority parties that the SLPP and the Rajapaksas have been identifying as racist, they have now got an opportunity to carry out their long-term political intentions unhindered. What they proposed was to modify the constitution by abolishing the 19th and 13th amendments. Discarding these safeguards will abolish the devolutionary nature of the governance established under those amendments and debilitate the independence of the institutions that were established to scrutinise the process of governance.





These amendments were adopted with the intent of addressing certain fundamental issues that prevailed for many long years. However, that intent was wantonly diluted from the drafting stage onwards, and even before the bill was presented to the cabinet for approval. It was further diluted by last-minute amendments made during the final parliamentary proceedings. Some of those responsible for such dilution later became leaders of the SLPP government, while others joined the ranks of parties like the Samagi Jana Balawegaya.





The new parliament has the opportunity to address such deficiencies by following a due and diligent process. What new constitutional arrangements and mechanisms would be proposed to address these deficiencies? Would the new arrangements and mechanisms strengthen the checks and balances needed in a democratic form of governance? Or would the checks and balances and scrutiny be further hampered in their quest for a more authoritarian system of governance? Would the new arrangements and mechanisms be finalised in consultations with the people? We need to wait and see what the government proposes to do in this regard.





The Chairperson of the SLPP, Emeritus Professor G.L. Peiris, has stated that any constitutional amendment process would only be carried out after much thought and consideration. When we look back at the 1970s, the Constitution of 1972 and the Constitution of 1978 were imposed upon the people without any consultation. The constitution making process was neither participatory nor inclusive. Thus, those two constitutions cannot be considered to reflect the views of all peoples of Sri Lanka. In light of the fragmented nature of our society and the demands for transparency, accountability and human and democratic rights, only an inclusive constitutional reform would help bring our communities together. The current environment can be made use of for building consensus among the diverse citizenry through a participative process. Such a process, if handled sensitively, will pave the way for developing a constitution that would be acceptable to all parties involved.





If we accept the notion that the sense of morality lessens when the power of the rulers become greater, we encounter a different scenario. Power tends to corrupt; absolute power corrupts absolutely is unfortunately the norm. The regimes in Sri Lanka such as the previous Rajapaksa regime were tainted with allegations of abuse, corruption, criminality and autocracy. If the new government were not to deliver a more socially just, economically fairer situation for the society as a whole, it would indicate their lack of vision, policy frameworks and programmes of action to lead a unified nation to address the prevalent issues.





Nationalist extremists in the new regime could negatively influence the chances for justice, democracy, human rights and economic opportunities, except for a select few. This may lead to escalating corrupt practices, disempowerment of the judicial and parliamentary processes, ignoring legislative responsibilities, sidelining non-majoritarian communities, ethno-religious discrimination in policy and decision making, adopting antagonistic foreign policy positions, and introducing repressive legislative and constitutional arrangements as has been done in the past. There could be protests and strikes by the disillusioned electorate, who would be forced to rethink about who they have brought into power. It could also lead to bloodshed as has previously happened in Chilaw and Rathupaswala. Instead of a break from the past this will bolster the unacceptable vicious cycle with a new vigour demanding equality, justice and accountability.





Gap between the intelligentsia and the ordinary





The election results also reflect a class divide between the intelligentsia and the ordinary people of the country. The low vote for the National Peoples Power (NPP) and similar organisations represents the mismatch of the thinking patterns between the people at the grassroots level and those of the intelligentsia. The necessity of the traditional organisational patterns at the grass roots level does not appear to have been of importance. The urban intelligentsia, mostly professionals, want a regime for good governance, rule of law, and an economic model that would cater for the increasing profitability of a few.





The working people, both rural and urban, however, want to elect a regime that would provide them with work opportunities that satisfy their basic needs, such as shelter and food for the survival of their families. In any political and economic endeavour, both these needs need to be catered for. This can only be done by analysing the prevailing issues based on evidence and their causes. Only then can these issues be addressed and polices developed that address these issues at the ground level. Otherwise the election results for progressive parties will continue to be abysmal, as has been the trend for at least two decades.





We often speak of a high literacy rate in Sri Lanka, but it seems to refer only to those who have the actual ability to read and write. Such a literacy level has not developed the ability at a societal level or the capability at an individual level to develop political empathy in understanding the differences between a monocultural society and a multicultural one with its attendant advantages for long-term peace and prosperity. Is this caused by a tendency to suppress critical thinking ability in the educational process? Does the tertiary educational structure deal with the socio-political issues prevalent in Sri Lanka?





There is unfortunately a global trend in which a strong segment of nationalist intelligentsia does not focus on the betterment of society and the long-term future of the generations to come. Instead, they, like Viyath Maga in Sri Lanka and their collaborators, appear to focus on developing better ways for duping people, promoting individual self-greed with short-term emphasis. Even during the 1920s in Germany, similar intellectual groupings helped Hitler to gain and sustain power, while the media similarly played the role of providing publicity only to Hitlerite Nazi views.





Ordinary people will attend a meeting; listen to leaders and go back home, later to be trapped by the political and idealist influences of the mass media and the organisational networks that largely serve the interests of the privileged and the ultra-nationalists. Without organisational networks at the grass roots level to mobilise people and counter such influences, the efforts of the intelligentsia will fail as attested by the current elections.





In addition, ordinary people who had been previously politically active may have perceived those trying to influence them from the top as leaders, intellectuals or outsiders as a threat rather than working for the collective benefit of all. It had become increasingly difficult to expose the misleading positions presented by the nationalist intelligentsia to the people at the grassroots level due to the barrage of misinformation spread via strong media campaigns. The election results confirm the success of the nationalist intelligentsia and a notable failure of the efforts of the more pluralist orientated approach of the intelligentsia.





The future





The disastrous failure of the political forces that value plurality, diversity, equity, fairness and social justice to get political traction compels us to rethink, re-strategize, regroup and reorganise. Such an effort cannot be made by daydreaming or being an armchair critic. Our most urgent priority is to connect with the ordinary working people both rural and urban; enter into a dialogue with them, learn about the issues that concern them most; and then produce evidence based and consensually agreed solutions on issues that affect their lives.





This will provide the opportunity to critically examine the previous approaches and re-strategize for the future. Only then we could work towards an alliance that is open to all people travelling in the same direction, who are taking diverse paths for achieving the same goals of prosperity, human rights, rule of law and good governance, that will benefit all members of Sri Lankan Society not just a few.





Sri Lankas post-independence history has witnessed on several occasions, regimes coming to power with a two-thirds or a higher majority. Yet they failed, and failed abysmally, leading the country into three major rebellions. Afterwards, the regimes that led to such situations have also been defeated. If the new government traverses a path creating better opportunities for all and a rule-based society that values individual life, treats everyone with dignity and respect, ensures a guaranteed minimum standard of living, and empowers people so they may develop their full potential  then we have a duty and responsibility to support such moves.





Otherwise, it would not be too long before the disillusioned voters take to the streets demanding implementation of the many pledges made to them, in particular the improvement of their socio-economic conditions, in an organised and democratic manner.




State BJP chief Satish Poonia denied these claims, adding that all lawmakers are united and will attend a legislature party meet soon (edited)

Jaipur: The BJP on Saturday shifted six of its MLAs to Gujarats Porbandar ahead of the Rajasthan assembly session beginning 14 August, according to party sources.

They left on a chartered flight for BJP-ruled Gujarat from the Jaipur airport. The legislators will be staying at a luxury resort there and likely to visit the Somnath temple, the sources said.

According to them, 12 party MLAs on Friday had left Rajasthan for Gujarats Ahmedabad where they camping at a resort.

However, state BJP chief Satish Poonia rejected suggestions that his party has started herding their MLAs to a place like the Congress did ahead of the crucial assembly session.

Congress MLAs are holed up in a Jaisalmer hotel as the party has accused the BJP of horse-trading following the revolt of its leader Sachin Pilot and 18 MLAs loyal to him against Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot.

All legislators are united and there is no distrust, Poonia said, adding that people in the Congress government are trying to spread rumours and confusion" about BJP MLAs on social media and other forums.

Poonia said soon a meeting of the BJP legislature party will be held, which will be attended by all MLAs.

Meanwhile, BJP MLA Ashok Lahoti, who accompanied the six legislators to the Jaipur airport, said they were being "harassed" and voluntarily went on a pilgrimage.

"Some BJP legislators are being harassed through police and the administration. Those legislators who are being harassed have gone on a pilgrimage voluntarily," Lahoti told reporters after coming out of the airport.

Deputy Leader of the Opposition Rajendra Rathore said, "If some BJP MLAs went on an educational tour or roam around collectively then it cannot be termed badabandi (fortification)." He said the BJP stays away from such a culture.

The BJP legislators who boarded the flight from the Jaipur airport on Saturday are Nirmal Kumawat, Gopichand Meena, Jabbar Singh Sankhla, Dharamveer Mochi, Gopal Lal Sharma and Gurudeep Singh Shahpini.

The airport authorities too confirmed that six passengers were on the flight to Porbandar.




North Korea's ruling party has delivered special aid packages of food and medical equipment to residents of Kaesong, near the border with the South, after imposing a lockdown there due to COVID-19 concerns, state media said on Sunday.







North Korean leader Kim Jong Un declared an emergency and imposed a lockdown on the small border town last month after a person, who defected to South Korea in 2017, returned to Kaesong across the highly fortified border showing coronavirus symptoms.







Pyongyang has not confirmed any coronavirus infections but has been taking strict quarantine measures and screening the town, while providing food, test kits and other medical equipment, according to state media.







State television on Sunday showed a train arriving at the Kaesong station and trucks delivering supplies to residents.







Separately, hundreds of people wearing masks and sitting apart from one another gathered at a party auditorium to thank authorities for the aid, with some breaking down in tears, footage showed.







The official KCNA news agency said the shipments arrived on Friday to help the residents cope with the lockdown, which "may lead to a deadly and destructive disaster."







North Korea has not formally confirmed that the man in question tested positive for the virus. Seoul officials have said the 24-year-old returned to the North after facing a sexual assault investigation in the South.







South Korean health officials said there was no sign he was infected before he crossed the border, and at least two people who were in close contact with him have tested negative.







South Korea has confirmed 14,598 coronavirus cases and 305 COVID-19 deaths, the Korea Centers for Disease Prevention and Control said on Sunday. (Reuters)


Bethany Racobs-Ashford, the makeup artist with two small children, said the $600 had been a "lifeline."

The 32-year-old Dallas resident was just entering the busy wedding season, when she typically earns the bulk of her income, when the outbreak struck, and she lost her job. Her state unemployment aid amounts to only about $828 a month.

"I don't know what we're going to do now," she said.

Fearing eviction from their home, Racobs-Ashford and her family moved in with her 70-year-old mother. She worries about taking on a new job that could compromise her family's health.

'Godsend'

Jackilyn Lopez of Tucson, Arizona, said the $600 had been a "godsend" for her family since she lost her job as a hygienist in March, when most dental practices shut down. She and her husband have an 18-month old daughter, and Lopez is due to give birth in three weeks.

Her employer has reopened but has yet to recall Lopez. She feels fortunate that her husband has kept his job as an assembly worker at a laser manufacturer. But Lopez, 30, just received her first weekly unemployment check without the $600, and it was only $213.
The number of Victorians fined for breaching coronavirus restrictions has risen to its highest level in more than a fortnight, with those nabbed including a man from Melbourne's west who was caught in the CBD at 2am.

A total of 268 people have been fined for flouting the Chief Health Officer's directions over the past 24 hours, figures from Victoria Police show.

Those fined include a man from St Albans who had travelled more than five kilometres from his home to the CBD and was caught breaching curfew while walking along William Street at 2am on Sunday.

Police said the man told them he had been in the city to visit friends at a hotel and have some drinks.
A team from the Italian fire service continued their work in Beirut, Lebanon, on August 9, assisting local authorities in the wake of a devastating blast that killed at least 154 people and injured thousands more on August 4.

According to the fire service, they were working to combat the chemical risk following the explosion, taking air and sea water quality samples.

Lebanon declared a two-week state of emergency and three days of mourning for victims of the blast. Protesters marched on government buildings on August 8 showing their anger over the governments handling of the situation. Credit: Vigil del Fuoco via Storyful
Countries and international organisations are sending help to Lebanon after a massive explosion in Beirut killed at least 158 people and injured 6,000.

Below are details of some of the assistance offered.

BAHRAIN - A plane with medical supplies.

BANGLADESH - Emergency food, medical supplies and a medical team.

BRITAIN - A 5 million pound ($6.6 million) aid package including search and rescue help and expert medical support. The Royal Navys HMS Enterprise will help asses damage.

CYPRUS - Two helicopters, 10 rescuers and eight rescue dogs. The foreign minister said Nicosia had chartered a plane to deliver medical supplies and repatriate any Cypriots who wanted to leave Beirut. About 50 have already accepted the offer.

CZECH REPUBLIC - A team of 36 people.

DENMARK - An aid package worth 12 million Danish crowns ($1.91 million) to go to relief work, including hospitals in need of equipment as well as securing food, water and shelter.

EGYPT - Two planes with medical supplies.

FRANCE - 55 security personnel, 6 tonnes of health equipment and emergency doctors. French President Emmanuel Macron promised during a visit to Beirut to send more medical and other aid.

GERMANY - Will, if possible, send a 47-strong rescue team. Also 1 million euros in immediate aid via the German Red Cross to establish first aid stations and provide medical equipment.

GREECE - A team of 12 personnel, a rescue dog and two special purpose vehicles.

HUNGARY - 1 million euros of humanitarian aid to help with life-saving efforts and reconstruction.

IRAN - Nine tonnes of food, as well as medicine, medical equipment, medical personnel and a field hospital, according to Iranian media.

IRAQ - A plane with emergency medical aid and fuel aid. Twenty-two tanker trucks carrying 800,000 litres of gasoil arrived on Saturday at the Lebanese border.

ITALY - Two Air Force planes with 8 tonnes of medical equipment and a team of experts, news agency ANSA said.

JORDAN - A Jordanian cargo plane arrived in Lebanon on Saturday carrying medical supplies and food, according to the media office of Beiruts international airport.

KAZAKHSTAN - A Kazakh plane arrived on Saturday in Lebanon transporting four medical teams, according to Beiruts international airport.

KUWAIT - The Kuwait Red Crescent donated 10 ambulances to the Lebanese Red Cross, state media said. It is also distributing 36 tonnes of medical aid.

NETHERLANDS - A 67-person search and rescue team.

NORWAY - 40 tonnes of medical equipment and 25 million Norwegian crowns ($2.79 million) in financial help.

OMAN - Began sending a series of medical and aid flights on Friday, state agency ONA said.

POLAND - Medical materials and rescuers. Polands State Fire Service will send 39 rescuers and four dogs.

QATAR - Dispatched the first of four planned flights on Wednesday with medical aid, and will deliver two field hospitals of 500 beds each, with respirators and other medical supplies.

ROMANIA - Sent two planes carrying medical supplies, according to Beiruts international airport.

RUSSIA - Five planes carrying medical equipment, a field hospital and medical personnel. All medical staff will be equipped with protective gear due to the coronavirus pandemic.

SAUDI ARABIA - Sent its first batch of aid on Friday, state agency SPA said. Two aid planes carrying more than 120 tonnes of medicine, medical aid and emergency supplies, tents and food were sent, including a supervisory team.

SOUTH KOREA - A $1 million emergency aid package.

SWEDEN - Medical equipment and around half a dozen emergency staff joining the European Unions on-the-ground efforts.

TUNISIA - Two planes carrying food and medical aid. The president said his country could treat up to 100 of the casualties in its hospitals.

TURKEY - Sent a medical team and supplies as well as a search and rescue team. Vice President Fuat Otkay said Turkey delivered 400 tonnes of wheat to Lebanon via the Turkish aid agency TIKA. Turkey also mobilised a kitchen at a Palestinian refugee camp, according to humanitarian foundation IHH. Otkay said on Saturday that Turkey is ready to help rebuild Beirut port and that Turkeys Mersin port is ready to help Lebanon with customs clearance and warehousing services of large shipments.

UAE - Has sent 30 tonnes of medical supplies from the International Humanitarian City emergency aid hub in Dubai and the Emirates Red Crescent sent 40 tonnes of medical and food supplies, state media said.

UNITED STATES - Pledged more than $17 million in initial disaster aid for Lebanon, the U.S. Embassy said on Friday.

EUROPEAN UNION - Activating a programme that helps countries after natural disasters, and more than 100 firefighters are being deployed with vehicles, dogs and equipment for search and rescue. Activated Copernicus satellite mapping system to help assess the damage. The head of the EU executive said it is ready to help Lebanon with preferential trade and customs backing.

UNITED NATIONS - Releasing $9 million from the Lebanese Humanitarian Fund and additional funding from the Central Emergency Response Fund. Deploying teams to assist with the emergency response.

WORLD FOOD PROGRAMME - Plans to import wheat flour and grains for bakeries and mills to help protect against food shortages, the U.N. agency said on Friday.

WHO, IFRC - The World Health Organization and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies have sent medical supplies, including personal protective equipment, medicine and surgical equipment. The WHO is appealing for $15 million to cover emergency health needs.

WORLD BANK - The group said it would work with Lebanons partners to mobilise financing for reconstruction and recovery, and would be also willing to reprogram existing resources and explore additional financing to support rebuilding lives and livelihoods of people impacted by this disaster".

INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND - The IMF said it is exploring all possible ways to support the Lebanese people.

Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor
Japanese Prime Minister Abe Shinzo says he will work to prevent the elderly and other vulnerable people from contracting the coronavirus to avoid declaring another state of emergency.

Abe held a news conference in Nagasaki on Sunday after attending the Peace Memorial Ceremony to remember the victims of the atomic bomb.

He said that while the number of new cases has been rising, not many patients have been hospitalized, and not many are in serious condition. There is also a sufficient number of hospital beds.

He said the pandemic is expected to have a bigger impact on Japan's economy than the 2008 global financial crisis did.

He said the spending package totaling 1 trillion yen, or about 9.4 billion dollars, approved by the cabinet on Friday, will go toward helping small and medium-sized businesses.

He said additional support will be considered for medical organizations, as needed.

Abe said the Go To Travel campaign will continue, with the aim of establishing new, safe ways to travel in a world with the coronavirus. Under the campaign, the government helps cover costs of hotels and inns.

The prime minister also called on people visiting their hometowns during the Bon summer holiday period to avoid risky situations, such as meals in big groups.
CHICAGO  Gov. J.B. Pritzker used his time during his daily COVID-19 briefing Sunday to back up his mandate regarding businesses enforcing patrons and employees to wear face masks.

Both Pritzker and Director of the Illinois Department of Public Health Dr. Ngozi Ezike used hard facts to back up the mandate recently announced by Pritzker on Friday and the importance of wearing face masks in public.

Were dealing with a deadly virus [that] 7,636 individuals have lost their fight with COVID. Thats a cold hard fact; if theres any debate about that, ask the doctors and the nurses that fought to try to save them. Ask their grieving loved ones, Ezike said. Number two, the numbers are going up in Illinois and we need to control that. And number three, we all have a desire to get back to our lives.

The Madison County Health Department (MCHD) reported 53 new cases with a total of 1,412 active cases, no additional deaths and 831 tests from Saturday to Sunday. MCHD reported that the towns with the most new cases are: Alton with 14, Highland with 11 and Collinsville with six. Edwardsville saw one additional case and Glen Carbon saw three more cases.

MCHD also reported the top three age groups included in new cases are: those in their 40s with 11 new cases, those in their 20s with 10 new cases and those in their 30s with nine new cases.

IDPH reported an additional 1,382 cases and eight deaths Sunday. Ezike added that there were just under 42,000 tests conducted from Saturday to Sunday. She also said there are 1,488 patients hospitalized, 322 in the ICU and 114 on ventilators in Illinois.

We want to hold businesses accountable to protect their customers, to protect their workers, which of course, will protect our communities, Ezike said. People are going out of their homes regularly, thats great. We just need to wear a face covering, wash our hands and socially distance.

Pritzker explained that throughout the many counties and different municipalities, not all have ordinances that would give them the power to enforce wearing face coverings. He explained that some either dont have anything at all or they have something that could result in that business losing its license.

So we wanted to do was to give something in between and thats why this rule makes so much sense, Pritzker explained.

When asked about how to enforce wearing face masks outside of businesses like at school sporting events or other events, he explained that he is giving municipalities and counties the authority to do so.

To the extent that people are not following the rules. Local county public health officials, for example, have the ability to go in starting with a warning, working with the schools to try and rectify the matter, Pritzker said. But ultimately, we do have the ability to shut down a school if they just refuse to enforce.

As a way to help parents and community members to understand the impact of COVID-19 in the United States, guest speaker Dr. Robert Murphy explained what the future is projected to be.

The United States already has five million cases with 161,000 deaths, he said. Murphy is an executive director for the Institute for Global Health (IGH) and director of IGHs Center for Global Communicable Diseases.

Lets put it into a perspective people can relate to. The 10 causes of death in the United States are well-known and documented. COVID is expected to kill 300,000 people in the United States this year, Murphy explained. Where does it put it on the list of what people die from? Its third. Theres heart disease, theres cancer and theres COVID.

Murphy ended his time by explaining that wearing a face mask and socially distancing is not that hard.
The TV miniseries "Mrs. America" makes it seem that Phyllis Schlafly (played by Cate Blanchett, left) led women to upend the Equal Rights Amendment. Men defeated it then and may do so again. (Sabrina Lantos / FX, left; Associated Press file, right)

In February, the House voted to remove the deadline on ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment, just weeks after Virginia took a long-delayed vote and pushed the ERA over the 38-state-ratification threshold required by the Constitution. Now, if the Senate seconds the House, the 28th Amendment could become part of the supreme law of the land: Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex.

The Trump administration and other opponents insist the ERA expired irrevocably when it failed by three states to meet a ratification deadline first set at 1979, seven years from passage in Congress, and then extended to 1982. In addition, five ratifying states by then had voted to rescind their support. Nonetheless, there are cogent legal arguments that say Congress has it in its power to resolve those issues and resurrect the ERA ratification process from the legislative graveyard.

Just in time for the debate on a revivified ERA, FX unveiled its miniseries Mrs. America about conservative icon Phyllis Schlafly and her grass-roots attack on equal rights in the 1970s. In it, Schlafly, played by Cate Blanchett (who just received an Emmy nomination for the role), pits mothers and homemakers against feminists in a campaign built on misinformation and fear. Women fighting women, we gather from Mrs. America, wiped out the ERA for a generation.

In reality, the amendments success or failure was then and is now primarily in the hands of men. Fifty years ago, the ERAs chances were poisoned by the choices of a few powerful male leaders in Washington and in state legislatures. Now similar forces are poised to do it all over again.

In 1970, there were only 10 women in the House of Representatives and one in the Senate. For more than a decade, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Emanuel Celler had blocked the ERA from reaching the floor for a debate or a vote. Finally, Rep. Martha Griffiths (D-Mich.) used a discharge petition to wrench it out of committee. Given the chance to vote on it, the House supported the amendment  with no ratification deadline  352 to 15, a 96% majority.

Story continues

But when the ERA proceeded to the Senate, the maneuvers of its opponents prevailed. It was Southern conservative Sam Ervin (D-N.C.) who proposed limiting the time states would have to ratify the amendment; he also demanded the addition of a provision exempting women from the draft. Others tacked a right to school prayer onto it. With the session ending, the ERAs enemies made full use of the Senate rule allowing unlimited debate: It died without a vote.

Griffiths began again in 1971, this time adding Ervins proposed seven-year ratification deadline to the amendment, in a bid to quiet critics and gain supporters. But the men who insisted on the deadline  Celler and Ervin  voted against the ERA anyway.

Nonetheless, in March 1972 both houses of Congress voted to adopt the Equal Rights Amendment in numbers that suggest it could have reached the necessary two-thirds vote even without a ratification deadline.

Schlafly began her campaign when the battle moved to state legislatures. Equal rights, her newsletter said, would end womens privileges. It would eliminate alimony, require unisex bathrooms and, in an echo of Ervins floor speeches, send mothers to war.

Never mind that simply requiring gender neutral laws in no way foretold such consequences. Schlaflys distortions ignored what the ERAs female framers had shaped: A level playing field to help wife, abandoned wife, and widow in supporting her family by opening up opportunities from which she was excluded.

The ERA would not downgrade the roles of mother and housewife, but give [them] new dignity, argued Rep. Florence Dwyer (R-N.J.). Reps. Patsy Mink (D-Hawaii) and Shirley Chisholm (D-N.Y.), the first women of color to be elected to Congress, argued that the ERA wouldnt so much force women into the draft as end it entirely. (The U.S., already moving in that direction, switched to a volunteer army in 1973.)

In a well-functioning constitutional democracy, proposed amendments deserve reasoned debate and a vote by lawmakers responsive to the will of the people. But the ERAs opponents did all they could to prevent that in key state legislatures.

In Virginia, for example, the most senior men in the House of Delegates and in the Senate kept the ERA in committee by any means necessary. As the ratification clock was ticking, these delay tactics prevented the debate needed to inform Virginians about what the ERA would do, just as it shielded politicians from publicly siding for or against womens rights. It allowed a few men to let the ERA die without taking full political responsibility for killing it.

This history reflects the fact that women have never had the numbers to make the Constitution change without getting men to back them up. Even today, with women in both houses of Congress at an all-time high, they represent just 23.2% of the House and 26% of the Senate. Congressmen can adopt an amendment while ignoring the will of every single female member.

Likewise, in every state except Nevada, men hold a majority of the seats in the legislature. There too men can ratify a constitutional amendment without even trying to persuade a single female colleague.

Polls show that three-fourths of Americans support the Equal Rights Amendment. If the Senate chose to follow the House and lift the ERAs ratification deadline, the door would be opened to giving women their due in the Constitution. However, like Emanuel Celler and Sam Ervin before him, todays ERA gatekeeper, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has said hes personally not a supporter.

Instead of blaming women for the failure to ratify the ERA, we should challenge the process of constitutional change and the men who exert power over it.

Julie C. Suk, a professor of sociology and political science at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York, is the author of "We the Women: The Unstoppable Mothers of the Equal Rights Amendment."
Justin Wilson, 26, was released from jail while awaiting his theft trial in April and is now accused of first-degree murder in the July 23 death of a 63-year-old man

Police say that a Maryland inmate who was released from jail over coronavirus concerns stabbed a 63-year-old man to death in late July.

Justin Wilson, 26, of Germantown, Maryland, faces a first degree murder charges for the July 23 death of Edigio Ienzi, 63, also of Germantown.

According to court records, a Montgomery County judge had released Wilson from jail in April, due to coronavirus concerns.

Wilson had filed an emergency petition with the court to be released due to the 'immediate threat posed by [the] COVID-19 pandemic,' ABC 7 reported.

Wilson had been in Montgomery County Correctional Facility while waiting for a trial on several theft charges, in addition to rogue and vagabond charges, which are usually applied to situations where police believe the suspect was breaking into a car or was carrying burglarly tools.

Police said that one of Ienzi's relatives - his 16-year-old daughter - said she saw Ienzi struggling with Wilson, who was holding a knife on the morning of July 23.

Ienzi died from stab wounds while at a nearby hospital later that day.

The day after his death, police said his son told them that surveillance video confirmed his suspicion that Wilson had killed his father.

Edigio Ienzi, 63, was fatally stabbed in his home on the morning of July 23. Police believe that Wilson stabbed him just weeks after Ienzi's son said he had visited their home

The son said that he knew Wilson well and that they had met two years prior. At some point, the son had told Wilson that Ienzi was fond of gambling and that they had multiple safes within the home.

Shortly after Wilson had visit the home about three to four weeks prior to Ienzi's death, Ienzi discovered that about 30 of his silver coins had gone missing.

It's unclear why Ienzi had gone back to Wilson's home the morning of July 23.

An arrest warrant was issued for Wilson on July 25 and he was arrested in Stafford County, Virginia, on July 28.

A judge denied Wilson bond.

Wilson had been freed from jail on a $5,000 unsecured personal bond on April 30.
Experts say Victoria may be gaining control of the coronavirus outbreak as daily case numbers hover around 500.

Australia's Deputy Chief Medical Officer Nick Coatsworth said on Sunday the coronavirus-ravaged state's infection rate has stabilised.

'It appears we're in the plateau but we're looking for the inflection point that tells Victorians that their efforts are being rewarded,' he said.

Hari Krishnas cheerfully singing on the St Kilda foreshore on Sunday. Experts have taken heart that Victoria's daily new infection rate appears to be dropping

It's not time to celebrate yet, but hope is there in the falling new infection rate

'We haven't seen that yet but I have no doubt that we will see it. If you consider that stage three restrictions had us almost at a plateau, then the stage four restrictions will produce a result.'

New daily case numbers in Victoria have been stuck around 500 for the past seven days, falling to 394 new cases on Sunday with 17 new deaths.

Dr Coatsworth said the pandemic was challenging as you 'never really know where you are on the curve'.

The rate at which the virus spreads is called the 'reproductive number' or R-0.

A family frolicks in a St Kilda park in Melbourne on Sunday as new case numbers fall

If the R-0 is at one, then R-1 means that every person with the virus spreads it to one other person.

Numbers above R-1 mean a virus will spread exponentially, but if the reproductive number falls below one then the virus will slowly fizzle out.

COVID-19 has a natural median reproductive number of R5.7, according to a study published in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases, which explains why it exploded all over Victoria.

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

Victoria's outbreak now has a basic reproductive number of R-1 - or just below one, Dr Coatsworth said on Sunday.

'The ideal situation would be if we could see that reproductive number at 0.5,' he said.

'We don't have enough data at the moment from the numbers to see whether that's approaching 0.5, but in the coming days to week we will see that.'

Grim secret modelling by the Victorian Government leaked on Wednesday estimated the daily case load would rise to 1100 by the end of this week.

The dire forecast showed case numbers would then hover above 1000 per day and would not fall below current levels until the end of August.

High case numbers would persist well into September and October, topping 300 a day when the state's stage four lockdown is due to end in September, according to documents leaked to The Australian.

But with the stage four lockdown reducing numbers quickly, there is a new burst of optimism, which was matched last Thursday by epidemiologist Professor Tony Blakely from the University of Melbourne.

Professor Blakely used a five-day moving average to smooth out the daily numbers, saying the outbreak has already peaked thanks to mask wearing.

'It looks like the curve turned at 30 July. But more importantly, it makes sense.' he said.

The professor said July 30 was about one week from when mandatory mask wearing was put in place by the Victorian government - which is also slightly more than the virus's five day incubation period.

A lone protester was detained after a proposed anti-lockdown rally did not materialise in Melbourne on Sunday. The harsh lockdown and mandatory facemasks have already got new infection numbers falling, giving hope to the community

'Mask wearing appears to have bent the curve, consistent with expectation. Or put another way, the numbers would be higher now without mask wearing, and much higher again without Stage 3 restrictions,' he said.

He predicted a significant drop in the smoothed-out daily numbers would occur about 10 days from when Victoria put Stage 4 restrictions in place on Thursday.

He said once the numbers drop to around 200 per day, which he expects stage four restrictions will achieve, then contact tracing teams will be less overwhelmed and the state will be able to keep the numbers down.

There are now 634 people with coronavirus in hospital in Victoria of which 43 are in intensive care, Victoria's Department of Health and Human Services said on Sunday.

Grim Victorian government modelling predicted coronavirus cases would peak in mid to late August, with average daily new cases hitting 1,100 per day - but experts now think this unlikely

Professor Tony Blakely's five-day average chart predicted Victoria's outbreak has already peaked and is now on the way down. Professor Blakely is optimistic that facemasks and the lockdown have reduced the virus transmission already

People enjoy St Kilda pier on Sunday in Melbourne with their masks and face shields firmly on as residents stick to Stage Four lockdown rules in order to crush the virus outbreak

So far, 1725 of Victoria's healthcare workers have been struck down by the virus of which 994 are still active cases.

Melbourne's metropolitan area has been the hardest hit with 13,445 cases compared with just 889 from regional Victoria.

On Sunday the state recorded 394 new cases taking the state's total to 14,659 of which 7854 are active.

Little Italy in Lygon Street, Melbourne, on Sunday where 22 premises once bustling with cafes and restaurants are now empty. Residents hope things may return to normal in six weeks

Dr Coatsworth issued a plea for everyone to download and activate the Government's COVIDSafe app on their mobile phones, saying it was needed now that states other than Victoria are easing their lockdowns.

'We see what happens when you have an essentially open economy as you do in New South Wales,' he said.

'And that's where COVIDSafe comes into its own.'

In Sydney's western suburbs, 544 people were traced through the app which led to the positive identification of two new COVID-19 cases, Dr Coatsworth said.

New South Wales recorded 10 new coronavirus cases on Sunday, only one of which was a returned overseas traveller in hotel quarantine.

St Kilda pier, Melbourne, pictured on Sunday

Seven new cases are close contacts of previous cases, while two are being investigated.

New South Wales is the only other state to be consistently reporting new cases, with new case numbers hovering from 10 to 15 over the past week.

Health authorities have warned against complacency in New South Wales after 11 new infections were found with no known source.

Worldwide there were 19.9 million coronavirus cases as of the early hours of Monday morning, of which 6.3 million are active cases, 12.7 million have recovered and 731,104 people have died, according to Worldometers statistics.

The country with the highest numbers continued to be the USA with 5.1 million cases, followed by Brazil at 3 million and India on 2.2 million.
Gov. Kim Reynolds said U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams influenced her decision to set guidelines for resuming in-person classroom education.

There is no hard cutoff right now, but in general, we like to see positivity rates less than 10% in a community, Adams told CBS Face the Nation.

Thats higher than the World Health Organization; Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control; and most epidemiologists who use a 5% rate among those tested for COVID-19 as a reopening benchmark.

Reynolds, though, upped the bar to 15-20% for schools  a county average over a 14-day period  along with 10% absenteeism.

At that point, schools are suggested to follow hybrid learning plans based on parent preference and student quarantine and petition the state Department of Education for 14 days of exclusive virtual instruction online.

The state positivity rate is 9%. Webster, Clarke, Franklin, Humboldt, Fremont, and Shelby counties are above 15%.

Reynolds decree comes after state DOE guidelines didnt require face coverings, temperature checks or social distancing standards.

That was roundly criticized by the Iowa State Education Association and the School Administrators of Iowa. The ISEA wants a 5% positivity rate. As it stands, nationwide surveys show 20-33% of teachers are unlikely to return to classrooms.

While the DOE cites local control, Reynolds decries it.

She put Des Moines, Iowa City, Ames, Urbandale, Waukee and other districts on notice Tuesday that if they started the school year with online-only classes, consequences would follow.

Schools that choose not to return to school for at least 50% in-person instruction are not defying me, they are defying the law, Reynolds said. If schools move to primarily remote learning without approval, according again to the law, those days do not count toward instructional time.

In addition, she said administrators could face licensure discipline.

Reynolds contends theyd be violating Senate File 2310, which the Legislature unanimously passed, requiring schools submit return-to-learn plans containingprovisions for in-person instruction and provide that in-person instruction is the presumed method of instruction.

The issue, though, is Reynolds high 15% positivity rate. Urbandale and Waukee are threatening to sue her. State Rep. John Forbes, D-Urbandale, backs his local board.

I think we need to get more local control back to school districts here in the state of Iowa and let elected officials  the school board members who are elected by the residents of their communities  make those decisions on whats best for students, he said.

Waterloo and Cedar Falls are planning scenarios based on the three options of in-person classes, virtual learning and a hybrid of the two, while bulking up on computers for students.

It would help if Reynolds occasionally provided a rationale for her decisions. State epidemiologist Dr. Caitlin Pedati called 15% a starting point, but wouldnt say how it was determined.

Neither would Reynolds release her pandemic plan with its mysterious matrix to the Des Moines Register. The Cedar Rapids Gazette reported it was done in consultation with Pedati and deputy state epidemiologist Dr. Ann Garvey, but not experts at the University of Iowa.

On April 15, Pedati asked the CDC for help with the coronavirus at meatpacking plants, according to messages obtained by the nonprofit Iowa Capital Dispatch.

We are still working on gathering a little more information from our partners, and so are not quite yet ready to make a request but if its OK I would like to keep in touch as things evolve.

Partners literally meant meatpackers. KCCI in Des Moines reported that Matt Eide, a Tyson lobbyist, donated thousands of dollars to Reynolds campaign in 2018.

On April 20, Reynolds said shed discussed strategies with Tyson. Coincidentally, nine hours later Pedati rejected a CDC offer to assist with contact tracing data entry, employee screening, foreign language barriers and other issues.

On May 5, The Iowa Department of Public Health reported 1,600 meatpacking plant workers had COVID-19.

When the Iowa Capital Dispatch sought other emails, the state wanted $9,893.68 so a lawyer could review them first.

In addition, the public is clueless about how the $26 million Test Iowa data compares to other outcomes.

Reynoldss approval rating for handling the pandemic is 28%, worst among all governors and 1% lower than President Donald Trump in Iowa, according to the COVID-19 Consortium involving Northwestern, Harvard, Rutgers and Northeastern universities. The average national is 51%.

Reynolds blames the alarmist media.

On July 16, the state recorded its 777th coronavirus death. Iowa has now recorded more than 900. The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington predicted in March that wouldnt happen until Aug.4. It now projects between 1,100 and 1,800 Iowans will die from COVID-19 by Nov. 1.

The lower number is based on taking added precautions. That doesnt seem to be an overriding concern with education.
Four children have been identified among the 16 passengers who died when an Air India Express flight crashed Friday in the southern Indian state of Kerala, an official said.



All sixteen were residents of Kerala, according to K Gopalakrishnan, a senior official for Malappuram district. A total of 18 people died, including two pilots.



Details from the flight manifest, released by Air India Express, showed that the youngest casualty was only one year old. The oldest passenger to have died was 61.



One of the victims has tested positive for coronavirus, according to Kerala's chief minister. The plane was one of the repatriation flights operated by the Indian government to bring back nationals stranded abroad due to Covid-19 travel restrictions, according to the Air India website.



Flight IX-1344 crashed after skidding off the runway and breaking into two while landing at Kozhikode Calicut International Airport on Friday night local time.



People stand Saturday by the debris of the Air India Express flight that skidded off a runway while landing in Kozhikode, Kerala state, India.



The flight from Dubai had 190 people on board at the time, according to Air India Express.



Images from the scene Friday showed a broken fuselage with pieces of the plane scattered across what appeared to be a field, as well as people searching through the debris.



"Around 100 ambulance services were deployed to take the injured passengers to hospitals. The injured have been admitted to hospitals in Kozhikode and Malappuram districts," read a tweet from Gopalakrishnan.



Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, who arrived in Kozhikode on Saturday, tweeted that 149 people had been admitted to various hospitals, of whom three were critically injured. A further 23 have been discharged, he said.



He said he was present to "take stock of the status (and) implementation of relief measures" after the crash, and would consult with senior civil aviation officials. The flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder have been recovered from the wreckage, he said.



A formal investigation into the crash will be conducted by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), Puri said.

The flight overshot the runway in rainy conditions, "went down 35-feet into a slope before breaking up into two pieces," he told CNN Friday.



Puri also offered his "heartfelt condolences" to the families and friends of those killed and wished the injured a speedy recovery.



A man walks near the wreckage of the Air India Express plane on Saturday.

One of those killed in the crash tested positive for Covid-19, a statement from Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said Saturday.



Vijayan said all the passengers who were on the plane would be tested for coronavirus.

In a Twitter post, Shailaja Teacher, the state's Minister for Health, thanked rescue workers for their timely response in the aftermath of the incident.



Some rescue workers had to prioritize saving lives and not everyone was able to follow Covid-19 protocols, the minister said.



"We understand that while rushing to the site many of you were not able to follow COVID-19 protocol. Our priority was to save lives," she wrote. "However, now we have to be vigilant again. We urge all who have been to the crash site to take necessary measures to keep yourself and others safe."









Reached Kozhikode to take stock of the status & implementation of relief measures after the air accident last evening.



Will hold consultations with senior civil aviation officials & professionals. pic.twitter.com/wyjFkbaJrH

 Hardeep Singh Puri (@HardeepSPuri) August 8, 2020

Source: cnn.com









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National security advisor Robert O'Brien attends a briefing on Enhanced Narcotics Operations at the U.S. Southern Command in Doral, Fla., on July 10, 2020. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)

Chinese Regime Targeting US Election Infrastructure With Cyberattacks: OBrien

National security adviser Robert OBrien said the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is targeting U.S. election infrastructure with cyberattacks leading up to the November election, suggesting a more active level of CCP interference.

His comments came after a statement released by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence said that the CCP is trying to expand its influence on the election.

Theyd like to see the president lose, OBrien said on CBS Face the Nation, referring to the CCP.

Chinalike Russia, like Irantheyve engaged in cyberattacks and phishing and that sort of thing with respect to our election infrastructure, with respect to websites and that sort of thing, the adviser said on Sunday.

In response to a question from CBS Margaret Brennan that both the Kremlin and the CCP have attempted to access state websites to collect data, OBrien responded, Its a real concern  But its not just Russia, Margaret, its the Chinese dont want the president reelected.

In elaborating, OBrien said U.S. officials have seen hackers attempt to infiltrate Secretary of State websites that belong to offices positioned around the nation. Those offices are responsible for administering elections at the local level, while collecting data.

President Donald Trump talks to journalists during a news conference about his administrations response to the ongoing global CCP virus pandemic in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House in Washington, on July 22, 2020. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

It is a real concern and its not just Russia, he said. There will be severe consequences for any country that attempts to interfere in our free and fair elections.

OBrien said that it doesnt matter whether Russia or China prefers Trump or presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden.

Whether their leaders prefer Joe Biden or prefer Donald Trump, it doesnt matter. Were Americans. Were not going to have foreign countries deciding who our next president is going to be. Thats outrageous, he told CBS.

Last week, William Evanina, director of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center, made the assessment that China prefers that President Trumpwhom Beijing sees as unpredictabledoes not win reelection.

The CCP is working hard to put pressure on elected officials and candidates party leaders view as being opposed to Chinas interests.

Although China will continue to weigh the risks and benefits of aggressive action, its public rhetoric over the past few months has grown increasingly critical of the current Administrations COVID-19 response, closure of Chinas Houston Consulate, and actions on other issues, Evanina said. He noted that recent statements from Beijing support his assessment.

For example, it has harshly criticized the Administrations statements and actions on Hong Kong, TikTok, the legal status of the South China Sea, and Chinas efforts to dominate the 5G market. Beijing recognizes that all of these efforts might affect the presidential race, he said.

The Trump administration has placed sanctions on officials over rights abuses in Chinas western Xinjiang region and curbing freedoms in Hong Kong. He also barred transactions with the CCP-linked owners of WeChat and TikTok.

Meanwhile, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, a frequent critic of the CCP, recently highlighted the decades-long persecution of the Falun Gong spiritual practice. 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, he said on July 20, the 21st anniversary of the start of Beijings persecution campaign.




Special envoys appointed by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa to embark on a fact-finding mission to Zimbabwe are welcome as the administration in Harare has nothing to hide, but characters such as Mr Julius Malema and former Botswana President Seretse Ian Khama have no grounds to interfere in Zimbabwes internal matters, a senior official has said.





President Ramaphosa last week appointed former South African Speaker of Parliament Baleka Mbete and ex-Cabinet minister Dr Sydney Mufamadi as special emissaries to Zimbabwe and tasked them with understanding the difficulties that the country is facing in the wake of unconfirmed human rights violation reports peddled by the opposition and anti-Government political activists.





Mr Malema, who is the leader of South Africas opposition party, Economic Freedom Front, and Mr Khama, who is now an opposition activist in his country, have been making noise in support of the anti-Zimbabwe campaign, which is being backed by Western detractors.





Addressing journalists in Harare yesterday, Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association (ZNLWVA) secretary-general Cde Victor Matemadanda said President Ramaphosa had done the right thing by dispatching emissaries before commenting on the situation in Zimbabwe.





We have a very good camaraderie with the ANC. In terms of the South African Government, we appreciate that they set up a fact finding mission that is going to put the record straight, he said.





They want to appreciate and understand what is going on before they comment. As Zimbabwe, we know that we have nothing to hide.





We expect that if it is found that these people are lying, action must be taken against them so that we bring sanity to the region.





Cde Matemadanda, who is deputy Minister of Defence and War Veterans Affairs as well as Zanu PF national commissar, said South Africa and Zimbabwe share strong historical links through their respective liberation movements.





He said in commenting about Zimbabwe without facts, Mr Malema has exposed his naivety as a politician.





Cde Matemadanda said Mr Malema was closely associated with members of the G40 faction who are hiding in South Africa and are behind the recent anti-Zimbabwe campaign in the neighbouring country.





We know where Malemas bread is buttered. South Africa has complained to the New Dispensation that Malema was given funding by some Zimbabweans to form EFF. So his comments are based on myopic thinking, he said.





Cde Matemadanda pulled no punches in attacking Mr Khama who has been posting social media messages denigrating Zimbabwe.





All this hype about failed former Botswana leader Khama, the one who has even failed to get a wife for himself, thinks he can pronounce himself on Zimbabwe. He failed as a President thinking that the Batswana were foolish and now he wants to be involved in Zimbabwean politics. Zimbabwe cannot be dictated to by outsiders who choose to entertain fellow sell-outs, no we cannot accept that.





Cde Matemadanda said Zimbabwe respects the sovereignty of other States and no one has the right to interfere in the countrys internal affairs.





He blasted the US Embassy in Harare.





#ZimbabweanLivesMatter is being funded by people that created havoc in Iraq. America is very good at lying and they sponsor anarchy, said Cde Matemadanda.





The world was made to believe that there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. The hype just died a natural death after they (US) killed a State President.





They went scot free. They created the same lie in Libya to kill Muammar Gaddafi. America is not a peace making nation, it is concerned and worried only about its own interests.





We go for elections after every five years in Zimbabwe and no party has been denied a right to contest.




RACINE  Some of the items approved by the City Council during its meeting Tuesday night:

Contact tracers to be hired

The city has been awarded $933,257 in grants to go toward its COVID-19 response.

The Health Department has proposed that the two largest grants, which include a $688,860 contact tracing grant and a $127,800 testing coordinator grant, should go toward hiring five contact tracers through Maxim HealthCare Services, a medical staffing service. The contact tracers would be based out of the Health Department and would be licensed registered nurses.

Aldermen John Tate II and Jeffrey Peterson asked why certified nursing assistants could not qualify and expressed concerns that the registered nurse licensing requirement could restrict the pool of applicants, since they wanted to see those jobs prioritized for City of Racine residents.

City Attorney Scott Letteney explained that state statutes require public health officials to be licensed registered nurses or be supervised by registered nurses. Public Health Administrator Dottie-Kay Bowersox said her office wanted to prioritize registered nurses so they would not require as much supervision by Health Department officials.

In addition to COVID-19, we still have our normal communicable diseases that we investigate, said Bowersox. The less time we can spend on these contracted individuals, and the more they are able to work independently, the better.

Tate made a motion to amend the contract with Maxim to require that 80% of the 11 people hired be from the City of Racine, which was unanimously approved by the council.

Aldermen Henry Perez and Carrie Glenn were concerned that the contract had not been completed when presented to the council. In addition, a few aldermen were concerned about what would happen if Maxim did not agree to the amendment.

Ultimately the motion to grant the city permission to move forward with the contract was approved, 10-3 with Perez, Glenn and aldermen Edwin Santiago voting in opposition. Aldermen Mollie Jones, Tate, Jen Levie, Jeffrey Peterson, Maurice Horton, Trevor Jung, Mary Land, Natalia Taft, Jason Meekma and Melissa Lemke voted in favor.

The rest of the COVID-19 grants are for:

$24,200 to improve testing capacity.

$62,397 to continuing emergency preparedness, such as filling vacant positions.

$30,000 to go toward evaluating and updating the citys pandemic plan and to develop a plan for mass vaccination clinics.

Election preparations

A number of agenda items were approved to prepare for the Nov. 3 election and are being paid for using safe election grant funds provided by the Center for Tech and Civic Life:

A contract with Kane Communications to conduct outreach in advance of the fall election for up to $120,000.

The purchase of 40 Badger Books for up to $80,000.

A contract with Burlington RV to purchase a mobile voting precinct for up to $250,000.

Peterson voiced his displeasure with issuing a no-bid contract. City Clerk Tara Coolidge said that Kane was selected because it is a Racine-based company, has worked with the city before and a request for proposals would not have left enough time to conduct actual outreach ahead of the election.

The contract passed, with Jones, Tate, Santiago, Levie, Horton, Jung, Land, Perez, Taft and Meekma voting in support. Peterson and Glenn voted in opposition. Lemke abstained since she has worked professionally with Kane. Aldermen Coe and West were absent.

Perez asked about the decision to hire Yorkville-based Burlington RV for the mobile voting precinct. Coolidge said that it was either Burlington RV or a company in North Carolina. Burlington RV had completed mobile command units for local law enforcement and was close by in case the unit needed repairs.

The mobile voting precinct will be deployed at satellite polling locations for in-person advanced absentee voting, which Coolidge said would open up more location possibilities. Ballots would be returned to City Hall and secured at the end of each day.

The council Tuesday also approved:

The municipal agreement between the city and the Wisconsin Department of Transportation for the reconstruction of Highway 20 from Roosevelt Avenue to West Boulevard.

A reduction of the interest charged for special assessments from 6% to 4.5%.

This story has been modified from an earlier version. During the discussion on contact tracers officials misspoke about how many would be hired, which is actually 11.

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(Newser)  Thousands of delegates from across Afghanistan endorsed releasing the nation's final 400 Taliban prisoners in an effort to encourage the start of peace talks. "The Taliban have said that if the 400 prisoners are released the direct talks between our negotiating team and the Taliban will start three days later," President Ashraf Ghani told the gathering Friday, the New York Times reports. Delegates then debated for two days in often-contentious committee meetings. A staff member tackled a delegate holding a "Giving in to Taliban bullying is treason" sign when she resisted being expelled. In announcing Sunday that he planned to sign the decree, Ghani said, "We faced a choice, and our decision was made easier today." Human rights groups have opposed the release of the prisoners, who had launched attacks on Afghans as well as foreigners, per the BBC.

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The US had agreed to the precondition for talks earlier this year; Secretary of State Mike Pompeo issued a statement to the assembly saying the Taliban had agreed to direct negotiations once the prisoners are free. The Taliban also committed to reducing violence during the peace talks and addressing a permanent cease-fire. On Saturday, the US said it will reduce the number of its troops in Afghanistan to less than 5,000 by the end of November. The pandemic also was an issue at the meeting; the full assembly met under one tent. Photos showed few covering their faces, though Ghani wore a mask. The government said that 17 delegates were hospitalized when they tested positive for the coronavirus just before the meeting and that everyone else was cleared. Many delegates, however, said they hadn't been tested. (Read more Afghanistan stories.)
By PTI

AURANGABAD: In a suspected case of honour killing in Bihar's Aurangabad district, a 19-year-old woman and his 22-year-old boyfriend were stabbed to death allegedly by her family members and an attempt was made to cremate the two bodies, a senior police officer said on Sunday.

Two persons have been arrested in this connection, and at least three others detained for questioning, Aurangabad Superintendent of Police (SP) Pankaj Kumar said.

The victims, residents of Kapasia village in Mufassil police station area of the district, were in a relationship for the past two years, he said.

"The woman was at her boyfriend's residence on Saturday morning when her family members reached there and asked her to leave immediately. As she refused, her brother allegedly stabbed the two of them to death. The 22-year-old was probably alone at home during the time of the incident. Prima facie, it seems to be a case of honour killing," the SP said.

Her family members then reportedly took the two bodies to a nearby river ghat, and set them alight on a pyre.

Upon suspicion, a few locals informed the police, he said. A team of police officers reached the spot and took the half-burnt bodies into custody, the SP said.

"An FIR has been lodged in the case and 10-12 persons from both the families have been named accused. Two persons, the man's brother and uncle, have been arrested for their alleged involvement in the incident, and at least three persons detained so far," he told PTI, adding that the woman's family members are on the run.
First preliminary results are due early August 10.

The Central Election Commission in Belarus has declared the country's August 9 presidential election as valid, announcing shortly after noon local time that 54 percent of eligible voters had cast ballots in a race where incumbent Alexander Lukashenko is seeking a sixth term.

The election commission had announced just before polling stations opened on August 9 that about 40 percent of the 6.8 million eligible voters had cast ballots during early voting that started on August 4, Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) reported.

Read alsoBelarus promises to cooperate with Ukraine on suspected Russian mercenaries  media

RFE/RL's Belarus Service reports there have been long lines of voters outside of polling stations, with people wearing white bracelets to show solidarity with opposition candidate Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya (Tikhanovskaya)  who had told her supporters to wear the bracelets as a symbol of "honesty and purity."

Several voters told RFE/RL that they had never taken part in an election in the country before but had turned out to cast a ballot on August 9 because they want and expect changes.

The election follows a campaign marked by the arrest of more than 1,000 opposition supporters, the barring of several potential challengers, claims of a Russian plot to sow instability, and the rise of an unheralded candidate who analysts say poses the greatest challenge to the 65-year-old authoritarian leader since his rise to power in 1994.

Four challengers are on the ballot, but attention has focused on Tsikhanouskaya, who was a last-minute replacement after husband, Syarhey Tsikhanouski, a popular vlogger who urged Belarusians to squash the cockroach Lukashenko with their slippers, was barred from running following his controversial arrest in late May.

Polls opened at 8 a.m. local time, and close 12 hours later at 8 p.m. local time. First preliminary results are due early August 10.
Susan B. Anthony stood on a stage in Upstate New York, asking a crowd to support the suffragist cause, when someone in the audience asked a question: Do women actually want the right to vote?

Her answer was hardly unequivocal.

"They do not oppose it," Anthony replied vaguely.

She had little reason to believe otherwise, as recounted in Susan Goodier's book, "No Votes for Women: The New York State Anti-Suffrage Movement." It was 1893, and suffragists were traveling across New York to build support ahead of a constitutional convention, when lawmakers would decide if the word "male" should be removed from the wording of the state constitution. Until then, most of the opposition to women's suffrage had been dominated by men.

But as the suffragists would soon learn, women would play a crucial role in attempting to prevent women from gaining the right to vote. As the suffragist movement gained momentum, women mobilized committees, circulated petitions, and created associations to oppose women's suffrage in New York and Massachusetts. Thousands of women would eventually join their fight.

"They said, 'We've got to do something,'" Goodier said, "or else we're going to be stuck with the vote.'"

Their efforts would ultimately fail with the ratification of the 19th Amendment in August 1920. But the anti-suffragist women would become a nationwide force that would influence later generations of conservative women. And today, a century after women gained the right to vote, echoes of their message remain.

Granting women the right to vote, the anti-suffragists argued, would lead to a disruption of the family unit, of a woman's role as a wife and mother, and of what they considered a privileged place in society - themes that would parallel those of Phyllis Schlafly, the conservative activist who would successfully campaign against the Equal Rights Amendment in the 1970s.

But their reasons for opposing suffrage were often more complex, focusing on the idea that women already had their own form of power. Many of the women in the anti-suffrage movement felt that the political system was a corrupt space, and if women joined it, they would inevitably become just as corrupt as the men, said Anya Jabour, a history professor at the University of Montana.

They felt women could better achieve their aims through influencing others - particularly their husbands and sons - using their supposed moral superiority to persuade men to do what they wanted.

"The argument was if they traded that for raw political power, they would lose female influence, and that would be a bad trade," Jabour said.

The National Association Opposed to Woman Suffrage, founded in 1911, distributed a pamphlet explaining why women shouldn't be allowed to vote:

"Because it means competition of women with men instead of co-operation. Because 80% of the women eligible to vote are married and can only double or annul their husbands' votes. ... Because in some States more voting women than voting men will place the government under petticoat rule."

The pamphlet then offered a few tips to housewives, among them: "You do not need a ballot to clean out your sink spout. ... Control of the temper makes a happier home than control of elections."

Leaders in the movement distributed postcards illustrating the gender role reversals they feared would happen if women became enfranchised. Images showed men holding grocery baskets, pushing baby strollers and washing clothes. Others suggested that if women began doing the work of men, they would become uglier, less feminine, less desirable to men.

"They were quite successful in demonizing suffragists and feminists and depicting them as being un-attractive man-haters," Jabour said, drawing comparisons with modern-day attacks on feminists.

Others argued that women couldn't possibly get involved with politics while also caring for their children and their home. One postcard, titled "Hugging a Delusion," showed an image of a woman sulking while cradling a ballot like a baby. Another showed a woman trying to juggle a baby, a pan, a broom and a paper with the word "suffrage." "Can she do it?" the cartoon read.

Suffragists were forced to counter these arguments by making the case that yes, "women will still do everything that they're supposed to do in the women's sphere, but also vote," Jabour said.

"I think we're still dealing with exactly these messages," said Allison Lange, an associate professor of history at the Wentworth Institute of Technology. "Even a century later, women's rights activists, female leaders are still faced with exactly the same criticism."

But understanding their arguments requires understanding who these women were. Since many in the anti-suffrage movement were ideologically opposed to women being public figures, they often identified themselves only using their husbands' names or issuing statements on behalf of an organization, rather than an individual, Jabour said.

The anti-suffragist women generally came from elite, White families on the East Coast, and tended to be married to, or related to, men in politics or law. But they were also often influential leaders in social activism and philanthropy. In many ways, anti-suffragist women were similar in status to suffragist leaders, Goodier said. "They would move in a lot of the same circles."

One of the most famous anti-suffragists, Annie Nathan Meyer, was a writer, philanthropist and founder of New York City's first liberal arts college for women, Barnard College. Her sister, Maud Nathan, publicly supported women's suffrage. Ida Tarbell, who is credited with pioneering what is today known as investigative journalism, publicly opposed women's suffrage, arguing that a woman's place is in the home and not in the man's world - even though her groundbreaking career was an exception to that rule.

One of the most important anti-suffragist activists was Josephine Jewell Dodge, a founder and president of the National Association Opposed to Woman Suffrage. She came from a wealthy and influential New England family; her father, Marshall Jewell, served as a governor of Connecticut and U.S. postmaster general. Dodge was also an early leader in the movement to establish day-care centers for working and immigrant mothers in New York City.

But she considered suffrage unnecessary, given that state legislatures had already passed laws protecting certain civil rights for women.

"The suffrage disturbance is, in plain words, a sex disturbance ... just as the impulse of some other women to take up foolish fancies and unnecessary movements is the result of that uneasiness and straining after artificial happiness and unnatural enjoyment which indicates an unsettled and an unsatisfactory state of mind," she wrote in a newspaper article in 1913.

Dodge's great-granddaughter, Andrea Dodge, grew up knowing about Josephine Jewell Dodge as a family matriarch and icon. But it wasn't until she was in graduate school, pursuing her master's in early-childhood education, that she learned about Jewell Dodge's role in both the day-care movement and the anti-suffrage movement, she said in an interview.

"I turned to my professor and said, 'That's my great-grandmother in this book,' " Andrea Dodge said. When she later saw a headline about her position on the woman's right to vote, Andrea Dodge was initially ashamed and disappointed. But as she read on, she grew to understand her great-grandmother's position, she said.

"It's very clear that she wasn't degrading or demeaning of women," Andrea Dodge said. "It was that women were so important to bringing up moral children that they needed to be doing it full time, and needed to be strong and educated and that was going to keep the backbone of society strong."

But while her great-grandmother led a campaign that sought to keep women as mothers and homemakers, Andrea Dodge chose not to have children. She focused on her career instead, working as a teacher in the Head Start program and ultimately working her way to a job as a federal auditor for the program.

"I think that the issues she brought up in contesting the issue of women voting, and what it represented," Andrea Dodge said, "I don't think we have ever resolved that. We live with it."

Once women were granted the right to vote, many anti-suffragist leaders faced a dilemma over what to do next. After New York state passed a suffrage amendment, a New York Times article in September 1919 captured the contradicting messages in the office of the national anti-suffrage association.

On one wall, a sign read: "Politics are bad for women and women are bad for politics." On the other side of the room was a sign urging members to register to vote.

Across the country, many anti-suffragists had resolved to use their newly granted voting power to push for their conservative views.

In fact, just two years after Oklahoma granted women the right to vote, the vice president of the state's anti-suffrage association, Alice Robertson, decided to run for office. She became the first woman from Oklahoma elected to Congress.
A Boston emergency room doctor is gathering thousands of voter registration kits for dissemmination at hospitals and doctors' offices in an effort for patients to vote in the United States elections.

Harvard and Yale medical school students will be launching a contest later this month to test which of the Ivy League rivals could register the most voters.

A Rhode Island medical student has initiated an attempt to procure emergency ballots for patients who are admitted to the hospital on election day.

This month, hospitals and healthcare institutions across the US are enacting efforts for US citizen's engagement in the election process in honor of Civic Health Month, a nationwide campaign that culminated on August 1, reported The Guardian.

According to a Stanford University graduate student, Benjamin Ruxin, who spearheads the campaign, the COVID-19 pandemic highlights the importance of affirming that everyone could vote and help shape healthcare policy for difficult times ahead.

Alister Martin, the aforementioned emergency room doctor at Boston's Massachusetts General Hospital, stated that he launched VotER to offer those in the medical field voter registration resources following years of witnessing patients grapple from the health effects of poverty, homelessness, and drug addiction among social dilemmas.

According to Martin in relation to patients voting the US elections, "We've been trained to solve these really complex health problems, but not everything we see can be treated with a prescription. The healthcare system does not work for vulnerable people - full stop. We have to help them get involved in the political process if we hope to change any of this."

Also Read: Second Stimulus Check Verified in GOP Proposal

Kelly Wong, a medical student at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, stated that earlier generations might have witnessed the voter registration among nonpartisan election work as beyond their scope of concern or overtly political, newer medical professionals regard public engagement as an essential part of treating the patient.

Wong launched Patient Voting to enable doctors and other hospital staff members to devote themselves to helping patients submit emergency ballots when the timing calls for it.

According to US citizens healthcare is the most vital issue in America. However, 51 million forego a tantamount power in curbing the country's health policy due to the fact that they are not registered to vote, reported WBUR.

The novel coronavirus pandemic has only underscored such paradox: the vitality of our health system is strikingly clear while voter registration is more difficult.

The Ash Center and the Center for Public Leadership recently recognized Civic Health Month last 5th of August. The event discussed how healthcare workers are underscoring civic engagement through bolstering voters and how a high amount of public engagement can lead to more equitable health outcomes, reported Ash Center.

According to Martin who underscored patients voting in the US elections, the act of voting has become more crucial these times. The coronavirus pandemic has made voting a public health dilemma.

The advent has caused Americans to be reliant on healthcare providers. Hospitals, doctors, and medical staff have garnered a higher approval evaluation than any other industry since the culmination of the outbreak.

Related Article: Dr. Anthony Fauci's Family Bombarded by Death Threats, Harassment

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Kerry Washington has over 20 years of feature films and television projects in her rearview, and several on the horizon. But the A-lister somehow still finds time to practice and teach yoga.

Kerry Washington | Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic

Kerry Washington earned her yoga certification in India

In an interview with Good Morning America, Washington dished a few details about how she became a yoga instructor and why she still hosts classes.

Before I was able to make a living as an actor, Washington began, one of my many hustles was yoga. And I got certified to teach in India. I lived in India after college. For the record, the theater major graduated from George Washington University in Washington, D.C., according to IMDb.

Kerry Washington teaches yoga to her social media followers

RELATED: Instagram Cant Get Enough of Kerry Washingtons Dad in a Priceless Video Post

As an established Hollywood actor, it appears that Washington is no longer in need of a side hustle. Still, she teaches yoga to her followers on Instagram Live. And she has a very relatable reason for doing so.

Washington told Good Morning America, So, I think I started really teaching the yoga online in a way because I needed to be doing more yoga to calm my nerves and to sort of center myself. And I thought maybe if my millions of followers knew that I was doing it, they could hold me accountable, and I would show up for them and show up for me.

Scandal alum Tony Goldwyn popped in to practice yoga

RELATED: Heres Why Kerry Washington Rocked Pajamas on GMA, and Where You Can Get a Pair Like Hers

Washington told Good Morning America about a famous pal who became a guest in her yoga training. She explained, So, weve been doing yoga, and sometimes I have special guests. And Tony [Goldwyn], of course, is the ultimate special guest, so it was fun to practice with him.

Goldwyn and Washington heated up the airwaves on Scandal for seven seasons. Their on-again-off-again love affair was enough to give fans whiplash. But the show was wildly addictive until the very end. Some fanatics still rehash the show on streaming, and according to Washington, the former castmates are still pretty attached  at least to each other.

Its always so fun to get together with our Scandal fam. We are still  you know, years after wrapping  we are still totally obsessed with each other. So, its always fun when we get to spend a little time.

Washington welcomes other guests in her online class

RELATED: Kerry Washington Revealed Which 2020 Emmy Nomination Means the Most to Her

Aside from Goldwyn, Washington has featured other celebrity guests during her online classes. In one session, both Laverne Cox and Gabrielle Union joined. Afterward, Washington shared an Instagram snapshot with a message of gratitude.

Her caption read, in part, Wow. Just wow. Thank you all for joining yoga today. I felt the love from all of you and I hope you felt it too. Laverne Cox, you are a goddess. Thank you for being YOU and thank you for being the powerful, immensely fierce light we all need, today (and always). Gabrielle Union love you deep. Thank you for popping in to show your vulnerability and strength. Love you mama.

Follow Erika Delgado on Twitter.
Review at a glance









I n this fish-out-of-water comedy there are two big parts and both of them are played by Seth Rogen. If youre thinking: Jeez, one of hims bad enough, this probably isnt the film for you.

Simon Richs script is based on his own short story Sell Out, a hilarious yarn told from the point of view of a beleaguered Jew, Herschel Greenbaum. Having escaped pogroms in Eastern Europe, Herschel moves to Brooklyn, where he spends his days clubbing rats to death in a pickle factory, before accidentally becoming trapped in a vat of brine in which he is gently preserved. That happens in 1920. One hundred years later, hes rescued from said vat and moves in with his one living relative  a great-grandson, Simon, based in Brooklyn.

The story has been tweaked. The great-grandson is no longer a well-off scriptwriter, instead, hes a dweeby app designer and his name is Ben (poor Ben: his parents recently died in a crash and his career has stalled). But the core conflict remains the same. Unlike Herschel, Bens not fussed about religion (he notes, cheerfully, I had a Jumanji-themed bar mitzvah!) and hes a flibbertigibbet.

When Herschel visits the grave of his beloved wife Sarah (Sarah Snook), Ben takes out his phone and scrolls through photos of canoodling pets. Naturally, Herschel, is frustrated. He squared off with rats for this?

Before long, Herschel and Ben are locked into a semi-Oedipal battle of wits. Herschel, determined to make the Greenbaum name synonymous with success, starts up a pickle business, which the insecure and increasingly jealous Ben does everything he can to sabotage.

Drive-in cinema film screenings in London 1 /8 Drive-in cinema film screenings in London Rooftop Film Club at Alexandra Palace Rooftop Film Club, normally a fixture at the Bussey Building in Peckham, is putting on two daily drive-in screenings until July 31. Its one of the biggest operations in the city, with family-friendly hits like Grease and the Goonies the order of the day. At the Drive In One of the first to be announced, At the Drive In will host screenings at Circus Field in south London from now until July 12, and then an as-yet-unnamed east London location on September 17-20. Theres a mix of family hits like the Lion King, as well as more adult-orientated contemporary favourites like Joker and A Star is Born. Grease  an obligatory choice at all of these drive-ins, it seems  also makes an appearance. Pub in the Park Tom Kerridges pub will host film and dining experiences across the UK in July, culminating in west Londons Syon Park (July 28-August 2) and south Londons Selhurst Park Stadium, home of Crystal Palace (July 28-August 2). As youd expect from a Kerridge event, the focus will be on films and food, with excellent dining options from an array of vendors and stand-up from Mark Watson's Carpool Comedy Club between screenings too. The Drive In A series of film nights, stand-up shows and live music events will take place at the Troubadour Meridian Water in Enfield, all the way up until August 30. Theres more than just film on the programme too, with Horrible Histories Live, Gals Aloud Live and Dinosaur World Live all arriving in the second half of August. Alamy Stock Photo Sunset Cinema Billing itself as the biggest screen in West London, this American-inspired screening series is running until July 31 at the Twyford Avenue Sports Ground in Acton. There are screenings of Rocketman, Space Jam and Mamma Mia, with the focus on accessible crowd-pleasers. AP The Luna Drive In The Luna Cinema  normally known for organising some of the best boutique outdoor film events in the capital  will host screenings at Londons Allianz Park until July 19, showing a mix of family films and cult favourites, like The Devil Wears Prada, Sister Act, Pretty Woman and Dirty Dancing. The first showings of Jurassic Park have sold out, so be quick if youre looking to bag tickets.

While professional child-man Rogen is amusing as Ben, hes downright glorious as Herschel. Clearly relishing the opportunity to play a devout, conservative adult, Rogen also has a whale of a time with Herschels accent (Herschel, like Borat, mangles the English language with impatient gusto).

This middle section works as a parable for our times. Herschels business thrives initially, because patronising hipsters mistake his ruthless monomania for adorable left-field pluck. Ironically, hes just as popular with Right-wingers, who  delighted by his olde-world bigotry and excitable personality  encourage him to enter politics. We get a glimpse of the web headline Kanye West Defends Herschel Greenbaums Right to Offend. Given the pickle Kanyes in right now, that gag really hits the spot.

Its true the script could be tighter, and bolder  modern-day racism and anti-Semitism are ignored. And theres a scene in a makeshift synagogue that is somewhat sappy.

In the 2015 comedy The Night Before, Rogens character pukes during Midnight Mass. Personally, I prefer puking to piety. Still, just when you think An American Pickle has sold out, a mid-credits clip shows Herschel and Ben watching Yentl and the result is bliss. This is more of an appetiser than a main meal, but its still dill-ish.

On general release
JOHANNESBURG (AP)  The Indian Ocean island of Mauritius has declared a state of environmental emergency after a Japanese-owned ship that ran aground offshore days ago began spilling tons of fuel.

Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth announced the development late Friday as satellite images showed a dark slick spreading in the turquoise waters near environmental areas that the government called very sensitive.

Mauritius has said the ship was carrying nearly 4,000 tons of fuel and cracks have appeared in its hull.

Jugnauth said his government had appealed to France for help, saying the spill represents a danger" for the country of some 1.3 million people that relies heavily on tourism and has been been hit hard by the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.

Our country doesnt have the skills and expertise to refloat stranded ships," he said. Bad weather has made it impossible to act, and I worry what could happen Sunday when the weather deteriorates."

Jugnauth shared a photo of the vessel, the MV Wakashio, tilted precariously. Sea rough beyond the reefs with swells. Ventures in the open seas are not advised, according to the Mauritius Meteorological Services.

In this photo provided by Gregoire Rouxel people walk towards the coast to see a ship that ran aground off shore that is leaking fuel, Friday, Aug. 7, 2020, in Mauritius. The Indian Ocean island of Mauritius has declared a "state of environmental emergency" after a Japanese-owned ship that ran aground offshore days ago began spilling tons of fuel. Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth announced the development late Friday, Aug. 7, as satellite images showed a dark slick spreading near environmental areas the government called "very sensitive." (@gregrouxel via AP)

Videos posted online showed oily waters lapping at the shore, and a man running a stick across the water's surface and lifting it, dripping black goo.

The French island of Reunion is the closest neighbor to Mauritius, and France's Foreign Ministry says France is Mauritius's leading foreign investor and one of its largest trading partners.

When biodiversity is in peril, there is urgency to act, French President Emmanuel Macron tweeted Saturday. France is there. Alongside the people of Mauritius. You can count on our support dear Jugnauth.

A separate French statement from Reunion said a military transport aircraft would carry pollution control equipment to Mauritius and a navy vessel with additional material would set sail for the island nation.

We are in a situation of environmental crisis, the environment minister of Mauritius, Kavy Ramano, has said.

Story continues

After the cracks in the hull were detected, a salvage team that had been working on the ship was evacuated, Ramano told reporters Thursday. Some 400 sea booms were deployed in an effort to contain the spill.

Government statements in recent days said the ship ran aground July 25 and the National Coast Guard received no distress call. The ship's owners were listed as the Japanese companies Okiyo Maritime Corporation and Nagashiki Shipping Co. Ltd.

A police inquiry has been opened into issues such as possible negligence, one statement said. Online ship trackers showed the Panama-flagged bulk carrier had been en route from China to Brazil.

A statement by Nagashiki Shipping Co. Ltd. said that due to the bad weather and constant pounding over the past few days, the starboard side bunker tank of the vessel has been breached and an amount of fuel oil has escaped into the sea.

It added: Nagashiki Shipping takes its environmental responsibilities extremely seriously and will take every effort with partner agencies and contractors to protect the marine environment and prevent further pollution.

Tons of diesel and oil are now leaking into the water, environmental group Greenpeace Africas climate and energy manager Happy Khambule said in a statement.

Thousands of species around the pristine lagoons of Blue Bay, Pointe dEsny and Mahebourg are at risk of drowning in a sea of pollution, with dire consequences for Mauritius economy, food security and health, Khambule said.

A government environmental outlook released nearly a decade ago said Mauritius had a National Oil Spill Contingency Plan but equipment on hand was adequate to deal with oil spills of less than 10 metric tonnes.

In case of major spills, it said, assistance could be obtained from other Indian Ocean countries or from international oil spill response organizations.

___

Mari Yamaguchi in Tokyo contributed.
As President Donald Trump orders US troops out of Germany and faces a tough re-election battle, his top diplomat, Mike Pompeo, is heading to friendly climes in Central and Eastern Europe.

Pompeo on Tuesday opens a five-day trip that will terminate in close ally Poland, which is eager to welcome some of the US troops leaving Germany to guard against historic adversary Russia.

He will also travel to the Czech Republic, Slovenia and Austria where he is expected to press his campaign for nations to shun Huawei, the Chinese telecom giant considered a threat by Washington as it takes a lead in fifth-generation internet.

In Slovenia, where he will be the first US secretary of state to visit since 2001, Pompeo will on Thursday sign an agreement on 5G, officials said without previewing details.

Pompeo's trip comes weeks after the Pentagon said the United States would bring home some 6,400 military personnel from Germany and shift nearly 5,600 more to other NATO allies including Italy and Belgium.

Trump has a tense relationship with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who declined his invitation for a Group of Seven summit in Washington in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic, and accuses Europe's largest economy of unfair trading practices.

"What is most significant about this trip is the places the secretary is not going to," said Ian Lesser, the Brussels-based vice president of the German Marshall Fund of the United States.

"If the secretary was going to address the core issues in transatlantic relations at the moment, he would be making stops in Brussels, Paris and Berlin."

The logo of Chinese telecom giant Huawei is pictured during Europe's largest tech fair, the Web Summit, in Lisbon in November 2019 amid US efforts to shun the company /  AFP/File

Lesser said that the troop repositioning out of Germany was unlikely to be a major issue for US voters.

"What does have some political resonance is how a senior American official is received when he or she goes to Europe," he said.

"This is a low-risk visit from the point of view of the administration," he said. "They want to give an impression of foreign policy success."

- 'One of our closest allies' -

Pompeo last month visited Britain and Denmark and also traveled last year to Poland, where President Andrzej Duda has formed close relations with Trump.

Trump invited Duda to the White House days before Poland's election in June, in which Duda won a narrow victory after a polarizing campaign in which he attacked LGBT rights.

Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak has said that the United States will deploy at least 1,000 additional troops to Poland.

"I think it's fair to say Poland is one of our closest and strongest allies. We enjoy unprecedented levels of bilateral relations," Phil Reeker, the top State Department official for Europe, told reporters.

He pointed out that Poland is one of the few NATO nations to meet a goal of spending two percent of GDP on defense -- unlike Germany, in a running sore point for the Trump administration.

Reeker said that Pompeo will also raise energy independence from Russia.

Pompeo last month opened the way for sanctions over the Nord Stream 2 pipeline being built from Russia to Germany.

Poland adamantly opposes the project, fearing it strengthens Russia's influence over Europe, while an Austrian company is among the participants.

Outspoken Czech President Milos Zeman, seen here in October 2019, will meet US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in Prague /  AFP/File

The tour will be heavy on historical symbolism. In the Czech Republic, Pompeo will head to Pilsen to mark western Bohemia's 1945 liberation by US troops under George Patton.

But at least one of Pompeo's meetings may be tense. Czech President Milos Zeman is known for his outspoken remarks including support of Russia and China.

Reeker said Pompeo would have a "short discussion" with Zeman during what he called a courtesy call.
Yadgir : , Aug 10 (IANS) A 20-year-old shepherd, marooned on a small island in the Krishna river in Karnataka's Yadgir district, has been rescued by the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), its chief said on Sunday.

The NDRF team managed to rescue Toppanna, 20, despite the strong and risky currents in the river, following extensive rains and floods, Director General Satya Pradhan said.

Toppanna reportedly spent five days alone on the Edadamali island near Chayabhagavti temple in Hunasagi taluk of Yadgir, over 500 km north of Bengaluru.

Some of a 16-member NDRF team set off on a boat on the river in the spate to rescue Topanna.

A happy and relieved Toppanna later spoke to the media and posed for photographs holding a lamb in his hands.
Montreal police say they are still looking for an important witness in a pair of homicides last Thursday in different parts of town.

Detectives want to speak to Claude Charbonneau, 61, in connection with the slayings of an 80-year-old man in the citys Notre-Dame-de-Grace neighbourhood and a 68-year-old man in the citys Ahuntsic neighbourhood, about 10 kilometres to the north.

The deaths are the 12th and 13th homicides registered in Montreal in 2020 and police believe they are linked.

Neither victim was known to police.

Police have been looking for Charbonneau since Friday and believe he could be driving a 2006 grey Dodge Caravan.

They advise people to call 911 and not confront him.

Read more about:
The numbers arent getting better, there is no saying when we will see better days when coronavirus wont be a threat anymore. As we deal with stressful questions like how safe it is to go out, at least we can control what kind of content we consume to keep our hearts healthy.

Despite being cooped up at home, ever since I began this quest for feel-good films in regional languages, I have been part of beautiful journeys of several fictional characters. The films have made me laugh, cry, dance with joy, want to travel again, miss my friends, etc. It's a roller-coaster of emotions, but in a good way.

After Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam, I am wrapping up my southern search for feel-good films with Kannada cinema. Listed here are some of the stories that I enjoyed immersing myself into this past week. Most of them are travel-themed, so get ready to miss the times when we were free to plan a trip at will.

Ondu Motteya Kathe (Netflix)

RELATED NEWS Stepson Mahesh Babu Unveils Statue of Telugu Actress Vijaya Nirmala on Her Birth Anniversary

Battling the stigma of being a balding man as well as a vernacular language professor, Janardhan readies himself for his life as an ascetic, as predicted by the astrologer. Unfortunately, just chanting moha, moha wont rid him of worldly temptations. His search for a beautiful woman continues, and he is cannot get rid of the temptation. Debutant director Raj B. Shetty also appears in the lead role of this film that was later remade in Hindi as Ujda Chaman. His condition is such that the audience will find it funny but sympathise with him simultaneously. His attempts to gain confidence from Kannada matinee idol Rajkumars are some of the most entertaining scenes.

Love Mocktail (ZEE5)

The film starts with a comic mood, and but ends on an emotional note, leaving you with a feeling thats somber and satisfying in equal parts. Travelling is a sure shot way of feeling good, and this films story is narrated while the protagonist Aadi (Krishna) is driving through scenic roads in a coastal region. There are lots of aerial shots showing the sunlight reflecting on sea water, coconut trees waving in the breeze as Aadi drives with Aditi (Rachana Inder) who is extremely curious about his love stories. Starting with his adolescence, Aadi narrates the various experiences he went through each time he fell in love. Rachana Inder will win you heart with her bubbly demeanour. The music by Raghu Dixit is an added bonus in this relatable film full of comedy and romance.

Katheyondu Shuruvagide (Amazon Prime Video)

Another film that relies on the travel theme, Katheyondu Shuruvagide shows its protagonist Tarun as a resort owner. Things aren't going great for him, as the resort is running in losses. His life changes when Tanya comes to stay at his resort. She is supposed to be on her honeymoon, but life has dealt her a hard blow and she is making an attempt to move on. Trips usually help when you are trying to forget the past and move on in life. Thats exactly what Tanya attempts, and has Tarun to help her through it. The Senna Hegde directorial will reignite the wanderlust in you with beautiful shots of driving through the seaside, sunny beaches and quaint homes. The romance between the elderly couple Shashank and Radha is also heartwarming to watch.

Mundina Nildana (Amazon Prime Video)

This film shows multiple road trips through scenic locales as the protagonist narrates his lifes journey in search of love. The title serves as an indication for the next destination on ones journey as well as in ones life. (Partha) Praveen Tej quits his software engineering job to follow his passion of photography. But he battles commitment phobia, having grown up in a broken family. The film deals with modern day issues about career, purpose of life, love and relationships. While the characters are extremely relatable, the long drives will make you miss your road trips with friends. Every frame of this movie is picture-perfect, much like the frames of the photos clicked by Partha. There are lovely song and dance sequences too, which make this a fully enjoyable experience.

Chamak (Disney+ Hotstar)

The film will have you laughing from the get go. With Kannada cinemas Golden Star Ganesh in the lead Chamak is a romantic comedy that will leave you in splits in multiple scenes. Ganesh plays the role of free-spirited gynaecologist Kush who loves his bachelor life. He dupes Kushi (Rashmika Mandanna) into thinking he is a simpleton. Kush and Kushi get married and then starts a game of pretense that takes hilarious turns. They realize both of them are very similar people, but the false impressions anger them and almost wrecks their marriage. Right from the quirky introduction of the lead actor to the funny detailing of each character, the film is a total entertainer. There are several emotional twists and turns, but ultimately the film meets with a happy ending.

Come back for a list of feel-good movies in another language next week.
With homicides a nearly weekly occurrence in Trenton, and two city teengers the latest victims Sunday, Trentons mayor and police director say they will deploy additional officers to areas that have seen surges in violence.

Trenton Mayor Reed Gusciora said in a statement he met with his police director, Sheilah Coley, and Mercer County Prosecutor Angelo J. Onofri and came up with this plan: more cops on the streets.

Officers from the prosecutors office and the Mercer County Sheriffs Department will immediately deploy additional law enforcement officers throughout the city, and Onofri and Coley asked the New Jersey State Police to also add more officers to the cause. The State Police already has a complement of officers patrolling the city.

And, Coley will request that the Mercer County Police Academy add an additional class later this year to double the number of new officers.

Every homicide is one too many, Gusciora said in the statement. He also compared Trenton to other cities - which he has done before this year - saying, While Trenton is just one of several cities struggling with violent crime as COVID-19 erodes economic opportunity across the country, were not content to be just another statistic. Todays plan will help put more law enforcement officers where they are needed the most.

Recently, online commenters on Facebook group Trenton Orbit, have been critical of Gusciora and Coley for not having a plan to stop the violence.

The city has 24 homicides this year, 22 of them by guns, following 15 total homicides in 2019 and 16 in 2018.

After starting the year with two homicides in two months, Trenton exploded with street violence in March, April and May, when stay-at-home orders were in place to battle the spread of the coronavirus. Three people were killed on one night in early April, and five people were slain over seven days in May.

The violence led Gusciora to invoke a city-wide curfew earlier this year to keep people inside, to help crime and the coronavirus.

Also, several Trenton police officers say privately the violence can partly be traced to the department pivoting from proactive policing to reactive policing this year under Coley.

One officer, Sgt. Anthony Manzo, put his frustrations on Facebook last month, saying, Tired of the senseless homicides in our cities. Its not about gun control, violent offenders are lawless...Its about taking guns and violent offenders off the street. (Reactive policing) does not stop gun violence.

Anyone with information on Sundays shooting - which took the lives of William Irrizarry and Julius Vargas, both 18 - can call the Mercer County Homicide Task Force at 609-989-6406. Information can also be emailed at mchtftips@mercercounty.org.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Tell us your coronavirus story or send a tip here.

Kevin Shea may be reached at kshea@njadvancemedia.com.
President Donald Trumps executive orders fall far short of the proposals under discussion to address a coronavirus that has infected more than 5 million Americans, killed more than 162,000, cost the U.S. economy 13 million jobs and more than doubled the unemployment rate from pre-pandemic levels.

There are no stimulus payments, no federal aid for states and localities, no guarantee that unemployed workers quickly will receive a $400 a week extra payment, and no additional help for small businesses.
Daniel Dvoress Wins 2020 WSOP Online Event #48: $1,500 MILLIONAIRE MAKER ($1,489,289)

August 08, 2020 Yori Epskamp

Daniel Dvoress has won Event #48: $1,500 MILLIONAIRE MAKER on GGPoker for a massive score of $1,489,289! The Canadian high roller, one of the most accomplished players without WSOP gold with over $15M in winnings on his Hendon Mob, defeated a 6,299-player field to capture his maiden bracelet.

Caio "Ez4ENCE" De Almeida of Brazil finished runner-up, making himself a millionaire in the process as well with $1,072,428. Russia's Anatoly "Mr_Deer" Filatov completed the podium and received $772,251 for finishing third.

Follow all the latest from the GGPoker 2020 WSOP - LIVE! The cards are in the air in the GGPoker WSOP Online. The PokerNews live reporting team is on top of all things WSOP. Don't miss a beat! FOLLOW HERE

2020 WSOP Online Event #48: $1,500 MILLIONAIRE MAKER Final Table Results

Place Player Country Prize 1 Daniel Dvoress Canada $1,489,289 2 Caio "Ez4ENCE" De Almeida Brazil $1,072,428 3 Anatoly "Mr_Deer" Filatov Russia $772,251 4 Michael "MrFabulous" Nugent Canada $556,095 5 Alejandro "pepealas" Caridad Argentina $400,412 6 Neville "NevSlater" Endo Costa Brazil $288,356 7 Ronny Kaiser Switzerland $207,644 8 Tomasz "SushiJanushi" Cybulski Poland $149,523 9 Aneris "TaiwanNumba1" Adomkevicius Lithuania $107,671

The final hand

For some of the elite, crossing their name off the infamous "best player without a bracelet" short list might mean getting a monkey off their back. However, it wasn't the case for Dvoress  a fixture in high rollers across the globe  as he hasn't put himself into that spot to begin with, instead shying away from the limelight in Sin City.

In an extensive feature with PokerNews leading up to the delayed MILLIONAIRE MAKER final table  the event was paused for six days to accommodate for live streaming on Saturday  Dvoress touched on never having traveled to Las Vegas to compete in the WSOP.

Check out the PokerNews feature on Daniel Dvoress

"I'm likely missing out on some EV, especially with the Main Event, but have been enjoying taking previous summers off and focusing on things outside poker," he said, also citing an unfavorable tax treaty between the US and Canada as a reason. "Between other live events and the usually packed online schedule right before the summer with SCOOP and everything surrounding it, I'm usually pretty burned out by the summer and welcome the time to focus on health, fitness, and doing things outdoors."

But in 2020, the world is different. With COVID-19 turning the tournament calendar on its head, the online WSOP on GGPoker suddenly provided a unique opportunity for Dvoress to capture a prize that wasn't on his radar to begin with. And while he generally stays away from short-term poker goals where variance rears its head all too often, the fact was he had a rare chance to add to an already splendid resume.

"While a bracelet wouldn't be the difference between success and failure, it would be a way to leave my mark in the WSOP forever," Dvoress said. Leave a mark he did, as his victory was nothing short of dominant. He maintained the chip lead start to finish and eliminated his final five opponents single-handedly  and in record fashion  to end the tournament in style.

Short Stacks Looking to Ladder

As a textbook example of how ICM affects final tables, the players competed into very shallow waters right off the bat with five out of nine stacks starting off below the 10 big blind mark. With each jump being worth at least $40,000, laddering up was on many a player's mind, which resulted in plays like Ronny Kaiser folding his blinds to leave himself half a big blind. Dvoress, meanwhile, put his chip lead to work, relentlessly flinging his chips around to put the pressure on the other finalists.

The blinds even moved up after the first hand, making it one of the shallowest final tables in recent memory. One of the shorties had to budge soon and it would be Aneris "TaiwanNumba1" Adomkevicius to break first, followed by Tomasz "SushiJanushi" Cybulski before Ronny Kaiser's short stack adventure would end. All three players busted out holding three or fewer big blinds.

While not being involved in the eliminations up to that point, Dvoress was active in every other hand, picking up tons of blinds and antes with his ubiquitous shoves to never see his chip lead come under threat at any stage. He'd go on to eliminate the remaining players starting with Neville "NevSlater" Endo Costa, who also had just three big blinds in his final hand.

Anatoly "Mr_Deer" Filatov finished in 3rd place ($772,251)

Dvoress Finishes It in Style

If there was a time at the final table where Dvoress' lead was slightly challenged, it would be after the hand where Caio "Ez4ENCE" De Almeida doubled through the chip leader. Not to be denied, Dvoress won the next four hands uncontested to distance himself from De Almeida and the others again.

After the break, the Canadian separated himself even further when Caridad would fall with queen-jack against his eights in the biggest pot of the tournament up until that point. Within mere minutes, the tournament was over as Dvoress also eliminated Nugent and Filatov in short order, before making quick work of De Almeida in two hands.

In the final hand, the Brazilian's crumbs went in with king-eight. Dvoress looked him up with the king-queen and held up to make good on his opportunity. Due to the massive prize pool of nearly $9 million, De Almeida also became a poker millionaire for his second-place finish.

In addition to his first-place prize, Dvoress also seemingly won $100,000 from GGPoker's Daniel Negreanu in a bracelet bet, pending Negreanu doesn't win a bracelet of his own this series, but Negreanu tweeted shortly after that after checking there apparently was no bet between the two in place at all.

Congrats! Looks like I need to get to work # https://t.co/wqrwWoTlJ6  Daniel Negreanu (@RealKidPoker)

I just found $100,000!  Daniel Negreanu (@RealKidPoker)

2020 WSOP Online Bracelet Winners on GGPoker

Sign Up for a GGPoker Account Through PokerNews

If you want to play in the WSOP 2020 Online on GGPoker, you'll need to sign up for an account. By downloading GGPoker via PokerNews entitles you to a welcome bonus worth up to $600. Your first deposit is matched 200% up to a maximum of $600, setting you up nicely in time for the WSOP Online.

The bonus releases into your account in $10 increments each time you earn 6,000 Fish Buffet Points, which is the equivalent of $60 in rake or tournament fees.

While the MILLIONAIRE MAKER may be over, the $10k Heads-up is in full swing. Follow along with PokerNews live coverage of this event right here.
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How Do Domain Bound Codes Work?

Unfortunately, SMS Codes Are Not Ideal For 2FA

You may call that iPhone users become blind to other options when they see the charm of the Apple logo on the back of their phones but the truth in the matter is that Apple lately has started to offer some great security and privacy options that people seem to be enjoying a lot.The major trend of providing users a safe environment started back in iOS 13 when people became more concerned about the privacy breach issues every tech company had to face. Apple turned out to be one of the few that lead the campaign in taking care of customers privacy and with every update, they introduce more useful features. However, with iOS 14 coming out this fall, users can now expect something every bigger than before.In a developer's blog post, Apple has stated that they will now make SMS as one time codes (pretty much like domain bound codes) which can be used for two-factor authentication and eventually extra security. The move was proposed earlier this year by Apple's WebKit team but its implementation will begin with iOS 14.You may have seen passcodes arriving via SMS on your phones for two-factor authentication. iPhones make things even more easy with the help of Security Code AutoFill which makes the codes appear in the QuickType bar on its own. Now with iOS 14 and macOS Big Sur, Apple is adding an extra layer of security by letting users associate codes to a particular web domain.In the blog post related to the update, Apple has further explained that the Autofill will suggest the code ifand only ifthe domain is a match for the website or one of [the] apps associated domains.If you are wondering how that would look in the example then Apple showed that if you receive an SMS message which comes to an end with @example.com #121314, AutoFill will only work to fill that code for you when you interact with example.com, any of its subdomains, or some app that is connected with the domain.On the other hand, if the SMS message ends with @example.org #121314, AutoFill will not offer the code on example.com and its associations.Doing so will improve the security to a level that it will become hard for an attacker to trick anyone into entering one-time codes into a phishing site.While it is definitely a good move by Apple, cybersecurity experts still don't trust the two-factor authentication as they think that SIM swapping or physical access to the phone can help the attackers to beat this level of security and then users' accounts would be compromised.A good alternative can be a free authenticator app in which users can buy the security key when they feel like it? For now, you can also use Yubico YubiKey for security keys or authenticator apps like Autho to make your iPhones more secure.Read next: Your iPhones Might Become Payment Terminals Soon
Baba Kalyani, chairman and managing director of Bharat Forge, Indias leading forging company, welcomed Defence Minister Rajnath Singhs announcement of banning import 101 defence items in a bid to bolster PM Modis resolve of making India self-reliant or Atmanirbhar.

Kalyani called the decision a strategic step that will propel the Atmanirbhar Bharat narrative and bolster Indian defence equipment manufacturing industry. Kalyani further said that as a result of the move, the domestic sector will grow, leading to getting India closer to achieving 5 trillion economy.

We at Kalyani Group, welcome the move announced by the honourable Union Minister, Rajnath Singh, this strategic step will propel the Atmanirbhar Bharat narrative and bolster Indian defence equipment manufacturing industry, the statement read.

Also read: From big guns to missiles, India bans import of 101 defence items to boost self reliance

After todays announcement, the government is set to introduce an import embargo on 101 items beyond a given timeline to boost the indigenisation of defence production. The ministry has prepared a list of 101 items for which there would be an embargo on the import beyond the timeline indicated against them. This is a big step towards self-reliance in defence, Singh said.

The list includes guns to missiles and what Singh described as equipment that will fulfil needs of our defence services such as high tech weapon systems like artillery guns, assault rifles, corvettes, sonar systems, transport aircraft, LCHs, radars & many other items.
Almost a week after the Irans Ministry of Intelligence announced its agents abducted a dissident and took him back to Iran, the family of the detainee still has no news about him.

In an exclusive interview with Radio Farda Mr. Jamsjid Sharmahd's daughter says her father has Parkinson's disease and needs medical help. She also said the family wants to pursue the case to see if any other governments had a role in her father's abduction.

On July 31, the Islamic Republic's Ministry of Intelligence announced in an official statement that it had arrested Mr. Sharmahd "following a complex operation."

The head of the fearsome Islamic Revolution Guards Corps' (IRGC) Intelligence Organization, Hossein Ta'ib,, called Mr. Sharmahd's detention, "a sign of the authority and strength of the Iranian intelligence community."

Despite this IRGC comment, Iran's Ministry of Intelligence claimed full credit for the abduction, announcing that the man responsible for the Tondar group was under its custody in Iran.

Sixty-five-year-old Jamshid Sharmahd is accused of being the leader of an exiled dissident group, Tondar (Persian for Thunder), that aims to overthrow the clergy-dominated regime and replace it with monarchy. The goverment has accused the monarchist group of planting a bomb in Shiraz, south Iran in 2008 killing fourteen people and wounded 215.

Sharmahd's family says he was in charge of the Tondar group's media activities had nothing to do with the explosion.

Speaking to Radio Farda, Sharmahd's daughter, Ghazaleh, says that his father was merely serving as a journalist, and has never ordered any killing. She also referred to some reports, saying that "other countries" have cooperated with the Islamic Republic intelligence services to abduct her father.

"If true," Ghazaleh Sharmahd says, "the countries involved in kidnapping my father will be held responsible."

According to Ms. Sharmahd, the German embassy in Tehran has been trying to meet her father but has failed.

In Tehran, the German embassy has even failed to provide my father with his much-needed medicine, Ghazaleh laments, adding, "Without his medicine, my father will not be able to talk, move, or sometimes even to breathe."

Meanwhile, according to Ms. Sharmahd, the German embassy has offered a list of its trusted attorneys to defend the pro-monarchy group's abducted media leader.

Moreover, Ghazaleh Sharmahd reveals for the first time that there was an attempt in 2009 against her father's life.

"Since then, my father has always been careful not to go into the details of his activities. He was careful not to involve others in his struggle for liberating Iran," Ghazaleh told Radio Farda, adding, "We only knew that my father, like many others, was struggling to liberate Iran and Iranians."

Due to the coronavirus outbreak, Sharmahd was forced to travel to Dubai to find a connection flight to India.

"While in Dubai, he told us that we could follow him through Google tracker. We had no direct connection with him. But Google tracker showed that he, or only his cellphone, was taken to Oman. We received a message from him, or somebody else from Oman. Then, we lost his tracks," Ghazaleh Sharmehd says.

Sharmahd is not the only dissident claimed to be abducted and taken back to Iran. As recently as last October, the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps' intelligence organization claimed that its agents had lured a Paris-based dissident, Ruhollah Zam, to travel to Iraq and arrested him there.

An Islamic Revolutionary Court condemned Zam to death, late last June.

Zam has appealed against the ruling.
Behind the snark, the message was clear: Some Democrats dont want to see Biden debate. Of course, Lockhart, Drew, Friedman and Kristol are not exactly high-ranking party operatives or officials of the Biden campaign. Still, they are not voices out of nowhere. So why would they want to skip perhaps the voters best opportunity to judge the two presidential candidates side-by-side?

Simply put, some Democrats do not want debates because they do not think Biden will win them. The former vice president did not do particularly well in the Democratic primary debates. Still, Biden did not dodge those debates; he took part in 11 high-pressure faceoffs between June 2019 and March 2020. Even though he was shaky at times, theres no reason he should not take the stage with Trump, nor is there any reason Trump should not take the stage with Biden.

No, the real issue for some Democrats is that Biden is doing very well in the polls now -- up 7.4 percentage points over the president in the RealClearPolitics average of polls. Why risk a big mistake in a debate watched by tens of millions of voters? In 2016, Trump dominated the supposedly better-prepared and certainly more experienced Clinton. Whos to say that wouldnt happen again?
The Japanese city of Nagasaki on Sunday commemorated the 75th anniversary of its destruction by a US atomic bomb, with its mayor and the head of the United Nations warning against a nuclear arms race.

Nagasaki was flattened in an atomic inferno three days after Hiroshima -- twin nuclear attacks that rang in the nuclear age and gave Japan the bleak distinction of being the only country to be struck by atomic weapons.

Survivors, their relatives and a handful of foreign dignitaries attended a remembrance ceremony in Nagasaki where they called for world peace.

Participants offered a silent prayer at 11:02 am (0202 GMT), the time the second and last nuclear weapon used in wartime was dropped over the city.

"The true horror of nuclear weapons has not yet been adequately conveyed to the world at large" despite decades of effort by survivors telling of their "hellish experience", Nagasaki mayor Tomihisa Taue said in a speech afterwards.

"If, as with the novel coronavirus -- which we did not fear until it began to spread among our immediate surroundings -- humanity does not become aware of the threat of nuclear weapons until they are used again, we will find ourselves in an irrevocable predicament."

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, in a message read by his undersecretary Izumi Nakamitsu, warned that "the prospect of nuclear weapons being used intentionally, by accident or miscalculation, is dangerously high."

"The historic progress in nuclear disarmament is in jeopardy... This alarming trend must be reversed," he said.

- 'Nuclear-free world' -

The number of participants in this year's ceremony was reduced to roughly one tenth the figure in previous years due to coronavirus fears, with proceedings broadcast live online in Japanese and English.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe refreshed his pledge that Japan would lead "the international community's efforts towards the realisation of a nuclear-free world".

Story continues

Terumi Tanaka, 88, who was 13 and at his hillside home when the bomb hit Nagasaki, remembers the moment everything went white with a flash of light, and the aftermath.

"I saw many people with terrible burns and wounds evacuating ... people who were already dead in a primary school-turned shelter," Tanaka told AFP in a recent interview, saying his two aunts died.

Atomic bomb survivors "believe that the world must abandon nuclear arms because we never want younger generations to experience the same thing", he said.

The remembrance comes as worries linger over the nuclear threat from North Korea and growing tensions between the US and China over issues including security and trade.

"I'm determined to keep appealing (to the world) that Nagasaki must be the last atomic bomb-hit city," survivor Shigemi Fukahori, 89, said at the ceremony.

"I hope young people will receive this baton of peace and keep running."

The US dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, killing around 140,000 people. The toll includes those who survived the explosion itself but died soon after from radiation exposure.

Three days later, the US dropped a plutonium bomb on the port city of Nagasaki, killing 74,000 people.

Japan announced its surrender in World War II on August 15, 1945.

The United States has never acceded to demands in Japan for an apology for the loss of innocent lives in the atomic bombings, which many Western historians believe were necessary to bring a quick end to the war and avoid a land invasion that could have been even more costly.

Others see the attacks as unnecessary and even experimental atrocities.

Last year, Pope Francis met with several survivors on visits to Hiroshima and Nagasaki, paying tribute to the "unspeakable horror" suffered by the victims.

In 2016, Barack Obama became the first sitting US president to visit Hiroshima. He offered no apology for the attack but embraced survivors and called for a world free of nuclear weapons.

kh/axn/amj
Women are likely to be harder hit than men by trade disruptions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and the dangers are particularly acute in developing countries, according to a new information note from the World Trade Organization (WTO) Secretariat.



The paper points to how governments policy responses could address gender-specific effects of the crisis.



Women make up a larger share of the workforce in the manufacturing sectors, such as textiles, apparel, footwear and telecommunication products that have seen the largest falls in export growth during the first months of the pandemic, the paper notes. In the services sector, women also outnumber men in industries that have been directly affected by travel restrictions, such as tourism and business travel services.



The paper estimates the risk posed by trade disruptions on men and women using employment data from the World Bank Enterprise Surveys, monthly merchandise exports data and statistics on the mode by which a service is supplied.



The paper furthermore notes that women are disproportionately present in the informal sector in developing and least-developed countries and in activities that cannot be done remotely. It also highlights how the existing gender gap in terms of income, education, information technology skills, access to finance, and childcare responsibilities put women at a further disadvantage during the pandemic.



Maintaining open markets during the recovery period is key to building faster and more inclusive growth, the information note states, adding that this should be complemented by appropriate labour and education policies as well as legal and social reforms to support women workers, consumers and traders. The paper also points to the recently launched WTO-World Bank report "Women and Trade: The role of trade in promoting gender equality", which highlights ways to ensure women continue to benefit from trade during the economic recovery after the pandemic.



Key takeaways from the report:



 Women are at risk of suffering more than men from the trade disruption generated by the Covid-19 pandemic. One of the reasons for this is that a larger share of women works in sectors and types of firms that have been particularly hard-hit by the pandemic.



 Women make up a larger share of the workforce in the manufacturing sectors, such as textiles, apparel, footwear and telecommunication products, that experienced some of the largest falls in export growth during the first months of the pandemic. For example, female employees represent 80 per cent of the workforce in ready-made garment production in Bangladesh, in which industry orders declined by 45.8 per cent over the first quarter of 2020, and by 81 per cent in April alone.



 A larger share of women than men works in services, such as tourism and business travel services, that have been directly affected by regional and international travel restrictions.



 A large share of firms owned or managed by women are micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), and lower levels of financial resources and limited access to public funds are placing the survival of such businesses at greater risk.



 The economic impact of the pandemic is expected to be particularly significant for women in least-developed and developing economies because fewer women than men are employed in these economies in occupations which can be undertaken remotely, and a larger share of women is employed in sectors highly exposed to international travel restrictions.



 The effects of the pandemic are aggravating existing vulnerabilities. Many channels through which Covid-19 is having a greater impact on women are those at the heart of gender inequalities, such as lower wages for women, fewer educational opportunities, limited access to finance, greater reliance on informal employment and social constraints. Limited access to digital technologies and lower rates of information technology (IT) skills further reduce women's opportunities for teleworking and e-commerce, and thus for adapting to the current crisis.



 Many governments have adopted a broad range of support measures to help individuals and businesses. Some of these measures, mainly social protection initiatives adopted by some central or local governments, are specifically targeted at women.



 Maintaining open trade during the economic recovery period is key to building faster and more inclusive growth.  TradeArabia News Service
As many as 100 villagers and forest officials were injured in an attack by alleged encroachers in Madhya Pradesh on Friday evening, the police said. The incident took place in Burhanpur, 328 km southwest of state capital Bhopal, where the attackers used sling shots and arrows, they further said.

While three people sustained serious injuries in their heads and were admitted to district hospital, others were discharged after first aid, said MR Tarnekar, Additional Superintendent of Police, Burhanpur.

The police registered a case against 200 unidentified people for voluntarily causing hurt to deter public servants from performing their duties at Nepanagar police station on Saturday, said Tarnekar.

Burhanpur district forest officer, Gaurav Chaudhary, said, Forest officials and residents of Ghaghrala village had gone to the Navra range where alleged encroachment took place by tribals, who recently migrated from neighbouring districts in large number. We had a report that more than 200 tribal are trying encroach upon land by felling tree. Forest teams have requested them so many times but every time they showed their aggressive behaviour. This was the fourth incident when they attacked the forest team.

The local villagers, who are opposing the encroachment, came forward to help the forest team on Friday but when they reached the site, the encroachers started pelting stones by using sling shots and also attacked them with arrows, he added.

Chaudhary said there might be an organised land mafia who is using these tribal for encroaching upon the land.

However, Navra range officer Gulab Singh claimed that police were not supporting them in anti-encroachment drive.

Refuting the allegations, ASP Tarniker said, It is a sensitive issue and we cant take action all of sudden without informing the authorities.

But on Friday when the tribal attacked forest team and villagers, heavy police force reached the spot and controlled the situation. Now, we have asked the forest officers to hold a coordination meeting with district administration to have a proper strategy to deal with them, he added.
Two bulldozers stand facing each other marking the entrance to Argyle Street South, where a blockade of pylons, an overturned trailer and a smouldering fire erected by a group from Six Nations remained unmoved Sunday.

Further down the road, a row of OPP cruisers face them behind another set of orange-and-black-striped pylons.

For us, its always been about land back and itll continue to be about getting our land back, Skyler Williams of Six Nations told The Spectator on Sunday.

Blockades were erected in Caledonia after OPP forcibly removed Six Nations protesters, who refer to themselves as land defenders, occupying McKenzie Meadows Aug. 5.

As of Saturday, the group has been occupying the housing development site there for 21 days.

This is unceded Haudenosaunee territory and we want to continue to live here and grow and build and all the things that we need to be able to flourish as a community, he said. Were going to keep on doing exactly what it is weve been doing, which is remaining peaceful and unarmed.

Heavy police presence, including cruisers on the ground and a helicopter circling overhead, continued throughout the weekend.

We continue to have officers in the area for the safety of the public, the demonstrators and the police as this is paramount and that is our key role, OPP Const. Rodney LeClair said in an email to The Spectator. Open dialogue is continuing in an effort toward a peaceful resolution.

On Sunday, Haldimand-Norfolk MPP Toby Barrett tweeted his long-standing opposition to Six Nations occupation of land developments.

My position of opposition to the illegal blockade and occupation of subdivisions, roads and railways has not changed over the past 14 and a half years, he wrote.

In 2006, Six Nations activists took over a Caledonia subdivision, Douglas Creek Estates, in one of the longest standoffs in Canadian history.

People from Indigenous communities across Canada are showing solidarity for the Six Nations group occupying McKenzie Meadows construction site in Caledonia.

Were getting support from everyone, everywhere, and its an amazing thing, Williams said.

Williams said they have had an amazing wealth of support from Haudenosaunee communities such as Tyendinaga and Akwesasne in eastern Ontario, Kahnawake in Quebec and Oneida in southwestern Ontario.

Id be remiss to try to name all of them, he said. Theyve all sent their best wishes and love and support from all of those communities saying theyre watching whats going on and ready to take action.

On Friday, the Ontario Superior Court upheld an injunction banning protesters from the construction site. A second blanket injunction prohibiting anyone from demonstrating on county roads requested by the county was also granted.

We havent been treated fairly here, Legbur of Oneida Bear Clan said in a YouTube statement Saturday, directing his comments at Premier Doug Ford.

Ford said in a news conference Thursday the Caledonia demonstrations were uncalled for and is a result of a few bad apples.

I have a great deal of respect for these communities right across the province. Were there to support them and help them, but it has to be a two-way street here, he said. You just cant go in and just take over peoples future homes. Its wrong.

The premier said he is open to conversation with Assembly of First Nations (AFN) chiefs.

Those chiefs dont speak for us, Legbur countered. You never see any of those chiefs standing on the front lines, its always the people. I dont care on which territory, its always the people.

Johnny Hawk, an Anishinabek activist from Beausoleil First Nation on Georgian Bay, posted a video showing his support for Six Nations protesters direct action.

I just want to make this video to show my solidarity to the ... Haudenosaunee relatives down there in the Six Nations of the Grand River who are making a stand right now  a continued stand  of asserting their Haldimand tract, their territory, he said.

Support has come from as far away as Wetsuweten Nation on Canadas west coast.

We feel that we have to support our brothers and sisters on what they are doing and what their ultimate goal is as they have shown support to us Wetsuweten, said hereditary chief Woos in an Aug. 7 Facebook video.

In February, a wave of solidarity protests sprung up across the country in support of Wetsuweten pipeline opponents. Six Nations demonstrators erected a blockade on Highway 6 in Caledonia to show their support for the Wetsuweten.

Its not right that all of these actions are happening against the people at Haudenosaunee, and all of the actions that are being done against them, Woos said.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-09 22:01:20|Editor: huaxia

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MANILA, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) -- The death toll in the running gun battle between government security forces and suspected communist rebels in northern Philippines on Saturday climbed to six, the military said on Sunday.

A military report said that the clashes that started around 2:00 p.m. local time on Saturday and ended early Sunday morning in Santa Lucia town near Candon City in Ilocos Sur province resulted in the killing of five New People's Army (NPA) rebels and an army soldier.

Quoting witnesses, the report added that villagers who were caught in the crossfire "were fired upon by the NPA (rebels) and suffered multiple injuries."

The report said the bodies of the two NPA rebels were recovered on Saturday, while three more bodies were recovered on Sunday morning.

Troops also recovered four M16 assault rifles, two M14 rifles, one cal. 45 pistol, one 9mm pistol, one shotgun, three grenades, and six homemade bombs, including detonating devices and wires, the report said.

The report added that troops also recovered 15 mobile phones, assorted medicines and documents from the encounter sites.

According to the report, the wounded troops and civilians are in stable condition and are now recuperating at a local hospital.

The NPA is the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines.

The NPA rebels have been fighting the government since 1969. On and off talks to end the decades-old insurgency that have killed thousands stalled again last year. Enditem
By PTI

NEW DELHI: In a mega push to boost domestic defence production, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday announced that India will stop import of 101 weapons and military platforms like transport aircraft, light combat helicopters, conventional submarines, cruise missiles and sonar systems under a staggered timeline till 2024.

Making the announcement on Twitter, the defence minister estimated that the domestic defence industry would receive contracts worth almost Rs four lakh crore within the next five to seven years as a result of the decision to prune the import list of defence platforms and equipment.

Singh said the defence ministry is now ready for a "big push" to encourage indigenous defence manufacturing in tune with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's clarion call for an 'Atmanirbhar Bharat' (self-reliant India).

India is one the largest importers of arms globally.

According to estimates, the Indian armed forces are projected to spend around USD 130 billion in capital procurement in the next five years.

The defence minister said the armed forces had contracted around Rs 3.5 lakh crore worth of military systems between April 2015 and August 2020 which have now been listed under the restrictions for import.

The decision to prune the import list of weapons systems under a year-wise schedule was first announced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in May while rolling out reform measures for the defence manufacturing sector that included increasing the FDI limit from 49 per cent to 74 per cent under the automatic route.

"The embargo on imports is planned to be progressively implemented between 2020 and 2024. The aim behind promulgation of the list is to apprise the Indian defence industry about the anticipated requirements of the armed forces so that they are better prepared to realise the goal of indigenisation," Singh said.

The decision to restrict the import of the items came at a time India is expediting procurement of various military systems and weapons in view of a bitter border standoff with China in eastern Ladakh.

The defence minister said all necessary steps would be taken to ensure that timelines for domestic production of equipment identified under the negative list for import are met, adding the measures will include a co-ordinated mechanism for hand-holding of the industry by the defence services.

"Big and tough" decisions are being taken to promote self-reliance in defence production, he said while speaking at an online event.

According to a government document, import restrictions on 69 items will come into force from December 2020 while the embargo on another 11 items will be applicable from December 2021.

A separate list of four items will come under the restrictions from December 2022 while the ban on two separate sets of eight items will be applicable from December 2023 and December 2024.

According to the document, the list of 101 items included towed artillery guns, short range surface to air missiles, cruise missiles, offshore patrol vessels, electronic warfare systems, next generation missile vessels, floating dock, anti-submarine rocket launchers and short range maritime reconnaissance aircraft.

The list also includes basic trainer aircraft, lightweight rocket launchers, multi-barrel rocket launchers, missile destroyers, sonar systems for ships, rockets, ASTRA-MK I beyond visual range air-to-air missiles, light machine guns and artillery ammunition (155 mm) and ship-borne medium range guns.

"This is a big step towards self-reliance in defence. It also offers a great opportunity to the Indian defence industry to rise to the occasion to manufacture the items in the negative list by using their own design and development capabilities or adopting the technologies designed and developed by the DRDO," Singh said on Twitter.

He said the defence ministry has set a goal of a turnover of USD 25 billion (Rs 1.75 lakh crore) in defence manufacturing in the next five years that included an export target of USD 5 billion (Rs 35,000 crore) worth of military hardware.

In another relevant step, Singh said the defence ministry has bifurcated the capital procurement budget for 2020-21 between domestic and foreign capital procurement routes.

A separate budget head has been created with an outlay of nearly Rs 52,000 crore for domestic capital procurement in the current financial year, the defence minister added.

According to a government document, import restrictions on 69 items will come into force from December 2020 while the embargo on another 11 items will be applicable from December 2021.

A separate list of four items will come under the restrictions from December 2022 while the ban on two separate sets of eight items will be applicable from December 2023 and December 2024.

The defence minister said the list of 101 items was prepared by the ministry after several rounds of consultations with all stakeholders, including the three services, the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), defence public sector undertakings, ordnance factory board and private industries.

"Almost 260 schemes of such items were contracted by the tri-services at an approximate cost of Rs 3.5 lakh crore between April 2015 and August 2020. With the latest embargo on import of 101 items, it is estimated that contracts worth almost Rs four lakh crore will be placed upon the domestic industry within the next five to seven years," Singh said.

"Of these, items worth almost Rs 1,30,000 crore each are anticipated for the Army and the Air Force while items worth almost Rs 1,40,000 crore are anticipated by the Navy over the same period," he added.

Singh said that the list also includes wheeled armoured fighting vehicles (AFVs) with indicative import embargo date of December 2021, of which the Army is expected to contract almost 200 at an approximate cost of over Rs 5,000 crore.

"Similarly, the Navy is likely to place demands for submarines with indicative import embargo date of December 2021, of which it expects to contract about six at an approximate cost of almost Rs 42,000 crore," he said.

"For the Air Force, it is decided to enlist the LCA MK 1A with an indicative embargo date of December 2020. Of these, 123 are anticipated at an approximate cost of over Rs 85,000 crore," he added.

The defence ministers said more such equipment for import embargo would be identified progressively by the department of military affairs in consultation with all stakeholders.

He said a note on this will also be made in the defence acquisition procedure (DAP) to ensure that no item in the negative list is processed for import in the future.
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko was set for an overwhelming victory in a presidential election on Sunday, an official exit poll said, after a political newcomer mounted a historic challenge to the strongman leader.

The exit poll for state television gave Lukashenko 79.7 percent of the vote, with main challenger Svetlana Tikhanovskaya coming second with 6.8 percent.

The opposition had said it expected the results to be rigged and some were already calling for protests on Sunday night.

The atmosphere in the capital Minsk was tense, with police and special forces on the streets and a Soviet-era protest song blasting from car radios and flats.

Huge queues had formed outside polling stations in the capital Minsk and other cities before voting ended at 8:00 pm local time (1700 GMT), after Tikhanovskaya urged her supporters to vote late to give authorities less chance to falsify the election.

Central Election Commission chief Lidia Yermoshina, who had denounced the queues as an "organised provocation", said most polling stations had closed as planned but that voting would be extended at some to allow waiting voters to cast their ballots.

"I hope that the vote will also end without any problems" at these stations, she said on public television.

The first official results were expected in the evening, and the opposition said it would keep an alternative count.

Lukashenko, who has been in power since 1994 and is seeking a sixth term, has warned the opposition he is not planning to give up his "beloved" Belarus and security was dramatically tightened in the capital on Sunday.

Columns of military vehicles were seen on roads into Minsk, police carrying machine guns checked vehicles entering the city and government buildings were cordoned off.

Tikhanovskaya, a 37-year-old English teacher by training and stay-at-home mother, has emerged as the symbol of the ex-Soviet country's new protest movement against Lukashenko's rule.

She decided to run for president after the authorities jailed her husband, popular blogger Sergei Tikhanovsky, and barred him from running.

"I want honest elections," she told cheering supporters outside a polling station in Minsk after a gruelling campaign that saw her draw massive crowds throughout the country.

- White bracelets -

At polling stations, many wore white bracelets that have become a symbol of the opposition. Tikhanovskaya wore one on each wrist.

Casting his vote, Lukashenko vowed to maintain order, suggesting his opponents may be planning unrest.

"Nothing will get out of control, I guarantee you... whatever certain people have planned," the strongman said.

Political observers predicted Lukashenko would rig the vote in the absence of international observers. He won over 83 percent at previous polls in 2015.

A record 41.7 percent of voters took part in early voting that began Tuesday, the central electoral commission said.

Official turnout stood at 79 percent at 6:00 pm local time.

Many Belarusians said 65-year-old Lukashenko's time was up.

"I hope something will change," said Vadim Svichkarev, a 49-year-old security guard. "It's very hard to be stuck in the same position for 26 years."

Tikhanovskaya says that if she wins she will release political prisoners and call fresh elections to include the entire opposition.

- 'Lukashenko's ruthlessness' -

Tikhanovskaya's campaign office said Sunday that one of her key allies, Veronika Tsepkalo, had left for Russia out of concern for her safety.

Tsepkalo, whose ex-diplomat husband Valery Tsepkalo was barred from standing, and Maria Kolesnikova, campaign chief of ex-banker Viktor Babaryko who was also dropped from the polls and is in jail, joined forces with Tikhanovskaya to mount the campaign.

Photographs of the three standing together and making their signature gestures -- Tikhanovskaya's punched fist, Kolesnikova's fingers in a heart shape and Tsepkalo's victory sign -- have become an emblem of the opposition.

Nigel Gould-Davies, a former British ambassador to Belarus, said there was no doubt the polls would be falsified.

"The question is what happens then," Gould-Davies, a senior fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, told AFP.

In the past Lukashenko has crushed protests with riot police and hefty jail terms, prompting Western sanctions.

"Given Lukashenko's ruthlessness, anyone who is concerned about Belarus will worry, will fear for the Belarusian people in the days ahead."

Police detained journalists and Belarusians reported problems with accessing websites of independent media on election day.

Lukashenko has sought to galvanise support by warning of outside threats and raising the spectre of violent mobs.

Belarus has detained 33 Russians, describing them as mercenaries sent to destabilise the vote.

The detentions sparked a political crisis with ally Russia. Moscow urged the men's release and President Vladimir Putin told Lukashenko he wants Belarus to stay "stable".

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100 Years Ago  1920: Every means at the command of the Police Department is being used in an effort to obtain a clue which will lead to the apprehension of the thief who, some time after midnight Friday, forced entrance to the rear of the Bickley drug store, at Fourth and Market streets, pried open the safe and made his getaway with more than $400. The robbery was, no doubt, the work of a professional. The selection of the store, within a half block of police headquarters and with patrolmen passing at regular intervals, is evidence that the Safe cracking was not attempted by an amateur.

75 Years Ago  1945: Delaware County will launch a plane attack against its mosquitos. With a bomb load of the deadly DDT, a low-flying plane will circle the Chester Pike area and the mosquito-infested Tinicum marshes and send a spray of insecticide over a 2,500-acre area. The potent chemical will be used in a kerosene base and will be sprayed from a fogging machine.

50 Years Ago  1970: Another in the series of free band concerts by Chester City Band in the Chester Park bandshell is scheduled for 8 p.m. Tuesday. Vocal soloist this week is Eileen Banham, former city public school teacher and a frequent soloist with the Rose Valley Chorus and the Drexel Hill Music Club.

25 Years Ago  1995: When the hot summer air carries the catchy beat of the bass drum, parents know their children will be occupied for the next couple of hours. The drums signal practice time for the Darby Township Marching Unit. Every weekday evening, the group can be seen trying out new moves and perfecting routines at the Emergency Services Training Center on Hook Road. We offer an alternative to drugs and the rough stuff out on the streets. Leaders strive to instill a sense of discipline and self-pride in the young people, said Marvin Smith, director of the unit.

10 Years Ago  2010: The 10th annual Unity Day went off without a hitch Saturday in Darby Townships Conway Park on Hook Road to display their talents, classic cars and bikes, and for fun in the sun. Todays a day when the community comes together to see old faces and reminisce. We also like to show the younger generation what it means to have unity, said Shirley Wilmer. Wilmer was a member of the original Darby Township drill team, the Swingers, in the 1970s and helped line up the teams for the parade this year.

 COLIN AINSWORTH
Demonstrators say Aoun represents a political class that has ruled Lebanon for decades and is to blame for its current crisis.

Protesters stormed government ministries in the capital on Saturday (Aug 8), calling for the downfall of the government and the political establishment.

Prime Minister Hassan Diab said on Saturday the only way out was early parliamentary elections.

But protesters rejected Diabs statement, with one saying the prime minister has no real authority.

Protests rumbled on in Beirut on Saturday night, as demonstrators gathered in Martyrs' Square, some throwing stones at riot police, who fired tear gas to disperse them.

Protesters said their politicians should resign and be punished for negligence they say led to Tuesday's (August 4) blast, the biggest ever to hit Beirut.

The explosion killed 158 people and injured more than 6,000, compounding months of political and economic meltdown.
How is it that Vallejos Police Department is always in trouble  and yet no one, it seems, is held accountable?

Instead of protecting the public theyre sworn to serve, police officers are busy protecting themselves while they brutalize and kill civilians.

This is a department whose officers have killed 19 people since June 2010  oftentimes under highly questionable circumstances. And yet not once has a police officer been criminally charged with wrongdoing.

And now we have the case of the badge-bending allegations that surfaced when Open Vallejo, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news site, broke the story that a group of officers bent their badges and held backyard barbecues to mark fatal shootings. According to my colleagues Demian Bulwa and Rachel Swan, the officers involved may be immune from consequences because the city waited too long to investigate.

Something is very wrong in this department.

In a January interview, Vallejo Chief Shawny Williams told me he wanted to create a culture of accountability, transparency and trust. The Vallejo Police Officers Association has blocked his attempts in the aftermath of the police killing of Sean Monterrosa. Williams changed his description of Monterrosa being on his knees and raising his arms when he was shot to a description that matched the unions narrative of Monterrosa crouching in a shooting position.

Monterrosa was unarmed.

The unions temporary restraining order kept the Police Department and the city from naming the officer, but last week Monterrosas family sued Vallejo and police Officer Jarrett Tonn, accusing him of panicking and fatally shooting the 22-year-old San Franciscan from an unmarked police vehicle with no provocation. It was Tonns fourth shooting in five years, according to the suit.

The trucks windshield was damaged in the shooting, and a police officer was put on leave for allegedly destroying it.

Even as the country grapples with a tortuous history of policing people of color, theres been no reason for officers in Vallejo to change their behavior because the police get what they want from the Vallejo City Council  from a waterfront headquarters to drug test limits to pay raises  when they want it. Rather than being held accountable, the police are rewarded in Vallejo.

The lack of accountability has fostered a culture where the police call the shots in Vallejo.

Were up against agents of these institutions who willingly and happily engage in misbehavior, Jason Williams, a Montclair (N.J.) State University professor and criminology expert, told me. Yes, its the policies. Yes, its the leadership, but its the culture that theyre holding onto.

When you really pull back the blinders, it is the culture that sustains that institution. Their culture is really one of hostility, one of inhumane behavior.

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.

Vallejo encapsulates so much of whats wrong with policing in America  and how difficult it will be to reform policing even in the face of widespread scrutiny. The powerful police unions stand in the way of making structural changes, according to Geoffrey Alpert, a professor of criminology and criminal justice at the University of South Carolina who has been researching police tactics for decades.

The union effort has to be dealt with in order to reform the police, he said. Some union contracts have created problems for law enforcement. And some of the union opinions and decisions and influence fly in the face of what the chief wants to do.

The unions are there to protect the officers from whatever they do. Theyre not there to improve policing.

Attorney General Xavier Becerra, who has a review and reform agreement with Vallejo to investigate use-of-force procedures, officer accountability and more, plans to investigate the destruction of the windshield. But Becerra has declined to investigate the Monterrosa shooting. So has Solano County District Attorney Krishna Abrams, who recused herself from investigating the fatal shootings of both Monterrosa and Willie McCoy, who was killed by six Vallejo officers in February 2019.

The OIR Group, which specializes in reviewing police practices, is investigating the Monterrosa shooting. Its unclear what the police will do with the findings. In June, the OIR Groups blistering 70-page report found issues with the way the Police Department conducts misconduct investigations and how it disciplines officers.

Vallejoans need protection from their own Police Department.

San Francisco Chronicle columnist Otis R. Taylor Jr. appears Mondays and Thursdays. Email: otaylor@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @otisrtaylorjr
By Express News Service

ADILABAD: Controversy continues to rage over the death of a 44-year-old man who died of COVID-19 on August 5. The body of the victim was burnt in a graveyard by municipal authorities on the outskirts of Mavala village in the district.

However, it is being alleged that the body was only half-burnt and officials left it that way. As a result, some street dogs in the vicinity came to the spot and started eating the half-burnt body. A video, which went viral on social media groups on Saturday, caused a huge stir.

Meanwhile, municipal officials claimed that the patients family members too had attended the funeral and the body was not left half-burnt. The dogs were chewing on an animals carcass, they said.

Earlier, the COVID-positive patient had been admitted in Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) Hospital, Adilabad. But when his condition worsened, doctors told his kin to take him to Gandhi Hospital, Hyderabad. His relatives alleged that the oxygen cylinder in the ambulance had stopped working by the time it reached Nirmal. This resulted in the patients death. Following this, the mans relatives had staged a protest at RIMS Hospital.

District Collector Sikta Patnaik has asked Additional Collector G Sandhya Rani to conduct an inquiry into the matter. After the investigation, action will be taken. Fencing wire is being erected around the graveyard in the meantime.

Congress minority cell president Shajid Khan said that the government had not provided the material required for the cremation.

He also said that the patient had not been provided with quality food during treatment and was denied the dignity of a proper funeral. The TRS governments neglect of Coronavirus patients would cost it dear, he said.

How it happened

Earlier, the COVID-positive patient had been admitted in RIMS Hospital, Adilabad. But when his condition worsened, doctors told his kin to take him to Gandhi Hospital, Hyderabad. He died en route the hospital due to the, alleged, unavailability of oxygen in the ambulance
Born and raised in Atlantic City, Sister Irene Gormley, 78, has spent her life looking after the health of Sisters of Mercy throughout New Jersey.

She celebrates her 60th jubilee this year.

Gormley entered the Sisters of Mercy convent on Sept. 8, 1960, with 22 sisters. Some have left, some have passed on. She celebrates this jubilee with only three others from her initial cohort. Normally, that would involve a special mass and refreshments with family, friends and fellow sisters but not this year. Perhaps in April if the pandemic situation allows.

It doesnt seem to be of particular importance to her. Shes grateful for the work shes been given.

Im just very happy that Ive had the opportunity to do what I do, Gormley said. Just to make a difference is a very rewarding thing. Its something that when I get up in the morning I want to do.

Gormley spent about five years learning about mercy before she took her vows. During that time, she taught for a year, but nursing was really how she wanted to serve. She received permission to enter Gwynedd Mercy University just north of Philadelphia and became a registered nurse.
One of the problems with patients having autoimmune disease is that they have a natural tendency to go from doctor to doctor to doctor, because their disease is often complex, Dr. Rose said on NPR in 2002. It doesnt fit neatly in a clinical specialty. So I think its much better to have one internist, one family doctor with whom you feel comfortable and then let him or her try to sort out what kinds of underlying problems you may have.
Emirates has announced it will increase its passenger services to/from Pakistan starting August 10, offering customers enhanced connectivity to over 70 destinations within its current network, via Dubai.

The airline is set to ramp up its flight frequency to/from Karachi, Islamabad, Lahore, and Sialkot; and resume passenger services to Peshawar - providing customers worldwide with greater access to its expanding network.

Emirates will now offer customers 53 weekly flights to Pakistan, which will increase to 60 weekly flights starting August 16. All flights will be operated with the Emirates Boeing 777-300ER and can be booked on emirates.com or via travel agents.

The airline will operate 21 weekly flights to Karachi (increased to 28 weekly flights starting August 16); 10 weekly flights to Islamabad; seven weekly flights to Sialkot; 10 weekly flights to Lahore; and five weekly flights to Peshawar.

Customers are reminded that travel restrictions remain in place, and travellers will only be accepted on these flights if they comply with the eligibility and entry criteria requirements.

Customers can stop over or travel to Dubai as the city has re-opened for international business and leisure visitors. Covid-19 PCR tests are mandatory for all inbound and transit passengers arriving to Dubai (and the UAE), including UAE citizens, residents and tourists, irrespective of the country they are coming from. - TradeArabia News Service
Child protection advocates fear the coronavirus pandemic is permanently damaging the relationship between thousands of Victorian parents and children, creating a "COVID generation" of children who slip into state care.

Victorias second surge of coronavirus cases and the resulting stage four lockdown have compounded the uncertainty for parents who cannot see children who are in care face-to-face, amid calls for the state government to give parents more time and leniency to prove they can resume parenting roles.

Commissioner for Children and Young People Liana Buchanan is concerned by the possible long-term impact of coronavirus disruptions. Credit:Justin McManus

Since face-to-face contact with children in care was cancelled as the pandemic hit Australia in March, almost all of Victoria's 11,600 children in protection programs and their parents have been forced to rely on video and telephone calls to maintain their relationships, in an arrangement one Supreme Court judge called "illusory".

And Victoria's reunification laws give parents an unnegotiable maximum of two years to show their ability as parents or lose custody of their children for good.
The recent appointment of Hajiya Balaraba Ibrahim as Special Assistant on Women Affairs (Unmarried) by His Excellency, Governor of Bauchi State, Bala Abdulkadir Mohammed has attracted divergent views from within and outside the state.

The letter of the appointment which dated August 4, 2020, and signed by Mohammed Sabiu Baba, Secretary to the State Government, urged Balaraba Ibrahim to utilize her wealth of experience in facing the challenges of her office to facilitate the attainment of a collective goal and the expectation of electorate.

The Governor, who possesses the quality of having his people at heart, has indeed made the appointment with a pure intention in order to provide a room for the voiceless in the community. Historically, Women, over the years, remain key players in Nigerias democracy but unfortunately, some governments reward them with the bad by sidelining them after they are being elected into the office. This signifies nothing but breach of trust which Governor Bala hates to the core. The conduct which was experienced during the tenure of previous administration in the state has forced many women especially the unmarried to lose hope in politics.

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What then could be done to keep womens hope alive?

The appointment of Hajiya Balaraba Ibrahim as Special Assistant on Women Affairs (Unmarried) is one of the strategies that will help in digging out the real challenges women are facing in Bauchi state. This is because the females difficulties and challenges could best be understood by a woman. If that is the case, then Hajiya Balaraba could serve as an intermediary between the governor and the unmarried women in the state, that is conveying the needs of the unmarried to the governor as well as informing them the programmes and policies of the governor in serving their interest.

According to the recent survey of attitudes in the community toward domestic violence in Nigeria, most frequent victims of violence usually turn out to be unmarried women, with figures as high as 70 per cent in some places.

Data from the study, published recently in a British Council, Nigeria report entitled Gender in Nigeria Report 2012: Improving the Lives of Girls and Women in Nigeria, Issues, Policies, Action notes that women in the never married group are more likely to have suffered physical violence than women who have been married or are married.

I conclude by urging His Excellency, Bala Muhammad to continue focusing on peoples needs and aspirations as well as being a governor with listening ears. To the appointee, I am advising her to live above board in discharging her duty and help the current administration in finding a lasting solution to the problems of our daughters, sisters and mothers.

God bless Bauchi state!

Bilyaminu Gambo Kong-kol,

Mass Communication Department, Bayero University, Kano

bilyaminugambokonkol20@gmail.com
According to the source, 9.2% of the voters did not support any candidate.

Incumbent President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko is gaining 79.7% of votes during the presidential elections held in that country on August 9, according to findings of the national exit poll.

Svetlana Tikhanovskaya scored 6.8%, Anna Kanopatskaya had 2.3%, Andrei Dmitriyev 1.1%, and Sergei Cherechen 0.9%, Belarus' BELTA agency reported.

Read alsoBelarus steps up control on border with Russia, Ukraine, Poland

According to the source, 9.2% of the voters did not support any candidate.

The exit poll, which covered 320 polling stations across the country, was conducted by the Youth Laboratory of Sociological Studies under the republican union of public associations Belarusian Committee of Youth Associations on demand by the representative office of the Interstate Broadcasting Company Mir in Belarus.

Upon exiting the polling station, voters were asked to anonymously answer who they had voted for. As many as 67.6% of those polled gave answers while 32.4% refused to. As many as 12,340 people were polled.

The Youth Laboratory of Sociological Studies under the Council of the republican union of public associations Belarusian Committee of Youth Associations was established in 2015 as an analytical center of young professional sociologists, political analysts, lawyers, youth policy specialists.

As was reported, Belarus on August 9 was holding the presidential elections. Some 5,767 polling stations were set up, 44 of them were based abroad.
Mumbai, Aug 9 : Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut on Sunday attacked the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for "politicising" the Sushant Singh Rajput case by linking a state minister for alleged political gains.

In a strongly worded column in party newspaper 'Saamana', Raut claimed that this was a conspiracy of the BJP with the help of a section of the media to malign the Maharashtra government under Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray.

"One TV channel uses derogatory, defamatory, and threatening language against the CM. This has distressed many, including Nationalist Congress Party President Sharad Pawar. A section of the media has the support of the opposition party which seeks to destablise the government. Pawar asked me what action the government has initiated over the disrespect meted to Thackeray who holds a Constitutional post," Raut said.

He suspected that the entire matter was scripted in advance, with the opposition linking Tourism Minister Aditya Thackeray to the case only because he shared cordial relations with several Bollywood personalities, and dubbed it a "conspiracy against the Maharashtra government".

Targetting the Bihar Police, Raut said it has unnecessarily jumped into this case, especially since nobody stood behind Sushant Singh Rajput during his struggling days, and whatever the actor achieved was due to Mumbai.

"Sushant and his father Krishna Kishore Singh did not enjoy cordial relations, as he was upset by the latter's (father's) decision to remarry. He was instigated to lodge the FIR with Bihar Police, which came to Mumbai to investigate an incident which occurred here. Bihar Police is not some 'Interpol'. This is not acceptable," Raut declared.

Slamming Bihar Director General of Police Gupteshwar Pandey, the Sena leader said that he has been breaking service rules by taking part in TV debates, commenting on Mumbai Police, and other objectionable actions.

"Who is this Pandey? In 2009, he had quit the police service to contest as a BJP candidate from Buxar, but after the then party candidate threatened rebellion, Pandey withdrew -- his situation became 'na ghar ka, na ghat ka', with his political mission failing," said Raut.

Later, he pointed out, Pandey pleaded to rejoin service, with his wife reportedly appealing that when he quit the police force, he was not mentally stable.

"If such a 'mentally unstable' person is still taken back on duty, that's Bihar government's problem. But today, he is among the closest to Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, and now media reports suggest he will contest the Assembly elections on a JD-U ticket," Raut alleged.

Raut said given the high-profile matter, the Mumbai Police should have briefed the media on the probe's progress every alternate day and made it clear it would investigate if any minister's or politician's name cropped up.

"They dragged the investigations. Calling film personalities regularly fuelled gossip and it must be ascertained if this was an attempt to terrorise Bollywood," said Raut.

Latest updates on Sushant Singh Rajput Death Mystery
The world is in the midst of an existential health crisis from the COVID-19 virus that threatens our health, safety and even our life, right now. It is quite understandable that this crisis is absorbing our time, our attention and our resources. Yet, at this same time, the Earth is also headed toward a longer-term challenge that threatens to change the habitability of the planet and cause misery and suffering, even death, to millions of the worlds inhabitants. Global climate change is unfolding. While its effects sometimes seem to advance at a glacial pace, they are actually accelerating.
A traditional Afghan council concluded Sunday with hundreds of delegates agreeing to free 400 Taliban members, paving the way for an early start to negotiations between Afghanistan's warring sides.

The declaration read out in both of Afghanistan's official languages of Pashto and Farsi calls for an immediate start to negotiations and cease fire. The move looks to bring the United States a little closer to returning its troops and ending its longest military engagement.

No date has been set but negotiations between Kabul's political leadership and the Taliban are expected to begin as early as next week and will most likely be held in the middle eastern state of Qatar, where the Taliban maintains a political office.

The Afghan negotiations were laid out in a peace deal signed by the United States and the Taliban in February. At the time of its signing it was touted as Afghanistan's best chance at ending decades of war.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani praised delegates for their decision, urged the Taliban to stop fighting.

Taliban political spokesman Suhail Shaheen said the decision was a good step, a positive step. He said negotiations could start within one week of their prisoners being freed.

As for a cease fire, Shaheen said the Taliban was committed to the deal it struck with the United States and according to that deal the cease fire will be one of the items to be discussed during the intra-Afghan negotiations."



The council's decision to free the prisoners does not come as a surprise as delegates were urged by the US at the start of the council, or jirga, on Friday to take this difficult action so negotiations could begin to bring an end to the war.

To remove obstacle, to start peace talks and to stop the bloodshed, the Jirga confirms the release of 400 Taliban prisoners, said Atefa Tayeb, a council secretary who read out the final declaration at the conclusion.

The deal negotiated between the United States and Taliban calls for the government to free 5,000 prisoners and for the Taliban to free 1,000 government and military personnel in its custody as a goodwill gesture ahead of the start of negotiations.

Kabul balked at the release but eventually freed all but the last 400. President Ghani said he was not authorized to free these because of the seriousness of their crimes, and asked for the council to decide instead. He did not detail of what the 400 were accused.

Delegates were therefore given the stark choice of either freeing the prisoners or seeing a war that has killed tens of thousands continue. The delegates said they wanted guarantees that the Taliban would not return to the battlefield.

Washington's Peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad spent more than a year and a half negotiating the deal with the Taliban to provide for the withdrawal of American soldiers after more than 19 years in

The withdrawal began earlier this year but roughly 8,600 US soldiers remain in and their return will depend on the Taliban honoring its commitment to fight against other terrorist groups and ensure is not again used to attack the United States or its allies.

The withdrawal of US and NATO troops is not dependent on the success of negotiations between Kabul's political leadership and the Taliban.

But US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has made it clear that Washington wants a negotiated end to the conflict, including a cease fire.

An attack against a military compound on Saturday that killed seven military personnel and injured another 16 was a reminder that Afghanistan's war would not be over easily. No one took responsibility for the attack but both the Taliban and Islamic State affiliate is active in the area.

A spike in recent violence in Afghanistan has been mostly attributed to the IS affiliate, whom the Taliban are fighting as are the Afghan government and US forces. Previously a US department of defense official who could not be named because of the sensitivity of the subject said Washington considered IS its biggest threat in Afghanistan and wanted a deal that would recruit the Taliban in a coordinated fight against it.
If ever there was a state with such a wealth of energy resources  fossil fuels, minerals and renewable energy sources  its New Mexico. Lately, a welcome bevy of wind and solar energy projects have begun or been announced. Still, New Mexicans must continue to rely on and support traditional fuel sources and pipelines to help heat and cool their homes and bolster renewables. The states motto must be Better Together.

Its clear why renewables are finally gaining a lot more attention here. New Mexico has long been blessed with rich oil, natural gas, uranium and coal reserves, but as the fifth-largest state by land area, much of the state is open to gusty winds and plenty of sunshine, putting New Mexico among the nations top 10 energy producers.

Wind energy already contributes nearly 20% of the states electricity generation. and wind farm projects under development promise to make New Mexico a wind energy dynamo. A 522-megawatt wind farm is expected to be in operation late this year. That project will, however, be dwarfed by miles of wind turbines on hundreds of thousands of acres near Corona that could provide electricity for every home in New Mexico.

One group is working to develop a project that will bring 3,000 megawatts of wind power in the Corona area, and would help meet the states goal to be 50% renewable by 2030 and 100% by 2045. Plus, new transmission lines under construction and placed strategically at the edge of three major U.S. electrical grids, as well as a power trading hub in northwestern New Mexico, among other places, will help deliver and supply excess electricity generated by renewables to other western states.

On the solar front, Public Service Co. of New Mexico and a local developer have built a 50-megawatt facility to generate all the power for Facebooks Los Lunas Data Center located in Sandoval County west of Rio Rancho.

Yet, state officials and residents must not forget that oil and natural gas pipelines are, and will remain, essential to continue to help heat and cool New Mexico homes and businesses, and to help transport the electricity generated by wind and solar power. This is a serious concern because major oil and gas pipelines have been delayed or cancelled around the country as anti-energy activists fight them, and regulators and judges in some states rule that government environmental reviews have cut corners.

Renewable energy proponents must be aware that, as Jason Bordoff, director of Columbia Universitys Center on Global Energy Policy, puts it, what goes around can come around. He argues that legal strategies used to derail pipelines can be turned against clean energy projects, especially if permitting processes for such projects arent improved to develop these energy projects quickly and improve our electric grid infrastructure.

Thats why the best approach to lead our energy future is to promote the idea that traditional fuel sources and renewables are better together in providing our energy needs.

Matt Gonzales of Cimmaron is a New Mexico state director of the Consumer Energy Alliance, supporting affordable, reliable energy for working families, seniors and businesses nationwide.
Egypt is ready to provide more medical and relief aid to help reconstruct affected parts in Beirut, the president said

"Loyal patriots in Lebanon, regardless of their positions, should stand together and distance their homeland from disputes and regional conflicts," Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi told an international online conference held on Sunday to discuss aid for Lebanon.

El-Sisi called for concentrating efforts on strengthening Lebanons state institutions, according to a presidential statement released following the conference.

He urged implementing economic reforms, which he described as inevitable, in order to gain the trust of international financial institutions and global support, which would help Lebanon achieve stability and development.

The conference was co-hosted by the United Nations and French President Emmanuel Macron, and attended by many world leaders including US President Donald Trump, with the aim of bringing donors together to support the Lebanese people after a massive blast devastated parts of their capital on Tuesday.

The explosion killed more than 150 people, including three Egyptians, and left thousands of others injured and homeless.

Many Lebanese took to the streets while others stormed government ministries in protest of what they described as the incompetence and corruption of the political elite.

Lebanese officials said the explosion was caused by 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate stored in a warehouse at the port for six years after being confiscated from a ship.

Countries around the world have rallied to offer support to Lebanon, providing aid packages, rescue and medical teams and humanitarian aid.

The Egyptian president expressed his appreciation for the French president's initiative in holding the conference, calling upon the international community to exert all possible efforts to assist Beirut to get up anew, overcome the blast's consequences, and reconstruct what was destroyed.

Egypt has taken several steps to provide assistance to Lebanon, including opening an air bridge of medical supplies and other aid to support the country.

An Egyptian field hospital in Beirut is also providing aid to victims of the blast.

"Egypt is ready to provide more medical and relief aid in this respect and to harness its capabilities to help the brothers in Lebanon in the efforts to reconstruct the affected areas," El-Sisi said at the conference.

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CAIRO  Egypt will soon witness a solemn procession in which 22 Pharaonic royal mummies are to be transported from their current exhibit in the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir Square to their new permanent display in the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization in Fustat. The move is expected to take place in the next few weeks.

The mummies date to the 17th, 18th, 19th and 20th dynasties. They count 18 kings and four queens, including King Ramses II, King Thutmose III, King Seti I, Queen Hatshepsut and Queen Merit Amon, wife of King Amenhotep I, as well as Queen Ahmose Nefertari, wife of King Ahmose I.

On July 27, the Ministry of Antiquities and Tourism announced that the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization in Fustat had received 17 royal coffins to be restored in preparation for receiving the royal mummies from the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir.

Manal al-Ghannam, director of restoration at the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization, told Al-Monitor, There is an Egyptian team working with the latest equipment to preserve, maintain and pack the mummies with the highest efficiency. The materials used are all safe and will not harm the mummies. Each mummy is examined and restored separately, taking into account several factors, including temperature, humidity, lighting and the surrounding environment of each of them. Each mummy is placed inside a nitrogen capsule with specific standards, and the transporting will be done inside specially designed boxes.

The team finished their work after about two and a half years, and the mummies are now ready for transportation, she added.

The development of the National Museum of Civilization comes as part of a project to develop historical Cairo and turn it into a tourist attraction. The plan includes the development of the Cairo Citadel Aqueduct, Ain As-Sira Lake and Tahrir Square along with the establishment of the Rubiky industrial park and the elimination of slums.

The National Museum of Egyptian Civilization is located in the historic city of Fustat  the first Islamic capital of Egypt after the conquest in 641 AD  covering 33.5 acres and overlooking Ain As-Sira Lake.

The museums foundation stone was laid in 2002. It is the first museum to be devoted to the entirety of Egyptian civilization. Its construction was completed in 2005 and it was partially opened to the public in 2017. More than 50,000 artifacts show the stages of Egyptian civilization from the earliest times to the modern era. The museum is coordinating with UNESCO on protecting and preserving Egypt's cultural heritage.

Moamen Othman, the head of the museums department at the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, told Al-Monitor, The Civilization Museum contains a large hall equipped with the latest technology to display the mummies. Each mummy will be displayed alongside its coffin and some distinct artifacts pertaining to the king and the ruling period, which is not feasible at the Tahrir Museum.

The ambitious plans to transport all the mummies in a procession has some scientists concerned. Ibrahim Badr, assistant professor of archeology restoration at Misr University for Science and Technology, told Al-Monitor, Dealing with mummies is difficult and very sensitive, so would be best to transport one or two mummies at most, not 22 mummies at once.

The Egyptian Museum is the oldest archaeological museum in the Middle East. Inaugurated by Khedive Abbas Helmy II in 1902, it includes the largest collection of ancient Egyptian antiquities in the world, spanning from the predynastic period to the Greek and Roman eras.

Director Sabah Abdel Razek told Al-Monitor, Work is underway to to display new items in the mummies hall of the Egyptian Museum, among them the Fayum portraits discovered in 1888, which are a collection portraits that were used to cover the faces of mummies, instead of masks, in the Roman era.

He went on, The Egyptian Museum will retain its visitors because it still contains important artifacts such as the Yuya and Thuya collection, the Akhenaten statue, the Queen Hatshepsut statue, the Khufu statue and the Khafre statue, among other rare and distinctive pieces.

Othman said that the Egyptian Museum is cooperating with five European museums, including the Louvre and the Berlin Museum, on possible loans of antiquities.
Beirut: Lebanese Prime Minister Hassan Diab has proposed holding early elections as protesters angry over the Beirut port blast stormed ministries, shots were heard and a police officer was killed during clashes that left at least 238 injured.

"I will put forward a bill to hold early parliamentary elections on Monday," Diab said in a televised address on Saturday, local time. "I call on all political parties to agree on the next stage ... I am with [the] Lebanese aspiring for change."

Protesters carry a wounded man during demonstrations on August 8, in Beirut, Lebanon. Credit:Getty Images

Diab floated the proposal as thousands of protesters, furious with their leaders after Tuesday's monumental blast at the Beirut port, took to the city streets to demand drastic reforms.

"The scale of the catastrophe is bigger than anyone can imagine," Diab said, referring to the blast. "We are in a state of emergency."
The Electoral Commission (EC) Sunday ended the two-day mop up exercise as a follow-up to the official 37-day voters registration to ensure a credible register for the presidential and parliamentary elections.



The exercise started on June 30 and officially ended on August 6, in 33,367 polling stations, which was done in six phases with each phase assigned six days for eligible applicants to register.



This was followed by the two-day mop up exercise on Saturday, August 8 to Sunday, August 9, 2020 at the various district offices of the EC across the country to enable eligible applicants who were unable to register in the mass registration exercise to do so.



The first and second phases of the exercise were characterised by overcrowding, necessitating the Commission to introduce a queue management system and mobile registration to address the situation.



The Commission projected to register a total of 15 million citizens but a little over 16.6 million were registered on the last day of the 37-day exercise.



A visit by the Ghana News Agency on Sunday to some of the EC district offices saw some people trooping in to take advantage of the mop up to register.



At the Klotey Korle office, Ms Afuah Amoah, the Registration Officer, said as at midday the office had registered 12 applicants.



She said the exercise had been smooth with majority of applicants going by the COVID-19 safety protocols - washing of hands with soap under running water, checking of temperature and observing the two-metre distance.



The situation at the Kanashie District Office was not different as the GNA observed about 20 applicants seated awaiting their turn to register.



Similarly, the Commissions office at the Ablekuma North also had a significant number of applicants in the queue.



Mr Robert Tetteh, an applicant, told the GNA that he was initially afraid to go and register due to the COVID-19, but ...it was fast and it took five minutes to complete the process. I think this is an improvement over the previous registration exercise. I commend the EC officials for this and hope the Election day will be good and peaceful.



Dr Bossman Eric Asare, the Deputy Chairman in Charge of Corporate Service at the EC, said its preliminary assessment of the two-day mop-up exercise showed that everything has worked according to plan.



We are yet to receive all the reports and do a full assessment but now we can say that it has been largely successful. Looking at the performance of temporary and permanent staff, materials and kits have been great.



He said the Commission could not have successfully executed its mandate without the support and participation of the public.



He called for continuous support for the Commission during the exhibition and other processes for a credible, fair, transparent and peaceful elections in December.

Source: GNA









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By Express News Service

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Continuing heavy rain wreaked havoc destroying 37 houses and partially damaging 198 houses in the capital district. The shutters of Aruvikkara, Peppara and Neyyar dams remained open as heavy inflow from the catchment areas here was witnessed even late into the night on Saturday. Several areas in the district have been receiving moderate to heavy rain.

The water level in the Neyyar dam remained above the rule curve level late on Saturday. However, a slight dip in the water level at the rate of 1cm every two hours has been recorded If the situation persists, the shutters of the dam will not have to be raised further.

In Peppara, water level stood at 106.85 m which is 5cm below the permissible level. The water level rose by 5cm in the last 24 hours. Two of the dams shutters have been raised 15cm. Power generation by the KSEB is also under way here. During the last 24 hours, the inflow of water is 35.21 m3/sec and the outflow is 32.78 m3/sec. The water level in the Aruvikkara dam is 46.31m, with the shutters raised to a total height of 125cm.

Crops situated on 5,867 hectare were damaged in the rain. In city limits, trees fell on electricity posts at Pattoor, Premnagar in Karamana, Poojappura, and Peroorkada ESI hospital, besides Keraladityapuram cutting off power supply. Water entered houses on Fathima Matha Road and nearby places due to the rough sea. Twenty-four people were moved to two different camps opened in Pettah village. Swell waves forced the relocation of eight families at Thumba in Menamkulam village. They were shifted to the houses of relatives.

Thampanoors ordeal continues

The capitals prominent Thampanoor area, which houses the Central Railway station and the KSRTC main bus station, witnessed a flashflood yet again on Saturday. Though Operation Anantha, under which the corporation and revenue department set up deeper drains in the city, had yielded results for sometime, with more waste being dumped into the Amayizhanjan Thodu the drainage system has become clogged resulting in flashflood.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-09 22:25:15|Editor: huaxia

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WASHINGTON, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) -- A 17-year-old was killed while at least 20 people injured following a shooting in southeastern Washington D.C. on early Sunday morning, according to authorities and local media.

Shots were fired around 1 a.m. eastern time (0500 GMT) on Sunday in a residential neighborhood in the U.S. capital, local police said.

At least nine people were taken to nearby hospitals after the shooting, a police spokesman said, according to CNN's affiliate radio WTOP-FM.

"I saw a young lady, she got shot in the leg. A young man, he was leaning over his car ... it sounded like machine guns," the radio quoted Nelson Bostic, who lives in the neighborhood, as saying. He also told WTOP-FM that the incident happened at a birthday party.

No further details were immediately available. Enditem
According to the Balearics epidemiology service, 8.6% of positive Covid-19 cases between 11 May and last Wednesday were people who contracted the virus somewhere other than the islands.

The report states that there were 837 positive cases between 11 May and 5 August. Seventy-two of these were imported. Of these 72, 39 originated in other regions of Spain: eleven in Catalonia; seven Madrid; six in both Extremadura and Valencia; four Murcia; and one in each of Andalusia, Aragon, the Basque Country, Castile and Leon, and Navarre.

Outside of Spain, there were nine cases which originated in Bolivia, five in Germany, four in both Algeria and the US, and two in Ecuador. The UK was one of several countries with one case.

The Balearic government has asked Madrid for controls of passengers arriving from other Spanish regions to be the same as they are for passengers from abroad - temperature control and the Passenger Locator Card.
An Australian startup racing to develop a successful coronavirus vaccine has urged the federal government to ensure small firms are given development deals alongside pharmaceutical giants.

Of more than 160 vaccine candidates around the world, the tie-up between global biotech CSL and the University of Queensland is considered frontrunner.

However, smaller firms have also been involved in the development of possible candidates, including South Australian startup Vaxine, which is hoping to become one of the top five vaccine programs worldwide over the next three months.

Professor Nikolai Petrovsky and his team at Vaxine hope to rocket into the top five coronavirus vaccine hopefuls in coming months.

The company's founder, Professor Nikolai Petrovsky, said the pandemic showed how important it was for Australia to make sure it was engaging with firms beyond multinational biotechs to discuss supply.
By PTI

SINGAPORE: The early-stage clinical trial for a COVID-19 vaccine has started in Singapore, with the first vaccinations expected to be given to volunteers next week, a media report has said, as the country's coronavirus tally crossed over 55,000 on Sunday.

Called Lunar-Cov19, the vaccine is developed by Duke-NUS Medical School and United States pharmaceutical company Arcturus Therapeutics, The Straits Times reported.

Clinicians and researchers are now screening those who have stepped forward to ensure they are suitable for the trial, which is expected to last until October.

The SingHealth Investigational Medicine Unit is administering the trial for the vaccine.

Associate Professor Jenny Low, deputy clinical and scientific director at the SingHealth unit, told The Straits Times on Saturday that more than 250 volunteers have stepped forward for the trial.

Around 100 people will take part in the trial.

The volunteers are in their 20s to 50s.

"As the trial is open to volunteers from 21 to 80 years old, we continue to be on the lookout for more participants, especially those in the older age group," she said.

Meanwhile, Singapore on Sunday reported 175 new coronavirus cases, taking the country's tally to 55,104.
The EIA draft is a 'disaster' and it seeks to silence the voice of communities who will be directly impacted by the environmental degradation it unleashes, Gandhi said.

New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday urged people to protest the new Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) 2020 draft, saying it was "dangerous" and if notified, the long term consequences will be "catastrophic".

The draft EIA notification, which involves procedure of issuing environmental clearances to various projects, was issued by the Environment Ministry in March this year and public suggestions were invited.

In a Facebook post using the hashtag ''WithdrawEIA2020'', Gandhi slammed the government over the EIA, 2020, draft, saying it is not only "disgraceful", but "dangerous".

"Not only does it have the potential to reverse many of the hard fought gains that have been won over the years in the battle to protect our environment, it could potentially unleash widespread environmental destruction and mayhem across India," he said.

Gandhi said, "Consider this: according to our ''Swachh Bharat'' propagating government, if labelled ''strategic'', highly polluting industries such as coal mining and other mineral mining will no longer require Environmental Impact Assessment." Neither will highways or railway lines passing through dense forests and other eco-sensitive areas, this will result in the massive hacking down of trees, leading to the destruction of habitats of thousands of endangered species, Gandhi said.

The idea that Environment Impact Assessment can be given post facto is a "terrible" one, he said.

"That is, EIA can be done, after a project has already destroyed the environment," the former Congress chief said.

This EIA 2020 draft is a "disaster" and it seeks to silence the voice of communities who will be directly impacted by the environmental degradation it unleashes, Gandhi said.

"I urge every Indian to rise up and protest against it. Our youth, who have always been at the forefront of every battle to protect our environment, must take up this cause and make it their own," the former Congress chief said.

"A fight to protect our environment cuts across political and ideological beliefs. If nothing else, the recent COVID-19 pandemic has shown us how fragile human life is," he said.

For millions of Indians, already living on the edge, the environment isn't an abstract term, but a life and livelihood issue, Gandhi said.

If EIA, 2020, is notified by the government, the long term consequences of the widespread environmental degradation will be catastrophic for us and future generations of Indians, he said.

Gandhi''s scathing criticism of the draft EIA notification came days after Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar said it does not relax the process of public hearing, but aims to make it more meaningful.

Javadekar wrote a letter in response to the objections to the draft EIA raised on various occasions by Congress leader Jairam Ramesh, a former environment minister and the current chairman of the parliamentary standing committee on science and technology, environment and climate change.

Javadekar had also said that Ramesh going public with his objections and letters was "premature" as public consultations on the draft EIA were underway.

The Environment ministry had earlier said it would not extend the deadline for people to give suggestions and opinions beyond June 30, but later gave time till August 12.

Ramesh, in his letter to the environment minister on July 25, has said that the draft EIA reduces public participation in all steps of the environment clearance process by lessening the notice period for public hearings and doing away with them for a large category of projects.

In his response on Thursday, Javadekar termed as "wrong connotation" the point raised by Ramesh that the government intends to give ex-post facto approval to the cases involving violation.
The Governor of Kaduna state, Nasir El-Rufai has backed the calls for the people from the Southern part of the country to produce President Muhammadu Buharis successor in 2023.

El-Rufai who disclosed this during an interview on the Hausa Service of BBC, also debunked claims that he was nursing a presidential ambition in 2023.

The southern part of the country is supposed to produce the president come 2023. I dont support a northerner to vie for the seat after President Muhammadu Buhari, based on Nigerias political arrangement, he said.

He said although the power rotation arrangement runs contrary to the constitution, it is a political exigency that deserves to be respected by all parties.

I believe that (there is) no developed country across the world that considers leadership based on where someone comes from.

However, in Nigerian politics, there is an arrangement that we all believe in rotational leadership. We are aware of that. Anyone who denies that is wrong, he said.

The governor said although he supports power rotation at the national level, he is opposed to it in his state because in Kaduna, I dont work with people because they came from a particular zone. Rather, I work with you based on your capacity to deliver on a task given to you and your ability to keep public trust.

He spoke on the heels of a similar interview granted by President Buharis nephew, Mamman Daura, who said merit rather than zoning should be the sole factor for picking Nigerias president.
A key battle over the future of fossil fuels and climate change will soon be decided in a sleepy corner of Australia.

After a decade-long struggle pitting a mix of farmers, grandmothers and activists against oil producers and local and federal governments, a panel will decide by early next month whether to greenlight a A$3.6 billion ($2.6 billion) natural gas project.

The resolution will arrive amid growing global opposition to all fossil fuels over their contribution to climate change, and as traditional producers such as BP pivot toward green power. As both a major exporter of energy and a victim of the devastation of a warming planet, Australia's path forward may illustrate how communities weigh the economic benefits of gas against environmental damage.

Santos Ltd. says its Narrabri project, about 500 kilometers (311 miles) northwest of Sydney, is essential for the country to move from coal-fired power toward a cleaner network based on wind and solar. Opponents say the transition should happen without major new gas projects.

"It's wrong to suggest that projects such as Narrabri are some sort of short-term bridge," said Simon Corbell, chief executive officer at renewables-focused consulting firm Energy Estate. "It's not a short-term bridge, it's a long-lived investment that exposes us to significant environment and climate risk."

Narrabri has the potential to supply enough gas to meet half of demand in New South Wales, Australia's most populous state, and will help kickstart the nation's economic recovery from Covid-19, according to Adelaide-based Santos. Gas is the "perfect partner" for renewables, providing the reliability needed to back up the variable nature of solar and wind power, it says.

Santos Chief Executive Officer Kevin Gallagher argued at a community hearing on the project last month that a number of proposed liquefied natural gas import terminals could not compete on price with locally sourced gas. Businesses in New South Wales also pay as much as A$4 per gigajoule ($2.70 per million British thermal unit) more for their gas than counterparts in Queensland due to transportation costs and pipeline tariffs, he said.

Perdaman Group has signed a preliminary agreement to take gas from Narrabri for a proposed ammonium nitrate plant nearby. Santos expects more industrial customers to follow, attracted by the prospect of a new inland rail link to east coast ports and urban centers.

Energy Estate's Corbell said that the history of Australia's gas market demonstrated that low prices could not be guaranteed over the long term. An overbuild of LNG export capacity in Queensland in the past decade is widely blamed for lifting domestic prices, as traditional supply from the Bass Strait fields off the south coast taper off.

"Price volatility will continue at a time when there are more stable clean, zero-emissions alternatives. We need to be focused on those alternatives," Corbell said.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison's government has called for a "gas-led" economic covid-19 recovery and a task force on helping the manufacturing industry will recommend subsidies for gas infrastructure, the Sydney Morning Herald and Age newspapers reported last week.

Fuel-intensive industries such as aluminum and chemicals have long complained that high gas prices make them uncompetitive globally. They are broadly supportive of moves to bring on new domestic supply, while a switch to powering their operations solely with renewables is still seen several years away.

Santos has pledged to reserve all the gas from Narrabri for the domestic market. It's also drilling in the highly prospective McArthur Basin in the Northern Territory. McArthur, and the adjacent Beetaloo Basin, could offer a long-term solution to Australia's east coast gas needs, but are equally contentious for their potential environmental and climate impact.

A clean-energy lobby group is promoting an alternative vision, one in which an abundant supply of cheap renewables, backed by technology such as battery storage and pumped hydro, is used to power a renaissance in manufacturing. In a zero-emissions world, Australia's natural advantages in solar and wind mean it would be "the natural low cost place" to manufacture aluminum, according to economist Ross Garnaut.

Santos shares rose 3.8% on Thursday but are down 30% since the start of the year after Covid economic lockdowns led to a rout in oil prices.

At a local level, the debate over Narrabri has focused on the risks to the ecosystem. Santos's environmental impact statement in 2017 received more than 23,000 submissions, a sign of the depth of community feeling about the project.

Farmers worry that drilling through layers of rock and sandstone could compromise the hydrogeological structures that maintain vast aquifers used to supply water for livestock and crop irrigation, leading to water loss or contamination for farms sharing the resource. There are also questions over the disposal of hundreds of thousands of tons of salt the project will produce.

Santos's Gallagher, writing in the Australian Financial Review last month, said extracting gas from coal seams was "a clever, low-impact way of producing clean energy from coal with a very small environmental footprint on the land." His view that the risks are manageable is backed by the New South Wales state government, which recommended in June that the Independent Planning Commission approve the project, a decision that's expected by Sept. 4.

Lined up against Santos is a range of climate activists, including the Knitting Nannas, a group of crusading grannies who express their anti-gas message via needlework. The Lock the Gate Alliance says the project will destroy 1,000 hectares of biodiverse woodland and add as much as 5 million tons a year of carbon dioxide emissions when Australia is already in danger of missing its 2030 Paris Agreement climate target.

Narrabri Shire Council, the local government, is backing Santos, and says the majority of residents are supportive of the development.

"My community is sick of being told how we feel about things and lobby groups trying to stir up trouble," said Mayor Cathy Redding. "The gas project will be a major benefit to our community."
The situation at Kulikam village of SamtskheJavakhetia densely Armenian-populated region of Georgiawhere a 27-year-old resident was killed in Akhalkalaki town, is calm.

In a conversation with NEWS.am, village mayor Sergey Shirinyan said that at the moment there are no policemen in the village and the situation is calm. "The incident happened in the evening, there was an argument and a fight, a shot was heard, and a 27-year-old man from our village died; another person is severely wounded and is in hospital," he said.

According to the village head, the police have called on the parties to calm down and not to continue the attacks, but there is no information about detainees yet.

The 27-year-old who died had been married for a few months and had no children.

The media reports that the situation in Akhalkalaki remains tense, and a large number of police officers are patrolling the streets to prevent possible new attacks by the relatives of the deceased.

As reported earlier, one person had died and another had been taken to hospital as a result of riots in Armenian-populated Akhalkalaki. Then the relatives of the deceased set fire to a hotel and four houses.

According to A. Toroyan, chief doctor of Akhalkalaki hospital, they had admitted a wounded man, and another person had died on the spot. Also, several cars were smashed near the hospital.
BAY CITY, MI - Children of all abilities will have a new and exciting place to play near the Saginaw River waterfront later this year.

Made up of inviting blue and green hues, Bay Citys new destination playground is currently rising from the ground at Veterans Park. Dubbed Play City, the new playground aims to be inclusive to allow children of all abilities to be able to play safely outdoors. Construction began in July of 2020, with no firm date set for completion at this time.
COPS HAVE THEIR FANS

Hey, Delco Matters: Maybe we like how the Ridley Township Police Department does their job. We like that our crime rate is low. We like how RTPD keeps an eye on nefarious people .Maybe we didnt want a parade of Delco Resists going down MacDade Boulevard blocking off traffic and denying the businesses trying to earn a living from doing so. Everyone has seen your peaceful protests and what they turn into and maybe we didnt want that in our neighborhood. Why did you feel like you had to block off MacDade Boulevard with a march and not just go to the Municipal Building and have your rally? And all you Democrat officials, once the tweenies learn that theres no such thing as a free a free lunch, watch out.

AWESOME IN FOLSOM

LETS MAKE A DEAL

Im different than other presidents, I make great deals! With Congress, you gotta get everybody in the room and you gotta get em to agree, but you got to get them to agree to what you want, and thats part of being a dealmaker. So says President Con Man. Since May 15, the House-passed Heroes Act collected dust on Moscow Mitchs desk without any negotiations by either the Republican-controlled Senate or the self-proclaimed worlds greatest dealmaker. At the last minute the Republican senators realized they couldnt agree with each other on anything. So did President CM come to the rescue? Did he do what he claimed he could do when running for office? No, all President CM did was sign a few executive actions to provide minimum short-term relief to Americans and namecall some Democrats. He then scurried from the podium when a reporter fact-checked one of his numerous lies. Some deal maker!

BILL FROM BROOMALL

CLEAN IT UP

Because our sanitation department is quarantined, the residents seem to not care about the cleanliness of their neighborhoods. As usual they blame the administration but they are responsible for their own properties. Oh thats right, some residents dont own their property and they dont care how it looks. Well Ive lived all my life in Upper Darby and have never seen anything like this mess. People, you live here. Take pride in your surroundings.

FOXY NEWS

I have been a faithful watcher of MSNBC and CNN. The last six months they have done nothing but trash President Trump. I started watching FOX. This station delivers the truth. Sean Hannity had two speakers on his show, Leo Tryell (civil rights attorney) and Larry Elder (talk show host). Both men have praised Trump for all he has done for the African-

American community. Joe Biden will do nothing but raise taxes, take away our guns and defund the police. He is not who we want in the White House come November.

GET YOUR BALLOT

To I Need a Mail-in Ballot: If you do not have a computer, call the county Election Bureau at 610-891-4673 or write to Election, Bureau, 201 W. Front St., Media, PA 19063. They will send you an application. Return the application ASAP and they will send you a ballot in late September or October. Return that as soon as possible so it will be counted. If you are not a registered voter, ask for a voter registration form. If you have a computer, go to votespa.com.

BLONDIE

ANOTHER DEM STUNT

So the Democrats want an investigation into the Republican Ridley Township response to the BLM protest. Havent we heard this story before on a national level? At whose expense will the Democratic District Attorney investigate? All leading up to the election. Are you kidding me!

TAKEN FOR A RIDE

Id like to Sound Off about the quarter of a million bikers that are descending on Sturgis. In the Black Hills of South Dakota, you know people have been cooped up for months with COVID-19. And they just want to have some fun and get together with their brothers on bikes. You know, Sturgis is an area that very low coronavirus contagion and I hope and pray that it stays that way after this weekend rally.

HARLEY RIDER IN OUR WORLD
Getty

A man in Louisiana serving a life sentence for selling less than a gram of marijuana is due to be released from prison, his lawyer has said.

Derek Harris, who is a military veteran, was arrested in 2008 for selling 0.69 grams of marijuana  an amount worth less than $30 (23)  to an undercover officer who came to his door.

Harris was initially convicted and sentenced to 15 years in prison. Then in 2012, he was resentenced to life in prison under the Habitual Offender Law, which grants judges the freedom to impose longer sentences on defendants with previous charges against them.

Harris previous offences were nonviolent.

Prosecutors in Vermillion Parish agreed to free Harris, who has already served nine years in prison, after the Louisiana Supreme Court granted him a new hearing last month.

The Louisiana Supreme Court acknowledged Harris claim that he had ineffective assistance of counsel at sentencing on post-conviction review.

The veterans attorney, Cormac Boyle, said District Attorney Keith Stutes office had agreed that his client was entitled to a lesser sentence and had received ineffective assistance of counsel at his sentencing hearing.

Harris claimed his lawyer failed him by remaining silent when a judge said he had no choice but to sentence him to life as a habitual offender.

Harris said his previous attorney failed to remind the judge who sentenced him to life imprisonment of his duty to deliver a lower prison term to a defendant if he found the mandatory minimum sentence shocks the conscience, The New Orleans Advocate reported.

Mr Boyle argued that Harris case is not a outlier, and highlighted Louisianas long-running issues with the habitual offender law which disproportionate impacts black defendants.

It is certainly time for Louisiana to rethink how it uses the habitual offender law, the attorney said. While in theory such a law may be fine, in practice it perpetuates and exposes some of the worst aspects of the criminal justice system.

Story continues

After returning from Desert Storm, a US military operation during the Gulf War, Harris developed a substance abuse problem, his lawyer said.

The role of his substance abuse issue was also noted by Louisiana Supreme Court Justice John Weimer, who wrote in his opinion: His prior offences were nonviolent and related to his untreated dependency on drugs.

Mr Weimer also wrote that the trial judge had said Harris was not a drug kingpin or even what they thought of as a drug dealer.

The justice wrote that those were the main reasons the maximum 30-year sentence was not imposed, and that the trial court imposed a life sentence when the multiple offender bill was passed.

Mr Boyle says he hopes to have his client out of prison soon.

Harris will be moving to Kentucky to be nearer to his family and his brother, who he says he is looking forward to spending time with.

Read more

Supreme Court blocks controversial Louisiana abortion law
San Francisco, Aug 9 : In an update to its national censorship tool, known as the Great Firewall, China has reportedly started blocking HTTPS connections with Encrypted Server Name Indication.

The ban has been in place for over a week now, three organisations tracking Chinese censorship -- iYouPort, the University of Maryland, and the Great Firewall Report - said this week in a joint report.

"We confirm that the Great Firewall (GFW) of China has recently begun blocking ESNI - one of the foundational features of TLS 1.3 and HTTPS," said the report.

TLS is the foundation of secure communication on the web (HTTPS). It provides authenticated encryption so that users can know whom they are communicating with. It also ensures that an intermediary does not read or tamper with your information.

But even though TLS hides the content of a user's communication, it does not always conceal with whom the user is communicating.

The TLS handshake (a process that kicks off a communication session) optionally contains a Server Name Indication (SNI) field that allows the user's client to inform the server which website it wishes to communicate with.

Nation-state censors have used the SNI field to block users from being able to communicate with certain destinations, said that report, adding that China has long been censoring HTTPS in this manner.

TLS 1.3 introduced Encrypted SNI (ESNI) that encrypts the SNI so that intermediaries cannot view it, said the report.

The Great Firewall of China blocks ESNI connections by dropping packets from client to server, it added.
It may surprise you to learn that almost six months since Canada began tracking the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, we cannot report with any degree of accuracy the number of Inuit who have been tested for, diagnosed with, recovered from, or indeed died from the disease. Why? Our national public health surveillance and data systems simply do not collect this information consistently for Inuit, or any Indigenous or racialized community.

The government of Canada is obligated to make available national communicable disease data to address public health concerns. But there is little co-ordination among federal, provincial and territorial governments to deliver the comprehensive data necessary to meaningfully inform national policy and program development. This impacts not just marginalized and vulnerable populations, such as Inuit, but all Canadians.

It is not a new issue. Inuit have struggled to access what should be readily available national health data for Inuit living within and outside of Inuit land claims jurisdictions for decades. Nor is it an issue specific to the current pandemic. There have been calls for immediate action to create and maintain a national communicable disease surveillance system following evaluations of the handling of SARS in 2003, listeria in 2008, and the H1N1 pandemic in 2009.

A national data system is fundamental to informing decision-makers on how best to implement often life-saving public health measures to protect the health and well-being of Canadians. Provinces and territories are responsible for collecting the data, but reporting to the federal government is not mandatory. There are inconsistencies in what is collected across jurisdictions, and huge gaps in the collection of data related to Indigenous identifiers. Complicating matters, the definition of what is considered to be a case of COVID-19 also varies across jurisdictions.

The federal government has a clear role to play in addressing these inconsistencies. The creation of provincial and territorial data-sharing protocols would ensure that disaggregated, distinctions-based data is captured in a comparable way across Canada, which would in turn lead to more informed decision-making across all jurisdictions.

Failure to collect this data renders Inuit, Indigenous people, Black communities and all persons of colour essentially invisible, and robs us of the opportunity to make the critical decisions to decrease our risk profile. In the context of COVID-19, where it is especially important to identify and protect the most vulnerable Canadians, timely, accurate and reliable data are among the few tools that could allow us to assert self-determination and leverage support for our communities.

A critical and immediate next step in the government of Canadas response to COVID-19 must be to address the lack of access to, and prompt reporting of, distinctions-based data across all jurisdictions. Federal, provincial and territorial governments need to immediately resolve internal issues related to data ownership and focus on their respective accountability and responsibility to Canadians.

In the long term, when we return to times of normalcy, all reportable communicable diseases must be addressed in the same manner. Strengthened partnerships between all levels of government, inclusive of Inuit representational organizations, would be a significant legacy of the COVID-19 pandemic, ensuring that we emerge stronger, and better able to face the next one.
A-level pupils whose marks are downgraded by computer face missing out on university places while exam boards sift through a flood of appeals, experts warned last night.

This years exams were cancelled because of coronavirus so marks will be based on teachers estimates of what entrants would have achieved.

But exam boards are expected to lower nearly 40 per cent of grades using a computerised marking scheme to ensure results are not significantly higher than previous years. This means tens of thousands of pupils will not achieve the marks they had hoped for when they get their A-level grades on Thursday.

Pictured: Lexie Bell and her father Michael Bell who are suing exams regulators over A-level grading system

As a result, they may not be able to attend their first-choice university unless they successfully appeal.

Those who appeal must be awarded a higher grade by September 7 to attend the university they have chosen. But the Daily Mail has learned that exam boards, which are in charge of appeals, have refused to commit to this timeframe. Instead, they have given themselves 42 days to resolve complaints  meaning the university term will have started before most cases are dealt with.

Many pupils, teachers and parents in England are nervous about this years results after last weeks debacle over the Scottish Higher exams.

In Scotland, 124,000 grades awarded by teachers were lowered, with the poorest entrants getting their marks downgraded at more than double the rate of the richest.

Last night Tory MP Robert Halfon, chairman of the education select committee, said: Our select committee report predicted a potential Wild West system which favours the well-heeled and the sharp-elbowed, and doesnt appear fair.

It is absolutely vital that the appeals system is done quickly and efficiently, in the space of a couple of weeks, to ensure that students get their fair grades so they can progress to university.

Pictured: Erin Bleakley (centre) with protestors in George Square in Glasgow to protest against the Scottish Qualifications Authority's (SQA) method of producing exam results this year

Pupils in England who are unhappy with their grades must rely on their schools to mount appeals for them, based on stringent criteria, potentially adding to the delays. Last night none of the big three exams boards  AQA, OCR and Pearson Edexcel  provided assurances that it would be able to meet the September 7 deadline set by university admissions body Ucas.

The Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ), which represents the exam boards, said its members were committed to completing appeals as quickly as possible.

But it admitted grade appeals may take six weeks or longer. This means a complaint lodged on A-levels results day  and most will come later than this  does not have to be dealt with until September 24.

The awarding bodies aim to complete initial reviews within 42 calendar days of the receipt of the application, a JCQ handbook for head teachers states.

I worry my marks will be unfairly downgraded A girl who is predicted to get an A* and two A grades at A-level fears she will be marked down  because she is one of her schools brightest pupils. Lexie Bell, a sixth-former at Shoeburyness High School in Southend-on-Sea, thinks she is at risk because previous year groups have failed to get above a C in her chosen subjects. When her teachers predicted grades are processed, the schools previous lower performances could mean her results are downgraded to put them in line with the overall trend. She is now worried about not making her offer from Sussex University. Ofqual is effectively tying in students to the performance of previous students at their school, which is in no way representative of an individuals ability to do well, Lexies father Michael told The Observer. It will take too long. By the time their appeals have been decided, pupils will already have lost their places at university. Lexie, 18, was studying English literature, psychology and religious education when the exams were cancelled because of coronavirus. Mr Bell is crowdfunding for a judicial review of Ofquals decision-making. I cant tell you how stressed my daughter is, he said. If her grades get marked down, because of the grades the school has achieved previously, the sense of injustice will be huge. Advertisement

Neil Roskilly, chief executive of the Independent Schools Association, which represents more than 500 private schools, said: Forty-two days is disappointing because the process will be simple. He said the JCQ had buried this crucial detail at the foot of the document  and warned that the delay could also see youngsters who miss out on their grades fail to enrol in time for fresh exams in the autumn.

Those who are challenging their marks are encouraged to contact their universitys admission departments as soon as possible to discuss their position.

But Mr Roskilly said he was worried that middle-class pushy parents would find it easier to negotiate than those from poorer backgrounds. The universities... dont have the set-up to fully consider a students academic record, he added.

In a recent consultation on appeals, one exam board warned Englands exams watchdog Ofqual: While each initial review may not take a significant time to resolve, the volume of appeals may mean that the response to an appeal may not be swift.

Labour education spokesman Kate Green said she was worried the appeals process was not robust enough.

Ofqual has admitted that high ability students at poor schools stand to get worse-than-deserved results this year because they fall outside the pattern of results the computer model relies on.

The proportion of teachers believing their A-level and GCSE students are likely to get a fair deal has fallen from 39 per cent to just 24 per cent, a poll published by TES revealed. One teacher said: I do not believe awarding results based on the historic performance of a school is fair. Year groups will have different abilities, and some cohorts will be stronger than previous cohorts.

Childrens Commissioner Anne Longfield said her real worry that the most disadvantaged children will be the ones that will miss out and those in schools that have not been faring well, or indeed those with a history of poor achievement, will be downgraded by the algorithm.

Schools minister Nick Gibb defended this years system, saying it was the fairest and best system that we could devise.

An Ofqual spokesman said: Exam boards are committed to completing appeals as quickly as possible.
The executive orders President Donald Trump issued Saturday included a provision to fund extended bonus unemployment payments for several more weeks, at a sharply reduced level.

Amid legal and logistical questions about the order, though, its uncertain when, how or if Oregon will make those new payments.

We support any and all relief that will come to Oregonians during this very difficult time, the Oregon Employment Department said in a statement Saturday. We also trust the political process and know that our congressional delegation has been working hard to come up with a fair and equitable relief package that states, including Oregon, will be able to implement quickly.

The department said it would say more on its response to Trumps executive order in the coming days.

Jobless workers had been receiving a $600 weekly bonus since March, when Congress funded the expanded payments to provide financial support to the unemployed during the coronavirus pandemic. Thats in addition to regular, weekly unemployment checks.

The bonus money ran out at the end of July  in Oregon and most other states, the additional $600 payments stopped July 26. Congressional negotiations over an extension, and other financial stimulus measures, broke down last week.

So on Saturday, Trump issued an order authorizing $300 in federal payments for the unemployment bonus. The presidents order would redirect $44 billion in disaster relief funds to pay for the bonus, which would cover about five weeks of extended benefits.

There is some question about the legality of Trumps order because the Constitution gives Congress control over the nations spending. Legal scholars seem to think it may be within the presidents authority to redirect the disaster relief funds, but unemployment benefits are administered by individual states and its unclear how they will respond to the legal uncertainty.

Additionally, the president stipulated that states find their own money to fund an additional $100 weekly bonus. That would bring total weekly bonus payments to $400, assuming Oregon and other cash-strapped states choose to pay for the expanded benefits.

That would still be one-third less than the payments that lapsed at the end of July.

Asked Saturday whether any states have committed to pay the $100 for expanded unemployment benefits, Trump didnt answer directly, but insisted they have the money.

Thats up to them, the president said. But if they dont, they dont. Thats going to be their problem.

Oregon had $5 billion in its unemployment insurance trust fund at the beginning of the pandemic, and it was rated as among the best funded in the nation. But after months of record unemployment, Oregon has warned in recent weeks that its possible an extended recession could ultimately drain the trust fund.

Additional payments from the trust fund could, of course, hasten that process.

Oregon warned last month that if Congress allowed the expanded $600 benefits to lapse that it would take several weeks to restore the payments, even if lawmakers ultimately agree to pay them and make them retroactive. Oregon, like other states, uses antiquated computers that do not easily adjust to changes in the benefits program.

Potentially complicating matters, the presidents executive order calls for a new program to distribute the additional weekly benefits. With Oregon and other states still struggling to pay new benefits authorized in March, an additional benefits program could take weeks or months to implement.

Many congressional Republicans oppose the expanded unemployment benefits, which they say they drain the federal treasury and act as a disincentive for laid-off employees to return to work. Economists, though, say the benefits provide an important economic stimulus and note that, with the nations unemployment rate at 10.2%, most unemployed dont have jobs to return to.

Oregons unemployment rate was 11.2% in June. The employment department says it has paid unemployment benefits to more than 350,000 Oregonians since the middle of March, when the states pandemic shutdown began.

Tens of thousands of others are still waiting for benefits as the state navigates the complex benefits process and works to overcome chronic technological shortcomings.

-- Mike Rogoway | mrogoway@oregonian.com | twitter: @rogoway |

Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories.
Rain is expected to ease in NSW on Monday after a wet weekend which saw South Coast residents evacuated from their homes and more than 300 millimetres fall in some areas.

However, there are warnings of damaging winds and surf in the state's coastal districts, with possible coastal erosion along the Sydney, Illawarra and Hunter coast as wave heights hit five metres.

Collaroy Beach on Monday morning as a damaging and hazardous surf warning was in place for Sydney's coast. Credit:Nick Moir

Areas of the South Coast recorded rainfalls in excess of 300 millimetres from Friday to Monday morning. More than 373 millimetres was recorded at Nowra Boat Shed and 369 millimetres at Broughton Creek, while places such as Moruya collected 215 millimetres, the Bureau of Meteorology said.

On Sunday night, the State Emergency Service (SES) issued evacuation orders for Moruya, Sussex Inlet Terara, East Nowra, Worrigee and North Nowra amid fear of flooding on the Moruya and Shoalhaven rivers.
Security guard said he first thought it was a large dog but realised it was a leopard

Forest department personnel and police began a search for a leopard spotted in Andheri in Mumbai in the early hours of Sunday. (PTI Photo)

Mumbai: Forest department personnel and police began a search for a leopard spotted in Andheri in Mumbai in the early hours of Sunday, an official said.

It was seen near a hotel in the MIDC area, home to large corporate offices and mid-level units, by a security guard, he added.

"The wildlife rescue team, SRPF personnel and local policemen are looking for the leopard. It has not been seen again after the security guard first sighted it," said Senior Inspector Jagdish Shinde of MIDC police station.

The security guard said he first thought it was a large dog but realised it was a leopard when it saw the animal striding into the surrounding forest.
A senior member of US President Donald Trump's administration landed in Taiwan Sunday for Washington's highest-level visit since switching diplomatic recognition to China in 1979, a trip Beijing has condemned.

During the three-day visit, Health Secretary Alex Azar will meet President Tsai Ing-wen, who advocates Taiwan being recognised as a sovereign nation and is loathed by China's leaders.

Azar is the most senior US cabinet member to visit Taiwan in decades and his visit comes as relations between the world's two biggest economic powers plunge to historic lows.

In recent days, Trump has ordered sweeping restrictions on popular Chinese apps TikTok and WeChat and the US Treasury Department slapped sanctions on Hong Kong's leader over a tough law that curbs dissent.

Washington has billed the Taiwan trip as an opportunity to learn from the island's fight against the coronavirus and to celebrate its progressive values.

"This trip is a recognition of Taiwan's success in combating Covid-19 and a testament to the shared beliefs that open and democratic societies are best equipped to combating disease threats like Covid-19," a health and human services department official told reporters ahead of the visit.

But Beijing balks at any recognition of self-ruled Taiwan, which it claims as its own territory and vows to one day seize, by force if necessary.

It has described Azar's visit as a threat to "peace and stability", while China's defence minister warned against Washington making any "dangerous moves".

As well as meeting Tsai, Azar will hold talks with his counterpart Chen Shih-chung and Foreign Minister Joseph Wu.

He will also meet coronavirus experts and give a speech to public health students as well as alumni of a training programme with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Taiwan has become a poster child for defeating the coronavirus thanks to a well-honed track and tracing programme as well as firm border controls.

Despite its proximity and economic links to China, it has recorded fewer than 500 infections and seven deaths.

In contrast, the US has recorded the most deaths in the world with more than 160,000 fatalities.

The rapidly deteriorating relationship between Beijing and Washington comes as Trump seeks re-election in November.

He is trailing in the polls to rival Joe Biden and has begun campaigning hard on an increasingly strident anti-Beijing message.

As public disapproval has grown for his handling of the epidemic, Trump has pivoted from his previous focus on striking a trade deal with China to blaming the country for the coronavirus crisis.

The two countries have clashed on a range of issues, from trade to espionage allegations and Beijing's human rights record such as the mass incarceration of Uighur Muslims and the political crackdown in Hong Kong.

Washington remains the leading arms supplier to Taiwan but has historically been cautious in holding official contacts with it.

Under Trump, relations with Taiwan have warmed dramatically and he has approved a number of major military sales, including F-16 fighter jets.

Douglas Paal, a former head of the American Institute in Taiwan, Washington's de facto embassy, said the Trump administration was still paying heed to China's red line -- that no US official handling national security visit Taiwan.

Throughout the 1990s the United States sent trade officials to Taiwan with regularity.

The difference this time, he said, is the context, with Azar travelling at a time when relations between Washington and Beijing have hit a new low.

"Sending him to Taiwan shows respect for the old framework while putting a finger in China's eye at the same time," Paal said.

"The fact that they didn't choose to send a national security advisor or someone else suggests they are trying to come as close as possible to China's red line but don't want to cross it."

The last cabinet minister to visit Taiwan was in 2014 when the then head of the Environmental Protection Agency led a delegation.

Taiwan has also built broad, bipartisan support in Washington.

Tsai has been hailed not only for her decisive coronavirus response but also, among US Democrats, for her progressive views including advocacy of gay rights, unusual for an Asian leader.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-09 23:07:24|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

BEIJING, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) -- The following are the updates on the global fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

- - - -

NEW YORK -- The number of COVID-19 cases in the United States surpassed the 5 million mark on Saturday, according to the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University.

- - - -

NAIROBI -- Kenya reported 599 more COVID-19 cases on Sunday, taking its tally to 26,436, according to the country's Ministry of Health.

Mutahi Kagwe, cabinet secretary in the ministry said the total number of patients who have been discharged from home-based care programs and hospitals rose to 12,961 with 1,062, the highest daily recovery, recorded in the past 24 hours.

- - - -

URUMQI -- A total of 138 COVID-19 patients in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region had been discharged after recovery as of Saturday, the regional health commission said Sunday.

From July 15 to Saturday, 71 asymptomatic cases were dismissed from medical observation in Xinjiang, said Gu Yingsu, deputy director of the regional health commission, at a press conference.

- - - -

BISHKEK -- Kyrgyzstan reported 332 new COVID-19 cases on Sunday, taking its national tally to 39,919, the country's headquarters on COVID-19 said.

The headquarters also announced eight more deaths and 541 recoveries, bringing the death toll in the country to 1,468 and the total recoveries to 31,822.

- - - -

MINSK -- Belarus reported 112 new confirmed COVID-19 cases on Sunday, taking its total to 68,850, according to the country's health ministry.

There have been 191 new recoveries in the past 24 hours, bringing the total to 64,935, the ministry added.

- - - -

KUWAIT CITY -- Kuwait on Sunday reported 514 new COVID-19 cases and four more deaths, raising the tally of infections to 71,713 and the death toll to 478, the Health Ministry said in a statement.

Currently, 7,716 patients are receiving treatment, including 115 in ICU, the statement added.

- - - -

DHAKA -- Bangladesh's COVID-19 cases rose to 257,600 on Sunday with 2,487 new cases reported, and deaths from the virus increased to 3,399.

Senior Health Ministry official Nasima Sultana told a briefing on Sunday that 34 deaths were reported in the last 24 hours across Bangladesh.

- - - -

JAKARTA -- The COVID-19 cases in Indonesia rose by 1,893 within one day to 125,396, with the death toll adding by 65 to 5,723, the country's health ministry said on Sunday.

According to the ministry, 1,646 more people were discharged from hospitals, bringing the total number of recovered patients to 80,952.

- - - -

TBILISI -- Georgia reported nine new COVID-19 cases on Sunday, bringing the nationwide total to 1,225.

Two of the nine new cases were imported, while the origin of one imported case is unknown, the National Center for Disease Control and Public Health said. Enditem
Whats on TV

SURVIVING JEFFREY EPSTEIN 8 p.m. on Lifetime. This two-episode special will look into the crimes of Jeffrey Epstein, the wealthy financier and sex offender who died in federal custody last year. For years Epstein had been accused of sexually abusing underage girls, but had avoided federal charges until he was arrested in 2019 for sex trafficking. Epsteins death, which was ruled a suicide, left many of his accusers angry that he would never stand trial. This documentary focuses on eight of the accusers, who shed light on Epstein and his inner circle.

ENDEAVOUR 9 p.m. on PBS. After spending much of Season 6 dispersed, the detectives at the center of this series are back together, investigating new missing persons and murder cases. Season 7 opens with a young Endeavour Morse (Shaun Evans) celebrating the dawn of a new decade at an opera in Venice in 1969, while Morses colleague, Fred Thursday, tries to track down a killer back in Oxford. When Morse returns home, old friendships begin to show signs of strain.

WE HUNT TOGETHER 10 p.m. on Showtime. This British detective noir follows four dysfunctional Londoners who find themselves paired off on opposite sides of a murder investigation. When Baba (Dipo Ola), a bathroom attendant, rescues a mysterious woman, Freddy (Hermione Corfield), from an assault at a nightclub, they become deeply linked and embark on a murderous spree. But soon the detective Lola Franks (Eve Myles) and her new, cheery partner, Jackson Mendy (Babou Ceesay), work to uncover the complex motives and morals behind the killings.
A former senior Saudi intelligence official who has accused Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of trying to have him assassinated in 2018 has been placed under heightened security after a new threat on his life, a Canadian newspaper reported.

The Globe and Mail said Canadian security services had been informed of a new attempted attack on Saad Aljabri, who lives at an undisclosed location in the Toronto region.

Aljabri served as a counterespionage chief under a rival prince, Mohammed bin Nayef, who was ousted in 2017 by Prince Mohammed.

The newspaper said its source -- someone "with knowledge of the situation" -- would provide no further details on the more recent threat by Saudi agents.

Aljabri is now under protection by "heavily armed" officers of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, as well as private guards, the news report said.

In a lawsuit filed Thursday with a court in Washington, Aljabri accused Prince Mohammed of having sent a hit squad to Canada to kill and dismember him in 2018, the same fate that two weeks earlier befell dissident Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Turkey.

Aljabri's suit said he was wanted dead because he had intimate knowledge of Prince Mohammed's activities that could sour the close relationship being fostered with the Trump administration in Washington.

Asked to comment on the Globe report, Mary-Liz Power, spokeswoman for Minister of Public Safety Bill Blair, directed a reporter to an earlier comment by Blair about the 2018 attempt.

"While we cannot comment on specific allegations currently before the courts," he said then, "we are aware of incidents in which foreign actors have attempted to monitor, intimidate or threaten Canadians and those living in Canada.

"It is completely unacceptable and we will never tolerate foreign actors threatening Canada's national security or the safety of our citizens and residents."

Aljabri was already abroad in June 2017 when Prince Mohammed seized power, removing Prince Nayef as crown prince and placing him under house arrest.

Story continues

After his children in Riyadh were hit with travel restrictions, Aljabri refused entreaties to return, fearing for his life, and moved to Canada, where a son lives.

In March his children in Saudi Arabia were taken away and haven't been heard from.

The suit against Prince Mohammed and several others was filed as a claim of attempted extrajudicial killing under the Torture Victim Protection Act. Aljabri asked the court for unspecified damages.

ps/cjc/bbk/bfm
But in at least five states, Republican activists and operatives  including some who have publicly supported Trump and a lawyer who has worked for his 2020 campaign  have been involved with efforts to try to get rapper on the November ballot, according to an examination by The Washington Post of public filings and social media posts. Their involvement raises the specter that his candidacy is being propped up by a GOP-driven effort to siphon votes from presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden.
Chuck Pages 100th birthday party was much like the man himself  full of good cheer with more than a hint of the extraordinary.

Page marked the milestone having already surpassed his goal of 100 laps of his St. Catharines townhouse complex.

The exercise was much more than a fitness endeavour. Pages goal was to raise $5,000 through donations for the Hotel Dieu Shaver Health and Rehabilitation Centre. By Sunday, he had raised $20,766.

And that birthday party?

More than 100 family, friends, and well-wishers joined him for the festivities, as did the Lincoln and Welland Regimental band, a plethora of politicians, and one of the worlds last flying Lancaster bombers, which circled overhead.

I still have some walking left to do, Page said when asked what he was going to do next. This was marvellous. I want to thank everyone that donated. Keep it up. We need more.

The celebration was a bittersweet moment for Page and his family. His wife, Irene, died on July 23. They were married for 68 years.

These things happen when they happen, Page said in a private moment after the party. You cant control it. She was looking forward to this.

Mayor Walter Sendzik, members of both St. Catharines and Regional Council, Sal Sorrento and Barb Greenwood, and local MP Chris Bittle and MPP Jenny Stevens all lent their support, as did professional bagpiper Kelly Buckley.

You are a true inspiration to us, said Norma Medulun-Burke of Hotel Dieu Shaver to Page. You completed the challenge. You raised over $20,000 for patient-care equipment at Hotel Dieu Shaver. That is simply amazing. Thank you for allowing us to shine a light on the great work the Hotel Dieu Shaver does.

Pages son, David, said the family was overwhelmed by the outpouring of affection for his father.

This all started when dad said he was bored trying to do calisthenics, David Page said. One-hundred and fourteen laps later, here we are.

David Page ended by paying tribute to his mother.

This is going to be difficult, he said before catching his breath and telling the crowd the cheque he was holding was from his father. It was a donation to Hotel Dieu Shaver in memory of his mother.

I just want to thank everyone for all this amazing support, said daughter Nancy DeVuono. Those of you who know mom and dad from the complex know the bedroom window on the second floor overlooks the roadway, and mom was expecting to watch the parade from there. Shes watching from a little higher above today.

DeVuono then oversaw the handing out of individually wrapped cookies instead of a birthday cake, a sign of the COVID-19 pandemic times.

Dont take your masks off, DeVuono said with a laugh. Enjoy them when you get home.

Among those thanking Page were representatives of the Royal Canadian Legion and the Commander of the Lincoln and Welland Regiment, Lt.-Col. Christopher Cincio.

The bomber from the Hamilton Warplane Heritage Museum made at least three passes, which was particularly poignant given Pages military pedigree.

Page is a veteran of the RCAF and was serving as a bomb-aimer on a Halifax bomber when he bailed out of the crippled aircraft over Nazi-occupied Holland in 1942. His crewmates survived  except for the wounded captain, whose parachute landed in a canal.

Page was making his way through Holland when he was spotted by the Dutch police and was turned him over to the Gestapo. He spent the rest of the war in POW camp before returning to civilian life in his hometown of St. Catharines.

Note: The story has been changed to reflect Irene Page died on July 23.
The 47th meeting of the National Assembly Standing Committee (NASC) will take place at the NA Building in Hanoi from August 10-12.

NA Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan (standing) delivers a speech at the previous meeting

NA Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan will attend and deliver an opening speech. Ngan and vice chairpersons will alternately chair the session, according to an announcement released by the NA Office.

Regarding law building, NASC members are scheduled to consider and comment on a number of issues in the draft revised law on residency, the draft law on amendments and supplements to several articles of the law on handling administrative violations, the Vietnam border guard law and the draft revised law on environmental protection.

They will also look into and give ideas to the draft law on amendments and supplements to several articles of the law on HIV/AIDS prevention and control and the draft revised ordinance on preferential treatment for revolutionary contributors.

The committee will also consider the issuance of a decree on the management and use of the land for national defence purposes in economic production and construction by the military.

Other issues to be tabled during the meeting are a development strategy for State audit until 2030 and a report on the three-year implementation of a NA resolution on handling bad debts of credit institutions./.VNA
The Telangana government is presently conducting 23,000 Covid-19 tests per day and the number would soon be scaled to 40,000, state Municipal Administration Minister K T Rama Rao said on Sunday.

We are testing nearly 23,000 samples per day and it will soon go upto 40,000. Tests are being carried out in 1,200 plus centres. Our fatality rate is less than 1 percent and recovery rate one of the best in the country at 72 percentage. Of course there is more to do, he noted.

Rao was responding to a query posed by a twitter user on whether testing in Telangana was low compared to states like Maharashtra, Delhi, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.

The question was part of an #Ask KTR session held by him.

As of 8 PM on August 8, the state has conducted 6.13 lakh tests.

The tally of positive cases in the state was 79,495. The case fatality rate was 0.78 per cent, while the recovery rate was 70.44 per cent.

When a twitter user alleged that there was no proper health infrastructure in the state and also sought to know of the situation in state-run Gandhi hospital, he said the same facility and its team has treated thousands of coronavirus patients and sent them home safely.

Of course there is scope for improvement and we will take necessary steps, he said.

Reacting to complaints of private hospitals overcharging Covid-19 patients, he said the government has already taken action against a couple of private hospitals.

We have already acted against a couple of private hospitals and will not hesitate to act on more. The government hospitals are offering their best services.. request people to realise this, he said.

To another query as to why the Centres Ayushman Bharat scheme was not implemented in Telangana, he claimed that the states AarogyaSri health insurance scheme was more comprehensive than Ayushman Bharat.

Arogyasri is more comprehensive than Ayushmann Bharat and in fact the central governments scheme is modelled on it, he pointed out.

To a suggestion to focus on rural healthcare infrastructure in the state, Rama Rao said the Covid-19 pandemic has shown that a lot more needs to be done in the healthcare sector.

When a doctor, posted at a Covid-19 centre at government medical college in Nalgonda, pointed to the lack of proper accommodation for healthcare personnel, Rao said the college was a newly-established institution and that it would take time to develop it.

The minister, however, said he would request the District Collector to provide better amenities to frontline warriors.

Asked when city buses, the Multi-Modal Transport System (MMTS), trains and metro rail services would resume in the city, he said the state government was awaiting the nod from the Centre.

When a twitter user took exception to his reported remarks that there wont be any prizes given for conducting more Covid-19 tests, Rao said he only meant to convey that the Telangana government was not in race with any other state.

Each state has its own set of challenges and we will work towards combating the pandemic as per WHO and ICMR guidelines, he said.

Asked about the states contribution for the construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya, he said, We will pray and hope for Ram rajya, where people of all faiths, castes and classes are respected and treated equally as enshrined in the Constitution of our great country.

Asked about his stand on Pothireddypaadu issue, he said the state government would fight for its rightful share in Krishna river water.

We will fight for our rightful share in Krishna waters.

Already an SLP has been filed in Supreme Court by Telangana government, Rao said.

The opposition Congress and BJP have accused the TRS government of not doing enough to protect the states interests on the issue.

To a query on major investments expected this quarter, the Minister said some big announcements will be made soon.
Many Southerners responded by sending comforts, such as clothing, furniture, food and drink. One was this satin and wool dressing gown, sewn by community effort at a fair in St. Louis. Hundreds of people reportedly threw stitches, including a 5-year-old child. (Missouri was admitted to the nation as a slave state but was an ideological battleground between North and South.)

There was considerable debate over how to treat Davis  and all of the South  in the aftermath of the war. Ultimately, Davis spent two years in prison but never faced trial: He was released on $100,000 bail in 1867, and late the following year, President Andrew Johnson issued a pardon and amnesty to former Confederates.

Though Davis had ended his tenure in Richmond as a relatively unpopular president, white Southerners saw in his alleged travails at Fort Monroe the signs of a man martyred on their behalf. They bristled at how Northerners condemned Davis as a cowardly traitor, and they set out on a lasting effort to promote not only his rectitude but the righteousness of the slaveholding republic he had led.
The governments need to come up with policy measures to reduce the economic and social fallout arising out of it, the ADB said. Job losses stemming from COVID-19 are hurting households around the world, but for Asia and the Pacific's 91 million migrant workers a third of the global migrant workforce the impacts will be particularly severe, the ADB said in August ...

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Actor Pankaj Tripathi remembers the phone calls from his friends after they saw "Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl". As fathers to daughters, they were moved by the bond he shared with Janhvi Kapoor's Gunjan in the movie.

Tripathi, a versatile performer who has played characters of all shades, loved playing Anup Saxena, a man who doesn't believe that aspirations should be gendered.

"It's a very important role in my career because the way I am or want to be as a father, the film represents that. 'Mujhe gunda, mawali bana dete hai' (I often get villainous roles). But playing Anup Saxena was close to what I am in real life with my daughter or aspire to be. I want the world to have more such fathers," he told PTI in a Zoom interview.

"I remember when people who know me watched the film, they called me and told me, 'Yaar, after seeing your film, I went home and hugged my daughter'. This solves my purpose," Tripathi added.

The 43-year-old actor maybe more famous for his negative turns in movies such as "Gangs of Wasseypur", "Gurgaon" and web series like "Mirzapur", but he has also mastered the art of playing progressively uncomplicated men like Indian Railways employee Sadhya ji in "Masaan", a math teacher in "Nil Battey Sannata", and a doting father in "Bareilly Ki Barfi" and now in "Gunjan Saxena".

Tripathi believes films can help make people aware about a good idea.

"I know that films don't change people but films can put a thought in one's mind and if you have that thought then maybe you will change a little. It is important to have that thought. I hope I have managed that in the film," he added.

His co-star Janhvi shared that her father, producer Boney Kapoor, messaged Tripathi after watching the film.

"Boney ji sent me a message late in the night. He was very emotional after watching the film. He wrote, 'You are a better father to Janhvi than me'. It touched me," Tripathi said recalling the conversation between the real and reel fathers.

His dynamic with Janhvi's Gunjan in the upcoming movie runs parallel to her aspiration to become a pilot, a dream that her father fuels despite opposition from his wife and son, who believe it to be job unfit for women.

The film is based on the life of Gunjan Saxena, then a flying officer, who became the first woman combat aviator to fly into a war zone during the 1999 Kargil War.

Tripathi credits Janhvi, 23, for putting in the hard work to become familiar with him and his family.

"She would call me 'Sir, where are you? When do you finish shooting? Should I come?' I would say, 'Haan, aa jao. Poochhna kya?' (Sure, why the formality?) She would be there eating with my family by the time I reached home. She spent five-six days and lived like a family member with my wife and daughter," the actor said.

Tripathi said as professional actors they could have directly met on the set in Lucknow but with Janhvi going an extra mile to know him before the shoot changed their equation, making their scenes feel more natural.

Janhvi said she was just happy to learn from Tripathi.

"Gunjan ji looks up to her father and idolises him, this is how I idolise Pankaj ji. Even on the sets, I would watch him perform and seek his guidance. Basically, we had a similar relationship off camera," she added.

Tripathi said he had become attached to Janhvi while working on the film, and if they do a film in future, he will have to reboot completely.

The actor said he trusted director Sharan Sharma a lot while working on the film, including in a crucial scene, the only one in the entire film when father and daughter have a conflict.

"I trusted Sharan a lot. I am a director's actor. I tell every director 'If something is not working, you have to tell me. Don't think that I will mind it. I will change if you don't like something in my performance'. I am glad the scene has been liked so much. I did not prepare for it. We did a rough take and then completed the shot," he added.

Also starring Ayesha Raza Mishra, Vineet Kumar Singh, Manav Vij and Angad Bedi, "Gunjan Saxena" will start streaming on Netflix from August 12.
The Faridabad Police on Saturday arrested a man in his early thirties for allegedly killing an employee of the Delhi Jal Board on June 20. The police said the suspect is a history-sheeter involved in around 20 cases including those of murder, attempt to murder, theft, and house trespassingin Faridabad, Delhi, and Ballabhgarh.

The police identified the suspect as Amit Kumar, who is from Ballaghgarh.

On June 20, Amit shot dead one Harish Kumar, a resident of Adarsh Nagar in Ballabhgarh, who used to work with the Delhi Jal Board, said the police. They added that a week before the murder, Harsh had objected to Amitwho lived in the neighbourhoodplaying loud music in the colony. According to the police, Amit felt insulted somehow by the objection and waited for an opportunity to take revenge from Harish and shot him a week later.

The victim was rushed to the hospital but died during treatment, the police said, adding that Amit was on the run since the incident.

A case under sections 302 (murder), 506 (criminal intimidation), 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code and relevant sections of the arms act was registered at Adarsh Nagar police station against Amit.

Assistant commissioner of police (crime against women), Faridabad, Dharna Yadav, said in the past eight years Amit has been involved in various crimes and has been to jail on several occasions. On Saturday, a policed teams received a tip that the suspect was seen loitering near the railway tracks in Subhash Nagar in Ballabhgarh. We immediately formed teams and sent them to the spot to nab him, she said.

Faridabad commissioner of police, OP Singh, said the police team had asked him to surrender and even fired a shot in the air as a warning when he shot fire at them. The suspect, however, tried to flee from the spot and while running, he fell down and was nabbed by the police.

The police recovered a country-made pistol and two live cartridges from the suspects possession of the suspect. He was taken on a two-day police remand after being produced before the duty magistrate on Sunday, said the police.

We have started a drive to get hold of all the proclaimed offenders, bail jumpers, and most-wanted criminals. Amit was one of them, and the teams were tracking his movement and his family members, and when we received a lead, we were able to arrest him, he said.

Singh said in the last one month, the Faridabad Police have arrested 49 proclaimed offenders, 56 bail jumpers, and 28 cases of burglaries were solved while 53 vehicle theft cases were traced.

Our aim is to provide a safe city to the residents so that they do not feel scared venturing out even late at night. We have intensified the day and night patrolling in all the areas and have asked people to install CCTV cameras in residential areas to keep a check on any illegal activity, the commissioner said.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR Leena Dhankhar Leena Dhankhar has worked with Hindustan Times for five years. She has covered crime, traffic and excise. She now reports on civic issues and grievances of residents. ...view detail
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Linkedin (Agence France-Presse) Paris, France  Sun, August 9, 2020 15:05 528 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a4066c94814 2 Entertainment Luc-Besson,France,film,EuropaCorp Free

French director Luc Besson is being replaced as chief executive of EuropaCorp, the film production company he founded, by Axel Duroux, a statement said Saturday.

Duroux will take over as CEO after the US investment fund Vine took a majority stake in the company.

He will take up the position on September 1.

Besson will stay on in an non-executive position as chairman of the board so he can focus on his work as the company's artistic director, said the statement.

Read also: Luc Bessons latest spy thriller 'Anna' fails to impress

Besson has written, directed or produced a string of hits, including The Big Blue, Nikita, Leon and The Transporter films and the Taken series. He founded EuropaCorp in 1999.

But the company struggled to recover from the disappointing performance of the big-budget sci-fi epic Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets (2017) and had to seek new investors.

Duroux currently runs the Paris office of the business consultancy Brunswick and previously worked as a senior executive at the advertising and public relations giant Publicis.
Indian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka Gopal Baglay on Saturday called on Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa to congratulate him on the emphatic victory of the ruling Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) in the parliamentary election.

The High Commission said in a statement that the strong mandate received by Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa provides a fresh opportunity for New Delhi and Colombo to enhance bilateral engagement including mitigating the adverse economic effects of the Covid-19.

The SLLP has secured a landslide victory in the countrys parliamentary election winning 145 seats in the 225-member legislature. It can also count on the support of at least five allies.

During the meeting with Rajapaksa, Baglay recalled the phone conversation between the Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Sri Lankan leader earlier this week.

The High Commissioner recalled that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had complimented the people and Government of Sri Lanka on the successful conduct of elections and had acknowledged the impressive electoral performance of the SLPP, the statement said.

Baglay reiterated the strong desire and the commitment of the Indian government to work very closely with the new government and Parliament in Sri Lanka for further strengthening comprehensive bilateral cooperation.

PM Modi had spoken to Rajapaksa on Tuesday and congratulated him as early results of parliamentary polls indicated an impressive electoral performance by SLPP.

The leaders agreed to remain in close touch as both countries address the challenges posed by Covid-19 pandemic and resolved to take bilateral relations to newer heights in the coming days.
A private legal practitioner and member of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), Nii Kpakpo Samoa Addo believes government has to be blamed for the riotous behaviour exhibited by some final year Senior High School Students sitting for this years West African Senior School Certification Examination (WASSCE).

He said governments poor implementation of the Free Senior High School policy and the impression it gave students that the supply of past questions for free was to enable them to pass their exams caused the widely condemned conduct of some of the students in the past few days.

Speaking on The Big Issue on Saturday, Nii Kpakpo said the free supply of past questions to the candidates was to make up for the failure of the Free SHS policy.

The attempt to use past questions as a lifeline to rescue a policy that is good in theory but has been poorly implemented, this is the result We condemn the insult and all that, but we should look at the underlying problem and that problem has to do with the poor implementation of the free SHS policyThese kids are being used as guinea pigs, unfortunately, but we are praying that they muster the courage to be able to write these exams. They should not rely on any past questions, he said.

Some Senior High School students have been protesting what they call tight security and supervision of the ongoing WASSCE.

While students of the Tweneboa Kodua Senior High School and Juaben Senior High School threatened to boycott their exams because they thought supervisors were 'too strict' during the supervision of their first paper, Bright Senior High School students at Kukurantumi attacked some invigilators.

In some other schools, the students said the examination was too difficult and was not exactly what was in the past questions the government provided.

Some of the students captured of themselves venting their frustration and insulting the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.

Some of the students have since been sanctioned by the Ghana Education Service (GES).

According to the Nii Kpakpo Samoa, the sanctions are appropriate however the government must take responsibility for the situation.

Because of the lack of broad consultation, its [Free SHS] implementation has been disastrous and what it has produced is half-baked students who then are given a lifeline of past questions with the belief that these questions are our messiah because we have not adequately completed our syllabus. We lack the necessary preparation and so when we are given these past questions, this is like the lifeline. Lets just study these past questions and by some magic, we will pass, he said.

Meanwhile, the Member of Parliament for Ledzokuku constituency, Dr. Bernard Okoe Boye has dismissed the assertion.

According to him, the behaviour of the students is only a reflection of the current Ghanaian society.

---citinewsroom
Parisians and holidaymakers must wear face masks in busy outdoor areas, after authorities in the French capital imposed new measures to curb a rise in coronavirus cases.

Face masks will be compulsory for those aged 11 and over 'in certain very crowded zones' in Paris from Monday morning, a police statement said on August 8.

This includes the banks of the River Seine, open-air markets and more than 100 streets in the French capital.

Parisians and holidaymakers must wear face mask in busy outdoor spaces from Monday, a police statement said on August 8. Pictured, people wear face masks in Paris on August 7

But tourist sites, including the Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triomphe and Champs-Elysees boulevard, were not listed.

The decision was widely expected after a formal request earlier in the week by mayor Anne Hidalgo.

Authorities said in a statement on Saturday that the rate of positive coronavirus tests was 2.4% in the greater Paris area, compared to a national average of 1.6%.

It has been compulsory to wear a face mask in closed public spaces, such as shops and banks, since July 21.

Paris joins a growing list of cities ordering people to wear masks in busy zones outdoors, including Toulouse, Lille and Biarritz.

Those breaching the order face a fine of 135 euros, with the penalty rising to six months in prison for anyone breaching it more than three times in a month.

The order includes the River Seine and more than 100 streets in the French capital. But tourist sites, including the Eiffel Tower (pictured on May 11), were not listed

The Paris regulation is currently set to last for a month.

Data has showed that coronavirus had begun circulating more widely in Paris and its lower-income suburbs since mid-July.

After tough lockdown measures slowed infection rates, many European countries are now watching new clusters flare up after easing restrictions to try to limit the economic damage and alleviate public frustration.

France reported a staggering 2,288 new coronavirus cases on Friday, marking a new post-lockdown high.
Current human resource (HR) policies deliberately misuse terms such as diversity and equity to achieve political ends. That isnt news. But the process by which those terms were twisted into their current shapes is worth a look. Likewise, it is important to see how their current usage is grounded in economic ignorance and unsound ethics. Sadly, the resultant HR policies -- including microaggression training and gender-and-race training -- feed a growth industry of diversity hucksters. These quick-buck artists subvert productive corporate meritocracies and replace them with systems that enshrine mediocrity, manufacture complaints, and generate resentment  not to mention whining and pearl clutching. Even worse, the dismal results of these programs only seem to validate those who started them! The dysfunctional corporate cultures they create give politically motivated HR staff an opportunity to referee disputes among their newly infantilized employees. Meanwhile, adults who just want to do their jobs well, get paid, and go home are marginalized or driven off  as in the case of Google engineer James Damore; scores of editors, journalists, and columnists; and university professors in the U.S. and Canada.

From Cross-Cultural Training to Woke HR Policies

It wasnt always this way. Cross-cultural business training is a valuable initiative that goes back at least 50 years. In the 1990s, for example, innovative firms offered programs based on the work of Dutch social psychologist Geert Hofstede. Hofstedes cultural dimensions theory identified crucial differences in world cultures. His theory was adapted and incorporated into programs that assist employees as they conduct business around the world. In particular, these programs train people to respond appropriately to the following culture-based sensitivities, or dimensions:

Hierarchy -- the ways (and degree to which) people rank themselves and interact at work and socially.

Change tolerance  the importance of maintaining traditions, personal loyalties, and rules vs a willingness to innovate, take risks, and control your destiny.

Group dependence  the relative importance of the individual vs the group  including the importance of independent action and decision-making vs acting as part of a team based on a shared consensus.

Diversity receptivity  how roles, power, authority, and expectations are associated with gender, race, religion, and country of origin.

Status attainment  the importance of goals and personal achievement for a sense of well-being vs ones family position, social connections, sense of job satisfaction, and personal traits.

Relationships  the importance of long-term relationships and a history of trust before engaging in business, pricing, and schedules.

Communication  the importance of having deep, contextual, background information for each situation and a more complete sets of nonverbal cues in addition to language.

Time  the degree to which time is seen as something that you control with plans and schedules as well as the willingness to engage in many activities simultaneously vs. only one.

Space  the use of space to define oneself when speaking to others as well as privacy in the workplace and for living spaces.

These cultural dimensions express a rich legacy of human interrelationships, and they inform the way people respond to business offers and conduct. Employees who receive competent cultural training are more able to engage businesspeople in different cultures. As a result, there are no enemies, no oppressors, no victims. Sadly, this is not the case with the cancel culture generated by enforced equality and faux diversity.

New Frontiers in Failure: HR Departments in Action

Bored with their pedestrian mission of helping employees do their jobs, HR departments have changed their focus. They want what economist Thomas Sowell calls cosmic justice, g oing far beyond their area of competence  and anyone elses. Its a leftist agenda of postmodernism, identity politics, and intersectionality  complete with its mythology of oppressors and victims. And theyve manufactured lots of victims and oppressors as finger-pointing reaches epic levels. Professors Michael Rectenwald and Jordan Peterson have outlined the history of this movement in academia. Consequently, I can focus on its most common manifestation in HR departments: the obsession with (1) equality and (2) superficial diversity characteristics such as skin color, gender identity, sexual preference, and ones biological sex.

The Procrustean Ideal of Equality

Legend tells us that Procrustes was a robber with an iron bed. He forced his victims to lie on it: If the victim was shorter than the bed, Procrustes stretched him on a rack until he fit. If the victim was longer than the bed, he cut off the legs until perfection was achieved. Either way, the victim died. Thats the faith-based religion of todays egalitarians. Moreover, their understanding of economics is just as crude and its results just as cruel as Procrustes. Economist David Henderson has thoroughly debunked todays equality fetish  devastating the notions that people are becoming poorer, are trapped at low income levels, or should be taxed more heavily if theyre wealthy. He also points out that people too quickly assume that wealth is obtained in a nefarious manner. Some people indeed do achieve wealth through political favors and other forms of dishonesty, but most earn their wealth by making our lives better and by increasing worker productivity by means of wise investments.

Likewise, notions of unfairness regarding sex and skin color are based in ignorance. Thomas Sowell long ago debunked the notion that women unfairly earn only 75% of what men earn. He wrote, As far back as 1971, single women in their thirties who had worked continuously since high school earned slightly more than men of the same description. How? Men accept different types of jobs (in risk and unpleasantness) than women, work for their employers much longer (seniority), and work more hours each year. Once you factor in these choices, the so-called wage gap disappears. Likewise, Sowell has documented the misguided nature of claims that minorities suffer earning disparities as a result of racism. He showed that individual choices are the primary cause of measurable disparities  often influenced by, but not determined by, cultural attitudes.

A Focus on the Superficial

By focusing on characteristics that arent essential to the job  such as skin color, gender, sexual preferences, and a growing list of identities  HR departments expend scarce resources on policies that dont contribute to the bottom line. Seeking to achieve sexual parity in hiring, for example, they ignore the findings of psychologists, who have identified a set of Big Five personality traits. What do they show? Despite exceptions and significant overlap between the sexes, sex-specific personality traits result in men and women having different interests. These differences are expressed in all cultures, including those that attempt to prevent gender-specific behavioral reinforcement during childhood (generating the gender equality paradox). Ironically, the welfare state itself tends to reinforce the gender equality paradox. And you cant penalize sex-based differences without doing significant harm.

What Next?

What will be the outcome at organizations that substitute sex- and race-based quotas for genuine ability and merit? How will these programs affect medical safety in an operating room or the design of a bridge? You cant have performance if you hire employees based on characteristics that reduce the pool of qualified applicants. Pick one or the other, corporate America! You cant have both. To paraphrase H.L. Menckens quip about democracy, American organizations deserve to get exactly what they ask for  good and hard.

Lawrence M. Ludlow provides international location analyses, marketing, and business writing services to corporate clients. He holds an M.A. in medieval studies from the University of Torontos Centre for Medieval Studies and has lectured on manuscripts, early printing, and art history at the Newberry Library in Chicago and the San Diego Public Library.
NSW Planning Minister Rob Stokes has hit out at central bank economists who blame zoning restrictions for driving up Sydney apartment prices, saying they failed to consider how a proper planning system prevents or limits wider costs to the community.

A Reserve Bank report last week suggested that doubling the construction of high-density units every year would reduce housing costs by 2.5 per cent per annum.

But Mr Stokes warned that a modest benefit to homebuyers would become a "massive potential cost to everyone else" in NSW due to increased traffic congestion from higher urban density, heritage impacts and the need to retrofit utilities, hospitals and schools to cope.

Planning and Public Spaces Minister Rob Stokes is highly critical of the RBA paper. Credit:Peter Braig

"There just seems to be this constant pressure from economists that the planning system is to blame for all of society's ills," he said.
Trump has claimed that with the in-mail voting system, it would take 'months or years' for a winner to be declared.

Washington: It was a week of relentless attacks by President Donald Trump and his allies on mail-in voting for the November election, and truth took a beating at every turn.

Fearing a pandemic-induced surge in such voting will work against him, Trump persisted in arguing that fraud is rampant for mail-in ballots yet quite fine and safe for absentee votes, which are also mailed. There is no functional difference between the two, and both have extensive verification systems.

He and his campaign also tried to cast a new Nevada law as allowing ballots to be showered across the state to any living person, regardless of age or citizenship, who would have the ability to vote after 3 November without their identities ever verified. Each of those claims is off the mark.

Meanwhile, on the coronavirus, Trump painted a far rosier picture than his own health experts on when a vaccine could become available. He asserted it could be ready by Election Day.

He also falsely claimed once more that kids are basically immune from the disease, prompting rebukes from both Facebook and Twitter for the misinformation.

A look at the rhetoric and the reality:

VOTING FRAUD

TRUMP: You look at some of the corruption having to do with universal mail-in voting. Absentee voting is OK.  Axios interview released Monday.

VICE PRESIDENT MIKE PENCE: Absentee balloting is perfectly acceptable. You have to apply for an absentee ballot, signatures are checked, its confirmed, it is a long tradition. ... But this universal mail in voting where youre going to see literally ballots showered all across the state -- it is ripe for fraud.  Fox News interview on Monday.

THE FACTS: Trump and his vice president are making a false distinction. Mail-in ballots are cast in the same way as absentee mail ballots, with the same level of scrutiny such as signature verification in many states.

In more than 30 states and the District of Columbia, voters have a right to no excuse absentee voting. That means they can use mail-in ballots for any reason, regardless a person is out of town or working. In Florida, the Legislature in 2016 voted to change the wording of such balloting from absentee to vote-by-mail to make clear a voter can cast such ballots if they wish.

More broadly, voter fraud has proved exceedingly rare. The Brennan Center for Justice in 2017 ranked the risk of ballot fraud at 0.00004 to 0.0009 percent, based on studies of past elections.

Five states relied on mail-in ballots even before the coronavirus pandemic raised concerns about voting in person.

Trump is simply wrong about mail-in balloting raising a tremendous potential for fraud, Richard L Hasen, an elections expert at the University of California, Irvine, School of Law, wrote recently. While certain pockets of the country have seen their share of absentee-ballot scandals, problems are extremely rare in the five states that rely primarily on vote-by-mail, including the heavily Republican state of Utah.

In an apparent turnabout, Trump later in the week urged voters in Florida to vote by mail despite his rhetoric against the practice, arguing in a tweet that its system is safe and secure, tried and true. Florida is a must-win state for Trump, where Democratic requests to vote by mail have been surging higher.

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STEPHEN MILLER, White House senior adviser: Heres a shocking thing for your audience to consider. Nobody who mails in a ballot has their identity confirmed. Nobody checks to see if theyre even a US citizen. Think about that. Any  any foreign national, talk about foreign election interference, can mail in a ballot and nobody even verifies if theyre a citizen of the United States of America.  Fox News interview Monday.

THE FACTS: Hes incorrect to assert that measures arent in place to confirm a voters identity or prevent fraud with mail ballots.

Ballots typically require voters to provide identifying information such as a birth date or Social Security or driver's license number. In most states, voters also sign the back of the envelope, which is then verified with the signature on their voter registrations.

Many jurisdictions use a bar code on the envelope, which is used to help states identify any duplicate ballots and also let voters know if their ballot was received.

Miller ignores separate built-in safeguards for mail-in ballots. The ballots, for instance, are generally sent to registered voters, who have to provide identifying information at the time of registration, such as an address, birth date and proof of citizenship.

In Millers hypothetical scenario of a foreign national improperly casting a vote, that ballot would be flagged and rejected for not having a signature on file or for failing to match one that is. Based on the envelopes bar code, state voting officials also could identify and eliminate any duplicate ballots, whether they were submitted mistakenly or fraudulently.

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FOREIGN INTERFERENCE

TRUMP, on the threat from Russia, China and Iran of meddling in the US presidential election: The biggest risk that we have is mail-in ballots. Its much easier for them to forge ballots and send them in, its much easier for them to cheat with universal mail-in ballots."  news briefing Friday.

THE FACTS: Mail-in ballots aren't the biggest risk for foreign interference.

Trying to influence a federal election through mail-in ballots would probably mean paying thousands of US citizens, carefully selected in pivotal states, who are willing to conspire with a foreign government and risk detection and prosecution.

Far easier and cheaper would be a social media campaign seeking to discourage certain groups of people from voting, which is something the FBI has warned about. Or a cyber attack on voter registration data that would eliminate certain voters from the rolls. That could cause havoc at polling places or election offices as officials attempt to count ballots from people who are missing from their voter databases.

On Friday, William Evanina, director of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center, warned about foreign interference and said Russia was already trying to undercut Democratic candidate Joe Biden. Evanina cited in part Kremlin-linked figures who are "seeking to boost President Trumps candidacy on social media and Russian television.

Last month, Attorney General Bill Barr raised the possibility that a foreign country could print up tens of thousands of counterfeit ballots. He argued they would be hard to detect, but thats been disputed by election experts.

Absentee and mail-in ballots are printed on special paper and must be formatted correctly in order to be processed and counted. Ballots are specific to each precinct, often with a long list of local races, and would be identified as fraudulent if everything didnt match precisely.

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NOVEMBER ELECTION

TRUMP: With more mail-in voting, its going to be months or years until a presidential winner is known.  Fox News interview Wednesday.

THE FACTS: Not according to federal law. A presidential outcome will be known one way or another by mid-December.

Its true that state election officials in some states have cautioned it may take more time to count an expected surge of ballots that people send by mail because they dont feel safe showing up to the polls. In an election as close as the one in 2016, a delayed tally in some states could keep the outcome from being quickly known.

But for a presidential election, the Constitution gives Congress the power to set the day when each states electors, those chosen in November, must cast their electoral votes. Congress set that day for the first Monday after the second Wednesday in December, or 14 December this year.

Federal law also sets a presidential election for the Tuesday after the first Monday in November, which is 3 November this election cycle. That means each state will have five weeks to report its final election tally, whether its vote count is fully finished or not.

Delayed results are common in a few states where elections are already conducted largely by mail. But a presidential election hasnt been left in limbo since 2000, when ballot irregularities in Florida led to chaos and court fights. Ultimately that dispute was settled by the US Supreme Court, which effectively ended Floridas recount five weeks later on 12 December, 2000, saying that time had run out before electors were set to meet.

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TRUMP, on issuing an executive order to address increases in mail-in voting, which he says will lead to more fraud: I have the right to do it.  news briefing Monday.

THE FACTS: Not according to the Constitution, which expressly gives states the right to run their elections, with oversight from Congress.

There is no precedent or apparent authority for Trump to try to curtail the use of mail-in ballots by executive order. Any such order from the president would certainly face constitutional challenges in court from voting rights groups.

Trump has previously floated a delay to the 3 November election. The date of the presidential election the Tuesday after the first Monday in November in every fourth year  is enshrined in federal law and would require an act of Congress to change. Democrats, who control the House, will not support Trump on this. It appears Republicans wont, either.

___

NEVADA VOTING

TRUMP, on mail ballots: Theres no verification of signatures. So they dont even know whos going to sign this. They have literally a clause that you dont have to verify the signatures  that they dont have to do it.  remarks Wednesday.

THE FACTS: Not true. Nevadas existing law requires signature checks on mail ballots. A new law also spells out a process by which election officials are to check a signature against the one in government records.

In Nevadas June primary, nearly 7,000 ballots were thrown out due to mismatched or missing signatures.

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MERCEDES SCHLAPP, Trump campaign senior adviser: Even come Election Day, you could still cast a ballot three days later if you dont have a postmark, or seven days later if you have a postmark. Say you vote for Joe Biden, then you find out in Nevada that President Trump wins. You can go to your family members, you can go to your colleagues and say, Guess what, do you still have that mail-in vote? Lets cast it, because you can cast it several days after the election.  CNN interview Tuesday.

THE FACTS: Its a distortion for her to assert that Nevada voters could still cast ballots several days after the election.

Under the new law, ballots must be postmarked or cast by Election Day to be counted. Election officials are given up to seven days to receive and count those ballots after the election. That additional time for receipt is routine practice in many states for overseas and military voters who submit ballots by mail.

Separately, the law states that if a mail ballot is received up to three days after the election, it can be counted if the date of the postmark is unclear or missing. The aim is to provide enough time for delivery and processing of ballots that are properly mailed on Election Day, though the Trump campaign alleges in a lawsuit filed this past week that the three-day provision would allow some ballots to be improperly mailed after the election and then counted.

That scenario is not the same as granting wide license to cast ballots several days after the election, as Schlapp asserts.

The campaign's suit acknowledges that the window for alleged mischief is small because most mail in Nevada already takes at least one or two days to arrive. Some of those ballots may display postmarks showing they were sent late, which would disqualify them.

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TRUMP: What theyre going to do is blanket the state, anybody that ever walked, frankly, will get one.  Fox News interview Wednesday.

THE FACTS: His imagery of any living being in Nevada receiving a mail-in ballot, regardless of age or other eligibility factors, is false.

The new law requires that ballots be sent to active registered voters. Active registered voters are generally those with a current address on file with their local elections office.

There are additional requirements to be registered to vote. In Nevada, a person must be a US citizen and resident of the state, at least 18 years old, not currently in state or federal prison, and not found to be mentally incompetent to vote by a court.

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NEW YORK VOTING

TRUMP, on two Democratic congressional primaries: They dont know what happened to them, is there fraud, is there -- its a disaster.  news briefing Tuesday.

THE FACTS: While there were vote-counting delays, theres no evidence of fraud in the two Democratic congressional primaries in New York City that Trump refers to, which were won by city council member Ritchie Torres and Rep. Carolyn Maloney. Nor did Trump offer any proof of fraud.

New York state decided to allow anyone to vote by mail in the June primary because of the coronavirus pandemic. More than 400,000 people voted by absentee ballot in New York City, a figure that was 10 times the number of absentee ballots cast in the 2016 primary.

Opening and counting those ballots by elections officials took weeks. New York Citys Board of Elections ultimately certified the results six weeks after the election.

___

CORONAVIRUS

TRUMP, asked if a vaccine for COVID-19 could become available before the election: I think in some cases, yes possible before, but right around that time. ...Im rushing it. I am. Im pushing everybody.  interview Thursday on the Geraldo Rivera radio program.

THE FACTS: Hes offering a more ambitious timeline than his health experts and omitting key facts.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the governments top infectious diseases expert, has said he is cautiously optimistic that a coronavirus vaccine will be ready by early next year. Even then, Fauci made clear that the vaccine would not be widely available right away.

Ultimately, within a reasonable period of time, the plans now allow for any American who needs a vaccine to get it within the year 2021, Fauci told Congress last week.

Under White House orders, federal health agencies and the Defense Department are carrying out a plan to deliver 300 million vaccine doses on a compressed timeline. That will happen only after the Food and Drug Administration determines that one or more vaccines are safe and effective. Several candidates are being tested.

The push for a speedy vaccine has drawn concern from some scientists that the White House will pressure US regulators to approve a vaccine before its ready.

In an op-ed this past week, FDA Commissioner Dr Stephen Hahn said his agency will not be influenced by any political pressure and will make decisions based solely on good science and data.

___

TRUMP: Children are almost  and I would almost say definitely  but almost immune from this disease, so few. They dont have a problem, they just dont have a problem. And Ive have watched some doctors say theyre totally immune.  Fox news interview Wednesday.

THE FACTS: They arent immune. Although its true that children are less likely than adults to develop COVID-19, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has nevertheless counted more than 250,000 infections by the virus in Americans younger than 18, or roughly 7 percent of all cases.

The number of kids who have been infected but not confirmed is almost certainly far higher than that, experts say, because those with mild or no symptoms are less likely to get tested.

Trump overlooks severe COVID-19 illnesses and some deaths of children in the US, even though kids in general tend to get less sick from it than adults do. He also glosses over the fact that kids can spread disease without showing symptoms themselves.

The CDC in April studied the pandemics effect on different ages in the US and reviewed preliminary research in China, where the coronavirus started. It said social distancing is important for children, too, for their own safety and that of others.

Whereas most COVID-19 cases in children are not severe, serious COVID-19 illness resulting in hospitalisation still occurs in this age group, the CDC study says.

The CDC in May also warned doctors to be on the lookout for a rare but life-threatening inflammatory reaction in some children whove had the coronavirus. The condition had been reported in more than 100 children in New York, and in some kids in several other states and in Europe, with some deaths.

Trump's claim prompted Facebook to delete his post with a link to the Fox News video because of the misinformation. Twitter temporarily blocked the Trump campaign from tweeting from its account, until it removed a post with the same video.

___

TRUMP: When you do a lot of testing, you have more cases.  Fox News interview Wednesday.

THE FACTS: It's not true that infections are high only because the US diagnostic testing has increased. Trumps public health officials have repeatedly shot down this line of thinking. Infections are rising because people are infecting each other more than they were when most everyone was hunkered down.

Increased testing does contribute to the higher numbers, but theres more to it. Testing in fact has uncovered a worrisome trend: The percentage of tests coming back positive for the virus is on the rise across nearly the entire country.

Thats a clear demonstration that sickness is spreading and that the US testing system is falling short.
IDEA Converse Public Schools expects to welcome more than 440 students to the program this month.

The new campus will begin serving pre-kindergarten, kindergarten, first-grade and sixth-grade students on Aug. 11 at its complex at Martinez Converse Road and FM 1516.

School programming will open in an all-virtual format due to COVID-19 restrictions set forth by the state. But while PPEs and safeguards are being installed and adhered to, school officials say the pandemic wont keep the school from its mission.

Its important to know the mission of IDEA Public Schools is college for all children, said Rolando Posada, regional superintendent. Our basic theory is that we can change generational poverty if we actually set up shop in places where we see underserved communities.

IDEA Converse is the 14th San Antonio-area IDEA campus and the 28th in the region to open in the past eight years.

For too long in this country, weve allowed the zip code to determine a childs ability or inability to access a world-class education, Posada said. Were saying, thats not working for us.

Were going into neighborhoods where theres been too much underperformance  and were saying were going to cast a vision here and invest in the adults and kids and, in the long term, we are going to send your kids off to college, he added.

In the spring, IDEAs second San Antonio campus, established in 2013, achieved its goal of 100 percent college qualification.

This year, with our second graduating class at IDEA South Flores, we are on track for every single one of them to get to college, he said.

The IDEA Converse campus opens with two principals: Hely Hillman, the pre-K-5 Academy principal, and Joseph Howe, the College Prep principal over grades 6-12. Both are preparing to start the year with virtual, or remote, learning with teachers set up and teaching from their classrooms.

Were really excited that IDEA Public Schools has already committed to 1-to-1 technology for all of our students, Hillman said. We will be committing to 1-to-1 technology, so if there are three students within a family, that family will receive three devices from us to facilitate learning this year.

Howe said ensuring the safety of students and staff is the primary focus in opening school this year.

Safety is priority number one. After that, its to deliver the same quality education as we would in person, virtually, Howe said. Our families need us now, more than ever and I really see it as an opportunity for my staff to give our students the same quality education that they would in person.

We have our six core values. One is, Whatever it takes. When we have a clear vision and we invest our teachers, they are willing to do whatever, and they embrace change, he said.

Hillman said teachers are entering the facility this week to prepare for next weeks opening. She said she interviewed more than 100 candidates for the 17 instructional positions on her team.

Were still in the final stages of getting the building ready to go, but we are excited to welcome teachers onto campus this week, to begin preparing their classrooms, Hillman said. Teachers will be able to facilitate virtual learning from their classrooms on campus.

The COVID-19 pandemic did affect recruitment, she said, as parents sought answers to questions about teaching, safety and precautions.

Safety is our top priority this year, making sure that we are providing a safe environment for our students every day, so they go home safely to their families, and also make sure that our staff has a safe environment to work in, she said.

Posada said IDEA Public Schools is making the adjustments needed to guarantee that safety. Every aspect of COVID will be considered and executed on, including sneeze guards, and ensuring there is 6-foot spacing between each child in a classroom, he said.

Well have lots of hand-washing stations. That part was new that we added to the plan, he said. There are some things we have added, but again, because we have a systemic approach to building buildings, deciding to add a few features is actually not that hard.

All three officials said the schools safety measures do not detract from its original mission.

We really want to send a message to our families that our mission stays the same, Hillman said. We are set up to continue to deliver on the promise of college for all of our students through this virtual experience. All of our adults believe that it is our responsibility and our actions that drive student achievement, and the results that our students get.

Posada said the 80,000 square-foot building was a 12-month build, with Kencon Constructors Inc. the construction firm handling the project.

Hillman said the Academy portion of the school will open with three pre-K classrooms, four classrooms for kindergarteners, and four for first grade. In addition to the ready-to-be-broken-in new playground, the Academy includes an AR zone, a hotspot and a mass computer lab.

Howe opens the College Prep section with four sixth-grade classrooms. Next year, the school will add second and seventh grade, then third and eighth the following year, and continue until it achieves a full pre-K to 12th grade education experience.

The most exciting thing is watching the year-long transformation in our students, said Hillman, as IDEA Converse is her third IDEA launch, after stints at IDEA Monterrey Park and IDEA Ewing Halsell. Some (students) are apprehensive to enter the school, but by the end of the year, they are practically leaping out of the car to come in.

jflinn@express-news.net
Of the 8,376 samples collected across the city between July 3 and August 7 by a private lab, 2,420 or 28.89% were detected with Covid-19 antibodies.

A high ratio of the antibodies was developed among citizens from Govandi (57%), Dharavi (54%), Worli (42%), Chembur Extension (48%) and Mazagaon (40%)  all of which were earlier the citys Covid-19 hotspots

The prevalence of Covid-19 antibodies was relatively lower in certain areas of suburbs and south Mumbai, varying between 20-40%, data from Thyrocare Technologies Limited revealed.

According to data, the antibody presence was above 30% in areas within Bandra-Kurla Complex (30%), Ghatkopar West (34.59%), Mulund East (38%), Tilak Nagar (36%), Charkop (31%), Kandivli East (37%), Jogeshwari West (36%), Vikhroli (33%) and Kurla (32%).

In central and south Mumbai, 38% of Sewri residents and 37% of residents from Colaba had Covid-19 antibodies, while 30% of Prabhadevi residents had antibodies.

Dr A Velumani, founder and managing director of Thyrocare, said, The virus is active in a small number of population at every geographical area regardless of the presence or absence of antibodies. The spread of the virus, however, becomes slow when the antibodies are present in around 25% of the population and the virus becomes ineffective or less effective when 50% or more citizens develop antibodies. For instance, in the case of Dharavi, our results say that over 50% of the residents who were tested, developed the antibodies, and this could be one reason for the lower number of cases which are being reported now from Dharavi as compared to what was being reported earlier.

According to Velumani, the government can give more relaxations to areas where more than 25% of the population develops antibodies.

If a body develops antibodies, it is considered to be a good sign, and based on the data on the presence of antibodies, the government can also take decisions on imposing the lockdown or easing it. I guess people develop more immunity if they are exposed more. Also, having antibodies does not mean one should not take precautions. Wherever more than 25% population has developed immunity or antibodies, I feel the government can give more relaxations. We may not open schools and colleges, but industries and services can be opened up to boost economy, Velumani said.

Commenting on the findings, Daksha Shah, deputy health officer of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporations (BMC) public health department, said, I cant comment on the findings of a private laboratory as I am not aware of the methodology it used for the tests. However, generally if a particular area has a higher number of individuals who have developed antibodies, then the spread of the virus may slow down. We have seen the same trend in the city with our findings. The slum areas are now witnessing fewer cases, as they are more individuals developing antibodies as compared to residents from non-slum areas. Currently, the maximum number of cases is from non-slum areas. Hence, when the non-slum areas start having higher presence of antibodies, the pattern of spread may change.

Earlier, the BMC also tested more than 6,900 people in its sero surveillance, in which 57% residents from slums were detected with antibodies, while 16% of residents from non-slum areas were found with the antibodies.

Private health consultant, Siddarth Paliwal, said, Our track record of conducting sero surveillance test has been poor. The BMC has conducted tests on less than 10,000 samples. We should aim to cover around 1% of the total population of the city to understand the spread of the virus. If the BMC cannot test that many people, it should tie up with private labs for the purpose.

Meanwhile on Sunday, Mumbai recorded 1,066 cases and 48 deaths, taking the citys total case count to 123,382 and death toll to 6,799 (5.51 fatality rate).

The total number of patients discharged after recovery stands at 96,586, and the city recorded a recovery rate of 78.2%. Currently, total active cases stand at 19,700.

Dharavi, a former hot spot which is showing drastic improvement, recorded only five cases on Sunday, after which its total case count stands at 2,617, of which 2,271 have recovered.

On Saturday, Mumbai conducted 7,561 tests. The total tests undertaken in the city surged to 5.99 lakh with an overall positivity rate of 20.4%.
Polls opened Sunday in Belarus as the ex-Soviet state holds a high-stakes presidential election with a female opposition candidate posing the greatest challenge yet to long-ruling strongman Alexander Lukashenko.

Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, a 37-year-old stay-at-home mother became an unlikely election candidate after authorities barred from running and jailed her husband, popular blogger Sergei Tikhanovsky.

She swiftly emerged as Lukashenko's strongest rival and her rallies drew tens of thousands of supporters across the country.

Her presidential bid gave rise to an informal new protest movement, with many dreaming of change in the country of 9.5 million people led for the last 26 years by 65-year-old Lukashenko.

Political observers said there is little doubt that Lukashenko, who is seeking a sixth term, would rig Sunday's vote in the absence of international observers.

More than 41 percent of votes had already been cast in several days of early voting, the central electoral commmission reported, with observers saying this facilitated falsifications.

Voters wearing facemasks began casting ballots at a Minsk polling station early Sunday, an AFP reporter saw. Some wore white bracelets after Tikhanovskaya urged her supporters to wear them.

There was a heavy police presence after detentions of protesters on Saturday evening and Prosecutor-General Alexander Konyuk urged voters to be "reasonable" and not take part in unsanctioned protests, Belta state news agency reported.

Tikhanovskaya, who joined forces for her campaign with the wife of one barred opposition chief and the campaign manager of another, said she would not call on her supporters to protest after the vote.

At the same time she called on law enforcement to refrain from fulfilling "criminal orders" and has urged election officials to count honestly.

- 'New country' -

Speaking to supporters on the eve of the vote, she asked them to do all they could so that Belarusians "wake up in a new country."

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"When you see that we have won, celebrate our victory!" she said in a video address.

Tikhanovskaya, who is by far the strongest of Lukashenko's four rivals in voter surveys, has also urged Belarusians to help ward off election fraud by voting late on the main polling day, Sunday.

Ahead of the vote Lukashenko warned that dissent would not be tolerated and that he would not give up his "beloved" Belarus.

"We will not give the country to you," he warned his opponents as he addressed the nation this week.

Lukashenko has sought to galvanise support by warning of outside threats and raising the spectre of violent mobs.

Belarus has detained over 30 Russian mercenaries allegedly planning to destabilise the vote.

The detentions sparked a political crisis with ally Russia, with Moscow urging the men's release and Putin telling Lukashenko that he wants Belarus to stay "stable."

Lukashenko has retained close ties to Moscow, though he often plays Russia and the West against each other.

France, Germany and Poland have urged Lukashenko to ensure a "free and fair" election and allow "independent surveillance of the vote by local observers".

- 'Tired of Lukashenko' -

Belarus has not held polls judged free and fair since 1995 and this time Minsk has not invited observers from the European OSCE observer group for the first time since 2001.

In the past Lukashenko has crushed protests with riot police and hefty jail terms, prompting Western sanctions. Two of his would-be election rivals including Tikhanovskaya's husband were jailed during the current campaign.

Tikhanovskaya says she is not a politician and if she wins she will call fresh elections that will include the entire opposition. On Saturday, authorities arrested her campaign manager and briefly detained one of her two top allies.

Many Belarusians said they hoped polls would lead to change.

A 30-year-old make-up artist from Minsk said she wanted to vote for one of the jailed would-be candidates, Viktor Babaryko, and accused Lukashenko of clinging to power.

"No one I know will vote for Lukashenko," said the woman who declined to be identified for fear of reprisals.

An electrician from Minsk said he would also vote against Lukashenko.

"I am tired of hearing the same things for the past 26 years," the 60-year-old said on condition of anonymity.

tk-vk-am/wdb
Paul C. Paz

Paz is a professional restaurant server, trainer, published author and a consultant to the restaurant, hotel and travel industry. He lives in Beaverton.

With the structured reopening of restaurants across Oregon, Ive gotten to see the implementation of Gov. Kate Browns coronavirus-safety guidelines firsthand  not with an occasional dinner out or takeout run, but in my everyday work. Ive worked in the restaurant industry as a server for more than 40 years in Oregon and as a consultant to restaurants, hotels and travel organizations for over 20 years. We need to acknowledge: Gov. Browns approach with restaurants appears to be a success.

When the gravity of the coronavirus hit in March, like many of us, I was filled with anxiety. On top of worrying over whether family and loved ones would contract the virus, I was concerned about the basics. If restaurants close for an extended time, how would I make it? How would I pay my rent, bills or even put food on the table?

If you dont count on every next paycheck, then consider yourself lucky. As the governor said herself in her statement July 22, restaurants operate under tight margins. So do the people who work in them.

When Gov. Brown ordered restaurants to switch to carryout and delivery only, I understood the reasoning. We needed drastic action to flatten the curve. Oregon successfully did that initially. And during that time, with hours cut, I had the support of Oregon unemployment and the federal CARES Act benefits. With those, I was able to pay for basics.

Reopening for restricted dining service has provided a sliver of hope on the financial front for myself and so many others in the industry. Maybe even more encouragingly, the reopening of restaurants has served as a model for how some aspects of life can continue safely with proper precautions.

The stress of making so many changes quickly and updating business plans to serve a fraction of the number of customers they did before took its toll. Many restaurants shut down for good. But what followed was incredible  if unsurprising. Restaurants have adapted by converting parking lots into dining rooms and by limiting capacity indoors. They and their staff stepped up to do what we always do in hectic situations: Deliver the best service we can for our customers while taking care of our own, by ensuring safety as the top priority. This philosophy isnt new for restaurants, which is why its been a success.

Incorporating strict safety guidelines into their work isnt new to restaurant professionals either. For decades, restaurant workers have been required to undergo mandatory food safety training with official certification Workers and managers must renew their certification every three years.

Unfortunately, the number of COVID cases is on the rise  in Oregon and nationally. Some states have responded by once again limiting their restaurants to take-out or delivery only. This would be the wrong move for Oregon. A restaurant shutdown would put me and tens of thousands of others out of work. Without more federal benefits, we would be unable to pay for food, rent, gas, utilities or health care. As someone who has worked in this industry for over four decades, I worry about what an unnecessary shutdown would cause and what another massive wave of restaurant closures and job losses would mean for our state. Those effects would not be felt just this year or next, but for many to come.

Its important to note that state officials have not found bars and restaurants to be a significant source of COVID spread, instead linking new COVID cases to medical centers, food-processing facilities and unregulated community gatherings. Certainly, the state needs to collect more detailed information that can definitively show how much restaurants play a role in the spread of COVID-19, as a recent OPB story notes. But health officials findings to date suggest that the guidelines, which are based on our knowledge of how this virus is spread, are working.

With so much uncertainty, we need to trust what is going right. My hope is we can rely on Gov. Brown to continue guiding our state on the right path.

I encourage Oregonians to visit their favorite dining spots to not only enjoy a good meal and service, but to also witness the actions demonstrated by the owners and staff to make your dining experience sanitary and safe for you, your family and your guests. Together we can support Oregons economic recovery.

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New Delhi, Aug 10 : After DMK leader Kanimozhi cried of Hindi imposition while narrating an incident in an airport where she was allegedly asked about her citizenship, the BJP took a sharp jibe at her, alleging that the southern party's charge is motivated with electoral benefits in mind.

The saffron party fielded its tallest southern leader and General Secretary (Organisation) B.L. Santhosh who took to Twitter to counter Kanimozhi's charge, saying "Assembly elections are 8 months away ... Campaign starts." Tamil Nadu is tipped to go the polls in the first half of next year with the BJP looking to make an entry into the southern state.

This whole row erupted after the DMK leader said that a CISF officer allegedly asked her if she was an Indian after the MP asked to be communicated in either Tamil or English, citing her inability to talk in Hindi.

"I would like to know from when being an Indian is equal to knowing Hindi," she said, sparking off a political row with other southern leaders like Karni Chidambaram, son of former Finance Minister P Chidambaram, joining the bandwagon to 'condemn' the act.

While the CISF, which is entrusted with the security in most Indian airports, reached out to her seeking details, BJP's Santhosh didn't spare the opportunity, saying: "CISF has asked her to give details. Let her give the details. Action will follow. Let's discuss about arrogance at that time."
Lebanon's information minister resigned on Sunday as the country grapples with the aftermath of the devastating blast that ripped through the capital and raised public anger to new levels. The resignation comes as public anger is mounting against the ruling elite, blamed for the chronic mismanagement and corruption that is believed to be behind the explosion in a Beirut Port warehouse.

Hundreds of tons of highly explosive material was stored in the waterfront hangar, and a blast sent a shock wave that killed at least 160 people, wounded nearly 6,000 and defaced the coastline of Beirut  destroying hundreds of buildings.

Manal Abdel-Samad said in her resignation letter that change remained elusive and she regrets failing to fulfill the aspirations of the Lebanese people.

Given the magnitude of the catastrophe caused by the Beirut earthquake that shook the nation and hurt our hearts and minds, and in respect for the martyrs, and the pains of the wounded, missing and displaced, and in response to the public will for change, I resign from the government," she wrote.

The disaster fueled angry demonstrations Saturday where protesters set up gallows and nooses in central Beirut and held mock hanging sessions of cut-out cardboard images of top Lebanese officials.

Demonstrators held signs that read resign or hang. The protests quickly turned violent when the demonstrators pelted stones at the security forces, who responded with heavy volleys of tear gas and rubber bullets. One police officer was killed and dozens of people were hurt in confrontations that lasted for hours.

Protesters also fanned out around the city, storming a couple of government ministries. They briefly took over the foreign ministry, saying it will be the headquarters of their movement.

In the economy and energy ministries, the protesters ransacked offices and seized public documents claiming they would reveal how corruption has permeated successive governments.

Five of the parliament's 128 members have also announced their resignation since Saturday including three legislators of the Christian Kataeb party, a member of the Socialist Progressive Party and an independent.

Abdel-Samad's resignation comes amid reports that another government official  the environment minister  is expected to resign, adding to the challenges facing Prime Minister Hassan Diab.

Diab took over in January and has since been beset by crises.

The government, backed by the powerful militant Hezbollah group and its allies, announced it is defaulting on Lebanon's sovereign debt and has since been engaged in difficult, internally divisive talks with the International Monetary Fund for assistance.

The coronavirus restrictions deepened the impact of the economic and financial crisis and fueled public anger against the new government. Lebanese have criticised Diab's government for being unable to tackle the challenges, saying it represents the deep-seated political class that has had a hold of the country's politics since the end of the civil war in 1990.

Foreign Minister Nassif Hitti resigned even before the blast, citing an absence of "effective will to achieve comprehensive structural reform and competing leadership.

In a televised speech Saturday evening, Diab said the only solution was to hold early elections. He called on all political parties to put aside their disagreements and said he was prepared to stay in the post for two months to allow time for politicians to work on structural reforms.

The offer is unlikely to soothe the escalating fury on the street. It is also expected to trigger lengthy discussions over the election law amid calls for introducing changes to the country's sectarian-based representation system.

The information minister's resignation comes ahead of an international conference co-hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron and United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres aimed at bringing donors together to supply emergency aid and equipment to Lebanon.

Previous offers of aid have been contingent on carrying out significant government reforms to tackle corruption.
In about nine months since it was inaugurated, the Union health ministrys tele-medicine service platform has provided at least 100,000 online consultations, shows data released by the ministry on Sunday, leading to patient to doctor consultations within the confines of a patients home, as well as doctor to doctor consultations.

The service has particularly proved to be beneficial for patients during the past six months as visits to hospitals have been limited because of the high risk of contracting coronavirus disease (Covid-19) infection.

On average, about 5,000 tele consultations are being provided per day.

The health minister Harsh Vardhan held a review meeting with States and Union territories on progress made by the platform that is called eSanjeevani and eSanjeevaniOPD.

In a short span of time since November 2019, tele-consultation by eSanjeevani and

eSanjeevaniOPD have been implemented by 23 States that cover 75% of the population, and other States are in the process of rolling it out.

Under the guidance of Prime Minister (Narendra Modi), we have started implementing the vision of Digital India through broadband and mobile phones at the Ayushman Bharat - Health and Wellness Centres. With the cooperation of States and UTs, and a pool of selfless and talented medical practitioners and specialists, we have been able to provide healthcare services through tele-medicine platform such as eSanjeevani. This has substantially augmented our health infrastructure during the Covid-19 pandemic, said Harsh Vardhan.

The facility will be particularly beneficial for people in villages where access to a healthcare facility is not that widespread.

This eSanjeevani platform has enabled two types of telemedicine services viz. doctor-to-doctor

(eSanjeevani) and patient-to-doctor (eSanjeevani OPD) tele-consultations. The former is being implemented under the Ayushman Bharat Health and Wellness Centre (AB-HWCs) programme, said Ashwini Kumar Choubey, minister of state for health and family welfare.

The health ministry plans to implement tele-consultation in all the 1.5 lakh HWCs (as spokes) in a hub and spoke model, by December 2022.

States have identified and set up dedicated hubs in medical colleges and district hospitals to provide tele-consultation services to spokes that will be functional at sub-health centres and primary health centres. About 12,000 users comprising community health officers and doctors have been trained to make use of this national e-platform to date.

Currently, telemedicine is being provided through more than 3,000 HWCs in 10 States.

The telemedicine platform is hosting about 40 online out patient departments (OPDs), and at least half of these are speciality OPDs that include gynaecology, psychiatry, dermatology, ear nose and throat (ENT), ophthalmology, antiretroviral therapy for the AIDS/HIV patients, non-communicable disease etc.

Around 3,000 doctors have been trained and on-boarded at eSanjeevaniOPD and every day around 250 doctors and specialists across the country provide eHealth services.

Owing to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, the Health Ministry launched the second tele- consultation service enabling patient-to-doctor telemedicine through eSanjeevaniOPD. Offered at no cost, this e-health service is rapidly gaining popularity as citizens in around 20 States are now consulting doctors without having to go to the hospital physicallyThis service is available as an Android mobile application as well. This has made it convenient for the people to avail of the health services without having to travel. It also ensures that the patient gets to see the doctor in around five minutes after logging in, said health ministry in its statement.

Experts say demand for telemedicine is growing because of the convenience it provides.

At Medanta also we provide tele-consultation to peripheral hospitals and it works well. In countries like US also e-ICUs is a growing concept. Plus, something is always better than nothing, said Dr Yatin Mehta, chairman, critical care department, Medanta Hospital.

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Nico Hulkenberg deserves a full-time return to Formula 1.

That was the sentiment of basically the entire paddock and beyond on Saturday, as the German qualified third behind the Mercedes cars at Silverstone.

While his 'pink Mercedes' is a controversial topic at present, nobody begrudged Hulkenberg the result as he continues to sub for the ill Sergio Perez.

"Nico is better than some drivers who have a regular cockpit," said Max Verstappen. "He has a fast car and he knows how to drive.

"Hopefully next year he will get a place somewhere because he deserves it. I hope this result helps him," the Red Bull driver added.

Verstappen isn't alone in thinking that. Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff told RTL: "He came here with no preparation time and he's P3 in qualifying in his second race.

"That makes me especially happy for him."

McLaren's Andreas Seidl said of Hulkenberg: "That was the chance he was looking for to show what he can do."

And Red Bull official Dr Helmut Marko said: "Such a performance in qualifying after such a long break? I must say it was great. Hats off!"

However, Perez looks likely to return to his seat at Barcelona next weekend, with team boss Otmar Szafnauer denying that his coronavirus infection is actually worsening.

"The concentration of virus in his body goes down with every test," he revealed.

"We think that he will get a negative test result at the beginning of next week and then be able to drive in Spain. However, you can never be sure with such a new virus."

(GMM)
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 9) President Rodrigo Duterte approved the release of an additional 5 billion fund that will cover the evacuation and aid packages for overseas Filipinos workers affected by the COVID-19 crisis, the Labor Department said Sunday.

In a statement, Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello said a hefty chunk of the fresh funds will be released to the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration, which handles the evacuation efforts for OFWs affected by the global lockdowns.

I have directed our POLOs (Philippine Overseas Labor Offices) to accelerate the processing of the assistance so that a greater number of our OFWs will benefit soonest from the aid coming from our government, Bello said.

Aside from repatriation, OWWA also shoulders the COVID-19 tests of arriving OFWs, as well as their food and accommodation while awaiting test results and transport to their respective home provinces, the agency noted.

DOLE in July had sought for an additional 2.5 billion funding to help provide assistance for the affected workers, noting the funds previously released to them were fast depleting.

The government had earlier given the department 2.5 billion in two tranches to fund its program Abot Kamay ang Pagtulong, or AKAP, which provides displaced OFWs an emergency cash aid of $200 or 10,000 to help them cope with the crisis.

Latest government data showed that nearly 130,000 OFWs from various countries have been brought home since May 15.

Globally, the coronavirus has infected over 19 million individuals in 188 different countries including China, where the disease outbreak originated.
The fall into disgrace of the Spanish Transition king marks the end of an era. The self-deceit that characterises Spanish politics and, often, Catalonias might be useful to delay the political fallout, but will not avert it. Weve not reached the top of the hill yet and we cant see what lies beyond, but this crisis will bring in a new time and the former kings escape to Abu Dhabi will force the PSOE to test the limits of what is acceptable to its electorate. The young man who restored the monarchy in Spain, under General Francos watchful gaze, and denied his own father the throne [to which he was rightfully entitled] showed enough of a survival instinct to entrust a pragmatic reformist [such as Adolfo Suarez] with the political leadership that facilitated the regime change and all the pacts involved. PM Adolfo Suarez and the other men who steered the political Transition except Dolores Ibarruri, the main leaders were all men firmly believed that change was necessary and the Spanish Civil War and the ensuing dictatorship were a very vivid memory. This afforded them the willingness to compromise and there was no shortage of it, which is the sort of glue that holds together the building blocks of any negotiation.

The idea of a new, European Spain as a shared dream came true in 1985, with Spains accession to the European Economic Community. However, the tension between the old and the new brought about by the Spanish transition was resolved with agreements that, years later, didnt always turn out to be satisfactory. The Basque Country endured much bloodshed, but it built a political edifice, while Catalonia led by Jordi Pujol built an unsatisfactory form of home rule that Spains artificial regions watched with distrust and strove to keep up with. This artefact survived until PM Jose Maria Aznar won an outright majority at the polls and he decided to lead a regional regression and dispose of the constitutional spirit that had inspired a modicum of tolerance towards difference. We all know the rest of the story: the new Catalan charter was struck down by the Constitutional Court following an appeal lodged by the Partido Popular, the flagship party of Spains re-centralising forces; a non-binding independence vote was held on 9 November 2014, followed by an actual referendum on 1 October 2017 and a failed independence bid.

In the 1980s Juan Carlos successfully kept the military in check and he increasingly dedicated himself to his private affairs and business dealings like some sort of premium ambassador who cannot tell the difference between his own personal assets and the states coffers. He left politics in the hands of an elite of courtiers from nearly all the political parties who decided not to step on each others toes.

Juan Carlos went about his private affairs except in the case of Catalonia, which concerns the holiest of holies: Spains unity. In 2010 this led him to ignore the maxim which states that the king reigns, but does not rule, as well as his constitutional duty to play a moderating role (Article 56 of the 1978 Spanish Constitution). Recall the untimely letter posted on the Royal Houses website on 18 September 2012, shortly after the first massive pro-independence demonstration, as Spain was debating a hypothetical bailout by the EU, where the monarch wrote about the need to leave behind dissent, illusions and wounds. Two days before Catalan president Artur Mas was due to meet his Spanish counterpart, Mariano Rajoy, to discuss a new fiscal deal, King Juan Carlos wrote that this is not the time to poke into our essence or pointlessly debate the nature of what is threatening our co-existence model.

This week King Juan Carlos surreptitiously fled Spain so he wont be held to account apropos the source and destination of his finances, a matter that is currently being probed in Switzerland and by Spains Supreme Court. The king emeritus lost his survival instinct decades ago, persuaded as he was that he was untouchable, shielded by the excessive legal immunity afforded to him by the Spanish Constitution. To make matters worse, the fact that the current kings father has eluded European justice by seeking shelter in an authoritarian Arab emirate is a joke that people of Spain will find in very poor taste.

The fall into disgrace of the Spanish Transition king marks the end of an era and Spain must decide whether it wishes to continue with the constitutional involution, disregarding several decades of peaceful co-existence uncomfortable, but peaceful in a country with a tragic history, or to embrace a reform of the constitution that is consistent with Spains reality and amends the institutional edifice.

The king demeritus

King Felipe is attempting to steady his reign by isolating his father and trying to limit Juan Carloss actions to his private affairs prior to abdicating. This general narrative might be successful with media, but Switzerlands justice is probing facts that occurred after 2014 [when the king emeritus abdicated]. The monarchy is in itself a hereditary institution where the thrones occupant personally succeeds his father and, therefore, it is difficult to draw a line between the individual and the institution.

Just like Juan Carlos handling of the 1981 attempted military coup struck a chord with most Spaniards who were eager to save their democracy, his sons TV address on 3 October 2017 [condemning the Catalan independence vote two days earlier] resonated with those who support the idea of a homogenous, unified Spain. However, that same speech lost for the Spanish king the segment of Catalan people who still felt he could mediate in the conflict. Today the kings top champions are the far right, the traditional right and the ruling PSOE, which has chosen to forget that the socialist party used to support republicanism, just like they used to be vaguely federalist.
One elector trying to get rapper Kanye West on the presidential ballot in Wisconsin is married to a former chairwoman of a Republican county committee and was photographed with President Donald Trump at his inaugural.

In Arkansas, a Republican operative who signed West's ballot petition was at one point interviewed to be Trump's campaign manager for his 2016 bid.

And West's ballot petition in Ohio was signed by a lawyer who has previously represented state Republican campaign committees.

West's presidential effort has largely sputtered since he formally filed to run as an independent candidate representing the "Birthday Party" in July. He has held just one campaign rally last month in North Charleston, S.C., where he appeared onstage wearing a bulletproof vest and broke down in tears, prompting his wife, Kim Kardashian West, to post messages on Instagram asking for the public's "compassion and empathy" as he struggles with bipolar disorder.

But in at least five states, Republican activists and operatives - including some who have publicly supported Trump anda lawyer who has worked for his 2020 campaign- have been involved with efforts to try to get rapper on the November ballot, according to an examination by The Washington Post of public filings and social media posts. Their involvement raises the specter that his candidacy is being propped up by aGOP-driven effort to siphon votes from presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden.

Trump told reporters this past week he had "nothing to do" with helping West get on the ballot but added that he likes West "very much."

Jason Miller, a senior campaign adviser, also said the Trump campaign was not involved in helping West get on the ballot.

But rather than discouraging the effort to put another competitor on the ballot, Miller added that he believes West's efforts on behalf of prison sentencing reform have been "admirable."

" 'All of the Lights' is a great song. The full extended mix of 'Runaway' might actually be my favorite. That's one of my jams," Miller said when asked about the West effort.

A spokesperson for West's campaign did not respond to requests for comment. Asked by a reporter for Forbes Magazine this past week if his goal was to take votes from Biden, West said in a text message he was "walking ... to win." Told he could serve as a spoiler in the race, West responded, "I'm not going to argue with you. Jesus is King."

West's shoestring campaign appears to consist solely of a bare bones website that until Saturday featured only a hand-scrawled message from the performer, asking supporters to sign a petition to help him get on the South Carolina ballot. He did not ultimately submit paperwork in that state, where he held his sole rally, before the July 20 deadline.

His newly updated site features a montage of disparate images, including a picture of Jesus and a photograph of Earth from space, along with 10-point policy platform that includes restoring prayer to the classroom, reducing household debt burdens and criminal justice reform - along with an invitation to donate to his campaign.

West's campaign has so far filed petitions to appear on the ballot in 10 states, but some of those submissions, as in New Jersey, have been found insufficient by state officials.

Others are still be reviewed. On Friday, officials in Illinois found that 60 percent of the signatures the campaign submitted there were invalid, leaving West without the required 2,500 signatures to appear on the ballot. The campaign can still challenge the finding.

Despite his campaign's struggles, there has been a flurry of activity by GOP operatives to get him on the ballot in recent weeks.

The effort has been particularly striking in the swing state of Wisconsin, where Trump defeated Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton by less than 23,000 votes in 2016. Studies have shown that turnout among Wisconsin's Black voters dipped significantly that year, likely contributing to Clinton's loss. They are expected to play a key role in the presidential vote again in November.

On Tuesday, as local reporters watched, West's ballot petition was delivered to state regulators by Lane Ruhland, a Madison lawyer who is the former general counsel for the state Republican Party.

Just weeks ago, Ruhland was listed as an attorney representing the Trump campaign on a document filed in a lawsuit against a local television station, according to court records. She did not respond to requests for comment.

To get on the ballot, Wisconsin law requires a candidate to submit signatures from between 2,000 and 4,000 state residents and identify 10 people who would serve as electors should the candidate win the state.

Of the 10 electors listed on West's petition, The Post found at least six appear to have ties to the Republican Party.

They included Fred Krumberger, whose wife, Marian, is the immediate past chairwoman of Wisconsin's Brown County Republican committee. According to pictures she posted on Facebook, the two attended Trump's inauguration in 2017 and were photographed with the new president at an event, standing in front of the U.S. and Wisconsin flags as Trump flashed his signature two thumbs up.

Another West elector, JM McKoy, is listed as an officer on the website of the Young Wisconsin Republicans. The Facebook page of a third West elector, Terri Steinbecker, features a banner that includes Trump's name and a bald eagle and a profile picture featuring the slogan of the conspiracy movement QAnon.

A fourth, Jordan Wieland, has tweeted that he is the brother-in-law of Joe Fadness, the campaign manager of Republican Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker's unsuccessful 2018 reelection bid.

Neither Fadness nor any ofthe electors responded to requests for comment.

Alesha Guenther, a spokeswoman for the Republican Party of Wisconsin, did not answer questions about whether the party played a role in compiling West's petition and, if so, why.

But she said in a statement that it appeared "the Kanye West campaign made a smart decision by hiring an experienced election attorney."

"We welcome Kanye West and all other candidates who qualified for ballot access to the race, and look forward to delivering Wisconsin's 10 electoral votes to President Trump," she added.

The effort to get West on the ballot was decried by David Crowley, a Democrat who took office in May as the first Black executive of Milwaukee County. Crowley said the effort appeared aimed at peeling off minority voters to boost Trump.

"This is the Republican Party really trying to take advantage of someone's mental state," he said, referring West's bipolar disorder. "It's appalling. It's insulting. Quite frankly, I can't believe they're really doing it."

Crowley said that he believes Black voters would see through the effort.

"We want them to know we will not be tricked," he said. "If he is on the ballot, we will tell the community what this strategy is and not let them be confused by the Republican Party and Donald Trump."

Two formal challenges to West's candidacy were filed on behalf of five Wisconsin voters on Friday, arguing among other things that his forms were filed just past a 5 p.m. deadline on Tuesday and that they failed to include West's home address, as required by state law.

One included signed affidavits from people who had signed the petition for his candidacy but said afterward that they were mislead about its purpose. One said he was told only that it was related to voting. Another said she was told she should sign simply to indicate that she was registered to vote.

"Kanye West would not get my vote, and I think it's a joke that he's running for president," the voter swore.

West's campaign has until the end of the Monday to respond. State officials will decide likely later this month whether he has qualified for the Wisconsin ballot.

Before declaring his candidacy, West repeatedly praised Trump, saying the two shared "dragon energy." In October 2018, West visited Trump in the Oval Office at the White House, a surreal scene in which the rapper sat across the Resolute Desk from the president, rattling on incoherently about the 13th Amendment, American manufacturing and his own mental health, dropping profanities in the process.

He wore a red "Make America Great Again" hat and repeatedly complimented Trump, who nodded, speechless for once, as reporters and TV cameras looked on.

West behaved so erratically that even Trump was taken aback, asking aides afterward, "What was up with him?" according to a former senior administration official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe the private conversation.

Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner argued that hosting West and Kardashian West, who worked closely with the White House on an effort to reform criminal sentencing rules, could improve the president's standing with Black voters, according to the official, who said Trump was swayed by the electoral argument.

Not long before West announced his candidacy, the host committee for Trump's convention in Jacksonville discussed inviting the rapper to perform a "revival-style" concert on the eve of the GOP convention, according to a person familiar with the discussions, a sign that Trump's staff have in recent weeks viewed the rapper as an ally and asset.

It is unclear if West still felt that way.

Shortly before he formally entered the race, West said that the campaign was his way of "taking the red hat off," telling Forbes that he did not like that Trump "hid" in a White House bunker during social justice protests in June.

That has not stopped Republicans from working to get him on the ballot.

In Arkansas, West's petition was signed by Gregg Keller, a longtime Republican operative who is the former executive director of the American Conservative Union.

Sam Nunberg, a former Trump adviser, said he brought Keller to meet with Trump twice beginning in late 2014, hoping Keller would become campaign manager. The Post reviewed a memo prepared by Nunberg and given to Trump that laid out Keller's qualifications for the manager job.

"Trump liked him," Nunberg said.

Keller did not respond to requests for comment.

In Colorado, Vice News obtained an email written by Republican strategist Rachel George, a former aide to GOP Sen. Cory Gardner, seeking fellow Republicans to serve as West electors.

"I have the most random favor to ask of you ever ... would you help me get Kanye West on the ballot in Colorado?" wrote George, who did not respond to requests for comment.

"No, I am not joking, and I realize this is hilarious," she added.

As New York Magazine first reported, George's husband also leads a Republican strategy firm that was paid more than $92,000 by the Republican National Committee earlier this year.

Some clues about who is behind the effort could come Aug. 20, when West is required by law to report his fundraising and spending for the month ofJuly to the Federal Election Commission.

Polls show that Black voters are overwhelmingly opposed to Trump. But his campaign has repeatedly worked to try dampen support for Democrats in the African American community. In the last election, Trump's campaign circulated social media memes highlighting that Clinton had supported harsh criminal sentencing rules enacted while her husband was president in the 1990s.

In recent days, Trump has been hitting Biden for an interview in which the former vice president said "unlike the African American community, with notable exceptions, the Latino community is an incredibly diverse community with incredibly different attitudes."

The suggestion that Black voters have monolithic opinions - which Biden said later he did not mean - prompted Trump to tweet Friday, "After yesterday's statement, Sleepy Joe Biden is no longer worthy of the Black Vote!"

Trump campaign pollsters have told other advisers they do not know how a West campaign would affect the White House contest.

But Nunberg, who worked for Trump for four years as he prepared his presidential run before they had a falling-out in 2015, said the effort to get West on the ballot was the kind of political scheme that would both appeal to Trump - and potentially help him.

"Does the Biden campaign want Kanye West campaigning in Cleveland, in Cincinnati, in Milwaukee?" he asked. "I don't think they do."
The British government on Sunday appointed a former Royal Marine to lead efforts to tackle illegal migration in the Channel ahead of talks with France on how to stop the dangerous crossings. Recent days have seen a surge in attempts by migrants in France to cross the busy shipping route to the English coast on makeshift vessels.

On Sunday, British Home Secretary Priti Patel appointed former Royal Marine Dan O'Mahoney, a maritime security expert, to take on a new role as the government's "clandestine Channel threat commander".

"The number of illegal small boat crossings is appalling," she said.

"We are working to make this route unviable and arresting the criminals facilitating these crossings and making sure they are brought to justice.

"Dan's appointment is vital to cutting this route by bringing together all operational partners in the UK and in France."

Further talks due in Paris

Patel visited the French port of Calais last month to agree a new joint police unit to share intelligence on trafficking networks. London's immigration minister, Chris Philp, is due in Paris for further talks on Tuesday.

Britain's interior ministry has made a formal request for the Royal Navy to help but campaigners warn any military intervention to stop boats could be dangerous and could face legal challenges.

The Sunday Telegraph newspaper reported that officials were planning for naval and border force vessels to pick up the migrants and take them directly back to northern France.

However, such a deal would require French involvement and the newspaper claims that Paris is demanding 33 million euros from London to help fund patrols.

No comment on payment demand from Paris

The French government declined to comment on the demand for payment but confirmed it was in the final stages of drawing up a joint plan with Britain.

It noted that patrol boats are making daily interventions although Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin told Patel last month that "more resources" were needed.

Story continues

Since 1 January, the French authorities have intercepted at least 810 migrants trying to cross the Channel to England, according to official figures.

The French interior ministry said that between January and July 2020, authorities had stopped five times as many crossings as in the same period last year -- and ten times as many in July alone.

Analysis from Britain's PA news agency shows more than 4,100 people have successfully made the journey to England this year, with 151 arriving on Saturday alone.
The PMO announced that an ex-gratia amount of Rs 2 lakh each from PMNRF would be given to the next of kin of those who have lost their lives

At least ten are dead and several others feared trapped after a fire broke out at a private hotel that was being used as a makeshift COVID-19 facility in Andhra Pradesh's Vijayawada district on Sunday morning.

This incident comes just days after eight patients being treated at a designated COVID-19 hospital in Ahmedabad died in a blaze.

Rescue operations are on at the Hotel Swarna Palace, where a short circuit in an air-conditioner on the ground floor was the likely reason behind the fire, police officials told Indian Express.

After receiving a call at 5.15 am, fire tenders were rushed to the spot. The National Disaster Relief Force (NDRF) too joined rescue operations, as per the newspaper.

Even as flames spread to the third and fifth floors, which were housing the patients, at least seven people were seen jumping from the terrace to escape the fire. Two others died from asphyxiation.

About 20 patients were shifted to various hospitals from the facility, which housed 30 patients and 10 hospital staff, Vijayawada Police Commissioner B Srinivasulu told PTI.

The hotel leased by a private hospital to treat the coronavirus infected had "violated" safety rules, according to fire safety director Jairam Naik.

He said the hotel had "violated" fire safety rules.

"The fire alarm did not go off at the time of the accident and there was delay in opening the rear door. Investigation has been initiated and there will be action against the hotel management," he added.

Andhra Pradesh chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, expressing shock over the incident, ordered an enquiry. He also announced ex-gratia of Rs 50 lakh for the kin of the deceased and directed authorities to ensure patients receive proper medical treatment.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi sent out a tweet offering condolences and support:

Anguished by the fire at a Covid Centre in Vijayawada. My thoughts are with those who have lost their loved ones. I pray that the injured recover as soon as possible. Discussed the prevailing situation with AP CM @ysjagan Ji and assured all possible support.  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 9, 2020

Union Home Minister Amit Shah also took to Twitter to express deep anguished.

Deeply anguished by the news of tragic fire accident at a COVID-19 facility in Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh. Centre assures all possible support to the state govt. My condolences are with the affected families in this time of grief. Praying for the speedy recovery of those injured.  Amit Shah (@AmitShah) August 9, 2020

Later in the day, the prime minister's office announced that an ex-gratia amount of Rs 2 lakh each from PM National Relief Fund would be given to the next of kin of those who have lost their lives. Also, Rs 50,000 would be given to those who were injured due to the fire.

With inputs from agencies
Australian corporations are signing up their employees to become more self-aware of their misguided ways or how they might inadvertently be standing in the way of workplace equality.

Unconscious bias training has been embraced in Australia in recent years following the trend developed in the US and the UK. It has been seen as the answer to managing diversity and inclusion.

Female light signals Credit:Stefan Postles

This fervour for unconscious bias training is happening at a time when race and gender-based inequality remain deeply entrenched.

Less than one in five Australia corporate bosses are women, and women in full-time work earn over 20 per cent less than their male counterparts. More than 80 per cent of Australians from Asian and Middle Eastern Australia report having suffered racial discrimination.
From arranging power backup to borrowing mobile devices, from moving to relatives or friends houses to planning a visit to neighbourhood cyber cafes, students of Delhi University (DU) are taking several measures to appear for the online open-book exams (OBE), which will begin Monday as a one-time measure in view of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Despite opposition from students and teachers, the University will conduct the exams between August 10 and August 31 for 240,000 final year students, including those enrolled with the School of Open Learning (SoL) and Non-Collegiate Womens Education Board (NCWEB).

The University on Friday got the green signal from the Delhi high court to conduct the online tests.

Amal K Simon, a final-year student of Ramjas College, said he and his friends are stuck in parts of rain-hit districts in Kerala and have tried to make arrangements to ensure their exams are not hindered.

Many of us have arranged power banks for mobile phones, because we face regular power cuts due to the rain. Many of my friends have moved to their relatives or friends houses in the city for better internet connectivity. I will go to my friends house on Monday morning because they have power backup and Wi-Fi, he said.

Upon the HCs directions, the University will give students four hours to complete the examination. Students will, within this time, have to download question papers, complete the test and scan and upload the answer scripts.

Students with disabilities will get two additional hours to complete the exam instead of one.

However, many students remain concerned over the feasibility of the exams. Mohit (who goes by a single name), 21, a final-year BA (prog) student at SoL, said the poor internet connectivity at his Sangam Vihar home does not allow him to even upload and email answer scripts.

I do not have a laptop at home, so I will either go to a cyber cafe or borrow my neighbours laptop, he said.

Hitesh Sharma, 20, a final-year student of BA (Hons) in Political Science at Rajdhani College, said he is stuck at his house in Jammus Kathua district. We only get 2G connectivity here. It takes us so long to even download pictures on WhatsApp. How will I download the question paper and upload the answer scripts from here? My parents have not allowed me to go to the common service centre (CSC) due to the prevailing situation, he said.

CSCs are facilities created under the ministry of electronics and information technology for users to access government services online.

Despite several attempts, DU dean of examination Vinay Gupta did not respond for comment.

A member of the Universitys examination department, who asked not to be named, said, The university is prepared for the smooth conduct of the online examinations. We have appointed nodal officers in all colleges who will assist students. Students can approach them for help throughout the exam. The colleges and departments also have their separate email IDs, on which students can directly send PDFs of their answer scripts. Additionally, in case students are unable to reach these officials, the university has also issued a centralised email ID to help them out.

The official added that the OBE is purely optional.

Its an opportunity for students to complete their course at the earliest. Students who cant take the exams now will get an opportunity later to appear in the usual pen-and-paper exam.

Several colleges in the university also said they expect some students to make use of their information and communications technology (ICT) facilities during the exams. Pratyush Vatsala, principal, Lakshmibai College, said, Some staff members will be in college from tomorrow to help students via email or over calls. We have also set up an OBE control room to assist students. We have received some requests from students for the colleges ICT facility to upload their question papers.

The University had asked the college principals to get applications from students who need ICT infrastructure for the exams. The students can inform the colleges beforehand and visit the campus to use their facilities.

Some students, however, said they will still be left out.

Deepak Gupta, 23, a visually impaired student pursuing and MA in English from St Stephens College said he could not arrange for a scribe. I am stuck at home [in Bihars Rohtas district] due to the lockdown. The University administration had said they can only arrange scribes for students in Delhi. I could not find anyone to help me write an exam here. I have already cleared the PhD entrance test for IIT Delhi. I am scared of losing this opportunity due to the delay in getting my masters degree, he said.

DU faculty members too expressed apprehensions about the process.

Pankaj Garg, an associate professor at Rajdhani College, said, Students have faced a lot of problems in downloading question papers and uploading the answer scripts during the mock tests. Even though the university said it will conduct another round of exams for students who will not be able to attend now, their results will get delayed, which might affect many opportunities for them.

DU teachers association (DUTA) member Abha Dev Habib said, Not even half of the students could register online during the mock tests and the university is still going ahead and conducting the exams. We just hope our students do not get demoralised if they arent able to write the exams now.

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Susan Rice and Joe Biden clearly like each other. Having worked together, he is comfortable with her, and her deep store of knowledge about foreign policy would be an asset for any administration. But like everyone who has risen to the level she has, she has baggage. Im not sure people can even remember what happened in Benghazi, but they will if she is picked, because she was the one who tried to defend the State Department. She should get past that, because foreign policy (other than China) has pretty much disappeared as an issue, which also means that her experience counts for less. And, perhaps most important to a man who has spent his life running for office, she has never run before. It is hard, especially when every mistake gets amplified because the press views you as a newcomer.
czech republic

At least 11 killed in apartment fire

PRAGUE  At least 11 people have been killed and 10 others injured in an apartment building fire in the northeastern Czech Republic, officials said Saturday, with some suggesting that the fire could be arson.

Police said the fire hit the 11th floor of the 13-story building in the afternoon in the town of Bohumin. Firefighters spokesman Lukas Popp told local media that six people, three adults and three children, were killed in an 11th-floor apartment.

The other five died after trying to escape from the building in a panic by jumping from the windows on the 12th floor, Interior Minister Jan Hamacek told Czech public radio.

Hamacek and the head of the regional government, Ivo Vondrak, both suggested the fire was likely intentionally set. Regional firefighter chief Vladimir Vlcek said it was unusual how quickly the fire spread through the entire apartment but said authorities were still investigating the cause of the fire.

Regional chief police officer Tomas Kuzel said police have detained one person in connection with the fire.

georgia

Pair charged in Arbery slaying seeking bond

SAVANNAH, Ga.  The father and son jailed on murder charges in the slaying of Ahmaud Arbery are asking a Georgia judge to grant them bond and to throw out two charges in their indictment.

Gregory McMichael and his adult son, Travis McMichael, were jailed and arrested in May, more than two months after Arbery was slain. The 25-year-old Black man was chased and fatally shot after the McMichaels, who are white, spotted him running in their neighborhood just outside the port city of Brunswick.

Attorneys for both men filed legal motions Thursday asking Superior Court Judge Timothy Walmsley to set a bond that would allow the McMichaels to be freed pending trial. The judge denied bond last month for William Roddie Bryan Jr., a third man charged in Arberys killing.

poland

Protesters decry ant-LGBT attitudes

WARSAW, Poland  Demonstrators turned out in Warsaw and other Polish cities Saturday to protest anti-LGBT attitudes promoted by the government as well as the detention of pro-LGBT protesters.

You will not lock all of us up! people chanted at a protest in Warsaw that drew thousands of mostly young people. Most wore masks for the coronavirus pandemic. Similar protests took place in Krakow, Lublin, Wroclaw and other places.

The protests came a day after LGBT rights supporters in Warsaw scuffled with police who arrested a transgender activist, Malgorzata Szutowicz, known best as Margot. Police said they detained 48 people, while activists said police used rough tactics against them.

oklahoma

Tribes spar over gambling compacts

OKLAHOMA CITY  Four Oklahoma tribes are asking a federal court to void gambling compacts between the state of Oklahoma and two other tribes  agreements that the Oklahoma State Supreme Court recently invalidated.

The Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw and Citizen Potawatomie Nations filed a lawsuit Friday in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., asking for a declaration that the U.S. Department of Interior violated federal law by allowing the agreements Gov. Kevin Stitt signed with the Comanche Nation and the Otoe-Missouira Tribe to take effect.

Officials with the Department of Interior, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and the governors office did not immediately respond to request for comment Saturday.

venezuela

Ex-Green Berets get 20 years in failed attack

CARACAS, Venezuela  A Venezuelan court has sentenced two former U.S. special forces soldiers to 20 years in prison for their part in a blunder-filled beach attack aimed at overthrowing President Nicolas Maduro.

Lawyers for the former Green Berets, Luke Denman and Airan Berry, said they were barred from the secretive jailhouse proceedings Friday night in what they consider a violation of their constitutional rights to a defense.

Maduros chief prosecutor announced the surprise decision late Friday night.

THEY ADMITTED THEIR RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE FACTS, Tarek William Saab announced on Twitter, adding that proceedings will continue against dozens of other defendants accused of assisting in the May 3 raid. He did not offer details.

Operation Gideon was launched from makeshift training camps in neighboring Colombia and left at least eight rebel soldiers dead while more than 60 more were jailed.

hong kong

Leader, China officials criticize U.S. sanctions

HONG KONG  Hong Kongs leader and Chinas top representative in the city took pot shots at the United States on Saturday after the Trump administration sanctioned them and nine other officials for allegedly cracking down on freedom and undermining the local autonomy of the former British colony.

Chief Executive Carrie Lam took to Facebook to say that the U.S. got her address wrong, listing the official address of her chief deputy instead. She noted that she was the deputy when she applied for her U.S. visa in 2016.

By the way, my entry visa to the U.S. is valid until 2026. Since I have no desire to visit this country, it looks like I can take the initiative to cancel it, Lam said.

The sanctions, announced Friday by the U.S. Treasury Department, block all property or other assets that the individuals have within U.S. jurisdiction.

michigan

Nature returns to lakes lost when dams failed

LANSING, Mich.  Nature is returning to craters left from lakes drained by two dams that failed in May during torrential rain in mid-Michigan.

Four Lakes Task Force wants to use eminent domain to gain ownership of four Midland-area dams  including the Edenville and Sanford dams that failed in the May 19 storms, sending water raging down the Tittabawassee River and flooding homes and businesses.

It hopes to restore the infrastructure and shoreline of Wixom and Sanford lakes and prevent homes from being lost to the eroding edges of what were once the lakes. It has filed requests in the courts to obtain the dams. Under eminent domain, the owners, Boyce Hydro and and Boyce Hydro Power, could be ordered to sell the properties to the task force as the governmental body representing the counties, task force spokesperson Stacey Trapani said.

The owners for years failed to invest and comply with government-set standards for health and safety on the hydroelectric Edenville dam. The two companies have since filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. They blame regulators and an insistence on high lake levels for the dam failures.

The state sued the owners, seeking fines for the destruction of natural resources as well as gross mismanagement.

The flooding destroyed 150 houses and caused more than $200 million in property damage in the Midland area.
Kirsten Branch is about to begin her senior year at Katy High School. Shes an honor roll student and Colonel of the dance Brigade with a bright future- a future thats unfolding during an unprecedented pandemic and a time of social upheaval. Branch discussed her upcoming year and what it means to approach adulthood during COVID-19 and the renewed civil rights movement.

Youre a rising senior in the middle of a pandemic. This is already a time of flux for someone your age- what has it been like navigating this with everything thats going on?

At the beginning of this year, when COVID-19 was a distant and foreign issue, I wrote in my personal journal that the likelihood that I will be impacted by the Coronavirus is slim. Looking back, the irony of that statement is almost comical, because not even two months later, I was learning virtually for the remainder of junior year.

During the spring quarantine, I had to navigate online classes, which was challenging. I never realized how much I valued peer interaction until I was all alone working through hours of classwork, as opposed to creating memories with my classmates.

It was heartbreaking to miss out on finishing my junior year. Simultaneously, I watched my senior friends miss out on the opportunity to close out their secondary education in the traditional ways; I felt great sorrow for them. We all understood how heartbroken the 2020 seniors were as they missed their final months. But myself and the class of 2021 looks ahead at our senior year - we could miss it all. On a more positive note, I am beginning to look forward to college as I navigate through applications.

Due to the lack of in-person communication with faculty during the spring and summer, I learned how to complete college applications - create a high school resume, ask for letters of recommendation, find virtual shadowing and clinical experience opportunities and apply for college-by watching videos on TikTok. Aside from college applications, I find it difficult to find hope for senior year, because there is a growing possibility that I will not have the traditional celebrations to reap the rewards of 12 years of dedication.

For me,the hardest part about navigating life during this pandemic is forcing yourself not to focus on the worst as the worst is occurring.

Katy ISD has given students the option of continuing online learning or returning to class. Youve chosen to return to class. What was the reasoning behind your decision?

I chose to return to class due to my dedication to Brigade and my desire to work towards my EMT certification. Although I am returning, I am approaching the situation with great caution, and I hope the district intends to as well.

In my opinion, if schools can enforce dress codes that prohibit girls from showing their shoulders for the benefit of boys who lack self-control and respect for others, then schools can, and need to, enforce the wearing masks for everyone in middle and high school for the benefit of everyone.

ALSO BY CLAIRE GOODMAN: Katy ISD Teachers of the Year honored in Katy Area Chamber of Commerce event

What are some of the biggest challenges you think youre going to face this year? What are your biggest fears?

One challenge I anticipate I will face this year is learning. As an auditory learner, I benefit from in-person and direct instruction. In the 2019-2020 school year I maintained my GPA, but I definitely found myself struggling to learn new materials after the shift to online. Learning types may seem minor, but they play a huge role in how students intake information.

As a nation, we have seen and experienced the repercussions of opening prematurely. Despite warnings from epidemiologists predicting a rough fall and winter as we continue to grapple with COVID-19, the Texas Education Agency plans on moving ahead with in-person classes.

Although I am returning to school in the fall, I am a little concerned because the fall semester feels more like an experiment rather than a strategy, science-backed plan. After the mishap where reporters were informed about TEAs plan prior to superintendents, the most unsettling aspect is the lack of organization at every level of government, from the national to local governments, and a virus is not going to wait for us to get it together.

You have a lot going on in your academic life- youre an honors student and Colonel of the Katy High School Brigade dance team, for example. Whats your plan for balancing everything youre doing with the stress of the current climate?

A lot of kids wont admit this, but I enjoy learning. In this upcoming year, a majority of my classes are geared towards the pre-medicine track, which I plan on studying in college. I tend to feel more anxious and stressed when things are disorganized and unplanned, so maintaining my time management skills will play a key role in dealing with the stress of senior year during a pandemic.

Although leading a dance team can get stressful, dance has always been my passion, and I have always utilized dance as an outlet for stress and negativity. Adults frequently encourage teenagers to find a job they love because then it wont even feel like work; my job is to be a team member and the Colonel, and I love it because it doesnt feel like work.

Additionally, dance is a collaborative sport that requires trust and dedication. We rely on one another to perfect our routines and to support one another through tough times, so the Brigade will continue to play a huge role in how I balance the stress of school and current events.

As you know, the pandemic is just one of the major issues going on right now. Youre rising to adulthood during a time of social and racial upheaval following the death of George Floyd. Can you share a little bit about your observations and feelings about whats happening right now?

When I was 9-years-old, Trayvon Martin was murdered by the Neighborhood Watch for wearing a hoodie, and in the present day, I think of him whenever I put on my hoodie because I could be next. Tamir Rice, at the age of 12, was killed by police while holding a toy gun because as a Black man, woman, or child in America, society perceives people of color as guilty until proven innocent.

In the following year, my parents gave me the talk that almost every minority child receives at some point, You are Black, and because of that, some people are likely to perceive you as lesser. You are going to have to work twice as hard for half as much.

This contributes to why I am so motivated in school and extracurriculars now. As a minority, and specifically an African-American woman, I experience racism on a consistent basis, yet I learned from a very young age that it was a waste of time to rationalize the mistreatment of minorities in American systems.

It is not easy to ignore the racial slurs, exclusion from white spaces and other forms of covert and overt racism but Ive learned to redirect that negative energy into success as so many minority individuals learn to do. But after centuries of racial injustice that persist to this day, and a decade of seeing videos of Black people being targeted in their own communities, the murder of George Floyd re-awakened the Black community and myself to speak up about the racism and biases against people of color.

The protest following the murder of George Floyd are the result of centuries worth of exhaustion, frustration, and anger, at the constant mistreatment of minorities in a country that considers itself the beacon of freedom and equality. The protests I attended were some of the most eye-opening experiences I had in my life. I participated in a protest organized by my peers, credits to Katy4Justice, because we, as teenagers and the future of America, utilized our first amendment right to voice our frustration and anger towards the injustices that continuously occur in America.

Yet, as myself and fellow advocates exercised our rights, across the town of Katy, adults and parents, of children who were my classmates and friends, condemned us for protesting in their suburbs, and in that moment, something became evidently clear to me. No matter how much money I earn, no matter where I attend school, no matter where I live, in the eyes of our neighbors, nothing ever seems to be ours.

ON HOUSTONCHRONICLE.COM: George W. Bush pays tribute to immigrants in new book

You have plans to attend college after high school, and you have some really impressive prospective schools. What are some of the things you hope to achieve this year before taking on that next step?

As I prepare to transition into my undergraduate education, I will be continuing to build my resume through volunteer work, virtual shadowing and EMT training.

In Brigade, I did not have the traditional path to becoming Colonel, and because of that, I have to work twice as hard to serve as the backbone of the team and grow as a leader.

Additionally, I am pushing myself to be a stronger advocate against racial injustice; I have learned and accepted that allowing racism, even the most covert forms, only encourages racism to persist.

Youre so close to adulthood, but youre just barely going to miss being able to vote this year. If you could say one thing to the adults that will be voting on the decisions that will directly impact you, what would it be?

In this election, we are voting to determine the fate of our democracy. George Washington despised political parties because Washington understood the downfalls of owing loyalty to a person as opposed to a cause or ideals.

This is true for both sides. If you are voting this year, I simply want you to ask yourself: what do I stand for? Do I stand for the use of tear gas towards peaceful protestors exercising their constitutional rights? Do I stand for the uplifting of the minorities, my fellow Americans, to create racial equity and carry out the intentions of our forefathers to ensure that all men are created equal? Do I stand for creating a society that promotes the good of all, or only for the good of a few?

We need a president who is prepared to rebuild our economy, as opposed to sustaining the growth of the previous president. We need a president who can unite us as a nation, as opposed to divide us. We cannot proclaim to be the United States of America and simultaneously value rugged individualism above moderate collectivism. This pandemic has exposed the consequences of a divided society, mutually assured destruction. This election is truly about the conscience of America.

claire.goodman@chron.com
Hong Kong: Yan Chai COVID-19 case explained

(To watch the full press briefing with sign language interpretation, click here.)

Public hospital doctors will assess patients regularly according to their symptoms and order tests as appropriate to give the best treatment.

Hospital Authority Chief Manager (Quality & Standards) Dr Lau Ka-hin made the statement during a press briefing today when he was asked about a case in which a 44-year-old patient at Yan Chai Hospital preliminarily tested positive for COVID-19 after initially testing negative.

When patients are being cared for in the hospital, doctors will assess the patients according to the symptoms, according to the clinical conditions as well as the laboratory investigations.

For this patient in Yan Chai Hospital, the first test of COVID-19 was negative. Although there was a negative result, the doctor was suspicious about the persisting symptoms in this patient, so the patient was put in the isolation ward once the doctor suspected the patient may be suffering from COVID-19 or other infectious diseases.

So the doctor ordered another test in order to confirm whether the patient had COVID-19. This is a clinical judgement.

This story has been published on: 2020-08-09. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-09 21:34:54|Editor: huaxia

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HONG KONG, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) -- Hong Kong political groups have expressed support for the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC) in making a decision for the sixth Legislative Council (LegCo) of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) to continue operation.

To decide on the HKSAR LegCo matter by the NPC Standing Committee is a power entrusted by the Constitution and the Basic Law, and such arrangement takes into account the situation in Hong Kong and will ensure the normal legislative operation and orderly social and economic development in Hong Kong, they said.

The Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB) said in a statement that the LegCo vacancy for the next year is an important constitutional issue that concerns Hong Kong's overall interests and people's well-being.

As the Basic Law does not stipulate solutions to the matter, it is necessary and proper for the NPC Standing Committee to decide on the solutions at the constitutional level, the DAB said.

The DAB said it believes the upcoming decision will ensure the effective operation of the LegCo in the coming year and lay the foundation for Hong Kong to fight the epidemic, revive the economy and improve people's livelihood.

Ng Chau-pei, president of the Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions, expressed gratitude for the central authorities' understanding on and support for the postponement of the LegCo election due to the COVID-19 outbreak and believed the NPC Standing Committee will make a legitimate and fair decision that gives priority to the lives and health of Hong Kong residents.

The Business and Professionals Alliance for Hong Kong (BPA) said the decision can only be made by the NPC Standing Committee as the HKSAR government is unable to address the LegCo vacancy itself.

A timely decision by the NPC Standing Committee is necessary to ensure the normal operation of the society and the administration of the HKSAR government, as well as the continued prosperity and stability of Hong Kong, the BPA said.

The Liberal Party of Hong Kong also supported the postponement of the LegCo election to safeguard public health and ensure a fair election, and said the decision of the NPC Standing Committee will ensure the normal operation of the HKSAR LegCo and the government, and not affect the Hong Kong society and its economy. Enditem
A Colorado Springs man experiencing an acute psychotic episode died after he was tased and held down by five officers after he brandished a knife and threatened his neighbors in a gated community near The Broadmoor, according to his autopsy released last month.

Chad Burnett, 49, died May 24 as a result of the struggle, the El Paso County Coroners Office stated, as well as injuries from the Taser, bipolar disorder and cardiac hypertrophy, or an abnormally enlarged heart.

The 4th Judicial District Attorneys Office has not ruled whether the officers involved were justified in their use of force, but mental health experts argue Burnetts death highlights an alarming gap in resources for those experiencing mental health crises in Colorado Springs.

Some say he could still be alive if a different strategy  one geared toward helping those experiencing mental health crises  were used.

When police, who are untrained to manage mental health response, respond, bad things happen, said Vincent Atchity, president of Mental Health Colorado, a nonprofit that promotes equitable access to mental health resources for people across the state.

And this is a classic case of what happens when police are responding to a mental health crisis and dont know what they are doing.

Given the overwhelming percentage of calls police receive that involve some kind of mental health crisis, Atchity called the lack of training among all officers unconscionable.

A CSPD spokesman declined to say whether the responding officers were trained in crisis intervention.

While de-escalation methods aren't always effective, the ability to recognize Burnetts mental illness, and communicate in a way geared toward helping those in crisis states, could have drastically altered the situation, experts said after watching the body-worn camera footage of the incident.

Terri Hurst, policy coordinator for Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition, called Burnetts death a failure in the mental health care system, and one that shows the stigma around mental health disorders and the challenge in accessing mental health care in Colorado.

In the two weeks prior to Burnett's fatal encounter with police, the citys mental health response team was called twice to his home, according to a history of 911 call responses made to his address.

Its unclear if Burnett was connected with mental health care or if a follow-up with the mental health response team was scheduled.

It seemed like there was information but, yet, nobody was there, Hurst said. Or given the adrenaline of the situation, nobody stopped to tie those pieces together and say, Huh, something is clearly going on, maybe we need a clinician here to help us.

If that doesnt happen, if thats not commonplace, I think thats something that needs to be fixed immediately, Hurst said.

Effective tools

When the Crisis Intervention Team program first came to Colorado in 2002, it was among three states in the country that aimed to implement a statewide training program to help law enforcement officers recognize signs of mental illness, enhance their verbal crisis de-escalation skills and provide a more streamlined access to community-based mental health services, said Sgt. Attila Denes with the Douglas County Sheriffs Office.

Denes, a founding member of the CIT Association of Colorado, trains law enforcement officers in crisis intervention across the state. Over the years, more than half of the states 14,000 peace officers have received the training, Denes said.

I think as a state, weve done remarkably well, he said.

Even so, Colorado still ranks among the worst in the nation for its prevalence of mental and substance abuse disorders. Law enforcement, by default, has become the first point of contact for many people experiencing a mental health crisis.

Because of that, it is critically important that law enforcement officers be trained in the recognition of crisis states particularly when mental health disorders are part of the crisis, Denes said.

Though Denes declined to speak specifically on the May 24 incident, citing the open investigation into the case, he said as a general rule, he teaches officers to keep distance between themselves and the person and to take their time.

The more distance we have between ourselves and the person experiencing a crisis, the less pressure they feel and also, the greater reactionary gap we have in the event that there is some anticipated attack, it gives us more time to move or get out of harms way, he said.

Communication strategies vary depending on the situation, but through crisis intervention training, officers are taught to recognize the behaviors that are indicative of one type of mental health disorder versus another.

If someone is experiencing an acute psychotic episode and they are having trouble focusing on the instructions of a responding officer because of their hallucinations or delusions  then (use) short, simple, directive commands that arent threatening, but are clearly directive, Denes said.

Getting a mental health clinician on scene as soon as possible is also among the best practices when responding to mental health calls, he said.

But verbal de-escalation doesnt always resolve an issue, Denes said.

If the situation turns on a dime, in a dangerous direction, we may have to break from that preferred model of time and distance.

Atchity, who watched the body camera footage of the incident, argued police could have waited outside for a mental health professional to arrive as Burnett wasnt threatening anyone when they arrived.

The heightened situation" that the neighbors called about had eased, Atchity said.

They could have left him in peace in his own home.  They could have come back with a clinical partner and talked to him. If they were worried about the neighbors, they could have sat there in the car all afternoon and evening and no one would have had to die, he said.

In the body-camera footage, released nearly two months after Burnetts death, Sgt. Michael Inazu and Officer Matthew Fleming are seen talking to Burnett through the front window of his home.

Can you come talk to us, Chad? Inazu is heard in the footage. Can you come out? Fleming asked.

Yeah, thats a big knife. Leave that there. Can you open the door? Inazu said. Burnett appears to be talking to the officers, though he is inaudible in the body camera footage.

I want to help you, Inazu said. Would you open the door, please? We wont hurt you  Were here to help you."

Minutes later, Burnett called 911 to report fake police," telling the dispatcher he has just arrived from Japan and parked his jet at the Colorado Springs airport.

This incident does present a challenge because he did threaten someone, but he was clearly suffering from an episode, Hurst said.

The departments mental health response team, which consists of a paramedic from the Colorado Springs Fire Department, a CSPD officer and a behavioral-health clinician from AspenPointe, was not called because the call was made in regard to a violent felony, said Lt. Jim Sokolik, a police spokesman.

More than an hour after police arrived, Burnett exited his home and three officers charged toward him and pushed him to the floor inside his house.

For somebody who is in a psychosis, having a cop run at you, is certainly not going to de-escalate the situation, Hurst said.

Officer Caroline Barth yelled on the ground and seconds later, deployed a Taser, striking Burnett in the stomach. He cried out in pain and fell to the ground.

The officers tried to place him in handcuffs, telling Burnett to stop resisting. Burnett continued to struggle with the officers while on the ground.

Its terrifying for any of us, but its exponential for anyone (with mental health issues)," said Lori Jarvis-Steinwert, Executive Director of the National Alliance on Mental Illness in Colorado Springs. The chances of them being compliant when they are that terrified are not good.

A mental health professional on the scene may have approached him in a manner in which Burnett felt understood, and he could have been transported to a psychiatric facility to be evaluated, she said.

Any kind of aggression is going to escalate the situation, she said. You stay calm, you dont overreact  if anything you under-react  when you realize you are dealing with a mental health situation. ... They are under the influence of their own illness. To the extent you can, you agree with them, you align yourself."

A history of mental illness

Burnett, an avid cyclist and well-liked former bike shop owner, was always professional and easy to talk to, said longtime friend Brett Lindstrom.

He said Burnett always seemed to be in good spirits, but the death of his parents in 2019 upset him.

Lindstrom said Burnett occasionally talked about himself getting mad and confronting others. But, in Burnett's telling, he usually found a reasonable way out of such disputes, Lindstrom said.

Though Lindstrom moved to California seven years ago, he kept in touch with Burnett. He said he wasnt aware Burnett was taking medication for his mental health until after his death.

After watching the body camera footage, Lindstrom said he thought Burnett was having an episode and a mental health professional could have reasoned with him.

I also don't think Chad was posing a threat to them," Lindstrom said.

In the weeks before his death, Burnetts behavior had become a concern for his neighbors in the gated community.

In mid-May, Mark Sather and Pauline Sisson, who are identified in court documents as Burnetts cousins, sought restraining orders against Burnett, alleging threatening behavior, and Sather is listed as a victim in a May 7 incident in which Burnett allegedly barged into his family home on Lake Avenue.

Neighbors reported his suspicious behavior, including a time when he was seen walking near his blue Corvette carrying an aluminum bat, said Sather and Sissons attorney, Danny Kay, reading from a report prepared by Broadmoor security.

The day Burnett died, a neighbor reported him to police for holding a knife up to another neighbor in the community. She called him absolutely looney and said that police have been to his house before.

But weve been so concerned about him, the woman told the dispatcher on the recorded 911 audio.

A system worth strengthening

It is situations like Burnetts death that Jarvis-Steinwert said she often tells families who are are concerned about a loved one's mental health not to call 911 without stressing there is mental health emergency.

With a lack of training and or information about someones history of mental illness, officers arent fully equipped to handle the situation, she said.

When you talk to people in law enforcement, fully half of their calls have a mental health component.  Theres a different way to deal with someone who is delusional and psychotic. They should know how to do that, she said. It is a liability when we have law enforcement on the streets responding to calls who are not well informed about the signs and symptoms of mental illness.

Co-responder units, made up of a law enforcement officer and a mental health clinician, are successfully helping those in crisis and avoiding arrests, Jarvis-Steinwert said, citing the El Paso County Sheriffs Office's Behavioral Health Connect Unit.

In its first two years, the unit's two teams have responded to 784 911 calls for service and diverted 99% of its calls from jail , recent data shows.

While Colorado law enforcement agencies have come a long way in their response to those in mental health crises, Jarvis-Steinwert thinks all law enforcement should become CIT trained.

Its not fair that we are not equipping law enforcement to deal appropriately with circumstances that they walk into over and over again, she said.

The Chad Burnett stories are out there still, they certainly arent as frequent as they were five or 10 years ago, but theyre still out there, Jarvis-Steinwert said. And we know better. We know there is a different model. Theres a different model for intervention.
FORT EDWARD  Elaine Trackey-Saltsmans father would never talk about his time fighting in Europe during World War II.

He said, The things I went through and the things I saw, I dont want you kids to know about, she said.

Her father, William J. Trackey, died in 2012, and wanting to honor him, Trackey-Saltsman decided to put his face on a banner and hang it from a lamp post in the village.

Hed be very upset knowing his picture was up there, she said. He didnt want recognition.

But Trackey-Saltsman feels her father and other veterans deserve to be recognized, so, following the model of a project done in Hudson Falls, she made arrangements for banners to be made.

She sold 57 of the banners for $100 apiece that village and town crews, with help from the fire department, have put up without charge on lamp posts throughout the community.

Banners of the graduating high school senior class were up earlier in the summer, and when those came down, the veterans went up.

The banners will stay up until after Veterans Day (Nov. 11), then come down for the winter. Theyll go back up before Memorial Day, which falls on May 31 next year.

The banners should last for three seasons, before they start to get a little raggy-looking, she said.

After paying for the banners, she had about $200 left over, Trackey-Saltsman said, and she thought about donating to a food pantry or something like that.

But then Vicki Frawley Plude, director of the Fort Edward Free Library, suggested using the money to put together a book of all the veterans from the village. Any money raised from selling the books will go to the library and the Fort Edward Historical Association.

Plude has also taken up where Trackey-Saltsman left off on the banners, although she has had to charge a bit more to include brackets, because all the lamp posts were taken.

Will Doolittle is projects editor at The Post-Star. He may be reached at will@poststar.com and followed on his blog, I think not, and on Twitter at @trafficstatic.

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By Express News Service

KOCHI: In efforts to strengthen their battle against the pandemic, the district authorities plan to rope in more private hospitals for Covid-19 treatment soon. So far, around 82 private hospitals have joined hands with the government to fight the disease following which 81 Covid patients have been admitted for treatment.

Admission of Covid patients to private hospitals began last month. Now, we are now looking forward to roping in more healthcare workers and private hospitals in the district, said District Collector S Suhas.

However, shortage of health workers in government hospitals, continues to be a cause for worry for authorities. The major concern is staff shortage at government hospitals, including Ernakulam General Hospital (GH) and Kalamassery Medical College (KMC), said a health official.

Recently, a few nurses tested Covid-19 positive at the KMC. The situation is turning for the worse. The healthcare personnel are always at a risk of contracting the virus. If the staff are infected, it will affect the entire hospital operations, said a staff nurse. Presently, over 250 nurses and 20 non-medical staff, including cleaning personnel are working shifts at the medical college.

60 pvt labs involved in swab collection

According to health officials, 60 private labs are involved in swab collection in the district. An online facility for real-time evaluation of available facilities in the district which was set up in the district is turning out to be a success. The team monitors the hospitals which are available for treatment in the district. Even before the patient is shifted, authorities will be informed and necessary arrangements will be made at the hospital. In case of an emergency, transportation facilities will also be made available. The First Line Treatment Centres (FLTC) and hospitals will be coordinated by the team, said a health official.

Even the telemedicine facility offered by the health department is garnering good response from patients, especially those staying in quarantine. So far, 8,600 patients have made use of the telemedicine service in the district.
Former Manila City Mayor Alfredo Lim passed away on Saturday afternoon, his daughter Cynthia Lim confirmed. He was 90.

Metro Manila (October 2007)  July 30, 1958, sometime past 2:30 in the morning. Putting down the phone after making the routine call back to the desk, Det. Victoriano Gandia informed the rest of the team  Det. Alfredo S. Lim and Pat. Federico Jaymalin  about a suspicious-looking blue jeep with a TPU license plate cruising around the area of San Nicholas. Inside the vehicle were about five men.

From the Gagalangin area, they rushed to check out the scene, slowing down only as they neared. At night, the dimly lit streets of Manila forced the darkness to congeal in corners while the susurrus of the empty thoroughfares, the sound of a city asleep, only served to amplify the beating in their chests.

The team made a right turn from Jaboneros to Alcaicera  just then they spotted a jeep parked at the corner of San Fernando. There was a man in the drivers seat; the motors engine could be heard. Along the sidewalk, there were four men huddled together.

At the wheel, Gandia drove slowly towards them. But as soon as the light hit the group they began to disperse. Pulis kami! shouted Gandia and that was when the veil of pretence was ripped apart. Shots rang out, missing Lim only by a few inches. The jeep sped off, leaving their three companions. One of them ran after the vehicle and was chased by Jaymalin; Lim and Gandia concentrated their fire on the other two. The gunfight that ensued between the two groups didnt last long  the policemen cutting down their targets quickly. But no sooner did the second man slump to the ground when Lim followed his colleague to chase after the last man. As he ran, the fugitive fired back at the policemen, but the two charged on, firing back until the third man lay in a pool of his blood in the middle of Calle Alcaicera. His companions lay in theirs a few meters away.

If someone accuses me of wrongdoing, Ill be the first to demand an investigation, says Mayor Alfredo Lim to a group of students from different schools in the city. About the current ZTE controversy surrounding the First Gentleman Mike Arroyo, he says that hes dismayed at the non-appearance at the first committee hearing on the issue by the department heads summoned to appear. You seize the bull by the horns, he says in that distinctive monotone of his, grabbing the air as if taking hold of the animal itself at that very moment. Parang torero, dapat mabangis ka  hawakan mo yung sungay at tatanungin mo, Anong sinasabi mo?

Were at the conference room a few meters away from his office in City Hall, and Lim is holding this audience with staff members of their respective school organs. He invites them to ask him anything. He means it, too.

A major part of his platform during his campaign stressed transparency and accountability in government, and today he demonstrates what he means. Accompanied by their teacher, the students bring the matter of their unfinished facilities due to claims by the contractor of insufficient funds to his attention. Lim summons the city engineer at once and  after firing several questions at him  tells him to get to the bottom of it. The mayor then declares that he will find funding and make sure everything will be finished at the latest in January.

Cheers and applause greet this pronouncement. There will be several in the course of the afternoon.

As if on cue, a student asks if this will be ready by their Junior-Senior prom or even their graduation.

The mayor asks what month they hold their prom. February. Di ba sinabi ko January? smiles Lim. The room erupts yet again.

The Mayor accepts the praise stoically but not indifferently. Lim is still not quite the politician, but its notable how much hes developed since the first time we met, barely a month after declaring his intention to run for President. Unlike before, hes learned to use his spare dialogue and deadpan delivery to his rhetorical advantage. In 1998, he lost that campaign way before any ballots were cast.

Then, Lim couldnt at all be accused of playing to the crowd  he remained defiant despite many protests to his shame campaign, spray-painting warnings on the doors of houses of supposed drug-pushers and quipping that he was only painting on their job descriptions, the way other professionals like doctors or lawyers do. The joke  if indeed Lim was making one  was lost to many of the voting public; but to his political rivals, its damaging potential wasnt.

News teams investigated Lims targets and found that one of them was an elderly woman. She was interviewed and belied any claim that she was a drug dealer. No doubt her appearance didnt fit the image of Lims menace. In full view of the cameras, she would break down in tears, damning Lim and his campaign. The coup de grace of the piece would be footage of interviews with the old ladys neighbors, each coming forward to speak against the Mayors actions. But the most cutting remark came at the tail end of the report, uttered by the neighborhood maton. Broadcast nationwide, it would be the last thing anyone who watched the segment would remember. Intsik!

The former Manila City Mayor hoped to make a comeback in 2015, running for the same post under the li

Lim began his career as a policeman in 1951. His first beat was as a patrolman in San Nicholas. In Nick Joaquins biography, May Langit Din Ang Mahirap, he quotes Lim saying how if you were given a beat, you pounded that beat on foot. No cars or walkie-talkies, he walked every inch of the block he was assigned to. You began your beat, say, at the southern outermost street. You walked it from one end to the other, where you made a U-turn into the next street, which again you walked from end to end, U-turning into the third street, and so on. The system had built-in checks and balances. If you arrive at the northern outermost street in very much less than an hour, you could be accused of skipping several streets on your beat. Or if you arrive at the northern outermost street in very much more than an hour, you could be suspected of having abandoned your post for half an hour or so.

Black is black; white is white, hes always fond of pointing out. You have to know whats right or wrong  and then you act accordingly. Its ironic that, for someone who sees the world in such clear delineations, his own story wasnt so clearly defined up until recently. Even in his komiks, his place of birth is identified as Bulacan. Indeed, his mother was a Siojo and had many relatives specifically in San Miguel. However, this isnt quite true.

According to close friend and consultant Zenaida Flores, the Mayor was born in the Ospital ng Maynila and after was left to grow up in Hospicio de San Jose orphanage. It was only when he was seven years old that his maternal grandmother sought him out and took him in at their house in Calle Alfredo in Dapitan. I have no recollections of my father, Joaquin would quote Lim in his book. When he died, my mother entrusted me to her parents and then moved to Benguet with her second husband, a teacher. He did visit her from time-to-time, confides Flores. After her death in Baguio, Lim reportedly claimed and buried her body in Manila.

Though he is hailed today as an outstanding native of Bulacan, the young Lim never really called it home. The prevailing attitudes of that time had an ingrained racism that many counter wasnt unique to the province. Wala ka mahahanap ng tindahan ng intsik dyan, says Flores, giving example to an ugly fact. Yet, as has been pointed out, it was not uncommon  nor does it belong to the distant past.

In 1998, two groups  including the Integrated Bar of the Philippines  filed motions to disqualify Lim as a presidential candidate on the grounds that he was not a natural-born Filipino citizen. His birth certificate was brought as evidence; in it, his father is listed as Chinese Mestizo. The reason given was to avert a constitutional crisis if ever he should win without resolving the issue of his nationality. More than the political setback, Lim took it as a personal affront and an insult to the several decades of public service hed served. Appearing in the late Teddy Benignos program, he broke down in tears, revealing that he was born out of wedlock and other details of his childhood. Once again, Lim found himself an outsider.

If someone accuses me of wrongdoing, Ill be the first to demand an investigation.

Lim often calls the criminals he goes up against as operating outside the law. He says law enforcers, on the other hand, find themselves at a disadvantage. Matching wits with criminals, you have to consider that they operate outside the law, he says to his audience of students. Kaming mga pulis  we have to fight them with one hand tied to our back, within the parameters set by the law.

Although he fits the mould of Sergio Leones reticent gunslinger, the Mayors not one to back down from saying his mind  in fact, its stopping him once hes started his charge that seems to be the more formidable task. Its probably something he shares in common with another character played by Clint Eastwood, with the knack for talking tough and a knack for getting away with it. Its something hes asked about today actually.

A student asks him why hes been dubbed Dirty Harry.

His answer is curt but not without a hint of a snicker. You can call me anything. I dont care, he says. "Naliligo naman ako tatlong beses isang araw."

Kidding aside, he says that it was a movie based on the life of a real-life detective named Harry Callahan. (As far as I know, the character is fictional.) According to Lim, the city of San Francisco was being inundated by lawsuits from those being arrested by the police. The colored guys pag sinisita would claim damages that went up to hundreds of thousands of dollars, says Lim, so the city office told the officers to go slow or else the city would go bankrupt. By this time, the parallels between the Mayor and his fictional counterpart become apparent. Harry would tell the city officials: you gave me a badge and a uniform and the authority to enforce the law  Ill go after them!'

In Lims own view, he says that, the language known by criminals and law violators is force and violence. You cannot be soft to them."

This has certainly characterized Lims career as a police officer, and this was certainly the case on April 19, 1968. A group headed by one Brigido Patungan, alias Viring, was found to be in possession of a .45-caliber automatic pistol, a big bolt cutter, and screwdrivers. They were booked and jailed for illegal possession of firearms and suspicion of burglary. At around 2:30 in the morning of that day, the group staged a jailbreak. The ensuing gun battle got the attention of a passing taxi, and the driver immediately brought it to the attention of Capt. Lim who was in a nearby jeep. Without hesitation, he charged into the precinct along with a team of five men to subdue the five felons. It was over in a matter of minutes  the last remaining prisoner, 21-year old Juanito Villegas, would lie dead at the foot of the toilet.

Dirty Harry na puro dirty things ang pinanggagawa? scoffs Lim. Kalokohan 'yon.

One of the most trying times in Lims life was when he found himself cast out in the cold. Many of his stellar achievements and promotions came under the administration of Mayor Antonio Villegas. This was in the late 1960s, and it was during this time that Lim was awarded the Jaycee Presidential Merit Medal for being named one of the Top Outstanding Policemen of the Philippines consecutively for five years from 1967 to 1971. It was Villegas who signed his promotion to lieutenant, using his Parker 61 fountain pen. But then Villegas lost to Ramon Bagatsing, the Mayoralty of Manila.

On December 31, 1971, we had a flag retreat here at City Hall at five oclock in the afternoon. It was the last day of Villegas as mayor, and he was present during the flag ceremony, which served as his farewell, recounts Lim to Joaquin. Immediately after the flag retreat, he proceeded to the airport: he was leaving for San Francisco with his entire family. I accompanied him to the airport. He climbed the stairs to the plane and, before stepping in, he looked around and waved to the crowd. I saluted him and he saluted me back. That last courtesy between us was snapped by the camera of newsman Ruther Batuigas. Next day, the front pages carried a picture of Mayor Bagatsing taking his oath of office side by side with pictures of me saluting departing mayor Villegas. The juxtaposed photos could not have been pleasing to the new mayor.

Retribution was swift and brutal. Bagatsing dissolved him of his precinct and his assigned police car was withdrawn. He was put in a headquarters detachment along with other officers also associated with the former mayor. In short, they were put in the freezer.

One of my duties was to look after the parking lot of our headquarters on UN Avenue, Joaquin quotes Lim. In other words, I became a parking attendant. He describes his other duties as akin to that of a super-janitor. At the time, Lim was already a police colonel.

He would be humiliated further. Dressed in full uniform, Lim was ordered to direct traffic in front of City Hall. Sometimes I was assigned to Plaza Lawton, in front of the Metropolitan Theater, says Lim, and sometimes to UN Avenue, right in front of our headquarters.

You seize the bull by the horns. Parang torero, dapat mabangis ka  hawakan mo yung sungay at tatanungin mo, Anong sinasabi mo?

Columnists like Benedicto David would ask on January 14, 1972 in the Daily Star: "We wonder how the Jaycees feel considering that Lt. Col. Alfredo Lim who was chosen Outstanding Policeman for five years running by five different boards of judges has been made some sort of security man and parking lot attendant and receptionist at the Manila Police Headquarters?

Another journalist Teodoro Valencia would praise Lim as well. If he were a politician, hes the kind who does not change parties nor turn against his party after it loses an election.

To add further insult, his name was submitted to President Marcos as an undesirable. Martial Law had been declared. Under Marcos directives, names of government officials to be dismissed were submitted, and someone leaked to Lim that he was one of those listed. This time, he reached breaking point.

Upon hearing that he had been listed as an undesirable, Lim lost his temper and wanted to confront his accusers in City Hall. His gun packed, he was about to leave when his family prevailed upon him to reconsider. It was fortunate he did.

Along with Gen. Fidel Ramos recommendations, it was Bagatsing himself who finally called Lim back into action. The mayor needed somebody who was unafraid to go against certain power brokers in City Hall, to act as head warder of the city jail. Asking aloud, he heard no name that fitted the requirement. Then, someone said that he knew someone.

Who?

You wont like it.

Lets hear it.

Fred Lim.

When asked why he's called Dirty Harry, Lim answered, You can call me anything. I dont care. Naliligo naman ako tatlong beses isang araw."

I always analyze a problem, study its ways and means, and if Im convinced that it is in accordance with the law, come what may  Ill do it, says Lim to the gentle applause of the students.

Asked about what it takes to be a leader, he tells them that, leadership is simple  you should know how to distinguish what is right from what is wrong. He tells them that it is essential to have strength of character, to stick to your convictions. After reciting a litany of commandments ("Wag kayong magnakaw, wag kayong magsinungaling . . .), he caps it off by stating, TRUTH, FAIRNESS, and JUSTICE. (I chose to put the words in capital letters to best approximate the largeness of the concepts he was trying to convey at that moment.)

He then gets asked other current affairs questions and answers.

Why did you close the Baywalk?

They had no building permits; no payment of debts to the city government; loud, blaring music; and prohibition of selling liquor in public places.

What are your plans for the Metropolitan Museum?

Its under the GSIS still. The President gave 50 million last year for its rehabilitation  but to the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA)  not to the city government. Its been reported only 18 million is left.

Do you now regret your "Shame campaign?

No, it was successful. The pushers would pack up and leave right after. Sabi nila para akong Hitler dahil katulad daw ng branding ng Jews. Hindi pa daw convicted. Pero pag meron kayong asong mabagsik at nangangagat lalagyan nyo ng 'Beware of Dog. Warning  ano bang masama dun?

Again, the ZTE scandal . . .

Silence is an admission of guilt.  Hes also asked about his favorite food. (Simple lang. Nothing ostentatious. Happy na ako sa dalawang ulam: nilagang talong, suka at bagoong, itlog na pula at kamatis, bulalo. . . pero once-a-week lang.)

The audience draws to a close, and most of the students crowd around the mayor to get pictures with him. One, in particular, asks him if hes willing to pose for a photograph for her thesis.

Anytime, he says, smiling. Pwedeng gamiting panakot sa daga.

Everyone laughs at the joke. To Pareng Fred, To the Best Mayor Manila ever have (sic). Carry on the good work . . .

The signature is Joseph Estradas, whom he lost the presidency to in 1998. Erap named Lim his DILG [Department of Interior and Local Government] secretary during his administration. Although he briefly allied himself with the EDSA 2 forces by showing up, he has since remained a steadfast supporter of the ex-president. After Estrada was convicted of plunder, Lim came out with his own verdict of not guilty.

On the wall of his office, Lim has the picture of Pres. Arroyo. Shes the president, he tells me, and its my duty to respect her position.

In the background, the voice of newly-elected Sen. Francis "Chiz" Escudero can be heard on the T.V. Its the second round of the senate hearings on the allegations of Joey de Venecia regarding the ZTE scandal, and this time the department heads have chosen to show up. Lim is hooked to the program, and leaves it blaring throughout.

I tell him that I still remember visiting his house. Back in 98, I was doing a story for The Philippine Star about Lim when I heard about the Spartan-like living conditions he favored. In the words of a friend, it looked like a safe-house. Allowed access, I went to his apartment building along Roxas Boulevard. No matter what Id been told, I didnt expect it to live up to its hyperbole. It was Spartan all right: it wasnt dirty or messy, but it certainly wasnt fussy about its interior decorating either. The dining table, which seemed ill fitting for the room it was in, was surrounded by various chairs  all different in style. Not even the monobloc ones matched. In his room, which was sparse and utilitarian, his boots were lined up against a wall and a small table. To think he was a strong contender for the presidency at the time. Of course, being a widower, there would have been no First Lady.

Asked about what it takes to be a leader, he tells them that, leadership is simple  you should know how to distinguish what is right from what is wrong. Photo from ALFREDO LIM/FACEBOOK; Illustration by JL JAVIER

Napabayaan ko nga ang pamilya ko, he admits, but it was a sacrifice I chose to make. In 1980, Lims wife, Amalia, and children started the move to the United States. Given the number of death threats he was receiving, it was only prudent.

I ask him about the lax security of his office. Hanging around here for the past several days, I discovered it was probably the easiest office of a public official to get into. No one does anybody or bag searches  and even those without appointments manage to see the Mayor. It may also help that he seems to have the most courteous staff to meet his constituents. By the time any would-be assailant can reach the Mayor, they could be too charmed to cause any trouble.

Im not afraid, he tells me, Im ready.

Naively, I ask him about his first encounter in the early hours of July 30, 1958 that led to the death of three men on Calle Alcaicera  the first time someone had probably died by his hand. By his own estimate, over the course of his career, hes probably killed 11 people in the line of duty, but further thought on the matter and he confesses to be unsure. Madami kasi kami, he says. "You cant be sure kung sino'ng naka tama.

What do you aim for in that situation? The chest area. Not the head?

Masyadong maliit. At fatal. What was your gun at the time? .38 caliber. I ask him about one of the cases cited in Joaquins book under the chapter of The Case of the Rogue Bridegroom wherein the culprit confessed because he was being haunted by the man I killed. I kept dreaming of him.

I ask him if he ever feels haunted by those that may have died by his hand.

My conscience is clear. We never engage first. Its either you or him. By law, you have to defend yourself.

But is that already shoot-to-kill? In that situation, yes. Do you feel remorse? No, I do not feel remorse. With that, I get the Mayor to sign my copy of Joaquins book and leave. In 1998, I voted for Lim as my candidate for President. I still wonder what wouldve happened if he had won.

***

This article originally appeared in the October 2007 issue of Rogue Magazine
Herd immunity is a tempting concept as the United States plods through a pandemic response that has flattened the economy but not the curve, leaving schools and businesses in limbo even as the death toll continues to climb.

Why not let the virus burn through the population unfettered, until enough people have been infected that it can no longer spread? Protect the vulnerable as best as possible, some argue, and get this pandemic over with.

But herd immunity is a dangerous goal that would sacrifice tens of thousands of lives nationwide, especially among people of color, public health experts say. Without the aid of a vaccine, herd immunity may not even be possible with this virus.

Almost no infectious disease or public health experts believe that natural herd immunity  established by people being infected with the virus, not by vaccination  is a reasonable target in this pandemic. But the idea has been batted around anyway, by people frustrated with the economic toll of prolonged shutdowns, or those who are convinced that the country is failing so badly with the pandemic that herd immunity may end up the only outcome.

It takes a long time to get to herd immunity through natural means. It would take many years, said Lee Riley, an infectious disease expert at UC Berkeley. And to achieve it there would be negative consequences. Many people are going to have to die for that to happen. It would just not be ethical to let it happen.

Sweden infamously gave it a shot. Federal officials there said their goal wasnt herd immunity, but they never issued widespread shutdowns or mask orders, and their stated plan was to let the virus spread among Swedens healthy population while protecting the most vulnerable, and preserving the economy.

The result: Sweden ended up with one of the highest COVID-19 death rates in Europe, it still suffered enormous economic setbacks, and it didnt come close to reaching herd immunity levels of infection. Studies suggest less than 10% of the population has been infected so far.

There are people who say we should have done this like Sweden, never go to lockdown, said Monica Gandhi, an infectious disease doctor and researcher with UCSF.

Brian Feulner / Special to The Chronicle

She said she understands their concerns. Millions have lost jobs and face eviction or not being able to feed their families. Parents are worried their children are losing irreplaceable months of education. Countless people are struggling with the mental health consequences of extreme isolation.

The reason we didnt do (what Sweden did) was to avoid the spike in deaths, Gandhi said. We do anything we can to drive down rates of severe illness and protect our vulnerable.

Protecting the human herd: Herd immunity occurs when enough of a population is immune to a virus or other contagious pathogen that disease stops passing from person to person. If a virus cant find enough people to infect, it will eventually fade away.

Most people are familiar with the concept as it relates to vaccine-preventable diseases such as measles. In the United States, enough people have been vaccinated against measles that the country has achieved herd immunity and the virus cant spread freely. Outbreaks can still occur, but only if the measles virus is brought in from other countries and under-vaccinated populations are exposed to it.

Vaccination speeds up the process of developing herd immunity and makes it more durable. Measles requires more than 90% of the population be immune to get to herd immunity, which would be nearly impossible to get to and maintain without a vaccine.

Natural herd immunity, from people being exposed to a virus and developing an immune response to it, sometimes occurs in small communities, such as close-knit religious groups or neighborhoods, or contained locations like prisons. San Quentin State Prison, where more than two-thirds of the inmate population has tested positive for the coronavirus, may have reached herd immunity, for example. The remaining third of the population that hasnt tested positive may be protected because their previously infected contacts provide an immune buffer from the disease.

But in a large population  the size of California, for example  its very hard to achieve because it would take years for most viruses to run out of people to infect. The 1918 influenza pandemic took three years to dissipate through herd immunity, in the era before vaccines.

And consider this: Seven months into the COVID-19 pandemic, experts believe that in the hardest-hit parts of the U.S., such as New York City, only about 20% of people have been exposed to the virus and are possibly immune. In the Bay Area, its probably under 10%  even after the recent surge in cases.

A handful of infectious disease experts believe that the coronavirus could naturally reach a low-level plateau that mimics herd immunity with a relatively small percent of the population immune. A Stanford epidemiologist has developed a model that suggest it could be as low as 30%.

But based on how easily the new coronavirus spreads, most infectious disease experts believe roughly 60% to 80% of the population would need to be immune  either by vaccine or natural exposure  to achieve herd immunity.

Outside of New York, I dont know of any area in the United States where people are realistically saying more than 10% or 15% of the population has been infected, said Art Reingold, a UC Berkeley infectious disease expert. And certainly its much lower than that in many places. Youre talking about quite a large number of additional infections, hospitalizations and deaths to get to herd immunity.

Brian Feulner / Special to The Chronicle

Immunity may not be an option: With the virus that causes COVID-19, scientists dont know if herd immunity is possible. Its still not clear whether people infected with the virus are then protected from reinfection, and if they are, for how long. Even if infection does offer some protection, most infectious disease experts are skeptical that its very long-lasting.

Achieving natural herd immunity to the coronavirus is based on a tower of assumptions, many of which dont appear to hold up under inspection, said Yvonne Maldonado, a Stanford infectious disease expert and medical director for infection control at Lucile Packard Childrens Hospital.

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.

Youre assuming that if youre exposed you will develop antibodies to the virus, which doesnt always happen, she said. And youre assuming those antibodies will last for some time, which apparently doesnt really hold true. And youre assuming those antibodies are even protective, which we just dont know.

Its possible that short-term protection is contributing to herd immunity in small populations, such as San Quentin, where the explosive outbreak dropped off suddenly after peaking about a month ago. Infectious disease experts also point to studies of slums in Mumbai, India, that suggest nearly 60% of residents have been infected and new cases have subsequently fallen.

Some public health officials also have speculated that lower levels of immunity in places such as New York City may be providing some buffering that is helping slow down the spread of disease. This transient, temporary herd immunity that interferes with virus transmission at a highly localized level may delay the spread, said Shannon Bennett, chief of science with the California Academy of Sciences.

Brian Feulner / Special to The Chronicle

Racial inequities in immunity: But relying on even that level of protection to slow down the pandemic is fraught, Bennett and other experts said. One critical downside is that the virus is not spreading evenly among populations. Communities of color  and in California, Latinos in particular  are carrying a disproportionate burden of disease and death.

You reopen the economy on the backs of Black and brown people. Thats how this plays out, said George Rutherford, a UCSF infectious disease expert. If California were to lift restrictions and try to develop some level of herd immunity, ideally youd do it in a way where the risk was spread evenly. But Im not sure how exactly you do that.

Gandhi, the UCSF researcher, found a note of optimism as the country winds its way through the pandemic and closer to at least partial herd immunity: Masks may help get us there without unduly sacrificing people to severe illness and death.

She said studies increasingly show that severity of illness is tied to how much of the virus people are dosed with, and further research suggests that face coverings  worn by the infected person or the uninfected person, and ideally both  can lower that dose.

Therefore, face coverings could allow more people to get sick with mild or even asymptomatic disease on the way toward developing herd immunity.

Thats dependent on several assumptions, she noted  in particular, that people with mild or asymptomatic disease develop any lasting immunity at all. But given the need to reopen the economy and live with this virus for a while longer, until a vaccine comes along, it would be nice to build herd immunity and protect people at the same time, she said.

Is there a way to burn through this and give immunity without all the illness? Thats the theory, Gandhi said. The idea of masking to get through it and having lower rates of severity of disease, and then immunity  that would be very positive.

Erin Allday is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: eallday@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @erinallday
Mild indifference by many voters is how the campaign was described in an editorial from the Beatrice Sun, although the newspaper generally supported Norris.

One does not hear the subject discussed anywhere. That is not usual of measures which the Nebraska senator champions. His name upon the label is ordinarily sufficient to attract a considerable following of supporters. It has not been the case this time.

An editorial in the Scottsbluff Star-Herald on June 5, 1934, agreed with the sentiment. The publisher wrote it would take a campaign of education to convince Nebraskans that much of the problem with state government was a bicameral legislature.

However, the editorial acknowledged Norris clout.

If the suggestion for the change had come from some other source of reform, little attention would be paid to it. When Senator Norris puts his prestige behind the amendment, many of his followers feel the urge to follow his leadership, whether they can think of any definite reasons for doing so or not.

Just prior to the election, a Star-Herald editorial from Oct. 11, 1934, urged the voters to listen to Norris discuss his proposed plan prior to deciding whether to vote yes or no.
Mary Graham McIntosh wants to know what happened in the summer of 1974 on Palmyra Island, a remote atoll rich with coconut palms some 1,000 miles south of Hawaii, in tropical waters teeming with sharks. That was the time and place that her brother, Malcolm (Mac) Graham, and his wife, Eleanor (Muff) Graham, disappeared.

So, 11 years after the fact, the middle-aged Seattle woman sat hour after hour, day after day, for 2 1/2 weeks in the front row of the hard pew-like benches in a San Francisco federal courtroom. Her husband at her side, Mary McIntosh watched the trial of Buck Duane Walker, the man accused of murdering her sister-in-law, Muff, and widely suspected of slaying her brother, Mac.

I like being able to see whats going on, she said, smiling pleasantly, during a break in the trial last week. Hes my only brother, and I love him dearly.

Her smile disappeared, her eyes watered. And I want them to know hes real, she said, her voice tense and trembling. Im going to sit there and make them see that.

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Mary McIntosh was waiting for the denouement to a mystery story--a tale, as prosecutors portray it, of piracy and cold-blooded murder on a tropical island. The story is replete with plot turns, suspense and clues: Muff Grahams skeletal remains washing up on the Palmyra shore; testimony that Mac Graham was forced to walk the plank; the extensive forensic analysis that suggests a macabre scenario for Muffs demise.

Late Tuesday, the story reached what may be its final chapter. After deliberating 2 1/2 hours, the jury found Walker guilty of first-degree murder in Muff Grahams death.

But even with a guilty verdict, nobody knows with absolute certainty what happened to the Grahams, a seafaring San Diego couple--except, perhaps, for Buck Walker and his then-girlfriend, Stephanie Stearns. Stearns is to be tried separately, starting in September, in the murder of Muff Graham.

But if Walker and Stearns know, they arent saying.

Mac and Muff Graham loved the sea and they loved the Sea Wind, their classic 37-foot ketch. Mac Graham, a native of Stamford, Conn., attended college in Michigan and worked for General Motors in the 1950s. Then an uncle died, leaving Mac a trust. Mac Graham was not fabulously wealthy, friends say, but the inheritance enabled him to live the life of his choice--the life of a yachtsman.

Mac Graham already owned the Sea Wind when he moved to San Diego in the late 1950s. It was there that he met Muff, a native San Diegan whose family had no money at all, a friend said. They were married in 1961 in La Paz, Mexico, and promptly set sail on their honeymoon--a six-year circumnavigation of the world.

The Grahams, who had no children, lived aboard the Sea Wind for several years in the marinas of San Diego Bay; they werent home so much as home-ported. With his friend Carl Kneisel, Mac Graham operated a boat building and remodeling business in the early 1970s.

As a couple, the Grahams made friends easily. Muff was a gracious hostess, friends say, who kept fine china, crystal and sterling silverware on the Sea Wind. Mac took charge of navigating and keeping the boat in repair; Muff handled the cleaning and cooking.

Youd meet them and youd say, Arent they nice people? Youd say, Isnt he nice? Isnt she cute?  recalled a friend, Marie Jamieson.

Mac Graham was a scuba diver and an avid and fine chess player. But it was as a sailor that he truly excelled. In my experience, Kneisel testified last week, he was the best.

In 1974, the Grahams set sail again. This time they envisioned a two-year cruise, island-hopping in the Pacific. They planned first to go to Hawaii, then to Palmyra for an extended stay, perhaps six months or a year. After that, there was no definite plan. They might proceed to the Fiji Islands or Tahiti, or they might return to Hawaii and San Diego.

The nice couple from San Diego --43-year-old Mac, 42-year-old Muff--made it to Hawaii without problems. Then on June 24 they set sail for Palmyra Island, arriving on July 2.

Mac Graham was said to have a romantic vision about Palmyra, well-known to yachtsmen as a resting point between Hawaii and the South Pacific. Its lagoon provides a secure anchorage, and with an average rainfall of more than 100 inches a year, there was plenty of fresh water in the catchment basins the U.S. Navy built there during World War II. Besides, as one sailor said, Yachtsmen always dream of stopping on a deserted island.

In fact, the Navy made Palmyra what it is today. A volcanic formation sprouting with coral, Palmyra was--and, depending on the tides, still is--really a series of smaller islands. Seabees used bulldozers to connect the isles, creating something like a misshapen U turned on its side, its open mouth facing west. The channel was dredged to allow ships to move easily into the deep interior lagoon. An airstrip was constructed for Navy bombers; buildings, Quonset huts and fortifications were erected for a base that quartered up to 5,000 men.

After the war, it was all abandoned--equipment rusting, lush vegetation overgrowing the buildings, pillboxes slowly crumbling in the tides. Some visitors say there is a ghost-town feel to the place. There are no permanent residents, though a few years ago a Christmas Island businessman with a crew of Micronesian laborers tried (and failed to profit from) harvesting the 100,000 or so coconut palms that grow there.

Within days of the Grahams arrival, another seafaring couple arrived at Palmyra. They went by the names Roy and Stephanie Allen. Authorities would later identify them as Buck Duane Walker and Stephanie Stearns.

No one at Palmyra realized that Walker was in fact a fugitive from justice and had a prison record. Convicted of armed robbery at the age of 18, the Stockton, Calif., native had served time in San Quentin. In Hawaii he was arrested on charges of selling illegal drugs and pleaded guilty. Then, out on bail awaiting sentencing, he managed to obtain a passport under a false identity--even using a photo of himself in a clerical collar. Avoiding authorities, he rebuilt the 27-foot Iola and sailed off with his girlfriend to Palmyra.

Over the next several weeks, the Grahams and the Allens would coexist on Palmyra, but not on friendly terms.

To the Grahams and some other yachtsmen who passed through the island that summer, Walker, then 37, and Stearns, then 27, were known as the hippie couple. Walker had wild red hair, a bushy beard, no front teeth and tattooed arms. They brought three dogs with them on their small, decrepit boat.

The Iola had been rendered unseaworthy by the journey from Hawaii. The engine had broken down, and when Walker tried to enter Palmyras harbor, he ran aground, damaging the hull. The boat was towed in by others already at the island.

The life styles of the Grahams and the hippie couple were in sharp contrast. The Sea Winds freezers were packed with tins of ham, turkey and roasts. They often invited other couples at Palmyra to dinner on the Sea Wind, serving champagne in crystal goblets.

Walker and Stearns were not welcome on the Sea Wind, other yachtsmen recalled. The hippie couple reportedly had envisioned living off the land, but the seeds they tried to plant were eaten by sand crabs, rats and birds. They bartered, mooched and scrounged for food. Walker on occasion tried to kill fish by shooting them with a pistol. He used a chain saw to bring down coconut trees. Muff Graham was said to be afraid of the couples dogs--and of Walker himself.

Marilyn Pollack and her husband, of Hanalei, Hawaii, were among those who visited Palmyra that summer. She testified that she had also grown to fear Walker because he would row his dinghy past our boat. He would be looking at our boat . . . (he) would come close to our boat. I would speak. He wouldnt.

Walker, she said, looked very hard-eyed. It was very upsetting.

She and her husband decided to leave Palmyra, leaving the Grahams alone with Walker and Stearns.

Muff cried and urged us not to go, Pollack testified. She said she was afraid she would never leave the island alive.

Curtis Shoemaker, a ham radio operator in Hawaii who regularly communicated with Mac Graham, also testified about the Grahams fractious relationship with Walker and Stearns.

But one time, Shoemaker testified, Graham remarked that Walker was coming over that evening. He recalled Graham as saying, I guess theyve made a truce . . . Theyre bringing a cake over.

That was the last time he heard from the Grahams.

About two months later, well after Shoemaker reported that he could no longer contact the Grahams by radio, the Sea Wind returned to Hawaii. It was disguised by a coat of lavender paint over the original blue, a new name, and the fact that Walker and Stearns were piloting the craft. Walker told people he had won the boat in a series of chess games with a care-free millionaire, and that the millionaire had sailed off in the Iola, which has never been found.

But yachtsmen, aware that the Grahams were missing, recognized the distinctive vessel as the Sea Wind. Walker and Stearns were arrested and ultimately convicted of stealing the yacht. Stearns was sentenced to two years. Walker was sentenced to 18 years because of the additional conviction for drugs and his flight.

Walker and Stearns said they didnt know what happened to the Grahams. They said they had been invited to the Sea Wind for dinner, but when they arrived, the Grahams werent there. Walker and Stearns said they figured that the Grahams had gone fishing, but the couple never returned.

The next morning, Stearns told the Honolulu Advertiser, we started looking and we found the dinghy overturned. The dinghy--an inflatable Zodiac boat--had washed ashore, they said. Walker and Stearns said they could only surmise that the Grahams had gone out in the boat, somehow flipped over, and had either drowned or been eaten by the sharks that infest Palmyras waters.

It became clear that the nice couple from San Diego were never going to return.

More than six years passed. Then, in 1981, a South African yachtswoman named Sharon Jordan, taking a stroll along Palmyras lagoon, noticed something on a coral shelf, glittering in the sunshine.

Jordan, as she later described in testimony, approached the object and discovered it was a bit of gold--a gold-crowned tooth that was still attached to a human skull. Other human bones lay nearby, along with an aluminum chest that appeared to have served as a crude casket for the bones.

Forensic experts would soon match the dental pattern in the skull to that of Eleanor (Muff) Graham.

The experts also found troubling signs: the jawbone had been smashed in three places, as though by a sledgehammer or large rock. There was a hole in the side of the skull, just above the temple. Was it created by a bullet?

And there were strange signs that both the skull and the aluminum chest had been through an intense fire. An effort to disfigure or perhaps even cremate the remains?

A federal grand jury in 1981 agreed that it looked like murder. They returned indictments against Walker and Stearns.

But once again, Walker was a fugitive. Forty-two months after he entered prison, he escaped from the minimum-security prison on McNeil Island in Washington state.

According to the testimony of Noel Allen Ingman, a former McNeil Island convict now participating in the governments witness protection program, Walker hooked up with Ingman and two other McNeil alumni to traffic marijuana from Mexico to the United States. Walker lived much of the time in Oaxaca, Mexico, trading guns for narcotics at a very beneficial rate, according to Ingman.

The enterprise lasted about two years but collapsed when Ingman, by then a heroin addict, went to authorities. Given immunity from prosecution, a new identity and protection by the government, Ingman provided information that led to the arrests that broke up the drug ring.

There was no effort to prosecute Walker on the drug charges; he was already facing the murder count and charges for his escape. But Ingman also helped prosecutors with their case against Walker.

On at least one occasion at McNeil Island, Ingman said, Walker laughingly boasted about how he had robbed a man of his yacht at Palmyra Island.

He talked about a hassle he had with the couple, Ingman testified last week. He mentioned forcing the man to walk the plank . . . to walk off the end of the boat . . . He mentioned that the man was (defecating) all over himself and he mentioned the man was sniveling while he was walking the plank.

Ingman testified that Walker said he killed the man.

A statement was made about offing, knocking out of the box, blowing away"--typical prison slang, Ingman said, for murder.

On another occasion several months later, Ingman said, while they were trafficking drugs together, they had another conversation about that summer on Palmyra Island. The discovery of Muff Grahams remains had triggered a spate of news stories, and Ingman said he mentioned to Walker that it was funny that that box should come up after all this time.

He said, Thats bull . . . about the box. I didnt put her body in a box. . . . He didnt say what he did.

So what happened to Mac and Muff Graham?

In closing arguments Tuesday, prosecutors reiterated what they had admitted from the start: They dont know precisely how Muff Graham died. But they argued that it is clear that she was murdered and there was a deliberate effort to dispose of her remains.

During the course of the trial, forensic experts suggested possibilities, though. For example, one testified that the outward conical shape of the hole in Muff Grahams skull was consistent with the effect of gas pressure of a gun fired with the muzzle pressed tight to the victims head. A gun that could produce such a wound was seized from the Sea Wind.

Prosecutors suggested that evidence strongly indicates that after Muff Graham was killed, her body was placed in the aluminum chest and set afire. Forensic experts found that the interior of the chest had been subjected to a heat of about 1,100 degrees, indicating that an accelerant such as gasoline had been used. The exterior was not exposed to such heat, indicating that the box was in water when the fire occurred.

Moreover, a whitened patch on Muff Grahams skull indicated it, too, had been subjected to intense heat. The irregular margins of the patch suggested that the remainder of the skull had a protective covering, such as flesh, experts testified. An acetylene torch could have produced such heat, it was noted --and such a torch was seized from the Sea Wind.

Then, according to the scenario offered by prosecutors, the chest was dumped in the lagoon. Over time, experts testified, the decomposition of the body produced gas that could cause the chest to rise, allowing it to be washed ashore. The box was found upright and open with the bones nearby.

Walkers motive to commit murder was the theft of the well-stocked Sea Wind. The strongest (reason) anyone could have. His freedom depended on it, prosecutor Elliot Enoki said. The motive was so strong it almost overwhelms the rest of the case.

Lead defense attorney Earle Partington stressed that what evidence was offered was largely circumstantial and not sufficient to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

Repeatedly, the defense lawyers had sought to deflate the prosecutions theory, saying the forensic evidence proved mere possibilities, not certainties. For example, the hole in Muff Grahams skull might have been caused by something other than a bullet fired at close range, forensic experts acknowledged. The defense contended there was no clear evidence that Muff Grahams bones were ever inside the aluminum chest. And Partington argued that Ingman was a paid Judas and an appalling, worthless liar.

But defense lawyers chose not to argue any alternative theories to explain the wide array of forensic evidence, such as the burns on Muff Grahams skull.

As for Mac Graham, the only clue to his disappearance and presumed death is found in Ingmans testimony. His remains have never been found.

However, there is another theory about what happened to Mac Graham. It has been noted that the aluminum box that served as a casket for Muff Graham was originally a supply box on an Air Force rescue boat left on Palmyra after the war.

In fact, the rescue boats had four such chests as standard equipment.

One of them is missing.
The Government is set to ban all non-essential travel from countries with high rates of Covid-19, including the US and Brazil, under plans being drawn up by Health Minister Stephen Donnelly, the Sunday Independent can reveal.

New proposals being drafted by the Department of Health would see a ban on tourists arriving into Ireland from countries that are disease hotspots, by placing them on a new travel red list.

The plan comes as another 174 confirmed cases of Covid-19 emerged last night, bringing the total of confirmed cases to 26,644. One more patient has died, bringing the total of deaths to 1,772.

Mr Donnelly has asked his officials to prepare options for the Government on restricting non-essential travel from countries with a high incidence rate of Covid-19. There will be exemptions from any travel ban for Irish citizens and residents returning home, EU citizens and family members, as well as essential workers or people travelling for essential reasons.

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The red list proposals will not include the UK or any EU and European Economic Area countries.

There has been growing public concern over the number of foreign visitors arriving into Ireland in recent weeks.

However, the number of Covid-19 cases detected among overseas visitors has been very low. The red list will almost certainly include the US, where the rate of Covid-19 is currently 116 cases per 100,000, and Brazil, where the rate is 143 per 100,000.

Expand Close KEEP SAFE: Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly launching a new Covid-19 poster campaign. The Fatti Burke-designed campaign promotes safe behaviours to reduce the risk from the virus. Photo: Keith Arkins / Facebook

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Whatsapp KEEP SAFE: Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly launching a new Covid-19 poster campaign. The Fatti Burke-designed campaign promotes safe behaviours to reduce the risk from the virus. Photo: Keith Arkins

Mr Donnelly's spokesperson said: "While the number of cases of Covid-19 detected among travellers from overseas has been very low, the health minister is concerned about the growth in cases in some countries.

"Restrictions on non-essential travel are being examined for countries outside the EU/EEA/UK with a high rate of Covid-19. The approach would be aligned with the approach adopted by other EU countries.

"The minister would like to make it clear that there are no plans to make any changes to the current operation of the green list, which is already reviewed every two weeks. The final decision on implementing any proposed measures will rest with Cabinet."

Separately, the Sunday Independent has learned that the Government was last month considering allowing all pubs outside of Dublin, Kildare and Wicklow to reopen from tomorrow under plans to have so-called 'green zones' that would move to phase four of the reopening roadmap before the rest of the country.

The move had political support, but the increase in Covid-19 cases since then has meant the tentative plan was scrapped. A senior Government source told this newspaper there may be a case for so-called green zones, where certain counties or regions could reopen fully, "down the line", but cautioned that the country is far away from introducing such measures at the moment. The Government postponed the plan to move to Phase 4 - which would reopen all pubs - for at least another three weeks last Monday.

It comes as new public health restrictions took effect across Laois, Offaly and Kildare following a spike in new cases and outbreaks in food processing plants.

Some 400,000 residents in the three midlands counties must restrict their movements for the next two weeks, while hundreds of businesses are being forced to close and restaurants and pubs serving food must limit their services. Indoor gatherings are limited to six people from no more than three households and outdoor gatherings to a maximum of 15 people.

An Garda Siochana are drafting in extra personnel from surrounding counties to oversee the enforcement of new measures, with checkpoints and a permanent presence on relevant motorways and associated off ramps being set up. Anyone who refuses to comply with the new restrictions and directions from gardai could face a fine of up to 2,500 and/or up to six months' imprisonment.

Mr Donnelly denied that the measures amounted to a lockdown. "The vast amount of businesses are staying open, the vast amount of social life is going to continue, so the measures are proportionate," he told RTE radio.

There has been widespread criticism of the Government's failure to address the dangers of clusters of the disease breaking out in food processing plants. Agriculture Minister Dara Calleary is to submit plans for mass testing in the meat and food processing industry to Nphet this week.

Fine Gael junior minister Martin Heydon and a number of Coalition TDs have criticised the manner in which the new restrictions were introduced, with former justice minister Charlie Flanagan labelling them "draconian" and a "enforcement nightmare".

Amid calls for extra support for the affected counties from Fianna Fail TDs, Tanaiste Leo Varadkar hinted that further measures could be introduced for businesses in the midlands that have been forced to close for the next fortnight.

Mr Varadkar said he was "determined to do everything in my power to help businesses and workers affected".

Minister Donnelly told RTE's Nine O'Clock News last night that meat plants affected by the Covid-19 outbreak should not open on Monday. He said it would be "inappropriate" for these factories to operate while other people are being asked to restrict their movements.
China, which was a founding member of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) in 1948, pulled out of it in 1950 for political reasons. By the time the Uruguay Round of trade negotiations was launched in 1986, China became an observer of GATT with the express purpose of re-joining the multilateral trading system. Interestingly, Hong Kong acquired membership of GATT as a separate customs territory in 1986 and to this day enjoys full membership of the World Trade Organization (WTO) as Hong Kong, China. It is also worth noting that Taiwan has been a full member of the WTO from 2002 onwards with the appellation: Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu or quite simply Chinese Taipei.

But it is mainland Chinas journey in the GATT and subsequently the WTO that should interest all of us. Every country that desires membership of the WTO has to conduct what is known as accession negotiations. Essentially, it means that the applicant country has to painstakingly negotiate with each and every WTO member on its trade concessions with regard to Goods, Services and Intellectual Property Rights. The decision to admit a country to the WTO is not just based on trade issues alone; it is also enormously political. The period of accession negotiations for countries usually ranges from 4 to 5 years. In Chinas case, the period of accession lasted nearly 15 years. China, having been an observer in the GATT from 1986, became a full member of WTO at the Doha Ministerial Conference in 2001.

Normally, when a country joins the WTO, it must ensure the conformity of its laws, regulations and administrative procedures with its WTO obligations. In the case of China, such an undertaking alone was not considered enough for two reasons: one, there was lack of trust between the major players of WTO led by the US on the one hand and China on the other; two, the  hybrid state capitalist model followed by China was not something the WTO Rules were framed for. The decision to admit China was based on the following assumptions:

 It was better to have a country like China within the system rather than without;

 Membership of the WTO would enable China to shed the hybrid state capitalist model and become an open free market economy; and

 The political reasoning of countries led by the US was also that economic liberalisation in China will inevitably, over time, lead to democratic change.

Keeping the above in mind, a special Protocol of Accession was signed between the WTO Membership and China in 2001.The main obligations for China in this Agreement were:

 In the case of domestic laws, regulations and administrative procedures, the Agreement enjoins transparency, uniform application of law and judicial review;

 China to be treated as a non-market economy for fifteen years;

 China to fully liberalise trade in services in due course;

 Full compliance with TRIPS (Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights) Agreement of the WTO; and

 Reduce and/or eliminate subsidies to State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) and a pledge by China that SOEs will run on a commercial basis.

On the all-important aspect of transparency and uniform application of law, it is well known that the Chinese trade policy regime is characterised by remarkable opacity. For instance, China has not provided a full and complete list of subsides provided by the Federal government let alone those provided by its provincial governments. On trade in services, it is well known that China does not allow foreign payment companies such as Mastercard and Visa and instead favours China Union Pay which dominates the domestic market. Chinese banking sector is pretty much closed to foreign players too. Again, in the case of the digital and data economy, the Chinese strategy is the same: disallow foreign companies such as Google, Amazon, Twitter, Facebook etc and allow Alibaba and Tencent to dominate the market. With Telecom services, it is the same story: the domestic company Huawei is ubiquitous.

The two areas of real concern are IPRs and SOEs. In both these crucial areas, US and some other key WTO players are furious about Chinese non-compliance with the Protocol of Accession. In the case of IPRs, the Americans have long complained about forced technology transfer and IP theft by China. These are well detailed in the US Section 301 report on China. Perhaps the most disturbing thing from a free market perspective is the role of state-owned enterprises in Chinas trade policy. There is evidence that between 2001 and 2003 there was some effort by China to reduce the role of SOEs in the economy. But there is incontrovertible evidence that over the last five years, the role of SOEs has increased significantly in the Chinese economy.

The above outlines the classic saga of how China has gamed the multilateral trading system for its own benefit. It is now safe to conclude that the original assumptions about Chinas entry into the WTO were fundamentally flawed.

(Dr Mohan Kumar is a former Indian negotiator at the WTO and the former Indian Ambassador to France. Views are personal.)
Vietnam needs to reform its trade mechanisms while local businesses are advised to be more proactive to take advantage of the European Union - Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA).

According to the Ministry of Planning and Investment before the COVID-19 outbreak, the EVFTA will boost Vietnams economy 2.18 to 3.25% in the first five years after the deal takes effect in August 1, or about 0.5% of GDP growth per year. This would be more than any previous FTA Vietnam has signed.

In addition, 99% of tariff lines will be gradually eliminated to increase trade between Vietnam and the EU. The World Bank also predicted that 800,000 Vietnamese will escape poverty more quickly thanks to the EVFTA.

Institutional reform

The EVFTA will require state agencies and businesses to reform drastically to optimize the benefits of the agreement. The government will need to accelerate administrative reforms and fine-tune policies and institutions.

Chairman of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry Vu Tien Loc said institutional reform will make EVFTA implementation more effective.

I think institutional reform will play a decisive role in implementing the EVFTA," Loc stressed. "Stronger institutional reform will improve global competitiveness. Without institutional reform, we will depend on imported materials and added value will not be high,

Dr. Dang Kim Son, former Director of the Institute of Agriculture Institutions and Markets, said regulations are needed to establish standard production-to-market chains that will maintain Vietnamese goods share of the domestic market.

Its time to revise the list of Vietnams strategic items and billion-dollars earners and establish value chains," he suggested. "Institutions will decide our success. We also need to strengthen our business associations, cooperation, and value chains to take advantage of the trade deal.

Businesses need to be proactive

Vietnamese businesses need to consider the EVFTA a starting point of a new business path where stronger competition will motivate them to reform and develop. At the same time, increased international cooperation will be needed to attract more direct investment into Vietnam to capitalize resource and technology transfer.

Economist Le Duy Binh, Director of private sector consulting firm Economica Vietnam, said the deal has stricter regulations than other FTAs Vietnam has signed in terms of standards, quality, origins, labelling, and the environment.

Therefore, stakeholders in the Vietnamese economy need to be aware of these regulations as Vietnamese goods will likely be subject to anti-dumping lawsuits and trade disputes, Binh noted.

Its now time for associations to work closely with banks and businesses to increase added values of Vietnamese enterprises," said economist Le Dang Doanh.

With a small-scale economy, Vietnam needs to optimize all regional and global trade and investment opportunities while tapping its inner strength to boost growth. By accelerating institutional reform, creating an international standard business environment, and promoting innovation, Vietnam hopes to optimize all the benefits of the EVFTA.

VOV
Around 200 pilots and ground staff of various airlines gathered at the airport and paid their respects when the mortal remains of co-pilot Akhilesh Kumar, who died in the Kozhikode flight crash, reached Delhi in the early hours of Sunday, officials said.

Pilot-in-command Captain Deepak Vasant Sathe, 58, and co-pilot Captain Akhilesh Kumar, 32, were the ones operating the Air India Express flight that crashed at the Kozhikode airport in Kerala on Friday night. Both pilots, along with 16 other people onboard, have died in the accident.

"Kumar's mortal remains was brought to Delhi airport from Kochi on an IndiGo flight 6E2135 at around 2 am on Sunday," an aviation industry official said.

"Around 200 pilots and ground staff members of various airlines like IndiGo, SpiceJet, Air India and Air India Express gathered at the airport and paid their respects," the official said.

Kumar's mortal remains were then taken by road to Mathura, Uttar Pradesh, where his family resides, another industry official said.

The mortal remains of Sathe are likely to be taken to his family members in Mumbai on Sunday, according to the official.

The Air India Express flight from Dubai with 190 people onboard, including a six-member crew, overshot the tabletop runway while landing in heavy rain, fell into a valley 35 feet below and broke into two.

A total of 149 people have been admitted to various hospitals. Twenty-three have been discharged, while three are critically injured, Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri had said on Saturday after his visit to the Kozhikode Medical College, where many of the affected passengers have been admitted.

Puri had told reporters that Sathe, a former wing commander of the Air Force, was one of the most-experienced commanders with more than 10,000 flying hours and had landed aircraft 27 times at the Kozhikode airport. Kumar had a total flying experience of 1,723 hours.
Singapore, Aug 9 : Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Sunday called for resilience in the face of severe economic downturn on the 55th National Day.

When delivering his National Day message, Lee said Singaporeans are understandably anxious and worried as business closures, retrenchments and unemployment are all likely to go up in the coming months, Xinhua news agency reported.

"But this is not the first economic crisis we have experienced," he said. "Each time the outlook was ominous, and we feared the worst, but each time we worked hard to secure our position, gritted our teeth, and came through together." The prime minister added that he is confident that Singaporeans will get through this current crisis, though it may take longer time.

He said unity and resilience are needed more than ever. Many countries that had brought COVID-19 under control and eased restrictions see their cases rise sharply again, and this can happen to Singapore too despite all the precautions, he added.

Lee forecast that it will most likely take a year or two before a vaccine is widely available, and the threat of the virus is blunted. "Until then, we have to maintain our vigilance and resolve, to keep ourselves, our loved ones and our neighbours all safe," he said.
Waymo engineer Paul Roales says he's doubling down on local involvement in Silicon Valley's Mountain View, where many large tech companies are headquartered. Paul Roales

When Waymo engineer Paul Roales got word that he and employees from sister company Google would be working from home until the summer of 2021, his first reaction wasn't to get out of dodge like many others. Instead, he felt the city of Mountain View, Calif.  where his company's headquartered and where he lives  would never be the same and wanted to help it manage the transition. After the Covid-19 pandemic hit, Roales  who had already been involved in local politics  developed an urgent desire to run for city council in Mountain View, where many large tech companies like LinkedIn and Google are headquartered, he said in an interview with CNBC. Foreseeing changes to a city once bustling with tech employees, Roales said he wants to be part of decisions that make the city more livable and "not just be the home of Google or other tech companies." "For a long time, cities in the Bay Area had free economic growth on the basis of the companies in their community," Roales said. "Mountain View didn't have to do a lot to have a cushy budget and headcount but now we're going to have to operate city hall a little tighter and do more to make sure it's a great place to live." Roales' decision to double down on Silicon Valley comes amid a contrasting trend of tech employees fleeing the region since most companies have announced that the bulk of employees can work from home through the end of the year. Facebook, Google and others have enabled working from home through the summer of 2021 while Twitter and Atlassian are among those that have allowed employees to work from home forever if they wish.

A huge difference between tech and government work

Roales has been working on self-driving technology and simulation since joining Alphabet's self-driving car subsidiary in 2016. Prior to that, he worked as a software engineer at Google's Maps division for two years. But he also has some background in local politics: At Purdue University, he served on the West Lafayette City Council for two years.

Waymo engineer Paul Roales says he's running for city council in the city of Mountain View, California where Google and many tech employers are headquartered. Photo courtesy of Paul Roales

Roales said West Lafayette bares some resemblances to Mountain View, which has more than 75,000 residents and is located 35 miles south of San Francisco. "There's a huge difference between my work and how fast things get done in Mountain View's government," Roales said. "Having worked at Google and now at Waymo gives me a lot of perspective on high-performing organizations and I hope it's the start of a trend that we see more people in tech get more involved in their local government." He said since Covid-19 hit, he's seen two big trends strike Mountain View residents: Wanting more space or leaving the area. "That's going to reshape the city potentially because there's going to be more demand for larger units and some vacancies so to methat's an opportunity to rethink things like how our city's laid out and how infrastructure supports that. This period of disruption can create a lot of opportunity if you proactively go into it and think: how can we make this better? I think it's an opportunity that could slip by the city if someone's not thinking about how do we make a city in this new normal?" Roales said he also wants to try and make local politics more inclusive by giving residents better access to city meetings, which are often held for long hours after normal work hours, which he said can be inconvenient for families and single mothers. "Maybe you can submit a comment via video or pre-recorded that can be presented with live commenters," he proposed. "That's a small example but I think there's a lot of people who's voices we're just not hearing in city hall right now." Roales is hoping to tackle the region's housing shortage, ultimately faulting slow-moving city government for the high costs of housing. "I think it's easy to vilify tech because of high housing costs but we need cities to respond to the changes in a way that's appropriate large and appropriately quick and, in both areas, they're failing," he said. "Today, it's a six-month debate to decide where to build 10 houses." Roales said he is keeping his candidacy separate from his work at Waymo. "I keep it largely separate but I do get a lot of messages on my private email or on Twitter from co-workers who are supportive," he said. "People are like 'this is great, we need a voice for the employees of large tech companies in our community.'" Along the way, the company's public relations employees reminds him to tell people that he works for Waymo and not Google, he said. While he'd recuse himself for Google-related projects during city council votes in line with council rules, he's not worried because the issues come up only a few times each year from his experience. However, he said he'd still make his opinion known, regardless.

Company needs vs employee needs
09.08.2020 LISTEN

Kindly join me in welcoming South Africa to Africa, to become a fully-fledged African country. Thus, lets declare South Africa an African country. On July 26, 2020, for the first time in the history of the country, South Africa accepted an International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan; this is the day that South Africa decided to follow the path of other African countries, a path that has brought untold hardships to many African countries. The loan amount is US$4.3 billion, and according to the IMF, the loan is emergency support to South Africa to address the COVID-19 pandemic.

The IMF notes that the loan is needed because the COVID-19 outbreak has led to a sharp economic contraction and significant financing needs in South Africa. It is true that several countries are financially impacted by the pandemic but the issue is whether the pandemic is the only factor that compelled South Africa to seek the loan. The answer is no. Actually, with severe structural constraints to growth, economic activity in South Africa has weakened over the last decade despite significant government spending.

The weakened economic activity has resulted in high unemployment, poverty, and income inequality. Thus before the pandemic, there was a pre-existing situation of structural constraints, subdued growth, and deteriorating social outcomes. In fact, the existing economic hardship was one of the contributing factors that prompted many poor, unemployed and lowly-educated South Africans to attack other Africans living in South Africa.

As expected, the IMF has attached some conditions to the disbursement of the loan. Attaching conditions to loans is normal and rational for lenders to protect their investment. However, we all know that IMF conditions have worsened the economic situations of other African countries that borrowed from the Fund. Fortunately for South Africa, since the goal of the loan is to help the country face the immediate financial consequences of the pandemic, the conditions are not very strict. However, the conditions are strict enough to hurt South Africa just as IMF loans have hurt other African countries.

The main condition is for South Africa to show the IMF that it is facing a crisis, and that it will use the funds to deal with the crisis. Other conditions are that South Africa will cooperate with the IMF to solve the balance of payments problems caused by the crisis and to describe the economic policies that it proposes to follow.

The above conditions are very mild so may not hurt South Africa economically. However, before South Africans jubilate, lets look at some other conditions attached to the loan.

One, the IMF reserves the right to require South Africa to undertake certain policy actions before it can access the funds. Such an ambiguous condition - South Africa to undertake certain policy actions  is cause for trouble. Since the policy actions are not tabled out, the IMF can demand the unimaginable. We have to remember that the IMF is notorious for imposing policy with little or no consultation with the affected countries.

Two, South Africa has to take certain steps to stabilize the countrys finances. This means the government will cut government spending to reduce its need to borrow. When the IMF demands a government to cut spending, it means certain projects vital to the government and the citizens need to be streamlined. Examples are cuts in public sector wages and funding for state owned enterprises. In the latter case, it may include cuts in funding for schools. In fact, some state-owned enterprises may be sold to private investors.

Three, the government has to introduce reforms to stimulate a growing and inclusive economy. These reforms include measures to improve competition in different sectors of the economy. In a typical African country, this means competition from the international community, a competition that though may lead to better services and competitive prices, may drive indigenous entrepreneurs out of business. Generally, the livelihoods of people in poorer countries have been destroyed by unfair competition from foreign goods and services.

Four, The IMF requires that South Africa repay the funds to the IMF over 20 months beginning 40 months after the loan is disbursed. Forty months is only three years, four months. A question is, what happens if the pandemic lasts very long? Thus, what happens if the crisis remains longer and South Africa needs to spend more money on the pandemic? In that case, how will South Africa raise the funds to pay the debt?

Apart from the treacherous conditions, there are some downsides for South Africa borrowing from the IMF. The most significant downside is that the loan is denominated in foreign exchange. Thus, South Africa has to bear the risk that if the rand depreciates, the loan and the interest on it will become more expensive. Given the state of the South African economy, this is a significant risk. The other risk is that if South Africa does not use the funds from the IMF wisely, the countrys economic situation will deteriorate. Another downsize is the fact that the loan will not generate direct revenue/turnover.

If I borrow money to establish a factory, I may generate enough money to repay the loan. On the other hand, if I borrow money to pay my hospital bills, I will not generate any money to repay the loan. This is the situation of South Africa. The loan is to address the COVID 19 pandemic. That means it will not be used for projects that will generate revenue. Thus, the money will be used in an area that will not generate revenue to repay the loan. In that situation, South Africa will struggle to pay back the debt, and eventually, fall into the proverbial debt trap. It appears things are falling apart in South Africa. The question is whether the center can hold.
Some 170 people have recently been refused entry into that country.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko says his country has stepped up control on the border with Russia, Ukraine, and Poland.

"There is very serious control on the border. Monitoring on the Belarusian-Russian section has been increased," he told journalists in Minsk on August 9, according to Deutsche Welle.

Read alsoRFE/RL: Belarusian election officials declare presidential vote valid

The same was done at the border crossings with Ukraine and Poland, he said.

Lukashenko said 170 people had been refused entry into Belarus overnight and in the morning alone, as they had "fake visas" or could not explain the purpose of their visit.

"Everything will be under control, I guarantee you this. This is the current government's main task. You could be sure of this, no matter what some people are planning here. That's not going to happen," he said.

On August 9, presidential elections were under way in Belarus; they have already been declared valid by the country's Central Election Commission (CEC). The preliminary results are expected to be announced on August 10, the CEC should announce the final results no later than August 19.
Vallejo police officers accused of bending their badges to commemorate their killings may be immune from consequences because the city waited too long to investigate, according to legal experts and the attorney for the fired ex-captain who blew the whistle on the purported practice.

Police Chief Shawny Williams said last week that his department is opening an official inquiry into allegations by a former police captain that some officers bent the tips of their seven-point stars, which he said would amount to misconduct. Im not going to tolerate something like that, Williams said.

But the states Peace Officers Bill of Rights sets a one-year deadline for taking disciplinary action against officers after police officials learn of alleged misconduct. That sets up a potential legal fight in Vallejo if badge-bending officers are identified.

The ex-captain, John Whitney, who was second-in-command in the Vallejo force, said through his attorney that he learned of the badge-bending ritual in April 2019, informed then-Chief Andrew Bidou that month and unsuccessfully sought an investigation. Whitney was fired four months later.

His attorney, Alison Berry Wilkinson, said that before his ouster he ordered supervisors to inspect officers uniforms and collect any bent badges. After 10 badges were turned in and held in a box in the office of Bidous executive assistant, Wilkinson said, Bidou told Whitney the repair costs could raise suspicion and cost him his job. Instead, the chief had the badges returned to officers, who were to fix them on their own, Wilkinson said.

Were skeptical that any investigation of badge-bending will be effective in holding any officer accountable, both because they destroyed the evidence of the misconduct, by returning the badges to the officers, and because the statute of limitations has expired, Wilkinson said.

She said then-Chief Bidou and Vallejo City Manager Greg Nyhoff were aware of the badge-bending in April 2019 but did nothing. The statute of limitations runs from the date of discovery. Anyone involved can now deny it with impunity.

Assistant City Manager Anne Cardwell told The Chronicle on July 28 that the city is aware of previous complaints about badge-bending.

In conferring this evening with the City Manager, Cardwell wrote, he noted that the Mayor had advised him last year regarding rumors of such a prior practice in years past at the Police Dept., and that he, the City Manager, then immediately consulted with former Police Chief Bidou, who indicated it had been previously investigated and such claims had not been substantiated.

Attempts to reach Bidou and Nyhoff were unsuccessful Friday. Williams said the investigation would go on regardless of these concerns.

Paul Chinn / The Chronicle

There is no statute of limitations on moral obligations, he said. The ethical standards of conduct and the moral imperative to honor dignity and life exceeds legal statutes of limitations. As chief of police, it is my responsibility to uncover the truth, increase trust through accountability and take corrective actions when warranted.

A badge-bending investigation could be important for reasons besides discipline, if it led to changes in department policies or mended public distrust. It could also be driven by a desire to improve training, said San Francisco union attorney Gregg Adam, who has represented police officers in disciplinary proceedings and has no involvement with the Vallejo case.

Still, Adam agreed with Wilkinsons analysis, saying she is 100% correct.

The chief is quoting from the gospel, not the Peace Officers Bill of Rights, Adam said.

California legislators enacted the one-year deadline to force police agencies to promptly address misconduct.

The statute carries several exceptions that can allow the one-year limit to be extended, including if an allegation is also the subject of a pending criminal investigation or lawsuit or if an investigation involves more than one employee and requires a reasonable extension. But authorities would need to show they were stymied by one of these factors.

Chris Preovolos / Hearst Newspapers 2016

Adam noted that the statutes clock starts ticking when someone of sufficient authority knew or should have known about the alleged misconduct. And the person initiating the investigation doesnt necessarily have to be a chief or city manager, Adam said. It could have been Whitney himself.

If a captain knew about it, theres a strong argument that thats when the clock started, he said.

Vallejo Mayor Bob Sampayan insisted there is no statute of limitations on the issue, and that Vallejo is still pursuing it. Bidous successor, Chief Williams, who was sworn in in November, has hired an outside investigator to do a deep dive analysis into this culture of the bent badge, Sampayan said.

He recalled feeling alarmed and distressed when Whitney approached him with the allegations, some time after hed purportedly gone to Bidou.

Sampayan is a former police officer who joined Vallejos force in 1985 and trained many in the rank and file  including Whitney, he said. Hes frustrated with the recent string of alleged misdeeds in the city.

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 indeed they come up with things, then people will be disciplined, the mayor said. My position is because these have all been people of color that have been shot, Im curious if this is not a civil rights violation that could initiate an investigation by state Attorney General Xavier Becerra.

This isnt right to me  you dont do this, Sampayan said. Im appalled, Im angered, and this is not what policing is all about.

Whitney, who now works for another Bay Area police agency, is planning to sue Vallejo for wrongful termination after filing a legal claim seeking back pay, benefits, attorneys fees and $25,000. He says he was targeted for speaking out.

According to his claim, the city tied his firing to an investigation into a leak of confidential information, saying he improperly erased data from his phone amid the probe. Whitney said he had only erased personal information; he was exonerated in the leak case, Wilkinson said.

Sarahbeth Maney / Special to The Chronicle 2019

The Peace Officers Bill of Rights came into play during a 2015 scandal in San Francisco, in which several police officers were accused of exchanging racist, sexist and homophobic text messages.

Sent in 2011 and 2012, the texts included white power jeers and slurs against African Americans. Department brass learned about the content when it surfaced during a corruption investigation in 2012, but did not disclose it to the public until March 2015. At that point, Chief Greg Suhr announced he would fire nine of the officers involved, and discipline others.

A San Francisco Superior Court judge halted the disciplinary proceedings that December, however, ruling that the one-year time limit had run out. A state appeals court overturned that decision in 2018. In the 3-0 decision, Justice Martin Jenkins argued that the messages displayed unacceptable prejudice against members of the communities SFPD is sworn to protect.

At least one Vallejo police officer involved in a pending disciplinary case is seeking to assert the one-year deadline, according to Solano County Superior Court records.

In a court filing last month on behalf of an unnamed officer, attorney Justin Buffington said he was seeking to prevent the city from imposing discipline that is time-barred by the relevant statute of limitations. A judge sealed details of the case, and Buffington did not respond to requests for comment.

Rachel Swan and Demian Bulwa are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: rswan@sfchronicle.com, demian.bulwa@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @rachelswan @demianbulwa
Pastor Jentezen Franklin calls for 21 days of fasting and prayer: 'Turn back to God'

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As the United States grapples with the coronavirus pandemic, one prominent pastor has called on Americans to join him for 21 days of fasting and prayer.

I believe the Lord spoke to me and said to make the month of August a season of  crying out and praying and fasting and turning back to God like never before, said Jentezen Franklin, senior pastor of Free Chapel Church in Gainesville, Georgia, and host of the weekly television program Kingdom Connection." Its time to fast and pray and break the back of COVID. We must see a divine reversal. We must see a turnaround.

The period of fasting and prayer began on Aug. 1. Rather than issuing specific guidelines, Franklin decided to leave the details of the fast up to participants. Its better to do what you can do and not break it, rather than shoot for the sky and shoot for the moon and  end up breaking the whole fast, he explained.

As Franklin lays out on his website, there are several different ways to fast. A full fast involves only drinking liquid. Those engaging in a Daniel Fast refrain from eating meats, sweets, and bread and only consume water, fruit, juice, and vegetables. A partial fast involves fasting between the hours of 6:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. or from sunrise to sunset.

While the pastor leads his congregation and viewers in fasting and prayer at the beginning of every calendar year, he urges them to commit to fasting, prayer and giving throughout the year.

When you combine the number of people worldwide through our television ministry with the number of people at our campuses and our online audience, there are well over one million people that participate in our 21-day fast each January, Franklin said in a statement to The Christian Post. Every year, we receive literally thousands upon thousands of testimonies from people of all walks of life that demonstrate miracle after miracle.

The pastor noted that he had never called two fasts in one year.

Adding this additional fast is different in that we are fasting for Gods intervention in a time of great upheaval and division, he told CP. It is a fast to refocus on the Gospel of Jesus Christ while also being a light in the darkness for these troubled times.

When asked how many people are participating in this additional fast, Franklin said that it was too early to know. It has gone out to the same audience that it goes out to every January and we are seeing tremendous traffic on our social media platforms, he added.

Franklin, who has written multiple books on the topic of fasting, has put together a Fasting 2020 Kit, which includes his New York Times best-selling book titled Fasting, another book titled Fasting: 101 Most Asked Questions, and a 21-day fasting devotional titled Open My Eyes.

Franklin is not the only person issuing a call to fasting and prayer with the hope of stopping the coronavirus. Last month, Gov. John Bel Edwards, D-La., called on the people of his state to engage in three days of fasting and prayer for those affected by coronavirus. He had previously called on Louisianans to join him in prayer and fasting for three days back in April, when the coronavirus pandemic first began to run rampant in the United States.

The Georgia pastor maintained that its never too late to jump in and fast with us. We need to see the Lord heal our land and we believe this process begins with His people, on their knees, in prayer and fasting for breakthroughs, cures, protection, and peace.
Meet the 'inside-out' little girl who was born with her stomach, liver and bowel on the oustide of her body.

Laurel Phizacklea, two, from Cambridge, wasn't expected to survive birth and her parents, Kelly, 30, and Sean, 34, were offered a termination at their 12-week scan when doctors diagnosed their unborn child with a major exomphalos - a condition which occurs when the baby's abdominal wall does not form during pregnancy.

But Laurel's parents decided to give her a chance and the tot defied medics predictions when she was born at Addenbrookes Hospital, Cambridge on June 6, 2018.

Most babies with the condition have the organs reinserted into their body at birth, but due to the unusually large size of Laurel's exomphalos, doctors warned she wouldn't be able to have them internalised until she is three-years-old.

Laurel was left with a protruding bump from her tiny tummy - which her parents have to wrap in bandages to support her external organs, in case the weight of them were to pull anything else out of her body.

Laurel Phizacklea, two, wasn't expected to survive birth and her parents, Kelly, 30, and Sean, 34, were offered a termination at their 12-week scan when doctors diagnosed their unborn child with a major exomphalos - a condition which occurs when the baby's abdominal wall does not form during pregnancy. But Laurel was born on June 6 2018 in Cambridge

Kelly told how her daughter Laurel (pictured) loves to cuddle her tummy at bath time, which she branded 'very cute'

Skin has formed around the organs, and Laurel can eat, drink and go to the toilet like any other toddler - but her parents have to keep an eye on their 'daredevil' tot, as any injuries to the exomphalos would be irreparable.

The mound doesn't bother the little girl, who loves to cradle her exomphalos when her bandages are removed for bath time, often stroking it and saying 'ah tummy'.

'I don't know how we remained positive throughout my pregnancy with Laurel,' explained Kelly, a volunteer supporting parents in neonatal care.

'It really looked as if she wouldn't survive birth - but Sean and I never gave up hope and she has done us so proud.

'Her pouch of organs on her tummy is a part of her and she doesn't let it get her down. Laurel is a true inspiration and amazes us every day.'

Laurel and Sean, a car dismantler, were over the moon when they discovered they were expecting their first child in October 2017.

The two-year-old (pictured) is not bothered by the bump on her tummy and is as active as any other child, Kelly said

Laurel (pictured) is a little daredevil and her doting parents have to keep an eye on her constantly to make sure she doesn't damage her bump

The couple excitedly attended their 12-week scan to get their first glimpse of their baby - but were blindsided by the news that something was wrong.

'They said that our baby's organs were on the outside of the body,' said Kelly. 'I couldn't believe that was even possible.'

Doctors explained that the couple's unborn child had exomphalos. Early in all pregnancies, the intestine develops inside the umbilical cord and then usually moves inside the abdomen a few weeks later.

What is exomphalos? Exomphalos is a condition which affects the development of the abdominal wall. It happens when a child;s abdomen does not develop fully during pregnancy. Early in all pregnancies, the intestine develops inside the umbilical cord and then usually moves inside the abdomen a few weeks later. In exomphalos, the intestines and sometimes other organs such as the liver, remain inside the umbilical cord but outside the abdomen. The rare condition affects two in every 5,000 children born each year. There is no known cause. Exomphalos is a serious condition so needs prompt treatment soon after birth. Depending on the size of the exomphalos, the infant may need to have it repaired in one operation or in several stages. Source: Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children Advertisement

In exomphalos, the intestines - and in this case the stomach, liver and bowel - remain inside the umbilical cord but outside the abdomen.

Doctors also determined that Kelly and Sean's baby had a spinal deformity - and the pair were offered a termination.

'We couldn't quite believe what we were hearing when they offered us an abortion,' Kelly said.

'People kept saying: "It's OK, you can try again" - but I didn't want another baby.

'I was so in love with this baby and we knew we would do everything we could for her.'

After a consultation at Addenbrookes Hospital, Cambridge, the pair went home and shut themselves away and just 'cried and cried'.

Kelly had to attend a scan every two weeks to monitor the progress of her unborn child.

The presence of exomphalos signals an 80 per cent chance of other birth abnormalities, so Kelly underwent numerous tests in order to detect them.

She had to endure three echocardiograms to assess Laurel's heart, an MRI to look at Laurel's spine, Chorionic villus sampling - which is a biopsy of the placenta - to scan for chromosomal defects and frequent ultrasounds to review the size of the exomphalos.

These scans highlighted that as well as exomphalos, their child had a hole in the heart and congenital scoliosis - a spinal deformity.

Three weeks before Laurel's birth, doctors also discovered the exomphalos had doubled in size - prompting medics to take both Kelly and Sean aside to tell them their daughter would not survive birth.

Kelly and Sean with Laurel as a newborn. The parents explained they had to wait a month to touch their daughter, who was kept under close supervision in the neonatal intensive care unit

Due to how big her exomphalos is, Laurel has to wait until she's three to have her organs re-inserted in her body. Pictured, Laurel, now

'We were so close and had been through so much already,' Kelly said. 'Hearing that was devastating - but they told us they would do everything they could to save her, despite the very slim odds of her survival.

'Although I knew it was very real and incredibly scary, part of me always thought: "This won't happen to me, I won't let it".'

On June 6th 2018, surgeons performed a classic caesarean - meaning they cut vertically on Kelly's stomach as opposed to horizontally.

This gave them more room to remove baby Laurel, as they had to be extra careful not to rupture her external organs - which would have meant certain death.

Doctors warned both Kelly and Sean not to expect to hear their baby cry - so when they heard her cries both were overcome with relief.

'When we heard her cry out I couldn't believe it,' Kelly said. 'Both Sean and I just burst into tears.

'We knew it was far from the end of it - but to hear her cry was a huge relief and from that moment we knew she was a fighter.'

Their daughter Laurel was born weighing a healthy 7lb 5oz, and put straight on a ventilator before being transferred to NICU.

Proud mother Kelly with Laurel. Kelly admitted she was devastated when doctors suggested the possibility of terminating her pregnancy after Laurel was diagnosed with exomphalos

Kelly said she burst into tears during Laurel's birth, when she finally heard her cry. Pictured, Laurel enjoying a day out

'We saw a glimpse of her as she was wheeled past,' Kelly explained. 'I was just so relieved she'd got through the birth.'

After seven hours, Kelly and Sean were finally able to meet their daughter properly for the first time.

'Her tummy was swaddled in bandages,' explained Kelly. 'We knew to expect it to look different - so we weren't scared at all.'

After birth, the umbilical cord forms a type of skin around the external organs, and while in most cases the organs are able to be inserted into the body when the baby is born, because Laurel's was so big, doctor's advised this wouldn't be possible until she turned three.

It wasn't until Laurel was a month old that her loving mother got to hold her for the first time, as she had to remain on her back with the exomphalos suspended to avoid any complications.

Kelly and Sean were provided with a room at the hospital by the Sick Children's Trust so they could be there 24/7 with their little girl.

Doctors worried that Laurel wouldn't be able to breathe on her own, as it is common in exomphalos cases for the lungs not to have formed properly - but luckily for the family, Laurel proved doctors wrong.

Amazingly, after just three-and-a-half-months in Addenbrookes Hospital, Cambridge, Laurel was able to return home.

'We knew she'd need the big operation further down the line, but just having her home was so special,' Kelly said.

'We quickly realised she was an adventurous baby, so knew we'd need to keep an eye on her so she wouldn't damage her exomphalos.'

An ultrasound of Laurel in the womb showed that her organs were growing out of her body - a condition known as exomphalos

In spite of the bump filled with her stomach, liver and bowels which lies on her tummy, Laurel can breathe fine. Breathing issues is a common side-effect of exomphalos

Surgeons warned the couple that if Laurel damages her external organs, there's nothing they can do - so the family are patiently waiting until Laurel turns three and can have her organs internalised.

If inserted into the body too soon, and when her frame is too small, the diaphragm wouldn't be able to cope with the sudden lack of space with which to operate.

As it is, Laurel will have to 'learn how to breathe again' when she undergoes the operation at the beginning of 2021.

'Even though we try to make sure she's sensible and careful, it's so hard with a two-year-old,' Kelly said. 'She still tries to jump off the arm of the sofa, and loves being in a muddy puddle splashing about outdoors.

'She's a bit of a daredevil - which can be a little stressful but that's all part of why we love her!'

Although it will be a relief for both Kelly and Sean when they don't have to worry about their daughter's every move, they do worry that it will cause a certain amount of separation anxiety for the tot.

'She loves her tummy so much,' explained Kelly. 'She rubs it in the bath when I take the dressing off to wash her and says "ah tummy".

'It's very cute, and she couldn't be prouder of it. But I do worry about how she'll react when it's not there anymore.'

Laurel will undergo the operation at King's College Hospital, London, where a surgeon has taken an interest in the tot's exceptional exomphalos, so she will be in the 'best possible hands'.

'It is a scary thought, and there are definitely concerns,' Kelly said. 'But Laurel has already been through so much, and I am sure she will continue to take everything in her stride.'
IN a rejoinder to my article, entitled Taxing Nigerians to death?, Prophet Samson Akinde described modern politics in Nigeria as a room-and-parlour system: if you feel intense heat in the PDP room, you rush to the APC parlour; and if you get attacked by bedbugs there, you run back into your reserved seat in the room.

Well, let me state that I share Akindes sentiment. In the olden days, founders of political parties were guided by diverse but distinct ideological beliefs and worldview. In a chain form, the choices and ideological preferences of an individual determined political party membership; and its manifestoes, which must be based on partys ideological leanings, pointed the direction of the campaigns. For instance, if you believed in capitalism, then, youd move to a party that organized its party formation and objectives along that line. If, somewhere along the line, the political party in question defaulted on its principles or promises to the people in line with its espoused ideology, then, switching might become an option. Should questions arise over the switch, thered be credible and objective arguments to back it up.

Political culture implies that parties are formed by people of like minds, shared sentiments and all that; and such parties are funded by each willing member of the parties, not that the people would be looking up to the party to receive money. Similarly, political participation is based on the individuals preference of which ideologies would best serve or meet the aspirations of the people in the society. It follows therefore that campaigns must be issue-based, which, in turn, must be fuelled by the fundamental underpinnings of the embraced ideology. Go back to the works of philosophers like Karl Marx and Chairman Mao and one will discover that, for Marx, a typical manifesto must provide a stable pattern that would favour the proletariat so that labour would continue to create wealth, where very few people would not corner it and start managing it to the detriment of the people. Mao not only read Marxs works on manifestoes, he also followed in his footsteps and capitalized on them. Unfortunately for us in Nigeria, we have substituted ideology with bland manifestoes devoid of clear-cut ideological input.

The assumption of an average Nigerian is that nothing actually works in this society any longer. Now, it is everybody for himself. Whether or not God be for us all is a different matter entirely! Needless to repeat that, these days, political practitioners ply their trade without recourse to the past! More often than not, politics in Nigeria is a metaphor for unseriousness; it is no longer based on rigorous or rational thinking. Political operators or gladiators lack the rudimentary understanding of Nigerias political culture, personality profile or the character of the people joining political parties; and for what reasons! Unfortunately, the masses too, are not adequately educated on ideological basis anymore. Since it is a  padi-padi -kind of politicking, the centre no longer holds, even as party discipline has taken flight! Politics in this part of the world is now more of the rule of the tongue than proofs of fulfilment. Here, we dont vote for manifestoes again; we only vote for individuals: is Abiola contesting and is Kingibe his deputy? These are the things a typical voter in Nigeria considers, not a manifesto that, for instance, proposes radical improvement of the economy, the reinvigoration of the high-points of the socio-cultural elements, and the strengthening of public institutions (which helps to integrate and stabilize the society). Of course, that is why a typical Nigerian politician can join as many, but different political parties, intermittently, within a year, in exchange for pecuniary conveniences, without effective sanctions! It is the same reason political parties cant control candidates. Instead, candidates with money control the party. Were the parties to be like what they used to be during the days of Obafemi Awolowo, the story, most certainly, would have been different!

Again, since there are neither ideological differences among extant political parties nor ideological consciousness among so-called party members, it is not difficult for any aggrieved member to migrate, defect, cross-carpet or decamp. For instance, Yakubu Dogara, who left All Progressives Congress (APC), some few days back, has retraced his steps, back to the ruling party, because the mistakes the former administration in Bauchi State made are being repeated by Bala Mohammed, the incumbent governor. Who knows? Since there is no delineation, Dogara can cross the line anytime, even back to his vomit before the end of the year! Interestingly, too, events as they currently unfold in Ondo and Edo States have not only exposed the meaninglessness of the party manifesto, they have also provided a ready platform for its repudiation; for it signifies nothing! Is it any wonder therefore that the system has become so moribund and crime-compliant that one is most certainly bound to be punished for being honest!

Indeed, that each individual poor person decided not to get into trouble is what is currently keeping Nigeria safe; that they still repose any trust in the institution or how governance is structured in Nigeria is a lie! Sad that we have deliberately ruined the social fabric which holds the society together! An average Nigerian is dehumanized and frustrated. No job opportunity in town for the employable graduate until hes prepared to mortgage his dignity for a pot of porridge. Unlike in the past, when job opportunities abounded for fresh graduates, Nigeria has now become a paradox for a failed state and a waning economy with countless able-bodied men, willing-to-work, but nothing-to-do; therefore, hopelessly roaming the streets. These rumblings and grumblings rocking our padi-padi politics have affected every facet of Nigerias body politic, including ongoing revelations of thievery and corruption in the land. Of course, where padi-padi thrives, law and order can only manifest in their breaches!

Nigeria has the resources, human and materials. But the only challenge troubling her Israel is leadership. It is a curse, which no one has been able to find its source, talkless of uprooting it. In a rather funny-yet-instructive manner, Myetti Allah is contemplating the establishment of an army of vigilantes, or security guards, similar to the Southwest Amotekun outfit, in every part of Nigeria! Does it mean Southwests regional Amotekun will sit idly, and watch helplessly, while Myetti Allahs boys effect arrests in Yorubaland? Will Myetti militia also operate in the East? Is this a country?

May the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world, have mercy on Nigeria!

*KOMOLAFE writes in from Ijebu-Jesa, Osun State ([email protected]; 07087941459 - SMS Only)
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World leaders on Sunday pledged more than 250 million euros to rebuild Beirut after last week's horrific port blast in the Lebanese capital.

Fifteen government leaders, including Donald Trump took part in a conference call hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron and the UN.

The donor nations also urged Lebanon to 'fully commit themselves to timely measures and reforms' in order to unlock longer-term support for the country's economic and financial recovery.

And they said assistance for 'an impartial, credible and independent inquiry' into Tuesday's explosion 'is immediately needed and available, upon request of Lebanon.'

Macron was the first world leader to visit the former French colony after Tuesday's devastating explosion of a huge stockpile of ammonium nitrate which killed more than 150 people, wounded some 6,000 and left an estimated 300,000 homeless

A joint statement issued after the meeting in which representatives of nearly 30 countries as well as the EU and Arab League participated, did not mention a global amount.

A picture shows the scene of the explosion in Beirut on August 4, 2020

But Macron's office said the total figure of 'emergency aid pledged or that can be mobilised quickly' amounts to 252.7 million euros ($298 millon), including 30 million euros from France.

Macron was the first world leader to visit the former French colony after Tuesday's devastating explosion of a huge stockpile of ammonium nitrate which killed more than 150 people, wounded some 6,000 and left an estimated 300,000 homeless.

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas told ZDF broadcaster that 'more than 200 million euros of emergency aid have been collected,' including 20 million euros from Germany.

The joint statement from the world leaders and their representatives underscored concerns about Lebanese government corruption.

'The participants agreed that their assistance should be timely, sufficient and consistent with the needs of the Lebanese people, well-coordinated under the leadership of the United Nations, and directly delivered to the Lebanese population, with utmost efficiency and transparency,' it said.

USAID acting administrator John Barsa also said in a conference call Sunday that American help, some $15 million announced so far, 'is absolutely not going to the government.'

Fifteen government leaders, including Donald Trump took part in a conference call hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron and the UN on Sunday

French President Emmanuel Macron reacts during a donor teleconference with other world leaders concerning the situation in Lebanon following the Beirut blast, in Fort de Bregancon in Bormes-les-Mimosas, France, August 9

The UN said some $117 million will be needed for an emergency response over the next three months, for health services, emergency shelter, food distribution and programmes to prevent further spread of COVID-19, among other interventions.

Boris Johnson tells Lebanese president the UK will 'stand by the country in its hour of need' UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has told Lebanon's president Michel Aoun the UK will 'stand by the country in its hour of need' after the devastating explosion in Beirut's port, Downing Street said. A No 10 spokesman said: 'The Prime Minister spoke to President Aoun of Lebanon this morning to convey the UK's deepest sympathies to the Lebanese people following Tuesday's devastating explosion. He also passed on the sincere condolences of Her Majesty the Queen. 'The Prime Minister reiterated the UK's long-standing friendship with Lebanon and commitment to stand by the country in its hour of need. 'The two leaders discussed the urgent humanitarian, medical and reconstruction needs following the blast at Beirut Port and President Aoun thanked the UK for the support provided to date, including the release of 5million in emergency funding and deployment of HMS Enterprise. 'With Lebanon facing threats from a financial crisis, coronavirus and the effects of this tragic blast, they agreed to work with international partners to ensure the country's long-term recovery and rehabilitation.' Advertisement

Lebanese President Michel Aoun, who was also on Sunday's group call, thanked Macron for the initiative.

'Much is needed to rebuild what has been destroyed and to restore Beirut's lustre,' the Lebanese presidency quoted him on Twitter as saying.

'The needs are many and we need to address them quickly, especially before the arrival of winter, which will accentuate the suffering of homeless citizens.'

At least 21 people are still missing from the huge blast, and the Lebanese army said Sunday hopes of finding survivors are dwindling.

Lebanese people enraged by official negligence blamed for the explosion have taken to the streets in anti-government protests that have resulted in clashes with the army.

Macron said it was now up to the authorities of Lebanon 'to act so that the country does not sink, and to respond to the aspirations that the Lebanese people are expressing right now, legitimately, in the streets of Beirut.'

'We must all work together to ensure that neither violence nor chaos prevails,' he added. 'It is the future of Lebanon that is at stake.'

Trump also called for calm, according to the White House, which said he agreed with other leaders on the group call to 'work closely together in international response efforts.'

'President Trump also urged the government of Lebanon to conduct a full and transparent investigation, in which the United States stands ready to assist,' it said.

'The President called for calm in Lebanon and acknowledged the legitimate calls of peaceful protestors for transparency, reform, and accountability.'

Apart from heads of state and government ministers, Sunday's conference was attended by UN aid coordinator Mark Lowcock, representatives of the World Bank, the Red Cross, the IMF, the European Investment Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

Israel, with whom Lebanon has no diplomatic relations, did not participate, though Macron said it had expressed a wish to contribute, nor did Iran which wields huge influence in Lebanon through the Shiite group Hezbollah.

Warehouses full of goods including cars in the immediate area surround the blast were completely destroyed by the impact of the explosion the size of a small nuclear bomb

Damaged cars are seen at the site of Tuesday's blast, at Beirut's port area, Lebanon, August 7

Visiting explosion-ravaged Beirut this week, France's leader (pictured hugging a resident) comforted distraught crowds, promised to rebuild the city and claimed that the blast pierced France's own heart

Key Arab states in the Gulf, including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Iraq and the UAE were represented, as were Britain, China, Jordan and Egypt.

Macron said Turkey, with which France's diplomatic ties have been icy over the Libyan conflict, and Russia had indicated their support for the initiative, though they did not take part in the conference.

According to the UN, at least 15 medical facilities, including three major hospitals, sustained structural damage in the blast, and extensive damage to more than 120 schools may interrupt learning for some 55,000 children.

Thousands of people are in need of food and the blast interrupted basic water and sanitation to many neighbourhoods.

Pope Francis called Sunday appealed for 'generous help' from the international community.

Anti-government protesters hurl stones at Lebanese riot police during a protest against the Lebanese politicians who have ruled the country for decades, outside of the Lebanese Parliament in downtown Beirut on Friday evening

People were out hurling stones at riot police outside Lebanese parliament ahead of a major protest planned in downtown Martyrs' Square on Saturday

France has been sending tonnes of medical and food aid, dozens of search and rescue personnel and forensic experts to aid the investigation, as well as reconstruction materials.

On top of cash aid pledged so far, Egypt and Qatar have promised field hospitals, Brazil said it would send 4,000 tonnes of rice, and Spain 10 tonnes of wheat.

'In these horrendous times, Lebanon is not alone,' concluded the conference statement.
BSP supremo, Mayawati, accused Prime Minister Modi and the BJP on Sunday for neglecting President Ram Nath Kovind, Dalit saints on 'bhoomi-pujan' ceremony of the grand Ram Temple in Ayodhya, jibed that only talking of a symbolic 'Ram rajya' will not benefit people, slamming CM Yogi alluding the statement to the increasing crime rate in UP.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi should have taken President Ram Nath Kovind along with him for bhoomi pujan of Ram temple in Ayodhya on August 5, said former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati on Sunday.

Prime Minister Modi should have gone to Ayodhya along with the President, who comes from the Dalit community. Some Dalit saints also kept shouting that they were not called for bhoomi pujan on August 5. They did not invite Dalit saints but they could have invited President Kovind. A good message would have gone to society if they have invited the President for the auspicious ceremony, said the BSP chief today.

The matter is related to faith it should not be politicised. Only talking of Ram rajya will not be helpful to people. They need to implement Lord Rams teaching. There is a jungle raj in UP under Yogi government. Crime is increasing with each passing day. There is no Ram raj in UP, she added.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday took part in the bhoomi pujan at Ram Janambhoomi site in Ayodhya.

Mayawati also attacked the Samajwadi Party and said, Now, they are eyeing Brahmin votes and talking for a statue of Parashuram when elections are approaching. They could have done it when they were in power. On the formation of BSP government, a bigger statue of Parashuram ji will be installed. We will install the statues of leaders, saints, spiritual gurus of all community in the state.

The four-time BSP government had launched several public interest schemes in the name of great saints of all classes and named districts after them. These names were later changed by the SP government due to casteist mentality and a sense of malice, she alleged and added they will be restored as soon as the BSP government is formed.

She said once the BSP government comes to power new hospitals will be constructed and named after great saints from all castes and religions.

Keeping in mind the shortcomings of the State and Central Government in view of coronavirus pandemic, I would like to announce that we will construct the hospitals, she said.

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A small internment bonfire in the Divis area of west Belfast was lit on Saturday (Rebecca Black/PA)

Twenty-nine police officers were injured, including three who needed hospital treatment, after coming under attack as they facilitated the removal of an internment bonfire.

Their injuries ranged from concussion to head, back and neck injuries, after they came under sustained and violent attack at Distillery Street in west Belfast on Saturday.

Petrol bombs, heavy masonry and vehicle parts were used by youths against officers.

PSNI Assistant Chief Constable Mark McEwan said bonfire material had been removed from several sites in recent weeks with very little disturbance.

Communities made it very clear they do not want and do not support internment bonfires in their areas, he said.

Mr McEwan said 29 officers had been left injured after the attack at Distillery Street.

Those injuries range from injuries to limbs, three officers have been hospitalised, and have now been discharged, concussion, head, neck and back injuries, he said.

The disgraceful attack that we saw on our officers, who were simply doing their job, trying to support our partners in the community and ensuring that we kept people safe.

If anyone has any information around these attacks or the people who were involved, I would ask you to come forward to us using 101 or the confidential telephone line.

He added that police will work with the community in the coming days to identify those involved and make arrests.

We will seek to make arrests very soon. Evidence-gathering tactics were deployed yesterday and we will identify people involved and bring them to justice, he said.

First Minister Arlene Foster condemned the disgraceful scenes and called for prosecutions.

Our thoughts are with the injured officers. Disgraceful scenes. Important to see prosecutions in due course. A message must be sent that this is not acceptable, Mrs Foster tweeted.

Justice Minister Naomi Long also condemned the violence as utterly intolerable.

Our thoughts are with the injured officers. Disgraceful scenes. Important to see prosecutions in due course. A message must be sent that this is not acceptable. https://t.co/njWE1pudED  Arlene Foster #ProudofNI. (@ArleneFosterUK) August 8, 2020

My thoughts are with those who have been injured, she said.

I have spoken to the chief constable to express my concern for his officers and to thank him for PSNIs role over the weekend in protecting public safety and ensuring the safety of contractors.

The Police Federation has claimed officers are being used as a punchbag for a society that has failed to tackle contentious issues.

Chairman of the Police Federation for Northern Ireland, Mark Lindsay, said: Petrol bombs and chunks of masonry dont materialise out of thin air. These confrontations were planned.

Those behind this reckless and irresponsible action had a very clear aim of making officers bear the brunt of their hate.

What happened posed real risks to the lives of officers. Petrol bombing is a clear attempt to murder or maim officers who were there to uphold the law.

Mr McEwan said police believe two small bonfires were lit on Saturday night, at Divis and on Distillery Street, which he described as small in scale.

Overall I think we saw a huge reduction in what we had seen in previous years, he said.

They are totally unwanted by the community JJ Magee, Sinn Fein councillor

In terms of the overall operation, the fact that we didnt see that level of bonfires (as in previous years), has to be welcomed by those communities who have made it clear they did not want bonfires in their areas.

We also know that some of the associated issues that come with large uncontrolled bonfires, around young people making themselves vulnerable to various types of harm, we didnt see that last night and that has to be welcomed.

Sinn Fein councillor JJ Magee said months of work have been going on behind the scenes, and paid tribute to community workers, youth groups and political representatives for their efforts.

He said there had been no major pyres, and just some pop-up bonfires where a small amount of material was gathered in a short space of time.

They are totally unwanted by the community, he told the PA news agency.

Previous years have seen bonfires lit in Belfast to mark the anniversary of internment without trial on August 9 1971.

This controversial policy saw thousands of mostly nationalists detained.

Last year, a standoff developed between young people and police in the New Lodge area of north Belfast over a bonfire.

Mr Magee added: Work has been ongoing over months, and it has been a credit to the residents, community groups and youth workers who have been working hard on the ground and elected representatives to make sure that this year there was no repeat of last year in the New Lodge.

The vast majority of young people who didnt get involved this year saw it for what it was, outrageous scenes.

There has been hard work to stop not only the bonfires but the rioting that broke out after them. Its been a long road and a road well taken because it is far better for the community. Bonfires add nothing, only hardship and pain for the residents who live close to them.
Their time in the British royal family appeared to be tumultuous. However, Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussexs love for one another is just as vibrant and bright as it has been since the beginning. From the ways they speak about one another to their loving touches and glances, it appears that these two were made for one another.

Meghan and Prince Harry met in the summer of 2016 and were married just two years later. Though the world caught onto their romance about six months after it began, the pair were able to get to know each other without outside influences.

Still, from the beginning, the pair were super excited to have found one another, so much so that Meghan nearly spilled the beans about her then-beau to a world-renowned makeup mogul.

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This is how Meghan Markle and Prince Harry met

In the summer of 2016, Meghan was visiting London to do some press for her drama series, Suits. She was newly single and open to dating. Her friend, fashion designer Misha Nonoo, who is also a good friend of the princes decided to set them up.

The Sussexes met for the first time at Soho Houses Dean Street Townhouse, an exclusive social club due to the princes high-profile status. That very first date lasted three hours where the pair chatted over drinks and agreed to meet for a second date, a dinner, the next evening.

Harry knew they would be together at that point, a friend shared. She was ticking every box fast. In fact, the prince was sure to show his interest by texting Meghan before she even arrived back to her hotel after that first evening.

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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle kept their romance secret

According to Finding Freedom: Harry and Meghan and the Making of A Modern Family by Carolyn Durand and Omid Scobie, the prince thought that Meghan was the most beautiful woman hed ever seen. After their second date, Meghan returned to Toronto where Suits was filmed, but their romance was only beginning to heat up.

For date three, the prince convinced Meghan to travel with him to Botswana where they spent five days together under the stars. A friend revealed in Finding Freedom,

Almost immediately they were almost obsessed with each other. Three months into their relationship, a Meghan friend said, they had already begun swapping the words I love you. Harry said it first, apparently, but Meghan quickly reciprocated. From there it didnt take long for them to begin talking in non-oblique terms about their future.

Still, the pair were careful to keep their romance out of the public eye.

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Meghan Markle gave makeup mogul Bobbi Brown a clue she was dating Prince Harry early into their relationship

Still when youre happy and in love, its hard not to spill the beans. For Meghans 39th birthday, makeup mogul Bobbi Brown shared a photo of herself and the duchess from 2016 and she revealed that Meghan had actually given her a hint about her romance with Prince Harry.

Happy Birthday to Meghan Markle who was such a joy to work with, Brown wrote. Sweet, cool and so funny. At the time of the shoot, she was telling me about a fellow she had just started to date from the UK. I didnt ask who.

Brown added that she put two and two together when she saw the Sussexes in Amsterdam. Saw them again at a very special @sohohouseamsterdam birthday day, she revealed. Sweet as always.
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Imagine if you suddenly became homeless in an instant. That is exactly what has happened to 300,000 people in Lebanon, following a massive explosion on Aug. 4 in the capital city, Beirut. Hundreds have died in the blast and thousands have been injured.

The people of Lebanon need the help of the international community for the impact will be felt for many months to come. This tiny, impoverished Middle Eastern nation has endured much in recent years, taking in 1.5 million refugees from Syrias civil war and dealing with the spread of the coronavirus. This latest disaster will collapse the poor nation unless we come to their aid.

The explosion happened at a Beirut Port warehouse containing a large quantity of ammonium nitrate. The blast and subsequent fires were widespread for miles, causing severe damage to numerous buildings including medical facilities.

Lebanon is now confronted with a major humanitarian disaster amid an economic collapse and health crisis. Beirut hospitals are overwhelmed treating the injured, as they had already been stretched to the limit coping with cases of COVID-19.

Jad Sakr, country director of Save the Children in Beirut, says well over 100,000 children have seen their homes destroyed and lost everything they had.

Sakr adds: The explosion could not have come at a worse time: during an economic collapse, just a day after a COVID-19 lockdown lifted in Beirut, and just before a new lockdown would have come into effect. Many people used this window of opportunity to go running, or just socialize and hang out at the seaside and escape their worries, very close to where the explosion happened.

Rescue teams have descended quickly upon Beirut to help the wounded and find those missing amid the debris. Children displaced in the chaos need to reunite with their families.

The UN World Food Program is also warning of a hunger crisis in Lebanon because of the explosion. An estimated 120,000 metric tons of food, including wheat, was lost in the blast. Food prices are expected to go even higher, leaving the impoverished in desperate circumstances. WFP says: As Lebanon imports nearly 85 per cent of its food, the severe damage to the Port of Beirut  the largest in the country  would push food prices beyond the reach of many.

A recent WFP survey says fifty per cent of Lebanons citizens are worried they do not have enough food to eat.

WFP has a relief operation already underway in Lebanon that feeds the poor and also refugees from Syria. The UN food agency is immediately scaling up its mission providing food parcels to families affected by the explosion.

One of the key safety nets WFP provides there is school feeding for children, both Lebanese and Syrian refugees. With the pandemic ongoing WFP is providing take home rations to the students in the school meals program.

WFP is also running agriculture initiatives to restore livelihoods. All these programs will take on even more urgency. Medical supplies are also being flown in by WFP.

Funding will be crucial since WFP and other charities depend on voluntary donations. Relief agencies are stretched thin on resources with famine threatening numerous countries during this global pandemic.

Lebanon was already reeling in poverty before this year began. The spread of the coronavirus within the country and the shutdown measures to contain it have worsened hunger and poverty. Save the Children, prior to the explosion, had released a study revealing In the Greater Beirut area, 910,000 people, including 564,000 children, do not have enough money to buy the basic essentials, including sufficient food.

Now this tragedy further plunges Lebanon into despair and hunger. If hunger escalates that will make it harder for the country to fight of the coronavirus.

There are many ways you can help by donating to charities that are operating in Lebanon, including Catholic Relief Services, Save the Children, CARE, World Food Program, and UNICEF.
Finance and industry heavyweights including the big banks and major corporations are urging the federal government to invest in health, education, clean energy and urban infrastructure to help the economy recover from the coronavirus pandemic.

A letter with 48 signatories was sent to the Prime Minister on Monday calling for "sustainable investments" in policies driving healthcare, affordable housing, public transport and liveable cities, education and low-emissions energy generation.

Business leaders are calling on the federal government to use the UN's Sustainable Development Goals as "the basis for a socially just and green recovery" from the coronavirus downturn.

The letter was organised by the United Nations affiliate Global Compact Network Australia, which said recovery policies should be consistent with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals to which the federal government has committed on the international and domestic fronts.

"Creating a fairer, more resilient and cleaner economy does not require the reinvention of frameworks or agreements. Instead, we are in a unique position to use the Sustainable Development Goals as the basis for a socially just and green recovery," the letter said.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-09 19:14:47|Editor: huaxia

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SANAA, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) -- At least three Ethiopian migrants were killed on Sunday after they were caught in crossfire of clashes between the Yemeni warring parties in the central province of Marib, a government security source told Xinhua.

The clashes between the government forces and the Houthi militia took place near the high way in the district of Mahiliyah in the southwest of the government-controlled province.

Several other African migrants were wounded, the security source said on condition of anonymity.

The internationally-recognized government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi has been battling the Iran-backed Houthi militia for over five years in Yemen.

The African migrants have frequently fled their countries to Yemen, from which they infiltrate through the borders to enter the Arab Gulf states to seek jobs. Enditem
At least 11 killed, 22 wounded by the fire at a southern Indian hotel being used as a COVID-19 facility.

At least 11 coronavirus patients were killed early on Sunday by a fire at a southern Indian hotel being used as a COVID-19 facility, officials said, in the second such incident this month.

The blaze at Hotel Swarna Palace in the city of Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh state, broke out at 5am local time (23:30 GMT Saturday).

Rescue teams evacuated those trapped in the multi-storey building, according to senior police officer Srinivasulu, who uses only one name.

At least 22 people had been brought to hospitals, he said.

The fire had been brought under control, but smoke was still billowing from the building, he said, adding that an electrical short-circuit appeared to be the cause of the fire.

On Thursday, eight people were killed in a fire in the intensive care unit of a private COVID-19-designated hospital in Ahmedabad, Gujarat state.

Fires are common in buildings in India because of poor safety standards with inadequate fire extinguishers, smoke detectors and fire alarm systems.

With 64,399 new cases of COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, India saw its highest single-day tally and more than 60,000 cases for a third consecutive day.

The country recorded an excess of 550,000 infections in 10 days. The total number of cases in the country has gone past 2.1 million, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
Actor Mahesh Babu may have had an easy entry into the industry but hes come a long way to enjoy the kind of stardom he does today. With his share of hits and misses, Mahesh has consistently tried to strike a balance between commercial cinema and experimental roles. On the occasion of his 44th birthday (August 9), we take a look at six best performances of his career.

Okkadu

In what can be best described as Mahesh Babus first attempt at doing something out of his comfort zone, Gunasekars Okkadu saw Mahesh play a Kabbadi player, who risks his life to save a girl from being forcefully married to a local rowdy. The film stripped Mahesh of his star image and made him play a very raw character full of life. The film, which won Mahesh Babu a Filmfare award for Best Actor, was later remade in Tamil, Kannada, Bengali and Hindi.

Athadu

In this Trivikram directorial, Mahesh played a hitman and the role gave his career a much-needed reinvention at that point in time. He played a character that rarely speaks but portrayed expressive body language and mannerisms. The film was much ahead of its time, especially in its Hollywood-style making and unlike the regular, star-driven commercial pot-boilers, Athadu works because it doesnt glorify its hero and it is amazing Mahesh didnt have a problem with it. Another highlight of the film was the dialogues and thanks to Trivikram, some of the lines are remembered even today.

Pokiri

Puri Jagannadhs Pokiri, a follow-up to Athadu, is considered one of the biggest grossers of Telugu filmdom even today. In a role in stark contrast to what he played in Athadu, Mahesh played a reckless rowdy-cum-uncover cop to the tee, showcasing his range as an actor by impressing audiences and critics alike. Ask any non Mahesh Babu fan and Pokiri will definitely feature in their list of his best performances. Just like Trivikram, who reinvented Maheshs image with Athadu, Puri did something similar with Pokiri, and the result was highly satisfying. Even look-wise, Pokiri saw Mahesh sport long hair which was extremely well received by his fans.

Businessman

In his second collaboration with Puri Jagannadh, Mahesh played a character who aspires to be the next big don. Set in Mumbai, and stitched from the same cloth used to make RGVs films, there was something special yet odd about Businessman that made it work. In yet another career-defining role, Mahesh displayed flamboyance and made the role of Surya bhai special. Even though the film earned mixed response from critics, it didnt miss to hit the bulls eye at the box-office.

1: Nenokkadine

In a truly bold attempt, Mahesh teamed up with Sukumar for this psychological thriller. Mahesh shed weight and sported six-pack abs for his role as a rockstar suffering from schizophrenia. While the film may not have worked at the box-office, it surely made audiences take notice of the creativity in its story and the versatility Mahesh can bring to his roles. Its a shame the film, despite being good, failed to connect with everybody. Despite its box-office results, most Mahesh Babus fans will continue to celebrate this film because it was truly experimental.

Srimanthudu

Also read: Pooja Joshi on co-star Sameer Sharmas death: I did not know I was chatting to him for the last time

Considered one of the biggest blockbusters of his career this far, Koratala Sivas Srimanthudu made Mahesh truly the man of the masses. The story about a millionaire vowing to change the fate of a small village connected across audiences and struck gold at the ticket window. In another sensible role, Mahesh proved why an actor needs a very competent director to succeed and there cant be a better example than this film. Srimanthudu came after the debacle of Aagadu, and it gave Mahesh the much needed boost in his career.

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In a new twist, the last video of Disha Salian, ex-manager of late actor Sushant Singh Rajput, has surfaced online  in which she is seen merrily dancing with a group including her boyfriend and actor Rohan Rai.

On June 8-9 midnight, Disha (28), died after falling from the 14th floor of the Galaxy Regent building at Malad in the northern suburbs of Mumbai.

Disha, a resident of Dadar, had gone to party at the house of Rohan Rai, a TV actor. The Malvani police station has registered an accidental death report (ADR) in the case.

Also read: No links with Disha Salian or her death: Sooraj Pancholi

Disha can be seen along with a few others in the video and looking happy. They are dancing to 'Mission Kashmir' song 'Rind Posh Maal' featuring Hrithik Roshan.

Dishas death has been linked to the death of Sushant Singh Rajput, and several people have demanded that both the cases be clubbed.

Former Maharashtra chief minister and BJP Rajya Sabha member Narayan Rane has claimed that Disha was raped and murdered - days before Sushant Singh Rajput was killed.

Dishas parents Satish and Vasanti Salian had ruled out any foul play. All theories and stories are fake and just rumours. I lost my only child but now all these media people, social media people will murder us. Therefore, I request to stop all this. I request the Supreme Court to stop all this, we are badly suffering because of this. Now we don't have any strength to listen to all these fake news against our daughter, they told a TV channel.

Actor Sooraj Pancholi, who was linked to the death of Disha Salian, had categorically said that he never knew Disha.

ED grills Showik again

Rhea Chakrabortys brother Showik was grilled on the second day by the Enforcement Directorate on Saturday. Rhea and Showik, who were partners in Sushant Singh Rajputs company, were grilled on Friday for over eight hours. Rhea is likely to be called again by the ED.
It has always been a challenge to get an accurate count of people in places like this dusty working-class town of 80,000 people, where about three quarters of the population is Hispanic, many of them immigrants. Throw in a pandemic and a cascade of messages from President Trump making many Latinos wary of the census, and the challenge grows exponentially.

But when the Census Bureau on Monday said it would lop off four weeks from the 10 it had allocated for a door-to-door count of the hardest to reach communities, the move added a new sense of urgency to efforts to reach farmworkers and undocumented immigrants in Perris as well as other communities with different challenges around the country. The situation is likely to be even worse in communities and states where there is less government involvement in the census and fewer organizations on the ground to press for participation.

We have to keep dodging bullets to reach our community, and now we have limited time, said Luz Gallegos, the director of TODEC Legal Center, an immigrant services provider that operates in Riverside and San Bernardino Counties. We are going to continue to push until the deadline.

[Sign up for California Today, our daily newsletter from the Golden State.]

The Census Bureau announced on Monday that it will halt counting on Sept. 30, four weeks earlier than planned, cutting short door-knocking, which begins nationwide on Aug. 11, and the time people have to submit responses online, over the phone and by mail.

In March, the Census Bureau sent out invitations by mail to people across the country asking them to respond to the 2020 census. Next week, after a delay in outreach because of the coronavirus, census workers will start knocking on doors of homes whose residents have not yet participated.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-09 19:20:56|Editor: huaxia

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by Dana Halawi

BEIRUT, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) -- Lebanese health experts warn of a resurgence in COVID-19 infections following the blasts that hit Lebanese capital Beirut killing at least 158 people and injuring 6,000.

"I believe that COVID-19 infections will increase in the coming 10 days. We know that the incubation period of the virus is seven to 10 days so we expect an increase in the number of cases by then," Firas Abiad, director general of Rafic Hariri University Hospital, told Xinhua.

Abiad said that it is hard for Lebanese citizens to follow precautionary measures due to the repercussions of the deadly explosions that damaged parts of the city.

After the explosions that rocked Beirut on Tuesday, thousands of injured people were sent to hospitals for treatment, many volunteers gathered to remove shattered glass from streets, and thousands took to streets in downtown Beirut in anti-government protests that demand the overhaul of the political system.

"We cannot force people to adopt proper measures like wearing masks and respecting social distancing measures during such tough times," Abiad said.

Meanwhile, Assem Araji, the head of the Parliamentary Health Committee, told Xinhua he also expects an increase in the number of COVID-19 infections in the coming days after Beirut's disastrous blasts.

"We already had big worries about the capacity of the health sector to cater to an increasing number of COVID-19 patients before Beirut's blasts. The situation is more dangerous now," Araji said.

Araji noted that Lebanon has around 1,500 ventilators, but some of these ventilators are already in use by patients who suffer from heart and lung diseases, COVID-19 patients and injured people from the blasts.

"Today we need more ventilators, field hospitals, personal protective equipment as the health sector is in a very difficult situation," he said.

Lebanon has received in the past two days field hospitals from a number of countries, including France, Jordan, Russia and Qatar, to aid in the treatment of injured people and COVID-19 patients.

Lebanese Health Minister Hamad Hassan has expected a spike in COVID-19 cases in the next one to two weeks, saying it is necessary to tighten measures in a bid to contain the spread of the virus.

As of Saturday, Lebanon's number of COVID-19 infections increased by 272 cases to 6,223 while death toll went up by 8 to 78. Enditem
The Wall Street Journal is reporting that TikTok and Twitter have held talks about a potential merger, even as the video sharing company defends itself against President Donald Trump's pressure to force the sale of the business or potentially ban it.

As the internationally distributed video streaming version of Chinese technology developer Bytedance's social media app, TikTok has amassed a global user of avid consumers for its short form videos, including at least 100 million users in the US.

According to The Wall Street Journal, Twitter and Bytedance have had preliminary talks about a merger of TikTok's US operations with the publicly traded social media company. The Journal noted that Microsoft remains the front-runner for TikTok's business in the US, Australia, Canada and New Zealand, and that a potential tie-up with Twitter would just be for TikTok's North American business.

Any Twitter bid for Bytedance's TikTok business would likely have to bolstered by additional investors, since TikTok is valued anywhere between $15 billion and $50 billion dollars -- far too big a bite for Twitter, which has a market capitalization of $29 billion.

Last week, President Trump signed an executive order that would force the sale of TikTok's US operations or face being banned. So Bytedance has to find a buyer before Sept. 15, or shut the business down in the US.

So far, Twitter and Microsoft are the only reported bidders for Bytedance's business, but others could emerge. And there's the potential that any sale could be scuttled by lawsuits challenging the President's executive order.

On Saturday, National Public Radio reported that TikTok is planning to do just that. The company will reportedly argue that the executive order from the President didn't follow due process, and that its underlying argument that TikTok poses a national security threat is baseless, according to NPR.

Some prominent figures in the technology industry, like Bill Gates, are also questioning the process by which Bytedance is being forced to sell its business.

Story continues

"[Having] Trump kill off the only competitor, its pretty bizarre," Gates said in an interview with Wired. "[The] principle that this is proceeding on is singly strange. The cut thing, that's doubly strange."

If Twitter, were, by some miracle, to acquire TikTok's US operations, it would add a huge additional pillar to the company's business and permanently reshape the social media landscape. It would add a massive new user base and change the demographics of the company's user base.

The irony of such a deal shouldn't be lost on longtime tech watchers, who will remember that Twitter had the opportunity to become TikTok if it hadn't killed the short form video streaming service, Vine.

Mr. Trumps statements against TikTok have caused concern among potential buyers. Microsoft and ByteDance have been discussing a potential deal for weeks, The Wall Street Journal has reported. But when Mr. Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on July 31 that he planned to ban TikTok, the companies were caught off guard and paused their discussions until they had more clarity about Mr. Trumps plans, the Journal has reported.
Data from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention has revealed there has been 200,700 excess deaths during the pandemic - surpassing the confirmed 162,000 COVID-19 death toll.

In August, the United States continued to amass the largest COVID-19 death toll across the world and the number topped 162,000 this week.

But according to a New York Times analysis of CDC data, there have actually been 200,700 excess deaths in the country between March 15 to July 25.

The estimated 200,700 excess deaths is 54,000 higher than the official CDC COVID-19 death toll during that period which was 146,254.

Excess deaths by the CDC are defined as 'the difference between the observed numbers of deaths in specific time periods and expected numbers of deaths in the same time periods'.

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The graph above shows the weekly excess deaths recorded by the CDC between April and July

Based on CDC data analyzed by The New York Times, places like New York City, New Jersey and New York state (excluding NYC) were among the top five places that recorded above normal levels of deaths during the pandemic

A graph from the CDC shows the number of excess deaths in the United States between April and July this year compared to previous years

Excess Deaths from March 15 to July 25 Source: New York Times State % above normal Excess Deaths Reported COVID-19 deaths 3/15 to 7/25 Gap *New York City 143 27,200 22,946 4,200 New Jersey 69 18,000 15,774 2,200 New York (excluding NYC) 40 14,200 9,347 4,900 Texas 18 13,400 5,002 8,500 California 14 13,000 8,423 5,000 Pennsylvania 28 10,500 7,167 5,800 Illinois 29 10,500 7,593 2,900 Michigan 28 9,900 6,402 3,500 Florida 13 9,700 5,773 4,000 Massachusetts 42 8,200 8,419 -- Arizona 27 6,100 3,288 2,800 Connecticut 75 5,900 4,186 1,700 Maryland 29 5,200 3,433 1,800 Ohio 12 4,900 3,132 1,800 Louisiana 32 4,900 3,508 1,400 Georgia 15 4,400 3,104 1,300 Virginia 16 3,900 2,074 1,800 Indiana 17 3,700 2,820 900 South Carolina 18 3,200 1,465 1,800 Mississippi 24 2,700 1,480 1,200 Colorado 18 2,600 1,793 800 Alabama 13 2,400 1,456 1,000 North Carolina 9 2,200 1,239 900 Missouri 9 2,000 1,224 800 Minnesota 12 1,800 1,6111 200 Tennessee 7 1,800 953 800 Washington State 8 1,700 1,552 100 Wisconsin 8 1,500 900 600 Puerto Rico 14 1,100 152 900 New Mexico 16 1,100 607 400 Kentucky 6 1,000 688 300 Washington D.C. 50 900 578 400 Delaware 31 800 927 400 Rhode Island 30 900 523 400 Nevada 9 800 733 100 Arkansas 8 800 399 400 Iowa 8 800 826 --- New Hampshire 15 600 409 200 Oregon 5 600 258 300 Oklahoma 5 600 421 200 Utah 8 500 278 200 Kansas 5 400 332 100 Nebraska 6 300 308 60 Vermont 16 300 56 200 Idaho 5 200 150 100 South Dakota 5 100 121 30 North Dakota 6 100 94 50 Maine 2 100 119 <10 West Virginia 2 100 84 40 Montana 3 100 37 80 Wyoming 7 100 24 90 Alaska Below Normal <0 10 ---- Hawaii Below Normal <0 25 ----

The NYT analysis went beyond just COVID-19-related deaths and included deaths from all causes during that period, per CDC reporting.

This allows for a window into the United State's death toll that isn't dependent on the availability of COVID-19 tests in states or the accuracy of reporting in different regions.

The CDC noted that some deaths related to COVID-19 may accidentally be counted under another category.

'As some deaths due to COVID-19 may be assigned to other causes of deaths (for example, if COVID-19 was not diagnosed or not mentioned on the death certificate), tracking all-cause mortality can provide information about whether an excess number of deaths is observed, even when COVID-19 mortality may be undercounted,' the agency wrote.

Only Alaska, Hawaii, Maine and West Virginia show death toll numbers that resemble previous years with West Virginia and Maine recording 100 excess deaths each and Hawaii and Alaska both recording zero

The process of counting COVID-19 deaths, and deaths in general during the pandemic, is also marred by several states and the CDC having a lag in reporting.

The CDC's estimates are adjusted based on how mortality data has lagged in the past.

But the numbers are clear, more Americans died from March 15 to July 25 this year than in previous years and the official COVID-19 death toll contributed to a large chunk of that.

This is at odds with the Trump administration's insistence that COVID-19 death toll numbers are greatly exaggerated and a number of conservatives have adopted the conspiracy that the numbers were inflated for political gain.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, a top White House coronavirus task force coordinator, previously dispelled that notion by noting the death toll is 'almost certainly higher' that is being reported.

Above average death rates have become common in a number of states, including New Jersey and New York.

The data from the NYT shows that New York City, the country's original pandemic epicenter, has experienced the most significant increase of excess deaths at 27,000 - 143 percent higher than normal.

Similarly, the analysis determined that several states with deaths at least 10 percent above average level had increased.

New Jersey recorded an estimated 18,000 excess deaths during that four month period, while New York State had 14,200 such deaths.

Only Alaska, Hawaii, Maine and West Virginia show death toll numbers that resemble previous years with West Virginia and Maine recording 100 excess deaths each and Hawaii and Alaska both recording zero.

There are currently more than 161,000 deaths in the U.S. from coronavirus and almost 5 million confirmed cases.

Members of the 128th Brigade Support Battalion of the Pennsylvania Army National Guard work loading boxes of food into cars at a distribution for the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank in Pennsylvania in April

New York state, and specifically New York City, topped the analysis' data for having the highest number of excessive deaths during the pandemic so far. Pictured: Healthcare workers wheel a person outside Wyckoff Heights Medical Center during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease on April 5 - the height of the pandemic in the city
Weve all got a pair, those trousers made of elastic material that allow individuals confined to their homes with too much food to grow with the fabric of the pants.

Its just that The Pioneer Woman star Ree Drummond is the only one willing to admit to owning what she calls stretchy pandemic pants.

For someone with the Food Network hosts gift for making almost anything into a veritable feast, you need to hear about these pants.

The Pioneer Woman, Ree Drummond |Tyler Essary/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images

Ree Drummond made her childrens book available to young learners early in the pandemic

At the start of shelter-in-place orders in March 2020, a fan of Drummonds asked the Oklahoma resident for her assistance. The fan who is a teacher, tweeted her call for help to the homeschooling mom, requesting the cooking phenoms permission to use her Charlie the Ranch Dog series to instruct her students via virtual learning.

Of course you can! Such a great idea. Id love to send a copy to each student to read at home if we can figure out a place to send them. Email me at ree@thepioneerwoman.com  Ree Drummond  The Pioneer Woman (@thepioneerwoman) March 18, 2020

RELATED: Pioneer Woman: Ree Drummond  The 1 Chef She Would Love to Cook With

Not only did Drummond grant her permission; she offered to send a complimentary copy of the book for each of the instructors students saying, Of course you can! Such a great idea. Id love to send a copy to each student to read at home if we can figure out a place to send them.

Ree Drummond has been getting her cooking show done at home  with a little help

In the current pandemic, Drummond, like so many other television chefs, has taken to filming her cooking program from her home. Since she has been unable to rely on the assistance of her usual Food Network crew, shes enlisted the help of her on-site team: her kids.

We have a learning curve with technology and a few things[There is] a lot more cutting up and definitely more bloopers. And so a lot of that is included. Some angles of the camera you see Alex filming and so its a little more gritty and it was a lot of fun, she told People. We said, Lets just be messy about it because thats exactly what this situation is. It was quite messy, but the kids did a great job and it kept them out of trouble.

About Ree Drummonds pandemic pants

With all the cooking the 51-year-old mother of four has been doing in the four months since most of the world was encouraged to be home and stay home, it was inevitable that at some point, no-zipper, no-button stretchy pants would make an appearance.

Theyre black yoga pants, and I think (it was) the day all the kids came home  I would say it was March 12 or March 13  and I have not worn anything, but black yoga pants since then, she told USA Today in August 2020. And part of it is that we were home and comfortable, and there was no reason to, but the other part is, I cooked so much and nibbled so much that I was afraid to put on my jeans.

Thankfully, as she told USA Today, once she got back to exercising a lot, she found her jeans actually fit pretty nicely. So, Im feeling better about life.

Goodbye for now, stretchy pants!

RELATED: The Pioneer Woman Ree Drummonds 1 Must-Have Kitchen Essential
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Strictly Come Dancing bosses have reportedly enforced new rules to ensure the upcoming series goes ahead amid the coronavirus pandemic.

According to sources, executives are said to be 'devising 100 different formats' to align with current guidelines as filming prepares to take place in Elstree Studios for a start date of October 24.

The restrictions include putting a limit on the amount of people allowed on set, as well as excluding 'chemistry circles' in auditions, which sees contestants alternate in 'sexy' dances with professionals so producers can decide 'who look good together'.

Changes: Strictly bosses have reportedly enforced new rules to ensure the upcoming series goes ahead amid the pandemic (hosts Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly in 2019)

A BBC source told The Sun: 'Preparing for this years show is a huge headache. The goalposts keep moving, so the big decisions are being left to the last minute so were as up to date as possible.

'But any concrete things we can decide on now, we are doing. Making one hit series is hard enough. As things stand, we are having to plan for hundreds. The slightest change to the rules could have a massive impact on how the show is filmed. Many [celebs] are weighing up their options, so Strictly still doesnt have a full line-up.'

The insider claimed the competition will be held in a near-empty, no-audience studio with a scaled-back crew consisting of only 25 per cent of the usual team for the first time in the show's 16-year history.

The new norm: Filming will take place with a no-audience, scaled-back crew for a October 24 start date (Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse, Shirley Ballas and Bruno Tonioli pictured)

Minimal: The restrictions include putting a limit on the amount of people allowed on set (MIC's Jamie Laing and his girlfriend Sophie Habboo pictured in the audience last year)

A show source added: 'Elstree is a very cosy set-up, where it will be impossible to safely socially distance audience members. So for now, with the current rules, its a no to anyone watching. Everything in terms of people is being scaled back dramatically. There will be less security because theres no audience to control.'

The stars, as well as judges Motsi Mabuse, Shirley Ballas, Craig Revel Horwood and Bruno Tonioli - if he manages to return from filming Dancing With The Stars in the US in time, will reportedly not be permitted to bring their loved ones, agents, or beauty experts to the studio.

Another aspect of the series that is believed to have changed is the partnering process, which could be decided on height alone as opposed to the celebs performing salsa dances in a circle with all ballroom experts.

Switching things up: Stars could be partnered up according to height rather than auditioning in 'sexy' group dances called 'chemistry circles' (Oti Mabuse and Kelvin Fletcher pictured)

As reported earlier this month, live performances from the world's biggest artists could be pulled due to safety precautions.

Many superstars including Taylor Swift, Andrea Bocelli and Kylie Minogue have graced the famous ballroom to accompany the dancers.

But this year's group dances are being pre-recorded, meaning the live performances could be a thing of the past.

Janette Manrara recently told the publication that executives have been taking inspiration at how the US and German versions of Strictly have been conducting their versions.

The dance expert, 36, revealed the professionals kicked off rehearsals last month, and are still unaware if they'll have to isolate with their celebrity partners.

MailOnline has contacted BBC representatives for further comment.
HOOSICK  Bennington Battle Day will be celebrated Aug. 16 to mark the 243rd anniversary of the battle at the Bennington Battlefield State Historic Site off Route 67 and across the state line in Bennington, Vt.

Bennington Battle Day is a Vermont state holiday marking the American victory over a British force at the battlefield site on Aug. 16, 1777 near the hamlet of Walloomsac, New York. The battle was part of the Saratoga campaign in 1777, which is considered to be the turning point in the American Revolution.

The Bennington Battle Day 2020 Celebration Committee announced a series of events to be held in Bennington during the weekend commemorating the anniversary.

The Bennington Fire Departments traditional parade was called off this year due to COVID-19. Btu the fire department will begin the weekend with a pick-up Chicken Dinner at 4 p.m. Friday, Aug. 14 at the firehouse. The fire department also will deliver meals within a fire-mile radius of the department.

At 2 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 15, at the Congregational Church Barn on Monument Circle, Phyllis Chapman of Vintage Visitors will speak in honor of the centenary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment, which gave women the right to vote. At 3:30 p.m., the Bennington Historical Society and the Friends of the Bennington Monument will conduct a walking tour of Old Bennington. The tour begins at the monument; masks and social distancing will be required.

Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years.

At 8:30 p.m. that Saturday there will be a fireworks display.

On Sunday Aug. 16 at 11 a.m., Gov. Phil Scott will be at the Vermont Veterans Home in Bennington to honor representatives of the 18 categories of essential workers. Scott and local students will speak about the battle. Mary Ruefle, Vermont poet laureate, will read two poems. The ceremony will end with the firing of a cannon by members of the 2nd Continental Artillery of the Sons of the American Revolution.

The Bennington Museum is putting together a virtual tour of local historic sites related to the battle that may be visited online.

The Bennington Battlefield will hold a ceremony at 4 p.m. honoring those who fought in the battle. The ceremony is limited to 50 people and will also be carried on television.
The Eagles perennial poor luck with free-agent linebackers continues to rear its ugly head at the NovaCare Complex.

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Veteran linebacker Jatavis Brown was placed on the reserve/retired list on Sunday after retiring, the team announced. Brown signed a one-year deal with the team in March. He was the highest-paid linebacker on the roster with a base salary of just $910,000.

Brown signed with the Eagles after spending four seasons with the Los Angeles Chargers. He was expected to compete with Duke Riley, Alex Singleton and draft picks, Davion Taylor and Shaun Bradley, for a starting job opposite T.J. Edwards and Nathan Gerry. The Eagles activated Gerry off the reserve/COVID-19 list on Sunday morning.

Browns retirement falls in line with the Eagles longtime struggles to gain value from their cheap linebacker signings over the years. Corey Nelson, Paul Worrilow, Zach Brown and L.J. Fort all had forgettable short stints with the team after signing free-agent deals over the past two seasons.

With Brown off the roster, the Eagles only have seven linebackers on their depth chart. While Edwards and Gerry are expected to be featured heavily on defense, the Eagles still have a second outside linebacker job open to competition. Riley is considered the favorite of the bunch, while Taylor, the teams third-round pick, is likely to offer heavy competition. Bradley, the teams sixth-round pick, Singleton and undrafted rookie Dante Olson are all competing for 1-2 spots as well.

The Eagles could look to fill the Brown void on the free-agent market but the pickings are pretty slim. Worrilow, who knows the defense, is still a free-agent. Perhaps, he could be an option for veteran competition.

The Eagles have three open roster spots following Browns retirement. However, the team has reportedly reached agreements to re-sign defensive end Vinny Curry and wide receiver Marcus Green.

In other Eagles-related news, defensive tackle Bruce Hector, who was waived on Saturday, was claimed by the Carolina Panthers on Sunday, a person with knowledge of the situation told NJ Advance Media.

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Mike Kaye may be reached at mkaye@njadvancemedia.com. Tell us your coronavirus story or send a tip here.
Network Nine have denied claims Today Show co-host Karl Stefanovic is 'unpopular' with viewers.

According to The Daily Telegraph, a rival TV network conducted a survey and found that 40 per cent of viewers felt 'negatively' towards him.

But on Sunday, Nine told Daily Mail Australia the Today show is up 10 per cent and is the most 'watched breakfast show on the East Coast, Melbourne and Brisbane.'

Unpopular: Network Nine have denied claims Today show host Karl Stefanovic (pictured) is 'unpopular' with television viewers after returning to the breakfast show

'Today is up 10% year-on-year in total people, almost 20% in 25-54 and the show has won the last four weeks in Brisbane,' a Nine spokesperson said.

The spokesperson added:'On Friday, Today was the most watched breakfast show on the East Coast, Melbourne and Brisbane.'

'We are - as are viewers - extremely happy to wake up with Ally and Karl five days a week.'

Unsuccessful return? The Daily Telegraph have claimed 3500 TV viewers were surveyed and almost 40 per cent were 'negative' towards Karl (pictured with his co-host Allison Langdon)

On Sunday, The Daily Telegraph had claimed 3500 viewers were surveyed by a rival Network and almost 40 per cent of TV viewers felt 'negatively' towards Karl.

The publication also claimed 30 per cent of Today viewers are reportedly 'feeling burnt out' towards him.

Karl was famously axed from the breakfast program in December 2018, after his personal life was blamed for declining ratings.

'Viewers are extremely happy to wake up with Ally and Karl': Network Nine denied the claims and told Daily Mail Australia the Today show is up by 10 per cent

His departure was effective immediately, with Channel Nine's director of news, Darren Wick, saying it was 'time for him to step off'.

In November last year, it was announced Karl would be returning once again alongside Allison Langdon after the show suffered record low ratings under new hosts Deborah Knight and Georgie Gardner.

'Yes, I am as shocked about this as everyone else. It's not something that I thought would come up again,' Karl told The Sydney Morning Herald at the time.
Lebanon's political elite faced pressure from all sides Sunday after a deadly explosion blamed on official negligence, with two ministers quitting over the affair and angry protesters clashing with security forces.

As hopes faded of finding any survivors of Tuesday's blast, social media was flooded with furious posts after a night that saw protesters briefly take over ministries in Beirut.

A picture went viral online showing the city's devastated port, with a low wall in the foreground bearing the spray-painted message: "My government did this."

While it is not known what started the fire that set off a huge stockpile of ammonium nitrate, protesters say the disaster could not have happened without the corruption and incompetence that have come to define Lebanon's ruling class.

"Those who died paid the price of a state that doesn't care about anything except power and money," said protester Tamara, 23, whose friend Rawan, 20, was killed in the blast.

"It's not enough that ministers resign," said her friend Michel. "Those who put the explosives there must be held accountable. We want an international tribunal to tell us who killed (Rawan)."

The explosion laid waste to Beirut and killed at least 158 people and injured a staggering 6,000, many bloodied by flying glass as the shockwave tore through the city.

"We have fading hopes of finding survivors," Lebanese army Colonel Roger Khoury told reporters Sunday.

The catastrophe has revived the mass anti-government protests that had for months demanded the wholesale removal of Lebanon's political elite, until coronavirus lockdown measures brought an uneasy calm.

On Sunday afternoon, hundreds gathered again in and around Martyrs' Square, a short walk from the port.

Police fired tear gas in an attempt to disperse protesters hurling stones and shooting fireworks near a street leading to parliament, AFP correspondents said.

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- Tear gas, rubber bullets -

Demonstrators briefly took over several government ministries Saturday night, while security forces scuffled with crowds of furious demonstrators.

Human Rights Watch's Lebanon researcher Aya Majzoub said some security forces had indiscriminately fired tear gas and rubber bullets at protesters.

"Instead of deploying the army to help residents clear rubble from their homes, businesses, and communities, the Lebanese authorities chose to deploy them and other security forces against protesters."

Saturday's violence injured 65 people, the Lebanese Red Cross reported, while lawyers supporting protesters said security forces made 20 arrests.

The August 4 explosion came as Lebanon was already reeling from an economic crisis that has seen its currency collapse, plunging swathes of its population into poverty, and struggling with a spike in coronavirus cases.

- Aid and investigation -

On Sunday, French President Emmanuel Macron oversaw a UN-backed virtual donor conference to raise aid for the cash-strapped country, where some 300,000 people were rendered homeless by the disaster.

The world must respond "quickly and effectively" and ensure aid goes "as efficiently as possible to the Lebanese people," Macron said.

In a joint statement issued after the conference, donors pledged the assistance would be "directly delivered to the Lebanese population" under the supervision of the UN.

France said $250 million euros had been pledged at the conference.

The UN said some $117 million would be needed over the next three months for health services, emergency shelter, food distribution and programmes to prevent the further spread of COVID-19, among other interventions.

They also offered support for an "impartial, credible and independent inquiry" into the disaster -- something Lebanese President Michel Aoun has dismissed, saying it would only "dilute the truth".

US President Donald Trump urged Lebanese authorities "to conduct a full and transparent investigation, in which the United States stands ready to assist".

- Government unravels -

Meanwhile the embattled government of Prime Minister Hassan Diab took another hit Sunday with the resignations of information minister Manal Abdel Samad and environment minister Damianos Kattar.

Calling the explosion an "enormous catastrophe", Kattar said he had lost hope in a "sterile regime that botched several opportunities".

Several MPs also quit and local media reported Diab was mulling announcing the entire government's resignation.

The revelation that Lebanese state officials had long tolerated a ticking time-bomb in the heart of the capital has served as shocking proof to many Lebanese of the rot at the core of the state apparatus.

Diab said Saturday he would propose early elections to break the impasse that is plunging Lebanon ever deeper into political and economic crisis.

Parliament speaker Nabih Berri called a meeting of the legislature on Thursday "to question the government on the crime that struck the capital", state media said.

The disaster has revived anger at a ruling class seen as living in luxury while millions endure job losses, deepening poverty, power blackouts and garbage mountains piling up in the streets.

Politics in multi-confessional Lebanon is dominated by former warlords from the 1975-1990 civil war who have exchanged their military fatigues for suits, or were replaced by relatives.

While there are Sunni Muslim, Christian and myriad other groups, the most powerful is the Shiite Hezbollah movement.

tgg-ho/par/hkb
ST. LOUIS  About 100 protesters marched to federal buildings through downtown St. Louis Saturday night to protest a new initiative targeting violent crime that will bring 50 federal investigators to the city.

The protesters called for Mayor Lyda Krewsons resignation after she supported Operation Legend, which uses federal officers to help target the citys high homicide rate.

One of the protest organizers, Wes Schnitker, said we dont want federal officers in our city. Weve been moving toward deincarceration and this is moving us in the wrong direction.

Elijah Foggy, another protester, said he was worried about officers tied to the Trump administration coming into the city.

These officers are not going to be culturally aware of St. Louis, theyre not from here, Foggy said. Are they going to turn against the people here, are they going to attack the protesters in the street?
Scientists have unveiled a correlation between high blood lead levels in children and methylation of genes involved in haem synthesis and carcinogenesis, indicating a previously unknown mechanism for lead poisoning.

Lead poisoning is a well-documented disease, the incidence of which has drastically reduced since the use of lead has been curtailed. Nevertheless, many areas across the world still have unsafe levels of lead in the environment. Lead poisoning causes symptoms such as abdominal pain, kidney failure and infertility, among others, but the most damaging effects are seen in children, where it causes neurological and developmental deterioration; however, a number of mechanisms behind it have been elusive.

In the current work, published in the journal Environmental Research, scientists at Hokkaido University collaborated with colleagues at the University of Zambia to investigate blood lead levels in 140 children aged 2 to 10 years in Kabwe, Zambia. Children were chosen from townships close to and distant from an old, highly polluted lead-zinc mine. According to a survey conducted by the Blacksmith Institute (now, Pure Earth), due to this mine, Kabwe was considered one of the 10 most polluted places on Earth in 2013.

Blood lead levels were measured in all children. The scientists discovered that children living closer to the mine had blood levels that were three times higher than that of children living further away. They then used a technique called methylation-specific polymerase chain reaction (MSP) to determine the methylation of the DNA sequences. Methylation is a process by which methyl (CH3) groups are added to DNA; this modification generally causes the activity of genes to reduce.

Increased blood lead levels correlated positively with aberrant, increased methylation of DNA responsible for the expression of genes. The genes affected were ALAD, which synthesizes a key compound in the development of red blood cells; and p16, a tumour suppressor gene, which is frequently inactivated in different types of cancer.

This study has established the correlation between blood lead levels and aberrant methylation of DNA. It has also revealed a major healthcare issue in children in the region. Future work in this area would involve large-scale studies to determine the true extent of lead poisoning, as well as setting up an effort to provide children in the region with the necessary care and treatment.

The ultimate goal is to achieve a lead-free population to ensure a healthy future." Dr. Yared B. Yohannes, Hokkaido University

Dr. Yared B. Yohannes, Assistant Professor Shouta Nakayama, and Professor Mayumi Ishizuka from the Laboratory of Toxicology were the key contributors to this research. The laboratory has been studying lead poisoning in Kabwe for over half a decade. Their research is part of ongoing collaborations with eight African countries on the project Clarification of the Effect of Continued Environmental Contamination in Africa on Humans and Animals.
Chinese government-linked hackers have been targeting U.S. election infrastructure ahead of the 2020 presidential election, White House National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien warned on Sunday.

O'Brien's comments appeared to go beyond a statement released on Friday by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence which said China 'has been expanding its influence efforts,' and that Russia was already trying to undercut Democratic candidate Joe Biden. But did not specifically accuse Beijing of hacking attempts against U.S. election-related systems.

'They'd like to see the President lose,' O'Brien said on CBS' Face the Nation. 'China - like Russia, like Iran - they've engaged in cyberattacks and phishing and that sort of thing with respect to our election infrastructure, with respect to websites and that sort of thing.'

'Its a real concern,' OBrien continued, adding that hackers have been trying to access government websites as well as 'influence operations, whether or Twitter and other spaces.'

White House National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien warned on Sunday that Chinese government-linked hackers are targeting US election infrastructure

O'Brien claimed that President Trump has made a number of enemies by being 'tougher on China than any president in history'.

'Whether its China, Russia or Iran, were not going to put up with it,' O'Brien said. 'And there will be severe consequences with any country that attempts to interfere with our free and fair election.

'Whether their leaders prefer Joe Biden or prefer Donald Trump, it doesnt matter. Were Americans.

'Were not going to have foreign countries deciding who our next president is going to be. Thats outrageous.'

China has consistently denied U.S. government claims that it hacks U.S. companies, politicians or government agencies.

'The U.S. presidential election is an internal affair, we have no interest in interfering in it,' Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said in April.

O'Brien said the United States had seen hackers try to infiltrate websites belonging to Secretary of State offices around the country, which are responsible for administering elections at the local level, and collecting data on Americans.

O'Brien claimed that President Trump has made a number of enemies by being 'tougher on China than any president in history'

'Whether its China, Russia or Iran, were not going to put up with it,' O'Brien said. 'And there will be severe consequences with any country that attempts to interfere with our free and fair election

The National Security Council did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The ODNI declined to comment or clarify whether O'Brien's comments contradicted their own.

The ODNI previously said that 'adversaries' seek to compromise the private communications of American political candidates and penetrate U.S. election systems ahead of November's election.

The body also recently stated that China would prefer President Donald Trump does not win reelection.

Multiple reviews by U.S. intelligence agencies have concluded that Russia acted to boost Trump's 2016 campaign and undercut his rival Hillary Clinton's chances in that election.

OBrien said the Trump administration had 'made it very clear' to Russia to stay out of the election.
Television

Air Jaws: Ultimate Breach Off: Shark Week returns, and jumps into the water with this special, featuring research teams competing to capture filmed records of impressive breaches, that is sharks leaping out of the water. (8 p.m. Sunday, Discovery)

Endeavour: Shaun Evans returns for a new season of the series about the early career of the U.K. detective Endeavour Morse. (9 p.m. Sunday, PBS)

Race in America: A Movement Not a Moment: A roundtable discussion on the issue of race and equality brings together people known for appearing in shows that aired on Bravo. The guests include Portland chef Gregory Gourdet (Top Chef), Leah McSweeney (The Real Housewives of New York City), Garcelle Beauvais (the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills), Kandi Burruss and Todd Tucker (The Real Housewives of Atlanta), Dr. Britten Cole (Married to Medicine LA), Porsha Williams (The Real Housewives of Atlanta) and Dr. Simone Whitmore (Married to Medicine Atlanta). (10 p.m. Sunday, Bravo)

Related: In a new special, Portland Top Chef veteran Gregory Gourdet, other Bravo TV stars discuss racism

Surviving Jeffrey Epstein: A year after the apparent suicide of the convicted sex offender, survivors share their experiences, and talk about how their lives have been impacted. Two episodes of the four-part series, which concludes tomorrow, air. Filming on the docuseries continued until very recently, to reflect the July arrest of Ghislaine Maxwell, Epsteins former associate, who has been charged with helping recruit young victims for Epsteins child sex trafficking activities. (10 p.m. Sunday, Lifetime)

We Hunt Together: A British import, this drama follows a pair of detectives as they investigate two deadly killers, a hunt that turns out to have unpredicted consequences. (10 p.m. Sunday, Showtime)

ShaqAttack: Shaquille ONeal returns for another Shark Week, and in this outing, hes trying to find which shark has the most effective hunting techniques. (9 p.m. Monday, Discovery)

Will Smith: Off the Deep End: Another celeb shows up for Shark Week, as Smith faces some of his fears about open water and, well, sharks. (9 p.m. Tuesday, Discovery)

Adam Devines Secret Shark Lair: More Shark Week action, as actor Adam Devine, joined by Anders Holm and Blake Anderson, tris to find out more about tiger sharks in a secret lair. (9 p.m. Wednesday, Discovery)

Yusuf Hawkins: Storm Over Brooklyn: A documentary that explores the case of a Black teenager who was killed by a group of young white men in 1989, in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn. The murder unleashed a wave of outrage. (9 p.m. Wednesday, HBO)

Streaming

Mapleworth Murders: Paula Pell and John Lutz created, wrote and star in this comedy about a small town that sure seems to have a lot of homicidal activity going on. The cast also includes Maya Rudolph, Fred Armisen, DArcy Carden, Tim Meadows, Patton Oswalt, Jack McBrayer, and more. (Available to stream beginning Monday, Quibi)

Five Bedrooms: An Australian rom-com series about five single people who meet at a wedding (at the singles table, no less). They decide to pitch in and buy a house together, and the comedy ensues when they all have to live with each other. (Available to stream beginning Thursday, Peacock)

Already streaming

Howard: Don Hahn directs this documentary about the late Howard Ashman, whose lyrics helped revitalize the Disney animation brand in such features as The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast. (Streaming, Disney Plus)

Wizards: Tales of Arcadia: The animated fantasy series from Guillermo del Toro features characters from Trollhunters and 3Below. (Streaming, Netflix)

Work It: The umpteenth teen comedy movie from Netflix stars Sabrina Carpenter and Jordan Fisher in a story about a high school senior who sets out to transform her schools klutzy dance squad. (Streaming, Netflix)

Subscribe to our What to Watch newsletter. Email:



-- Kristi Turnquist

kturnquist@oregonian.com 503-221-8227 @Kristiturnquist

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Passersby watch on Aug. 6 as party rental crews pack up at a Holmby Hills house where police shut down a wedding reception in response to complaints about noise. (Los Angeles Times)

To the editor: We boomers look up to our parents and grandparents of the "greatest generation" and recognize the enormous sacrifices they made for the good of our nation during a war. ("Raucous parties, young adults fueling California's COVID-19 crisis," Aug. 6)

Now, sadly, we look down at our children and grandchildren and recognize the enormous selfishness they exhibit during this pandemic, to the detriment of our nation.

I'm not speaking of the essential workers who have no choice but to punch the time clock every day; rather, my disgust is with those who continue to gather and party and ignore the well-being of all around them.

Please kids, screw your heads on straight. Grow up, and do it fast. You're killing us.

John Knox, Costa Mesa

..

To the editor: The statement, "Officials warn that the spread among younger adults is transmitting the virus to those who are vulnerable," is journalistic malpractice.

No one is invulnerable to COVID-19. Some are more vulnerable than others, but everyone, even a healthy young adult, is vulnerable.

The mistaken belief among young adults that they are not vulnerable, which the Los Angeles Times is reinforcing in this article, is going to wind up killing a lot of people. Most of them will be old or otherwise at high risk, but a few of them will be young.

And, some of the young ones who get sick and survive will be left with permanent health problems.

So please, stop dividing the population into "those who are vulnerable" and the others. Every single one of us is vulnerable.

Jonathan Bennett, Brooklyn

..

To the editor: Los Angeles officials are "grappling" with ways to stop the parties?

These parties have been going on in residential neighborhoods, not just mansions, long before COVID-19, with garbage, noise, drugs and illegal fireworks. Now we can add the spread of disease to the mix. These are not family celebrations; these are businesses being conducted in residential neighborhoods.

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The police, as the editorial points out, may or may not make the attendees move their cars out of blocked streets and driveways, but that's the extent of the "grappling" that's going on.

Making these parties unprofitable with huge fines on the owners of these houses is the only thing that's going to work.

Alexa Smith Maxwell, Los Angeles
By Scott Rush

I am extremely distressed and dismayed by articles stating that the U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement is ready to a launch a six-week Citizens Academy that would train private citizens on how to arrest immigrants who are here illegally.

While the Trump administration is rolling this out under the guise of community relations, the ICE field office director for the pilot location in Chicago has written to invitees stating that the course would include training in defensive tactics, firearms familiarization and targeted arrests, according to a Newsweek.com article last month.

The past behavior of this administration has made it clear that its goals are to divide us, vilify refugees, and incite a base of supporters who are racist and anti-immigration. This program is sure to attract white supremacists who will abuse their perceived powers and all but certainly promote vigilantism and violence. Every conscientious citizen should object.

It should be alarming that ICE is creating programs and issuing mandates without even notifying our elected representatives in Congress directly.

Recently, the Department of Homeland Security announced  before rescinding the plan under pressure  that foreign students attending U.S. colleges could be deported if they attend the online-only classes that some institutions are switching to this fall because of the pandemic. ICE still plans to prevent new international students from coming to America unless they attend in-person classes.

Now, we hear about this plan to train private citizens to intimidate, harass and perhaps even harm undocumented immigrants. Americans once occupied the moral high ground in the world. The actions of the current administration have caused us to lose that honored place. We are better than this. We must be better than this.

I confess that Im an idealist. After a career in business, I am attending seminary to pursue ordination as a pastor. I want to make a difference in the world. I believe with every fiber of my being that social justice is the truest way to love your neighbor as yourself. Although we Christians claim it for ourselves, it is an axiom that is shared by every major faith community. In my Lutheran tradition, we call a truly just world the Kingdom of God, and those of us called to ministry are bound by our vows to pursue it.

Lately, Ive had to ask myself, What have we become? My heart aches for the way we are maligning our fellow human beings, and excluding the immigrants and refugees who are in dire need of our love and our help.

Every day seems to bring some new inflammatory tweet about the scapegoats that we are supposed to blame for the condition of our society. I dont buy it. Im asking you not to buy it, either. I believe that we are all made in the image of God.

If youd prefer a more secular viewpoint, on a DNA level, were infinitely more alike than we are different. So, please, love each other. Reach out to those you perceive are not like you. And, write to your elected officials. Tell them you expect them to advocate for justice, oppose persecution and demonstrate love for our neighbors.

Scott Rush is attending United Lutheran Seminary in Philadelphia and pursuing ordination as a pastor. He writes from Burlington City. ICE denies that its planned citizens academy is designed to train citizens to arrest immigrants.

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Protests dont just happen as spontaneous moments.

They are planned and executed by an array of people  college students and politicians, lawyers and social workers, medical professionals and blue-collar workers  spurred by outrage, activism or a sense of injustice.

Protesters who emerged as leaders six years ago after 18-year-old Michael Brown was shot and killed by a Ferguson police officer have in some cases carried their commitment in new directions of influence, including freshman state Rep. Rasheen Aldridge and Cori Bush, the Democratic nominee in the 1st Congressional District after Tuesdays primary election.

Aldridge and Bush have remained active in protests, including those sparked this summer by the death of George Floyd, a Black man killed while restrained by a Minneapolis police officer, as well as by the release of a video that showed a Florissant police detective hitting a man with his vehicle.

But they are not the only leaders of the movement.

At the center of the demonstrations are a mix of groups  ExpectUs, RespectUs, Tent Mission STL, Occupy City Hall STL, Protest THAT, Action St. Louis and ClosetheWorkhouse  whose opinions vary on the best way to seek justice.

And on the anniversary of Browns death, Aug. 9, 2014, protest leaders say underlying inequities and a lack of broad reform measures make the St. Louis area ripe for social unrest.

Meet a few of the leaders who carry the culture of protest in the St. Louis region.

The pastor

The Rev. Darryl Gray, 66, is a founder of the protest group ExpectUs. He is one of several Democratic leaders in the organization who doubles as both an activist and a politician. Others include Aldridge and Bush, who toppled longtime U.S. Rep. William Lacy Clay in Tuesdays Democratic primary.

Among other calls for justice, ExpectUs has advocated for reparations for Black people and an end to police brutality. Gray said current protests are more of a movement than a moment.

Born in Boston and having grown up in both South Carolina and Canada, Gray moved to St. Louis after Fergusons uprisings. He emphasizes that when an organization like ExpectUs is grassroots, its bound to have more buy-in from its members.

If you own it, then youre going to go the extra mile for it, Gray said.

Gray attended a newly integrated high school in South Carolina, where he got a taste of standing up for what he believed in  and the repercussions that often follow.

During a school pep rally, Gray said a man came riding into the gym on a horse waving a Confederate flag. He walked out, and hundreds of students followed him. He was suspended from school, he said, for inciting a disturbance.

I didnt know they were behind me. I didnt look back, he said.

Gray went on to join the U.S. Army, where he was honorably discharged. He then campaigned for presidential candidate the Rev. Jesse Jackson in Florida, worked with the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, preached in both Canada and Atlanta, served as head of Atlantas NAACP, and briefly served as a state senator from Kansas City.

Now, he said, hes ready to make St. Louis his final destination.

With a history of frequently moving, proving himself in new cities has been the norm for Gray.

I think Ive gotten beat up enough in the streets. Ive shown up more than some people whove been here all their lives  thats got to count for something, Gray said.

On July 6, a day after protesters say they were beaten while being arrested for protesting at Florissants police department, Gray asked officers in riot gear behind the gate of the police department to go back inside the police department as a sign of good faith. A white shirt officer agreed and instructed riot police to go inside, but a regular, uniformed group of police then came out another door.

Gray and other ExpectUs leaders told everyone to go home. Some in the crowd strongly opposed leaving though, and the two factions argued with one another.

That was our mistake  the timing. For us to disperse while police were standing there could be perceived as a sign of weakness, Gray said. RespectUs felt disrespected at that moment, and they had reason to. Our timing was off. That was our mistake. We owned it.

The self-proclaimed radical

One of the protesters who stayed behind that night was Tauren Taylor, a 25-year-old University City resident.

A self-proclaimed radical, Taylor said he stayed because protesters were supposed to go out on their own terms. Taylor said protesters had to advocate for every inch of real estate on which to protest, including the parking lot across the street from the police station.

Why keep letting them hand us stuff when our job is to take things? Were supposed to be forcing them to give us things they dont want to give us, Taylor said. They dont want to give us freedom. They dont want to stop killing us, they dont want to stop beating us.

Taylor has been arrested at several protests in the past year. He was also one of the protest leaders after Terry Tillman, 23, was killed last year by police near the St. Louis Galleria Mall in Richmond Heights.

Taylor remains vocal on the front line, but he says he will not join a protest group.

To be held under a name, youre held under their standards. ExpectUs, for instance, I love people in ExpectUS. I will ride for ExpectUs, but I dont think now is the time for us to try to ask for reparations.

Taylor moved to Missouri from California when he was a teenager. He said his family dealt with poverty, and he was bullied frequently for having a lisp and being studious.

One of his first successful protests, he said, was getting a neglectful teacher fired by collecting petition names.

Once I found out what the chain of the command was, I went up that ladder, he said.

Eventually, he said, he was kicked out of Vashon High School for fighting.

Taylor earned a diploma from the Fresh Start Academy program at 17, and briefly studied animal science and genetic engineering at St. Louis Community College at Forest Park.

He acknowledged some may see his protest methods as extreme, but he said his methods also help people understand someone is sticking up for them.

Taylor said hes not sure about a future career path, but hes working odd jobs, including selling homemade goods at Soulard Market. In the meantime, he said, he will continue to protest injustices wherever they spring up in the St. Louis area.

Taylor was one of several protesters to take exception with comments in mid-July by Jimmie Edwards, the top law enforcement official in St. Louis. Edwards, at an anti-crime demonstration outside City Hall, said many protesters werent from the city, and he condemned violence that erupted at some of the protests.

I feel like violence happens everywhere, even in nature, said Taylor. Were all human, we all make mistakes. Theres no way to control every single person thats out there. Ive seen police hurt people and each other. You cant condone it on one end and condemn it on the other.

The elder

The perceived lack of government response when doorbell security footage showed former Florissant Detective Joshua Smith running over a fleeing suspect in early June led to the formation of another protest group, RespectUs, said one of the founders, Cathy Mama Cat Daniels.

Daniels, 59, said she and a group of other front-line Ferguson protesters went to the police station for answers about what had happened, but there were barricades around the police department.

When they didnt answer us and treat us with the human respect as people who live in this town, youve got to stand up and fight back, said Daniels. Even the (city) council, anyone who spoke against their idea of democracy, they didnt feel the need to respect them. Thats why we are RespectUs.

Daniels said RespectUs has four core demands: fire, charge, arrest and convict Smith. Thus far, three of those four have happened  Smith has not yet had his day in court.

Daniels has lived in Florissant since 2012. She grew up in New York City and previously lived in Chicago and San Diego. Since Fergusons uprisings, shes worked as a cook and founded PotBangerz, a nonprofit dedicated to providing food and clothing to families in need. The organization is now renovating a home in Pine Lawn for cis, queer and trans women in need and plans to open the home later this year.

An elder of the protest group, Daniels said she offers advice to protesters and watches from the back, cane and chair in tow. Still, she said, she doesnt always approve of the protest methods that unfold.

Theres no such thing as peaceful protest. Thats an oxymoron. If there was peace, we wouldnt need to protest, Daniels said. I dont support tearing up stuff. We had that happen during Ferguson. If were gonna burn it down, then do it the right way, and thats not in the literal sense. Burn down the system. Defund the police.

The likely congresswoman

Daniels stood behind Cori Bush, 44, as hundreds of protesters returned July 3 to Portland Place in St. Louis West End. The private street had recently made national news, as Mark and Patricia McCloskey waved guns at protesters in an effort to, as they said, defend their home. The couple has since been charged with unlawful use of a weapon.

There was nothing to defend, and thats what angers me so bad, Bush said.

In addition to rising as a leader of ExpectUs, Bush gained national notoriety in Tuesdays election. In a district that has historically voted overwhelmingly for Democrats, Bush will likely become the first Black woman to represent Missouri in Congress.

Bush said she learned about politics, protest tactics and demonstrations from her father, Earl Bush, who worked as a politician in north St. Louis County.

She attended high school at Cardinal Ritter College Prep and said she had no intention of starting a life in politics. She graduated from Harris-Stowe State University and Lutheran School of Nursing, then entered the fields of nursing and ministry.

Between Bushs unsuccessful runs for Senate and the House of Representatives in 2016 and 2018, respectively, St. Louis police officer Jason Stockley went on trial for shooting a Black man, Anthony Lamar Smith, in 2011. Stockley was charged with first-degree murder, and prosecutors claimed he planted a gun on Smith. When Stockley was found not guilty by a judge in 2017, protests erupted again, and Bush emerged as a leader of ExpectUs.

During those demonstrations, Bush said, the group began to change how it disseminated information.

With Ferguson, you didnt have to call and ask around to see what time a protest was going on. You could just show up. It was 24/7. With Stockley, we had to have a way to get the information out, said Bush, highlighting the organizations use of social media.

Now, both she and Gray agree the groups protests are more refined, pointing out the local history lessons they provide before the marching and chanting begin.

ExpectUs doesnt do violent things, but what were not going to do is turn our backs on people that do, as far as their form of protest, Bush said, referencing the violence that occasionally breaks out at protests, including an early June demonstration that included gunfire and widespread looting as the night wore on.

If I have a sandwich today for breakfast, lunch and dinner  Im not going to loot a sandwich, Bush said. If they fix the problems, they wont have to worry about that.

Bush said shes aware she could get blamed for the violence that occurs during protests, but she stands by her decision to continually show up and call for change.

I know it every single time, and I make that choice to show up, she said. When we stop showing up, when we stop pushing, thats how they win, so Ill take that chance.

This story has been updated to correct the year of the shooting of Anthony Lamar Smith.

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A $7.50 dishwashing spray is the secret to a sparkling clean oven door, an Australian mother has shown.

The woman posted anonymously in a household group on Facebook, telling members how she coated the grime-riddled glass with Fairy 'Lemon Easy Spray' and scrubbed with a sponge for just under two minutes.

Photos prove the dark grease lifted off easily, leaving the door gleaming with just a few spritzes of the product which is available from leading supermarkets like Coles and Woolworths.

The woman said she 'can't believe' she has finally found a product that lifts stains quickly and easily without the toxic fumes typically associated with effective oven cleaners.

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The result of just two minutes of scrubbing with $7.50 Fairy 'Lemon Easy Spray'

The cleaning spray is available from leading supermarkets like Coles and Woolworths

The post quickly racked up hundreds of 'likes' and comments from impressed Australians, with many hailing the result the best they've seen.

One said: 'Wow, seeing is believing! I need to buy this.'

A second added: 'Getting this as soon as possible. I cleaned my oven a couple of weeks ago it was a nightmare.'

A third said the spray had done 'exactly the same' to her oven door and she never plans to clean it with anything else.

A fourth said she also sprays it on her shower door, leaving the glass brighter and cleaner than ever before.

The gleaming glass which was cleaned without any of the toxic fumes typically associated with effective oven cleaners

But others complained that the product is 'over-priced' and ineffective, with some claiming a simple mixture of soap and boiling water achieves the same result.

One said: 'The one I got must have been a dud, I didn't get results anywhere near what other people are getting.'

Another added: 'Over priced and over rated, it's dishwashing liquid and water - I get easier results with gumption and a scraper.'

A third recommended mixing bicarbonate of soda with hot water, lemon juice and dish soap as an effective 'affordable alternative'.
Many stores along the so-called Korean Streets in Ho Chi Minh City have been dealt a severe blow by the new outbreak of the coronavirus, closing down en-masse because of a dearth of customers.

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Located in Tan Phong Ward in District 7, the streets were almost empty as many from the Republic of Korea who left Vietnam have not been allowed to re-enter.

The streets derive their nickname from the fact that they accommodate a large number of stores mainly servicing the Korean community.

Just a few people were strolling along the streets last weekend, in stark contrast to pre-pandemic crowds that crammed the stores.

Many stores closed after seeing a fall of 70-80 percent in the number of customers from the Republic of Korea, including bars, massage parlours, and spas.

Four or five in a row were shut down on one particular street - evidence of the tremendous impact the new outbreak has had.

Store owners include both Vietnamese and Koreans unable to return to Vietnam, so had to close down. More shutdowns are expected in the future as Vietnam has shown no sign of allowing foreigners back anytime soon.

It barred entry to foreign nationals on March 22 and suspended international flights on March 25 in a bid to curb the spread of the coronavirus./.VNA
In only about half of Nigerian top firms did the earnings of chief executive officers (CEOs) reflect the companies financial performances in 2019, a report published last month found.

The report, titled CEO Remuneration: Paying the CEO in a Pandemic, The Unanswered Questions, was published in July by Proshare, an online research hub founded in 2006.

Some corporate analysts have often questioned the growing size of the pay of chief executive officers (CEO) of organisations whose revenue performance is slow.

The concerns are expected to grow after the Proshare report showed that, in the 2019 financial year, only a few companies heads were able to reflect their increased pay in their companies corporate and annual earnings.

As the report put it, the executives earnings and the companies revenues were mildly correlated.

The outcome of the analysis of executive pay and performance in the report hinted at only a mild statistical correlation of 0.49, the report wrote.

This means only about half of top CEO pay in Nigeria could be explained by their companys financial performance, the rest was subject to more unclear factors, the report wrote.

About half of the highest-paid CEOs made less financial returns

For instance, as noted by the report, in Lafarge Africa, the CEOs pay grew despite the company writing consecutive losses for three years. Michel Puchercos had a pay rise of +30 per cent between 2016 and 2018 and between 2017 and 2018 his pay went up by +21.2 per cent.

Yet, as his pay grew, the companys loss grew by -49.1 per cent between 2016 and 2017 from a loss before tax of 22.8billion in 2016 to a loss of 34billion in 2017, before recovering to a loss of 8.8billion in 2018.

In another instance, this time, the growth in the CEOs take home far outstripped the growth of the companys staff cost. This is the case of Guinness Guinness and its CEO, Baker Magunda.

Between 2015 and 2018, the companys CEO income rose by 754 per cent, but staff cost fell by 24.5 per cent within that period, representing a yearly decline of about -8.89 per cent.

But Mr Magunda assumed office in 2019. Therefore, most of the previous pay rise was earned by Peter Ndegwa who for three-years headed the Nigerian operations of the company.

Further breakdown

As listed by the report, Nigerias top ten executive remunerations in 2019 were: Ferdinand Moolman, MTN, 585.94 million; Adewale Tinubu, Oando, 568 million; Ojenekwu Avuru, Seplat Petroleum Development Company, 440 million; Segun Agbaje, GTBank, 399.7 million; and Yaw Nsarkoh, Unilever, 302.52 million.

Other are: Michel Purchercos, Lafarge, 282.38 million; Jordi Borrut Bel, Nigerian Breweries Plc, 271 million; Mauricio Alarcon, Nestle, 218.08 million; Lars Richter, Julius Berger, 217.07 million; Baker Magunda, Guinness, 193 million; and Emeka Emuwa, Union Bank, 172 million.

Top ten highest-paid CEOs in Nigeria and their companies

The earnings of some of top earners reflected in the performance of their companys financial standing, but it is the other way round for others.

CEOs of companies like MTN, GTBank, Nestle fall into the former category while those of Lafrage, Gunines, Union Bank among others recorded undulating successes in terms of their companies profitability.

For instance, Mr Moolmans MTN recorded consecutive increased revenue in the last three years, from 887 billion in 2017, to 1.04 trillion in 2018, to 1.17 trillion in 2019. Simply put, for every one naira Mr Moolman earned, he generated 1,996.34 in revenue for the company, an improvement from 1,819.82 in 2018.

Also, MTNs profit has successively risen: from 221.34 billion in 2018 to 290.1 billion in 2019. Mr Moolman generated 495.11 for every one naira he was paid  this was higher the 387 and 357 made per one naira of his earnings in 2017 and 2018 respectively.

In 2019, MTNs staff cost rose from 27.15 billion in 2018 to 30.71 billion. The increase suggests either a rise in the number of staff employed or existing staff salaries have been raised, the report wrote, adding, Either way, this implies that MTN is investing in its human capital.

On the other hand, what Guinness Mr Magunda generated for every one-naira he was paid in 2016 was a loss of 19.08. But there has been gradual profit turnaround since 2017, when 14.31 was recorded. In 2018, it was 21.57; and 36.80 in 2019 for every one-naira paid to the CEO.

Also, Guinness revenue for every one-naira paid to Mr Magunda fluctuated between 2015 and 2019. While it declined in 2016 and 2017, it rose to 681.34 in 2019, from 310.14 in 2018, the report showed.

Sectoral top earners

In terms of sectors, the report explained that the pay of corporate chief executives in the banking sector for one appeared tied to the size of gross earnings, and, to a lesser extent, the underlying profitability of their operations.

Top 10 highest-paid CEOs in Nigeria by sector

In the sector, the trio of Segun Agbaje of GTBank with 399.7 million, Emeka Emuwa of Union Bank with 172 million, and Yinka Sanni of Stanbic IBTC with 155 million were paid the highest remuneration in 2019.

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In comparison with previous years though, the executives paycheck for the year did not closely match the profit generated in 2019, save GTBank which recorded the second-highest profit before tax of 243 billion and paid its director the highest remuneration in the sector.

Highest-paid CEOs in the banking sector

On the flipside, the report wrote, Stanbic IBTC and Union Banks which reported relatively lower profit before tax of 90.93 billion and 24.84 billion respectively in 2019 climbed up the ladder of the highest-paid executives in the sector.

Moving on, described as a better rewarding sector, the oil and gas sector has Oandos Adewale Tinubu with 568 million (2018 earning because the companys 2019 financial audit has not been published when this report was written), Seplat Petroleums Ojunekwu Avuru with 440 million, and Totals Imrane Barry with 163.42 million lined as its top earners.

Highest-paid CEOs in the oil and gas sector

The chart of ICT sector top earners was led MTNs Ferdinand Moolman with 585.94 million. He was trailed in far second place by James Agada of Computer Warehouse Group (CWG) Plc who earned 47.2 million in 2019.

Highest-paid CEOs in the ICT sector

As for conglomerates, with 127.6m, the UACN CEO, Abdul Bello, earned the highest among the listed conglomerates on Nigeria Stock Exchange. He was followed by Transnational Corporation of Nigerias Adim Jibunoh who lost his top spot because his 2018 eaning of 100.21m remained unchanged in 2019.

Highest-paid CEOs among conglomerate companies

Guinness Baker Magunda led the pack in the consumer goods sector with his 461 million remuneration in 2018. But Yaw Nsarkoh of Unilever leapfrogged him in 2019 by earning 302.52 million. Mr Magundas earning nosedived in 2019 to 193 million, placing fourth in the sector.

Highest-paid CEOs in the consumer goods sector

Jordi Bel of the Nigerian Breweries placed second on the log. His earnings rose significantly from 190 million in 2018 to 271 million in 2019. Maurico Alarcon of Nestle ranked third with 218.08 million, a slight increase from the 210 million he earned2in 2018.

In the industrial sector, despite a decline from 312.33 million in 2018 to 282.38 million in 2019, Lafarges chief, Michel Purchercos was the highest paid. He was trailed by Notore Chemical Industries Onajite Okoloko who got 150.09 million in 2019 as against 147.07 million in 2018. Dangotes Joseph Makoju, who retired in 2019, earned 109 million for the year, a sharp decline from 429 million in 2018.

Highest-paid CEOs in the agricultural sector

With an annual pay of 217.07 million in 2019, Julius Bergers Lars Richter was the highest-paid CEO in the construction and real estate sector. Representing a massive Aiyesimoju earned +1,006.37 per cent difference, in second place is Folasope Aiyesimoju of UAC Property Development who received an annual remuneration of 19.62 million.

Highest-paid CEOs in the construction and real estate sector

This, the report said, reflects the large disparity in earnings in the construction/real estate business.

A few equally larger construction firms are not listed on the NSE, and do not make a representation of their executive remuneration, the report added. It would be reasonable to assume that the gap between the executive pay of firms in the sector would be narrower if the executive compensation data for (the) none-quoted companies were made available.

In the healthcare sector, the highest-paid executive was Fidson Healthcare CEO, Fidelis Ayebae, who took home 40 million. GlaxoSmithKlines Kunle Oyelana who was appointed mid-2019 earned 36.96 million. Appointed in 2019, Neimeth International Pharmaceuticals Mathew Azoji finished third with 28.34 million. CEOs in the sector got the second least remuneration in 2019, the report said.

Highest-paid CEOs in the healthcare sector

Tagged as the sector whose CEOs received the lowest annual remuneration in 2019, the highest-paid CEO in the agricultural sector was Graham Hefer of Okomu Oil Palm who earned 11.55 million in 2019. He toppled Livestock Feeds Solomon Aigbavboa who resigned in July 2019.

Highest-paid CEOs in the agricultural sector

Mr Aigbavboas successor, Adegboyega Adedeji, who took to office in acting capacity last August, was paid 10.03 million for the year.
The Delhi BJP on Sunday attacked Health Minister Satyendar Jain for claiming that patients from outside the city are the reason for the rise in Covid-19 cases here, and alleged that the AAP government was running away from its responsibility.

Click here for full Covid-19 coverage

Jain has attributed the recent rise in cases to patients from outside getting tested here.

I fail to understand whether it is Delhi chief minister or his ministers who consider outsiders and migrants in the city as a problem? Delhi BJP president Adesh Gupta questioned.

Earlier also, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had said that people from Bihar come to Delhi with a Rs 500 ticket and get back after availing treatment worth Rs 5 lakh. Also, the AAP government had denied treatment for people from other states, while the Modi government had ensured treatment for them, Gupta claimed.

Talking to reporters, Jain said, Many patients from outside Delhi are getting tested here, hence the rise in the number of cases. There is otherwise a decline in cases here.

Jain said the hospital admissions have also increased due to the patients coming from outside Delhi. Such statements show that the Delhi government is running away from its responsibilities and diverting the attention of the people, Gupta said.

He said the Kejriwal government should help the people. It still needs to work very carefully in view of the Covid-19, he added.
LANSING, MI  Gov. Gretchen Whitmer blasted President Donald Trump's recent executive orders for COVID-19 economic relief on Sunday, denouncing cuts to federal unemployment benefits as harmful to those who have lost their jobs.

Trump signed the four orders on Saturday, Aug. 8 at his private country club in Bedminster, N.J. One of the orders lowers the now-expired enhanced unemployment benefit from $600 to $400 per week through the end of the year, with states having to contribute $100.

Once again, the president has refused to work together with Congress on a bipartisan recovery package that supports our states, families, front-line workers, and small businesses, Whitmer said in a statement.

He has routinely proven that hes more focused on his chances in the November election than fighting the virus that has killed more than 160,000 Americans.

Trump contended Washingtons gridlock in recent weeks compelled him to act as the pandemic undermined the countrys economy.

Out-of-work Americans impacted by the coronavirus pandemic had been receiving the additional $600 per week in benefits as part of the CARES Act. The act, which was signed into law March 27 after being passed through Congress with overwhelming bipartisan support expired July 31.

For the past two weeks members of Congress have debated continuing numerous components of the bill, with the extension of unemployment benefits being chief among the items being debated.

Democrats had argued for the payments to continue the federal support of $600 per week, while many Republicans argued a lower amount of $200 or less per week.

The executive order signed by Trump Saturday approves a lost wages assistance program that authorizes each state to provide a $400 payment per week, which would consist of a $300 federal contribution and a $100 contribution from the respective state. This would be in addition to the monies already paid by the state unemployment office.

Eligible claimants would be able to receive funds beginning with the week of unemployment ending Aug. 1.

The presidents recent actions do nothing to protect the millions of unemployed Americans who need to put food on the table for themselves and their families, Whitmer said.

He cut federal funding for unemployed workers and is requiring states that are facing severe holes in our budgets to provide 25% of the funding.

Whitmer was also upset that Trump, in his executive order, called on states to, if needed, use money previously allocated to them out of the coronavirus relief fund.

His refusal to provide full federal funding to states across the country to help us combat this virus will hurt the brave men and women on the front lines of this crisis, like our first responders, health care workers, child care workers, and more, Whitmer said.

In addition to the federal unemployment benefits order, Trump also signed an order to continue the temporary suspension of payments and waiver of interest on federally held student loans through Dec. 31.

As well, Trump signed orders to continue the federal eviction moratorium for an indeterminate amount of time and defer payroll tax through the end of the year.

The deferral of payroll tax is set to start Sept. 1 and be retroactive to Aug. 1 for workers earning less than $104,000 per year. It will reduce the amount of tax taken out of workers paychecks by roughly 7%, using money that funds Medicare and Social Security.

In addition to her disappointment with the orders signed by Trump, Whitmer also chastised the president for not addressing issues that will help keep students and educators safe as schools across the country prepare for the possibility of going back to school this fall.

The president has repeatedly said that its time for our kids to return to school for in-person learning, but he wont work with Congressional leaders to provide districts with the support they need to keep students, educators, and support staff safe, Whitmer said. His executive actions yesterday do nothing to protect our kids from the spread of this virus.

Its time for the president to do the right thing, stop playing political games, and work with Congress on a recovery package that will help us fight this virus, protect working families, and send our kids, educators, and support staff back to school safely.

Also on MLive:

President Trump extends COVID-19 unemployment benefits, defers payroll tax

Gov. Whitmer flew to Delaware to meet with Joe Biden, report says

Story of a coronavirus long-hauler: Five months after getting infected, still struggling to recover

How a new rule could save small-school football in Michigan
Armenia has sent the first planeload of humanitarian aid to Lebanon following a massive explosion in Beirut which killed at least 158 people and injured thousands of others earlier this week.

About 12 tons of medication, foodstuffs and other vital supplies in boxes with an inscription From Armenias Heart To Beirut were delivered to the Lebanese capital on board a chartered cargo aircraft that left Yerevan on Saturday evening.

The Armenian government said it will send two more planeloads of humanitarian aid to Lebanon in the coming days.

The government in Yerevan pledged to provide relief aid immediately after the August 4 explosion at Beiruts sea-port warehouses.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian described Lebanon as one of Armenias closest friends, implying the existence of a sizable and influential Armenian community in the Middle Eastern state.

At least 13 members of the community were reportedly among the victims of the explosion and more than 250 were injured. The devastating blast wave also destroyed or seriously damaged many Lebanese Armenian homes.

Zareh Sinanyan, the high commissioner for Diaspora affairs, who flew to Beirut along with some other government officials and lawmakers on August 8, said that the first planeload of humanitarian aid included items that had been asked for by the Lebanese government and was intended for the people and the state of Lebanon.

He said that the second and third planeloads of supplies to be delivered to Lebanon on August 9 and 11 will also include items designated for the Armenian community specifically.

I find it important that the people of Lebanon understand that we remember the positive role that they played in the fate of our people when they granted asylum to Armenians fleeing the genocide [in Ottoman Turkey] and let Armenians prosper in their country for many years, Sinanyan said.

The high commissioner for Diaspora affairs said that in Beirut he planned a series of meetings with local Armenian leaders to assess the needs of the community as well as the potential for repatriation, which has been a stated goal of the current government in Yerevan.

There are some 40 people who have expressed their desire to move to Armenia [on a permanent basis] immediately, Sinanyan said. There is another, much more sizable category of people who do want to move to Armenia, but cannot do it now because they want to solve issues connected with their property affected by the explosion. So, these are people who want to come in the medium to long term.

The blast and its devastating consequences have led to calls for the evacuation of Lebanons ethnic Armenian nationals willing to relocate to Armenia. Some opposition politicians and public figures as well as Lebanese-born citizens or residents of Armenia have urged the Armenian government to launch special Yerevan-Beirut flights for that purpose.

Lebanon, a nation with a population of some 6.8 million, is home to more than 150,000 ethnic Armenians, many of whom live in capital Beirut. As one of the Middle Eastern countrys minorities, Lebanese-Armenians also have their quota in top-level public positions, including in the government and parliament of Lebanon.
Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has rolled out a message on the occasion of the 53rd founding anniversary of ASEAN and the 25th anniversary of Vietnams ASEAN membership.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc: Photo: VGP

In his message, the Prime Minister highlighted the tremendous significance of the establishment of ASEAN on August 8, 1967.



After 53 years of establishment and development, true to its historical mission proclaimed in the 1967 Bangkok Declaration, ASEAN has indeed become an organization representing the nations in the region where its members are united in friendship, cooperation, mutual respect and understanding, together striving for peace, progress and prosperity for their people.



From a group of first five members, ASEAN has developed into a Community of 10 countries in the Southeast Asia with a population of 650 million and a combined GDP of over US$3 trillion.



ASEAN has expanded cooperation beyound Southeast Asia, to partners within and outside the region, including worlds major powers, creating impetus for cooperation and dialogue processes for peace, security, stability and development in Asia-Pacific region and the world at large, Phuc affirmed.



Fundamental principles of ASEAN, regionally-recognized norms, and most of all, international law, the spirit of multi-lateral cooperation, regional connectivity and ASEAN centrality need to be continually upheld, the Vietnamese leader emphasized.



Recalling the day Viet Nam's accession to ASEAN, Phuc said that the Vietnamese flag - the yellow star upon read field - hoisted up with the national flags of other ASEAN member countries against the sky in Brunei on July 28, 1995 shall forevermore be remembered as a turning point for both Viet Nam and ASEAN.



The journey has taken Viet Nam into an intensive and extensive international and regional integration process and it can be said that Viet Nams development achievements of over the recent 25 years bear the distinct hallmark of its membership in ASEAN.



At the same time, Viet Nams active and responsible participation in ASEAN has also played an important role in the development and growth of the ASEAN Community.



In the Cohesive and Responsive spirit, Viet Nam, as the ASEAN Chair 2020, gives high priority to reinforcement of solidarity, unity and effective coordination within ASEAN as well as enhancement of relations between ASEAN and its partners with an aim to build resilience and responsiveness in facing unprecedented challenges, including the Covid-19 pandemic and remarkable and profound shifts and competition in the regional and global geo-strategic environment.



Throughout the above process, PM Phuc stressed the need to further uphold rule of law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS 1982).



Phuc pledged that Viet Nam will continue working with other ASEAN member countries to continue successful realization of the ASEAN Vision 2025 and the post-2025 ASEAN development orientations, and improve ASEANs regional and global profile to contribute to peace, security, and sustainable development in the region and the world.



ASEAN has always been one of the key pillars of Viet Nams foreign policy, reiterated Phuc.



He expressed his belief that ASEAN countries share the common interest of having a united, strong, prosperous, and resilient ASEAN Community with high global position and role and it can only be achieved with the approach of Community-based mindset and Community-based actions (or Think Community, Act Community)./. VGP
The plane swayed violently as it approached a hilltop runway soaked by monsoon rain, and moments later, the special return flight for Indians stranded abroad by the pandemic skidded off, nosedived and cracked in two, leaving 19 dead and more than 120 injured.

Among the injured on Friday night, at least 15 were in critical condition, said Abdul Karim, a senior police officer in Kerala. The dead included both pilots of the Air India Express flight, the airline said in a statement, adding that the four cabin crew were safe.

The 2-year-old Boeing 737-800 flew from Dubai to Kozhikode, also called Calicut, in Kerala. There were 174 adult passengers, 10 infants, two pilots and four cabin crew on board.

In a telephone interview from his hospital bed, Renjith Panangad, a plumber who was returning home for the first time in three years after losing his job at a construction company in Dubai, said the plane swayed before the crash and everything went dark.

He said he followed other passengers who crawled their way out of the fuselage through the emergency exit.

"A lot of passengers were bleeding," said Panangad, who escaped without major injuries. "I still can't comprehend what happened. As I am trying to recall what happened, my body is shivering."

He said the pilot made a regular announcement before landing, and moments after the plane hit the runway, it nosedived.

"There was a big noise during the impact and people started screaming," he said.

As the rain stopped Saturday morning, searchers recovered a flight data recorder as the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau started work on the wreckage. Air India Express said its teams also reached Calicut to support and assist families of the victims.

The wreckage of the plane was resting below a flat hilltop, its nose crashed through a wall. The aircraft's fuselage was split in two and cables dangled from the wreckage and luggage and seats were strewn around.

A similar tragedy was narrowly avoided at the same airport a year ago, when an Air India Express flight suffered a tail strike upon landing. None of the 180 passengers on that flight was injured.

Kozhikode's 2,850-meter (9,350-foot) runway is on a flat hilltop with deep gorges on either side ending in a 34-meter (112-foot) drop.

Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said in a statement that the flight "overshot the runway in rainy conditions and went down" the slope, breaking into two pieces upon impact.

Questions dogging investigators would include not only the aircraft, weather and pilots but also the runway itself. Its end safety area was expanded in 2018 to accommodate wide-body aircraft.

The runway end safety area meets United Nations international civil aviation requirements, but the UN agency recommends a buffer that is 150 meters (492 feet) longer than that at Kozhikode airport, according to Harro Ranter, chief executive of the Aviation Safety Network online database.

The Press Trust of India news agency reported that the country's aviation regulator had sought an explanation from the director of the Kozhikode airport in 2019 on finding "various critical safety lapses," which included cracks on the runway, water stagnation and excessive rubber deposits.

In a tweet, Puri denied the allegations and said the flagged issues were "addressed and rectified."

Officials from the aviation regulator said it was too early to tell at this point whether the accident was a result of a technical error or human error.

Dubai-based aviation consultant Mark Martin said annual monsoon conditions appeared to be a factor, though it was too early to be certain of the cause.

"Low visibility, wet runway, low cloud base, all leading to very poor braking action is what looks like led to where we are at the moment with this crash," Martin said, calling for the European Aviation Safety Agency and the US Federal Aviation Administration to assist with the Indian government's investigation.

Kerala Health Minister KK Shailaja asked local residents who joined the rescue effort to go into quarantine as a precautionary measure. The survivors were being tested for the virus, officials said.

The Air India Express flight was part of the Indian government's special repatriation mission to bring Indian citizens back to the country, officials said. All of the passengers were returning from the Gulf region, authorities said. Regular commercial flights have been halted in India because of the coronavirus outbreak.

The passenger manifest of the flight, a copy of which was seen by the AP, showed that a large number of passengers were stranded tourists and workers reuniting with their families after months away.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted that he was "pained by the plane accident in Kozhikode," and that he had spoken to Kerala's top elected official.

Air India Express is a subsidiary of Air India.

The worst air disaster in India was on November 12, 1996, when a Saudi Arabian Airlines flight collided midair with a Kazakhastan Airlines Flight near Charki Dadri in Haryana, killing all 349 on board the two planes.
Cooperative Systems, a managed technology services provider serving the greater Hartford and Boston regions, has been named as one of the worlds premier managed service providers on the prestigious 2020 annual Channel Futures MSP 501 rankings.

For the 13th year running, IT and technology firms completed an exhaustive application process to determine the most elite managed service providers, from around the globe. This application process identifies criteria based around product offerings, annual recurring revenues, profits, revenue mix, growth opportunities, and customer demographic information. Applicants are ranked on a unique methodology that weights revenue figures according to long-term health and viability; commitment to recurring revenue; and operational efficiency.

Channel Futures is pleased to name Cooperative Systems to the 2020 MSP 501.

We are truly honored to be named to the Channel Futures MSP 501 ranking. Were honored because of how great our people are and because of our great client relationships, said President Scott Spatz.

In the 13 years since its inception, the MSP 501 has evolved from a competitive ranking list into a vibrant group of service providers, vendors, distributors, consultants and industry analysts working together to define the growing managed service opportunity.

For the third year running, the applicant pool for the annual MSP 501 has grown year-over-year, making this years list the most competitive in the surveys history, says Kris Blackmon, Senior Content Director at Channel Partners and Channel Futures. The MSP 501 leveraged judgement methodology brand-new in 2020 to drill down into not just what makes a big managed service provider, but what makes a great managed service provider. The 2020 winners are truly the best examples of innovation, business acumen and strategic savvy on the planet. We extend our heartfelt congratulations to the 2020 winners and gratitude to the thousands of MSPs that have contributed to the continuing growth and success of both the 501 and the thriving managed services sector.

Ten MSP 501 special award winners will be recognized at the MSP 501 Awards Gala at Channel Partners Virtual: Digital Events for the Modern Channel on September 8  10. Nominations for these special awards, including Digital Innovator of the Year, Executive of the Year and the Newcomer Award, were included in the MSP 501 application, and all candidates were encouraged to submit for them.

The data collected by the annual MSP 501 program drives Channel Partnerss and Channel Futuress market intelligence insights, creating robust data sets and data-based trend reports that support our editorial coverage, event programming, community and networking strategies and educational offerings. It serves as a lynchpin to dozens of programs and initiatives.

The complete 2020 MSP 501 list is available at http://www.channelfutures.com.

Background:

The 2020 MSP 501 list is based on data collected by Channel Futures and its sister site, Channel Partners. Data was collected online from Mar. 1 through June 30, 2020. The MSP 501 list recognizes top managed service providers based on metrics including recurring revenue, profit margin and other factors.

About Cooperative Systems:

Since 1993, Cooperative Systems has assisted small and medium-sized businesses across New England to achieve their goals by managing and securing technology to drive their businesses. Cooperative Systems offers exceptional customer service and support, tailored and cost-effective solutions, and a consultative approach. Cooperative Systems branded service offerings, called NOAH, proactively monitor and maintain clients environments 24x7x365. NOAH solutions from Cooperative Systems are tailored to each clients current needs and adapt as needs change. For more information, visit http://www.coopsys.com.

About Informa Tech:

Channel Futures, Channel Partners Online, Channel Partners Conference & Expo and Channel Partners Evolution are part of Informa Tech, a market-leading B2B information provider with depth and specialization in the Information and Communications (ICT) Technology sector. We help drive the future by inspiring the Technology community to design, build and run a better digital world through our market-leading research, media, training and event brands. Every year, we welcome 7,400+ subscribers to our research, more than 3.8 million unique visitors a month to our digital communities, 18,200+ students to our training programs and 225,000 delegates to our events.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Allison Francis

Editor, Channel Futures & Channel Partners

Editor, MSP 501

Allison.Francis@informa.com


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MARRAKECH, Morocco Abdenabi Nouidi sold his favorite horse for $150 to help feed the others on the team that pulls tourists in carriages through the buzzing streets of Marrakech. The prospect of starvation looms for carriage horses and other animals normally used in Moroccos tourist mecca. Visitors have vanished during the coronavirus pandemic.

The Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad, or SPANA, says hundreds of Moroccos carriage horses and donkeys are threatened amid the collapsing tourism industry. They are among the estimated 200 million horses, donkeys, camels and elephants worldwide providing various livelihoods for over a half-billion people.

The North African kingdom closed its doors to outsiders after the first virus case was confirmed March 2. It recently issued a ban on domestic travel to eight cities, including Marrakech.

Thousands of people depend on the carriage horses for their livelihood. A single horse carriage in Marrakech supports four to five families, including owners, drivers and stable boys, carriage driver Abdeljalil Belghaoute said.

He spoke from his carriage, waiting in a line near the famed Jamaa El Fnaa square, hoping that someone would want a ride.

If you have a shop, you can close it. If you sell goods, you store them. But imagine having  horses who need to eat, drink and get medical care, said Abdeljalil Nouidi.

For two decades, the four Nouidi brothers have taken tourists on sightseeing jaunts in horse-drawn carriages. Now they have empty pockets and mouths to feed, both at home and at the rundown complex outside Marrakech where drivers stable their horses.

The brothers were forced to sell seven of their horses in July. Abdenabi Nouidis favorite, Cocotte, was among them.

This is not something I can easily forgive myself for, he said, recalling a promise he made to Cocotte 15 years ago to keep him forever.

The Nouidi brothers suspect that their horses, visibly nervous, know an abrupt change in their lives may be coming. With no carriage work, the horses routine has been disrupted, feed is running low and mates are leaving for good.

SPANA helped carriage owners provide the basics for their horses when the COVID-19 pandemic reached Morocco. It delivered three months worth of feed to almost 600 horses in the city and the neighboring town of At Ourir during the countrys lockdown.

It became very clear to us when the lockdown was first imposed that many of Marrakechs working animals would need our help or face a dire outcome, said the head veterinarian at SPANAs Marrakech center, Hassan Lamrini.

The center, in a working-class neighborhood, is a mecca for the citys thousands of working animals. Since 1988, the team of vets and technicians have cared for donkeys, mules and horses free of charge.

Lamrini said the center has treated an increasing number of cases of colic, an abdominal pain that causes complications in the digestive system, often due to malnutrition. Colic can be fatal.

There is not much in the world that matters to me more than caring for these animals. They are my entire life, said Boujamaa Ninich, who has dedicated 50 years to working with SPANA. He spends weeks on end sleeping in a little room at the center to ensure the animals are cared for after dark.

They give so much to their owners. There is so little that we can give back, he said.

Marrakech was nearly at a standstill on a recent visit. The Jamma El Fnaa square, a vast area with hawkers, food vendors and snake-dancers, was nearly deserted.

Only tourism can save us from this catastrophe were facing, said Belghaoute, the carriage driver hoping for a fare.

The Moroccan government earlier this year launched a social media campaign to encourage citizens to explore their country, but spiking numbers of COVID-19 cases led to the travel ban for eight of the countrys top tourist cities.

Authorities counted 28,500 infections and 435 deaths as of Thursday.

The longer this goes on, horses and families will struggle to survive. Were really scared by how bad this can get, Belghaoute said.

Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor
Union Home Minister Amit Shah's coronavirus report came negative on Sunday, according to Bharatiya Janata Party MP Manoj Tiwari.

Tiwari tweeted today, saying: "Home Minister Amit Shah's COVID-19 report came negative."

Last Sunday, Home Minister Shah said he tested positive for coronavirus. He was admitted to Medanta hospital in Gurugram.

The 55-year-old also requested those who had come in contact with him in the last few days to get tested for coronavirus and isolate themselves.

The last known public function which Shah attended was on Saturday at the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA), where he addressed a webinar on the occasion of the 100th death anniversary of Bal Gangadhar Tilak. About 50 people were physically present at the event.

Also read: Amit Shah tests coronavirus positive, admitted to hospital
Stassi Schroeder is preparing to welcome her first child, after announcing she's pregnant with fiance Beau Clark.

As the 32-year-old former Vanderpump Rules star recently passed the halfway point of her pregnancy, she opened up about experiencing swollen feet.

'So this is fun: 93% of my shoes don't fit anymore,' the Straight Up With Stassi podcast host told her 2.2 million Instagram followers on Saturday.

Expecting: As Stassi Schroeder recently passed the halfway point of her pregnancy, she opened up about experiencing swollen feet on Saturday

While the mom-to-be successfully slipped into a form-fitting, strapless black dress, she appeared reluctant to coordinate the look with a pair of classic white sneakers.

In the snap, Schroeder, whose baby girl is due in January, gently cradled her burgeoning baby bump and smiled softly for the camera.

As she stood in front of her pristine bed for a mirror selfie, the beauty looked effortlessly chic with her loose blonde tresses in a low ponytail and minimal makeup.

Bumpin: The reality TV star recently cradled her bump in a similar cap sleeve black dress

The expectant star has been glowing ever since she officially announced her pregnancy on June 23 with a cute photo of herself and her fiance.

'We're having a baby girl,' she captioned the snap, which showed her in a ribbed off-the-shoulder dress as Beau planted a kiss on her cheek.

'Stassi and Beau will be welcoming their first child the first week in January and are grateful and eager to begin the next chapter of their lives as parents,' a rep for the couple confirmed to DailyMail.com in June.

It's a girl! Along with her fiance Beau Clark, she shared a photo to Instagram on June 23 to officially announce they were expecting a bundle of joy

The New Orleans native has been dating the casting agent since the end of 2017, and the pair announced their engagement in July 2019.

The lovers had been looking forward to a destination wedding in Rome that was scheduled for October, but the coronavirus pandemic forced them to delay it until 2021.

The wedding would likely have been a major part of Stassi's series Vanderpump Rules, but she was fired on June 9 for her racist actions toward her Black former costar Faith Stowers.

Item: She and the casting agent started dating in late 2017 and got engaged in July 2019

Faith accused Stassi and her friend Kristen Doute, who was also fired, of reporting her to police in 2018.

The two women falsely claimed she was a woman suspected of a string of robberies, despite knowing that she was not the person in question.

Stassi also made racist statements in a 2017 episode of her Straight Up With Stassi podcast in which she complained about Black people asking for special treatment in Hollywood.

On hold: Bravo cameras were expected to film their wedding in Rome, which is now delayed by the coronavirus pandemic, but she was fired from Vanderpump Rules in June

Schroeder apologized for making 'racially insensitive comments' in the past in an Instagram post from June 7, and made the vague statement that she would 'continue to take accountability for what I have said and done, while pushing myself to do better.'

She also claimed to have changed significantly since those racist actions and remarks, and said she was 'filled with remorse and regret for the hurt' she caused, especially to Faith.

Since turning her Instagram account private, she has been pregnancy updates, including that she feel her like baby is 'sucking every last bit' of her 'energy'
In Niger have been killed according to the authorities, six French and two Nigrer. Heavily-armed people on motorcycles have attacked the eight in the Region of Tillaberi in the West of the country, said on Sunday the Governor Ibrahim Katiela.

In the case of the French it was the employees of ACTED, a French aid organisation, the tourist on the go. The two Nigrer had been the driver and leader of the French. The Sahel region  an area of the Sahara from the Atlantic to the Red sea extends South  is considered to be very uncertain, because there are several terrorist groups are active.

a state of emergency since 2017

Some of them have the terrorist network Al-Qaeda or the Islamic state (IS) sworn Allegiance to. Again and again it also comes in the Niger attacks with many dead, mainly in the West of the country.

In Parts of the Region already since 2017, a state of emergency. Reason for this are the continuing attacks by the terrorists. Only at the end of June, ten employees of a local aid organization, were kidnapped. In may, 20 people were killed in a RAID on a village.

Updated Date: 09 August 2020, 13:19
WASHINGTON  Since the first days after she was elected governor of South Dakota in 2018, Kristi Noem had been working to ensure that President Donald Trump would come to Mount Rushmore for a fireworks-filled July Fourth extravaganza.

After all, the president had told her in the Oval Office that he aspired to have his image etched on the monument. And last year, a White House aide reached out to the governors office with a question, according to a Republican official familiar with the conversation: Whats the process to add additional presidents to Mount Rushmore?

So last month, when the president arrived in the Black Hills for the star-spangled spectacle he had pined for, Noem made the most of it.

Introducing Trump against the floodlit backdrop of his carved predecessors, the governor played to the presidents craving for adulation by noting that in just three days more than 125,000 people had signed up for only 7,500 seats; she likened him to Theodore Roosevelt, a leader who braves the dangers of the arena; and she mimicked the presidents rhetoric by scorning protesters who she said were seeking to discredit the countrys founders.

In private, the efforts to charm Trump were more pointed, according to a person familiar with the episode: Noem greeted him with a 4-foot replica of Mount Rushmore that included a fifth presidential likeness: his.

But less than three weeks later, Noem came to the White House with far less fanfare  to meet not with Trump, but with Vice President Mike Pence. Word had circulated through the Trump administration that she was ingratiating herself with the president, fueling suspicions that there might have been a discussion about her serving as his running mate in November. Noem assured Pence that she wanted to help the ticket however she could, according to an official present.

She never stated it directly, but the vice president found her message clear: She was not after his job.

There is no indication Trump wants to replace Pence. Trump last month told Fox News that hes sticking with Pence, whom he called a friend.

Yet with polls showing the president trailing Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee, and Republicans at risk of being shut out of power in Congress, a host of party leaders have begun eyeing the future, maneuvering around a mercurial president.

Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas was in New Hampshire late last month, Sen. Rick Scott of Florida is angling to take over the Senate Republican campaign arm to cultivate donors, and Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming is defending Dr. Anthony Fauci, the governments leading expert on infectious disease, while separating herself from Trump on some national security issues.

At the same time, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is attempting to shore up his conservative credentials by pushing a hard line on China, and Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas and Rand Paul of Kentucky are attempting to reclaim their standing as fiscal hawks by loudly opposing additional spending on coronavirus relief.

Drawing less attention, but working equally hard to burnish her national profile, is Noem. The governor, 48, has installed a TV studio in her state capitol, become a Fox News regular and started taking advice from Trumps former 2016 campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, who still has the presidents ear.

Next month, shell address a county Republican dinner in Iowa.

There seems like there might be some interest on her part  it certainly gets noticed, Jon Hansen, a Republican state representative in South Dakota, said of Noems positioning for national office.

Her efforts have paid off, as evidenced by the news-driving celebration at Mount Rushmore. Yet Noems attempts to raise her profile have not been without complications. And they illustrate the risks in political maneuvering with a president who has little restraint when it comes to confidentiality, and a White House that shares his obsession about, and antenna for, palace intrigue.

To the surprise of some of her own advisers, Noem flew with Trump to Washington on Air Force One late in the evening after his Mount Rushmore speech. Joined by Lewandowski, she and the president spoke for over an hour privately during the flight  a fact that Trump and some of his aides soon shared with other Republicans, according to officials familiar with his disclosure.

An aide to Noem, Maggie Seidel, said she did not raise the vice presidency with Trump. Lewandowski, who is a paid adviser to the Pence-aligned Great America PAC, also denied that he or the governor ever raised the subject of replacing Pence on the ticket.

Lewandowski, in a brief interview, described Noem as a star who has a huge future in Republican politics.

A White House official laughed at the notion that Trump is open to replacing Pence, a move that, among other things, would exude desperation. And regarding the phone call about adding the presidents image to Rushmore, the official noted that it is a federal, not state, monument.

Still, word of the Air Force One conversation quickly reached White House officials, including those in Pences office.

A short time later, Noem was jetting back to the capital, this time in less grand fashion, after requesting a meeting with Pence.

White House aides kept Noem from meeting with Trump again, one person familiar with the planning said. But Pences office gladly put his session with the governor on his public schedule and the vice president tweeted about it afterward. Noems aides, hoping to tamp down questions about the second trip, emphasized that she had also met with officials from the Department of Health and Human Services and other agencies while she was in the capital.

One official close to the vice president said that Noem did not discuss her Air Force One flight with Pence but used the conversation to say she wanted to help the campaign however she could. The official suggested that the vice presidents team has an opportunity for her in mind: helping Pence prepare to debate whichever woman Biden selects as his running mate.

Yet one senior Trump adviser has recently lamented to others that Trump could have boosted his reelection campaign had he replaced Pence with a woman, according to people familiar with the conversations. One potential candidate mentioned was Nikki Haley, the former United Nations ambassador who is close to the presidents daughter and son-in-law, Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner.

However, Pence has been an unstinting ally of Trump, and the vice president retains a number of allies in the presidents orbit.

I think well win South Dakota either way, Brian Ballard, a lobbyist close to Trump, said.

That these kinds of speculative conversations about a different running mate have taken place at all, though, illustrates the depth of frustration in Trumps inner circle over his political fortunes. With early voting starting in less than two months in some states, the presidents ineffectual response to the coronavirus has alienated voters and made the election primarily a referendum on him.

Speculation has long lingered in Republican circles that Trump could swap out Pence for Haley, partly because of the presidents own musings about it.

For a time in 2018, Trump queried people about Pences loyalty. And officials in the administration, including some close to Pence, said they believed that Kushner and Ivanka Trump were angling to replace him with Haley.

In his memoir, The Room Where It Happened, the former national security adviser John Bolton recounts how, flying to Iraq on Christmas night in 2018, the president asked him for his opinion on jettisoning Pence.

Noem, the daughter of a rancher who took over her familys property after her father died, has insisted that she has little appetite to return to Washington, where she served as South Dakotas sole House member for eight years before becoming governor.

Shes focused on being the governor of South Dakota, said Seidel, her senior adviser.

The presidents transition team contacted her about interviewing for a Cabinet post after the 2016 election, but she was already planning to run for governor then. Some of her allies believe shed also be open to the interior or agricultural secretary roles in a second Trump term before the 2024 race.

Noems poll numbers have increased after a difficult first year in office. But to some of her aides, Lewandowski, a hard-charging New Englander, has been a disruptive presence in Pierre, South Dakotas small state capital. He appeared as a guest speaker at one luncheon with cabinet officials and pressed the governors appointees to make a more aggressive case for her, irritating the state officials, according to a person briefed on the events.

The governor is now on her third chief of staff because the last one, Joshua Shields, left in part because of the increased role of Lewandowski, according to South Dakota Republicans.

Lewandowski has sought opportunities that could benefit both Trump and Noem. He recently discussed with the presidents advisers sending Trump to the annual motorcycle rally in Sturgis, South Dakota, where there would be a big crowd and where the two might have appeared together again; Trumps aides did not want him in the same politically safe state twice in two months.

Noem has been a steadfast ally of Trump and has mirrored his handling of the virus.

She has pushed for schools to reopen for in-person classes, denounced mask mandates and had South Dakota participate in a study on hydroxychloroquine, the malaria treatment Trump has trumpeted.

It was her star turn at Mount Rushmore, though, that has gotten Republicans talking and been a boon to South Dakota tourism, the states second-largest industry.

Recognizing the presidents immense interest in the monument, Noem worked with his Interior Department to ensure there would be fireworks for the celebration, a long-standing priority for Trump. There had been no fireworks there for the previous decade because of environmental and fire-risk concerns.

In the weeks leading up to the event, Noem went on Laura Ingrahams show on Fox News to make clear she was expecting to have a large event for the president and would not require social distancing or masks.

Then, as the president sat watching her remarks in a bunting-wrapped box just offstage, she praised America as a place where someone who was just a farm kid could become the first female governor of South Dakota.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
Here are todays top news, analysis and opinion at this hour. Know all about the latest news and other news updates from Hindustan Times.

350 police officers in quarantine to make up August 15 guard of honour

The newly built police colony at the Delhi Cantonment is largely vacant, the families are yet to move in. Read more

7 killed in fire at hotel being used as Covid-19 facility in Andhra Pradeshs Vijayawada

At least seven people were killed in a fire at a hotel, which is used as a Covid-19 facility, in Andhra Pradeshs Vijayawada on Sunday, news agency ANI reported. Read more

Rana Daggubati-Miheeka Bajaj wedding: Rana and Miheeka complement each other in ivory, gold and zardozi. See latest pics

Actor Rana Daggubati has tied the knot with Miheeka Bajaj in Hyderabad in a close-knit ceremony on Saturday. The first picture of the newly-weds was by actor Ram Charan on Instagram. Read more

Netizens cannot stop gushing over this Twitter users book collection. Check it out

If youre a bibliophile, then this Twitter post may tug at your heartstrings. Read more

Rhea Chakraborty shares WhatsApp messages with Sushant Singh Rajput, in which hed called sister manipulative

Actor Rhea Chakraborty has shared screenshots of a WhatsApp conversation she had with boyfriend Sushant Singh Rajput, in which hed expressed concerns about his sister Priyankas behaviour with Rhea. Read more

He would play me easily: Shoaib Akhtar names India batsman who was difficult to play against

Many Indian batsmen over the years have been at the receiving end of Shoaib Akhtars lethal pace, but it turns out theres always been this one batsman, whom the former Pakistan quick feels did not have much trouble batting against him. Read more

Kerala plane crash | Precise cause...: Minister says black boxes hold key

A day after the shocking plane crash in Kerala, Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri paid a visit. Hardeep Puri visited the spot of the plane crash in Kozhikode and said that the black boxes have been retrieved and will help find the cause. Read more
Kendallville, IN (46755)

Today

Overcast. Morning high of 36F with temps falling to near 20. Winds WNW at 10 to 20 mph..

Tonight

Cloudy skies early, followed by partial clearing. A few flurries or snow showers possible. Low 13F. Winds NNW at 10 to 20 mph.
Electric vehicle manufacturers have hailed the new electric vehicle policy of the and hope it willlook into exclusion of e-scooters with speed of upto 25 Kms per hour from the incentive scheme.

As per the policy, only electric two wheelers with minimum top speed of 40 Km per hour will be eligile for incentives.

Sohinder Gill,Director General of the Society of Manufacturers of ( SMEV), said the electric vehicle(EV) policy of the extensively covers key measures required by the industry to move in the right direction.

"However a small missing point in the policy is that it doesnot support the lithium battery e-scooters with speeds upto 25km per hour that are particluarly popular with Delhites because of their attractive prices and extremely low running costs," Gill said.

With a bit of support of the the adoption of such e scooters would have grown multifold, he said hoping the government would look into it and make some amendments in the future.

The EV policy of the Delhi government aims to replace two wheelers in the standard category that have bulk users, to cut pollution level, said Jasmine Shah, vice chairman of Delhi Dialogue and development Commission who has been closely associated with shaping of the policy.

"Resources of a government are limited and need to be spent judiciously and as such the EV policy incentivises those regular two wheeler users who replace their vehicles with cleaner alternatives and thus help reduce air pollution," he said.

The EV policy launched by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal earlier this week, seeks that electric vehiclesaccount for 25 percent of the totalnew vehicle registrations in the city by 2024.

The policy states that two-thirds of new vehicle registrations in Delhi comprise two wheelerswith the most popular segments being motorcyclesbetween 110 and 125 cc and scooters between 90 and 125 cc.

"Any attempt atelectrification of Delhi's vehicle fleet needs to address these segments toachieve significant reduction in air pollution," says the EV policy.

The demand generation incentives under the policy, for electric two wheelers will be based on battery capacity (energy content measured in kWh) used in vehicles.

The incentives will be available only for the electric two wheelers with advanced batteries and subject to a maximum incentive of Rs. 30,000 per vehicle.

"To avail the demand incentives, the electric two wheelers will have to fulfill the performance and efficiency eligibility criteria (same as in FAME India Phase II) including minimum top speed 40 km per hour,minimum acceleration 0.65 m/s andmaximum electric energyconsumption not exceeding 7kWh/100km and warranty at least 3 years," stipulates the policy.

A purchase incentive of Rs 5,000 per kWh of battery capacity will beprovided per vehicle to the registered owner and subject to maximum incentive of Rs 30,000 per vehicle, as per the policy.

(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.)
Loading The Cherrybrook school was closed for cleaning on Friday after the first case was identified. Its junior school will also be closed to most students for the next fortnight. Year 12 students will start remote learning from Tuesday, and will be contacted on Monday regarding arrangements for their HSC trial exams. The rest of the secondary students will start remote learning from Wednesday. "From the moment we were notified of a confirmed case ... we have been working very closely with NSW Health, the Department of Education and the Association of Independent Schools NSW to ensure that all steps are taken to maintain the safety of the Tangara and wider communities," Ms Sakr said. "The safety and wellbeing of our staff, students and families is of paramount importance to us at all times."

The student who tested positive on Friday was one of a handful of cases of concern for NSW Health authorities, with no clear link to a known case. Our Lady of Mercy College will be closed on Monday while cleaning and contact tracing is undertaken. NSW Health confirmed on Sunday the student was one of the two cases with no known source. A healthcare worker in the emergency department at Hornsby Hospital has tested positive for COVID-19. Credit:Adam Hollingworth The healthcare member worked one shift in the emergency department of Hornsby Hospital while infectious on August 6, from 11am to midnight, a spokeswoman for the health department said. The worker is a household contact of another person who was also a confirmed case on Saturday.

"The staff member became unwell after their shift and immediately self-isolated and got tested for COVID-19," she said. The worker was wearing a mask while in contact with patients, and NSW Health is in the process of identifying members of the public who had contact with the person, the spokeswoman said. Other hospital staff who had contact with the person have been identified and instructed to self-isolate for 14 days. "There is no impact on the services being provided by the Emergency Department," the spokeswoman said. NSW Health is also advising people who attended a service at St Agathas Catholic Church in Pennant Hills on Wednesday and Thursday to be alert for symptoms of COVID-19.

One of the cases reported in Sunday's figures attended early masses from 6.30am to 7am on both of these days, prior to the onset of their symptoms. People who were at the church at these times are urged to watch out for any symptoms of COVID-19 and, if they occur, to self-isolate and seek testing. The church has been closed for cleaning. On Sunday night, NSW Health issued a public health alert for visitors to a pharmacy in Sydney's Hills district after an employee tested positive to COVID-19. Anyone who was at PharmaSave Cherrybrook Pharmacy on Thursday August 6 between 4pm and 7pm should be alert and self-isolate and get tested if COVID-19 symptoms develop. The employee was wearing a mask for the duration of their shift, but the store has been closed for precautionary cleaning. Anyone who visited a Bunnings store in Campbelltown last week is also being told to monitor for symptoms after an employee tested positive for the virus.

The Bunnings employee worked at the store from 11am to 7pm on August 4, from 8am to 4pm on August 5 and from 1pm to 3pm on August 6. Anyone who visited a Bunnings store in western Sydney this week is being told to monitor for COVID-19 symptoms after an employee tested positive for the virus. Credit:Pat Scala NSW Health said the employee was wearing a mask and practising social distancing during the shifts but customers who visited during these times are urged to monitor for symptoms. Other staff members have been identified as close contacts of the employee and are self-isolating. Bunnings chief operating officer Debbie Poole said the store "has undergone two deep cleans using disinfectants since the team member last worked in addition to the routine cleaning that occurs each day".
MINISTER of State Patrick ODonovan has played down the chances of the Office of Public Works (OPW) stepping in to take over King Johns Castle.

Following news that Limericks prime tourist attraction is to close at the end of August, campaigners have suggested Shannon Heritage be stripped of the running of the facility, with the OPW being given the keys instead.

But, Mr ODonovan told the Limerick Leader: Its not as simply as being able to walk in and take it over.

However, he does feel the running of both King Johns Castle and Bunratty Castle in Co Clare should be examined.

I think the local authorities together with Failte Ireland and government need to look at our tourism infrastructure. Covid-19 has focused our attention. Even the domestic tourism market wont in any way supplement of replace the numbers who come in from abroad, he said, We need to be honest about that. The numbers just do not compare. The Limerick TD holds arguably the most senior of the junior ministries with his portfolio consisting of the OPW, which has its own department under its remit.

One of his first acts since being appointed to the role last month was to introduce free entry to a host of attractions run by the OPW, including Desmond Castle in his native Newcastle West.

Asked if he feels a lack of international tourists is a valid reason for Shannon Heritage to pull the drawbridge up on King Johns Castle, he said: I dont have the exact detail, so I dont think it would be fair to comment.

But what I do know is there was a plan in place previously to redevelop and promote King Johns Castle and Bunratty Castle. For whatever reason that didnt go ahead, he said.

Mr ODonovan feels the whole role of Shannon Heritage needs to be looked at, especially in relation to Shannon Airport, which is at a low ebb itself.

He said: Where is Shannon Heritages future? Is it attached to an airport which is currently struggling and needs time to refocus? How does the airport link in to the development and future of the rest of the Irish airports? We need to have an open and honest discussion about this.

He pointed out there is a vast industrial land bank around Limericks local airport, and floated the idea of Limerick or Clares local authorities taking this on.

It is our airport, but there is more than that. Theres a land bank from an industrial point of view. Is there a different purpose that can be put to? Can the local authority have a role in the management of the land bank, the Minister of State asked.

Mr ODonovan, returned for a third time to Dail Eireann in February, said of his appointment: Its an endorsement not only of my own work, but also of my team and my supporters in my constituency and the work Ive been doing with all my government officials in the last number of years.

For more Limerick news click here
A 51-year-old man who worked at the Golden Farms chicken processing plant in Breakwater, a suburb of Geelong, has died from coronavirus.

He died at the weekend. The number of cases linked to the outbreak at the chicken abattoir has exceeded 50.

Geelong man Kelvin Ngyuen died from COVID-19. Credit:Facebook

The company that owns the abattoir, Turosi, said Mr Nguyen lived in the Geelong suburb of Newcomb and had worked for the abattoir for 15 years.

"We are deeply saddened by the loss of one of our valued long-term employees," chief executive Phil Hand said.

He said Barwon Health had informed the company late on Sunday of Mr Nguyen's death.

Two people have died in as many days from coronavirus in Geelong as authorities work to contain outbreaks at a nursing home and the chicken abattoir.

Management at the Opal South Valley aged care home in Highton confirmed one resident died at the weekend, bringing the outbreak's total death toll in Geelong to two.

Total cases in Geelong have now reached 178, Barwon Health confirmed.

Read more here.
MS Vidyanandan By

Express News Service

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: It's only a fortnight since a municipal ward councilor in Kottayam came under fire for joining a sit-in of local residents blocking the funeral of a COVID-19 victim at the public crematorium. Many viewed it as a blot on the hailed 'Kerala Model' in dealing with the pandemic.

On Friday evening, M Pradeep, chairman of the Attingal municipality too faced a similar situation when the body of a 68-year-old COVID victim, Judy Ignatius hailing from Anchuthengu, was brought to the public crematorium in his town.

Local residents blocked the vehicle raising the same fear that Kottayam residents aired - that the smoke from the pyre would infect them.

But Pradeep's reply virtually shocked them. "It is a scientifically proven fact that the smoke from the blaze does not transmit the virus. Since you are still doubtful I will stand near the pyre until it burns out." The startled protestors did not object further.

Problems didn't end there for the chairman. The crematorium staff refused to join and fled the scene. "The chairman didn't mind it. He got a PPE kit from his car trunk, wore it, and started setting up the pyre. The volunteers who brought the body helped him. In half an hour he lit the pyre and waited there until it burnt to ashes. He left the place in the night," said a corporation staff who witnessed it.

Pradeep, however, said the protest from local residents was quite natural and it was his duty to convince them. "They had two reasons. One was that the woman's native place was the distant Anchuthengu and why was it brought here. Since Anchuthengu is a coastal village a burial as per Covid-19 protocol, ie ten feet down, is not possible there. The pit would fill with water when it is already two or three feet deep," he said.

Second, he said, was their fear of the smoke. "But they seemed to be convinced when I volunteered to stand there," he said.

"Those who brought the body were Christians who did not know about setting up a funeral pyre. That is why I did it myself. Anyway, we gave her a dignified farewell," he adds.

After the burial, the chairman announced that the crematorium workers have been sacked with immediate effect.

According to Pradeep, the coastal population is hard hit by the pandemic. "They saved thousands of lives on the mainland during the floods. Now, it is time four us to repay that kindness," he said.

Now Pradeep is under quarantine since his name figured in the contact list of Anchuthengu panchayat president who was tested positive on Saturday.

The Attingal municipality ruled by the CPM is among the best local bodies in the state where the pandemic is under control. The first case was reported in August and only six cases have been reported so far.
WASHINGTON  In February, Democrats began getting anxious about the crucial Senate race in North Carolina. An unknown Republican-affiliated group was suddenly pouring millions of dollars behind the candidacy of Erica Smith, a progressive state senator who they believed had no chance of winning the seat in November.

So party leaders began spending millions of their own to bolster Cal Cunningham, a military veteran they had endorsed months earlier whom they saw as their best chance to defeat a vulnerable incumbent Republican, Senator Thom Tillis. With significant party help, Mr. Cunningham prevailed and is now in a strong position against Mr. Tillis, making him one of 14 candidates endorsed early by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee who either froze out their opposition entirely or won their primaries.

Democrats took some heat for playing early favorites, including for passing over Black candidates like Ms. Smith, Charles Booker in Kentucky and Royce West in Texas, although they endorsed five candidates of color. But the strategy has paid off. With the general election field essentially set and the heart of the campaign season beginning, Democrats, riding public dissatisfaction with President Trumps handling of the pandemic, now find themselves with a solid chance to take control of the Senate next year.

Though Democrats did not get the Republican opponent they wanted in Kansas, polls show Democratic contenders are ahead or running even with incumbents in at least seven states, with the potential to bring even more into play. They need a net gain of only three seats to take the majority should former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., the presumptive nominee, win the White House  four if he does not.
London: Britain's armed forces have been asked to help deal with boats carrying migrants across the Channel from France, the Defence Ministry said on Saturday after a spate of arrivals on the southern English coast.

Taking advantage of a spell of hot weather and calm sea conditions, hundreds of people including children and pregnant women have made the dangerous 33 kilometre crossing in recent days, many in overloaded rubber dinghies and other small vessels.

A British Border Force vessel carries a group of men thought to be migrants into Dover harbour, Southern England, last week. Credit:PA

The Defence Ministry said it had received a formal request from the Home Office, or interior ministry, to assist the UK Border Force with its operations in the Dover Straits.

"We are assessing the requirements ... and are working hard to identify how we can most effectively assist," the defence ministry said in a statement.
With many parents still working from home and school districts around New Mexico set to begin the school year virtually, families are faced with the challenge of reimagining their homes for office and classroom space.

The right set-up and right approach can help alleviate some of the stress associated with this unlikely and unusual time.

Local professional organizer Miriam Ortiz y Pino, who owns More Than Organized (morethanorganized.net), said the solution can be simple. The keys are to declutter, a tip she offers for all organizational needs, and prepare.

Remove all items you dont need for the work space, she said. The biggest mistake people make is they dont declutter.

She said that includes not buying a lot of new supplies and using up whats already at home. She said to keep supplies to the basics like pens, pencils, paper and perhaps a stapler.

But not a gazillion of them, she said. Now is the time to use all of that someday stuff you stocked up on. Now is that some day.

Here are some tips for getting the home set-up for work and school.

Preparation

 Determine what needs there are before going out and investing in new stuff or shuffling furniture. How many people need a space? Is a desk needed? Is the internet at home adequate?

 Create a schedule. Professional organizer Hazel Thornton said its important to have a schedule that designates the start and finish of the work and school day. It should incorporate breaks to eat, move around and mentally reset.

 Invest in new storage to keep the work space organized.

 Buy all the snacks and groceries before the week starts to avoid having to run to the store in the middle of the work day. Maybe even create a lunch menu so time isnt wasted trying to find something to make at the last minute.

Creating work and classroom areas

 Decide where the work is going to take place and keep it consistent. Mom and dad might need a room with a door if space allows. Children  especially those who require less supervision  might be able to have their work station in their bedrooms. But if this is not possible, Ortiz y Pino said consider nooks, unused large closets or sectioning off parts of the living or dining area.

 Give everyone a designated work space they go to every day. Ortiz y Pino said this is an important step even if that designated spot is on the couch, at the kitchen table or a countertop.

 Create supply kits, which can be a box, basket or bin, that can be moved and set aside at the end of each day if the work space is used for other purposes such as in the dining or living room.

You need a designated space for the kit to live, she said.

 Be mindful of the environment. Thornton said a bright, well lit and comfortable area is best. Those who are required to make a lot of video calls have another consideration according to Ortiz y Pino. She said they should be aware of what is visible on camera.

Consider the background, she said. Is there a lamp growing out of your head? Are there posters? What are they? Are they political? Is there a velvet painting of dogs playing cards? What message might these things be sending?

Setting everyone up for success

 Have clear rules and expectations. Designating certain times of the day as off-limits for children to interrupt parents, such as during important meetings or when the door is closed, alleviates frustrations. Also sticking to the schedule is important so children know when the school and work day end and begin. Consider posting the schedule and even the rules in a visible location.

 Determine who will be responsible for pets during the day. Letting pets in and out of the house, feeding them or attending to other needs can be a distraction.

 Practice discipline. It might be tempting to watch a favorite show or even take a nap but keep the length of personal activities the same time as normal work and school breaks. Avoid taking too many personal phone calls or spending too much time on social media. These can derail a productive day.

 Mentally prepare. Ortiz y Pino said its important to create rituals around the work and school day since typical behaviors, such as commuting to work, wont exist. She suggests showering and handling other grooming each morning as if one were leaving the house.

Maybe dont stay in your pajamas all day, she said. Get dressed every day.

Creating a routine to signify the end of the day is important too because it creates a boundary between home and work life. Packing up the workspace, shutting off the computer, getting up and going for a walk in the backyard or down the street can help shift the mind from work to home mode.
COVID-19 has now made us two Australias. Theres Victoria  most specifically Melbourne  and then theres the rest of the country.

Melbournes extraordinary coronavirus lockdown complete with curfew is an act of desperation by Daniel Andrews government, as it fights a daily tally of several hundred new cases.

Scott Morrison will remember when he berated the media for using the term lockdown. Now he finds himself using it all the time.

Melbourne has become a city where citizens are supervised by police and soldiers. Its economy will be crushed. Regional Victorias lockdown is somewhat milder but it will take a big toll.

By contrast, at least in terms of COVID itself, the other seven states and territories are, Scott Morrison said on Thursday, in a fantastic position.

Well, sort of. NSW is holding the line, with a few cases that so far thankfully have not morphed into a dangerous spread.

Stage four coronavirus restrictions are in force across metropolitan Melbourne. Source: AAP

But while we are living as two Australias, we are one country. That means the huge whack the virus is inflicting on Victoria is dragging down the rest of the nation, holding back recovery.

The dire turn of events is affecting political leaders responses. Risk-averse premiers are running their states as gated communities.

Morrison maintains a level of public solidarity with Andrews but the PM may find himself under mounting pressure from those within his party and its base who want the economy given a much higher priority.

David Kemp, a Liberal cabinet minister in the Howard government and party elder, wrote in the Australian Financial Review this week: The federal government is making a great mistake if it does not call [the Victorian situation] out. It apparently believes that the priority is to maintain unity in the national cabinet. There is no true unity, and the pretence is inhibiting the national debate 

"This pretence is now dividing the Liberal Party and demoralising its supporters, in Victoria at least. It is also undermining national economic recovery by sanctioning gross policy overreach.

Story continues

Australia has been divided in two as the coronavirus ravages Victoria. Source: Getty

In early May Morrison released a path out of the COVID restrictions that would have had us in reasonable shape everywhere now. Instead, we might as well hire a fortune teller to predict where well be when.

The way ahead depends on two uncertainties. Will the Victorian lockdown bring COVID-19 under control? And will the virus be stopped from breaking out elsewhere?

The government has produced Treasurys estimates of the cost of the Victorian Stage Four lockdown.

Previously Treasury said Victorias recent Stage Three restrictions would reduce GDP (Gross Domestic Product) by A$3.3 billion (0.75 percentage points) in the September quarter. The new restrictions will cut GDP in that quarter by A$7-9 billion, slicing about 1.75 percentage points off quarterly GDP growth.

The combined effect of the Victorian measures through the September quarter will be to contract growth by A$10-12 billion (2.5 percentage points).

Treasury estimates 250,000-400,000 more people will become effectively unemployed (this includes both those losing jobs and those still in jobs but working no hours). It forecasts Australias unemployment rate will rise above the previous estimated peak of 9.25 per cent  released only a fortnight ago  and peak nearer to 10 per cent.

Andrews, under intense political pressure and substantial criticism (although opinion is mixed), is sensitive when asked about the cost Victoria is imposing nationally.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has announced Stage Four restrictions in Melbourne. Source: AAP

Theres costs all over the place whether it be in dollar terms or in funerals, he said.

Im not going to be trying to put a price tag on this. This is what we have to do, we have no choice  otherwise this wont be six weeks, it will be six months or longer. And well have to continue to bury people, well have to continue to deal with an economy that is essentially closed.

Andrews is in the ultimate corner. If Stage Four fails, the future becomes too awful to contemplate.

Victorias crisis is forcing the federal government into policy gyrations. After announcing just over a fortnight ago tighter eligibility requirements for JobKeeper after September, now it has announced an easing. The cost of the latest changes in eligibility plus the extra numbers of businesses coming onto the program because of the Victorian situation is A$15.6 billion, taking the total cost of JobKeeper to A$101 billion.

That Victoria is a separate Australia is brought home in the arrangements for parliaments sitting from August 24.

Morrison was criticised for cancelling the early August sitting. Hes committed to the coming one, not least because the government needs to legislate some pandemic measures.

On the advice of acting Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly, Victorian MPs going to Canberra must quarantine for 14 days beforehand. That starts from 11.59pm this Sunday.

In a letter to Morrison, Kelly said that, in the context of Victoria, the sitting led into uncharted waters.

The situation in Victoria is not improving at this time, he wrote.

Victorian MPs presented a significant risk to ACT citizens, particularly those working in parliament house, as well as to parliamentarians and staff from elsewhere, with the possibility of seeding into other jurisdictions.

Kelly prefers the politicians quarantine in Canberra, but said this could be done in Victoria. The conditions are strict. While in home quarantine, no one from the household can leave for any reason and no one can visit.

Melburnians are encouraged to stay at home amid rising coronavirus case numbers. Source: Getty

One MP immediately dubbed the household isolation the hold-the-family-hostage option.

In practical terms, on the present sitting pattern, Victorians choosing to isolate in Canberra would only be able to return home for about a fortnight between this weekend and when parliament adjourns for the year on December 10.

Labor has been demanding parliament sit. But in a hook-up of Victorian Labor members on Thursday, some were reluctant to meet the stringent conditions. As a result Anthony Albanese proposed Victorians should be allowed to tune in virtually. They would not be able to vote.

There are other wrinkles. For example, Queensland has banned arrivals from the ACT, so how about federal MPs going home?

A Queensland government spokesman says: Queensland MPs returning from Canberra will have to quarantine. National agreement is being sought on detail.

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg and Health Minister Greg Hunt intend to quarantine in Canberra. Perhaps theyll hope the odd curry delivery is ferried from The Lodge.

By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons licence.

Read COVID divides the nation and isolates MPs from Victoria.

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.
NEW HAVEN - A man recently scheduled to be sentenced in New Haven Superior Court for manslaughter had his sentencing postponed because the video feed from his prison failed in the wake of Tropical Storm Isaias.

Mateus Nascimento-Dacosta, 21, had admitted he fatally stabbed his girlfriend, 21-year-old Alyssa Guerrero, in her Meriden apartment two years ago. He pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter and under the agreement was to be sentenced to serve 29 years in prison. He has been unable to post the $3 million bail.

Six of his supporters, including the defendants father, had gathered in the courtroom for the sentencing hearing. In addition, Guerreros parents had come to New Haven from Brookfield to attend the hearing and read a statement.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, defendants were almost always brought into courtrooms for their sentencing. But now, instead of being taken to courthouses from prison, defendants are piped in via video camera feeds.

However, judicial marshals had technical difficulties linking up with MacDougall Walker Correctional Institution.

After repeated attempts failed, Superior Court Judge Jon M. Alander came into the courtroom at about 2:50 p.m. and explained the problem.

The video feed was working this morning, Alander said. But there had been power outages from the storm. It was not working at 10:30; they told us technical people were coming in to work on it. It was working at 1:30. It is not now working. The technical people are no longer there and are not available.

Alander said that because the defendant was unable to participate in the sentencing, it would have to be postponed until Aug. 13 at 2 p.m.

I apologize to the defendants family and the victims family, Alander said. I appreciate your understanding.

The victims parents were not in the courtroom because they had been waiting in a nearby room for the sentencing to begin before coming in.

The defendants family members declined to comment on the delay as they left.

Assistant States Attorney Reed Durham, who prosecuted the case, also had no comment on the delayed sentencing.

But defense attorney John Bowdren said outside the courthouse: I dont see what the big deal is with transporting prisoners. It seems theres more of an effort to setup the teleconferencing than to get him here.

The delayed sentencing came one week after another defendant, Christopher Calhoun, objected to not being transported to his hearing in New Haven Superior Court on a sentencing for a murder conviction. When Calhoun refused to go on camera from his prison, Alander sentenced him in abstentia to serve 45 years for the 2011 slaying of Isaiah Gantt. Calhouns attorney Tara Knight strongly objected to Calhouns not being brought to the courthouse.

Patrick Carroll III, the states chief court administrator, issued an emailed statement when the New Haven Register asked him to comment on the two sentencings. He cited Gov. Ned Lamonts declaration of a public health emergency of March 10, which remains in effect.

As such, the Judicial Branch will continue to take all measures necessary to safeguard the health of all individuals in our courthouses and facilities, Carroll said. Remote proceedings are among the most effective ways to achieve this goal, and we will continue to hear matters involving defendants who are incarcerated remotely until public health guidance allows more flexibility.

Carroll noted: Additionally, to the extent possible, the Department of Correction would prefer that inmates not be transported to court during the COVID-19 crisis to mitigate the risk of spread when those transportees are returned to DOC facilities from the court. This policy has been developed in accordance with public health guidance.

As for the technical problems with Nascimento-Dacostas sentencing, Carroll said the judicial branch is acutely aware of and sensitive to the needs and concerns of the victim community and the constitutional right for victims to be heard in criminal proceedings. We are sorry that technical difficulties within the DOC facility made it impossible for this sentencing to go forward as scheduled.

Carroll said: We are working closely with the DOC to remedy these technical issues so that what happened in this case will not happen again.

Contact Randall Beach at randall.beach@hearstmediact.com.
Guyana has become one of the main upstream stars of the past decade, rising from zero to hero in less than 5 years. Much of Guyanas rise to prominence took place as its first and largest offshore discovery, the Liza field, was commissioned in late 2019. As attentive Oilprice readers already pointed out, with the passing of time Guyana is starting to look and act more Latin American as resource nationalism is holding sway over its politics. This is in and of itself not unreasonable, yet in COVID-impacted times when CAPEX cuts are omnipresent, it might be a bit inopportune. Hence, as Guyana learns to live under a new presidential administration, Guyanas bright hydrocarbon future has started to run against its first structural challenges.

The first warning bell came in the form of a Rystad Energy report which stated that Guyana risks losing a whopping 1.5 billion in revenues if ExxonMobil, the operator of the Stabroek Block, decides to postpone the Payara project by one year, from the initially assumed commissioning date of 2023 to 2024. Concerns about forthcoming projects being delayed did not emerge out of a clear sky, in May the US major warned that the elections helter-skelter had resulted in a significant slowing down of government approvals, jeopardizing the Payara development plan. Rystad currently estimates that Payara would come onstream in 2024, with the sanctioning date slipping half a year into H1 2021. This means that all projects assumed to be launched after Payara (Snoek, Talbot, Ranger, Jethro-Lobe etc.) in the mid-2020s might see further delays down the line.

Political decision-making was jeopardized by the prolonged impasse, which reached its apex with the imposition of US sanctions on officials that were allegedly tinkering with the results of the March 02 elections. Announcing the winner of the elections took more than 3 months and required a recount, only following which could the Guyanese Election Commission (GECOM) rule that the opposition Peoples Progressive Party (PPP) had won by a margin of some 15 000 votes. Even though a PPP takeover might not bode that well with US commercial interests as the party has promised to revisit the countrys upstream terms to increase the states intake, Foreign Secretary Pompeo has called upon the Granger Administration to act, making sure that the baton-passing would not undermine democracy in Guyana.

Story continues

This pressure has worked wonders and the official inauguration of the winning PPP candidate Irfaan Ali successfully took place on August 02. Alis victory notwithstanding, former president David Granger is filing a formal complaint to challenge the decision of the Caribbean Court of Justice. When it comes to oil policy continuity, despite election vows to revisit Guyanas milestone contract with ExxonMobil on the Stabroek block (2% royalty rate and 50% profit share after cost recovery) that dates back to 1999 the new presidential administration has seemingly dropped the subject for good  probably a wise move considering that at the time it was PPP who was ruling the country  however, relative newcomers to Guyana like ENI, Repsol or Tullow might see their upstream terms modified so as to increase the governments revenue streams from its prolific deepwater offshore.

Related: Oil Drops As Demand Recovery Stalls

Just several days after the inauguration of Irfaan Ali he presented his cabinet, consisting of 19 ministers, all of them new to their posts. Among the most coveted nominations stand 2 key energy positions, those of Natural Resources Minister and the head of Guyanas Energy Department  the fates of Raphael Trotman and Mark Bynoe, respectively, were sealed no sooner had the CCJ announced its decision. The portfolio of natural resources went to Vickram Bharrat, a former MP who has reportedly been a PPP member since the age of 14, yet at the time of the appointment (August 05) it was not specified whether the management of Guyanas oil bounty would remain under it and not spun off into a new separate entity.

Graph 1. Guyanese Crude Exports (000 barrels per day).



Source: Thomson Reuters.

Guyanas flagship export-grade from its only commissioned oil field Liza has witnessed 16 loadings already, amongst them two VLCCs. Based on its first 6 months of functioning, one can see that Lizas geographic coverage has surpassed expectations  most of the early cargoes ended up in the US (most probably ExxonMobil just took it home to assess), then Chinese buyers discovered the crude by March-April and for quite some time Liza remained very competitive against similar quality Brazilian grades that have become a staple in Chinese refineries over the years. Europe has become the most recent addition to the list of buyers as the only cargo to load in July  for reasons specified below  went to the French port of Le Havre. In terms of pricing, Liza has oscillated in and around Dated Brent flat with substantial swings during the peak of the COVID-induced market slump.

Just as Liza was expected to reach first-phase plateau production in June (120kbpd), the operators experienced their first major setback when the gas reinjection equipment went out of order. To curb gas flaring, Liza production in mid-June was curtailed to 30kbpd, i.e. a third of what it used to be just a month before that. Some Guyanese media reports went as far as to claim that the gas compressors have been dysfunctional ever since Liza was commissioned in December 2019. Following the malfunction incident, Guyanas Environmental Protection Agency has asked ExxonMobil to present a Quality Assurance and Quality Control report explaining the gas compressor difficulties it experienced and the extent of gas flaring arising therefrom. According to Guyanese media reports, the US firm continues to flare 12-15 MCf per day, reportedly releasing toxic chemicals into airspace.

By Viktor Katona for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:

Read this article on OilPrice.com
Senior Living communities have significantly evolved from where they were even 20 or 30 years ago

Symbria Inc. is pleased to announce that it is being featured in a nationally distributed television program, Behind the Scenes with Laurence Fishburne. Behind The Scenes is known for providing factual, unbiased information and specializes in mining the imaginative and exciting ideas that can benefit its viewers. Symbrias segment focuses on embracing physical fitness and falls prevention as a means to address shifting expectations and mindsets towards aging.

Were thrilled to partner with Behind the Scenes to help educate our aging population and their families, about the variety of choices that are available to as they explore their living options, said Jill Krueger, Symbrias President and CEO. Ms. Krueger continued Senior Living communities have significantly evolved from where they were even 20 or 30 years ago and are much better equipped to cater to the current needs and desires of their residents. This includes the necessity to have programs that address the physical and mental well-being that will enable residents to reach their one of their primary goals - to remain independent as long as possible.

The show will launch its national airing during prime time on Fox Business Network followed by regional airings on various networks in more than 100 markets across the country. Additionally, the episode will be distributed to Public Television affiliates for airing later in August.

About Behind the Scenes

Behind the Scenes is an award-winning program that highlights new ideas and innovative concepts through groundbreaking short-form and long-form documentary presentation. The program, which is anchored by a veteran production team with decades of industry experience, is able to effectively communicate the most critical stories to a wide and diverse audience. The Behind the Scenes team specializes in mining the imaginative and exciting ideas that can benefit the public education domain. Additional information about Behind the Scenes can be found at https://behindthesceneslf.com/.

About Symbria, Inc.

Symbria Inc. provides best-in-class pharmacy, rehab, and well-being programs along with ancillary resources and tools to benefit post-acute and senior living providers, and their patients and residents. Symbria develops focused solutions for our clients challenges that reduce hospital readmissions, build census and extend independence for those they serve. Additional information about Symbria can be found at https://Symbria.com/.
WASHINGTON  Barbara Drago remembers the 1980 Republican National Convention as one of the best experiences of her life.

The Albany resident fondly recalls everyone from Hollywood celebrities to "the local worker bee" hobnobbing in the crowd at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, eager to put Ronald Reagan in the White House. Now 64, Drago had been eager to attend her second convention in 2020 as an alternate. But the coronavirus dashed her prospects of going, along with those of so many others.

Im still disappointed, but I understand we are going to have a marvelous showing with virtual events," Drago said.

As a result of the pandemic, both major-party conventions have been retooled as largely virtual affairs that will have little to no in-person presence, even from the presidential contenders themselves. The conventions will still crown each partys nominee, but what are normally raucous once-every-four-years political jamborees with tens of thousands of people will be scaled back to a collection of televised speeches and caucus videoconferences over the last two weeks of August.

New York's GOP will send six Republican National Committee members to attend the convention in Charlotte, N.C., in person to serve as proxies for the states 90 delegates.

Democratic party rules allow for virtual voting, so New York's party will not be sending any of its 274 delegates to Milwaukee, Wis.

"This is going to be a stay-in-place convention, said Jay Jacobs, chairman of the New York Democratic Party. "There's a genuine sense of disappointment that we can't get together at a live convention, there's no question about it.

"We had a very good hotel location, and in previous conventions we always complained about the location that the New York delegation got," Jacobs said. "This time I was so happy with what we got, only to find well we're not going to be able to use it."

Both parties are still firming up their convention schedules and have not yet released details such as key speakers. Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo is expected to give an address at the Democratic convention, Bloomberg reported. Cuomo's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Democratic Convention will run Aug. 17-20 and air for two hours each night from 9 to 11. Organizers have framed the event as a convention across the nation, with speakers appearing from locations around the country.

Indeed, former Vice President Joe Biden announced Wednesday that he would not be traveling to Milwaukee for the convention, but instead would accept the nomination from Delaware, his home state.

Milwaukee's mayor "has put in place a 225-person limit on people assembling in any one place," Biden said. "I think it's the right thing to do. I've wanted to set an example as to how we should respond individually to this crisis. ... I think it's going to be an exciting convention."

In a normal year, New York's congressional delegation and its governor would be heading to the conventions to support their respective nominees. But this year, neither the delegation nor Cuomo will attend the convention in person. As yet, it is unclear whether any delegation members will play a national speaking role. Some are likely to speak to New York delegates or delegates in other states through online platforms, but those details are still being confirmed.

For the Democratic convention, the experience for delegates will involve casting votes, receiving some convention swag, joining online caucus discussions and watching the speeches  all from home.

"It's going to be a lot more reliant on videos and Zoom-type speeches," Jacobs said. "We can't fill a convention hall with blow-up mannequins and pretend like we're having a convention. I don't think that would sell."

Delegates will keep in contact through Slack channels and Facebook groups. In-person events for all delegates are not being planned due to New York's 100-person cap on gatherings.

The main event of the convention will be Biden's acceptance speech on Aug. 20, after delegates formally cast their votes to nominate him. Based on the results of the New York primary, a portion of the state's delegate stash will flow to Biden from Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., who earned almost a fifth of the delayed vote; Biden secured more than two-thirds.

Jay Bellanca, an alternative delegate for Sanders and Salem resident, said he expects this year's Democratic convention will have less room for progressives to express their dissent from establishment politics. At the 2016 convention, he and other Sanders supporters toted signs for Bernie, which he said DNC organizers tried to confiscate.

"The only dissent that is going to be expressed (during the convention) is going to be not voting for the platform because it doesnt have a Medicare for All plank," Bellanca said. We wont be able to boo if we want to boo. We wont be able fight over who sits where, and they wont be able to suppress signs.

On Tuesday, a group of progressive New York delegates tried to elect U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-Bronx, as honorary chair of the party. Their surprise effort was voted down in favor of giving Cuomo the spot, which is typically held by the state's governor. Jacobs, a longtime ally of the governor, said the progressives "embarrassed themselves" with the effort.

Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years.

Jacobs agreed that "dissent will be at a disadvantage" this year.

"People screaming in chat rooms is just not something that gets a whole lot of attention," he said. "The hope I have is that most of the folks that supported Bernie Sanders  as I know Bernie Sanders has been genuine in his commitment to Joe Biden and electing the Democratic ticket  I hope they support (Biden). I know there will be those that just will not."

After the Democrats conclude their convention, Republicans will launch theirs in Charlotte. RNC members will conduct business, including voting to nominate President Donald Trump, over the weekend of Aug. 22 and 23.

The entire convention was originally scheduled to take place in Charlotte; part of the festivities were relocated to Jacksonville, Fla., at the behest of Trump, who objected to the limitations the pandemic appeared likely to impose on the original gathering. But in July, Jacksonville was scrapped too, as coronavirus cases spiked in Florida. Now, the convention has shifted fully back to Charlotte.

Trump will accept the nomination on Aug. 27, but where he will do that is unknown. Its unclear if he will go to Charlotte at all. On Wednesday, Trump floated the idea of giving his speech from the White House, despite the legal precedent of refraining from campaign activities on U.S. government property.

It would be easiest from the standpoint of security, Trump said of giving the speech at the White House. There's no movement; it's easy. And I think it's a beautiful setting, and we are thinking about that.

New York Republicans are also not planning to host any in-person events for all delegates, but county GOP groups may organize their own gatherings during the convention. State party chairman Nick Langworthy and five other RNC members will travel to Charlotte on Aug. 20 for four days, and cast their votes to nominate Trump on behalf of their delegates.

The soaring speeches from each state representative, the delegation breakfasts and endless networking  all of it will be tossed out the window this year, Langworthy said.

The comedown is especially steep from 2016, when New York's delegates  usually placed far from the stage on the Republican convention floor and lodged in hotels many miles from the arena due to their red-in-a-blue-state status  were positioned front and center to cheer on a native-son candidate whose performance in the New York primary had virtually cemented his grip on the nomination.

Four years ago in Cleveland, Langworthy recalled, the state's delegates met with the Trump family on the convention floor. It was a great moment  but thats not going to happen this year," he said. "It's very different."

Four years from now  when a global pandemic is hopefully just a memory  Langworthy hopes the national conventions will return to their previous glories.

The conventions, theyre wonderful for the people that go," he said. I hope this doesnt become the new way forward.
While Twitter does allow for the sharing of videos, most posts contain short text messages and photos or GIFs. In 2012 Twitter acquired the platform Vine, which allowed users to share short videos, but shut down the service in 2016. (Photo | Flickr - Alan O'Rourke)

New York: Twitter is in preliminary discussions for a possible combination with TikTok, the Wall Street Journal reported Saturday, after US President Donald Trump said he would ban the app, calling it a threat to national security.

Trump declared Thursday that the popular Chinese video app TikTok and social network WeChat threaten the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States.

In an executive order, Trump gave Americans 45 days to stop doing business with the platforms, effectively setting a deadline for a sale of TikTok by its Chinese parent firm ByteDance.

He has also demanded that a significant portion of the sale go to the US Treasury.

Microsoft has been the primary suitor for TikTok, saying it was in talks to buy the companys US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand operations.

The Financial Times reported Thursday that Microsoft has expanded negotiations and was now after the apps entire global operations.

As a smaller company, Twitter would have a long-shot bid for TikTok, but the social media platform believes it would come under less antitrust scrutiny than larger corporations such as Microsoft, the WSJ said, citing people familiar with the talks.

Twitter, however, would likely need the support of other investors to complete the combination.

While Twitter does allow for the sharing of videos, most posts contain short text messages and photos or GIFs.

In 2012 Twitter acquired the platform Vine, which allowed users to share short videos, but shut down the service in 2016.

Click on Deccan Chronicle Technology and Science for the latest news and reviews. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter.
The Rajasthan unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will hold a meeting of all its MLAs on August 11 at a hotel in the state capital and the opposition legislators will camp in facility till the assembly session starts three days, the partys Gulab Chand Kataria said on Sunday, while adding that they believe the floor test could be held on the first day itself.

The assembly session is likely to decide the fate of the Ashok Gehlot government that was rocked last month by the rebellion of a faction of MLAs led by his former deputy Sachin Pilot. The ruling party has expressed confidence it will have adequate numbers, while the BJP claims the government will not survive.

We have called our MLAs to Hotel Crown Plaza at 4pm on August 11, Kataria said. After everyone arrives, we will hold the meeting of the legislature party sometime in the evening, and, if required, the MLAs will stay there till August 14.

BJP has 72 MLAs in the 200-member Assembly. Three MLAs of Rashtriya Loktantrik Party (RLP) are supporting the BJP.

Earlier, we thought they may move confidence motion on August 16 or 17 but now we believe they will call for the motion on August 14 itself. There will be discussion on it and on the basis of division of votes, it will be decided if this government has the numbers or not, he said.

State BJP president Satish Poonia said it was important to protect BJP MLAs so they will all stay in the hotel for three days. We stayed there during the Rajya Sabha elections also. The senior leaders will talk to the legislators about Assembly proceedings, he added.

Chief minister Ashok Gehlot said the BJP was herding its MLAs to Gujarat and into hotels which shows there is division within the opposition party. We dont believe in horse-trading but now the BJP is feeling the pinch from their own game of toppling the Congress governments, he said at Jaisalmer on Sunday.

They (the BJP) have been exposed. We are in government and kept our MLAs together because of horse-trading. But what are they (BJP) worried of? They are herding their MLAs at three-four places. A huge divide among them can be seen, alleged Gehlot, addressing newspersons at Jaisalmer.

Earlier, BJP shifted 18 of its MLAs, most of them from the tribal districts of south Rajasthan, to Gujarat on Friday and Saturday. MLAs supporting the Ashok Gehlot government, including 10 Independents, are camping in two hotels in Jaisalmer since July 31. Earlier, they stayed in a luxury hotel in Jaipur from July 13.

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Union Minister Rajnath Singh on August 9 said the Defence Ministry will push for Atmanirbhar Bharat by introducing an import embargo on 101 military items beyond the given timeline to boost indigenisation of defence production.

In a series of tweets, Singh said taking a cue from Prime Minister Narendra Modis clarion call for self-reliance, the Ministry of Defence has prepared a list of 101 items for which there would be an embargo on the import beyond the timeline indicated against them.

Also read: Defence Ministry set to ban import of 101 military items: Heres the full list

This embargo on imports would be progressively implemented between 2020 and 2024. Our aim is to apprise the Indian defence industry about the anticipated requirements of the armed forces so that they are better prepared to realise the goal of indigenisation, Singh said.

Singh claimed the decision will offer a great opportunity to the Indian defence industry to manufacture these items by using their own design and development capabilities or by adopting the technologies designed and developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) to meet the requirements of the armed forces.

The defence minister said that the arms list was prepared by the ministry after consultations with stakeholders, including the armed forces, public and private industry.

Almost 260 schemes of such items were contracted by the Tri-Services at an approximate cost of Rs 3.5 lakh crore between April 2015 and August 2020. It is estimated that contracts worth almost Rs 4 lakh crore will be placed upon the domestic industry within the next 6 to 7 years, the defence minister said in a tweet.



All necessary steps would be taken to ensure that timelines for production of equipment as per the Negative Import List are met, which will include a co-ordinated mechanism for hand holding of the industry by the Defence Services.  Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) August 9, 2020

Of these, items worth almost Rs 1.3 lakh crore each are anticipated for the Army and the Air Force, while items worth almost Rs 1.4 lakh crore are anticipated by the Navy over the same period, Singh added.

Singh said the embargo list comprises not only simple parts, but also some high-technology weapon systems like artillery guns, assault rifles, corvettes, sonar systems, transport aircraft, Light Combat Helicopters (LCHs) and radars, among others.
Brazil has become the second country to have surpassed the grim milestone of 100,000 deaths from coronavirus.

The nation of 210 million people has been reporting an average of more than 1,000 daily deaths from the pandemic since late May.

On Saturday, Brazil's health ministry confirmed 49,970 new confirmed cases and 905 deaths within the previous 24 hours.

This brought the total number of cases to more than three-million and the death toll up to a staggering 100,477.

Brazil has become the second country to surpass 100,000 deaths from coronavirus after confirming more than three-million cases and 100,477 deaths. Pictured, a tribute for the victims is held on Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro

The only country to have recorded more deaths than Brazil so far is the US, who have reported a total of 162,441 deaths, according to official figures

In a tribute to Covid-19 victims, the non-governmental group Rio de Paz placed crosses and a thousand red balloons on the sand on the famed Copacabana beach today

The only country to have recorded more deaths than Brazil so far is the US, who have reported 162,441 deaths.

Mexico follows behind Brazil with 52,006, compared with 46,651 recorded deaths in the UK, according to Johns Hopkins University figures.

During the first three months of the pandemic, 50,000 people died in Brazil, a figure that has since been matched in just 50 days, Sky News reported.

As in many countries, experts believe Brazil's numbers are severely undercounted due to insufficient testing.

In a tribute to Covid-19 victims, the non-governmental group Rio de Paz placed crosses and a thousand red balloons on the sand on the famed Copacabana beach.

'It's very sad. Those 100,000 represent various families, friends, parents, children,' said Marcio Silva, 55, who lost his children in the pandemic and joined the tribute.

One poster read: '100 thousand: Why are we the second country in number of deaths?'

At the end of the tribute, members of the NGO released the balloons, which sailed into the sky.

On Thursday night, during a Facebook transmission President Jair Bolsonaro said: 'I regret all the deaths, it's already reaching the number 100,000, but we are going to find a way out of that.'

Bolsonaro has faced severe criticism for downplaying the virus and attacking social distancing measures adopted by state and local authorities.

President Jair Bolsonaro (above) has faced severe criticism for downplaying the virus and attacking social distancing measures adopted by state and local authorities

On Saturday, Brazil's health ministry confirmed 49,970 new confirmed cases and 905 deaths within the previous 24 hours

Dr Jose Davi Urbaez, a senior member of the Infectious Diseases Society, and other public health experts have claimed Brazil has no coordinated plan to fight the coronavirus pandemic.

Dr Jose Davi Urbaez said: 'We should be living in despair, because this is a tragedy like a world war - but Brazil is under collective anesthesia.'

Brazil's supreme court and congress, who criticised Bolsonaro's handling of the pandemic, have respectively announced three and four days of national mourning for the deceased.

Alexandre Naime, head of Sao Paulo State University's department of infectious diseases, said there is no sign as to when the death count in Brazil may subside.

'We don't know where it will stop, maybe at 150,000 or 200,000 deaths,' he said.

'Only time will show the full impact of COVID-19 here.'

Bolsonaro is on his third health minister since the pandemic reached Brazil five months ago, after falling out with two doctors who previously held the post over their recommendations on containing the virus.

The current interim minister is Eduardo Pazuello, a military general with no prior medical experience.

Pazuello abandoned the call for social distancing, which experts say is essential but the president has opposed.

Bolsonaro claims he recovered from coronavirus, which he announced he had been diagnosed with on July 7, due to hydroxychloroquine.

Bolsonaro has claimed the unproven malaria drug hydroxychloroquine aided his recovery from coronavirus, which he announced he was diagnosed with on July 7

Brazil's first lady Michelle Bolsonaro, 38, also tested positive for coronavirus after her husband President Jair Bolsonaro, 65, spent two weeks isolating after contracting the virus

He has hailed the unproven malaria drug hydroxychloroquine as a remedy for Covid-19.

The drug is no longer used in emergency treatment for coronavirus in the US, with authorities citing reports of heart complication in saying its 'unproven benefits 'do not outweigh the known and potential risks'.

The 65-year-old was confined to the presidential palace in the capital, Brasilia, for more than two weeks, testing positive for coronavirus three times since falling ill.

The president announced he had tested negative for coronavirus on July 25.

But his wife Michelle Bolsonaro, 38, tested positive for the virus at the end of last month.

The presidency's press office announced that she appeared to be in good health, but would be following established protocols.

It came just days after she attended an event recognising rural women workers. It was also her husband's first public gathering since he tested negative for coronavirus.
Robert Pattinson tried and failed to keep his Batman role a secret from Christopher Nolan.

The actor was shooting Nolans highly-anticipated new film Tenet when he attempted to sneak away from the set for a screen test for The Batman, but Nolan saw straight through his excuse.

Its funny because Chris is so secretive about everything to do with his movies, Pattinson told The Irish Times. And then I had to be really secretive about Batman stuff. So I had to lie to Chris about having to go for a screen test  I said I had a family emergency.

"And as soon as I said, Its a family emergency, he said, Youre doing the Batman audition, arent you?

Pattinson was cast as the lead in The Batman in May 2019, reportedly fending off competition from Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Armie Hammer and Nicholas Hoult.

New of his casting was leaked two weeks early, which Pattinson later said made him f***ing furious.

Production on The Batman, directed by Matt Reeves, was halted in the UK in March, but is expected to resume this September. The film also stars Zoe Kravitz as Catwoman and Paul Dano as the villainous Riddler.

Tenet, which has been postponed three times due to coronavirus, is now due to premiere on 26 August. The espionage thriller also stars John David Washington and Elizabeth Debicki.
A revolutionary new way to give vaccines through microneedle skin patches is being tested at Swansea University, thanks to 200,000 of EU funding announced by the Welsh Government.

The COVID-19 pandemic is giving extra urgency to the search for vaccines and new ways of delivering them.

This important research is being conducted by Innoture, a leading UK company with expertise in applying medicines through the skin. This represents a significant milestone for Innoture, and further validation of their next-generation transdermal delivery system.

The innovative technology has the potential to make a meaningful difference to improve patient and public health in Wales and beyond.

Innoture have worked with Swansea University since 2012. The company's R&D department is based in the University's Institute of Life Sciences, where research has been conducted in collaboration with the University's Centre for Nanohealth.

Traditional hypodermic needles can be frightening and painful for children and adults alike. Microneedles could improve patient compliance and therefore yield better health outcomes.

Microneedles are tiny needles, measured in millionths of a metre (m), designed to deliver medicines through the skin. They have more in common with transdermal patches, such as those used to deliver nicotine to help people give up smoking, than with hypodermic needles.

The research will develop and test technology for delivering a vaccine dose via the skin. It will also test a simple and secure disposal process, which would allow the patches to be administered at home.

In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, vaccine developers and manufacturers face a major challenge to rapidly develop and upscale their vaccination programmes as the demand for needles, glass vials plus other treatment delivery supplies, increases. Therefore, it is vital that alternative delivery options are considered by the UK - and international - health community. "Our transdermal delivery system has the potential to improve patient experience and significantly reduce the burden on the NHS and other healthcare systems. The patch is painless and minimally invasive for patients to self-administer. At a time when self-isolation is necessary, the patch can be applied with ease in the home under guidance from a healthcare professional, reducing the need for people to attend a clinic. In addition, for healthcare professionals, it shortens consultation or appointment times and potentially removes the need for cold-chain storage." Dr Michael Graz, Chief Scientific Officer of Innoture

Research from Swansea University's microneedle fabrication and transdermal testing facilities within the Centre for Nanohealth, is underpinning a host of microneedle technologies.

Prof. Owen Guy, Head of Chemistry and Director of the Centre for Nanohealth at Swansea University, said:

"Microneedle vaccine patches are an exciting development of Innoture's transdermal patch technology".

Dr. Sanjiv Sharma, Senior Lecturer in Medical Engineering at Swansea University, added:

"This project could provide a revolutionary approach to vaccination in the future. As a long-term partner of Innoture, we look forward to supporting this exciting venture".

The award of 200,000 for the research comes from the Welsh Government via SMARTCymru 2014-2020 European Regional Development Fund, West Wales and the Valleys. This supports Welsh businesses to develop, implement and commercialise new products, processes and services.
Ebola health care workers carry the body of a woman suspected of dying from Ebola, from a building used as a mortuary by the Bomi County Ebola Clinic on the outskirts of Monrovia, Liberia, Friday, Nov. 7, 2014. (Abbas Dulleh/AP)

Ban Ki-moon is secretary-general of the United Nations.

The Ebola outbreak is moving into a new phase that, in many ways, requires even greater attention and action than it has to this point. In addition to fears about the reach of the unforgiving virus and the spread of unfounded global panic, another concern has been added to the list: declaring mission accomplished too soon.

The rate of new Ebola cases shows encouraging signs of slowing in some of the hardest-hit parts of Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone  and thats good news. The full-scale international strategy to attack Ebola through safe burials, treatment facilities and community mobilization is paying dividends.

But as caseloads go down in some areas, they are rising in others. Some of the worst-affected areas are now almost free of Ebola while neighboring districts are seeing numbers climb sharply. Beds may be empty in one facility while treatment centers are overflowing elsewhere.

The outbreak remains active. People are dying every day. New infections continue. And no one can say with certainty what the coming weeks might bring.

Recent history has proved that caseloads have risen and declined only to shoot up again. That is a familiar pattern of outbreaks. Meanwhile, we know that even one case can ignite an epidemic. A gap anywhere in the response leaves space for the virus to spread disease, kill people, destroy families and threaten the world.

The most effective way to neutralize the threat of Ebola is to end the outbreak at its source. The U.N. system is coming together with many partners in support of the affected countries. The U.N. Mission for Ebola Emergency Response  the first such emergency health mission  is galvanizing work on the front lines.

The short-term goal is clear: Rapidly isolate and treat 70 percent of new cases and ensure that at least 70 percent of burials are safe. This 70-70 strategy is the only way to break the exponential curve of infection.

The long-term goal is equally clear: zero cases in all countries. Getting there will require sustained hard work, resources and a commitment to address the underlying causes of the epidemic, most notably by strengthening health systems.

We are on the right track. Governments and communities in the region are combating the virus. Dozens of countries have stepped up with life-saving contributions. The United Nations is also partnering closely with regional organizations such as the European Union and the African Union, which is mobilizing medical professionals and health-care volunteers from throughout the continent. But huge gaps remain in funding, equipment and, most urgently, medical personnel.

There is no time to lose. What began as a public health emergency is now a complex crisis with profound social, economic, humanitarian, political and security dimensions.

Ebola is drawing oxygen away from businesses and basic services, driving up food prices, stigmatizing growing numbers of people, keeping children out of school and preventing pregnant women and those suffering from malaria and other diseases from accessing medical care. Household incomes across entire nations have declined by as much as one-third in six months.

Each days delay in intensifying the response adds greatly to the toll in lives, the cost of ending the outbreak, the social and economic impact, and the risk of the disease spreading to other countries.

Ebola will be beaten through a resolute and coordinated effort. We have initial evidence to prove that this can happen. But we must speed up efforts to first get the crisis under control and then bring it to an end.

Now is no time to let down our guard. We must keep fighting the fire until the last ember is out.
A man and a woman have died in a suspected murder-suicide in east London.

Police were called to Whalebone Lane South in Dagenham just before 1pm on Saturday to a reports of a woman in her 30s found unresponsive.

Ambulance crews also attended and the woman was pronounced dead at the scene. Officers said the death is being treated as suspicious.

Police were called shortly before 3pm to Gosfield Road - around a mile to the south-east of where the woman was found - to reports of a man found unresponsive, also in his 30s.

Whalebone Lane South, near where the woman died / Google Maps

The man was also pronounced dead at the scene, but his death is not being treated as suspicious, police said.

Officers think the deaths are linked - and are not looking for anyone else in connection with them.
BERLIN Masks during class, masks only in the halls, no masks at all. Distance when possible, no distance within same-grade groups, no distance at all.

As Germanys 16 states start sending millions of children back to school in the middle of the global coronavirus pandemic, the countrys famous sense of Ordnung has given way to uncertainty, with a hodgepodge of regional regulations that officials acknowledge may or may not work.

There cant, and never will be 100% certainty, said Torsten Kuehne, the official in charge of schools in Pankow, Berlins most populous district where 45,000 students go back to school Monday. We are trying to minimize the risk as much as possible.

Germany has won plaudits for managing to slow the spread of the coronavirus quickly, efficiently and early, but the opening of schools is proving a new challenge as the country struggles to balance the concerns of anxious parents and children, skeptical scientists, worried teachers and overtaxed administrators.

With U.S. President Donald Trump pushing for American schools to reopen in person and on time even as the country nears 5 million confirmed coronavirus cases, and other countries moving ahead with plans to resume classes despite rising infections, many eyes are on the real-life experiment offered in Germany to see what works and what doesnt.

The U.N. said this week that as many as 100 countries have yet to announce a date for schools to reopen, and Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned of a possible generational catastrophe in education. He urged that restarting school be made a top priority once countries have the coronavirus under control.

Germany has seen some 217,000 confirmed cases and 9,200 deaths, and brought down a peak of some 6,000 new daily infections in March to the low hundreds. Numbers have been creeping back up, however, and topped the 1,000 per day mark in recent days for the first time in about three months.

Israel attempted a full reopening in May, at a time when the coronavirus was widely thought to have been beaten in the country, only to suffer new outbreaks that led to schools being shut down again and a surge in the spread of the virus nationwide. In South Africa, four grade levels were restarted in June but then closed back down when the countrys virus cases surged.

As Berlin prepares to send its nearly half-million students back to school on Monday, many fear something similar could happen.

The concerns are enormous, because the schools are hotspots, said Doreen Siebernik, who heads the Berlin branch of the GEW teachers union. I know that there are pupils coming to school who have contact with hundreds, with thousands of people every day.

Berlins plan includes requiring students - and teachers - to wear masks in hallways, but not during instruction or in the playground. Sports, music and drama will be allowed, but with restrictions, like requiring choir members to keep at least 2 meters from one another.

Berlins minister for education Sandra Scheeres said its not possible in a school to always keep students 1.5 meters (5 feet) from one another, but that the distance should be kept if feasible. Students are to be kept in cohorts groups that should not mix so that if there is an outbreak, only those affected would need to be quarantined.

The state government recommends those groups dont mingle outside school either, but it was not clear how that could be enforced.

There are conflicting priorities, health protection on the one hand , which is very important to us, and on the other hand that we want to ensure the right to education of every single child, Scheeres said.

A Berlin Institute of Technology study on coronavirus transmission concluded that classrooms should be ventilated for a full 15 minutes every half hour. Scheeres current plan calls for windows to be opened following each 45 minute class.

Dr. Isabella Eckerle, head of the emerging viruses research group at the University of Geneva, said there was still a lot to learn about how children are affected by the coronavirus and transmit it, but that it was clear from school openings in other countries they could spark wider outbreaks.

If we go back to the normal school day now clinging to wishful thinking that children do not play a role in the pandemic, that will come back to haunt us, she said. Instead of ideologically charged discussions, we need pragmatic concepts to get us through the winter.

In a sharply-worded open letter to Scheeres and the citys mayor, Marco Fechner, a father of two and parent representative in the Pankow district, noted that many classroom windows dont open, and that the government has stricter mask rules for supermarkets and its own offices than schools.

He urged the administration to focus more resources to permit some learning from home, so that class sizes and contact could be kept to a minimum.

This decision is absolutely incomprehensible to me as a father, and I fear for the health of my children and our relatives, Fechner wrote.

Similar concerns are playing out elsewhere, like in Scotland where schools also are due to reopen on Tuesday. There is uncertainty about whether measures to increase hand washing and social distancing with limited mixing between classroom groups but no mandatory masks will work.

Berlins back-to-school guidelines are middle-of-the-road among German states.

The first students to return, in the northeastern state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, had no mask requirement but the cohort principle was in place and the education minister said mask regulations were in the works. In a worrisome sign, two schools were temporarily closed Friday after new cases of coronavirus were detected.

Students over age 10 who returned to school in Hamburg on Thursday were required to wear masks, but could take them off once seated in classrooms.

In Germanys most populous state, North Rhine-Westphalia, 2.5 million students face the countrys strictest measures as they return on Wednesday, including a mask requirement while in class.

Federal Health Minister Jens Spahn said Germanys staggered returns and different approaches will help determine what works and what doesnt.

Meantime, schools and districts have been improvising their own solutions to conform with voluminous government guidelines.

In Berlins Pankow, Kuehne has been talking with school lunch suppliers all summer to work out a plan to serve meals at staggered times, and in classrooms, to avoid large groups in the cafeteria.

I wouldnt say Im worried, but I see the very, very big challenges ahead of us as school authorities, schools and parents," he said.

____ AP reporters Josef Federman in Jerusalem; Jill Lawless in London; Mogomotsi Magome in Johannesburg and Dorothee Thiesing, Frank Jordans and Kirsten Grieshaber in Berlin contributed to this story. ____ Follow AP pandemic coverage at http://apnews.com/VirusOutbreak and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak

Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor
K Rathna By

Express News Service

MYSURU: Kidvento Education and Research Private Limited, an award-winning Edtech startup from Mysuru has designed an online-offline learning system to substitute classroom learning. K-teach covers three subjects English, Science and Mathematics for Class 1 to Class 5.

The goal of the product is to reach the students at mass by offering high-quality content at a low cost. To make sure the students are not just spending time on mobiles/laptops, K-teach also provides hands-on

activity for every lesson and a workbook for writing practice. Each lesson in K-teach contains teacher videos along with animations, assessments and doubt clearing sessions.

Understanding the challenges faced by the schools in conducting online classes, Kidvento launched K-teach for Schools that provides an online learning ecosystem which effectively utilises the strengths and

skills of both teachers and students. About 25 schools are already using the solution and helping students to learn.

Speaking to The New Indian Express, Sumanth Prabhu, founder of Kidvento said that the COVID-19 pandemic has had a huge effect on the education system. The next challenge that the country faces is lack of access to learning and we are working more on a digital solution for the students which is affordable, effective and engaging. Thus, we have launched K-teach, an online-offline learning ecosystem. The application has been designed to effectively substitute classroom learning when access to schools is restricted.

The courses are offered for three months and learning with K-teach is hassle-free and involves a scientifically designed learning ecosystem for students, added Sumanth. More than 1500 students have subscribed to the programme in the past one month. Those interested to subscribe can visit

www.k-teach.com. The team at K-teach has experience and expertise in curriculum development, content making, teacher training and hands-on kit development.

Kidvento is also the winner of Elevate 2018 by Government of Karnataka. It is one of the leaders in providing curriculum solutions to schools and has partnered with over 300 schools across South India.

Kidvento was founded by Sumanth Prabhu and KB Nikhil in 2017.

Both the founders are engineers and extremely passionate about education technology. Kidvento has a team of enthusiastic academicians, strategists, developers and technocrats who work with kids through

their partnerships with various schools and institutions, both online and offline.
Macron's office said the total figure of aid pledged or that can be 'mobilised quickly' amounts to 252.7 million euros ($298 millon)

World leaders on Sunday pledged more than 250 million euros for disaster-struck Lebanon, conference host France said, with the emergency aid to be delivered "directly" to a population reeling from the deadly port blast in Beirut.

Fifteen government leaders including US President Donald Trump took part in the virtual conference hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron and the UN, pledging solidarity with the Lebanese people and promising to muster "major resources" in the coming days and weeks.

A joint statement issued after the meeting in which representatives of nearly 30 countries as well as the EU and Arab League participated, did not mention a global amount.

But Macron's office said the total figure of "emergency aid pledged or that can be mobilised quickly" amounts to 252.7 million euros ($298 millon), including 30 million euros from France.

Macron was the first world leader to visit the former French colony after Tuesday's devastating explosion of a huge stockpile of ammonium nitrate which killed more than 150 people, wounded some 6,000 and left an estimated 300,000 homeless.

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas told ZDF broadcaster that "more than 200 million euros of emergency aid have been collected," including 20 million euros from Germany.

- 'Utmost efficiency and transparency' -

The joint statement from the world leaders and their representatives underscored concerns about Lebanese government corruption.

"The participants agreed that their assistance should be timely, sufficient and consistent with the needs of the Lebanese people, well-coordinated under the leadership of the United Nations, and directly delivered to the Lebanese population, with utmost efficiency and transparency," it said.

USAID acting administrator John Barsa also said in a conference call Sunday that American help, some $15 million announced so far, "is absolutely not going to the government."

Story continues

The donor nations urged Lebanon's authorities to "fully commit themselves to timely measures and reforms" in order to unlock longer-term support for the country's economic and financial recovery.

And they said assistance for "an impartial, credible and independent inquiry" into Tuesday's explosion "is immediately needed and available, upon request of Lebanon."

The UN said some $117 million will be needed for an emergency response over the next three months, for health services, emergency shelter, food distribution and programmes to prevent further spread of COVID-19, among other interventions.

Lebanese President Michel Aoun, who was also on Sunday's group call, thanked Macron for the initiative.

"Much is needed to rebuild what has been destroyed and to restore Beirut's lustre," the Lebanese presidency quoted him on Twitter as saying.

"The needs are many and we need to address them quickly, especially before the arrival of winter, which will accentuate the suffering of homeless citizens."

- Calls for calm -

At least 21 people are still missing from the huge blast, and the Lebanese army said Sunday hopes of finding survivors are dwindling.

Lebanese people enraged by official negligence blamed for the explosion have taken to the streets in anti-government protests that have resulted in clashes with the army.

Macron said it was now up to the authorities of Lebanon "to act so that the country does not sink, and to respond to the aspirations that the Lebanese people are expressing right now, legitimately, in the streets of Beirut."

"We must all work together to ensure that neither violence nor chaos prevails," he added. "It is the future of Lebanon that is at stake."

Trump also called for calm, according to the White House, which said he agreed with other leaders on the group call to "work closely together in international response efforts."

"President Trump also urged the government of Lebanon to conduct a full and transparent investigation, in which the United States stands ready to assist," it said.

"The President called for calm in Lebanon and acknowledged the legitimate calls of peaceful protestors for transparency, reform, and accountability."

- 'Generous help' -

Apart from heads of state and government ministers, Sunday's conference was attended by UN aid coordinator Mark Lowcock, representatives of the World Bank, the Red Cross, the IMF, the European Investment Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

Israel, with whom Lebanon has no diplomatic relations, did not participate, though Macron said it had expressed a wish to contribute, nor did Iran which wields huge influence in Lebanon through the Shiite group Hezbollah.

Key Arab states in the Gulf, including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Iraq and the UAE were represented, as were Britain, China, Jordan and Egypt.

Macron said Turkey, with which France's diplomatic ties have been icy over the Libyan conflict, and Russia had indicated their support for the initiative, though they did not take part in the conference.

According to the UN, at least 15 medical facilities, including three major hospitals, sustained structural damage in the blast, and extensive damage to more than 120 schools may interrupt learning for some 55,000 children.

Thousands of people are in need of food and the blast interrupted basic water and sanitation to many neighbourhoods.

Pope Francis called Sunday appealed for "generous help" from the international community.

France has been sending tonnes of medical and food aid, dozens of search and rescue personnel and forensic experts to aid the investigation, as well as reconstruction materials.

On top of cash aid pledged so far, Egypt and Qatar have promised field hospitals, Brazil said it would send 4,000 tonnes of rice, and Spain 10 tonnes of wheat.

"In these horrendous times, Lebanon is not alone," concluded the conference statement.

bur-mlr/lc/pch
Some weeks theres a plethora of important stories and this week is no exception, but Id like to highlight something which is getting far less attention than I think it deserves: The administration is using economic sanctions and anti-money laundering laws to seize the billions of dollars of stolen funds sloshing about the world in international money laundering schemes.

For this, I must thank an online friend Melinda, who brought this to my attention during a week in which the rioting in some Democrat-run cities and the horrific explosion in Beirut drew most of the attention.

The mystery began when the President traveled to Cleveland. When he left under very high security, the staff, in what struck some as an unusual move, stood outside the White House to see him off to Ohio. In Cleveland, while standing in front of Whirlpool laundry machines, he said something curious:

"I have a lot of enemies. This may be the last time you see me for a while. I have a lot of very rich enemies. They're not happy with what I'm doing. But I figure we have one chance to do it. No other president is gonna do what I do."

To what was this in reference? And why the staff sendoff?

Was he just speaking generally about his policies? Was he making a surprise trip to Afghanistan where a Loya Jirga among all the competing parties was supposed to end in a peace treaty? Was he leaving the White House for a few weeks as hed done before so that necessary maintenance could take place in his absence and the concern about the staff sendoff was mere hyperventilating?

All we know is that he went from Ohio to Bedminster, New Jersey, and then to the Hamptons.

Brian Cates offered up one suggestion that made the most sense to me. The DoJ is going full bore against the largest international money launderers and there is concern about retaliation against him.

While Trump was in Cleveland the DoJ filed a big case to seize the assets of PrivatBank, which the U.S. claims were purchased by rich Ukrainians with money they had misappropriated and then laundered in Kentucky and Texas.

The complaints allege that Ihor Kolomoisky and Gennadiy Boholiubov, who owned PrivatBank, one of the largest banks in Ukraine, embezzled and defrauded the bank of billions of dollars. The two obtained fraudulent loans and lines of credit from approximately 2008 through 2016, when the scheme was uncovered, and the bank was nationalized by the National Bank of Ukraine. The complaints allege that they laundered a portion of the criminal proceeds using an array of shell companies bank accounts, primarily at PrivatBanks Cyprus branch, before they transferred the funds to the United States. As alleged in the complaint, the loans were rarely repaid except with more fraudulently obtained loan proceeds. As alleged in the Complaints, in the United States, associates of Kolomoisky and Bogoliubov, Mordechai Korf and Uriel Laber, operating out of offices in Miami, created a web of entities, usually under some variation of the name Optima, to further launder the misappropriated funds and invest them. They purchased hundreds of millions of dollars in real estate and businesses across the country, including the properties subject to forfeiture: the Louisville office tower known as PNC Plaza, and the Dallas office park known as the former CompuCom Headquarters. The buildings have a combined value of approximately $70 million.

PrivatBank has been a subject of scrutiny for some time as almost 2 billion dollars it received in bailout funds, partially from the U.S. and International Monetary Fund, mysteriously vanished:

The [Ukrainian] government in December spent $5.6 billion on a recapitalization of PrivatBank, which is owned by Ihor V. Kolomoisky -- the pro-Kiev commander of a battle-hardened militia and the governor of a crucial region that is on the front line of the Russian conflict. Ms. Gontareva, who took the post in 2014, closed half of Ukraines private banks. That was part of efforts to carry out a total revamp of the Ukrainian banking system, she said in a recent interview. Not everyone was pleased with her efforts. At one point during her tenure, she found a coffin dumped outside her home. Among the moves she oversaw were deals offering PrivatBank central bank refinancing to strengthen the lenders balance sheet. But at least $1.8 billion of that money quickly vanished into bad loans, according to the Anti-Corruption Action Center, an independent organization tracking fraud in Ukraine that is financed in part by United States government grants. By December, PrivatBank faced a huge capital shortfall.

It was through the Latvian branch of PrivatBank that the money from Burisma, the Ukrainian energy company that hired Hunter Biden for a substantial amount of money, seemingly as a bribe to his father, was paid.

The FBI has raided the offices of Optima Management Group in Cleveland and Miami. The company has ties to Privatize Bank that was founded by Ukrainian oligarch Igor Kolomoisky. Kolomoisky also owned Burisma Holdings that hired Devon Archer and Hunter Biden onto the board of directors. Privat Bank received billions of dollars from the IMF. It is believed that much of the money was laundered and later was embezzled by Kolomoisky. The money was allegedly laundered through shell companies in Cyprus, Belize and the British Virgin Islands. Then much of the money was run through Optima Management Group. The FBI is very interested in how much money the fund received and where did it go. It has been rumored that Hunter Biden was paid a little over $83,000 a month with laundered funds.

The Bidens were not the only Democrats who apparently rode the Ukrainian merry-go-round. PrivatBanks owner paid the husband of Democrat congresswoman Debbie Mucarsel-Powell $700,000, ostensibly for legal services.

The month before this complaint was filed, the DoJ filed suit to recover funds (were talking well over a billion dollars) on deposit at the Rothschild Bank by Vasco Investments services, Eagle Strategic Investment Fund, and Khadem Abdulla Al Quibasi, which the government alleges were traceable to an international conspiracy to launder money misappropriated from a company wholly owned by the government of Malaysia.

Both complaints charge massive international shell games in which aid donors and investors were bilked out of their funds big time.

It takes a long time to trace these funds sloshing from one company and bank and country and continent to another, and the investigators deserve praise for this hard work.

As Lexology reported, in reviewing the anti-laundering developments in 2017:

Economic sanctions and anti-money laundering (AML) remain at the forefront of U.S. regulatory policies.[snip] Last year witnessed a number of dramatic changes to the economic sanctions landscape. President Trump has continued the recent trend of using economic sanctions as a powerful national security and foreign policy tool, and Treasury Secretary Mnuchin estimates that he spends probably over 50 percent of his time on national security and sanctions issues.[1] In addition, the U.S. Congress asserted its authority on sanctions by passing the Countering Americas Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA), which President Trump signed into law on August 2, 2017.[2] The administrations and Congresss actions have reshaped President Obamas sanctions policies, significantly expanded the threat of secondary sanctions, and created new uncertainty and risks for U.S. and non-U.S. companies across industries.[snip] Enforcement of the Bank Secrecy Act/anti-money laundering (BSA/AML) laws -- and their state analogues -- remains a high priority for federal prosecutors and regulatory agencies, as well as the DFS. Prosecutors and regulators remain willing to impose substantial penalties, as when the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Department of the Treasurys Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) reached a $586 million resolution with Western Union, and DFS issued major consent orders against non-U.S. banks. FinCEN also used its USA PATRIOT Act Section 311 authority to designate Bank of Dandong an institution of primary money laundering concern based on its alleged processing of North Korean transactions, thus cutting the institution off from the U.S. financial system.

It looks to me as if the focus on money laundering has not been misplaced. It has been reaping rewards for three years now, but these two recent cases look like the biggest, most important catches yet. It also seems to me to be more evidence that the President, no stranger to high finance, continues to use every economic tool short of war to achieve his ends.
A woman in Virginia who said she could not go on without her husband of 70 years died of heartbreak as she lay by his side minutes after his own death from lung cancer.

Kathleen Atkins, 86, had crawled onto the bed beside her husband Richard, 90, where she passed away on August 4.

Among her last words, Kathleen said, 'I'm not gonna let him go alone'.

Their family has described the couple as the 'most perfect love story'.

Kathleen Atkins, 86, and Richard Atkins, 90, died minutes apart on August 4

Kathleen said she would not let her husband of 70 years 'go alone' when he died of cancer

The couple had four children, pictured, and had just celebrated their 70th anniversary

The couple's son, Les Atkins, told WRAL that the loss of both their parents in one day was similar to 'being in the middle of both a horror movie and a beautiful love story'.

'She told my sister that she could not imagine life without him,' he said of his mother's wish.

Les posted the couple's heartbreaking story on Facebook, stating that they had 'raised four children, ran a successful business with a high school education, and cared for so many in the community over the years'.

'This quote from the movie 'The Notebook' sums up their beautiful story: 'I am nothing special, of this I am sure. I am a common man with common thoughts and I've led a common life. There are no monuments dedicated to me and my name will soon be forgotten. But I've loved another with all my heart and soul, and to me, this has always been enough,' he added

The couple married on the front porch of Kathleen's family farmhouse in 1950, buying their own family home days later.

'That's just where life happened from them,' Les said.

They ran their business Atkins Taxi and according to the family obituary, Ray 'was known for his kindness to everyone he met.'

Kathleen told her daughter she could not imagine life without Richard

Their family called the 70-year married couple, pictured center, the 'perfect love story'

Richard was known in the area for his business, Atkins taxi

'The two enjoyed life, always doing right by others and helping those they could,' it added.

Together they had four childen, six grandchildren and 17 great-grandchildren.

Yet two years ago, Ray was diagnosed with lung cancer which he could not beat off.

'He continued to work. He did not want to give up working,' said Les.

Ray was hospitalized with the illness in July but determined to make it home in time to celebrate his 70th wedding anniversary with his wife.

'He called me and said, 'I prayed to God all night and all day that I can leave this hospital, and I will be out of here in the morning.' This was the day before their anniversary,' Les continued.

Their son Les shared their heartbreaking story to Facebook

The house where the couple raised their family and where they passed away on August 4

Richard has recently been in hospital but determined to make it out for their 70th wedding anniversary which the couple celebrated on July 22, just weeks before their death

While he made it home in time, 90-year-old Ray began to feel weak again several days later and one of Les's sisters stayed with their parents to look after them.

In the early hours of the morning of August 4, she went to check on her father but found that he had passed away.

'Then, within a matter of minutes, my sister called back and said my mom had crawled in the bed with him and was overcome with grief,' Les continued.

'They did not want to go alone. They had endured this life together. They had this strong faith, and they just refused to be apart. It's a fairy tale in every sense of the word.'

Later as the family were sorting through their mother's papers, they found another line of wisdom about their life together.

'"Do the best that you can do." I think that's all they did for 70 years. They did the best they could do,' Les said.
If you're a burger fiend who is hungry while reading this, I'll apologize in advance. The photos on this article won't help.

These are the same photos that I've drooled over until I could get my own hands on a burger. I first began seeing these photos floating around on Instagram from many in-the-know folks  myself not included  who know the cool things I wish I knew. Like where to get the best smash burger. Since Smish Smash started up as an Oakland pop-up inside ice cream shop Cookiebar Creamery in May, these thinly smashed burgers with its gorgeous deep brown crust, with sauce and cheese melting together obscenely, began popping up onto my feed.

And soon I was obsessed.

Smish Smash is the burger playground of Chef Vic Donado, a Los Angeles native who moved up to the Bay Area a year ago with his partner, Amy Han, and their (now) one-and-a-half-year-old daughter. Having worked in the restaurant world for over ten years and spending the last four at French bistro Petit Trois under renowned chef Ludo Lefebvre, Donado said he was offered the chef de cuisine position there, which he turned down to move to the Bay. Smish Smash is Donado's first solo venture running his own menu filled with his creations.

"A month before [the offer], I [told Lefebvre], 'You're probably going to be the last chef that I ever work for,' just because I felt like it was time for me to branch out and do something on my own," Donado said. "So moving up here, I didn't want to work for anybody else. It took me a while to figure out exactly what I want to do."

Donado took a job with a private chef company when he first settled into the Bay Area, but when the pandemic struck, he found himself having to find other work as gatherings and parties ground to a halt. That's when he hit upon making the smash burger  a burger typically made with a higher fat-to-beef ratio and "smashed" flat onto a flattop grill, to give it a crisp, lacy, fried exterior  which had already been taking over the Los Angeles food scene when he and his family moved north.

READ ALSO: Meet the 'Brokeass Cooks' who started a pop-up in their backyard

Courtesy of Smish Smash

"I just realized there are no burger places out here that are doing smash burgers  or, they're not doing anything like anyone's doing in LA," Donado said. "The smash burger scene in LA is crazy, it's everywhere, new smash burger pop-ups are popping up every three to six months. ... I wanted to do something like that up here and bring the flavor of LA to the Bay, and that's pretty much how I started doing burgers."

The smash burger scene certainly isn't as pronounced as the one in Los Angeles; Han said she's had to liken it to more brand-recognizable versions, like New York-based chain Shake Shack, which has been opening up stores in San Francisco and beyond.

"I think a lot of people are still trying to understand smash burgers," Han said. "We have to say things like, 'Well, Shake Shack is technically a smash burger, but we just smashed it even crispier and thinner than what Shake Shack does.'"

READ ALSO: San Francisco restaurant may be first to offer 'quarantine bubble' seating

Donado, however, is putting his special spin on things. Beyond the crust of the flat burger, always served on a Martin's potato roll, he's infusing many of the professional chef techniques he's learned over the years into the other ingredients. He's perfected a bacon "patty"  a flat crisp of ground up bacon that Donado developed and uses in place of slices of bacon on the Diner burger  and created his version of a Bordelaise sauce that is part of the Cali Love burger, a tribute to Lefebvre's popular (and decadent) "Big Mec" burger at Petit Trois.

Smish Smash has a set trio of burgers they keep on their weekend pop-up menu, which also includes a fried chicken sandwich, but the weekly specials that Donado cooks up are just another outpouring of those techniques, but set up differently than traditional burgers. They've included a burger take on pho dac biet, a pastrami burger, and even an uni burger that Donado had been playing around with, before debuting it at Smish Smash.

Courtesy of Smish Smash

"In the specials, I feel like people can kind of get a glimpse of the type of chef that I am or where I come from, playing around with flavors," Donado said. "I like to do stuff that I like to eat, but I also like to do stuff that I know will please the crowd."

Donado often pitches his burger ideas to Han, who by her own admission says she is sometimes cynical about. But Donado often wins her over, no matter how crazy the idea seems, testing them first at home.

"We had something called the dac biet, which is a play on beef pho, and when he brought that idea to me, I said, absolutely not. That sounds disgusting and it sounds gimmicky, but he already had the presentation in his mind," Han recalled. "He had the components and when I saw it, I was like, 'Wow, that looks elevated, it's great!' ... Now there's a petition, a fake petition, but a petition for that to be on our permanent menu."

Courtesy of Smish Smash

The specials showcase the playful side of Donado and Han, who decided to do a food "shock drop" debut of the uni burger on Instagram. Han, who runs the Smish Smash account, announced the uni burger at midnight on their profile the night before their weekend pop-up was to begin, much like the sudden alert that lets sneaker collectors know a hot new pair is about to be released at a boutique (Donado admitted to being a sneakerhead, using the sneaker "shock drop" as inspiration for the uni burger announcement). To the disappointment of many the special burgers can be too fleeting, disappearing after a weekend or two, despite the demand  but Chef Donado said he prefers things that way.

"I think we're going to try to bring back some of the specials that people want as shock drops and let them know, like, 'Hey, this dac biet is coming back,'" Donado said. "One of these weekends, I'll have everything ready and be like, boom, drop it on Instagram, the doc biet is back. I want to keep it fun and exciting. I kind of want people to come back and ask for a burger and then not be able to get it and be like, 'I'll be back.' I want that mystery of, 'Oh, when are they going to do it again?' ... [With] the pop-up, I want to really play around with the burgers and I try not to make any of the specials be similar to the burgers that are already on the regular menu."

Smish Smash has been growing in popularity and the duo ultimately have their sights set on opening up a brick-and-mortar at some point. For the meantime, however, they have some fun projects in the works. Donado reached out to graffiti artist Pemex to create the Smish Smash logo in use at their pop-up, and now Donado says he's working on some ice cream flavors with Pemex and his art studio, to be served up at Cookiebar Creamery.

"I feel like Smish Smash is the stepping stone for people to be like, 'Alright, he's doing burgers, is it only burgers that he can do?" Donado said. "It's not; I can do so much more and I'm going to want to, and be able to, do that in the next coming years."

Smish Smash is a weekend pop-up inside Cookiebar Creamery at 517 8th St. in Oakland. To confirm hours and see the latest with Smish Smash, follow their Instagram @smishsmash__.

Dianne de Guzman is the Food + Drink Editor at SFGATE. Email: dianne.deguzman@sfgate.com
US begins highest level Taiwan visit in decades A plane carrying US health chief Alex Azar touched down in Taipei on Sunday

A senior member of US President Donald Trump's administration landed in Taiwan Sunday for Washington's highest level visit since switching diplomatic recognition to China in 1979, a trip Beijing has condemned.

During the three-day visit Health Secretary Alex Azar will meet President Tsai Ing-wen, who advocates Taiwan being recognised as a sovereign nation and is loathed by China's leaders.

Tsai's office said the meeting would take place Monday morning.

Azar is the most senior US cabinet member to visit Taiwan in decades and his visit comes as relations between the world's two biggest economic powers plunge to historic lows.

In recent days, Trump has ordered sweeping restrictions on popular Chinese apps TikTok and WeChat and the US Treasury Department slapped sanctions on Hong Kong's leader over a tough law that curbs dissent.

Washington has billed the Taiwan trip as an opportunity to learn from the island's fight against the coronavirus and to celebrate its progressive values.

"This trip is a recognition of Taiwan's success in combating COVID-19 and a testament to the shared beliefs that open and democratic societies are best equipped to combating disease threats like COVID-19," a health and human services department official told reporters ahead of the visit.

But Beijing balks at any recognition of self-ruled Taiwan, which it claims as its own territory and vows to one day seize, by force if necessary.

It has described Azar's visit as a threat to "peace and stability", while China's defence minister warned against Washington making any "dangerous moves".

As well as meeting Tsai, Azar will hold talks with his counterpart Chen Shih-chung and Foreign Minister Joseph Wu.

He will also meet coronavirus experts and give a speech to public health students as well as alumni of a training programme with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Story continues

Taiwan has become a poster child for defeating the coronavirus thanks to a well-honed track and tracing programme as well as firm border controls.

Despite its proximity and economic links to China it has recorded fewer than 500 infections and seven deaths.

In contrast the US has recorded the most deaths in the world with more than 160,000 fatalities.

- A cautious testing of China -

The rapidly deteriorating relationship between Beijing and Washington comes as Trump seeks re-election in November.

He is trailing in the polls to rival Joe Biden and has begun campaigning hard on an increasingly strident anti-Beijing message.

As public disapproval has grown for his handling of the epidemic, Trump has pivoted from his previous focus on striking a trade deal with China to blaming the country for the coronavirus crisis.

The two countries have clashed on a range of issues, from trade to espionage allegations and Beijing's human rights record such as the mass incarceration of Uighur Muslims and the political crackdown in Hong Kong.

Washington remains the leading arms supplier to Taiwan but has historically been cautious in holding official contacts with it.

Under Trump, relations with Taiwan have warmed dramatically and he has approved a number of major military sales, including F-16 fighter jets.

Douglas Paal, a former head of the American Institute in Taiwan, Washington's de facto embassy, said the Trump administration was still paying heed to China's red line -- that no US official handling national security visit Taiwan.

Throughout the 1990s the United States sent trade officials to Taiwan with regularity.

The difference this time, he said, is the context, with Azar travelling at a time when relations between Washington and Beijing have hit a new low.

"Sending him to Taiwan shows respect for the old framework while putting a finger in China's eye at the same time," Paal said.

"The fact that they didn't choose to send a national security advisor or someone else suggests they are trying to come as close as possible to China's red line but don't want to cross it."

The last cabinet minister to visit Taiwan was in 2014 when the then head of the Environmental Protection Agency led a delegation.

Taiwan has also built broad, bipartisan support in Washington.

Tsai has been hailed not only for her decisive coronavirus response but also, among US Democrats, for her progressive views including advocacy of gay rights, unusual for an Asian leader.

aw/jta/tom
Having started her career with the small screen, Barkha Sengupta admits that transitioning to films was quite a challenge because of the existing prejudices against television actors. And as the current chorus about unfair treatment in Bollywood is becoming louder, the actor says it is time to abolish such an attitude.

Of course it is true that if you are a TV actor, it is assumed that you act in a certain way because that is what they see. When you got to talk for a film, you realise that there is a taboo that is attached to TV actors, says Sengupta, who has been a part of films such as Raajneeti (2010), Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela (2013) and PM Narendra Modi (2019).

Further elaborating her point, the 40-year-old says that people think that a TV actor will act in a certain way. I agree that films and OTT keep it real. But it is a misconception that actors like me who have done TV cannot move on to a different styles and methods of acting, she explains.

Sengupta, however, feels that the advent of the OTT s have somewhat brought somewhat relief to TV actors and freed them of such prejudices.

It has created a platform which is somewhere between films and TV. People who were doing TV before for them, the next step was always films. There was a huge gap between TV and films, so I think web is kind of helping in bridging that gap. It is great for actors who are looking for creative outlet and opportunities. The web has limit, opines the actor, who recently starred in web show, Ratri ke Yatri.

The actor also feels that the OTTs will always prioritise content and that will reflect in the kind of opportunities that they open for talents.

Nothing will surpass content on OTTs because a lot of people have access to world content and the benchmark is that high. The comparison is with the world content, she says.

Follow @htshowbiz for more
The police union building in Portland, Oregon, was set on fire Saturday night, leading police to declare a riot and order the area cleared. Federal authorities left the city at the end of July after weeks of violent clashes between them and protesters, and local leaders have hoped for calm after the federal agents withdrew.

Three officers were injured when police tried to disperse the crowd, Portland police said.

Police said there were several protests on Saturday that were peaceful, but a small group lit a fire at the Portland Police Association (PPA) building. According to The Oregonian, it's the second time a fire has been lit at the police union building, a regular site of protests since they began in late May.

According to police, the group was warned around 10:30 p.m. to "not engage in criminal activities" and disperse. "People within the crowd committed crimes when they erected a fence, pushed dumpsters into the street to block traffic, set a dumpster on fire, vandalized the PPA office with spray paint, and destroyed security cameras," police said in a release.

At 11:35 p.m., people within the crowd broke the window of the police union offices, entered the building and then lit a fire, "committing the crimes of criminal mischief, burglary, and attempted arson," police said. A riot was then declared and all people assembled were ordered to leave, including members of the media and legal observers.

Officers from the Oregon State Police and the Portland police tried to break up the crowd. But three officers were injured as police said the crowd started throwing bottles and paint balloons, as well as shining green laser lights, which is a crime in Oregon.

A Portland police officer shoves a protester as police try to disperse the crowd in front of the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office early on Saturday, August 8, 2020, in Portland, Oregon. / Credit: Nathan Howard / AP

Police said that they were then able to get around the barricade that had been created and pushed the crowd back. Police estimated there were about 300 people in the crowd at that point.

Just after 1 a.m., police declared Kenton Park closed and their presence was considered "riotous." The crowd dispersed by about 2 a.m., police said.

Story continues

Protests have been taking place in Portland for over 70 days and nights, beginning after George Floyd's death in Minneapolis at the end of May. Federal authorities arrived at the beginning of July under an executive order from President Trump, leading to violent clashes. State and local officials pleaded for the federal authorities  who came from a number of different agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security  to leave as the confrontations intensified.

Despite Mr. Trump's insistence that federal authorities were doing a "fantastic job," the Trump administration and Oregon Governor Kate Brown worked out a deal for the federal agents to begin withdrawing at the end of July. But acting Department of Homeland Security director Chad Wolf said the timing of their departure depended on local authorities ability to secure the city.

Eyewitness accounts and video shared to social media often showed federal agents using force on protesters who did not appear to be acting violently, including moms and veterans. Paul Rosenzweig, who served in the Department of Homeland Security under Republican President George W. Bush, described the actions of federal agents in Portland as "on the borderlines of legal."

"Never have I seen it before where the federal government has imposed its will on the state and says, 'We're going to do this mission whether you want us here or not,'" Rosenzweig told CBS News' David Martin.

On Thursday, Wolf defended his department personnel's actions when he testified before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. "Our law enforcement officers are not the Gestapo, storm troopers or thugs," he said.

Authorities have been trying to distinguish between peaceful protests during the day and sometimes violent clashes at night.

Earlier Saturday, hundreds of people gathered at Portland's Waterfront Park to hear activist and worship leader Sean Feucht speak, CBS Portland affiliate KOIN-TV reported. Feucht said in a promotional YouTube video earlier this week the "Riots to Revival" event would "flip the script" on recent unrest. The event remained non-violent despite a few heated disagreements over face coverings, which are required outdoors when people cannot maintain a six-foot distance.

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OTTAWA - The federal Liberal government has handed over thousands of pages of documents related to the WE controversy to a House of Commons committee, which lawyers are now vetting for personal information and cabinet secrets.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 9/8/2020 (527 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Conservative MP Pierre Poilievre holds a press conference on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on July 29, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

OTTAWA - The federal Liberal government has handed over thousands of pages of documents related to the WE controversy to a House of Commons committee, which lawyers are now vetting for personal information and cabinet secrets.

The finance committee demanded the documents last month as it probes whether Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's relationship with WE Charity influenced the government's ill-fated decision to have the organization run a federal student-volunteer program.

Committee members are hoping the documents will shed light on the discussions that led to the decision to have WE run the Canada Student Services Grant, before the deal was cancelled amid controversy in early July.

"People are asking a lot of questions," NDP finance critic Peter Julian said in an interview. "There's been a lot of contradictions in testimony. So the documents should be revealing a lot more of what the real answers are."

Yet while the Liberals turned more than 5,000 pages over to the committee ahead of Saturday's deadline, it wasn't clear when they would be released to members as committee lawyers go through them to prevent the release of protected information.

"We don't know," Conservative finance critic Pierre Poilievre said during a news conference on Sunday when asked when committee members would get the documents. "We have asked. They have not given us the timeline."

Committee chairman Wayne Easter, a Liberal MP, predicted the documents would be released in the coming days to members as additional lawyers from the public service have been brought in to help review them for cabinet secrets and other information.

Even after the documents are released, however, there will could be disagreements about why certain information was withheld.

While Poilievre and Julian suggested they were keeping the door open to challenging any redactions, Easter said the vetting was being conducted by the professional public service  and noted the tradition of Parliament respecting cabinet confidence.

Usually prepared for ministers to aid government deliberations and decision-making, documents marked as cabinet confidences hold closely guarded political secrets and are legally protected from unauthorized release.

Trudeau has previously faced pressure to waive cabinet confidence when it came to allegations he tried to pressure then-justice minister Jody Wilson-Raybould on a deferred prosecution agreement with Quebec engineering firm SNC-Lavalin.

"We respect the integrity of the public service," Easter said when asked about the lawyers redacting cabinet confidences in the WE documents. "That's why there is no political involvement in the redacting of these documents. That's why the law clerk is involved."

The Liberals have been embroiled in controversy since it was revealed on June 25 that WE had been selected to run the Canada Student Services Grant, which promised up to $5,000 toward the education costs of students who volunteered during COVID-19.

The sole-sourced agreement with WE was to pay one of its foundations up to $43.5 million to administer a grant program designed to encourage students to sign up for volunteer work related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Trudeau and Finance Minister Bill Morneau have since apologized for not recusing themselves from cabinet's discussions about the agreement before it was awarded to WE given their respective families' ties to the Toronto-based charity.

Trudeau has spoken at six WE Day events since becoming prime minister, while his mother and brother have been paid almost $300,000 and reimbursed about $200,000 in expenses for appearing at WE events. Trudeau's wife has also had expenses covered.

Morneau, meanwhile, acknowledged last month that he repaid WE about $41,000 in sponsored travel for him and his family to view the charity's humanitarian projects in Ecuador and Kenya in 2017.

Yet the government has insisted that the decision was based on a recommendation from the non-partisan public service following its conclusion that WE was the only organization capable of running the grant program.

Opposition critics, meanwhile, are also training their sights on an agreement between a Crown corporation and a company employing the husband of Trudeau's chief of staff, Katie Telford.

The agreement between the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. and MCAP, where Telford's husband Rob Silver is an executive vice-president, involves the administering of a rent-assistance program for small businesses affected by COVID-19.

The Prime Minister's Office has said Telford established clear ethical walls between herself and MCAP in January, even before COVID-19 shook the country's economy and led to the creation of the Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance program.

But Poilievre questioned why the government didn't simply ask the Canada Revenue Agency to run the rent-assistance program given it is already managing the federal wage subsidy for businesses struggling during the pandemic.

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.

"CMHC, which is strangely running this program, exists for the sole purpose of providing affordable housing. Not commercial real estate," Poilievre said.

"Now, of course, the easy way to deliver this program would have been through CRA. CRA already had a program stood up to deliver a wage subsidy."

Audrey-Anne Coulombe, a spokeswoman for CMHC, said in a statement Sunday that the federal housing agency had decided to go with an outside sub-administrator because it "does not have the internal capacity to stand up the program in short order."

Coulombe said CMHC sought bids from two financial institutions and chose MCAP because its proposal was stronger and cost less. She said Silver was not involved in contract negotiations or the delivery of services.

Easter expressed concern about the committee getting distracted by opposition "fishing" efforts and not focusing on its main task of preparing for next year's federal budget and overseeing COVID-19 spending.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 9, 2020.
Gambling giant Tabcorp is shaking up the management of its under-pressure wagering business, after writing down the division by $1 billion and announcing the departure of the company's chief executive and chairman.

The $7.2 billion group is yet to reveal who will replace its executive general manager for wagering, Andy Wright, after announcing his departure internally on July 24, a day after Tabcorp said its long-standing chief executive David Attenborough would retire in the first half of next and chairman Paula Dwyer would leave at the end of December.

Tabcorp is coming under pressure to lift the performance of its wagering division. Credit:Dominic Lorrimer

That overhaul came after a group of major investors pushed for leadership changes amid growing angst over Tabcorp's performance, particularly in its wagering business, following its $11 billion merger with lottery operator Tatts in 2017.

Tabcorp's managing director of wagering Adam Rytenskild said in a note to racing industry partners that it was the right time to make changes to his division's leadership team given it was at a "pivotal point".
A Vietnamese diner-style restaurant, opened in South Korea's capital Seoul over a year ago, has become a big hit.

From its signboard and menu to plastic tables and chairs, the eatery looks uncannily like it is in Vietnam.

Owner Nam Joon-young fell in love with Vietnamese cuisine when he visited Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Da Lat a few years ago. He wanted to serve those foods in his city and opened the restaurant.

Hieu Tu restaurant, as it is called in Vietnamese, has since become very popular, getting 400-500 customers a day.

People typically queue up in front even before the restaurant opens to get a good seat. Dinner is the peak business hour. Some people come just to take photos.

Customers can either sit in an air-conditioned room or outside in the yard or balcony on plastic or cane chairs. The interiors are adorned with Vietnamese-style posters, newspapers and leaflets.

Vietnamese dishes at the restaurant. Photo by @jiae4ever/Instagram.

The bestselling dishes are fried chicken in coconut, chicken pho (Vietnamese traditional noodle soup), fried pho, seafood vermicelli, grilled pork served with noodles and fish sauce, and fried spring rolls.

Some Vietnamese customers have told Nam Joon-young that the food tastes different from home but is very tasty since he uses many spices and herbs from Vietnam.

Nam told VnExpress: "I went to Ho Chi Minh City to buy the tables, chairs and dishes and brought them back. The restaurant has a Korean chef and some Vietnamese staff."

While he buys some of the spices locally, the beers, wines, mineral water, condensed milk, chili sauces, and fish sauces are imported from Vietnam.

Nam Joon-young (left) brings tables, chairs, dishes etc. from Ho Chi Minh to Seoul. Photo courtesy of Nam Joon-young.

"I started cooking because I wanted to earn money to help my parents. So I dreamed of opening a restaurant first to help them," he said.

The restaurant, located at 73-3, Hangangno 2(i)-ga, Yongsan-gu, Seoul 1F, is open from 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. on weekdays with a break from 3 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. On weekends it closes at 9 p.m. Prices range from $4 to $14.

The success of the restaurant has enabled him to open another, this one called Nampark Pho Bo.
Spain's former King Juan Carlos, who is soaked in a corruption scandal and announced on August 3 that he was leaving the country, has reportedly gone to the United Arab Emirates (UAE). According to Spanish media, Juan Carlos has left the country for Abu Dhabi, where he is purportedly staying at the five-star Emirates Palace hotel. The monarch was photographed while coming out from a private plane in Abu Dhabi, which was published by the Spanish media group NIUS. Earlier media reports had suggested that the king might have gone to neighbouring Portugal or the Dominican Republic in the Caribbean.

Read: Spain's Ex-King Juan Carlos Leaves Country After Alleged Corruption Investigation

Why did Juan leave?

According to reports, the former king on Monday had announced his departure in a letter to his son Felipe, who is currently occupying the throne. Juan Carlos, who ruled Spain for 40 years from 1975 to 2014, helped Spain's transition to democracy, making it a constitutional monarchy, for which he was hailed widely. However, the reputation surrounding the monarchy began to suffer after several controversies including the infamous elephant-hunting trip that Carlos undertook when the country was suffering from a financial crisis. Carlos abdicated from the throne in 2014 in favour of his son after a corruption investigation against him was launched.

Read: Brazil Police Make Raids In Alleged Hospital Corruption Case

In June this year, the Supreme Court of Spain ordered an investigation into the alleged role of Carlos in a $6 billion high-speed rail contract in Saudi Arabia, where he is said to have received kickbacks, which he kept in a bank in Switzerland. It is said that Carlos left the country because he no longer enjoys immunity from prosecution following his abdication. The recent scandal involving Juan Carlos has re-ignited the debate surrounding monarchy in Spain with the Catalonia parliament, which was earlier seeking independence from the European country, condemning the former king's decision to leave.

Read: China: Former CPC Member And Top Banker Pleads Guilty In Corruption Case

Read: Former Oil Boss Faces More Charges In Mexico Corruption Case

(Image Credit: AP)
Lihle Shiba is a young professional still finding her feet in the corporate world. She is a simple lady, with big dreams hoping to start her own communications firm so she can be able to provide more opportunities for women, who come from humble beginnings. I come from a big but very tight-knit family, their cheers keep me going on to bigger, better and brighter things, she shares. Dlamini enjoys reading and spending time with her loved ones and also shared that she has been told she has a great sense of style.



Who is your biggest influence or icon and why?

My biggest influences are my mother and my late grandmother. Ever since I can remember, they were strong, beautiful, intelligent and hardworking women. Even though they had limited opportunities growing up, they have never let that define or discourage them as they overcame all the odds and became esteemed members of the community. Growing up, they always encouraged me to become the best version of myself, to embrace any responsibility that comes my way and they also sacrificed a lot for me and my siblings. I take my fashion sense from them, my grandmother was the most stylish woman I know, and she oozed class, which she passed down to my mother, who passed it down to me.



What issues do you believe women face in their daily lives?

Women face the issue of gender inequality almost every day and sometimes it goes unnoticed as it seems normal in their eyes and other individuals. Sadly, in as much as it is talked about its still happening that statistics of abused women are rapidly rising. Women also face the issue of being the main victims of intimate partner violence and gender-based violence. Society is always ready to body shame women, abuse or insult them by uttering degrading statements due to the way that women dress.



The womens month celebrations have spilled over from South Africa to the whole continent. What advice would you give to younger women in celebration of their being?

I would advise women to love themselves and to take charge of their lives. Be who you want to be and do not be afraid to move out of your comfort zone. The time is now for women to realise that they are a force to be reckoned with.



What are you most proud of being a young woman?

I am proud of growing up and watching the perception of what women should do in my country evolve from being taken frivolously by society. Our mothers are rising to the occasion to fight for womens rights and initiatives such as fighting for the girl child. I am also proud that we are now living in a society where things are changing, where women can finally have a say. Being alive in a time when young women are encouraged to assume the roles, which have been labelled as male roles is another thing to be proud of.



As an adult, are your dreams in line with what you had desired as a girl?

No, real life events made me alter my dreams and my maturity gave me different goals than the ones I had as a young girl because God is in charge of my life. I am grateful for how things turned out.



Day in and out, women constantly send out a plight to authorities to do more in protecting them from GBV issues. Whats your take on this?

It is high time that the authorities act upon the issue of GBV in women using stronger strategies. We have suffered enough. The cases keep on escalating and the men responsible for the actions receive sentences that are not equivalent to the crime they committed. The stepping in of authorities and tightening the laws would minimise the rate of GBV.



How can fashion be used as a vehicle to addressing such issues?

Fashion is universal and using it as a vehicle for addressing social issues can be incorporated through fashion shows, parades and gatherings of all women. This can be done by having them wear whatever they are comfortable in. I believe women should be free to dress however they feel without being judged. Fashion is art, it is a way of expressing ones self and as women we deserve the right to express ourselves the way we want to. I long for a world where women can freely dress up and feel great in their favourite outfits without society judging and bullying them.



Mention 5 things that youre grateful for.

I am grateful for all the precious moments I shared with my heart, who is my grandmother. I love my mother and my lovely siblings for all the sacrifices they made for me. Living through the coronavirus pandemic has proved to be hard for everyone especially people who are employed, so I am grateful to have a job at a wonderful organisation and having the worlds greatest as well as most handsome cousin, Wandile *chuckles* . Lastly, I am grateful for the gift of life and all the great people in it, which includes my family, my friends and to doctor MMK, thank you for everything.


By John J. Metzler





The story comes right out of a Dan Brown mystery thriller in which Vatican secrets are targeted by state-sponsored computer hackers. Yet according to cyber security sources, the intrusion into sensitive Vatican diplomatic traffic is not fiction, but a cold hard fact of modern espionage.



The Recorded Future Network, a respected cyber security firm based near Boston, has identified and profiled a "cyber espionage campaign attributed to a suspected Chinese state-sponsored threat activity group, which we are tracking as RedDelta."



The group states, "From early May 2020, The Vatican and the Catholic Diocese of Hong Kong were among several Catholic Church-related organizations that were targeted by RedDelta, a Chinese-state sponsored threat activity group tracked by Insikt Group."

They add that a series of suspected network intrusions also focused on the Hong Kong Study Mission to China.







But why target the Vatican? The Holy See is but a European micro-state inside Rome, hardly a high-tech center, a pharmaceutical research hub, nor a nexus of global military operations. So what's hidden behind the ancient walls that so interests Beijing's Marxist mandarins?







In September the Vatican and China resume talks over Beijing's control and relationship with the Catholic Church in China. In September 2018 Pope Francis made a provisional two-year deal with China allowing the communist regime to have additional control and oversight over the country's long persecuted church. Recorded Future group asserts, "The suspected intrusion into the Vatican would offer RedDelta insight into the negotiating position of the Holy See ahead of the deal's September 2020 renewal."







In other words Beijing is allegedly poaching diplomatic intel related to the Vatican's negotiating positions. Surprise, surprise!







Traditionally, the People's Republic of China has maintained a strained relationship with the Vatican. Though the Catholic Church in China numbers only 12 million members, the congregations are effectively split between an "underground church" which is loyal to the Vatican versus the Patriotic Church which is run through the United Front department of the Communist Party of China (CPC). At issue is Beijing's insistence that it appoint bishops to the Church which of course remains in direct contravention of Church policy.







Moreover the Holy See still maintains diplomatic relations with Taiwan and not the Beijing communists. This particularly irks the People's Republic as it underscores the issue of political legitimacy.







The September 2018 provisional agreement now up for renewal, sees China having more control of the "underground church" while the Vatican would gain additional influence over Beijing's appointment of bishops for the state-sanctioned "Patriotic Church." Additionally, the Holy See would recognize the communist People's Republic over democratic Taiwan.







Under the increasingly authoritarian rule of China's President Xi Jinping, the CCP has tightened political and spiritual control over Tibetan Buddhists, Uighur Muslims, and Chinese Christians, especially the Catholics. Though the so-called Patriotic Church has been a regime-run conduit since the 1950s, Beijing wishes to get a political benediction of both legitimacy and action from the Vatican as to appoint its chosen bishops without the ire of Rome.







Chairman Xi's security apparatus has stepped up attacks on religion over the past year. According to Bitter Winter, a renowned religious rights website, Beijing has dramatically expanded destroying and desecrating Protestant and Catholic Churches throughout the mainland.







During this year between January and May in Anhui Province, the regime has systematically pulled down 250 crosses on Protestant churches. These churches ironically even belong to the regime sanctioned Patriotic Movement. It's all about the CCP's control and Sinofication of religious life and symbols.







Sensitive negotiations are continuing between Beijing and the Holy See to finally come to an accord. Given the global coronavirus, since there's obviously less formal and informal personal diplomacy, there are additional online contacts, thus exposing Vatican statecraft to cyber stalking.







Recently, Pope Francis during prepared remarks at the Vatican, at the last minute deleted specific mentions over the situation in Hong Kong. This was tragically telling.







Hong Kong's retired Cardinal Joseph Zen has virulently criticized the Vatican for its political kowtowing to the CCP on the decades-long dispute on the authority to appoint bishops. Cardinal Zen's feelings reflect a deep disquiet in Catholic circles, especially in Hong Kong and Taiwan that the Vatican will "do a deal" with Beijing.







Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, speaking recently at the Nixon Library in California, underscored the political stakes in the larger battle, "not between the United States and China but between authoritarianism and freedom. That's the fight the world needs to be engaged in."











John J. Metzler ( jjmetzler@earthlink.net) is a United Nations correspondent covering diplomatic and defense issues. He is the author of Divided Dynamism the Diplomacy of Separated Nations; Germany, Korea, China.




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
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-09 17:41:47|Editor: huaxia

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LAGOS, Aug. 9(Xinhua) -- Nigeria's state governors have called on the federal government to deploy more state of the art military hardware to the armed forces fighting Boko Haram in the restive northeast region.

Babagana Zulum, chairman of the North-East Governors' Forum(NGF) and governor of Borno state, appealed in a statement reaching Xinhua on Sunday after the Forum's second meeting to discuss the challenges facing the sub-region on Saturday.

The appeal by the governors of Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Taraba, and Yobe states is coming barely a week after the Zulum convoy was attacked by insurgents in the Baga area of Borno.

The governors, who commended the efforts of the federal government in fighting insurgency, urged the armed forces to intensify efforts to secure hard-to-reach areas in the region and ensure safe access to farmlands.

"The Forum recommends that the manpower deficit in the Nigerian Armed Forces should be bridged by allowing the police to carry state of the art weapons where necessary and be provided with strategic equipment like high-velocity tear gas, trackers and Armored Personnel Carriers," the statement added.

They called for more concrete measures by the military to end the insurgency, adding that displaced persons needed to go back home and pick up their normal lives.

Since 2009, the Boko Haram insurgency has had a devastating impact on the region. The group has been trying to establish an Islamist state in northeastern Nigeria, extending its attacks to countries in the Lake Chad Basin.

Boko Haram posed enormous security, humanitarian, and governance challenges in the Lake Chad basin, including Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon, Benin, and Niger, according to the United Nations. Enditem
Jeremy Eaton/CBC

Special Olympics Canada has named a St. John's businessman a champion of inclusion for his work promoting respect for people of all abilities in the workplace.

Peter Halley, artistic director of Spirit of Newfoundland Productions, was nominated for the award by his employee, Leah McDonald.

McDonald, who lives with Aspergers, anxiety and a rare brain disorder, called Agenesis of the corpus callosum  which is characterized by the absence of a part of the brain that connects its two hemispheres  started working at Spirit of Newfoundland seven years ago.

"They were looking for champions of inclusion, people who go above and beyond to make people with special needs feel welcome and accepted," she said. "When I got the email asking for nominees, I was like 'OK, I know right away who I'm going to put in. Peter definitely deserves this award, for sure.'"

Halley first met McDonald during a show in 2011, and said a great friendship has grown ever since.

"We were doing our ABBA show. And during that show I introduced my favourite ABBA song, and I asked the audience if anybody knows [it]."

"Hand goes up, Leah. And I think I commented on how polite she was because her hand went up, and we chatted after the show. And that was the beginning of our relationship."

Jeremy Eaton/CBC

Since starting her job at Spirit of Newfoundland, McDonald said work done by Halley and others has helped her become who she is today.

"In school, I never really did fit in, I got bullied a lot by my neurotypical, that's a big sciencey word meaning normal, peers," she said. "And when I met Peter almost 10 years ago, he was one of the first ever neurotypical people to actually be nice to me and want to be around me."

"Finally finding a neurotypical person that actually wanted to be my friend instead of making fun of me, that was huge."

"We've always been inclusive with our employees, and we have people that are literally part of our family here," Halley added. "It's easy to feel good about having Leah because she's always so vocal and thankful, and she's really great at her job."

Story continues

Halley said it's rewarding to work with McDonald and others who have disabilities.

Jeremy Eaton/CBC

"It was really beautiful," Halley said of the nomination McDonald wrote. "I wasn't really familiar with the whole process, but having read what she wrote, it just made me feel great," he said.

"It's been fantastic," McDonald added. "He is a really, really kind person, he's a real pleasure to work for. I'm really happy that he's my boss and one of my best friends."

Halley encouraged other businesses in the province to provide opportunities for people with disabilities, as the benefits are seen by everyone involved.

"It is very special, on another level, and it's so rewarding for us and for them," he said.

Read more from CBC Newfoundland and Labrador
Dwight Schrute is a very quotable character. Hes intense, socially unaware, and, underneath it all, contains a heart of gold. The Office has a particularly devoted fan base. Its not unusual for fans to be able to recite quotes from the famous sitcom at the drop of a hat. Theres one line of Dwights, though, that a surprising amount of fans have committed to memory.

Rainn Wilson as Dwight in The Office | Byron Cohen/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images via Getty Images

Frame Toby

The ninth episode of the fifth season, Frame Toby, revolves around Michael trying to get Toby fired. He attempts to get Toby fired by setting him up to harass Pam, but Pam wont participate. Then Michael tries to get Toby to hit him but Toby, of course, doesnt comply. Finally, Michael purchases what he believes is two pounds of marijuana for $500 and puts it in Tobys desk. Dwight then calls the police, telling them theres possibly narcotics in the office. When they arrive, they uncover a Caprese salad (not marijuana) in Tobys desk.

RELATED: The Office: Mindy Kaling Coached Jenna Fischer on How to Get Respect in the Writers Room

The other major plot point involves Jim buying his parents house without discussing the purchase with Pam. When he finally gives her a tour of the home, Pam seems hesitant at first but ultimately tells him she loves it.

Dwights perfect crime

The episode is also home to one of Dwights most iconic lines about his perfect crime.

What is my perfect crime? I break into Tiffanys at midnight. Do I go for the vault? No, I go for the chandelier. Its priceless. As Im taking it down, a woman catches me. She tells me to stop. Its her fathers business. Shes Tiffany. I say no. We make love all night. In the morning, the cops come and I escape in one of their uniforms. I tell her to meet me in Mexico, but I go to Canada. I dont trust her. Besides, I like the cold. Thirty years later, I get a postcard. I have a son and hes the chief of police. This is where the story gets interesting. I tell Tiffany to meet me in Paris by the Trocadero. Shes been waiting for me all these years. Shes never taken another lover. I dont care. I dont show up. I go to Berlin. Thats where I stashed the chandelier. Dwight K. Schrute

RELATED: The Office: Mindy Kaling and BJ Novak Share Their Favorite Michael Scott Moments

The Office Instagram recently posted Dwights speech and several fans took to the comments section to say they know it by heart.

is it bad that i know every word, asked one fan.

I learned it by heart in like 3 min, commented another.

Another fan wrote that theyd learned the speech to recite as a monologue.

I didnt even open the sound I already knew its that scene cause Ive seen it a million times, wrote another Instagram user.

Dwight has many, many quotable lines. But the perfect crime is definitely a fan favorite.

RELATED: The Office: Mindy Kaling Says She Had Unrealistic Expectations of Men After Writing Jim Halpert
PUNE Due to the Covid-19 pandemic as schools are conducting classes online, many teachers from Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) schools are still on Covid-19 duties and unable to conduct classes.

There are 332 PMC-run schools in the city, with 2,000 teachers and 85,000 students are studying in such schools which are currently closed due to the pandemic.

Since March 26 to June 9 all teachers from PMC school were on Covid duty and currently, many teachers are still on duty. They should be completely relieved from duties as they are not able to focus on online classes, said Sachin Dimble, leader, PMC Teachers Union.

Rotation policy is still not in place in the district. We have requested the education department to put teachers work on a rotational basis to give them some relief, added Dimble.

Meenakshi Raut, head, PMC education department, was not available for comment.

Rotational policy will be applied soon. Not all teachers are on Covid duty and classes are going without interruption, said an official from PMC education department requesting anonymity.

Teachers are divided into groups for conducting online classes and Covid war room duties, said the official.

Many parents from Singhad complained that classes are conducted only on a few days in the week.

Online classes are not conducted regularly as compared to private schools, Raju Raul, a parent from Sinhgad road.

PMC should hire private school teachers as well for Covid duties. During election as well as classes of students studying in civic schools are impacted. PMC education department should find a solution, added Dimble.

A teacher from a civic school in Vishrantwadi, on condition of anonymity, said, No rotational duties have been given to us. There is still confusion among Covid-19 duty and when to conduct online classes.

I dont think teachers are put on both the duties. There has been some misunderstanding among teachers. The education department will look into the issue, said an official from the PMC education department.
The latest coronavirus news from Canada and around the world Sunday. This file is no longer updating. Click here to read the latest. Web links to longer stories if available.

9:30 p.m.: Quebec reported 104 new COVID-19 infections on Sunday along with three further deaths linked to the virus.

The total number of infections in the province stood at 60,471.

Of the three deaths announced by health authorities, two were reported in the past 24 hours while the other dates back before Aug. 1.

The province has seen total of 5,695 deaths since the pandemic began.

5:45 p.m.: New Zealand on Sunday marked 100 days since it stamped out the spread of the coronavirus, a rare bright spot in a world that continues to be ravaged by the disease.

Life has returned to normal for many people in the South Pacific nation of 5 million, as they attend rugby games at packed stadiums and sit down in bars and restaurants without the fear of getting infected. But some worry the country may be getting complacent and not preparing well enough for any future outbreaks.

New Zealand got rid of the virus by imposing a strict lockdown in late March when only about 100 people had tested positive for the disease. That stopped its spread. For the past three months, the only new cases have been a handful of returning travellers who have been quarantined at the border.

It was good science and great political leadership that made the difference, said professor Michael Baker, an epidemiologist at the University of Otago. If you look around the globe at countries that have done well, its usually that combination.

4:50 p.m.: The latest numbers of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Canada as of 4:50 p.m. on Aug. 9, 2020:

There are 119,451 confirmed cases in Canada.

-Quebec: 60,471 confirmed (including 5,695 deaths, 50,886 resolved)

-Ontario: 40,046 confirmed (including 2,786 deaths, 36,279 resolved)

-Alberta: 11,430 confirmed (including 208 deaths, 10,097 resolved)

-British Columbia: 3,934 confirmed (including 195 deaths, 3,353 resolved)

-Saskatchewan: 1,445 confirmed (including 20 deaths, 1,257 resolved)

-Nova Scotia: 1,071 confirmed (including 64 deaths, 1,006 resolved)

-Manitoba: 527 confirmed (including 8 deaths, 352 resolved), 15 presumptive

-Newfoundland and Labrador: 267 confirmed (including 3 deaths, 263 resolved)

-New Brunswick: 176 confirmed (including 2 deaths, 168 resolved)

- Prince Edward Island: 36 confirmed (including 36 resolved)

- Yukon: 15 confirmed (including 13 resolved)

- Repatriated Canadians: 13 confirmed (including 13 resolved)

- Northwest Territories: 5 confirmed (including 5 resolved)

- Nunavut: No confirmed cases

Total: 119,451 (15 presumptive, 119,436 confirmed including 8,981 deaths, 103,728 resolved)

4:45 p.m.: A total of nine students and staff members at a Georgia high school have tested positive for the coronavirus, the principal said in a letter to parents after the school made headlines for online photos showing hallways packed with teens  many of them not wearing masks.

Principal Gabe Carmona wrote Saturday that six students and three staff members at North Paudling High School west of Atlanta tested positive for COVID-19. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported it obtained the principals letter from a spokesman for the Paulding County School District.

The infected students and staff members were inside the school building sometime last week, Carmonas letter said. He said the school was disinfecting the building, but it was unclear whether the school would quarantine other students and staff who may have been exposed.

Meanwhile, school officials in a nearby metro Atlanta county reported 12 students and two staff members across a dozen schools tested positive for the virus during their first week back at school. The Cherokee County school system reported that more than 250 students with potential exposure had been sent home to quarantine for two weeks.

We have students and staff reporting presumptive, pending and positive COVID-19 tests every day, and this will continue as we operate schools during a pandemic, Cherokee County Schools Superintendent Brian Hightower wrote in a letter to parents Friday.

Cherokee County also drew attention because of online photos. Dozens of students at two of its high schools squeezed together for first-day-of-school senior photos. None wore masks.

3:30 p.m.: Greece reported 203 new coronavirus cases Sunday, the biggest one-day number since the beginning of the pandemic, bringing the total to 5,623. It also was the biggest jump in daily cases since April 21.

2:15 p.m.: Britain has recorded more than 1,000 new coronavirus infections in a day for the first time since late June.

Government statistics say 1,062 new cases of COVID-19 were reported in the 24 hours until 9 a.m. Sunday. The last time the number was over 1,000 was on June 26.

Britain has seen a gradual rise in coronavirus infections since it began lifting lockdown restrictions in mid-June. The government has put the next stage of reopening, which had been due to take effect Aug. 1, on hold for at least two weeks.

The number of patients hospitalized with the virus continues to decline, as does the daily number of deaths. Eight new COVID-19 fatalities were reported Sunday.

Britains official coronavirus death toll stands at 46,574, the highest in Europe.

2:09 p.m.: Australia had its deadliest pandemic day, with 17 COVID-19 fatalities in the state of Victoria.

The number of new cases climbed by 394 taking the state total to 14,659, Premier Daniel Andrews said in a media briefing in Melbourne on Sunday. Ten of the 17 deaths were related to elderly care centres, he said.

While Australia enjoyed early success in flattening the curve of infections, Victoria is at the centre of a renewed outbreak. The state is experiencing some of the strictest social-distancing measures in the western world, crippling economic activity there and shaking confidence across the nation.

Premier Andrews is facing criticism for lapses in the quarantine system and problems with tracing that allowed the virus to reemerge and spread.

12:49 p.m.: Italys tally of daily new COVID-19 cases leaped higher on Sunday, with 463 cases, according to Health Ministry figures.

Many of the latest cases have been found in young people returning from vacations abroad.

Italys day-to-day new caseload had previously soared far above 500 confirmed infections, but the number had dropped to 347 on Saturday, more in line with numbers of the past few weeks.

For months, the region with by far the most daily new coronavirus infections had been Lombardy, the northern region where Italys outbreak erupted in February. On Sunday, Lombardy had 71 new cases, barely outstripping several other regions, including Emilia-Romagna with 69, Tuscany with 61 and Veneto with 58.

While in the first weeks of the outbreak in Italy, only one of every 83 infections occurred in persons 18 years old or younger, now one of every eight confirmed cases occurs in that age bracket. With two deaths registered on Sunday, Italys known death toll stood at 35,205. Italys overall count of known infections in the pandemic stands at 250,566.

12:06 p.m.: In lieu of an in-person update to the media, Dr. Theresa Tam, Canadas Chief Public Health Officer, issued the following statement Sunday:

There have been 119,221 cases of COVID-19 in Canada, including 8,976 deaths. 87 per cent of people have now recovered. Labs across Canada have tested 4,404,038 people for COVID-19 to date. Over the past week, an average of 48,360 people were tested daily, with 1 per cent testing positive and an average of approximately 400 cases were reported daily from across the country.

The continuing efforts and sacrifices of Canadians have enabled us to flatten the curve of COVID-19, bringing the spread of the novel coronavirus under manageable control in Canada. This has allowed us to protect our health care system, while at the same time we have increased capacity in hospitals and across our public health and laboratory systems to maintain epidemic control going forward. Our efforts have also bought us time as research and science accelerate at an unprecedented pace towards finding safe and effective vaccines.

Informed by mathematical modelling, a recommended approach to controlling the COVID-19 pandemic involved an initial phase of strong public health measures  including closures  to interrupt exponential growth of the epidemic that threatened to overwhelm the health system. Following this, is a longer phase of less restrictive public health measures aimed at keeping COVID-19 under manageable control, while we cautiously reopen social and economic spaces. This overall approach has been popularly described as the Hammer and the Dance. In Canada, weve controlled the epidemic with the hammer and now its time for the dance to keep the infection rate down, until a safe and effective vaccine or treatment is available to bring COVID-19 under widespread and lasting control....

Dont lose hope, keep on dancing and being part of the solution.

10:55 a.m.: Ontario has now recorded fewer than 100 new COVID-19 cases for seven days in a row.

Health Minister Christine Elliott says the province has 79 new cases of COVID-19 and two new deaths related to the virus.

The total number of cases is now 40,046, with 36,279 marked as resolved and 2,786 deaths.

Hospitalizations and ICU admissions remain on the decline, while the number of patients on ventilators remains stable.

The minister also says 30 out of 34 of the provinces public health units are reporting five or fewer cases, while 18 are reporting no new cases.

The province says it has processed 28,000 tests over the last 24 hours.

10:49 a.m.: The latest numbers of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Canada:

There are 119,300 confirmed cases in Canada.

Quebec: 60,367 confirmed (including 5,692 deaths, 50,886 resolved)

Ontario: 40,046 confirmed (including 2,786 deaths, 36,279 resolved)

Alberta: 11,430 confirmed (including 208 deaths, 10,097 resolved)

British Columbia: 3,934 confirmed (including 195 deaths, 3,353 resolved)

Saskatchewan: 1,433 confirmed (including 20 deaths, 1,245 resolved)

Nova Scotia: 1,071 confirmed (including 64 deaths, 1,005 resolved)

Manitoba: 492 confirmed (including 8 deaths, 351 resolved), 15 presumptive

Newfoundland and Labrador: 267 confirmed (including 3 deaths, 263 resolved)

New Brunswick: 176 confirmed (including 2 deaths, 168 resolved)

Prince Edward Island: 36 confirmed (including 36 resolved)

Yukon: 15 confirmed (including 13 resolved)

Repatriated Canadians: 13 confirmed (including 13 resolved)

Northwest Territories: 5 confirmed (including 5 resolved)

Nunavut: No confirmed cases

Total: 119,300 (15 presumptive, 119,285 confirmed including 8,978 deaths, 103,714 resolved)

10:22 a.m.: The confirmed number of coronavirus cases in the U.S. reached 5 million Sunday, by far the highest in the world, according to the tally kept by Johns Hopkins University.

However, health officials believe that for every reported case, there are roughly 10 times as many people infected, given the limits on testing and the large number of mild infections that have unreported or unrecognized.

The bleak milestone was reached as new cases in the U.S. run at about 54,000 a day. While thats down from a peak of well over 70,000 in the second half of July, cases are rising in nearly 20 states, and deaths are climbing in most. Many Americans have resisted wearing masks and social distancing.

8:51 a.m.: U.S. President Donald Trump has bypassed the nations lawmakers as he claimed the authority to defer payroll taxes and replace an expired unemployment benefit with a lower amount after negotiations with Congress on a new coronavirus rescue package collapsed.

Trumps orders on Saturday encroached on Congress control of federal spending and seemed likely to be met with legal challenges. The president cast his actions as necessary given that lawmakers have been unable to reach an agreement to plunge more money into the stumbling economy, which has imperiled his November reelection.

8:39 a.m.: The U.S.s confirmed cases rose by 56,070, a daily increase of 1.1 per cent as the nation approached the milestone of 5 million infections.

8:18 a.m.: The Ohio governors positive, then negative, tests for COVID-19 have provided fuel for skeptics of government pandemic mandates and critics of his often-aggressive polices.

Im sure the internet is lighting up with Well, you cant believe any test,  Mike DeWine said in a WCOL radio interview Friday, after a whirlwind of events the day before when the initial positive showing forced the Republican to scrub a planned meeting with President Donald Trump.

The conflicting results come as Americans have grown frustrated about access to testing and by slow results.

8:12 a.m.: As Germanys 16 states start sending millions of children back to school in the middle of the global coronavirus pandemic, the countrys famous sense of Ordnung, or order, has given way to uncertainty, with a hodgepodge of regional regulations that officials acknowledge may or may not work.

There cant, and never will be 100% certainty, said Torsten Kuehne, the official in charge of schools in Pankow, Berlins most populous district where 45,000 students go back to school Monday. We are trying to minimize the risk as much as possible.

Germany has won plaudits for managing to slow the spread of the coronavirus quickly, efficiently and early, but the opening of schools is proving a new challenge as the country struggles to balance the concerns of anxious parents and children, skeptical scientists, worried teachers and overtaxed administrators.

6:16 a.m.: The prospect of starvation looms for carriage horses and other animals normally used in Moroccos tourist mecca. Visitors have vanished during the coronavirus pandemic.

The Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad, or SPANA, says hundreds of Moroccos carriage horses and donkeys are threatened amid the collapsing tourism industry. They are among the estimated 200 million horses, donkeys, camels and elephants worldwide providing various livelihoods for over a half-billion people.

4 a.m.: The latest numbers of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Canada as of 4 a.m. on Aug. 9, 2020:

There are 119,221 confirmed cases in Canada.

_ Quebec: 60,367 confirmed (including 5,692 deaths, 50,886 resolved)

_ Ontario: 39,967 confirmed (including 2,784 deaths, 36,131 resolved)

_ Alberta: 11,430 confirmed (including 208 deaths, 10,097 resolved)

_ British Columbia: 3,934 confirmed (including 195 deaths, 3,353 resolved)

_ Saskatchewan: 1,433 confirmed (including 20 deaths, 1,245 resolved)

_ Nova Scotia: 1,071 confirmed (including 64 deaths, 1,005 resolved)

_ Manitoba: 492 confirmed (including 8 deaths, 351 resolved), 15 presumptive

_ Newfoundland and Labrador: 267 confirmed (including 3 deaths, 263 resolved)

_ New Brunswick: 176 confirmed (including 2 deaths, 168 resolved)

_ Prince Edward Island: 36 confirmed (including 36 resolved)

_ Yukon: 15 confirmed (including 13 resolved)

_ Repatriated Canadians: 13 confirmed (including 13 resolved)

_ Northwest Territories: 5 confirmed (including 5 resolved)

_ Nunavut: No confirmed cases

_ Total: 119,221 (15 presumptive, 119,206 confirmed including 8,976 deaths, 103,566 resolved)

8:14 p.m.: Brazil topped 3 million coronavirus infections as the disease flares up in parts of the country it had spared, spreading misery from the beaches of Bahia to the soybean fields of the vast interior.

The milestone comes less than a month after Brazil hit the 2 million-case mark and as the disease sweeps into more remote regions were access to health care was precarious even before the pandemic. So even as the virus recedes in some of the locations where it first hit richer, densely populated urban centres like Sao Paulo the countrys curve has yet to flatten.

The country reported 49,970 new cases Saturday and added 905 new deaths, bringing with the total fatality count to more than 100,000.

Read Satrudays rolling file
The owners and operators of the grounded ship Wakashio apologised for the accident that has led to tons of fuel leaking into waters off Mauritius.

Representatives from ship owner Nagashiki Shipping, as well as Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, to whom the ship was time chartered to, held a news conference in Tokyo on Sunday.

Operators said the ship was suspected of sailing too close to the island under bad weather, but said the cause of the accident remains under investigation.

They said the current priority is to remove oil from the Wakashio off to other ships in order to contain the leakage.

The government of Mauritius has declared an environmental emergency and France said it was sending help from its nearby Reunion island.

Satellite images showed a dark slick spreading in the turquoise waters near wetlands that the government has called "very sensitive".

Heavy winds are expected to push the oil slick even farther along the mainland's shore.

According to the ship operators, the bulk carrier had been en route from China to Brazil.

The ship's owners are listed as the Japanese companies Okiyo Maritime Corporation and Nagashiki Shipping Co. Ltd.
Banks are facing a 'second wave' of payment protection insurance (PPI) pay-outs, according to reports.

It comes after a series of court rulings found the products, which were sold to millions of Britons, were 'unfair', reports The Sunday Times.

The court rulings mean those who were denied compensation or those who received only partial refunds could demand all of their money back, the paper reports.

Those who never claimed compensation for missold PPI, after the government imposed a deadline to submit claims by August 2019, could also now make a claim.

PPI was a type of insurance often added to products such as store cards, credit cards, mortgages and loans.

Banks are facing a 'second wave' of payment protection insurance (PPI) pay-outs, according to reports. It comes after a series of court rulings found the products, which were sold to millions of Britons, were 'unfair', reports the Times

But the insurance, which was intended to protect people if they could not keep up with their payments  because of illness or unemployment, for example  was widely mis-sold.

Customers were pressured into buying it, did not know they had it or it was unsuitable for them.

Banks have already forked out 38bn in compensation for missold PPI, in what is the largest consumer redress scheme in British history.

Around 64million PPI policies were sold, most between 1990 and 2010, while about 32.4million claims have been made, according to the UK's financial regulatory body, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

But according to The Sunday Times, this amount could jump sharply after a series of court cases mean people can also complain on the basis that high commission was earned from the sale of the policy but they were not told.

In some cases the commission accounted for more than 95 per cent of the cost of the policy and these commissions were never disclosed to customers, reports the paper.

One customer from M&S Bank has already been awarded another 7,800, after originally being given compensation of 3,000, reports the Times

Banks are also spending huge sums of money attempting to fight the claims, including the Royal Bank of Scotland, who hired a top barrister to fight a 1,500 claim, the paper says

In a judgment in 2014, the Supreme Court in a case of a widowed college lecturer who was sold PPI as part of a loan, found this 'unfair'.

Courts have since ruled that customers may have questioned the value of PPI policies had they known about them.

One customer from M&S Bank has already been awarded another 7,800, after originally being given compensation of 3,000, while another, who banked with HSBC, was given an extra 4,00 after initially being given 600, according to The Sunday Times.

Banks are also spending huge sums of money attempting to fight the claims, including the Royal Bank of Scotland, who hired a top barrister to fight a 1,500 claim, the paper says
Greetings, from Sofia, one of my go-to patios in the heart of Yorkville, where Im sitting alone, next to a glass of rose brut, typing these words.

After months of being homebound, its nice to be out and about, on a spacious and safe patio, which allows me to not only people watch, but to be hidden in plain sight. I can observe first dates in the COVID new normal and I can try to arrange some of my own.

Im oh-so-naturally curious. So much so, in fact, that when it comes to dating, we do have to wonder when curiosity can be a bit too much.

When meeting someone new (and we know these days, that pretty much means online) I ask the tough questions.

You know, the ones we all think about but tend to avoid asking so we dont look too forward to someone new. How recently was your profile picture taken? You say youre active when it comes to your physical health, but how active are you really? Is this your real age or the one you think may get you the most swipes?

And then I read into the responses to vet the information I need to determine if I think they are who they claim to be and whether I want to entertain a first (distanced) meeting.

So how do I determine that in this age of catfishing and loneliness? I do some discreet vetting, thats how. I dont want to let them know Ive done more research than Ive let on. And I also dont want to seem like a creeper.

So, etiquette-ly speaking, heres a helpful check list to ensure youre looking out for your own best interests in the dating universe. These are things to ask a potential partner about, to look out for in someones answers and be mindful of  especially now that were in Stage 3 in Toronto and in the dog days of summer. You might otherwise overlook these tips after months of lockdown because, just like me, youre ready to connect with someone.

Do a Google reverse image search of their online photos, to determine if they are who they say they are; if the photo comes up as someone elses, you should have red flags all around.

Trust your gut; if you think something is off, it probably is.

Be mindful of the time of day they respond to you and their consistency. Is it on their terms, yours or is it equal (the answer should be the latter).

Be cautious if they text you all the time but are never available to meet up in real life or do a video chat. You should call them on it or perhaps take a step back. If they make you feel badly for asking or come up with a huge explanation, be attuned to that.

Ask them to be more specific if they say they are an entrepreneur. This may insinuate that they are out of work or that they are hiding details.

Ask when a picture was taken, if you have any suspicions that its older than you think it is. Perhaps the background was one you recall from a trip in 1995. Perhaps their hair or style is a dead giveaway that its not a recent pic.

Peek at their Instagram, to see if theyve been tagged in pictures by others. This may give you some good insights.

Google general information theyve provided to ensure they exist. For example, if you connect with someone whose name you have, know they are a doctor and that they went to U of T, throw the words into Google to see what comes up.

We live in a digital world and we are digital people, so vetting someones online portfolio is part of the dating process.

But theres a difference between research and being a creeper. If a few searches dont give you the information you need, cool things off and move on. Perhaps a better option for you is having a friend introduce you to someone in real life. Acceptance is key as is valuing ones personal space and information.

Play it safe and know what youre getting yourself into, but if they arent into it, leave it there and move on, knowing you did your best to protect yourself. Then delete your computer history, start fresh and perhaps do a quick search on how you might come off if someone were to check you out online.
Manufacturer Tessy Plastics announced Tuesday that it will begin manufacturing COVID-19 test kits in Auburn later this year, and hire 200 empl
Bibek Debroy By

Education is positively correlated with various socio-economic indicators of development. It leads to internalities and externalities and consequent gains. Even without that, education is desirable. The present educational edifice has been built up over decades. Deconstruction takes time. In this column, I will focus only on one aspect of National Educational Policy (NEP), 2020, the affiliation system.

On this, NEP states, The new regulatory system envisioned by this Policy will foster this overall culture of empowerment and autonomy to innovate, including by gradually phasing out the system of affiliated colleges over a period of fifteen years through a system of graded autonomy, and to be carried out in a challenge mode.

Each existing affiliating university will be responsible for mentoring its affiliated colleges so that they can develop their capabilities and achieve minimum benchmarks in academic and curricular matters; teaching and assessment; governance reforms; financial robustness; and administrative efficiency. In 15 years, these affiliated colleges are expected to become autonomous and degree-granting.

NEP states it strongly  Large affiliating universities resulting in low standards of undergraduate education. In 1882, a Commission was appointed on the Indian education system, the Hunter Commission. This examined higher education too, but not universities.

"The Resolution appointing the Commission excludes the Universities from the scope of our enquiry.The Despatch of 1854 prescribed the establishment of Universities, and in 1857, the three Universities of Calcutta, Madras, and Bombay were incorporated by Acts of the Indian Legislature.The function of these Universities is that of examination, and not of instruction. The latter is conducted by the affiliated colleges and other institutions authorized to send up candidates for the University examinations."

This was modelled on the way University of London was established through charters in 1835 and 1836. University of London did award degrees, but it was only a board that conducted examinations. Today, University of London has moved away from that old affiliating system, probably leaving a legacy only in the Indian subcontinent.

When we think of a university, we think it is meant to teach and undertake research. In an affiliating system, thats not what a university was supposed to do. The etymology of the word university has nothing to do with teaching, not directly. Even in the Latin (universitas magistrorum et scholarium), the expression means an aggregate community of teachers and scholars.

University of Calcutta was established in 1857 and we forget the geographical jurisdiction it possessed then. Until Indian Universities Commission (1902) and Indian Universities Act (1904), there was nothing to limit territorial jurisdiction of five universities that existed then (Calcutta, Bombay, Madras, Panjab, Allahabad). Panjab University was established in 1882.

But Bishop Cotton School (Shimla) and Baring High School (Batala, Gurdaspur) were affiliated to University of Calcutta. So were St. Johns College (Agra), Thomason Engineering College (Roorkee) and a host of others.

There are similar examples for University of Allahabad too (established in 1887). The reason is that the university was only for examinations and a student had choice (at least till 1904) of deciding which universitys examination to take.

In 2018-19, there was an All-India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE). This tells us that India has 993 Universities, 39,931 Colleges and 10,725 Stand Alone Institutions (awarding diplomas).

The 993 universities are of many different types, but 298 are affiliating universities, with those 39,931 colleges under them. Thirteen universities have more than 500 affiliated colleges. Chhatrapati Shahu Ji Maharaj University, Kanpur, affiliates 922 colleges.

Splice that with another nugget, also from AISHE. This is all-India, not just for the university in Kanpur. While 16.3 per cent of Indias colleges have student enrolment less than 100, 48.1 per cent have enrolment between 100 and 500. Only 4 per cent of colleges have student enrolment more than 3,000.

For a college to be viable, both financially and from a quality perspective, I think we need 5,000 students. Stated thus, 96 per cent of Indias colleges are unviable. For Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), NEP has a lower threshold of 3,000.

Whatever be the threshold, some of these colleges shouldnt exist. NEP contemplates increase in GER (Gross Enrolment Ratio) in higher education to 50% by 2035 from the 26.3% in 2018. (The figure includes vocational education.)

How is this possible if we cut down on the number of colleges? At the time of leaving school and entering college, dont we normally (Covid is a disruption) hear of a mad rush and suicides?

There may be excess demand for 4 per cent of Indias colleges (the figure is probably lower), but overall, there is excess supply. One should also remember, for the first time since Independence, the absolute number of young (0-15) in India declined.

We need to plan for the declining number of young too. Hunter Commission said, "At the same time, we are of the opinion that the principle should be kept in view, that a small number of colleges, thoroughly efficient and suitably situated, are likely to be of more permanent benefit to the interests of higher education than a larger number of colleges less efficient and less numerously attended."

The 1902 Commission also frowned on affiliation. We need to move away from the affiliating to the unitary university model, as London has also done.

NEP has competition in mind. Competition implies entry, as well as exit. We will have exit of colleges (through mergers/consolidation) as has occurred in both London and the USA. It will be impossible for most of those 39,931 colleges to adhere to that time-line of 15 years.

(The writer is Chairman, Economic Advisory Council to the PM and can be contacted on Twitter @bibekdebroy)
Householders have been urged to be vigilant for markings on their properties which criminals may be using to single out for burglaries or thefts of dogs.

A number of community alert groups across the county have urged people to be aware of the practice and to contact gardai if necessary.

Gangs have been known to 'mark out' properties for accomplices so that the same vehicles or individuals won't be seen in the same area twice.

Marks with aerosol paint or chalk are often left on front walls or cable ties may be attached to gates to tip off a would-be burglar that it is a potential target.

There has been a surge in thefts of dogs in recent weeks, possibly because a demand for pets that began during the lockdown has inflated prices for the animals on online market sites in Ireland and the UK.

Last week, gardai seized ten dogs believed to be stolen following a search in Rathkeale, Co Limerick.

They included Labradors, Springer Spaniels, English Setters, Cavalier King Charles and Huskies which were cared for in a local shelter while the owners were traced.

In late July, Gardai seized two stolen male springer spaniel dogs in Castleconnell, Co Limerick despite two men claiming they owned them.

One of the pets was later returned to its rightful owner in Co Cork.

In July, gardai seized eight dogs believed to worth in the region of 5,000 when they stopped a van exceeding the speed limit on the M8 motorway in Co Tipperary.

Also in June, Gardai in Cork seized 22 dogs during a search operation at locations in Gurranabraher and Knocknaheeny.
Intersociety, Onitsha, Eastern Nigeria , Sunday, August 9, 2020 : It is now beyond any reasonable doubt that Government of Nigeria and its security agencies as presently constituted has consistently told litany of lies, numbering over twenty to cover up Herdsmen terror-jihadism in Nigeria or any part thereof and protect or shield its perpetrators; all in a bid to misinform and mislead Nigerians and members of the intl community and intensify the anti Christian butcheries. Intl Society for Civil Liberties & Rule of Law also makes bold to say that the most dangerous dimension to the ongoing jihadist atrocities in the country is the Government lies as well as elevation of Fulani jihadism to state cover and protection. These are directly or indirectly done by same Government in grave contravention of Sections 10 and 38 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 and rights to freedom of religion and worship contained in various regional and international rights treaty laws acceded to by the Federal Government of Nigeria.

We hereby call on the present Government of Nigeria to do the needful by courageously telling Nigerians that it is no longer secret that it has since 2016 adopted radical Islamism as state religion in Nigeria or any part thereof including Kaduna State. This will formally allow citizens of other religions including moderate Muslims to rise in defense of their faith and ethnic identities under the constitutional and lawful rights to life and self defense. It must be boldly pointed out that the very reason why citizens of non Muslim faith in the country allow themselves to be massacred unchallenged by Fulani and other Jihadists is because of their continuing belief that the countrys security forces are secularly instituted to protect all citizens irrespective of their tribes or religions.

As a matter of fact, the over twenty lies told by Government of Nigeria since 2016 when Herdsmen Jihadism began to earn state cover and protection, have reached a point of stagnancy and irreversibility. In other words, lies have been so told that there seem to be no new lies to tell. In the over twenty lies, first was that killings by Herdsmen jihadism were herders-farmers clashes; yet the Nigerian Government failed to answer the following questions: how many Muslim farmers have been killed by Fulani Jihadists in the Middle Belt and how many Mosques or Islamic learning centers have been razed or destroyed across the country?

The Government of Nigeria moved to introduce other lies such as: land disputes and killings coming from dislodged armed militias from Libya. From these, Government lied further by claiming that Fulani Herdsmen are not armed with rifles but machetes used in cutting foliages for their cows. As if these were not enough, same Government lied and deceitfully introduced RUGA and National Livestock Transformation Plan; clandestinely designed to make the Jihadist Herdsmen bonafide indigenes or natives of all the localities in Nigeria. This is even when the landmass of three northern States of Niger, Borno and Katsina are much more than the landmass of the entire seventeen Southern States put together. In the Igbo Southeast, the landmass of Niger State alone is roughly three times more than that of the former which has only 29,525km2 as against latters over 76,000km2.

Not done, the same Government lied and deceitfully directed the Nigerian Army to establish (Fulani) Cattle Ranching throughout the countrys Army or Military formations. Recent lies told by same present central Government and its security agencies include: killings as a result revenge and reprisal over previous killings or those perpetrated by the criminal activities of criminal gangs; killings carried out by bandits, or kidnappers, or unknown gunmen, or cult gangs, or involving two Christian communities, or communal clash, or communal reprisals (etc).

Statistical Instances Of Lies Told By Government Of Nigeria

In Southern Kaduna, the Presidency lied to the effect that the killings are reprisals and avenge killings and criminal activities by criminal gangs. The Army said killings are communal and not religious; and the Police said casualty statistics compiled and released by the victim communities are fake news.

Police Lies Over Recent Massacre Of 14 In Kogi

The Nigeria Police Force through its Kogi State CP, Mr. Ede Ayuba Ekpeji, had on 29thJuly 2020, via a press conference, lied when he claimed that the fourteen persons killed in Agbadu Community, near Lokoja, were victims of Communal reprisal following a long standing dispute between two neighboring communities. On the contrary, the 14 slain defenseless citizens were Christian worshippers belonging to the Bethel Parish of the Baptist Church located in Agbadu-Daruwana, near Lokoja in Kogi State. They were inside the Church when Jihadist Fulani Herdsmen attacked and hacked them to death in the early morning or 2.a.m. of 29 July.

The Police claims were also strongly rubbished by the Christian (Intl) Post report of 5thAugust 2020. Quoting Morning Star news, the internationally respected Christian media was quoted as follows: According to Morning Star News, leaders of the All Africa Baptist Fellowship posted on the groups Facebook page that the victims in the Agbadu-Daruwana attack are all congregants of Bethel Baptist Church, a member of the Lokoja Baptist Association who have since been buried,

The attack took place in a predominantly-Christian village, near other villages that have been victims of attacks. They invaded the village armed with guns and riding motorcycles, the resident named Rachael Nuhu claimed. They were speaking in the Fulani language as they attacked our people. This is not the first time theyre attacking our communities, as other villages around us had been attacked in a similar way by these herdsmen. Intersociety had earlier investigated and debunked the Police claims in our statistical data updated on 5thAugust 2020.

Azikoro-Bayelsa Church Killings Likely The Handiwork Of Jihadist Herdsmen : Again in strongly suspected Jihadist Herdsmen attack in Azikoro Community, Yanegoa Local Government Area of Bayelsa State, the State Police Command through CP Mike Okoli, is most likely to have joined his other colleagues in deliberately misrepresenting facts and trivializing the jihadist atrocities of the Jihadist Fulani Herdsmen in the country. This, the CP most likely did by labeling the killing of four Christians including two Igbo Christians as retaliation by cultists over partnership between Police and residents in successful war against them (cultists).

The strongly suspected Jihadist Fulani Herdsmen had in the late night and early hours 5th and 6th of August 2020 invaded the Lion of Judea Fire Deliverance Ministry (Church) and its vicinity and shot dead four defenseless Christians, namely: Alfred Marcus, 30-year old, Gabriel Ejimofor, 45-year old, Uchechukwu Ejimofor (female), 38-year old and one Imomotimi. The Jihadist attackers also burnt and destroyed part of the Church and its properties.

Independently speaking and according to a verified Facebook post, Fulani Herdsmen are all over the bush of Azikoro town. They come out every night in group to kill people. On the 2nd of August 2020, two vibrant youths were killed. We thought, as Police would always claim, that they were cultists or just cult victims. On 4th to 5th of August, three vigilante members were also killed and we thought same. Now on the night of August 5th into the early morning of its 6th, they invaded a church, called LION OF JUDAH FIRE DELIVERANCE MINISTRY and killed four persons including a man and his pregnant wife. It is recalled that it was in the same Azikoro that a Police Sergeant, Charles Biweribo was gruesomely stabbed to death by Jihadist Fulani Herdsmen on 10th March 2020.

Names Of 25 Out Of 33 Christians Butchered By Jihadist Herdsmen In (Atyap) Zango-Kataf

The following 25 out of 33 defenseless Christians butchered on Wednesday night (August 5) and early hours of Thursday (August 6) in five Atyap villages of Apiashyim, Kibori, Apiako, Atakmawei and Magamiya located in Zango-Kataf, Kaduna State are: Luka Duniya, Peter Reuben, Monday Daniel, Mary Ado, Ezekiel Ado, Monday Ado, Nma Julius, Akan Ayei, Israel Yakubu, Joel Ayuba, Alice Samuel, Ladi Mathias, Vincent Simon, Mba Aboi Tela, Yashim Joseph, Victor Usman, Ezekiel Duniya, Jude Dauda, John Achi, Nkoo Dabo, Denis Ayuba, Bege Joshua, Jerry Yakuba, Jessy Yakubu and Amako Tachio; totaling 25. Among the injured are: Tyusan Andrew and Jethro Joshua. A video clip showing some recovered bodies of the slain is attached.

Signed: Emeka Umeagbalasi, Board Chair, Amaka Damaris Onuoha, Esq., Head, Campaign & Publicity, and Obianuju Joy Igboeli, Head, Civil Liberties & Rule of Law

Contacts: WhatsApp/Mobile: +2348174090052, Email: [email protected] , Website: intersociety-ng.org




Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-09 01:34:15|Editor: huaxia

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ADEN, Yemen, Aug. 8 (Xinhua) -- Forces loyal to the Yemeni government on Saturday repulsed an attack launched by the Houthi rebels in the Red Sea port city of Hodeidah, a military official told Xinhua.

"A number of Houthi fighters launched an attack against military sites of the government forces in Tuhyata, sparking intense clashes in the area," the local official said on condition of anonymity.

The government forces foiled the Houthi attack, leaving about three rebels killed and several others injured, according to the source.

Meanwhile, Houthi media said the pro-government forces fired more than 10 artillery shells and eight Katyusha rockets against areas controlled by the rebels in the southeastern part of Hodeidah.

Hodeidah has seen a shaky cease-fire between the government forces of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi and the Houthi rebels since both sides reached a UN-sponsored truce in Stockholm in December 2018.

Part of the port city is under control of the Houthi rebels, while the government forces have advanced to the southern and eastern outskirts.

Yemen has been mired in civil war since late 2014, when the Iran-backed Houthi group seized control of much of the country's north and forced the Saudi-backed government of Hadi out of the capital Sanaa. Enditem
GREAT FALLS, Mont. - Republican Steve Daines, the freshman senator in this sparsely populated state of hunters, fishers and big-government skeptics where President Donald Trump crushed Hillary Clinton four years ago, was supposed to coast to re-election in November.

Democrats were mounting a modest field to oppose him. Daines, if not defined by legislative wins in Washington, had forged a close alliance with the president. He's a reliable conservative in a state that has voted Republican for president every year since 1968, except for Bill Clinton 28 years ago.

Then came Steve Bullock and the coronavirus pandemic. And with less than three months until Election Day, the faceoff between the two-term Democratic governor from Helena and the wealthy former software executive from Bozeman has transformed into a margin-of-error race that has helped put Senate control within reach for Democrats. It will measure whether Montana's proud history of political individualism is sustainable in an era when voters are more polarized than ever.

Bullock, a moderate who last year ran a long-odds campaign for the Democratic nomination for president, got into the Senate race relatively late in March, relenting to pressure from top Democrats in Washington who saw an opening in a conservative-leaning state with a key distinction from its neighbors Idaho and Wyoming.

Montanans, stubbornly independent, like to split tickets. And Bullock, a lawyer who narrowly won re-election to the governor's mansion in 2016 on the same ticket Hillary Clinton lost by 20 points, is betting that voters will send him to Washington even as they're expected to support Trump - albeit by a smaller margin than four years ago.

"Montanans vote for the person," said Jon Tester, the state's senior senator and a Democrat who fended off a Trump-backed challenger in 2018. "They actually think about it."

Much of the congressional landscape this campaign season is taking shape as a referendum on how Trump has responded to the virus, which has exploded here to nearly 5,000 cases, still a small fraction of the count in more crowded states but among the highest percentage increases in recent weeks.

As the only sitting governor vying for a Senate seat, Bullock has benefited from the much-criticized federal retreat on the virus, political observers say, both in visibility by shutting down Montana sooner than many states and in a deft balance of public health measures with the don't-tell-me-what-to-do streak shared by many of his constituents.

The pandemic has challenged Daines to underscore what he's done in Washington in the face of Trump's inaction and the stalemate on Capitol Hill over new relief. But the senator is banking that voters will choose conservatism on a ballot that will also determine a new governor, Montana's lone House member, attorney general and other statewide offices in a state where Trump signs are scattered from river valleys to wide-open plains.

"The first mistake most people make is they think Montana is a red state," said David Parker, a political scientist at Montana State University in Bozeman. "It's a populist state that can work well for Republicans and Democrats."

It's also attracting an influx of newcomers from liberal-leaning cities, which has brought Democrats and teleworkers to the fast-growing Bozeman area in the southwest as rural enclaves in eastern Montana solidify their conservatism. The economy is increasingly divided between its high-tech, tourism-driven west and its farming, mining and energy-producing east.

At their first of three one-on-one matchups Saturday night, an hour-long debate televised from their homes, the candidates cast each other as too extreme for Montana. Bullock called Daines a captive of special interests who voted for Trump's tax-cut law with its breaks for big corporations while "Montana got scraps." Daines warned that Bullock would bring a "radical, job-killing, liberal agenda" to Washington under the influence of Democratic leaders Nancy Pelosi and Charles Schumer.

The pandemic has forced questions of effectiveness to center stage in a contest featuring two statewide incumbents, with each seeking to establish himself as a bipartisan achiever for constituents 2,000 miles from Washington. Bullock, elected attorney general before winning two terms as governor, is casting Daines as an ineffective senator who's done an about-face on health care, public lands and other issues.

"Montanans know me, they know how I work," Bullock, 53, said in an interview. "We're working with FEMA to get viral swabs and he puts out a press release taking credit for helping Montanans get through this." Bullock is pressing his success winning GOP legislative support to demand more transparency about money in politics, protect public lands and expand Medicaid.

Daines, 57, who served one term in the House before winning his Senate seat in 2014, is depicting the governor as far left of where Montanans are comfortable, starting with his run for president.

"The concern is, what positions do you take when you're in Montana and what positions do you take when you're outside?" the senator said in an interview. "We have a leave-us-alone spirit, and I don't think Montanans want to see one-party rule in Washington." He's trumpeting tax cuts he pushed for small businesses in the 2017 GOP tax-cut law, relief from a long ban on beef exports to China and a bipartisan conservation bill Trump signed last week.

Montana, which doesn't register voters by party, has long lacked reliable polls. Political handicappers have rated the race a toss-up, though.

The campaign already has shattered statewide fundraising records. Daines had raised $13 million as of June 30 and Bullock $11 million. Outside groups poured $3.8 million into Bullock's race and $3.5 million to support Daines as of last week, a sign of the intense national interest in the race.

Even with their rising profile, the candidates are hard to find campaigning as they bow to the reality of the pandemic and forgo the long distances they normally would cover to reach a population of about 1 million - with an average of six people to a square mile.

They're relying for visibility on official events with limited participants, which sometimes leads them to the same stage.

Bullock appeared this month at a federally funded health-care clinic in Helena whose clients include Native Americans and low-income Montanans who've lost their jobs in the pandemic. He announced new coronavirus relief grants from Washington to enroll them in affordable insurance through the Affordable Care Act.

Events like these help Bullock amplify a key feature of his campaign that he has intertwined with his efforts to fight the virus: He worked with Republicans in Helena to expand Medicaid at a time when many Montanans are relying on public insurance.

It's a sharp contrast to congressional Republicans, who are still trying to push the Supreme Court to get rid of the Obama-era health-care law - and with Daines, who voted to repeal Obamacare but now supports measures in Congress to guarantee coverage of pre-existing conditions.

Daines, meanwhile, has tried to steer his opponent's focus on health care to a mistrust of the federal government, claiming at Saturday's debate that Bullock's support for the Affordable Care Act means he supports "a complete federal takeover of the health-care system." Bullock has denied that charge.

Where Trump is concerned, the candidates have stepped lightly, each knowing they need to peel away independent-minded voters on Nov. 3. After accusing Trump of having the back of white supremacists and of "using race, gender and geography to divide this country" during his campaign last year, Bullock now emphasizes that he defied former president Barack Obama when he disagreed with his policies - "multiple times."

Daines has long worn his alliance with Trump as a badge of honor, noting that a call to the president last year got him to stop the Agriculture Department's proposed closures of numerous Job Corps programs. On Saturday, asked to rate the president's response to the pandemic, he sidestepped the question at first, saying, "We need to come together." When pressed, he offered, "President Trump has led boldly. I'm grateful for his leadership."

Daines has also echoed Trump's decision to blame the pandemic's spread in this country on China, which has opened him to criticism from the Bullock campaign of his years of work there for Procter & Gamble.

The senator also has sought to neutralize attacks by Democrats who disparage Republican support in the West for business interests that encroach on public lands with his biggest legislative victory: a massive land conservation and park maintenance law Trump signed last week that Daines and Sen. Cory Gardner of Colorado, another Republican in a tough race, convinced the president to support.

It's the pandemic that's foremost in many voters' minds. "We're all masked up, and that's where Bullock did a good job," Keith Dordrum, 64, a retired postmaster, said as he walked his golden retriever in downtown Great Falls at lunchtime with his wife, Janet. They acknowledge they're liberals in an extended family of deep conservatives.

"Personally, I think he's done as good a job on the virus as anyone could do," Janet Dordrum, 62, a retired nurse, said of Bullock in the face of the surge in cases.

Across the Missouri River, Bob Schreck sees the virus - and the Senate race - a lot differently from his perch as bartender at the VFW Post in Black Eagle, a fading community whose heyday as a smelter town for Montana's copper mines is long gone.

Schreck, 66, said he "hasn't tracked" Daines yet. But the Air Force veteran, who came here from Texas to serve and never left, is exactly the kind of voter the senator is counting on.

"To tell you the truth, would he back us in Montana if he made it to the Senate?" Schreck wondered of Bullock as he mixed a drink for a customer, maskless. "I think he'd fall to the left. And I want my freedom."

Schreck says he loves Trump. And he's skeptical of the government's count of virus deaths. "Definitely the numbers are inflated," he said.

Bullock's handling of the virus has tested him with voters like Schreck, even as he's credited with keeping infection rates relatively low. After he announced a mask-wearing mandate in public places in July, opponents protested in front of the governor's mansion in Helena.

"We celebrate their right to protest," Bullock said. "I just wish they would do it safely."
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Linkedin (Agence France-Presse) Montreal, Canada  Sun, August 9, 2020 15:34 527 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a4066c94f83 2 Food Canada,brewery,brewer,Maori,New-Zealand,beer Free

A Canadian brewery has apologized for naming one of its beers after the Maori term for "pubic hair", and not "feather" as it had intended, CBC reported.

Hell's Basement Brewery in Alberta province launched its Huruhuru (The Feather) New Zealand pale ale two years ago, using the Maori term they believed meant feather to reflect its light citrus taste for a summer brew.

But earlier this week Maori former TV personality Te Hamua Nikora posted a Facebook video to explain "huruhuru" was more commonly used in Te Reo Maori to refer to pubic hair, and said it would have been prudent and respectful to have consulted an expert on the language.

Brewery founder Mike Patriquin said they did not intend to offend anyone.

Read also: London 'pub-on-wheels' pulls pints on people's doorsteps

"We acknowledge that we did not consider the commonplace use of the term huruhuru as a reference to pubic hair, and that consultation with a Maori representative would have been a better reference than online dictionaries," he said in a statement to CBC.

"We wish to make especially clear that it was not our intent to infringe upon, appropriate, or offend the Maori culture or people in any way; to those who feel disrespected, we apologize."

Patriquin said the brewery intended to rename the offending brew.

Nikora has also called out a leather shop in the New Zealand capital Wellington, which was also named Huruhuru.
DANBURY - Residents rallied Saturday morning in support of officers in the wake of a recent reform bill and nationwide protests over policing.
At least 10 people died and 10 got injured after a major fire erupted at Swarna palace, a hotel-turned-coronavirus COVID-19 facility, in Andhra Pradesh's Vijayawada city on Sunday (August 9) morning.

Sources say that short circuit may be the reason behind fire but it is not confirmed yet. It is learnt that around 30 COVID-19 patients were present inside the building when the fire broke out. Sources said that the COVID-19 patients in the hotel were shifted to other hospital.

Vijayawada Commissioner of Police Srinivasulu has reached the spot and is monitoring the rescue operations. Four fire tenders are currently at the spot to douse the fire. Andhra Pradesh CM YS Jagan Mohan Reddy is closely monitoring the situation. Andhra Pradesh government has announced to to give ex-gratia of Rs 50 lakh each to every deceased family.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has expressed over the tragic incident. "Anguished by the fire at a Covid Centre in Vijayawada. My thoughts are with those who have lost their loved ones. I pray that the injured recover as soon as possible. Discussed the prevailing situation with AP CM YS Jagan Mohan Reddy and assured all possible support," tweeted

PM Modi.

Anguished by the fire at a Covid Centre in Vijayawada. My thoughts are with those who have lost their loved ones. I pray that the injured recover as soon as possible. Discussed the prevailing situation with AP CM @ysjagan Ji and assured all possible support.  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 9, 2020

Union Home Minister Amit Shah also expressed deep anguish over the incident and said, "Deeply anguished by news of tragic fire accident at a COVID19 facility in Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh. Centre assures all possible support to state govt. Condolences with affected families in this time of grief. Praying for speedy recovery of those injured."
KABUL An Afghan grand assembly, known as the Loya Jirga, on Sunday approved the release of 400 hard-core" Taliban prisoners, a decision endorsed by President Ashraf Ghani, paving the way for peace talks between the government and the insurgents aimed at ending a 19-year war.

Following is a chronology of U.S. involvement and major developments in Afghanistan over the past 19 years. The Afghan war has killed more than 2,300A U.S. service members and wounded more than 20,000, while more than 100,000 Afghan civilians are estimated to have died. [L4N2FB02T]

Sept. 11, 2001 - U.S. involvement in Afghanistan is triggered by the twin suicide attacks on the United States plotted in Afghanistan by al Qaeda militant leader Osama bin Laden, a Saudi who was there under Taliban protection.

Oct 7, 2001 - U.S. forces begin air campaign with strikes on Taliban al Qaeda forces. Small numbers of U.S. special forces and CIA agents soon slip into Afghanistan to help direct the bombing campaign and organise Afghan opposition forces.

Nov. 13, 2001 - U.S.-backed Northern Alliance forces enter Kabul as the Taliban withdraw south. Within a month, Taliban leaders have fled from southern Afghanistan into neighbouring Pakistan.

December 2001 - U.S. forces bomb the Tora Bora cave complex in eastern Afghanistan where bin Laden is hiding, but he slips over the border into Pakistan and disappears.

Dec. 22, 2001 - Hamid Karzai, an ethnic Pashtun opponent of the Taliban, is sworn in as interim leader.

May 2, 2003 - U.S. officials declare an end to major combat operations in Afghanistan. President George W. Bush turns the U.S. focus to preparing for the invasion of Iraq. This allows the Taliban to gradually return, at first in the south and east.

Feb. 17, 2009 - Barack Obama, in his first major military decision as president, orders 17,000 more combat troops to Afghanistan to tackle an intensifying insurgency. The 17,000 reinforce 38,000 U.S. troops and 32,000 from some 40 NATO allies and other nations already in Afghanistan.

Aug. 20, 2009 - Second Afghan presidential election. Karzai retains power after a dispute with his main rival, Abdullah Abdullah, fuelled by allegations of major election fraud.

May 1, 2011 - Bin Laden is killed in a raid by U.S. forces in Abbottabad, Pakistan.

2011 - The number of U.S. forces in Afghanistan peaks at about 100,000 as part of a surge that involves intensified CIA drone attacks on Taliban and other militants in Pakistan.

December 2011 - U.S. officials say U.S. diplomats have held about half a dozen secret meetings with Afghan Taliban contacts over 10 months, mostly in Germany and Qatar.

Dec. 28, 2014 - The U.S. combat mission is officially concluded after the withdrawal of most combat troops and a transition to an Afghan-led" war. Nearly 10,000 U.S. troops remain, though, with a focus on training Afghan forces and counter-terrorism.

Aug. 21, 2017 - Eight months after being sworn in, President Trump announces his administrationas new strategy on Afghanistan following a acomprehensive reviewa. He says the U.S. amust seek an honorable and enduring outcomea to the longest war in American history. aWe will no longer use American military might to construct democracies in faraway lands, or try to rebuild other countries in our own image. Those days are now over.a

Sep. 4, 2018 a Afghan-born U.S. diplomat Zalmay Khalilzad is appointed U.S. special representative to seek negotiations with the Taliban.

Oct. 12, 2018 - Khalilzad is reported to have met Taliban representatives in Doha, where they have set up their political office. There are said to already have been earlier meetings, including U.S. State Department officials meeting insurgent leaders earlier in July to have atalks about talksa.

Feb. 29, 2020 - After months of on-off talks, the United States signs a troop withdrawal agreement in Doha with the Taliban. The deal includes a 14-month timeline for the withdrawal of all U.S. and NATO troops from Afghanistan as well as guarantees from the Taliban that it will prevent militant groups including al-Qaeda from using Afghan soil to threaten the security of the United States and its allies.

April 9, 2020 - After initially resisting releasing prisoners demanded by the Taliban on security grounds, the Afghan government releases around 100 of the 5,000 demanded by the insurgent group. Over the following months it continues to release prisoners, but the process stalls at the final 400, who are accused to some of Afghanistans greatest crimes.

Aug. 9, 2020 - President Ashraf Ghani agrees to release the final 400 prisoners after consulting with the Loya Jirga, paving the way to peace negotiations with the Taliban in the Qatari capital, Doha.

Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor
By Associated Press

TOKYO: The Japanese city of Nagasaki on Sunday marked its 75th anniversary of the US atomic bombing, with the mayor and dwindling survivors urging world leaders including their own to do more for a nuclear weapons ban.

At 11:02 am, the moment the B-29 bomber Bockscar dropped a 4.5-ton (10,000-pound) plutonium bomb dubbed "Fat Man," Nagasaki survivors and other participants stood in a minute of silence to honor more than 70,000 dead.

The August 9, 1945, bombing came three days after the United States dropped its first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, the world's first ever nuclear attack that killed 140,000.

On August 15, Japan surrendered, ending World War II.

At the event at Nagasaki Peace Park, scaled down because of the coronavirus pandemic, Mayor Tomihisa Taue read a peace declaration in which he raised concern that nuclear states had in recent years retreated from disarmament efforts.

Instead, they are upgrading and miniaturizing nuclear weapons for easier use, he said.

Taue singled out the US and Russia for increasing risks by scrapping the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty.

ALSO READ | Survivors mark 75th anniversary of worlds 1st atomic attack in Hiroshima

"As a result, the threat of nuclear weapons being used is increasingly becoming real," Taue said.

Noting that the Nuclear Proliferation Treaty entered into force 50 years ago, Taue urged the US and Russia to show a (asterisk)workable way(asterisk) towards their nuclear disarmament at the NPT review process next year.

He said that "the true horror of nuclear weapons has not yet been adequately conveyed to the world at large" despite struggle and efforts by hibakusha, or atomic bombing survivors, to make Nagasaki the last place of the tragedy.

He also urged Japan's government and lawmakers to quickly sign the 2017 Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.

After taking part in the ceremony, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe criticized the treaty for not being realistic.

None of the nuclear states has joined, and it is not widely supported even by non-nuclear states, he said.

"The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons was adopted without taking into consideration the reality of the harsh national security environment," Abe said at a news conference.

"I must say the treaty is different from Japan's position and approach" even though they share the same goal of abolishing nuclear weapons, he said. Abe has repeatedly refused to sign the treaty.

He reiterated that Japan's approach is not to take sides but to serve as a bridge between nuclear and non-nuclear states to encourage dialogue to achieve a total nuclear ban.

Survivors and pacifist groups say Japan is virtually siding with the US and other nuclear states.

Abe cited "severe national security environment and a wide gap between the two sides on nuclear disarmament."

He also noted Japan faces threats of development and modernization of nuclear weapons from "neighboring countries in the region."

Taue, who spoke before Abe, disagreed, saying: "Among the nuclear-weapon states and countries under the nuclear umbrella, there have been voices stating that it is too early for such a treaty.

"That is not so. Nuclear arms reductions are far too late in coming."

While Tokyo renounces its own possession, production or hosting of nuclear weapons, as a US ally Japan hosts 50,000 American troops and is protected by the US nuclear umbrella.

The post-WWII security arrangement complicates the push to get Japan to sign the treaty as it beefs up its own military to deal with threats from North Korea and China, among others.

An aging group of survivors have expressed a growing sense of urgency to tell their stories, in hopes of reaching younger generations to continue their effort toward establishing a nuclear-free world.

"There is not much time left for us survivors," said Shigemi Fukabori, 89.

He was a 14-year-old student mobilized to work at a shipyard when Nagasaki was bombed.

"I'm determined to keep telling my story so that Nagasaki will be the last place on Earth to have suffered an atomic attack."

Fukabori, who almost instantly lost four siblings, said he never forgets the pile of charred bodies, bombed-out street cars and the badly injured desperately asking for help and water as he rushed back to his house in the back of the Urakami Cathedral, which was also nearly destroyed.

"We don't want anyone else to have to go through this," he said.

"Nagasaki bears a responsibility as a witness of catastrophic results the nuclear weapon caused to humanity and environment," Fukabori said in his speech at the ceremony, representing the Nagasaki survivors.

"I hope as many people as possible to join us, especially the young generations to inherit our baton of peace and keep running."

Many peace events, including survivors' talks leading up to the anniversary, were canceled because of the coronavirus, but some survivors have teamed up with students and pacifist groups to speak at online events.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-10 01:20:43|Editor: huaxia

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RABAT, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) -- Morocco registered 1,230 new COVID-19 cases on Sunday, raising the tally of infections in the North African country to 33,237, the health ministry said.

The total recoveries increased by 1,157 to 23,347, while the death toll rose to 498 after 18 new fatalities were recorded in the last 24 hours, said Mouad Mrabet, coordinator of the Moroccan Center for Public Health Operations at the Ministry of Health, at a press briefing.

The Moroccan government extended the state of medical emergency for another month until Sept. 10 amid the recent surge of COVID-19 cases.

China has helped Morocco in its fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

A batch of medical supplies donated by the government of northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region was transported on June 8 to Casablanca-Settat in Morocco.

On May 14, China Development Bank sent a batch of donation, including respirators and medical protective masks, to help Morocco fight the COVID-19 pandemic.

China's Guizhou Province also donated 15,000 surgical gloves, 20,000 medical masks and 2,000 protective suits to help protect Moroccan medical workers fighting the pandemic. Enditem
Another turtle nest found at Khao Lampi - Hat Thai Mueang National Park

PHUKET: Officers at the Khao Lampi - Hat Thai Mueang National Park have reported finding another nest of leatherback turtle eggs, the fourth such nest found in the area in recent weeks.

animalsweatherenvironment

By The Phuket News

Sunday 9 August 2020, 04:42PM

National Park officers moved the turtle nest to a safe place near the office. Photo: National Park

National Park officers moved the turtle nest to a safe place near the office. Photo: National Park

The nest was discovered around 6am this morning (Aug 9) by Mr Wicheing Chupan, a National Park officer who was inspecting the area.

"The nest was found about 50 metres from the beach which is far from the front of Khao Nayak about 1.5 kilometers, Mr Haritchai Rittichuay, Chief of the Khao Lampi  Hat Thai Mueang National Park told The Phuket News.

By the size of the tracks, the turtle measured roughly 175cm across, he added.

Officers dug the nest and found 115 eggs, of which 77 appear to be fertilised and 38 unfortunately infertile.

There was concern that the nest could potentially be in a dangerous location where high waves brought about during the current monsoon season could harm it so officers moved it to a safer place.

At 8:30am this morning we moved all the eggs to another location close to the National Park office, approximately 3 kilometers away, to keep them away from the heavy weather conditions brought on by the southwest monsoon, confirmed Mr Haritchai.

"With the current heavy weather conditions the waves are able to reach much further onto the beach, sometimes up to 100 metres, so we had to move the nest to keep it safe.

The nest will be kept under close observation by park officers close to the National Park office. The eggs are expected to hatch in 55-60 days, he said.

Mr Haritchai confirmed it was Mr Wicheing who found the nest and therefore it was he who would receive the B10,000 reward.

It is the duty of the officers to seek out and help preserve the turtle nests and thanks to Mr Wicheing this nest has been saved. He deserves the reward.

The discovery comes after another nest was found two kilometers south of Khao Nayak on July 26.

Further nests were found on the beach in front of Khao Nayak, the resident reef at Khao Lak, on July 7 and, just one week earlier, on Thai Mueang Beach, north of Phuket.

Mr Haritchai called for peoples help in finding future turtle nests, particularly during the monsoon season where they can be easily damaged.

If anyone does see a turtle trail or nest then please do call us. The nests are always worth saving and there is a reward of B20,000 per nest.

The Phuket Marine National Park Operation Center 2 can be reached on 081 797 0316, the Khao LampiHat Thai Mueang National Park Office on 076 679 134 or the Khao LampiHat Thai Mueang National Park Chief Haritchai Rittichuay 081 619 9962, he said.
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Linkedin (Agence France-Presse) Beijing, China  Sun, August 9, 2020 09:09 528 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a4066c8ceba 2 Science & Tech Bill-Gates,Microsoft,China,united-states,windows,TikTok Free

Microsoft, which is in talks to buy part of Chinese video app TikTok, is one of the few US tech titans that have managed to succeed in China.

The software giant has kept its business alive in the country by complying with strict local laws, despite the communist nation's wide-reaching censorship.

Here are some key points about the technology and gaming group's operations in the world's second biggest economy.

Read also: Microsoft weighs TikTok purchase as ad business flattens out

A pioneer

Microsoft arrived in China in 1992 and opened its largest research and development center outside the United States. It now employs around 6,200 people in China.

The ubiquitous Windows operating system is used in the vast majority of computers in China -- despite Beijing promising in recent years to develop its own operating system. The company's success has a downside, however, as its software is widely pirated.

The important Chinese market, which is very restrictive for foreign firms, represents a drop in the ocean of Microsoft's business, accounting for barely 1.8 percent of its turnover, president Brad Smith said at the beginning of the year.

Microsoft's Bing is one of the few foreign search engines operating in China -- although it is far behind its local competitors Baidu and Sogou, which dominate the market.

Bill Gates

Microsoft founder Bill Gates has long embodied a model of success in the eyes of many Chinese people and his books are bestsellers in the country.

President Xi Jinping visited the company's headquarters on a state visit to the US in 2015, where he met with Gates and his wife.

Today, as the head of his humanitarian Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the 64-year-old has the prestige of a head of state in Beijing.

In February Xi wrote Gates a letter thanking him for his support during the coronavirus epidemic.

Censorship and control

China censors all subjects considered politically sensitive in the name of stability, and internet giants are urged to block unwanted content online.

Refusing to comply with Beijing's strict demands, American giants Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube, as well as Wikipedia and several other foreign media, are blocked by China's "great firewall".

Microsoft, however, operates its professional LinkedIn network in the country by complying with the draconian censorship rules through a local joint venture.

Skype and Teams, its other two big platforms, are also available in China.

It's not all smooth sailing though, with Bing temporarily taken offline last year, prompting speculation the search engine had been blocked by censors.

Smith told Fox Business News at the World Economic Forum in Davos that "there are times when there are difficult negotiations with the Chinese government."

The Greatfire.org website, which tracks online censorship in China, accused Bing a few years ago of redacting results containing sensitive information.

Read also: Microsoft says to teach 25 million people digital work skills

Video games

In 2000 Beijing halted the sale of all consoles because of their alleged negative effects on the "mental health" of young users, although they remained available illegally.

After the ban was lifted, Microsoft in 2014 was the first foreign firm to break into the video games market in China with its Xbox One console.

Also in 2014, the Chinese competition authorities opened an anti-monopoly investigation against Microsoft and its Windows software.

Around 100 inspectors raided the group's offices in four Chinese cities, confiscating files and questioning employees.
GRAND RIDGE, Florida  A man here has been charged with an open count of murder related to a fatal shooting at Thomas Porter Park on Saturday.

Steven Mantecon, 20, was taken into custody at his residence on Shady Grove Road in Grand Ridge and transported to Jackson County Correctional Facility to await first appearance in front of a judge.

Mantecon is charged with fatally shooting Blake Cain, 19.

On Saturday, units from the Jackson County Sheriffs Office responded to the park, located in Grand Ridge, in reference to a shooting.

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According to a press release from the sheriffs office, numerous witnesses on scene stated that Cain and Mantecon had engaged in a verbal altercation earlier in the day which led to the shooting.

Both Cain and Mantecon agreed to meet at Porter Park to engage in physical combat. When they met at the park a verbal altercation again ensued which led to Mantecon leaving Porter Park.
In the beginning, there was just a man and a burrito. It was 1981 or 1982 and I was on B Street in San Mateo with my friend and his high school-age brother, still a few years away from my first real growth spurt, still straining to see above the counter. My mother is Mexican and I was raised among that half of the extended family almost exclusively, but my grandfathers playful nickname for me was guero because my complexion came from the white side of the gene pool.

But I remember I did something  dropped a con todo or just pronounced carnitas right  and made a connection with this one-man assembly line. I dont remember if he smiled, or made my burrito a little bigger, or gave me a key to the restaurant. Just that we were simpatico; my first memory on a journey of food as an exploration of culture.

Looking back almost 40 years later, this memory feels like its in crisis. The process of buying a burrito has taken a series of radical leaps  from the attempted appropriations of culture to delivery apps that seem aimed to assimilate small businesses into a future with no connections. The burrito shop, with its enduring authenticity, is prey being disguised as progress.

A once-in-a-lifetime pandemic is accelerating this process. But it is also exposing it. A spotlight on the small choices we make that may shape the future of independent businesses.

I feel for the older generations  the ones still making reservations on landlines and reading this article in a newspaper.

In the late 1800s or the early 1900s, shifts in technology might involve one leap. Your local fire station might have gone from responding to calls with a horse-drawn wagon to a motorized vehicle. And then you get the rest of your life to wrap your head around the change.

Todays consumer might experience six or seven leaps just in adulthood. The process of watching a movie in your home has gone from waiting for it to arrive on one of three television networks, to the comparative chaos of cable television (1 leap) to VHS rental stores (2 leaps) to DVD rentals (3) to having the DVDs mailed to you (4) to banking cable movies on your DVR (5) to streaming services on your TV (6) to first-run movies in the pandemic debuting on that streaming service (7).

There are still people alive who placed their first phone calls through an operator. Eight or nine leaps later, you might tell Siri to call your wife.

At The Chronicle, we forge into a digital future while also living in service of people who aggressively dont want that change. Family Circus was in the Sunday newspaper when I was born, and I suspect it will be there when Im dead. It is well known in the newsroom that the best way to incur a pestilence of reader anger is to alter the newsprint TV listings.

But in one of the world capitals of change, where entrepreneurs continue to look for the next leap that will make them billionaires, theres less care for customer service. Extinction-level events arent just part of business, they are the mantra. And as we break things, disrupt and think different, it can start to feel like a rain of asteroids coming down on the Bay Area.

Not much has changed at Ramiro & Sons, the old-school neighborhood burrito place in Alameda that my family has been visiting during the pandemic.

The takeout restaurant is the legacy of Ramiro Hernandez, who in 1975 founded Talk of the Town (later Taqueria Morelia), the first taqueria-style restaurant in Oakland. Ramiro & Sons opened in 1985.

Nino Hernandez remembers his father piling the kids in the back of a Chevy and taking them to Hollister and Gilroy to spend the summer working in the fields. Ramiros mother was there, cooking for the workers, using some of the same recipes the family brought from Zacatecas, a state in Mexico.

My father was an activist. He would march with Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta, Nino Hernandez remembers. I used to make the signs. Farmworker signs. Im this little kid, and Im boycotting Safeway.

Jessica Christian/The Chronicle

Ramiro & Sons is old-school to the point where it feels like time travel. Nino and his mother, Kim, have run the place since before Ramiro died in 2005, and many employees have worked there 15 to 25 years. Credit cards are useless  Kim Hernandez refuses to add a point of sale system like Square or Fusion that would take a cut of the profits. Not coincidentally, the price for two burritos big enough to fill a meatloaf pan comes to just over $17 (with guacamole).

But I like the intangibles of Ramiro & Sons even more than the portions. When I order lunch there, my 15-year-old son warns me to have my choice ready, so the no-nonsense guy who takes orders during lunchtime doesnt get mad.

You know what they call him, right? The Burrito Nazi, Hernandez laughs, offering the reference to the Soup Nazi character on Seinfeld. Hes an incredible person. He has a photographic memory. If we have lines out the door, hell see three people in line and tell them their order before they open their mouths.

There wasnt a lot of media interest in the local Mexican food scene for the first couple of years Ramiro Hernandez was around. Then, on Jan. 24, 1977, The San Francisco Chronicle discovered burritos.

The burrito  a fat morsel named for its resemblance to a small donkey  may be the next food craze to come out of an ethnic ghetto and win a permanent place in Americas eating habits, the article began.  If the boom grows, the burrito may soon join such traditional American favorites as chow mein, chicken soup, pizza and the frankfurter.

And as burritos became more popular in California  arguably the defining foodstuff of the region and the state  opportunities for innovation decimated the authentic experience.

As a college journalist in the early 1990s, I covered Cal Poly San Luis Obispos attempts to stop students from selling real Mexican food on campus. Actual Mexicans selling actual Mexican food were told to stop, giving domain of the cuisine to a university-sanctioned Taco Bell knockoff called Tapangos. The logo was a pair of clip art maracas.

In 1998, McDonalds invested in Chipotle, a chain that Frankensteined the traditional burrito experience with corporate fast-casual mentality. That seemed to accelerate a series of leaps that have separated food from cultural experience. A man and a burrito became a cold assembly line of culture-neutral mercenaries (1 leap). Then there were phone orders (2), online orders for pickup (3), the quick rise of delivery apps (4) and the emergence of ghost kitchens (5), where several restaurants may share warehouse space, eliminating the possibility of direct contact between customer and chef altogether.

The potential damage to restaurants by the food-delivery apps  three of the four largest are centered in the Bay Area  has been well-documented in The Chronicle and beyond.

Delivery apps have created shadow websites to compete with their own small-business partners, which were already being charged up to 30%. Bay Area restaurants that wanted nothing to do with delivery apps were being added against their will, in at least one case with fake menus.

Then COVID-19 hit, and the weaknesses of the system were blown wide open. San Francisco lawmakers capped the delivery fee at 15% in city limits, a rule that was quickly violated.

It was impossible for restaurants before COVID to survive with all of these apps and their fees, SF Chickenbox owner Christian Ciscle told The Chronicles Justin Phillips in July. If youre giving 25% to 30% to an app, theres no way youre going to survive, or even get ahead.

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.

There are several quotes from Jeff Goldblums Jurassic Park character Ian Malcolm that apply here. Lets choose a lesser-known one:

Change is like death. You dont know what it looks like until youre standing at the gates.

Shut inside our homes over the past five months, with delivery apps turning from convenience to potential lifeline, we dont see the cause and effect. But this will end someday, and well all venture outside without fear and finally confront all that weve lost.

OPTIMISM METER Lukewarm: The burrito isn't going anywhere. But these cash only shops might be as delivery services rely on digital transactions. Still, patrons' love for authenticity could save them. See More Collapse

At that point, I hope the impact of convenience becomes starkly apparent, with the sudden lack of choices, higher prices that contribute to wealth disparity, and the diminishing human connection. I hope people miss the benefit of immersing themselves in a different culture for a few minutes each month, and learning where the food came from. That there may be even more value to our children discovering the history, courage, hard work, little quirks, tragedy and triumph of the people who made it.

I hope physically going to your local burrito shop becomes a civic act.

There will be many more stories of restaurant closures in a pandemic, and far too few inspiring stories of communities coming together for their survival. This is a story of the latter.

In the end, resistance to change was the blessing that may have saved Ramiro & Sons. Being a cash-only business effectively closed the door to most delivery apps. When Kim Hernandez denied a point-of-sale system and Nino hauled an ATM into the store, they at least temporarily became a leap-proof business.

The good thing about the cash is we dont have to succumb to Grubhub and all that, Hernandez said. Everybody taking their little chunk. I think that might have done us in.

Nino and Kim Hernandez decided to keep everyone employed when the Bay Area shelter-in-place began in March, weathering the losses with their personal finances. They limited their hours and closed on Sundays.

Its been a struggle. It hurt at first, Nino Hernandez said. The first two months we were down quite a bit. Were not one of those businesses that makes money. We stay even more or less. Its like a family. Theyre family to us.

Jessica Christian/The Chronicle

But then the regulars came back, and workers are seeing new faces. People who dont want to deal with the apps. People who have their own financial problems and need an inexpensive lunch that can stretch into two meals. People who like the takeout window and the fact that the burrito shop is half a block from the busier main drag.

No one is underestimating the resources and drive of larger companies to force the changes that drive their profits. But they shouldnt underestimate the publics ability to make a mental equation and consider the value of a thriving downtown. That pre-ordering from a local bookstore instead of Amazon might be worth the price difference. That, in the long run, diversity is often the more affordable choice and convenience is a curse.

Nino Hernandez knows some day he may be forced to make the leap.

But not today.

Peter Hartlaub is the San Francisco Chronicles culture critic. Email: phartlaub@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @PeterHartlaub
YouTube beauty star NikkieTutorials revealed that she and her fiance, Dylan Drossaers, were robbed at gunpoint at their home on Saturday, August 8.

With rumors swirling online, the Dutch native took to her social media platforms to confirm the news and reassure her fans and followers that they are okay, although shaken up mentally.

'Earlier today one of my biggest nightmares became reality when we got robbed under gun point at our own home,' the 26-year-old began in a short statement posted on Instagram and Twitter.

Scary: YouTube beauty guru NikkieTutorials, 26, confirmed she and her fiance, Dylan Drossaers, were robbed at gunpoint at their home in the Netherlands on Saturday, August 8

Tutorials (born Nikkie de Jager) and Drossaers live together in Uden, Netherlands.

'Dylan and myself got attacked but physically we're okay. Mentally it's a whole other story,' she continued.

'I'm writing this message for now to let you know that we are 'okay' and safe.'

She concluded: 'Thank you for understanding as I take the next couple of days to myself.'

The aftermath: Tutorials (born Nikkie de Jager) revealed they are okay mentally, but shaken up mentally in a post on her social media platforms

Police investigation: According to reports by Dutch news outlets, at least three people raided their home, one of which was suspected of having a gun, and then fled the scene

According to reports by a number of Dutch news outlets, at least three people raided their home, one of which was suspected of having a gun.

Local police reported the three suspects fled the scene and that one of the victims received 'superficial' injuries, but it's unclear if that was Turtorials or Drossaers.

'Just reported a robbery on a house in #Uden. The perpetrators threatened the residents with possibly a firearm and took an unknown loot from them,' police tweeted about the incident, according to a report by Metro.

It's believed the burglary happened after Tutorials took her parents out to dinner.

Police report: The perpetrators reportedly threatened the couple, possibly a firearm, and took an unknown loot from them,' according to police

More details: It's believed the burglary happened after Tutorials took her parents out to dinner

Just this past January, the makeup artist and beauty vlogger came out as transgender after a blackmailer threatened to publicly out her to news outlets.

'With the help of police, we have found out who exactly was blackmailing me,' she revealed in her first video after coming out as transgender.

'I have their names, their phone numbers, email addresses. I even know where they live and how they treated people around me to get more information on my true story.'

In the end, Tutorials decided to take the high road and not publicly disclose the person's identity so that she didn't lower herself to his level.

Tutorials first gained worldwide recognition in 2105 when her YouTube video -- The Power of Makeup -- went viral and launched her into the beauty vlogger sphere.

At last check her YouTube channel has 13.5 million subscribers and over 1.33 billion video views.

The burglary comes about seven months after the makeup artist and beauty vlogger came out as transgender after a blackmailer threatened to publicly out her to news outlets
India is an attractive proposition for UK businesses looking for alternatives to China, in view of the prevailing sentiments globally, the UK-India Business Council (UKIBC) has said.

In an interview to PTI, UKIBC's first Indian Group CEO Jayant Krishna said he expects to see growth in UK-India trade as both countries come out of the crisis, asserting that UK businesses are very keen to support India's 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat' mission.

The bilateral trade between the two countries stood at $15.5 billion in 2019-20 as against $16.87 billion in the previous fiscal.

"UK and India have started looking at opportunities emanating from the business sentiments worldwide to explore manufacturing supply chain possibilities as alternatives to China," Krishna said.



He observed that UK industries have long investments in India across sectors and the country is an increasingly attractive proposition for businesses looking to explore alternate destinations for their global supply chain.

"Moreover, UK businesses are and will look to India as an incremental base for manufacturing and research and development," the UKIBC Group CEO said.

He said there are great complementarities between India's needs and the UK's offerings and it was very positive to hear that Prime Minister Narendra Modi highlighted the centrality of sectors such as manufacturing, infrastructure, energy, pharma, space and defence, to global cooperation.

"These are all areas ripe for India-UK collaboration in creating 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat', underpinned by both nations' strong track-record in technology and innovation," Krishna said.

With the UK forging a new trading relationship with the world into 2021 and India establishing itself as a major global player, India is a key priority for trade and investment of the UK government and businesses, the UKIBC Group CEO stressed.



He said the introduction of the UK's new point-based immigration system and Graduate Immigration Route will make it easier for Indians to come to work and study in the UK.

"Accordingly, we expect to see growth in UK-India trade as both countries come out of the crisis," Krishna said.
Ranjani Madhavan By

Express News Service

BENGALURU: After Covid-19 felled 74-year-old Shaik Adam on Thursday, his family members were in for a shock when they were presented with a bill of Rs 13,54,337 by Fortis Hospital, Bannerghatta Road. They had already paid Rs 6,55,000, but the hospital refused to release the body till the remainder was paid, the family alleged.

As per the government-capped rates, an ICU patient can be charged a maximum of Rs 25,000 per day. As Adam was in ICU for 22 days, the bill should have been Rs 5,50,000. In a call recording, the patients son, Imran, tells hospital administrator Dr Praveen Wali, I had hoped that Fortis with such a big name will do good and Dr Praveen will help but you are behind the cheque only. The doctor responds, This is a company. I also get a salary. Dont pay now.

Give a declaration saying you dont have the entire amount now and you will settle the bill later and give a blank cheque without your signature on it. Imran told TNIE, We did not give the cheque. My father only had symptoms of cough when he tested positive and got admitted. But they put him on a ventilator from the second day and he passed away at 5.30 pm on Thursday. How can we afford Rs 13 lakh? Then, volunteers from NGO Mercy Mission spoke to the hospital and called it out for overcharging. The body was released on Friday morning.

Hospital denies charges

In a statement, Fortis Hospital said that Shaik Adam was brought in on July 14 with a severe acute respiratory distress syndrome and pneumonia. He was put on a ventilator from July 15, for the next 21 days. Along with severe Covid and pneumonia, he had multiple organ dysfunction as well and was undergoing treatment for the same at the hospital which is exclusive of the price cap set out by the government.

We are strictly adhering to the price cap set by the government and all charges in the bill are in strict accordance with their directive, it said. The family has paid only half of the billed amount; the balance is outstanding. Only as an assurance against the outstanding amount, the hospital collected a declaration letter which was voluntarily given. The allegations that the body was forcibly withheld for non-payment of bills are totally false, it said.
The National Association of Independent Schools says enrolment is usually completed by summer, but many schools have made exceptions to allow in more students due to the high demand. Some have even increased financial aid to help those unable to afford the fees, which can range from $US15,000 to up to $US50,000 ($21,500-$71,500)a year.

Independent schools, however, have largely been able to adjust to social-distancing requirements with larger campuses and smaller class sizes.

Zach Lee, an eighth grader at Guntown Middle School, sanitises a desk as he and other students enter their maths class on the first day back to school for the Lee County District in Guntown, Mississippi, last week. Credit:AP

Public school districts in California, Virginia, Washington DC and some other parts of the country have announced they will not be offering in-person learning when term starts later this month.

New York: Private schools across the US have reported a dramatic increase in applications from parents concerned their children will miss out next term, as public schools remain closed over coronavirus concerns.

In New York, certain thresholds have been introduced for reopening schools. A region must have a daily test positivity rate below 5 per cent over a seven-day rolling period before they are given the green light. If that positivity rate hits 9 per cent, school districts in that region must shut down. The governor, Andrew Cuomo, said on Friday that all of New York's schools could theoretically reopen owing to the low infection rate. But he stressed that each school district must submit a reopening plan that requires approval by the state's health department.

In Washington DC, a proposal for schools to provide a mix of virtual and in-person classes was opposed by the Washington Teachers' Union, which argued schools were not prepared to safely reopen. Distance learning will continue there.

Fairfax County in Virginia reported more than 400 students have already withdrawn this summer, opting instead for local private schools.

"Once Fairfax made their announcement the inquiries and applications came pouring in," Katherine Carbo, director of lower school admission at St Stephen's and St Agnes School in DC said. "Many of the parents I spoke with had already considered an independent school education for their child, but the pandemic was the final push. These parents appreciated that because of the design of our campus and the size of our classes we would have a greater likelihood of being able to reopen this fall."

She said the virus had been most challenging for the school's youngest learners. "They are grieving the loss of their friends and teachers. To be back together safely and in person is the ultimate goal," she said.
New Delhi, Aug 9 : With Sonia Gandhi set to complete a year as interim President on August 10, the Congress on Sunday maintained that the party will not suddenly become "headless" at the "stroke of midnight" and she will continue to head it for now.

Senior party spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi said that "no party will allow any vacuum and there is no vacuum at all... Sonia Gandhi is President and will continue to be such time till proper procedure is implemented".

"It is true that the term is expiring but the party is not going to be headless at the stroke of midnight," he said, adding that there is a laid-down procedure and the party will decide on the matter.

Earlier, sources had said that Sonia Gandhi is likely continue as the interim President, but this might need ratification from the All India Congress Committee (AICC).

"There were some internal discussions in the party about Sonia Gandhi's extension but no decision has been taken yet," a source said.

Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera, however, said: "When the party decides to convene the Congress Working Committee meet, it will be shared." Sonia Gandhi was appointed interim President in August 2019 after all efforts to cajole Rahul Gandhi, who resigned from the post after the party's rout in the 2019 Lok Sabha election, to stay as party chief failed.

There has been a demand in the party to appoint a full-time President and various party leaders, including MPs from both houses,have sought that Rahul Gandhi be brought back as President.

In a meeting of party Rajya Sabha members on July 30, prominent leaders like Digvijaya Singh, P.L. Punia, and Rajeev Satav sought Rahul Gandhi be brought back to deal with the crises facing the party.

The demand was echoed at a meeting this month of Lok Sabha members, where Rahul Gandhi was also present.
On 3rd August, 2020, some final year students, after literally being frustrated by their WASSCE first examination paper, Integrated Science, redirected their frustrations and anger hurling unprintable words at the President of Ghana, Nana Addo-Dankwa Akufo-Addo. Many used modern channels including Facebook and other social media pages blaming the president for their inability to effectively provide the required answers. According to them, the examination was very difficult and think its the fault of the President because he failed to provide them with past questions as promised. Others pointed out that the invigilators were too strict on them, subtly saying they could not get the chance to communicate with their fellow colleagues or engage in examination malpractices.

It is rather unfortunate these students used such vulgar and unsavoury languages on the first gentleman of the country. The question I wish all to ponder over is how did we get here? Because our African culture frowns upon younger ones disrespecting the elderly. So again, how did we get here? Is it that the parents of these children did fail at their natural responsibility of orienting or nurturing their children well? Or it is as a result of peer pressure? What is really influencing these students to behave in such manner?

Obviously Ignored

A cursory search on Facebook and other media pages reveals that this is not the first time vulgar languages have been used or is being used publicly. This is pervasive especially in political discussions. Names that come to mind immediately are Salifu Mogabe Maase (of NDC & Power FM) and Kwame Baffoe Abronye - DC (of NPP). When one scans through most of our television channels or listen to certain radio shows, one will not be surprised at what these young folks did or what might be influencing them. I am not by any means justifying this unrighteous act which should not be exhibited or mentioned among us. What I am trying to point out is where they probably got their inspiration from to act this way.

It has been observed that these students are on daily basis bombarded with unfruitful, unpleasant and garbage contents spewed on almost all media pages from Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and even on-air media programmes from radio to television shows. Other contents are from most movies, songs or music videos and certain comments by most people who need not be called celebrities. In recent years, students grow up singing songs and watching contents filled with sex, nudity, drugs, alcohol, vulgar language etc. These get imprinted on their subconscious minds and get released when their emotions are triggered. The resultant effect is what we see these days, female students twerking and showing off their bodies and the males indiscriminately using invectives. For one to capture themselves performing immoral acts is unthinkable unless they think it is the new normal. Since older people, including so called celebrities, these students look up to are misbehaving in public, what is the big deal when they do same from their point of view? Most of these students act ignorantly not considering the future repercussions or ramifications. The writings have always been on the wall but we mostly ignore them pretending all is well. Let us all be observant and watch the kinds of character these students will exhibit after writing their final papers especially on social media. The root cause of the problem is simple, the moral fibre of the country is weakened.

One sad thing about this generation is that, they are generally left to be trained by television programmes and social media contents. Sadly enough, there is not afterthought of long-lasting impact on the minds of viewers when such programmes are being developed or designed. The primal focus for most producers and managers of such shows is to attract the numbers that can rake in the revenues projected. Some musicians and popular slay kings and queens do not care to show their nakedness or use abusive languages if only it gets them the leading trend for the week or month. Think of this, isnt it ironic that leading artistes like Sakordie and his colleagues will sing songs to condemn corruption but will never condemn alcoholism, nudity and the use of vulgar or sexually suggestive words in their music videos? Have you ever heard Shatta Wale condemning fornication or the use of vulgar languages in music or Stonebwoy condemning nudity or partly naked ladies in music videos? Also, how many politicians have you seen fighting corruption vehemently or passionately? Certain corrupt acts are always defended by the political parties. It seems everyone is comfortable with immorality so far as it gives them money and fame. So why wont these young ones acknowledge this to be the new normal? Until these categories of citizens remove the immoral speck from their respective eyes they cannot justly deal with or rebuke certain immoral acts in the country. Things have gotten worse that our television scenes are now filled with scammers championing themselves as money doublers offering unthinking packages and stations showing pornographic movies in the name of sex education. Who is monitoring? The government should not downplay the effect these contents have on children who in most cases find it difficult to make meaning of.

Another area of influence is the inherent power politicians have given or are giving to these students. It is evident that students have develop the idea that they are pawns used by politicians for their political gains. How do you expect them to act if at the back of their minds passing an examination is a political point to be scored by one party and their failure a score for another party? As one of the students remarked, they were expecting past questions from the President based on a promise given them. They were not expecting past questions from the Ghana Education Service (GES) or the Ministry of Education (MOE) but the President. Why? Because the President has tagged this batch of graduates as his. Whilst those satisfied say four more for Nana, the few disappointed ones are expressing their frustrations. The irony is that people are not condemning students who are doing politics by praising the President but are holding the necks of those who are expressing their frustrations. Again, I am not justifying their evil deeds. Rather, I think we need to look at this holistically. So far as the presidency continues to act as a demigod promising redemption for people from their troubles or precarious situation, citizens will continue to expect them to provide anything and everything including those they are responsible to provide for themselves. There should be a dividing line between the responsibilities of government and responsibilities of citizens. Until politicians stop promising anything just to gain power, citizens will cease not to be dependent on them for virtually anything and everything. We will one day wake up to hear a candidate promising free salaries till eternity.

The Way Forward

Several citizens have offered solutions to this canker. Mr. Franklin Cudjoe thinks in order to immediately solve this problem all those delinquent SHS students who insulted the President freely must be brought to book and made to sign codes of good behaviour. On Friday evening I heard fourteen (14) of the students had been sacked and barred from writing the exams by the GES. I see these and others as fire fighting remedies to a volcanic problem of immorality plaguing our nation. One does not need to be a soothsayer to see that the moral fibre of the country is progressively being chipped off (if not already half way done with) and if nothing is done the future of the country will not be desirous by all.

The unadulterated, inerrant and infallible word of God teaches in Proverbs 14:34 that Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people. I get scared at the rate immorality is increasing in all sectors of the country and get more petrified when the organizations which are responsible to fight this canker get compromised. Religious bodies, especially Christianity, must without fear or favour rebuke these evil acts. A nation with about 72% of its citizens purported to profess the Christian faith should not be porous as it is now. If every sector of the country truly has 72% of faithful Christians then Ghana should not be in the state it finds itself. The fact on the ground suggests that this percentage is not a true reflection of Christians in the country. The visible Church instituted by God to train and teach righteousness and to uphold morality is also overwhelmed with all kinds of selfish intents, immorality and prosperity that have nothing to do with what Jesus Christ died for. Due to her compromising stands the visible Church is losing the fight against wickedness or evil in this country. Some men of God in high authority have been influenced by their political stands. These politically-clothed men of God therefore see no evil or talk no evil. Others are afraid to talk because everything they say is politicised. There are those who talk only when they have been attacked. We have members who only stand with their church leaders when a scandal about them comes into the public domain but will sit when it is about other leaders. Is this how we were called to fight the good fight of faith? Evil exists and the earlier leaders and members rebuke it publicly the better for the country and its future. Church leaders should not continue to give the devil a foothold.

The Almighty God instituted governmental structures to execute his righteous judgments on his people. This includes punishing sin and exalting righteousness. It is therefore the responsibility of the Ghanaian government to institute policies and enact laws that will strengthen the nations moral fibre. These initiatives must be able to train up our children the way they should go morally so that when they are old they will not depart from it. Are there laws banning vulgar, explicit and nude contents in Ghanaian movies, songs, music videos, radio programmes and so on? Whose responsibility it is to monitor and reprimand? Will politicians employ evil tactics just to win them elections? Government must do all it can to bring some moral sanity on our airwaves. Radio and TV stations must start vetting thoroughly the kinds of contents and people they put on air. At the end everyone, including Church leaders and governments, will render account to God on the day of judgement and the current or any future President should know that any decision they take or do not take in this regard will be tested with fire and be judged accordingly. We should note that it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the Living God (Hebrews 10:31).

God help us.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-09 15:14:10|Editor: huaxia

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by Matthew Rusling

WASHINGTON, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) -- Working from home has been a growing business trend over the past decade. With a lingering COVID-19 pandemic, the practice has accelerated at breakneck speed in the United States.

Now millions of Americans have found themselves at home with a latte in one hand and their laptop in the other.

TRENDING MODEL

Chris Mesina, who works in IT in the Washington D.C. area, told Xinhua he believes his company may never reopen its offices.

In his estimation, he may be "working from home forever," or at least as long as he is employed by his current firm.

U.S. tech giant Facebook recently announced that employees would be allowed to work from home at least until July of next year. The company stands among a number of other U.S. firms doing the same.

Google announced it will continue to allow people to work remotely through the summer of next year, while Uber, Twitter, Square, Slack and Shopify have all announced that employees can work from home on a permanent basis.

However, Facebook will continue to reopen offices in limited ways in areas where COVID-19 has been mitigated for around two months, the company told CNBC earlier this week.

Experts said many companies will follow in Facebook's footsteps -- offering a combination of telecommuting and in-office work.

Gene Marks, founder of The Marks Group and regular commentator on CNBC, Fox Business and MSNBC, said smart companies will still embrace some form of remote work, but many employees will also return to the office.

"They'll use their work-from-home policies to attract younger and more mobile employees and offer it up as a benefit for those who need that kind of flexibility," he said in a recent article by Washington newspaper The Hill.

"But they'll still require face time. They'll balance their remote working policies with an office," Marks added.

Once there is a vaccine available, many Americans will go back to the office, while others will continue to telecommute either full or part-time, according to experts and business trends.

PROS AND CONS

To be sure, there are benefits to the work-from-home model, apart from saving hundreds of dollars in gas and tolls on commute. Offices are full of distractions, such as water cooler gossip, myriad opportunities for socialization, unnecessary meetings -- the list is endless.

Mesina said avoiding office politics, chatty coworkers and bureaucratic distractions has boosted his productivity.

Jenna Murray, who works in logistics, also told Xinhua she is "more productive" at home as she is working in the time spent not sitting in traffic on the way to and from the office.

Erica Komisar, a New York psychoanalyst, wrote on The Wall Street Journal last week that working at home can be extremely beneficial for new mothers, giving them the ability to care for young children more easily.

Studies show the cost savings of work from home policies can be enormous, Komisar added.

Commenting on a study by Stanford University, she noted that in 2014, a Chinese travel-agency call center estimated each employee who worked from home saved 375 U.S. dollars based on higher productivity, 1,250 dollars in office expenses, and 400 dollars from reduced attrition.

Aetna, a major U.S. insurance company, in the past got rid of 2.7 million square feet of office space, saving some 78 million dollars. And with the skyrocketing cost of real estate in major cities like New York, many companies will undoubtedly save a bundle during the pandemic, and possibly beyond.

However, the practice may also have its limitations. Some employees require daily structure and collaboration with coworkers. Many top companies, especially in the tech world, also have a culture of face-to-face collaboration that they say contributes to their success.

Karen Henry, who works in procurement in the Washington D.C. area, told Xinhua that the worst for working at home is holding online meetings on big projects.

"People are easily distracted by what's happening at home," more so than they would be if they were sitting in a conference room, she said.

MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES

The human brain is wired to require daily, human-to-human interaction to ward off feelings of isolation and depression and relieve stress, experts have said, adding electronic contact such as texting is not a substitute.

That may explain why work-from-homers said finding a coffee shop or public place from which to work is crucial to staying productive -- even a two-minute conversation with a barista at Starbucks can, for many people, satisfy the human need for daily social interaction.

U.S. media outlets have reported an uptick of depression, social isolation and weight gain associated with working from home during the pandemic.

The American Psychological Association said last month COVID-19 has brought a "raft of intense new stressors while removing many of the resources people have traditionally used to cope with stress."

Disrupted routines and the potential for contracting a life-threatening disease may be "exacerbating pre-existing problems such as mental illness or substance use," it said.

Meanwhile, social distancing is "endangering mental health even as it protects physical health," the article said, adding it may also increase the risk of suicide.

However, it will be a while before COVID-19's actual impact on the nation's suicide rate is known, it said.

"We're two years away from having data," the article quoted Jill Harkavy-Friedman, vice president of research at the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, as saying. Enditem
Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size Jane Williams was at work, half an hours drive from her home in Coraki on the North Coast of NSW, in April 2016 when she got a phone call to say the police had picked up her eight-year-old son for throwing rocks at a car with his cousins. She raced home in a panic, to find no one knew her sons whereabouts. Police said he had been taken to his auntys place, but there was no sign of him. Her own house was empty. Williams rushed to the police station to demand answers, only to be told the officer involved had been called to another job. The officer at the station made a phone call to get to the bottom of it. "He got on the phone and I just knew from the expression, Williams says. The officer rushed outside and found the boy in the back of the police truck, where hed been left unattended for up to two hours. I couldn't believe my eyes," Williams says. "My baby ... his cheeks were that red. It was painful to look at him like that."

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With the assistance of Grafton lawyer Joe Fahey, the mother-of-two sued NSW Police for damages last year, resulting in an undisclosed settlement. Months after the incident, according to court documents, the officer whod picked up her son pulled her over while driving and asked: You sure you havent got anybody in that boot Jane? She says the comment was intended to make her feel hurt, shame and embarrassment. Four years on, Williams says her son is still distrustful of police. The Black Lives Matter movement has put a spotlight on interactions between Indigenous Australians and the criminal justice system. In the first of a three-part series this month, the Herald examines how these interactions play out in the Northern Rivers of NSW, beginning with the relationship between Aboriginal people and police. The investigation found allegations of police misconduct from former officers, while a Herald analysis of data obtained under freedom of information laws suggests the police force is struggling to retain Indigenous officers across regional NSW. Despite increasing recruit numbers there are more Indigenous officers leaving, too, which has stalled the proportion of Indigenous operational officers in regional areas at around 1 per cent - or 183 people in a statewide workforce of 17,111. Fahey says he has handled easily 30 or 40 cases where Aboriginal clients have successfully sued the police over the past four to five years, mainly for wrongful arrests and related assaults in the towns of Grafton, Coffs Harbour and Casino, with the odd case from Moree or Sydney.

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He says his firm, Foott Law, started actively looking for such cases in 2010 because we realised - shit, it goes on all the time. His office is littered with coloured manilla folders, most of them purple. The purple folders indicate civil suits involving police. Among Faheys present clients is a Bundjalung teenager who was allegedly struck in the head by an officer as he was walking home at night in Casino last year, in an incident caught on video. He says most of his cases begin with a slight altercation, such as a person swearing at police. Often you'll see the video where a police officer will make a comment to a person which is far more serious than it needs to be given what's happening at the time. And then all of a sudden someone might get a bit lippy, then all of a sudden it escalates, when it should've been de-escalated quite easily, Fahey says. Chief Inspector Joanne Reid has been the officer in charge of the Grafton Police Station for the past four years, and has worked in the area for almost a decade. Chief Inspector Joanne Reid says there is a healthy relationship between police and the Aboriginal community in Grafton. Credit:Rhett Wyman She says local police were alarmed when the civil claims started popping up a few years ago.

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It forced my staff to really get their powers and all of their procedures down pat, because we'd never been subjected to that type of scrutiny before. Chief Inspector Reid says local civil cases have curtailed in recent years due to better education around police powers and a concerted push to improve relations with the Indigenous community. There were some deficiencies, absolutely. Did we make some mistakes? Absolutely. But we turned that around. Andrew Jeffrey joined the police in 2010 at age 21 because he wanted to help people. After completing his training in Goulburn, he was posted to the Coffs/Clarence command as a probationary officer. The Gumbaynggirr man says what he saw in the field was the complete reverse of what hed learnt at the academy. Former police officer Andrew Jeffrey says fellow officers would regularly use racist slurs to describe Aboriginal people. Credit:Rhett Wyman Over two years in Grafton and Coffs Harbour, Jeffrey says he regularly heard officers use derogatory language such as c--n and b--ng to describe Aboriginal people. He claims to have witnessed officers assaulting people in custody, irrespective of race, on multiple occasions - sometimes while they were handcuffed.

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Loading A Herald analysis of police data found officers in northern NSW recorded using force, such as restraints and holds, more often than anywhere else in the state during random breath tests from 2014 to 2018. In the same period, officers in the Coffs/Clarence district used force against people charged with offensive language 147 times over the five years - the fourth-highest occurrence in the state. Jeffrey says he was uncomfortable with the proactive approach to policing, whereby officers would be encouraged to issue move on orders or conduct person searches to get numbers up. He says such tactics often had a disproportionate impact on Aboriginal young people. One night, a fellow Aboriginal officer driving a new car in Grafton was pulled over and questioned, apparently without cause, only to pull out his badge. Jeffrey says he felt he and other Aboriginal officers were treated differently. In his third year on the job, in what Jeffrey describes as an extremely unusual move, he was reassigned to his home town of Woolgoolga - a small community with only a handful of police, where he was often called to incidents involving family members of former school mates.

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Former Standardbred trainer Vincent Aurigemma, 72, of Silver Spring, Md., passed away on Saturday (Aug. 8) after a long battle with diabetes.

Aurigemma was born Aug. 13, 1947, in Brooklyn, N.Y. He graduated from New Utrecht High School in Brooklyn and attended Queens College for three years majoring in political science and history.

He started his harness racing career at Roosevelt Raceway in 1968 under

trainer-driver Joe Firetti, and then had tenures with Jimmy Cruise and Joe Faraldo before branching out on his own. In 1975, he successfully campaigned a one-horse stable of Less Tired which would lead him to developing one of the leading stables in the country.

During the 1980s, Aurigemma won multiple training titles at both Roosevelt and Yonkers Raceways. He campaigned world champions Skip By Night and Time O Nic along with Division Street, Brisk Air, Sudden Urge and many others during his career.

Arrangements will be announced as they become available.

Please join Standardbred Canada in offering condolences to the friends and family of Vincent Aurigemma.

UPDATE

Aurigemma's family has held a private service in Maryland. In lieu of flowers, the family is requesting that memorial contributions in his name be made to the Standardbred Retirement Foundation (www.adoptahorse.org).

The family is planning on having an online facebook memorial service in mid-September. The date and time will be announced once it is finalized.

(Harness Racing Alumni Association)
Fayaz Wani By

Express News Service

SRINAGAR: A Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) worker was attacked in Jammu and Kashmirs Budgam by terrorists on Sunday morning.

BJP OBC Morcha district president for Budgam, Abdul Hamid Najar, was fired upon by terrorists from close range near Ompora Railway station while he was taking a morning walk.

Abdul Hamid Najar sustained bullet injuries in abdomen and was sent to SMHS Srinagar for specialized treatment.

After the attack, police, CRPF and army men rushed to the area and launched a search operation to track down the terrorists.

This is the third attack on a BJP worker in the Valley since August 4.

A BJP panch Arif Ahmad was injured in attack in Kulgam district on August 4 while on August 6, BJP sarpanch Sajjad Ahmad Khanday was gunned down by militants in Kulgam.

BJP spokesman Altaf Thakur condemned the attack on Najar. Calling the incident 'barbaric and an inhuman act', he said terrorists are attacking unarmed people inthe Valley.

Meanwhile, a gunfight erupted in south Kashmirs Kulgam district.

According to sources, a joint team of police, CRPF and army laid siege around Sighanpora area on Saturday evening after receiving inputs about two to three terrorists hiding present in the area.

They said while the security personnel were conducting search operation, they came under fire from terr today morning.

The fire was returned by troops, triggering an encounter. The gunfight was going on when reports last poured in, he said.
Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanaths office has refused to respond to reports that the Indo Islamic Cultural Foundation, the Trust constituted by the Sunni Waqf Board for the construction of an alternative mosque in Ayodhya instead of Babri Masjid, has decided to invite the chief minister for the inauguration of a hospital, school, library and other public utility facilities on the proposed five-acre mosque complex. The proposed mosque complex will come up at Ayodhyas Dhannipur village.

A government spokesperson said, it is not the time to respond to it. It would be inappropriate on our part.

An advisor to the chief minister said, It would be inappropriate to comment on something thats only an idea. Currently, there are divisions in the Muslim community and stakeholders over the utilisation of the land. Lets wait and watch.

Also read: Sunni Board may invite PM Modi, Yogi Adityanath to Ayodhya event

On Saturday, Athar Hussain, the spokesperson for the Indo Islamic Cultural Foundation had said that the trust would invite the chief minister for the foundation stone laying for various public facilities at the proposed mosque. He had also made it clear that there would be no foundation laying ceremony for the mosque itself as there was no provision for it in the four schools of thought in Islam.

Hussains statement came days after CM Adityanath, in an interview to a TV channel on the day of the Ram temple bhoomi pujan on August 5, had said, No one will invite me, nor will I go. His response came after he was asked whether he would go for the mosque construction event if invited.

I am not a party to it (mosque) in any manner. So neither will anyone invite me nor will I go. I know I am not going to get any such invitation. If I get any such invitation, then secularism of many people will be in danger. So I better work silently and send benefits of the government schemes to all without any discrimination, he had added.
The judge says to the state police: You didnt fully follow the law.

The police reply: Oh, yes we did.

And so the argument continues unresolved  years after a lawsuit was filed contending that the Virginia State Police should release its plan for handling 2017s deadly rally in Charlottesville and subsequent arguments were made that the plan was overly redacted upon release, thus denying the public a chance to determine what went wrong in that disaster.

In fact, the VSP believes that none of the plan should be public. Not a single word.

The issue is important because police responses to the Aug. 12, 2017, rally are critical to understanding what went wrong  or right  on that tragic day.

Critics have said the various police responses were ineffectual and uncoordinated.

If Charlottesville is to be properly prepared in case it is targeted for another violent invasion, our leaders need to be able to evaluate what happened in 2017. (For that matter, the information could help other cities as well.)

And because our leaders are employed by  and should be servants of  the public, members of the public also have a stake in being able to see and evaluate any plans made in 2017 to deal with the massive rally that turned violent.

With those principles in mind, two journalists filed suit not long after the rally to obtain such plans from the states Office of the Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security, the city of Charlottesville and the state police.

Charlottesville objected, but when ordered to do so it quickly complied. Public Safety and Homeland Security dragged its feet, and the VSP has been the most resistant of all, continuing the fight against transparency for nearly three years now.

For its part, the VSP claims that the plans are tactical in nature and that revealing any part of them could compromise its ability to deal with future incidents. If the bad guys know how the police operate, they can devise countermeasures.

No one wants that.

But no one should want the state police to be protected from public scrutiny, either. Isnt that what the current debate is about nationwide: concerns that police actions are insufficiently transparent and insufficiently accountable?

Police are ultimately accountable to the public, which employs them. But that principle of accountability is circumvented if the public is denied the information necessary for evaluating the performance of its servants.

A judge already had ruled in 2018 that the plans must be turned over to the reporters. More than a year later, and after a failed appeal, the VSP released a version that was heavily redacted  blacked out. The reporters argued that this made the documents virtually useless, and the case went back to court.

Circuit Judge Richard E. Moore reviewed the redactions and made comparisons with the original unredacted plan, given to him in camera  in his chambers  for private examination.

Earlier this year, he ruled that the redacted version contravened the state Freedom of Information Act. Some portions of the plan that had been blacked out were not tactical in nature, he said. Others did not appear to jeopardize the safety or security of law enforcement or the public if they were made public. Still others, he acknowledged, were beyond his ability to evaluate without more specific input from the police.

He gave the VSP until July 30 to respond, a deadline that had been extended due to the COVID pandemic.

On Aug. 3, the police finally submitted the required reply. The agency continued to maintain that the redacted material contains either tactical details or identifiers that could put individual personnel in danger.

Again, weve no desire to see material released that is truly protected under law. But the judge has already said that some of the redacted content is not protected. Hes given the VSP the option of telling him why hes wrong.

But as weve also said before, the law requires that release of information is the default position  that is, public officials first duty is to provide information to the public. After all, as the ultimate employers of police and other officials, the taxpayers actually own this information.

Wrongly, the VSP appears to believe that being upfront with the public is the last thing it should do.
Twitter via Associated Press

Nine people have tested positive for Covid-19 at a Georgia high school just days after a photo of a packed hallway went viral.

Six students and three staff members who were at North Paulding High School in Dallas, Georgia last week have tested positive, according to a letter sent to parents on Saturday.

The letter stated: "We have anticipated that Covid-19 would impact us as it has nearly every community, and the district has worked in partnership with the Department of Public Health (DPH) to proactively implement safety precautions and response plans.

It did not say if anyone will be quarantined or whether the school will be closed.

Hannah Watters, 15, posted an image to social media showing students packed into a corridor - some without masks.

She was later suspended and others were warned they would be punished if they did the same.

She said: It was worse than I thought it was going to be. I didn't feel safe, especially coming home to family after going to school."

Her suspension was rescinded on Friday following an outcry, and she said she planned to return to school on Monday - before news of the positive tests were announced.

The school wrote a letter to parents after the release of the photos, saying: "Under the Covid-19 protocols we have adopted, class changes that look like this may happen, especially at a high school with more than 2,000 students."

Donald Trump and education secretary Betsy DeVos have both pushed for schools to reopen for in-person learning whenever possible.

Read more

Evangelicals For Trump event in Vegas draws hundreds despite Covid

Seven year old dies of coronavirus in Georgia

Texas failing to record thousands of rapid Covid tests, report says
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.
Chicago Police investigate at the 25th District station on the northwest side, in Chicago, after several officers were shot outside the station, Chicago, on July 30, 2020. (Ashlee Rezin Garcia/Chicago Sun-Times via AP)

3 Dead, 26 Others Injured in Shootings Across Chicago This Weekend: Officials

Three people have been killed and at least 26 others have been injured in Chicago over the weekend, according to police.

The latest fatal shooting took place on Sunday in Marquette Park on the Southwest Side at around 3 a.m., officials told the Chicago Sun-Times. Police found a 31-year-old man unresponsive on a porch around the 6700 block of South Maplewood Avenue.

The man was taken to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, and he was pronounced dead there, said officials.

The latest nonfatal shooting took place at around 4 a.m. in the Avondale neighborhood, police told ABC7. It occurred when a 22-year-old man was driving and another person fired shots from a white Subaru.

In another incident on Saturday night, a 29-year-old man was killed when he was playing with a gun and shot himself on the East Side, officials told the ABC affiliate.

Three teens, ranging from ages 14 to 17, were also shot over the weekend, officials said.

Last weekend, at least nine people were shot to death across Chicago and 25 other people were hurt, said police.

In July, President Donald Trump announced he will send federal agents to cities including Chicago to combat crime in the midst of a spike in crime and violence across the United States.

Trump, in his announcement, blamed the rise in a radical movement to defund, dismantle, and dissolve our police departments.

To look at it from any standpoint, the effort to shut down policing in their own communities has led to a shocking explosion of shootings, killings, murders, and heinous crimes of violence. This bloodshed must end, the president said. This bloodshed will end.
San Francisco, Aug 9 : TikTok could file a lawsuit against the Donald Trump administration in the US as early as Tuesday over an executive order prohibiting transactions with the short video sharing platform's Chinese owner within 45 days, NPR reported.

The lawsuit will argue that Trump's sweeping ban on the application is unconstitutional because it did not give the company a chance to respond, said the source-based report on Saturday.

The lawsuit will also reportedly argue that the allegation that TikTok is a threat to US' national security is baseless.

The executive order issued by Trump on August 6 night said that data collected by TikTok threatens to allow the Chinese Communist Party to access personal and proprietary information of US citizens.

The order said the spread of mobile applications developed and owned by Chinese companies "continues to threaten the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States." "We have made clear that TikTok has never shared user data with the Chinese government, nor censored content at its request," TikTok said in a blog post after the executive order.

"In fact, we make our moderation guidelines and algorithm source code available in our Transparency Center, which is a level of accountability no peer company has committed to," it added.

TikTok alleged that the executive order was issued "without any due process."

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Bestselling Kildare author Hazel Gaynors new book is a story of hope and friendship set during World War II  but with a twist for most Irish readers.

While many are familiar with war stories set in Europe, The Bird in the Bamboo Cage, which is out on August 20, tells a tale of an imprisoned school of young children and their teachers in China as the war rages in the Pacific.

Fascinatingly, while Hazel has created a fictional cast of characters for her novel, the Chefoo School in Shandong province, Northern China actually existed  as did the horrors and deprivations staff and children went through when they were interned by the Japanese during the war years.

Yorkshire-born Hazel lives in Calverstown with her husband and two teenage sons. She is the author of several acclaimed and bestselling novels, including A Memory of Violets; The Girl Who Came Home  A Novel of the Titanic, for which she received the 2015 RNA Historical Novel of the Year award; The Girl from The Savoy and last years The Lighthouse Keepers Daughter. She also co-writes with American novelist Heather Webb  their most recent work Meet Me In Monaco was shortlisted for the RNA Historical Novel of the Year 2020.

Hazel describes getting goosebumps the first time she heard of the story of Chefoo School, while listening to an American podcast. A firm believer that the story finds the writer, rather than the other way around, she was determined to bring this little-known part of history to a wider audience.

The story revolves around a group of schoolchildren, namely British, American and European schoolchildren who were attending boarding school in China. They and their teachers, a group of around 120 of them in total, were taken to an internment camp by the Japanese army following the bombing of Pearl Harbour in December 1941, she said.

This group of relatively privileged children  the sons and daughters of missionaries and diplomats  were separated from their parents and interned under the care of their teachers for several years. Some of the youngsters were only five years old. Others spent much of their teenage years in the camp.

It was this astonishing part of the war that I hadnt thought about, said Hazel.

Resilient

Yet what I discovered when I learned more about this story is how incredibly resilient they were, how self-reliant and hopeful they were, and a lot of that came from being attached to the school.

They were Brownie guides and Girl Guides, and a lot of the boys were Boy Scouts. A lot of those very practical skills that you learn really helped them maintain their sense of routine, and to help them cope in these horrific circumstances.

The story has a wider historical basis than just one school  other children were caught up for the duration of the war, separated from their families, in camps across Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia and elsewhere.

It was a very harrowing story to write, but also very hopeful and very uplifting in terms of the determination of the teachers to help guide the children through this.

The Bird in the Bamboo Cage is told from two alternating viewpoints, that of 10-year-old Nancy Plummer and her teacher Elspeth Kent.

The children are very innocent, but the adults know an awful lot more of whats really going on and the dangers coming their way, but they are trying to shield the children from that. And my character Elspeth is initially resentful of that  she didnt sign up to be a parent, she signed up to be a teacher. And then all of this extra responsibility and worry falls on the adults shoulders.

Hazels research took her to London, where records of the real Chefoo Schools history are kept. There are also online testimonies available which were collected and curated by the real-life children who were caught up in the terrible events described in the novel.

They were incredibly scarred by this, many of them in adult life still dealing with this sense of abandonment by their parents and this terror of what was lurking around the corner for five years. But they formed these amazing life long friendships with each other and their teachers and with the American soldiers who came to liberate them at the end of the war, she said.

Hazels own work encompasses different settings and periods of history, from the sinking of the Titanic to the flapper days of the Savoy Hotel in the 1920s. Her interest in telling a story from World War II was sparked by a family story that fell into her lap.

Her great-uncle, Jack Elvidge, went missing in late 1942 while fighting in World War II. The family has a bundle of letters written by his desperate mother to her son between October and December that year. She didnt know if he was alive or dead, but wrote to him of everyday life in Yorkshire with the most heartbreaking sense of agony, according to Hazel.

The letters were returned to sender , marked To Mother  unable to deliver, missing in action, which is why they exist in the family, said the writer, who was given the letters two years ago by her father. Jack was never heard from again, although in 2020 Hazel discovered that he is buried at a war grave in Tunisia, North Africa.

Heartbreaking

When I read those I started to think about the war differently. It isnt this distant black and white event that has nothing to do with me, this is part of my familys history. This was a mother desperately trying to hear from her son, and as a mother myself I cannot even begin to imagine how that feels.

War, we often think, is about battles and guns and bombs and tanks, and it really made me think about war from a very female point of view, actually, from the point of view of very ordinary people who suddenly find themselves in this extraordinary event, just like the children and the teachers in The Bird in the Bamboo Cage.

A former Brownie herself, Hazel met with Brownies and Girl Guides in Newbridge shortly before the Covid-19 lockdown to talk about her life as a writer and the story of the Chefoo School children caught up in the war.

It was a lovely moment of normality before our own life-changing event happened, when we all found ourselves separated from loved ones. It draws parallels with the events of some 75 years ago. The pandemic really has changed our lives dramatically. I think of my fictional children in the school in China  one day just skipping around, having fun, learning their Latin and maths, and the next day Japanese soldiers march into their school. Thats how quickly things change.

Hazel spent the lockdown doing the final edits for this novel, and also working on a new collaboration with Heather Webb  in fits and starts as she has a young family as well. I envy anyone who has managed to do anything of significance, its very much take each day as it comes and adapt.

She is still intrigued by the World War II era and future novels may be set there.

This was such a traumatic period for the people who lived through it that they didnt talk about it much afterwards. It tends to be only in later life, maybe when theres an anniversary or commemorative events. We keep hearing incredible stories of bravery, heroism and hardship. I dont think were anywhere near fully understanding what that event was like for people.

The Bird in the Bamboo Cage, published by HarperCollins, is available on August 20
Ive written about Chris Hillman several times over the years. In 2017 he released a new disc with his long-time friend and musical partner Herb Pedersen (Bidin My Time, produced by the late Tom Petty and Herb). In April 2018 Chris and Herb came through town to play at the Dakota Jazz Club and Restaurant in downtown Minneapolis, where we saw them up close. I snapped the photo at right from our table.

Chris had a good word to say about everyone he mentioned during the show: Roger McGuinn, Gene Clark, Reba McEntire, Tom Petty, and a few others come to mind. He spoke well of them, repeatedly. He spoke ill of no one. Chris and Herb have themselves been friends for well over 50 years. He had good words to say about Herb too. I wish he would write a memoir of his life in music. Hes had many musical lives and, for him personally, it hasnt all been clear sailin, to borrow the title of one of his solo albums. Johnny Rogans thick books on the Byrds have useful background on Chriss pre-Byrds flight.

Chris and Herbs two-hour set drew on their distinguished careers in music. I have loved Chriss work and learned a lot about American popular music from following his career. This morning I want to post some videos illustrating his career and featuring a few of the songs they had in their set when they last came through town. Drawing on what I wrote two years ago for yet one more extended lockdown version of this series, I hope that interested readers might find something to enjoy or discover a new byway to explore.

Chris was a teenage bluegrass star on the Los Angeles music scene in the early 60s. He made a name for himself with the Scottsville Squirrel Barkers in San Diego (his hometown). Before long Chris was fronting a group named the Hillmen in his honor. Unbelievably, the work of the Hillmen is now available on YouTube. In the video below, you can hear how good they were.

Among other things, the Hillmen set Bob Dylan to bluegrass. The Hillmen covered Dylans When the Ship Comes In.

With the Dylan angle, the Hillmen were on to something. Asembling the Byrds, Roger McGuinn had asked Hillman if he played bass. He didnt, but he said he did and quickly learned how. Chris moved from mandolin to bass to become one of the founding members of the Byrds together with McGuinn, David Crosby, Gene Clark, and Michael Clarke. The Byrds exploded overnight with Mr. Tambourine Man by adding Beatlesque harmonies to Dylans music backed by McGuinns 12-string guitar.

Having returned to acoustic music, Chris has reinvented several Byrds songs in recent years. Here is an acoustic version of the Byrds Eight Miles High with Chris, Herb, guitarist Larry Park, fiddler David Mansfield, and the late bassist Bill Bryson at Edwards Barn in 2009.

Hillman was promoted to the front line of the Byrds (as he puts it) and came into his own as a songwriter on such Byrds gems as Younger Than Yesterday (recorded in 1966 with the original group minus Gene Clark) and The Notorious Byrd Brothers (recorded in 1967, with only McGuinn and Hillman remaining from the original group by the time recording was completed). One of his songs from this period with the Byrds is Have You Seen Her Face? This is what it sounded like with the Byrds.

Here it is live in acoustic form with Herb Pedersen on the harmony vocal.

Herb has played with several groups and has had an incredible career as a studio musician. He must appear one way or another on more than a thousand recordings. At their 2018 Dakota show Chris and Herb plucked She Sang Hymns Out of Tune from Herbs work with the Dillards in 1968. The original of this one is from the Dillards Wheatstraw Suite, I think.

In 1968, Hillman recruited Gram Parsons to the Byrds for their pioneering album of country rock, Sweeheart of the Rodeo. Hillman turned in by far the sweetest vocal on Sweetheart, an utterly heartfelt reading of Merle Traviss I Am a Pilgrim. There is not a trace of irony in the vocal. What a beautiful song. I infer from his music that Chris is a Christian.

In mid-1968, Hillman and Parsons left the Byrds to found the Flying Burrito Brothers and pursue Parsons vision of the Cosmic American Music. Among the songs Chris wrote with Parsons for the Flying Burrito Brothers is Sin City (that would be Los Angeles, not Las Vegas). Here it is with Herb and Emmylou Harris on harmony vocals.

The Burritos disbanded after four albums and Hillman joined Stephen Stills in Manassas, a short-lived group in which he was responsible for several of the highlights on the groups debut album. One of them was It Doesnt Matter, written by Chris with Stephen Stills and Rick Roberts.

Another Manassas highlight was Both of Us (Bound to Lose), written by Chris with Stills. They trade off on the lead vocal. Up to the instrumental break that they close out with it sounds like a lost Byrds song to me.

Through the rest of the 70s Hillman fronted his own band while occasionally reuniting with subsets of his former Byrds mates. I should also mention the Souther, Hillman, Furay Band from this phase of his career. Below is Good Time Charlies Got the Blues from Morning Sky (1982), one of his best solo albums. The song was a huge hit for its writer, Danny OKeefe. Before going into music himself, by the way, OKeefe had gotten into the scene around the University of Minnesota when he found Dave Ray and Tony Glover tearing it apart in a small coffee house off campus.

Over the past 35 years, he has more or less returned to his bluegrass and country roots, first with the Desert Rose Band and later in projects with Herb (also of the DRB) and Tony Rice. The Desert Rose Band achieved substantial commercial success with country audiences in the 80s. The video below catches Chris and Herb together with the DRB in an incandescent performance of The Price I Pay with John Jorgenson burning it up on lead guitar. Do they still make music like this?

Chris brought an acoustic version of the DRB to the Dakota for two nights in 2012. I had the great good fortune to attend both nights and found one highlight was their impromptu performance of the DRBs Twilight Is Gone on night two. Herb played dobro and contributed to the beautiful three-part harmony on this 1991 recording.

Since the DRB broke up Hillman has continued to make great music for smaller audiences. He has released a few notable solo recordings on Sugar Hill Records. Chris wrote most of the songs on Like a Hurricane (1998). This is the old Searchers hit When You Walk in the Room, written by Jackie DeShannon. You cant miss the echo of the Byrds on the guitar work. The Byrds had covered Jackies Dont Doubt Yourself Babe on their debut album.

Chris recorded two discs with guitar virtuoso Tony Rice, his brother Larry Rice, and Herb Pedersen. Below is their version of the Grateful Deads Friend of the Devil from Rice, Rice, Hillman & Pedersen (1999).

I love each of the discs Chris has recorded with Herb Pedersen. They include Bakerfield Bound (1996), The Other Side (2005), At Edwards Barn (2010) and, most recently, Bidin My Time (2017). Each one is full of good music played by great musicians. Just to give you some idea, here is Close Up the Honky Tonks from Bakersfield Bound.

Here is The Water Is Wide from The Other Side. Thats Sally Van Meter on dobro and Jennifer Warnes on the harmony vocal. It doesnt get much better than this.

At the Dakota in 2018 Chris said that Tom Petty insisted they record the Everly Brothers Walk Right Back for Bidin My Time when he heard Chris and Herb warming up with it in the studio. I think this might bring it all back home.
South African Rand (ZAR) Slips as Coronavirus Risk Grow

The South African Rand (ZAR) was sent lower against the pound and majority of his other peers this week, as the emerging market currency was hit heavily by the souring of market sentiment.

The souring of market sentiment comes as spikes in International and domestic coronavirus cases continue to dampen economic recovery hopes.

As hopes for a V-shaped rebound in growth continued to fade, economists are warning the global recovery will face hurdles, with some countries faring better than others.

Annabel Bishop, chief economist at Investec, said: The uneven nature of the recovery will continue to trip up market sentiment, and so cause EM currency volatility, in particular reflected by the Rand, with unexpected data readings having marked impacts.

The Rand was also pressured by renewed tensions between the US and China, after President Donald Trump signed an executive order banning two popular Chinese apps.

However, some of the downside in the Rand this week was limited by the ongoing weakness of the US Dollar, which help prevent market risk appetite from eroding.

Pound (GBP) Spurred Higher Positive BoE Forecasts

At the same time, the Pound (GBP) struck higher this week, aided by some revised economic forecasts from the Bank of England (BoE).

Following its August rate decision, in which policymakers opted to leave monetary policy untouched this month. The BoE delivered its latest growth forecasts, predicting the UK economy will shrink 9.5% this year rather than the 14% previously forecast back in May.

The BoE said: The fall in output in Q2 is expected to have been less severe than was assumed in the illustrative scenario in the May Report. In that scenario, it was assumed that restrictions would be gradually unwound between early June and late September, but they were lifted earlier.

However in noting that the downturn this year is likely to be less severe, the BoE also warned the recovery may be prolonged through 2020, capping Sterlings gains.

GBP exchange rates then ticked lower at the very end of this weeks session on the back of comments from Chancellor Rishi Sunak ruled out any extension to the governments furlough scheme.

Sunak said: It is wrong to keep people trapped in a situation and pretend there is always a job that they can go back to, that won't always be the case. In those situations it's better we look forward and provide those people with new opportunities.

GBP/ZAR Forecast: Sterling to Retreat on Abysmal UK GDP Release?

Looking ahead to next weeks session, we may see the Pound to South African Rand (GBP/ZAR) exchange rate hit a rough patch with the publication of the UKs latest GDP estimate.

The preliminary release is forecast to show the UK economy shrank by a whopping 21.2% in the second quarter, confirming the UK suffered the deepest contraction of any major economy and likely sending Sterling sharply lower.

Putting additional pressure on GBP exchange rates may be the UKs latest jobs report, with Junes figures expected to show rise in unemployment and plunging wage growth.

Meanwhile, the focus for ZAR investors next week looks to be on South Africas own employment figures.

These are likely to put additional pressure on the Rand amidst forecasts the unemployment rate will have soared to a new record high in the second quarter.

On top of this, the Rand will also remain highly sensitive to global sentiment over the coming week, potentially weakening further if coronavirus uncertainties continue to mount.
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Union Classroom Teachers Association President Deena Churchill wrote to board members last week asking them to approve the superintendents distance learning proposal.

Churchill said teachers want to be with their students but believe in-person instruction is too risky because of the pandemic. She said every educator she has spoken with in recent weeks expressed their fears about returning to the classroom while COVID-19 cases continue to be so high in Tulsa County.

I have never encountered such crushing anxiety and terror among such a large group of people, she wrote. I know it sounds over the top to use the word terror, but that is what I have experienced from our teachers. Many teachers have expressed to me they are considering quitting if we return to in-person.

Others, for whom quitting is not an option, are devastated at the thought. They talk about dying or bringing something home to their family and family members dying. They feel caught in an untenable cycle from which there is no relief. It is beyond upsetting to hear their tears and fears over this.
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The PDP accused him of having come to J&K with a colonial mindset and being the chief executioner of RSS in the erstwhile state

Reacting sharply to his remarks, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) said that the CS has committed gross abuse of civil service rules

Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Secretary BVR Subrahmanyams remarks that its political leaders were corrupt and, therefore, not a single soul had cried over their detention in August last year has drawn flak from various political parties of the erstwhile state.

They have accused him of contravening service rules and breaching propriety.

The CS had on Friday while speaking to a group of visiting media persons here said, J&K was a broken state and there was no system in place due to years of mis-governance, corruption and unbelievable levels of fraud committed by leaders of mainstream parties and separatist organizations.

He had added that, therefore, not a single soul had cried over their detention on August 5 last year when the state was stripped of its special status and split up into two Union Territories.

He claimed that J&K was a big ponzi scheme, when he was sent here in June 2018 and was asked by Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, Go, clean up the administration, rebuild it and hand over the amanat (precious possession) to the local people.

Reacting sharply to his remarks, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) said that the CS has committed gross abuse of civil service rules and asked him If no one sheds a tear for them why are the leaders jailed under PSA (Public Safety Act)?. It termed Subrahmanyams remarks as uncalled for and utterly flagitious.

The PDP accused him of having come to J&K with a colonial mindset and being the chief executioner of RSS in the erstwhile state.

It is ironic that he is finding fault with the entire population of J&K while running the most corrupt administration that the state has ever witnessed.

He is, in fact, heading a cabal of officers who are affiliated with RSS and are enforcing their agenda in Kashmir. IAS has never stooped to this low.

The PDP alleged, His only fame to glory is establishing a culture of impunity, polarised administration, systematic sidelining of local officers, fragmenting of bureaucracy on feudal lines and perpetuating the quid pro quo culture of rewarding incompetence. This is the part of the RSS campaign to destroy the identity of Kashmir and they are now attributing criminal charges on almost everybody in Kashmir in the name of terrorism, separatism and corruption.

CPIMs Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami said the CSs remarks were totally unacceptable. He said, We want to ask him what his administration has done to eradicate corruption in J&K for the last more than two years when there is no elected government in the state. Leveling baseless allegations against politicians without any credible evidence is fraught with serious consequences.

Tarigami said, Bureaucrats come and go and it is not the mandate of a CS to level baseless allegations against elected representatives of the people. He said that if frauds have been committed by some persons who have remained in authority, what stops the administration from making those public and booking the offenders?

The CPIM leader said that there was a wide perception among common people in J&K that the administration has become more corrupt after the abrogation of Article 370 and BJP governments claim to give J&K a corruption-free administration and governance was simply rhetoric and has proved merely a hoax.

The CS needs to give some attention to this aspect instead of leveling unfounded allegations against the elected representatives.

Jammu and Kashmir Apni Party (JKAP) said that Subrahmanyams statement tantamount to breach of service rules and is legally and ethically unwarranted. All the government employees including bureaucrats are supposed to remain apolitical and give people a fair deal of governance which is entirely lacking in J&K, said JKAP leader and former minister Ghulam Hassan Mir.

He said, An officer of the rank of Chief Secretary seems to have forgotten about service conduct rules which warrant serving officers not to talk about issues pertaining to politics and instead should work for strengthening the institutions of governance on the ground.
A new offer for the telecommunication easement rights on the town water tower would more than double the money coming to the town, Town of Niagara Supervisor Lee S. Wallace informed the Town Board last week.

Wallace said Wednesday that a second offer to take over the cell phone company leases on the tower came from Crescendo Capital Partners, a private investment firm.

The proposed Crescendo contract gives the town several choices: an immediate lump sum payment of $1,050,000; $1,185,000 over three years at $395,000 annually; a $1,285,000 payback over five years at $257,000 a year; or a 10-year plan that pays the town $160,000 a year for a total of $1,600,000.

A previous offer from Blackdot Capital and Real Estate was to pay the town $450,000 over 13 years.

Crescendo requested a 99-year lease on the tower, but Wallace stressed that the contract is still subject to negotiations.

We are going with the (10-year plan), which would give us the most bang for our buck and still give us a yearly increase of $160,000, he explained.

Payments from the leases with T-Mobile and Verizon would still come to the town, according to the discussion.
The past couple of years have been difficult for Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex.

Since Meghan and Prince Harry's royal wedding in 2018, the media has been publishing stories that paint the couple in a negative light.

But that is all going to change as a tell-all book due for release on August 11, 2020, is supposedly the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's chance to tell their truth.

Authors Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand wrote, "Finding Freedom: Harry and Meghan and the Making of a Modern Family" are excited to finally clear their names after two years of backlash and fake news.

Unfortunately, one royal expert doesn't think that the biography will help Prince Harry and Meghan Markle and get sympathy from the public they are expecting.

While fans of the former royal couple are hoping that the biography will improve Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's image, royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams said that the release's timing is just wrong.

Since the book is due for a release during a pandemic where people are experiencing so many hardships, the expert believes that the public will not respond to the injustices the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have experienced.

Speaking to Express UK, "The highlighting of what Harry and Meghan perceive as slights by courtiers, or even by William and Kate, are not likely to gain them much sympathy with the public at this desperately difficult time."

He also thinks that Queen Elizabeth II will see this book as a way of the couple whining, and the monarch will be extremely disappointed that her grand-son has "involved himself in such a selfish and ill-timed endeavor."

Since any member of the royal family is not allowed to speak directly to the media, even if they're reputation is at stake, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle kept mum for the past two years. That made the media raged on and published outrageous stories about them.

"Finding Freedom" is said to be their way of getting their side of the story out.

In the synopsis, the book claims to "go beyond the headlines to reveal unknown details of Harry and Meghan's life together, dispelling the many rumors and misconceptions that plague the couple on both sides of the bond."

Royal expert Katie Nicholl believes that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex felt "quite aggrieved by the fact that they've never been able to answer their critics."

Nicholl thinks that Archie Harrison's parents weren't able to correct all of the wrong reporting made against them.

But despite the promises of the book, it has been reported that the 39-year-old and the 35-year-old parents-of-one didn't contribute to the making of "Finding Freedom."

Scobie told The Sunday Times, "The book doesn't claim to have any interviews with Harry and Meghan. And nor do we."

In a statement released by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's team released to USA Today, they claimed that the pair were not interviewed "and did not contribute" to "Finding Freedom."

They further said that the book is only based on the authors' experiences for being part of the royal press corps.

READ MORE: So Sweet! Prince Harry Gave Meghan Markle A Sentimental Gift for Her Birthday
CAIRO  Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi issued July 29 Law No. 165 of 2020, amending some provisions of the Law on Popular Defense Organizations No. 55 of 1968. Controversy arose in political and human rights circles due to the introduction of new articles, including one stipulating the appointment of a military adviser for each governorate as well as a number of assistants, appointed by the minister of defense.

The new law gives multiple powers to the military adviser, most notably attending the meetings of the People's Defense Council and the Executive Council for implementing the governorates plans, holding meetings with the governorates leaders, reporting to the Ministry of Defense and the relevant authorities, and delegating any of his duties to his assistants.

The Peoples Defense Council has representatives in all ministries, governorates and civil authorities. The council is affiliated with the armed forces and tasked with protecting the states projects and promoting communication between the armed forces and the various civil authorities.

The Executive Council is established in all governorates and headed by the governor. Its members include parliamentarians and mayors, and its task revolves around monitoring the development projects of the governorates.

According to the law, the new military advisers duties include monitoring services in the governorate, overseeing projects, as well as constantly communicating with citizens in order to maintain national security, not to mention coordinating with educational authorities at the governorate level to implement the curriculum of military education in accordance with the rules determined by the Ministry of Defense.

The military education curriculum consists of a military educational program that takes place in all governorates in cooperation with the armed forces and all Egyptian universities within the framework of educating young people about their national role and the effort made by members of the armed forces to defend the country. All male students have to attend this compulsory program during their studies, before the actual military conscription.

During the July 6 plenary session, the Egyptian parliament approved the draft law submitted by the government to amend some provisions of Law No. 55 of 1968 regarding popular defense organizations.

In this context, Ahmed al-Jaddami, a human rights lawyer at Al-Helaly Foundation for Rights and Freedoms, told Al-Monitor that legislation has been used for the military institution in Egypt to implement full control over the state while civilians are largely marginalized, even in their regular competencies in managing the governorates and their suburbs.

Jaddami noted that the current parliament and government are working to adopt and issue laws that devote more control in favor of the military at the expense of civilians. The recent law, he noted  which allowed for the appointment of a military adviser in every governorate throughout the entire republic  would make the military adviser a military ruler in reality, in addition to the fact that the majority of the governors are primarily former military personnel, either from the police or the army.

He pointed out that the law carries an economic dimension as well, as this military adviser will facilitate the assignment of projects to army companies and their subsidiaries, which is what already happens in reality. But the new powers will represent more dominance and control in all projects in the governorates such as wastewater treatment projects, desalination, street paving, lighting and other service projects that are assigned to the armys Engineering Authority or to companies affiliated with the army, but not to other private companies, he added.

Jaddami stressed that the new powers will allow the military adviser to follow up on all the services in various sectors such as roads, bridges, transportation, health and education, which are in fact specialized, civil activities, while military officers specializing in the fields of defense and war have no experience or knowledge of them.

Ammar Ali Hassan, professor of political science at Helwan University, told Al-Monitor over the phone that the recent law has raised a great controversy in Egyptian society and the human rights and political circles due to legitimate concerns about the idea of militarizing civil life.

He noted that the new law gave great powers to the military adviser, who is appointed by the Ministry of Defense, which leads to a broader intervention by these officers protected by the force of law in the work of civil servants, thus marginalizing the job of civil servants and officials in all governorates and their suburbs.

Hassan explained that how the law is actually applied in reality will reveal the intentions and goals for which this law was issued in the first place, which can only be judged after the law comes into effect in the coming months.

Maj. Gen. Ashraf Gamal, undersecretary of the parliaments Defense and National Security Committee, told Al-Monitor that the new articles that allow the appointment of a military adviser in each of the 27 governorates of Egypt aim to follow up on development projects and supervise national projects to ensure speedy implementation and the absence of favoritism or corruption.

He said that the new military adviser will have the primary task of representing the Ministry of Defense in each governorate, as is happening in all ministries of the state through the Peoples Defense Council. Each ministry, he explained, has a military adviser whose mission is to assist the minister in certain tasks, especially those that need technical and engineering expertise, available within the Egyptian army.

Gamal pointed out that the new articles are in line with the amendments made to Article 200 of the Egyptian Constitution in April 2019, as the constitutional amendments to this article emphasized the role of the armed forces in preserving the basic foundations of the state, civil life, the people's benefits, and the rights and freedoms of individuals.

He explained that preserving the basic foundations of the state and civil life according to the amended constitutional text means that the armed forces play an important role in supporting all the agencies, governorates and ministries of the state in implementing national and development projects. This, he noted, required the enactment of legislation allowing the participation of a representative of the Ministry of Defense to follow up on projects and services provided to citizens in all governorates.

Gamal concluded that the military advisers tasks also focus on evaluating the performance of workers in these agencies to achieve high-quality services and serve the Egyptian peoples interests.
Kylie Jenner is known for being one of the most famous reality stars in the world. After being introduced on her familys hit reality series Keeping Up With the Kardashians in 2007, Jenner went on to become a big name in pop culture.

While it seems like Jenner was always destined to be a tv personality, it turns out that she once considered going down another career path.

Kylie Jenner | Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

Kylie Jenners most known for her reality show and makeup line

Jenner first rose to fame on Keeping Up With the Kardashians at the age of 10. Though she was initially known as the boisterous younger sister of the famed Kardashians, Jenner eventually came into her own and soon created her successful beauty brand.

In 2015, the reality star launched her now-iconic Kylie Lip Kits after gaining popularity for her over-lined lips. Shortly after, she unveiled Kylie Cosmetics and began selling eyeshadow palettes, eyebrow products, highlighters, concealers, and much more.

In 2019, Jenner expanded her company by introducing a line of skincare products, known as Kylie Skin.

RELATED: Kylie Jenners Controversial Skincare Routine

While she is most known for KUWTK and her beauty company, Jenners is also a social media maven who is one of the most-followed people on Instagram. Time magazine even listed Jenner as well one of the most influential teens in the world for three years in a row, citing her considerable influence among youth on social media.

Kylie Jenner considered becoming a Hollywood actress

Although being a reality television personality and makeup guru has paid off in recent years, it turns out that Jenner once considered a career more fitting for her talents.

In 2015, the Life of Kylie star revealed that she was interested in acting, just like older sister Kim Kardashian West.

In a post shared to her website, Jenner updated her fans about what shed been up to and said that she and mom Kris Jenner had been discussing a movie script, according to Daily Mail.

After sharing her interest in launching an acting career, Augie Lasseter, the owner of the Front Management agency, told HollywoodLife that Jenners someone who has what it takes to become a successful movie actor.

RELATED: Kylie Jenner Is Out Here Endorsing Fake Apple Products

Kylie has huge potential, largely because she already has star power, he told the outlet.

Though Jenners proven she has the acting chops thanks to her infamous Snapchat soap operas, Lasseter believed that her influence in pop culture would have helped her land her first role in a feature film.

These days, any young actress is expected to build their social media following and Kylie comes with that already, Lasseter said. [Kylies] gorgeous  the camera loves her. The big thing to see though is: can she act? Whether Kylie can or cant act we still have to see, but Id say out of the gate a lot of producers are going to be interested in hiring Kylie because of the sheer number of fans she has.

Though Jenner has yet to take over Hollywood as an actor, it sounds like shell have no problem becoming a star if she actually does take up acting. But even if a film career doesnt work out for her, at least shell have Kylie Cosmetics and KUWTK to fall back on.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-09 23:43:15|Editor: huaxia

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URUMQI, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) -- When herbs are ready in the pharmacy every morning, Zhang Pengge and his colleagues in the hospital designated for COVID-19 cases in Urumqi, capital of northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, would start boiling traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) for patients.

Xinjiang has recently witnessed a resurgence in COVID-19 cases. TCM has been integrated into the therapy there and proved effective.

"A TCM prescription, called 'lung cleansing and detoxifying decoction,' is mainly used on patients with moderate or severe symptoms. It has proved effective in treatment of COVID-19 patients," said Zhang, a TCM physician.

TCM has been applied to the treatment of all COVID-19 patients in Xinjiang, official figures show.

Critically ill patients have specialists from Xinjiang and other parts of China visit them everyday. The specialists write prescriptions based on the patients' conditions and formulate detailed treatment plans after group discussions.

"After checking the patients' tongues and pulses, we offer different remedies for better effect," said Li Fengsen, vice president of the designated hospital for COVID-19 patients in Xinjiang.

According to a white paper issued in June by China's State Council Information Office, titled "Fighting COVID-19: China in Action," TCM has significantly reduced the incidence rate, prevented cases with mild symptoms from worsening, increased the cure rate, and lowered fatality rate.

TCM is also used in treating asymptomatic cases. Such people have no symptoms, or no symptoms in the initial stages, but symptoms could develop later.

"These patients are given TCM prescriptions. They drink a herbal decoction for a week so that they don't develop symptoms or severe symptoms," said Li, adding that TCM is also introduced during the recovery stage to help patients regain their lung functions.

Once their nucleic acid test results turn negative, they are transferred to the recovery wards and then discharged from the hospital, said Li.

Guo Tingting, a nurse at the designated hospital, leads patients in practicing Baduanjin, or traditional Chinese aerobics, at five o'clock every afternoon.

"Based on successful rehabilitation treatment of COVID-19 patients in Wuhan, these exercises help patients relax and speed up their recovery," said Guo.

With the help of TCM as well as Western medicine, a total of 138 confirmed COVID-19 cases were cured and 71 asymptomatic cases discharged from medical observation from July 15 to Aug. 8.

"TCM is quite helpful in speeding up recovery of patients' lungs. We will also provide more diversified care and instrument-aided training to help patients recover as soon as possible," Li said. Enditem
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After the Samajwadi Party's announcement to install a 108-feet tall statue of Lord Parshuram in Uttar Pradesh, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati on Sunday said that if her party was voted to power in 2022 State Assembly Polls then her government will create hospitals with modern facilities in the name of great saints. She also alleged that the Central and State governments have failed in handling the prevailing Covid-19 situation.

"Keeping in mind the shortcomings of the state and central governments amid Covid-19 pandemic, if BSP comes to power, we will create hospitals with modern facilities and accomodation facilities in the name of great saints. Four-time BSP govt had launched several public interest schemes in the name of great saints of all classes and also named districts after them, which were later changed by the Samajwadi Party govt due their casteist mentality this will be reinstated after we come to power," news agency ANI quoted the BSP supremo as saying.

Earlier in an attempt to woo Brahmin community voters, the Samajwadi Party had announced to install a 108-ft tall statue of Lord Prashuram in Lucknow. Parashuram is considered the sixth incarnation of Lord Vishnu by devotees and is said to have killed many warriors from the Kshatriya clan with his battleaxe (parashu) for abusing their power.

The Akhilesh Yadav-led party is reportedly in discussions with some of the top statue builders in the country. The statue will be made through donations and fundraisers under the banner of Parashuram Chetna Peeth Trust and will be installed at Janeshwar Mishra Park in Lucknow.

Party sources say that some senior SP leaders recently visited Jaipur in connection with the project. Observers say that it is an attempt by the Samajwadi Party to connect with Brahmins, once considered the traditional vote bank of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

SP leaders are of the view that the statue of Lord Parashuram could prove to be a master stroke for the party ahead of the 2022 UP Assembly polls. The party has for years relied on the Muslim-Yadav (M-Y) formula to find a path to power. But, Brahmin vote bank politics has heated up in the state after gangster Vikas Dubey's killing recently.

The political arena in Uttar Pradesh seems to be heating up ahead of the 2022 Assembly polls, and after the recent killing of the notorious gangster, who was a Brahmin, the opposition parties seem to be vying with each other to appease the community. The Congress too has been trying to highlight problems faced by the community in the state.
Union Minister Rajnath Singh, on Sunday, announced restrictions on import of 101 weapons and military platforms to promote the domestic defence industry.

Singh tweeted, "The Ministry of Defence is now ready for a big push to Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative. MoD will introduce import embargo on 101 items beyond a given timeline to boost indigenisation of defence production".

He added that the decision will offer a "great opportunity to the Indian defence industry to manufacture the items in the negative list by using their own design and development capabilities or adopting the technologies designed and developed by DRDO to meet the requirements of the Armed Forces.

According to Singh, the list of 101 items which will face embargo on their imports has been prepared by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) after several rounds of consultations with all stakeholders, including the armed forces, public and private industry.

Singh has estimated that the domestic defence industry will receive contracts worth around Rs four lakh crore within the next six to seven years post the decision.

"The embargo on imports is planned to be progressively implemented between 2020 and 2024," Singh added in a tweet.

Here's a list of 101 defence items that have been put under import embargo by the MoD:

1.Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) MK IA

2. Land-Attack Cruise Missiles (Long-Range)

3.155mm Artillery Ammunition

4.120mm Fin Stabilised Armour Piercing Discarding Sabot (FSAPDS) Mark II Ammunition

5.7.62x51 Sniper Rifle

6.Tracked Self Propelled (SP) Gun (155mm x52 Cal)

7.Towed Artillery Gun (155mmx52 Cal)

8.Short range Surface to Air missilies (Land Variant)

9.Shipborne Cruise Missiles

10.Multi Barrel Rocket launcher (MBRL)

11.Simulators Presenting Smart Ranges And Multi-Function Targets

12.Battalion Support Weapons Simulators

13.Container-based Simulators for Live Fire Training

14.Tailor-made Simulators for Counter Insurgency (CI)/Counter Terrorism (CT) based Training

15.Force-on-force Live Tactical Simulators / Infantry Weapon

16.Tank Simulators (driving, as well as, crew gunnery)

17.155mm/39 Cal Ultra-Light Howitzer

18.Successor of Flycatcher &Upgraded Super Fledermaus (USFM) / Air Defence Fire Control Radar (ADFCR)

19.Component Level Repair Facility for Tank T-90

20.Shipborne Close in Weapon System

21.Bullet Proof Jackets

22.Ballistic Helmets

23.Missile Destroyers

24.Multi-Purpose Vessel

25.Offshore Patrol Vessel

26.Next Generation Missile Vessels

27.Anti-Submarine Warfare Shallow Water Crafts

28.Water Jet Fast Attack Craft

29.Ammunition Barges

30.50ton Bollard - Pull Tugs

31.Survey Vessels

32.Floating Dock

33.Diving Support Vessels

34.Pollution Control Vessels

35.Anti-Submarine Rocket Launchers

36.Shipborne Medium Range Gun

37.Torpedo Tube Launcher for Light Weight Torpedoes

38.Magneto - Rheological Anti Vibration Mounts

39.All variants of Depth Charges

40.Shipborne Sonar System for Large Ships

41.Hull Mounted Submarine Sonar

42.Short Range Maritime Reconnaissance Aircraft

43.Anti-Submarine Rocket

44.Chaff Rockets

45.Chaff Rocket Launcher

46.Integrated Ship's Bridge System

47.Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) MK I A - Enhanced Indigenised Content

48.Light Combat Helicopters

49.General Purpose Pre Fragmentation Bombs between 250-500 Kg

50.Radar Warning Receiver (RWR) for Transport Aircraft

51.Ground Based Mobile ELINT System

52.Transport Aircraft (Light)

53.GSAT-6 Satellite Terminals

54.Aerial Delivery Systems for Transport Aircraft

55.Digital Tropo Scatter/LOS Communication System

56.Low Level Transportable Radar

57.High Power Radar (HPR)

58.CBRN Detection & Monitoring System

59.CBRN Decontamination & Protection System

60.Parachute Tactical Assault (PTA)- G2

61.Dragunov Upgrade System

62.PKMG Upgrade System

63.Simulators for A Vehicles / B Vehicles

64.Simulators for Towed and Self Propelled Guns of Air Defence

65.Simulators for Correction of Fire by Observers

66.Military trucks of 4x4 and above variants: 12x12, 10x10, 8x8, 6x6

67.Fixed Wing Mini UAVs

68.500 Ton Self Propelled Water Barges

69.Software Defined Radio (TAC) for IN

70.Next-Generation Maritime Mobile Coastal Battery (Long Range)

71.Advanced Landing Ground Communication Terminals (ALGCTs)for AGLs

72.Field Artillery Tractor (FAT) 6X6 for Medium Guns

73.Wheeled Armoured Fighting Vehicle (AFV)

74.Light Machine Gun

75.125 mm Fin Stabilised Armour Piercing Discarding Sabot (FSAPDS)New Generation Ammunition

76.Assault Rifle 7.62 x 39mm

76.30 mm Ammunition for Infantry Fighting Systems

77.Mine Fragmentation

78.Mine Anti-tank

79.Mine Anti-Personnel Blast

80.Multipurpose Grenade

81.Inertial Navigation System for Ship Application

82.Conventional Submarines

83.40mm UBGL (Under Barrel Grenade Launcher)

84.Lightweight Rocket Launcher

85.155 mm Artillery Ammunition

86.EW Systems

87.Material Handling Crane 2.5 to 7.5 Tons (Vehicle Mounted)

88.GRAD BM Rocket

89.30MM HEI/HET

90.ASTRA-MK I Beyond Visual Range Air to Air Missile (BVR AAM)

91.EW Suit for MI-17 V5

92.Communication Satellite GSAT-7C

93.Satellite GSAT 7R

94.Basic Trainer Aircraft (BTA)

95.Expendable Aerial Targets

96.Small Jet Engines with 120kgf thrust

97.Light Low Level Terrain Radar (LLLWR)

98.Close in Weapon System (Land based)

99.23 mm ZU Ammunitions

100.30mm VOG 17

101.Electronic Fuses for Artillery Ammunitions

Also read: Atma Nirbhar Bharat: Rajnath Singh announces ban on 101 defence items' import to boost 'self-reliance'
Anna Williams and Ron Noble

Williams, D-Hood River, represents House District in the Oregon Legislature. Noble, R-McMinnville, represents House District 24 in the Oregon Legislature.

Even before Gov. Kate Brown declared a state of emergency due to COVID-19, our Legislatures Emergency Board and legislative leadership have been working to provide critical funding for those struggling during the pandemic  financing for public health services, emergency housing for domestic violence survivors, and economic relief for cultural institutions, among many other examples. This has all been valuable work, but it is past time to address the needs of the many children living in unsafe situations, who now face a greater need than ever.

Child abuse thrives in isolation. In the first weeks of school closures last spring, reports to Oregons child abuse hotline initially dropped by over 50%. Yet law enforcement, child welfare caseworkers, pediatricians, and parents have referred more cases of suspected abuse to our states Childrens Advocacy Centers this summer compared to last. Additionally, the advocacy centers are reporting that the severity and complexity of these cases are much worse than prior to COVID-19, possibly because physical distancing prevents teachers and counselors from noticing abuse earlier.

We are writing on behalf of a bipartisan group of legislators calling on legislative leadership to invest $2.4 million in Oregons Childrens Advocacy Centers  the network of nonprofit organizations in Oregon that investigate many cases of child abuse and provide treatment  as soon as possible. Without this critical funding, children who are victims of abuse wont have access to the services they need to heal. Although state law requires Childrens Advocacy Centers to provide these services, the state budget provides less than one fifth of the total amount needed for them to function, and the need is more acute now than ever before.

One in seven children are believed to experience abuse each year in the U.S., according to estimates from the Centers for Disease Control. Every day, 37 of Oregons kids are confirmed as victims of abuse, according to Oregons 2019 Child Welfare Data Book. Many of these children will be sent to one of Oregons more than 20 Childrens Advocacy Centers for a child-friendly medical examination and a trauma-informed interview, with follow-up advocacy and trauma-focused therapy. Partnering with law enforcement, child welfare workers, and medical and mental health providers, these centers minimize trauma for victims, promote healing , and also collect forensic evidence to ensure that abusers are held accountable, protecting victims from future harm.

These centers were already underfunded before the pandemic. Its only grown worse in the wake of COVID-19. Private funding has dropped amid the contracting economy at the same time that the demand for services  and more complex services  has skyrocketed. Physical distancing requirements have meant that limited numbers of families can be served at one time at a center, yet staffing expenses have remained the same, or in some cases increased. There are additional costs for personal protective equipment, strict sanitation measures to prevent viral transmission, and most significantly, expensive technological upgrades that were needed for centers to provide remote services in a way that complies with medical privacy laws.

In addition to those challenges, Childrens Advocacy Centers coordinate with a variety of other service providers, including medical examiners and law enforcement. Each of these systems are also being strained as a result of the pandemic, adding an additional layer of challenges for families who need services through their local advocacy center.

As we have seen that historically oppressed communities have suffered the greatest from the pandemic, the same pattern is repeating within families where abuse is present. The youngest and smallest are often the most powerless people in their families. As frustration and fear increases in a struggling family, those with the least power are at the highest risk for violence and abuse. As we work to address the structural inequities the pandemic has laid bare, we must also work to protect the most vulnerable members of families. The emergency funding for Childrens Advocacy Centers will not solve the funding gap which existed in this system prior to COVID-19, but it will be a lifeline for children who are suffering an additional burden due to the pandemic.

These children are the silent victims of this pandemic -- isolated at home with their abusers, away from other caring adults, with limited access to support services even if their abuse is discovered by someone outside of their home. We must provide emergency funding to Oregons Childrens Advocacy Centers. With every passing special legislative session or meeting of the legislatures Emergency Board that doesnt result in financial support for child abuse victim services, hundreds of kids will be seen at advocacy centers, many with more severe cases of abuse than we were seeing before the pandemic. All of Oregons kids deserve access to these trauma-informed services on their darkest of days; we must act soon.

Reps. Rachel Prusak (D- West Linn), Courtney Neron (D-Wilsonville), Cheri Helt (R-Bend), Gary Leif (R-Roseburg), Shelly Boshart Davis (R-Albany), Raquel Moore-Green (R-Salem), Tawna Sanchez (D-Portland), Marty Wilde (D-Eugene), Alissa Keny-Guyer (D-Portland), Teresa Alonso Leon (D-Woodburn), Jeff Barker (D-Aloha), Sheri Schouten (D-Beaverton), Maxine Dexter (D-Portland), Jack Zika (R-Redmond), and Sens. Arnie Roblan (D-Coos Bay), Sara Gelser (D-Corvallis), Kathleen Taylor (D-Portland), Tim Knopp (R-Bend) and Denyc Boles (R-Salem) join in support of this call for funding.

Updated Aug. 17 to clarify that a statistic of one in seven children being abused each year comes from estimates by the Centers for Disease Control.

Subscribe to our free weekly Oregon Opinion newsletter. Email:


A few years back, an innocent Facebook post asked, "Was there ever such a thing as a San Francisco accent?"

A long, long debate ensued. Many claimed that it absolutely does (or did) and originated in the old working-class "South of the Slot" neighborhood (now SoMa) and sounded a little like "the Bronx with a twist." Others were adamant that the fabled San Francisco accent just doesn't exist.

Some 1,200 comments later and everyone was still confused.

YouTuber and San Francisco native Joey Yee (who recently burned a lot of calories in search of the steepest block in the city) saw the post and wanted to find out for himself.

"I knew that S.F. was never known to have a strong regional sound to their speech, but somehow I was always able to identify people from the Bay Area when I heard them talk. I was convinced there's more to it," Yee told SFGATE.

Yee posted a video on his YouTube channel this week digging into the question.

After running some old tape of legendary San Francisco Chronicle columnist Herb Caen (ruminating on the congested traffic on Market Street in 1967) to hear his inflection, Yee concluded that Caen had a wonderful accent, but it didn't reflect how San Franciscans talk today.

Caen himself was actually born in Sacramento and, in another fun linguistic digression, referred to himself as the "Sacamenna Kid."

"My grandparents both had that sort of old-school, Herb Caen-style of speech I show in the video. It was kind of a raspy, leisurely delivery with a tiny twang at the end of their words," Yee, who grew up in the city, said.

So how do San Franciscans talk today?

It's certainly not the voice heard by anchors on local Bay Area news channels every morning, which Yee describes as " a form of English that was invented in the 1930s in order to be as broad, and unaccented and boring as possible."

One thing that all linguists and Facebook commenters agree on is that Bay Area folks like to talk fast.

"We want to get out words and sentences over a quickly as possible," Yee said. "A lot of compound words can get squished together, for example the name of our city, which sounds more like 'Sarnfcisco' than 'San Francisco.'"

Similarly speedy shortenings of local place names include "Sanna Rosa", "Annioch" and "San Rafell." Other common phrases are also contracted, like "tryna," in place of "trying to" and "wouja" in place of "wouldn't you."

Yee also describes the Bay Area's most famous addition to the American lexicon: "Hella."

"'Hella' means ... whatever you want it to mean, most will use it to express the vastness or number of something," he said.

"There is a hell of a lot of shrimp in this bag" will be shortened to "There's hella shrimp in this bag" by San Franciscans and Oaklanders (there's also a debate raging over which Bay Area city coined the word), making the sentence five words shorter.

But what about the old San Franciscan accent so many users referred to in the Facebook thread?

This accent is also known as the "Mission Brogue," an allusion to the Mission and SoMa district's working class Irish history, and it can sometimes be confused with a New York accent.

Here's some archival footage of a San Franciscan old-timer, "Tough Tony," a city bus driver exemplifying the Mission Brogue in all its lyrical glory.

Members of the SFGATE newsroom tell me that veteran Chronicle writer Carl Nolte also has that old S.F. twang. I dug around and found a story from 1984 penned by Nolte himself, which attempted to school readers and newcomers to the city how to speak like a true San Franciscan.

"Despite everything you've ever heard, there is a distinctive San Francisco way of talking and it is important to make note of it, for the record, before it becomes as dead as Latin. Here's how to talk like a San Franciscan," Nolte implored to Chronicle readers.

San Francisco Chronicle

"The first lesson  learned at birth  is never to call it Frisco or San FRANcisco. Most resident tourists have settled on something that sounds like an Anglicized version of the Spanish San Francisco, but natives run the two words together and add a couple of extra sounds, and it comes out 'Sampencisco.'"

The tendency for San Franciscans to run words into each other is largely agreed on.

"It may also be called 'Thecity,' which is one word. It is never called The City, which is two words and tacky," Nolte wrote.

KQED recently argued that while this old working-class city accent was indeed common, it's not accurate to call it the San Franciscan accent, but rather one of many in a city that has always been a melting pot of ethnicities from far and wide.

Sociolinguist Lauren Hall-Lew told KQED, "Are you honestly meaning to ask: Do the people from Chinatown talk like the Russians in the Richmond, talk like the Central Americans in the Mission? No of course not," she said. "No, what you mean is, probably, is there a way of speaking that we associate with the middle-class white people of European heritage? That's what that question usually means. And that's the problem. Thats not actually representative of the city."

Yee says that while there is evidence of an original San Francisco accent, it's largely resigned to history, like the flophouses and factories South of the Slot.

"Many of the original possessors of that original accent, they're gone, and they've taken that way of speech with them. And with the amount of new people moving into the city ... stirring that linguistic pot, that distinct San Franciscan speech pattern that you're hoping to hear just isn't going to happen," he says. "It's always moving, it's always changing and as the city becomes more diverse the accent becomes more and more elusive, and I think that's exciting."

Check out Yee's video below:

Andrew Chamings is an editor at SFGATE. Email: Andrew.Chamings@sfgate.com | Twitter: @AndrewChamings
Activists hung nooses in Beiruts Martyrs Square on Saturday, August 8, for politicians they accused of negligence and corruption and who they blamed for a deadly blast in the city on Tuesday, according to reports.

The symbolic act took place as thousands of protesters gathered near Lebanons national parliament, where they were met with tear gas and rubber bullets, Al Jazeera reported.

Demonstrators chanted for the fall of the regime, accusing the government of being responsible for deaths caused by the explosion.

At least 175 people were treated for injuries during protests on August 8, including 63 who were taken to hospital, the Lebanese Red Cross reported.

Human Rights Watch accused the Lebanese government of inaction in the aftermath of the tragic explosion, which had resulted in 157 reported deaths at the time of the protests.

The organization called on European Council President, Charles Michel, who was meeting Lebanese government leaders on Saturday, to push for an independent investigation into the incident. Amnesty International has also called for an independent probe into the blast. Credit: @Aamieh17oct via Storyful
New Delhi:

A nine-member Parliamentary committee on Thursday recommended that Aam Aadmi Party lawmaker Bhagwant Mann be suspended for the rest of the sittings of the Winter Session of Parliament over the security breach video, news agency ANI has reported.

The House will adopt a resolution on it on Friday and a decision will be taken in this regard. The report was laid before the House on Thursday.



Mann had filmed the parliament house and posted a 12-minute video on social media. Several lawmakers say that the video violated protocol.

Mann had in July filmed his journey from home to parliament House as he crossed layers of security and lived streamed it on Facebook. He drew flak for endangering the high security complex.

ALSO READ | Parliament video row: AAP MP Bhagwant Mann found guilty of security breach

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
Welcome Guest! You Are Here:
Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo has an interesting take on distance learning. Maybe, she said with a smile, its the end of the snow day.

The governor has a good point, and her logic is as unassailable in Virginia as it is in Rhode Island.

How many times have we seen multiple days of education wiped out, to either be made up later or not, by snow or rumors of snow?

With all the problems involved in molding young minds via the internet, the pandemic has shown that distance learning is possible. And if it can be done for most of a spring semester, then surely it can be done on a daily basis when the forecast calls for ice and snow.

In an average winter in our part of the world, it is inevitable that there will be days in which it isnt safe for every student to get to every school. During the unforgettable winter of 2009-10, the days missed climb into double digits.

The Virginia Department of Education says students must have 180 days or 990 hours of instruction. It doesnt say how many of those have to be done in person.
Anuraag Singh By

Express News Service

BHOPAL: Former Madhya Pradesh cabinet minister and state Congress media in-charge Jeetu Patwari landed himself in trouble again, this time for allegedly tampering the picture of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and posting it with objectionable text over a social media platform.

A case has been registered against Patwari at Indores Chhatripura police station in the matter on the complaint of BJP city president Gaurav Randive and further investigations are underway.

According to the deputy inspector general of police (DIG) Harinarayan Chari Mishra, the case has been registered against the former minister under Sections 188 (disobedience to an order duly promulgated by a public servant) and 464 (making a false document) of IPC and further investigations are underway.

Patwari, who was the cabinet minister for sports and youth affairs as well as higher education minister in the erstwhile Kamal Nath government, is also the Congress MLA from Rau seat of Indore district.

A BJP delegation led by Indore city BJP president Gaurav Randive had met the DIG Indore on Saturday late night and submitted a complaint, demanding FIR be registered against Patwari for tampering the picture of PM Modi and posting it along with objectionable text content on the twitter.

The complaint which contained the copy of Patwaris objectionable social media post, mentioned that the ex-minister had tampered with PMs picture of August 5 Ram Temple bhoomi pujan ceremony and then made the objectionable tweet.

This isnt the first time, Patwari has courted controversy, as earlier in June, Patwaris sexist tweet had triggered a major controversy. But following the controversy, Patwari had deleted the tweet and also apologized for it.

In June, he had courted a major controversy by comparing an array of central schemes, including demonetization, unemployment and GST to daughters forced upon the country to get a son Vikas (development).

The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) had subsequently issued notice to Patwari, asking him to apologise to children of the nation for passing such remarks through the tweet and revert to the Commission regarding the same within three days.
Dravida Munnetra Kazagham MP Kanimozhi on Sunday alleged that a Central Industrial Security Force official asked her if "she was an Indian" as she could not speak Hindi, prompting the paramilitary force to respond saying appropriate action will be taken.

The incident is understood to have taken place when Kanimozhi was at the Chennai international airport to take a flight to Delhi.



"Today at the airport a CISF officer asked me if 'I am an Indian' when I asked her to speak to me in Tamil or English as I did not know Hindi," Kanimozhi, who is also the DMK's women's wing secretary, said on her official Twitter account.

"I would like to know from when being Indian is equal to knowing Hindi," she tweeted with the hashtag

"hindiimposition."



The CISF sought details from her soon after.



"Warm greetings from @CISFHQrs. We sincerely acknowledge your unpleasant experience. Kindly DM journey details; name of airport, location, date, and time of the incident for appropriate action in the matter," the CISF tweeted.



According to party sources, the incident occurred in Chennai when the MP was at the airport to board a Delhi flight in the afternoon.



She has reached the national capital and she will be there for a few more days and has official engagements.



Kanimozhi is the member of Parliament from Thoothukkudi in Tamil Nadu.



The CISF is the national civil aviation security force and it provides counter-terrorist and anti-sabotage cover to 64 such facilities in the country at present.
Lam Wing-kee (right) owner and manager of Causeway Bay Bookstore, talks with a customer in Taipei, Taiwan on July 16, 2020. (Image: By An Rong Xu  2020 The New York Times)

Inside a hushed bookstore in central Taipei one recent night, Ju Lee-wen stood beneath a large black banner that said Revolution Now! and raised her fist into the air.

Ju, a 26-year-old lawyer, is concerned by Chinas increasingly authoritarian policies, including harsh new security laws in Hong Kong. She went to Causeway Bay Books, an irreverent shop stocked with volumes critical of the Chinese Communist Party, to show her support for democracy in Hong Kong and Taiwan.

We have to fight to protect our freedom and our future, Ju said.

Causeway Bay Books, which occupies a cramped room on the 10th floor of a drab office building, has in recent weeks become a gathering place for people worried about the future of Taiwan, a self-ruling democracy that China claims as its own. As Chinas leaders lead a sweeping crackdown on free speech and activism in Hong Kong, fears are growing that Beijing may move to more aggressively bring Taiwan, too, under its control.

Hundreds of people come to the store each week to peruse books forbidden in the mainland. They pick up exposes on the private lives of Chinas leaders, historical accounts of events like the Tiananmen Square massacre, and dystopian novels like George Orwells 1984.

One book about Chinas powerful leader, Xi Jinping, is titled, The Zombie Who Rules the Country.

Standing beneath banners calling for independence for Hong Kong, visitors join in occasional chants of Fight for freedom! On a wall of colorful sticky notes near the front door, they write withering criticisms of China. Tyranny must die, says one note.

Causeway Bay Books has become a symbol of Taiwans vibrant democracy at a time when the island is trying to promote itself as an alternative to Chinas authoritarian system. The president of Taiwan, Tsai Ing-wen, visited recently, as have scores of government workers, students and commentators who are critical of China.

Its like a lighthouse of a free society, said Leo Hong, 38, an employee at a state-owned company who visited one recent night to buy a book of photographs documenting anti-government protests in Hong Kong last year.

The store straddles the line between mom-and-pop shop and political war room, with delicate floral wallpaper juxtaposed with stark banners declaring, Free Hong Kong.

Many people come to catch a glimpse of Lam Wing-kee, the owner and manager, a bookseller from Hong Kong who fled to Taiwan last year. Lam was one of five booksellers who were abducted by Chinese authorities in 2015 for selling books critical of the ruling party. He was detained and spent five months in solitary confinement.

He wants to let Taiwanese people know what kind of regime the Chinese Communist Party is, said Chen Tsai-neng, 55, a radio show host who visits frequently. Chen said he often discusses Chinas history of authoritarianism with Lam and other customers.

He wants to tell people that the Chinese Communist Party and the individuals who are in power behind this cultural tradition are unreliable, Chen said.

Lam opened the Taipei store in April, reviving the name of his old store in Hong Kong. From noon to 9 p.m. each day, he wanders around the store recommending books to customers, slipping out regularly to smoke on a balcony. The store doubles as his home; he sleeps on a bunk bed behind a cashiers desk.

Lam said he wants the people of Taiwan to have a place where they can reflect on the challenges facing the island, including Chinas efforts to isolate it politically.

Taiwan is unstable right now, he said. And one thing is clear: China is giving Taiwan this instability.

The bookstore has its share of critics. Some believe the selection of books offers a skewed portrait of modern China, focusing too much on negative portrayals.

The store has also ignited debate about whether Taiwan should accept political refugees like Lam. Tsai and her governing Democratic Progressive Party have vowed to help more activists from Hong Kong find shelter in Taiwan. Some members of the opposition party, the Kuomintang, believe such a move risks retaliation by Beijing.

Lam has become a target. In April, shortly before opening the store, two men attacked him with red paint as he walked to a breakfast shop in Taipei. The men were later arrested.

As tensions with the mainland rise, many visitors say they feel a sense of camaraderie at the store, where they discuss issues like military policy and whether Taiwan should seek formal independence, a move that Beijing has long adamantly resisted. Some worry about the possibility of a military conflict in which Taiwan would be caught in the middle, if relations between China and the United States continue to deteriorate.

The Chinese governments decision in June to impose sweeping national security laws in Hong Kong, giving authorities broad powers to crack down on a variety of political crimes, has galvanized many Taiwanese to speak out.

Some think what has been happening in Hong Kong is a glimpse into Taiwans future, said Chen Wei-nung, 36, who works part time at a public opinion survey company.

The collections of sticky notes near the entrance mimic similar displays created last year by protesters in Hong Kong. There are doodles of Xi wearing a crown and quotes from Captain America. Tsai, Taiwans leader, left a note during her visit that read, A free Taiwan supports Hong Kongs liberty.

Ju, the lawyer who visited the store recently, purchased a book on Chinas internet controls as well as a history of the Hong Kong protests. Before she left, she stopped to write a message on the wall of sticky notes.

Freedom forever, she wrote. Freedom for Taiwan.

c.2020 The New York Times Company
Police departments looking to improve their strategies and tactics will go looking at what works in other cities. That is how Buffalos department came to convene weekly shoot review sessions to discuss gun crimes. Its a promising new strategy that breaks down agency silos to pool important information.

The Milwaukee Police Departments Homicide Review Commission caught the attention of police in Oakland, Calif., who came up with the idea of shoot reviews. Milwaukees force then began doing shoot reviews of their own. In March of this year, representatives of the Buffalo police traveled to Milwaukee to learn about the reviews. Thanks to that  and a $229,837 grant from the U.S. Department of Justice  weekly review sessions now also take place here.

Its a good time, with shootings on the rise in Buffalo, as in many other cities.

Getting representatives of various law enforcement agencies together to share information wont bring a sudden halt to the shootings taking place in Buffalo this summer, but it represents a smart first step.
(Natural News) Axios and Public Citizen have obtained new documents suggesting that the National Institutes of Health (NIH) owns half of the key patent on Modernas up-and-coming vaccine for the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19).

Should the vaccine come to market, the NIH will reportedly collect half of the royalties associated with its distribution. At the same time, four NIH scientists have filed provisional patents on their own claiming to be co-inventors of the experimental jab.

Many people do not know this, but the current cap on royalties for agency scientists who help develop a vaccine is set at $150,000. This means that there is a financial incentive to attach ones name to vaccine development, incentivizing the creation of potentially useless and dangerous new drugs.

This discovery by Axios and Public Citizen probably explains why National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) head Anthony Fauci moved Moderns vaccine for the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) to the front of the line, despite there being many other candidates vying for a piece of pie.

Amazingly, Fauci allowed Moderna to skip animal trials entirely and move straight to human trials. This was a potentially life-threatening decision that will now put thousands or even millions of human lives at risk.

Every prior coronavirus vaccine has proven problematic and can be lethal to animals due to COVIDs unique penchant for pathogenic priming,' reports Childrens Health Defense (CHD). Death occurs only after a vaccinated animal encounters the wild virus.

First one billion doses of Modernas experimental coronavirus vaccine in the works, despite the jab killing people

Many scientists and public health advocates have criticized Fauci over this decision, which they have dubbed as reckless. But this did not stop him from awarding the company a whopping $483 million grant through the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), which is said to be a sister agency to the NIH.

This massive cash infusion resulted in Moderna CEO Steve Bancel becoming a billionaire, despite the fact that his company has never once brought a product to market, or even gotten a product to receive market approval. Bill Gates also became a little bit richer than he already was because of the deal, seeing as how Gates is a co-investor in the scam.

As you may recall, Fauci even went so far as to publicly praise Modernas Phase 1 clinical trials, which turned out to be a total disaster. Despite 20 percent of the high-dose group and six percent of the low-dose group developing severe or medically significant reactions after being vaccinated, Fauci announced that he was encouraged by the findings.

Fauci painted lipstick on that lame donkey and now hes trying to convince everyone its a thoroughbred, reports CHD, noting that Moderna and the NIH are already on track to begin manufacturing the first one billion doses of this deadly vaccine starting this month.

Anyone who agrees to take this Moderna vaccine once it is released will have done next to no research on the subject, as all of this information is now public knowledge. This injectable drug is a total scam, and the world will have Fauci to blame for unleashing it.

Fauci knows from experience that no matter how dangerous a vaccine, the easy part is convincing people to take it, CHD concludes. Pharma, after all, controls the media.

In truth, Modernas experimental Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine has nothing to do with helping people, and everything to do with making Fauci and his buddies rich. This is why the whole operation has been dubbed a pump-and-dump scam for greedy investors.

You can keep up with the latest news about the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine scam by visiting Pandemic.news.

Sources for this article include:

ChildrensHealthDefense.org

NaturalNews.com
Pune citys case fatality rate has gone up from 1.67 per cent in mid-July to 2.08 per cent as of August 8, according to the Pune Municipal Corporation data.

The city has reported 484.3 deaths per million due to Covid-19. Pune, with a population of 31.3 lakh according to the 2011 census, has reported total 1,516 deaths till Saturday, as per the data.

The citys overall case fatality rate is now 2.3 per cent, while the districts case fatality rate is 2.28% and the states average is 3.4%.

Saurabh Rao, divisional commissioner, said, The citys case fatality rate is rising, but we hope that the number of cases will stabilise by August 25. However, the real worry is the rural parts of Pune where the case fatality rate is rising and the health infrastructure is poor, especially critical health care.

Rao also pointed out that the two jumbo facilities coming up at College of Engineering Pune (COEP) and Annasaheb Magar ground, will each ease the burden on existing health infrastructure.

To bring down the number of deaths the PMC has even started an app, iHealWell. The app is dedicated to critical patients and shows real-time updates about the patients line of treatment which is later informed to the patients relatives by the PMC.

The civic body also hopes that this will bring in more transparency to the billing system and the relatives will know the exact line of treatment and medications given to patients, which can be crossed checked during payment.

After complaints from hospitals that this is an added pressure, additional municipal commissioner Rubal Agarwal informed, It is just for critical patients so if one hospital has five ICU beds then they need to fill in the information for only those five patients which need to be updated every eight hours. One entry takes just 30 seconds, I have personally tried it.
While the destruction of the Juukan Gorge drew global condemnation of the act itself, in the aftermath a spotlight has been shone on the agreements between mining companies and Aboriginal groups that allowed it to happen.

Land use agreements set the terms of the relationship between the mining company and Aboriginal group, including compensation, but critics like Greens Senator Rachel Siewart say they "gag" traditional owners and stifle official opposition to mining that might negatively impact their country.

The site at Juukan Gorge that was reduced to rubble to extend one of Rio Tinto's iron ore mines. Credit:PKKP Aboriginal Corporation

Rio Tinto's land use agreement with the Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura was published in a submission to the parliamentary inquiry into the destruction of the 46,000-year-old heritage site, offering a rare insight into the relationship between Aboriginal groups and mining companies.

The 2012 agreement revealed the language that compelled the PKKP to support Rios mining plans and operations, even if they personally opposed them.
That split! I'm so jealous.





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I feel better that her music is coming and hopefully we get a feature from cardi AND megan. Fuckkk

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She makes that all look effortless, damn! It's odd to see someone dance more gracefully than you walk.



On a related note, idk how to get



I want you to park

that

big

mack

truck

right in this little garage



out of my damn head.

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i sing "there's some hoes in this house" almost every time i open my mouth /:

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same. i cannot take it out of mah head! 

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Its been in my head all day.

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same but



I don't wanna spit

I wanna gulp

I wanna gag

I wanna choke

I want you to touch that lil' dangly thing that swing in the back of my throat

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That line cracked me up!

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I just made one of the pictures Normani shared my new wallpaper, thanks Twitter.



Although after someone posted it here, I've watched the Money video more than WAP.

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normani <3



halle berry should've taken kylie's spot

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Or Rhianna, she would of slayed!

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Twitter would've collapsed.

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And she could have even used the video as product placement for Savage x Fenty lol. Missed opportunity!

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Grace Jones





but the ultimate choice would obvs be..



Why yall playing on Anna Mae / @violadavis #WAP  pic.twitter.com/QDFzmzUpgg  Macaroni in a pot (@OhThatsDale) August 7, 2020 Vanessa Williams!Grace Jonesbut the ultimate choice would obvs be..

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Halle Berry or Angela Bassett.



Wouldve been cool to see someone 50+ strutting in lingerie

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Normani spinning was better than Kylie Jenners whole appearance.

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Now I know what Norman's outfit reminds me of: Word Up (either with Mel B or the original). Give me a Lady Marmelade version of Word Up, world?

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Cardi's team is definitely taking notes on the public's perception of Nicki and her lack of "supporting female rappers". Which is good bc it's time to have a variety. Obviously 2010 was a different time but it's good to see a range bc one rapper isn't enough to satisfy everyone's needs.

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I remember Cardi B having her friend as her manager and when her career started to take off, she had to hire a manager that knew how to manage bigger artists. And instead of firing her friend, she set it up so that her friend could work under her new manager and learn the ropes  Youtube: Nu Mindframe  (@nu_mindframe) August 7, 2020 she's savvy af

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omg i love this

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okay i like cardi but are we seriously impressed now by people not throwing their long-time friends under the bus??? damn americans are ruthless

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Normanis smile 

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I appreciate the support Normani is getting while getting her team together and career on track. I have faith

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Do you think Bob the Drag Queen is gonna sue Normani for the houndstooth get up?

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Has it be nice seeing your girl get some buzz bc of the music vid?



i had nvever heard of her til that night

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wouldn't call myself a fan per se but the more people her cameo guides to Stank Walk the better





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Yes, its extremely rewarding. Ive been watching her for two years now and between her stealing Love & Hip Hop Miami this season to this cameo, whew! We have come a long way from I sold my soul to Saran for a career.

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aww. congrats to y'all <3

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Oh THATS who that was? Guess she negotiating a better deal with Satan

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Yeah she's definitely got the videos on lock. I'd say the music itself is good but maybe not amazing, ground breaking etc but the videos elevate it. I wish more artists investing in music videos. It reminds me of Gaga in that each video is a moment. That's why it's silly to compare all the rappers bc they each give different vibes and moods. I go to cardi for one thing, Meg for another, flo mili, Nicki etc

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I used to be a Gaga stan back in 2011, and nowadays Cardi has been replacing my need for well-produced videos. I think it's the use of different scenarios, outfits, and choreo. I hope we get more Cardi's soon because I'm tired of men's lack of imagination/inspiration for stuff like that.

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 Normani should have definitely gotten all of Kylie's time in the video. her MOVES



YES!!!

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Cardi is sf charming it's ridiculous

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that normani video is adorable!



i want a mega remix of WAP with all the ladies included in the video, add Flo Milli and no Kylie ofc

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I love mega mixes on YouTube. There's a good one of say so by Karen K I think?

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damn that was really good! he picked great verses for the beat, Work it was perfect. even liked the first iggy verse lmao



love this one as well



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Kangana Ranauts war with Bollywood actors--star kids or otherwise-- is far from over. The actor has now launched a mean attack at Ayushmann Khurrana, calling him a chaploos outsider.

Reacting to a tweet by former actor and self-proclaimed film critic Kamaal Rashid Khan, Kangana said that chaploos outsiders support the powerful in Bollywood only because they are mediocre in talent. Kamaals original tweet read, Ayushman Khurana is supporting #RheaChakraborty and nepo kids for 3 reasons! 1) He has to survive in the Bollywood. 2) He is the artist of #YRF. 3) Sushant Singh was his competitor! Dont worry khurana. Your films will also come n public will give you perfect reply. All the best.

Chaploos outsiders support mafia only for one reason and the reason is their mediocrity, nobody is threatened by them and they take full advantage of conflicts faced by few like Kangana and SSR by openly denying and mocking them .. -KR https://t.co/vqzy0JuihP  Team Kangana Ranaut (@KanganaTeam) August 9, 2020

Replying to it, Kangana tweeted from her teams Twitter handle, Chaploos outsiders support mafia only for one reason and the reason is their mediocrity, nobody is threatened by them and they take full advantage of conflicts faced by few like Kangana and SSR by openly denying and mocking them. The tweet was signed KR.

Ayushmann recently came under the radar of some fans of late actor Sushant Singh Rajput after he seemed to show support towards latters girlfriend, actor Rhea Chakraborty. Ayushmann had left a broken heart emoji on Rheas post about Sushant, which irked the fans. Rhea was later booked in an FIR registered by Sushants father under charges of abetment to his sons suicide.

Many Ayushmann fans picked up pitchforks against Kangana for criticising him. I lost you when you said Ayushmann is mediocre, wrote one. Blaming ayushman khurrana really? a man of immense talent who struggled even more than you to make it big in bwood a man who has nailed all roles he has played done all non-conventional de-glam roles never done those typical hero roles done andhadhun article 15 and other films, wrote another.

Ayushmann, who won the National Award for his performance in Andhadhun last year, is only the latest addition to Kanganas running list of actors she objects to. All through last year, she had attacked Alia Bhatt multiple times, calling her mediocre. Then she called Taapsee Pannu and Swara Bhasker B-grade actresses and bootlickers of Karan Johar.

Also see: Rhea Chakraborty shares WhatsApp messages with Sushant Singh Rajput, in which hed called sister manipulative

Both Taapsee and Swara had responded to her comments. Taapsee, in an interview to India Today, had said, The hypocrisy was exposed when you yourself are fighting for outsiders and simultaneously pulling down other outsiders. Which side are you on? You are using this opportunity to settle some personal scores. You are fighting against harassment and bullying, but in the same breath how can you bully others. Thats kind of wrong.

Follow @htshowbiz for more

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A 19-year-old woman was killed Saturday night after being shot in the neck at a south Houston apartment, authorities said.

Two other family members were home at the Vermillion Apartments in the 3300 block of Alice Street when she was shot around 10:15 p.m., police said. When authorities arrived, one of those relatives  an uncle  was trying to save her life with CPR, Houston police Commander Ron Borza said.
By PTI

MUMBAI: The Mumbai police on Sunday said false allegations were being made on how the body of Disha Salian, former manager of late actor Sushant Singh Rajput, was found on June 8.

It said her family members were present when the police team arrived at the spot after Salian allegedly jumped off a high-rise in the northern suburb of Malad.

"People are making false allegations. We photographed the spot and the body. It was not naked," Additional Commissioner of Police (North) Dilip Sawant said.

Officials said her family members are aware of the chain of events as they were present when the police team reached the spot immediately after her death.

Sawant also said that the statement of 20 people had been recorded so far as part of the probe into Salian's death.

The statement of Ankita, a friend who last spoke to Salian over the phone, has also been recorded, officials said.

Police had registered an accidental death report and are probing the case.
Ashtead Group plc (LON:AHT) stock is about to trade ex-dividend in three days. Investors can purchase shares before the 13th of August in order to be eligible for this dividend, which will be paid on the 11th of September.

Ashtead Group's next dividend payment will be UK0.34 per share, on the back of last year when the company paid a total of UK0.41 to shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, Ashtead Group stock has a trailing yield of around 1.6% on the current share price of 26.14494. If you buy this business for its dividend, you should have an idea of whether Ashtead Group's dividend is reliable and sustainable. So we need to check whether the dividend payments are covered, and if earnings are growing.

Check out our latest analysis for Ashtead Group

Dividends are usually paid out of company profits, so if a company pays out more than it earned then its dividend is usually at greater risk of being cut. That's why it's good to see Ashtead Group paying out a modest 25% of its earnings. That said, even highly profitable companies sometimes might not generate enough cash to pay the dividend, which is why we should always check if the dividend is covered by cash flow. The good news is it paid out just 24% of its free cash flow in the last year.

It's positive to see that Ashtead Group's dividend is covered by both profits and cash flow, since this is generally a sign that the dividend is sustainable, and a lower payout ratio usually suggests a greater margin of safety before the dividend gets cut.

Click here to see the company's payout ratio, plus analyst estimates of its future dividends.

Have Earnings And Dividends Been Growing?

Stocks in companies that generate sustainable earnings growth often make the best dividend prospects, as it is easier to lift the dividend when earnings are rising. Investors love dividends, so if earnings fall and the dividend is reduced, expect a stock to be sold off heavily at the same time. That's why it's comforting to see Ashtead Group's earnings have been skyrocketing, up 22% per annum for the past five years. Earnings per share have been growing very quickly, and the company is paying out a relatively low percentage of its profit and cash flow. This is a very favourable combination that can often lead to the dividend multiplying over the long term, if earnings grow and the company pays out a higher percentage of its earnings.

Story continues

The main way most investors will assess a company's dividend prospects is by checking the historical rate of dividend growth. Ashtead Group has delivered an average of 30% per year annual increase in its dividend, based on the past 10 years of dividend payments. Both per-share earnings and dividends have both been growing rapidly in recent times, which is great to see.

To Sum It Up

Is Ashtead Group worth buying for its dividend? Ashtead Group has been growing earnings at a rapid rate, and has a conservatively low payout ratio, implying that it is reinvesting heavily in its business; a sterling combination. There's a lot to like about Ashtead Group, and we would prioritise taking a closer look at it.

With that in mind, a critical part of thorough stock research is being aware of any risks that stock currently faces. Case in point: We've spotted 1 warning sign for Ashtead Group you should be aware of.

If you're in the market for dividend stocks, we recommend checking our list of top dividend stocks with a greater than 2% yield and an upcoming dividend.

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.
Sanjay Gupta, Corporate Vice President at HCL Technologies, made the remark during a virtual seminar on Vietnams key macroeconomic policies to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic and potential sectors for long-term investors held by the Vietnamese Embassy in India on August 7.

The event drew the participation of about 100 businesses, investors, experts and scholars of the two countries.

At the event, Vietnamese delegates updated their Indian counterparts about the Vietnamese Governments policies in the context of COVID-19 and potential sectors for investment, stressing that the country has become a bright spot in both economic recovery and fighting the pandemic.

With an open economy and favourable business climate, Vietnam boasts potential to become of the nations with the fastest economic growth in the world in the post-pandemic period.

Gupta also spoke highly of the Southeast Asian countrys incentives in IT development.

He noted that the number of Indian companies invested in Vietnams IT field, standing at only 23 so far, has yet to match with the potential of the sector and the cooperation potential between the two countries.

HCL Technologies is working on a major investment plan worth hundreds of millions of USD in Vietnam, he said, which may employ 8,000 people in the upcoming fiscal year especially in the software and service sectors.

The Indian company also eyes the establishment of one of its largest hubs in Southeast Asia in Vietnam, he added.

HCL Technologies, a multinational IT service and consulting company, is the third largest IT firm in India with 150,000 employees working in 47 countries and territories across the world.
UPDATE: Murphy threatens to shut popular bars if knuckleheads cant wear masks, social distance in line

The concept of waiting in line to enter a bar has always annoyed me, but I did it plenty in college and a few times after. I even did it at the end of June, against my better judgement, when I checked out how Jersey Shore night life was dealing with coronavirus.

I spent another night checking out Jersey Shore nightlife. It went even worse than my last visit. The lines to get into the bars arent social distanced at all, and there arent nearly enough masks being worn.



The scene at Jenks Club in Point Pleasant Beach: pic.twitter.com/w00MOBnD5q  Jeremy Schneider (@J_Schneider) August 9, 2020

The scene wasnt much better at DJais. pic.twitter.com/3uF8iKpTS2  Jeremy Schneider (@J_Schneider) August 9, 2020
Irans Supreme Leader Ayatollah Sayyid Ali Khamenei has opened a Twitter account in Hindi. He has also opened accounts in other languages like Persian, Arabic, Urdu, French, Spanish, Russian and English. After the opening of the account, he posted two tweets in Hindi.

Iran has long standing historic ties with India and the cooperation between the two countries has recently been marked by projects such as development of Chabahar port and Chabahar-Zahedan rail link despite US sanctions on business with Iran.

Khameneis twitter accounts have been in the news in the past including last year in November, when several Iranian activists demanded a ban on his social media account, angry over the regimes decision to shut off internet access in a clamp down on anti-government protests over fuel prices among other things.

In February this year, a group of Republican senators in the US urged Twitter to suspend Khamenei and Iranian foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarifs accounts to comply with US sanction law.

Chinas increased cooperation with Iran has also been in news recently with the United States warning that the partnership could destabilise the Middle East.

Chinas entry into Iran will destabilise the Middle East. Iran remains the worlds largest state sponsor of terror, and to have access to weapons systems and commerce and money flowing from the Chinese Communist Party only compounds that risk for that region, said US secretary Mike Pompeo.

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Police in Philadelphia announced that six people, including one pregnant woman, were hospitalized after a shooting Saturday night.

The incident took placed just before 9.30pm when a group of residents were gathered for a barbecue at a park near Poplar Street in West Philadelphia.

ABC 6 reports that victims include three women and three men who were injured at the scene.

A 59-year-old woman was shot in the left foot; a 24-year-old pregnant woman was hit in the left thigh; an 18-year-old woman was shot in the right arm; an 18-year-old male suffered from two graze wounds on his lower back; an 18-year-old male was shot in the right calf; and a 17-year-old male was took a shot in the left leg.

Authorities said six people, including three women and three males, were shot on Saturday during a barbecue in West Philadelphia

Authorities recovered 28 shell casings from the scene. Suspects or a motive have not been disclosed.

Two of the victims were taken to Penn Presbyterian Medical Center from the scene, while one officer found another victim and took her to the hospital.

CBS Philly reports that the remaining three victims arrived to Penn Presbyterian Medical Center on their own. All six residents are in stable condition.

Authorities are now searching for four to five suspected shooters dressed in all black.

The victims included a 17-year-old boy, two 18-year-olds and a pregnant 24-year-old on Saturday

Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw: 'These acts of lawlessness have no place in our communities; and I remain steadfast in that we will hold accountable those individuals who seek to cause harm in our city'

In a statement, Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw called the shooting a 'senseless act of gun violence.'

'These acts of lawlessness have no place in our communities; and I remain steadfast in that we will hold accountable those individuals who seek to cause harm in our city. Our thoughts and prayers go out to these six victims, their families, and everyone impacted by this terrible event .'

Anyone with information on the suspects or shootings are asked to contact Philadelphia police.

The identities of the victims have not been disclosed by Philadelphia police as of Saturday night

This most recent shooting comes amid a string of gun violence that has plagued the City of Brotherly Love.

Last month, a 25-year-old pregnant woman was shot dead inside a car in Philadelphia during the afternoon, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

The victim, whose identity was not immediately released, was rushed to Temple University Hospital where she later succumbed to her injuries. She was four months pregnant.

And according to CNN, an average of three children have been shot per week this year in Philadelphia.

All six victims were taken to a Philadelphia-area hospital where they are in stable condition

Since the beginning of January, at least 98 residents under the age of 18 have been shot, including 11 children under the age of 10.

Recently, a six-year-old girl was fatally shot in the chest Wednesday night and is currently in the hospital in stable condition.

On August 1, a seven-year-old boy was shot in the head and died three days later in a local hospital.

'Just this past weekend, the City launched the Group Violence Intervention strategy to target the small group of people who are driving the gun violence plaguing the city, and to send a clear message that the shootings must stop,' Dave Kinchen, spokesperson for Philadelphia's Office of Violence Prevention said in a statement.

'Stopping one shooting can potentially stop many others.'
Sylvia Cook squinted into the harsh late morning sun.

Overhead, Hamiltons most famous plane, the Lancaster, circled, as pilot and Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum CEO Dave Rohrer tipped his wings to acknowledge one the aircrafts biggest fans.

A fitting tribute for a Lancaster Lady.

Cook, born in London in 1948, mercifully missed the seemingly endless bombings that took place during the Second World War, but also the daily flights of Lancaster bombers as Allied crews risked their lives to reclaim the skies.

Her mother, Vera, and her friends would wave hankies and scarves at the pilots as they thundered overhead, a show of support for missions that often failed to return.

Over the years, Cook heard those stories and kept them close to her heart.

From her Mountain home, every time she heard the familiar sound of our plane  ironically nicknamed VERA  she would run outside and wave, continuing a tradition born decades earlier.

In 2014, Hamiltons Lancaster crossed the ocean for a tour of the UK. As it left, Sylvia was there, front row, with friends and family, now dubbed The Lancaster Ladies. Still waving, and remembering.

John and Sylvia sit under an umbrella and wait for the Lancaster. Barry Gray/The Hamilton Spectator

Since then, Cook has been diagnosed with dementia. She was moved into St. Peters Residence at Chedoke on the west Mountain in January of this year, as her condition worsened.

In March, COVID-19 arrived, effectively ending access for her family.

The weeks and months that followed have been a test for husband John and daughter Sam, but on this day, standing outside at long last, their world seemed a little brighter.
Comfort Systems USA Inc. (FIX) is a heating, ventilation and air conditioning contractor based in Houston. It posted profits in nine of the 10 years preceding the coronavirus pandemic. I figure that building owners might try to improve ventilation, which could help this company.

Esco Technologies Inc. (ESE), out of St. Louis, supplies filtration, test and fluid control systems, mainly to the aerospace industry and the utility industry. It has been profitable in 14 of the past 15 years. As with Comfort Systems, profits were accelerating before the pandemic hit.

More boxes

As people shop more on the Internet and less in stores, they must get their packages delivered. One beneficiary is Packaging Corp. of America (PKG), which makes corrugated cardboard. The Lake Forest, Illinois, company has achieved a return on equity better than 20% seven years in a row.

From Kenosha Wisconsin, comes Snap-On Inc. (SNA), which makes tools and software for car repairmen. I hope Im wrong, but I think the current recession will be longer than average. If people cant afford new cars, they may spend more on repairing their old ones.
She sparked speculation that she could be pregnant on Thursday.

And Priscilla Anyabu, 25, looked besotted with her 'baby daddy' Mike Boateng as they affectionately kissed outside his surprise party in London.

The 2020 Love Islander's were joined by a host of their villa pals as they celebrated his 29th birthday in style on Saturday.

Perfect couple: Priscilla Anyabu and Mike Boateng looked happier than ever as they posed for pictures outside his surprise birthday party in London on Saturday

The couple were perfectly coordinated for the special occasion, both wearing black on black outfits.

Priscilla rocked a scalloped satin corset top which emphasised her ample assets and also donned a pair of stylish high-waist wide-leg trousers.

She paired the outfit with a structured rose gold clutch bag.

A moment: The Love Island beauty, 25, and her boyfriend, 29, couldn't resist sharing an affectionate kiss outside the club before partying the night away

The Love Island beauty looked angelic with her mermaid-esque raven tresses falling effortlessly down her back.

She opted for a simple yet elegant makeup look that enhanced her natural, radiant glow.

Meanwhile, Mike donned a black t-shirt with a pair of black skinny jeans and a gold chain necklace.

Black is back: Priscilla looked incredibly chic in her all black ensemble as she paired her black high-waist flared trousers with a bandeau scalloped corset top in a satin finish

Angelic: The raven-haired bombshell let her mermaid tresses fall effortlessly down her back and she chose a natural makeup that enhanced her flawless complexion

The couple couldn't keep their hands off each other as they leaned for a romantic smooch outside his surprise birthday location.

The chemistry was palpable as the pair embraced each other and stared fondly into each other's eyes.

Mike and Priscilla were joined by their Love Island pals including Demi Jones, Jordan Waobikeze, Eva Zapico, Jess Gale and Eve Gale.

Great minds think alike: Mike proved he is totally in sync with his Love Island beau as he also donned a black outfit from head to toe

Reunited: The happy couple were joined by their Love Island pals (pictured) including Demi Jones, Jordan Waobikeze, Eva Zapico, Jess Gale and Eve Gale

The Love Island couple sparked speculation they were having a baby earlier this week after Priscilla referred to her boyfriend as 'baby daddy' during a happy birthday post on her Instagram story.

She wrote on Thursday: 'Shout out my baby daddy @michaelboateng01 I'm glad you had a birthday to remember.'

However the beauty later clarified that she was not expecting, sharing a glam shot from a recent photoshoot of her wearing Calvin Klein underwear.

The loved-up couple met on the 2020 Love Island winter series which took place earlier this year after Priscilla entered Casa Amor.

They were dumped after receiving the lowest votes from viewers, however they are still going strong and are one of the few couples who have remained together.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 9

By Elnur Baghishov - Trend:

As many as 2,020 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, 163 more people have died from the coronavirus over the past day.

The official said that Iran's Tehran, Mazandaran, Qom, East Azerbaijan, Ardabil, Isfahan, Alborz, Razavi Khorasan, North Khorasan, Semnan, Markazi, Yazd, Gilan, Golestan, and Kerman provinces are considered 'red' zones.

So far, more than 2.68 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 326,700 people have been infected, and 18,427 people have already died. Meanwhile, over 284,300 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.
hauntae Davies was taken by 'mentor' to give Maxwell massage in Beverly Hills

One of Jeffrey Epsteins sex slaves has claimed she was introduced to his alleged madam, British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, by a Hollywood guru to the stars.

Chauntae Davies was 21 and a trainee massage therapist when her mentor, Gypsy Gita, took her to the Four Seasons Hotel in Beverly Hills to give Maxwell a massage. She claims within days she was being raped and abused by convicted paedophile Epstein.

While there is no suggestion the eccentric Mr Gita, whose clients include actress Minnie Driver and who has been pictured with Donald Trump, knew Ms Davies would be trafficked to the millionaire, prosecutors may want to speak to him about Maxwell.

She will stand trial next year on six charges, including child sex trafficking.

Chauntae Davies, pictured, was 21 and a trainee massage therapist when her mentor, Gypsy Gita, took her to the Four Seasons Hotel in Beverly Hills to give Maxwell a massage

Ms Davies, who became an air hostess on Epsteins private jet, dubbed the Lolita Express, recounted her chilling story for the new TV documentary Surviving Jeffrey Epstein, which is due to air in Britain later this month. She was at a Hollywood party in 2001 when Mr Gita approached her.

He tells me hes a massage guru to the stars and he was drawn to my energy but that I was holding back, I had emotional blocks, she recalled. He felt like someone who was going to heal me. Then it became a conversation: Why dont you learn the trade?

Ms Davies, now 40, massaged Maxwell, who allegedly then offered to fly her to Epsteins Palm Beach mansion in Florida and give her a staff position as a masseuse. Gypsy was adamant I should go. He ended up convincing me it would be OK, she said.

At Ms Davies' first meeting with Epstein, above, he forced her to perform a sex act on him and on their third or fourth meeting he raped her

But at her first meeting with Epstein, he forced her to perform a sex act on him and on their third or fourth meeting he raped her. She was repeatedly abused by him for four years and she learned he had also attacked her younger sister.

Mr Gitas name appears several times in Epsteins little black book of contacts. Under the heading Massage-California, there are several phone numbers and entries that read Jan (one of gypsys) and Kalja (gypsys girl). Another entry under Massage-Paris says: Stephan (better than Gypsy!)

A former heroin addict and drug dealer, Mr Gita  real name Joseph Alvarez  charges 270 for a 90-minute session, or 3,000 a day for 30-day vision quests. His business card reads: Beyond the boundaries of Physical Illusions lies the Realm of the Spirit the Ageless World of Truth. Your journey begins here.

Maxwell, 58, is accused of being Epsteins chief recruiter and of procuring girls as young as 14 for his sex trafficking operation. She has vehemently denied all charges.

Last night Mr Gita said he had been horrified when he learned about Epsteins child trafficking ring and would help the FBI if asked. I massaged him and Ghislaine but I swear I never saw children, he said. I introduced Chauntae to them and she never mentioned the abuse to me. If she had I would have acted immediately.

Paedophile's secret British girlfriend wed Turkey tycoon

By Jake Ryan in London and Daniel Bates in New York for the Mail on Sunday

The secret British girlfriend of Jeffrey Epstein married a wealthy Turkish property developer before suddenly disappearing from the New York party scene.

Shelley Anne Lewis  who was revealed by The Mail on Sunday last week to have dated the shamed US financier between 1999 and 2002  tied the knot with Mahir Furtun five years ago, but they divorced in 2017.

Her marriage to Mr Furtun came a few months after Ghislaine Maxwell asked serial paedophile Epstein to encourage Ms Lewis to make public her relationship with him.

Wed: Shelley Anne Lewis, who was revealed by The Mail on Sunday last week to have dated the shamed US financier between 1999 and 2002, and Mahir Furtun divorced after two years

I would appreciate it if shelley would come out and say she was your gfriend  I think she was from end [19]99 to 2002, the British socialite wrote in an email that was released last month in a tranche of court documents.

Ms Lewis, 43, is believed to have met Mr Furtun, 61, on holiday in Turkey. He is president of a property firm thought to have been involved in developments across New York since the mid-1980s.

A month before they married, the couple and Ms Maxwell were among the guests at a party in the city to mark the release of a book by Salman Rushdie in 2015. After that, Ms Lewis stepped back from the New York party scene, apparently having found spiritualism.

One socialite said: I would see her every couple of weeks at parties and then she just disappeared. I have not seen her for around five years.

Following her divorce, Ms Lewis was photographed wearing a pink tutu and bikini top at the 2017 Burning Man arts and cultural festival in Nevada.

In an interview a few months earlier, she referred to a mentor in New York who was so original in all his thought processes that he couldnt even see the box. This may have been a reference to Epstein on whose private jets she flew on as many as 55 occasions between 1999 and 2002.

In property records she was registered at an apartment block used by the multi-millionaire in New Yorks Upper East Side between 2000 and 2003.

Ms Lewis did not respond to requests to comment, but there is no suggestion that she was involved with, or aware of, any criminality. The daughter of Brian Lewis, the founder of the Cash Generator retail empire, Ms Lewis grew up in Cheshire. After splitting from Epstein, she appears to have studied history of art at the University of Glasgow and psychology at the University of Pennsylvania.

She later ran a publishing firm before becoming a self-styled spiritual entrepreneur.

Ghislaine's hunt for pretty 'gallerinas'

By Caroline Graham for the Mail on Sunday

Ghislaine Maxwell would trawl high-end art galleries and auction houses looking to find so-called Gallerinas to meet Jeffrey Epstein, a former friend has claimed.

Ms Maxwell regularly attended events at Christies and Sothebys on both sides of the Atlantic, the friend said.

Ghislaine Maxwell, above, regularly attended events at Christies and Sothebys on both sides of the Atlantic, the friend said

She would go to every art gallery opening and was a familiar presence at auctions and parties at Christies and Sothebys, the friend said.

The art world is full of pretty young girls and many of them are young and broke.

Youd see her everywhere, often with beautiful blonde girls in tow.

During a party at Christies in London, she was spotted talking to Clementine Hambro, one of Princess Dianas bridesmaids, who this week admitted to twice flying on Epsteins Lolita Express private jet.

I was young, naive and lucky to escape, Hambro said.

Maria Farmer, one of serial paedophile Epsteins victims, says she was picked up by Epstein and Maxwell at a 1995 show to celebrate her graduation from the New York Academy of Art. Epstein is also believed to have met Shelley Lewis  dubbed his secret girlfriend  when she was working in the Contemporary Art Department at Christies in New York in the late 1990s.

Maxwell is currently in custody awaiting trial in the US for allegedly enticing and trafficking minors and sex trafficking and commiting perjury.

She denies all the claims.
Contact tracing and testing will be ramped up in food processing factories across the country to prevent further Covid-19 outbreaks, HSE chief executive Paul Reid has said.

Mr Reid said testing and tracing is effective in identifying where outbreaks are emerging, but that it is up to individuals and organisations to follow public health advice in order to prevent the risk of transmission.

"One thing which has proven well in this instance has been our testing and tracing," he told Newstalk's Off The Record.

"It's not a silver bullet, and it can't prevent outbreaks from happening. The first line of defense in all scenarios, public health measures that individuals can take, and that organisation take around infection prevention and control, so that was the first line of defense for all of us against this."

Extensive testing and tracing has been carried out in Kildare, Laois and Offaly this weekend following a surge of cases in the area.

Mr Reid said testing in food processing plants is continuing but that it will expand to factories beyond the regions and to other vulnerable organisations such as direct provision centres and care home facilities.

"We continuing to test in a lot of the food processing plants and we're also extending those tests now beyond the plants impacted. We will continue to do that next few weeks as well.

"We're also doing some serial testing around long term care facilities, nursing homes in the region impacted initially and beyond. We will also be commencing a process of serial testing and direct provision centers.

He added that the HSE is strongly advising organisations to continue to implement infection prevention and control measures but said there are "a whole range of societal and workforce organisation issues here that need to be addressed as well."

"We do have a lot of this workforce in these plants, non-Irish in many cases, but not all, primarily sharing accommodation," he said.

"Primarily transporting to work together and then in some instances some people going into one site some and some people go to another site, so you have a risk of transmission outside of the plant, and then into the plants.

"The issue that we want to make sure as places are identified that people do restrict their movements while waiting on a test, and those who test positive, they do have to isolate and that a key issue. Then there are language barriers, which are more complex and we have support in terms of interpretation etc."

His comments come as a food factory in Kildare announced it is suspending normal operations for two weeks after which 86 employees tested for Covid-19.

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OBrien Fine Foods, which specialises in meat products, said normal operations at its Timahoe facility have been brought to a halt for the 14-day incubation period from August 4 to 18.

It added that in line with public health guidance, once processing operations are fully recommenced, staff will undergo testing at 14 day intervals.

Arrangements will be put in place for the safe transportation of all employees to and from work to lessen the risk of transmission.

On Saturday, the Department of Health reported one further death linked Covid-19 and 174 new cases.

Mr Reid said the rise in cases is an "ongoing concern" but he does not believe the country is facing a second wave despite the rise in positive cases.

"The last time we've seen these numbers was when we were on the decline, and now we're seeing them on the rise, so they are quite concerning for us," he said.

"I don't think we are right now on a second wave. If you stand back and look at our incidence rates across the country and take out the impact of the three counties the development, it wouldn't indicate that we're at a second way, or surge.

"If you look at the impact in our hospitals right now, thankfully, we haven't seen massive sores in hospitalised cases again and equally in our ICU."

Mr Reid yesterday pleaded with the public to "remain vigilant' as testing facilities were increased after the three counties were put under lockdown following a surge of Covid-19 cases there.

Mr Reid said testing centres are in operation this weekend and new "pop-up" centres have opened in Newbridge, Co Kildare, and Portlaoise.

In the midlands we have increased our resources in public health, testing & tracing. The testing centres are open the weekend and two new "pop up" centres are in place in Newbridge and Portlaoise. But important that everyone, everywhere remain vigilant, please. @HSELive #Covid19  Paul Reid (@paulreiddublin) August 8, 2020

On twitter, Mr Reid wrote: "In the midlands we have increased our resources in public health, testing & tracing. The testing centres are open the weekend and two new "pop up" centres are in place in Newbridge and Portlaoise.

Non-essential travel to and from Kildare, Offaly and Laois is now banned, while restaurants, pubs and other industries must now close their doors.
Dopamine detection is important in diagnosing a number of disorders resulting from lack or excess of the neurotransmitter - and a new detector has been developed.

A team from Penn State University in Pennsylvania and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York, together with universities in Japan and China have proposed an ultrasensitive dopamine sensor. Their study is published in the latest Science Advances journal.



A Very Sensitive and Simple-to-use Detector

"If you can develop a very sensitive, yet simple-to-use and portable, detector that can identify a wide range of dopamine concentration, for instance in sweat, that could help in non-invasive monitoring of an individual's health," said Aida Ebrahimi, a corresponding author on the study and an Assistant Professor of Electrical Engineering at Penn State.

Their ultrasensitive dopamine detector was achieved by doping a Molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) with Manganese (Mn). By adding a small and controlled amount of Mn to a MoS2, researchers were able to create a low-cost, flexible dopamine detector. Embedded in two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD) material, can serve as the backbone of an ultrasensitive and tunable biosensor.

RELATED: Dopamine Levels May be Dictating all Your Economic Decisions

To create their Mn-doped MoS2 the research team employed a two-step approach: electrodeposition and solid-vapor deposition. An amorphous MoS2 sample is electrodeposited on pyrolytic graphite sheets (PGS), creating MoS2/PGS. To overcome the lack of crystalline bonds, solid-vapor deposition is used to add the Mn atoms and crystallize the amorphous MoS2.

"Regarding our method, electrochemical deposition is a new way of depositing these chemicals that is very simple and scalable," said Mauricio Terrones, also a corresponding author in the study and a Verne M. Willaman Professor of Physics, Materials Science and Chemistry at Penn State.

In testing the design, a team led by Humberto Terrones from RPI conducted the computational study to characterize the effect of doping an amorphous MoS2 with Mn. According to the press release from Penn State, the experimental work supported by the computational investigation was conducted at PSU's Center for Atomically Thin Multifunctional Coatings (ATOMIC).



Too Much or Too Little Dopamine

Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that plays a vital role in regulating movement and reward mechanisms in the brain. Studies have shown that too much dopamine leads to episodes of mania, hallucinations, and schizophrenia. On the other hand, very little release of dopamine is often connected to Parkinson's disease and depression.

Conventional methods for detecting and monitoring dopamine levels in patients require specialized lab equipment in time-consuming processes. Moreover, common processes are invasive, which requires drawing samples from the patient, and preparing them in procedures such as blood-plasma separation.

Novel methods of accurately detecting dopamine in patients, even against the presence of background signals and media like sweat, serum, and other buffers, have been the subject of several studies over the years.

Last 2019, a team of researchers from the University of Central Florida developed a dopamine biosensor. Their design uses an enzyme-free plasmonic neurotransmitter that also contains a microfluidic plasma separator. With this dopamine detector, the sensor is supposedly capable of in-line separation of blood and plasma, diverting it into the detection area. The presence of inorganic cerium oxide nanoparticles will bind with the dopamine, which reacts with an optical sensor, in turn creating an optical dopamine level readout.

RELATED: Researchers created a sensor to detect brain disorders
Two Montgomery County doctors have been indicted on felony charges as a result of an investigation into their medical practices where authorities claim the two doctors allegedly prescribed drugs to patients who suffered overdose deaths in unrelated incidents.

Doctors Emad Mikhail Bishai, 47, of Spring; and Miguel Juan Flores, 68, of Conroe; are each facing charges in unrelated cases for committing unprofessional or dishonorable conduct by prescribing to a person they knew or should have known was an abuser of controlled substances and of prescribing without a medical purpose, according to the Montgomery County District Attorneys Office.

A bench trial for Bishai, whose office is located in The Woodlands, has been set for Sept. 8. Flores case is still pending. Flores office is located in Conroe.

Its important to hold doctors accountable for over-prescribing, said Assistant District Attorney Tamara Holland. Prescription drugs can also be very dangerous. One of the ways the people who abuse them get is from a doctor.

The issue came to light in January 2019 following a data-driven project to prosecute drug diversion and funded by a nearly $360,000 federal grant awarded in October 2018 to the DAs Office.

Through compiled data on overdose deaths as reported by the Texas Department of Public Safety, the DAs Office was able to link some fatalities to the doctors.

In June 2019, search warrants were carried out at the doctors offices, obtaining medical and other records, according to the District Attorneys Office.

According to Flores arrest affidavit, Flores allegedly prescribed controlled substances to three individuals who passed away from drug overdoses.

Investigators learned one of the deceased patients, a 56-year-old man, filled prescriptions on Jan. 3, 2017, for hydrocodone, diazepam, and zolpidem at Walgreens in Magnolia, all prescribed by Flores.

The patient was prescribed 120 hydrocodone, 90 Diazepam and 30 Zolpidem pills all for a 30-day supply. That, the affidavit states, is four hydrocodone pills, three diazepam pills and one zolpidem pill per day.

A review of the patients lengthy prescription history shows a pattern of Flores prescribing a combination of benzodiazepines and opioids to the patient.

Medical records obtained by investigators regarding the patient, court documents state, show Flores allegedly noted the man came in for a visit begging for valium or to be prescribed Xanax.

The records also indicated that Flores allegedly knew the man had binged on the medications but continued to prescribe them.

However, Flores attorney Mark Bennett said called the allegations categorically false.

The state is going after people based on standards that are impossible for doctors to follow while actually treating their patients, he said. So, we have people who are not doctors judging or trying to judge the treatment performed by doctors who are actually following the Hippocratic Oath and doing the best they can.

So, I expect Dr. Flores is going to be cleared by a jury when we eventually get there.

In Bishais case, court documents state investigators learned Bishai allegedly prescribes controlled substances to six patients who all died from overdoses of prescription medications, 20 patients who were hospitalized for prescription drug overdoses and 30 patients known to be doctor shoppers.

The prescription history report shows that Dr. Bishai prescribed over 39,758 separate prescriptions for controlled substances during that time frame, including over 12,000 prescriptions for hydrocodone, over 2,000 prescriptions for morphine, 12,000 prescriptions for oxycodone, and over 800 prescriptions for Fentanyl, court documents state.

Mike Seiler, who is representing Bishai, claims Bishai was not the prescribing physician for the patients who died of the overdoses and looks to clear the doctors name.

Dr. Bishai is one of very few pain management doctors who saw psychiatric patients in our area, Seiler said. Dr. Bishai is triple board-certified practicing in pain management, psychiatry and psychosomatic medicine. He wrote 39,000 prescriptions over a two-year period which is not that high of a number for a triple board-certified physician practicing in those medical fields. Additionally, the 39,000 prescriptions include drugs administered during surgeries, pain pump medications, prescribed for hospital patients while working in two hospitals, and other medications that are not addictive in nature. The patients seen by Dr. Bishai are commonly taking a cocktail of drugs often prescribed by different physicians.

Of importance is the fact that Dr. Bishai was not the prescribing physician who prescribed the medication taken by the four patients that caused the overdose level.

Seiler said Bishais Texas medical license was suspended after the charges were first issued but was reinstated by the Texas Medical Board following a full and complete hearing. Additionally, Bishais office building was seized by the Montgomery County District Attorneys Office in a civil asset forfeiture suit, but Bishai won a summary judgment for the forfeiture of his building.

cdominguez@hcnonline.com
NEW HAVEN  Every so often, small groups of people would break into cheers outside the Hall of Records Saturday as a first-time voter slipped their primary ballot into the drop box set up outside the government building.

Among them were Sam Crumlish and his twin brother, Caleb Crumlish, who turned 18 this summer and wanted to participate in one of the defining rituals in the United States: casting a vote.

They were joined by some 450 other residents, who trickled in over the course of the day, to take advantage of the system set up by City Clerk Michael Smart where party members who had not yet received their ballots for Tuesdays primaries in the mail, or wanted to get an application and cast a ballot, could do so.

Smart, with five staff members and volunteers, checked peoples drivers licenses, vetted them against the voter roles and gave instructions explained on how to fill out the necessary paperwork.

In New Haven, appearing on the presidential ballot is Donald J. Trump and Rocque Rocky De La Fuente for the Republican primary; Joseph Biden, Tulsi Gabbard and Bernie Sanders are on the Democratic side. De La Fuente, Gabbard and Sanders however, have dropped out, but they did so after the ballots were printed.

Unlike other municipalities, New Haven does not have primaries for state House and state Senate seats this year.

Smart will set up the same process outside the Hall of Records from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Monday to accommodate more voters. His office sent out some 1,500 ballots last week after receiving late applications. He is urging voters to come get a ballot and to put their ballots in the drop box, rather than the mail.

He estimated the voters who showed up Saturday were split 60/40 between those whose ballots had not yet reached their homes and those who opted to both apply and vote in the same day.

Caleb Crumlish participated in the process, but was disappointed that the contests among the Democrats for the partys nomination for president had wrapped up so quickly, leaving Biden as the presumptive nominee.

Whats the point of having everyone vote if it is going to be done in this weird staggered format, leaving only one candidate by the time it gets to Connecticut, Caleb Crumlish said of the nominating system.

He said he cast his ballot for Sanders. I still did it, but it was more of a symbolic gesture. This entire thing was a symbolic gesture because there is only one candidate, the Sound School student said.

Still, he felt it was worth participating.

If you are not going to get involved in the pointless stuff, are you going to get involved in the stuff that matters? It is probably good to practice on how this whole thing goes, even if the procedure (absentee ballot) might be kind of difficult, Caleb said.

He is going to see how safe it will be in the fall in terms of COVID-19 cases and whether it makes sense to vote in person for the Nov. 3 presidential election.

Most of the people who came by Saturday were seasoned voters and were grateful for this late opportunity to cast a vote, when their ballots had not yet sown up. State rules did not allow ballots to be sent out until at least July 21, but they were sent several days after that.

Smart said lawmakers should make an adjustment and push the date ballots go out further back to build in flexibility and to take into account the millions of absentee ballots that are expected to be cast for Nov. 3.

Connecticut sent out 267,000 ballots for the primaries. Usually absentee ballots account for 8 per cent of votes cast. This year, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is expected to be 60 percent, according to the Secretary of the States office.

Jerry Poole, co-chairman of Ward 23, got his ballot late, but still mailed it in. Worried, however, that it would not get to the City Clerk in time for Tuesdays primary, he filled out another application and cast his ballot Saturday. When absentee ballots are counted on Tuesday, one of his will be discounted.

Poole, 75, takes enfranchisement and the coronavirus seriously, in terms of voting safely.

His 98-year-old mother recently passed away after contracting COVID-19.

I have a lot of issues that I have been dealing with. Im dealing with being a Black man in this country. Im dealing with the pandemic situation ... Im dealing with the changes that could take us backwards to the days of slavery  almost, he said of the current political situation. I have a lot on my mind that takes me down here to vote.

Like (the late U.S. Rep.) John Lewis says, the vote is the most precious thing we have to fight all this. Not guns, the vote, Poole said. So I hope people will come, cast their ballots and be part of the process. We have so many people who said that the vote dont count. Oh my gracious, are they crazy?

He said this is the most serious time in his political life. Poole, like others, said he is worried about reported slowdowns at the U.S. Postal System and how that will impact the presidential election.

Deta Reid said she got a call from her alder and neighbors as well, recommending they go vote on Saturday.

It is so convenient. We are so glad we did this, Reid said of herself and her husband. She said the staff were so kind and patient. They made it as easy as pie.

Brad Gallant and Joanna Waley-Cohen also cast their ballots Saturday.

It was the easiest thing in the world, Gallant said. They were very efficient, Waley-Cohen, who was voting for the first time after becoming a citizen, said. It is kind of exciting.

mary.oleary@hearstmediact.com
The committee will check up on warehouses, shipments and storage containers at all airports nationwide

Related What we know about the Lebanon explosions The Egyptian government has decided to form a supreme committee to check all warehouses, shipments, and storage containers at all areas affiliated with airports nationwide in order to take all precautions for hazardous materials, Civil Aviation Minister Mohamed Manar Anba said on Sunday.

The committee will be presided over by the head of the ministrys security section, Tariq Nosair, and will include representatives of all concerned bodies, the ministers statement added.

The committee is tasked with checking and enumerating all warehouses, shipments, and storage containers at cargo villages and storage arenas affiliated with Cairo airport and all airports nationwide, in order to take all preventative measures against hazardous materials and to release them immediately or transfer them to safe storage places away from airports and populated areas."

The minister said the committee will fully re-evaluate procedures adopted at all storage places to provide the highest standards of safety and security, in accordance with the instructions of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).

He added that the move is aiming at addressing any risks before they arise and protecting all customers and workers in the civil aviation sector.

The move comes six days after a massive blast devastated Beirut, reportedly caused by the accidental detonation of 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate stored at a warehouse in the citys port.

The material, a common fertiliser, was confiscated from a Russian ship six years ago, according to Lebanese officials.

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Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-10 02:04:14|Editor: huaxia

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NICOSIA, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) -- Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades said on Sunday that Cyprus will offer a financial assistance of 5 million euros (5.89 million U.S. dollars) in addition to the access to the facilities at its ports and airports for assistance transfer to Lebanon after two huge explosions rocked the Lebanese capital Beirut.

Anastasiades was one of state leaders who took part in an international video conference of donors to Lebanon organized by the United Nations and French President Emmanuel Macron.

Cyprus News Agency reported that Anastasiades said that beyond the financial assistance, Cyprus stands ready to place the airports of Larnaca and Paphos and the "Andreas Papandreou" air base, as well as the ports of Limassol and Larnaca, at disposal of the United Nations and of the international community in general, for the transfer of any humanitarian assistance.

According to Anastasiades, five tons of medical supplies collected after a personal appeal he made were sent to Lebanon immediately after the explosion. Another 40 tons of supplies, including medical supplies, generators, clothing and non-perishable foodstuff, collected via public donations will be sent in the next few days.

A three-member team of volunteer doctors flew to Beirut on Sunday, carrying facilities for emergency operations.

A spokesman of the Cypriot Fire Brigade said that the 14-member rescue team, which flew to Beirut with eight sniffing dogs on Aug. 5, one day after the blasts, will return to Cyprus on Monday, following a decision by the Lebanese authorities to discontinue the search for any survivors.

According to the latest data, the two explosions in the port of Beirut on Aug. 4 had claimed at least 158 lives and injured 6,000 others. Enditem
Saudi Aramco's Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Amin H. Nasser said the oil major is still working on a deal to invest in Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), Bloomberg reported on August 8.

At the 43rd Annual General Meeting held virtually on July 15, RIL Chairman Mukesh Ambani said the deal with Saudi Aramco had not progressed as per the earlier timeline. This was due to unforeseen circumstances and the COVID-19 pandemic, he added.

"Nevertheless, we at Reliance value our over two-decade-long relationship with Saudi Aramco and are committed to a long-term partnership," Ambani had said.

Saudi Aramco on August 8 announced that its second-quarter net profit dived due to a sharp drop in oil prices as the COVID-19 pandemic hampered global demand.

"Strong headwinds from reduced demand and lower oil prices are reflected in our second-quarter results," the CEO said.

Disclaimer: Reliance Industries Ltd is the sole beneficiary of Independent Media Trust which controls Network18 Media & Investments Ltd
The PM attended the 8th congress for national security held by the Ministry of Public Security at the Hanoi Opera House on August 8. The event marked the 75th anniversary of the traditional day of Vietnam Peoples Public Security (August 19).

Also present at the congress were Minister of Public Security General To Lam, Chief Justice of the Supreme Peoples Court Nguyen Hoa Binh and Vice President Dang Thi Ngoc Thinh.

In his remarks at the event, PM Phuc said over the last 75 years, the peoples public security force has fostered national patriotic campaigns, notably the For National Security emulation movements, and drastically fulfilled its duties to maintain security and order for people, greatly contributing to the countrys socio-economic development.

There have been so many role models who are brave, wise and full of enthusiasm in combating crimes and law violators, he said, adding that these are quiet contributions and simple good deeds that have left a profound impression on people and international friends.

The PM also highlighted the significant role of the public security force in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

The government leader went on to pay tribute to those who have sacrificed their lives or been wounded while combating crimes and safeguarding the peace for people over the past five years.

On behalf of the Party and State leaders, PM Phuc presented the titles of "Hero of the People's Armed Forces" and "National emulative soldier" to outstanding units and individuals in the people's public security force, while leaders of the Ministry of Public Security handed over certificates of merit to individuals with remarkable contributions to the "All people safeguard the Fatherland's security" movement.
Then there is the problem of mail-in ballots being miscarried or not delivered by the U.S. Postal Service. States with recent primaries, including Wisconsin and Maryland, have reported voters not receiving their ballots or not getting them in time to be voted and returned.

In addition, there have been problems with the Postal Service not postmarking ballots, making it impossible for election officials to determine whether the ballots were mailed in time to be counted. The U.S. Election Assistance Commission says that in the past four federal elections, 2.7 million mail-in ballots were misdelivered and 1.3 million were rejected by election officials.

In the 2016 election, almost 130 million Americans voted. Does anyone really think the Postal Service will be able to suddenly handle 260 million pieces of additional mail  that is, the ballots being mailed out by election officials, and then mailed back by voters?

Just from a practical standpoint, that is asking for chaos and mass disenfranchisement.

Inevitably, it will take longer to tabulate the results of the election if there is a massive amount of mail-in voting, particularly in close races for the presidency and down-ballot offices.
The election pits President Alexander Lukashenko, who has held an iron grip on the ex-Soviet nation since 1994, against four others in an atmosphere charged with wide public dismay over the countrys deteriorating economy, political repression and Mr Lukashenkos dismissal of the coronavirus threat.

Opposition supporters suspect that election officials will manipulate results to give the 65-year-old Mr Lukashenko a sixth term in office. Protests are expected once the polls close on Sunday  and Mr Lukashenko has made it clear he will not hesitate to quash any demonstrations.

If you provoke, you will get the same answer, he said after casting his ballot. Do you want to try to overthrow the government, break something, wound, offend, and expect me or someone to kneel in front of you and kiss them and the sand onto which you wandered? This will not happen.

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Although there are four candidates other than Mr Lukashenko on the ballot, the opposition has coalesced around one: Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, the wife of a jailed opposition blogger.

Ms Tsikhanouskayas campaign has attracted highly visible support, a very unusual development in a country where opposition voices are generally suppressed. One of her rallies in the capital of Minsk was attended by an estimated 60,000 people.

Mindful of Belaruss long history of violent crackdowns on dissent  protesters were beaten after the 2010 election and six rival candidates arrested, three of whom were imprisoned for years  Ms Tsikhanouskaya has called for calm.

I hope that everything will be peaceful and that the police will not use force, she said on Sunday after voting.

Ms Tsikhanouskaya emerged as Mr Lukashenkos main opponent after two other prominent opposition aspirants were denied places on the ballot. One was jailed for charges that he calls political and the other, an entrepreneur and former ambassador to the United States Valery Tsepkalo, fled to Russia after warnings that he would be arrested and his children taken away.

Mr Tsepkalos wife Veronika became a top member of Ms Tsikhanouskayas campaign, but she, too, has now left the country, campaign spokeswoman Anna Krasulina said on Sunday.

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Eight members of Ms Tsikhanouskayas campaign staff were arrested on Sunday and the campaign chief was arrested a day earlier.

As polls opened, the countrys central elections commission said more than 40% of the electorate had cast ballots in early voting, a figure likely to heighten concerns about the results legitimacy because of the potential for manipulation.

For five nights nobody has guarded the ballot boxes, which gives the authorities a wide field for manoeuvrings, Ms Tsepkalo told The Associated Press on Sunday, a few hours before leaving Belarus.

The Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe, whose assessments of elections are widely regarded as authoritative, was not invited to send observers to the vote.

Ms Tsikhanouskaya had crisscrossed the country, tapping into public frustration with Mr Lukashenkos swaggering response to the pandemic and the countrys stagnating Soviet-style economy.

Belarus, a country of 9.5 million people, has reported more than 68,500 confirmed coronavirus cases and 580 deaths but critics have accused authorities of manipulating the figures to downplay the death toll.

Mr Lukashenko has dismissed the virus as psychosis and declined to order restrictions to block its spread. He announced last month that he had been infected but had no symptoms and recovered quickly, allegedly thanks to doing sports. He has defended his handling of the outbreak, saying that a lockdown would have doomed the nations weakened economy.

Belarus has sustained a severe economic blow after its leading exports customer, Russia, went into a pandemic-induced recession and other foreign markets shrank. Before coronavirus, the countrys state-controlled economy had already been stalled for years, stoking public frustration.
This is an opinion column.

Dont ever tell yourself language skills are not important. Those who know how to wield them can  and will  try to turn wrong into right. And make the simple impossibly complicated.

The Alabama Public Service Commission certainly has tried.

But I promise by the end of this column Ill show you how, despite all its best efforts, the PSC has made the truth easy to see.

When the PSC kicked out observers trying to live-stream a meeting last year, the utility regulators general counsel argued the meeting wasnt a meeting at all but a hearing.

Hearings, the PSC said, are not subject to the Alabama Open Meetings Act. The public can attend them at the Commissions discretion and observers have no right under that law to live-stream them for others to watch at home.

If that sounds absurd, were just warming up.

The purpose of this particular  what shall we call it  group gathering of public interest was to take testimony from electric utilities regarding rooftop solar. Those utilities have wanted to charge solar-equipped customers an extra fee for using the electric grid as a backup on cloudy days. Solar activists have argued the utilities want to make rooftop solar cost prohibitive so they can maintain their monopolies.

In this group gathering of public interest, PSC staff and lawyers for the solar advocates asked questions of the utility companies, but the commissioners themselves only listened.

Because the commissioners did not speak to each other and did not vote to make a decision, the PSC has said the group gathering of public interest was not technically a meeting and would fall in the same category as Alabama Supreme Court proceedings which are not covered by the Open Meetings Act.

Got all that?

A handful of citizens tried to live stream the group gathering of public interest anyway. Those who did, when caught, were escorted from the room by a state trooper and had their phones confiscated until after the group gathering was over.

Laura Casey, whos now running for PSC, was one of them. She sued the PSC under the Open Meetings Act, arguing that that the hearing was really a meeting and that she had a right to live-stream it.

This week, her case made its way before the Alabama Supreme Court, which unquestionably holds hearings and not meetings, but 

And heres where things go completely upside down.

The court live-streamed its hearing.

Live-streaming is not the Supreme Courts usual practice but  because coronavirus  the court has recognized the importance of maintaining open, public court hearings in an unusual time.

So the court live-streamed a hearing about whether the PSC held a meeting, in which it must allow live streaming, or a hearing, which it can keep closed to digital eyes.

Dizzy yet?

The irony was not lost on Caseys lawyer, Chris Christie, who pointed it out that absurdity several times to the court.

No matter, the justices seemed incredulous of Caseys case, and they were much more credulous of the PSCs outside counsel, Bobby Segall.

Segall is one of the best litigators in the state  and a pricey one the PSC ran to even though it has its own in-house counsel for such things and also state lawyers at the A.G.s office it could have asked for help.

Segall and Christie tangled over the legal minutia, including which dictionary definition of deliberate applies to the PSC and whether a meeting requires speaking between the commissioners or only among the commissioners.

Even for dictionary-lovers like me, this is tiring stuff.

But what matters most is no longer what the court finds but rather what the court showed: If the Alabama Supreme Court can live-stream its hearings, the PSC can too.

It just doesnt want to.

Theres nothing in the law prohibiting it. The PSC just doesnt want you to see what its doing.

And that shows you all you need to know.

Kyle Whitmire is the state political columnist for the Alabama Media Group.

You can follow his work on his Facebook page, The War on Dumb. And on Twitter. And on Instagram.

More columns by Kyle Whitmire

Tuberville was paid $5 million to quit. Now he says $600 is too much for you.

Just pay the players already

This ship is going to sink

Meet Alabamas latest Lost Cause: Will Dismukes

Alabama AG cries ambush over totally predictable DOJ prison report

How do we honor John Lewis legacy in a police state?

There is no plan

Adios, Jeff Sessions

Alabama Senate leaders coronavirus plan: Get sick, try not to die

Do your job, Kay Ivey

Trump ignored facts so he could blame the Black guy.

Good luck, America! Alabamas given up.

Alabamafication unmasked

NASCAR and the GOP have the same problem. Only one is trying to do something about it.

Kay Ivey is not your Mee-Maw: What the governor needs to tell Alabama about COVID-19

Alabama monuments law affects more than Confederate monuments

Black Lives Matter and COVID-19 arent competing stories. Theyre the same story.

Dont be fooled. Huntsvilles Confederate monument isnt going anywhere.

Alabama monument law turns AG into stone

If Alabama has a coronavirus plan for nursing homes, its hiding it
But some scientists and financial analysts question the viability of Inovios technology. While there are some early signs of promise with the companys vaccine, Inovio has only released bare-bones data from the first phase of clinical trials. It is locked in a legal battle with a key manufacturing partner that claims Inovio stole its technology.

Shareholders have sued Inovio, claiming it has exaggerated its progress on a coronavirus vaccine to inflate its stock price. Adding to the challenges, Inovios potential vaccine will have to be administered by a gadget  it resembles an electric nose-hair trimmer and is called the Cellectra  that would direct genetic material into millions of patients.

And while the company has said that it is part of Operation Warp Speed  the flagship federal effort to quickly produce treatments and vaccines for the coronavirus  Inovio is not on the list of companies selected to receive financial support to mass-produce vaccines.

The absence of that funding, coupled with their ongoing litigation, coupled with the need to scale a device, coupled with the absence of complete Phase 1 data, makes people skeptical, said Stephen Willey, an analyst at Stifel, an investment firm.

As it tries to defuse the coronavirus crisis, the Trump administration is wagering, in part, on companies  like Moderna and Novavax  with spotty track records and penchants for self-promotion. In June, Inovio received $71 million from the Department of Defense to manufacture its battery-operated Cellectras.
After the unprecedented and sudden explosion in the port area storing large volumes of ammonium nitrate in Lebanon's capital city Beirut on Tuesday, the country is seeing a tremendous outpouring of people on the streets protesting the incumbent regime led by PM Hassan Diab; protests are seen to be getting violent as more reports of casulaties emerge from the site of the incident.

Protestors on Saturday stormed government ministries in Beirut over the blast on Tuesday that killed at least 158 people and injured over 5,000 people.

As per CNN, the foreign, environment and economy ministries were occupied along with the Banking Association. During the protest, the police fired tear gas and rubber bullets at the protestors who hurled stones and fireworks at the security forces.

While a policeman was killed following the clashes between police forces and protestors, more than 200 people sustained injuries.

The protestors first took over the Foreign Ministry  the first of three takeovers by the protestors, CNN further reported.

Also read: Mauritius declares environmental emergency as oil spill crisis worsens

Also read: US issues revised Covid advisory on travel to India, China

The US Embassy in Beirut also expressed solidarity towards the protestors and urged to refrain from violence.

The Lebanese people have suffered too much and deserve to have leaders who listen to them and change course to respond to popular demands for transparency and accountability, tweeted the US Embassy in Beirut further adding, We support them in their right to peaceful protest, and encourage all involved to refrain from violence.

The Lebanese Prime Minister Hassan Diab promised to hold early elections, an announcement that came hours after the protests broke out, according to CNN.

Also read: Trump cracks down on Chinese apps, signs order to ban Tiktok, WeChat in 45 days
U.S. President Donald Trump, center, with South Korean President Moon Jae-in, left, and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe before a Northeast Asia Security dinner at the U.S. Consulate General in Hamburg. AP



By Emanuel Pastreich




In July, the index was reported at 54.2, the highest level in 16 months and up from Junes level of 52.6. For perspective, Aprils dismal report was just 41.5, the lowest level since 2009. Of the 18 manufacturing industries tracked by the ISM, 13 reported growth in July, two remained unchanged and just three reported contraction. Moreover, respondents to the monthly survey were fairly optimistic on their future outlook, with two positive comments for every one cautionary comment.

Despite the current progress of the manufacturing industry, there are a number of caveats that convey the difficult road ahead to full recovery. According to the U.S. Federal Reserve, Americas total industrial production rose by 5.4% in June, the largest monthly gain since 1959. However, industrial production for the April-June second quarter is still down a hefty 42.6% from the second quarter of 2019.

Within Americas total industrial output lies its biggest component  the manufacturing sector, which excludes activities from mining and utilities. And the manufacturing sector faces a similar daunting challenge. Even though manufacturing rose at a massive 7.2% monthly pace in June, manufacturing output in the second quarter was still down 47% from the second quarter of 2019.

Without question, the U.S. manufacturing industry has made substantial gains over the past few months. Its future outlook also remains highly optimistic. Unfortunately, returning to its pre-COVID-19 levels of industrial output will simply take time.

Mark Grywacheski spent more than 14 years as a professional trader in Chicago, where he served on various committees for multiple global financial exchanges and as an industry Arbitrator for more than a decade. He is an expert in financial markets and economic analysis and is an investment adviser with Quad-Cities Investment Group, Davenport. Disclaimer: Opinions expressed herein are subject to change without notice. Any prices or quotations contained herein are indicative only and do not constitute an offer to buy or sell any securities at any given price. Information has been obtained from sources considered reliable, but we do not guarantee that the material presented is accurate or that it provides a complete description of the securities, markets or developments mentioned. Quad-Cities Investment Group LLC is a registered investment adviser with the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission.
I can't be sure, but the econocrats seem to have become uncertain about what they're uncertain about. The one thing about which they're not uncertain is how uncertain they are. And, of course, they're no longer pretending to be certain it'll all be fine.

Central bank governors take a professional pride in concealing whatever doubts and fears they have. Which is as it should be. Treasurers, on the other hand, have become so ruled by their young spin doctors they're perpetually in bulldust-your-way-through mode.

Thanks to the setback in Victoria, upturn in the economys production will now come later than expected, and be weaker. Credit:AP

Economists (and media economic commentators) always exude confidence about their knowledge of what lies ahead because they know that's what the customer's paying for. They're like doctors who dispense pills not because they'll work but because they're what will make the patient feel good. At least until they're out of the surgery.

Psychologists tell us the human animal is eternally seeking "the illusion of control". We want to know what the future holds so we can  we fondly hope  control how it affects us. People ask me questions about the financial future. I explain why it's not possible to know. They say: "Yes, I know that, Ross, but whaddya reckon?"
Ghislaine Maxwell, above, regularly attended events at Christies and Sothebys on both sides of the Atlantic, the friend said

Ghislaine Maxwell would trawl high-end art galleries and auction houses looking to find so-called Gallerinas to meet Jeffrey Epstein, a former friend has claimed.

Ms Maxwell regularly attended events at Christies and Sothebys on both sides of the Atlantic, the friend said.

She would go to every art gallery opening and was a familiar presence at auctions and parties at Christies and Sothebys, the friend said.

The art world is full of pretty young girls and many of them are young and broke.

Youd see her everywhere, often with beautiful blonde girls in tow.

During a party at Christies in London, she was spotted talking to Clementine Hambro, one of Princess Dianas bridesmaids, who this week admitted to twice flying on Epsteins Lolita Express private jet.

I was young, naive and lucky to escape, Hambro said.

Maria Farmer, one of serial paedophile Epsteins victims, says she was picked up by Epstein and Maxwell at a 1995 show to celebrate her graduation from the New York Academy of Art.

Epstein is also believed to have met Shelley Lewis  dubbed his secret girlfriend  when she was working in the Contemporary Art Department at Christies in New York in the late 1990s.

Maxwell is currently in custody awaiting trial in the US for allegedly enticing and trafficking minors and sex trafficking and commiting perjury.

She denies all the claims.
NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / August 9, 2020 / Pomerantz LLP is investigating claims on behalf of investors of Guidewire Software, Inc. ("Guidewire" or the "Company") (NYSE:GWRE). Such investors are advised to contact Robert S. Willoughby at rswilloughby@pomlaw.com or 888-476-6529, ext. 7980.

The investigation concerns whether Guidewire and certain of its officers and/or directors have engaged in securities fraud or other unlawful business practices.

[Click here for information about joining the class action]

On March 4, 2020, Guidewire announced its financial results for the second quarter of fiscal year 2020 and slashed its full-year revenue guidance by $57 million, from a range of $759 million to $771 million to only $702 million to $714 million. In addition, Guidewire cut its Annual Recurring Revenue guidance from a range of 14% to 16%, down to 11% to 12% for the third quarter of 2020. During the accompanying earnings conference call, Guidewire indicated that the Company's cloud products needed to be improved in order to meet customer needs and successfully compete against rival systems, and also revealed that a large swath of Guidewire customers no longer wanted the Company's traditional on-premise products and had not adopted Guidewire's cloud products.

On this news, Guidewire's stock price fell $18.92 per share, or 16.82%, to close at $93.56 per share on March 5, 2020.

The Pomerantz Firm, with offices in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Paris is acknowledged as one of the premier firms in the areas of corporate, securities, and antitrust class litigation. Founded by the late Abraham L. Pomerantz, known as the dean of the class action bar, the Pomerantz Firm pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 80 years later, the Pomerantz Firm continues in the tradition he established, fighting for the rights of the victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, and corporate misconduct. The Firm has recovered numerous multimillion-dollar damages awards on behalf of class members. See www.pomerantzlaw.com

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SOURCE: Pomerantz LLP





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A young nurse determined to rid the ocean of plastic waste has made upwards of $350,000 in the past three months selling hammocks made from recycled bottles.

Horrified by the water pollution she witnessed while scuba diving around the world, Tegan Gilroy, 28, launched Nakie, an online range of camping equipment 'upcycled' from landfill, in September 2019.

The dedicated nurse still works 12-hour shifts at a Brisbane hospital three days a week, which she says leaves 'plenty of time' to run her website on the side.

Between May 1 and July 31, Ms Gilroy sold $358,075 worth of products - putting the business on track to turn over $700,000 in its first year of trading.

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Brisbane nurse turned businesswoman Tegan Gilroy (pictured in Monaco) has banked $350,000 in three months selling hammocks made from recycled plastic

Each Nakie hammock (pictured) is made from 37 plastic bottles recovered from landfill

Daily Mail Australia has verified these figures from the company's financial statements.

Each $129 hammock is made from 37 plastic containers recovered from landfill, an approach Ms Gilroy claims has 'saved 118,992 bottles going into our waterways'.

'As someone who loves the ocean I hate seeing how much plastic is tumbling along the ocean floor and washing up along our beaches,' she told Daily Mail Australia.

Not only that, she also plants four trees for every item purchased in partnership with Eden Reforestation Projects, the world's largest not-for-profit tree-planting organisation which has planted over 350million saplings to date.

Such is the scale of Ms Gilroy's reforesting that Eden has provided her with a 'planting reserve' on the East African island of Madagascar, where she has committed to planting at least 500,000 trees over the next five years.

And for the month of August, she will plant an extra tree for every new follower Nakie gets on Instagram.

Ms Gilroy (pictured in Reykjavik, Iceland) launched Nakie in September 2019 and started planting trees in March on the East African island of Madagascar

Nakie two-person hammocks (pictured in packaging) usually cost $129 but are currently reduced to $99

The brand's best-selling style, a two-person hammock with built-in straps, is currently reduced from $129 to $99.

Customers have been raving about the quality and affordability of the hammocks on the brand's website, with one woman calling it her 'best purchase of 2020'.

'Every one of my friends and family who have napped, relaxed or read in the Nakie absolutely loved it,' she said.

'Super easy to put up and take down and packable, which I love! Love this company.'

Another said: 'It's a great hammock and a killer deal. Higher weight limit than similar brands and about half the price if you were to piece together the hammock, straps, bug net and rain tarp.'

Ms Gilroy said the majority of her customers come from Australia, Canada, the US and UK, where hiking, camping and other outdoor pursuits are popular.

Making the hammocks (pictured) from 37 recycled containers has 'saved 118,992 bottles going into Australian waterways', Ms Gilroy claims

Tegan Gilroy's top business tips 1. Be patient 'It's hard work and sales will probably start slow while you are building brand. Keep at it because once it starts to take off, it will grow rapidly.' 2. Only sell what you're passionate about 'Choose a product or niche you're passionate about because when you are working overtime it won't feel like chore.' 3. Choose quality over quantity 'Pay extra for the best quality product you can buy. It increases brand trust and drives sales through word of mouth.' 4. Always put the customer first 'Be attentive and responsive to customers and potential customers on all social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram as well as over email to ensure your customers have the best experience possible.' Advertisement

Her success is all the more impressive given the toll the coronavirus crisis has taken on the wider camping and outdoor equipment industry.

The sector is expected to record significant revenue losses in 2020 as the pandemic continues to disrupt global supply chains, limiting the availability of products, according to forecasts from market analysts IBISWorld.

And still, Nakie is seeing an exponential increase in sales every month.

Ms Gilroy is even planning an expansion of the range which will soon include reusable titanium bottles and blankets stitched from recycled materials.

'I have some very exciting news coming in the next couple of months. All the products are lightweight, compact and environmentally-friendly,' she said.

In a time of hardship and extraordinary uncertainty, it's comforting to know that at least one Australian business will be marking its first anniversary with a six-figure celebration.

To view the full range of Nakie hammocks and camping equipment, please click here.
BOOK OF THE WEEK REVIEW

A book that should be of abiding interest to New Mexicans is The King of Adobe: Reies Lopez Tijerina, Lost Prophet of the Chicano Movement by Lorena Oropeza.

The subtitle refers to Tijerina as a lost prophet because, Oropeza said in a phone interview, a lot of people dont know him or what he was about. But his ideas are powerful and he contributed a lot more than people realize. Tijerina has been largely forgotten compared to Cesar Chavez, the farmworkers leader.

Tijerinas prime time in the national spotlight came in June 1967, when he led an armed raid on the Rio Arriba County Courthouse in Tierra Amarilla. The violent takeover resulted in several lawmen being shot and two other people kidnapped. The takeover brought attention to long-simmering northern New Mexico land issues, especially communal land-grant claims by nuevomexicanos stemming from the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo that ended the Mexican-American War.

Tijerina was head of the Alianza Federal de Mercedes (Federal Alliance of Land Grants). The Alianza sought redress from the U.S. government which the Alianza alleged had stolen millions of acres land that rightfully belonged to land grant heirs. Under the treaty the government promised to respect property rights of Mexicans who chose to stay in the United States after the war.

Books published soon after the raid, at the height of the Chicano Movement, painted Tijerina as a singular action figure. He was brave and committed and inspirational when it came to promoting the cause of land grant claimants, Oropeza said.

Oropeza, a historian, said shes spent the last 15 years researching and writing the book and that stretch of time allowed her the luxury of going through Tijerinas papers so she could present a full picture of the man. He died in 2015 at age 88.

Oropezas book describes Tijerinas character and mercurial, dictatorial behavior over time and how his evolving leadership roles influenced his political activism.

Tijerina was born in Texas to a migrant farmworker family that had no treaty-related claims to land grants. The author discusses his life in 10 periods of reinvention, beginning as a youthful charismatic preacher, then transitioning to an Old Testament-like prophet who led followers to live an underground desert outpost near Casa Grande, Arizona. Tijerina lived there for two years, until he had a dream in which Gods angels gave him a new assignment. Oropeza writes he interpreted the dream to mean he must investigate and record the true history of land grants.

In the next chapter, he wears the cloak of being Mexican, spending time in mother Mexico to study the history of land grants and to make political contacts, including leftists who might aid Mexican Americans.

If nuevomexicanos were really Mexicans, then they were by definition not Americans, hence they were a conquered and subjugated people within the United States, Oropeza explains Tijerinas logic. Thats an important point, she writes, because it rejects the American concept of Manifest Destiny and replaces it with American colonization.

Chapter four describes Tijerina reinventing himself in the role of patriarch in his public life with the Alianza. Oropeza writes that he expected to dominate  and did dominate  the Alianza as its president.

That behavior mirrored his heavy-handed rule over his family. He brooked no dissent, especially from women.

The Alianza was formed in early 1963 and after the raid it stumbled through part of the next decade, Oropeza said. Many of those years it was headquartered in Albuquerque.

Chapter seven offers yet another revised ethnic origin definition  to Indo-Hispano. Tijerina argues that the Indian, not the Mexican, is the true mother of nuevomexicanos. By doing so, Oropeza writes, the maternal metaphor now served to exempt nuevomexicanos from any responsibility for the negative repercussions of Spanish colonialism.

The descriptive Hispano might remain, but the conquistador fades.

At the same time by invoking Indo, Tijerina glosses over competing land grant claims between Native Americans and the Spanish-speaking population.

Oropeza said readers should take Tijerina seriously. There are still New Mexicans today, she said, who see treaty-related land grants as a living issue.

I say Tijerina was neither hero nor villain, Oropeza said. He was a political leader. Theyre not perfect human beings. Hes brilliant in some ways and not in others. Im OK with those complexities.

The University of North Carolina Press published The King of Adobe.

The title derives from priest/historian Fray Angelico Chavezs comment that the Kingdom of New Mexico after its founding in 1598 didnt generate wealth. Instead it survived as an isolated frontier outpost of adobe for centuries to come.

Oropeza concludes that whether leading religious followers or land-grant claimants, Tijerinas kingdom dreams, just like old adobe, turned to dust.

Oropeza, a history professor at the University of California, Davis, is currently writing a book on A Mexican History of the United States. It is part of the Beacon Press series ReVisioning History.
LEWISBURG  Only seven U.S. Bureau of Prisons (BOP) facilities have more confirmed inmate cases of the coronavirus than the Lewisburg Federal Penitentiary.

As of Saturday, the medium-security prison in Union County reported 51 of the 1,044 inmates had tested positive for the virus. One staff member also has tested positive.

There has been a sharp increase in cases since the first positive test result on July 30. Mass testing of inmates followed.

The outbreak initially was confined to one housing unit but on Wednesday the BOP said inmates in two others had tested positive.

The agency said inmates who tested positive were being isolated within what is known as the Big House. Attempts the past two days to obtain updates have been unsuccessful.

Staff members are not required to be tested but those who do and have positive results may not return to work until they meet criteria established by the Centers for Disease Control.

Social visits to federal prisons have been halted. Staff and vendors are screened and have their temperatures taken before they are allowed entry.

The other federal prison in Pennsylvania with a high number of COVID-19 cases is Loretto in Cambria County.

The BOPs coronavirus resource page Saturday showed 37 inmates and seven staff had tested positive.
Unknown assailants on Sunday stormed the residence of Azubuike Ekwegbalu, the Senior Special Assistant to Governor Willie Obiano on Security, leaving him dead after allegedly stabbing him with a kitchen knife.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) gathered that the incident occurred early hours of Sunday at his residence at the Commissioners Quarters, Awka, a high brow area for government officials.

An eyewitness said the late Mr Ekwegbalu, who hails from Ogbunike in Oyi Local Government Area of the state, was a close relation to the wife of the governor.

He was murdered by unknown men last night at the commissioners quarters, Awka.

This is barbaric. May his soul rest in peace.

Security operatives must do all that is possible to bring the killers to justice, the source said.

Confirming the incident in a statement, the spokesman of the police command in the state, Haruna Mohammed, said one suspect, who was seen in the premises had been arrested.

On Aug. 9, 2020 at about 1:30a.m., there was a report of alleged murder of one Azuibuike Ekwegbalu, aged 43 years, native of Ogbunike in Oyi LGA but resident at the Commissioners quarters Awka.

READ ALSO:

Following the report, Police detectives attached to B Division Awka led by the DPO, CSP Emma Ogbuanya visited the scene and rushed victim who was found in a pool of blood to COOUTH Awka for medical attention.

He was certified dead by the medical doctor on arrival while his corpse was deposited at the hospital mortuary for autopsy, he noted.

Mr Mohammed said a careful observation on the deceased body revealed stab wounds while a blood stained Kitchen knife was also recovered as exhibit at the scene.

Consequently, one suspect who allegedly was in the premises has been arrested and the case is under investigation to unravel the circumstances surrounding the incident, he stated.

(NAN)
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-10 02:06:26|Editor: huaxia

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BRUSSELS, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) -- The European Union (EU) on Sunday pledged 30 million euros (35.4 million U.S. dollars) in additional funding for the Lebanese people after a devastating explosion hit the capital Beirut last Tuesday.

The pledge, made at the international conference on assistance and support to the Middle East country, was meant to help address the immediate needs of those affected by the explosion, said the European Commission in a press release.

The amount was on top of the 33 million euros initial aid offered by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in her phone call on Thursday with Lebanese President Michel Aoun.

"In these critical hours, the EU is providing shelter, emergency healthcare, water and sanitation, and food assistance," said EU Commissioner for Crisis Management Janez Lenarcic, who represented the Commission at the conference on Sunday.

Some 300 experts from the EU and its member states have been deployed on the ground in Lebanon, providing help in search and rescue, chemical assessment and medical treatment. (1 euro = 1.18 U.S. dollars) Enditem
TasteTV and the Tasty Awards Committee are pleased to announce this years critics choices for the awards of Top Jerky Of The Year.

If you love jerky, this is the list you need to have. Top choices were selected for categories such as:



Best Flavor

Best Texture

Best Packaging

Highest Quality

Most Unique

Overall Experience

Some judges top favorites included:

Jeds Jerky Jed's Sweet & Spicy Brisket

Ayoba-Yo Rosemary Truffle Biltong (Limited Small Batch Release)

Trappers Creek Inc. Alaskas Best Salmon Jerky (Original)

Jamie's Jerky Jami's Original Beef Jerky

Matt-Hat Jerky Black Truffle

Moms Beef Jerky - Original Flavor

Wicked Cutz Orange Teriyaki Beef Jerky

One judge commented, "Jeds Jerky is one of the best brands of jerky Ive experienced! Keep up the great work. Ayoba-Yo Rosemary Truffle Biltong had a wonderful texture and alluring flavor profile. Wow! Wicked Cutz Carolina Killa Beef Jerky burned a lasting impression with its extreme heat. Started out hot and just kept on going, and going, and going! Whew. Trappers Creek Alaskas Best Salmon Jerkies were a nice addition to the saturated beef jerk market. Nice alternative."

Products from the across the globe were included into this competition, and submitted to a select panel of food & wine media and industry judges located throughout North America. This panel tasted, reviewed and voted on which they consider to be the "Top Artisan Jerky of the Year."

In addition, the "Best Jerky" award winners from this competition are given the title, "Official Jerky Partner of the Taste Awards."

For more information or to see the list, go to http://www.JerkyAwards.com
A troubled woman who struggled to survive working as an escort and stripper penned a book outing her childhood abusers before dying in a suspected suicide.

Chanelle Haffenden, from Auckland, New Zealand, was found dead on June 22, last year aged 27, five years after having 'don't be afraid to ask for help' tattooed on her fore arm.

An unpublished book she had written in the 12 months leading to her death was later discovered which detailed sexual abuse two men had inflicted upon her as a child.

The memoir, titled 'The Girl with One Thousand Scars', is now leading a fight for justice from beyond the grave, after her mother Karlene Chambers handed it to police who have launched an investigation into the allegations.

Auckland woman Chanelle Haffenden (pictured)was found dead in a suspected suicide on June 22 last year

Ms Haffenden's family believe much of her troubled life can be traced to her being attacked by a church brother throughout her young years and a baby sitter when she was nine.

After describing her abuse, the autobiography accounts the harrowing tragedies that followed- suicide attempts, living in the streets, life as a stripper, and falling in love with a married man.

Ms Chambers, who only learned of her daughter's abuse a month before her death, said she was 'broken' after reading her life story and found the truth hard to live with.

'It took Chanelle's suspected suicide for the truth to come out and that breaks my heart,' she told the NZ Herald on Sunday.

Ms Chamber's husband left her and their three daughters when Ms Haffenden, the middle child, was a toddler.

When the family then met the abuser through church, Ms Haffenden saw him as a 'father figure'.

Ms Chambers said he was at first 'kind and helpful' but grew aggressive and hostile towards her over time.

Despite his odd behaviour, Ms Chambers was unaware he was abusing her daughter.

'As a young child, I was dragged along to the temple every Sunday by [the man who] enjoyed beating my mother at times in front of us children and fondling my body,' Ms Haffenden wrote of the alleged sexual abuse.

Ms Haffenden never went to the police about the attacks, which she said were 'sporadic' and dependent on his moods.

However, she confronted the man over the phone in December 2018, six months before her death.

Ms Haffenden wrote in her book that she had been sexually abused by a man at her family's church 'sporadically' as a young child then a baby sitter when she was nine

After reading the book, Ms Chambers contacted the man's wife to tell her he was a paedophile.

The woman was not surprised, and apologised for what had happened to her daughter, then filed for divorce.

She said her husband had always had an unhealthy obsession with little girls, and liked stroking their hair and taking photos.

Ms Haffenden also wrote that she and two friends were molested by a babysitter after he plied them with alcohol.

She said she told her friend's mother shortly after the incident, but the woman did not believe her.

The two other girls validated Ms Haffenden's claims to the NZ Herald, with one saying she was abused by him on several other occasions.

The man was convicted of an indecent act with a girl 1216 in 2009 then charged with indecent assault of a boy under 12 in 2012. The latter charge was later acquitted.

Ms Haffenden shared a picture on Instagram of her tattoo alongside a heartfelt post urging those who have self-harmed to not be afraid to seek help

He died in 2015 and it is understood he left a note apologising to his victims, which included four girls - one of which was his step daughter.

The woman who did not believe Ms Haffenden as a child said she now feels terrible but thought they were fabricated as she was a 'troubled' young girl.

In the midst of her abuse, she was bullied at school for acting out, becoming violent towards other pupils and destructive of classroom property.

She started self-harming at 10 years old and tried to overdose on pills, leading to numerous stints in psychiatric wards.

The trauma followed her into her teenage years, when she became a stripper while working at McDonald's to earn extra cash.

In 2014, she landed a job in customer services at Nice Blocks after a photo of her holding up a 'hire me' went viral online.

Ms Haffenden (pictured) met a married man after she began working as an escort on the side of her role in customer service for additional cash

Friends described her as a 'sweet, kind' woman who had dreams of buying a home and having a baby

While she loved the job, and felt valued, she soon became an escort on the side, setting up a website where men could hire her for the night.

It was in this second role that she met and fell in love with a married man who she hoped would buy a home with her and start a family.

While she told her mum he was supporting her by paying for her Auckland apartment, her dreams of a life together never came to fruition.

However, the man helped her write her book.

Detective Ross Collett said police will interview the men mentioned, however confessions will be needed for charges to be laid.

Ms Chambers wants to publish the book and said she hopes her daughter's legacy will be justice for victims of sexual abuse and mental health sufferers.

'It won't bring my daughter back but I don't want any other family to go through what we have. Always listen and believe your children.'

For confidential support in Australia contact: LIFELINE: 13 11 14 www.lifeline.org.au Suicide Call Back Service: 1300 659 467
LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESSWIRE / August 9, 2020 / Compare-autoinsurance.org (http://compare-autoinsurance.org/) is a top auto insurance brokerage website, providing car insurance quotes online from trustworthy agencies all over the United States. This website explains why car insurance premiums are modified periodically by insurance companies.

Drivers that renewed their insurance policies for more than once are well aware that the costs of insurance can vary a lot. Some drivers might be boggled about the sudden insurance costs changes, especially those who are not familiar with the methods used by insurance companies in order to determine the insurance premiums.

The main reasons why insurance premiums change over time are the following:

Claim ratio. Any insurance company wants to make as much profit as possible. The ideal situation for an insurance provider is to sell insurance policies to customers that will stay for a long time with them and will never be involved in an accident and will never file a claim. This means that the insurance company will have 100% profit from their premiums. However, insurance companies have to pay the claims of their customers. In order to not lose money, insurance will try to spread the loss to all of their paying clients, even to those who never made a claim.

Driver's profile. In order to maximize their profits, the insurance providers are targeting certain types of drivers. For example, providers can target middle-aged persons that have enough driving experience, or seniors that are rarely driving. Besides that, insurance companies can target persons that have certain professions that are being deemed more responsible because their jobs involve higher analytical skills and responsibility. For these reasons' insurers want to attract these persons to be their customers. In order to do that, they are willing to offer all sort of discounts and special offers.

Statistics. Insurers use many statistics that are provided by the authorities and various organizations. All of these data is added to an insurer's algorithm in order to determine the insurability risk. The data is continuously updated, so the results change over time.

Story continues

For additional info, money-saving tips and free car insurance quotes, visit https://compare-autoinsurance.org/.

Compare-autoinsurance.org is an online provider of life, home, health, and auto insurance quotes. This website is unique because it does not simply stick to one kind of insurance provider, but brings the clients the best deals from many different online insurance carriers. In this way, clients have access to offers from multiple carriers all in one place: this website. On this site, customers have access to quotes for insurance plans from various agencies, such as local or nationwide agencies, brand names insurance companies, etc.

"Any insurance company wants to maximize its profits. In order to that, they are resorting to various methods that can help them determine the most profitable insurance rates for them," said Russell Rabichev, Marketing Director of Internet Marketing Company.

CONTACT:

Company Name: Internet Marketing Company

Person for contact Name: Gurgu C

Phone Number: (818) 359-3898

Email: cgurgu@internetmarketingcompany.biz

Website: http://compare-autoinsurance.org

SOURCE: Internet Marketing Company





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If we were playing Say the First Thing that Comes to Mind and I were to say the words 2000 presidential election , most Americans would probably say, Florida , and say it with a frown on their face and frustration in their voice. Twenty years later, we still do not seem to have adequately learned from that embarrassing failure.





Over the past decade, Florida counties have transitioned from older optical scan technology that counted paper ballots to newer digital systems that function by capturing an electronic image of each vote on each ballot. As ballots are fed through the digital scanners, the machines automatically create an electronic image of each ballot which is what is actually counted, rather than the ballot itself.





However, while Manatee and Sarasota are among the Florida counties that save all of the scanned ballot images, more than half of the counties are not doing so. At least 36 Florida Supervisors of Elections are refusing to save all machine ballot images, even though both federal and state statutes require that all ballot materials be preserved for the 22 months following an election.





A number of candidates and electors have joined the Florida Democratic Party in filing suit against eight SOEs, seeking an injunction that would require them to do so for the upcoming August primary and November general election. They argue that the images are part of the chain of custody and therefore must be maintained under the Public Records Act, chapter 119 of the Florida Statutes.





Florida does not require a voter-verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT) or verified paper record (VPR) to allow voters to verify that their vote was cast correctly, or to detect possible election fraud or malfunction, or as a means to audit the stored electronic results. A recount is called only after all of the unofficial results are in (no later than noon on the fourth day after the election), and those results show a difference of less than 0.5 percent. If the result is within 0.25 percent, the Florida Secretary of State will call for a manual recount. However, that consists only of the overvotes and undervotes cast in the race, and only then if their number has the potential to change the result.





Laurie Woodward Garcia of Broward for Progress, who is petitioning the Secretary of State to require ballot images be stored, put it this way:





"Let's say a high school had an election for class president and they used paper ballots," said Woodward Garcia. "The principal scans the ballots and declares a winner in a very close race. Afterward, students want to see all the ballots and the photos of the scans that were used to count the ballots, but the principal denies both. He says they can 'audit' some of the ballots but they can't look at any of the photo scans. Would you expect the students to stand for this? Of course not, and neither should Floridians."





Clear Ballot is a secondary system that rescans all the ballots cast in a county and creates ballot images that may be used in audits in 2020 and recounts starting in 2021. But Woodward Garcia says that while it is a useful tool, it does not replace the need to save the original ballot images. She cites the November 2018 General Election when Broward County had planned to use the Clear Ballot re-scan in place of the state-required post-election audit but ran out of time before official results were due. Not all counties have purchased the Clear Ballot system and, even if a county purchases it, they are not required to use it.





The Florida State Association of Supervisors of Elections counters that because the paper ballot itself has to be kept, saving an image of the digital scan would be redundant. In an email to SOEs, the associations legal counsel conceded that if the image is saved, it must be maintained as a public record, noting that because it is not automatically saved, it is not a public record unless the SOE decides to save it.





Election Systems & Software (ES&S), the company that manufactures voting machines used in our state, notes that there are three options with their software: save all images, save just images of ballots containing a write-in vote, or save none. So the legal argument to be had is whether or not the device counting the image rather than the ballot inherently makes that image a public record that state statute then requires to be maintained, or whether actively saving the otherwise temporary image triggers the requirement.





The better question may be why wouldnt we want to ensure the credibility of an election by providing a way in which the results shown on the ballot images can be compared to the official results and also checked against the paper ballots. The idea that in a very closely contested and perhaps controversial election, counties, especially large ones, would ever be able to marshal the resources to complete a manual recount of all ballots and report official results by the deadline is obviously not realistic. And simply refeeding the ballots through the same scanners or auditing a small portion under/overvotes does not provide the same checks against scan errors, other glitches, or outright fraud. If the only reason to not save all scanned ballot images is to avoid creating another public record that must be maintained, that doesnt seem like a good reason at all.





Novembers presidential election is likely to be very close, and the results here in Florida may once again play a pivotal role. COVID-19 all but guarantees that there will be many more vote-by-mail ballots, the counting of which will almost surely delay the reporting of eagerly awaited results. Confidence in our ability to conduct an accurate and timely election while fending off efforts of fraud is not high among voters, especially given the seeds of doubt that have been sown in politicizing the issue.





Saving digital images of all ballots cast is one way to bolster confidence in the system while giving us the ability to enact more accurate means to inspect close or otherwise controversial results. This seems like a no-brainer and if it cannot be corrected via the judicial pathway, lawmakers should provide a legislative solution.



Dennis Maley is an editor and columnist for The Bradenton Times. With over two decades of experience as a journalist, he has covered Manatee County government since 2010. He is a graduate of Shippensburg University, where he earned a degree in Government. He later served as a Captain in the U.S. Army. Click here for his bio. Dennis's latest novel, Sacred Hearts, is available here .








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The best part: Its free. And its yours. Helping everyday citizens claim lost money is one of the duties of the U.S. Treasury Department. You are entitled to those funds.

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Most of the Tamil Diaspora and Tamils in Jaffna do not have the intellectual capacity to understand and appreciate Mr.Sumanthiran's Thinking & his "genuine" efforts. There is a lot of fake and malicious propaganda by the diaspora Tamils who do not have the commonsense and capacity to think rationally.





by Gaja Lakshmi Paramasivam





Rebellion by juniors against seniors is a continuous pattern in Sri Lanka. SLPP is a breakaway group led by the Rajapaksas, which won majority seats in Parliament in the 2020 Parliamentary elections. Likewise, SJB broke away from the UNP and won the position of Leader of the Opposition. They both confirm greater power allocated to juniors over seniors. To the extent the elections were orderly, and to me they were  thanks to the armed forces  one can read the natural mind structure of the group that has predominant power to elect a government. In the language of the ordinary person  it is child taking over the parent  invading parental position. Hence one is entitled to conclude that majority Sri Lankans are thinking they are promoting continuity of hierarchical leadership demonstrated by the Rajapaksa family. That which is disregarded is the Political institution structured by this family which confirms separation from the original root  the SLFP. In the case of the SJB of Premadasa  the root of this political party is the UNP. This was confirmed by former minister Vajira Abeywardena, whom I met in Jaffna last year:





M A Sumanthiran





[When asked about the SLPP forming a government with a two-thirds majority, he said that the main group responsible for that is the Sajith Premadasa faction.





He also claimed that Premadasa ruined himself and the UNP along with his political campaign. Abeywardena stated that they gave their full backing to Premadasa at the last presidential election, but he failed to win and now the 5.5 million votes have dropped to 2.6 million. ]





To my mind, Mr Premadasa was like a junior to Mr Gotabaya Rajapaksa even back then. To oppose effectively, one has to be of diverse mind structure.





When we do not groom our heirs  juniors by position who think they have greater power tend to take over through rebellion. The catch in a democracy is this weakness of lack of will to groom heirs. But UNPs strength to Sri Lankans is essential in Sri Lankas globalisation. UNP has far greater supporters within Tamils than SLPP which is a separatist group. Globally also, UNP enjoys a far higher level of goodwill than any other political party in Sri Lanka.





Sri Lanka needs business structures to develop Equality as well as become more self-sufficient economically. Parliament is not the only way to develop this. In fact, it might be a blessing in disguise to be free of the parliamentary pressures while focusing on repairing the roots of the UNP heritage by the young and the restless. Towards these business partnerships with minority communities would certainly go a long way and would promote global investments by Sri Lankans. Now that TNA has won under the leadership of Mr Sumanthiran, there are naturally alliances open to them through global projects. This was confirmed within the Tamil Diaspora (TD) as follows:





[TD1: I see a silver lining in the dark clouds surrounding the Tamils in Sri Lanka. That Silver Lining is none other than Mr M.A. Sumanthiran.





Most of the Tamil Diaspora and Tamils in Jaffna do not have the intellectual capacity to understand and appreciate Mr.Sumanthiran's Thinking & his "genuine" efforts. There is a lot of fake and malicious propaganda by the diaspora Tamils who do not have the commonsense and capacity to think rationally.





He is truly a genuine man dedicated to the cause and Incredibly talented!





I wish him well & sincerely pray for success in his efforts to win the rights for the Tamils in Srilanka.





God bless Mr Sumanthiran, Oh Sivaayanama ...





TD2: TD1s sentiments are the same as mine. After all Jaffna people proved that they know who will lead them!!





Gaja: My articles will confirm that my natural vote was for Sumanthiran at this juncture. He has a firmer structure than any other in terms of National Politics. He successfully diffused the continuous flow of discouragement from many parts of the Tamil Diaspora  which were in favour of CVW who sang the song of separation. The way I interpret his (CVWs) win is that the Tamils said thank you. Beyond that Sumanthiran has proven to have the confidence of majority Jaffna Tamils to lead the question of Equality  for which one has to have a common investment as the foundation. Separation does not need common investment and therefore participation in National politics. Sumanthiran was honest about it whereas others including CVW and Ponnambalam were being hypocritical to get the votes. Ultimately the outcome delivered for me. ]





Given that Mr Sumanthiran is a Christian and his leadership has resulted in majority seats in Northern Sri Lanka for ITAK, religious commonness in Northern Sri Lanka where the majority are Hindus has been confirmed. Hence to my mind, it is really a win-win situation for Sri Lankan Nationalism led by minorities who in Sri Lanka win through intellectual leadership. This was confirmed in 2018 during the constitutional crisis brought about by deviators. It is healthy for Sri Lanka which is no longer a separate entity but part of the global structure  dependent on Global sovereignty.





Southerners have promoted rebellion and therefore will tend to separate even though they may show financial prosperity through welfare monies. It is now the job of Mr Wigneswaran and Mr Ponnambalam to ensure that they oppose Southern Separatists so strongly that Northern Separatists would feel the discipline.
Crowds packed meetings at L.A. City Hall on short-term rentals, including this 2016 Planning Commission hearing. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)

Tenant activists celebrated when Los Angeles ushered in new rules to clamp down on renting homes for short stays, saying the city needed to stop landlords who were running apartment buildings like hotels.

But more than a year after that law went into effect, many rental hosts appear to be ignoring it. Thousands of illegal rentals are still being advertised online, according to city officials and a Times analysis of listings on the popular platform Airbnb  and only a fraction have been penalized with fines.

The new law limits Angelenos to hosting short-term rentals in their "primary residence," not in a second home or an investment property  a rule meant to ease the housing crisis. It also requires hosts to register with the city, which checks that they meet that and other requirements. Advertising an unregistered listing could be a way to try to dodge those rules.

The Times analysis found that as of early June, nearly 5,000 Airbnb listings for short-term rentals in Los Angeles lacked city registration numbers. The city, in turn, has estimated that on Airbnb, more than 6,000 listings are out of compliance  a number equal to roughly 42% of active listings on all platforms in Los Angeles.

So far, city officials have been able to identify roughly 2,600 properties in L.A. on several platforms, including Airbnb, that have failed to comply with the ordinance because they didn't include a valid registration.

To combat the problem, L.A. has sent out two rounds of warning letters and issued more than 650 citations to rental hosts, imposing one-time fines of $500 each. City officials say that most scofflaws have fallen in line after getting the warning letters, and that there has been a 62% decrease in rental listings since L.A. started its enforcement efforts last November.

"These reductions are largely the result of staff spending an enormous amount of time helping hosts register, cleaning up data, and taking down illegal listings," planning department spokesman Yeghig Keshishian said. "At the end of the day, our goal has always been to resolve these problems and achieve compliance."

Story continues

But the city has not imposed ongoing fines of $500 per day for illegal listings, one of the enforcement tools included in the new ordinance. Keshishian said that when enforcement began in November, they didn't want to issue "weeks' worth of fines when the end goal was always to protect our housing stock, not to exact fees."

Nor has it penalized online platforms that host such listings, as the L.A. law allows. Keshishian said they had focused on hosts because it was easier to prove violations. To enforce the rules against platforms, he said, the city needs additional evidence to show that they "knew or ignored the fact that their hosts were not in compliance."

Los Angeles entered into an agreement last year with Airbnb that required the platform to remove "categorically ineligible" listings identified by the city, including those in apartments covered by rent stabilization rules. But Airbnb did not have to remove any others until it rolled out a new system to facilitate sharing data with the city and removing illegal listings.

"People have been calling our office, complaining that the city has been telling residents that Airbnb has immunity," said Nancy Hanna, a partner with the law firm Hadsell Stormer Renick & Dai, which has sued Airbnb on behalf of tenants.

In May, the Hadsell firm sent a letter complaining that enforcement was "woefully inadequate" and questioning city claims of success, pointing to a huge jump in the number of out-of-compliance rentals in Los Angeles between December and February, based on reports from a city contractor.

Keshishian said the increase was the result of thousands of rentals of previously "unknown" compliance being checked and determined to be unpermitted.

Airbnb, which reported spending more than $280,000 on lobbying and related expenditures in L.A. in the first half of this year, says it has not been fighting the enforcement process.

"Our desire is to make sure that the rules are working," said Airbnb spokesman Christopher Nulty, adding that the planned system "puts enforcement tools in the hands of the city."

"There's never been any intention on our side to drag our feet," Nulty said. "Our focus has been developing a system that works." And as of today, he added, the system is "ready to go."

In June, Airbnb announced it was launching that system to help with enforcement. Then the city abruptly put it on hold: Planning officials said Mayor Eric Garcetti's office told them to hold off until the department had prepared a report on its financial effects.

Clamping down on illegal rentals could affect revenues from lodging taxes as L.A. faces a budget crunch. Planning officials argued in a report, however, that most guests would simply book legitimate rentals or hotels, resulting in little effect on tax revenue. The mayor's office did not provide comment on the issue.

The decision to hold off on the new system aggravates some residents. "The city is dragging their feet to force Airbnb to adhere to the agreement they made," said Judith Goldman, one of the co-founders of Keep Neighborhoods First, which pushed for the new rules amid concerns about "commercialized" rentals.

Venice residents, advocates and affordable housing supporters rally in 2015 calling for regulation of short-term rentals. (Christina House / Los Angeles Times)

In February, Goldman said she was aghast to hear from the planning department that more than 10,000 possible violations of the ordinance had been identified  but no citations had been issued. Fines started to be handed down in late February, but tenants who have complained about illegal rentals remain dissatisfied.

"If you're going to fine someone a one-time $500, they could cover that cost in two or three nights," said Brian Averill, a Venice tenant whose building, the Ellison, has been embroiled in a legal battle over nightly rentals. "That seems incredibly ineffective. People are just going to see that as the cost of doing business and gladly pay it."

Nulty, the Airbnb spokesman, countered that for the majority of hosts on their platform, "five hundred dollars is a lot of money ... and certainly sends a very clear message that the city of L.A. will not tolerate people hosting illegally."

Some argue that the new rules have had a marked effect.

Chani Krich, co-founder of Homeshare Alliance Los Angeles, said that most of the hosts her group represents have been forced to stop because the city banned short-term rentals in rent stabilized apartments. Other owners who were renting an extra unit in a duplex or triplex were also thwarted.

"There was a mass exodus in November," Krich said. "They basically just shut it down.

Others say they have seen little change under the new law.

Another Venice renter, Yvonne Sjostrand, said she was frustrated that her landlord had not been cited for a revolving door of rentals at her rent-stabilized building. Strangers come and go, block the driveway, leave trash and bring in lots of guests, she complained. Other tenants have left in frustration with that and other issues at the building, Sjostrand said.

"We've been reporting it for years. Nobody does anything," she said. Planning officials said they had received calls about that building and had referred the issue to another department for possible enforcement.

Another apartment building on the edge of Venice was cited for illegal rentals in April, but that fine had yet to be paid as of the end of July, and two residents there said the problems with night-to-night visitors had only worsened. A representative at that building, called the Westerly on Lincoln, did not respond to requests for comment on the citation.

Keshishian said that more than 9,000 listings had spurred warning letters from the city, but roughly 2,600 appeared to still be out of compliance after getting those initial warnings and are undergoing further investigation for possible citations. At the end of July, Hollywood led the city for properties identified as being in violation (167), followed by Venice (147) and downtown (144).

Although more than 600 properties have been cited with fines so far, the majority had not paid those fines as of late July, according to data provided by the City Attorney's Office. Nearly 250 appeals have been lodged over the citations.

In addition to thousands of unregistered listings, The Times' analysis found that more than 400 hosts listed two or more entire L.A. homes or apartments as short-term rentals on Airbnb in June. Doing so raises questions about whether they are violating the rule that limits each host to renting out their own primary residence.

L.A. planning officials cautioned, however, that hosts often use third-party managers to list their homes on Airbnb, so the phenomenon doesn't necessarily show that building owners are breaking the rules.

The Times' analysis is based on information collected by Inside Airbnb, a tech start-up that collects data from Airbnb listings. The data is a snapshot of L.A. listings that appeared on the site on June 10.

An Airbnb company spokesperson said not all listings on the site are active," and noted that information on Inside Airbnb doesnt take into account that multiple listings could be advertising the same property.
Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa on Sunday said the PM Kisan Scheme has benefited 52.5 lakh farmers in the state and that the first instalment of Rs 1,049 crore will be credited into their accounts.

As the Prime Minister unveiled a special package of Rs one lakh crore for farmers today, Yediyurappa tweeted,"PM Narendra Modi Govt believes India's future lies in the welfare of its farmers. Thanks to PM India for PM KISAN Scheme which has benefited over 52.50 lakh farmers in Karnataka, the first installment Rs 1,049 crore will now be credited into their accounts."

State Agriculture Minister B C Patil too thanked Modi for selecting Karnataka for launching the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund of Rs one lakh crore and releasing Rs 17,000 crore under PM Kisan scheme.

In a series of tweets, Patil said, "I express my sincere gratitude to our Honourable PM for identifying Ugane PACS in Hassan District of Karnataka for interaction."

He assured the Prime Minister of perfect implementation of Aatma Nirbhar Abhiyan Scheme in Karnataka, especially focussing on implementation of Alternative Investment Fund (AIF) and PM Formalisation of Micro Food Processing Enterprises Scheme in association with NABARD and other government departments.

The Prime Minister on Sunday announced Rs one lakh crore package for farmers on the occasion of 'Hal Shashti' or Balaram Jayanti to support farmers, Primary Agriculture Credit Societies, Agri-entrepreneurs in building community farming assets and post-harvest agriculture infrastructure.

These assets will enable farmers to get greater value for their produce as they will be able to store and sell at higher prices, reduce wastage, and increase processing and value addition, said a government press note.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks during a news conference at the State Department in Washington on Aug. 5, 2020. (Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AFP via Getty Images)

Pompeo to Visit Central, Eastern Europe to Discuss Regional Security, Energy Cooperation

Efforts to counter Chinese, Russian influence on the agenda

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will travel to Central and Eastern Europe this week to discuss regional security issues, efforts to counter Chinese and Russian influence in the region, and energy cooperation.

Pompeo will visit the Czech Republic on Aug. 11, where hell meet with his Czech counterpart Tomas Petricek to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Western Czechoslovakia in World War II by the U.S. Army. Pompeo also will meet with Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis to discuss nuclear energy cooperation, and he will have a courtesy call with Czech President Milos Zeman, according to a State Department statement.

Czech Republics Prime Minister Andrej Babis arrives for the second day of the European Union leaders summit, held to discuss the EUs long-term budget for 20212027, in Brussels, on Feb. 21, 2020. (Ludovic Marin/Pool via Reuters)

The main topics of Pompeos talks in the Czech Republic will be defense and economic cooperation, as well as protecting human rights, according to Philip Reeker, acting assistant secretary of state at the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs.

Reeker contrasted the U.S. Armys liberation of Western Czechoslovakia from German occupation in 1945, with the Soviet Red Army, which imposed a communist dictatorship on the country and practically occupied it until the disintegration of the Eastern Communist Bloc in Europe in 1989.

At a briefing on Aug. 7, Reeker noted the Czech Republics participation alongside the United States in missions in Afghanistan and Iraq, saying the country serves as the U.S. protecting power in Syria.

Czechia, as part of a comprehensive 5G security initiative, hosted a conference where representatives of governments from more than 30 countries, the European Union, and NATO developed the Prague Proposals: a set of recommendations and principles for countries to design, develop, and maintain secure 5G networks.

Slovenias president Borut Pahor speaks during an interview with the Associated Press in Ljubljana, Slovenia on March 6, 2017. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)

On Aug. 13, Pompeo will travel to Slovenia, where he will sign a Joint Declaration on 5G Security with Slovenias Foreign Minister Anze Logar and meet with Slovenias President Borut Pahor and Prime Minister Janez Jansa to discuss cooperation between the two countries on nuclear energy as well as Western Balkan integration, according to the State Department.

Reeker praised Slovenia as a capable, reliable defense partner that has played an important role in promoting stability and security in the region, such as conducting together with the United States de-mining operations and training in the Western Balkans over the past two decades.

Austrias Chancellor Sebastian Kurz addresses the media in Vienna, Austria, March 6, 2019. (Leonhard Foeger/Reuters)

Pompeo will travel to Vienna, on Aug. 14 to meet Austrias Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg and Chancellor Sebastian Kurz to discuss trade, investment, and regional security.

Pompeo will also meet in Vienna with Rafael Grossi, the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The IAEA is charged with monitoring Irans adherence to the 2015 nuclear deal from which the United States withdrew in 2018.

Austria is an East-West hub, a venue for international dialogue and negotiations, Reeker said, adding that the United States has a mission to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe headquartered there.

Austria isnt a NATO member, but it contributes to NATOs mission in Afghanistan as well as in the Middle East and Africa.

Polands Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki in Brussels, Belgium, on Oct. 18, 2019. (Piroschka van de Wouw/Reuters)

The last stop of Pompeos trip will be Poland. On Aug. 15, he will meet with Polands Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and Foreign Minister Jacek Czaputowicz to discuss a wide range of topics, from defense cooperation and recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic to 5G network security and the Three Seas Initiative aimed to improve the regional energy and infrastructure situation, the statement said.

Pompeo will also meet with Polish President Andrzej Duda and participate in a ceremony to commemorate the centennial of the 1920 Battle of Warsaw, in which Polish forces defeated the Bolsheviks.

Poland will also celebrate in August the 40th anniversary of the birth of the Solidaritythe free trade union and political social movement that started the erosion of the Eastern Communist Bloc and contributed to the collapse of communism in Europe and the fall of the Iron Curtain.

Poland is one of our closest and strongest allies, Reeker said. We enjoy an unprecedented level of bilateral relations.

Poland hosts thousands of U.S. troops rotating annually as part of our joint efforts to ensure European security and has offered to contribute resources to increase U.S. military presence, Reeker said.

Poland is one of the few NATO allies that fulfills its obligation to spend 2 percent of its GDP on defense, pledged by all NATO members.

The United States is seeking cooperation with European and other countries on the security of 5G networks due to the threat of infiltration posed by the Chinese communist regime. Reeker said this issue could be a topic of talks, to some extent, with each country.

The Czech Republic and Poland have already committed to using only trusted vendors in their 5G networks.

All four countries are members of the European Union, but only the Czech Republic, Poland, and Slovenia are NATO members.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Once the Hollywood power couple, Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt's marriage reportedly became so bad that they stopped being intimate with each other.

In a report by the National Enquirer, the former lovers reached a point in their marriage where they realized that they were in a union that didn't have any love in it.

A source told the publication, "They argued about everything, and when sex became less of a priority, the differences between them amplified enormously."

Since then, the "Maleficent" star lost her desire to be intimate with the "Ad Astra" actor and anybody else after her divorce to Pitt.

The source further claimed that intimacy was something Angelina Jolie has left behind her.

"Menopause, a cancer scare, and a double mastectomy have left her with little or no interest in sex," and added, "Her brutal breakup with Brad killed whatever desire she had left."

One of the most remarkable moments in public health and cancer history, she had undergone a preventive mastectomy in 2013.

Jolie, who lost her mom, grandma, and aunt to cancer, announced in an op-ed piece for the New York Times that she decided to have her ovaries removed.

She carries a gene mutation, giving her a high risk of developing breast and ovarian cancer.

"Once I knew that this was my reality, I decided to be proactive and to minimize the risk as much as I could."

Angelina Jolie continued, "I decided to have a preventive double mastectomy. I started with the breasts, as my risk of breast cancer is higher than my risk of ovarian cancer, and the surgery is more complex."

Two years later, the Hollywood superstar had her ovaries removed in 2015.

The gene was said to be a BRCA1. She wrote, "It gave me an estimated 87% risk of breast cancer and a 50% risk of ovarian cancer."

At that time, Brad Pitt supported his then-wife's decision to undergo the procedure if it would keep their family together.

The National Enquirer also spoke to a surgeon, Dr. Gabe Mirkin.

He claimed, "Angelina had her ovaries removed because she has the BRCA1 gene that markedly increases the risk of breast cancer."

"However, removing estrogen reduces libido. All the surgeries may have ultimately saved her life, but it certainly left her feeling less sensual."

In the end, Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt's marriage didn't survive, and it is said to be because they stopped prioritizing intimate moments together.

It only amplified the A-list superstars' differences.

The source also blamed Jolie's lack of determination for intimacy influenced by her parents' troubled union.

"She loved her mom and wasn't thrilled y the way he treated her. Winding up in a loveless marriage was nothing new to her."

Back when Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie were still in their marital bliss, the "Ocean's 11" actor dished on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" about how they get things spicy.

"We find our time. We carve out mommy, daddy time. It's called a hotel. You got to get our of this house. You got to leave."

READ MORE: Oprah Winfrey Opportunist? Billionaire Slammed for Adding Her Logo on Breonna Taylor's Billboards
Speaking on the behalf of the ASEAN Committee in Caracas, Vietnamese Ambassador Le Viet Duyen highlighted achievements made by ASEAN in recent years, saying that with a population of more than 679 million and GDP of over 3 trillion USD, the bloc has become one of the worlds most successful regional organisations and an important partner of many countries around the world.



On the behalf of the ASEAN Committee, Vietnamese Ambassador Le Viet Duyen presents the donation of medical supplies to help the Venezuelan Ministry of Foreign Affairs fight the COVID-19 pandemic. (Photo courtesy of the Embassy of Vietnam in Venezuela)



ASEAN has entered a new era of development with a target of building the ASEAN Community based on three pillars: Political-Security Community, Economic Community, and Socio-Cultural Community, he said.



This year is significant to building the ASEAN Community in the ASEAN Vision 2025 and to strengthening relations with its partners, he said, adding that against the backdrop of regional and global uncertainties, ASEAN has always maintained its unity and consensus on dealing with issues regarding regional peace and security.



He further noted that in the face of rising global trade tensions and protectionism, ASEAN is committed to promoting trading of goods and capital among member states and accelerating negotiations on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) between ASEAN nations and six partners, including China, the Republic of Korea, Japan, India, Australia and New Zealand.



As ASEAN Chair this year, Vietnam has given priority to closely coordinating with other member states to uphold ASEANs centrality in maintaining peace, security and stability in the region, fostering intra-bloc connectivity and integration, seizing opportunities from the fourth Industrial Revolution, raising community awareness and identity, enhancing cooperation with partners for peace and sustainable development, and promoting ASEANs role and contributions to the global community.



Vietnamese Ambassador Le Viet Duyen vowed to work closely the Venezuelan Foreign Ministry to strengthen and expand relations between the two sides.



He took the occasion to present the ASEANs donation of medical supplies to help the Venezuelan Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.



For his part, Molina voiced his hope to further reinforce ties between Venezuela and ASEAN as well as Venezuela and the blocs member states. He particularly expected that Venezuela will soon sign the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (TAC) with ASEAN./.
Reese Witherspoon has been enjoying some quality family time with her husband and kids amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

And the Academy Award winner is serving quarantine goals for her 23.7million Instagram followers.

She put on a summer chic display in pink Saturday, as she blew bubbles while enjoying a summer day outside with son Tennessee and their brown lab Hank.

Blowing bubbles: Reese Witherspoon put on a summer chic display in pink Saturday, as she blew bubbles while enjoying a summer day outside with son Tennessee and their brown lab Hank

The 44-year-old donned a white wrap sundress with a pink floral print from her brand Draper James, paired with a straw hat and red checker-print sunglasses.

She captioned a boomerang of herself blowing bubbles: 'Bubbles: 99 Quarantine fun with your kids: Priceless.'

Witherspoon posted another photo to her story with Tennessee, seven, and Hank, writing: 'I forgot how fun bubbles are !'

She also shared an adorable snap of Hank sitting by their pool, which she captioned: 'Love my lab.'

Summer chic: The 44-year-old donned a white wrap sundress with a pink floral print from her brand Draper James, paired with a straw hat and red checker-print sunglasses

Mama's boy: Witherspoon posted a photo to her story with Tennessee, seven, and Hank, writing: 'I forgot how fun bubbles are !'

Puppy love: She also shared an adorable snap of Hank sitting by their pool, which she captioned: 'Love my lab'

The Cruel Intentions star is getting ready to return to work, as Hollywood reopens with new safety regulations against the coronavirus.

She was recently announced as producer on the upcoming film Where the Crawdads Sing, through her banner Hello Sunshine.

Based on the 2018 book by Delia Owens, it follows Kya, a young woman left to raise herself on a North Carolina marsh after her parents abandon her.

Back to work: The Cruel Intentions star is getting ready to return to work, as Hollywood reopens with new safety regulations against the coronavirus

Boss lady: She was announced as producer on the upcoming film Where the Crawdads Sing, through her banner Hello Sunshine (pictured in February, 2020)

After becoming a successful author, she's accused of mudering her ex-boyfriend, the town's golden boy.

Witherspoon recently celebrated nabbing nominations for three of Hello Sunshine's shows: Little Fires Everywhere, The Morning Show and Big Little Lies.

She wrote on Twitter: 'Wow what an incredible honor! 3 of our @hellosunshine productions are nominated for a total of 18 Emmys

'Im so proud of our team who works tirelessly behind the scenes to bring these stories to life! BRAVO to the cast & crews.'
Eleven members of a Hindu family who moved from Pakistan to India in 2015 were found dead on Sunday in a small house located on a farm in Lodata Alavata village of Rajasthans Jodhpur district in what the police suspected to be a suicide pact .A family member who slept outside the hut and was alive informed the police.

The dead include a five-year-old girl and two boys, aged 11 and 10. Police found traces of rat poison and a suicide note in the house, causing them to suspect that the 11 had killed themselves. But murder cannot be ruled out, the police said.

All angles are being investigated, said Jodhpur (rural) superintendent of police Rahul Barhat.

Barhat said that the lone survivor who slept on the veranda outside the hut, informed the police about the deaths around 10 am on Sunday.

The survivor told us that when he went into the house on Sunday morning, other members of the family didnt wake up. He said he called some people and it was found that the 11 people were dead. Kewalram went to the police station to inform about the incident, the SP said.

The Jodhpur SP and district collector Indrajeet Singh visited the scene. Senior police officials, a dog squad and a forensic science laboratory (FSL) team also reached the house.

The dead belonged to the Bheel community. All of them lived in the single-room house.

All the deceased are Pakistani immigrants and were living in Jodhpur since 2015 on long-term visa. Migrants of any other country can only apply for citizenship after completing seven years in India. The family had taken a farm on lease from a local and used to do farming on that for their survival. They had many relatives in Jodhpur also, said Barhat.

The Jodhpur rural SP said that during examination of the spot, traces of rat poison were found. No injury marks or bruises were found on the bodies, the SP said.

Prima facie it appears that the deceased consumed poisons as traces of rat poison were found from the floor of the house. There is a possibility that someone may had mixed the poison in the dinner of the deceased last night. A suicide note has been also recovered from the spot which indicates abetment. However, the note could have been placed on the spot to distract the police investigation. No injury marks or bruises have been found on the bodies of the deceased, the police officer said.

The suicide note mentioned financial hardships the family was facing and problems two of the family members were facing from their in-laws. The SP said the suicide note could have been planted at the crime scene to divert police investigation.

The postmortem examination on the victims would be done by a team of doctors at a Jodhpur medical college.
New Zealand marked 100 days without a domestic transmission of the coronavirus on Sunday, but warned against complacency as countries like Vietnam and Australia which once had the virus under control now battle a resurgence in infections.

New Zealand`s successful fight against COVID-19 has made the Pacific island nation of 5 million one of the safest places in the world right now.

New Zealanders have returned to normal life, but authorities are concerned that people were now refusing testing, not using the government contact tracing apps, and even ignoring basic hygiene rules.

"Achieving 100 days without community transmission is a significant milestone, however, as we all know, we can`t afford to be complacent," Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield said.

"We have seen overseas how quickly the virus can re-emerge and spread in places where it was previously under control, and we need to be prepared to quickly stamp out any future cases in New Zealand," he said.

New Zealand has 23 active cases in managed isolation facilities, and 1,219 COVID-19 cases in all so far.

Vietnam, which went for three months without detecting any domestic transmission, is now racing to control a new outbreak in Danang.

Neighbouring Australia`s second-biggest city, Melbourne, has gone into a six week lockdown due to a surge in cases. The second wave of cases in Melbourne has been largely a result of lapses in quarantining.

"For countries like Australia and New Zealand the source of such outbreaks is likely to be from managed isolation and quarantine facilities because of the large numbers of people held there and the multiple shifts of staff involved in looking after them," said Michael Baker, Professor of Public Health at the University of Otago.

There have been cases of returning New Zealanders sneaking out of quarantine, and other security slip ups.

New Zealand last week ramped up testing at quarantine facilities and clinics, and started work on technology to track people using Bluetooth technology.

Ardern kicked off her re-election campaign on Saturday calling it a `Covid election`.

But a resurgence of cases due to "Covid fatigue" could spark a backlash against her, and give the opposition a chance to work their way back into the election contest.
A small group of demonstrators lit a fire inside the Portland police union building Saturday, sparking a riot declaration by police, who then advanced on the hundreds who gathered nearby.

The night marked the second time someone had set a fire inside the police union building, which has turned into a regular site of demonstrations against police violence and systemic racism that began in late May. Though both fires were quickly extinguished, the flames reignited criticism of the relatively few protesters who provoke police with property damage and other tactics.

Several other demonstrations also occurred Saturday throughout the city, and each was peaceful.

Even within the crowd gathered outside the police union headquarters in North Portland, the group of 20 or so people that targeted the building was significantly outnumbered by a few hundred others. The distinction between the two groups disappeared when dozens of officers arrived and advanced on the crowd.

Police confirmed on Twitter that the fire had prompted the riot declaration, because it was terribly dangerous.

Officers moved in so the fire could be extinguished before it could grow out of control, police said.

Police used impact munitions and physical force to advance on the crowd multiple times. People sometimes threw objects back at officers as they advanced, and at one point set fire to the middle of a large barricade to try to block police.

Saturdays protests followed a pattern that has emerged in recent days, in which a faction of protesters gathers outside one of several local police buildings. The protests draw a few hundred people each night, a contrast to the thousands who have sometimes turned out downtown. A small group within the nightly crowds have damaged property or thrown things at officers. Portland police have responded with force to break up the gatherings.

Saturday nights demonstration outside the police union building began around 10:30 p.m., after marchers arrived from Peninsula Park in North Portland. Before the march, speakers addressed a gathering crowd at the park as the sun set. Many people spoke out against systemic racism and urged people to take action toward reform.

Voting and participating in the democratic process is key, Destiny Houston told the crowd. The vote is the most powerful nonviolent change agent you have in a democratic society.

Demetria Hester, who leads Mothers United for Black Lives Matter, rallied the crowd and helped lead the march west on Albina Avenue, then north on Denver Avenue. As people marched, leaders shouted, Whose lives matter? Several hundred marchers responded, Black lives matter!

When the march arrived at the union building on Lombard Street, police used a loudspeaker to caution against criminal activity. Many people in Hesters group formed a line at the end of protesters to form a blockade from traffic. One protester walked around with boxes of donuts from a shop across the street and handed them out among the crowd.

Most people milled about the four lanes of Lombard Street and chanted, Black lives matter! as drums played in the background.

As the crowd continued to chant, a few people moved a dumpster to the middle of the street, tipped it over and set its cardboard contents on fire. Some people moved fencing from a nearby vacant building to add to the barricade. A few other people tagged the boarded-up union building with graffiti or pounded on the plywood.

Around 11 p.m., about 20 people turned their focus to the boarded-up front door of the building. Some people stood in a half-circle around the group, blocking from view the actions of those closest to the door. A few people damaged the security cameras on the building.

Most people kept chanting, and some people danced. Around 11:20 p.m., some people lit the contents of two more dumpsters aflame in the middle of the street.

Portland police used a loudspeaker to declare the gathering unlawful around 11:35 p.m. Police ordered people to leave or risk the use of force.

Dozens of police and state troopers arrived from the east at 11:40 p.m. to force the crowd to move west, then north on Denver Avenue. Minutes later, police announced that the gathering was now considered a riot.

Several videos shared on social media showed some people had punched a hole in the plywood and door. A fire was burning cardboard and wood on the floor near the door. One fire truck crew arrived at the building to put out the fire, according to the countys emergency response map.

At the same time police declared a riot, police said they were closing a wide swath of streets surrounding the union building. Officers cited an emergency clause in city code, the same exemption used to close streets Thursday outside the East Precinct in Southeast Portland.

Police and state troopers kept pressing protesters north on Denver Avenue toward the Kenton neighborhood. Police used pepper spray and shot some less-lethal impact munitions toward protesters. At one point, an officer shoved a protester into a vehicle. Protesters also threw objects toward officers.

Portland police later issued a statement to say that some of the objects were balloons filled with paint. Police also said that three officers were injured, including two who were transported to a hospital and released soon after. Police did not describe the nature of any of the officers injuries. However, an Oregonian/OregonLive journalist saw one officer limping away from the crowd while getting assistance from other officers.

Both sides stopped for several minutes on Denver Avenue. Protesters piled together wooden items from downtown Kenton, such as picnic tables and road barrier signs, to build a large barricade across Denver near Schofield Street. The standoff continued past midnight.

Officers pressed north toward protesters after someone lit the middle of the barricade on fire. Police navigated through or around the barricade to close in on the crowd, which turned west onto Kilpatrick Street, a residential street.

Police trailed the crowd and continued to order people to leave. After a brief standoff, officers advanced again toward the crowd. Most protesters ended up in the Kenton Park, with police mostly standing on the edge. At one point, according to video captured by local activist Mac Smiff, an officer became separated from other officers. Protesters circled around the officer, and at least one person used a homemade shield to hit the officer. A second officer arrived, and they both walked away.

Officers used the loudspeaker to tell people that neighbors were complaining about the crowds activities and asked them to leave.

The standoff ended around 12:25 a.m. Officers retreated after shooting some impact munitions and releasing smoke on the crowd. More than 100 people remained. Some neighbors came out to help clean up the debris on Denver Avenue and put out fires of the barricade in the road.

Eventually the crowd also made its way back to Denver Avenue. Around 12:45 a.m., officers again moved in on the crowd by pressing people north on Denver, then east on Kilpatrick.

An officer announced that the area had been closed, citing the fire in the police union building and objects such as bottles and rocks thrown at police. The officer ordered people to move north, although police were pushing the crowd east. When the crowd reached Interstate Avenue, police formed a line to keep people from going south, which would have led people back to the union building.

After a minutes-long standoff, police told the crowd to reverse course and go west. Police released some sort of irritant in the air as they closed in on the crowd.

Several dozen people eventually arrived back in Kenton Park. Police ordered them to leave, but eventually retreated around 1:20 a.m.

Several dozen people still wandered around the area.

Police detained several people over the course of the night, although they have not disclosed an exact number. Police said they did not release tear gas over the course of the night.

The North Portland demonstration was just one of many throughout Saturday to call for systemic criminal justice reforms. The larger movement began 73 days ago after the Minneapolis police killing of George Floyd.

Several dozen people also gathered at a nightly rally outside the Justice Center downtown. As the even started, one person stood on the steps of the building and freestyled, Trump! Trump! Trump! Gotta go! Speakers discussed constitutional rights and encouraged people to keep attending the gatherings.

Everyone gathered was keyed on the speakers or milling about the nearby city parks. No one was focused on the federal courthouse next door, which had been the center of protests throughout July. Federal officers drew widespread scrutiny for their nightly use of tear gas to break up the crowds.

We already know that the most noble thing you can do is stand up for the rights of others, one person told the crowd of 100 people gathered downtown Saturday. Were not down here to get hit by rubber bullets, tear gas. Were down here because it is our duty under the Constitution to be here.

Mark Graves, Molly Harbarger, Dave Killen and K. Rambo of The Oregonian/OregonLive contributed to this report, which will be updated.

-- Piper McDaniel; @piperamcdaniel

-- Bryce Dole; bdole@oregonian.com
The air recordings from Mauritius show of turquoise water and a coral reef foaming Spray, a red-black lacquered cargo ship listing to one side and a brownish oil Spill, the moving from the disabled vessel to the Islands. Now Pravind Jugnauth, the Prime Minister of the Indian ocean island state, has led to the environmental emergency to exclaim. Organizations like Greenpeace warn of "one of the worst environmental crises experienced by this small island state ever".

Thilo Thielke

Free Rapporteur for Africa, based in Cape town.

F. A. Z. Twitter

Before the East coast of the beautiful beaches and coral riffs, famous main island was on 25. July, the 300-metre-long Japanese merchant vessel Wakashio run aground. It was without cargo, but with 4200 tons of Oil on the way from Singapore to Brazil, as it ran out of so far unknown cause at the reef of Pointe d'esny on base, about 40 kilometers Southeast of the capital, Port Louis. The team could be brought to safety. Try the fuel pump out, but remained because of the bad weather, unsuccessfully.

Tank burst

On Thursday, the responsible Nagashiki Shipping co. stated that because of the "permanent wave shock in the past few days," be broken the Tank on the starboard side of the Panama-registered freighter. Since then, the Oil flows. In addition, the company apologized "deeply for the people in Mauritius, and the Concerned, that we have caused you so many problems". One of eleven technicians rescue team, which had been on the ship to stabilize it, had to be rescued after the collapse of the Tanks.

According to Deborah de Chazal, Executive Director of the Mauritian Wildlife Foundation, is said to have lost the Wakashio already a quarter of their fuel. On Board around 3900 tonnes of low-sulphur heavy fuel oil, which is used as a fuel, 200 tons of Diesel and 90 tons of lubricating oil were located.

As in the immediate vicinity of the Unglucksorts ecologically sensitive areas such as the Pointe d'esny wetland area, or the Ile-aux-Aigrettes nature reserve are, struck the head of government Jugnauth Alarm. "We do not have the Expertise and the experience to salvage stranded ships, which is why I have asked France to help," he tweeted to the French state, chief Emmanuel Macron. France said to help, and the military sent aircraft from the Overseas Department of La Reunion and vertex. The Indian government also offered help, even the Japanese, Americans, British. Well possible that the spread of the Oil can be brought under control. Experts hold a crowd of up to 20,000 tonnes of spilled fuel oil for subject to appeal.

Updated Date: 09 August 2020, 13:19
By Akbar Mammadov

Armenia once again uses the regional situation to illegally settle the Armenian population from some Middle Eastern countries in Azerbaijans internationally recognized Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding regions, Foreign Ministrys Spokesperson Leyla Abdullayeva said on August 9.

Commenting on the reports on the resettlement of Lebanese Armenians in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan after the explosion in Lebanon, Abdullayeva said that Armenia seeks to artificially increase the number of Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding regions to change the ethnic and cultural features of the territories and thus to implement the annexation policy.

Noting that the fact of illegal settlement by Armenia have been recorded in the reports of the OSCE fact-finding missions, Abdullayeva said: Our serious dissatisfaction with Armenia's policy of illegal settlement in the internationally recognized territories of Azerbaijan, as well as Armenia's intention to use the tragedy in Lebanon for its own illegal purposes, has been raised within the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs.

The spokesperson stressed that these actions of Armenia are a gross violation of international humanitarian law, as well as the 1949 Geneva Convention and its additional Protocols.

This is not the first time that Armenia has used the situation in the region for its own nefarious purposes, trying to illegally settle the Armenian population in some Middle Eastern countries in the internationally recognized Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding regions of Azerbaijan, Abdullayeva said.

The spokesperson emphasized that Armenia must understand that these illegal activities and attempts at artificial settlement will not yield the results it expects.

The Azerbaijani population of occupied Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding areas will return to their homes and property, and the occupying Armenia will be held accountable for all its illegal actions.

Our demand to put an end to Armenia's purposeful settlement policy in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan will continue to be firmly raised before the international community, she concluded.

---

Akbar Mammadov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @AkbarMammadov97

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
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Linkedin Shaun Tandon (Agence France-Presse) Washington  Sun, August 9, 2020 12:02 528 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a4066c91db1 2 World US-China,Taiwan,diplomatic-tension,diplomatic-spat Free

Eager to find a foil for China, US President Donald Trump's administration is stepping up support for Taiwan, although a high-level visit to the island shows it is still treading carefully on an especially explosive issue.

Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar is heading to Taiwan to showcase the island's stunningly successful COVID-19 response as Trump, facing a tough re-election with pandemic deaths climbing at home, casts China as the culprit for the disease.

The American Institute in Taiwan, the de facto US embassy in Taipei, highlighted that Azar will be the highest-level US official to visit, based on presidential order of succession, since the United States severed relations and recognized Beijing in 1979.

But Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, a hawk who rarely misses a chance to denounce China or declare Trump to be the toughest president ever, was uncharacteristically circumspect when asked about Azar's trip, which has been denounced by Beijing.

"Cabinet members have traveled to Taiwan previously. This is consistent with policies of previous times," Pompeo told reporters.

"He'll go there and talk to them about public health issues" including the quest for a vaccine, Pompeo said.

Experts say that even the Trump administration is aware of the real risks if tensions escalate over Taiwan, one of the most sensitive issues for Beijing's communist leadership.

China considers Taiwan, where the mainland's defeated nationalists fled in 1949, to be a province awaiting reunification, by force if necessary.

Douglas Paal, who headed the American Institute in Taiwan during George W. Bush's presidency, said that the Trump administration was still paying heed to China's red line -- that no US official handling national security visit Taiwan.

Throughout the 1990s, the United States sent trade officials to Taiwan with regularity, Paal noted.

The difference this time, he said, is the context -- with Azar traveling at a time that relations between Washington and Beijing have hit a new bottom.

"Sending him to Taiwan shows respect for the old framework while putting a finger in China's eye at the same time," Paal said.

"The fact that they didn't choose to send a national security advisor or someone else suggests they are trying to come as close as possible to China's red line but don't want to cross it."

The Trump administration has taken an increasingly hawkish turn on China, with Pompeo in a recent speech saying that the four-decade policy of engaging Beijing had failed.

In recent days, Trump has ordered sweeping restrictions on popular Chinese apps TikTok and WeChat, and the Treasury Department slapped sanctions on Hong Kong's leader over a tough law that curbs dissent.

Paal said it was possible that hawks in the Trump administration would push more dramatic action on China before the November 3 election as Trump trails in the polls.

"I'm very clearly reading the Chinese as seeing that as a possibility and they are trying to avoid being drawn into that trip," he said.

Taiwan has built broad, bipartisan support in Washington. President Tsai Ing-wen has been hailed not only for her decisive coronavirus response but also, among US Democrats, for her progressive views including advocacy of gay rights, unusual for an Asian leader.

An act of Congress requires the United States to sell weapons to Taiwan to ensure its self-defense against Beijing's vastly larger armed forces.

In one of the biggest sales in years, the Trump administration last year approved an $8 billion fighter jet deal to replace Taiwan's aging fleet.

The United States has also been more assertive in calling for Taiwan's inclusion in international institutions, especially the World Health Organization.

Gerrit van der Wees, a former Dutch diplomat who teaches the history of Taiwan at George Mason University, said that Trump had initially seemed hesitant, delaying the plane sale as he sought a trade pact with China.

But recent actions including China's clampdown in Hong Kong, its mass detention of Uighur Muslims and its military moves at sea have changed perceptions, he said.

Now the Trump administration "primarily sees it as an opportunity to push the envelope in terms of strengthening and deepening support for a Taiwan that has built a dynamic democracy and is a 'force for good in the world,'" he said, using a frequent phrase of US officials.
The suspect in an early Sunday shooting death in Lancaster County is in police custody.

According to the Lancaster County District Attorneys Office, police were searching for an armed and dangerous man suspected of fatally shooting another man just after midnight in West Earl Township.

The suspects name has not yet been released, but more details are expected to come out soon.

Investigators say a man was found dead with an obvious gunshot wound to the head this morning. He was in a vehicle on Cats Back Road.

The suspect was seen at the Sheetz convenience store on Route 322 in Ephrata carrying a long gun and acting erratically a few minutes before the shooting, according to the DAs office.

Police were searching the area today for a black or dark-colored pickup truck surveillance video caught the suspect driving.

The name of the person who was shot has not yet been released.

Anyone with information should contact the police, 717-859-1411.

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.
The Chinese Regime Discriminates Against Private Firms, Says Former Entrepreneur

Former entrepreneur and politician Wang Ruiqin wrote an open letter in May to all members of the communist regime hierarchy, calling on them to oust Chinese leader Xi Jinping. In an interview with The Epoch Times and its sister media NTD, she recounts the torment she has endured as the owner of a private business in China.

Every Chinese business owner has a history of blood and tears.  The degree of hardships is beyond imagination, said Wang.

The Three Mountains That Kill Private Businesses

Wang ran a successful real estate business in Hainan, the smallest and southernmost province in China. In 1997, her company became one of the business projects promoted by Qinghai Province in northwest China.

Wang explained, I grew up in Qinghai and I had a deep affection for it. I just wanted to do something for Qinghai. She believed that a high-end hotel was what the relatively poorly developed province needed.

We had our mind on the famous Huangshui River, a tributary of the Yellow River upper reaches, said Wang. She built the Donghu Hotel along the river bank, which had over 200 suites and various restaurants. It opened in July 2001 and the monthly revenue was nearly 1 million yuan (approximately $143,000). It became the premier business hotel in the area.

At the same time, Wang was appointed as a CPPCC delegate of Qinghai. CPPCC, the Chinese Peoples Political Consultative Conference, is the Chinese Communist Partys (CCP) political advisory body. It takes part in the Two Sessions, an annual meeting of the regimes rubber-stamp legislature, the National Peoples Congress (NPC), to enact policies and agendas.

In April 2002, without notice, the local government started road construction right in front of the hotel forcing the business to close. Wang said: The hotel was newly built, and now the local section of Qinglan Expressway (route G22) was under construction. The expressway exit passed right in the front of the hotel, completely blocking the entrance.

When construction was finally completed, the hotel was restored and reopened. Not long after, the government began the second phase of construction, and the hotel was again forced to close.

We were closed for three years and the revenue losses were substantial. The interest on a loan was 30 million yuan [approximately $4.3 million], while income losses totaled 100 million yuan [more than $14 million], said Wang.

Even though she was a CPPCC delegate, her complaint would not even allow her to get a one-vehicle laneway for the hotel. Wang said: The governments of Chinas third- and fourth-tier cities are barbaric. Their construction processes and management are barbaric. They are not concerned with your business losses; so you are left to struggle on your own.

In 2007, Donghu Hotel was sued by Qinghai Bank for non-payment of the loan. We were victimized by the government. For three years we havent been able to run the business. We demanded that both interest and penalty interest be reduced or exempted as appropriate.

However, the court ordered 20 million in interest be paid in accordance with the requirements of the state-owned bank. Wang said: I initially borrowed 36 million yuan and the court ordered us to pay 20 million yuan. Thats 10 million in interest and 10 million in penalty interest. Its unfair, said Wang

In the course of the lawsuit, someone suggested that Wang could solve this problem by giving Qinghai Bank underwriters a kickbacka 20 million yuan interest debt would require a bribe of two to three million yuan. But I am a tough [business] owner and I wont pay the money. I think we have been wronged. We are a real business. Why should we have to bribe anyone?

Wang continued, The bank does not accept any payment plan, nor does it accept mortgages on property or villas. It only accepts a lump sum cash payment. It just makes things difficult, and the purpose of making things difficult is to force you to ask for money.

Since Qinghai Bank and Wang couldnt reach a settlement, Qinghai High Court put the case on hold in 2009.

Five years later, Qinghai Bank reopened the case. By then, the interest added up to 120 million yuan, which meant a bribe would cost tens of millions to meet the fee of 10 to 20 percent of the interest owed. Wang said, I am a victim and I am a Christian, why should I have to bribe people?

The case was taken to the Supreme Court, but it has not been resolved.

Through this lawsuit, Wang realized there were three mountains or obstaclesthe government, the finance institute, and the judicial systemthat were collectively bullying private businesses.

I understood how much the Xi administration has tormented people, said Wang. She decided to take matters into her own hands.

Wang published an open letter on May 21, the day the Two Sessions commenced, to the NPC and CPPCC members asking them to vote Xi out of office.

After her letter was published, Beijing set up a 616 special case team to investigate her relatives and more than 20 businesses she had contacted, and inspected her books and even employees who had left years ago. She said that the scope of the investigation was far beyond anything she could have imagined.

Her companys assets were frozen and her immediate family and other relatives were harassed. On June 22, she decided to sever ties with her relatives, including her children, for their safety.

This is how they are persecutedthose who work hard to promote democracy for the city and the nation, Wang said. Everyone should stand up, like me.

Wang is now living in exile in the United States.

Tough Business Environment in China

Back in 2015, Wang published an article criticizing the hardships that private businesses encounter in modern day China. She said, After more than 30 years of development, private businesses have become an indispensable and important part of Chinas economic and social development, creating more than 60 percent of the GDP, and even exceeding 80 percent in some provinces, and providing employment for 219 million people. Still, private businesses are in a predicament.

Wang explained, First of all, at the legal level, domestic private owners are treated unfairly compared to state-owned and even foreign-owned businesses. Theres no protection or security. All governmental sectors will do everything to ensure they will get some benefits from privately-owned businesses, and if they dont, then theyll block all access to those businesses, she said.

Taxes are especially heavy and there are even double taxes. You can barely make ends meet because of the taxes. If you want to make a profit, the system has so many loopholes that can be used to take advantage of you. The purpose is to promote collusion.

All [government] departments will harass private businesses. From top to bottom, everyone in the system will try to make money off you. They dont do this to the state-owned enterprises or foreign businesses; only private enterprises are objects of extortion.

Wang explained that private business owners spend at least 50 percent of their time and energy dealing with the government. A good connection and relationship are the basic survival tools for private businessesthats the characteristic of Chinese business under communist rule.

She said, Some small businesses, especially those jointly owned by husband and wife teams, are especially challenged. Theres no guarantee of any sort. Anyone, using any excuse, can end your business. Removing the hurdles costs a lot of money.

She also explained that domestic media reports are totally biased. Theres no reporting about the efforts, the hard work, the contributions, or economic promotion of the private industries. They only publish articles containing distortion and slander about how private businesses are evading taxes or are involved in collusion.

Why the collusion and bribery? The regime forces them to go that route, said Wang. She explained that every official in the regime, including the prosecutors, lawyers, and the courts in the legal system, use all their power to blackmail private business owners. Very few have fought back like Wang, even though she has paid a high price for her actions.

In summarizing 30 years of experience and observation, Wang said, The CCP rejects and opposes private enterprise. It is only because state-owned enterprises are so corrupt, incompetent, and inefficient that they count on private enterprises as a last resort. However, the CCP fundamentally does not welcome or trust private enterprise.

It is precisely because of the precariousness of private enterprises that some owners protect themselves by becoming a delegate of the CPPCC or the National Peoples Congress. One political aura is a kind of identity protection. For anything to happen, there is at least one prerequisite. First, they must deprive you of your CPPCC membership before the arrest. Using this process gives them a little more time to prepare, which makes it attractive. This is how sad private enterprise is.

Calling on Private Business Owners to Support Democracy

Wang said the regime discourages many private owners from having their children take over their businesses. Basically, no one is willing to invest now, she added. Instead, the majority of them are thinking of how to secure and protect their assets by moving to another country.

Without democracy, the private owners business will go nowhere. They will always become the victims of the next slaughter.

We should stand up and support people and organizations devoted to promoting democracy in China.

There are many people, including intellectuals and successful people in various fields, who hold the same idea. But they simply dare not say it or cannot say it.

In fact, many officials and leaders of various levels know it as well. This country is rapidly heading towards disaster.

The pandemic and the floods have brought difficulty to the Chinese people in the mainland. My heart aches deeply, Wang said. She is even more determined to stand up and call on people to recognize the source of the calamitiesthe Communist Party.
Polling stations at the Belarus presidential election opened at 8:00 and will close at 20:00, Trend reports citing BelTA.

A total of 5,767 polling stations were set up, including in sanatoriums, health resorts, hospitals and other inpatient healthcare facilities, 13 in military units and 44 outside Belarus.

A voter needs to have a valid passport. A ballot is also issued upon producing a military service card for active-duty military personnel, a civil servant identification card, a pensioner identification card with a photo, a university student identification card, a temporary certificate issued by police to citizens who have lost their passports, a driver's license.

In order to prevent the spread of respiratory infections (including COVID-19), voters are recommended to wear personal protective gear (face masks, gloves). An ID should be presented in an open form; an ID should not be handed over to members of an election commission. Voters are also recommended to use their own pens to fill in their ballot.

If a voter cannot come to the local polling station on election day due to poor health or any other good reason, he or she can request the relevant election commission to organize domiciliary voting.

There are 6,844,932 eligible voters in Belarus.
An attorney for a Charlotte man accused of fatally shooting a Kernersville man in 2018 wants Forsyth prosecutors to turn over information about an alleged deal with the getaway driver, who is now the DJ for rapper DaBaby. The attorney said in the motion that she found out the possible deal in an email exchange this month. According to search warrants, the driver admitted his role in interviews with Kernersville police and identified the three men who have been charged in the fatal shooting.
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky issued a statement on his Facebook page Saturday stating that it "is never and under no circumstances acceptable to interfere with another country's sovereign elections."

Why it matters: National Counterintelligence and Security Center Director William Evanina said Friday the Russian government had taken action to "denigrate former Vice President Biden" before November's election and that a "pro-Russia" Ukrainian lawmaker was "spreading claims about corruption" to "undermine" the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee.

What he's saying: Zelensky said in his statement he wanted to "assure our partners that Ukraine did not allow and will not allow itself to intervene in the future in the elections and thereby harm our trustworthy and sincere partnerships with the United States."

He added that Ukrainian citizens should "refrain from any activity related to the US presidential election and not allow themselves to try to solve any of their personal political or business problems."

Of note: Trump and his allies have previously pushed unfounded claims that Ukraine interfered in the 2016 elections. The fourth volume of a Senate Intelligence Committee report affirms the intelligence community's conclusion that Russia interfered in the election to help President Trump defeat 2016 presidential rival Hillary Clinton.

Ukraine was at the center of the president's impeachment and subsequent acquittal earlier this year on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress in relation to military aid for the country.



Flashback: Trump-Ukraine scandal: The key players, dates and documents
TikTok plans to sue the Trump administration over the presidents executive order that would ban the popular social media app in the United States, according to NPR.

The outlet, which said the suit could be filed as soon as Tuesday, reports that TikTok will argue Trumps action is unconstitutional because it didnt give the company a chance to respond and challenges the presidents use of national security as his justification for the far-reaching ban. NPR cited a person who was directly involved in the forthcoming suit but was not authorized to speak for the company.

Representatives for TikTok decline to comment on the report Saturday. The White House declined to comment to NPR on the forthcoming lawsuit and said in a statement: The Administration is committed to protecting the American people from all cyber related threats to critical infrastructure, public health and safety, and our economic and national security.

Also Read: Trump Sets 45-Day Deadline for Chinese Parent Companies to Sell WeChat, TikTok in New Executive Orders

In executive orders signed Thursday night, Donald Trump threatened financial restrictions for the Chinese corporate owners of social media apps WeChat and TikTok, demanding that they sell the apps U.S. businesses to American companies within 45 days. Citing the national emergency with respect to the information and communications technology and services supply chain Trump described in a previous order, the new orders would bar U.S. citizens or businesses from conducting any financial transactions with WeChat and TikTok or their parent companies, Tencent Holdings and ByteDance. The order will take effect 45 days after the date of this order, i.e. Sept. 20.

ByteDance has been in talks with Microsoft about a sale of TikTok. Earlier this week, Trump had put a Sept. 15 deadline on that transaction.

Trump  joined by a bipartisan group of members of Congress  has long warned against data-mining efforts by Chinese-owned apps like TikTok and WeChat.

Story continues

Also Read: Can Microsoft Pull Off Buying TikTok on a Deadline - and Is the App Worth It?

TikTok has denied sharing user data with Chinese authorities. But Stratecherys Ben Thompson recently pointed out that TikToks privacy policy explicitly says it may share user information with a parent, subsidiary, or other affiliate of our corporate group, which, based on how companies operate in China, means data can be sent to authorities.

In a statement on Friday about Trumps order, TikTok said: We are shocked by the recent Executive Order, which was issued without any due process. For nearly a year, we have sought to engage with the U.S. government in good faith to provide a constructive solution to the concerns that have been expressed. What we encountered instead was that the Administration paid no attention to facts, dictated terms of an agreement without going through standard legal processes, and tried to insert itself into negotiations between private businesses.

Read original story TikTok to Sue Trump Administration Over Executive Order Ban (Report) At TheWrap
Actor Sushant Singh Rajputs brother-in-law, Vishal Kirti, has slammed a recent news article that called out toxic Bihari families for putting undue pressure on their male children. Vishal said he is responding to the article as it affected not only his loved ones but people from Bihar in general.

The article commented on family dynamics in cow-belt India and how the son is expected to be a Shravan Kumar, ie, an ideal child. I wanted to let it go since, despite the tragedy in the family, I have to work just like many of Sushants other family members and after a long work-week, I was reluctant about addressing these issues, Vishal Kirti wrote in a blog post. But decided otherwise since I found out that this was affecting not only my loved ones but people from Bihar in general.

ALSO WATCH | Rhea Chakraborty questioned for over 8 hours by ED in money laundering case

Also read: Rhea Chakraborty shares WhatsApp messages with Sushant Singh Rajput, in which hed called sister manipulative

Responding the authors claims that Sushants family is refusing to accept the depression narrative, Vishal wrote that, to his knowledge, mental health is an outcome of biology and the environment. He wrote that Sushants girlfriend, Rhea Chakraborty, had created a hostile environment for him, which could include gaslighting, blackmailing, alienating, covert medication, overt overmedication, and so on. He wrote that he would accept his mistake if it is proven in a court of law that Sushants condition wasnt aggravated by the environment around him.

He wrote that depression doesnt always lead people to suicide. Defending a recent Instagram post by his wife Shweta, Sushants sister, in which shed shared an image of the actors white board, on which he had mapped out future plans, Vishal wrote that Shweta didnt say that Sushant wasnt depressed. Planning ahead is a very positive sign of hopefulness. Though it does not guarantee, it still questions the prerequisite condition of hopelessness, he wrote.

This is where Jyotis stereotypical "toxic Bihari family" trope gets debunked. The FIR didnt say that my father-in-law couldnt stand Ankita. The FIR mentions one specific person called Rhea and giving it an anti-feminist flare is toxic journalism. https://t.co/xhj7qljvcS  vishal kirti (@vikirti) August 9, 2020

He also dismissed the contention that Bihari families cant stand girlfriends. Many people know that Sushant dated Ankita (Lokhande) for at least six years and they lived together for a good portion of that relationship. People have seen great pictures of Ankita and Sushants family together and almost everyone knows that some members of Sushants family, including my wife, are in constant touch with Ankita, he wrote. He also wrote that even though Sushant never explicitly admitted to dating actor Kriti Sanon, he, Vishal, had met her and was very fond of her as well.

Also read: Rhea Chakraborty shares page from Sushant Singh Rajputs diary, in which hed expressed gratitude for her and her family

He continued, I am from Bihar as well and my parents dont have any toxic attitude towards my wife, who was also my girlfriend for nearly four years before I got married and we have been married for thirteen years.

Sushants father, KK Singh, has filed an FIR against Rhea Chakraborty, who was dating Sushant at the time of his death, for abetting his suicide, among other allegations. Sushants case will be investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation. Rhea appeared for questioning at the Mumbai offices of the Enforcement Directorate earlier this week, where she was interrogated about the allegations that she siphoned money of Sushants bank account.

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RTHK: Belarus strongman faces female rival in tense vote

Polls opened on Sunday in Belarus as the ex-Soviet state holds a high-stakes presidential election with a female opposition candidate posing the greatest challenge yet to long-ruling strongman Alexander Lukashenko.

Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, a 37-year-old stay-at-home mother became an unlikely election candidate after authorities barred from running and jailed her husband, popular blogger Sergei Tikhanovsky.

She swiftly emerged as Lukashenko's strongest rival and her rallies drew tens of thousands of supporters across the country.

Her presidential bid gave rise to an informal new protest movement, with many dreaming of change in the country of 9.5 million people led for the last 26 years by 65-year-old Lukashenko.

Political observers said there is little doubt that Lukashenko, who is seeking a sixth term, would rig Sunday's vote in the absence of international observers.

More than 41 percent of votes had already been cast in several days of early voting, the central electoral commission reported, with observers saying this facilitated falsifications.

Voters wearing facemasks began casting ballots at a Minsk polling station early Sunday. Some wore white bracelets after Tikhanovskaya urged her supporters to wear them.

There was a heavy police presence after detentions of protesters on Saturday evening and Prosecutor-General Alexander Konyuk urged voters to be "reasonable" and not take part in unsanctioned protests, Belta state news agency reported.

Tikhanovskaya, who joined forces for her campaign with the wife of one barred opposition chief and the campaign manager of another, said she would not call on her supporters to protest after the vote.

At the same time she called on law enforcement to refrain from fulfilling "criminal orders" and has urged election officials to count honestly. (AFP)

This story has been published on: 2020-08-09. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Republican protestors from Saoradh take part in an anti-internment white line picket in the Bogside area of Derry. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye

SDLP Councillor and Mayor of Derry City and Strabane District Council, Councillor Brian Tierney at the smouldering lorry which was set on fire on Heather Road in Galliagh. Picture Martin McKeown.

Republican protestors from Saoradh take part in an anti-internment white line picket in the Bogside area of Derry. Anti internment protests have taken place in towns across Northern Ireland on the anniversary of internment when mass arrest and internment was introduced in 1971.

New IRA boss Thomas Mellon demanded three nights of hijackings in Derry city in response to the arrest of a teenager who is close to one of his lieutenants.

The violence, sparked by police taking a 14-year-old autistic boy into custody, has been widely condemned.

The teen, who was de-arrested a short time later, is close to prominent dissidents including Kieran McCool (52), who is understood to be the New IRA's second-in-command in Derry.

Furious at his treatment, Mellon ordered youngsters onto the streets to hijack and burn cars and vans.

The 44-year-old crime boss, who is on a 10-year MI5 terror watchlist, also hoped the trouble would overshadow the funeral of John Hume.

TV crews from around the world were in the city to film the Nobel Peace Prize winner's send-off, with Mellon banking on them also reporting the New IRA violence.

But he was left disappointed when the hijackings barely made a whimper on international news bulletins.

Republicans in the north west say what could have been a major publicity coup turned into yet another fail.

"The hijackings have caused a lot of anger towards the New IRA. Most of the vans taken and set on fire belonged to local hard-working men," a source told Sunday Life.

"Their livelihoods have been ruined and what for? The likes of Tommy Mellon prefer to sit on comfortable barstools directing mindless youths."



Expand Close Republican protestors from Saoradh take part in an anti-internment white line picket in the Bogside area of Derry. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye / Facebook

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Other recent blunders by the New IRA in Derry include cops recovering the gun used in the terror gang's murder of Lyra McKee.

Niall Sheerin (27) was charged with possessing the weapon following DNA tests. The find came after planned New IRA bomb attacks in Derry and Strabane were foiled by police acting on intelligence tip-offs.

Criticism from other dissident leaders over the cock-ups led Mellon to temporarily quit the terror gang last month, only to come back on board following encouragement from his men.

Yesterday he took part in a demonstration in the Bogside area of the city in support of New IRA prisoners.

The hijackings started late last Tuesday afternoon, the day after the 14-year-old with links to leading hardline republicans was arrested.

Paul Leonard, whose DPD delivery van was among three vehicles destroyed, said he was approached by two masked men who instructed him to hand over the keys to his van. "They snatched the keys from me and told me they were from the IRA and they were taking the van," he added.



Expand Close Republican protestors from Saoradh take part in an anti-internment white line picket in the Bogside area of Derry. Anti internment protests have taken place in towns across Northern Ireland on the anniversary of internment when mass arrest and internment was introduced in 1971. / Facebook

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Whatsapp Republican protestors from Saoradh take part in an anti-internment white line picket in the Bogside area of Derry. Anti internment protests have taken place in towns across Northern Ireland on the anniversary of internment when mass arrest and internment was introduced in 1971.

"I had a lot of personal belongings in that van. One of the things I had was a picture of my dead grandson. I will never get that back again.

"It's deplorable that these people are ruining people's livelihoods. They need to get a life and get off the backs of the people of Derry."

The New IRA-backed violence continued into Wednesday, with a crowd of 150 youths attacking the PSNI in the Galliagh area. Officers were lured there after receiving reports of a suspicious package.

City mayor Brian Tierney condemned the rioting, describing it as "totally, totally unacceptable".

On Thursday evening a man and woman were forced out of a BMW car on Elaghmore Park by youths who set the vehicle on fire.

The next day two teenagers aged 14 and 15 appeared in court charged with rioting in the Galliagh area. Both were freed on bail until August 21.

Mellon was put on a 10-year MI5 watchlist in 2015 after being sentenced to 15 months in jail for having an article of use to terrorists.



Expand Close SDLP Councillor and Mayor of Derry City and Strabane District Council, Councillor Brian Tierney at the smouldering lorry which was set on fire on Heather Road in Galliagh. Picture Martin McKeown. / Facebook

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Whatsapp SDLP Councillor and Mayor of Derry City and Strabane District Council, Councillor Brian Tierney at the smouldering lorry which was set on fire on Heather Road in Galliagh. Picture Martin McKeown.

Before that he beat possessing explosives and directing terrorism charges and was investigated but not charged in connection with a robbery at Gransha Hospital.

His New IRA number two Kieran McCool was given an eight-month suspended sentence in 2012 for possessing a stun-gun.

During court proceedings he was identified by police as a "key member" of the violent dissident gang Republican Action Against Drugs (RAAD). RAAD merged with the Real IRA in 2012 to form the New IRA.

Sinn Fein met with senior PSNI figures in Derry on Friday to raise concerns about the arrest of the 14-year-old boy that sparked the violence.

However, the intervention was dismissed by the New IRA's political wing Saoradh, which said: "Sinn Fein have never held them (the PSNI) to account. Despite claiming to do so, Sinn Fein has never put manners into them either. It's quite clear that British crown forces don't listen to Sinn Fein."
China's State Council on Saturday submitted a bill to an ongoing session of the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, asking the NPC Standing Committee to make a decision for the sixth Legislative Council (LegCo) of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) to continue operation.





Entrusted by the State Council, Xia Baolong, head of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council, explained the bill to lawmakers at the session.

On July 28, HKSAR Chief Executive Carrie Lam submitted a report to the central government on matters concerning the postponement of the 2020 LegCo election in response to the emergencies brought by the recent COVID-19 epidemic in Hong Kong.

The HKSAR Chief Executive in Council has decided to postpone the election of the seventh-term LegCo, which was originally scheduled for Sept. 6, 2020, for one year, and has asked the central government in the report to request the NPC Standing Committee to make arrangements on the vacancy of the LegCo incurred due to the postponement.

The decision made by the HKSAR Chief Executive in Council to postpone the LegCo election in accordance with Hong Kong's Emergency Regulations Ordinance has solid legal basis and is in line with the actual conditions of the epidemic development in Hong Kong, according to the State Council.

The decision to postpone the LegCo election will help safeguard public security as well as the justice and fairness of the election. It serves the public interests and is necessary and appropriate, according to the State Council.

The State Council sent an official letter to Chief Executive Carrie Lam on July 29, expressing the central government's support for the decision.

Deciding in time on matters concerning the vacancy of the LegCo by the NPC Standing Committee in accordance with the law is very necessary for ensuring the governance of the HKSAR government and the normal operation of Hong Kong society, as well as for maintaining the prosperity and stability in Hong Kong, according to the State Council.
Passengers included the elderly, students aged under 18, workers whose labour contracts had expired, pregnant women and stranded travellers.

Vietjet stringently followed all regulations on security, safety and epidemiological hygiene during the flight.

After landing at Cam Ranh international airport in the south-central province of Khanh Hoa, all crewmembers and passengers were given health checks and put under quarantine in line with regulations.

The same day, Vietnamese authorities coordinated with the Vietnamese Embassy in Singapore and national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines to take over 300 Vietnamese citizens back to the homeland.

They were also given health checks and quarantined after landing at Can Tho international airport in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho.

In the near future, similar flights will bring more Vietnamese citizens home depending on the domestic pandemic situation and quarantine capacity.
Governments must use public sector balance sheets to properly manage their finances through the pandemic, paying attention to their public sector net worth, said a new report.



For some, this means a change in accounting methods from cash to accrual accounting, added the report titled Sustainable public finances through Covid-19 published by ACCA, the World Bank and IFAC



The Covid-19 pandemic means government spending has increased immensely, with the IMF calculating it to be a staggering $9 trillion. For, the concern is that public sector fiscal commitment and interventions are not being captured accurately by governments due to the way they account for this.



Alex Metcalfe, author of the report and head of public sector policy at ACCA said: This global pandemic crisis could be a catalyst for more governments to adopt this approach, which can improve decision-making, act as the benchmark for new fiscal targets, and support governments to rebuild economies for a more inclusive and greener future.



By implementing a balance sheet approach, governments will benefit from:



 Increased clarity on the true position of the public finances, with an understanding of the fiscal room available for further government action;

 Improved value for money and financially sustainable decision-making; and

 Enhanced public sector resilience and better adoption of key financial metrics to drive performance management.



The report asserts that governments need to avoid poor-value privatisations, which provide immediate cash but reduce public sector net worth. Governments also can minimise reliance on tax increases or austerity by taking a balance sheet approach to foster sustainable public finances.



Ed Olowo-Okere, Director, Governance Global Practice, World Bank Group said: The pandemic requires that governments strike a balance between the standard fiscal discipline and control on the one hand, and speed and flexibility in public financial management on the other. To build back better, Ministries of Finance need a variety of tools for better management of public money to sustain the wellbeing of citizens.



Alta Prinsloo, IFAC Executive Director, added: This is about global best practice. No one government can go it alone  the global nature of the pandemic makes this apparent. Part of this drive toward global best practice is to ensure that, as a profession, we discuss with colleagues and policymakers the future of financial reporting in the public sector. Professional accountants need to be giving non-finance expert decision makers a clear and trusted view of the sectors unfolding financial position.



Fazeela Gopalani, Head of ACCA Middle East added: The severity of the current crisis means poor quality accounting data in the public sector is no longer an option. Now is the time to reset current economic frameworks and consider what fiscal rules will guide government decision-making during the recovery phase. The privatisation of any public assets and services needs to be carefully considered so that they provide value for money and improve government financial sustainability. And we also need to invest in skills and training as they are an important part of the economic multiplier.



Other recommendations for governments include:



 the need to either reference or use full-accrual International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS), the only globally accepted accounting standards for the public sector, in the production of their general purpose financial reports.

 directing independent fiscal policy institutions to begin fiscal sustainability reporting or to increase its frequency. Central finance departments should also be required to respond publicly to these reports in a timely manner.

 provide Supreme Audit Institutions with the independence and necessary resources to conduct performance audits, which may identify cases where public money was not used effectively, efficiently or economically in combating the Covid-19 crisis.



And for finance professionals, ACCA, the World Bank and IFAC recommends:



 Consider how any redirection of resource to combat Covid-19 impacts broader metrics of societal wellbeing and sustainability.

 Conduct frequent fiscal stress testing, which forecasts the impact of negative scenarios on public sector balance sheets. This could include the impacts of a second wave of a coronavirus or an extended economic downturn.

 Produce accessible summary material, and appropriate narrative and notes within the financial statements. The accompanying narrative in financial statements helps users make sense of the figures and should not be too biased or avoid critical issues.  TradeArabia News Service
Aengus Fanning came striding down the newsroom of the Sunday Independent with a thunderous look on his face. Leaning over the desk, he hissed through gritted teeth: "Why did you give Eamon's copy [column] to the lawyer?"

He didn't have to say 'Dunphy': there was only one Eamon that mattered in those tension-filled months in the late summer and autumn of 1993, when the Sunday Independent was dominated by a bare-knuckle campaign attacking John Hume's dialogue with the hated and feared figure of Gerry Adams.

In those hot and heavy times, the views published in the paper Fanning edited were a national talking point. Twenty-seven years later, in the week that Hume died, they were still a source of considerable controversy - and opprobrium.

In the edition of August 8, 1993, Dunphy dissected what he described as the "cant" of John Hume, the most popular politician in Ireland.

"Dangerous cant, designed to fool us and the watching world as to the real nationalist agenda which is to force the unionists by political means to submit to our demands," he wrote.

"This is the present policy of our government Mr John Hume being the principal international enforcer, licensed to speak to the world on our behalf, the political bomber flying over unionist heads trying to kill them. Hume has stated with commendable clarity, which for him is unusual, that if Britain and the unionists don't do business with him, they will have to deal with the IRA, with physical rather than political force."

He may not have meant it literally, but the piece was incendiary. What were later described as "vicious" and "personal" attacks on the leader of the SDLP pitted the paper and its formidable phalanx of columnists, including Professor John A Murphy, Shane Ross, Eilis O'Hanlon and others, against what Dunphy often contemptuously referred to as 'Official Ireland'.

"The Sunday Independent's persistent and vicious attacks on John Hume were a serious mistake, an absolute disgrace and damaged the reputation of Irish journalism," said the influential former diplomat Sean Donlon in a letter to The Irish Times in 2015.

"Who can forget the scalding attacks in the Sunday Independent in 1993 when half a dozen articles attacked John Hume, culminating in a nasty cartoon which depicted blood dripping from John's hands?" wrote Belfast SDLP councillor Tim Attwood in the same edition.

Anne Harris, who succeeded her late husband Aengus Fanning as editor of the paper, responded with a letter the following day: "The Sunday Independent never published a cartoon depicting blood dripping from John Hume's hands."

Expand Close Former Sunday Independent editor Aengus Fanning PA / Facebook

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It wasn't the first time - or the last - that the same cartoon was cited in evidence against this newspaper.

In a 2008 interview with Jason O'Toole in Hot Press, Fanning looked back at that time and said: "We were traduced and misrepresented and lies were told. For example, there was supposed to be a cartoon of John Hume in which he was depicted with blood on his hands. That went into legend. There was no such cartoon. A couple of years later, I said to him, 'John, there was no such cartoon'. And John said, 'Well, I didn't see it either, but somebody told me about it'."

While there was no dripping blood, there are those who remain adamant that the dark shading on Hume's right hand in that illustration first used with Dunphy's column of August 8 represented a bloodied hand.

While the criticism of John Hume was frequently fierce, it was never stated in any of the coverage that he had "blood on his hands".

The artist who produced the illustration, Wendy Shea, said last week that there was no intention on her part to give that impression. "It was not blood," she insisted. "I am humiliated and horrified that anyone could think that. I admired John Hume, I copied it from a photograph and I would never in a fit have done anything to harm John Hume, because I admired him."

I was a staff journalist with the Sunday Independent at that time and I cannot remember a single complaint about that drawing then - and the same illustration was used prominently on two further occasions in 1993. The outrage came subsequently.

********

It should be remembered that Hume's dialogue with Adams was going on against the background of IRA outrages at home and abroad, including the Warrington bomb, where the IRA killed Jonathan Ball (3) and Tim Parry (12) outside McDonald's on a Saturday afternoon the previous February.

Now Hume, the acknowledged high priest of peace, had entered into some form of discussions with Adams - president of Sinn Fein and a man widely regarded as a director of terrorism, and the personification of the 'ballot box in one hand and the Armalite in the other' strategy articulated by his publicity enforcer, Danny Morrison.

It was a time when spindoctors waited at the news-stands in O'Connell Street at 9pm on a Saturday night when the paper hit the streets to see what Dunphy, Terry Keane, Gene Kerrigan and other contributors such as Colm Toibin, Anthony Clare and Tony Cronin were saying, so they could report back to their masters.

While some columnists, particularly Dunphy, could well be described as intemperate and provocative, Hume was by no means the only one in their sights at the time. A polemic on the Tanaiste, Dick Spring, earlier that year concluded: "He is a disgrace to the country and, to borrow a phrase from Brendan Behan, 'a boll***s of the highest order'."

Other subjects for scorn included Mary Robinson, Michael D Higgins, Charles Haughey, Albert Reynolds and others pillars of society outside the political sphere.

Looking back on almost 30 years with the Sunday Independent, I can best describe those days as being part of a cult. We were all in it together and everyone seemed against us. There was no room for half-hearted opinions or mundane commentary: selling newspapers was a priority and the Sunday Independent was very successful at doing that.

The newspaper radiated a kind of mystique, its columnists lunching with influential people in Chapter One or drinking Champagne with the 'movers and shakers' in the Shelbourne Hotel on a Friday night. The secrets of the inner circles of Dublin society were weekly fodder for the Keane Edge, topped off with 'Sweetie', the provocative codename known to refer to Charlie Haughey, who had not long been deposed as Taoiseach and leader of Fianna Fail.

The reality was that the paper was put together by a small group of very hard-working people in a fairly seedy office on the third floor of Independent House, a Dickensian warren on Middle Abbey Street with a giant printing works in the basement which sent a shudder through the building when it began the laborious process of printing the paper at around 7pm on a Saturday.

Although I knew Dunphy from social events and late-night dens like George's Bistro and Joy's, he and the other 'stars' of the paper rarely appeared in the office. The alchemy of what appeared on a Sunday morning was tightly controlled by Fanning and his two deputies, Anne Harris and Willie Kealy. The political direction of the paper was not a matter for general discussion.

During the week, newspaper cuttings, tapes of radio interviews and other material was assembled and delivered on Friday to Dunphy, a creature of the night then living in a mews house on Heytesbury Lane. Provided with this ammunition, he would sometimes labour through the night and his column for the back page was delivered to the office on Saturday morning by taxi.

"Since I brought Eamon Dunphy back to the Sunday Independent in April 1986, I have to say that, at his best, he produced superb dissenting journalism, that I encouraged and defended him, and that some of his work was a landmark in Irish journalism," said Fanning in a confidential memo to the board of Independent News and Media (INM, owner of the Sunday Independent) in 2003.

It was this "dissenting journalism" - not least the newspaper's coverage of Hume-Adams - that is still vivid today. And Dunphy was by no means alone in his crusades, for when the Sunday Independent decided to tackle an issue, the kitchen sink was thrown at it.

"If you look at the treatment of, for example, John Hume by the Sunday Independent during the early stage of the peace talks in Northern Ireland, it was an absolute disgrace," said Denis O'Brien, the billionaire businessman who later ousted the O'Reilly family in a bitter and hugely expensive battle for INM.

In Matt Cooper's 2015 book, The Maximalist: The Rise and Fall of Tony O'Reilly (2015), O'Brien added: "Here was a man who had devoted his life to the pursuance of peace on the island and he was vilified. It took a huge toll on his health. There were many others who were subjected to poisonous attacks."

********

John Hume was different from any other target of 'Official Ireland'. He was beloved of the Irish people, regarded as a prophet rather than a politician. He had given his life to the cause of peace and stood up for non-violent protest representing the majority of Irish people who were appalled at what was being done in their name at home and abroad by the bombers and death squads of the IRA.

But that, in essence, was the problem. Why was he secretly talking to Adams, the leader of what the Sunday Independent insisted on calling 'Sinn Fein/IRA'?

Speaking for the Protestant community, Shane Ross wrote: "Mr Adams's friends can now terrify them physically, while Mr Hume's friends can intimidate them politically The language of Mr Hume is now the language of Mr Adams."

But Hume was a formidable opponent. He had a 'hotline' to influential figures in Dublin, London and Washington, not to mention a long-standing friendship with O'Reilly

If the doors of the political, business, social and media establishment were open to his initiatives in the summer of 1993, there was cold comfort from the Sunday Independent.

"John Hume has seduced many with his unctuous rhetoric and disingenuous proposals for peace," Dunphy wrote, again on August 8.

"The mark of his failure as a politician is that while orchestrating the nationalist consensus, he has alienated and rendered abject the Protestant people he and we must make our peace with in the end."

Mark Durkan, chairman of the SDLP, later to become Hume's successor as MP and leader of the SDLP, tried to hit back. He submitted a right-of-reply article castigating the role of what he called the 'Indo Unionists' at the paper and describing Dunphy as "a bitter, ranting poisonous pen columnist with an unbridled hatred of John Hume".

He further alleged that the vilification of Hume was effectively setting up the leaders of the SDLP as targets for assassination.

Even though Durkan's contribution was as intemperate as Dunphy's, I and a senior executive of the paper argued it should be used as a counterbalance to the hostile coverage. But Fanning said no - he wouldn't talk to Durkan or appease him in any way. Instead, Hume's background manoeuvring became part of the narrative.

"Hume has been making representations to this newspaper at editorial and proprietorial level in an attempt to influence what we write. It is a covert attempt at censorship," wrote Dunphy.

"Having failed, Hume's SDLP colleague Seamus Mallon and his party's general secretary Mark Durkan went public on Morning Ireland and in the newspapers to claim that Dr [Conor Cruise] O'Brien, Professor Murphy and I were inciting Protestant terrorists to commit acts of violence against them," added Dunphy.

John A Murphy, Emeritus Professor of History at University College Cork, whose opposition to Hume-Adams was reasoned and acknowledged Hume's enormous influence, wrote that "quite independently of one and other" a number of Sunday Independent columnists "have made a sustained, critical and sometimes pungent analysis of John Hume and the SDLP's political strategies".

Most weeks, one contributor stood alone: Professor Ronan Fanning (no relation to Aengus). A friend of Hume's, he defended the Hume-Adams initiative - and was soon criticised by Dunphy for doing so.

The respected journalist and author Ed Moloney has also added to the myth-making with a piece he wrote in 2015, when the issue became current in media circles once again, after Anne Harris wrote a piece in defence of Tony O'Reilly in The Irish Times.

Referring back to 1993, Moloney wrote: "Hardly a weekend passed for at least a month or two without the paper publishing a series of violent and often offensive articles targeting Hume for his naivete, misplaced ambition, stupidity, gullibility and credulity for entertaining the notion that Adams and the IRA could be talked out of violence."

Moloney accused Eoghan Harris of "leading the charge", adding: "Some weekends the Sunday Indo could have wallpapered the average Irish living room with diatribes against Hume."

All fine, perhaps, except for this: Harris did not write for the Sunday Independent at the time, he was a columnist with the Sunday Times.

In that Hot Press interview, Aengus Fanning teased out his thought process as an editor, which those who worked with him at the time can verify as his style.

"I was driven mainly - and I have to admit this - by my desire to have well-written, intelligent, challenging copy in the paper... Now, it happened to coincide with my own general view as well. One of the strengths at the time was the support of the proprietor, Tony O'Reilly, who was absolutely steadfast when all sorts of efforts were being made - on both sides of the Atlantic and Irish Sea - for him to intervene and change things. He was absolutely rock solid. And that was not an easy thing for a man in his position."

Publishing stories, pictures and comment that would "sell papers" was Fanning's mantra. He had an obsession with sales, believing it was the only measurement of success in the newspaper business. But his editorship was also marked, from the very beginning, by an abhorrence of violence, which may or may not have stemmed from growing up in Tralee, the son of a Northern Irish Presbyterian mother.

Fanning did not quibble when Jason O'Toole, in Hot Press, suggested some of the coverage of Hume was "vicious" and "personal", but he added: "I'm not saying it was wrong - it was the way he [Dunphy] chose to do it. He felt very strongly about it at the time. We were all concerned about entering into negotiations with the IRA and also the idea that we must have peace at any price.

"Eamon did that in his own unique and individual style. He was one of our top contributors at the time and I stand behind him in what he said. Even though I was broadly critical of the talks with the IRA, I mightn't have agreed with him to that extent but it's not really the job of an editor to censor his contributors, as far as it is at all possible. It's an old-fashioned idea of liberalism, one that, strangely, many journalists appear not to understand."

********

If the paper was under pressure to recant, it didn't show in the October 3 issue, which had seven pages of news and comment under the heading 'Hume on a Tightrope', at a time when the SDLP leader was about to depart on a two-week trade mission to the United States.

"In supping with the devil John Hume has been using too short a spoon... I believe he is driven on by a passionate desire to bring peace in our time... But then so was Neville Chamberlain," wrote Conor Cruise O'Brien.

"Some would see it a black malign scenario involving the political transformation of Gerry Adams and implosion of John Hume with devastating consequences for constitutional nationalism," wrote the Progressive Democrat TD Michael McDowell.

In his spot on the back page, Dunphy wrote: "In plain English, the proposition Hume laid at our door before bolting to the US last weekend was that the Irish government engage in dialogue with the IRA while they continue to wage their terrorist campaign against the Protestant community in the North."

But the blanket criticism was now tempered by two prominent articles on the same page, one by Ronan Fanning and the other by Richard Kearney. Both put the case for Hume-Adams. "The mockers are in full cry this weekend. They have reason to hope that the history of John Hume's leadership has turned into rubbish and that his renown - and with that renown the future of the Hume-Adams talks - have fallen and will fail," wrote Ronan Fanning in a defence of the process.

In that private memo to the board in 2003, Fanning described Dunphy's writing as "responsible for much of the criticism directed against the Sunday Independent", but he added: "The irony is that much of the controversy helped to sell the paper. An exception, I believe, was the autumn of 1993 when Eamon's outspoken attacks on John Hume cost us sales. In fairness, we should also remind ourselves that a lot of the criticism over the years is no more than media begrudgery."

Hume's death last week brought with it a reminder that the episode remains, for some, an open sore.

Paying tribute to Hume, former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern reflected on the 1990s' controversy, but added: "A story many people might not know is that years later Aengus Fanning, the late editor, rang me because he wanted to make up with John. I arranged so that the three of us could meet in Fagan's [pub, in Drumcondra]. It turned into a great day of conversation. Everything was made up, not so much with an apology but with friendly chats."

Before that encounter, in March 2001, Fanning interviewed Hume in Derry, the pair happily posing for a photograph together. There was no mention in the article of Hume-Adams or that tumultuous period in modern Irish history.

In a 1996 interview with Joe Jackson, Dunphy described his columns as "so self-righteous ... monotonous ... predictable". Dunphy, who had also made his peace with Hume, added: "None of this means I am taking back - or ashamed of - what I did in the Sunday Independent. I am not."

A quarter of a century later, Sinn Fein has supplanted the SDLP in Northern Ireland, as several of the commentators in the Sunday Independent predicted.

But the peace process that the Hume-Adams dialogue launched did lead, with the help and dedication of others, to the Good Friday Agreement. Hume - and the many who hailed his achievements last week - will have seen the eclipse of the party he once led as a price worth paying for a lasting peace.
Bachelor In Paradise's Jamie Doran has brutally mocked former Bachelorette star Rhys Chilton after he allegedly clashed with Brittney Weldon on Friday night.

Rhys reportedly got into an altercation with Brittney at a Bachelor franchise stars party in Brisbane, forcing Niranga Amarasinghe to step in and ask him to leave the premises.

On Saturday, Jamie, 40, shared a video to his Instagram Stories, mimicking Rhys after he was told to leave the event.

'Still trying to remain relevant!' Bachelor In Paradise's Jamie Doran, 40, (L) has rutally mocked Bachelorette reject Rhys Chilton (R) over his clash with Brittney Weldon and Niranga Amarasingh at a party on Friday night

'My name is Rhys and I'm a bogan from Brisbane and I was on Georgia Love's season of The Bachelorette,' Jamie said, impersonating Rhys in a mocking tone.

'I don't know if you'll remember me, it was in the early 1990's but I'm still trying to stay relevant,' he continued.

Still impersonating Rhys, Jamie went on: 'Tonight I went to a Bachelor In Paradise party. I wasn't invited but I still went and you know Brittney, dancing Brittney, high energy Brittney, well she just kicked me out of the party for no reason.'

Jamie went on to claim Rhys disrupted the party and made 'inappropriate comments to everyone'.

'My name is Rhys and I'm a bogan': On Saturday Jamie (pictured) shared a video to his Instagram Stories, mimicking Rhys after he was told to leave the event

Drama: Rhys reportedly clashed with Bachelor In Paradise's Brittney Weldon (left) and Niranga Amarasinghe (right) on Friday night

Continuing his impersonation of the Bachelorette star, Jamie said: 'Then Niranga is trying to grab me while I'm in the toilet and his dragging me out of the door. I've had enough. I'm going to wait here till little Niranga comes out and I'm going to punch him in the throat.'

Jamie ended the video with a message directed at Rhys, saying: 'Rhys f**k off champ. If you want to come pick on someone your own size. Come and see me, I'm in Brisbane.'

Rhys declined to comment when contacted by Daily Mail Australia.

Claims: Jamie claimed Rhys (pictured) disrupted the party and made 'inappropriate comments to everyone'

On Friday night, Rhys got into an altercation with Brittney, which caused Niranga to step in and ask him to leave the premises.

After making his exit, Rhys launched into an expletive-ridden rant about the incident on Instagram at around 2am on Saturday morning.

Rhys had attended the party with his new girlfriend Keely Spedding, who had briefly appeared on the latest season of Bachelor In Paradise.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-09 21:00:49|Editor: huaxia

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A screenshot taken from C-Span's live broadcast shows U.S. President Donald Trump signing a series of executive orders to extend certain COVID-19 economic relief in New Jersey, the United States, on Aug. 8, 2020. (Xinhua)



"These orders are not real solutions. They are just another cynical ploy designed to deflect responsibility. Some measures do far more harm than good," says Joe Biden.



WASHINGTON, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump's orders to extend certain COVID-19 economic relief have sparked sharp criticism from Democrats, who might challenge the legality of the president's executive action.

As White House officials and Democratic lawmakers remain deadlocked over the new relief bill, Trump signed four actions on Saturday, trying to move around Congress and assert executive power.

One of the actions will extend extra unemployment benefits through the end of the year at a reduced level of 400 U.S. dollars per week, instead of the 600 dollars approved by Congress in late March, which expired at the end of July.

Trump said the reduced level of extra benefits will give people "a great incentive" to go back to work. The new order also demands states cover 25 percent of the 400-dollar weekly benefits.

"Instead of passing a bill, now President Trump is cutting families' unemployment benefits and pushing states further into budget crises, forcing them to make devastating cuts to life-or-death services," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a joint statement.

U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi speaks during her weekly press conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., the United States, on July 9, 2020. (Photo by Ting Shen/Xinhua)

The Senate Republicans' 1-trillion-dollar COVID-19 relief proposal, unveiled in late July, would slash the federal benefits to 200 dollars through September, and then give an unemployed worker about 70 percent of previous wages when combined with state benefits, while Democrats want to maintain the 600-dollar benefits through January.

Another sticking point in the negotiation is direct aid to states and cities, as Democrats proposed a 1-trillion-dollar aid for struggling state and local governments in their previously unveiled 3-trillion-dollar relief proposal, while Republicans planned to offer no new money.

Earlier in the week, Democrats offered to cut their 3-trillion-dollar relief proposal by 1 trillion dollars if Republicans would agree to increase their roughly 1-trillion-dollar package by the same amount, but were rebuffed.

The other three actions Trump signed Saturday include a memorandum to defer certain payroll tax obligations, a memorandum to defer student loan payments and an executive order to reinstate the federal moratorium on evictions, which also expired at the end of July. The payroll tax deferment, which Trump repeatedly advocated, has met bipartisan opposition.

Trump's orders will likely face a legal challenge, as Congress has the constitutional authority to determine federal funding, according to U.S. media.

"Today's meager announcements show President Trump still does not comprehend the seriousness or the urgency of the health and economic crises facing working families. These policies provide little real help for families," Pelosi and Schumer said.

Former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden speaks during a rally in Philadelphia May 18, 2019. (Xinhua/Liu Jie)

Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden also lashed out at Trump's executive actions, calling them "half-baked."

"These orders are not real solutions. They are just another cynical ploy designed to deflect responsibility. Some measures do far more harm than good," Biden said in a statement, noting that Trump is putting social security "at grave risk" with the payroll tax plan.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, however, welcomed the president's actions, blaming Democrats for sabotaging talks on the relief bill.

"Struggling Americans need action now. Since Democrats have sabotaged backroom talks with absurd demands that would not help working people, I support President Trump exploring his options to get unemployment benefits and other relief to the people who need them the most," McConnell said in a statement.

The Republican leader said before the jobless benefits expired that Senate Republicans "tried several times" to extend them while talks continued, but "Leader Schumer declared that nobody could get help unless all of Democrats' demands were met."

Pelosi and Schumer, meanwhile, argued that the country needs a comprehensive deal.

"The coronavirus is moving through our country like a runaway freight train and the economy is quickly running out of steam," they said. "The only solution to crush the virus and protect working families is to pass a comprehensive bill that is equal to the historic health and economic catastrophe facing our country." 
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-09 22:06:58|Editor: huaxia

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BEIJING, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) -- Police across China have nabbed more than 43,000 suspects while handling over 24,000 criminal cases in a special crackdown that started in May, the Ministry of Public Security said Sunday.

In the special crackdown targeting law violations related to food and drug safety, intellectual property rights, and wild animals and plants, among others, the ministry said that more than 7,400 dens were demolished and over 3,000 criminal groups busted.

Chinese police have dealt with over 4,700 cases and detained over 9,000 suspects in relation to illegal conduct jeopardizing the health of people and infringing the rights of enterprises and customers.

Another 3,100 suspects were arrested for manufacturing and trading counterfeit and shoddy anti-epidemic supplies and drugs, the ministry said.

In addition, about 8,600 cases related to crimes against environmental resources, and more than 2,100 cases involving counterfeiting were handled by police across the nation over the course of the crackdown. Enditem
Mallik Thatipalli By

What did our food look like hundreds of years ago? In an era where there was no Pinterest or Instagram, how do we know what our ancestors ate? We go to art. Paintings down the ages have helped give us a glimpse of what our dining table looked like. Surprisingly, now in this tech-savvy age, artists are again taking to the canvas with hyper-realistic images of food.

"I never realised while eating idli that it has hundreds of tiny holes. Now, I know its true value!" laughs 38-year-old Sarasvathy TK, an artist from Secunderabad (Telangana), living in New Jersey, US. Her immaculate renditions of Indian food connect with the viewer instantly. She is now preparing to ready 11 works under her project titled Bhojan for a solo exhibition in New York next year.

The Computer Science engineer was always interested in art, but it was restricted to doodling till a visit to the Louvre, Paris, in 2007 which changed it all. Later after visiting an art exhibition in Singapore in 2008, she broached the idea of a career in art to her husband, Nagaraju Palivela. For years, this self-taught artist dabbled in various genres before Google introduced her to hyper-realism in 2015.

"Works by renowned artists from across the world attracted me immensely. I realised that Indian food was not much explored in this context. So my journey began," she says, adding, "What we cook is an expression of who we are and where we come from. Food akways plays a central role in every culture, globally."

This statement is something that Japanese chef Itsuo Kobayashi and New York Daily News reporter Anna Sanders would agree with. Chef Itsuo has been pictorially documenting his meals on a daily basis for over three decades.

From how a dish is prepared and cooked to how it is finally plated, his drawings today have gained worldwide acclaim with a debut show in the US in January this year. His mouthwatering paintings at the New Yorks Outsider Art Fair were sold for up to USD 3,000 each. Likewise, Anna wanted to start 2020 on a good note.

So on New Years day, she found herself at her favourite cafe ordering two bagelsone to eat and one to draw. Before she knew it, friends wanted to buy the painting and she was on to her second, and then her third in the ongoing series. "Its the sense of familiarity that makes the art appealing," believes Sarasvathy.

With no references to aid her journey in the hyper-realism world, Sarasvathy perfected her craft by stringent self-exploration. She created dishes she wanted to paint and took hundreds of pictures before zeroing in on the layout and design.

She paints on thrice-primed linen which lends life to the paintings because of its smoothness. Inspired by Dutch artist Tjalf Sparnaay and US artist Mary Ellen Johnson, Sarasvathy finds their paintingsdroolworthy images of cheesy hamburgers, eggs fried sunny side up, syrupy pancakes and chocolaty eclairsa teaching in grasping the perfect detail and texture.

The genre is challenging, she says. "I have worked on painting a dosa which had over 5,000 circles. Also, for an image comprising seven gulab jamuns, I had to paint more than 1,000 tiny circles on each. It takes a lot of effort and time," she says, adding that it took six months to paint her first workIdli, Sambar and Chutneyin 2017.

Each painting takes two to three months as the paintings require detailed output covering colour, texture, shape, condiments, magnitude and depth. "When we work on contemporary forms, we showcase the imagination of artists. But when we have to paint a food/dish, all eyes that are going to finally see it, have a pre-determined picture of that food/dish. As an artist I have to ensure that the picture of that dish in the viewers mind matches my work," Sarasvathy adds.

So next time you bite into an idli or a gulab jamun, how about counting the holes and the circles?
33 Nigerians slaughtered in mass killing during 24-hour curfew

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Armed Fulani herders launched a series of attacks during a 24-hour curfew in a predominantly Christian area in Nigerias Kaduna state, killing about 33 people and burning down dozens of homes, according to reports.

While police said Fulani gunmen killed 21 villagers, local community leaders put the death toll at 33 in the attacks on five villages, according to AFP.

The attacks took place in the Atyap Chiefdom in Zangon Kataf Local Government Area on Wednesday and Thursday, according to the U.K.-based Christian Solidarity Worldwide, which said armed men traveling in trucks killed six people and burned 20 homes in Apiashyim village, and killed seven people in Kibori village.

Locals reported the attack while it was still going on in Apiashyim, but personnel arrived only after the attack was over, a survivor told local media.

The Fulani men then attacked the Atakmawei community, killing 12 people and burning down 10 homes. Later, they killed three people in Apyiako village and five in Magamiya village, burning down several houses in both locations, CSW said.

A truck resembling an armored military vehicle and military motorcycles drove into the Apyiako village square while the attack was underway, but no attempt was made to stop the destruction, according to survivors, CSW reported.

Fulani herders routinely attack predominantly Christian farming communities in Nigerias Middle Belt. While some believe the nomadic herders launch attacks as they look for grazing pastures, the radicals are known for targeting Christian villages in a similar manner as the Boko Haram terror group that terrorizes the northern regions of the country.

The fact that these attacks continue is a damning indictment of Governor el Rufais decision to extend the duration and scope of a 24-hour curfew that had manifestly failed, CSW Chief Executive Mervyn Thomas said. Instead of protecting villagers, the curfew not only subjects them to privations, but also makes them sitting targets for militia who continue to attack at will.

The disturbing allegations of survivors regarding the failure of security personnel to intervene in ongoing violence and apprehend the perpetrators require swift, transparent and independent verification.

In a special report, titled Nigeria: A Killing Field of Defenseless Christians, released earlier this year, the Anambra-based nongovernmental organization International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law estimated that about 11,500 Christians had been killed in Nigeria since 2015 by Fulani herdsmen, Boko Haram, and highway bandits.

Nigeria was added to the U.S. State Departments special watch list of countries that engage in or tolerate severe violations of religious freedom and is ranked as the 12th worst country in the world for Christian persecution by Open Doors USA.
Ruins of the 58 metre Hard Rock Hotel which collapsed during construction and remained untouched for months on 11th March 2020 in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Barry Lewis/InPictures via Getty Images

A man's body was recovered from a Hard Rock Hotel construction site that collapsed last October, Nola.com reported.

Quinnyon Wimberly was one of three workers killed in the collapse. His body was removed from the site on Saturday, after his remains laid in the wreck for 10 months.

City officials, firefighters, and family members gathered as crews removed his body from the 11th floor.

Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

A man's body was retrieved 10 months after a collapse at a Hard Rock hotel construction site in New Orleans.

Nola.com reported that Quinnyon Wimberly's body was removed from the 11th floor out the debris of the hotel site on Saturday. The 36-year-old was one of three construction workers killed when the hotel collapsed last October. According to the report, city officials, firefighters, recovery crews, and family members gathered as Wimberly's body was recovered from a platform.

The removal of Wimberly's body from the site was postponed for weeks due to the contractor's concerns, according to Nola.com. The outlet reported that a tarp that was shielding Wimberly's body blew off in January, exposing his legs and sparking backlash about the body's delayed removal.

"The red tarp. The black tarp. I turn my head or close my eyes," Irene Wimberly told Nola.com. "I couldn't take knowing he was under that."

"It's going to be hard to say good-bye to him," Frank Wimberly said Friday, according to the report. "I wouldn't wish this on anybody. It's hard."

It is still unknown when the body of a second worker, 63-year-old Jose Ponce Arreola, will be recovered from the wreck. New Orleans Fire Department Chief Tom McConnell said it will be "way more difficult and complex," according to the outlet. The body of the third worker, Anthony Magrette, was removed from the seventh floor one day after the incident.

Story continues

In a press conference on Saturday, Mayor LaToya Cantrell addressed Wimberly's removal and stood in support for the families affected by this incident, Nola.com reported.

"This has been a long journey," she said. "But the longest journey has been for the families mostly impacted by this collapse ... It was an intolerable wait."

According to the report, Wimberly's body will be cremated and split amongst his family members.

Read the original article on Insider
The explosion that ripped through Beirut this week handed a resurgent protest movement an unexpected and brief victory Saturday, almost literally breaking down the doors of the foreign ministry.

The famed imperial staircase at the ministry's entrance was packed with some 200 demonstrators and retired army officers, who called the ministry the new headquarters of their uprising -- before soldiers arrived three hours later to force everybody out.

Some brandished nooses in a display of seething anger over a deadly Tuesday blast that killed more than 150 people and wounded at least 6,000.

The explosion that disfigured the city and shocked the world is widely perceived as a direct consequence of the incompetence and corruption that have come to define Lebanon's ruling class.

At first, "there were about 100 of us," said Tony Kayrouz, one of a group of retired army officers who led the takeover.

"There were a few policemen manning the gate, they opened it, and we entered, there were no scuffles," Kayrouz told AFP.

The retired army officers were led by a former general who once answered to President Michel Aoun, when he was the country's military chief in the 1980's.

"President Michel Aoun did not respect his oath" said General Samer Rammah, who led the small group.

"I had hope in Aoun," the general said, but now, "this republic is run like a farm."

Rammah and retired army officers have been a mainstay of a protest movement that started in October to demand the removal of a political class deemed inept and corrupt.

Many are boiling in anger over the country's economic woes, which include the collapse of the Lebanese pound that has devalued their pensions. "Our pensions are now worth 20 or 40 dollars (a month), while deputies and the ministers eat away at the country", one retired soldier said.

"The people must reclaim what is theirs".

Demonstrators at the ministry unfurled a banner that covered the entire facade of the building. "Beirut, capital of the revolution," it read.

"Congratulations, we have reclaimed the ministry," rejoiced one protester.

Beneath elegant wall engravings, protesters pulled Aoun's portrait off the wall and smashed it on the ground, where it was repeatedly stepped on.

Portraits of every top diplomat that ever headed the ministry were arranged on a wall cracked by the blast, but one former foreign minister was missing: Gebran Bassil, Aoun's son-in-law and head of the Free Patriotic Movement, founded by the president.

Bassil was one of the main targets of October's protest movement and has since become a highly reviled figure among activists and demonstrators.

It was not clear if his picture was dislodged by the blast or removed by protestors who stormed the foreign ministry on Saturday.

Visitors relished the takeover, posing behind a pulpit usually used for diplomatic press conferences. Others wandered into conference rooms and offices, where they snapped selfies.

"This is where Gebran Bassil once sat," scoffed one protester, pointing to a stylish sofa lacking an armrest.

"Isn't there any other ministry we could storm?" quipped another, as groups raided the nearby ministries of energy and the economy.

But the foreign ministry takeover was cut short when a large army reinforcement muscled in, forcing everyone out.
Longtime Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko issued a warning to the country's opposition after voting in Sunday's presidential election.

The sitting president, who is seeking a sixth term after 26 years in office, is facing the biggest threat of his reign this weekend on the back of a rising wave of discontent in the country.

Making it clear he wont hesitate to quash any attempt by his opponents to protest the results of the vote, Lukashenko promised an "immediate response" to those who would "go against our country".

Opposition politicians have rallied around presidential candidate Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who has gathered large crowds of supporters at pre-election rallies around the country.

On Sunday, local media reported that military vehicles had been seen at entrances into the Belarusian capital Minsk.

Lukashenko also said Sunday that his government's response had been "light-handed" so far against the protests, and that he had held back law enforcement from a stronger crackdown.

"They (the opposition) don't amount to anything and aren't worth (us) launching repressions against them," he said.

The leader added that it was "wrong" to assume that Belarus' relations with Russia had deteriorated after the arrest of over 30 Russian private military contractors who were accused of attempting to destabilise the vote.

"We will make a decision together with the president of Russia, and no mass media or Wagner (Russian private military contractor) can ever influence this," he said.

"This is the essence and basis of our dialogue with the Russian president," he added.
If you want to download, install, and use the Amino app for PC then stay on this page and read it till the end carefully.

Unquestionably, Reddit is the most prominent internet service for exploring the network of different communities. Amino is another great Android and iOS application that helps people with similar interests interact with each other. Sadly, theres no native Amino client for Windows 10.

What Is Amino?

Amino is a communication app whose sole purpose is to summon people with similar interests in one place. Similar to mainstream social-networking services, Amino allows users to customize their profiles, follow different communities based on their passion, and even grow their own following.

You can even create a community of your own and invite others to join it. Furthermore, users can post videos, news, and blogs within the community feed. Finally, Amino even facilitates chat service between the members of a community.

How To Download Amino App For PC?

Presently, theres only one method of installing the official Android APK file of Amino and i.e. by using an Android emulator.

In our tests (conducted by team techworm), we derived the conclusion that Bluestacks 4 is possibly the most reliable and well-optimized Android emulator that functions similarly to an Android smartphone.

So heres how you can download and install the Amino messaging app for Windows 7.

Download the Bluestacks 4 emulator and install the .exe file on your computer.

emulator and install the file on your computer. Once installed sign-in with your Google account on Bluestacks 4

Next up open Playstore and search Amino

Download Amino and install the application on the desktop.

For Amino login PC, use your email address or other login credentials. The bigger display of your laptop or desktop will definitely enhance the messaging experience on Amino.

A similar process can be followed while installing Amino on a macOS Big Sur desktop or laptop.

How To Use Amino App For PC Without Bluestacks

Surely, Bluestacks 4 is a feature-rich Android emulator. That said, it is not the most optimized emulator and it consumes a considerable amount of system resources. Additionally, it offers poor performance coupled with laggy experience on low-powered laptops.

So if you want to use Amino on a Windows or macOS PC without Bluestacks then you can check out these alternate Android emulators.

1. Nox App Player

The first best emulator to run Amino on PC and a perfect alternative to Blustacks is Nox App Player. Similar to blue stacks, you can use the Nox App Player on both a Windows and macOS PC. This emulator offers one-click installation without any bloatware or third party apps.

Nox App Player is very stable and the keymapping feature comes in handy while scrolling through the timeline of different communities in Amino.

2. KO Player

KO Player is another reliable emulator for using Amino on PC. Well, this emulator is ideal for playing games and running resource-intensive apps. Even though, Amino is not a resource-intensive application you will still have a lag-free experience.

KO Player offers One-click recording which might come handy if you plan to record videos.

3. MEmu Play

MEmu Play is an Android 5.1 Lolipop based Android emulator for Windows PC. The installation is quick and simple with no bloatware or third-party apps. One of the major highlights of MEmu Play is Key-Mapping.

Amino App Download For Smartphones

Download Amino For Android

Download Amino For iOS

CONCLUSION

So this was a simple guide on how to download and install Amino for PC. Do share your personal favorite messaging and social-networking services in the comments section below.
Former Sri Lanka Prime Minister Ranil Wickeremesinghe was the embodiment of self-confidence as he, a week ahead of the countrys parliamentary election, told reporters: The higher the number of votes cast, the better for the UNP (United National Party, the biggest Opposition party in the outgoing Parliament). On August 5, the election day, just over 12 million people voted (12,343,309)  around 71 per cent of all registered voters, lower than the 77 per cent in the last parliamentary election that brought Wickremesinghe to power.

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Digital Editor
Week after week this summer, contact tracers havent been able to figure out how more than 40% of Oregonians whove tested positive for COVID-19 became infected.

How and where the disease has been spreading has been an even greater mystery in some counties -- up to 62% of cases in Multnomah County, 67% in Clackamas County and 83% in Benton County havent been traced to a known source in recent weeks.

Is the disease spreading at Oregons bars, restaurants and gyms?

We dont see significant transmission within those settings, state epidemiologist Dr. Dean Sidelinger said Friday.

But there could be a reason for that: Oregon public health officials arent specifically asking people whove tested positive if theyve patronized a bar, restaurant or gym in the two weeks leading up to their infections.

That means public health officials might be missing opportunities to connect infections to otherwise undetected hotspots, depriving Oregonians of a greater understanding about the potential risks of frequenting certain types of businesses amid the pandemic.

I think its pretty unlikely that transmission isnt happening in bars and restaurants, said Dr. Rebecca Hicks, a Bend pediatrician.

Hicks was among more than 150 doctors who sent Gov. Kate Brown a letter this week urging her to close bars, gyms and other non-essential businesses to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and make it possible for schools to reopen in-person classes. But state officials said theyre reluctant to close or restrict those businesses without evidence of a problem -- which is something they may be unlikely to find under current contact tracing protocols, as first reported by Oregon Public Broadcasting.

Public health departments across the state do not thoroughly question infected people about all the businesses theyve visited, officials say, because the agencies lack the money and contact tracers needed to perform such an extensive inquiry. They also want to limit the amount of time contact tracers take from people they interview, some of whom are already reluctant to share any information about their private lives.

Interviews typically take one hour to 90 minutes.

There are a million questions that wed really like answers to, said Dr. Jennifer Vines, Multnomah Countys health officer.

Even if recently infected Oregonians do offer up information about patronizing a bar, restaurant or gym during the period they were likely exposed, theres no flagging mechanism in the electronic system that would connect the dots to identify an outbreak among other people whod been infected there at the same time, Multnomah County health officials said.

The system is designed to primarily focus on workplace outbreaks among employees.

Officials defended their work, given their resources. Determining how or where an Oregonian might have been infected is secondary to their primary goal of obtaining a list of contacts the person might have subsequently infected and notifying those people to quarantine or get tested, Vines said.

***

Its unclear how deeply other states delve into identifying the places their residents are exposed to the coronavirus. The Oregonian/OregonLive reached out to health departments, from Florida to Minnesota to Idaho to Washington, but was not able to get clear answers.

States across the nation have identified outbreaks that involved large numbers of customers infected.

In Baton Rouge, public health officials traced more than 100 cases to bars in a nightlife district frequented by Louisiana State University students.

Officials in Idaho traced 69 coronavirus cases to bars in the county that includes downtown Boise, leading them to shutter drinking establishments in the region. Officials in Minnesota have identified more than 800 cases they say are associated with bars in their state, according to local news accounts.

In Michigan, at least 188 people were stricken with the novel coronavirus at Harpers Restaurant and Brewpub during a 13-day stretch that included safety measures like complimentary masks and bolting tables to the floor so patrons couldnt move them closer. But those efforts did little to address crowds dancing.

Nationwide, some states, cities and counties that initially allowed bars, restaurants and gyms to reopen amid the pandemic have backtracked. Officials say studies and anecdotal outbreaks support their belief that these businesses are hotspots of infection.

At least a dozen states -- including Florida, Louisiana and Texas -- have closed bars once again or never reopened them in the first place. A few have allowed only outdoor service.

California, New Mexico and New Jersey have taken matters a step further by closing indoor dining at restaurants, too. In addition to bars, Arizona, North Carolina and most of Michigan also have closed gyms, with governors and public health officials saying they believe the risk of transmission there is just too high.

On July 30, Washingtons Gov. Jay Inslee closed bars to indoor service. He also ordered restaurants to cut off alcohol service by 10 p.m. and said only members of the same household can dine inside restaurants together and their group size musts not exceed five people. Gyms are open.

In Oregon, bars and restaurants are currently open for dine-in service indoors or out, but the governor has ordered food and alcohol service to cease at 10 p.m. and said groups dining together cant exceed 10 people. Gyms remain open.

The Oregon Health Authority has publicly reported no outbreaks at bars or gyms. Officials have notified the public of only six outbreaks at restaurants, ranging in size from five to 14 people infected.

But its unclear if there have been any smaller outbreaks at smaller establishments in Oregon. The Oregon Health Authority wont publicly report outbreaks involving fewer than five people. The agency also wont publicly disclose outbreaks at bars, gyms, restaurants or other businesses if the business employs fewer than 30 people.

***

Some infectious disease experts say no where does the novel coronavirus spread as easily as in drinking establishments. Alcohol loosens inhibitions and people too often disregard safety protocols, they say.

Some patrons also are unwilling to keep covered up. At the Orchards Tap and Grill in Vancouver, where 19 people were infected in June, Washington public health officials say employees struggled to convince customers to wear masks when not eating or drinking.

Many experts say its clear that younger people socializing with each other -- including at bars -- is helping fuel a resurgence of the disease. In Oregon, people ages 20-29 represent the highest share of confirmed or presumed infections, accounting for 21% of cases so far.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nations top infectious disease expert, told a U.S. Senate committee that bars are one of the most dangerous places for Americans during this pandemic.

Bars: really not good, really not good, Fauci told senators in June. Congregation at a bar, inside, is bad news. We really have got to stop that.

The Texas Medical Association also rated going to a bar as the most risky of 37 activities, along with attending mass gatherings such as a religious service with more than 500 worshippers. On a risk scale of 1 to 10, the association rated getting a haircut, eating indoors at a restaurant or flying on an airplane a 7, working out at a gym an 8 and going to a bar a 9.

Sidelinger, Oregons state epidemiologist, said he thinks the state hasnt seen the spate of infections at bars, like some other states, because of stringent safety measures.

Among them are requirements for keeping six feet of space between tables, facial coverings when customers arent eating or drinking, sanitizing tables between uses and prohibiting people from sitting at bar stools facing the bartender.

Some other states have enacted similar measures. But Sidelinger said Oregon businesses and customers generally understand the importance of stemming the spread of the disease and have been doing a good job.

Over the past month, state inspectors say theyve spot-checked more than 3,600 bars, restaurants and other establishments serving alcohol and found more than 93% of them were complying with mask and physical distancing requirements. They gave verbal guidance to nearly 250 businesses with identified issues.

Inspectors for the Oregon Liquor Control Commission (OLCC) flagged only 1% as problematic enough to warrant further investigation or action by Oregon Occupational Safety and Health (OSHA).

We have strong guidance, businesses are following them, Sidelinger said.

We have not seen those large outbreaks, especially with bars, that other states have had and that weve seen portrayed on the news, he added.

The Oregon Restaurant & Lodging Association, which represents the interests of bars and restaurants, agrees. President Jason Brandt argues that any attempt at shuttering their businesses wouldnt be based on the data.

We take our responsibility seriously to hone in on bad actors who arent following appropriate protocols and stand with OLCC and Oregon OSHA in making sure we are course correcting in those rare instances when non-compliance must be dealt with, Brandt said in a written statement.

He added: Safety and operational detail is in our DNA as an industry.

***

Hicks, the Bend pediatrician, thinks Oregon isnt aware of the problem because its not looking for it.

Common sense and the knowledge that we have on how this virus spreads tells us that when you are indoors, close together, eating and drinking without masks, laughing, talking loudly and closely...you have created an absolute recipe for COVID transmission, Hicks said.

Hicks co-wrote the letter -- signed by more than 150 physicians who are also mothers -- asking Brown to prioritize reopening classrooms over giving adults the OK to go out and drink.

(I)t is unconscionable to allow adults the freedom to go to bars, gyms, social gatherings and other non-essential services at the cost of the education and safety of our children, reads the letter.

Although its been struggling with a resurgence for more than two months, Oregon has consistently had one of the lowest rates of coronavirus infections among states in the nation -- ranking 12th lowest for new cases per capita over the past week. But the prevalence of the virus in the community is still far higher than in other countries -- such as Germany, Denmark and Norway -- that have reopened classrooms with widespread success.

In their letter, the doctors say they support the governors requirements for reopening in-person classes, including a mandate that new COVID-19 cases dip below 10 per 100,000 residents over a weeks span. This past week, the rate was more than five times that in Multnomah County.

The doctors believe that with the current trajectory, Oregon wont get there without more dramatic action, such as closing bars as well as bolstering testing, boosting contact tracing and convincing residents through renewed public information campaigns that their individual actions really do matter.

Otherwise, I anticipate our kids arent going back to school until September 2021, said Dr. Arian Nachat, a Portland physician involved in the effort, who thinks thats when a vaccine might be in place.

The longer we drag this out by partially dealing with it, the longer its going to last, Nachat said.

But the governor said Friday that she believes Oregon can lower transmission to the point of reopening classrooms without a statewide closure of bars, gyms or in-person dining at restaurants.

Brown said shes implemented an arsenal of measures that need more time to work, including requiring Oregonians to wear masks, limiting overall occupancy in restaurants, bars, gyms and religious institutions to 100 people, restricting indoor social gatherings to no more than 10 people and detailed requirements for how businesses that have been allowed to reopen can operate.

State modeling shows Oregons transmission rate is at its lowest level in months, even though daily cases are near an all-time high. That means new infections could hover around 1,000 a day without more improvement.

What we know is this: That the measures weve put in place are starting to show progress, Brown said.

So were going to continue to step up enforcement measures on our businesses around the state, Brown continued. Were going to continue to push Oregonians to use face coverings and follow all the other safety protocols in hopes that we can get the case numbers down and get our kids back into school.

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.
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Back when people still went to the movies, there was a strange tendency for similar films to come out in pairs. Deep Impact and Armageddon, both released in 1998, were about saving the Earth from a giant asteroid. Two 2013 films, White House Down and Olympus Has Fallen, were both about terrorist attacks on the White House. And in 2009, theaters featured Observe and Report and Paul Blart: Mall Cop, two movies about overweight security guards at the mall.

Now, life appears to be imitating art, as two very similar political scandals involving the nuclear industry are playing out in Ohio and Illinois. In both cases, the operators of nuclear power plants are alleged to have bribed the states speaker of the house in exchange for enactment of favorable treatment and government bailouts.

These twin scandals raise serious issues about the role of government in the electricity sector.

Take Illinois first. On July 17, electric utility Commonwealth Edison (ComEd) admitted in court documents that it had directed jobs and contracts to associates of Illinois speaker Michael Madigan in exchange for favorable treatment by the legislature, such as approval of rate increases. ComEd is paying a $200 million fine to avoid prosecution. Madigan has denied the charges.

Josiah Neeley is a resident senior fellow in energy with the R Street Institute.

The situation in Ohio is even wilder. The 82-page criminal complaint for federal racketeering, money laundering and bribery alleges that the speaker of the Ohio House essentially set up a dark money account into which eventually was poured over $61 million by a power company and others that stood to benefit from legislation. The money was used partly to finance primary candidates over an election cycle to secure the vote for the top leadership position in the Ohio House of Representatives. Perhaps even more disgusting, the bulk of it, $38 million, was allegedly used for ads to defeat a referendum attempt and to harass and buy off signature gathers who were trying to keep the legislation from going into effect via a vote of the people.

The major alleged funder of this effort was FirstEnergy Corp., identified as Company A Corp. in the complaint, then-owner through a subsidiary of the only two nuclear plants in Ohio. In return, the speaker allegedly delivered a $1 billion bailout of FirstEnergys failing nuclear plants in House Bill 6 and set up his own little fiefdom of representatives.

Michael Haugh is a senior fellow with the R Street Institute.

Corruption is as old as human history. But its worth considering whether there is something about the way that power plants are operated and regulated that makes scandals like those in Ohio and Illinois more likely. In Ohio, a person identified as Company A Corp.s CEO provided an answer in comments detailed in the complaint about a provision added to HB 6 in the Ohio Senate to decouple the companys revenue from the amount of energy sales. Under this provision, if the utility made less money in a year than it had in 2018, it could add a surcharge to customers bills to make up the difference. As the CEO bragged to investors, the provision would help make them somewhat recession-proof.

Revenue guarantees may be a great deal for electric providers, but they arent necessarily for consumers. Nevertheless, they are actually the norm throughout much of the United States.

This is because electric providers were once all government-sanctioned monopolies, the rates of which were set to cover their costs plus a set percentage of profit. In recent decades, some states have moved away from this model, introducing more competition into the system, but there are still too many avenues open for government intervention. One of the main arguments used in favor of HB 6 was that the state had already intervened to support alternative energy, and so it was only fair to bail out nuclear plants, too.

Ultimately, there are two ways for a business to make money. One is through the market. The other is through politics. The more space we give to the latter, the more likely we are to see corruption. And the one who will definitely pay for this corruption is the customer.

Josiah Neeley is a resident senior fellow in energy with the R Street Institute. Michael Haugh is a senior fellow with the R Street Institute. The libertarian-leaning institute favors free-market solutions.

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All parties should strive to finalize takeover deal



The envisioned acquisition of ailing Asiana Airlines by Hyundai Development Company (HDC) faces a critical juncture this week. Kumho Industrial, the major shareholder of the airline, and main creditor Korea Development Bank (KDB) delivered an ultimatum to HDC to complete the deal by Aug. 11.



Officials from HDC and Kumho plan to meet soon to discuss the issue and are expected to engage in a tug-of-war, heralding a further hurdle in negotiations.



HDC said in a press release Sunday that it would demand an additional three months of due diligence into Asiana. Kumho has maintained it will cancel the deal and keep the 10 percent down payment of 250 billion won ($210 million) should the property developer fail to finalize the deal by the agreed upon time. KDB Chairman Lee Dong-gull also hinted at a possible annulling of the contract during a press conference last Monday.



Lee claimed HDC should take all responsibility in the event the deal falls through. HDC has asserted that both KDB and Kumho have been distorting its real intention of conducting another due diligence into the cash-strapped airline.



HDC threw its hat in the ring to take over Asiana in a bid to expand its business into transport after the sale of the airline was announced in July last year. The sudden outbreak of COVID-19 dealt a serious blow to global airlines, including Asiana. The coronavirus added fuel to its managerial hardship as it had already been staggering amid over-competition with sprouting low cost carriers (LCCs).



The KDB said it would look for another option including seeking a third party if the HDC deal collapses. The bank also cited the possibility of turning the airline into a state-run firm. We urge the relevant parties to make all possible efforts to normalize the staggering airline as soon as possible. We oppose any plan to put the firm under state control, which will undermine the competitiveness of the airline and cause massive layoffs.



Against this backdrop, it is fortunate that Asiana shifted to a net profit of 116 billion won in the second quarter year-on-year thanks to rising cargo volume, despite dwindling numbers of passengers. We hope the improving performance will help prompt the takeover deal.


Theres an apocryphal joke that illustrates the depth and scale of corruption in Lebanon, where incompetence and institutional rot contributed to the Beirut disaster last week that killed at least 150 people, injured thousands, made hundreds of thousands homeless, and levelled much of the capital in damage estimated at more than $15bn.

The story begins with a Lebanese politician who visits the stately home of a counterpart in France.

Wow, says the Lebanese politician. How can you afford a villa like that on a public employees salary?
The Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) on Saturday said it strongly condemns sanctions imposed by Washington that targeted Hong Kong officials.

The U.S. on Friday imposed sanctions on 11 Hong Kong officials including HKSAR Chief Executive Carrie Lam and Luo Huining, director of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the HKSAR.

"The unscrupulous intentions of the U.S. politicians to support the anti-China chaos in Hong Kong have been revealed, and their clowning actions are really ridiculous," the office said in a statement.

Since the national security law for the HKSAR was introduced, some U.S. politicians have been interfering in China's internal affairs. They violated the basic norms of international law and imposed so-called sanctions on Hong Kong officials. It proves that what they care about is not the rights and freedoms of Hong Kong residents at all, but the freedom of the "Hong Kong independence faction" that endangers China's national security, said the statement.

It added that China is not afraid of any outrageous move and the so-called sanctions cannot and will never lead China to compromise on its fundamental principles.

China has expressed strong opposition multiple times, the statement said, urging the U.S. side to immediately stop interfering in Hong Kong affairs. The act and the "sanctions" cannot harm the "One Country, Two Systems" principle and Hong Kong's long-term prosperity and stability, the statement added.

The HKSAR government also issued a statement on Saturday which "vehemently criticized" U.S. sanctions against Hong Kong officials, calling them "shameless and despicable."

Luo Huining, director of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the HKSAR, also responded to the U.S. sanction against him, saying the sanction indicates that he was doing what he "should be doing for my country and Hong Kong."

"I don't have a penny of assets abroad. Isn't it a waste of effort to impose 'sanctions'?" said Luo.

Hong Kong Police Commissioner Chris Tang, Tang's predecessor Stephen Lo, Secretary for Security John Lee, Justice Secretary Teresa Cheng and Xia Baolong, director of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council, were also on the list.

When asked to comment on the U.S. sanction against him, Tang stressed that protecting Hong Kong's security is his responsibility, adding the sanction is meaningless and he will continue to carry on his duty to safeguard the national security in the HKSAR.

Noting that the U.S. has adopted numerous laws to safeguard their national security, Lee said the U.S. moves showed its "double standard and hypocrisy".

It is justice to safeguard national security and the U.S. attempt to use sanctions as a threat will never succeed, he added.

The Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB) also issued a statement refuting groundless U.S. accusations.

"Its real purpose is to cooperate with U.S. President Donald Trump and anti-China politicians' ideas of suppressing China's development and to increase political capital for Trump's personal election interests," the statement said.

Any country has the right to safeguard its sovereignty, national security and territorial integrity, the DAB reiterated, adding all sectors and the general public in Hong Kong welcome and fully support the central government's enactment of national security legislation.

The DAB also criticized the U.S. for repeatedly hyping Hong Kong affairs, which is China's internal affairs, slandering the "One Country, Two Systems" principle and trampling on the basic norms of international relations.

(CGTN)
: The Bannerghatta Biological



Park here is safe for the public to visit, authorities of the park has said.

They said the Directorate of Health and Family Welfare Services has issued a COVID-19-compliance certificate making the park safe.

"This is to inform that a team from Directorate of Health and Family Welfare Services, Bengaluru, conducted an evaluation of Bannerghatta Biological Park (BBP) recently on COVID-19 preparedness and issued a certificate of COVID-19 compliance," the park said in a statement.

However, the statement said, only 4,400 visitors would be allowed in a day.

There would be a contactless online ticketing system.

All visitors to the park would be screened at the entry point for temperature using a hand-held thermal scanner, the statement said adding that hand-sanitisers and hand-washing facility were in place at the entrance and appropriate places.

(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.)
We often see insiders buying up shares in companies that perform well over the long term. On the other hand, we'd be remiss not to mention that insider sales have been known to precede tough periods for a business. So we'll take a look at whether insiders have been buying or selling shares in Asian American Medical Group Limited (ASX:AJJ).

Do Insider Transactions Matter?

Most investors know that it is quite permissible for company leaders, such as directors of the board, to buy and sell stock in the company. However, such insiders must disclose their trading activities, and not trade on inside information.

Insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing. But equally, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether. As Peter Lynch said, 'insiders might sell their shares for any number of reasons, but they buy them for only one: they think the price will rise'.

View our latest analysis for Asian American Medical Group

Asian American Medical Group Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In the last twelve months, the biggest single purchase by an insider was when Executive Chairman & Group COO Chah Tan Kai bought AU$81k worth of shares at a price of AU$0.096 per share. So it's clear an insider wanted to buy, even at a higher price than the current share price (being AU$0.03). Their view may have changed since then, but at least it shows they felt optimistic at the time. We always take careful note of the price insiders pay when purchasing shares. It is encouraging to see an insider paid above the current price for shares, as it suggests they saw value, even at higher levels. Chah Tan Kai was the only individual insider to buy during the last year.

You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

Story continues

Asian American Medical Group is not the only stock insiders are buying. So take a peek at this free list of growing companies with insider buying.

Insider Ownership

Looking at the total insider shareholdings in a company can help to inform your view of whether they are well aligned with common shareholders. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. It's great to see that Asian American Medical Group insiders own 74% of the company, worth about AU$7.7m. Most shareholders would be happy to see this sort of insider ownership, since it suggests that management incentives are well aligned with other shareholders.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Asian American Medical Group Tell Us?

There haven't been any insider transactions in the last three months -- that doesn't mean much. But insiders have shown more of an appetite for the stock, over the last year. It would be great to see more insider buying, but overall it seems like Asian American Medical Group insiders are reasonably well aligned (owning significant chunk of the company's shares) and optimistic for the future. So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. In terms of investment risks, we've identified 3 warning signs with Asian American Medical Group and understanding them should be part of your investment process.

If you would prefer to check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity and low debt.

For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. We currently account for open market transactions and private dispositions, but not derivative transactions.

This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.



Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com.
- Michael V just had a bout with COVID-19 and it was clearly not easy based on his vlogs during isolation

- The comedian was very open on how he dealt with the illness and documented almost every step of his journey

- He shared that he might have gotten the virus from deliveries as he was perhaps excited about the things he ordered online

- Now, the comedian shares additional tips on how to keep safe against COVID-19

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Michael V shared additional tips on how to keep safe and further prevent oneself from contracting coronavirus.

The comedian's 14-day quarantine has already ended and he expressed that he has gotten better.

Photo: Bitoy Ako/YouTube

Source: Facebook

The comedian, in a report by Inquirer, stated that you have to treat COVID-19 seriously because it is not a joke.

He also expressed the need not to be too stressed about it.

Doctors have constantly advised on ensuring that you just need to have a strong immune system.

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Michael V was just among the celebs who got infected with COVID-19. There were other celebrities who had to deal with the ailment. Some politicians were also infected.

The government faced problems when they imposed the initial community quarantine, which was elevated into enhanced community quarantine. It also suspended transportation causing massive problems with commuters.

Doctors have died after being infected by COVID-19. They are among the frontliners who attend to the patients rushing to hospitals amid pandemic.

The COVID-19 outbreak started out in Wuhan, Hubei Province of China. Scientists believed that the virus came from an animal at one of Wuhan's wet markets. The Philippines has slowly eased quarantine measures and Filipinos are starting to adapt to the new normal.

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
Zubiri Statement on the Death of Mayor Alfredo Lim

I extend my prayers and my deepest condolences to the family of Mayor Alfredo Lim. He will be sorely missed.

I have always admired Mayor Lim for being a public servant to the bone. He had a clear political vision and, more importantly, the will to get things done. He was a true man of action.

Whether he was serving as police officer, senator, cabinet secretary, or Manila mayor, he was consistent in his work toward peace, order, and justice-so much so that we all came to regard him as our very own Dirty Harry.

I am sure that the City of Manila feels this loss deeply. He dedicated so much of his life to the city, and did everything in his power to turn his vision of a clean and crimeless Manila into reality. Mayor Lim may be gone, but Manila will always be testament to everything he stood for.
Markets Watch

Shift in Value Investing?

Investors are always looking for opportunities to improve their gains. Should you be adapting the way you invest based on ongoing economic scenario, just like Warren Buffet did? Read more here to find out.

Big Story

Co-pilot of Air India Flight survived by a pregnant wife

Akhilesh Kumar, who died in the ill-fated Air India Express plane crash is survived by a pregnant wife. Akhilesh was part of an Air India Express plane crew which was the first repatriation flight under the Vande Bharat Mission to land in Kozhikode, bringing back several stranded Indians in Dubai, Read here for more the details.

Your Money

Aditya Puri on Retirement

After his exit from HDFC Bank, the total proceeds from Aditya Puri's share sale amounts to nearly Rs 843 crore. Read here to know where financial planners think he should invest his retirement corpus.

Global Watch

The world has a lot riding on China and India

Given their size and impact, the world has a lot riding on India and China, according to External Affairs minister Jaishankar. He also suggested that the future of ties between the two countries would depend on reaching "some kind of equilibrium or understanding". Read here to know more about Jaishankar's stance.

Tech Tattle

Huawei caught in the crossfire

Huawei, will be forced to stop production of its own most advanced chips, after US sanctions. Here's how they found themselves at the center of US-Chinese tension over technology and security.

Startup Tales

Zomato approves menstrual leave

Zomato announced that it would grant female and transgender employees leave for periods. They will now be able to avail up to 10 days of leave a year, according to Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Deepinder Goyal. Read here to know more.

Tailpiece

A haunting reminder

Hours before the flight crashed deceased passenger Sharafu Pilassery posted a picture of him and his family in Personal Protective Gear and face shields to his social media. Read here to see how this serves as a haunting reminder of the transience of life and happiness.
The Uttar Pradesh Sunni Central Waqf Board (UPSCWB) has said it would like to invite Prime Minister Narendra Modi and chief minister Yogi Adityanath to lay the foundation stone of the public utility establishments, other than the mosque, on the five-acre land that was allocated to the board. The land at Ayodhyas Dhannipur village was allocated to the board in compliance with the Supreme Court verdict of November 9 last year in the title dispute case.

The UPSCWB officials said they would soon approach Prime Ministers Office (PMO) to seek an appointment for the foundation-laying ceremony that is likely to be held in September-end or in October.

SM Shoeb, chief executive officer (CEO) of the Sunni Waqf Board, said, We would like to invite the PM and the UP CM to lay the foundation of establishments of public utility like the community kitchen, hospital, museum, library, etc. The list of invitees would be finalised in the board meeting after a discussion with the other members. It would be a matter of pride for the board if PM joins us for the inaugural programme.

Also read: PM Oli lights up Ayodhya row again, says Lord Ram was born in Nepal

The CEO made it clear that there was no provision for any groundbreaking ceremony for any mosque in Islam.

In all schools of thought, no ulema (cleric) has confirmed a provision for any ritual and groundbreaking ceremony for a mosque. Hence, there is no point in organising any such event or inviting anyone for such an event (for the mosque), said Athar Hussain, spokesperson for the Indo Islamic Cultural Foundation, the trust constituted to oversee construction of the mosque and public utility establishments on the allocated five acres of land. With this comment, he made it clear that the ceremony would only be for the public utility facilities.

Since we are also providing public utility facilities around the mosque in the Dhannipur area, and those facilities are for the betterment of UP residents, we would be inviting the chief minister also to the inauguration programme, once we have a plan, said Hussain.

The board may also invite former chief minister Akhilesh Yadav and other political and non-political personalities. The list of invitees would be finalised after the board meeting that will be held shortly.

It was just a week back we got the land papers. The physical possession of the land is expected by the next week. Once we get the possession, we will go for land measurement. Then, we will chalk out the blueprint for the development work to be carried out on the land, which would be followed by the foundation stone laying ceremony of the public utility establishments. It will take a month or so for us to start the work, said the CEO of the UPSCWB.
Senate lawmakers on Thursday grilled President Donald Trumps nominee to head the Pentagons special operations over his companys reported connection to those implicated by US intelligence in the killing of Saudi Arabian dissident and Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi.

Louis Bremer, a former Navy SEAL, was rebuked by members of the Senate Armed Services Committee after he said he did not know whether his firm, Tier 1, had ever trained members of the Saudi hit squad.

I do know what we have trained Saudi nationals as part of our engagements with the kingdom as an allied nation, Bremer told lawmakers.

The Arkansas-based Tier 1 Group provides special operations-oriented tactical training to law enforcement and government agencies, as well as foreign government personnel.

The group's website advertises training in long-range marksmanship, urban combat, tactical driving and reconnaissance and surveillance, among a number of other specialized skills.

Tier 1's website reads that the group "is proud to provide world-class multidiscipline, multi-echelon training to the US Military and State Department, Law Enforcement, the Private Security Detail Sector, [Other Government Agency] Specialty Operator Teams as well as International Allied Forces."

Washington Post columnist David Ignatius wrote in March 2019 that the CIA had warned other US government agencies that some of Khashoggis killers may have received special operations training from Tier 1 prior to the murder and under permission from the State Department.

Pressed on the point by Senator Tim Kaine, D-Va., Bremer told the committee Thursday that he was unaware of Ignatius report and that he did not recall if his firm had ever looked into the matter.

Its hard for me to believe that a mention of your company by name in a column by David Ignatius  would not come to your attention or the attention of the board, Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, responded.

Bremer then backtracked. I just dont recall the specifics about it. Im not trying to hide any investigation that we may have done or not done, he said, adding, Its very likely that we did do some form of investigation, [we] likely even had a discussion at the board level.

I can go back and look at the details on that, and provide that to both you and Senator Kaine, Bremer said, citing his involvement in a lot of different corporate matters, a lot of different boards as why he did not recall any such discussions.

I dont feel comfortable moving forward on this nomination until I get answers, Kaine later told Breaking Defense, which first reported the exchange Thursday.

The hearing was the committees second dustup over a Pentagon nominee in just over a week.

Less than a half hour before it was scheduled to begin, the Senate canceled a hearing last week on the nomination of Anthony Tata, a former US Army brigadier general and Trumps choice for the Defense Departments undersecretary of defense for policy.

Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman James Inhofe, R-Okla., claimed the committee had not received the necessary documentation to hold the hearing in time.

There are many Democrats and Republicans who didnt know enough about Anthony Tata to consider him for a very significant position at this time, Inhofe said in the statement last week.

Tata, who backed Trumps interference in the trial of alleged war criminal and former Navy SEAL Eddie Gallagher, had faced sharp criticism from Democrats last month over a history of bizarre, violent and Islamophobic comments.

Trump then informally installed Tata in the position this week, bypassing Congress.

John Rood, who had served in the position until February, was ousted over perceived disloyalty to the president, according to reports.

Bremer currently heads Cerberus Capital Management, which owns Tier 1 and was founded by Stephen Feinberg, who reportedly once had the presidents ear over a proposal to send private contractors to Afghanistan instead of US troops.

According to Bloomberg Businessweek, Cerberus also purchased part of Jared Kushner's debt in 2008 after Kushner, Trump's son-in-law, purchased a nearly $2 billion office building in Manhattan.
WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump's new executive actions to disburse coronavirus relief without Congress sparked confusion and frustration Sunday among businesses, Democrats and state officials, some of whom lamented the moves would not deliver the necessary relief to cash-strapped Americans.

Trump's directives were aimed at offering new unemployment benefits, protecting renters from eviction and postponing the payment of a federal tax. But an array of economists and lawmakers depicted these policies as incomplete, unworkable or legally questionable - raising the prospect that the president's attempt to boost the economy may have a muted impact.

One of the orders allows employees making less than $104,000 to delay until January payment of a payroll tax that funds Social Security and Medicare. Trump added that he would try to change federal rules next year to make the deferred payments into a permanent tax cut - but only if he is reelected.

The tax typically is taken out of paychecks by employers. And businesses, payment processors and economists signaled Sunday, in the absence of a guarantee, that the payroll taxes actually will be absolved, businesses would be unlikely to alter worker paychecks.

"It's a little bit of a leap of faith on an employer's part," said Pete Isberg, the vice president of government affairs for ADP, which processes payments for 40 million workers and 800,000 businesses.

Isberg said it may take months for some businesses to implement a system that can defer payroll taxes for a few months, delaying any potential boost to the economy. "It's not clear employers broadly will adopt this," he added. "It's not clear employees will want to take it even if they qualify."

Unable to swing a deal with Democrats, Trump resorted to executive actions as concerns in Washington intensified about the economic distress - and the political fallout - caused by the pandemic.

"The Lord and the Founding Fathers created executive orders because of partisan bickering and divided government," White House economic adviser Peter Navarro said Sunday on NBC.

But Trump's attempts to circumvent the partisan logjam on Capitol Hill instead may be illustrating the limits of executive power - and the costs that can come from invoking it. In this case, a more long-lasting legislative solution may have been delayed with the White House deciding to act on its own, said Daniel Hemel, a law professor at the University of Chicago in an interview.

"It's a Band-Aid on an open wound," he said Sunday. Trump "can do it, legally, but to provide real lasting relief he needs help from Congress - and if anything, he made that less likely yesterday. Most of us won't see more money in our paychecks, and the millions of families on unemployment will still be in crisis come September."

The coronavirus pandemic has had a devastating impact on the U.S. economy, forcing many businesses to close and lay off workers. Certain sectors, particularly travel, hospitality and retail, have been hit particularly hard. The country has more than 30 million Americans collecting unemployment insurance and has not rehired half the workers who had lost jobs by the end of April, a fact White House officials acknowledged Sunday.

Democrats pounced on the confusion from Trump's executive directives, arguing that the White House should resume negotiations on a broader relief package. Those talks had collapsed last week after both sides dug in on what they believed the package should entail and how much it should cost.

The stalemate resulted in the expiration of a critical economic lifeline to millions of Americans - an extra $600 each week in unemployment benefits that Congress approved in March.

"Unfortunately, the president's executive orders, described in one word, could be paltry, in three words, unworkable, weak, and far too narrow," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Sunday on ABC.

In response to the expiring aid, Trump on Saturday signed an order that would offer $400 a week in federal unemployment benefits. To pay for the program, the president said he would tap $44 billion in federal funds that are allocated for natural disaster relief such as a hurricane or wildfire.

But states would have to contribute $100 a week to each worker's check, with the federal government putting up the rest. Beyond the legal questions surrounding the maneuver, many states are facing severe budget deficits as they fight the coronavirus, and several economists and lawmakers said governors may be unlikely to sign onto the program.

States are asking the federal government to offer as much as $1 trillion in new aid to cover budget gaps. Asked whether Ohio could afford the new unemployment insurance expense, Republican Gov. Mike DeWine replied on CNN: "The answer is, I don't know yet."

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, tweeted: "Executive Orders can't replace legislative actions. States can't pay 25% of unemployment costs. It's simply impossible."

On "Fox News Sunday," Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin suggested that the administration could be flexible on the state contribution, saying: "The 25% from the states - they can either take that out of the money we've already given them or the president can waive that."

According to the president's directive, the aid should run through Dec. 6 or until funding runs out. But $44 billion would cover less than five weeks of payments for the ranks of the 30 million Americans who are currently unemployed, several economists noted.

But top administration officials on Sunday appeared confused about when the first checks might be paid. Mnuchin said the jobless benefits could be available "immediately," but White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said on CNN that the payments could take a couple of weeks.

Even if state governments sign onto the program, the jobless benefits might be out of reach for Americans in greatest need: Only out-of-work Americans receiving more than $100 a week in state unemployment insurance are eligible for the federal aid. That means those at the bottom of the income distribution - particularly workers who rely on tips and the self-employed - could see no additional federal benefit at all, said Andy Stettner, an unemployment insurance expert at the Century Foundation.

The White House rejected the accusation that its policies would disproportionately hurt the poorest Americans. A spokesman added that the $100-a-week limit was aimed at curbing fraud and making sure those who are receiving the federal benefit have already qualified for an unemployment program. "It's utter nonsense to suggest that the Trump administration is somehow targeting poor people," said Judd Deere, a White House spokesman. "The president is acting where the Democrats are putting people's futures at risk."

One of Trump's other executive orders was aimed at minimizing evictions and foreclosures. But the order does not reinstate a federal eviction moratorium that expired last month. Instead, it calls on the Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to "consider" whether it is necessary to temporarily halt evictions. The action fell short of what housing advocates said is needed to keep millions of Americans in their homes.

Trump's directive on the payroll tax break came after the White House pressed Congress for months to include the tax cut as part of a new congressional coronavirus relief package. But the idea repeatedly ran into political resistance, including among Republicans, who questioned at times whether it would create new fiscal headaches for Social Security and the government's rapidly increasing deficit.

Trump on Saturday forged ahead, deferring but not forgiving Americans' payroll taxes from Sept. 1 until the end of the year. Trump stressed that he would seek to make the changes permanent, telling reporters that he would try to "terminate" the payroll taxes Americans rack up between September and the end of the year if he is reelected.

"This will mean bigger paychecks for working families," he said at a news conference in Bedminster, N.J.

But experts said businesses are unlikely to begin deferring tax payments or boosting workers' checks by next month - or, perhaps, at all. As they await additional guidance from the Trump administration, many are bracing for the gargantuan task of rethinking their payment systems, said Mike Trabold, the director of compliance at Paychex, a payment-processing company. He added that federal law also holds companies responsible if the taxes are not properly paid to the U.S. Treasury on time.

"I think what most employers are going to do is not pass this on to their employees," added Josh Bivens, the director of research at the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute. "They're not going to give money to the worker because the government is at some point going to come back for it."

Instead, the costs of Trump's political gambit could prove great, thrusting the hot-button issue of Social Security and the future of federal entitlement programs into the election mainstream. Retirement benefits historically are sacrosanct in American politics, and Trump's mere suggestion he may seek permanent changes to the way they are financed raised immediate concerns that it could lead to lasting changes to the monthly checks paid to seniors.

The AARP, for one, criticized Trump in a statement for actions it said "exacerbates people's already-heightened fears and concerns" about their financial futures.

On Saturday, Trump tried to use the payroll tax announcement to mount an attack on Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, arguing that the former vice president and his party would end the deferral, "raising everyone's taxes and taking this away." Biden countered by accusing Trump of trying to "undermine the entire financial footing of Social Security," with the effect of putting Americans' benefits "in doubt."

"I do think the more permanent change, advocating for some kind of permanent reduction or elimination of part or all of the payroll tax, would likely be tough political ground for the president to be on," added Shai Akabas, the director of economic policy at the Bipartisan Policy Center.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., on Sunday insisted that she and Schumer had made significant concessions to get a deal over the course of two weeks of lengthy meetings with Mnuchin and White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows.

"We have to reach an agreement," Pelosi said on "Fox News Sunday." "Children are food-insecure, families are at risk of being evicted, the virus is moving like a freight train."

Pelosi repeated that Democrats had offered to reduce the price of their $3.4 trillion bill by $1 trillion, largely by changing the duration of proposed programs.

But Mnuchin said Democrats had refused to come off their $915 billion request for money for cities and states, a figure he termed "ridiculous." He said that apart from that issue and a dispute over the appropriate level of unemployment insurance, all other major matters had been resolved. On Sunday, he called for passing legislation on the 70% to 80% of issues for which there was agreement, while pursuing the other issues later.

"We don't have to get everything done at once, what we should do is get things done for the American public now, come back for another bill afterwards," Mnuchin said on "Fox News Sunday."

Pelosi spokesman Drew Hammill denied that there had been agreement reached on most major issues as Mnuchin had said.

Fox News interviewer Chris Wallace pressed Pelosi on her strategy in negotiations, where she held out for many of the Democrats' demands in hopes the administration would agree, but ultimately they walked away instead and the president acted on his own.

"You're known as a master negotiator, but didn't you mess this one up?" Wallace asked.

"Well clearly you don't have an understanding of what is happening here," Pelosi replied, criticizing the "weakness of the president's executive orders, which don't give the money to an enhanced benefit but put a complicated formula there which will take awhile if at all to accomplish to put money in the pockets of the American people."
KABUL - A traditional Afghan council concluded Sunday with hundreds of delegates agreeing to free 400 Taliban members, paving the way for an early start to negotiations between Afghanistans warring sides.

The declaration calls for an immediate start to negotiations and a cease-fire. The move looks to bring the United States a little closer to bringing home its troops and ending its longest military engagement.

No date has been set for the release, but negotiations between Kabuls political leadership and the Taliban are expected to begin as early as next week, and will most likely be held in the Mideast state of Qatar, where the Taliban maintain a political office.

These Afghan negotiations were laid out in a peace deal signed by the U.S. and the Taliban in February. At the time of its signing it was touted as Afghanistans best chance at ending decades of war.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani praised delegates for their decision, urged the Taliban to stop fighting.

Taliban political spokesman Suhail Shaheen said the decision was a good step, a positive step. He said negotiations could start within one week of their prisoners being freed.

As for a cease-fire, Shaheen said the Taliban were committed to the deal it struck with the U.S., and according to that deal the cease-fire will be one of the items to be discussed during the intra-Afghan negotiations.

Later Sunday afternoon, an explosive devise hidden in a cart killed two people in Kabul. The spokesman for the capitals police, Firdus Faramarz, said policemen were trying to remove the device when it exploded. Five police were injured.

A recent spike in violence in Afghanistan has been mostly attributed to the Islamic State affiliate, whom the Taliban are fighting, as are the Afghan government and U.S. forces. Previously, a U.S. Defence Department official who spoke anonymously because of the sensitivity of the subject said Washington considered IS its biggest threat in Afghanistan, and wanted a deal that would recruit the Taliban in a co-ordinated fight against it.

The councils decision to free the Taliban prisoners did not come as a surprise, as delegates were urged by the U.S. at the start of the council, or jirga, on Friday to take this difficult action so negotiations could begin to bring an end to the war.

The U.S.-Taliban deal in February called for the government to free 5,000 prisoners and for the Taliban to free 1,000 government and military personnel in its custody as a goodwill gesture ahead of the start of negotiations.

Kabul balked at the release, but eventually freed all but the last 400. President Ghani said he was not authorized to free these because of the seriousness of their crimes, and asked for the council to decide instead. He did not detail what the 400 were accused of.

Delegates were therefore given the stark choice of either freeing the prisoners or seeing a war that has killed tens of thousands continue. The delegates said they wanted international guarantees that the Taliban would not return to the battlefield.

Washingtons peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad spent more than a year and a half negotiating the deal with the Taliban to provide for the withdrawal of American soldiers after more than 19 years in Afghanistan.

The withdrawal began earlier this year, but roughly 8,600 U.S. soldiers remain in Afghanistan. Their return will depend on the Taliban honouring its commitment to fight against other terrorist groups and ensure Afghanistan is not again used to attack America or its allies.

U.S. Defence Secretary Mike Esper on Saturday said Washington will bring home another 3,600 soldiers by November, leaving less than 5,000 in Afghanistan.

We think that we can do all the core missions, first and foremost being ensured the United States is not threatened by terrorists coming out of Afghanistan. We can do those at a lower level, Esper told the Fox News Channels Justice with Judge Jeanine program.

The withdrawal of U.S. and NATO troops is not dependent on the success of negotiations between Kabuls political leadership and the Taliban. But U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has made it clear that Washington wants a negotiated end to the conflict, including a cease-fire.

An attack against a military compound on Saturday killed seven military personnel and injured another 16, and served as a reminder that Afghanistans war wont be over easily. No one took responsibility for the attack, but both the Taliban and Islamic State affiliate are active in the area.

_____

Gannon reported from Islamabad.

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On Thursday, I was driving around the section of Monmouth County that was hardest hit by that tropical storm. I came upon a major through street that was blocked off with tape that read Danger  Keep Out  Electrical Hazard.

The hazard wasnt hard to see. It was a transmission line that had been brought down by a fallen tree during the storm two days earlier. The line was still lying across the road.

I got talking to a guy named Fred who lives right next to the danger zone. As his generator hummed in the background, I asked him when he would be getting his power back.

They told me August 11, he said. They told everyone August 11.

I asked him if hed seen any workers trying to repair what looked like a major transmission line.

They came by the other day and removed the tree, Fred said. Other than that, I havent seen anybody. Most of Middletown is out.

That included a friend of mine who lives a ways up that road. He was also told his power would be back by Tuesday.

Freds wife gave me detailed directions for getting around the blockages. But it was not to be. Every road heading in my friends direction was blocked by a fallen tree.

I finally gave up and found a rather circuitous route that would get me back on the Parkway. After I got home, I put in a call to a friend who lives in Florida to see how he survived Isaias. He messaged me some photos of the massive concrete-reinforced steel poles that the Floridians employ instead of our wooden poles.

We did fine, he said. I lived here when even a tropical storm would knock out your power. But now we dont even get scared when its a category 2.

When my friend travels to Jersey, he finds that the electrical grid reminds me of what we had in the 70s and 80s, those toothpick wooden poles, some of them leaning.

In Middletown, Id seen one pole that was doing a good imitation of that famous tower in Pisa. Another had been snapped in half by the wind.

After last weeks adventures, perhaps we need to start taking these storms seriously, particularly in places that tend to get socked over and over again.

One such spot is the area of northern Bergen County centering on Upper Saddle River. It seems like only yesterday that I was up there touring the damage from a noreaster with Bob Auth, a Republican assemblyman whose district was hard hit by that storm.

Actually it was 2018, and I had just come back from Puerto Rico, where I had reported on the damage to the island from Hurricane Maria. The problem there was the same one we have in New Jersey: Too many big trees next to power lines.

When I got Auth on the phone he was touring the area trying to reassure residents that their power would be returning soon. Auth said we need to make some sort of improvements to the infrastructure.

Some of these poles seem awfully thin for the loads theyre carrying, he said.

Hardening that infrastructure is a matter of priorities. And here we come to a disagreement. Typical of the Murphy administrations position was the headline on the most recent press release from the state Board of Public Utilities: NJBPU Approves Extended Clean Energy Program Budget that Prioritizes Workforce Development, Equity.

Those are nice goals. But Auth and the Republican state senator who represent the district argue that the money being spent on the states clean energy campaign would be better spent making sure that energy gets to the consumers.

I come down with staying with the traditional stuff until new stuff is perfected, said Sen. Gerry Cardinale. The argument the other side makes is that if you do this even though its a loser because you eventually develop efficiencies that make it cost-effective.

The problem with that, he said, is that there is no sense of urgency to create efficiency when its the governments money.

Actually, its your money. Theres a part of your electric bill called the Societal Benefits Charge. About half that money goes to clean-energy subsidies.

When I discussed that with Ratepayer Advocate Stephanie Brand, she told me that the subsidies for solar power cost rate-payers about $5 billion over the past 10 years.

As for the cost of replacing those wooden poles with metal ones, as in Florida, I dont know how much it costs them, but would be huge undertaking in this state, she said, adding that the cost would be well into the billions as well.

If I had my druthers, wed spend that money hardening the grid.

But I dont have my druthers.

See you next storm.

PLUS - THE BOARD OF PUBLIC UTILITIES RESPONDS:

Heres a statement I received from the Board of Public Utilities on the outages. Theyve got a good point about the difficulty of preventing damage in areas such as the wooded section of Monmouth County that was the hardest hit. But we need a Plan B so this doesnt happen next time there are high winds.

We are in constant contact with all utilities to ensure they are working to restore power as efficiently and effectively as they are able. The aftermath of Isaias was particularly severe with damage both to transmission systems as well as poles and wires. It will take some time due to the severity of the damage with many downed trees which impact the most isolated outages. Some of the outages, especially in areas serviced by JCP&L are extremely difficult to address given the location of these customers. Much of JCP&Ls territory is heavily wooded and in rural areas. In particular many downed trees falling on power lines and knocking down poles presents a significant obstacle to restoring power.
RAK Properties, one of the UAEs leading property development and tourism infrastructure companies, has announced record half-year results, with revenues exceeding AED120 million ($35.12 million).

The reported half-year figures reveal a 65% increase in net profit at AED27 million compared to AED16 million reported at the same period last year.

The firm, which is listed on the Abu Dhabi Stock Exchange, currently boasts assets valued at AED5.67 billion compared to AED5.59 billion recorded last year.

Mohammed Sultan Al Qadi, Managing Director of RAK Properties, said: Our half-year results serve as a proof of the unwavering support from our investors. Having already completed several key projects and accomplishing various operational milestones, we look forward to the reminder of 2020.

During the period, RAK Properties announced the handover of Gateway Residence and reported construction progress at Marbella Villas, a beachfront development situated in Mina Al Arab, Ras Al Khaimah. Added Al Qadi

RAK Properties attributes its outstanding half-year results to its diverse portfolio, with strong sales for its best-in-class waterfront homes at Marbella Villas backed by exceptional payment facilities. The company also commenced the sales of Al Marsa Plots, a residential waterfront plots located in Ras Al Khaimah.

Both InterContinental Hotel and Resort, Mina Al Arab and Anantara Mina Al Arab Hotel & Resort will play a vital role within RAK Properties hospitality offering which will cater to the increasing demand for local and global leisure travel, and thereby shaping the lifestyle of residents of Ras Al Khaimah and contributing to the emirates development, the statement said. - TradeArabia News Service
Coronavirus infections continued engulfing key communities across eastern Oregon at unmatched rates into the first week of August, an analysis of new state data by The Oregonian/OregonLive shows.

Of the 10 locales that added the most new cases per capita, eight were in eastern Oregon.

The Oregon Health Authority reported 2,278 confirmed or presumed coronavirus infections statewide for the week ending Aug. 2. Once again, the Hermiston area led all of Oregon with the most new cases  170, more than double any other location.

The surging case counts accumulated during the same week that Gov. Kate Brown ordered Umatilla County back into stay-home status and returned neighboring Morrow County to Phase 1 restrictions.

The Oregonian/OregonLive for months has been monitoring weekly changes in state coronavirus data, reporting by ZIP code the areas with the greatest weekly changes.

This week, our analysis has a new format, focusing not on the areas simply with the most new cases  but also on the most new cases in relation to the areas population.

Heres a look at those ZIP codes, plus the traditional format including areas with the most new overall cases (at the end of the story). (Click here for an interactive map).

97818 Boardman

Coronavirus cases increased in this Morrow County community at a rate higher than anywhere else in Oregon.

This ZIP code recorded new confirmed or presumed infections totaling 98 per 10,000 people during the week ending Aug 2. Thats the equivalent of new cases in roughly one out of every 100 residents.

In real numbers, the eastern Oregon community added 41 new confirmed or presumed infections, raising the cumulative total since the pandemic began to 194.

Boardman is 30 minutes west of Umatilla and Hermiston. They collectively comprise the states biggest hotspot, led by Hermiston.

The Oregon Health Authority reported seven active workplace outbreaks among businesses in the Boardman ZIP code. They include:

Lamb Weston East, with 23 new confirmed or presumed infections; Lamb Weston Boardman Pac Center with 22 new cases; Lamb Weston West with 21; Independent Transport with seven; Boardman Foods with five; Threemile Canyon Farms with three; and Oregon Potato Company with two new cases.

97838 Hermiston

This ZIP code recorded new confirmed or presumed infections totaling 65 per 10,000 people during the week ending Aug 2.

In real numbers, the Umatilla County ZIP code added 170 new cases, increasing its cumulative count to 1,189. Thats more than double any other ZIP code in Oregon.

The Oregon Health Authority reported 13 active workplace outbreaks among businesses in this eastern Oregon ZIP code. They include:

Walmart Distribution Center with 12 new confirmed or presumed infections; Walmart with 12 new cases; Columbia Basin Onion with 10; Shearers Foods with nine; MJs Labor Services with nine; Lamb Weston with six; Pacific Ag with five; Atkinson Staffing with five; McDonalds with four; Home Depot with four; Good Shepherd Hospital with three; Marlette Homes with no new cases; and Medelez Trucking with no new cases.

In addition, state officials reported that an outbreak at Regency Hermiston Nursing and Rehabilitation Center grew by 28 cases and three deaths. The state didnt report any new cases at Sun Terrace Hermiston but did report one new death.

97882 Umatilla

This ZIP code recorded new confirmed or presumed infections totaling 57 per 10,000 people during the week ending Aug 2.

In real numbers, the Umatilla County ZIP code added 46 new cases, pushing its total to 292.

The Oregon Health Authority has reported two active workplace outbreaks in this eastern Oregon area. New cases increased by three at Two Rivers Correctional Institution while JM Eagle did not report any new cases.

97761 Warm Springs

This central Oregon ZIP code recorded new confirmed or presumed infections totaling 56 per 10,000 people during the week ending Aug 2.

In real numbers, the Jefferson County ZIP code added 24 new cases, increasing its total to 185.

Warm Springs Health and Wellness Center through July 31 had reported 181 positive cases. Many households in the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs have lacked clean water in their homes for weeks and the Tribal Council has told people who are infected to isolate at home.

97913 Nyssa

This ZIP code recorded new confirmed or presumed infections totaling 38 per 10,000 people during the week ending Aug 2.

In real numbers, the Malheur County ZIP code added 19 new cases, raising its total to 113.

There are no active workplace outbreaks reported in this eastern Oregon community along the Idaho border.

97875 Stanfield

This ZIP code recorded new confirmed or presumed infections also totaling 38 per 10,000 people during the week ending Aug 2.

In real numbers, the Umatilla County ZIP code added 12 new cases, raising its total to 93.

This eastern Oregon ZIP code is directly east of Hermiston and Umatilla. The Oregon Health Authority has not reported any workplace outbreaks in the ZIP code.

97801 Pendleton

This ZIP code recorded new confirmed or presumed infections totaling 34 per 10,000 people during the week ending Aug 2.

In real numbers, the Umatilla County ZIP code added 72 new cases, pushing its cumulative count to 350.

The eastern Oregon area has two active workplace outbreaks, according to the Oregon Health Authority. Cases at Eastern Oregon Correctional Institution grew by 95 and cases at Hill Meat Company grew by two, the state reported.

97914 Ontario

This ZIP code recorded new confirmed or presumed infections also totaling 34 per 10,000 people during the week ending Aug 2.

In real numbers, the Malheur County ZIP code added 65 new cases, raising its total to 493.

The eastern Oregon area has three active workplace outbreaks, according to the Oregon Health Authority. Snake River Correctional Institution added 10 new cases; Walmart added two; and the Kraft Heinz Company had no new cases.

The state also reported active outbreaks at Brookdale Assisted Living, although it appeared no new cases had been found. The state reported nine new cases and one death linked to Dorian Place Assisted Living.

97862 Milton-Freewater

This ZIP code recorded new confirmed or presumed infections totaling 22 per 10,000 people during the week ending Aug 2.

In real numbers, the Umatilla County ZIP code added 25 new cases, pushing its total to 72.

This eastern Oregon community touches the Washington border, just south of Walla Walla. The Oregon Health Authority reported no workplace outbreaks in the area.

97128 McMinnville

This ZIP code recorded new confirmed or presumed infections totaling 19 per 10,000 people during the week ending Aug 2.

In real numbers, the Yamhill County ZIP code added 73 new cases, nearly doubling its total to 171.

This Willamette Valley community had no workplace outbreaks disclosed by the Oregon Health Authority.

***

Heres a brief summary of the communities that added the most new cases for the week ending Aug. 2:

97838 Hermiston

The Umatilla County community added 170 cases, increasing its total to 1,189. It has the most cases in Oregon and second most per capita.

97128 McMinnville

The Yamhill County community added 73 cases, raising its tally to 171. Thats the 35th most in Oregon and 67th most per capita.

97801 Pendleton

The Umatilla County community added 72 cases, increasing its total to 350. Thats the ninth most in Oregon and 13th most per capita.

97914 Ontario

The Malheur County community added 65 cases, raising its tally to 493. Thats the fifth most in Oregon and seventh most per capita.

97301 Salem

The Marion County community also added 65 cases, increasing its total to 403. Thats the sixth most in Oregon and 30th most per capita.

97236 east Portland

The Multnomah County community added 48 cases, raising its tally to 533. Thats the third most in Oregon and 17th most per capita.

97882 Umatilla

The Umatilla County community added 46 cases, increasing its total to 292. Thats the 15th most in Oregon and fourth most per capita.

97030 Gresham

The Multnomah County community added 45 cases, raising its tally to 296. Thats the 14th most in Oregon and 26th most per capita.

97501 Medford

The Jackson County community also added 45 cases, increasing its total to 126. Thats the 49th most in Oregon and 108th most per capita.

97233 east Portland/Gresham

The Multnomah County community added 44 cases, raising its tally to 519. Thats the fourth most in Oregon and 18th most per capita.

97071 Woodburn

The Marion County community added 43 cases, increasing its total to 548. Thats the second most in Oregon and 11th most per capita.

97305 Salem

The Marion County community also added 43 cases, raising its tally to 382. Thats the seventh most in Oregon and 23rd most per capita.

97818 Boardman

The Morrow County community added 41 cases, increasing its total to 194. Thats the 25th most in Oregon and the highest per capita.

97080 Gresham

The Multnomah County community also added 41 cases, raising its tally to 321. Thats the 12th most in Oregon and 35th most per capita.

-- Brad Schmidt; bschmidt@oregonian.com; 503-294-7628; @_brad_schmidt

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Coronavirus Updates: Assam has 18,098 active COVID-19 cases at present while 145 persons have succumbed to the infection, said state health minister Himanta Biswa Sarma

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Confirmed COVID-19 cases in the United States have crossed the 50-lakh mark. The total stands at 50,01,126, according to a Reuters tally. This includes a death toll of 1.6 lakh. US continues to be the worst-affected country.

Brazil, a nation of 210 million people, has been reporting an average of more than 1,000 daily deaths from the pandemic since late May.

Brazil was leaping toward a grim milestone  1,00,000 deaths from COVID-19  on Saturday, and five months after the first reported case, the country had not shown signs of crushing the disease, reports ANI.

In a letter to states and UTs, secretary in the health ministry, Rajesh Bhushan, also stressed on the need for operationalising ambulance transport system with oxygen facility and quick response mechanism.

Expressing concern that grocery shops, vegetable and other vendors can be potential spreaders of coronavirus infection to a large number of people, the Union health ministry has advised states and UTs to take up testing of such people to ensure early detection of cases which can lead to reduction in mortality rate, reports PTI.

Seven people have lost their lives and 30 have been rescued, according to the Vijaywada Police.

Fire broke out at a hotel being used as a coronavirus facility in Andhra Pradesh's Vijayawada on Sunday morning, news agency ANI reported. Fire tenders have been rushed to the spot.

The scheme has also been instrumental in supporting farmers during the COVID-19 pandemic, he noted.

In a series of tweets in Hindi, he extended greetings, especially to the farming community on the occasion. Hal chhath is a festival dedicated to Balaram, the elder brother of Lord Krishna. On Sunday, Modi will also release the sixth instalment of funds of Rs 17,000 crore to 8.5 crore farmers under the PM-KISAN scheme.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday greeted people on 'Balram jayanti', 'Hal Chhath' and 'Dau janmotsav', and said to mark the occasion, he would launch a financing facility of Rs one lakh crore under the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund.

According to ANI, the fire broke out around 5 am on Sunday morning. Around 22 patients are being treated in hospital. "We are evacuating the entire building. The reason of fire appears to be a short circuit, as per the preliminary report, but we will have to ascertain," Krishna DC Mohammad Imtiaz told the news agency.

Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy on Sunday expressed shock and grief over the fire mishap and inquired about the cause of the accident. He directed the concerned officials to take up the rescue measures and admit the injured in nearby hospitals, according to the Andhra Pradesh CM's Office.

In late July, a video of Arjun Ram Meghwal had gone viral in which he claimed that a papad brand has the capacity to develop anti-bodies against coronavirus in the body.

The minister of state for heavy industries and parliamentary affairs, after developing COVID-19 symptoms, said he was tested twice and was found to be positive in the second report.

Union Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal on Saturday said he has tested positive for COVID-19 and admitted to AIIMS in Delhi.

India on Sunday reported a rise of 64,399 cases, taking its total to 21,53,010. The toll increased by 861 to 43,379. The reported active COVID-19 cases in India now stand at 6,28,747, according to the Union Health Ministry.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday said he is deeply anguished about the fire at a COVID-19 facility in Andhra Pradesh.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi also mourns the deaths in a fire at the facility. Discussed the prevailing situation with Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy and assured all possible support.

Arunachal Pradesh now has 684 active cases, while 1,430 people have recovered from the infection and three died of it, he said.

At least 68 more people, including 36 security personnel and a healthcare professional, have tested positive for coronavirus in Arunachal Pradesh, taking the state's total count to 2,117, reports PTI.

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has said that 2,41,06,535 samples were tested for COVID-19 in the country till yesterday (August 7). Of these, 7,19,364 were tested yesterday.

596 new COVID-19 cases and six deaths have been reported in Rajasthan on Sunday, taking the total confirmed cases in the state to 51,924. Active cases stand at 13,847.

In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the IMA requested him to ensure adequate care for doctors and their families who are a special risk group and extend the state-sponsored medical and life insurance facilities to doctors in all the sectors.

A total of 196 doctors in the country, majority of them being general practitioners, have succumbed to Covid-19 so far, said the Indian Medical Association (IMA) on Saturday, requesting the prime minister for his attention on the issue, reports PTI.

The recovery rate was 70.44 percent in the state, while it was 68.32 percent in the country.

According to the bulletin, the case fatality rate in the state was 0.78 percent, while it was 2.03 percent at the national level. The total number of people who have recovered from the infectious disease so far was 55,999, while 22,869 were under treatment.

The declining trend in new positive cases (observed during the last several days) continued in the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) with 463 new cases being reported.

Telangana reported 1,982 new COVID-19 cases, taking the overall infection tally to 79,495, while the death toll mounted to 627 with 12 more fatalities, reports PTI.

This is the third consecutive day that the COVID-19 cases have increased by more than 60,000. India had crossed the 20-lakh mark on Friday.

There are 6,28,747 active cases of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), comprising 29.20 percent of the total caseload in the country. The total coronavirus cases have mounted to 21,53,010, including 43,379 deaths, it said.

The number of recoveries surged to 14,80,884 with record 53,879 more people recuperating in the past 24 hours, taking the recovery rate to 68.78 percent,. The case fatality rate has dropped 2.01 percent, according to the ministry data.

Bharatiya Janata Party leader Manoj Tiwari on Sunday in a tweet announced that Home Minister Amit Shah has tested negative for the coronavirus. Nearly a week after saying he had tested positive for coronavirus, Shah was the first member of the Union Cabinet to test positive for the disease.

Odisha recorded the highest single-day spike of 13 COVID-19 fatalities, which pushed the death toll in the coastal state to 272 on Sunday, reports PTI. At least 1,734 fresh cases were registered in 29 districts of the state, raising the coronavirus tally to 45,927, he said.

On Saturday, 1,404 new COVID19 cases and 16 deaths were reported in Delhi, taking the total to 1,44,127. Over 1,100 people recovered yesterday from the infection and there are 10,668 active cases. The toll has risen to 4,098.

Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain claims the Capitals coronavirus cases are rising because people from other places are getting their tests done here, ANI reports."Otherwise, the trend of COVID19 cases in Delhi is decreasing," he adds.

On the COVID-19 situation in Delhi, the chief minister said, "The situation is under control, all parameters good, recovery rate is improving, positivity ratio reducing and deaths have reduced."

"The hospital was conceived in 2013. It is a 600-bed hospital. We are inaugurating the first 200 beds which will be used for the treatment of COVID-19 patients," Kejriwal said at the launch event.

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday said the COVID-19 situation in Delhi is under control and the recovery rate is improving. Speaking at the inauguration of a hospital in Ambedkar Nagar, he said in case the situation takes a turn for the worse, the government is fully prepared to deal with it.

The COVID-19 test of Home Minister Amit Shah has not been conducted since last week, a Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) official has told ANI. This clarification comes after BJP leader and MP Manoj Tiwari tweeted saying that Shah had tested negative for coronavirus.

The seven deaths in the last 24 hours ending 10 am Sunday took the number of fatalities to 87, he said.

Most of the patients died of severe Covid pneumonia, Director of Health and Family Welfare S Mohan Kumar said, adding the deceased were in the range between 38 and 80 years.

Seven more people including four women succumbed to coronavirus in Puducherry taking the toll to 87 while 264 fresh cases were detected, a top Health department official said on Sunday.

1,084 COVID19 cases were reported in Jharkhand in the past 24 hours. The total number of cases in the state is now at 17,626, including 9,067 active cases, 8,391 recoveries and 168 deaths, reports ANI.

40 new COVID-19 cases have been reported in Himachal Pradesh today, taking the total confirmed cases to 3,304. This includes 2,118 recoveries and 13 deaths, reports ANI

The COVID-19 tally in Tripura has increased to 6,164 with 147 new cases, the official said. Tripura now has 1,929 active cases, while 4,176 people have recovered from the disease and eighteen patients have migrated to other states

Four more persons, including two BSF personnel, have succumbed to COVID-19 in Tripura, taking the death toll due to the disease to 41, while 147 new cases pushed the infection tally to 6,164, an official said today. A total of 700 BSF jawans have infected with the disease in the state, he said.

Andhra Pradesh registered 10,820 new COVID-19 cases and 97 deaths, propelling the total number of cases now to 2,27,860 including 87,112 active cases, 1,38,712 recoveries and 2,036 deaths, reports ANI. The current positivity rate is over 16 percent as the state has been reporting cases in excess of 10,000 per day in the last five days. "What we are witnessing is a peak curve. Our infection positivity rate was less than one per cent till May (during lockdown), which increased to 2.16 percent in June and 12.33 percent in July (post-lockdown). Now it is about 16.24 percent," Special Chief Secretary (Health) KS Jawahar Reddy told news agency PTI.

The minister also urged those who came into contact with him to get themselves tested.

Bhopal Gas Tragedy Relief and Rehabilitation Minister Vishvas Sarang in Twitter post said that he has tested positive for the novel coronavirus infection. "Today my second COVID-19 test report came back positive. I have been in home isolation since the first test report came negative," he said in Hindi.

Andhra Pradesh registered 10,820 new COVID-19 cases and 97 deaths, propelling the total number of cases now to 2,27,860 including 87,112 active cases, 1,38,712 recoveries and 2,036 deaths, reports ANI. The current positivity rate is over 16 percent as the state has been reporting cases in excess of 10,000 per day in the last five days. "What we are witnessing is a peak curve. Our infection positivity rate was less than one per cent till May (during lockdown), which increased to 2.16 percent in June and 12.33 percent in July (post-lockdown). Now it is about 16.24 percent," Special Chief Secretary (Health) KS Jawahar Reddy told news agency PTI.

Maharashtra on Sunday reported its second highest single-day spike of 12,248 new COVID-19 cases, taking the total count to 5,15,332, state Health department said. With 390 fatalities reported on Sunday, the toll in the state went up to 17,757, a Health official said. At the same time, a record 13,348 patients were discharged in the day, taking the count of recoveries to 3,51,710, the official added. The state now has 1,45,558 active cases compared with 1,47,048 of Saturday, he said.

Gujarat reported 1,078 new coronavirus positive cases on Sunday, taking the total in the state to 71,064, the health department said. The number of patients, who succumbed to COVID-19, rose to 2,654 with 25 new fatalities on Sunday, it said. The number of recovered patients grew to 54,138 as 1,311 of them were given discharge. With this, there are now 14,272 active cases in Gujarat, of which the condition of 73 patients is critical, the department said in a release.

The state-run Goa Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) will conduct rapid antigen tests on people before they are admitted in the facility, said state health minister Vishwajit Rane on Sunday. He said an RT-PCR test would be done as a second layer of confirmation before surgery. Rane said, to ensure smooth functioning of GMCH amid rising cases, all HODs have been instructed to reduce Out Patient Department (OPD) services to bare minimum with all non-essential services to be slowed down in a phased manner.

Tope said a "jumbo COVID facility" can be constructed in Satara if need be, adding that a new testing lab was being set up there to ensure results are received within 24 hours. He said Satara and Kolhapur were witnessing spike in cases but expressed confidence that the outbreak would be contained in the two places.

Maharashtra health minister Rajesh Tope expressed concern over the high positivity rate of COVID-19 cases in Kolhapur district after reviewing the situation there and Satara along with NCP chief Sharad Pawar on Sunday. He said Kolhapur's positivity rate was 35 per cent. "No other district in Maharashtra has that kind of rate. We will have to increase testing large-scale. We will have to trace people, and isolate co-morbid people by doing house to house survey," he said.

"From tomorrow, we'll provide patient preferring to stay in home isolation a pulse oximeter and first-line supportive medicine completely free in Guwahati. We've also activated Tele Medicine service for them through 104, will expand it to other places soon," said Assam health minister Himanata Biswa Sarma.

The East Khasi Hills district administration has extended night curfew in the entire district from Monday till 17 August in view of the COVID-19 pandemic, officials said on Sunday. The night curfew will be from 9 pm to 5 am, they said. The state capital Shillong is in the East Khasi Hills district The District Magistrate said that the order will not apply to security forces, medical teams on duty, wholesale and retail pharmacies and essential government departments.

(15). Of the 54 fatalities, 53 were due to comorbidities where COVID-19 was incidental, the department said. Kolkata also topped the list of fresh cases (615), while North 24 Parganas reported 588 infections.

West Bengal reported 54 more COVID-19 fatalities on Sunday, raising the toll to 2,059, the state's health department said in a bulletin. A total of 2,939 fresh infections increased the caseload to 95,554, it said. Kolkata accounted for the highest number of 21 deaths, followed by neighbouring North 24 Parganas district

Coronavirus LATEST Updates: Yet another record high per day cases of 10,820 saw Andhra Pradesh's COVID-19 tally rocket further up to 2.27 lakh on Sunday.

Tamil Nadu reported 5,994 fresh COVID cases, taking the cumulative total to 2,96,901 while 119 fatalities pushed the toll to 4,927.

Karnataka health minister B Sriramulu said he has tested positive for coronavirus. Since the beginning of the outbreak, I have had the opportunity to visit the 30 districts and work towards fulfilling the government's wish to ensure good treatment to people. It is on this backdrop that I am going to be hospitalized and get myself treated," he tweeted. The minister also urged all those who had come into contact with him to take adequate precautionary measures.

Delhi reports 1,300 new coronavirus positive cases and 13 deaths today, pushing the total number of cases to 1,45,427 and toll to 4,111, according to a bulletin issued by the state government.

Speaking at the inauguration of a hospital in Ambedkar Nagar, Arvind Kejriwal said in case the situation takes a turn for the worse, the government is fully prepared to deal with it.

The number of recoveries surged to 14,80,884 with record 53,879 more people recuperating in the past 24 hours, taking the recovery rate to 68.78%. The case fatality rate has dropped 2.01%.

India on Sunday reported a rise of 64,399 cases, taking its total to 21,53,010. The toll increased by 861 to 43,379.

Fire tenders have been rushed to the spot. Seven people have lost their lives and 30 have been rescued, according to the Vijaywada Police.aR

With a spike of 61,537 new COVID-19 cases and 933 deaths India's COVID-19 tally surged to 20,88,612 on Saturday, as per the Union health ministry.

The death toll due to the disease now stands at 42,518 in the country, according to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW). The COVID-19 tally of 20,88,612 cases includes 6,19,088 active cases, 14,27,006 cured/discharged/migrated.

COVID-19 confirmed cases had crossed the 10 lakh mark in India on July 17 when the tally reached 10,03,832.

Compared globally, India has one of the lowest cases per million at 1,469 as against the global average of 2,425 and added that the Case Fatality Rate stands at 2.04 per cent.

With 48,900 patients discharged in the last 24 hours, India's total recoveries from COVID-19 has reached 14,27,005. The recovery rate stands at 68.32 per cent.

Meanwhile, 12,822 COVID-19 cases and 275 deaths due to the disease were reported in Maharashtra, the worst affected state by the pandemic, making the tally of the state cross the five lakh mark on Saturday. The state now has 5,03,084 confirmed cases, including 1,47,048 active cases and 17,367 deaths, according to the state health department.

Tamil Nadu, the second-worst affected by the pandemic reported 5,883 positive cases and 118 deaths from across the state today, according to the state health department. The total number of cases now stand at 2,90,907 in the state, including 53,481 active cases, 2,32,618 discharged patients and 4,808 deaths.

As per the health department of national capital 1,404 new coronavirus cases, 1,130 recoveries and 16 deaths were reported today. The total number of cases in Delhi now stands at 1,44,127, including 1,29,362 recoveries, 10,667 active cases and 4,098 deaths.

A total of 1,101 new corona cases were reported in Gujarat today, alongwith 1,135 discharges and 23 fatalities. The state has 14,530 active cases, out of which 82 patients are on ventilator.

In Andhra Pradesh 10,080 new COVID-19 cases and 97 deaths were reported, according to the COVID-19 Nodal Officer in the state. The total number of case in the state are now at 2,17,040 including 85,486 active cases, 1,29,615 recovered cases and 1,939 deaths.

Meanwhile, Kerala on Saturday recorded a spike of 1,420 positive cases, with 485 cases being reported from state capital Thiruvananthapuram alone. Four deaths were also reported from across the state due to the disease today, according to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.

The state now has 33,120 confirmed cases, including 12,109 active and 20,862 recovered patients.

According to the daily COVID bulletin of the Punjab government 998 new COVID-19 cases were reported in Punjab in the last 24 hours, making the state tally rise to 22,928. The tally includes 7,506 active cases, and 14,860 cured/discharged patients, apart from 562 deaths being reported due to the disease.

The number of positive cases in Jammu and Kashmir reached 24,390 on Saturday, including 7,264 active cases. While Jammu has 1,756 active cases, Kashmir has a larger share of 5,508 active cases. A total of 16,667 patients have been cured and discharged in the union territory and a total of 459 deaths have been reported due to the disease.

Further, 169 people tested positive for COVID-19 in Manipur in the last 24 hours, taking total cases to 3,635 including 1,697 active cases, 1,927 discharges and 11 deaths, according to the state government today.

268 new coronavirus cases, 109 discharges and 5 deaths were reported from Puducherry today. The total number of cases in the union territory now stands at 5,087 including 1,953 active cases, 3,054 recovered patients and 80 deaths due to the infection.

The union territory of Chandigarh reported 52 new corona cases today. Taking the total number of cases to 1,426. The death toll due to the disease rose to 24 with one death being reported today. The number of active cases now stands at 529 in the union territory.
Did Air India Express flight touch down beyond safe zone?

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, Aug 08: The preliminary investigations into the cause of the crash of the Air India Express plane suggests that bad weather could have been the cause. The initial probe also shows that a late touch down could have also been the reason for the air crash.

Officials say that the aircraft landed beyond the 3,000 feet mark, when it should have ideally done so no further than the 500 feet mark. This could have been due to bad weather, officials have said.

Kerala air crash: It all changed in a fraction of seconds

18 people including four children lost their lives in the air crash. 22 others who were on the flight are in a serious conduction. Nine of those died belonged to Kozhikode, Malapuram district collector, K Gopalkrishnan said.

"It would be inappropriate to comment on the cause or come to any conclusion," Civil Aviation Minister, Hardeep Singh Puri said after visiting the site. An Indian Express report while quoting air traffic control personnel said that the pilot reported visibility issues. After coming down 2,000 feet, the pilot tried landing again. The second attempt was made from the west end of the runway, which is not the preferred landing direction.

Defence Ministry bans import of 101 Defence items: PM Modi's Atma Nirbhar Bharat | Oneindia News

While commenting on the tabletop runway, Puri said that these are not uncommon. They do pose some challenges, but let us await the outcome of the probe, he also said.

Pilot of ill-fated Kerala plane had planned surprise visit on mother's birthday

"The aircraft was being captained by one of our most experienced and distinguished commanders, Deepak Sathe. He had landed on this airfield as many as 27 times, including this year. The probe will also look into human error, if any. The weather condition was very bad and the aircraft skidded," Puri also said.

Every flight has an alternative airport as the destination for emergencies, with enough fuel stocked for the same. In the case of this flight, the alternate destination was Tiruchirappally in Tamil Nadu which is 45 minutes away from the Kozhikode airport.

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Story first published: Sunday, August 9, 2020, 8:36 [IST]
New Delhi:

A tourist guide, accused of raping an American woman along with his accomplices in a five-star hotel in Connaught Place earlier this year, was questioned by police on Thursday after his arrival from Nepal.

Police had identified the man and contacted him while he was in Nepal. He had assured that on his return, he will join the probe even as he denied any involvement in the incident.

He returned on Thursday and was taken from the airport by the investigating team for questioning, sources said. With the tourist guide joining the probe, police are hoping that they will be able to identify the other accused.

A list of possible suspects has been prepared and police are questioning them though none of them has confessed about their involvement in the sexual assault, the sources said.

Meanwhile, the woman is likely to come to India to record her statement and help police in identifying the accused, said a senior police officer. She is currently in the process of arranging funds for her visit and is contacting her law firm here and the US embassy to help her in making arrangements, sources said.

Currently, police doesn't have actionable clues in the matter as the CCTV footage of the time period when the incident took place has been erased.

The hotel had informed police that they store CCTV footage recordings of a particular time period and the recordings of the time frame when the alleged incident have been erased, sources had said.

Police have been mulling the possibility of sending the hard disks and cameras to CFSL or FSL to try and retrieve the erased footage that may give them clues, they added.

The woman had alleged that she was raped by the men for two days. They also threatened her with dire consequences if she reported the matter to anybody. She had also stated that the accused had made a video of the act and had threatened to make it public if she reported the matter to anyone.
The lawyer for the prime suspect in the case of the disappearance of Madeleine McCann claims he is certain his client will never face trial.

Convicted German paedophile Christian Brueckner, 43, is currently in prison in Kiel, Germany on a drugs conviction and police are gathering evidence to charge him within the next two months.

Police leading the investigation have told the McCanns they have 'concrete evidence' that Madeleine is dead - the biggest break-through in the 13-year-old case.

However, Brueckner's lawyer Friedrich Fulscher has claimed that his client will never go on trial for for Madeleine McCann's disappearance and 'has nothing to hide'.

Prime suspect Christian Brueckner 'has nothing to hide', his lawyer claims, and says his client will NEVER go on trial for the kidnap and murder of Madeleine McCann

Brueckner is prime suspect in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, three, while she was on holiday in the Algarve

According to The Sun, Mr Fulscher said: 'Where is the evidence?

'Why has the prosecution not revealed it?

'There won't be a trial for my client for Madeleine McCann. I am certain.'

However, his lawyer Mr Fulscher said if the case ever did get to trial, Christian Brueckner would face the court 'serenely and calmly... he has nothing to hide'.

Brueckner is the prime suspect in the kidnap and murder of three-year-old Madeleine in 2007 while she was on holiday in Praia da Luz.

Police are adamant that the convicted German paedophile is the culprit and insist they have 'concrete evidence' Madeleine is dead.

Police use rakes to search an allotment in Hanover on July 28 as part of the Madeleine investigation

Prosecutor Hans Christian Wolters, who is leading the investigation, said he hoped to be able to charge Brueckner within the next two months.

In June, prosecutors said that they had mobile phone data which put Brueckner near the Ocean Club apartments in Praia da Luz on Portugal's Algarve - from where Madeleine, three, was taken in May, 2007.

The German drifter left Portugal shortly after Madeleine McCann disappeared in May 2007 and returned to Germany 'to start a new life', according to a friend.

He is serving a prison sentence in Germany for drug trafficking and is appealing against a conviction for raping of a 72-year-old American woman in the same Portuguese resort in 2005.

Madeleine's parents Kate and Gerry McCann have endured 13 years of heartbreak following their daughter's disappearance
North Korean authorities have sent special aid packages containing food and medical supplies to the border town of Kaesong which remains under a strict lockdown due to COVID-19 fear, state media reports stated on Sunday, August 9.

According to the reports, North Korea's supreme leader Kim Jong Un has declared an emergency and imposed a strict lockdown on the small town near the Korean border after a person was found showing symptoms of the virus.

READ: North Korea: Kim Jong Un Orders Distribution Of Aid In City Under Coronavirus Lockdown

North Korea fears COVID-19

As per North Korean state media reports, the capital city of Pyongyang has not reported any case of COVID-19 infections but has taken strict quarantine measures, thermal screening, providing food, testing kits, and other medical aids to curb the spread of the infection.

The state media on Sunday is reported to have shown a train arriving at the border town of Kaesong with a truckload of supplies for the residents. In addition, reports further mention scores of people seen wearing masks and sitting at a distance from each other at an auditorium to thank the authorities for aid.

READ: Kim Visits North Korea Flood Zone, Orders Shelter, Food Aid

Meanwhile, North Korea has already shut its borders and incorporated travel restrictions. In the last week of July, North Korea had imposed its maximum emergency system to curb the spread of coronavirus.

North Korean state media then reported leader Kim Jong Un to have ordered for a total lockdown of Kaesong. The country's revelations of its first potential COVID-19 case and the emergency response has caught international attention.

READ: North Korea Raises Fear Of COVID-19 Outbreak Amid Escalating Virus Response

READ: North Korea Battered By Torrential Rains, South Korea Reports 16 Dead
Marcio Antonio do Nascimento stands next to a framed childhood image of his 25-year-old son Hugo do Nascimento who died from the new coronavirus, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Saturday, Aug. 1, 2020. Brazil was leaping toward a grim milestone, 100,000 deaths from COVID-19, on Saturday, Aug. 8, and five months after the first reported case, the country had not shown signs of crushing the disease. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

Brazil surpassed a grim milestone of 100,000 deaths from COVID-19 on Saturday night, and five months after the first reported case the country has not shown signs of crushing the disease.

The nation of 210 million people has been reporting an average of more than 1,000 daily deaths from the pandemic since late May and reported 905 for the latest 24-hour period.

The Health Ministry said there had been a total of 3,012,412 confirmed infections with the new coronavirusdeath and infection tolls second only to the United States. And as in many nations, experts believe that both numbers are severe undercounts due to insufficient testing.

In a tribute to COVID-19 victims Saturday morning, the non-governmental group Rio de Paz placed crosses on the sand on the famed Copacabana beach and released 1,000 red balloons into the sky.

"It's very sad. Those 100,000 represent various families, friends, parents, children," said Marcio do Nascimento Silva, a 56-year-old taxi driver who lost his children in the pandemic and joined the tribute.

"We reach that mark (100,000) and many people seem to not see it, both among the government and our people. They are not just numbers but people. Death became normal," Silva said.

Red balloons are released to honor the victims of COVID-19 in a demonstration organized by Rio de Paz, on Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Saturday, Aug. 8, 2020, as the country heads to a milestone of 100,000 new coronavirus related deaths. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)

President Jair Bolsonarowho himself reported being infectedhas been a consistent skeptic about the impact of the disease and an advocate of lifting restrictions on the economy that had been imposed by state governors trying to combat it. He has frequently mingled in crowds, sometimes without a mask.

On the day that Brazil reached more than 100,000 deaths, the federal government's communication secretariat confronted criticism from former Justice Minister Sergio Moro on social media for the management of the pandemic.

"There are many numbers that deserve to be disclosed: - ALMOST 3 MILLION LIVES SAVED OR IN RECOVERY - ONE OF THE LOWEST DEATHS PER MILLION AMONG LARGE NATIONS," said the secretariat's official account on Twitter, sharing Moros tweet. Bolsonaro answered the tweet with an emoji of shaking hands.

Marcio Antonio do Nascimento, left, holding a photo of his 25-year-old son Hugo do Nascimento who died from COVID-19, argues with a person who said the deaths related to COVID-19 are fake news, during a demonstration to honor the victims of COVID-19, on Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Saturday, Aug. 8, 2020, as the country heads to a milestone of 100,000 new coronavirus related deaths. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)

Experts have complained of a lack of national coordination under Bolsonaro and scattershot responses by city and state governments, with some reopening earlier than health experts recommended.

"Administrative incompetence ruined our chance to have a good response to COVID," said Miguel Lago, executive director of Brazil's Institute for Health Policy Studies, which advises public health officials.

Brazil is facing the pandemic with an interim health minister, Eduardo Pazuello, an army general who made his career in logistics. Two earlier health ministers, both physicians, exited over differences with Bolsonaro about social distance measures and the use of hydroxychloroquine, an anti-malaria drug promoted by the president but which most studies have found to be inteffective against COVID-19, or even dangerous.

Crosses, red balloons and Brazilian nation flags are placed in the sand on Copacabana beach in a demonstration organized by Rio de Paz to honor the victims of COVID-19, as the country heads to a milestone of 100,000 new coronavirus related deaths, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Saturday, Aug. 8, 2020. (AP Photo/Mario Lobao)

Bolsonaro, who has called COVID-19 a "little flu," says he recovered from his own infection thanks to that drug.

Many of Brazil's 27 states have begun to reopen shops and restaurants, though responses have differed, as has the strain on the health system. While Brasilia, the capital, has recorded almost 80% occupancy of its ICU beds, Rio de Janeiro's occupation rate is now down to less than 30% in private hospitals.

In Rio, shopping malls and restaurants have already opened and people have returned to the beaches.

"The situation is very comfortable and we don't understand why it is happening. Perhaps the infection rate was much higher than what was reported at the beginning of the pandemic and many of those on the street are immune," speculated Graccho Alvim, director of the state's association of hospitals

Sisters Valeria Melo da Silva, left, and Viviane, her husband Luigi do Nascimento visit the grave of their mother who died of COVID-19, at a cemetery in Manaus, Brazil, Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2020. Their 67-year-old mother reported having a cold, and a few days later started having problems breathing. She died after five days in a public hospital. "I still don't accept her death, not yet," said Viviane, crying, and expressing regret the family had been unable to hold a wake for her mother. (AP Photo/Helton Belo)

Viviane Melo da Silva, 47, lost her mother, Esther Melo da Silva, in the Amazonas state capital of Manaus on April 9. The mother reported having a cold, and a few days later started having problems breathing. She died after five days in a public hospital.

"I still don't accept her death, not yet," said da Silva, crying, and expressing regret the family had been unable to hold a wake for her mother.

"The government was saying that it was a 'little flu.' It did not care. It was not worried with that and that's what happened: Innocent people died because of the negligence and the lack of preparation from the government," she added.

Nazare Rosa de Paula, 67, said many people remain indifferent to the virus despite so many deaths. She said her husband Geraldo, a 70-year-old retired bus driver, would wear a mask to go to the supermarket in Rio de Janeiro, but never believed he would be infected.

A framed photo shows Esther Melo da Silva with her grandson, in Manaus, Brazil, Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2020. The 67-year-old grandmother reported having a cold, and a few days later started having problems breathing. She died from COVID-19 on April 9, after five days in a public hospital. (AP Photo/Helton Belo)

Nazare Rosa de Paula, 67, poses for a photo holding the guitar belonging to her husband Geraldo de Paula who died from the new coronavirus, in their home in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Friday, Aug. 7, 2020. Geraldo de Paula, 70, originally from Minas Gerais, moved with his wife more than 40 years ago to Rio where their two children were born. He loved to play the guitar and to make jokes. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)

Nazare Rosa de Paula, 67, wife of Geraldo de Paula who died of Covid-19, holds a photo of him embracing two cousins, in their home in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Friday, Aug. 7, 2020. Geraldo de Paula, 70, originally from Minas Gerais, moved with his wife more than 40 years ago to Rio where their two children were born. He loved to play the guitar and to make jokes. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)

Crosses and red balloons are placed in the sand on Copacabana beach in a demonstration organized by Rio de Paz to honor the victims of COVID-19, as the country heads to a milestone of 100,000 new coronavirus related deaths, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Saturday, Aug. 8, 2020. (AP Photo/Mario Lobao)

Marcio Antonio do Nascimento, the father of 25-year-old son Hugo do Nascimento who died from the new coronavirus, watches Hugo's sons, his grandchildren, play in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Saturday, Aug. 1, 2020. Brazil was leaping toward a grim milestone, 100,000 deaths from COVID-19, on Saturday, Aug. 8, and five months after the first reported case, the country had not shown signs of crushing the disease. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

Marcio Antonio do Nascimento shows a photo of himself with his 25-year-old son Hugo do Nascimento who died from the new coronavirus, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Saturday, Aug. 1, 2020. Brazil was leaping toward a grim milestone, 100,000 deaths from COVID-19, on Saturday, Aug. 8, and five months after the first reported case, the country had not shown signs of crushing the disease. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

Luigi do Nascimento and his wife Viviane Melo da Silva, pose for a photo holding pictures of her mother Esther Melo da Silva, in their home in Manaus, Brazil, Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2020. Da Silva's 67-year-old mother was a healthy lady who loved to help others, go to the church and share her days with her kids and grandchildren. She died from COVID-19 on April 9, after five days in a public hospital. (AP Photo/Helton Belo)

In April he got what seemed to be just a flu. After his health worsened for eight days, he was diagnosed with COVID-19 and died on April 28.

"It was fast. There was not time to do anything and it surprised a lot of people," de Paula said.

They had been together for 43 years. "Only the feeling of missing him is left. People said that with time (it will get better), but for me, it will not end, it won't."

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

 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Claiming that the case filed in Bihar in connection with actor Sushant Singh Rajputs death was transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the Maharashtra government maintained that the Bandra polices probe into the accidental death report (ADR) was going on. The state will oppose the transfer plea in the Supreme Court during its hearing on Tuesday.

Rajput, 34, was found dead in his apartment in Bandra on June 14. A month later, his father, KK Singh, in his complaint, alleged there were some unexplained transfers from his sons bank account, involving actor Rhea Chakraborty and others. The Patna Police then filed an FIR in the case. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is looking into the money laundering angle. The state government has, in its affidavit in the top court, contested the jurisdiction of the Patna Police in the case and pointed at the haste in which CBI registered an FIR in the case in Patna.

The Central government told the top court that it has transferred the case to the central agency, but the court has not given its nod. We have contested the registration of the FIR and its investigation by the Patna Police has been contested by us. Both the acts are bad in the law and against federal structure as well as the Ministry of Home Affairs circular issued in 2013, an official from the home department said.

Home minister Anil Deshmukh on Saturday said the SC was yet to decide on the transfer of the case and they were awaiting the top courts decision.

The state governments contention is that as per section 177 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), every offence has to be probed by the police in whose jurisdiction it has been committed. It has also said that the offences registered by Patna Police on the complaint of Singh have taken place in Mumbai. It has also stated the FIR registered at Patna should be transferred to Mumbai and the decision on the transfer should not be taken without the consent of Maharashtra government, as per provisions in section 3 of the Delhi Special Police Establishments Act. The affidavit submitted in the Apex court, through its standing counsel Sachin Patil on Saturday, also stated the act of filing an FIR was politically motivated and revelation of the details to the media by the investigating officers visiting Mumbai jeopardised the investigation by the Mumbai Police.

The home department officials, however, are sceptical about the delay by

Mumbai Police in filing an FIR in the case.

The Mumbai Police should have either converted the ADR into FIR or closed the case if it did not get any significant proof on the allegations. They did not act swiftly even after the demand for CBI probe was raised first. The act of stamping Patna DCP Vinay Tiwari [who had come to the city and was forced to home quarantine] is likely to go against us as it is seen as hindrance in their probe. Also, the precedent verdicts on transfer of probe to the CBI are contradictory, the official said.
By Nam Sang-so





There is a beautiful road named Palisades Interstate Parkway (PIP) along the west bank of the Hudson River. The southern terminus of the route is the George Washington Bridge. It's named for the New Jersey Palisades, a line of cliffs rising along the banks of the river.







And there used to be the Tappan Zee Bridge that crossed the Hudson. It was built between 1952 and 1966 while the United States was busy protecting South Korea from becoming a communist country in the Korean War. In order to save money for the war effort, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey selected World War II military technology to build an economical bridge. The temporary structure was replaced by a modern cabled bridge named after Governor Mario M. Cuomo in 2017.







On school days from 2004 to 2008, I shuttled my grandson on the PIP, crossing either the George Washington Bridge or the Tappan Zee Bridge twice a day as the boy's school was located on the New York side. We lived on the west bank of the Hudson River.







Often, I brought a Korean apple, purchased at a Korean grocery store, for my grandson to snack on as we traveled home in the car. The boy bit it a few times, slid down the window, and tossed away its core over the shoulder of the parkway. "It's against the parkway law," I said. "A lot of kids do that, and Callahan did, too," the boy said. Callahan is a police detective portrayed by Clint Eastwood in the Dirty Harry movies.







Later I spotted small apple trees growing here and there among the bushes and woods along the parkway. The boy was right, there had been others who had tossed away their leftover apples.







An apple has no hard shell at its core. It holds its seeds without any protective cover which makes it easier for those seeds to germinate in any soil with moisture. The seeds of peaches or plums, on the other hand, are well protected by a hard shell. I imagine that apples probably knew that humans would grow trees to eat fruit but not the core that contains the seeds, and toss the core any old place far away from the parent trees.







The apple didn't require a propeller-like blade that is seen in maple trees?to send their seeds airborne riding on aerodynamic force.







Korean apples are tasty, and have successfully spread their seeds onto fertile soil around the globe.







Every plant on this planet wants to spread its DNA as much and as far away as possible covering the whole earth with greenery, flowers and vegetation.







Now, even China's lunar exploration program, as was reported in January 2019, has germinated cotton and potato seeds on the far side of the moon  potatoes for a food supply and cotton for clothing for astronauts and tourists from the green planet.









The writer (

) is a retired architect/engineer.


(Pamela is on vacation this week. This story is republished from a July 23, 2016 article in the Staten Island Advance.)

Do you remember hot summers as a kid? There were some scorching days with no air conditioning in Bay Ridge but there were the Soaps and some delicious food on the stove. It's when time moved more slowly, like now, in the pandemic. (Staten Island Advance/Pamela Silvestri)

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- This story is not a restaurant obituary or about a shooting or divisive politics -- and I invite you to take a break from all that news for a New York minute. Really, it is a New York minute to which, if you are from Brooklyn of the 70s or maybe the 60s, you might relate.
Linda Lusardi arrives at the TRIC Television and Radio Industries Club Awards at The Grosvenor House Hotel on March 12, 2013 in London, England. (Photo by Dave M. Benett/Getty Images)

Linda Lusardi and her husband Sam Kane are still experiencing the after-effects of the coronavirus months after being diagnosed, the former model has said.

The 61-year-old and her spouse of 22 years were hospitalised back in March with COVID-19 and while they now no longer have the virus, Lusardi has reported it has caused hair loss for her while Kane's heart has been effected.

Sams had heart palpitations quite badly, and hes under a cardiologist at the moment. They cant see anything specifically wrong.

Read more: Linda Lusardi shares photo from home after leaving hospital

Ive had some hair loss which has been a bit distressing. I still haven't got the energy I had before although I'm getting there. Every week's a bit better, she told The Sun.

Linda Lusardi and her husband Sam Kane attending the The Krays: Dead Man Walking film premiere at Genesis Cinema, East London. (Photo by Yui Mok/PA Images via Getty Images)

Lusardi said the mental effects of the illness had been "very traumatic" for her family, including the two adult children she shares with Kane.

I think were still suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder a little bit," she disclosed.

Back in April after being discharged from hospital after a 10-day stay, Lusardi spoke on the symptoms she had experienced before being admitted.

Your head hurts, your brain hurts and you feel like an elephant is sitting on you, she said.

I remember crawling to the bathroom putting my face on the tile floor, and then almost trying to make myself sick just to get a light relief for five minutes afterwards.I was leaning over the edge of the bed coughing and spitting into a bucket.

She also tweeted at the time that both she and Kane had "never felt this ill".

Lusardi said that prior to her admission to hospital she rang NHS helpline 111 but was told she didn't have the coronavirus because she was suffering vomiting and diarrhoea.

These were not listed as symptoms by the NHS at the time and are still not considered an official 'main symptom'.

Currently, the NHS advises those experiencing either a high temperature, a new, continuous cough or a loss or change to sense of smell or taste to get a test as soon as possible.
The surprise opposition candidate mounting the most serious challenge in years to Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said Friday that her country was waking up, but warned that the strongman planned to rig the vote.

Political novice Svetlana Tikhanovskaya has emerged as the rising star of the opposition in her ex-Soviet nation, ruled by Lukashenko since 1994 and sometimes described as Europe's last dictatorship.

Speaking to AFP in central Minsk after a gruelling campaign that has seen her attract big crowds of supporters, Tikhanovskaya said it seemed something in her country had changed ahead of Sunday's election.

"People are waking up, rediscovering their self-respect," the 37-year-old said, wearing the white bracelet that has become the symbol of Belarus's opposition.

Tikhanovskaya decided to run after her 41-year-old blogger husband, Sergei Tikhanovsky, ended up in jail and could not submit his own presidential bid in time.

She said she expected Lukashenko to rig the election but warned that he needed to quit power peacefully if he lost.

"We won't be able to prevent falsifications. We've seen over the past couple of days how brazenly this election is being falsified. There is no hope that they will count honestly. We have to be realistic."

Early voting began in the country of 9.5 million people on Tuesday, with official turnout over the past three days already at more than 22 percent.

'We don't want blood'

Tikhanovskaya said the opposition would conduct an alternative count and would know if the election had been rigged, but said she would not urge her supporters to take to the streets.

"At this stage each one has to decide for himself," she said, warning that Lukashenko would only encourage protests by quashing dissent.

"They are doing everything for the peaceful protests to become bloody ones. And I don't want this."

Switching from Russian to English, a language in which she trained as a teacher, Tikhanovskaya said: "People are tired. Twenty-six years is enough."

Story continues

She said that if an alternative candidate ends up winning the vote, the 65-year-old strongman should "step away peacefully" and let the country "move forward with a new leader".

"It's very simple. We don't want blood," she said.

Tikhanovskaya only made the decision to stand for president in May and was allowed to after the electoral commission dropped two stronger opposition candidates.

Despite a lack of political experience, she has quickly emerged as the country's top opposition figure, with tens of thousands rallying to support her bid.

Tikhanovskaya said she is contesting the election to get her jailed husband out of prison and win much-needed freedom for her country.

Their five-year-old daughter and 10-year-old son have been taken abroad for their own safety.

When she spoke of her husband and children, tears welled up in her eyes.

She said the campaign has been tough on her, adding that the separation with her children -- including her son who is hearing impaired -- was difficult.

"I am afraid, every day I am afraid," she said.

'Embodiment of hope'

Her husband was also "under huge pressure" in prison but she was confident that he would pull through.

"He believes in Belarusians, he believes in me," she said.

She accused Lukashenko of showing blatant disregard for the people during the coronavirus epidemic, which the strongman has dismissed as a hoax.

While people were dying and doctors lacked protective gear, Lukashenko encouraged Belarusians to drink vodka and drive tractors as a way to overcome the coronavirus, she noted.

"That really really affected me," Tikhanovskaya said. "He says he loves his people and his country but he says these things."

Tikhanovskaya challenged Lukashenko to a face-to-face debate but he refused, accusing her of being backed by Russian interests.

She rubbished the claim. "If they had any proof, I am sure they would have long produced it."

Tikhanovskaya said she wanted to help build a new Belarus but that she saw herself not as a politician, but as a symbol.

"I have become the embodiment of people's hope, their longing for change."

(AFP)
Westerly, RI (02891)

Today

Considerable clouds early. Some decrease in clouds later in the day. High 47F. Winds SSW at 15 to 25 mph. Winds could occasionally gust over 40 mph..

Tonight

Partly cloudy skies early will give way to cloudy skies and rain later during the night. Snow may mix in late. Low 33F. Winds WSW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 90%.
File picture taken Aug.3, 2020 shows teacher Francie Keller welcoming the pupils of class 3c in her classroom in the Lankow primary school to the first school day after the summer holidays in Schwerin, Germany. 2020. As Germany's 16 states start sending millions of children back to school in the middle of the global coronavirus pandemic, those used to the country's famous "Ordnung" are instead looking at uncertainty, with a hodgepodge of regional regulations that officials acknowledge may or may not work. (Jens Buettner/dpa via AP, File)

Masks during class, masks only in the halls, no masks at all. Distance when possible, no distance within same-grade groups, no distance at all.

As Germany's 16 states start sending millions of children back to school in the middle of the global coronavirus pandemic, the country's famous sense of "Ordnung," or order, has given way to uncertainty, with a hodgepodge of regional regulations that officials acknowledge may or may not work.

"There can't, and never will be 100% certainty," said Torsten Kuehne, the official in charge of schools in Pankow, Berlin's most populous district where 45,000 students go back to school Monday. "We are trying to minimize the risk as much as possible."

Germany has won plaudits for managing to slow the spread of the coronavirus quickly, efficiently and early, but the opening of schools is proving a new challenge as the country struggles to balance the concerns of anxious parents and children, skeptical scientists, worried teachers and overtaxed administrators.

Many around the world will be closely observing the real-life experiment offered in Germany to see what works and what doesn't. U.S. President Donald Trump is pushing for American schools to reopen in person and on time even as the country nears 5 million confirmed coronavirus cases, and in Britain, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has stressed the government's moral duty to ensure children return to class next month -despite having the highest official death toll in Europe.

In this Friday, March 13, 2020 photo a slogan on a chalkboard reads 'It's Corona Time' in an empty class room of a high school in Frankfurt, Germany, March 13, 2020. As Germany's 16 states start sending millions of children back to school in the middle of the global coronavirus pandemic, those used to the country's famous "Ordnung" are instead looking at uncertainty, with a hodgepodge of regional regulations that officials acknowledge may or may not work. (AP Photo/Michael Probst, file)

The U.N. said this week that as many as 100 countries have yet to announce a date for schools to reopen, and Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned of a possible "generational catastrophe" in education. He urged that restarting school be made a "top priority" once countries have the coronavirus under control.

Germany has seen some 217,000 confirmed cases and 9,200 deaths, and brought down a peak of some 6,000 new daily infections in March to the low hundreds. Numbers have been creeping back up, however, and topped the 1,000 per day mark in recent days for the first time in about three months.

Israel attempted a full reopening in May, at a time when the coronavirus was widely thought to have been beaten in the country, only to suffer new outbreaks that led to schools being shut down again and a surge in the spread of the virus nationwide. In South Africa, four grade levels were restarted in June but then closed back down when the country's virus cases surged.

As Berlin prepares to send its nearly half-million students back to school on Monday, many fear something similar could happen.

File picture taken Aug.4, 2020 shows students from Lagos State Model School wearing face mask to protect against coronavirus attend lectures inside a class room in Lagos, Nigeria. Nigeria officials resumed both public and private schools on Monday for students following months of closure to curb the spread of coronavirus. As Germany's 16 states start sending millions of children back to school in the middle of the global coronavirus pandemic, those used to the country's famous "Ordnung" are instead looking at uncertainty, with a hodgepodge of regional regulations that officials acknowledge may or may not work. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba, File)

"The concerns are enormous, because the schools are hotspots," said Doreen Siebernik, who heads the Berlin branch of the GEW teachers' union. "I know that there are pupils coming to school who have contact with hundreds, with thousands of people every day."

Berlin's plan includes requiring students - and teachers - to wear masks in hallways, but not during instruction or in the playground. Sports, music and drama will be allowed, but with restrictions, like requiring choir members to keep at least 2 meters from one another.

Berlin's minister for education Sandra Scheeres said "it's not possible in a school" to always keep students 1.5 meters (5 feet) from one another, but that the distance should be kept if feasible. Students are to be kept in "cohorts"groups that should not mixso that if there is an outbreak, only those affected would need to be quarantined.

The state government recommends those groups don't mingle outside school either, but it was not clear how that could be enforced.

File picture taken Aug.5, 2020 shows pupils wearing masks to prevent the spread of COVID19 walking to class to begin their school day in Godley, Texas. As Germany's 16 states start sending millions of children back to school in the middle of the global coronavirus pandemic, those used to the country's famous "Ordnung" are instead looking at uncertainty, with a hodgepodge of regional regulations that officials acknowledge may or may not work.(AP Photo/LM Otero, File)

"There are conflicting priorities, health protection on the one hand , which is very important to us, and on the other hand that we want to ensure the right to education of every single child," Scheeres said.

A Berlin Institute of Technology study on coronavirus transmission concluded that classrooms should be ventilated for a full 15 minutes every half hour. Scheeres' current plan calls for windows to be opened following each 45 minute class.

Dr. Isabella Eckerle, head of the emerging viruses research group at the University of Geneva, said there was still a lot to learn about how children are affected by the coronavirus and transmit it, but that it was clear from school openings in other countries they could spark wider outbreaks.

"If we go back to the normal school day now clinging to wishful thinking that children do not play a role in the pandemic, that will come back to haunt us," she said. "Instead of ideologically charged discussions, we need pragmatic concepts to get us through the winter."

Doreen Siebernik, head of the Berlin branch of the German GEW teachers' union speak to the Associated Press during an interview in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2020. As Germany's 16 states start sending millions of children back to school in the middle of the global coronavirus pandemic, the country's famous sense of "Ordnung" has been replaced with uncertainty, with a hodgepodge of regional regulations that officials acknowledge may or may not work. (AP Photo/Pietro De Christofaro)

In a sharply-worded open letter to Scheeres and the city's mayor, Marco Fechner, a father of two and parent representative in the Pankow district, noted that many classroom windows don't open, and that the government has stricter mask rules for supermarkets and its own offices than schools.

He urged the administration to focus more resources to permit some learning from home, so that class sizes and contact could be kept to a minimum.

"This decision is absolutely incomprehensible to me as a father, and I fear for the health of my children and our relatives," Fechner wrote.

Similar concerns are playing out elsewhere, like in Scotland where schools also are due to reopen on Tuesday. There is uncertainty about whether measures to increase hand washing and social distancingwith limited mixing between classroom groups but no mandatory maskswill work.

Torsten Kuehne, official in charge of schools in Berlin"s Pankow district talks to the Associated Press during an interview,in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2020. As Germany's 16 states start sending millions of children back to school in the middle of the global coronavirus pandemic, the country's famous sense of "Ordnung" has been replaced with uncertainty, with a hodgepodge of regional regulations that officials acknowledge may or may not work. (AP Photo/Pietro De Christofaro)

Berlin's back-to-school guidelines are middle-of-the-road among German states.

The first students to return, in the northeastern state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, had no mask requirement but the "cohort" principle was in place and the education minister said mask regulations were in the works. In a worrisome sign, two schools were temporarily closed Friday after new cases of coronavirus were detected.

Students over age 10 who returned to school in Hamburg on Thursday were required to wear masks, but could take them off once seated in classrooms.

In Germany's most populous state, North Rhine-Westphalia, 2.5 million students face the country's strictest measures as they return on Wednesday, including a mask requirement while in class.

Federal Health Minister Jens Spahn said Germany's staggered returns and different approaches will help determine what works and what doesn't.

Pupils of a 7th grade of the Max-Schmeling-Stadtteilschule talk to each other with mouth and nose covers in the schoolyard in Hamburg, Germany, Thursday, Aug.6, 2020. As Germany's 16 states start sending millions of children back to school in the middle of the global coronavirus pandemic, those used to the country's famous "Ordnung" are instead looking at uncertainty, with a hodgepodge of regional regulations that officials acknowledge may or may not work.(Daniel Bockwoldt/dpa via AP)

File picture taken July 6, 2020 shows Israeli school children wearing face masks to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus as they walk in Tel Aviv, Israel. As Germany's 16 states start sending millions of children back to school in the middle of the global coronavirus pandemic, those used to the country's famous "Ordnung" are instead looking at uncertainty, with a hodgepodge of regional regulations that officials acknowledge may or may not work. (AP Photo/Sebastian Scheiner,File)

Meantime, schools and districts have been improvising their own solutions to conform with voluminous government guidelines.

In Berlin's Pankow, Kuehne has been talking with school lunch suppliers all summer to work out a plan to serve meals at staggered times, and in classrooms, to avoid large groups in the cafeteria.

"I wouldn't say I'm worried, but I see the very, very big challenges ahead of us as school authorities, schools and parents," he said.

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

 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Momen said, "We had hoped to bring two of the fugitive killers to justice in 'Mujib Year' during Bangabandhu's birth centenary celebration. We have been able to catch one. We hope we will get another."

Dhaka, Aug 9 (IANS) Bangladesh Foreign Minister A.K. Abdul Momen has appealed to all Bangladeshis, including expatriates, to help in the search for the remaining fugitive killers of the nation's founder Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

One of the six killers, Abdul Mazed was executed recently. The Indian government had arrested and handed over Mazed to Bangladesh. He was executed last April.

Three other absconding convicts are Abdur Rashid, Shariful Haque Dalim and Moslemuddin.

All foreign missions in Bangladesh have also been told to search for the fugitive killers.

Momen said the government is doing whatever it can to bring Rashid back from the US and another convicted killer, Noor Chowdhury, from Canada.

"The Prime Minister herself wrote letters, even to US President Donald Trump. We hope we will succeed," the foreign minister said.

Momen said, "We know the whereabouts of two of Bangabandhu's five fugitive killers, one of them is based in the United States and another killer Rashed Chowdhury is in Canada. The Bangladesh government is continuing its efforts to bring them back. We still do not know the location of three most wanted killers of the Father of the Nation'," Momen added.

He also appealed to expatriate Bangladeshis to help the government with information about the killers.

Bangabandhu' Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was murdered along with most of his family members at his home on August 15, 1975.

His daughters  current Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Sheikh Rehana survived as they were in Germany at the time.

But the investigation into the killings was stopped through an ordinance which had saved the killers from facing justice, by the then military ruler Zia-ur-Rahman.

The ordinance was abrogated in November 1996 when Hasina's Awami League returned to power after 21 years, paving the way for bringing the killers to justice.

The trial of the killers of Mujib was postponed when Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP)-Jamaat alliance came to power in 2001.

After a lengthy trial, a court convicted 12 suspects and awarded them the death penalty in 2010.

Five of the convicts -- Syed Farooq Rahman, Sultan Shahriar Rashid Khan, Bazlul Huda, AKM Mohiuddin Ahmed and Mohiuddin Ahmed were hanged on January 27, 2010 while one of the killers Aziz Pasha died in Zimbabwe in 2001.

--IANS

sumi/khz
A bonfire is lit in the Distillery Street area of west Belfast where 26 officers were injured on August 8th 2020 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph)

Police have revealed the level of injuries suffered by officers during an internment bonfire removal in west Belfast on Saturday.

In total 29 officers suffered injuries as they supported contractors in removing bonfire wood in the Distillery Street area.

Three police officers required hospital treatment after they were targeted with petrol bombs, heavy masonry and heavy objects including a vehicle brake disc.

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Several other officers received medical treatment for a range of injuries including concussion and head, neck and back injuries.

Expand Close Riot Police and contractors remove wood for a bonfire in the Distillery Street area of west Belfast on August 8th 2020 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph / Facebook

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Whatsapp Riot Police and contractors remove wood for a bonfire in the Distillery Street area of west Belfast on August 8th 2020 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph)

Police confirmed all officers have now been discharged from hospital.

Police Federation chair Mark Lindsay said that officers had received "quite serious injuries".

He told the BBC that he was aware of one officer suffering potentially two broken vertebrate.

"Those could be career ending injuries," he said.

"They could be life-changing injuries."

Expand Close Assistant Chief Constable Mark McEwan provides an update to media following disorder at Distillery Street, Belfast on August 9th 2020 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph / Facebook

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Whatsapp Assistant Chief Constable Mark McEwan provides an update to media following disorder at Distillery Street, Belfast on August 9th 2020 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph)

At a police press conference on Sunday afternoon PSNI Assistant Chief Constable Assistant Mark McEwan said police had been working very closely with partners over the last number of weeks "to deliver for the community and support them".

The Assistant Chief Constable told the Belfast Telegraph that police would be looking to make arrests "very soon".

We had evidence gathering tactics deployed yesterday and we will identify the people involved and bring them to justice," he said.

He told the media that communities had made it clear they do want internment bonfires in their area.

The Assistant Chief Constable said police had been working with a number of groups to tackle community concerns including the Department for Justice, Department for Infrastructure, Department for Communities as well as partners in housing, education and health.

Expand Close Police protect contractors as they remove wood for a bonfire in the Divis area of west Belfast Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph / Facebook

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Whatsapp Police protect contractors as they remove wood for a bonfire in the Divis area of west Belfast

He said as part of this work police had supported and protected contractors in removing bonfire material at various sites across Belfast "on numerous occasions over the last couple of weeks".

Assistant Chief Constable McEwan told those gathered that the vast majority of operations had passed off without incident.

However that all changed during the incident at Distillery Street on Saturday.

"This disgraceful attack on officers that were simply doing their job and serving the community cannot be tolerated. I would ask anyone with information to come forward to us by phoning 101," he said.

"I would like to thank community representatives and our partners for their ongoing support and we will continue to serve our communities and make progress on these issues."

Expand Close Police protect contractors as they remove wood for a bonfire in the Divis area of west Belfast Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph / Facebook

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Whatsapp Police protect contractors as they remove wood for a bonfire in the Divis area of west Belfast

Justice Minister Naomi Long said she had liaised with Chief Constable Simon Byrne in the wake of the attacks on police.

I unreservedly condemn this violence. It is utterly intolerable that police officers have been targeted in this way. My thoughts are with those who have been injured," the Alliance Party leader said.

The multiagency approach adopted in response to public concerns over bonfires, including community engagement with residents and elected representatives, allowed the vast majority of contentious bonfires to be removed or significantly reduced in scale without incident. Clearly and regrettably, however, there are still some determined to orchestrate violence in order to draw the police into conflict.

The PSNI perform a critical role at the heart of our society and are committed to keeping people and communities safe."

NI Secretary Brandon Lewis praised the work of the PSNI.

"The disregard shown by these individuals against their own community is in stark contrast to the work of the PSNI, who work tirelessly to keep people safe," he said.

"The actions of those responsible are rejected by all who wish to build a peaceful and prosperous Northern Ireland."

DUP Policing Board member Mervyn Storey said the violence was disgraceful and those behind it "need to feel the full force of the law".

"It was orchestrated and those throwing the stones and petrol bombs were following orders," the North Antrim MLA said.



"The tactics adopted by the police require serious examination when 29 officers lie injured and not a single arrest has been made serious questions need to be asked. There would need to be arrests and hefty sentences following.

"I told the Chief Constable that community was outraged to see their public servants standing in line absorbing wave after wave of violence.

UUP MLA Doug Beattie described the scenes in west Belfast as "horrific".

We as a society should be asking ourselves where does this end? What can be done to send out a clear message that this is not acceptable? If 29 police officers were injured in one night of violence in any other part of the United Kingdom, there would be uproar," he said.

It is now time these wanton acts of violence, included attempted murder, received the full force of the law with sentences befitting the crime."

The bonfire in the Distillery Street area was rebuilt after police left the scene and lit as planned on Saturday night.

Assistant Chief Constable McEwan said police made no attempt to remove the material a second time.

"It was very small in scale, there was a small number of people at it," he told the Belfast Telegraph.

We saw a huge reduction in what we have seen in previous years and in terms of keeping people safe a much more successful outcome.

Bonfires are being gathered across Northern Ireland to mark the anniversary of internment later this month.
Last week, we had reported that technology giant Microsoft was reportedly in advanced talks to buy the U.S. operations of the popular Chinese video-sharing mobile app, TikTok.

Now, a new report from The Wall Street Journal states that Twitter may have held preliminary discussions on a potential combination with TikTok involving their U.S. operations, people familiar with the matter.

While Twitter declined to comment on the report, a TikTok spokesperson said that the company doesnt comment on market rumors.

It is unclear whether Twitter will follow a deal with TikTok, which could likely face legal challenges after U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday signed an executive order blocking all U.S. transactions with TikToks Chinese parent company, ByteDance Ltd., starting September 20, as it considers the video-sharing app is a potential threat to the country.

The executive order prohibits TikTok from doing business with the U.S. firms after 45 days, effectively setting a deadline for a sale of the company by its Beijing-based parent firm, ByteDance Ltd.

The order would bar any transaction by any person, or with respect to any property, subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, with ByteDance Ltd in an effort to address the national emergency with respect to the information and communication technology supply chain.

The order further reads, The spread [of apps controlled by the Chinese government] continues to threaten the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States. The United States must take aggressive action against the owners of TikTok to protect our national security.

Reacting on the recent executive order, TikTok said it was shocked, which it said, was issued without any due process. On Friday, the company threatened to take legal action against the executive order.

Earlier this week, Trump said that he would support Microsofts efforts to buy TikToks U.S. operations only if the U.S. Treasury got a substantial portion of the proceeds.

Microsoft said on Sunday it was targeting to purchase the U.S. business of TikTok by September 15.

Microsoft will move quickly to pursue discussions with TikToks parent company, ByteDance, in a matter of weeks, and in any event completing these discussions no later than September 15, 2020. During this process, Microsoft looks forward to continuing dialogue with the United States Government, including with the President, Microsoft said in a blog post.

The tech giant said its proposed new structure would build on the experience TikTok users currently love while adding world-class security, privacy, and digital safety protections.

Microsoft said it would ensure that all private data of TikToks American users are transferred to and remains in the United States. To the extent that any such data is currently stored or backed-up outside the United States, Microsoft would ensure that this data is deleted from servers outside the country after it is transferred.
(Natural News) The reality show Live PD, which follows police officers around as they go on patrol, has been accused of crossing several ethical boundaries in order to get dramatic footage. In this case, Williamson County Sheriffs Office (WCSO) in central Texas is accused of intentionally letting a suspect leave court just so they can get the opportunity to use a SWAT team to raid his home.

Live PD began airing in 2016 and was cancelled following the death of George Floyd and the subsequent wave of engineered rioting, civil unrest and anti-police sentiment that have gripped the nation.

The event in question occurred on May 2, 2019 and it features Asher Watsky, the suspect, who has come forward alleging that the sheriffs office bypassed a chance to peacefully arrest him while he was in court and that the whole military-style raid was staged for the benefit of the reality show.

The second I saw the cameras, Im aware of the Live PD program, I figured out right then, I had a feeling what was going on, said Watsky.

It was all for TV. It was all for show, said his father Gary, who owned the house, and who watched helplessly as the deputies burst into their home and arrested Watsky.

Watskys alleged offense involved him ending an argument with a former roommate by hitting the man with a shovel. On the day his house was raided, he had been to the Williamson County Justice Complex in the county seat of Georgetown.

The arrest was conducted three-and-a-half hours after Asher left the courthouse, where he went through security and sat several feet away from armed WCSO-affiliated law enforcement officials who could have arrested him right then and there. This view has been supported by Williamson County District Attorney Shawn Dick, who said that officials from the sheriffs office confirmed that they removed Watskys arrest warrant from the record system so that nobody in the court would try to arrest him.

Several WCSO officials tried claiming that Watsky was a dangerous individual and that a SWAT raid on his home was safer than trying to arrest him while he was in court.

Nobody but a close circle of officers in the sheriffs department knew that Watsky had a pending warrant. Even he did not know that he was wanted until the deputies burst into his fathers house and dragged him out in the middle of the night in handcuffs. (Related: HATE CRIME HOAX: Liberal county commissioner candidate in Oregon sent racist letter to himself to demonize conservatives.)

Shopping for Live PD

Three former investigators of the WCSO have claimed that, days before Live PD would come to Williamson County to film several episodes, it was not unusual for supervisors to urge officers to draw up arrest warrants so that these operations could be filmed even though the investigations were still ongoing.

These same officers believed the requests to rush out arrest warrants were unethical and that the desire to capture good stories for the show harmed the progress of their investigations.

Mike Klier, who worked for the WCSOs special victims unit for and also served as the president of the Williamson County Deputies Association, referred to this behavior of rushing investigations as shopping for Live PD.

Klier recalls one child sex abuse case wherein he and a colleague were trying to get a suspect to confess by building a rapport with him when supervisors ordered them to move forward with the arrest. The suspect then refused to cooperate once he was jailed, which halted any progress they had on the investigation.

You work really hard on these cases, and you are trying to make sure everything is perfect for them, said Klier. It puts your entire investigation at risk, not only for you but for the justice of the victim.

Gil Unger, a former sheriffs investigator, said that he recalls several cases wherein he wanted to collect more evidence before making an arrest. In two particular cases, he wanted to contact the suspects first, check their alibis and hear their side. However, his goal of due diligence and proper investigation was overruled when his supervisors wanted him to produce arrest warrants immediately.

I didnt like it at all, Unger said. I let my supervisors know, and I think the response was, I know dude. That is the way it is.

Casey Daley, a former detective for the sheriffs office, said that supervisors would regularly approach investigators and ask them to draw up a juicy warrant, something that would look good on TV.

Daley says that she and other detectives would routinely get suspects to surrender at the Williamson County Jail, which is right next to the courthouse. If they could not catch the suspects at the courthouse, she and other detectives would make the arrests themselves. She claims that her supervisors discouraged this practice after Live PD struck up a partnership with the WCSO, allegedly because they didnt think it was safe.

But we knew it wasnt for our safety, said Daley.

Learn more about how certain individuals in elected office and in the justice system have been corrupted by reading PoliceViolence.news

Sources include:

LibertarianInstitute.org

KVUE.com

USAToday.com
WASHINGTON  If the Paycheck Protection Program was the spring It Girl of coronavirus small business relief, the Federal Reserves Main Street Lending Program is her slower and clunkier big brother, catering to larger companies who are not that interested in him.

While the Small Business Administration has issued 5.2 million forgiveable PPP loans totaling over $523 billion, the Federal Reserves Main Street Lending Program has backed 18 loans for a total of $104 million as of Thursday, despite having a $600 billion capacity.

By any measure, the Main Street program has been a failure, Congressional Oversight Commission member Bharat Ramamurti declared in a hearing on the program Friday. While all this money has been sitting on the sidelines, tens of thousands of businesses have permanently closed and millions of Americans have lost their jobs.

Both programs were created in March to bail out businesses crunched by the pandemic, but their varying speeds and structures mean their success has been drastically different. The SBA started PPP lending in April, while the Federal Reserve did not kick off Main Street Lending until July 6 for for-profit companies; its still not yet open to non-profits.

Congress is considering extending PPP, but Main Street Lending could see the chopping block  or at least some alterations  even though its hardly kicked off. A member of the Senate Finance Committee, Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, suggested earlier this week that perhaps Main Street Lending money should be spent on something else, if there was little demand for it.

If the money is not being used to address a need, then we need to reprogram that for things that are more urgent, he told reporters.

RELATED: Data on multi-billion business loan program riddled with errors

The Main Street Lending Program allows the Federal Reserve to purchase 95 percent of some loans from private banks made to businesses, and soon non-profits, under terms crafted by the government. Bigger companies with 500 to 15,000 employees  ineligible for PPP loans  can get Main Street money. These companies can have revenues of up to $5 billion. The loans are bigger than most PPP loans  $250,000 to $50 million  and they must be paid back; they cannot become grants like PPP money.

During a hearing on the program, Commission member Sen. Patrick Toomey, R-Pa., wondered why relatively few borrowers were signing up. Rep. French Hill, R-Ark., said he was concerned about the reluctance of banks to participate.

Eric S. Rosengren, president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston which is overseeing Main Street Lending, said the program is now getting off the ground and likely to see a pick up in traffic in the fall, particularly if the pandemic worsens. He noted that 54 borrowers are now in the application process for another $421 million in loans. Across the country, 509 lenders are offering the loans  compared to 5,461 PPP lenders  and only some are accepting new customers, Federal Reserve data shows.

Lauren Anderson, senior vice president and associate general counsel of the Bank Policy Institute, noted the Main Street Lending Program was an attempt by the Fed to do something it had never tried before. The lack of participation from borrowers suggested that eligible businesses were finding their lending needs elsewhere, she testified Friday.

The program does not cater to less than credit worthy borrowers, so these businesses can usually find a bank to meet their needs, she explained. The program would be more useful if banks were credit-constrained and needed to governments help to lend, but so far that wasnt the case.

Thomas Bohn, President and CEO Association for Corporate Growth, an organization working with executives and lenders to middle-market companies, said his members could not find banks that wanted to lend to their companies under the construct of the program.

A recent survey by the Association for Coporate Growth found 22 percent of respondents unaware of the Main Street Lending program. Of the respondents who want to apply for loans through the program, 81 percent were unable, Bohn said.

In April, as it was working on the terms of the lending program, the Federal Reserve asked for public input. Comments flooded in, including from the Connecticut Community Non-profit Alliance and the University of Connecticut, that clamored for non-profits to be let into the program.

In response, the central bank created a Main Street lending facility that caters to non-profits. Unlike, the business lending portion, this lending has not yet launched.

Some of the non-profits that wrote to the Federal Reserve asking for access and favorable terms say theyre now checking out the program eligibility and criteria. But non-profit groups told the Hearst Connecticut Media many have realized the program just wont work with their needs.

Even once it does open, we do not expect many nonprofits to apply, said Rick Cohen, chief communications officer at the National Council of Nonprofits. While the final terms released after that were certainly improved in a number of ways, the reality is that the nonprofit business model is not one where loans will generally work. A lot of nonprofits funding comes either through performing services under the terms of government grants or via donations from individuals or grants from foundations.

None of those funding sources tend to be ok with those dollars being diverted from helping people in the community to paying back loans and interest, he added, and nonprofits cant just raise prices to cover the costs of loan repayment.

Ramamurti on Friday pressed Rosengren on whether the Central Bank made special concessions to the Main Street Lending Program to help the oil and gas industry, which lobbied for changes that were later approved and publicly celebrated by the Trump administrations Energy and Treasury secretaries. He noted it would be illegal for the Central Bank to structure the program to deliver bail-outs for any one sector.

Rosengren said Main Street Lending was a broad-based program not designed to help any one industry.

Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C., chair of the House Select Committee on the Coronavirus, wrote to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell Thursday blasting the program as catering to large corporations at the expense of smaller businesses and workers, contrary to Congressional intent.

Clyburn noted that Congress gave the Federal Reserve billions to create a program to support mid-sized businesses that retained 90 percent of their workforce. But the terms released by the Fed only require borrowers to make commercially reasonable efforts to maintain payroll.

In contrast, Toomey suggested Friday the program was never intended to gain job retention be a main priority; it was a business loan program for larger companies that needed temporary support and the government approved more generous unemployment benefits and stimulus checks to help laid off and furloughed workers.

emilie.munson@hearstdc.com; Twitter: @emiliemunson
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A 40-year-old woman has died after being shot in the back in the citys Broadway-Slavic neighborhood, police say.

The woman has not been identified in the shooting that happened about 10:45 p.m. at East 67th Street and Worley Avenue, Cleveland police spokeswoman Sgt. Jennifer Ciaccia said.

Police have made no arrests in the shooting.

Police found the woman and rendered first aid before she was taken to MetroHealth.

Medical staff pronounced her dead at the hospital.

Officers learned through their investigation that the woman got involved in a verbal argument with someone in a car that was speeding, Ciaccia said.

The car stopped at East. 67th Street and Worley and the passenger and woman exchanged words.

The passenger got out of the car and fired a shot at the woman.

Police were not clear if the woman also was inside of the car when the person fire shots.

Police continue to investigate.

Read more crime stories on cleveland.com:

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Man dead, another man injured in shooting at Cleveland shopping plaza parking lot

Willoughby Hills police K9 injured after suspected drunken driver crashes into police cruiser

Back the Blue and With Peace We Protest rallies offer opposing viewpoints in downtown Cleveland

Three Northeast Ohio bars cited for selling past 10 p.m., violating coronavirus limitations
A man who drugged and sexually assaulted a young woman after a party has been given his old job back at the hotel where the night started.

Pill-popping restaurant worker William Orr (51) was last year handed a five-year term for the attack, with two-and-a-half years to be spent in custody and the remainder on licence.

He has since been released, however, and is now back working at the Salty Dog in Bangor.

Owner Ken Sharp said his business was committed to working with ex-offenders and had not discussed the matter with Orr.

"We work with people based on their skill-sets and what they can bring to the business," he added.

"We believe in giving people second chances. We work a lot with charities and groups which look to rehabilitate ex-offenders or get people who have gone off the rails slightly back into work.

"We have always had a social element to our employment processes, so we believe that when somebody has done their time, they have done their time. They have received the punishment the court felt appropriate and they deserve a second chance."

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While Mr Sharp admitted he had had to give up on ex-offenders "two or three times" in the past, he stressed the majority had worked out well and said Orr was "a good candidate" for rehabilitation.

"We have had people convicted of drug offences who have done well here and gone on to work in some of the top restaurants in Great Britain, so it is something we believe in," he said.

"Sometimes they let us down, sometimes they don't, but we'll do everything we can to work with them and try and give them the tools to get back into society the way they would like to be.

"Mr Orr is a good candidate for that. We don't take any opinion on the case. That's not our job - that was done and dusted in court.

"When he is here, he works hard and he's creative. He can work his way around problems and he's good at working with other team members and doing the job.

"We still had the role available. We had someone else filling it for a while when he wasn't available, but when he became available, the position happened to be open again, so we recruited him.

"We don't discuss it. We don't discuss these situations with anybody who comes from an ex-offender background. That's the role of the justice system.

"As long as they are doing the job and behaving to the standards we set, we are happy."

Orr and his victim were among several people who attended a night out at the Salty Dog in May 2016, later moving to the nearby Cafe Ceol and then onto Orr's house on Primrose Street.

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A jury at Downpatrick Crown Court was told that he then began offering people yellow tablets, promising the three men and one woman in the house that the pills would "make you happy".

However, they all refused to take one, with the man responding, "Those will f*** you up".

Orr and his victim fell asleep separately on a sofa. When her friends got up to leave, they tried to waken the woman without success, after which Orr suggested they leave her.

She later awoke to find him behind her, "forcefully and roughly" sexually assaulting her with his hand. The woman then got up, ordered a taxi - paid for by Orr - and left the house without talking to the predator.

Later that day and "sobbing uncontrollably", she called a friend, who urged her to speak to someone and seek advice about what to do next.

A court was told during Orr's trial last year that she was horrified when she took a shower and a yellow tablet - later confirmed to be ecstasy - fell out of her privates. When she messaged Orr about it, he refused to identify the substance.

Prosecutors told the court: "The defendant at some point put the tablet in her body while she was asleep to stupefy her in order to carry out the assault.

"This was targeting a particularly vulnerable victim who was asleep.

"He was indifferent to her wellbeing in text messages between them (after the incident) and did not tell her what the substance was when she asked."

Orr denied charges of sexual assault by penetration and administering a substance with sexual intent but was convicted by a jury. He was also found guilty of possessing a class A drug.

Judge Martin Grant gave him a five-year sentence on the sex charges and an 18-month term, to run concurrently, on the drugs possession charge.
WASHINGTON>> It was a week of relentless attacks by President Donald Trump and his allies on mail-in voting for the November election, and truth took a beating at every turn.

Fearing a pandemic-induced surge in such voting will work against him, Trump persisted in arguing that fraud is rampant for mail-in ballots yet quite fine and safe for absentee votes, which are also mailed. There is no functional difference between the two, and both have extensive verification systems.

He and his campaign also tried to cast a new Nevada law as allowing ballots to be showered across the state to any living person, regardless of age or citizenship, who would have the ability to vote after Nov. 3 without their identities ever verified. Each of those claims is off the mark.

Meanwhile, on the coronavirus, Trump painted a far rosier picture than his own health experts on when a vaccine could become available. He asserted it could be ready by Election Day.

He also falsely claimed once more that kids are basically immune from the disease, prompting rebukes from both Facebook and Twitter for the misinformation.

A look at the rhetoric and the reality:

VOTING FRAUD

TRUMP: You look at some of the corruption having to do with universal mail-in voting. Absentee voting is OK.  Axios interview released Monday.

VICE PRESIDENT MIKE PENCE: Absentee balloting is perfectly acceptable. You have to apply for an absentee ballot, signatures are checked, its confirmed, it is a long tradition.  But this universal mail in voting where youre going to see literally ballots showered all across the state  it is ripe for fraud.  Fox News interview Monday.

THE FACTS: Trump and his vice president are making a false distinction. Mail-in ballots are cast in the same way as absentee mail ballots, with the same level of scrutiny such as signature verification in many states.

In more than 30 states and the District of Columbia, voters have a right to no excuse absentee voting. That means they can use mail-in ballots for any reason, regardless a person is out of town or working. In Florida, the Legislature in 2016 voted to change the wording of such balloting from absentee to vote-by-mail to make clear a voter can cast such ballots if they wish.

More broadly, voter fraud has proved exceedingly rare. The Brennan Center for Justice in 2017 ranked the risk of ballot fraud at 0.00004% to 0.0009%, based on studies of past elections.

Five states relied on mail-in ballots even before the coronavirus pandemic raised concerns about voting in person.

Trump is simply wrong about mail-in balloting raising a tremendous potential for fraud, Richard L. Hasen, an elections expert at the University of California, Irvine, School of Law, wrote recently. While certain pockets of the country have seen their share of absentee-ballot scandals, problems are extremely rare in the five states that rely primarily on vote-by-mail, including the heavily Republican state of Utah.

In an apparent turnabout, Trump later in the week urged voters in Florida to vote by mail despite his rhetoric against the practice, arguing in a tweet that its system is safe and secure, tried and true. Florida is a must-win state for Trump, where Democratic requests to vote by mail have been surging higher.

___

STEPHEN MILLER, White House senior adviser: Heres a shocking thing for your audience to consider. Nobody who mails in a ballot has their identity confirmed. Nobody checks to see if theyre even a U.S. citizen. Think about that. Any  any foreign national, talk about foreign election interference, can mail in a ballot and nobody even verifies if theyre a citizen of the United States of America.  Fox News interview Monday.

THE FACTS: Hes incorrect to assert that measures arent in place to confirm a voters identity or prevent fraud with mail ballots.

Ballots typically require voters to provide identifying information such as a birth date or Social Security or drivers license number. In most states, voters also sign the back of the envelope, which is then verified with the signature on their voter registrations.

Many jurisdictions use a bar code on the envelope, which is used to help states identify any duplicate ballots and also let voters know if their ballot was received.

Miller ignores separate built-in safeguards for mail-in ballots. The ballots, for instance, are generally sent to registered voters, who have to provide identifying information at the time of registration, such as an address, birth date and proof of citizenship.

In Millers hypothetical scenario of a foreign national improperly casting a vote, that ballot would be flagged and rejected for not having a signature on file or for failing to match one that is. Based on the envelopes bar code, state voting officials also could identify and eliminate any duplicate ballots, whether they were submitted mistakenly or fraudulently.

___

FOREIGN INTERFERENCE

TRUMP, on the threat from Russia, China and Iran of meddling in the U.S. presidential election: The biggest risk that we have is mail-in ballots.  Its much easier for them to forge ballots and send them in, its much easier for them to cheat with universal mail-in ballots.  news briefing Friday.

THE FACTS: Mail-in ballots arent the biggest risk for foreign interference.

Trying to influence a federal election through mail-in ballots would probably mean paying thousands of U.S. citizens, carefully selected in pivotal states, who are willing to conspire with a foreign government and risk detection and prosecution.

Far easier and cheaper would be a social media campaign seeking to discourage certain groups of people from voting, which is something the FBI has warned about. Or a cyberattack on voter registration data that would eliminate certain voters from the rolls. That could cause havoc at polling places or election offices as officials attempt to count ballots from people who are missing from their voter databases.

On Friday, William Evanina, director of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center, warned about foreign interference and said Russia was already trying to undercut Democratic candidate Joe Biden. Evanina cited in part Kremlin-linked figures who are seeking to boost President Trumps candidacy on social media and Russian television.

Last month, Attorney General Bill Barr raised the possibility that a foreign country could print up tens of thousands of counterfeit ballots. He argued they would be hard to detect, but thats been disputed by election experts.

Absentee and mail-in ballots are printed on special paper and must be formatted correctly in order to be processed and counted. Ballots are specific to each precinct, often with a long list of local races, and would be identified as fraudulent if everything didnt match precisely.

___

NOVEMBER ELECTION

TRUMP: With more mail-in voting, its going to be months or years until a presidential winner is known.  Fox News interview Wednesday.

THE FACTS: Not according to federal law. A presidential outcome will be known one way or another by mid-December.

Its true that state election officials in some states have cautioned it may take more time to count an expected surge of ballots that people send by mail because they dont feel safe showing up to the polls. In an election as close as the one in 2016, a delayed tally in some states could keep the outcome from being quickly known.

But for a presidential election, the Constitution gives Congress the power to set the day when each states electors, those chosen in November, must cast their electoral votes. Congress set that day for the first Monday after the second Wednesday in December, or Dec. 14 this year.

Federal law also sets a presidential election for the Tuesday after the first Monday in November, which is Nov. 3 this election cycle. That means each state will have five weeks to report its final election tally, whether its vote count is fully finished or not.

Delayed results are common in a few states where elections are already conducted largely by mail. But a presidential election hasnt been left in limbo since 2000, when ballot irregularities in Florida led to chaos and court fights. Ultimately that dispute was settled by the U.S. Supreme Court, which effectively ended Floridas recount five weeks later on Dec. 12, 2000, saying that time had run out before electors were set to meet.

___

TRUMP, on issuing an executive order to address increases in mail-in voting, which he says will lead to more fraud: I have the right to do it.  news briefing Monday.

THE FACTS: Not according to the Constitution, which expressly gives states the right to run their elections, with oversight from Congress.

There is no precedent or apparent authority for Trump to try to curtail the use of mail-in ballots by executive order. Any such order from the president would certainly face constitutional challenges in court from voting rights groups.

Trump has previously floated a delay to the Nov. 3 election. The date of the presidential election- the Tuesday after the first Monday in November in every fourth year  is enshrined in federal law and would require an act of Congress to change. Democrats, who control the House, will not support Trump on this. It appears Republicans wont, either.

___

NEVADA VOTING

TRUMP, on mail ballots: Theres no verification of signatures. So they dont even know whos going to sign this. They have literally a clause that you dont have to verify the signatures  that they dont have to do it.  remarks Wednesday.

THE FACTS: Not true. Nevadas existing law requires signature checks on mail ballots. A new law also spells out a process by which election officials are to check a signature against the one in government records.

In Nevadas June primary, nearly 7,000 ballots were thrown out due to mismatched or missing signatures.

___

MERCEDES SCHLAPP, Trump campaign senior adviser: Even come Election Day, you could still cast a ballot three days later if you dont have a postmark, or seven days later if you have a postmark.  Say you vote for Joe Biden, then you find out in Nevada that President Trump wins. You can go to your family members, you can go to your colleagues and say, Guess what, do you still have that mail-in vote? Lets cast it, because you can cast it several days after the election.  CNN interview Tuesday.

THE FACTS: Its a distortion for her to assert that Nevada voters could still cast ballots several days after the election.

Under the new law, ballots must be postmarked or cast by Election Day to be counted. Election officials are given up to seven days to receive and count those ballots after the election. That additional time for receipt is routine practice in many states for overseas and military voters who submit ballots by mail.

Separately, the law states that if a mail ballot is received up to three days after the election, it can be counted if the date of the postmark is unclear or missing. The aim is to provide enough time for delivery and processing of ballots that are properly mailed on Election Day, though the Trump campaign alleges in a lawsuit filed this past week that the three-day provision would allow some ballots to be improperly mailed after the election and then counted.

That scenario is not the same as granting wide license to cast ballots several days after the election, as Schlapp asserts.

The campaigns suit acknowledges that the window for alleged mischief is small because most mail in Nevada already takes at least one or two days to arrive. Some of those ballots may display postmarks showing they were sent late, which would disqualify them.

___

TRUMP: What theyre going to do is blanket the state, anybody that ever walked, frankly, will get one.  Fox News interview Wednesday.

THE FACTS: His imagery of any living being in Nevada receiving a mail-in ballot, regardless of age or other eligibility factors, is false.

The new law requires that ballots be sent to active registered voters. Active registered voters are generally those with a current address on file with their local elections office.

There are additional requirements to be registered to vote. In Nevada, a person must be a U.S. citizen and resident of the state, at least 18 years old, not currently in state or federal prison, and not found to be mentally incompetent to vote by a court.

___

NEW YORK VOTING

TRUMP, on two Democratic congressional primaries: They dont know what happened to them, is there fraud, is there  its a disaster.  news briefing Tuesday.

THE FACTS: While there were vote-counting delays, theres no evidence of fraud in the two Democratic congressional primaries in New York City that Trump refers to, which were won by city council member Ritchie Torres and Rep. Carolyn Maloney. Nor did Trump offer any proof of fraud.

New York state decided to allow anyone to vote by mail in the June primary because of the coronavirus pandemic. More than 400,000 people voted by absentee ballot in New York City, a figure that was 10 times the number of absentee ballots cast in the 2016 primary.

Opening and counting those ballots by elections officials took weeks. New York Citys Board of Elections ultimately certified the results six weeks after the election.

___

CORONAVIRUS

TRUMP, asked if a vaccine for COVID-19 could become available before the election: I think in some cases, yes possible before, but right around that time. Im rushing it. I am. Im pushing everybody.  interview Thursday on the Geraldo Rivera radio program.

THE FACTS: Hes offering a more ambitious timeline than his health experts and omitting key facts.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the governments top infectious diseases expert, has said he is cautiously optimistic that a coronavirus vaccine will be ready by early next year. Even then, Fauci made clear that the vaccine would not be widely available right away.

Ultimately, within a reasonable period of time, the plans now allow for any American who needs a vaccine to get it within the year 2021, Fauci told Congress last week.

Under White House orders, federal health agencies and the Defense Department are carrying out a plan to deliver 300 million vaccine doses on a compressed timeline. That will happen only after the Food and Drug Administration determines that one or more vaccines are safe and effective. Several candidates are being tested.

The push for a speedy vaccine has drawn concern from some scientists that the White House will pressure U.S. regulators to approve a vaccine before its ready.

In an op-ed this past week, FDA Commissioner Dr. Stephen Hahn said his agency will not be influenced by any political pressure and will make decisions based solely on good science and data.

___

TRUMP: Children are almost  and I would almost say definitely  but almost immune from this disease, so few. They dont have a problem, they just dont have a problem.  And Ive have watched some doctors say theyre totally immune.  Fox news interview Wednesday.

THE FACTS: They arent immune. Although its true that children are less likely than adults to develop COVID-19, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has nevertheless counted more than 250,000 infections by the virus in Americans younger than 18, or roughly 7% of all cases.

The number of kids who have been infected but not confirmed is almost certainly far higher than that, experts say, because those with mild or no symptoms are less likely to get tested.

Trump overlooks severe COVID-19 illnesses and some deaths of children in the U.S., even though kids in general tend to get less sick from it than adults do. He also glosses over the fact that kids can spread disease without showing symptoms themselves.

The CDC in April studied the pandemics effect on different ages in the U.S. and reviewed preliminary research in China, where the coronavirus started. It said social distancing is important for children, too, for their own safety and that of others.

Whereas most COVID-19 cases in children are not severe, serious COVID-19 illness resulting in hospitalization still occurs in this age group, the CDC study says.

The CDC in May also warned doctors to be on the lookout for a rare but life-threatening inflammatory reaction in some children whove had the coronavirus. The condition had been reported in more than 100 children in New York, and in some kids in several other states and in Europe, with some deaths.

Trumps claim prompted Facebook to delete his post with a link to the Fox News video because of the misinformation. Twitter temporarily blocked the Trump campaign from tweeting from its account, until it removed a post with the same video.

___

TRUMP: When you do a lot of testing, you have more cases.  Fox News interview Wednesday.

THE FACTS: Its not true that infections are high only because the U.S. diagnostic testing has increased. Trumps public health officials have repeatedly shot down this line of thinking. Infections are rising because people are infecting each other more than they were when most everyone was hunkered down.

Increased testing does contribute to the higher numbers, but theres more to it. Testing in fact has uncovered a worrisome trend: The percentage of tests coming back positive for the virus is on the rise across nearly the entire country.

Thats a clear demonstration that sickness is spreading and that the U.S. testing system is falling short.

Fact check: Trump hype on drug costs, hydroxychloroquine

Fact check: Trumps view of flawed voting is baseless

Fact check: A more measured Trump doesnt mean accurate

Fact check: Trump distorts Bidens position on fracking
The Congress on Sunday played down Defence Minister Rajnath Singh's announcement on the import embargo on defence equipment, saying it was only "high sounding jargon" and that 'atmanirbhar bharat' was merely a slogan.





Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi also criticised Singh for dubbing the import restrictions as a push to achieve a self-reliant India, saying there was a "big difference between claims and reality.

"The prime minister has given the slogan of 'Atmanirbhar Bharat', but has not said when, how and what will be the direction. Just a slogan has been given because this government and the prime minister are fond of slogans," Singhvi said at an online media briefing.



Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram said the defence minister promised a "bang" on a Sunday morning but ended with a "whimper".



"The only importer of defence equipment is the defence ministry. Any import embargo is really an embargo on oneself," the former home minister said.

What the defence minister said in his "historic Sunday announcement" deserved only an office order from the minister to his secretaries, Chidambaram said in a series of tweets.

"Import embargo is high sounding jargon. What it means is we will try to make the same equipment (that we import today) in 2 to 4 years and stop imports thereafter!" he said.



Singhvi, in response to a question, said the defence minister's statement was both "funny as well as unfortunate".



"Who is the biggest importer of these defence items, it is the defence ministry departments. So the Defence ministry will reduce its imports. Secondly, it will take 3-4 years to reduce the imports," he said.



The country should achieve self-reliance in the private sector instead, he said, adding that the defence ministry could have reduced its imports whenever it wanted to.



The opposition party was reacting after the defence minister announced restrictions on import of 101 weapons and military platforms including artillery guns, assault rifles and transport aircraft, in a major reform initiative to boost the domestic defence industry.



"The ministry of defence is now ready for a big push to #AtmanirbharBharat initiative," Singh said on Twitter while making the announcement.



He said the ministry has prepared a list of 101 items for which the embargo on imports is planned to be progressively implemented between 2020 and 2024.
By Express News Service

HYDERABAD: The crackdown on errant private hospitals will continue, officials of the Health Department said at a press conference in Hyderabad on Saturday.

The officials said they have received 1,039 complaints, so far, against private hospitals across the State, which include 130 complaints related to inappropriate billing or excess charges. A dedicated team is going through all the complaints and action will be taken against those who violate the government guidelines, the officials said.

Our intention is not to close down hospitals but to counsel them to work with the government during the pandemic. At the beginning, we had made it clear that there would be price slabs for the cost of Covid-19 treatment, said Dr G Srinivasa Rao, the Director of Public Health, Telangana.

Of the total complaints received, 16 are on insurance covers. The special team will also look into the same, Dr Rao said.

In the last one week, the permission to treat Covid-19 was revoked for two private hospitals -- Virinchi and Deccan -- as they were found guilty of overcharging patients. Several complaints of surcharges were filed against these. Meanwhile, citizens can lodge a complaint by dialling 104 or leave a WhatsApp message on 9154170960.
As the death toll from the coronavirus in the United States passes the 160,000-mark, a new poll makes it clear that even if there were a safe and effective vaccine many Americans would refuse to get it. If a vaccine approved by the Food and Drug Administration were offered for free, 35 percent of Americans say they would not get vaccinated, according to a Gallup poll. And those who would refuse the vaccine are more likely to be Republican. While 81 percent of Democrats said theyd get vaccinated if a free, FDA-approved vaccine were available, only 47 percent of Republicans said the same. Independents are in the middle of the two, with 59 percent saying they would accept the vaccine.

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Acceptance of a possible vaccine is higher than average among the young and old, with 76 percent of those aged 18-29 and 70 percent of senior citizens saying they would get a vaccine. Those in the middle appear to be the most reluctant with 59 percent of those between the ages of 50 and 64 saying they would accept a vaccine.

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Even though the number could be surprising considering just how much COVID-19 has affected daily life around the world, it still appears to be an increase from a few months ago. In late May, a different poll found that only around half of Americans would definitely get vaccinated. The poll from the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that while 49 percent of Americans said they would get vaccinated, 20 percent said they wouldnt and 31 percent said they werent sure.

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Amid the global race for the vaccine, experts have been careful to note that even if there is a vaccine, it likely wouldnt be a silver bullet against the coronavirus. Anthony Fauci, the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said the chances of a coronavirus vaccine being 98 percent effective is not great. During a Q&A with the Brown University School of Public Health, Fauci said that the vaccine shouldnt be seen as a perfect solution but rather as a tool to be able to get the pandemic to no longer be a pandemic, but to be something thats well controlled. The FDA has said it could approve a vaccine as long as it is at least 50 percent effective.
We asked. And you answered in a big way.

Last month, we announced an opinion page project titled Voices of Macomb that will launch later this month.

It is part of our continued effort to facilitate public engagement about the complex issues facing Macomb residents.

Historically, Macomb County has never been an easy place. Our electorate has never fit neatly into political boxes. In the 1980s, Macomb garnered national attention for a class of voters known as Reagan Democrats, a reference to historically Democratic-leaning blue collar voters who crossed over to vote for Ronald Reagan in the 1980 and 84 presidential elections.

In 2016, Macomb delivered Michigan for Donald Trump as the president received nearly 54 percent of the popular vote as he went on to win the Great Lakes State by a razor-thin margin of 10,000 votes. That came after county voters backed Barack Obama in both 2008 and 2012.

Two years later Macomb voters favored the trio of female Dems  Gretchen Whitmer, Dana Nessel and Jocelyn Benson  who now hold the states top three offices.

Are you seeing a pattern here? Me neither.

That unpredictability is a byproduct of the diversity of Macomb County. This has always been a place where people of varying education levels and backgrounds can make their mark.

In general, the north end of the county does lean Republican and the south end is regarded as more Democrat friendly. That was on display Tuesday when many local offices were settled in townships north of Hall Road where Democrats did not even field candidates for many offices. Yet, if you take a closer look at the players, the political complexity of the county becomes apparent.

In Sterling Heights, while city elections are non-partisan, a declared Republican, Mayor Michael Taylor, has made national headlines with his criticism of Trump. In Clinton Township, the Republican supervisor of Michigans most populous township, Bob Cannon, broke with the president and others in his party as an outspoken supporter of making Clinton a place that welcomes immigrants.

The countys top elected position is held by Mark Hackel, who in his time as Macomb County executive has made it a point to spar with members of both major parties. Throughout the summer, he has criticized Whitmer for the specifics of executive orders related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet, in 2018, it was Hackel who very publicly endorsed her.

As we all contend with a pandemic that has shaken our world to its core and racial unrest that has caused us to examine the way we treat each other and how our institutions treat us, its more important than ever for us to try to understand each other. As we avoid in-person contact due to a pandemic and replace direct interaction in many cases with digital replacements including hyper partisan TV networks leaning both left and right and the brain candy fed to us via social media, its more important than ever to take the time to learn from others perspectives.

After the call went out for Voices of Macomb participants, we received nearly 100 emails from people interested in sharing their thoughts. Beginning later this month, we will share their works with you. We are in the final stages of going through the many letters of interest we received. Unpaid participants, in 600 words or less, will share their thoughts in an open-ended forum that will run through the end of October on Sunday and other days throughout the week. We look forward to bringing this feature to you and hope you enjoy reading the opinions your fellow Macomb residents share.

You may agree with some while others may make you shake your head. But hopefully all will inspire you to think.

Jeff Payne is managing editor of The Macomb Daily.
In a presidential campaign that has twisted at every turn, its no surprise that the latest issue up for debate concerns debates.

Surprisingly, the Trump campaign now favors more debates, while some liberal pundits are suggesting that there should be fewer  maybe none. Seems clear to me: In a pandemic-torn campaign, voters will benefit from as many presidential face-offs as possible.

Writing to the Commission on Presidential Debates, Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani argued that a fourth debate should be added to the current schedule of three, with the first moved up before early voting gets underway.

Giuliani noted that by the time of the first debate on Sept. 29, as many as eight million Americans in 24 states will have already started voting. Even more ballots will have been cast by the second and third debates, Oct. 15 and 22.

The Commission on Presidential Debates said it would not move the planned debates earlier. However, the group indicated that if both Trump and Biden want a fourth debate it would consider the request.
No claim of responsibility for attack that also killed a Nigerien guide and driver in wildlife park near town of Koure.

Gunmen have killed six French aid workers, a Nigerien guide and a driver in a wildlife park in Niger, according to officials in the West African country.

The group was attacked on Sunday in a giraffe reserve near Koure, a town about 65km (40 miles) from the capital, Niamey. There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

They were intercepted and killed, Tidjani Ibrahim Katiella, the governor of Tillaberi region, told Reuters news agency.

The six worked for an international aid group, Nigers Defence Minister Issoufou Katambe told Reuters. ACTED, an aid group, confirmed its staff members were targeted in the attack.

Officials had earlier described the French nationals as tourists. The reserve is a popular attraction in Niger.

In a statement, the Association of Koure Giraffe Reserve Guides described the attackers as a unit of terrorists and said the dead included its president, Kadri Abdou.

They came on motorcycles

Frances TF1 television channel, meanwhile, broadcast images that it said were taken from the scene showing the burnt-out remains of a 44 vehicle with bullet holes in the side.

French President Emmanuel Macrons office earlier confirmed French nationals had been killed in Niger, without providing any additional details. It said Macron spoke on the phone with Nigers President Mahamadou Issoufou.

A source close to Nigers environmental services said the assault took place around 11:30am (10:30 GMT).

Most of the victims were shot  We found a magazine emptied of its cartridges at the scene, the source told AFP news agency.

We do not know the identity of the attackers but they came on motorcycles through the bush and waited for the arrival of the tourists.

Fighters with links to al-Qaeda and the ISIL (ISIS) group have increasingly mounted attacks across West Africas Sahel region in recent years despite the presence of thousands of regional and foreign troops.

The violence has hit Mali and Burkina Faso the hardest, rendering large swaths of those countries ungovernable, but it has also spilled into Niger, which shares long and porous borders with its two neighbours.

France, a former colonial power in the region, has deployed thousands of troops in the arid region south of the Sahara desert since 2013 but violence has been on the rise.
Investors seeking new ways to boost their income following the collapse in UK dividend payouts should consider exploring overseas funds, experts say.

While average dividends have tumbled by about 50 per cent in Britain, those companies based abroad have lowered payouts closer to 20 per cent. And while overseas yields  the payout you get for every pound you invest  traditionally tend to be lower, they are now looking increasingly competitive.

Ben Yearsley, investment consultant at Fairview Investing, says: 'Historically companies in the UK have prided themselves on offering among the best yields that can beat the competition abroad.

While average dividends have tumbled by about 50 per cent in Britain, those companies based abroad have lowered payouts closer to 20 per cent

'While normally they might well offer the most attractive returns, when a crisis hits it is worth searching out fresh opportunities elsewhere. I would suggest looking globally at emerging markets, Asia, and separately, Japan.'

Among those that Yearsley likes the look of is the JP Morgan Global Emerging Markets Income Trust. This investment trust has been steadily paying out dividend yields of about 5 per cent a year in the past five years  5.1p for every share last year  and investors still have a healthy prospective dividend yield of 4.6 per cent for 2020.

The top holding in this trust is Taiwan Semiconductor, which accounts for 8.80 of every 100 in the fund. This innovative computer chip maker believes in paying out healthy cash dividends every year, last year handing out $8.5billion to investors that believed in the firm.

But as with many global firms, it has warned that dividends may be lower this year. The 408million JP Morgan trust has shown strong returns recently  up 8.5 per cent in three months  but over 12 months is down 14.5 per cent.

Yearsley says: 'Emerging markets tend to be for the more adventurous investor but income seekers should certainly look to a more global portfolio in these uncertain times. Perhaps you might put 20 per cent of your income portfolio in emerging markets and Asia funds and a further 10 per cent in Japan.'

Darius McDermott, managing director of Chelsea Financial Services, agrees now is an ideal time for income seekers to cast their eye abroad. He says: 'Diversification is key.' However, he thinks for this reason global funds are often the best choice for those seeking income overseas for the first time.

Top holding: Innovative computer chip maker Taiwan Semiconductor accounts for 8.80 of every 100 in JP Morgan Global Emerging Markets Income Trust

'It is not just because of the extra choice but also because of the extra risk of investing your pound sterling in a foreign currency means a global fund can be a good option,' McDermott explains.

'During times of a crisis the pound is usually weak, so investing abroad can be more expensive. But on the other hand, if there is a global recession, other currencies such as dollar and euro are also likely to be hit.'

Among his recommendations is Guinness Global Equity Income fund. This 988million fund was launched a decade ago and typically pays out a yield of 2.6 per cent a year. Among its major holdings are international giants such as Microsoft and British American Tobacco.

McDermott says: 'You tend to get more technology stocks in global income funds than in those based in the UK. Larger firms are often better placed to pay out dividends.'

Laura Suter, personal finance analyst at AJ Bell, believes there is no point researching the swathes of companies in overseas stock markets when you can pay experts to do the legwork  just as long as you choose a team with proven skills.

TB Evenlode Global Income invests in companies like eBay, American computer chip giant Intel and payroll company Paychex

She says: 'Stick to a fund or investment trust where the investment manager can determine which income payers are likely to keep paying in the pandemic.

'With a global equity fund investors can hedge their bets across different countries and markets.'

She says one option is TB Evenlode Global Income, which invests in about 40 large firms around the world. About two-fifths of this 700million fund is in US firms.

'The fund managers hunt out holdings with low levels of debt and high profits,' Suter says. 'This means they will hopefully be better placed to ride out the pandemic and continue to pay yields.'

Among the fund's top holdings are online marketplace eBay, American computer chip giant Intel and payroll company Paychex. It has historically paid out a steady  but reliable  2.3 per cent a year in yields and is predicted to do so again at the next payment date on October 31.

The fund is up 6 per cent in the past three months  though still down 1.9 per cent over 12 months. Suter believes those hunting for income opportunities in Asia could look to the Jupiter Asian Income fund, run by Jason Pidcock. The 680million fund invests 7 in every 10 in Asian companies, with the remaining 3 in 10 mostly in other global stocks.

Among its top holdings are Samsung Electronics and Link REIT, a real estate investment trust in Asia. The fund is up almost 11 per cent in the past three months. Since its March 2016 launch, it has returned 56 per cent, turning 1,000 into 1,560.

A favoured Asian dividend payer liked by Yearsley is Schroder Oriental Income. This investment trust currently offers a projected dividend yield of 4.4 per cent for the year. In the past three months it has risen by 12 per cent but is still down by around 13 per cent over the past year.

Looking at Japan-focused funds, Yearsley suggests Baillie Gifford Japanese Income Growth. The 729million fund typically pays out an annual income of 2.5 per cent.

'While this might seem relatively modest, the income stream is steady  not suffering the peaks and troughs of UK fund dividend payers,' Yearsley says.

The fund has also so far survived the recent coronavirus crisis relatively well, with returns up by 6 per cent over the past three months  although it is down 3 per cent for the past 12 months in total.

McDermott admits that the US is not traditionally a dividend-paying stock market  often paying no more than about 2 per cent a year  but it is hard to ignore due to its recent boom in fortunes.

He says: 'A fund such as the JP Morgan US Equity Income puts its money in big companies that are strong enough to pay relatively decent yields.' It has historically paid out about 2.5 per cent a year with holdings that should weather the recent storm.

Top holdings include the pharmaceutical giants Johnson & Johnson and Bristol-Myers Squibb, each making up 2.6 per cent of the 3.1billion portfolio. Over the past three months it is up 4.2 per cent yet has struggled over the year  falling by 6.1 per cent.
LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESSWIRE / August 9, 2020 / After a bad experience at the dentist when he was younger, cosmetic dentist Dr. John Badolato vowed to create a practice where patients are friends before consumers. "It's our goal at Studio B Smiles to make people as comfortable as possible in our office," says Badolato.

While he understands that people typically do not enjoy going to the dentist, he hopes Studio B Smiles can change the narrative around dental care. "By pairing exceptional customer service with outstanding dental care, we hope to provide patients with the absolute best dental experience possible," he stated.

Badolato has received "Top Cosmetic Dentist" honors from Phoenix Magazine and Ranking Arizona on an annual basis and has been featured in Phoenix Business Insider's "Top 40 Under 40", but Badolato's plan wasn't always to be in the dental industry. He planned to pursue a career in plastic surgery. With a bachelor's degree in biology from the University of Missouri in Colombia already in hand and a job as a profusion tech in the cardiac department , Badolato observed the stress surgeons endured every day.

While working in the hospital, Badolato had an in-depth conversation with a well-respected surgeon who convinced him not to pursue medical school. "He told me if he had to do it again, he would go to dental school," Badolato stated. The surgeon explained the less stressful perks of the dental industry including normal hours, no requirements to be on-call, and no risk of dealing with life-or-death patients. It was at this time that Badolato made the decision to enter the world of dentistry.

Cosmetic dentistry offered Badolato the best of both worlds. He could help patients improve their self-esteem and practice a career in the medical industry, crafting perfect smiles. "It's like plastic surgery without the life and death stressors," says Badolato. After graduating, Badolato earned honors in restorative dentistry and was highly regarded for his mastery of cosmetic dentistry. After working as an associate for a dental practice in Tempe, Arizona, Badolato quickly dove into the world of entrepreneurship.

Story continues

In 2004, John worked alongside his father, Bill Badolato, a financial guru, and together they created Studio B Smiles in Scottsdale, Arizona. Over the past 16 years, John has used celebrity endorsements to grow his business and has set himself far from his competition. "Studio B Smiles is different than most other dental offices because we have created a niche among professional athletes and celebrity clientele either living in, or visiting the Valley of the Sun," Dr. Badolato boldly stated.

Dr. Badolato and Studio B Smiles are the official dental providers for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball League, Phoenix Mercury of the Women's National Basketball Association, and the Arizona Diamondbacks of Major League Baseball. Studio B Smiles was also the official cosmetic dental provider for six seasons of ABC's hit show, Extreme Makeover: Weight Loss Edition. Celebrity endorsements and a nationally recognized reputation has helped Badolato grow his business into a franchise.

Currently, Dr. Badolato owns two locations- one in Scottsdale and the other in the heart of Downtown Phoenix. Working as a partner of the Phoenix Suns, Badolato has plans to add a third location in Arcadia located near the Phoenix Suns new practice facility.

If you would like to learn more about Studio B Smiles, follow Dr. John Badolato on Instagram or visit their https://www.studiobsmiles.com/.

SOURCE: BIGWORK Media





View source version on accesswire.com:

https://www.accesswire.com/600854/Dr-John-Badolato-Discusses-the-Power-of-a-Perfect-Smile




MANAMA, Bahrain, Aug. 9, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Gulf Business Machines (GBM), a leading end-to-end digital solutions provider, offering industry-leading digital infrastructure, digital business solutions, security and services, has been recently recognized as one of the best places to work for in Bahrain. Best Places to Work is an international HR certification program providing employers in different countries the opportunity to learn more about the engagement and satisfaction of their employees and honor those who deliver an outstanding work experience with the highest standards in regards to working conditions.

"Our people are our greatest asset, which is reflected by achieving the highest score (91%) for the Best Place to Work for in Bahrain. We value our outstanding employees and reward them for making their targets, and continue in developing our employees' soft and technical skills with the latest technological trends. We believe, establishing a happier and positive workplace is transmitted daily to customers for the past 30 years of GBM journey regionally," said Abdulla Ishaq, General Manager Bahrain.

"I am proud that on the 30th Anniversary since the inception of GBM which started in Bahrain in 1990, we are recognized as one of the Best Places to Work and this confirms our status as an employer of choice within our industry and further affirms our standing as the leading digital solutions provider in the region. As HR we are proud that our colleagues believe that our HR portfolio rewards their contribution, takes care of their well-being and provides them tools for their ongoing development and enables them to support our clients as they prepare business for tomorrow," said Feras Almajed, HR Vice President.

"The Best Places to Work certification highlights successful companies in Bahrain that are going above and beyond to keep their workforce engaged even in challenging period," said Hamza Idrissi, Program Manager for Bahrain.

ABOUT BEST PLACES TO WORK PROGRAM

Best Places To Work is a global HR certification program that certifies and recognizes leading workplaces in many countries around the world. Our proprietary assessment analyzes a company's attractiveness through a two-step process focusing on 8 Workplace factors including culture, leadership, opportunities for growth and people practices. Beside the employee satisfaction survey, we conduct an HR assessment focusing on HR practices implemented in the organization against our global people framework standard.

For more information, please visit www.bestplacestoworkfor.org

Contact:

Hamza Idrissi | hamza@bestplacestoworkfor.org | +44 208 895 6562
Although the district typically has 600-800 substitutes  a number that fluctuates throughout the year  its often difficult to find a substitute for a particular class, Bennett said.

There may be subs on the roster, but they might not have expertise in the subject area needed, or may only want to work certain days of the week or in certain buildings.

I think that impacts the day-to-day availability of subs, she said.

Enter a pandemic, and the demand for subs is likely to increase, as possible COVID-19 symptoms that wouldn't normally keep teachers home will now require them to stay away.

LPS asked subs in a survey how comfortable theyd be working this fall. Of the 256 who responded, 5% said they wouldnt be comfortable and won't be working, said Eric Weber, associate superintendent of human resources. Another 36% said they are hesitant but still plan to teach.

So even though LPS has 635 subs on the books now  about 60 more than last year at this time, Weber is estimating hell have at least 5% fewer subs available, based on the sample that responded to the survey.
Copyright  2020 Albuquerque Journal

Recent George Washington University Law School graduate Amy Lattari will make the 30-hour drive from Washington, D.C., to Albuquerque later this month to lock herself inside an Airbnb for 14 days ahead of the New Mexico Bar exam.

Another recent graduate from Texas will be coming in a borrowed mobile home with her husband and two toddlers.

Such is the expectation for all aspiring attorneys from outside the state who plan to sit for the in-person test New Mexico is holding next month.

Ive kind of been thinking theres a good chance (the test) is going to be online, said Lattari, who has taken a job with the Law Offices of the Public Defender in Albuquerque. Now that Im thinking about driving there, Im getting to the point where, OK, this may happen. 

Across the country, states are coming up with a hodgepodge of strategies to license new attorneys in the middle of a global pandemic.

New Mexico is forging ahead with plans for an in-person bar exam Sept. 9-10. About 345 lawyers are expected to sit for the exam, and more than half are from out of state, said Barry Massey, a spokesman for the Administrative Office of the Courts.

And examinees from across the country have been told that to sit for the test they will also have to provide some sort of proof that they have satisfied the states public health order that requires people quarantine for 14 days upon entering the state, according to interviews with four people coming from other states to take the test.

In addition to the quarantine pickle, another issue the officials will have to address is how to hold the test with the states ban on gatherings of more than five people.

We are focused on the health and well-being of all exam participants, and are diligently working on a plan to assure the exam can be safely administered, Sophie Martin, executive director of the New Mexico Board of Bar Examiners, said in a statement. Bar exam officials last week declined to discuss details of how they will administer the test.

Nora Meyers Sackett, a spokeswoman for Gov. Michelle Lujan Grishams office, said the bar exam board has explained their plans for administering the test to the state Department of Health and the Governors Office.

There is a thorough plan in place with strict rules for the administration of the exam that is in accordance with the public health order and does not violate the mass gathering rule, she said in an email.

So far, states that have already held their bar exams had to deal with added challenges.

In Michigan, the states remote bar exam fell victim to a possible cyberattack, which caused systems to crash, and some students lost about a half hour of test time, according to The Detroit News.

Yesterdays examination issues made the experience harder, and I am so sorry for that, Michigan Supreme Court Chief Justice Bridget Mary McCormack wrote in a letter addressing the glitch. While this may not be consolation, be assured that we will find out exactly what went wrong and address it for those affected and for future applicants.

In Colorado, a test-taker tested positive for the coronavirus shortly after an in-person exam in Denver in late July, according to The Denver Post.

The American Bar Association last week passed a resolution urging legal jurisdictions to cancel their in-person tests and offer the tests remotely.

Some states have canceled the exam entirely. Delaware will issue temporary limited practice licenses. In Louisiana, the in-person exam is canceled and the state is admitting some qualified students to the bar without a test, and others will have to take a remote test, according to the National Conference of Bar Examiners website.

Connecticut, Georgia and Washington, D.C., are among the jurisdictions with remote tests.

Arizona is offering a remote test that can license attorneys in the state. It will also offer an in-person test for students who want a score from a Uniform Bar Examination, or UBE.

Several years ago, New Mexico began using the UBE, said Serge Martinez, a professor of law at the University of New Mexico.

The UBE is a standardized bar exam, and a students score can allow them to practice law in other states that use the same exam. A remote test would not qualify as a UBE, Massey said. Some of those examinees coming from outside New Mexico for the test are doing so because it is a UBE.

Martinez said the bar exam is a crucial moment in a young lawyers life. Many recent law grads, he said, likely have jobs lined up that are contingent on them passing the bar.

People plan their lives around the bar exam. Its a career-defining moment, he said. But its also important for life.

The recent law graduate from Texas said she was having panic attacks over the thought of leaving her young family for more than two weeks. Thats why the entire family decided to come in an RV for the test.

Chris Opila, a recent graduate of the University of Michigan Law School, spoke to the Journal while quarantined in Las Cruces.

Opila said hes one of the lucky lawyers from other states taking the exam in New Mexico.

A native of the Phoenix area, Opila is launching his career clerking for a federal judge in Las Cruces. He just moved to New Mexico a bit earlier than originally planned in order to complete the quarantine requirement.

He said a potentially stressful situation would develop if exam officials change plans for the test closer to the exam. The test has already been rescheduled from its original date in July.

The exam is one of memorization and regurgitation. You sort of have to peak at the right time, he said. Last-minute changes are really messing with individuals level of preparation.
New South Wales has recorded 10 new cases of coronavirus as the state battles to avoid a second outbreak similar to Victoria.

Of the 10 new cases reported on Sunday, two came from an unknown source.

Seven were locally acquired from known outbreaks while the other one is a returned traveller in hotel quarantine.

The latest cases are in addition to the nine recorded in NSW on Saturday.

There's increasing concern for the 11 mystery cases recorded in the last week which aren't not been linked to known cases, sparking community transmission fears.

NSW recorded 10 new cases on Sunday. Pictured is a passenger arriving at Sydney Airport being checked off by police after flying in from Melbourne on Saturday

Mandatory hotel quarantine came into effect on Friday for any Victorians looking to cross the border into New South Wales (pictured are women at Sydney Airport on Wednesday)

'While most cases in the past week have been associated with local clusters and close contacts with known cases, 11 cases have not been linked to known cases, indicating that COVID-19 is circulating in the community. Its extremely important we all play our part in prevention,' a NSW Health statement read.

One of the new cases is a student of Tangara School for Girls in Cherrybrook while another is a household contact of the student.

It comes after another student tested positive on Saturday, taking the number of cases linked to the school in Sydney's north-west to three.

The schools secondary campus will remain closed for the next two weeks.

All students and staff and support staff at the secondary campus have been ordered to get tested for and self-isolate at home until August 21, even if a negative test result is returned.

The Tangara School for Girls junior campus will remain closed for the next two days but will reopen on Wednesday for parents who need to send their children to school.

Our Lady of Mercy College at Parramatta in Sydney's west will also be closed on Monday for cleaning, after a student tested positive.

St Agatha's Catholic Church at Pennant Hills in Sydney'd north-west was a precautionary measure after a parishioner tested positive.

The church is working with NSW Health to contact trace those who have had close contact with the patient.

Parishioners who attended a prayer group on August 3 between 7pm and 8pm have been ordered to self-isolate at home until contacted by NSW Health.

A third case has been linked to Tangara School for Girls (pictured) in Sydney's north-west

Around 31,681 tests recorded up until 8pm on Saturday, up from 24,421 on Friday. Pictured is a woman being tested at a pop-clinic in Rushcutters Bay in Sydney's eastern suburbs

A healthcare worker worked while infectious at Hornsby Hospitals emergency department from 11am to midnight on Thursday.

The staff member became unwell after their shift and immediately self-isolated and got tested. The hospital employee had been wearing a mask at all times while in contact with patients.

Staff who have had contact with the healthcare worker have been identified and instructed to self- isolate for 14 days.

'Members of the public who attended the emergency department between 11am and midnight on Thursday and who had contact with the healthcare worker are currently being identified and notified,' NSW Health said.

'There is no impact on the services being provided by the emergency department.'

Anyone who attended Bunnings Campbelltown in Sydney's south-west on Tuesday August 4 , Wednesday 5 August and Thursday 6 August to be alert for symptoms after an employee tested positive on Saturday.

Anyone has even mild symptoms is get tested and self-isolate.

Anyone with even the mildest of symptoms is urged to get test in the effort to avoid a second wave of new infections. Pictured is a woman wearing a mask in Sydney's Darling Harbour

Close contacts among staff have been identified and are now in self-isolation at home.

Around 31,681 tests recorded up until 8pm on Saturday, up from 24,421 in the previous 24 hours.

Of the 111 active cases being treated by NSW Health, eight are in intensive care, including six on a ventilator.

The NSW death toll remains unchanged at 52, a week after the state recorded its first coronavirus fatality since late May.

The news comes after mandatory hotel quarantine came into effect on Friday for any Victorians looking to cross the border into New South Wales, with the exception of those living in border towns.

Sydney Airport was inundated with 15,000 travellers from Victoria in the last fortnight alone, as Melbourne's overwhelming coronavirus cases threaten to spill across the border.

Those visiting from the locked-down coronavirus-hit state will have to self isolate in a hotel at their own expense for 14 days - the same as international arrivals.

But thousands scrambled into the state before the strict new protocol came into place, which will see Sydney Airport became the only arrival point from Victoria.

Many passengers were still arriving from Melbourne on Saturday, a day after the strict new rules came in.

Each passenger was checked off by police before being whisked away for two weeks in hotel quarantine.

There are fears that despite the new restrictions, it may already be too late to stop the outbreak from spreading north, with all of NSW's current cases linked back to Victoria.

Passengers were still arriving into Sydney from Melbourne on Saturday. Pictured is a woman waiting to be checked by police before heading into hotel quarantine

Visitors from the locked-down state will have to self isolate at their own expense for 14 days - the same as international arrivals (pictured, Sydney arrivals from Melbourne on Wednesday)

But until Friday, these directions were not enforced by the NSW government.

'These numbers are staggering and it's frightening,' NSW Shadow Health Minister Ryan Park said.

'We can only hope they have done the right thing.'

Victoria has been ravaged by a second wave of COVID-19 cases over the past month, including 394 new cases and a record 17 deaths reported on Sunday.

There are more than 7,600 active cases in the state including a further 450 new infections on Friday.

Victorians are currently hunkered down with a Stage 3 lockdown in place across rural areas and a Stage 4 order active in metropolitan Melbourne.

The Travelodge (pictured) in Sydney is one of the hotels returning travellers quarantine in for the two weeks

A returned traveller is seen sitting on the balcony of the Sofitel Wentworth in Sydney in April during mandatory quarantine (pictured)

'The changing situation in Victoria means we must exercise extreme caution,' NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian said this week when announcing the isolation mandate.

'The health of our citizens and economy must be protected  and the health advice says this is the best way to do it.

'We will also further limit the reasons Victorians can seek exemptions to come into NSW.'

Although daily number of new cases is relatively low compared to Victoria's horror outbreak, several remain a mystery, sparking fear there could be a wave of community transmission in the coming days and weeks.

'This is a critical time in the NSW response and we need to reduce any further risk of seeding of cases from Victoria,' NSW Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant said on Friday.
Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut took a dig at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the opposition party in Maharashtra, on the silence over the removal of Shivajis statue in Mangutti village of Karnatakas Belgaum district. Raut said the conspiracy by the BJP government in Karnataka to remove the statue in the night is condemnable.

The Sena leader challenged the Leader of opposition in Maharashtra and former chief minister (CM) Devendra Fadnavis to lead an agitation in Belgaum and promised support from the Shiv Sena. The manner in which the Karnataka police removed the statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj is condemnable. Nobody from Maharashtras opposition party is ready to talk about it. Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid respects to Chhatrapati Shivaji during the foundation laying ceremony of Ram Temple in Ayodhya. The same partys government in Karnataka removed the statue in the night by switching off the lights, he told reporters in Mumbai.

He further said, Maharashtra government should take serious note of this incident. Without indulging in politics, the opposition party in the state should be taken in confidence. If needed, we are ready to go to Belgaum and agitate under the leadership of the opposition leader. Ask him, if he is ready.

Belgaum district of Karnataka, which has a sizable Marathi-speaking population, has been the subject of a protracted boundary dispute between the two states.

On Saturday, Maharashtra minister and Sena leader Eknath Shinde demanded that the Karnataka government reinstate the statue of Shivaji Maharaj which was allegedly removed by the authorities in Belgaum district.

In a letter to Karnataka CM BS Yediyurappa, Shinde, who is the coordinator minister for border areas along Karnataka, claimed that a life-size statue of the warrior king was removed at Mangutti village by the police and district authorities. The statue had been installed with the permission of the gram panchayat, but the administration removed it deliberately, claimed the minister and demanded action against the officials involved.

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Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has expressed sadness over the death of Senator Kashamu Buruji, who died of COVID-19 on Saturday, August 8.

In a letter of condolence sent to the Governor of Ogun State, Dapo Abiodun, Obasanjo however said the deceased Senator used the instruments of law and politics to evade justice over the criminal charges leveled against him in and outside Nigeria but could not evade death.

The former President said the death of the PDP stalwart was sad but that his life and history has many lessons for those on this side of the veil.
Ky. megachurch opening 2 new community campuses to improve outreach to different groups

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A multisite megachurch in Kentucky will soon be opening up two new community campuses aimed at improving outreach to assorted demographic groups.

Southeast Christian Church, an evangelical congregation based in Louisville, will be officially launching a Multination Campus on Aug. 16 and a Beechmont campus on Sept. 13.

Comprised largely of immigrants to the area, the Multination Campus is presently meeting, albeit under limited circumstances and following social distancing guidelines. The Beechmont campus stems from SECC's missional relationship with the HOPE Place, a local Christian nonprofit founded in 2018 that helps churches with ministry work.

SECC Associate Pastor Matt Reagan explained in comments emailed to The Christian Post the difference between his churchs regional campuses and the new community campuses.

A Regional Campus reaches a large area and broad demographic spanning multiple communities. While we have watched God do more than we could ever imagine, weve recently felt led to launch a new type of campus called a Community Campus, explained Reagan.

A Community Campus is a new type of campus thats an intentional effort to reach a focused demographic not currently being served by one of our Regional campuses due to barriers such as geography restrictions and or cultural differences.

Reagan added that he was hopeful that alongside our Regional Campuses, our Community Campuses will allow us to even better share the boundary breaking love of Jesus with our communities one person at a time.

At present, SECC lists 10 campuses on its website, which are located in Louisville proper or within 50 miles of the city, including nearby Jeffersonville, Indiana.

In May, U.S. District Judge Gregory F. Van Tatenhove ruled that churches were allowed to hold in-person worship services provided they adhered to social distancing guidelines.

In his decision, the judge concluded that Governor Andy Beshears orders restricting in-person services had been in violation of the constitutional rights of houses of worship.

Evidence that the risk of contagion is heightened in a religious setting any more than a secular one is lacking, read the ruling, in part.

If social distancing is good enough for Home Depot and Kroger, it is good enough for in-person religious services which, unlike the foregoing, benefit from constitutional protection.

Last week, Beshear had a phone conversation with Kentucky Council of Churches, asking the 1,100-congregation group to halt in-person services for two weeks.

A request rather than an order, the governors statement came in response to a sharp increase in COVID-19 cases in Kentucky, according to Kentucky.com.

SECC Executive Pastor Tim Hester explained in comments emailed to CP on Friday that his church was maintaining a posture of flexibility in determining how well continue to meet as a church and whether or not we actually launch on the proposed dates.

First and foremost, we continue to be motivated by the love of our congregation and our community and will continue to prayerfully make appropriate decisions that provide the safest experiences for all, said Hester.

The community campuses are coming at a time in which many are debating the state of race relations within the church and the broader United States.
Back in 2014, every citizen in oil-rich Norway became a theoretical millionaire after the country's oil fund - the world's largest sovereign wealth fund - crossed the $1 trillion mark. Six years down the line and deep in the throes of the worst energy crisis in modern history, Norway has a much bigger cushion than most oil-producing nations as its recent US$41 billion drawdown from the fund (~4.2 percent of the fund's value) proves. In sharp contrast, Alberta's oil sands are facing a deep crisis after failing to save adequately during the oil boom even as the ravages of Covid-19 continue to be keenly felt and foreign oil firms keep bailing on Canada's energy sector.

In 1976, Alberta established a special oil fund to save part of its oil and gas revenue for leaner times. Unfortunately, successive governments have failed to save enough, leading to a fund that could potentially have had $575 billion (US$433 billion) tucked away with just $16.3 billion.

Saving for a Rainy Day



Trevor Tombe, an economics professor at the University of Calgary, told BNN Bloomberg that the Alberta Heritage Savings Trust Fund would have had approximately $575 billion (US$433 billion) to help cushion the ravages of Covid-19 had the province stuck to the same practices as its European peer.

The Heritage Fund, as Alberta's oil fund is officially known, initially received 30 percent of the province's non-renewable resource revenue meant to benefit future generations. Unfortunately, trouble showed up before long in 1987 when the provincial government started adding resources to the fund only sporadically during better times leading to perennial deficits.

In contrast, Norway's pot of gold has swollen to $1.12 trillion, even as the Norwegian government continued drawing down ~3 percent of the fund's resources every year.

The irony of it all is that Alberta struck oil about half a century earlier than Norway, managing to pump about 3.8 million barrels a day at the height of the oil boom, or about as much as the United Arab Emirates' production clip. Unfortunately, the demand destruction wrought by Covid-19 has forced Alberta's producers to idle between 1 million and 1.5 million barrels thus throwing the local economy into total disarray.

Related: The 400% Tesla Rally Was Only The Beginning Of The EV Boom Alberta politicians have tried to justify this myopia by arguing that the federal government would have targeted a giant Heritage Fund, which seems partly justified given the continuing intergovernmental clashes over control of Alberta's vast oil resources. Tombe agrees with that line of thinking, saying that it's likely that Canada's federal government would have responded to a swelling Heritage Fund by raising other taxes affecting the province or lowering its transfers to the province.

Fortunately for Norway, the nation is a unitary state that has not had to deal with such internal wrangles.

Alberta's oversight looks particularly grievous now that an exodus of foreign oil and gas companies leaving the oil sands has kicked off en masse. Canada has recorded more than $40B in foreign oil and gas company divestitures over the past three years with Total S.A.'s (NYSE: TOT) recent $9.3 billion asset writeoff in Alberta as stranded assets being the biggest so-far. Other than the French energy giant, ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP), Statoil, ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM) and Royal Dutch Shell (NYSE: RDS.A) have either pulled out or retreated from the oil sands due to high operating costs coupled with low profits.

American Social Wealth Fund

The United States' oil and gas producing regions are not much better off than Alberta.

Outside of Alaska, the United States badly lags the rest of the world as far as embracing sovereign wealth funds goes.

Alaska has former Republican governor Jay Hammond to thank for its endowment.

The story goes that when Hammond served as mayor in a small borough of Bristol Bay back in 1974, he watched with a growing sense of apprehension as nearly all of the town's rich salmon resources were extracted with the locals getting next to nothing in the way of profits or job opportunities. Hammond fashioned the idea of imposing a 3 percent tax on salmon revenues and using the proceeds to set up an investment fund that would pay annual dividends from its returns to Bristol Bay residents. Interestingly, Bristol Bay residents voted down the proposal.

Related: The Permian Could See Record Gas Production In 2021

Hammond would later get his wish when he became governor of Alaska in 1976. He pushed for a constitutional amendment that taxed 25 percent of all oil royalties and lease sale payments and directed them to a fund whose sole purpose was for use in income-generating investments. The amendment passed by a 2-to-1 margin, and Hammond pushed for the citizens' dividend idea once again. His persistence finally paid off in 1982, and Alaskans have ever since received annual dividends from the so-called Alaska Permanent Fund every year without fail.

Last year, 631,000 Alaska residents received $1,606 each from the Permanent Fund from a pool of $1.013 billion that the state Legislature budgeted for dividends. Alaskans appear set to continue doing so for many more years to come considering Alaska's waters are home to more than 30 percent of the nation's known recoverable offshore resources. The fund is massively popular, with Americans across the political divide all saying they would rather pay higher income taxes to lower the deficit than see their annual dividend cut.

The left has lately been making concerted moves to bring social wealth funds to the rest of America, with Matt Bruenig, founder of the crowd-funded socialist think tank the People's Policy Project, advocating for expanding Alaska's model to create a national social wealth fund for the nation.

By Alex Kimani for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
At 11:02am, the moment the B-29 bomber Bockscar dropped a 4.5-ton plutonium bomb dubbed Fat Man, Nagasaki survivors and other participants stood in a minute of silence to honour more than 70,000 people dead.

The August 9, 1945, bombing came three days after the US dropped its first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, the worlds first ever nuclear attack, that killed 140,000. On August 15, Japan surrendered, ending World War II.

At a commemoration in Nagasaki Peace Park  scaled down because of the coronavirus pandemic  Mayor Tomihisa Taue read a peace declaration in which he raised concern that nuclear states had in recent years retreated from disarmament efforts.

Instead, they were upgrading and miniaturising nuclear weapons for easier use, he said.

Mr Taue singled out the US and Russia for increasing risks by scrapping the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty.

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As a result, the threat of nuclear weapons being used is increasingly becoming real, Mr Taue said.

He said the true horror of nuclear weapons has not yet been adequately conveyed to the world at large despite efforts by Japans atomic bombing survivors to ensure Nagasaki is the last place to suffer such an attack.

He also urged Japans government and lawmakers to quickly sign the 2017 Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has repeatedly refused to sign the treaty, saying Japans approach is not to take sides but to serve as a bridge between nuclear and non-nuclear states to encourage dialogue to achieve a total nuclear ban.

Survivors and pacifist groups say Japan is virtually siding with the US and other nuclear states.

Among the nuclear-weapon states and countries under the nuclear umbrella, there have been voices stating that it is too early for such a treaty. That is not so, Mr Taue said.

Nuclear arms reductions are far too late in coming.

On Sunday, Mr Abe repeated Japans position, citing severe national security environment and a wide gap between the two sides on nuclear disarmament.

While Tokyo renounces its own possession, production or hosting of nuclear weapons, as a US ally Japan hosts 50,000 American troops and is protected by the US nuclear umbrella.

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The post-WWII security arrangement complicates the push to have Japan sign the treaty as it beefs up its own military to deal with threats from North Korea and China, among others.

An ageing group of survivors have expressed a growing sense of urgency to tell their stories, in hope of reaching younger generations to continue their effort toward establishing a nuclear-free world.



I'm determined to keep telling my story so that Nagasaki will be the last place on Earth to have suffered an atomic attack

There is not much time left for us survivors, said Shigemi Fukabori, 89, in a speech at the ceremony. He was a 14-year-old student mobilised to work at a shipyard when Nagasaki was bombed.

Im determined to keep telling my story so that Nagasaki will be the last place on Earth to have suffered an atomic attack.

We dont want anyone else to have to go through this.

Nagasaki bears a responsibility as a witness of catastrophic results the nuclear weapon caused to humanity and environment.

I hope as many people as possible join us, especially the young generations to inherit our baton of peace and keep running.

Many peace events, including survivors talks leading up to the anniversary, were cancelled because of the coronavirus, but some survivors have teamed with students and pacifist groups to speak at online events.
Jon Caldara is the President of the Independence Institute, Colorados free-market think tank in Denver.
New Delhi: Ahead of the Assembly session in Rajasthan, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot wrote to all state MLAs earlier on Sunday appealing to them to "save the democracy". A meeting chaired by Gehlot was underway at Hotel Suryagarh in Jaisalmer.

Posting the letter on Twitter, he had said, "My appeal to all MLAs is that to save democracy, to maintain people`s confidence in us, and to avoid wrong traditions, you should listen to the voice of the people.

My appeal to all MLAs is that to save democracy, to maintain peoples confidence in us and to avoid wrong traditions, you should listen to the voice of the people. pic.twitter.com/WYwiSpkCcJ  Ashok Gehlot (@ashokgehlot51) August 9, 2020

In a series of tweets, Gehlot further urged to ensure plots made to destabilise the state government do not succeed. "You may be an MLA from any political party but you should decide to understand the feelings of your other colleagues, family members, and voters of your region to ensure that the majority govt elected by the people is able to work firmly and efficiently for the interest of Rajasthan and that the plots to destablise the govt do not succeed."

Gehlot lauded the work done by his government taking credit for efforts to bring the economy back on track and measures taken against the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Looking at the seriousness of the COVID-19, meetings were held with political groups, elected representatives, NGOs, saints, doctors, police, and others," he said.

The Assembly session in Rajasthan is scheduled to begin on August 14. The Congress MLAs were lodged at Jaipur`s Fairmont Hotel after differences between Gehlot and his former deputy Sachin Pilot came out in open triggering a political crisis in the state.

Pilot was miffed after the SOG sent him a notice to record his statement in a case of alleged poaching of Congress MLAs in the state.

The Congress has accused the BJP of indulging in horse-trading to bring down the Gehlot government. However, the BJP has rejected the allegations.
A Texas park is battling against a swarm of giant swamp rats that invaded the area in the past year.

Wildlife experts called on the public this week not to feed the colony of swamp rats, otherwise known as nutrias, that are taking over Krauss Baker Park in Fort Worth.

Local park authorities said the colony began to form at least a year ago, but should not be encouraged to grow further because of the damage the creatures can cause to the local ecosystem and water supply.

A colony has the potential to spread parasites to bodies of water that could lead to human infections if the water is used for drinking or recreation.

Scroll down for video

This large colony of swamp rats has invaded Krauss Baker Park in Fort Worth

Residents shared video to social media of the troubling take over in recent weeks

The rodents can eat up to 25 percent of their body weight per day and large settlements lead to a decrease in water quality and the destruction of habitats for local animals and plants.

And with female nutrias able to produce two to three litters each year, with up to 15 offspring each time, the situation has potential to become much worse very quickly.

On female nutria could in fact lead to 200 offspring per year.

Locals shared troubling pictures and videos recently of the gang of nutrias as they took over an area in the park.

The animals, which look very similar to beavers, were even seen eating pet food pellets alongside a group of ducks.

Locals were left confused by the creatures, which have brown fur, a long flat tail, webbed hind legs and orange teeth.

While the swamp rats are not uncommon in Fort Worth, Texas Parks and Wildlife told WFAA that it is rare to see such a large group.

'They can eat around three pounds a day,' Rachel Richter, a wildlife biologist for Texas Parks and Wildlife, explained to WFAA.

'If not controlled, you end up with erosion, destabilized banks, decreased water quality, and a lot less of a habitat for native plants, animals, and fish.'

The rodents have brown fur, a long flat tail, webbed hind legs and orange teeth

The Parks Department has warned they can decrease the local water quality

Humans can also be more immediately affected by the parasites they spread to water.

She added: 'They are harmful to humans because they degrade water quality in water bodies that might be used for recreation or drinking water.

'They are also vectors for pathogens and parasites that could contaminate a water body and potentially infect people.'

Richter said she believes that there are currently about 20 swamp rats in Krauss Baker Park and that they are being well fed from food of park patrons.

'Feeding wildlife is really something that you shouldn't do under any circumstances,' Richter warned.

'It can cause the populations to artificially inflate, which can damage the ecosystem.

'When people feed wildlife, they normally have the best intentions. But they don't realize that they could be doing harm.'

Rachel Richter, a wildlife biologist for Texas Parks and Wildlife, urged the public not to feed the swamp rats and explained how their large appetite can destroy the ecosystem

The rats have been seen eating pet food pellets alongside ducks

The city of Fort Worth has said it is monitoring the situation yet the swamp rat takeover is not just a problem in Texas.

The animals were originally brought to the United States in the late 1800s by fur traders and sold as vegetation control because of their healthy appetites but have since become a nuisance for wildlife preservation.

Representatives of Congress and senators in California and Louisiana are pushing for funding that will help the states fight back against the takeover from the rodents.

In Louisiana, there is estimated to be a swamp rate population of five million, about half a million more than there are people in the state.

There, hunters are paid to cull the nutria population in an attempt to keep it at bay.

Meanwhile in California, Senator Dianne Feinstein has warned that the damage colonies of nutria cause to agriculture in the state could reach one billion dollars.

Feinstein and Louisiana senator John N. Kennedy earlier in August called for the money the U.S. government pays to states to attack the problem to be doubled to $12million a year.

In Louisiana, hunters are paid to kill off the state's five million swamp rat population

Swamp rates appeared in California, pictured, in 2017 and are already considered a pest

According to CBS, Congress passed The Nutria Eradication and Control Act in 2003, which established a fund to help Maryland and Louisiana battle the animals.

In late July, the House of Representatives passed bipartisan legislation that could potentially allow California to also benefit from the fund.

'This is a huge win for farmers and environmentalists in the Valley,' said California Rep. Josh Harder.

'Both groups are concerned about the swamp rat invasion and rightly so  if we don't get these things under control in the next couple years, they will overrun our farms and wetlands.'

California had previously managed to eradicate nutria from the state in the 1970s but they reappeared in 2017.

More than 1,500 of the animals have been since 2018, with over 500 since May 2020, Harder said.
CARACAS, Venezuela - A Venezuelan court has sentenced two former U.S. special forces soldiers to 20 years in prison for their part in a blunder-filled beach attack aimed at overthrowing President Nicolas Maduro.

Lawyers for the former Green Berets, Luke Denman and Airan Berry, said they were barred from the secretive jailhouse proceedings Friday night in what they consider a violation of their constitutional rights to a defence.

Maduros chief prosecutor announced the surprise decision late Friday night.

THEY ADMITTED THEIR RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE FACTS, Tarek William Saab announced on Twitter, adding that proceedings will continue against dozens of other defendants accused of assisting in the May 3 raid. He did not offer details.

Operation Gideon was launched from makeshift training camps in neighbouring Colombia and left at least eight rebel soldiers dead while more than 60 more were jailed.

Ex-Green Beret Jordan Goudreau, who operated a Florida-based security firm called Silvercorp USA, claimed responsibility for the failed attack and had hired his two former army buddies to prepare a small cadre of deserting Venezuelan soldiers living at the makeshift camps. Venezuelan prosecutors have ordered his arrest. Goudreau is believed to be in the U.S., where he also is under investigation f or possibly violating arms trafficking laws in connection to the botched incursion.

Denman and Berry, both decorated former U.S. service members, were found guilty of conspiracy, trafficking in illegal arms and terrorism, Saab said.

But lawyers for the men said the hearing was marred by irregularities.

Alonso Medina Roa said he was hired a month ago by the families of the two Americans but has so far been barred from meeting or speaking with his clients.

In violation of their constitutional rights to a defence, he said, Judge Maximo Marquez never informed him of Friday nights proceedings at the headquarters of the SEBIN police, where the men are being held. They were represented instead by a public defender.

The two Americans arrested in a coastal fishing community have ever since been paraded by officials on Venezuelan state TV as proof of their long-held claims that the United States is set on violently overthrowing Maduros socialist government.

The incident also prompted claims that U.S. backed opposition leader Juan Guaido had authorized Goudreau through a signed agreement to carry out the attack, executed by two of Guaidos former political advisors in the U.S.

U.S. officials have denied any role in the attack but have not said what knowledge they had about the clandestine camps in Colombia, details of which were made public by an AP investigation two days prior to the raid. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Washington would use all possible means to win the freedom of Denman and Berry.

Mark Denman, brother of Luke Denman, said in a statement that the families were very disappointed that the men were not represented by their private legal counsel.

With the trial behind us, we are now focused on assuring that during their detainment their rights are adhered to. This includes humane treatment, access to adequate medical care, communication with their families and attorneys, he said.

U.S. officials also have demanded freedom for six jailed American oil executives from Houston-based Citgo, a subsidiary of Venezuelas state-owned oil monopoly, who had been lured to Caracas for a meeting and then arrested on corruption charges, which all deny.

A day before the two ex-Green Berets were sentenced, the corruption trial began for the so-called Citgo 6. The case had lingered since their arrest two years and eight months ago until former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson met in July with Maduro in Caracas to urge they be released and returned home to the United States.

Richardson on Saturday said he would also work to free the convicted veterans, who are both natives of Texas.

Luke Denman and Airan Berry are American citizens and military veterans who deserve our support, he said. We will continue our dialogue with the Venezuelans to try to find a way to bring them back home to their families.

Both cases play out amid hostility between Washington and Caracas. The Trump administration last year threw its support behind opposition leader Guaido, who has been recognized as Venezuelas legitimate president by 60 nations pledging to oust Maduro.

Guaido blames Maduro for the once wealthy nations economic and social collapse, while the socialist leader, who is wanted in the U.S. on narcoterrorism charges, says Washington is using Guaido to steal the nations vast oil wealth.

Medina Roa said that while Maduro may be looking to negotiate a political deal with the U.S. for the Green Berets release, authorities dont need to trample further on Venezuelas constitution to achieve their goals.

Its a perversion of justice to violate their constitutional rights for future political gain, said Medina Roa.

-

Goodman reported from Miami

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Thousands of prominent Afghans have supported the release of about 400 Taliban prisoners on August 9, including many who had been involved in attacks that killed Afghans and foreigners.



The resolution recommending the release of the Taliban prisoners could potentially clear the way for intra-Afghan peace talks to begin between the Taliban, representatives of the Afghan government, and other stakeholders in Afghan society.



It was passed at the end of a three-day Loya Jirga in Kabul -- a traditional meeting of Afghan tribal elders and other stakeholders convened to decide on controversial national issues.



Afghan President Ashraf Ghani called for the gathering, declaring that he did not have the authority under Afghanistan's constitution to release the 400 prisoners from Afghan jails as part of a prisoner swap because they'd committed violent crimes.



"In order to remove the hurdles for the start of peace talks, stopping bloodshed, and for the good of the public, the Loya Jirga approves the release of 400 prisoners as demanded by the Taliban," Loya Jirga member Atefa Tayeb announced at the gathering in Kabul on August 9.



Both the Afghan government and the Taliban have committed to completing a prisoner exchange before the intra-Afghan talks can begin.



Ghani was expected to make a final decision on the basis of the Loya Jirga's recommendation.



Abdullah Abdullah, the head of the Loya Jirga, said on August 8 that all 50 committees of the assembly had supported the release of the prisoners, who have been convicted of involvement in high-profile attacks in the country.



The release of the prisoners is the last hurdle to opening peace talks between the internationally backed government in Kabul and the Taliban under a peace deal between the militants and the United States.



Abdullah, who is also head of the High Council for National Reconciliation, said that intra-Afghan peace talks can begin three days after a potential prisoner release.



The Loya Jirga committees also asked both sides of the conflict to observe an unconditional cease-fire ahead of intra-Afghan peace talks.



Kabul has already released 4,600 Taliban inmates out of the 5,000 pledged in a landmark agreement signed in February by the United States and the Taliban, but authorities have balked at freeing the remaining prisoners demanded by the Taliban.



Afghan officials have described the remaining prisoners as dangerous. About 200 of them are accused by the Afghan government of masterminding attacks on embassies, public squares, and government offices, killing thousands of civilians in recent years.



The Taliban says it has freed all 1,000 government prisoners it had pledged in the agreement with the United States and insists on its demand for the release of the remaining 400 prisoners on its list.

In addition to a gradual withdrawal of U.S. and coalition troops the U.S.-Taliban deal calls on the Taliban to guarantee that Afghanistan will not be used as a staging ground for terrorist attacks on the United States or its allies.



U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper said in an interview on August 8 that the United States plans to cut its troop levels in Afghanistan to "a number less than 5,000" by the end of November.



Espers comments on Fox News came after President Donald Trump said earlier in the week that the United States first plans to reduce the existing 8,600 U.S. troops in Afghanistan to 8,000 in a very short period. He said the number would then drop to 4,000.



Despite the U.S.-Taliban deal, Taliban attacks since February have killed 3,560 Afghan security personnel, according to the government.



The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) has documented more than 1,280 Afghan civilian deaths during the first half of 2020 -- mainly as a result of fighting between Afghan government forces and Taliban militants.

With reporting by AP, dpa, Fox News, and Axios
A man has been rushed to hospital with serious injuries after he was shot at with a crossbow in Sydney's south-west.

Emergency services were called to Ashby Avenue in Yagoona at around 11.15am on Sunday following reports of a stabbing.

Police officers arrived at the scene to find a man, aged 40, suffering wounds to his head, chest and arm.

He was treated at the scene by paramedics before transported to Liverpool Hospital in a serious but stable condition.

A woman, believed to the victim's wife speaks to police at the scene in Yagoona, where a man was seriously injured after he was shot with a crossbow

A second man, also aged 40, was arrested at the scene.

The two men are believed to be known to each other.

The incident is believed to have been a dispute between neighbours, Nine News reported.

Photos from the scene show a frantic woman, believed to be the victim's wife speaking with police.

A discarded arrow was spotted lying on the ground at the scene cordoned-off by police.

A discarded arrow lies in the street after the incident in Sydney's south-west on Sunday

A crime scene has been established in the suburban street, where police seized a crossbow and arrows.

'As investigations continue, no further information is available at this time,' a police statement read.

Anyone with more information is urged to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

One man is in hospital and another has been arrested over the crossbow attack. Pictured police examining the cordoned-off scene in Ashby Avenue in Yagoona

Investigations are continuing into the incident that involved a crossbow and arrows (pictured)

Meanwhile in unrelated incident, a separate investigation is underway after three men were stabbed at a rugby league match in western Sydney on Sunday morning,

Police were told a physical altercation occurred at the end of a game at Old Saleyards Reserve in North Parramatta just after 11.20am.

Several men fled the scene prior to police arriving. One has since been arrested.

The three injured men were taken to Westmead Hospital, where two are reported to be in a serious condition.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 9 will launch a financing facility of Rs 1 lakh crore under the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund.

The prime minister will also release the sixth instalment of funds of Rs 17,000 crore to 8.5 crore farmers under the PM-KISAN scheme. The scheme has been instrumental in supporting farmers during the novel coronavirus pandemic, PM Modi said in a tweet.

In a series of tweets on August 9, PM Modi extended his greeting to the people, especially the farming community, on the occasion of 'Balram jayanti', 'Hal Chhath' and 'Dau janmotsav'

Hal chhath is a festival dedicated to Balaram, the elder brother of Lord Krishna.

(With input from PTI)
The advertisement for the $88m property on the Upper East Side could not have been accused of underplaying its grandeur.

This mansion presents a once in a life-time opportunity to own the largest single-family home in New York City, it read. This historic landmark could easily present itself as a palatial consulate, embassy, foundation, or a museum to once again house some of the worlds greatest works of art.

What, however, was omitted, perhaps wisely, was the identity of the previous owner, and details of the dark acts of abuse and cruelty allegedly perpetrated on young women and girls by that man and his British girlfriend.

It is a year since Jeffrey Epstein, the 66-year-old convicted paedophile, financier and friend of celebrities ranging from Bill Clinton to Donald Trump and Prince Andrew, was found dead in his cell at the Manhattan Correctional Centre, about six miles from the seven-storey home recently put on the market by his estate, along with a property in Florida, located close to Mr Trumps Mar-a-Lago estate.

Despite the presidents shifting comments about his association with Epstein, it appears to have been at Mar-a-Lago resort, where Virginia Roberts Giuffre worked as a spa attendant, and where she first met Epsteins girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell, a socialite and daughter of the late press baron Robert Maxwell, who is accused of recruiting and grooming the young woman to have sex with the financier and his friends.

The death of Epstein came after he was arrested and charged with sex trafficking charges that accused him of abusing dozens of underage girls as young as 14. Epstein had been charged with one count of sex trafficking conspiracy and one count of sex trafficking with underage females, and had pleaded not guilty.

Those charges came 11 years after Epsteins lawyers cut a plea deal with prosecutors in Florida to avoid a similar charge. And his death came a day after new legal documents unsealed by a court, provided more details about the numerous young girls he was said to have abused over many decades.

Jeffrey Epsteins Manhattan mansion is on sale for $88m (Getty Images)

The documents related to a defamation lawsuit brought by Ms Giuffre, who said she was abused by Epstein and members of his circle over a number of years. Among those she claimed she was told to have sex with were the former New Mexico governor Bill Richardson, financier Glenn Dubin, former senator George Mitchell and modelling agent Jean-Luc Brunel. All have denied the claims.

Americans are inherently conspiratorial in their thinking

The death of Epstein, found hanging in his cell, came after he was arrested and charged with sex trafficking charges, and one day after new legal documents provided more details about his victims. Mr Trump tweeted that Epstein had information on Bill Clinton.

Many believed Epstein was murdered on the orders of the many powerful people who had much to benefit from his death. They pointed to the many seemingly convenient errors that took place at the remand  the guard on duty was not a regular member of staff but a fill in, while Epstein had earlier been placed on suicide watch after being found with bruising on his neck. Two weeks earlier he had been taken off that list, that demanded constant supervision.

Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein (AFP via Getty Images)

Despite all of this, and claims to the contrary by his lawyer, his death was ruled suicide by New York Citys chief medical examiner, Dr Barbara Sampsonthe.

I think it was probably incompetence, George Kirkham, a Florida-based criminologist and former law enforcement officer, says of the management of Epstein. He was probably very, very, eager to kill himself. And there are a number of ways to do that in that kind of context.

He adds: But, you know, Americans are inherently conspiratorial in their thinking. Even today 50 or 60 per cent of people still believe that JFK was killed in some nefarious plot.

Elite institutions maintained links with Epstein after his conviction

In 2008, Epstein cut a plea deal with prosecutors in Florida that would see him plead guilty to a single charge of soliciting prostitution with an underage girl and receive a 13-month sentence. Prosecutors had originally drawn up a 55-page charge sheet. The prosecutor who oversaw the deal, Alex Acosta, was last year obliged to quit as Mr Trumps labour secretary, after new charges carrying up to 45 years in jail were filed against Epstein.

Jeffrey Epstein is the subject of a new documentary by Lifetime. (New York State Sex Offender Registry via AP) (AP)

Since Epsteins death, it has emerged that not only did a number of individuals maintain close links with the disgraced financier, but so did a number of institutions.

In January a report by the law firm Goodwin Procter found that Epstein made 10 donations  totalling $850,000 (650,000), slightly more than MIT had previously disclosed  from 2002 to 2017. Epstein also visited its campus at least nine times from 2013 to 2017.

In May, it emerged Harvard had also continued to welcome and receive Epstein, who made donations of more than $9m (6.9m) and visited more than 40 times. He even had his own office and key card.

I deeply sympathise with everyone who has been affected

In November last year, amid pressure from Epsteins victims, Prince Andrew gave a disastrous interview to the BBC in which he defended maintaining his friendship with Epstein after the 2008 guilty plea, and appeared to show little sympathy for those hurt and abused. The interview revealed he did not regret the friendship that he had maintained with Epsteins girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell, now accused of trafficking Epsteins victims. He denied having sex with Ms Giuffre, despite the existence of images of them standing next to each other.

He also claimed that on one of the three days Ms Giuffre, then aged 17, alleged he had sex with her, he was at home, having taken his eldest daughter, Princess Beatrice, to a party at a Pizza Express restaurant in Woking, Surrey, at 5pm.

Days after the interview, as demands grew for him to speak to prosecutors in the US, it was announced his was standing down from his duties as a royal. It has become clear to me over the past few days that my association with Jeffrey Epstein has become a major disruption to my familys work and the valuable work going on in the many organisations and charities that I am proud to support, he said. Therefore, I have asked Her Majesty if I can step back from public duties for the foreseeable future, and she has given her permission.

He added on Epsteins death: His suicide has left many unanswered questions, particularly for the victims and I deeply sympathise with everyone who has been affected and wants some form of closure.

Survivors and witnesses still coming forward

Epstein was accused of abusing dozens or even hundreds of young women and girls. Lawyer Brad Edwards, who represents Ms Giuffre and several other victims, said it amounted to a spiderweb, the origins of which dated back to the period 1994-97. After Ms Maxwell was arrested last month and charged with trafficking those women for Epstein, Mr Edwards, author of Relentless Pursuit: My Fight for the Victims of Jeffrey Epstein, said more people were still coming forward.

Virginia Giuffre is one of the women who share their testimonies in Surviving Jeffrey Epstein (Courtesy of Lifetime)

Just in the last five days we have received tips from several very important witnesses and at least one other victim that I expect is only going to help the case, he told NBC News.

Was Maxwell Epsteins first and most significant victim?

Ms Maxwell has been charged with conspiring with Epstein to identify and groom vulnerable young women.

Preserving the innocence of children is among the most important responsibilities we carry as adults, FBI assistant director William F Sweeney Jr said when she was charged with offences that could see her jailed for 35 years. Like Epstein, Ms Maxwell chose to blatantly disregard the law and her responsibility as an adult, using whatever means she had at her disposal to lure vulnerable youth into behaviour they should never have been exposed to.

A courtroom sketch of Ghislaine Maxwell as she appeared in court via video link (REUTERS/Jane Rosenberg)

Experts in sex trafficking have suggested Epstein may also have groomed Ms Maxwell, who arrived in New York vulnerable after her celebrity life exploded after the death of her father, press baron Robert Maxwell.

Rochelle Keyhan, CEO of Collective Liberty, which works to combat domestic violence and sexual violence, and human trafficking, says it is common for men acting as pimps to identify one woman as the so-called bottom girl or bottom bitch, to oversee and control the others.

Typically, its either the first victim of the trafficker or the person who is most easily susceptible to their manipulation, she says.

Typically what the bottom does is its like the chief operating officer for the pimp whos the CEO. And the main reason is, the bottom will get in trouble for everything. The pimp can then deny everything say that oh my God, I had no idea there was violence, I had no idea this was happening or that was happening. Its the bottom, she did it, shes in charge. Shes the mastermind.

Was Ms Maxwell Epsteins bottom? Thats my assessment of the situation, says Ms Keyhan.

Maxwell thought Paris Hilton would be perfect for Epstein  and other allegations

Ms Maxwell thought a young Paris Hilton would be perfect for Jeffrey Epstein, Ms Maxwell once commissioned a song for Epsteins birthday, and he was once Cosmopolitans Bachelor of the Month.

Or so say two documentaries that are hitting our screens, packed full of people who knew Epstein or claim to have known him.

Earlier this spring, Netflix released Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich, that took a sweeping look at the accusations of sex abuse and trafficking.

Ghislaine Maxwell thought a young Paris Hilton would be perfect for Epstein, it is claimed (Getty / Rich Fury)

And now there is Surviving Jeffrey Epstein, Lifetimes four-part documentary series about the disgraced financier and registered sex offender, broadcasting in the UK on the Crime + Investigation channel. We can expect to hear directly from more of his alleged victims.

And more details are emerging almost every day. A court released a slew of documents last month, one revealing that Andrew had in 2008 lobbied the US government to give Epstein a favourable plea deal.

In another document was contained an allegation from Ms Giuffre that Ms Maxwell herself had orgies with girls as young as 15 on the private Caribbean island owned by Epstein and dubbed paedophile island.

There were blondes, there were brunettes, there were redheads. They were all beautiful girls. I would say the ages ranged between 15 and 21, Ms Giuffre alleges in documents dating back to a now-settled 2015 civil litigation against Ms Maxwell.

Given there are other documents yet to be unsealed, the allegations are set to continue.
Experts from the Center for Diagnostics and Telemedicine have developed a platform for self-testing services which is based on artificial intelligence and designed for medical tasks, such as for analyzing diagnostic images. The first working prototype of the platform is hosted on the popular GitHub service, and developers from all over the world can take part in its improvement by adding verification criteria depending on the purpose of the services.

Sergey Morozov, CEO of the Center for Diagnostics and Telemedicine, spoke about this at the thematic week dedicated to artificial intelligence which was part of the program of the European Congress of Radiology (ECR 2020).

Before implementing a service based on artificial intelligence (AI) into routine clinical practice, it is necessary to test it for technical readiness, as well as to verify whether it meets the stated characteristics. It is called analytical validation of the algorithm. The services that have passed it are allowed to be integrated into medical systems, including city healthcare.

Integration is a complex and expensive process, so it becomes a barrier for many teams that cannot guarantee the required accuracy and speed of the algorithm processing data of the system into which they are integrated. Currently analytical validation is performed manually. Manual validation allows accidental or deliberate deviations from the approved test program, as well as manipulation of datasets, and also can potentially put different test participants in unequal conditions.

To solve these problems and automate the verification process, ensuring trust of users, specialists of the Center for Diagnostic and Telemedicine have developed a platform that allows developers of AI-based services to independently conduct preliminary tests (analytical validation) of their algorithms. A prototype of the platform has been hosted on the GitHub, and the first version of the service for exchanging datasets and data analysis results has already been uploaded.

The platform provides an opportunity for the unlimited number of accesses to single samples of data instances from the test set in order to fine-tune algorithms. It has uniform rules of use, and it is possible to test several services simultaneously. At the same time, the platform records the time that the software spends on data processing (time-study), and the developers receive an automatic report on the results of testing, - explains Sergey Morozov, CEO of the Center for Diagnostic and Telemedicine.

By automating the entire process on the self-testing platform, the human factor is minimized, which makes data manipulation (to improve results) impossible. In addition, the comparison of the service's verification results with the reference data is absolutely transparent - the developer can see what metrics were used, and how the final result reflected in the report was calculated.

Anyone can take part in improving the platform and add necessary metrics to it, which will be used to evaluate the algorithm's performance for certain medical purposes (for example, for analyzing radiographs or mammograms). However, the addition of the platform will be monitored - the only metrics that have scientific justification will be included in the platform operating on the basis of the Center, - notes Nikolai Pavlov, the developer of the platform, Head of Dataset Labeling Conveyor of the Medical Informatics, Radiomics and Radiogenomics Sector, Center for Diagnostics and Telemedicine.

The creators of the platform invite developers of AI algorithms, programmers and researchers to take part in updating and improving the platform in order to develop a uniform, universal, and user-friendly tool for self-testing of artificial intelligence algorithms intended for medical purposes in the international community. At the moment, there is no such tool aimed specifically at the clinical implementation of services based on AI technologies.
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. - It has been one week since Marilane Carter left her Overland Park home for Birmingham, Alabama, and she has not been seen since. Family members told 41 Action News that Carter planned to seek mental health treatment at a Birmingham hospital where she once worked and that is close to her parents' home.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-09 21:54:20|Editor: huaxia

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JOHANNESBURG, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) -- Marking Women's Day on Sunday, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said broadening women's economic participation and ensuring their financial independence could be crucial in combating the scourge of femicide against them.

Addressing this year's event virtually, Ramaphosa said poverty made women vulnerable to gender violence.

"One of the most important ways to reduce the vulnerability of women to gender-based violence is to enable them to become financially independent," he said.

Ramaphosa said that to tackle gender-based violence and femicide, the government would prioritize providing business opportunities to women-led firms.

"The first action is to expand the access of women to economic opportunity," he said, "We will do this, among other things, by setting aside 40 percent of public procurement for women-owned businesses."

He said this process would be monitored where clear plans to increase women's participation in the economy are increased.

As the Chair of the African Union, Ramaphosa said other governments across the African continent must implement the same plans to empower women economically.

"We will also be working on policy guidelines to help member states, on our continent, develop similar interventions," he said.

He said that lack of access to capital was one of the factors that hindered women's economic growth.

"The second action is to support women who operate small or micro businesses, including in the informal sector. Under generation equality, we will be supporting AU member states in their drive to adopt digital IDs," he said.

Women's Day is marked to commemorate the Aug. 9, 1956 march of approximately 20,000 women to the Union Buildings in Pretoria to petition against the country's pass laws.

At that time, the apartheid government was introducing pass laws against black women meaning that women would be forced to carry permits and passes. Enditem
Updated 2:45pm

The Department of Health is preparing proposals for the Government to ban non-essential travel from countries with high rates of Covid-19.

Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly confirmed the move, saying options for restricting travel into the Republic from countries outside of the European Union and United Kingdom are being investigated.

He said he was "concerned about high rates in some places" and proposals would be discussed by Government shortly.

Many are asking about travel/tourists coming into Ireland from countries with high Covid rates. My Dept is preparing options for Gov on how to restrict non-essential travel from third countries (outside EU/UK) with high rates of Covid. Am concerned about high rates in some places  Stephen Donnelly (@DonnellyStephen) August 9, 2020

These options will be finalised as soon as possible. While travel related cases here remain small, some countries are seeing a rapid rise in cases so the risk is increasing. Once proposals are finalized they will be presented to Gov for discussion. Advertisement  Stephen Donnelly (@DonnellyStephen) August 9, 2020

It comes as countries around the world report high rates of Covid-19, such as the United States which has 116 cases of the disease per 100,000 of its population, while Brazil has 143 per 100,000.

According to today's Sunday Independent, under the new proposals from the Department of Health, visitors arriving here from hotspots including the United States and Brazil will be put on a so-called "red list".

A spokesperson for the Stephen Donnelly told the paper that the Minister for Health is keen to make it clear the proposals would not make any changes to the current green list system that, which is reviewed every two weeks.

Yesterday, The Irish Times reported that the States public health team has asked the Government to consider implementing a ban on non-essential travel from countries with high rates of Covid-19.

In a letter to Government, the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) said it had previously recommended mandatory quarantine for all passengers travelling to Ireland from overseas.

While this remains NPHETs preferred recommendation, if this is deemed unworkable or disproportionate, the NPHET again recommends that consideration is given to the introduction of a travel ban on non-essential travel for those countries with particularly high incidence rates.

Currently, there are no travel bans, or red list of countries from which visitors would be prohibited. Rather, passengers from all countries, except those on the green list, are advised to self-isolate for 14 days on arrival.

The approach would align with the approach adopted by other EU countries.

New Zealand's 100 days

Meanwhile, New Zealand marked 100 days without a domestic transmission of the coronavirus on Sunday, but warned against complacency as countries like Vietnam and Australia which once had the virus under control now battle a resurgence in infections.

New Zealands successful fight against Covid-19 has made the Pacific island nation of five million one of the safest places in the world right now.

New Zealanders have returned to normal life, but authorities are concerned that people are now refusing testing, not using the government contact tracing apps, and even ignoring basic hygiene rules.
The Katsina State Police Command says it has killed eight suspected bandits in Batsari Local Government Area of the state.

The commands Public Relations Officer, Gambo Isah, disclosed this in a statement on Saturday in Katsina.

He said that on August 6, the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in Batsari led Operation Puff Adder to Zamfarawa village based on report that bandits numbering over 40, armed with AK 47 rifles attacked the village.

He said that the bandits shot to death one Shafii Suleiman, 65 and Yakubu Idris, 70, adding that they also rustled a number of cows in the area.

According to him, the police team was ambushed by the bandits on their way to the village, adding that the team responded and killed one of the bandits, while others escaped with gunshot wounds.

Mr Isah further revealed that the team recovered 30 cows stolen from the village by the bandits.

READ ALSO:

Subsequently, he explained that on August 7, search parties led by the DPO and members of the community recovered additional seven corpses of the bandits who escaped with gunshot wounds at Barankada village, also in Batsari local government area.

Mr Isah said that police recovered the sum of N22,300, 13 empty shells of live ammunition of 7.62mm as well as a bunch of charms and keys from the bodies of the dead bandits.

(NAN)
Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut has slammed the Centre for handing over the Sushant Singh Rajput death case to Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). He said that the decision has been taken for political gains and as part of pressure tactics.

Terming it as a conspiracy against Maharashtra, the resident editor of party mouthpiece Saamana said that Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has politicised the case by linking a state minister with it.

Raut, in his weekly column Rokhthok, has said that the decision of handing over the investigation is an attack on the states autonomy. He has also pointed at the misuse of the central agencies like CBI and said that the Centres intervention in the case is an insult to Mumbai Police. He said that though the CBI is a central agency, it has been proved time and again that it is not independent and impartial. Many state governments have banned the CBI. People in West Bengal took to streets against the agency when it tried to intervene in the Saradha Chit Fund case, the Shiv Sena leader stated.

Even Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah were of the same opinion about the CBI when they were active in Gujarat politics. They had opposed the transfer of Godhra riots and the subsequent killings (in Gujarat in 2002). What is wrong if the same feelings are expressed after the transfer of the Sushant Singh death case to the central agency, he questioned.

Raut also accused the BJP of defaming the state government under Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray with the help of a section of media. One channel has been using derogatory and threatening language for chief minister Uddhav Thackeray. This has anguished many including Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar. Expressing his discontent over the disrespect to Thackeray who holds constitutional post, Pawar asked me what action the government has taken. The section of media has support from the Opposition party, which wants to destabilise the government, he said.

It appears that the script of the entire Sushant episode was pre-determined. The Opposition has been linking state minister Aaditya Thackeray with the case just because he shared cordial relations with some of the Bollywood actors. More disturbing is the Oppositions stand on the entire episode as they have stood firm in support of the Bihar Police. The Opposition and a few news channels have been insensitive and inhuman about the Disha Salian and her family members who have been going through tremendous trauma, Raut said in his column.

He has also slammed Mumbai Police for enormous delay in the investigation and said that it needs to be checked if the case was used to terrorise Bollywood. Sensing the high profile character of the case, they should have ensured briefing of the case to the media every next day. Police came under tremendous pressure after the linking of a state minister to the case. The police should have clarified that they will register a statement of the politician or minister if they found any connection. By inviting the Bollywood stars to record statements, the police gave room to gossiping, the column reads.

Raut said that Aaditya Thackeray shares cordial relations with actor Dino Morea who had hosted a party at his residence before Rajputs death, but linking it with the case was wrong. Mudslinging against any politician without having any firm proof is unethical, he said.
Toto Wolff's relationship with Daimler could be souring, according to the respected a Dutch publication.

Firstly, the Mercedes team boss is at the centre of the 'pink Mercedes' car copying scandal, with five teams already siding against Wolff's support for Racing Point.

"It's a small revolution. Small in every way," Wolff was quoted as saying.

"I guess they're just annoyed that they cannot match Racing Point's performance."

Even the small team Haas is annoyed with Wolff. In defending Racing Point's actions, Wolff had alleged that the American team "got the entire car from Ferrari" when it entered F1.

Haas boss Gunther Steiner called that accusation "nonsense".

"We only ever used what we could legally buy," he said. "I think that's his guilty conscience speaking.

"It seems to me that Toto has his back to the wall, so he's trying to distract with other things."

Indeed, nu.nl correspondent Patrick Moeke says that while Mercedes parent Daimler "expresses confidence in Wolff to the outside", there is actually "dissatisfaction within the company" about the Austrian.

The claim, backed by "several sources close to Mercedes", is that Daimler does not appreciate some of Wolff's other activities.

One of them might be buying into Lawrence Stroll's new Aston Martin project. Wolff and Daimler are currently in talks about the 48-year-old's contract beyond 2020.

Olav Mol, the F1 commentator for Dutch television Ziggo Sport, says Wolff and new Daimler CEO Ola Kallenius do not particularly get along.

"But something like that will only become a real problem if the results start to disappoint," he said.

(GMM)
Rajasthan: Listen to voice of people to save democracy, Ashok Gehlot to MLAs

India

pti-Madhuri Adnal

Jaipur, Aug 09: Ahead of the Rajasthan Assembly session, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Sunday appealed to all MLAs to listen to the voice of people to save democracy and stand with the truth in the interest of people of the state.

The assembly session in the state, which has been witnessing politicial turmoil after the rebellion by Sachin Pilot and legislators loyal to him, will start on August 14. Gehlot is likely to seek a trust vote during the session In a letter to all MLAs, Gehlot sought their cooperation in fulfilling the promises of development and prosperity of the state.

6 Rajasthan MLAs knock SC for transfer of disqualification plea from HC

"It is my appeal that you should listen to the voice of people in order to avoid wrong tradition, to maintain people's trust in us and to save democracy," Gehlot said in the letter.

Defence Ministry bans import of 101 Defence items: PM Modi's Atma Nirbhar Bharat | Oneindia News

Pilot was sacked as deputy chief minister and the president of the state unit of the Congress after he and some MLAs loyal to him rebelled against Gehlot. Many believe that Gehlot still has an edge in the numbers game and is confident of a majority.

"You may be a legislator from any political party, you should ensure and take a decision after understanding voter's feeling that how a people's elected government continues to work strongly for state's welfare,", he said, emphasising that efforts to destabilise government are not succesful.

The chief minister expressed faith that legislators will act in the larger interest of people of the state and will cooperate in fulfilling the promises of development and prosperity. Ahead of the session, half a dozen BJP MLAs from Rajasthan have shifted to Porbandar in Gujarat.

BJP MLA Nirmal Kumawat had alleged that the Congress government in Rajasthan was "harassing" opposition MLAs, and said they were on a pilgrimage to Somnath to seek mental peace. Congress MLAs are currently holed up in a Jaisalmer hotel as the party has accused the BJP of horse-trading following the revolt by Pilot and 18 MLAs loyal to him.
The nearly-200-page book, with many vivid illustrations of a modern and innovative Vietnam, was written after the authors field trip to Vietnam.

The front page of the book states that it was published on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the signing of the treaty on fundamental principles of friendship between Vietnam and Russia, and the 70th anniversary of the bilateral diplomatic ties.

The author, who is Chairman of the Russia-based Expert Council of the Eurasian Foundation for Support of Scientific Research, said that Vietnam has become more attractive to foreign visitors.

Anyone visiting the Southeast Asian country for the first time will want to come back, charmed by the mysterious nature and the kindness of local people, he said.

In his book, the author described Vietnam as integrating into the world strongly, acting responsibly and contributing to ensuring regional peace and stability.

Russian readers will get an insight to Vietnamese traditional art, cuisine and culture reading the book.
A Japanese water beetle swallowed by a frog has figured out a great survival trick. It starts walking. In as few as six minutes, 93% of them walk right out the sloppy end of the frog's digestive tract, according to a new paper by ecologist Shinji Sugiurz.

Via Wired, which has video of the behavior:

Writing today in the journal Current Biology, Kobe University ecologist Shinji Sugiura describes how the beetle, locked behind the frog's jaws, turns around and scrambles through its digestive tract. In carefully designed lab experiments, Sugiura found that 93 percent of the beetles he fed to the frog Pelophylax nigromaculatus escaped the predator's "vent"aka anuswithin four hours, "frequently entangled in fecal pellets," he writes. The quickest run from mouth to anus was just six minutes. The beetles then went about their day as if they hadn't just spelunked through a digestive system, and even swam effectively.

I wonder it the beetle hums this as it's walking:
A nations story will never be fully told if it excludes or minimizes the stories of all the people who make it a nation.

Throughout most of the history of the United States, the telling of the American story has been incomplete because the roles played by Native Americans, African Americans, Latinos and Asian Americans were too often ignored. When they were acknowledged in textbooks, museums and popular culture, it was often done in dismissive, stereotypical fashion.

Its telling that it hasnt been until the 21st century that the Smithsonian, through Congress, built the National Museum of the American Indian, which opened in 2004, and the National Museum of African American History and Culture, which opened in 2016.

We may still be more than a decade from the opening of a similar museum honoring the long history and rich contributions of Latinos to the country, but were closer than ever thanks to delayed but welcome movement in Congress.

Last month, for the first time, the House of Representatives passed a bill that would establish a National Museum of the American Latino. It was done with bipartisan support by voice vote.

The next step would be passage of the version in the Senate, where the lead sponsor is Sen. John Cornyn of Texas. Cornyn should be commended for not only taking the lead on the Latino museum but also co-sponsoring legislation that would make Juneteenth a national holiday.

Like the Native American and African American museums, the Latino museum, when it becomes a brick-and-mortar reality, will have been preceded by years of advocacy, reports and planning, and a lot of fundraising. The time between passage of the bills that established these museums until the times they opened their doors was 15 and 13 years, respectively. The sooner the Senate passes Cornyns bill, the quicker well see the new museum.

A 1994 report by a task force appointed by the Smithsonian accused the world-renowned museum complex of willful neglect toward Latinos. It also said, U.S. Hispanics are the only major contributor to American civilization still un-celebrated by any specific, systemic, permanent effort in this countrys major cultural institution.

On ExpressNews.com: Latino voters in Texas much more motivated to vote in 2020, poll finds

A 2011 report by the National Museum of the American Latino Commission said there was a need for a new national museum in Washington, D.C., devoted to the preservation, presentation and interpretation of American Latino art, cultural expressions, and experiences; a museum that illuminates the American story for the benefit of all.

As it did with the African American museum, the government will fund half of the design and construction of the 310,000-square-foot building, which will be placed prominently in the National Mall.

The history of the United States is too vast, turbulent and grand to be contained and explained in one museum. Museums devoted to exploring and revealing one culture allow the space and time for those cultures to be studied as part of the nation and how they developed apart from the nation.

At 60 million and growing, Latinos are the second-largest ethnic group in the country. Spanish was spoken before English in this land, which became the United States.

For more than 500 years, Latinos have helped define the multicultural American experience, influencing and enriching every part of society, including politics, business, music, literature, food, education, sports, the military, and movements seeking justice and dignity.

By illuminating Latino heritage and showcasing it in its rightful place on the National Mall, we make clearer the full American story.
Riot police clashed with protesters in Belarus overnight after a government exit poll predicted Sunday President Aleksander Lukashenko, an authoritarian who has ruled the Eastern European country since 1994, had overwhelmingly defeated a pro-democracy opposition candidate.

The latest: U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo condemned the election as "not free and fair" on Monday and urged the Belarusian government to "refrain from use of force" against protesters who have taken to the streets. At least one person has died in the protests, while hundreds have been injured and thousands arrested.

Why it matters: It's a precarious moment for the former Soviet republic, where decades of repression and a complete disregard for the coronavirus pandemic threaten to topple "Europe's last dictator." Rights groups said at least one protester was killed and dozens more wounded in a "police crackdown," per AP.

A tweet previously embedded here has been deleted or was tweeted from an account that has been suspended or deleted.

The state of play: Opposition candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, a teacher who replaced her husband on the ticket when he was arrested for launching his campaign, is claiming victory based on results from 20 polling stations, where a spokesman told the Globe and Mail her vote share was "two, three, four times" that of Lukashenko.

The government exit poll that triggered Sunday's protests, which had been ongoing at a smaller scale for weeks, showed Lukashenko with 79.7% of the vote and Tikhanovskaya with 6.8%.

Tikhanovskaya had not been seen or heard from for hours on Monday after filing a complaint at the Central Election Commission. Her team later issued a short and mysterious statement, saying: "Svetlana Tikhanovskaya has made contact. Shes fine."

In the meantime, thousands of Belarusians have taken to the streets in cities all over the country to protest the allegedly rigged results.

They've been met in many instances with riot police and other security forces, who have been documented on social media deploying tear gas and violently attacking protesters.

Convoys of military personnel were filmed moving into the capital of Minsk, where main roads into the city have been blocked off. The internet was also reported to have been shut down late Sunday.

What they're saying: "As neighbors of Belarus, we call on Belarusian authorities to fully recognize and uphold basic democratic standards," the presidents of Poland and Lithuania said in a joint statement.

"We urge to refrain from violence and call for respect of fundamental freedoms, human and citizen rights including the rights of national minorities and freedom of speech."

"We are convinced that closer cooperation with the European Union is in the interest of Belarus, we want the doors for this cooperation to remain open and stand ready to continue to provide further support to Belarus in deepening its relations with the united European family."

European Council President Charles Michel tweeted: "Violence against protesters is not the answer #Belarus. Freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, basic human rights must be upheld."

European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen called on Belarusian authorities to ensure an accurate vote count and said the EU is "ready to support the process of de-escalation and dialogue that would lead to democratisation and a closer, more intense EU-Belarus Partnership."

White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said at a briefing Monday that the Trump administration is "deeply concerned" about the Belarus election and urged the government to "respect the right to peaceably assemble and refrain from the use of force."

This story is developing. Please check back for updates

On the ground

Law enforcement officers detain a protester in Minsk. Photo: Natalia Fedosenko/TASS via Getty Images

Riot police detain a protester in Minsk. Photo: Valery Sharifulin/TASS via Getty Images

Riot police disperse protesters in Minsk. Photo: Siarhei/AFP via Getty Images

A man talks to a riot police officer during the protest in Minsk. Photo: Valery Sharifulin/TASS via Getty Images

A man lies on the ground in front of riot police in Minsk. Photo: Sergei Gapon/AFP via Getty Images

Riot police block an area after polls closed in Minsk. Photo: Sergei Gapon/AFP via Getty Images

Opposition supporters in Minsk. Photo: Sergei Gapon/AFP via Getty Images

A tweet previously embedded here has been deleted or was tweeted from an account that has been suspended or deleted.

A tweet previously embedded here has been deleted or was tweeted from an account that has been suspended or deleted.

A tweet previously embedded here has been deleted or was tweeted from an account that has been suspended or deleted.
Some residents in North Carolina were jolted awake early Sunday morning as the largest earthquake to hit the state since 1916 struck near Sparta, North Carolina. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) reported the magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck at 8:07 a.m EDT.

The epicenter was located near the border of North Carolina and Virginia and was felt in many parts of the eastern United States.

This rather strong earthquake sparked minor to moderate shaking that was felt across North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, Tennessee, South Carolina, Ohio and Kentucky.

Earthquake damage from Sparta. pic.twitter.com/2L2vT8wk9g  Chad Tucker (@ChadTucker) August 9, 2020

The structure of the Earth's crust is partially to blame for the tremors reaching as far as they did.

"This has to do with the way the crust is made up and that it's more or less continuous compared to areas out west. That allows for waves to travel out to great distances, even though they are weaker compared to the west coast," AccuWeather Meteorologist Matt Benz said.

Semi-retired race car driver Dale Earnhardt Jr., who lives in Mooresville, North Carolina, reported feeling the earthquake shortly after the quake struck.

I think I just felt an earthquake  Dale Earnhardt Jr. (@DaleJr) August 9, 2020

"It felt like a big locomotive going by and a big wave coming underneath the bed," Sparta Mayor Wes Brinegar, who was awakened by the quake told CNN. "A big wave coming to lift you."

The mayor said he has never felt anything like that in his life and reported some houses had cracked foundations.

"We've had a lot of scared folks this morning," the mayor said. "That was the most intense one we've ever had."

Story continues

Minor damage to houses could be expected around Sparta due to its shallow depth of 5 kilometers.

CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP

The area has experienced higher-than-usual earthquake activity with a smaller magnitude 2.6 earthquake that was felt by residents earlier on Sunday, as well as multiple other weaker ones on Saturday. Two more temblors struck a few miles from Seymour, Tennessee, last weekend, the USGS reported.

Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
Exhausted and confused, the Republican Party staggers toward the finish line: the 2020 elections. It's a shame that so few among them have been able to admit that the party no longer exists.

Invaded by the Orange Virus, it has been cannibalized from the inside to the point that little remains beyond faux-evangelical white supremacist conspiracy theories; meanwhile its leaders have been busy with the million and one details involved in selling their souls. You wouldnt think it would be such a hassle to get rid of a few hundred souls, even if they werent of the highest quality; butlong story short--they did finally get Home Depot to buy them up as an active ingredient in their house brand of weed killer.

Thus liberated to be the kind of principle-free, gutless toadies that the president made it clear he prefers, the Retrumplican leaders have spent the last few years casting votes and engaging in debate that would have embarrassed and shamed just about anyone.

Anyone with a soul, that is.

During those years, they came perilously close to going full Benedict Arnold on us, but in the end pulled back to the more modest position of simply violating their Constitutional oaths.

Now you mustnt confuse these people with Republican senators from the old days, when things werent quite so dire, when you could describe the actions of Republican senators with more innocent adjectives. Mitch McConnells 10-month-long refusal to allow a vote on Obamas SCOTUS nominee was certainly repulsive, illegitimate, and sinister, while, say, Ted Cruzs famous 2013 Senate floor reading of a Doctor Seuss classic, for no productive reason other than to make himself a marquee attraction on C-SPAN 2 might be described as idiotic; and James Inhofes immortal introduction of a snowball into the Senate chamber in 2015, to display his command of climate science, would best be labeled brainless and ignorant. But these were mere light entertainment when compared to recent Republican debasement of the Senates role in government and its standing in the world.

Whether you call them the Creme de la Crud, the Worlds Greatest Degenerative Body, or just simply a proctological wonderland, our current Retrumplican senate is hard to beat for sheer cynicism, fecklessness, and craven lack of conscience. Even to say the word conscience in the senate chamber is now an embarrassmentkind of like hearing the word holiness in a brothel.

The Big Sellout, of course, took place on Feb, 5 of this year, when the senate found the president not guilty on all counts brought against him in the now famous impeachment trial. Only one lone actual Republican, Mitt Romney, found the president guilty on one of the two articles of impeachment. When a Wall Street private equity mogul is the hero of your story, you know youre in trouble.

The others, the Retrumplican senators, voted to avoid hearing first-hand testimony from ex-national security adviser John Bolton, obviously fearing that his story might strip them of the already paper-thin pretext of lack of evidence that they clung to so desperately. No more evidence, please! More of that stuff might easily lead to a conviction! Cant have that, can we?

Interestingly, its a foreshadowing of Trumps famous remark about virus testing: Slow down the testing, please! If you are foolish enough to do more tests, youre going to find more infections  and who wants that?

Sidebar: Yes, that was your president speaking. He was indeed saying something so stupid that it would make even a middle school student laugh.

But consider what Retrumplican senators did through those impeachment votes. Those votes were uglier than any of their subsequent shame-faced dodging of questions from the press when, for example, the president refused the idea of re-naming military bases bearing names of Confederate officers, or when he offered best wishes to pedophile enabler Ghislaine Maxwell, or suggested the 2020 election be postponed.

Those votes to acquit, if framed by the famous story of The Emperors New Clothes, identify the Retrumplican senators not just as people who stood by in the crowd and applauded the naked emperor as he passed by, but as people who took off their own clothes, not because of their convictions or their principles or  God knows  their integrity, but to placate this naked emperor and save their jobs. They know they are naked and that they should be ashamed. If they are not, it is only because by now they are accustomed to engaging in near-constant delusional rationalization. Insert barf emoji here.

As Jeff Flake, ex-senator from Arizona, warned Republican legislators more than once: You can go elsewhere for a job, but you cannot go elsewhere for a soul.

In November, many of these leaders will be left without either one.

Paul Moser

Napa
For the second time in his 89 years, Master Sgt. Joe Chaco Ramirez Sr. watched a parade roll by in his honor.

The first was in 1953, when the then-22-year-old returned to Houston from the Korean War. He had been shot five times and kept as a prisoner of war for 33 months and one day, an experience so traumatic he weighted just 85 pounds when his plane landed back in Texas.

Almost 67 years later, more than 100 cars rolled past his home in the East Ends Magnolia neighborhood to honor and celebrate his 89th birthday Saturday. His daughter, Rochelle Duplechian, wiped away tears and sweat as she waved at the throngs of supporters.

She was emotional not only because of the communitys outpouring, but because she also worries this birthday may well be Ramirezs last. Ramirez has been receiving hospice care at his home for the past several weeks after colon cancer that he fought years ago returned.

The outpouring of love and prayers have been amazing, Duplechian said. My dads done a lot of amazing things in this community, and Ill tell you what, hes been given it back.

Now Playing: Hundreds salute Korean War veteran retired Staff Sgt. Joe Ramirez for his birthday with drive-by parade Aug. 8, 2020, in Houston. Video: Melissa Phillip/Houston Chronicle

Ramirezs actions for the community were recited by those along the parade route like a laundry list. Fish fries for the community. Putting together baskets of food for families with little to eat on Thanksgiving. Making fruit baskets to cheer up sick neighbors. Donating his time and money to anyone who needed it.

Then there are all of the organizations he belonged to: American Legion Post 472, the Disabled American Vets, Military Order of the Purple Heart, American Ex-Prisoners of War, the Korean War Veterans Association Inc., the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation, the 8th Calvary Regiment Assocation and the Combat Infantrymens Association.

Isibor Meza has known Ramirez for nearly 30 years through the American Legion. Meza said even when Ramirez was not serving as the posts commander, everyone in the organization looked up to and revered him for his service and leadership abilities.

He was always the one to quell disagreements, Meza said, and who kept us all in line.

Just his presence  he would come down and you would know he was there. He wasnt a loud person, he was a quiet person, but you would know he was there, Meza said. Its a God-given honor to know Joe.

Mezas wife, Mary Helen, brushed away tears as he spoke about Ramirez. They both remembered listening to him talk about getting out of Camp 5 in Pyokton, North Korea. He was kept in perpetual darkness and didnt recognize his emaciated body when he was finally released. Even after he was able to come home to the East End, he reenlisted months later, ultimately serving 22 years with the Army.

Nobody nowadays has gone through what hes been through, Mary Helen said. Maybe if more people remembered what he and his brothers went through, all of the craziness in the world would settle down.

It took nearly 40 minutes for the cars to pass in front of the Ramirez home. Some, like the Mezas, were covered in balloons and homemade signs. Several art cars, including one covered in Vincent Van Gogh paintings and another covered in purple fur, idled by. People crowded into the beds of pickup trucks, waving flags and shouting encouragement. Ramirez waved from a chair his family had set up in the driveway, grinning the whole time.

Jay Goldberg and his son, Harry, rolled up in a baby blue 1962 Buick Special. Neither knew Ramirez personally, but Harry was eager to celebrate the veterans service. He had recently celebrated his 19th birthday and graduation during quarantine and knew the frustration of not being able to commemorate the occasions with his friends.

People arent able to be together in the ways they usually are, so the fact there was a way for him to be able to get that recognition, I wanted to make sure he didnt miss out on that opportunity, Harry said. He served our country, and its our time to say thank you.

shelby.webb@chron.com
70th Anniversary GP 2020

Sunday Press Conference

Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen, 70th Anniversary GP 2020  Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Ltd.

DRIVERS 1 - Max VERSTAPPEN (Red Bull Racing) 2 - Lewis HAMILTON (Mercedes) 3 - Valtteri BOTTAS (Mercedes)

TRACK INTERVIEWS

(Conducted by Martin Brundle)

Q: Max Verstappen, great victory, your ninth in Formula 1. You must have enjoyed that so much?

Max VERSTAPPEN: Yeah, I mean, I didn't see it coming but after the first stint it seemed like we were really good on tyres. Of course then there was a question mark over how Mercedes were going to go on the hard tyre. But we had a lot of pace in the car. I didn't really have a lot of tyre issues at all. Yeah, we just kept pushing. An incredible result of course to win here and yeah we just had a great day. Everything worked out well: we had the right strategy, everything was running smooth. So yeah, of course incredibly happy to win.

Q: Red Bull back in business. There was a pivotal point in the race where you were asked to look after the tyres pretty early on and you said: "no, no, no, I'm not going to drive like grandma." No disrespect to grandmas, they can be pretty speedy, but "I'm going after these guys to put pressure on them". That for me was a key moment.

Verstappen: Yeah, we so far didn't have the opportunity in all the races to push them, and I could see we were pushing them. I tried to put the pressure on, they had to pit and from there onwards I could do my pace and basically build that advantage to the end.

Q: We're off to Barcelona next week. Do you think you have a Mercedes-beater underneath you now?

Verstappen: I don't know. I think we do need to use soft tyres, that seems to suit our car, but we'll see again in Barcelona. For the moment we are just very happy that we just won.

Q: Second placed man Lewis Hamilton. Well, that was a bit of a challenging race with the tyres but you came through in the end to P2.

Lewis HAMILTON: Yeah, a massive challenge. Firstly, congratulations to the Red Bull team and to Max. You look at their tyres they don't have the problems that obviously we had today. Definitely unexpected to have the blistering as hard core as we experienced it, but I'm really grateful to have progressed and managed to just get my way through the race. I think I had blistering right at the end again, but I had been pushing pretty heavily to catch the guys in the lead.

Q: Is there anything in particular as to why the Mercedes was blistering more than the Red Bull do you think?

Hamilton: Not that I know of at the moment, but I'm sure the team will be working as hard as they can because we've not had that before. I would imagine, it's most likely... Obviously, Pirellis were struggling with tyres failures last week so then weekend on, weekend on, they just put the pressures up and up. They're balloons now. They're they highest pressures we've ever had at a track like this. I wouldn't be surprised it was an affect for us but I don't know if anyone else struggled with blistering we had. But it's something we'll look into.

Q: The key for you was that you had to carry a set of tyres that looked horrible. You were clearly worried about them. And then you attacked the pit lane speed limit line as well, absolutely right on the edge. There was a phase there where it was getting quite difficult for you.

Hamilton: That middle stint was... even the first one actually, the first stint was really difficult I started to fall back to Max... And then that second stint I was managing like you couldn't believe. I was managing to the best of my ability but it didn't make a single difference to that blistering. At the end I was just driving with half a tyre basically. If you looked in the mirrors, one half is bald and the other side is OK. It held together but I was nervous it was going to explode.

Q: Onwards and upwards. Valtteri, third place, another podium, but probably a race that could have been; a bit frustrating for you?

Valtteri BOTTAS: Yeah, very frustrating, starting from pole and finishing third is not ideal. I think as a team we were sleeping at some point, when Max managed to get ahead of us, and my strategy was far, far from ideal, so lots to learn from today I think.

Q: That was the key point I think. You pitted 10 laps earlier than Lewis for the set of hard tyres and then you were nursing some very difficult tyres at the end of the grand prix.

Bottas: Yeah, of course, I was trying, if there was a chance to keep up with Max. But as soon as I started to push towards the end the tyres just fell apart. Lots of blistering in the tyres today for us and it seems like Red Bull had none so they clearly had an edge over there.

Q: Explain to us what it feels like with those blisters?

Bottas: The tyre just overheats. It's basically boiling. You get holes in the tyres and then you just lose grip. Once you start to have those blisters in that particular tyre you just lose cornering griup and you go slower and slower.

Q: Onto Barcelona and better luck next weekend.

Bottas: We'll move on. Disappointing day but we'll move on.

PRESS CONFERENCE

Q: Max, what a race - sensational. You had no tyre issues, but were you surprised at just how easy your car was on its tyres today?

Verstappen: Well, yeah, I didn't expect that. I had a good start first of all, so I was straight away into P3, and that helps. Then I knew that the first few laps maybe it would be a bit more difficult to follow, but then I could see both cars in front of me were both having trouble with their tyres, which of course is quite normal when the tyres are so soft. I closed the gap and then once they pitted I could pick up my pace and do my own laps, and basically until I pitted it just felt really good. I never really had any struggles and I could extend that first stint, which I think was key. My stop was not great, one wheel was a bit slow, so I came out behind Valtteri but then I had the softer compound, so I had a lot more grip, so I got past Valtteri. Then the gap stayed at like 2.5 to 3 seconds after that and then of course we pitted together. Then of course there's a question mark of who's going to the fastest to the line. But I think straightaway the car felt good on those tyres again and I never really had any trouble with the tyre today and I think that was the key today.

Q: Is this the first time this year that we've seen what you and the car are capable of?

Verstappen: I guess so if you win the race.

Q: Lewis, there was some speculation in the middle of the race that you might try a one-stopper. Was that ever on the cards?

Hamilton: I was trying to go for a one-stop at the end but there was a lot of vibration with the tyres that we had and I didn't know if the tyre was going to last if I'm being honest. Not just with the rubber but I just a rear tyre blow-out through a corner was too big a risk to take; that would have been end of race, so I think it was a good decision by the team. I was trying to keep going but there were a lot of laps to go and Max, I think at the end, was doing 28s, 29s and I couldn't do that on the tyre old tyres, so congratulations to him, he did a fantastic job. And it was an exciting race for me with the struggle we had, keeping the car on track and not losing my cool and bringing it home and getting the points, so really happy with it.

Q: Had you got through Q2 on the Hard tyre yesterday, do you think the hard tyre might have been different today?

Hamilton: It's all hearsay. Hindsight's always a good thing but I really don't know. Maybe we wouldn't have fallen back towards Max but even on the Hard tyre we had blistering. A lot of blistering. So even with a lot of management. His tyre didn't look like it had anything on it so there's something quite wrong, obviously, with something that we've done and we'll analyse it and try to fix it for next time.

Q: "Analyse it, try to fix it for next time." But Valtteri, what does the team need to do to improve its performance on the softer tyre at these high tyre pressures?

Bottas: I don't know. There's obviously something that we need to improve compared to Red Bull. I saw Max's tyres at the end of the race and they looked perfect and mine and Lewis' were pretty badly blistered, so there's a difference there that, at least, I don't know yet what it is. And also we really had to manage in the high-speed corners. We required quite a bit of management and it seemed Max was pretty comfortable in the high speed corners. So, unknown reason for now.

Q: At what point in the race where you thinking: 'this is going to slip away from us.'

Bottas: I think when I lost the track position to Max. I was asking if I could go faster, because I was managing the tyres around that time. But then I just got a message that the priority is to keep the tyres in good condition, and then obviously he came out from the pits pretty much side-by-side and got me into Turn Six-Seven. So then I knew, OK, could be tricky, but I was hopeful there would be opportunities. But then the middle stint was quite short. We boxed and I could see Max stopping at the same time, so then, I knew yeah, it's going to be tricky. And towards the end, the mid-to-end of the last stint, I tried to push flat-out to create opportunities. I was maybe catching slightly but then the tyres gave up completely. So yeah, for me, definitely I should have gone long in the second stint. The last stint was way to long and that's when I lost the position to Lewis.

VIDEO CONFERENCE

Q: (Christian Menath) Question for you Max. Do you think today's victory was more up to your strength that you catched up to Mercedes or more to Mercedes weakness today?

Verstappen: I mean it's difficult. I mean to speak for others. From our side, everything was working well with the tyres. I had a good balance in the car, we didn't have any troubles with the tyres. With such soft compounds on this track, with high energies, that can make a big difference - because when you look back at last week, when you are a bit more... driving with tyres that we have basically the whole year everywhere where you only do a one stop, and then of course we're still lacking pace. Of course I could see the Mercedes cars having a lot of blistering issues. So then you know they are struggling with the tyres. So I think we had a really good day with the tyres and the pace of the car and balance of the car and probably they just struggle on the tyres and then, of course, you can't push.

Q: (Alex Kalinauckas) Question to both Mercedes drivers please. At the start of the race and into the first stint, how hard were you guys pushing and were you immediately going slower than you were expecting - or was it just going to plan at that point when Max came up behind you on the Hards.

Bottas: I think we were both managing quite a lot in the most efficient places that we think. So, yeah, from the very beginning we were managing because we knew that, for us, starting with the Medium tyre, the best thing is to go pretty long and not to leave a massive difference to Max in terms of stopping laps. So, yeah, even though we started to have some blistered pretty early on, we could still carry on with half-decent pace. So yes, we were managing, to be honest, all the race. At the end with the Hard tyre I was pushing a bit and then you saw what happens.

Q: Lewis, that first stint, how hard were you pushing?

Hamilton: Like Valtteri said, I was trying to manage but I was trying to keep up with Valtteri, to be honest, and I was struggling, like, within three laps with the rears, and so yes, managing also but it wasn't doing anything to help the issue. So then I started to lose ground to Valtteri and yeah, I've got to look into that because it's rare also for me to have as bad as I'd had. Usually I'm on the slightly better end of bad day but today was worse.

Q: Was the deg today worse than on your long runs during Friday practice, for example?

Hamilton: Yep, we haven't had deg like this before. So, it's big. I don't know what happened today. We've come here with the softer tyres which, I think, has made the race even more exciting as we set about a two stop. Part of me doesn't want to propose that we go with softer tyres moving forwards because maybe we'll be in this position again, but ultimately, one-stop sucks. We should never be doing one-stops, I think in this sport. It's never been good watching as a fan. It makes it more exciting when there's more.

Q: (Scott Mitchell - The Race) Question for Max. Max, we've heard you on the radio in the first stint, responding to GPs message to save your tyres and you didn't want to just sit there like a grandma. At that point, being so close to the Mercedes, was that just about having an opportunity to run close to them and see where it goes - or at that point did you think you were in contention to win the race?

Verstappen: No, I was already managing but, you know, of course their tyres were like, completely gone. I could see the tyres opening up. It was also very expected with these tyres, especially on high fuel, when the car is very heavy. But I didn't just want to sit behind, like I've been doing at the previous races all the time, so once I had the opportunity to put a bit of pressure on, I want to do that. So, I tried. I had a big moment once, when I was close to Lewis in Turn 13, because it's really hard to follow, even when I have the grip advantage with these cars - but of course then it was just impossible for them to continue, so they boxed. And that's where my race started. But I hate sitting back, especially when you see that the car is actually pretty decent. Sometimes it can be a bit of suicide, killing your tyres, trying to hang on desperately but I don't think that was the case today.

Q: (Christian Menath) Question for both Mercedes drivers. Lewis, as you have mentioned, the problems today with the blistering came out of the blue. Did you change anything dramatically from Friday on the car?

Hamilton: Nope, the car's pretty much the same. Pretty much as last week. We made some small improvements to the balance but generally the same.

Q: Any changes on your car Valtteri?

Bottas: From last weekend yes, but since Friday nothing - and Friday was actually feeling OK, so I think just the track temp today was the biggest difference.

Q: (Alex Kalinauckas - Autosport) To the Mercedes drivers: you've traditionally gone very well at Spain which is next week but is going to be in August this time, not may so potentially much hotter temperatures. Given what's happened today, are you fearful of the heat and to Max, will you be pushing F1 and Pirelli to bring softer tyres at every available opportunity now?

Hamilton: I expect that track, we will probably have similar problems to what we had here, maybe last week, maybe, especially if it's hot conditions, probably... maybe won't be as bad as today but still going to be a challenge. It's (the tyre selection) going to be the same as last week? So still going to be a serious challenge for us.

Bottas: I agree, so I think it's going to be a challenge. I haven't seen the forecast but I guess it's going to be warm. As least today, it seems like Red Bull, they are pretty strong when it's hot.

Verstappen: Well, I don't think it's up to me to push that. I don't think I can do that. Today we had a good race. Who knows, maybe it's the tyres? We had a good day so we just need to be happy about today but we can also be realistic; we are still lacking pace in qualifying, quite a bit, so we need to solve that first as well and of course we go back to harder tyres in Barcelona. Of course we saw last week that on those harder tyres we are still quite a bit off so I don't expect any miracles there. I know it's a hard track on tyres but with these hard tyres you can push quite a bit, harder than what we've done today. But yeah, I think in general, it's more about doing a one stop is not very exciting so if you find a way of doing two stops which of course, nice tyres as well. I mean, I hate... I think in general nobody likes managing tyres throughout the race. We want to push, that would be good.

Q: (Phil Duncan - PA) Lewis, you said you hoped Red Bull would raise their game so they would bring the temperature challenge to you. Obviously you don't want to lose but do you think it's good that Max has won today breathes new life into the sport and do you see him as a challenger this season?

Hamilton: I think it's great for... as I said before, I want to have races where they're challenging like today so I'm excited to watch this race. Obviously the Red Bull seems to be quite close in race conditions to us and obviously today is stronger so it shows they don't have as bad a package as perhaps people had said in the past but I think it's good. It will be interesting to see the progression through the rest of the year and I definitely will not overlook them. I think we've got to keep a close eye on them and keep working to push forwards because I don't think it's going to be easy by any means. But I don't think my team has that mentality anyway so we just keep our heads down. I was hopeful today that maybe we would have that - wishful thinking, but hoping to have some sort of race towards the end, but maybe in the future we will get to have some, a bit more.

Q: (Edd Straw - The Race) Max, you mentioned that obviously you have to be realistic and that there's still performance to be found. You will have a reasonable idea of where the team has an understanding of the car and what's coming up in terms of upgrades. Do you think it's realistic to expect, in the time you've got available this season - obviously a few more months of racing - that you will be able to have a car that week in, week out can do this kind of thing, or do you think it's going to be relying on slightly unusual circumstances like today to be able to get wins?

Verstappen: I think that to fully close that gap will be very hard. I think today we were just very good on tyres and then of course you can push a lot harder on them, especially when we go back to conservative tyres everywhere - because basically most of the tracks we go to we are just doing a one stop - yeah, I think it will be a bit harder for us because then nobody really has blistering that severe, and you don't need to manage as much as we did today. We will see. Like I've said before, let's just enjoy today and then we'll see again in Barcelona where we are.

Q: (Ben Hunt - The Sun) Two questions: to Lewis, during the race you mentioned Max's tyres pressures, that maybe they weren't right. Do you still hold that opinion or do you think that they were able to handle it better? Second question to all three with regards to travelling to Spain for the next race; UK government advice is obviously against going to Spain due to the corona virus; what sort of measures do you have in place; will you be staying in motorhomes at the track, just looking after yourselves and making sure that you don't fall foul in the same way that Sergio Perez is?

Hamilton: So the first question... when we go out and we start the race we have minimal pressures and then during the race they increase. With more laps, they go on a steep rise and I assume that we just went on a much steeper rise and increase in pressures than... In general, to look after your tyres, you need to keep the temperatures down and hence the pressures, so that wasn't really my thought processes when I was out there. They must be able to keep their pressures lower than ours and that's why ours were blistering and that was just a theory that I had. I wasn't saying that they have different settings to us, because we all have the same minimum but if you can keep your pressures lower then you can go further and make the tyres last longer, so I think that that's probably - I'll find out later but I'm sure that's part of the issue that we had probably.I don't really know a lot of what's happening there (in Spain) but I stay at the track always, so nothing changes for me. I stay in my bubble, I'm only around a couple of people and so I will get to the airport and then go straight to my motorhome and stay at the track for the three/four days. Same as I have done this weekend.

Verstappen: Yeah, I just keep doing what I have been doing. You minimise contact, you stay in your bubble. I don't expect any trouble. It's not only in Barcelona or in Spain there is corona, you know, so you just have to be careful.

Bottas: Yeah, same as normal race weekend so land in Spain, go directly to the motorhome, to the track. I will only be with the people who are included in the bubble, that's it. Then after the race weekend leave with the same people to the next place. That's it, so should be safe.
'Shameful': Joe Biden rejects Trump's claim that he's 'against God'

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Democratic presidential hopeful Joe Biden has denounced recent comments by President Donald Trump claiming that the former vice president is against God.

In a statement released to campaign supporters on Thursday, Biden labeled the remarks shameful and as showing that Trump was willing to stoop to any low for political gain.

Like so many people, my faith has been the bedrock foundation of my life: its provided me comfort in moments of loss and tragedy, its kept me grounded and humbled in times of triumph and joy, stated Biden, who is Catholic.

And in this moment of darkness for our country  of pain, of division, and of sickness for so many Americans  my faith has been a guiding light for me and a constant reminder of the fundamental dignity and humanity that God has bestowed upon all of us.

Biden contrasted his beliefs and the actions of President Trump, arguing that the election was a battle for the soul of our nation.

My faith teaches me to love my neighbor as I would myself, while President Trump only seeks to divide us. My faith teaches me to care for the least among us, while President Trump seems to only be concerned about his gilded friends, he continued.

My faith teaches me to welcome the stranger, while President Trump tears families apart. My faith teaches me to walk humbly, while President Trump teargassed peaceful protestors so he could walk over to a church for a photo op.

At a campaign stop in Ohio originally meant to focus on economic recovery, Trump argued that Biden was anti-religious.

Hes following the radical left agenda, take away your guns, destroy your 2nd Amendment, no religion, no anything, hurt the Bible, hurt God. Hes against God, declared Trump, as reported by the Associated Press.

Hes against guns. Hes against energy, our kind of energy. I dont think hes going to do too well in Ohio.

During the campaign season, Trump and his supporters have sought to portray his Democratic opposition as being anti-religious, especially due to their socially liberal stances.

Texas megachurch Pastor Robert Jeffress, a staunch supporter of Trump, recently argued that evangelicals who support Biden have sold their soul to the devil.

The only evangelicals who are going to vote for Joe Biden are those who have sold their soul to the devil and accepted the Democrats barbaric position on abortion, said Jeffress in an interview with Lou Dobbs of Fox Business.

I mean, its so barbaric, Joe Biden believes in unrestricted abortion. He cant even get his own church, the Catholic Church, to stomach it. They have denied him communion because of that.

Biden campaign National Faith Engagement Director and evangelical Josh Dickson rejected the idea that the former vice president is anti-faith.

In an earlier interview with The Christian Post, Dickson explained that Biden is an authentic man of faith whose faith and values inform his political participation, his long history of fighting for civil rights and fighting for the least of these.

I know that not everyone is going to agree with him on everything. We're a big tent party as Democrats. Joe Biden is someone who is putting forward a vision that is inclusive, said Dickson.

I see the values that Joe Biden lives by. I see the values that have been reflected in the history of his involvement in public life. And I see the ways in which he's going to lean into this moment right now where our country is hurting.
Abdul Hamid Najar, district president of Budgam BJP Other Backward Class (OBC) Morcha, was shifted to a hospital. More details are awaited.

Budgam: Abdul Hamid Najar, district president of Budgam BJP Other Backward Class (OBC) Morcha was shifted to a hospital after being fired upon by terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir, the police said on Sunday.

"Abdul Hamid Najar was fired upon by terrorists. He has been shifted to a hospital. He is a resident of Mohiendpora area of Budgam," said Amod Nagpure, Budgam SSP, Jammu and Kashmir Police.

Further details are awaited.

This incident comes just days after BJP leader and sarpanch Sajad Ahmad Khanday was shot dead by terrorists near his home in south Kashmir's Kulgam district.

Khanday was declared brought dead after being rushed to a hospital in Anantnag district.

These incidents come after BJP-affiliated panchayat member, Arif Ahmad Khan, was shot at in Kulgam district.

Khan is recovering from his injuries in the hospital.

In July, former Bandipora BJP president Wasim Bari, his father and brother, succumbed to their injuries after being shot by terrorists.

With inputs from agencies
MINSK (Reuters) - Belarus police briefly detained and then released a prominent member of the opposition challenging President Alexander Lukashenko in a presidential election, the campaign team said on Saturday.

Maria Kolesnikova was detained in what police said was a case of mistaken identity, the campaign team said in a statement. Police declined to comment immediately.

Lukashenko, who has ruled the country for over a quarter of a century, has cracked down to try to snuff out rare and sustained protests against him ahead of Sunday's presidential vote, jailing rivals and arresting dissenters.

He faces his biggest challenge in years due to frustration over his hands-off handling of the coronavirus pandemic and grievances over the economy and human rights.

Kolesnikova was originally a member of the campaign team for Viktor Babariko, the former head of a local bank who was detained after he launched his presidential bid.

After Babariko's arrest, Kolesnikova became the joint face of the opposition campaign backing Svetlana Tikhanouskaya, a former English teacher who entered the race after her husband, an anti-government blogger who intended to run, was jailed.

(Reporting by Andrei Makhovsky; writing by Matthias Williams; editing by Jonathan Oatis)
In 2018, Prince Harry married Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, an American woman who used to be a Hollywood actor. Less than two years later, the couple decided to move to the U.S. with their son.

While many people did not expect Harry to leave his home country, Princess Diana reportedly had an inkling that he would eventually live in the U.S. back when he was younger. A friend of Diana revealed in 2017 why the princess had these thoughts.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are currently living in Los Angeles

RELATED: Prince Harry Reportedly Reads Online Comments and Cares What People Say About Him and Meghan Markle

When Harry and Meghan announced their departure from the royal family in early 2020, they were living in Vancouver Island, Canada. However, in late March, the pair moved to Los Angeles. They currently reside in a mansion owned by Tyler Perry.

Of course, it does not seem like Harry and Meghan will leave the U.K. entirely. The Sussexes still have access to Frogmore Cottage, the home they received from Queen Elizabeth and their primary residence before they moved to Los Angeles.

Additionally, in the statement they released in January to announce their departure, Harry and Meghan said they would balance our time between the United Kingdom and North America. As such, it is likely Harry and Meghan will spent more time in the U.K. when the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is over.

An astrologer told Princess Diana that Harry would have connections to the U.S.

Princess Diana and Prince Harry in 1988 | Photo by Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty Images

RELATED: Prince Harrys Birth Was Surrounded By Tragic Events for Princess Diana

Harry moving to the U.S. is something not a lot of royal followers saw coming, but Princess Diana perhaps would not have been too surprised.

Back in 2017, astrologer Debbie Frank, who had worked with Diana for several years, revealed that Diana saw the U.S. in Harrys astrology charts.

She loved looking at Harrys and Williams astrology charts, Frank said, according to Express. I remember meeting Harry one day at Kensington Palace. He was dressed as a policeman and playing with William. Harry was six. It was around the same time we saw America in his chart and Diana was thrilled with the link.

As for what Diana imagined could be in Harrys American future, Frank shared, We had no idea back then that he would be marrying Meghan. We thought he could be going to the US to university. Diana was so happy. She thought it may be Harvard.

Frank also revealed that Diana and her sons had spent some time in the U.S. before and that Diana found the U.S. to be modern and different.

Princess Diana raised her children to know more about the world

Princess Diana and Prince Harry in 1987 | Photo by Georges De Keerle/Getty Images

RELATED: These Photos Show Just How Close Prince Harry Is With Princess Dianas Family

Perhaps a part of Dianas excitement about Harry going to the U.S. came from her desire for her sons to know more about the world beyond their royal bubble.

Diana was known for taking her kids out to movie theaters and fast food restaurants in order for them to experience normal life. She also occasionally brought Harry and his brother, Prince William, along when she did charity work and had them meet less-privileged folks.

In Harrys case, he joined the military as a young adult and ended up meeting people from all walks of life. In a leaked phone call from March 2020, Harry noted, according to Mirror, I was in the military for ten years so Im more normal than my family would like to believe.
Photo: Today's Shopping Choice

Rogers Communications has launched a new campaign in support of Orange Shirt Day to spread awareness on the impacts of the residential school system while advocating for reconciliation.

World Indigenous Peoples' Day is Sunday and Canadians have the opportunity to purchase a specially designed orange t-shirt, created by Ojibwe artist Patrick Hunter.

All proceeds from t-shirt sales will benefit the Orange Shirt Society specifically targeting the organization's efforts in expanding Indigenous education throughout the country.

The t-shirt was unveiled in honour of National Indigenous Peoples' Day ahead of Orange Shirt Day on September 30 and serves as a tribute to all of the lives impacted and lost through residential schools.

Canadians are reminded that the resident school system saw more than 150,000 Indigenous children who were taken from their parents dating back to the 19th century. However the last residential school didn't close until 1996.

All of the aspects of the orange t-shirt were uniquely chosen.

In most of the Indigenous communities in Canada, receiving an eagle feather is an honour that comes after going above and beyond in service to your community or recognition of personal growth. says Hunter. I chose 11 feathers to honour the four directions because the residential school system stretched in every direction on Turtle Island, and the '7 Grandfather teachings' (Love, Respect, Bravery, Truth, Honesty, Humility, and Wisdom), all arranged in the shape of a sunrise.

The impact and trauma that residential schools has left for generations of Indigenous Canadians is still prevalent today.

Canadian author Phyllis Webstad was sent to a residential school in 1973. She was just six years old and her story inspired Orange Shirt Day. She is now the executive director of the Orange Shirt Society.

I remember going to Robinsons store and picking out a shiny orange shirt. It had string laced up in front and was so bright and exciting. When I got to the Mission, they stripped me, and took away my clothes, including the orange shirt. I never wore it again," she says.

"The colour orange has always reminded me of that and how my feelings didnt matter, how no one cared and how I felt like I was worth nothing. I have been on this healing journey since then. I finally get it, that the feeling of worthlessness and insignificance, ingrained in me from my first day at the mission affected the way I lived my life for many years. Even now, when I know nothing could be further than the truth, I still sometimes feel that I dont matter.

If you want to help the Orange Shirt Society's educational programming, purchase a Rogers commission t-shirt ahead of Orange Shirt Day here.
Rajesh Kumar Thakur By

Express News Service

PATNA: Bihar, battling COVID-19, would soon be the first state in the country to incentivize those volunteering to donate their plasma for the treatment of the viral infection.

The health department moved a proposal on the same to the state government for approval, to provide cash incentives aimed at encouraging the voluntary plasma donation.

Confirming this, principal health secretary Pratyay Amrit said that an incentive amount of Rs 5000 would be given to those -- who are cured of the virus to come forward for voluntary plasma donation.

The plasma can be donated at Patna AIIMS following strict medical check-ups by doctors and relevant medical tests.

He said: Now, the positivity rate of Covid-19 in Bihar has declined to 3.71% as on August 7. The plasma therapy for the treatment of coronavirus-patients has started and it will certainly help to bring the positivity rate to the lowest.

According to official figures, 115 plasma donors have donated their plasma so far in the state at Patna AIIMS, where there are 59 severe Covid-19 patients.

To encourage recovered people to donate, the divisional commissioner of Patna, Sanjay Kumar Aggarwal has also launched a drive across all the districts of Patna division.

Sources said a free transportation facility will be provided by the transport department to the plasma donors from their homes to AIIMS and back.
Thousands of tiny white plastic pellets from a container aboard a cargo ship being unloaded at at the Napoleon Avenue Wharf in New Orleans ended up littering the east bank batture near the Chalmette Battlefield in St. Bernard Parish this week, after the ship broke free from its moorings during a Sunday afternoon thunderstorm and the container fell into the river, according to officials with the Port of New Orleans.

As container ship CMA CGM Bianca moved away from the wharf during the storm, "two cranes sustained structural damage," said a statement issued by the port. "Additionally, a container containing plastic resin pellets, a cargo classified as a nonhazardous substance, fell from the vessel into the river."

It was actually one of four containers that fell from the ship, said port spokeswoman Renee Aragon. The other three were empty and quickly retrieved, she said. The submerged container containing the plastic pellets was raised from the river two days later, when it was determined to be safe to do so, she said.

"As the damaged container was being retrieved, sacks containing pellets broke out of the container and dispersed in the water. It was determined that the pellets were irretrievable," the statement said.

The river's navigation channel is about 200 feet deep in the area near the wharf.

The incident is under investigation by the U.S. Coast Guard, state Department of Environmental Quality and the National Transportation Safety Board, according to a Coast Guard spokeswoman.

+3 How a file box full of plastic got two Louisiana women arrested for terrorizing Anne Rolfes and Kate McIntosh, environmental activists with the Louisiana Bucket Brigade, turned themselves into the Baton Rouge Police Depart

New Orleans artist Michael Pajon said he spotted the pellets on the river batture while visiting the park earlier this week.

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

"They looked the size of hailstones," he said, and littered a long stretch of the water side of the Mississippi River levee near the battlefield.

The pellets -- called nurdles by manufacturers -- are a raw material used to make plastic objects, usually by melting them in molds.

Formosa fined, sued over plastic pollution in Texas: report A plastics manufacturer with a growing presence in Louisiana has been fined and sued in Texas for polluting waterways with bits of plastic.

The container ship CGA CGN Bianca had traveled from China and South Korea to deliver goods at Houston and Mobile before arriving at the Ports America Napoleon Avenue container terminal on Aug. 2, according to the company's online shipping schedule. Where the pellets originated from and where they were to be delivered is not known.

The ship has since left New Orleans for stops in Tampa and Miami.

A decision on who will clean up the pellets or who will be determined to be the "responsible party" to be billed for the cleanup costs has not yet been made, said Coast Guard Petty Officer Sydney Phoenix.

It is also unclear whether pellets also ended up on the west bank of the river or other locations downstream from the battlefield, officials said.
World leaders will hold talks today, August 9, to raise funds for Beirut via virtual conference hosted by France and the United Nations (UN) at 14:00 Lebanon time (11:00 GMT), according to reports. US President Donald Trump is expected to join the meeting co-ordinated by French President Emmanuel Macron. Leaders will raise international aid for the recovery of Lebanon from the aftermath of the deadly explosion that claimed 158 lives, wounded 5,000, and rendered 300,000 homeless.

As per the reports, Representatives from European Union member states, China, Russia, Egypt, Jordan, and the UK are all invited to participate. France's presidential palace statement read that the conference focuses to mobilize Lebanon's main international partners and to organize and coordinate emergency support from the international community. Meanwhile, the UN agencies urged the nations to stand in solidarity with Lebanon. Several countries have already dispatched aid planes, rescue and search operation teams, health workers, and other means of help to assist the country in recovery. In a tweet, President Trump said, he held a discussion regarding the "catastrophic event" in Beirut with French President Macron and would join the call, adding, Everyone wants to help!"

President @realDonaldTrump has spoken with President Aoun of Lebanon.



3 large aircraft are on the way with medical supplies, food, water, and emergency equipment to help. pic.twitter.com/haYxQKbAdz  The White House (@WhiteHouse) August 8, 2020

Read: Beirut Explosion: German Diplomat Killed In Blast, Foreign Minister Mass Confirms

Read: Beirut Blast: NASA's Satellite Images Show Scale Of Destruction; Pics Inside

Frantic search and rescue operation

More than 60 people have still been missing almost four days after the explosion at the port of Beirut, a health ministry official confirmed, according to a news agency report. Workers continue a frantic search and rescue operation at the site as the nation declared the two weeks of emergency. The total fatalities count in the blast have surged to 154, of which, 25 remain identified, the official added. At least 120 of the 5,000 people injured are in critical condition, he said.

According to reports, the wife of the Dutch ambassador to Lebanon succumbed to the injuries in the blast. Hedwig Waltmans-Molier, 55, and her husband ambassador Jan Waltmans witnessed the blast that impacted their resident in Beirut, the ministry confirmed. As many as three MPs announced their resignation from the parliament angry with the Lebanon governments handling of the massive explosion, that wrecked over 250,000 homes.

[A woman yells at Lebanese soldiers during scuffles with the soldiers who are blocking a road as French President Emmanuel Macron visits. Credit: AP]

[French President Emmanuel Macron hugs a resident as he visits a devastated street of Beirut, Lebanon. Credit: AP]

[People remove debris from a house damaged by Tuesday's explosion in the seaport of Beirut, Lebanon. Credit: AP]

[Riot police advance to push back anti-government protesters in Beirut, Lebanon, on August 7. Credit: Hassan Ammar/ AP]

[French President Emmanuel Macron waves as he visits Beirut, Lebanon, Thursday Aug.6, 2020. French President Emmanuel Macron has arrived in Beirut to offer French support to Lebanon after the deadly port blast. Credit: AP Photo/Thibault Camus, Pool]

Read: Beirut Explosion: Sky Turns Crimson As Poisonous Chemicals Dissipate Into The Atmosphere

Read: Beirut Explosion: Over 60 People Still Missing, Lebanese Hold Protests Demanding Answers
In a series of tweets in Hindi, Shah said agriculture is the foundation of the Indian economy and the Modi government has been striving to strengthen it for the last six years. Shah said many unprecedented steps have been taken to double the income of farmers and for the development of the agriculture sector. "I am confident that due ...

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By West Kentucky Star Staff Aug. 08, 2020 | 01:28 PM | PADUCAH

Yeiser Art Center in Paducah has been awarded a COVID-19 relief grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.It was one of twelve organizations in the Commonwealth to get a $50,000 grant, and the only one in the Jackson Purchase area.The money can be used to support personnel and facilities costs in response to the novel coronavirus pandemic.The NEA awarded over $44 million in grants to 855 organizations. Applications for federal help were submitted in the spring.The Yeiser Art Center is at 200 Broadway in the historic Market House Building. They are open 10 am to 5 pm Tuesday through Saturday.The latest exhibit at the YAC is entitled, "Visible," and features artwork from artists who are black, indigenous, and people of color who have been historically under represented in the community. Creations by 20 artists are on display through September 19.

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During this summer of tear gas and turmoil, Kamala Harris has not been quiet.

On The View, the California senator spoke about reimagining how we do public safety in America.

On the Senate floor, she sparred with Rand Paul after the Kentucky Republican blocked a bill to make lynching a federal crime, and she is among the Democrats sponsoring policing legislation that would ban choke holds, racial profiling and no-knock warrants.

On Twitter, she expressed frustration that police officers who killed a Black Kentucky woman, Breonna Taylor, during a drug raid gone wrong, still have not been charged.

As a leading contender to be Joe Bidens running mate, Harris has emerged as a strong voice on issues of police misconduct that seem certain to be central to the campaign. Yet in her own unsuccessful presidential run, she struggled to reconcile her calls for reform with her record on these same issues during a long career in law enforcement.

Indeed, an examination of that record shows how Harris was far more reticent in another time of ferment a half-decade ago.

Since becoming Californias attorney general in 2011, she had largely avoided intervening in cases involving killings by police. Protesters in Oakland distributed flyers saying, Tell California Attorney General Kamala Harris to prosecute killer cops! Its her job!

Then, amid the national outrage stoked by the 2014 killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, came pleas for her to investigate a series of police shootings in San Francisco, where she had previously been district attorney. She did not step in. Except in extraordinary circumstances, she said, it was not her job.

Still, her approach was subtly shifting. During the inaugural address for her second term as attorney general, Harris said the nations police forces faced a crisis of confidence. And by the end of her tenure in 2016, she had proposed a modest expansion of her offices powers to investigate police misconduct, begun reviews of two municipal police departments and backed a Justice Department investigation in San Francisco.

Critics saw her taking baby steps when bold reform was needed  a microcosm of a career in which she developed a reputation for taking cautious, incremental action on criminal justice and, more often than not, yielding to the status quo.

The daughter of an Indian mother and Jamaican father who met in Berkeley, California, in the social protest movement of the 1960s, Harris has said she went into law enforcement to change the system from the inside. Yet as district attorney and then attorney general  and the first Black woman to hold those jobs  she found herself constantly negotiating a middle ground between two powerful forces: the police and the left in one of the most liberal states in America.

Harris declined to be interviewed for this article. But over the years, she has proudly labeled herself both a top cop and a progressive prosecutor.

In her 2009 book, Smart on Crime, she wrote that if we take a show of hands of those who would like to see more police officers on the street, mine would shoot up, adding that virtually all law-abiding citizens feel safer when they see officers walking a beat.

Earlier this summer, in the wake of the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, she told The New York Times that it is status quo thinking to believe that putting more police on the streets creates more safety. Thats wrong. Its just wrong.

All of which poses a question: Is Harris essentially a political pragmatist, or has she in fact changed? And is she the woman to lead a police reform effort from the White House?

An Officers Death

Harris was elected San Francisco district attorney in 2003, defeating her former boss, Terence Hallinan. He was seen as one of the nations most progressive district attorneys, unafraid to confront police, once even indicting the citys police chief, albeit briefly.

Hallinan also had a low conviction rate, and Harris viewed his office as dysfunctional. The police union endorsed her in a runoff.

But in April 2004, barely three months into the job, Harris found herself at odds with police after a gang member gunned down an officer named Isaac Espinoza.

During her campaign, Harris had opposed the death penalty, in part, as being discriminatory toward people of color, and she did not seek it for Espinozas killer. Rank-and-file officers were infuriated. Heather Fong, the new police chief, called it an affront to those who risk their lives for the sake of the publics safety.

Then, at the funeral, Harris was blindsided when Sen. Dianne Feinstein called for the death penalty.

The blowback totally traumatized her, said Peter Keane, a former member of the Police Commission, which oversees the citys Police Department. Throughout her tenure, he said, Harris had traditional prosecution, pro-police, instincts. She has always tried not to be a target of the police.

In 2007, she stayed quiet as police unions opposed legislation granting public access to disciplinary hearings. Gloria Romero, the former state Senate majority leader, who authored the bill, said many San Franciscans publicly supported the move, but not Harris.

There could not have been a more profound wall of silence, said Romero, a Bernie Sanders supporter who has been critical of the Democratic establishment. Its easy to call yourself progressive today, but, I mean, come on, its easy to reinvent yourself.

Police use of force had been a contentious issue in San Francisco long before Harris took office. From 2001 to 2004, The San Francisco Chronicle reported, there were more complaints about use of force in the city than in San Diego, Seattle, Oakland and San Jose, California, combined. Harris pursued few on-duty cases of force-related misconduct, although that was not unusual at the time.

Most district attorneys prosecuted officers in only the rare case, said Louise Renne, who as San Francisco city attorney once employed Harris. She and other supporters of Harris said it was unfair to criticize her through the prism of today.

At that time, Kamala was a very progressive DA, and some of the criticisms now are a bit of revisionist history, Renne said.

Timothy Silard, Harris former chief of policy and one of a number of current and former aides who spoke on her behalf, said Harris experienced hostility in the department from the beginning. He recalled commanders and homicide detectives who refused to speak to her or look her in the eye during meetings in which she demanded they solve more murders in poor neighborhoods. Instead, they addressed white men  her subordinates.

Did she set out as a professional prosecutor to anger the cops? he asked. No. Why would she do that? But did she shy away from doing bold things and important things because it was something the police department or police union didnt like? Never.

From 2002 to 2005, Black people made up less than 8% of the citys population but accounted for more than 40% of police arrests. Silard and Paul Henderson, who was Harris chief of administration and now directs a city agency that investigates complaints about police, said Harris told her staff not to prosecute arrests based on racial profiling.

We regularly received calls from officers saying, We cant believe that youre discharging this case. This was a good case. Well, no, it wasnt, Henderson recalled.

Harris also created a reentry program called Back on Track that aimed to keep young low-level offenders out of jail if they went to school and kept a job.

As police chief of East Palo Alto, Ronald Davis studied the program. Reentry was not a prevailing thought in law enforcement, he said. She said this is a unique opportunity to reduce recidivism.

But some said she did not do enough.

We never thought we had an ally in the district attorney, said David Campos, who was a supervisor and police commissioner while Harris was district attorney and is now chair of the San Francisco Democratic Party. You have someone saying all the right things now, but when she had the opportunity to do something about police accountability, she was either not visible, or when she was, she was on the wrong side. (Campos backed Sanders presidential bid.)

In 2010, Harris office was caught up in a scandal over a police crime lab technician who had been skimming drugs and had a past conviction for domestic violence. A judge found that her office had failed to disclose the information to defense lawyers as required. The judge also faulted her office for not having procedures for producing exculpatory information on police witnesses.

Harris has said that she learned of the crime lab problems only when they became public and has acknowledged that her office was too slow in putting a policy in place. Her aides had earlier been working toward a written policy, but Silard said he believed it had been delayed amid negotiations among several agencies. The implication that she buried it is ridiculous, he said, adding that she had initiated the review.

Gary Delagnes, then head of the police union, has a slightly different recollection. She never pushed hard for it, and we were obviously happy about that, he said. In the end, hundreds of cases related to the scandal were dismissed, and Harris aides rushed to institute a policy.

Delagnes, who had a reputation as a strident defender of police officers, said that while many officers never forgave Harris for the Espinoza decision, he could not recall any other major actions the union strongly opposed. He called her the citys most pro-public safety DA of the last 20 years.

He sees her current statements as an extremely hard left turn.

She is Jekyll and Hyde from what she was in 2004, he said. That is not the Kamala Harris that I knew.

We Werent Absent

Calls to review police misconduct grew after Harris took office as attorney general in January 2011, in a state with a historically high rate of police shootings.

Anaheims mayor at the time, Tom Tait, remembers the crisis confronting his city in July 2012 after an unarmed 25-year-old, Manuel Diaz, was fatally shot in the back by police. A day later, hundreds of protesters descended on City Hall, forcing its evacuation.

It was tense, Tait said. He called Harris office, asking her to conduct an outside investigation. Harris phoned him two days later to say she would not intervene, he said.

That same year, she demurred when asked to review the fatal police shooting of Mario Romero, 23, outside his home in Vallejo.

We went to Kamala Harris office in Sacramento three times; we were turned away every time, said Cyndi Mitchell, Romeros sister. They never said they wouldnt get involved. It wasnt really a no, but it wasnt a yes.

California law gives the attorney general broad authority over law enforcement matters. But aides to Harris said that in these and other cases, she hewed to the state Justice Departments hands-off policy, not interceding in officer-involved shootings unless the local district attorney had a conflict of interest or there was obvious abuse of prosecutorial discretion.

Brian Nelson, a top aide to Harris while she was attorney general, said she was reluctant to big-foot district attorneys, having been one herself.

The idea there was going to be some far-off figure that was going to be more responsive to the community didnt seem right to her, Nelson said.

On Aug. 11, 2014, two days after Michael Brown was killed in Missouri, police officers in Los Angeles fatally shot Ezell Ford, an unarmed 25-year-old Black man with a history of mental illness, sparking a wave of demonstrations. Harris deferred to Jackie Lacey, the citys first Black district attorney, who ultimately brought no charges.

Harris began her second term as attorney general the next year by outlining steps to make policing fairer and more transparent, saying we must acknowledge that too many have felt the sting of injustice. Still, she hesitated, refusing to endorse AB-86, a bill opposed by police unions that would have required her office to appoint special prosecutors to examine deadly police shootings.

In San Francisco, police killed 18 people during Harris six years as attorney general. But if there was a single flashpoint, it was the shooting of 26-year-old Mario Woods in December 2015. Widely circulated cellphone videos showed officers surrounding Woods  disturbed, strung out on methamphetamines and armed with a steak knife. Five officers fired 46 rounds, hitting him with 21.

A series of rallies followed and an 18-day hunger strike by five men who came to be known as the Frisco Five. Many believed that Harris would take action as her predecessor, Jerry Brown, had done in 2009 when he obtained a court order placing the police department in Maywood, California, under his oversight after widespread misconduct.

In a letter to Harris, Jeff Adachi, then San Franciscos public defender, urged her to exert her authority in the Woods case and several other shootings. An investigation, he said, would settle the pressing question of whether the racism evidenced in these incidents is endemic.

Ultimately, it was the Justice Department that intervened, led by Davis, the former East Palo Alto police chief, who had become director of the agencys office of community-oriented policing services. Davis said his work was bolstered by warnings from Harris that she would investigate San Francisco police if necessary.

We werent absent, said Venus Johnson, a former associate attorney general who advised Harris on criminal justice issues, adding that there were frequent discussions with San Francisco officials. We werent putting our heads in the sand. We were actively involved. (The city later adopted some recommendations from a 68-page Justice Department report that found disproportionate use of force against people of color. In 2018, the district attorney said he would not bring criminal charges in the Woods case, although he called the shooting unnecessary and disturbing.)

In 2016, former Rep. Loretta Sanchez, then vying with Harris for a Senate seat, made a campaign issue of police shootings, particularly her opponents refusal to support AB-86. That year, Harris offered a compromise to the bill that would expand her offices authority to review police misconduct, but only if sought by district attorneys or police chiefs. California lawmakers are still considering the idea.

And after the election, a month before her Senate swearing-in, Harris began investigations of both of the Kern County Sheriffs Office and the Bakersfield Police Department, where officers had been involved in multiple deadly shootings.

Obviously, she recognized Black communities were being policed poorly, said Nelson, her former aide. That was always in the background of all of our conversations.

A Different Yardstick

In her measured way, Harris pursued a variety of other criminal justice reforms.

After the Supreme Court ordered California to reduce prison crowding, Nelson said, Harris saw a seminal reform opportunity. She created a division in her office to help counties devise alternatives to incarceration.

But a few years later, her office would come under fire when it argued against releasing too many eligible parolees, contending that it would reduce the states prison labor force. Harris repudiated the move after it became public, saying she had not been aware.

She also began requiring body cameras at the California Department of Justice, the first state agency to adopt them. But she did not support legislation mandating them for police, warning against one-size-fits-all regulation. The bill failed.

One of her most lauded initiatives was OpenJustice, a database that provided public access to crime statistics collected by the state. That included data about the use of force and won the support of some police groups as well as activists.

That was very useful to us, said Melina Abdullah, an African studies professor at California State University, Los Angeles, and a founder of the L.A. branch of Black Lives Matter. As a Black woman who also went to Howard University, who is also from Oakland, she gives me a symbolic sense of pride.

But overall, she had mixed feelings about Harris, saying that her policies were not transformative enough and that she could have played a much stronger role.

Chivona Newsome, a founder of Black Lives Matter in New York City, also has misgivings.

Im not 100% sold, but we have to look at evolution, she said, adding that she was encouraged after Harris expressed support for redirecting some police funding. But, she said, That top cop thing has just stuck  she built such a strong brand on it as an AG, as the DA  and its hard for people to erase that in their memories.

Harris is not alone in toiling inside the system. In L.A., Lacey has been criticized by Black Lives Matter activists, who see her as too pro-police. Several of them, including Abdullah, protested on her porch earlier this year, prompting her husband to brandish a gun.

You are very much aware that your fellow African Americans expect a lot from you, Lacey said in an interview. I know Sen. Harris and I both want to do the absolute best job we can in these roles. But I do think theres a different yardstick for us.

She and Harris have known each other for years. But as she tacks left, Harris has endorsed Laceys opponent in her reelection bid, George Gascon. (Gascon succeeded Harris as San Francisco district attorney but moved south to challenge Lacey.)

They probably are aligned in many of their progressive values, Lacey said. I dont take it personally.

Harris, for her part, is trying to advance some of the protest movements aims from the Senate.

The decision I made was, Im going to try and go inside the system, where I dont have to ask permission to change what needs to be changed, she said earlier this year, adding that protesters had helped bring pressure from the outside.

As for her own career, she said, I know we were able to make a change, but it certainly was not enough.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
Mekedatu padayatra: After Karnataka HC chides Cong, Siddaramaiah says permission not taken for protest

Case against Congress leader for tweeting tampered image of PM Modi

India

oi-Deepika S

Indore, Aug 09: A case was registered against Madhya Pradesh Congress working president and MLA Jitu Patwari for allegedly posting a doctored image of Prime Minister Narendra Modi which the ruling BJP claimed hurt the dignity of the PM as well as religious sentiments of Hindus.

In the image uploaded by Patwari, the PM is seen wearing a mask and holding a bowl during the Ram Temple bhoomi pujan ceremony in Ayodhya on August 5.

PM Modi to present new outline for a self-reliant India on Aug 15

Accompanying the image was a tweet in Hindi which said, "The country's economy, business and income, declining economic status of farmers, jobs and unemployment, decline of economy, labourers and their struggle. These are not subjects of television debate. Because, (we) will walk with the bowl."

Chhatripura police station in charge Pawan Singhal said Patwari was booked under sections 188 (disobedience to order duly issued by public servant) and 464 (making false electronic record) of IPC on the complaint of city BJP president Gaurav Randive.

Defence Ministry bans import of 101 Defence items: PM Modi's Atma Nirbhar Bharat | Oneindia News

Singhal said, at first glance, it seems the image uploaded on Patwari's Twitter handle was a "tampered" one, adding that section 188 of IPC was invoked as the district administration had already banned provocative social media posts.

Indore Lok Sabha MP Shankar Lalwani and local leaders expressed displeasure on Patwari's tweet and gave a memorandum and complaint to Deputy Inspector General of Police Harinarayanachari Mishra.

They said Patwari had "not only hurt the dignity of the Prime Minister, but also religious sentiments of Hindus".

While Patwari, MLA from Rau and higher education minister in the previous Kamal Nath government, deleted the image later, it didn't stop BJP leaders from ridiculing him for spelling errors in his Hindi tweet.

BJP leaders said the Congress had made someone like Patwari, who can't get Hindi spellings right, as state higher education minister.
Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha walks through Incheon International Airport, Sunday, before leaving for Germany to have talks with German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas Monday in Berlin. This was Kang's first overseas trip in nearly six months, as overseas travel and face-to-face meetings have been put on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Yonhap



By Jung Da-min



Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha may seek Germany's support to expand the Group of Seven framework so Korea can be included in the group of advanced economies.



Kang flew to Berlin, Sunday, to hold talks with German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas Monday, according to the foreign ministry.



This was Kang's first overseas trip since late February when she participated in a United Nations meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, and met Maas in Germany.



Among the issues for the talks between the top diplomats would be the expansion of the G7  a suggestion floated by U.S. President Donald Trump, but reportedly opposed by Germany and other G7 members, said a foreign ministry official.



"Kang will discuss a range of diplomatic issues with her German counterpart. Since Korea has been invited to the G7 summit (to be held in the U.S.), the two top diplomats could exchange their opinions on the matter," the official told reporters, Friday.



On May 30, while announcing the delay of the upcoming G7 summit in Washington to September due to concerns over the COVID-19 spread, Trump said he thought the G7 should be expanded to include other countries.



He repeated the idea during a phone call with President Moon Jae-in the next day, saying he would like to invite leaders from Korea, Australia, India and Russia to this year's summit, an offer Moon accepted. Trump called the current G7 system "obsolete" and said it needed to become a G11 or G12 to properly represent what was happening in the world.



But Germany has expressed opposition to such an expansion of the G7, citing Russia's annexation of Crimea and intervention in eastern Ukraine as the reasons.



"The G7 and G20 are two sensibly coordinated formats. We don't need a G11 or a G12," Maas said in an interview last month, although he did not mention whether Berlin specifically opposed the participation of Korea.



Asides from Germany's opposition to the expansion of the G7, Japan has delivered its message of opposition against the participation of Korea, saying its diplomatic approaches toward China and North Korea were different from that of the G7.



Despite such opposition, Korea has reaffirmed it would actively respond to Trump's proposal for a G7 expansion. "If we participate (in this year's G7 summit), we need to seek relevant negotiations in order for Korea to take part in it every year," National Security Office Deputy Director Kim Hyun-chong said, July 28. "We also need to discuss in what capacity we will be taking part," he added.



Kang and Mass will also discuss bilateral cooperation in response to COVID-19, and how to continue people-to-people exchanges and bilateral trade during the pandemic.



The U.S.' recent decision to pull out 12,000 troops from Germany could also be discussed during the talks. Announcing in late July that the move would begin within months, Trump told reporters that Berlin was being "delinquent" by not spending enough on defense. The decision has drawn concerns in Korea over a possible withdrawal of the United States Forces Korea, as the country is yet to reach an agreement with the U.S. in this year's defense cost-sharing talks.



On returning to Korea, Tuesday, Kang will undergo a COVID-19 test at the airport and will be exempted from two-weeks self-quarantine if testing negative. However, she will work from home and minimize meetings with others for several days, according to the ministry.


The president's posture on having clemency on those sassy, insulting, undisciplined, and lazy students certainly has a price to pay in the future. I think they actually deserved to have to been punished and punished severely too.

Look, let no one think I'm a sadistic or I can empathise with the parents of these students or the students themselves. No! Discipline is discipline and we can't politically compromise it as we have done to other sectors in this country. Politics has made everything so messy that, any bad thing that one does in society, one will still get people to support one's bad deeds.

This attitude of our today's children(students) is emulated from our politicians, who go to sit on national radio or TV stations and hurl unprintable insults at each one. It's a common practice that, children pick up the attitude and behaviour of adults they live with or see act in public. Therefore, such vituperations are easily picked up by these children. Our leaders especially, political leaders must learn to behave like role models in society.

As a Catholic, I believe in the spirit of forgiveness as preached both in the Bible and by my Catholic dogmatism. However, I think we must teach our children to be respectful and responsible by rebuking them when they go wrong. Showing too much love to our children doesn't lie in how we forgive them in every wrong they do. We might rather be encouraging them to do more.

This situation of the president having tempered justice with mercy has the propensity to inspire some other students to do the same or even worse. Also, it's like a conflict parents encounter in training their children at home. The child does something wrong and the father wants to stamp his authority in correcting to discipline the child and the mother with motherly compassion thinks otherwise. In a situation like this, if the father overlooks the immorality unruly behaviours of the child, the end becomes disastrous. But what the president has done to me is setting a very bad precedent to management of institutions and that of the GES who have earlier taken the best decision to punish these bad nuts and send a warning to the rest of our students.

I can even tell you GES and government are to be blamed for the current uncultured and ill-mannered attitude of students across the country. This they contributed by disallowing the discipline of students in our schools. In the recent past, many parents have had problems with teachers disciplining their wards and many ended up in besting the teacher or in a more appropriate manner through legal procedures. We have forgotten that, where some of these so-called rights of a child are practised is of a complete different cultural setting with its own ability to accommodate the behaviour of these children. We don't just emulate without assessing our own circumstances.

How come a teacher can't discipline a spoiled child that gets discipline at home for bad behaviour? Isn't it hypocritical enough to have parents beating, insulting and reprimanding their children but when a teacher who takes over the duties of parents in the school does that, it becomes an issue? We are not helping our children with this kind of double standards attitude in society.

The president to me could only ask for less punitive measures on these children but not to just let go of them as if what they did isn't bad enough. If your child insults you in the house and you ignore it because you think you're the best father, he will take it outside to disgrace you and not himself. This is rather a disgrace to the parents of these children and the president must brace up for more insults later. These are the children who grow to become leaders who can insult anyone anyhow without any provocation at all.

Kind sort of training are we giving to them now? Do these children insult their parents if they expect Christmas gifts better what they get from their parents? I agree the government whetted their appetite by buying these past questions for them. Because, if they got everything free why wouldn't they think the past questions were part of the free education policy package? I think next time government will learn what to get for these students bad not encouraging them to cheat in exams or just spoon-feeding them.

Let us not compromise our educational system or we stand to regret when international bodies start to reject our certificates for the sake of credibility. We can see it happens in some of our sister countries and it's not a pleasant thing for one to work hard and get a cert only for another to sit in the comfort of humanity her zone and get even a better one without going through the walls of any institution. It's highly painful.

Government must, therefore, ensure that these students remain in school for the required time they need to be there. Provide the needed resources and logistics for quality teaching and learning process and also motivate teachers to give out their best in teaching these students and preparing them for their final exams. It is far better than what we have at hand now.

Ghanaians are watching

FAB
As the world races towards the coronavirus vaccine, the larger debate on who gets it first, how and for what price has also gathered pace, especially in the backdrop that unlike many rich countries that have invested and made advance payments for vaccine procurement and its development, no such move has yet been made by the Indian government.

The Indian Council of Medical Research has said that the vaccine should be made available to the health workers first. Health secretary Rajesh Bhushan also said recently that there was already a growing consensus that the frontline health workers ...
Guyana has become one of the main upstream stars of the past decade, rising from zero to hero in less than 5 years. Much of Guyanas rise to prominence took place as its first and largest offshore discovery, the Liza field, was commissioned in late 2019. As attentive Oilprice readers already pointed out, with the passing of time Guyana is starting to look and act more Latin American as resource nationalism is holding sway over its politics. This is in and of itself not unreasonable, yet in COVID-impacted times when CAPEX cuts are omnipresent, it might be a bit inopportune. Hence, as Guyana learns to live under a new presidential administration, Guyanas bright hydrocarbon future has started to run against its first structural challenges. The first warning bell came in the form of a Rystad Energy report which stated that Guyana risks losing a whopping 1.5 billion in revenues if ExxonMobil, the operator of the Stabroek Block, decides to postpone the Payara project by one year, from the initially assumed commissioning date of 2023 to 2024. Concerns about forthcoming projects being delayed did not emerge out of a clear sky, in May the US major warned that the elections helter-skelter had resulted in a significant slowing down of government approvals, jeopardizing the Payara development plan. Rystad currently estimates that Payara would come onstream in 2024, with the sanctioning date slipping half a year into H1 2021. This means that all projects assumed to be launched after Payara (Snoek, Talbot, Ranger, Jethro-Lobe etc.) in the mid-2020s might see further delays down the line.

Political decision-making was jeopardized by the prolonged impasse, which reached its apex with the imposition of US sanctions on officials that were allegedly tinkering with the results of the March 02 elections. Announcing the winner of the elections took more than 3 months and required a recount, only following which could the Guyanese Election Commission (GECOM) rule that the opposition Peoples Progressive Party (PPP) had won by a margin of some 15 000 votes. Even though a PPP takeover might not bode that well with US commercial interests as the party has promised to revisit the countrys upstream terms to increase the states intake, Foreign Secretary Pompeo has called upon the Granger Administration to act, making sure that the baton-passing would not undermine democracy in Guyana.

This pressure has worked wonders and the official inauguration of the winning PPP candidate Irfaan Ali successfully took place on August 02. Alis victory notwithstanding, former president David Granger is filing a formal complaint to challenge the decision of the Caribbean Court of Justice. When it comes to oil policy continuity, despite election vows to revisit Guyanas milestone contract with ExxonMobil on the Stabroek block (2% royalty rate and 50% profit share after cost recovery) that dates back to 1999 the new presidential administration has seemingly dropped the subject for good  probably a wise move considering that at the time it was PPP who was ruling the country  however, relative newcomers to Guyana like ENI, Repsol or Tullow might see their upstream terms modified so as to increase the governments revenue streams from its prolific deepwater offshore.

Related: Oil Drops As Demand Recovery Stalls

Just several days after the inauguration of Irfaan Ali he presented his cabinet, consisting of 19 ministers, all of them new to their posts. Among the most coveted nominations stand 2 key energy positions, those of Natural Resources Minister and the head of Guyanas Energy Department  the fates of Raphael Trotman and Mark Bynoe, respectively, were sealed no sooner had the CCJ announced its decision. The portfolio of natural resources went to Vickram Bharrat, a former MP who has reportedly been a PPP member since the age of 14, yet at the time of the appointment (August 05) it was not specified whether the management of Guyanas oil bounty would remain under it and not spun off into a new separate entity.

Graph 1. Guyanese Crude Exports (000 barrels per day).



Source: Thomson Reuters.

Guyanas flagship export-grade from its only commissioned oil field Liza has witnessed 16 loadings already, amongst them two VLCCs. Based on its first 6 months of functioning, one can see that Lizas geographic coverage has surpassed expectations  most of the early cargoes ended up in the US (most probably ExxonMobil just took it home to assess), then Chinese buyers discovered the crude by March-April and for quite some time Liza remained very competitive against similar quality Brazilian grades that have become a staple in Chinese refineries over the years. Europe has become the most recent addition to the list of buyers as the only cargo to load in July  for reasons specified below  went to the French port of Le Havre. In terms of pricing, Liza has oscillated in and around Dated Brent flat with substantial swings during the peak of the COVID-induced market slump.

Just as Liza was expected to reach first-phase plateau production in June (120kbpd), the operators experienced their first major setback when the gas reinjection equipment went out of order. To curb gas flaring, Liza production in mid-June was curtailed to 30kbpd, i.e. a third of what it used to be just a month before that. Some Guyanese media reports went as far as to claim that the gas compressors have been dysfunctional ever since Liza was commissioned in December 2019. Following the malfunction incident, Guyanas Environmental Protection Agency has asked ExxonMobil to present a Quality Assurance and Quality Control report explaining the gas compressor difficulties it experienced and the extent of gas flaring arising therefrom. According to Guyanese media reports, the US firm continues to flare 12-15 MCf per day, reportedly releasing toxic chemicals into airspace.

By Viktor Katona for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
Last week, Amanda Vance, curator of the Texas City Museum, noticed an uptick in online chatter about the 1947 Texas City Disaster.

Thats interesting, she observed. Usually, talk of the disaster tends to occur in April, around its anniversary.

It quickly became clear why that incident -- the deadliest industrial accident in U.S. history -- suddenly became a topic of discussion: 2,700 tons of ammonium nitrate had exploded in the Port of Beirut, killing more than 150.

Seventy-three years earlier, at the Port of Texas City, a fire broke out in the cargo hold on board the French-owned S.S. Grandcamp, which was loaded with about 2,300 tons of ammonium nitrate fertilizer. As firefighters and the curious converged dockside the morning of April 16, the ship exploded, sending molten chunks of it into the citys petrochemical complex. Buildings were flattened, planes were knocked out of the sky, the nearby Monsanto Chemical Company plant was destroyed and oil storage facilities went up in flames. Hours later, the nearby High Flyer, also loaded with ammonium nitrate, exploded. In all, nearly 600 were killed.

What to see in Texas City For those looking to learn more about what happened in 1947, the Texas City Museum (409 6th St. North, open Tu-Sat 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.) is home to nearly 900 first-person accounts from survivors of the blast. Its permanent exhibit contains footage and artifacts from the explosion as well. Texas City Memorial Park, near the corner of 29th Street N. and 25th Avenue N., has numerous memorials on site, an anchor from the Grandcamp on display and is the final resting spot for the unidentified victims of the blast. Other memorials can be found on the north side of Dike Road just east of Bay Street. See More Collapse

In Beirut, there was a distinctive reddish-orange color to the plumb of smoke that arose from the blast, indicative of a nitrate-based explosion. Many in Texas City watching the burning Grandcamp had a similar observation.

A lot of the survivors recall the orange smoke, Vance said. And thats what drew a lot of people down to the docks.

In Beirut, curious residents also wondered about the grayish smoke that initially emanated from the port. But rather than head out that way for a better look, many took out their cell phones and recorded what they saw. As a result, more so than in any of the other explosions involving ammonium nitrate, we can see the blast itself.

That's wasn't the case in Texas City, of course. The visual record of what happened there exists in mostly black-and-white photos and film footage showing the aftermath of the explosion.

Additionally, there's also the memories of survivors like Vera Bell Gary, now 94, who was working as a teacher at Lincoln High School on the west side of Texas City.

She recalled multiple explosions that morning, the second of which shook the school building.

It looked like the world was on fire, she said.

Like Gary, the survivors in Beirut will have a story to tell for the rest of their lives. And like Texas City, memorials will eventually go up to honor those lost. Two cities, separated by culture, size and 7,000 miles, forever linked through tragedy.
Attempts to stabilise the stricken vessel and pump 4,000 tonnes of fuel from its hold have failed.

Police in Mauritius prepared to board a grounded ship leaking tonnes of oil into its crystal-clear waters, as clean-up crews confront a growing ecological disaster on the archipelagos pristine shores.

The ships captain, a 58-year-old Indian national, will accompany officers on the search, police officials said.

Twenty crew members evacuated safely from the Japanese-owned, Panamanian-flagged ship when it ran aground are under surveillance.

The bulk carrier MV Wakashio has been seeping fuel into a protected marine park boasting unspoiled coral reefs, mangrove forests and endangered species, prompting Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth to declare an environmental emergency and appeal for international help.

The MV Wakashio, operated by Mitsui OSK Lines, struck the reef on the southeast coast of Mauritius on July 25.

On Sunday, Mitsui OSK apologised for the major oil spill, in which estimated 1,000 tonnes of oil mixed to the Indian Ocean.

Drone images show vast amounts of oil leaking from a bulk carrier off Mauritius after it ran aground in the southeast of the island. Ecologists fear the ship could break up, which would cause an even greater leak and damage the island's coastline https://t.co/eaFgA8Zw2g pic.twitter.com/zUAtNcsDE8  AFP news agency (@AFP) August 8, 2020

We apologise profusely and deeply for the great trouble we have caused, Akihiko Ono, executive vice president of Mitsui OSK said at a news conference in Tokyo.

He added that the company would do everything in their power to resolve the issue.

Attempts to stabilise the stricken vessel and pump 4,000 tonnes of fuel from its hold have failed, and local authorities fear rough seas could further rupture the tanker.

Hundreds of volunteers, many smeared head-to-toe in black sludge, are marshalling along the coastline, stringing together miles of makeshift cordons in a desperate attempt to hold back the oily tide.

But already, the thick sludge has inundated the island nations unspoiled lagoons, marine habitats and white sand beaches, causing unprecedented damage to the fragile coastal ecosystem upon which Mauritius and its economy relies.

People have realised that they need to take things into their hands. We are here to protect our fauna and flora, said Ashok Subron, an environmental activist at Mahebourg, one of the worst-hit areas.

Neither Mitsui OSK nor Nagashiki Shipping, the ships owner, could confirm the cost of damages from the oil spill.

Mauritius declared a state of environmental emergency on Friday following the accident.

An image shows an oil spill after bulk carrier MV Wakashio ran aground on a reef, at Riviere des Creoles, Mauritius [Reuben Pillay/Reubsvision.mu/Via Reuters]

French and Japanese help

200808142800586

PM Jugnauth said the spill represents a danger for the country of 1.3 million people that relies heavily on tourism and has been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic.

Japan will dispatch a six-person disaster relief team, on the request of the Mauritius government, to help with clearing up the spill, according to a statement by the Japanese Foreign Ministry on Sunday.

We hope that this assistance will contribute to recovery of the environment of Mauritius and prevention of marine pollution, the statement said.

French President Emmanuel Macron announced on Saturday that his country was sending help from the neighbouring island of Reunion, a French overseas territory.

A military aircraft carrying pollution-control equipment would make two flights over the spill site, while a naval vessel carrying booms and absorbents would also set sail, authorities in Reunion said.

Mauritius also appealed to the United Nations for urgent aid, including experts in containing oil spills and environmental protection.
Simon Cowell is hospitalized. This is after he figured into an electric bike crash that broke his back.

According to a spokesperson, he would have to undergo surgery for his broken back.

The prominent vocal producer and personality was riding an electric bicycle when he fell from it. Good thing is that even though the "America's Got Talent" host has to undergo a procedure, he's doing fine. The spokesperson said he is still being observed but is in the "best possible hands."

This accident has an unfortunate timing because, as People magazine reported, Simon Cowell was already scheduled to resume shooting for "America's Got Talent" episodes. The hiatus for months has been lifted, but this had to happen.

His role in the popular show cannot be discounted. He created it himself.

Can this affect the show? Will it be canceled? Or will Simon Cowell be removed from it for a while? The timing is simply too unfortunate since this happened just a couple of days before AGT Season 15 is set to return to the air for its Live Shows, no less.

With the show airing this coming Tuesday, this accident certainly throws production plans into limbo. Ironically, the show just went through several significant format changes! Heidi Klum herself is not going to be part of the panel due to health reasons.

With Simon Cowell now possibly out for some time, this can complicate the live shows further.

At present, though, since Simon Cowell's condition is the priority, America's Got Talent is yet to respond to the news and announce the possible changes. The production company, Fremantle Media, has also stayed silent.

Not to worry, though, if anyone can get out of this accident scratch-free, it will be Simon Cowell. He already suffered similarly devastating accidents in the past, even falling down the stairs at his London home back in 2017. He was rushed to the hospital too, but he certainly recovered.

Simon in a known biker - he loves it because his health calls for it. He has been regularly riding bikes following his physician's advice to do so after grave health shot back in 2018, which he certainly recovered from.

In 2019, Simon Cowell shared with his fans that they certainly need to be wary about their health, or else they can experience some life-changing conditions.

He told Sun UK that after his health scare the year ago, he had to take his health more seriously. He realized that he is a dad and has the responsibility to be healthy for them.

It was truly a bad health scare, though, so it was nothing to undermine. He said while getting some hot milk; he suddenly felt sick. While going back upstairs, he became dizzy and probably passed out because the next thing he knew, a neck brace was already being put on him. "Sometimes we get a reminder that we're not invincible, and this was certainly mine," he said of the experience.

At present, even though he has to go through surgery, he only has to get well now, and the show will certainly go on. If it can air right in the middle of an ongoing pandemic, Simon Cowell will make sure his accident does not stop it the show from giving fans what they want.

READ MORE: Carole Baskin Slams Megan Thee Stallion, Cardi B's WAP Video For Using Exotic Cats As Accessories
As I sit trying to write this, Im peering over the screen at an unopened packet of custard creams  but inspired by Boris Johnson, of all people, Im going to hold off and kick my biscuit habit to the curb.

You may turn your nose up at custard creams. Theyre one of the cheapest biscuits on the market, but dont judge them on price. They are still a luxury for those of us that grew up in the 80s and 90s, when Marietta and Rich tea biscuits were the standard tea dunker.

Dunnes Stores own brand custard creams are my favourite... and in the time its taken to write the last two sentences, Im already three custard creams deep and now the bourbon cremes are staring at me.

But I think of the UK prime minister, and his advice  because Boris admits he was too fat. After requiring admission to ICU and the support of oxygen after he contracted Covid-19, Boris Johnson had a revelation  he was way overweight.

His experience has inspired him to develop an obesity strategy. He has warned Britons that after this deadly wakeup call he realises that his obesity nearly doubled his risk of death from coronavirus.

The result is the UK government is asking overweight people to lose five pounds to save the NHS money and help lower the risk of dying due to Covid-19.

The HSE here in Ireland has supported these findings in a document written by Professor Donal OShea, which suggests there is emerging evidence that obesity may be linked with Covid-19 disease severity.

The experience of Italian doctors is that obesity is the most frequent co-morbidity in critical care where Covid-19 is concerned. In China, a small study found that the BMI of non-survivors was greater than 25 and was significantly higher than the BMI of covid survivors. In one critical care setting in the UK, over 70% of 775 individuals admitted to ICU with confirmed Covid-19 were overweight or obese.

The Irish Heart Foundation (IHF) wants the Irish government to follow the UKs lead through tough new action to tackle obesity that has been made more urgent than ever by evidence of a link to increased risk from Covid-19.

According to the HSE, six out of 10 adults in Ireland are overweight or obese. We are fat, and were getting fatter. Ireland will be the fattest country in Europe by 2025.

Projections from the World Health Organisation predict Ireland will possibly become the most obese nation in the world by 2030. The healthcare expenditure due to the overweight and obese populations in 2009 was estimated at 437 million for the Republic of Ireland and 127.41 million for Northern Ireland. Productivity lost due to overweight and obesity related health issues was up to 865 million for ROI and 362 million for NI, according to a 2015 study.

It seems it has taken the coronavirus pandemic to give us a wake up call.

But rather than increasing punitive sugar taxes and penalising people financially for choosing unhealthy food and lifestyles, would it not be more effective to offer tax credits and incentives for people to be healthy?

Would it be more beneficial to introduce measures that are positive incentives rather than negative ones?

How about a tax credit for those with an appropriate body fat percentage and a body-mass index of less than 26? (A BMI of 30 or over is considered obese). Maybe a motivational tax credit rather than a tax on sugar may work better.

Positive financial incentives, eg subsidising the price of participation in activities, could potentially lead to an increase in quantity of physical activity in all populations regardless of age. The best way for the Irish government to help the struggling health system that is facing into a potential second wave of coronavirus is for fewer people to need its services!

Sugar tax flaws

The reality is that an increase of the sugar tax may result in an initial reduction in consumption of sweets, fizzy drinks and junk food, but unless the sugar taxes raised are redirected to fund positive incentives to increase physical activity and healthy options, we will remain on target to be the one of the fattest nations in the world, with a health system clogged with obesity related issues.

Runners and joggers have always been concerned with weight. For many like me, it is one of the many reasons to start jogging. Unfortunately, like many amateur enthusiasts, Im pretty sure my physique may never resemble that of the elite runners.

Unfortunately a strong correlation between running speed and the body mass index (BMI) has long been established. Body mass index (BMI) is calculated as body mass divided by the square of the body height. A BMI of 25 or greater is considered overweight, and a BMI higher than 30 is considered obese. It must, however, be noted that BMI does not account for body composition (percentage of fat versus muscle) which is a much better indicator of fitness and fatness. So in order to become a quicker runner, it is necessary to be lighter.

But as I dunked my fourth custard cream into my cooling coffee, I came across some reassuring research. Even though biscuits may slow me down, if I continue to run I will maintain my physical fitness levels.

This appears to be the most important factor in maintaining health and preventing not only cardiovascular diseases  the main cause of death in the developed world  but also my ability to fight off Covid-19 .

Ideally we should aim to be both lean and fit, but it is still safer from a health perspective to be fit and fat rather than skinny and out of shape.

So feeling justified, I move on to my fifth custard cream, happy that I will never sacrifice biscuits. There is so much more to life and so many biscuits to taste.
From behind the locked window of his 10th-floor hotel room, Paul Cordova watches dozens of airplanes take off and land each day at Miami International Airport.

He cant get on any of them.

An injured Royal Caribbean Group crew member, Cordova, 48, has been living in South Florida hotels since January. He traveled from Peru to the U.S. to receive follow-up treatment for back surgery he had in November 2018. Back then, doctors replaced two herniated disks in his spine with titanium plates, repairing damage from years of lifting and lugging 50-pound chlorine containers aboard Celebrity Cruises ships.

For 95 days, he has repeatedly asked the Miami-based company to send him home to Peru, where his wife and two teenage children are waiting for him. Though five repatriation flights for crew members have left since April, the company either did not respond to his pleas or said his repatriation was impossible at the time. After receiving questions from the Miami Herald on Friday about Cordovas situation, the company indicated it is going to send him home on Sept. 1.

We have been working with Mr. Cordova to get him home in a challenging international travel environment and currently understand the next opportunity to do so is on Sept. 1, said company spokesperson Jonathon Fishman in an email. We all share the same goal of getting him home as quickly and safely as possible.

Cordova has become yet another casualty of the cruise industrys chaotic journey through the COVID-19 pandemic. His name could be added to a list of more than 100,000 cruise ship workers who have spent months stranded away from their families.

Investigation

The Miami Herald investigated COVID-19 outbreaks on cruise ships. Explore the findings of the most comprehensive tracking system of coronavirus cases linked to the cruise industry.

After the industry shut down in mid-March, cruise companies repatriated all passengers by early June. But the process for repatriating crew has been much slower due to limited, expensive travel options and virus-related restrictions in the U.S. and in their home countries. Thousands of crew members are still stuck at sea without pay, waiting to be sent home. At least 29 have died from COVID-19, and at least two have leaped overboard in apparent suicides.

Story continues

More than a dozen crew members, including Cordova, are still stuck in Miami lodgings, unable to get home.

U.S. labor protections do not apply to cruise ship workers because cruise companies are registered and flag their ships abroad. Royal Caribbean Group is incorporated in Liberia and flags its ships in Malta and the Bahamas. Under the Maritime Labor Convention of 2006, the only international protections in place for seafarers, companies are required to repatriate crew. The U.S. is not one of the 97 countries that has ratified the MLC and does not enforce its worker protections.

On a normal pre-pandemic day, the Seafarers House at Port Everglades is a refuge for dozens of crew members taking a break, a place to access free WiFi, send money and packages home, buy toiletries, and receive spiritual support.

Paul Cordova works on board Royal Caribbean Groups Celebrity Equinox cruise ship in 2017. He left the ship with a back injury later that year. I left with so much hope to return to work, he said.

Since the industry shut down in mid-March and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention banned shore leave for crew still on board, director Lesley Warrick and her team pivoted to caring for more than 60 crew members recovering from various ailments in South Florida hotel rooms for several weeks  and sometimes several months  during the pandemic. Her team is still caring for around eight seafarers.

They are anxious and the overwhelming message we get is we just want to go home, Warrick said.

In early April, Warrick connected with the Philippines embassy after a Filipino crew member with COVID-19 was released from a South Florida hospital with only a hospital gown. She provided him with clothes and toiletries until his luggage arrived several days later after being disinfected.

She suspected there were more people in this situation and asked cruise companies for a roster of crew members staying at the hotels. Cordova wasnt on any of the lists. Neither were another half dozen in his current hotel.

Missed opportunities

As a mechanical welder in the coastal city of Trujillo, Peru, Cordova didnt think there was work for him in the cruise industry until his wifes aunt introduced him to a mechanic who worked on Royal Caribbean ships in 2007. Within a few months he got his passport and was on his way to the Celebrity Galaxy ship for a nine-month contract as a handyman making $1,600 per month  about 50% more than what he was making in Trujillo. His son was three years old, and his daughter hadnt yet turned one.

For the next five years his contracts kept him away from his family on Christmas and New Years. His supervisors promoted him from handyman to plumber, and he became a sanitation engineer in 2010, the person on board in charge of managing the pool, jacuzzi and drinking water. He was proud of his work and grateful to be able to send home money to help pay for his familys rent and food. He wished he could have clocked his real hours, which sometimes reached 15 per day, instead of the maximum 13 allowed.

In July 2017 he visited the ships medical center for back pain, which had started a few months before and worsened so much that it was difficult to sleep. A doctor prescribed him ibuprofen and told him to come back in a month if it still hurt. It did. He kept working until he could leave the ship at the end of his contract the following month.

At home in Trujillo, the pain got worse, according to medical records. An MRI showed Cordova had herniated discs; doctors recommended surgery.

I left with so much hope to return to work, he said. It was my way to live and to sustain my family. I never imagined I would need surgery, I thought it would be a treatment of a few weeks, maybe months.

International maritime law requires that cruise companies provide medical care, housing and food for injured workers until they return to maximum health.

But the surgery kept getting delayed. Desperate, Cordova contacted Miami lawyer Tonya Meister and asked her to help him urge the company to get him the surgery.

Royal Caribbean flew Cordova to South Florida in May 2018 to see doctors in Miami, who recommended injections. They didnt help. Finally, in November 2018, he got the back surgery in Miami.





Paul Cordova spends time on his computer as a means to entertain himself during very long days by himself in his Miami hotel room.

He returned to South Florida several times for follow-up visits, most recently in January, where he was placed at the Plaza Hotel in Fort Lauderdale with about 15 other injured workers. As during past visits, he slept on a full bed just a few feet away from a stranger. His roommate developed a cough in early March, just as COVID-19 cases in South Florida began to climb.

On March 17, the company moved him to a single room after a request from his lawyer. Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez shuttered hotels to stop the spread of the virus four days later, with an exception for stranded travelers. A spokesperson for the mayor said the county is not privy to agreements between hotels and cruise companies.

Crew members with COVID-19 began to arrive at the Plaza Hotel from the cruise ships and occupy rooms on the fifth floor, Cordova said. Their meals were delivered to their rooms. Crew members staying on the third floor were guarded by security guards who knocked on their doors several times per day to make sure they were there. The hotel staff didnt use masks until mid-April, Cordova said.

By then Peru had closed its airport, except for repatriation flights.

On April 7, Cordova turned 48 years old. His family sang feliz cumpleanos over the phone once in the morning and then a second time at night.

Five charter repatriation flights for cruise ship workers have taken off from MIA bound for Peru carrying 1,273 people since April 28, according to data from the Miami-Dade Aviation Department. But Cordova has remained largely trapped inside a hotel, with no news about when he will see his family again.

After seven months away from home, he feels forgotten.

I try to be positive for my family, for my kids, always try to show them that I am ok, he said, breaking into tears. I never was thinking to be like this, three years suffering because they didnt provide me the proper care.

He paused.

No existimos para ellos, he said. We dont exist to them.

Its a lifes work that was lost





He sleeps on the full bed closest to the window. Though it doesnt open, it provides a birds eye view of other peoples daily lives, a thin tether to normalcy. Below, Miamians walk past the row of low budget hotels and shuttered aviation offices on NW 36th Street to get to the bus stops.

His black suitcase sits ready to go, next to the TV stand, below the hotels black-and-white photo of a lighthouse hanging on the wall. A brown, accordion folder holds his medical records, organized by date, safely stored inside a brown satchel next to the suitcase.

He picks up breakfast at the cafeteria on the first floor before 9 a.m. and returns to his room to eat at the table with two chairs between the bed and the window. He has carefully placed on the table two images of El Senor de Los Milagros, an important spiritual symbol for Peruvian Catholics, gifted to him by a friend before his surgery. Planes glide in and out of parking spots along the runway across the street. The air conditioner hums.

From his window at the Clarion Inn & Suites in Miami Springs, Paul Cordova can see airplanes take off and land at Miami International Airport across the street. At least eight other crew members are living at the hotel.

His phone has long stopped working, so he relies on his laptop to communicate with family. He calls his wife most mornings to hear updates about her, his kids and his elderly parents; he rarely has updates to share. It was over one of these calls he learned that his uncle died of COVID-19 last month.

After sitting for more than an hour, the ache in his back that he has become accustomed to sharpens, and he has to lay down on his left side and wait for the pain to subside, a post-operation reality that makes it hard to do even administrative work. At noon he picks up a meal ticket from the front desk and exchanges it for lunch in the cafeteria. Then back up again to the table by the window.

He still cant walk up or down stairs. Cordova is suing Royal Caribbean for compensation from his permanent injuries and lost wages.

He is careful about what he asks his extended family to send him money for: toothpaste is a necessity, he reasons, but a haircut isnt. His dark hair, parted on the side, now covers part of his forehead. He does laundry in the bathtub using hotel bar soap.

Oftentimes he has lost his appetite by dinner, so he trades in his final meal ticket for bottled water instead of food. He calls his kids to hear about their days of virtual learning. His son, 16, finishes high school this year. He and his wife started an insurance plan for his college tuition seven years ago, depositing what they could each month. They drained the account after Cordova injured his back on the cruise ship to keep their house, a failure Cordova cant talk about without breaking into tears.

Its a lifes work that was lost, a family project that was lost because of my illness, my health situation, he said. Dreams, I have dreams, my wife does too. I try not to think. My focus day to day is on my wife and my kids, I maintain my mind distracted so I dont get more ill.

Home

The first crew repatriation flight from MIA to Peru took off on April 28. Another left on May 5. On May 6, Meister, Cordovas lawyer, sent an email to Royal Caribbean asking that he be put on a flight home as soon as possible. No response. On May 11, she sent another email asking he be sent home. No response. The next day, another flight full of crew members left bound for Peru. And another on May 19.

Cordova waited for word about when he could go home.

The water at the hotel shut off for two days in late May, preventing any hand washing. The hotel didnt have any sanitizer. Thick, gray mold covered parts of the wall and ceiling in his room, photos show. He changed to a different room, but found cockroaches and the same thick, gray mold clinging to the air vent. Royal Caribbean sent him three disposable masks.

The condition at the hotel is bad, Meister wrote in an email to the company on May 22 asking he be transferred to a better hotel. Again, Mr. Cordova would like to go home to Peru. Please include him on the next charter flight to Peru.

Another crew repatriation flight for Peru left MIA on June 13. Cordova wasnt on it.

On June 25, Cordovas emails to the Peruvian embassy were finally answered. There was a seat for him on a June 27 flight from MIA to Lima if he wanted it for $350. Meister sent the registration link to Royal Caribbean with URGENT in the subject line and asked for the company to confirm the flight as soon as possible.

A representative from the company said she would look into it. The next day, Meister followed up. No response. She followed up again. No response. The flight took off without Cordova on June 27.

That gave me a lot of anxiety, he said. That was my hope to be able to see my family again.

Royal Caribbean continued to schedule doctors visits and physical therapy appointments for Cordova in Miami, appointments he would be attending in Peru or flying back to Miami for if it were not for the pandemic. After missing the repatriation flight coordinated by the embassy, he developed a stomach infection and received treatment for it. The company sent prescriptions to the hotel.

On June 30, Royal Caribbean finally transferred Cordova to a different hotel: the Clarion Inn & Suites in Miami Springs, where at least eight other crew members are living. But a mid-July crisis approached: His tourist visa expired on July 14.

To pass the time stuck in a Miami hotel room, injured cruise ship worker Paul Cordova, 48, studies ship plumbing plans he finds on the internet.

In a final plea to get Cordova out of the country before he violated the deadline, Meister sent an email to the company on July 13 again requesting he be flown home and not left in legal limbo.

Due to the COVID 19 pandemic, many countries have closed their airports/borders, the company said in an email, directing Cordova to the US immigration website or embassy to sort out his immigration status. Peru is one of the countries that had experienced flight suspensions. We await to learn the date we can arrange travel to return Mr. Cordova to Peru.

Cordova worries about whether he will be able to return to the U.S. to see his doctors in the future after overstaying the visa.

When we are working, we give everything, we give everything of ourselves so that our work will be done well, so that the company also will give good service to the passengers who come on the ships, he said. We push ourselves 100% and even more. I have given many more than my work hours and with a lot of love for the work. Its frustrating to see that when you fall ill, they dont assist you in the slightest.

August 5 marked three years since Cordova had to stop working, a discouraging anniversary he spent alone in his Miami hotel room.

He wishes he could have done the back surgery sooner, so that maybe he could be further along in his recovery, closer to the day when he might be able to work again.

To pass the time he studies cruise ship plumbing plans he finds on the internet.

You know inside the cabin the ceiling looks just like a normal ceiling? he said. There are thousands of tubes in the ceiling. You have to know where to open it. On the plans there are thousands of lines with codes, you have to know how to read it. I could do it pretty well to be able to solve problems.

Right now his biggest problem is getting home. And theres no plan he can study to solve it.
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A 41-year-old Mohawk, NY man was killed in a UTV crash in Herkimer County Sunday, New York State Police said today.

The fatal crash took place on Thompson Road in the town of Salisbury, in Herkimer County.

State police said Michael T. Miles, 41, was killed after the 2020 Yamaha UTV he was driving westbound in the eastbound lane on Thompson Road struck the rear of a 2019 Honda UTV and overturned.

Miles, who was not wearing a helmet, was ejected from the UTV and transported to Little Falls Hospital by ambulance, police said. He was pronounced dead upon arrival at the hospital, police said.

State police said Miles had been traveling at a high rate of speed when the crash occurred. The driver of the other UTV, or utility terrain vehicle, was identified as Richard Lamphere, 41, of Salisbury. Police said he was not injured in the crash.

The investigation is continuing.
It was unclear whether the aid would even materialise if lawsuits are filed challenging their legality. Trump walked away from the lectern after just a few questions from reporters about his claim that he had the ability to circumvent Congress. Signing the orders was a familiar tactic from a president who has portrayed himself as the ultimate deal-maker but in practice has shown little interest in or skill for negotiating with Congress, bristling against the limitations of his power. It recalled his decision in 2018 to shut down the government over his demand for funding for a wall on the southwestern border, his signature campaign promise, in an effort to force Democrats to agree to the money. They never did, and the President ultimately declared a national emergency to divert other federal money to fund it himself, a move that drew legal challenges. Shortly after the event on Saturday, the White House released texts of the measures  one executive order and three memorandums  which included several flourishes that read like political documents in accusing Democrats of playing games. One invoked the Stafford Act, a federal disaster relief statute, to divert money from a homeland security fund and allow states to use money already allocated by Congress to help people who have been laid off amid the coronavirus pandemic, effectively allowing them to apply for disaster relief to cover lost wages. The mechanism would pull from the same fund that covers natural disasters in the middle of what is expected to be a highly active hurricane season. Trump claimed that the action would provide $US400 weekly in enhanced unemployment benefits, $US200 less than laid-off workers had been receiving under benefits that lapsed at the end of July. But with states being directed to pick up $US100 of that aid, the federal amount would be no more than $US300 a week.

And there is another catch  the text of the memorandum says that the $300 can only be paid to people who first qualify for $100 in aid paid by their state. It was unclear how quickly states, whose unemployment systems had already been overburdened by the record numbers of new jobless claims, would be able to adjust to a new system or whether they will have the resources to supplement an additional benefit. "If they don't, they don't; that's going to be their problem," Trump said. He also retroactively signed a memorandum suspending the payroll tax from August 1 through the end of 2020, although the order would just defer the payment of the taxes. (Trump vowed that if re-elected in November, he would extend the deferral and the payments.) If Trump tried to make a payroll tax cut permanent, it would have drastic effect on the funding of Social Security, which he has previously vowed not to cut.

The memorandum that Trump called a moratorium on evictions did not revive the expired moratorium that was part of the $US2.2 trillion stimulus law passed in March. Instead, it said that federal policy was to minimise evictions during the pandemic and that officials should identify statutory ways to help homeowners and renters. Loading Long before taking office, Trump criticised Barack Obama for what he described as an overreliance on executive orders to accomplish policy goals that had been blocked by Congress, but in acting unilaterally, Trump was vastly expanding the use of such measures. Mark Meadows, the White House chief of staff and a vicious critic of Obama's actions while a North Carolina congressman, was among those who recommended that Trump issue the orders, even as he conceded that an agreement with lawmakers would be more potent for the U.S. economy. "This is not a perfect answer  we'll be the first ones to say that," Meadows said Friday, after he and Steven Mnuchin, the Treasury secretary, emerged from another meeting with congressional Democrats with no deal. "But it is all that we can do and all the president can do within the confines of his executive power, and we're going to encourage him to do it."

While most Democrats slammed the legality of the executive actions, few Republicans publicly criticised the manoeuvre. One notable exception was Senator Ben Sasse of Nebraska, who declared, "The pen-and-phone theory of executive lawmaking is unconstitutional slop." Loading Trump had told reporters on Friday evening that he would probably sign executive orders to provide economic relief next week if no compromise could be reached with Democrats, but by Saturday morning, officials were already drafting them and planning an afternoon news conference. After signing the measures, Trump handed out the black Sharpies he had used, embossed with his name, to members of his golf club standing at the back of the room. The Labour Department reported on Friday that the economy created 1.8 million jobs in July, a sharp slowdown from May and June, and economic forecasters expect further slowing in August. Many economists have noted that the $US600 supplemental unemployment benefits, which expired at the end of July, had been propping up consumer spending at a time when about 30 million Americans are unemployed.
Israeli police cleared protesters from a square in Jerusalem outside the official residence of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in central Jerusalem early on Sunday (local time, Saturday GMT).

Thousands of demonstrators thronged the streets near the official residence of Netanyahu on Saturday night, in a renewed show of strength as weeks of protests against the Israeli leader showed no signs of slowing.

Police were carrying away protesters who were refusing to leave and pushing others out of the way.

Throughout the summer, thousands of Israelis have taken to the streets, calling for Netanyahu to resign, protesting his handling of the country's coronavirus crisis and saying he should not remain in office while on trial for corruption charges.

Self-employed workers whose businesses have been hurt by the economic crisis also joined the march.

Though Netanyahu has tried to play down the protests, the gatherings only appear to be getting stronger.

The demonstrators accuse Netanyahu of corruption and the country's bloated coalition government of failing to recognize the suffering of its citizens.

An estimated 1,000 people also protested at an intersection near Netanyahu's beach house in the upscale coastal town of Caesaria.

The rallies against Netanyahu are the largest Israel has seen since 2011 protests over the country's high cost of living.

The demonstrations, taking place several times a week at locations around the country, are organized by a loose-knit network of activist groups.

Some object to Netanyahu remaining in office while he is on trial.

He has been charged with fraud, breach of trust and accepting bribes in a series of scandals.
Railway passengers face a frantic race to book tickets for holiday trips or visits to family or friends this summer.

Advance tickets are supposed to be released up to 12 weeks ahead of a journey  but research by The Mail on Sunday discovered in many cases train operators are releasing tickets for only the next four weeks.

They are then drip-feeding further seats over time. It means once tickets become available on popular routes, they are being snapped up almost immediately.

Travelling during Covid times: Due to social distancing rules only about half the usual number of seats are being made available over the next few weeks

On some routes, tickets are already sold out for the majority of trains scheduled to depart in August and early September. The advice for customers is to be eagle-eyed and fast-off-the-mark to avoid disappointment.

Deals and availabilities are changing all the time. So you must continually check the National Railway Enquiries website and go directly to the train company and explore travel websites such as Trainline to ensure you are not missing any tickets.

Flexibility is also necessary. You should try to be willing to travel on different times of the day and dates to be sure of getting a seat.

Due to social distancing rules only about half the usual number of seats are being made available over the next few weeks. Also consider travelling First Class and paying extra for a seat, as the best value Advance options are likely to already have been snapped up.

Mike Hewitson, head of policy at watchdog Transport Focus, says: 'Rail fares are confusing at the best of time  but the coronavirus crisis has made planning worse than ever. If you are hoping to hop on to a train this summer you must book now.'

It's not too late for a season ticket refund Commuters who have purchased season tickets not used during the coronavirus lockdown may already have received a refund  but it is still not too late to claim. The Rail Delivery Group, which represents train companies, points out you should contact the railway company from which you purchased the ticket. At the moment train firms are still accepting remote claims where you can email a photograph of your season ticket that has been cut up  so no longer valid  but this is expected to soon change. Claims were originally valid from March 23 but two months later this was changed to the previous 56 days from the moment that you claim. Despite people slowly now returning to the office perhaps two or three days a week, it will still be better value simply to pay for the daily trip rather than buy another season ticket  but it may change. The Rail Delivery Group has confirmed there are proposals for three-day-in-seven season tickets. But unfortunately, this is still at the discussion stage. It is hoped they may be offered within weeks.

Most people are unaware of the booking problem until they try to buy their ticket. This is because although 85 per cent of trains are running, there is still only a fifth of the usual number of passengers.

All this extra space gives the impression that it should be easy to get a seat  when the reality is that it is now harder than ever.

A Trainline spokeswoman says: 'Each operator's booking horizon and restrictions concerning reservations to ensure social distancing is maintained are bringing challenges to travel plans  and they vary between different train operators. Customers need to plan well ahead. To help, consider signing up to the mobile app 'Trainline tickets alerts'  and this should then send you a message as soon as advance tickets are available.'

While advance tickets are supposed to be released up to 12 weeks before travel, under lockdown rules in many cases this is being slashed by a third. And although once they enabled you to pay as little as a tenth of the price of a same-day fare, now you may be lucky to even find a full-price seat.

An example of the travel problem can be found if you try to book for an LNER journey on Thursday, September 10, from the Yorkshire train station of Northallerton to take you into London King's Cross.

When using the website Trainline on Friday, The Mail on Sunday found 'limited availability' for 32  including 'only one left'  but for the majority of options 'not available' all day.

But the following week  on Thursday, September 17  a blank page of 'not available' showed up on the website. National Railway Enquiries appears to show more seats are available for sale  but when you try to book the seats are also often not available.

Another example is if you want to travel from Bristol Temple Meads to Leeds on Saturday, August 15, you have 'limited availability' at 61.80 on the website Trainline. But the following week  on Saturday, August 22  has 'not available' all day for the same route by Arriva-owned firm CrossCountry.

If you just turn up for a long-distance trip you could be turned away at the gate if too many people have already got seats for the journey. You should check details of your specific journey before travelling using National Railway Enquiries.
TankerTrackers.com, a company that tracks and reports shipments and storage of crude oil says Iran probably exports twice as much oil as estimated.

In its latest report, the online service has referred to India's tanker Giessel that recently received its cargo from an Iranian oil tanker in the Sea of Oman and delivered it to China.

Various cases of transferring Iranian oil shipments to other tankers in the middle of oceans have been reported. Such operations are aimed at covering up the source of oil shipments and movements of tankers.

Based on the data provided by Kpler, an international data intelligence company, Giessel's case was first reported by Radio Farda on August 6.

According to TankerTrackers.com, the Indian oil product tanker initially sailed into the Strait of Hormuz early in May, then returned to the Sea of Oman. Its tracking signal deceptively showed that it was still heading westward, through the Persian Gulf.

Furthermore, TankerTrackers.com has published a picture of the two million-barrel-capacity Giessel loading oil near a smaller Iranian tanker.

Based on the same report, Giessel, owned by the Indian Vega shipping company, received one million barrels of oil from the Iranian tanker and transferred the cargo to China.

At the same time, Vega has refused to respond to questions raised by NBC, which had aired Tanker Trackers' findings.

Giessel arrived in China on June 13 and unloaded its cargo, but in its June report, Chinese customs said that no oil was imported from Iran that month.

A source, who wanted to remain anonymous, told Radio Farda that the cargo was delivered to China as Indonesian oil.

Previous estimates by various sources put Iran's oil exports at between 100,00-200,000 of barrels per day, but that could have been true a few months ago.

Chinese Customs data show that Beijing imported 1.6 million barrels of Indonesian oil in June.

Kpler had also told Radio Farda that Iran exported 60,000 barrels of oil per day to Malaysia between January and May. Nevertheless, Malaysian Customs data show that Kuala Lumpur has not bought any oil from Iran. So, these cargoes have been delivered to China as Malaysian crude.

In the first seven months of 2020, Kpler data show that Iran exported 230,000 barrels per day, which is 90% less than before the sanctions.

Recently, U.S. Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, also said that Iran's oil exports had fallen by 90 percent. Still, TankerTrackers.com has published the picture of sixteen Iranian oil tankers that had secretly transferred their cargo to other vessels on the high seas.

The company says Iran's daily oil exports are likely to be over 600,000 barrels, twice more than what was estimated before.

China and Syria are the only countries that officially buy oil from Iran. Official Chinese customs data show that it imported 70,000 barrels of oil per day from Iran in the first half of the year, except in June.

Last Friday, the chairman of a senate committee in Pakistan, Rehman Malik, took serious notice of the matter regarding the seizure of an Iranian ship at the Port Qasim, Karachi, over its involvement in oil smuggling into Pakistan.

According to a Friday statement, Malik said that seizure of an Iranian ship, smuggling oil, was a serious international issue. "The seizure might bring Pakistan under pressure as the smugglers had not respected Pakistani law and sanctions on Iran," local Pakistani news outlets cited him saying on August 8
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani gestures as he speaks during the first day of the Loya Jirga, a grand assembly of Afghan elders, at the Loya Jirga Hall in Kabul. (AFP)

Kabul: A traditional Afghan council concluded Sunday with hundreds of delegates agreeing to free 400 Taliban members, paving the way for an early start to negotiations between Afghanistans warring sides.

The declaration read out in both of Afghanistans official languages of Pashto and Farsi calls for an immediate start to negotiations and cease-fire. The Taliban have said they were ready for talks immediately after their final prisoners were released and that a ceasefire would be one of the first items of negotiations.

The move looks to bring the United States a little closer to bringing its troops home and ending its longest military engagement.

The decision to free the prisoners does not come as a surprise as delegates were urged by the U.S. at the start of the council, or jirga, on Friday to take this difficult action so negotiations could begin to bring an end to the war.

To remove obstacle, to start peace talks and to stop the bloodshed, the Jirga confirms the release of 400 Taliban prisoners, said Atefa Tayeb, a council secretary who read out the final declaration at the conclusion.

No date has been set but negotiations between Kabuls political leadership and the Taliban are expected to begin as early as next week and will most likely be held in the middle eastern state of Qatar, where the Taliban maintains a political office.

The Afghan negotiations were laid out in a peace deal signed by the United States and the Taliban in February. At the time of its signing it was touted as Afghanistans best chance at ending decades of war.

The deal calls for the government to free 5,000 prisoners and for the Taliban to free 1,000 government and military personnel in its custody as a goodwill gesture ahead of the start of negotiations.

Kabul balked at the release but eventually freed all but the last 400. President Ashraf Ghani said he was not authorized to free these because of the seriousness of their crimes, and asked for the council to decide instead. He did not detail of what the 400 were accused.

Delegates were therefore given the stark choice of either freeing the prisoners or seeing a war that has killed tens of thousands continue. The delegates said they wanted international guarantees that the Taliban would not return to the battlefield.

What I know is that after the release of these Taliban, soon in two or three days after the release, our negotiating team . . . will go and start negotiations, Former President Hamid Karzai told delegates at the concluding session.

Negotiation need patience. Negotiation need time, he warned adding I call up the Taliban to stop fighting, dont continue fighting.

Washingtons Peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad spent more than a year and a half negotiating the deal with the Taliban to provide for the withdrawal of American soldiers after more than 19 years in Afghanistan.

The withdrawal began earlier this year but roughly 8,600 U.S. soldiers remain in Afghanistan and their return will depend on the Taliban honoring its commitment to fight against other terrorist groups and ensure Afghanistan is not again used to attack the United States or its allies.

The withdrawal of U.S. and NATO troops is not dependent on the success of negotiations between Kabuls political leadership and the Taliban. But U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has made it clear that Washington wants a negotiated end to the conflict, including a cease fire.

Still an attack against a military compound in central Ghazni on Saturday that killed seven military personnel and injured another 16 was a reminder that Afghanistans war would not easily be over. No one took responsibility for the attack but both the Taliban and Islamic State affiliate is active in the area.

A spike in recent violence in Afghanistan has been mostly attributed to the IS affiliate, whom the Taliban are fighting as are the Afghan government and U.S. forces. Previously a U.S. department of defense official who could not be named because of the sensitivity of the subject said Washington considered IS its biggest threat in Afghanistan and wanted a deal that would recruit the Taliban in a coordinated fight against it.
A bereaved family member prays for the victims of the US atomic bombing at the Atomic Bomb Hypocentre Park in Nagasaki on Sunday (Kyodo News/AP)

Nagasaki marked the 75th anniversary of the US atomic bombing of the city on Sunday, with the mayor and dwindling survivors urging world leaders to do more to achieve a nuclear weapons ban.

At 11:02am, the moment the B-29 bomber Bockscar dropped a 4.5-ton plutonium bomb dubbed Fat Man, Nagasaki survivors and other participants stood in a minute of silence to honour more than 70,000 people dead.

The August 9, 1945, bombing came three days after the US dropped its first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, the worlds first ever nuclear attack, that killed 140,000. On August 15, Japan surrendered, ending World War II.

At a commemoration in Nagasaki Peace Park  scaled down because of the coronavirus pandemic  Mayor Tomihisa Taue read a peace declaration in which he raised concern that nuclear states had in recent years retreated from disarmament efforts.

Instead, they were upgrading and miniaturising nuclear weapons for easier use, he said.

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Mr Taue singled out the US and Russia for increasing risks by scrapping the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty.

As a result, the threat of nuclear weapons being used is increasingly becoming real, Mr Taue said.

He said the true horror of nuclear weapons has not yet been adequately conveyed to the world at large despite efforts by Japans atomic bombing survivors to ensure Nagasaki is the last place to suffer such an attack.

He also urged Japans government and lawmakers to quickly sign the 2017 Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.

Expand Close The southern Japanese city was flattened by the blast (AP) / Facebook

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Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has repeatedly refused to sign the treaty, saying Japans approach is not to take sides but to serve as a bridge between nuclear and non-nuclear states to encourage dialogue to achieve a total nuclear ban.

Survivors and pacifist groups say Japan is virtually siding with the US and other nuclear states.

Among the nuclear-weapon states and countries under the nuclear umbrella, there have been voices stating that it is too early for such a treaty. That is not so, Mr Taue said.

Nuclear arms reductions are far too late in coming.

On Sunday, Mr Abe repeated Japans position, citing severe national security environment and a wide gap between the two sides on nuclear disarmament.

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While Tokyo renounces its own possession, production or hosting of nuclear weapons, as a US ally Japan hosts 50,000 American troops and is protected by the US nuclear umbrella.

The post-WWII security arrangement complicates the push to have Japan sign the treaty as it beefs up its own military to deal with threats from North Korea and China, among others.

An ageing group of survivors have expressed a growing sense of urgency to tell their stories, in hope of reaching younger generations to continue their effort toward establishing a nuclear-free world.

I'm determined to keep telling my story so that Nagasaki will be the last place on Earth to have suffered an atomic attack Nagasaki survivor Shigemi Fukabori

There is not much time left for us survivors, said Shigemi Fukabori, 89, in a speech at the ceremony. He was a 14-year-old student mobilised to work at a shipyard when Nagasaki was bombed.

Im determined to keep telling my story so that Nagasaki will be the last place on Earth to have suffered an atomic attack.

We dont want anyone else to have to go through this.

Nagasaki bears a responsibility as a witness of catastrophic results the nuclear weapon caused to humanity and environment.

I hope as many people as possible join us, especially the young generations to inherit our baton of peace and keep running.

Many peace events, including survivors talks leading up to the anniversary, were cancelled because of the coronavirus, but some survivors have teamed with students and pacifist groups to speak at online events.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-08 23:49:23|Editor: huaxia

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STOCKHOLM, Aug. 8 (Xinhua) -- Sweden's so far reported 50 multisystem inflammatory syndrome (MIS) children cases can be linked to COVID-19, Swedish Radio reported on Saturday.

Earlier, Swedish Television (SVT) quoted Jonas F Ludvigsson, pediatrician and professor of epidemiology at Karolinska Institutet, as saying that these cases are likely caused by COVID-19.

Ludvigsson told SVT on Thursday that he felt "quite confident" that COVID-19 was the triggering factor. However, not all confirmed cases had COVID-19 antibodies in them. "I think, the fact that not all children have been tested positive for COVID-19, is due to the fact that not everyone seems to develop antibodies after an (COVID-19) infection."

According to SVT, Sweden reported in May only four cases of children with COVID-19 that developed into MIS, and the number increased to 50 till now. Out of these 50 cases, ten children have received intensive care and another three have received Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation treatment. So far, none have died.

Ludvigsson said these children have symptoms similar to that of Kawasaki disease, a rare inflammatory disease, which attacks mainly infants and small children and whose symptoms include high fever, rashes, swollen glands, pink eyes and heart inflammation in serious cases.

"MIS is probably worse. I have seen children with very serious impact on heart, much more than Kawasaki," Ludvigsson was quoted by SVT as saying, "It is a dangerous disease, but deaths are extremely rare."

Inflammation of blood vessels and cardiac damage are much more pronounced in cases suspected of being linked to COVID-19 compared with classic Kawasaki disease, France's public health agency said earlier. Enditem
Anton Petrus/Getty

As Americas economy was crumbling amid the spread of the coronavirus pandemic in the first quarter of this year, the lobbying business in Washington, D.C., was booming.

Fiscal crises are a potential goldmine for firms whose business it is to secure their clients bailouts and giveaways from the federal government because Congress is compelled to allocate astronomical amounts of money in response and very few people pay close attention to how its spent. As Congress was negotiating what would end up being a $2.2 trillion coronavirus relief package in March, corporations and special interests were loading up on K Street influence-peddlers to work every angle to tuck something lucrative into the bill. Their pricey retainers were not paid in vain.

Most Americans associate the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, the largest economic stimulus bill in American history, with the $1,200 lump sum they received, plus $500 more for each child. What few people realize is that while hard-hit working class and poor Americans received this critical payout, which totaled less than $300 billion, rich Americans got over $250 billion in tax breaks from the legislation.

Wealthy people in businesses like real estate (e.g. Donald Trump and Jared Kushner) and hedge fund managers who make a lot of money through LLCs and other pass-through entities scored a roughly $140 billion tax break. Based on Congress own accounting, ProPublica determined that around $115 billion of that money will go to about 43,000 Americans who make $1 million or more annuallyan average of $2.68 million per person.

Lawmakers Know They Cant Keep Track of the $2.2T They Just Spent on Virus Relief

Corporations got another $88 billion through a tax break that allowed them to apply their losses this year to their income from previous years and collect the difference in the form of a refund. A change in permissible deductibles for companies carrying lots of debt worked out to another $12 billion. According to New York Times business reporter Jesse Drucker, these lucrative provisions had the fingerprints of lobbyists all over them, because there are so few people who understand the intricacies of the tax code.

Story continues

Knowing that the bill was packed with problematic spending, members of both parties didnt want to go on the record supporting it and risk payback down the line from voters. House Republicans didnt want to take responsibility for trampling on their professed principles of fiscal restraint. House Democrats didnt want to own legislation so obviously beneficial to corporations. Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy tried to protect everyone by sliding through the bill by unanimous consent.

Progressive congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was so disillusioned with the bill she mused aloud about insisting on a recorded vote, but in the end it was conservative Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, one of the congressmen featured in The Swamp, our new documentary about Congress, who forced his colleagues to fend off his attempt to make them vote on the record.

Massies colleagues on both sides of the aisle in Congress slammed him for endangering their lives by forcing them to risk contracting the virus by coming to the Capitol to vote. But the outrage directed at Massie was a smokescreen to shield members from taking the distasteful vote. Massie advocated for Speaker Nancy Pelosi to change the chambers rules to allow for virtual voting, as several state legislatures have done, but while that move would have protected members health, it would have left their voting records exposed. Ultimately, Pelosi and McCarthy called enough of their members back to Washington so the bill could be passed by a voice vote, another parliamentary procedure that spares members from individual accountability.

Soon after President Trump signed the bill, more glaring problems with the CARES Act surfaced. For one thing, the oversight mechanism Congress put in place to monitor the $500 billion it had allocated the Treasury Department to distribute to businesses in distress wasnt functioning. Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell were supposed to jointly name a chair of the newly created COVID-19 Congressional Oversight Commission, but more than four months later they still havent been able to agree on an appointee. Meanwhile, hundreds of billions of dollars have been spent and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has argued against disclosing who received it.

Despite Congress also having little grasp on how another part of the CARES Act was spentthe $350 billion Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) for small businesses that many big businesses ended up receivingless than a month later after passing the initial legislation, Congress allocated $310 billion more for PPP as part of a $484 billion add-on to the CARES Act.

Now Congress is wrestling over another coronavirus stimulus bill. Time is of the essence, particularly because one of the most effective and popular provisions of the original CARES Acta supplemental unemployment benefit of $600 per week that has kept millions of Americans afloat during this time of economic disasterexpired last week.

In May, Pelosi squeezed a $3 trillion bill through the House that went nowhere in the Senate, but which she is using as her baseline for negotiations. The size of the bill is intended to make up for the insufficiency of the $2.7 trillion CARES package. But while Americans certainly need trillions of dollars more in assistance, it is essential that this new legislation actually directs all of its money to those in need, instead of letting hundreds of billions of dollars (or more!) get siphoned away by the lobbyists who have significantly more pull in the legislative process than regular Americans.

Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), another one of the congressmen we follow in our documentary, calls the giveaways and tax breaks barnacled onto these massive stimulus bills the corruption tax. For most members of Congress, theres simply an assumptiona certainty, reallythat corporations, trade groups, and other big-time lobbying shop clients will walk off with a good size piece of any spending bill pie, regardless of whether they really need it.

When times are good its easy to brush aside this systemic corruption as Congress just being Congress, but its inexcusable to do so when our nation is beset by so many massive problemsa pandemic still raging out of control, more than 30 million people on unemployment, 11 percent of Americans living in households without enough to eat, over 100,000 small businesses closed permanently, and so many more tribulations on the horizon.

Undoubtedly, Congress needs to pass another massive stimulus bill as soon as possible that boldly tackles the profound hardship the American people are experiencing. But in making haste, Congressional leaders must not produce a bill that their members barely get a chance to read before theyre forced to vote on it. They must not produce a bill their members are too embarrassed about to vote for on the record. And above all they must not produce a bill that serves the special interests, rather than the American peoples interests.

So many question marks remain as to how the $2.7 trillion CARES Act was spent and how effective that spending was in helping our country weather the crisis. The recently released, first comprehensive study of the governments pandemic-related spending by the Government Accountability Office, a nonpartisan federal agency, illuminates the lack of transparency and thoughtfulness with which the stimulus money has been distributed.

This time around every dollar must be accounted for and the lions share of that money must go toward the people, small businesses, and state and local governments most in need of assistance. We can afford to spend as much as we need to save and revive our nation, but we cannot afford to waste a single dollar more on paying Congresss corruption tax.

Daniel DiMauro and Morgan Pehme are the co-directors of the new HBO documentary The Swamp.

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A Lebanese policeman was killed in clashes with demonstrators in central Beirut on Saturday, a police spokesman said.

The protests against the ruling political establishement have also left more than 100 people injured and dozens hospitalised.

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Bars, churches closed in Malawi amid uptick in cases

Bars and churches have been ordered to close in Malawi after coronavirus cases in the African country doubled over the past month. Gatherings of more than 10 people have also been banned, and face masks are now obligatory in public places.

Case numbers "are rising at an alarming rate", Information Minister Gospel Kazako said, according to CGTN. "The problem is big and we must all stand up. Covid-19 is here and it is killing people."

Bars will still be allowed to serve alcohol to take away.

According to Johns Hopkins University, there have been 4,624 Covid-19 cases in Malawi, leading to 143 deaths.
Altre 11 persone sono rimaste intossicate e ora sono in ospedale
Identical twins separated at birth in a cruel experiment have spoken for the first time about how they found each other after a chance encounter at a pancake restaurant.

Melanie Mertzel had no idea she had a long-lost sister.

Suddenly, at age 23, she found herself looking at someone she never knew existed - someone with exactly the same eyes, voice and laugh as her - her twin, Ellen Carbone.

A bizarre coincidence brought the pair together after decades apart, raised by different families in New York City.

Melanie was working at her parents' restaurant, International House of Pancakes in Brooklyn, when a woman approached her, behaving oddly.

'She saw me and couldn't understand why I didn't recognise her,' Melanie told 60 Minutes Australia.

A week later the woman was back, carrying a photo of her niece, Ellen.

Ellen Carbone (left) hugs twin sister Melanie Mertzel (right). The pair found each other after being separated at birth then studied in a cruel experiment

Ellen Carbone (left) and twin sister Melanie Mertzel (right) told 60 Minutes the adoption agency refused to give them their information or records from the study

She showed the picture to Melanie's boyfriend.

'That's you,' he told Melanie.

'That's not me,' she replied.

'That IS you,' he insisted.

'Don't tell me who I am - I know who I am,' she replied.

Intrigued, she spoke to the woman, who gave her Ellen's phone number.

When Melanie rang, she was blown away by how their voices and laughs sounded exactly the same.

Psychiatrist Peter Neubauer began the study in the 1960s that would track the separated twins and triplets to see if life's outcomes are due to nature or nurture. The adoption agency already separated twins to give each baby more maternal attention, Psychology Today reported

They compared everything they liked and disliked, and found out they were mirror twins with Melanie left-handed and Ellen right handed.

'Her dimple's on the left side, my dimple's on the right side - so we were like: "wow, we're mirror images",' Melanie said.

The two soon met up and Ellen was so nervous she threw up.

Ellen had always wanted an identical twin - she had dreamed of it and wanted it - and now it was an instant reality.

'I was very, very shy as a child, and I clung to my mother - like I would hold onto her leg, like when we went out anywhere,' she said.

Elen and Melanie were blown away when they met up but because they were living further apart with their partners, they felt they never could recapture a lost childhood of bonding

'And I feel like that's because I was missing my other half, basically.'

The pair also talked about how strange people had come to study them, giving them tests and asking them questions.

They did not know it, but they had been used as guinea pigs in a secret 1960s study that used twins separated by their adoption agency to find out whether nature or nurture governs a person's life outcomes.

When they found out, both they and their families were furious at being duped and used.

Not only did they miss out on bonding during their childhood years in what might have been their closest relationship, but they are angry at not being told.

'We were treated not like humans but like animals,' said Ellen.

The New York City adoption agency, Louise Wise Services, would only confirm they were twins and would not hand over any records or information, the pair said.

Identical triplets (left to right) David Kellman, Robert Shafran and the late Eddy Galland found each other as young adults aged 18 after Robert went to Eddie's former college

The triplets bonded instantly and opened a New York City restaurant called 'The Triplets'. Sadly Eddie committed suicide in 1995.

The pair were not the only ones separated - and enraged - as part of the study.

Identical triplets Robert Shafran, Eddy Galland and David Kellman also found each other as young adults.

Robert reunited with Eddy by chance after attending the same upstate New York college as his brother a year after he transferred.

'Guys were slapping me on the back, and girls were hugging and kissing me,' he said.

It was all very welcoming - except for the fact they insisted on calling him Eddy.

When the pair reunited their picture was in the local newspaper, where it was seen by their third brother David.

The trio had been born on Long Island, New York, then placed in different families to study the effects of the socio-economic environment on the boys' development.

One family was wealthy, one middle class and one working class.

Robert Shafran (left) and David Kellman (right) are furious at being separated at birth and say it caused them a separation anxiety trauma that caused them to hit their heads on the wall

Robert Shafran's father was a doctor and his mother a lawyer, and they lived in affluent Scarsdale, in Westchester County.

Eddy Galland's family lived in a middle-class suburb in Long Island, where his father was a teacher, while David Kellman's parents lived in working-class Queens.

The scientific study was conducted in the 1960s by prominent New York City adoption agency Louise Wise Services and psychiatrist Peter Neubauer - now deceased.

Several researchers were involved in the study, which had funding from the US National Institute of Mental Health, over about 15 years.

During the 1960s, at least eight twins and one set of triplets were separated, with the babies placed in different homes.

Those in charge of the experiment had good credentials as advocates for social justice at the time.

Louise Wise Services was started in 1916 by Louise Waterman Wise, the wife of prominent Rabbi Stephen Wise who helped found the American Jewish Congress and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).

At the time of the adoptions, Louise Wise Services was chaired by Mrs Wise's daughter, New York City's first ever female justice Justine Wise Polier.

Psychiatrist Peter Bela Neubauer was an Austrian Jew who had escaped from Nazi Germany's holocaust to Switzerland before moving to New York in 1941.

Both Robert Shafran and Melanie Mertzel called Dr Neubauer a 'Nazi', in reference to Nazi doctor Josef Mengele (pictured) who carried out horrific experiments on twins. Dr Neubauer himself fled the holocaust, and the adoption agency serviced New York's Jewish community

Decades later his own twin experiment was compared by his angry subjects to the same Nazi regime he had fled from.

Yet the experiment, now criticised as cruel, began with the best of intentions.

Separating twins for adoption was not begun for experimentation but because it was thought to be the best thing for the children.

Dr Viola Bernard was the chief psychiatric consultant to Louise Wise Services - and it was she who first began separating the twins.

She hoped that by separating the twins they would not have to compete for their adoptive mother's attention.

Yale University Library in the USA, where all the records are locked under seal until 2065. The twins are angry they cannot get their own information out

'Early mothering would be less burdened and divided and the child's developing individuality would be facilitated,' she wrote in a recently uncovered memo quoted by Psychology Today.

According to Psychology Today, other adoption agencies also separated twins at the time, and it was standard practice to have a 'closed adoption', where adoptive parents signed a contract guaranteeing they would not know anything of the family background of the infants.

The families and the children were not told they were part of a study, angering the adult twins now.

However the study began long before the rules of informed consent were introduced to the US by the National Research Act of 1974.

As the year passed, however, the study began to be viewed as evil.

Twin expert Professor Nancy Segal says great damage was done by separating the twins and triplets at birth.

Identical twin sisters Michele Mordkoff (left) and Allison Kanter (right) were also separated by Louise Wise Services, and reunited after 54 years after Michele watched the documentary Three Identical Strangers

'These individuals were deprived of what could could have been the closest of human social relationships, and not to have had that, to be deprived of that, is horrible,' she said.

Most devastatingly she said several of the parents had indicated they would have been happy to adopt twins, including one couple who had asked more than once, she said.

Two documentaries made about the experiment, The Twinning Reaction and Three Identical Strangers, both said some of the separated children had to deal with mental health issues as adults.

Three of them committed suicide, including one of the triplets, Eddy Galland, who killed himself in 1995.

His triplet brothers David Kellman and Robert Shafran star in Three Identical Strangers, and they still harbour bitterness towards the agency and the scientists who, they say, deprived them of 20 years of growing up together.

Robert told 60 Minutes he had separation anxiety due to be separated from his brothers as a child.

'My mother said I would bang my head on the other side of the crib and hold my breath until I passed out,' he said.

David said he had the same trauma.

'I remember being told by my mother while I was a baby that I would slam my head against the wall,' he said.

All three of the boys had psychiatric care as teenagers.

'This is like Nazi sh**,' Robert later told documentary makers, referring to the horrific experiments that Nazi doctor Josef Mengele carried out in Auschwitz, where he experimented on, tortured and killed twins.

After the documentaries publicised the case, more identical twins separated by the Louise Wise Services began finding each other.

Michele Mordkoff found her twin sister Allison Kanter after 54 years of separation after seeing the documentary Three Identical Strangers.

Michele knew she had been adopted out by Louise Wise Services so she took a DNA test.

Weeks later, Michele received her Ancestry.com results and discovered she had an 'immediate family member', and looked the member up on Facebook.

At first when she saw her own face looking back at her on Facebook, she thought someone had assumed her identity.

Weeks later, on August 10, 2018, Michele and Allison reunited in New York City and are glad to have found each other at last.

Until his death in 2008, Dr Neubauer insisted he had done the right thing, but he never published a paper about it, fearing it would be too controversial as the tide of public opinion turned against research without consent.

The public has not benefited from the scientific research he conducted, so suffering caused by the study has so far been for nothing.

Yale University has all the records of the twins' early lives and they are locked - sealed until 2065, under orders from Dr Neubauer, despite requests from the twins to see their own files.

'You shouldn't hide my life from me,' said Melanie.

'The fact it was never publicised is like really? You did it all for nothing, then? We describe him as a Nazi, honestly.'

This also angers twin expert Professor Nancy Segal.

'It really does seem as though the suffering ... really was for nothing,' she said.

'There's no real end product here, nothing that we can say that we've learned - we've only learned how not to do research.'
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 9)  Vice President Leni Robredo is calling for the suspension of officials of the embattled Philippine Health Insurance Corp. amid allegations of irregularities and corruption in the agency.

This would allow authorities to conduct a more serious investigation on the issues hounding the state insurance agency, including corruption and other long-standing fraudulent schemes, Robredo said.

"Dapat sana may suspension para makabwelo yung mga mag-iimbestiga," Robredo said in her weekly radio show on Sunday.

[Translation: It would be better to have a suspension to allow investigators to do look into the issue more thoroughly.]

"Sana iyon 'yung gawin to show na seryoso tayo na sugpuin ang corruption. Kasi yung may hawak ng dokumento nandyan pa," she added.

[Translation: I hope authorities do that to shwo that we are serious about fighting corruption. Because the officials who hold the documents are still there.]

Robredo also questioned the role of anti-corruption bodies who were supposed to address the issue beforehand.

"Eh diba meron tayong mga anti-corruption bodies, diba dapat ito yung mga naaamoy nila? Na hindi na dapat hinihintay na lumala pa yung sitwasyon?"

[Translation: Don't we have anti-corruption bodies who were supposed to sense these things, so that the situation will not worsen?]

Last week's hearings at the House and Senate uncovered that PhilHealth officials allegedly stole some 15 billion through different fraud schemes, and the agency's president and CEO Ricardo Morales repeatedly endorsed a "bloated" budget for IT equipment and software.

The House Committee on Public Accounts also reported that the Commission on Audit was barred access to PhilHealth's computers when it tried to look into its audit records and hospital claims in 2019.

On Friday, President Rodrigo Duterte ordered the creation of "Task Force PhilHealth" to look into alleged fraudulent schemes and corruption in the agency.

The task force to be convened by the Department of Justice will include top officials from the Office of the Ombudsman, Commission on Audit, Civil Service Commission, Office of the Executive Secretary, Office of the President, and the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission.

The PACC reported that at least 36 officials may either be dismissed or face charges for their involvement in numerous irregularities within the agency.

On Saturday, Morales sent a medical certificate to the Senate Committee of the Whole informing that he was advised to take a leave of absence due to his lymphoma treatment, days before the second round of grilling from lawmakers. PhilHealth executive vice president Arnel de Jesus also asked to be excused due to an "unforeseen medical emergency."

The Senate panel will convene once again on Tuesday morning to continue its hearing on PhilHealth's controversies.
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Sudan's Foreign Ministry on Saturday expressed "reservation" toward a U.S. warning against travelling to Sudan for its citizens.

The U.S. State Department's travel warning issued on Thursday rests "on the claim that crimes such as kidnapping, armed robbery, home invasion and carjacking can occur," the ministry said in a statement.

"The warning contained a negative signal about the possibility that the police and other security forces may respond violently to the peaceful demonstrations," it added.

The ministry reaffirmed Sudan's full cooperation with the United States and the international community to combat all forms of terrorism in Sudan and the region.

The Sudanese Foreign Ministry also urged its U.S. counterpart to push forward high-level constructive bilateral dialogue to normalize the relations of the two countries.




Washington, Aug 9 : US Secretary of Defence Mark Esper confirmed that US troops in Afghanistan would be reduced to less than 5,000 by the end of November.

"We're going down to a number less than 5,000 by the end of November. We need to brief Congress from what that looks like," Esper said in an interview on Saturday, reported Xinhua news agency.

Earlier this week, President Donald Trump revealed the force reduction plan in an interview.

When asked how many American troops will be in Afghanistan on presidential election day in early November, Trump said it would be "probably, anywhere from 4,000 to 5,000." The Pentagon said in mid-July that the United States maintained its force level in Afghanistan at mid-8,000s, meeting the conditions of the US-Taliban deal signed in late February.

According to the agreement, the United States would reduce its forces in Afghanistan to 8,600 within 135 days till July 13.

The agreement also called for a full withdrawal of US military forces from Afghanistan by May 2021 if the Taliban follows the deal, including severing ties with terrorist groups.

US invasion of Afghanistan has caused over 100,000 deaths, including civilians, Afghan security forces, Taliban forces and US troops. Trump has sought a full withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Taipei: A senior member of US President Donald Trump's administration landed in Taiwan Sunday for Washington's highest-level visit since switching diplomatic recognition to China in 1979, a trip Beijing has condemned.

A delegation led by health chief Alex Azar landed at Taipei's Songshan airport, according to AFP reporters on the scene.

During the three-day visit Health Secretary Alex Azar will meet President Tsai Ing-wen, who advocates Taiwan being recognised as a sovereign nation and is loathed by China's leaders.

Azar is the most senior US cabinet member to visit Taiwan in decades and his visit comes as relations between the world's two biggest economic powers plunge to historic lows.

In recent days, Trump has ordered sweeping restrictions on popular Chinese apps TikTok and WeChat and the US Treasury Department slapped sanctions on Hong Kong's leader over a tough law that curbs dissent.

Washington has billed the Taiwan trip as an opportunity to learn from the island's fight against the coronavirus and to celebrate its progressive values.

"This trip is a recognition of Taiwan's success in combating COVID-19 and a testament to the shared beliefs that open and democratic societies are best equipped to combating disease threats like COVID-19," a health and human services department official told reporters ahead of the visit.

But Beijing balks at any recognition of self-ruled Taiwan, which it claims as its own territory and vows to one day seize, by force if necessary.

It has described Azar's visit as a threat to "peace and stability", while China's defence minister warned against Washington making any "dangerous moves".

As well as meeting Tsai, Azar will hold talks with his counterpart Chen Shih-chung and Foreign Minister Joseph Wu.

He will also meet coronavirus experts and give a speech to public health students as well as alumni of a training programme with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Taiwan has become a poster child for defeating the coronavirus thanks to a well-honed track and tracing programme as well as firm border controls.

Despite its proximity and economic links to China it has recorded fewer than 500 infections and seven deaths.

In contrast the US has recorded the most deaths in the world with more than 160,000 fatalities.

A cautious testing of China

The rapidly deteriorating relationship between Beijing and Washington comes as Trump seeks re-election in November.

He is trailing in the polls to rival Joe Biden and has begun campaigning hard on an increasingly strident anti-Beijing message.

As public disapproval has grown for his handling of the epidemic, Trump has pivoted from his previous focus on striking a trade deal with China to blaming the country for the coronavirus crisis.

The two countries have clashed on a range of issues, from trade to espionage allegations and Beijing's human rights record such as the mass incarceration of Uighur Muslims and the political crackdown in Hong Kong.

Washington remains the leading arms supplier to Taiwan but has historically been cautious in holding official contacts with it.

Under Trump, relations with Taiwan have warmed dramatically and he has approved a number of major military sales, including F-16 fighter jets.

Douglas Paal, a former head of the American Institute in Taiwan, Washington's de facto embassy, said the Trump administration was still paying heed to China's red line -- that no US official handling national security visit Taiwan.

Throughout the 1990s the United States sent trade officials to Taiwan with regularity.

The difference this time, he said, is the context, with Azar travelling at a time when relations between Washington and Beijing have hit a new low.

"Sending him to Taiwan shows respect for the old framework while putting a finger in China's eye at the same time," Paal said.

"The fact that they didn't choose to send a national security advisor or someone else suggests they are trying to come as close as possible to China's red line but don't want to cross it."

The last cabinet minister to visit Taiwan was in 2014 when the then head of the Environmental Protection Agency led a delegation.

Taiwan has also built broad, bipartisan support in Washington.

Tsai has been hailed not only for her decisive coronavirus response but also, among US Democrats, for her progressive views including advocacy of gay rights, unusual for an Asian leader.
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Norwegian Allan Hovda has won Norseman, Swissman, the Lofoten Triathlon and Ironman Haugesund, and just recently did Norseman solo and a 24 hour ride on his new blue Quintana Roo PRsix2. We took a closer look at this SRAM RED eTap AXS 1x equipped race ready machine, and Hovda told us that he has been inspired with some of his part choices by the slowtwitch website and forum.



"It may be needless to say, but I am extremely happy with my setup. The result in my poorly planned 24-hour ride in bad conditions on a non ideal course with moderate watts (199 NP/70kg) shows that the aerodynamic performance is world-class. I got 889km. As always, I still seek improvements and am happy for any thoughts on how I can go faster," said Hovda. "Since the last bike gallery, my bike has been updated quite a bit. The only thing that is unchanged is the Morf-Tech bar and Specialized Sitero seat."



When asked what made him change out certain components he added. "I wanted 1X for the simplicity, weight-saving and improved aerodynamics. If it is actually faster, I am not 100 % certain as the friction increases on the 28/33t (due to cross chaining) and on the 10t due to the sharp angle. For the 24h ride I am certain it was a very good choice, but for Norseman 2021 I will probably convert to a 2X. Since I have not seen friction data for the SRAM AXS 12 speed I will conduct my own testing comparing the watts on my Tacx Neo compared to my crank and/or power pedals with the different gearing choices. Changing from the PRsix to PRsix2 was mainly due to the integrated drinking system which gives me increased flexibility in terms of arm pads (as the BTA is not a concern). The reduced weight and increased stiffness didn't hurt either."

Hovda is 180cm tall and weighs 68kg and rides a 52cm Quintana Roo PRSix2 Disc in matte blue with a matching Qbox. The rear wheel is a Specialized Roval 321 and the front one is a HED Vanquish 8.

The front view of this Quintana Roo PRsix2 with the Morf-Tech TriFold bars is very distinctive, and certainly looks very fast.

A side view of the Morf-Tech bars also shows the integrated QR drinking system well.

When looking from above the custom made Aerotune arm rests are easy to spot, as are the cushy pads by CEE GEES. "The Aerotune arm rests are 3D-printed in plastic and only a demo version to test before they make the "real ones" in carbon. It did, however, work well enough to use in the 24hour ride and Norseman Solo," said Hovda.

Inspiration, motivation and humor comes for different athletes in different places.



My oldest son who is five-years-old thought I should have a sticker on my bike and he is heavily into pirates. It reminds me to go into a take-no-prisoners mindset during racing, explained Hovda.

Hovda rides 165mm SRAM RED AXS 1X cranks with a 50 tooth ring and an integrated power meter.

When aero gains are important it is hard to look past the Speedplay Aero Zero pedals.

Hovda has a 23mm Vittoria Corsa Speed TLR that measures 24.8mm on the Roval 321 disc. Why the Roval?



"Always use a rear disc. Unless it kills you, it makes you faster - a lesson learned from the slowtwitch forum. But seriously, at 1020g and superb aerodynamic properties it's difficult to find a faster option, even on hilly courses," explained Hovda.



The front tire on that HED Vanquish 8 is a 25mm Vittoria Corsa Speed TLR that measures 27.5mm and Hovda runs Silca latex tubes, because he has been unable to set up the tires tubeless.



"I want to ride them tubeless but have not able to get them to "pop" despite using a booster. Not my local bike shop with their large compressor either. So until I find a way or someone who can I am happy to ride latex," added Hovda.

Up close with the trusted Specialized Sitero saddle of Allan Hovda. He has mounted an XLab Gorilla cage underneath it.



The view of the Sitero saddle from above. Sometimes a saddle and a rider are just a perfect match and that is why it is best to try out various saddles until that sweet spot is found.

That color blue is also my favorite Quintana Roo color.

Bright blue in the city and looking fast standing still.
Prince Harry Tom Inskip - Shutterstock

Prince Harrys childhood friend Tom Skippy Inskip expressed reservations about Meghan Markle before the couple became engaged, it has been claimed.

According to the forthcoming biography of the Royal couple Mr Inskip - known to friends as Skippy - advised Harry and Meghan to live together before doing anything more serious.

A source close to Duke and Duchess of Sussex told the authors of Finding Freedom, which is being published on Tuesday, that although his advice came from a good place, Prince Harry didnt totally see it that way.

The source, who is understood to have spoken to the authors with the permission of the Duke and Duchess, added, It really hurt him that someone he was so close to would not trust his judgment.

It has been previously revealed that Harrys brother, Prince William, also advised him to slow down, leading to reports of a deep rift between the two.

Prince Harry and Tom Inskip attend the wedding of James Meade and Lady Laura Marsham at the Parish Church of St. Nicholas in Gayton on September 14, 2013 near King's Lynn, - Max Mumby/Indigo

Mr Inskip and his wife Lara Hughes-Young were reportedly punished for expressing his reservations by being excluded from Prince Harry and Meghans evening wedding party at Frogmore House in May 2018.

According to reports last year Prince Harry and Mr Inskip were reconciled after the death of his mother-in-law last year following severe mental health problems.

It was Mr Inskip who arranged the infamous 2012 Las Vegas party at which Prince Harry was caught playing naked billiards with showgirls in a hotel suite.

He was also with the Prince when he was seen inhaling 'hippy crack' - or laughing gas - at another party.

It has also been claimed that when Prince Harry and Ms Markle first began their relationship, following a blind date in July 2016 Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, had not shown much interest in the American actress.

A source told Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand, the authors of Finding Freedom: Harry and Meghan and the Making of A Modern Royal: Despite the fact that Harry was a regular guest in her household Kate seemingly didnt care to get to know who this woman was who had made her brother-in-law so happy.

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However, this may simply have been a reflection of the fact the Duchess of Cambridge is an extremely guarded person.

The source added: Meghan was disappointed that she and Kate hadnt bonded over the unique position they shared and that Catherine felt they did not have much in common other than the fact that they lived at Kensington Palace.

Prince Harry and his friend Tom Inskip throw snowballs from a hotel balcony at the Swiss resort of Verbier - Mark Large/ANL/Shutterstock

Prince Harry and Ms Markle married at St. Georges Chapel at Windsor Castle on May 19, 2018 and went on to have a son, Archie, now 15 months.

The US celebrity magazine In Touch, which reported on Saturday the claims about Mr Inskips reservations regarding Meghan, has earlier claimed she has no regrets about her and Prince Harrys decision to move across the Atlantic in March this year.

She looks and feels amazing, said a source, adding that the Duchess of Sussex is particularly pleased to no longer have to abide by the royal dress code.

Meghans gotten used to dressing down, a source said. On a day-to-day basis, she wears jeans or yoga pants, big sweaters and flats or sneakers, which she feels comfortable and relaxed in, and keeps her makeup minimal, said the source.

Although the Duchess is said to enjoy getting dolled up from time to time, she hated the firms old-fashioned rules and regulations  like wearing dresses below the knee.

Buckingham Palace officials told The Telegraph they would not comment on the contents of the forthcoming book or on claims made by unnamed sources.
https://www.aish.com/j/fs/Coronavirus-Questions.html

Do masks work? Should you go to shul? Should you send your kids to Israel? Mordechai tells all!

Here are my answers to the three most popular questions Ive been asked about Coronavirus. Since no one has good answers mine are as good as any.

Dear Mordechai,

I hate wearing face masks. Yet apparently, I have to wear them. How do I cope?

E.K.

Dear E.,

I hear you. Nobody likes masks. Theyre something else to remember on the way out of the house, theyre not visually appealing, and you basically end up smelling your own breath all day.

Who had tuna fish for lunch? Oh, that was me.

That you can smell. But theres no way you can smell produce in the grocery store. Everything you buy is a gamble.

And I dont know whats worse  having to wear a face mask, or watching all the people who walk around with their masks under their chins. Like that works. Theyre protecting the world from their chin.

I guess theyve figured out that thats how you have to wear it to not fog up your glasses.

But you really have to focus on all the upsides of wearing masks. For example, you can make whatever face you want behind them. You dont have to smile when people talk, or figure out whether you should smile based on where you think their story is going. You can even make nasty faces. You just cant roll your eyes.

Though you can wear sunglasses.

So these days, if I dont feel like smiling, I dont. I just fake a smile by pushing my cheeks up, using a motion that, to the untrained eye, might look like a smile. But you know what they say: Push your cheeks up into a fake smile and the world pushes their cheeks up into a fake smile with you.

Okay, thats not true. Im still smiling at people like an idiot. Even though no one can see.

Also, youve got to look on the bright side of people wearing masks everywhere: No ones scratching their noses in public or biting their nails or smoking and lighting their masks on fire or anything like that. Or blowing disgusting bubbles with their gum. Its just the mask going up and down. And if you wear a mask at home all the time, youll stop eating. Its basically a reminder not to put our hands near our faces.

Though Im not entirely sure no one can eat with them. You can bet that if were still wearing masks when school starts, the kids will actually use their masks to eat in class -- at least as much food as they can fit into their masks before class. Theyd just put a handful of pretzels in there and inhale them one at a time. And the only clue will be the crumbs falling down from behind their masks, or, when they remove the mask, the small outline of salt.

Dear Mordechai,

Some of the shuls in my neighborhood are finally opening up, but some of the outdoor minyanim are staying open. Any advice as to where I should daven?

A.S.

Dear A.,

I personally like outdoor shul. It speaks to the child in me. Its like those days in school when the teacher decided to give outdoor class. Its the same lesson, plus truck noises, but theres something exciting about it.

On top of that, most of the outdoor minyanim Ive been to up to this point have been at amusement parks. I guess thats why I always get excited when Im out somewhere and I see an outdoor minyan I can join. Ill join it even though Id been planning on going to shul later. Whereas I never walk into shul and exclaim, Wow! Yay! Theres a minyan in here!

But that said, after a few weeks of davening in the side yard behind someones house, Ive come up with a list of pros and cons for outdoor minyanim, besides for the truck-noise thing, which Id count as a con. Its all one list, though, because personal experience has shown me that basically every single item would be considered a pro by some people and a con by others.

With an outdoor minyan, theres always an awkward, What do you do with your tallis bag/tefillin bag situation? Especially if someones already set up shop on the trampoline.

There are no fights about air conditioning, or whether to keep the window open or closed. Thats between you and God.

A lot of davening Shacharit involves trying to keep the sun out of your eyes. Mincha/Maariv is all about the mosquitoes.

Ever since weve been davening outside, our house is full of grass clippings.

The chazzan has to sometimes compete with the neighbor mowing his lawn at seven in the morning. Its grass; its not going anywhere!

The last person out doesnt have to be responsible for figuring out how to turn off the lights.

Dear Mordechai,

We have a daughter is supposed to go study in Israel, but were not sure if the programs will make it through the year, even though they want us to pay up front for the whole year. What should we do?

- D.P.

Dear D.,

Thats a great question. The thing about studying in Israel for the year is that its not like you can show up and if you want to social distance, they give you a hat with a pool noodle on it. Its about getting into a country. And no country trusts how any other country is handling the situation right now.

Theyre not doing it right. They got a second wave.

Theyre not doing it right. Theyre still on the first wave.

Theyre not doing it right. Whats with all the protests all of a sudden?

So nobody knows whats happening. And they want money from you anyway.

For some boys its a little different, because its a window of more years, but even my brother who is post high school yeshiva age doesnt know whether hes going back to Israel next year. Right now, hes in the States, in a yeshiva thats up in the mountains. Not permanently; they just moved there. Because its a known fact that corona cannot climb mountains. We dont know much about corona, but we know this.

Maybe theyll have some kind of phone seminary where your daughter calls into Israel for an hour, and someone at the other end of the line gives an inspiring lecture, and that way she gets the unique seminary experience. Or maybe the school year will just start late. Theres no halacha that school has to start in September. Theyll take her for half the year, but to make up for it, theyll take a whole years worth of money. Who says school has to start on time?

Have a question for How Should I Know? Just send it to me, along with a non-refundable deposit of several thousand dollars.
The sister of Business Minister Nadhim Zahawi escaped death in the Beirut chemicals blast  because she had popped to the toilet, she revealed last night.

Moments earlier, Jihan Zahawi had been on the street outside her shop just 500 yards from the warehouse where 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate exploded.

I was saved by God, the mother-of-five told The Mail on Sunday. It sounds crazy, but what saved me from death is that I went upstairs to the toilet. Otherwise, I would have been cut into pieces, shredded.

The explosion on Tuesday killed at least 158 people, including more than 40 in the district where Ms Zahawi runs a handicrafts shop.

Moments earlier, Jihan Zahawi (pictured in the doorway of her shop) had been on the street outside her shop just 500 yards from the warehouse where 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate exploded

She told the MoS she had taken a break from handing out cups of mint lemonade to people passing her shop when the blast wave tore through the city.

If you look out from my shop you can see straight down to the sea and the port, she said.

I was here on Tuesday with my assistant Welma and my driver Samir, when we noticed the smoke rising from the initial fire.

I walked away to take a short break. I went upstairs, leaving Welma outside with our fresh lemonade, then bang.

Pictured: A volunteer with brush during the clean up outside the Electricite du Liban building, which is opposite Ms Zahawi's shop

Ms Zahawi, 51, lost consciousness and awoke to a scene of devastation. Samir, who had been knocked off his feet by the blast, rushed to Ms Zahawis aid and led her outside, where they found a bloodied Welma.

There were cuts and blood all over her face and she said she couldnt see, Ms Zahawi said.

In the block of flats across the road from Ms Zahawis shop, a couple fell to their deaths as their balcony collapsed.

Ms Zahawis husband, Elie, drove into the city from their home in the mountains above Beirut and took her and Welma to hospital.

Ms Zahawi received stitches to a head wound and Welmas sight returned after her eyes were washed by medics.

Ms Zahawi, who is from a family of Kurds who fled Saddam Husseins regime in Iraq for Britain in 1978, later returned to her store.

When my husband saw what was left, he said, Jihan, this is miraculous. I cant believe youre alive.
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Monster Energys Michael Chandler Knocks Out Benson Henderson at Bellator 243 Every single lightweight on the entire planet, youre on the clock  you're on notice. Michael Chandler

Two dominant performances in one night! Monster Energy congratulates on his first-round victory against Benson Henderson at Bellator 243 inside Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut, on Friday night. In the main event bout, the 34-year-old lightweight division fighter from High Ridge, Missouri, knocked out his opponent with a hard left at 2:09 minutes.

In the womens flyweight fight on Bellator 243s preliminary card, Monster Energys Valerie Master Loureda continued her unbroken Bellator winning streak with a TKO against Tara Graff. The 22-year-old MMA phenomenon from Miami, Florida, shut down her opponent at the end of round two and remains undefeated with three victories under her belt.

Bellator 243 marks the promotions second consecutive event at Mohegan Sun resort and casino. Aired on Paramount and streamed on DAZN, Bellator 243  Chandler vs. Henderson 2 was contested as a closed-to-the-public event amid extensive COVID-19 safety protocols for staff, officials and fighters.

Friday nights bout between Chandler (21-5 MMA, 18-5 BMMA) and Henderson was a rematch after their five-round clash at Bellator 165 in 2016, when Chandler took the upper hand. This time, former UFC and WEC lightweight champion Henderson (28-9 MMA, 5-4 BMMA) wanted to even the score and stepped into the fight on a four-fight winning streak.

But Chandler, who trains at Floridas Sanford MMA, came prepared to face such a powerful opponent. Straight out the gate, both fighters exchanged blows, with Henderson landing damaging body kicks. Then came a surprise: Chandler switched to southpaw and nailed Henderson with a hard left to the jaw, sending him to the canvas on all fours. Following up with a right hook that grazed Hendersons head, Chandler rained punches from above until the referee ended the fight at the 2:09 mark of Round 1.

I'd be lying if I said I wasnt scared to death going into the cage with this monster, said Chandler after winning the main event fight at Bellator 243 on Friday, crediting his training at Sanford MMA for the win. Speaking on the switch to southpaw punches, Chandler said: Its something we kind of worked on. Maybe throw him off a little bit.

Friday nights victory marks the final fight on Chandlers Bellator contract after joining the promotion in 2010 at Bellator 31. The three-time lightweight division champion, who now holds the record for most stoppages in Bellator history (13), is going to pursue free agency. The big finish against Henderson, who had only been knocked out once before in his career, is poised to increase Chandlers market value significantly. Well see what happens, said Chandler in his post-fight interview. Every single lightweight on the entire planet, youre on the clock  you're on notice.

Download High Res Michael Chandler Photos for Editorial Use

Earlier on Friday night, Monster Energys Loureda (3-0 MMA, 3-0 BMMA) returned to the ring for a flyweight division bout against Tara The Tiny Terror Graff (1-2 MMA, 0-1 BMMA) from Maryland. Previous to the fight, Loureda had been sidelined from competition for 14 months, first due to an injury, then because of lockdown on MMA competitions in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

But when the bell rang at Mohegan Sun Arena, Loureda returned to full fighting form. Circling her opponent on the outside of the canvas, the rising MMA prospect controlled the pace and landed precise shots while avoiding grapples.

Towards the end of round two, Loureda increased the pressure, landing bigger shots and dismantling Graffs defenses. Finally, Loureda dropped Graff to the matt with a punishing right hook to the chin, followed by ground-and-pound until the referee ended the fight at the 5:00 mark. Directly after the fight, the avid dancer known for posting viral hit videos on social media celebrated with an extended victory dance in the octagon.

In her post-fight interview at Bellator 243, Loureda dedicated her victory to, all the girls who look like me, who dance, who want to defend themselves, who are now going to be in MMA because Im an inspiration and theyre not scared. Thats what I stand for.

The buzzer-beater TKO against Tara Graff marks Louredas first win in 2020 and second knockout victory since joining Bellator in 2019. Previous to Bellator 243, the decorated taekwondo competitor who trains at American Top Team announced plans to compete in at least three fights per year: This Loureda is mentally a lot stronger. This Loureda thats getting in the cage is completely different and is going to be more well-rounded in MMA, not just striking. I want to show all the talents I have in MMA.

Download High Res Valerie Loureda Photos for Editorial Use

Congratulations to both Monster Energy fighters on their dominant wins at Bellator 243. Also, thanks to Bellator and Mohegan Sun for showcasing a world-class fighting event amidst the adversities of the global coronavirus pandemic.

Michael Chandler and Valerie Loureda count amongst Monster Energys elite MMA athletes along with Juan The Spaniard Archuleta, Sergio The Phenom Pettis, Rose Namajunas, Jon Bones Jones, Donald Cowboy Cerrone, Jorge Gamebred Masvidal, Chris The All American Weidman, Daniel Cormier, Phil Davis, Dominick Dominator Cruz, Tyron The Chosen One Woodley, Yair Rodriquez, Tony Ferguson, James Gallagher, Joanna Jedrzejczyk, Jessica-Rose Clark, Quinton Rampage Jackson, A.J. McKee, Aaron Pico, and Gaston Bolanos.

For more on Monster Energys MMA athletes visit http://www.monsterenergy.com. Follow Monster Energy on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

###

About Monster Energy

Based in Corona, California, Monster Energy is the leading marketer of energy drinks and alternative beverages. Refusing to acknowledge the traditional, Monster Energy supports the scene and sport. Whether motocross, off-road, NASCAR, MMA, BMX, surf, snowboard, ski, skateboard, or the rock and roll lifestyle, Monster Energy is a brand that believes in authenticity and the core of what its sports, athletes and musicians represent. More than a drink, its the way of life lived by athletes, sports, bands, believers and fans. See more about Monster Energy including all of its drinks at http://www.monsterenergy.com.
DAKAR, Senegal  Gunmen killed eight people on Sunday at a wildlife reserve in Niger, including six French humanitarian workers, their Nigerien driver and a guide, according to authorities.

The group had traveled to Koure reserve in an area known as the Giraffe Zone, home to the only remaining population of West African giraffes. But they had been there for less than an hour when they were shot, their car set aflame and their bodies left in the sand.

It was horrific. We couldnt even look at the bodies, said Djibo Hama, a spokesman for the Association of Koures Giraffe Guides, who saw the aftermath of the attack. They had been brutally shot with bullets, but also flamethrowers had charred the car and some of the people. It was terrifying to see them lying on the ground in their own blood.

Some areas of Mali have been rocked by terrorist attacks in recent years, as have several neighboring West African countries. But the Giraffe Zone has been widely considered safe. The visitors were French humanitarian workers, said the authorities.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-09 22:12:16|Editor: huaxia

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KABUL, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) -- Two civilians were killed and five security personnel injured as a blast rocked the western edge of Kabul city on Sunday, Kabul police spokesman Ferdaus Faramarz said.

According to the official, an explosive device planted inside a handcart exploded at around 4:00 p.m. local time in Kampani locality at Police District 5, killing two civilians including a woman and injuring five security personnel.

Without blaming any particular group or individual, the official said that investigation has been initiated into the incident.

The blast took place hours after the conclusion of a tradition Loya Jirga or grand assembly that approved the release of 400 Taliban hardcore inmates to pave the way for peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban outfit. Enditem
The 1999 UNC-Chapel Hill alumna has been a part of WBTV's news team since 2003 and is now one of the most high-profile anchors at the CBS affiliate.

Since sharing her family's story on social media, the response has been overwhelming: As of 7 p.m. Monday, her post had 8,300-plus comments and 30,000-plus impressions, and had been shared by more than 55,000 accounts.

HOW ANCHOR'S FAMILY GOT COVID-19

It's not entirely clear how they contracted the virus.

Molly Grantham said her husband Wes' parents both tested negative for the coronavirus before driving from Kentucky to Charlotte to watch the Granthams' older children, while Wes and Molly were at the hospital for the birth of their third. They made stops along the way. Meanwhile, Wes Grantham said he visited the hospital's cafeteria, and says it's possible he was exposed there.

Whatever the case may be, Molly Grantham's account of what happened to her family and how it all unfolded is a fascinating example of how successful COVID-19 is at spreading, how rapidly it can do so, and how disparate its effects are on individuals.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D- Conn.) called on the Trump administration to declassify intelligence detailing Russian efforts to influence the 2020 elections, telling MSNBC on Sunday that the classified briefing lawmakers received about the Kremlin's activities last week was "absolutely chilling."

The big picture: National Counterintelligence and Security Center Director William Evanina said in a statement Friday that the Russian government is "using a range of measures" to "denigrate" Joe Biden ahead of the election. China and Iran would prefer that Trump is defeated, according to Evanina.

Driving the news: Blumenthal suggested in a Washington Post op-ed Saturday that Sen. Ron Johnson's (R-Wis.) investigation into Joe Biden and his son's activities in Ukraine may be laundering Russian disinformation, citing a report that Johnson had been provided with tapes by a Ukrainian lawmaker whose father was a KGB agent.

Johnson has denied allegations that he is amplifying Russian disinformation, saying in a statement to the Post: I will not be deterred by these despicable tactics designed to discredit a legitimate investigation. It only increases my curiosity: What do they know that we might uncover?"

Top Democrats in the House and Senate have called for the FBI to provide Congress with a "defensive briefing" regarding what appears to be a "concerted foreign interference campaign" targeting Congress.

What he's saying: "The information that I heard in this classified setting, where we're sworn to secrecy, is absolutely chilling, startling and shocking," Blumenthal said.

"The American people need and deserve to know it. It comes from intelligence sources that we are now barred from revealing. But the next step really is for the Trump administration to declassify it to make it available. "

The intelligence suggests "that the past Soviet, or Russian techniques, are looking like child's play compared to what they're doing now globally," he added.

Go deeper: Pelosi says election threats from China and Russia are "not equivalent"
Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell

Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell attend de Grisogono Sponsors The 2005 Wall Street Concert Series Benefitting Wall Street Rising, with a Performance by Rod Stewart at Cipriani Wall Street on March 15, 2005 in New York City. JoeSchildhorn/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images

When Jeffrey Epstein was at the height of his power and seemed untouchable, he and his web of enablers, including Ghislaine Maxwell, reportedly were trafficking five or six girls a day.

"Surviving Jeffrey Epstein," Lifetime's new four-hour documentary, demonstrates how this was an open secret in his social circle, a sphere of influence that expanded to include some of the world's wealthiest and most recognizable people.

Enough knew enough about his predatory habits that at his 40th birthday party, when British journalist Christopher Mason recited a custom-written composition at his former friend Maxwell's behest, a telling moment seared itself into his memory.

"He taught math at Dalton: The naughty boy blushes/ To think of schoolgirls and all of their crushes," he had read aloud to a roomful of people, some of whom snickered.

"It seemed like that was something that was known about him at the time, that he liked younger girls," Mason says in the documentary, after admitting that in the context of what the world knows about Epstein now, his bawdy little ditty reads a good deal creepier. "It's that odd thing of something that seems tongue in cheek, but you have no real sense of how utterly depraved his intentions were."

"Surviving Jeffrey Epstein," as the title implies, follows in the path of Lifetime's previous documentary "Surviving R. Kelly" in granting a safe, supportive forum to the eight women who agreed to go on camera and recount their stories of being sexual exploited by Epstein and Maxwell, including Virginia Giuffre, perhaps the most prominent accuser associated with this case.

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Filmmakers Annie Sundberg and Ricki Stern edited these four hours in a way that locks our focus on the lives and bravery of these survivors, capturing their determination and refusing to turn the lens away from moments in which the lasting ache of what they've gone through and continue to live with surfaces anew.

"From our perspective, the women themselves and their stories are so specific and so clear, and caused them so much trauma," Stern told Salon in a recent phone conversation. "This isn't an easy thing for them to come forward and share these stories. They're certainly not doing it for fame or fortune. They're doing it because they want to hopefully prevent this from happening to some other young person and also to hopefully change the laws so that people who have been sexually abused won't be up against these timelines of statute of limitations."

Epstein was found dead in his Manhattan jail cell on August 10, 2019, and to some it would seem that this series arrives too late, coinciding with that one-year anniversary. (Netflix already traversed similar territory, albeit in more lurid fashion, in its docuseries "Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich.")

But what Sundberg and Stern argue quite powerfully over the course of their series' four parts is that the only way that the world's most prolific serial sex offender and child molester could have operated so successfully, and trafficked girls from around the globe for so long without facing consequences, is that he didn't operate on his own.

Maxwell was taken into custody on July 2 of this year. And it is her involvement that constitutes the main thrust of the fourth episode, which builds that case that even though Epstein's death denied these women justice, they may get their day in court to confront Maxwell.

"What made ["Surviving R. Kelly] notable was the series itself helped lead to charges. It really helped effect criminal justice repercussions," Stern said. "We feel in some ways that we have some traction now with that, especially with the focus on Ghislaine in the fourth episode. And I think with her trial and the case pending, everyone will be curious to see now if there'll be additional charges that will be laid against some of the people who have been previously either protected or not named."

Each hour carefully walks us through Epstein's rise to become one of the world's richest men while carefully refraining from humanizing him. Instead, the documentary closely examines the means by which the New York financier corrupted and successfully circumvented the justice system for most of his life.

Stern and Sundberg also lay out the web of co-conspirators named in a 2008 federal case brought against him, including Sarah Kellen, Nadia Marcinkova, Lesley Groff ,and Adriana Ross, none of whom have ever been charged with a crime, and Jean-Luc Brunel, a former modeling agency scout who has denied any wrongdoing and, like the others, has not been charged with any crime.

Every episode includes multiple reminders to viewers of each named co-conspirators insistence on their innocence, including a card from Kellen identifying her as a "potential co-conspirator" in a non-prosecution agreement between federal prosecutors and Epstein in 2008 that adds,

Her spokesperson told CBS News she was "sexually" and "psychologically" abused by Epstein for years, and "deeply regrets" any part in "the pain and damage Epstein caused." She has not been charged with any crime.

But Sundberg and Stern are unsparing in terms of pointing out, by way of survivor testimony and ample photographic evidence, how many famous, powerful people were close enough to Epstein and Maxwell to have some idea of what was going on, and yet did absolutely nothing about it.

An extensive array of photographs are woven throughout the series showing Epstein and Maxwell with their arms slung around a jaw-slackening array of public figures. You will recognize Bill Gates, Elon Musk, Bill Clinton, Prince Andrew, and Naomi Campbell, and many, many party pictures of the pair being chummy with Donald Trump.

Giuffre first came forward in 2014 and alleged that she had been trafficked by Epstein and Maxwell over the course of several years and, most shockingly, lent out to friends of theirs, including Prince Andrew and Alan Dershowitz.

Prince Andrew, as far as the filmmakers know, has not been interviewed by the FBI. As of May of this year, he has permanently resigned from all public duties.

However, it is Trump's connection with Epstein that made the latter a household name in 2019. He wasn't known in many circles outside of New York and Hollywood, even though his earlier deal that enabled him to slip free of federal charges  and facilitated between 2007and 2008 by Dershowitz and Trump's eventual Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta, who was then the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida  made national headlines.

Acosta resigned from his position within the administration last year amid rising criticism over his handling of Epstein's 2008 deal  specifically his agreement that the deal would be kept from Epistein's victims, which is a violation of federal law.

But those photos of Epstein and Maxwell cozied up to Donald Trump and Melania at various parties over the years granted him a new level of national celebrity, and his suspicious death made him even more famous. Plus, long before this docuseries came into existence Trump's quote from a 2002 New York Magazine article recirculated in the news: ""He's a lot of fun to be with. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side."

When it became clear that Epstein was not going to wriggle out of his 2019 arrest and the resulting charges stuck, suddenly Trump claimed wasn't terribly close with the man. A few eyebrow-raising shots in the fourth episode of documents, some with details redacted, tell another story.

Sundberg and Stern stressed in their interview that for most of these people, being seen in photos with Epstein and Maxwell does not mean that whatever relationship each of these public figures had included participation in any kind of sexual abuse or recruitment of young girls. True to that statement, Dershowitz denies, on camera, that he engaged in any sexual activity with any minors as Giuffre accuses him of doing.

Regardless of each person's level of actual culpability, this visual evidence of their relationship with Epstein means, as Sundberg puts it, that each "either knew, felt or sensed" that the whisperings about his criminal behavior had to be true. In a later episode, a representative working for one of Gates' research foundations raised concerns about the foundation accepting money from Epstein, but her protests fell on deaf ears.

"They just didn't think it was their place to say anything, or to question his behavior," Sundberg said. "It's remarkable, whether or not they participated in the abuses."

Stern added that the silence reminded them of the murder of Kitty Genovese, the famous 1964 case that inspired the social psychological theory known as "the bystander effect. "There's this sort of a group mentality of, 'Well, if the president isn't going to call it out, who am I to say something is going on? Who am I to suggest that?"

In this way, "Surviving Jeffrey Epstein" becomes a study of the multiple ways that these women  and the scores of other victims whose names and faces we don't know  were failed by the justice system and the people around Epstein and Maxwell.

Since Sundberg and Stern also are contending with a moving target with this case, that could turn around at a moment's notice. The pair were cutting in relevant material only days ago. That includes Trump's July 210 press conference in which he replied to the question of how well he knew Maxwell with his questionable answer that they were quite familiar, and "I wish her well, frankly."

Any viewer with a conscience will feel the opposite, especially after taking in moments such as one fourth episode glimpse of Maxwell, glamourous in a fiery tangerine-sequined gown, as survivor Rachel Benavidez says in voiceover, "I don't think she has any remorse about what she did. I hope she spends every last day of her life in an orange jumpsuit."

"Surviving Jeffrey Epstein" airs over two nights, with its first half debuting on Sunday, Aug. 9 at 8 p.m.and its conclusion airing at Monday, Aug.10 at 9 p.m. on Lifetime.

https://youtu.be/hzkHrLFVZfg

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Police shut down an illegal rave last night after 500 lockdown revellers kept residents awake until the early hours of this morning with loud music.

Met Police officers were called out to the Walthamstow Forest to put a stop to the rave which broke coronavirus restrictions on the number of people allowed to gather in one place.

Under current government guidelines it is against the law for groups of more than 30 to gather in a private home or outside space, unless planned by an organisation in compliance with coronavirus guidelines.

Arounf 500 lockdown revellers attended an illegal rave in Walthamstow Forest last night forcing police to arrive and shut the event down

Police received eight noise complaints from nearby neighbours who had been kept awake until the early hours of this morning by loud music

A police spokesperson said: 'Police were called at 0043hrs on Sunday, 9 August to reports of a large group of people gathered at an unlicensed music event in Walthamstow Forest.

'Officers attended.

'Those in attendance were dispersed by 03.19hrs. There were no arrests.

'UMEs are illegal, have no security, are not insured, are not ticketed and they are frequently associated with anti-social behaviour and violence. Those attending a UME are putting themselves at risk.

As soon as police receive information on a UME, officers we will work with organisers and local authorities to shut down events at the earliest opportunity.

'If organisers fail to comply, police will use legislation to seize sound systems and laptops. Legislation is also used to disperse crowds and ultimately make arrests if people fail to comply.'

It is currently illegal for people to gather in groups of more than 30 people in a private home or outside space

An unofficial organiser for the illegal rave said that the event had been held deep within the forest, near the A406 road to try and mask the music

In a video recorded last night at the scene of the illegal rave, the huge crowd of lockdown revellers can be seen packed tightly together in the forest.

Large speakers were blasting out loud music and lights had been threaded through tree branches above the ravers.

Nearby residents filed eight noise complaints overnight before officers were able to shut down the rave which was located in the heart of Walthamstow Forest.

An unofficial organiser for the event said that they went deep into the forest and used the noise of the nearby A406 North Circular road to try cover some of the sound from the music.

Officers thanked the local community for their patience and reassured those living in the area that they understood the impact events like the rave can have.

Before the rave police had been warning people not to attend the rave because of 'safety and COVID risks'.

After the rave was broken up police were called out to deal with a number of reports of drunk people walking along the A406.

Officers were called out to Walthamstow forest at 00.43am this morning and had dispersed the crowd by 03.19am
By Express News Service

JAIPUR: Eleven members of a Hindu Pakistani refugee family were found dead on Sunday morning at their home in Lodta village of Jodhpur district in Rajasthan.

The cause of their deaths has not yet been ascertained but it is widely suspected that they either died by suicide or succumbed to poisonous gas emissions as the site of the tragedy is said to be full of the foul smell of pesticides. A special team of Jodhpur police is now investigating these mysterious deaths.

The incident occurred in Dechu police station area about 120 kilometres from Jodhpur. The family had come from Pakistans Sindh province in 2015 and was in the process of getting its citizenship in India. They were a family of daily wage labourers who lived on a farm in the village. Among the deceased, six are adults while the other five are minors.

One family member, 37-year-old Kewal Ram survived the tragedy as he was not at home last night and was sleeping in the fields. On Sunday morning, when he reached home and shouted alarm, the entire village was gripped with fear and sensation.

A police team from the local Thana soon arrived at the spot. Later in the day, the Collector and SP of Jodhpur rural also visited the area. A team of Forensic Experts have also reached the village and the Post-Mortem report of the dead is likely to reveal the exact cause of these deaths.

The Collector of Jodhpur Inderjeet Singh said, this is an extremely sensitive case and we are treating it on top priority. That is why a forensics team, a dog squad and a special team to conduct post-mortems have been rushed here. As the investigation proceeds, we should be able to know the exact cause of these 11 deaths in this one family of Hindu refugees from Pakistan.
David Stewart, the last Alamo director under the Daughters of the Republic of Texas, considered his role there to be a dream job.

Stewart, an Army veteran and fifth-generation Texan, died early Tuesday at his home in Universal City. His exposure in the Vietnam War to the defoliant Agent Orange caused him to later develop Parkinsons, and then cancer, which ultimately claimed his life, said his son, Stephen Stewart.

Although he had a 24-year Army career, college degrees and numerous awards for community involvement, Stewart relished memories of his time as Alamo director from 2002 to 2009, including a 2005 renovation of the Long Barrack Museum.

It kind of defined the rest of his life, said Stephen Stewart. He was very proud to be the Texan chosen to be the caretaker of the Shrine of Texas Liberty.

On ExpressNews.com: State recognizes Alamo church as cemetery

Born on Nov. 20, 1938, in San Antonio, Stewart grew up in and around Bay City. He was awarded a Bronze Star in the Army and retired as a lieutenant colonel, then later became the editor of two local magazines in El Paso and principal at a Catholic school.

Stewart called it a dream come true when he was hired as Alamo director, having recently served as director of teacher recruitment and federal programs for the Archdiocese of San Antonio, the Express-News reported in 2002. But he acknowledged the challenges faced by the DRT in preserving the state-owned historic site, with gift shop revenue to cover operational expenses, but little financial backing from the state for maintenance.

Since 2011, the Alamo has been in the custody of the Texas General Land Office, which has secured $5 million from the Legislature for emergency upgrades, and another $100 million for a public-private makeover of Alamo Plaza. The grounds are closed today because of the coronavirus, and much of the plaza is closed for construction.

One of the tales Stewart shared with his family involved a meeting with rock star Ozzy Osbourne, who came to apologize for defiling the Cenotaph in 1982, when he was charged with public intoxication. Osbourne was banned from performing at city venues, but played at Bexar Countys Freeman Coliseum in 1992, and donated $10,000 to the DRT. He later returned numerous times to apologize.

Stewart told family members Osbourne came by one day to extend an olive branch.

He said Ozzy came into his office to apologize and immediately asked to go to the restroom. Then he came out and did his apology, Stephen Steward recalled. One of my brothers asked him what he thought about meeting Ozzy. And he said, Well, I didnt like him before and now I like him even less.

In 2009, Stewart, then 70, retired as Alamo director.

On ExpressNews.com: Alamo Plaza icon may get new home

Stewarts legacy also extended to his support of organizations such as the American Cancer Society, Armed Services YMCA and Boy Scouts of America.

He always put the community before his own personal needs, and he never complained about it, his son said.

Stewart also is survived by his wife, Marilyn Stewart; sons, Patrick and Christopher Stewart; daughter, Mary Stewart; a sister, Mary Cecile Crawford; eight grandchildren and one great-grandchild.

A visitation will be held from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Aug. 18 at Porter Loring North, with a rosary at 6:30 p.m. A funeral is set for 11 a.m. Aug. 19 at Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Selma, followed by a private burial at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery.

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
Reuters

As part of the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day D.C. Peace Walk, the King family and more than 100 national and local civil rights groups strode across the Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge calling on President Joe Biden's Democrats to pass a bill in the U.S. Senate. The march followed a disappointing week for Biden, who went to the Capitol to urge Senate colleagues to change filibuster rules so they could overcome Republican opposition to the bill, only to be forcefully rejected by two conservative Democrats who effectively hold veto power in the evenly split chamber. In a separate speech livestreamed to the late Rev. King's Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Vice President Kamala Harris also urged the Senate to act, warning that efforts to restrict voting in some U.S. states could make it more difficult for millions of Americans to vote.
Horror came to the Japanese city of Nagasaki on this day 75 years ago when Bockscar, the US Air Forces modified B-29 bomber, dropped a nuclear bomb weighing about 10,300 pounds over the city. The bomb, named Fat Man, produced a 22-kiloton blast which instantly killed 40,000 people, a fifth of the total population of the port city. Most victims were burnt to death. Thousands more died in the following days and years with radiation poisoning and cancer the common causes. Just three days earlier, Enola Gay, another B-29 bomber, had similarly devastated thousands of lives in Hiroshima.

Both bombers were modifications of those manufactured by the Boeing Corporation which is today one of the largest defence contractors in the world, and one among a handful of companies for whom war is lucrative business. They are a part of what has been notoriously dubbed the military-industrial complex.

There is considerable debate about the rightness of the bombings of the two Japanese cities. Most Americans believed then that their country, which suffered the least damage of all the major combatants in the war, was justified in what it did. The Japanese obviously dont agree. Rationally, nothing should justify the cruelty inflicted on the inhabitants of the city.

Whats beyond doubt is that American industry gained enormously from World War II. It provided almost two-thirds of all the Allied military equipment produced during the war, including aircraft, artillery pieces, tanks and trucks. In the four years after it entered the war in 1941, American industrial production doubled in size, besides undergoing a metamorphosis as even non-defence companies such as Chrysler, General Motors and Ford turned to making war equipment. By the end of the war, more than half of all industrial production in the world was happening in the US.

It has been a consistent trend since. In the 75 years since the war ended, the US military industry has gone from strength to strength, with the countrys civilian leaders playing a key role in this. Thus, in May 2017, when US President Donald Trump signed a record $350 billion deal with Saudi Arabia for military equipment, the gainers were companies such as Lockheed Martin, Boeing and Raytheon. Not surprisingly, the stock price of many of these companies goes up every time a potentate talks to White House.

With the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of the Cold War, defence spending, according to consulting firm PwC, fell by about a third in real terms between 1989 and 1996. It was to be a false dawn. The military industrial complex wasnt having any of it and while consolidating through a series of mergers and acquisitions, the biggest companies, worked behind the scenes to bring peace and prosperity back to the world.

Soon enough normal order was restored as spending started going up again. According to data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), the total global military expenditure in 2019 at $1,917 billion was up 3.6 percent over 2018, the largest annual growth in spending since 2010.

Whats terrible is that among the three largest spenders now are two countries, China and India, that till recently struggled to feed their populations. Sadly, data suggests that economic growth almost always leads to increased spending on the military, but not on education and health. The 2.4 percent of its GDP that India spends annually on its military budget goes largely to the big corporations across the globe. Even the order for 36 Raphael fighter jets, which raised a mighty cheer in the country, will ultimately shore up the finances of its French maker Dassault Aviation as it deals with the drying up of its business jets business.

The armament industry is unique in the sense that its customers are governments across the world. A small cohort of companies, no more than a dozen, make their fortunes when countries cant resolve conflicts peacefully or even when they can drum up imagined threats, as happened with the US invasion of Iraq in search of the non-existent weapons of mass destruction. Lets not forget, ultimately every life lost in battle, every child orphaned by war, adds to the bottom line of a company somewhere.
A grieving mother has told of how her eight-year-old son told her 'I love you' shortly before collapsing and dying in front of her of a mystery illness.

Clare Walker, 31, had asked her son Cillian Anderson, who was playing Fortnite, to put his pyjamas on so they could watch a film together seconds before she heard his terrified screams.

Ms Walker told The Scottish Sun: 'It was piercing, like a very, very scared scream. It was a sound I'd never heard my son make.'

Cillian, from Dundee, was asthmatic and had hay fever and was on medication for his health conditions.

The family began shielding weeks before lockdown began on March 23 to protect Cillian.

Experts say Cillian may have had a fatal asthma attack or perhaps an allergic reaction, and are waiting on blood results to say for certain.

Clare Walker, 31, had asked her son Cillian Anderson (pictured) to put his pyjamas on so they could watch a film together seconds before she heard his terrified screams

Ms Walker said the last thing he said to her was 'I love you, mum' and she had responded 'I love you too, son - to the moon and back'.

She heard him scream when she got downstairs and rushed to get him outside for air, but he fell lifeless in her arms when she opened the back door.

Her dad Bruce, 51, carried out CPR as Ms Walker rang 999. Cillian was rushed to Ninewells Hospital but died ten minutes after he arrived on May 5.

Ms Walker said: 'I went numb, like somebody ripped my guts open. I climbed in next to him and gave him a cuddle.'

She added that she strokes his hair the way he liked it and bawled her eyes out.

Ms Walker said the family couldn't go home for two weeks while police 'sealed off her home' so she couldn't seek comfort in his bedroom.

Ms Walker (pictured) said the last thing he said to her was 'I love you, mum' and she had responded 'I love you too, son - to the moon and back'

DCI Ray Birnie said protocol was followed after the eight-year-old's sudden death and said their aim 'is to investigate in an appropriate and proportionate manner'.

The Scottish Ambulance Service launched a probe after the family complained, according to The Scottish Sun.

A JustGiving page was set up by Dundee Superheroes to raise money to go towards the funeral and other costs to help the family.

The page raised more than 3,500 and Dundee Superheroes said they would be attending the service.

People wearing superhero costumes followed the coffin, which was Fornite-themed, to Dundee Crematorium on May 27.
Kanye West makes his first presidential campaign appearance, Sunday, July 19, 2020 in North Charleston, S.C. Rapper Kanye West, in his first event since declaring himself a presidential candidate, delivered a lengthy monologue Sunday touching on topics from abortion and religion to international trade and licensing deals. Whether he's actually seeking the nation's highest office remains a question. Read more

One elector trying to get rapper Kanye West on the presidential ballot in Wisconsin is married to a former chairwoman of a Republican county committee and was photographed with President Donald Trump at his inaugural.

In Arkansas, a Republican operative who signed West's ballot petition was at one point interviewed to be Trump's campaign manager for his 2016 bid.

And West's ballot petition in Ohio was signed by a lawyer who has previously represented state Republican campaign committees.

West's presidential effort has largely sputtered since he formally filed to run as an independent candidate representing the "Birthday Party" in July. He has held just one campaign rally last month in North Charleston, S.C., where he appeared onstage wearing a bulletproof vest and broke down in tears, prompting his wife, Kim Kardashian West, to post messages on Instagram asking for the public's "compassion and empathy" as he struggles with bipolar disorder.

But in at least five states, Republican activists and operatives - including some who have publicly supported Trump anda lawyer who has worked for his 2020 campaign- have been involved with efforts to try to get rapper on the November ballot, according to an examination by The Washington Post of public filings and social media posts. Their involvement raises the specter that his candidacy is being propped up by a GOP-driven effort to siphon votes from presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden.

Trump told reporters this past week he had "nothing to do" with helping West get on the ballot but added that he likes West "very much."

Jason Miller, a senior campaign adviser, also said the Trump campaign was not involved in helping West get on the ballot.

But rather than discouraging the effort to put another competitor on the ballot, Miller added that he believes West's efforts on behalf of prison sentencing reform have been "admirable."

" 'All of the Lights' is a great song. The full extended mix of 'Runaway' might actually be my favorite. That's one of my jams," Miller said when asked about the West effort.

A spokesperson for West's campaign did not respond to requests for comment. Asked by a reporter for Forbes Magazine this past week if his goal was to take votes from Biden, West said in a text message he was "walking ... to win." Told he could serve as a spoiler in the race, West responded, "I'm not going to argue with you. Jesus is King."

West's shoestring campaign appears to consist solely of a bare bones website that until Saturday featured only a hand-scrawled message from the performer, asking supporters to sign a petition to help him get on the South Carolina ballot. He did not ultimately submit paperwork in that state, where he held his sole rally, before the July 20 deadline.

His newly updated site features a montage of disparate images, including a picture of Jesus and a photograph of Earth from space, along with 10-point policy platform that includes restoring prayer to the classroom, reducing household debt burdens and criminal justice reform - along with an invitation to donate to his campaign.

West's campaign has so far filed petitions to appear on the ballot in 10 states, but some of those submissions, as in New Jersey, have been found insufficient by state officials.

Others are still be reviewed. On Friday, officials in Illinois found that 60 percent of the signatures the campaign submitted there were invalid, leaving West without the required 2,500 signatures to appear on the ballot. The campaign can still challenge the finding.

Despite his campaign's struggles, there has been a flurry of activity by GOP operatives to get him on the ballot in recent weeks.

The effort has been particularly striking in the swing state of Wisconsin, where Trump defeated Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton by less than 23,000 votes in 2016. Studies have shown that turnout among Wisconsin's Black voters dipped significantly that year, likely contributing to Clinton's loss. They are expected to play a key role in the presidential vote again in November.

On Tuesday, as local reporters watched, West's ballot petition was delivered to state regulators by Lane Ruhland, a Madison lawyer who is the former general counsel for the state Republican Party.

Just weeks ago, Ruhland was listed as an attorney representing the Trump campaign on a document filed in a lawsuit against a local television station, according to court records. She did not respond to requests for comment.

To get on the ballot, Wisconsin law requires a candidate to submit signatures from between 2,000 and 4,000 state residents and identify 10 people who would serve as electors should the candidate win the state.

Of the 10 electors listed on West's petition, The Post found at least six appear to have ties to the Republican Party.

They included Fred Krumberger, whose wife, Marian, is the immediate past chairwoman of Wisconsin's Brown County Republican committee. According to pictures she posted on Facebook, the two attended Trump's inauguration in 2017 and were photographed with the new president at an event, standing in front of the U.S. and Wisconsin flags as Trump flashed his signature two thumbs up.

Another West elector, JM McKoy, is listed as an officer on the website of the Young Wisconsin Republicans. The Facebook page of a third West elector, Terri Steinbecker, features a banner that includes Trump's name and a bald eagle and a profile picture featuring the slogan of the conspiracy movement QAnon.

A fourth, Jordan Wieland, has tweeted that he is the brother-in-law of Joe Fadness, the campaign manager of Republican Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker's unsuccessful 2018 reelection bid.

Neither Fadness nor any ofthe electors responded to requests for comment.

Alesha Guenther, a spokeswoman for the Republican Party of Wisconsin, did not answer questions about whether the party played a role in compiling West's petition and, if so, why.

But she said in a statement that it appeared "the Kanye West campaign made a smart decision by hiring an experienced election attorney."

"We welcome Kanye West and all other candidates who qualified for ballot access to the race, and look forward to delivering Wisconsin's 10 electoral votes to President Trump," she added.

The effort to get West on the ballot was decried by David Crowley, a Democrat who took office in May as the first Black executive of Milwaukee County. Crowley said the effort appeared aimed at peeling off minority voters to boost Trump.

"This is the Republican Party really trying to take advantage of someone's mental state," he said, referring West's bipolar disorder. "It's appalling. It's insulting. Quite frankly, I can't believe they're really doing it."

Crowley said that he believes Black voters would see through the effort.

"We want them to know we will not be tricked," he said. "If he is on the ballot, we will tell the community what this strategy is and not let them be confused by the Republican Party and Donald Trump."

Two formal challenges to West's candidacy were filed on behalf of five Wisconsin voters on Friday, arguing among other things that his forms were filed just past a 5 p.m. deadline on Tuesday and that they failed to include West's home address, as required by state law.

One included signed affidavits from people who had signed the petition for his candidacy but said afterward that they were mislead about its purpose. One said he was told only that it was related to voting. Another said she was told she should sign simply to indicate that she was registered to vote.

"Kanye West would not get my vote, and I think it's a joke that he's running for president," the voter swore.

West's campaign has until the end of the Monday to respond. State officials will decide likely later this month whether he has qualified for the Wisconsin ballot.

Before declaring his candidacy, West repeatedly praised Trump, saying the two shared "dragon energy." In October 2018, West visited Trump in the Oval Office at the White House, a surreal scene in which the rapper sat across the Resolute Desk from the president, rattling on incoherently about the 13th Amendment, American manufacturing and his own mental health, dropping profanities in the process.

He wore a red "Make America Great Again" hat and repeatedly complimented Trump, who nodded, speechless for once, as reporters and TV cameras looked on.

West behaved so erratically that even Trump was taken aback, asking aides afterward, "What was up with him?" according to a former senior administration official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe the private conversation.

Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner argued that hosting West and Kardashian West, who worked closely with the White House on an effort to reform criminal sentencing rules, could improve the president's standing with Black voters, according to the official, who said Trump was swayed by the electoral argument.

Not long before West announced his candidacy, the host committee for Trump's convention in Jacksonville discussed inviting the rapper to perform a "revival-style" concert on the eve of the GOP convention, according to a person familiar with the discussions, a sign that Trump's staff have in recent weeks viewed the rapper as an ally and asset.

It is unclear if West still felt that way.

Shortly before he formally entered the race, West said that the campaign was his way of "taking the red hat off," telling Forbes that he did not like that Trump "hid" in a White House bunker during social justice protests in June.

That has not stopped Republicans from working to get him on the ballot.

In Arkansas, West's petition was signed by Gregg Keller, a longtime Republican operative who is the former executive director of the American Conservative Union.

Sam Nunberg, a former Trump adviser, said he brought Keller to meet with Trump twice beginning in late 2014, hoping Keller would become campaign manager. The Post reviewed a memo prepared by Nunberg and given to Trump that laid out Keller's qualifications for the manager job.

"Trump liked him," Nunberg said.

Keller did not respond to requests for comment.

In Colorado, Vice News obtained an email written by Republican strategist Rachel George, a former aide to GOP Sen. Cory Gardner, seeking fellow Republicans to serve as West electors.

"I have the most random favor to ask of you ever ... would you help me get Kanye West on the ballot in Colorado?" wrote George, who did not respond to requests for comment.

"No, I am not joking, and I realize this is hilarious," she added.

As New York Magazine first reported, George's husband also leads a Republican strategy firm that was paid more than $92,000 by the Republican National Committee earlier this year.

Some clues about who is behind the effort could come Aug. 20, when West is required by law to report his fundraising and spending for the month ofJuly to the Federal Election Commission.

Polls show that Black voters are overwhelmingly opposed to Trump. But his campaign has repeatedly worked to try dampen support for Democrats in the African American community. In the last election, Trump's campaign circulated social media memes highlighting that Clinton had supported harsh criminal sentencing rules enacted while her husband was president in the 1990s.

In recent days, Trump has been hitting Biden for an interview in which the former vice president said "unlike the African American community, with notable exceptions, the Latino community is an incredibly diverse community with incredibly different attitudes."

The suggestion that Black voters have monolithic opinions - which Biden said later he did not mean - prompted Trump to tweet Friday, "After yesterday's statement, Sleepy Joe Biden is no longer worthy of the Black Vote!"

Trump campaign pollsters have told other advisers they do not know how a West campaign would affect the White House contest.

But Nunberg, who worked for Trump for four years as he prepared his presidential run before they had a falling-out in 2015, said the effort to get West on the ballot was the kind of political scheme that would both appeal to Trump - and potentially help him.

Does the Biden campaign want Kanye West campaigning in Cleveland, in Cincinnati, in Milwaukee? he asked. I dont think they do.
Megan Thee Stallion has been known to serve some iconic glam, recently earning her the title of Revlon's newest global brand ambassador.

But the Houston-born rapper has recently been praised for her gorgeous makeup-free content.

She oozed natural beauty Saturday, as she took to Instagram to show off a stripped-down glam look in a set of stunning selfies.

Natural beauty: Megan Thee Stallion oozed natural beauty Saturday, as she took to Instagram to show off a stripped-down glam look in a set of stunning selfies

The 25-year-old put on a busty display in a purple zip-up onesie, while sporting a touch of lip gloss and not much else.

She previously took to her story with a video, proudly displaying her totally makeup-free mug.

Hot Girl Meg said: 'So, this is my first time ever posting a video of just my bare skin. No snap filter, no foundation, just skin. I can't believe it, we here.

'I used to be stressing, eating sugar a lot, staying up late, my skin was giving me so many problems... You want a skincare routine? I can give it to you now.'

Busty display: The 25-year-old put on a busty display in a purple zip-up onesie, while sporting a touch of lip gloss and not much else

Just skin: She previously took to her story with a video, proudly displaying her totally makeup-free mug. Hot Girl Meg said: 'So, this is my first time ever posting a video of just my bare skin. No snap filter, no foundation, just skin. I can't believe it, we here'

It came just days after she was announced the newest face of Revlon, known for its barrier-breaking casting of Black supermodel Naomi Sims in a 1970s ad.

The Savage artist told Allure: 'I feel proud. I've loved Revlon products since I was a kid, and the company has a history that's real close to my heart.'

She continued: 'To have the opportunity to be that role model and to champion real diversity is something that's real special to me.

'The whole concept of this campaign fits so well with the Hot Girl lifestyle; having fun, being confident, living your truth, and, most important, living boldly.'

Megan also opened up about her beauty aesthetic: 'Well, you know I love makeup  it's so fun to experiment with and it's also another avenue to my art and how I express myself. I'd say my style is really reflective of my roots in Houston.

Beauty ambassador: It came just days after she was announced the newest face of Revlon, known for its barrier-breaking casting of Black supermodel Naomi Sims in a 1970 ad

Proud Megan: The Savage artist told Allure: 'I feel proud. I've loved Revlon products since I was a kid, and the company has a history that's real close to my heart' (pictured in September, 2019)

Going bold: She also opened up about her beauty aesthetic: 'I love how makeup can make you feel, and that's why I'm not afraid to go bold with it  more, more, more!'

'Watching the women in my family get made up was a really precious moments for us. I love how makeup can make you feel, and that's why I'm not afraid to go bold with it  more, more, more!'

She's since broken the internet with Cardi B, dropping their highly stylized and perfectly filthy video for WAP.

The video has accumulated more than 42million YouTube views since it premiered Thursday, featuring a now-controversial Kylie Jenner cameo.

The lead single from Cardi B's upcoming second studio album is poised to debut at the top of the charts, making it Megan's first #1 hit.
In Warsaw and other cities in Poland, crowds gathered Saturday to protest anti-LGBT discrimination and abuse promoted by the Polish government, as well as the recent detention of a prominent transgender activist.

This is how police in Poland 'dealt' with peaceful LGBTI+ protestors yesterday. There is deafening silence from @vonderleyen @helenadalli. If the EU does not act when citizens are being physically attacked by member states then it ceases to have any legitimacy. Act. NOW. pic.twitter.com/63fH84HuGj  Steve Taylor  (@danophile) August 8, 2020

From the Associated Press:

"You will not lock all of us up!" people chanted at a protest in Warsaw that drew thousands of mostly young people. Most wore masks for the coronavirus pandemic. Similar protests took place in Krakow, Lublin, Wroclaw and other places. The protests came a day after LGBT rights supporters in Warsaw scuffled with police who arrested a transgender activist, Malgorzata Szutowicz, known best as "Margot." Police said they detained 48 people, while activists said police used rough tactics against them. "The police were aggressively pushing the protesters out of the way, knocking people to the ground and holding them down with their boots," said the Campaign Against Homophobia, a Warsaw-based group. The protests come amid an intensifying standoff in Poland between the LGBT rights movement and the conservative government, which has declared it an alien, dangerous "ideology." President Andrzej Duda, who was sworn in for a second term Thursday, won re-election on a strong anti-LGBT platform, and social tensions have been rising.

More at the AP:

Protesters decry government's anti-LGBT attitudes in Poland

Polish police detain 48 people after LGBT protest. (Reuters) "The ruling nationalist PiS party has said LGBT rights are part of what it calls an invasive foreign ideology" Equal rights are universal. Poland's ruling party sees equality as foreign. https://t.co/gxGb84qRZo pic.twitter.com/8dxEtnWf6H  Andrew Stroehlein (@astroehlein) August 8, 2020

There are about 50people detained and 10 missing. It's hard to collect thoughts.The 24-hour courts are already running-huge thanks to big team of pro bono lawyers who defend detainees. People are gathering under police stations. At evening solidarity evening. #Margot #solidarity pic.twitter.com/fPGbW91dET  Bart Staszewski  (@BartStaszewski) August 8, 2020

Police in Poland detained 48 people who were defending an LGBT+ activist in Warsaw. The activist was accused of hanging rainbow flags over statues and damaging a car.https://t.co/dcSomUTwWJ  DW News (@dwnews) August 8, 2020

By targeting its own people and denying their basic rights, the government is flouting the principles of tolerance and nondiscrimination #Poland committed to when it joined the #EU.  Wenzel Michalski (@WenzelMichalski) August 8, 2020

We express our solidarity with people participating and detained in the protest on 7.08 in Warsaw. We strongly oppose any aggression on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity! We oppose violence and hate speech against #LGBTI #lgbt #Poland pic.twitter.com/lPqmogamqH  Amnesty Polska (@amnestyPL) August 8, 2020
A staff member helps a citizen deal with affairs at the government affairs service center of Daxing District in Beijing, capital of China, May 22, 2020. (Xinhua)

Despite the COVID-19 epidemic, new headquarters, factories and industrial projects of various international giants as well as local small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), have been mushrooming across China.

The world's second-largest economy is unswervingly improving its business environment, nurturing fertile ground for the growth of various companies and injecting vitality into the domestic and global economy.

WIDER OPENING-UP COMMITMENT

U.S. agribusiness giant Cargill on Wednesday announced the opening of the Asia Pacific headquarters of its agricultural supply chain in Shanghai, further demonstrating the company's continued commitment to China's market.

"We are grateful for the strong support from the Shanghai municipal government with this strategic location," said Robert Aspell, president of Asia Pacific for Cargill. He added that Shanghai would play a crucial role in the company's efforts to better serve customers in both China and other parts of the Asia Pacific region.

"We will unswervingly welcome international enterprises and investors to invest and run business in Shanghai. We will create a world-class business environment and expand development space for all enterprises," said Gong Zheng, mayor of Shanghai, during a video call with Cargill.

Despite the COVID-19 epidemic, foreign investors have increased their investment in Shanghai in a bid to cash in on the business opportunities in China. The city received 10.28 billion U.S. dollars in foreign investment in the first half of 2020, up 5.4 percent year on year.

While foreign businesses beef up presence in the Chinese market, domestic firms have accelerated business resumption as the epidemic waned.

Tianjin Golden Wheel Bicycle Group Co., Ltd saw its exports in the first half of 2020 recover to the level in the same period last year.

"China continues to create an open, fair, just and non-discriminatory business environment, offering more opportunities to the world, thus helping stabilize the unsettled global economy amid the COVID-19 pandemic. This is a key factor for global companies to find the Chinese market attractive," said Quan Heng, secretary of the leading Party members' group at Shanghai Federation of Social Science Associations.

COMPREHENSIVE AND TARGETED REFORMS

According to the World Bank's Doing Business 2020 report, China made significant progress in the 2005-2020 period, compared to any other large economy in terms of facilitating the ease of doing business.

"We were happy to see measures including trimming the negative list, optimizing business environment and strengthening intellectual property protection," said Ker Gibbs, president of the American Chamber of Commerce Shanghai.

Since 2018, Shanghai has taken 286 targeted measures to improve the business environment, unveiling more than 70 reform policies and launching over 20 new public service systems, according to the municipal government.

Reforms have also been adopted in other parts of the country.

"Since Tianjin implemented the 'shipside delivery' reform to reduce customs clearance time, a container of imported goods can be picked up within three hours, saving some 300 yuan (about 43 U.S. dollars) per day," said You Tingguang, manager with a Tianjin-based trading company.

Local authorities have also taken a slew of measures to help businesses tide over the uncertainties caused by the epidemic. According to the Tianjin Golden Wheel Bicycle Group Co., Ltd, as 10 customs authorities have piloted cross-border B2B e-commerce exports nationwide, the company received approval for doing business within a day, thereby buying it more time to seize business opportunities during the epidemic.

"We have also received subsidies for water, electricity consumption and employment stabilization, as well as low-interest loans to help ease operation costs," said the group's general manager Yang Yufeng.

TECHNOLOGY DRIVER

According to the World Bank report, the proliferation of e-government services is one of the key factors driving China's success in improving the business environment.

Wang Qingyuan, 30, who owns a hair parlor, found it far more convenient than before when she recently applied to cancel the license of her shop's old address.

Upon reaching the government service center at Beijing's Daxing District, she logged into a mobile app through Alipay. The app ran facial recognition using her cellphone camera, enabling the staff to check all her information instantly.

A woman shops at Hongqiao Import Commodity Exhibition and Trade Center in Shanghai, east China, April 25, 2020. (Xinhua/Fang Zhe)

Corporate information and certificates can now be checked online as they are digitally stored. Besides, with the application of blockchain technology, one cannot tamper with the data, thus assuring authenticity.

In Beijing, some 140 e-government service centers have adopted blockchain technology, which can reduce paper use by an average of 40 percent.

Shanghai officially launched a comprehensive portal for administrative services in October 2018, which applied technologies such as blockchain, AI and big data.

Since its launch, the service has registered more than 29 million individual users and 2 million legal person users. The portal has handled over 60 million cases.

"China leads the world in the application of blockchain technology," said Huang Zhen, a professor with the Central University of Finance and Economics. "The technology is widely used not only in the financial sector but also in government services, which has become a key driving force for improving the business environment."
In a bid to give a boost to the countrys agriculture sector and aid farmers amid the Covid-19 crisis, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched Rs 1 lakh crore Agriculture Infrastructure Fund on Sunday. The prime minister also initiated the transfer of Rs 17,000 crore to an estimated 8.5 crore farmers under the PM Kisan Samman Nidhi scheme.

On the occasion, the prime minister expressed happiness and said that Rs 17,000 crores of PM-Kisan Samman Nidhi have been deposited into bank accounts of 8.5 crore farmers with a single click.

  Agriculture Infrastructure Fund launch   ,             : PM @narendramodi #AatmaNirbharKrishi  PMO India (@PMOIndia) August 9, 2020

No middlemen or commission, it went straight to farmers. I am satisfied because the objective of the scheme is being fulfilled, the prime minister said.

He said that the in the last year and a half, through this scheme, Rs 75,000 crores have been deposited directly in the bank accounts of farmers. Of this, 22,000 crores have been passed on to the farmers during the Covid-19 lockdown.

The farmer is now exempted from the purview of the mandi and the mandi tax. Now the farmer has several options, PM Modi said.

The fund has been launched in a bid to making farmers self-reliant under PM Modis clarion of an Atmanirbhar Bharat (self-reliant India). The Fund will give a boost to farmers earnings.

Today, our farmers have a choice. If he wants to deal with his produce in his field, he can. Or he can directly connect with the warehouse or whoever pays the higher price, he said.

The agriculture sector will benefit a great deal from this modern infrastructure, the PM added.

Under the scheme, a loan amount of Rs 1 lakh crore will be made available for four years. While Rs 10,000 crore will be made available in loans to farmers between 2020 to 2021. Rs 30,000 crore will be provided in the remaining three years. Three percent subsidy on interest will also be provided to farmers on loan amounting to 2 crore or less up to seven years.

PM Modi said all these schemes and reforms are aimed at the countrys farmers. Our small farmers face the most trouble, he said.
Stephanie Browitt (pictured before the volcanic eruption) is her mother Marie's only surviving child

A White Island volcano survivor who was left scorched and disfigured in the blast that killed her family has shared a message of encouragement for Victorians struggling through lockdown.

Stephanie Browitt is her mother Marie's only surviving child after the family-of-four were torn apart in the eruption near Whakatane in New Zealand last December.

Along with grieving the loss of her father Paul and younger sister Krystal, the 24-year-old suffered burns to 70 per cent of her body and had her fingers amputated.

She now wears a full face mask to protect her mottled skin and has been cooped up in Marie's Craigieburn home in Melbourne for the last eight months - since before COVID-19 gripped the nation and people were forced into their homes.

As Victoria ploughs through its second lockdown with record deaths recorded on Sunday, the young woman urged people struggling in isolation to enjoy spending time with their loved ones.

'As someone who is grieving deeply and has essentially been in lockdown since early December ... I truly believe that focusing on what you can't change is wasted energy that could be used elsewhere,' she told The Herald Sun.

Victorian police have been battling with Melbournians to enforce Stage 4 lockdowns, handing out 268 fines for breaches in 24 hours over the weekend.

The 24-year-old (pictured after the volcano with her dog) urged people struggling in isolation to enjoy spending time with their loved ones

White Island volcano survivor Stephanie Browitt (pictured) had her fingers amputated after the volcano

The number of active cases in Victoria has hit 7,854 with a record 17 deaths on Sunday.

Miss Browitt said it was okay for residents to feel upset and isolated as virus cases continue to surge, but added that she would do anything to have her father and sister in lockdown with her.

'I feel as though people don't realise how precious time is and that you don't often get the chance to be with family like this.'

While she has had essential surgeries cancelled as a result of the pandemic, she reminded Victorians that lockdown will pass with 'patience and perseverance'.

Her mother Marie, whose immune system is compromised fighting autoimmune diseases multiple sclerosis and Lupus, believed COVID-19 could kill her.

As the 24-year-old's only surviving parent, Miss Browitt would be forced into a nursing home if anything happened.

The Victorian woman shared a picture after her skin graft surgery in July describing the agonising pain she has had to endure during her recovery

Ms Browitt has to wear a protective suit on her skin after suffering third degree burns to 70 per cent of her body

'There are people out there, ignoring laws designed to protect their own family's survival. I can't comprehend it,' Marie said.

The heartbroken mother said the pair still cry for Paul and Krystal daily, but joined her daughter encouraging Victorians to be proud that they can stay home and protect their loved ones.

Krystal, 21, and Paul were killed along with 19 other people when the volcano erupted on December 9, 2019.

When first responders arrived on the scene after the explosion, Mr Browitt urged them to save his girls before coming back for him.

Krystal was tragically killed in the initial blast, while Mr Browitt died later in hospital.

Stephanie (left with sister Krystal right) tragically lost her sister in the disaster and her father Paul

Ms Browitt (pictured with her father Paul) said despite the time that has passed, she remembers the eruption like it was 'just yesterday'

Ms Browitt spent seven months painstakingly rebuilding her life and recovering in hospital.

She previously said despite the time that passed, she remembers the eruption like it was 'just yesterday'.

'Honestly, every time it's the ninth of each month I can feel my heart racing and my body tense as the memory of it floods back in my mind,' Ms Browitt wrote on Instagram.

'I get anxious. I hate it so much, it does not get easier. It just hurts more and more when I think about how much time has passed since I was last with my dad and sister.'

She said she keeps wishing she could turn back time and at least have looked for her sister and father and sat with them during the aftermath.

'We're just picking up the pieces of our new lives and doing the best that we can do.

'I just want to thank everyone for your kindness, compassion and constant support. You guys manage to put a smile on my face, even if just for a second.'
OTTAWA - The federal Liberal government has handed over thousands of pages of documents related to the WE controversy to a House of Commons committee, which lawyers are now vetting for personal information and cabinet secrets.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 9/8/2020 (527 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Conservative MP Pierre Poilievre holds a press conference on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on July 29, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

OTTAWA - The federal Liberal government has handed over thousands of pages of documents related to the WE controversy to a House of Commons committee, which lawyers are now vetting for personal information and cabinet secrets.

The finance committee demanded the documents last month as it probes whether Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's relationship with WE Charity influenced the government's ill-fated decision to have the organization run a federal student-volunteer program.

Committee members are hoping the documents will shed light on the discussions that led to the decision to have WE run the Canada Student Services Grant, before the deal was cancelled amid controversy in early July.

"People are asking a lot of questions," NDP finance critic Peter Julian said in an interview. "There's been a lot of contradictions in testimony. So the documents should be revealing a lot more of what the real answers are."

Yet while the Liberals turned more than 5,000 pages over to the committee ahead of Saturday's deadline, it wasn't clear when they would be released to members as committee lawyers go through them to prevent the release of protected information.

"We don't know," Conservative finance critic Pierre Poilievre said during a news conference on Sunday when asked when committee members would get the documents. "We have asked. They have not given us the timeline."

Committee chairman Wayne Easter, a Liberal MP, predicted the documents would be released in the coming days to members as additional lawyers from the public service have been brought in to help review them for cabinet secrets and other information.

Even after the documents are released, however, there will could be disagreements about why certain information was withheld.

While Poilievre and Julian suggested they were keeping the door open to challenging any redactions, Easter said the vetting was being conducted by the professional public service  and noted the tradition of Parliament respecting cabinet confidence.

Usually prepared for ministers to aid government deliberations and decision-making, documents marked as cabinet confidences hold closely guarded political secrets and are legally protected from unauthorized release.

Trudeau has previously faced pressure to waive cabinet confidence when it came to allegations he tried to pressure then-justice minister Jody Wilson-Raybould on a deferred prosecution agreement with Quebec engineering firm SNC-Lavalin.

"We respect the integrity of the public service," Easter said when asked about the lawyers redacting cabinet confidences in the WE documents. "That's why there is no political involvement in the redacting of these documents. That's why the law clerk is involved."

The Liberals have been embroiled in controversy since it was revealed on June 25 that WE had been selected to run the Canada Student Services Grant, which promised up to $5,000 toward the education costs of students who volunteered during COVID-19.

The sole-sourced agreement with WE was to pay one of its foundations up to $43.5 million to administer a grant program designed to encourage students to sign up for volunteer work related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Trudeau and Finance Minister Bill Morneau have since apologized for not recusing themselves from cabinet's discussions about the agreement before it was awarded to WE given their respective families' ties to the Toronto-based charity.

Trudeau has spoken at six WE Day events since becoming prime minister, while his mother and brother have been paid almost $300,000 and reimbursed about $200,000 in expenses for appearing at WE events. Trudeau's wife has also had expenses covered.

Morneau, meanwhile, acknowledged last month that he repaid WE about $41,000 in sponsored travel for him and his family to view the charity's humanitarian projects in Ecuador and Kenya in 2017.

Yet the government has insisted that the decision was based on a recommendation from the non-partisan public service following its conclusion that WE was the only organization capable of running the grant program.

Opposition critics, meanwhile, are also training their sights on an agreement between a Crown corporation and a company employing the husband of Trudeau's chief of staff, Katie Telford.

The agreement between the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. and MCAP, where Telford's husband Rob Silver is an executive vice-president, involves the administering of a rent-assistance program for small businesses affected by COVID-19.

The Prime Minister's Office has said Telford established clear ethical walls between herself and MCAP in January, even before COVID-19 shook the country's economy and led to the creation of the Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance program.

But Poilievre questioned why the government didn't simply ask the Canada Revenue Agency to run the rent-assistance program given it is already managing the federal wage subsidy for businesses struggling during the pandemic.

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"CMHC, which is strangely running this program, exists for the sole purpose of providing affordable housing. Not commercial real estate," Poilievre said.

"Now, of course, the easy way to deliver this program would have been through CRA. CRA already had a program stood up to deliver a wage subsidy."

Audrey-Anne Coulombe, a spokeswoman for CMHC, said in a statement Sunday that the federal housing agency had decided to go with an outside sub-administrator because it "does not have the internal capacity to stand up the program in short order."

Coulombe said CMHC sought bids from two financial institutions and chose MCAP because its proposal was stronger and cost less. She said Silver was not involved in contract negotiations or the delivery of services.

Easter expressed concern about the committee getting distracted by opposition "fishing" efforts and not focusing on its main task of preparing for next year's federal budget and overseeing COVID-19 spending.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 9, 2020.
India on Sunday dismissed a controversy over the birthplace of Gautam Buddha and said a comment by external affairs minister S Jaishankar on the shared Buddhist heritage of the two neighbours was misunderstood in the Himalayan country.

The clarification came a day after Jaishankar referred to the teachings of Buddha and Mahatma Gandhi at an event organised by the Confederation of Indian Industries. The remark triggered controversy in Nepal with political parties saying that Buddha, the philosopher and religious teacher who founded Buddhism, was born in Nepal and not India.

External affairs ministry spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said Jaishankars remark referred to common Buddhist heritage of India and Nepal. There is no doubt that Gautam Buddha was born in Lumbini, which is in Nepal, he said.

The Indian side said at the time of the Buddha, who lived in the 5th and 4th century BC, there was no separate nation state called Nepal, and that the Siddhartha Gautama became Buddha after attaining enlightenment in Bodh Gaya, which is in modern day Bihar.

Earlier in the day, Nepals foreign ministry said that historical and archaeological evidence showed Buddha was born in Nepalese territory. It is a well-established and undeniable fact proven by historical and archaeological evidences that Gautam Buddha was born in Lumbini, Nepal. Lumbini, the birthplace of Buddha and the fountain of Buddhism, is one of the UNESCO world heritage sites, a statement by the ministrys spokesperson read.

There were also protests by political parties such as the main opposition Nepali Congress and individuals such as former foreign secretary Madhu Raman Acharya and former prime minister Madhav Kumar Nepal, a top leader of the ruling Nepal Communist Party.

The controversy came against the backdrop of a border row that erupted earlier this year when India opened a new road leading to Lipulekh on the border with Tibet. Nepal responded by publishing a new political map that included Kalapani, Lipulekh and Limpiyadhura, which are controlled by India, as part of Nepalese territory.

Last month, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli sparked a controversy with his remarks that the real Ayodhya is in Nepal and that Lord Ram was Nepalese.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-09 23:31:48|Editor: huaxia

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BEIJING, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) -- The following are the updates on the global fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

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TEHRAN -- Iranian President Hassan Rouhani warned on Sunday that the coronavirus epidemic will last at least six more months in Iran until a valid vaccine is within public reach, official IRNA news agency reported.

"Until we obtain a vaccine that is effective and get a sufficient quantity of it ... we will be confronting this situation," Rouhani said.

- - - -

YEREVAN -- Armenia reported 225 new COVID-19 cases on Sunday, taking its total to 40,410, according to the country's National Center for Disease Control.

Data from the center showed that 125 more patients recovered in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of recoveries to 32,520.

- - - -

ACCRA -- Ghana registered 470 more infections of the novel coronavirus on Sunday, bringing its number of cases to 41, 003, the Ghana Health Service said in its latest update.

The number of recovered and discharged cases increased to 38,330, as authorities declared 628 more confirmed COVID-19 patients free of the infections.

- - - -

TEHRAN -- The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Iran reached 326,712 on Sunday, with an increase of 2,020 in the past 24 hours, according to the latest official figure.

Sima Sadat Lari, spokeswoman of the Ministry of Health and Medical Education, said during her daily briefing that out of the overnight new cases were 961 in hospital.

- - - -

HANOI -- Vietnam reported 31 new cases of COVID-19 infection on Sunday, bringing its total confirmed cases to 841, and one more death from the disease, according to its Ministry of Health.

The 31 new cases, whose ages range from seven to 85, were recorded in Hanoi, northern Bac Giang province, central Da Nang city, and central provinces of Quang Nam and Quang Tri, said the ministry.

- - - -

NEW YORK -- The total number of COVID-19 cases in the United States surpassed the 5 million mark on Sunday, according to the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University.

U.S. COVID-19 case count rose to 5,000,603, with the national death toll reaching 162,441 as of 9:36 a.m. local time (1336 GMT), according to the CSSE.

- - - -

NAIROBI -- Kenya reported 599 more COVID-19 cases on Sunday, taking its tally to 26,436, according to the country's Ministry of Health.

Mutahi Kagwe, cabinet secretary in the ministry said the total number of patients who have been discharged from home-based care programs and hospitals rose to 12,961 with 1,062, the highest daily recovery, recorded in the past 24 hours.

- - - -

URUMQI -- A total of 138 COVID-19 patients in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region had been discharged after recovery as of Saturday, the regional health commission said Sunday.

From July 15 to Saturday, 71 asymptomatic cases were dismissed from medical observation in Xinjiang, said Gu Yingsu, deputy director of the regional health commission, at a press conference. Enditem
The move also looks to bring the United States a little closer to bringing its troops home and ending its longest military engagement

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani gestures as he speaks during the first day of the Loya Jirga, a grand assembly of Afghan elders, at the Loya Jirga Hall in Kabul. (AFP)

Kabul: A traditional Afghan council concluded Sunday with hundreds of delegates agreeing to free 400 Taliban members, paving the way for an early start to negotiations between Afghanistans warring sides.

The declaration read out in both of Afghanistans official languages of Pashto and Farsi calls for an immediate start to negotiations and cease-fire. The Taliban have said they were ready for talks immediately after their final prisoners were released and that a ceasefire would be one of the first items of negotiations.

The move looks to bring the United States a little closer to bringing its troops home and ending its longest military engagement.

The decision to free the prisoners does not come as a surprise as delegates were urged by the U.S. at the start of the council, or jirga, on Friday to take this difficult action so negotiations could begin to bring an end to the war.

To remove obstacle, to start peace talks and to stop the bloodshed, the Jirga confirms the release of 400 Taliban prisoners, said Atefa Tayeb, a council secretary who read out the final declaration at the conclusion.

No date has been set but negotiations between Kabuls political leadership and the Taliban are expected to begin as early as next week and will most likely be held in the middle eastern state of Qatar, where the Taliban maintains a political office.

The Afghan negotiations were laid out in a peace deal signed by the United States and the Taliban in February. At the time of its signing it was touted as Afghanistans best chance at ending decades of war.

The deal calls for the government to free 5,000 prisoners and for the Taliban to free 1,000 government and military personnel in its custody as a goodwill gesture ahead of the start of negotiations.

Kabul balked at the release but eventually freed all but the last 400. President Ashraf Ghani said he was not authorized to free these because of the seriousness of their crimes, and asked for the council to decide instead. He did not detail of what the 400 were accused.

Delegates were therefore given the stark choice of either freeing the prisoners or seeing a war that has killed tens of thousands continue. The delegates said they wanted international guarantees that the Taliban would not return to the battlefield.

What I know is that after the release of these Taliban, soon in two or three days after the release, our negotiating team . . . will go and start negotiations, Former President Hamid Karzai told delegates at the concluding session.

Negotiation need patience. Negotiation need time, he warned adding I call up the Taliban to stop fighting, dont continue fighting.

Washingtons Peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad spent more than a year and a half negotiating the deal with the Taliban to provide for the withdrawal of American soldiers after more than 19 years in Afghanistan.

The withdrawal began earlier this year but roughly 8,600 U.S. soldiers remain in Afghanistan and their return will depend on the Taliban honoring its commitment to fight against other terrorist groups and ensure Afghanistan is not again used to attack the United States or its allies.

The withdrawal of U.S. and NATO troops is not dependent on the success of negotiations between Kabuls political leadership and the Taliban. But U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has made it clear that Washington wants a negotiated end to the conflict, including a cease fire.

Still an attack against a military compound in central Ghazni on Saturday that killed seven military personnel and injured another 16 was a reminder that Afghanistans war would not easily be over. No one took responsibility for the attack but both the Taliban and Islamic State affiliate is active in the area.

A spike in recent violence in Afghanistan has been mostly attributed to the IS affiliate, whom the Taliban are fighting as are the Afghan government and U.S. forces. Previously a U.S. department of defense official who could not be named because of the sensitivity of the subject said Washington considered IS its biggest threat in Afghanistan and wanted a deal that would recruit the Taliban in a coordinated fight against it.
He's been spending quarantine with his wife and former costar Mila Kunis and their two children.

But Ashton Kutcher took a short break from staying home on Saturday as he went out in Los Angeles to pick up some food.

The 42-year-old No Strings Attached star covered up in a white Spectrum hoodie while grabbing a meal in at Sweet Butter in the Sherman Oaks neighborhood.

Takeout trip: Ashton Kutcher, 42, stuck with a baggy white hoodie as he got takeout for his family in Los Angeles' Sherman Oaks neighborhood on Saturday

Ashton paired the hoodie with a set of dark, loose-fitting jeans and black sneakers.

He blocked out the sun thanks to a black trucker hat and a set of dark sunglasses.

The That '70s Show star did his part to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus by covering his face with a dark patterned bandana.

He was presumably bring the food back to his wife Mila, 36, with whom he shares a five-year-old daughter named Wyatt and a three-year-old son named Dimitri.

Comfy casual: Ashton paired the hoodie with loose-fitting dark jeans, a black trucker hat and a black patterned bandana over his face to slow the spread of the coronavirus

Family time: He was presumably bring the food back to his wife Mila Kunis, 36, with whom he shares a five-year-old daughter named Wyatt and a three-year-old son named Dimitri; pictured in 2014

Recently, Ashton committed to help those struggling with anxiety brought on the the ongoing pandemic by reading a soothing story.

On Monday morning, the actor will join COVID Recovery Iowa for its 'Tell Me a Story' virtual story time.

He'll be reading from The Book With No Pictures by The Office's B. J. Novak in a pre-recorded video message.

The organization aims to help people deal with the pandemic, and Ashton was a logical choice as he was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Good deed: On Monday, the actor will read The Book With No Pictures by B.J. Novak in a remote video message for COVID Recovery Iowa; shown in October 2019

The Ranch star got himself into hot water earlier this week after he came to the defense of his friend Ellen DeGeneres, who has been facing mounting criticism amid allegations that she allowed a toxic workplace to develop on her show.

Ashton shared a tweet in solidarity with the comedian on Tuesday.

'I haven't spoken with @TheEllenShow and can only speak from my own experience. She & her team have only treated me & my team w/ respect & kindness. She never pandered to celebrity which I always saw as a refreshing honesty. When things aren't right she handles it and fixes.'

Other social media users were quick to point out that most of the allegations of misconduct and mistreatment were directed at Ellen's producers and not her directly, while others complained that Ashton wouldn't have been privy to the backstage mistreatment.
Brussels, 25 July 2020 (SPS) - The allegations of misusing the humanitarian aid of the European Union (EU) to the Sahrawi refugees are unfounded, and they only divert the international opinion from the issue of the occupation of Western Sahara and the right of the Sahrawi people to self-determination, said Algerias ambassador to Brussels Amar Belani.



In a clarification to The Brussels Times newspaper about the allegations circulated by the nationalist Euro-deputy Dominique Bilde, on the misuse of the humanitarian aid, Belani noted that these accusations only divert the attention from the illegal occupation of Western Sahara and the Sahrawi peoples legitimate right to self-determination.



While referring to the responses given by the most senior officials of EU, the ambassador pointed out the statement of the current European Commissioner for Crisis Management Januz Lenarcic who confirmed in early July the rigorous control of the aid in the Sahrawi refugee camps.



EU implemented very strong follow-up and control measures to the extent that some of its partners reproached it for making the work difficult with its services, said Lenarcic before the EU Development Commission.



Contrary to what has been said by the deputy Bilde on the overestimated number of refugees, the ambassador said that the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) published, in March 2018, a report in which the population of the camps of the Sahrawi refugees of Tindouf was estimated at 173,600, i.e. an increase of about 40% compared to the estimates of 2007.



On 31 December 2017, these figures are even higher than those on which UNHCR, EU and the World Food Programme (WFP) planned their humanitarian aid operations, he said.



UNHCR underlined then the importance of its report as it represented the most comprehensive analysis that has never been carried out since 2007 on the issue, especially as its conclusions are the outcome of a multi-sectoral expert mission comprising UNHCR, UNICEF, WFP and several NGOs.



As indicated clearly by the report in question, the missions team had full access to the sites and demanded information, that it listed independently.



In this regard, WFP adopted the new estimate of the number of the Sahrawi refugees in its report of August 2018 on the assessment of the Sahrawi refugees food safety. (SPS)



062/SPS/700
F rance is reportedly seeking 30 million from the UK to police the English Channel.

The demand is being made as part of talks between the UK and France over policing the channel, The Telegraph reports.

The UK has offered to use Royal Navy and Border Force boats to pick up migrant boats and take them back to France.

However, the French are said to want 30 million to fund patrols on the beaches of northern France.

The Home Office has made a formal request for support from the Royal Navy to deal with migrants / PA

The report comes as the Home Office has made a formal request for support from the Royal Navy to deal with migrants attempting to cross the English Channel in small boats.

In a statement, the MoD said: We are assessing the requirement using the formal Military Aid to the Civilian Authorities process and are working hard to identify how we can most effectively assist.

As ever the MoD will do all it can to support HMG requirements.

The announcement was slammed by Labour MP Diane Abbott as "heartless".

"Tories seem to think that being an asylum seeker is actually a crime", she tweeted.

"This heartlessness & lack of concern for human right created #WindrushScandal. This current hysteria about desperate migrants crossing the Channel in rubber dinghies will also end badly."

More than 500 migrants have crossed the English Channel to the UK in just three days / PA

More than 500 migrants have crossed the English Channel to the UK in just three days.

Dozens more migrants braved the dangerous crossing to Britain on Saturday, prompting an hours-long search and rescue operation.

Individuals wearing blankets and lifejackets were seen arriving in Dover aboard a Border Force boat on Saturday afternoon, while others were reported to have landed on Kent beaches.

A total of 151 migrants reached the UK via small boats on Saturday, the Home Office confirmed.
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
Eleven members of a family of Pakistan Hindu migrants were found dead at a farm in Rajasthan's Jodhpur district on Sunday morning, police said.

A member of the family, however, was found alive outside the hut they lived at Lodta village of the Dechu area, over 100 km away from Jodhpur city, an officer said.

"But he claimed to have no idea about the incident, which believed to have happened in the night," said Superintendent of Police (Rural) Rahul Barhat.

"We are yet to ascertain the cause and means of death. They appeared to have committed suicide by consuming some chemical in the night," Barhat said.

He said there was a smell of some chemical in the hut, suggesting they consumed something.

The family belonging to the Bhil community had come to India from Pakistan's Sindh province in 2015 on a long-term visa. They had been living at the Lodta village farm, which they had hired for farming, for the past six months.

There was neither any injury mark on any of the bodies nor any evidences of any foul play, the SP said. "But we have roped in a forensic team and a dog squad before arriving at any conclusion," he said.

A preliminary investigation indicated that there was some dispute in the family over some issue.

"Once we interrogate the survivor, we would be in a position to find out what had led to this incident," he said.

According to a police officer, the victims lived under threat from the family of their daughter-in-law, the wife of Kewal Ram (35), the surviving member of the victim family.

She has been living with her family in Jodhpur for the past some time due to some dispute, said the police officer, citing this as a possible trigger for their suicide.

According to Kewal Ram (35), they had dinner between 9 pm and 10 pm on Saturday night and went to sleep.

I went to guard our crop against animals and slept there, he said.

In the morning, when he came back, he found all his family members dead.

I then called my nephew who rushed to the spot with some other persons and informed police," said Kewal Ram, expressing his ignorance about the incident.

Those, who died have been identified as Budharam (75); his wife Antara Devi; son Ravi (31); daughters Jiya (25) and Suman (22); grandsons Mukdash (17) and Nain (12); Laxmi (40) and three minor sons of Kewal Ram.

The bodies have been sent for autopsy in Jodhpur and a medical board has been constituted to find out the cause of their death.
A frontline doctor was among the 13 people who died of Covid-19 in Jammu and Kashmir on Sunday, taking the death toll in the region to 472. The total number of positive cases in the Union Territory rose to 24,897 with 507 more infections reported during the day, officials said.

M Ashraf Mir, in his early 40s, was working as medical officer at District Hospital, Pulwama and was infected last month in the line of duty. He died at Shere Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences in Srinagar on Sunday morning. Officials said that the doctor died of post-Covid complications.

He had turned already Covid negative more than a week back and died of Covid complications, a health official said.

Lt Governor Manoj Sinha, while expressing his condolences over his death, termed Mir a Corona Warrior who will be missed by all.

Lt Governor prayed for eternal peace to the departed soul of this great Corona Warrior, who laid his life for welfare of humanity and strength to the bereaved family members to bear this irreparable loss, an official spokesman said.

Deputy Commissioner Srinagar, Shahid Choudhary, said in a tweet: The limitless cruelty of this global pandemic has put us all in grief & sorrow. Braving all odds, health professionals continue to risk their own lives to save others. Condolences to the family & fraternity. RIP.

Mir is the second doctor in Kashmir to have died of Covid while on duty. Last month, medical officer of Gurez, Dr Shabir Ahmad Malik, died of novel coronavirus. So far, around 240 doctors and other health care workers have been infected with the novel coronavirus in the region.

Officials said of the 13 people who succumbed to the disease on Sunday, 12 were from Kashmir and one in Jammu. Over all, Kashmir has reported 437 fatalities while there have been 35 deaths in Jammu division. The highest single day spike of 17 deaths, since the pandemic spread, was recorded on July 30.

The UT, particularly Kashmir valley, has been witnessing around 10 deaths daily on an average for the past more than a month. As many as 276 persons died in July alone.

Srinagar is the worst affected district with 6,155 total cases and 152 deaths. The active cases in the district reached 2,400 after 144 recovered today, a government spokesman said.

The recovery rate in J-K is now 68.27% after 336 more people were cured and discharged from various hospitals, taking overall recoveries to 17,003. Active cases in the UT stand at 7,422.

A total of 196 doctors in the country, majority of them being general practitioners, have succumbed to Covid-19 so far, news agency PTI quoted the Indian Medical Association (IMA) as saying on Saturday. The organisation has requested the prime minister for his attention on the issue.
The character Holly Golightly seemed tailor-made for Audrey Hepburn (pictured), who played the kooky and complex New York girl-about-town in the Oscar-winning film Breakfast At Tiffanys

The character Holly Golightly seemed tailor-made for Audrey Hepburn, who played the kooky and complex New York girl-about-town in the Oscar-winning film Breakfast At Tiffanys.

The name itself was a perfect fit; just as snug, sophisticated and feminine as the Little Black Dress Hepburn wore in the film, released in 1961, as she skips flightily along Fifth Avenue, making a beeline for upmarket restaurants and society parties.

But if Truman Capote, the American author of the novella upon which the film was based, had had his way, Holly Golightly would have never existed.

For it was revealed last week that in his original story  the final manuscript of which has just sold at Sothebys for 377,000  his heroine was called Connie Gustafson.

Yet the name sounded dull, stodgy, as though it might belong to a dowdy middle-aged housewife from the American Midwest  and it was a world away from the mid-century glamour of a film that would become one of the most successful romantic comedies of all time.

Oozing with sophistication and understated sex, Capotes story follows the tale of a high-class escorts dogged search for a rich husband and her eventual infatuation with a charming new neighbour, Paul Varjak  a struggling young writer.

Capote had based his protagonist on some of the aristocratic women in his New York circle, among them Gloria Vanderbilt. Neither they nor Hepburn, a poised ingenue from a well-bred Belgian family, would have been seen dead with a name like Connie.

So Capote decided to change it  just one of a large number of painstaking revisions and amendments that appear in his final draft, which was formerly owned by a Russian billionaire.

Truman Capote, the American author of the novella upon which the film was based, lobbied hard for Marilyn Monroe (pictured in a publicity still for the 1958 film Some Like It Hot) to be given the role. In fact, hed had her in mind as his heroine when he wrote the novella

But while Capote decided to inject a sense of scandal into his protagonists name, many of his changes were part of a concerted effort to tone down the original versions explicit scenes  principally in an attempt to appease squeamish editors at Harpers Bazaar, where he intended to publish the story.

In one deleted section, referring to past sexual encounters, Holly says: Boy, I have hit the hay with some real ghastlies just because I couldnt stand it any longer. I had to have somebody hold me.

During another expunged conversation between Holly and her flatmate, Mag Wildwood, Mag reveals that while having sex, she fantasises about a statue of her forefather Papadaddy Wildwood, dressed in his military uniform.

Yet Capotes original manuscript  fascinating historical document it may be  tells only part of the story behind the resulting film.

It was revealed last week that in Capote's original story  the final manuscript (pictured) of which has just sold at Sothebys for 377,000  his heroine was called Connie Gustafson

For the version of Breakfast At Tiffanys that finally made it to the silver screen  and turned Audrey Hepburn into an international superstar, earning her an Oscar nomination  was very different from the film that Capote, himself a highly controversial and tortured personality, had envisaged.

The Breakfast At Tiffanys hed had in mind was a much darker affair, more sexually charged and direct, but it was deemed far too hot for Hollywood to handle.

The prevailing Motion Picture Production code made it very difficult for mainstream films to include sex scenes, and even in the early Sixties, sex could be only alluded to. And so director Blake Edwards had to be very careful.

In the film, Holly is an eccentric society girl, much in demand with various suitors  yet her precise employment status is made deliberately ambiguous.

She is never confirmed as a call girl, but she has no compunction in taking $50 from a succession of men for the powder room.

The version of Breakfast At Tiffanys that finally made it to the silver screen  and turned Audrey Hepburn into an international superstar, earning her an Oscar nomination  was very different from the film that Capote

At the time, even in the early Sixties, Hollywood directors were very anxious about the blatant depiction of sex, let alone paid-for sex.

In the novella, however, there is no question that Holly is a prostitute, albeit an upmarket one, servicing clients in an opaque way, somehow managing to blur the line between companionship and financial transaction.

In a 1968 interview, Capote said: Holly Golightly was not precisely a call girl. She had no job but accompanied expense-account men to the best restaurants and nightclubs, with the understanding that her escort was obligated to give her some sort of gift, perhaps jewellery or a cheque . . . if she felt like it, she might take her escort home for the night.

Thats partly why Capote lobbied hard for Marilyn Monroe to be given the role. In fact, hed had her in mind as his heroine when he wrote the novella.

Monroe, of course, was by then a brassy Hollywood siren. She exuded sex from every pore, but beneath her overt promiscuity Capote felt there was also a simplicity that would imbue Holly Golightly with vulnerability.

The typescript, covered in hundreds of Capote's handwritten edits, sold to an anonymous buyer at Sotheby's London for more more than double the pre-sale estimate of 120,000-180,000

For Monroe, at heart, was a little-girl-lost. She once confided to Capote: Ive never had a home. Not a real one with all my own furniture.

Capote and Monroe had long been friends, and he was well aware of her vulnerabilities  they would often go out to dinner, sitting conspiratorially in the dark corners of smart Manhattan restaurants. They would even dance together, Monroe in bare feet, kicking off her shoes so that she would not tower over the 5ft 3in author.

But there was never anything sexual in their relationship; Capote was famously homosexual, and was valued by Monroe only as a confidant, companion and walker.

As for playing Holly Golightly, Monroe had told Capote that she was very keen on the part. But the producers were not having it.

The character  a woman living on her own and on her wits in the centre of New York City  would have to be tough and strong. Monroe was simply not that person.

The Breakfast At Tiffanys Capote had in mind was a much darker affair, more sexually charged and direct, but it was deemed far too hot for Hollywood to handle

Of course, there were other, more practical considerations. In any film, Monroe was almost impossible to manage. Arriving on set, she was always chronically late, and when she did make it into work, she had a pathological inability to remember any dialogue.

Even the most straightforward of lines would be a challenge for Monroe and often required around 40 or 50 takes.

In the end, it was Monroes agent who had the final word. Marilyn will not play a lady of the evening, she pronounced.

Perhaps she was concerned by the books further nods to sexual intrigue, although theyre barely hinted at by the film, which ends with Holly and writer Paul, played by George Peppard, embracing.

In the book, however, Capote makes a strong case that Holly is a lesbian  and that her love interest, Paul, is secretly gay.

In one deleted section, referring to past sexual encounters, Holly says: Boy, I have hit the hay with some real ghastlies just because I couldnt stand it any longer. I had to have somebody hold me.

Of course, the premise of this would have been unthinkable to a Hollywood director at the time  and might even have precluded the film from release.

Capote would later say: Its a well-known fact most prostitutes are lesbians  at least 80 per cent of them, in any case. So are a great many of the models and showgirls in New York . . . theres a lesbian component in every woman.

In the novella, Holly tells a former flatmate, with whom she shared a home in California: Of course, people couldnt help but think I must be a bit of a dyke myself. And, of course, I am. Everyone is a bit. So what? That never discouraged a man yet  it seemed to goad them on.

Of course, Audrey Hepburn never said such a thing in the film.

Even so, between Hepburn and Capote, they created an intriguing legacy: a blockbuster of a film that is much loved, with a story behind it that is even more gripping than the one that appears on screen.
<! Prof. Kemebradikumo Pondei, acting Managing Director, NDDC: bombs National Assembly >

National Assembly members have been accused of blackmail and coercion, in forcing the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC pay rogue contractors, before approving the agencys budget.

The Acting Managing Director of the commission, Prof. Kemebradikumo Daniel Pondei, made the accusation on Saturday amid the ongoing probe of the agency by the legislative arm.

Most sensationally, Pondei said most of the contracts the agency was arm-twisted to pay for, were never done or sometimes, never completed.

Pondei in a statement signed by his Special Adviser on Media, Edgar Ebigoni, listed some of the contracts he claimed the Commission was coerced by the legislature to pay as a condition for harmonising the agencys 2019 annual budget.

They are:

*Kith Global Ventures Ltd: remedial works at New Ogorode Roads Lot 3, at the cost of N493,684,169.00 paid on the 17/03/2020;

*301 Construction Ltd: remedial works at Nja Road to Akoku Uno Lot 1, at the cost of N350,027,919.80 and paid on the 17/03/2020;

*Cracked Stone Constr. Ltd: remedial works at Ajaolubeti Road Environs Lot 2 at the cost of N394,010,952.10 and paid on the 17/03/2020;

* Collincrystal Energy Ltd: emergency at Benin Township Road Lot 7, at the cost of N431,053.035.20 and paid on the 17/03/2020;

*Collincrystal Energy Ltd: emergency at Benin Township Road Lot 3, at the cost of N361,357,276.20 and paid on the 17/03/2020;

* Grapik Ltd: emergency at Umudee Internal Road at the cost of N207,673,107.70 and paid on the 17/03/2020.

*Southland Construction. Ltd: remedial works at Umuduru Chukwu Umuorlu Road at the cost of N518,409,089.30 and paid on17/03/2020;

*Southland Constr. Ltd: remedial works at Umuduru, at the cost of N519,949,949.10 and paid on the 17/03/2020;

*Grandfox Global Services Ltd: emergency at Ope Road Okigwe LGA, at the cost of N580,438,578.00 and paid on the 17/03/2020;

*Collincrystal Energy Ltd: emergency at Benin Town Road Lot 6, at the cost of N348,853,184.60 and paid on the 7/03/2020;

* Crism Constr. Building Ltd: emergency at Eziama Osuama International Roads Isiala Mbano LGA, at the cost of N561,592,377.80 and paid on the17/03/2020.

* Argento Ltd: emergency at Benin Township Road Lot 4, at the cost of N382,805,411.60 and paid on the 18/03/2020;

*Two Rocks Cont. Ltd:remedial works at New Ogorode Road Lot 4, N500,875,848.00 and paid on the 18/03/2020;

*Elkan Zibson Ltd: emergency repairs of failed and unmotorable sections of Ezumoha Internal Roads Isiala Mbano LGA, at the cost of N531,150,414.29 and paid on the 19/03/2020;

* Cracked Stone Constr. Ltd: remedial works on failed and unmotorable sections of Benin Township Road Lot 8, at the cost of N417,806,787.01 and paid on the 19/03/2020;

*Dis Concept and Solutions Ltd: urgently remedy failed and unmotorable sections of Jessy and Jenny Road off Peter Odili Road PHC, at the cost of N476,794,367.22 and paid on the 26/03/2020;

*Ogugo Concept and Solutions Ltd:emergency repairs of failed and unmotorable sections of environs Yenagoa LGA at the cost of N300,029,695.14 and paid on the 26/03/2020;

*Webster Global ventures Ltd: construction of emergency repairs of failed and unmotorable sections Benin Township Road Lot 2 Oredo LGA, at the cost of N357,242,054.35 and paid on the 26/03/2020;

*Webster Global ventures Ltd: remedial works of failed and unmotorable sections of Akuku Illah Road Oshimili North LGA at the cost of N463,489,890.13 and paid on the 26/03/2020;

*Webster Global Ventures Ltd: remedial works of failed and unmotorable sections of New Ogorode Road Lot 2 Sapele LGA, at the cost of N 466,416,380.71 and paid on the 26/03/2020.

Pondei alleged that this blackmail scheme explains why the 2019 Budget of the NDDC was passed by the NASS Committee in March, 2020.

We are talking about a budget that was billed to expire in May, 2020. The implication is that the management of the NDDC had only five weeks to implement the budget of one fiscal year and present a performance report on the same budget.

This scheme has continued to play out because as at this month of August 2020, the budget of the NDDC for the 2020 fiscal year has not been passed by the Joint National Assembly Committee on NDDC.

Sadly, nobody seems to care to ask questions because people are falling for the well-scripted smokescreen playing out in the two chambers of the National Assembly.

This document is among the many others tendered before the NASS Committee, which never saw the light of the day, and which the NDDC Committee was never allowed to speak on when they eventually appeared before the Committee, during the public hearing.

It was based on this evidential claim that the IMC of NDDC staged a walk-out on the first day they were to testify before the committee..

The details of this list can be verified from the Central Bank of Nigeria through a Freedom of Information (FOI) request.

Indeed, the same allegation informed the reason all well-meaning Nigerians urged the Committee Chairman, Hon. Tunji-Ojo, to recuse himself from the chairmanship of that hearing. This is in keeping with the Nemo judex in causa sua, which is a Latin phrase that upholds the principle of natural justice that no one can judge a case in which they have an interest.

It is very unfortunate that against all objective appeals and moral persuasions, Hon. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, alongside some other accused members of the House Committee on NDDC, proceeded to hold a public hearing, which was initially slated for two days, being the 15th and 16th of July 2020, but which effectively ran till 20th of the month, only for him to decide, at his own pace and time, to recuse himself from the hearing on the last day; an action which cast a dark shade on the entire public.

This is because the same reason for which he recused himself on the last day was enough for him to steer clear from the matter, ab initio.

The foregoing point to a clear fact that the Committee set out to do a bidding that was never in the interest of the public.

They obviously needed a public hearing to tell the public what they wanted the public to hear, rather than the facts of the matter.

The Spokesperson the House of Representatives, Hon. Benjamin Kalu, on a National Television Programme recently, admitted publicly that contractors often approached chairmen of the House Committees and the members, to use their office to compel MDAs to pay them.

This definitely should be the new height of the abuse of the oath of office they swore not to allow their personal interest interfere with the discharge of their official duties.

Recall that since these allegations were first made by the Acting Executive Director, Projects, Dr. Cairo Ojougboh on National Television, Hon. Olubumni Tunji-Ojo has not deemed it fit to discountenance the allegations by way of a law suit.

The statement also gave a detailed breakdown of the contracts which the National Assembly allegedly compelled the NDDC Interim Management Committee to pay before the 2019 budget is harmonised.

One of the firms mentioned in the statement, Webster Global Ventures, yesterday denied the claim made by the Interim Management Committee (IMC) of NDDC that it used the National Assembly Committee to coerce the agency into making payment to the firm.

Webster Global Ventures described the statement credited to the Acting Managing Director of the NDDC, Prof. Kemebradikumo Daniel Pondei as false, inaccurate and misleading. The company was emphatic that the National Assembly never influenced any payment made to the company by the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).

Opeolu Adarae, the Operations Director of Webster Global Ventures said in a statement that the National Assembly never influenced payment made to our company because we completed all projects we handled.

We have been in operations for more than 20 years and we have never been linked to any form of fraud as a corporate company.

Nobody gave us any recommendation and we do not have any business with the National Assembly. As a matter of fact, the Executive Director, Project for the NDDC, Dr Cairo Ojougboh inspected our project and certified it satisfactorily completed before payment was made.

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NA Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan will attend and deliver an opening speech. Ngan and vice chairpersons will alternately chair the session, according to an announcement released by the NA Office.

Regarding law building, NASC members are scheduled to consider and comment on a number of issues in the draft revised law on residency, the draft law on amendments and supplements to several articles of the law on handling administrative violations, the Vietnam border guard law and the draft revised law on environmental protection.

They will also look into and give ideas to the draft law on amendments and supplements to several articles of the law on HIV/AIDS prevention and control and the draft revised ordinance on preferential treatment for revolutionary contributors.

The committee will also consider the issuance of a decree on the management and use of the land for national defence purposes in economic production and construction by the military.

Other issues to be tabled during the meeting are a development strategy for State audit until 2030 and a report on the three-year implementation of a NA resolution on handling bad debts of credit institutions.
She turned 50 in January.

And, Minnie Driver put on an age-defying display as she showcased her toned physique in a vintage style bikini during a beach day in Malibu, California, with fiance Addison O'Dea, 41, on Saturday.

The Oscar nominated actress was fresh-faced for their seaside adventure, which saw Minnie don a huge pair of goggles before going for a swim.

Wow! Fresh-faced Minnie Driver showcased her toned physique in a vintage style bikini during a beach day in Malibu, California, with fiance Addison O'Dea, 41, on Saturday

Minnie looked sensational in her blue swimwear set which comprised a simple bikini top with a cross-back design, and a pair of high-waist briefs.

The Good Will Hunting star appeared flawless as she went make-up free, and happily allowed her raven tresses to get wet.

The mother-of-one looked to be delighted as she chatted to her beau Addison on the beach, before getting him to take a snap of her.

Action! The Oscar nominated actress donned a huge pair of goggles before going for a swim

Looking good: Minnie looked sensational in her blue swimwear set which comprised a simple bikini top with a cross-back design, and a pair of high-waist briefs

Taking to Instagram, Minnie shared the photograph of herself wearing the goggles, captioning the shot: '#wearamask.'

Minnie is mother to 11-year-old son Henry Story from a brief fling with her former The Riches writer, Timothy J. Lea.

The Will & Grace guest star began romancing globe-trotting documentarian Addison in February 2019.

Effortless: The Good Will Hunting star appeared flawless as she went make-up free, and happily allowed her raven tresses to get wet

Before Addison - Driver reportedly romanced the likes of Criss Angel, Chris Isaak, Harrison Ford, Taylor Hawkins, Josh Brolin, Matt Damon, John Cusack, David Schwimmer, and Elliott Smith.

Minnie (born Amelia) will next play Queen Beatrice in Kay Cannon's modern live-action remake of Cinderella, which is still scheduled to hit US/UK theaters on February 5.

However, production on the Sony Pictures fairy tale flick was suspended on March 16 due to the global coronavirus pandemic.
Help AG, the cybersecurity arm of Etisalat Digital, has announced its partnership with CrowdStrike, a leader in cloud-delivered endpoint protection.

As a member of the CrowdStrike Elevate Partner Programme, Help AG will offer the award-winning CrowdStrike Falcon platform for comprehensive, real-time endpoint protection to businesses in the Middle East, with an initial focus on organisations in the UAE.

In recent months, the uptake of cloud-based technologies has been accelerated in the region, owing to the urgent need for the rapid, remote deployment of advanced IT solutions as businesses strive to maintain continuity by enhancing their digital footprint and services. Highlighting the region's growing acceptance and appetite for cloud-delivered services, Gartner estimates that public cloud services revenue in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) will total nearly $3 billion this year.

This partnership with CrowdStrike aligns with Help AGs cloud-first strategy and offers our customers near-instant access to one of the industrys highest-rated endpoint detection and response solutions with no upfront CapEx, said Stephan Berner, chief executive officer at Help AG.

Todays sophisticated attacks leverage exploits, zero days, and hard-to-detect methods such as credential theft and vulnerabilities that are already part of the victims environment. CrowdStrike provides a powerful, and an intelligent solution that is simple to deploy and that goes beyond just detecting malware to stopping breaches before they occur, explained Berner.

Commenting on the synergy between the two companies, he said, CrowdStrike Falcon is unique in that it is a truly stand-alone solution that perfectly integrates with technologies from several of our other market-leading vendor partners. This enhances Help AGs value-proposition and enables us to offer a comprehensive cybersecurity solution that delivers instant visibility and protection across the enterprise and prevents attacks on endpoints, whether they are on or off the network.

CrowdStrike Falcon unifies next-generation antivirus (NGAV), endpoint detection and response (EDR), cyber threat intelligence, managed threat hunting capabilities and security hygiene via a single, lightweight agent that is cloud-managed and delivered. The benefits of this unified and lightweight approach include immediate time-to-value, better performance, reduced cost and complexity, and better protection that goes beyond detecting malware to stop breaches before they occur.

As organisations have moved their workforces outside of physical offices, the threat landscape has grown exponentially. Avoiding a breach is more important than before ever as organisations look to avoid any further disruption to their business, said Rawad Sarriedine, CrowdStrike senior managing director, Middle East, Turkey and Africa sales. We are proud to partner with an industry leader like Help AG to bring the best-of-breed CrowdStrike Falcon to enterprises in UAE, assisting in their digital transformation by providing a purpose-built cloud security offering that is easily and remotely deployed and managed and that protects their workloads at scale, irrespective of where their employees are located.

In addition to offering consultancy and implementation services for the full spectrum of CrowdStrikes offerings, Help AG will utilise the Falcon platform within its own Cybersecurity Operations Centre (CSOC) for the further advancement of its Incident Response capabilities. Falcon Insight  the Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) component of the platform  provides remote visibility across endpoints throughout an organisation's IT environment, enabling instant access to the 'who, what, when, where and how' of an attack. -- Tradearabia News Service
1. Yes. Too many kids are staying home. They need a virtual learning option to keep up.

2. Yes. Teachers are out sick and subs cant handle the load. Online learning is needed.

3. No. Its too late in the school year to make a wholesale switch in teaching platforms.

4.No. Many parents arent in a position to stay home while their kids learn virtually.

5. Unsure. It may seem like a good idea from a health standpoint, but it has shortcomings.

Vote

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Facing the prospect of another semester, or even year, of the failure of public education to adapt to COVID-19, American parents are scrambling to form educational pods in collaboration with other families. Ten families chipping in $10,000 apiece, for example, could hire an excellent teacher to provide their children with personalized learning in an intimate, friendly, and safe environment.

Conservatives love the idea, seeing it as a Tocquevillian response to a social emergency that could lay the groundwork for a more diverse and pluralistic educational system. Some progressives see the same possibility but interpret it differently, lamenting the rise of pods as another instantiation of white supremacy. One doesnt have to endorse progressives overheated race rhetoric to recognize a legitimate concern about pods: Lower-income households will have a harder time amassing the resources necessary to hire quality teachers, raising the prospect of an expanding achievement gap. That concern could be largely ameliorated, however, with a tax credit refunding their expenses.

 READ MORE: Joe Biden used a visit to West Philly to introduce his plan to restart the national economy

Into this evolving landscape steps presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, who appears to have proposed  without quite realizing it  the largest expansion of federal school choice in American history. Last month, the Biden campaign promised to extend a refundable tax credit of up to $8,000 to cover child-care expenses for kids 13 and younger; families making up to $125,000 annually would be eligible.

While Biden almost certainly does not intend for his proposal to underwrite a mass exodus from traditional public schools, the plan could assist parents who want to join with other families to find better educational alternatives. Given the blurry line between schooling and child care  as illustrated by school districts that remain officially closed, even as schools charge parents for child care  its hard to see how regulators could maintain a credible distinction.

Already, child-care providers in cities such as Charlotte, N.C., are coordinating and supplying teachers for pods, telling parents that they accept child-care tax credits. Bidens tax credits could help expand this model dramatically.

 READ MORE: Trumps warning that Biden will destroy the suburbs is falling flat outside Philly

His proposal might also prove a boon to established private schools. With some restructuring, private schools could deflate their tuition prices, raise their cost of afterschool child care, and improve their financial bottom line while alleviating the financial burden on parents. In the wake of the Supreme Courts recent Espinoza decision, the federal government would have a hard time excluding religious schools from serving as day-care providers.

In terms of their potential reach, Bidens tax credits would exceed the scope of the Trump administrations proposed Educational Freedom Scholarships. EFS would provide a tax credit for third-party donations to scholarship-granting organizations only in states with approved programs, and in practice would largely benefit families below or near the poverty line. Bidens proposal would directly benefit families making up to $125,000 in every state.

President Donald Trump has said that if schools do not reopen, the funding should go to parents to send their child to public, private, charter, religious, or home school of their choice. As critics have noted, Washington has no authority to disburse local and state taxpayer dollars if schools stay closed. But Congress has the authority to provide parents with a tax credit for child care  or any other educational expense.

 READ MORE: Who should pay for private and religious schools? | Editorial

On almost any issue, its a sound axiom that Republicans should never try to get into a bidding war with Democrats. But here, Trump and congressional Republicans should consider making an exception to that rule. As Congress debates the next round of financial stimulus, a conservative legislator should introduce a pod tax credit to help parents educate their kids during the pandemic. For parents scrambling to organize an affordable educational alternative, the promise of a substantial tax credit to defray costs would prove a political winner.

Regardless of whether such a proposal passes, the debate would help normalize the principle that parents should be given the resources to direct their childrens education. Joe Biden might not realize that he has put school vouchers back on the campaign agenda  but lets hope that the Trump campaign notices and reacts accordingly. It should expand on Bidens proposal and sell it for what it truly is: an expansion of educational choice. If Trump joins Biden in that discussion, then no matter who prevails this November, parents and kids might walk away as the real winners.

Max Eden is a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute: @MaxEden99. A version of this piece first appeared in City Journal.
NEW YORK, N.Y. -- Officials expanded the random quarantine checkpoint operation to other parts of the city Saturday after stopping 353 vehicles crossing into Staten Island over the last three days.

Since Mayor Bill de Blasio ordered the checkpoints Wednesday, they had been set up exclusively at Staten Island crossings as part of the citys pilot test program until it expanded checkpoints to other locations Saturday.

The Sheriffs Office said it would set up checkpoints near the Goethals Bridge, Holland Tunnel and Lincoln Tunnel Crossings Saturday.

On Wednesday, officials from the Sheriffs Office stopped 47 vehicles, they stopped another 166 vehicles at a checkpoint at the Outerbridge Crossing on Thursday, and 140 more coming off the Bayonne Bridge Friday.

COURTESY NOTICE - CHECKPOINT/VEHICLE STOP CORRIDOR: Deputy Sheriffs will conduct Quarantine Checkpoints / Vehicle Stops in vicinity of Goethals Bridge, Holland Tunnel and Lincoln Tunnel Crossings on NYC side today. pic.twitter.com/0UaD4seqwf  NYC SHERIFF (@NYCSHERIFF) August 8, 2020

City Hall also said it distributed 1,100 masks over the three-day period.

City Hall said it plans to keep six areas on rotation for its checkpoint locations: The George Washington Bridge; Goethals Bridge; Bayonne Bridge; Outerbridge Crossing; Lincoln Tunnel; and Holland Tunnel.

Those six locations are the only checkpoint spots the city has planned for now, the city said.

On Wednesday, de Blasio announced out of state travelers from 35 high-infection states would be met with checkpoints at major bridges and tunnels across the city.

Officials from the Sheriffs Office will require travelers to complete a New York State Department of Health traveler form and quarantine for 14 days upon entry into the city.

Those who refuse to fill out the form will be fined $2,000 and travelers caught violating the two-week quarantine could get hit with a $10,000 fine.

Sheriff Joseph Fucito said Sheriffs vehicles are equipped with license plate reader technology to help them identify out of state vehicles.

Any individual, including New York City residents, will be required to quarantine for two weeks if they spent more than 24 hours in one of the 35 high-infection states.

The restrictions apply to New Yorkers who have traveled to other states as well as people visiting New York City.

De Blasio said Friday he believed the checkpoints helped to send a message to travelers about the citys two-week quarantine.

See the list of high-infection states here.

FOLLOW SYDNEY KASHIWAGI ON TWITTER.
Caste discrimination, it would seem, is a perennial problem Indians create and deal with no matter where they go, even in the Silicon Valley.

We are talking about this thanks to two lawsuits that was filed in the US against tech firms. One of them was against the US tech major Cisco filed by the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing on behalf of a Dalit employee, John Doe, against two upper caste superiors Sundara Iyer and Raman Kompella.

The second one, which Moneycontrol recently reported, was against the US unit of IT firm HCL Tech by its former employee, who we will call Vikram to protect the identity.

The lawsuit alleges that Vikram, who is a Kapu Naidu was discriminated by his superior Srinivas Chakravarty, a Kamma Naidu, and harboured animosity against Vikram due to caste rivalry.

The two groups have a history of rivalry that could date back to the riots in 1980s in the Vijayawada region of Andhra Pradesh, the lawsuit said.

Fight between the two castes, Kamma and Kapu, resulted the in death of over 40 people and Rs 100 crore in damages, reports had then pointed out. Chakravarty is from Vijayawada, and his caste sentiments are deep-rooted, alleged Vikram. According to the lawsuit, Chakravarty was in Vijayawada during the time of riots.

What these two issues kick-started is the conversation about caste and lack of remedies within the organisation for discrimination. For, in both the cases complaining to the human resources or senior management did not help. Rather it made it worse.

The Cisco lawsuit pointed out that after Doe complained to HR, the superiors retaliated. The lawsuit said, Doe was denied raises and promotions and was made to endure a hostile work environment.

Complaints to senior managers bore no fruit, says Vikram. He complained to Vikas Soni, then Worldwide Director for Technical Teams and Prasanna Subramanian, the Program Manager and Chakravartys boss, about the unfair treatment, both orally and in writing.

Eventually, Vikram was put in performance improvement plan, designed for poor performers to assess if they can be deployed in projects and was later terminated, the lawsuit alleged. Vikram said before Chakravarty became his superior, he was appreciated by clients for his work.

The lawsuits, however, seem to given them confidence with many people willing to accept the existence of caste discrimination and be vocal about it.

More than half a dozen people said they were aware of discrimination in the workplace on grounds of caste. I witnessed such incidents 'live' and some included 'caste', 'region' and even 'looks'...yes they were all in the so called MNCs, said a tweet.

This is dangerously spreading than COVID-19. I experienced this too in some interviews, said another Twitterati in the platform.

It is not clear how much would have gone to the HR department, but as Shanti, another affected employee pointed out, just complaining is no guarantee.

HR department is lacking

Armaan*, a senior executive in an IT outsourcing firm said, HR is more often than the senior management's puppet. So that is why many of the incidents go unreported because they know things would get only worse for them.

Also, the fact that these employees' visas are dependent on the employer plays a role. Most of the employees go to US either on H-1B or L-1 visa, which are employer dependent. To given the sense of this in 2019, over 1 lakh H-1B visas were issued, renewed and extended by Indians, according to US immigration agency report.

So many of them endure till they find a better job, another Indian executive from a MNC said

This is what probably explains the barrage of complaints advocacy group and tech startup Equality Labs got weeks after the Cisco lawsuit. In a data shared to VICE News, the firm said that they got complaints from 250 Dalits working in tech firms such as Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Apple and Netflix, on discrimination, bullying, , and even sexual harassment by colleagues who are higher-caste Indians.

According to VICE News, most of the firms ignored the requests for comments. The article further stated that Microsoft, Uber, and Netflix declined to comment on the record, whereas Dell, Cisco, and Twitter said that companies promote diversity and are dealing with complaints, the article added.

Thenmozhi Soundarajan, director of Equality Labs, told VICE News that the companies where this is happening have done little to address these issues through policies. They dont even understand just how widespread the problem is, she said in the report.

The HR departments in so many of these companies are just are not culturally competent enough about the issues of caste to even understand the recording of these issues, Soundarajan said.

That is probably why the Cisco lawsuit is important. For, it is this lawsuit that has made caste a discussion in IT firms. Like the Aljaezeera article points out, it is going to be a wait and watch if the case will inspire tech firm to accept and address the caste issue in their work place.
Washington:

US President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday called for cancelling the order of Air Force One to Boeing. He slammed the plane manufacturer for the aridiculousa high cost of over USD 4 billion.

aBoeing is building a brand new 747 Air Force One for future presidents, but costs are out of control, more than USD 4 billion. Cancel order!a Trump said in a tweet.

Boeing is building a brand new 747 Air Force One for future presidents, but costs are out of control, more than $4 billion. Cancel order! a Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 6, 2016

In January 2016, the US Air Force placed contract with Boeing for replacing the current Air Force One Planes with a new Boeing 747.

Boeing has built the plane for every US President since Franklin Roosevelt.

Later, Trump said the estimated USD 4 billion cost was atotally out of controla and aridiculous.a

aI think Boeing is doing a little bit of a number. We want Boeing to make a lot of money, but not that much money,a the president-elect told reporters at Trump Tower, his Manhattan headquarters.

In a statement, Boeing said, aWe are currently under contract for USD 170 million to help determine the capabilities of these complex military aircraft that serve the unique requirements of the president of the United States.

aWe look forward to working with the US Air Force on subsequent phases of the program allowing us to deliver the best planes for the president at the best value for the American taxpayer.a

Trump had tweeted in 2013 that he owned Boeing stock, but a spokesman said he sold all of his stocks in June.

In a conference call with reporters Jason Miller, communicator director of the Trump Transition Team, said Trump sold all his stocks in Boeing in June.

aThe president-elect was making here was that a USD 4 billion price tag is a very big number. I think taxpayers want to make sure that weare seeing absolute accountability and that the government is doing the best to drive costs down,a he said in response to a question.

aSo weare going to look for those opportunities to do so at every stretch. Before the exact details, we can get into that more after the president-elect is sworn in on January 20,a Miller said.A

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Algeria has announced it will further ease its coronavirus lockdown, including shortening an overnight curfew, lifting some travel curbs and allowing large mosques to reopen.



The North African country has recorded 34,155 coronavirus infections with 1,282 deaths. In June, it resumed some economic activity, mainly in the construction and public works sectors, and allowed the reopening of some businesses.



The new measures include lifting a travel ban on 29 provinces from August 9 until the end of the month. During that period, a curfew will be shortened and will run from 11pm to 6am from the current 8pm to 5am, the government said.



Mosques with a capacity of more than 1,000 worshippers can reopen from August 15, though weekly prayers on Fridays, which are usually attended by larger numbers of people, will remain banned throughout the country.

Source: Aljazeera









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India's plan to regulate "non-personal" data has jolted US tech giants Amazon, Facebook and Google, and a group representing them is preparing to push back against the proposals, according to sources and a letter seen by Reuters. A government-appointed panel in July recommended setting up a regulator for information that is anonymised or devoid of personal details but critical for companies to build their businesses. The panel proposed a mechanism for firms to share data with other entities - even competitors - saying this would spur the digital ecosystem. The ...
Donald Trump signs executive orders extending coronavirus economic relief on 8 August. Photo: Jim Watson/AFP/Getty

On Saturday, US president Donald Trump tried to assert executive powers by signing four orders on coronavirus economic relief, after talks with Congress broke down.

One of the actions will provide as much as $400 (307) a week in enhanced unemployment benefits, after the White House and Democrats were unable to reach an agreement on a stimulus bill this week.

The president is hoping to pay for the temporary unemployment add-on by using, $44bn in previously approved disaster aid for US states.

Trumps move to take matters into his own hands, drew criticism from the Democrats, and some of the measures could face a legal challenge as the US Constitution gives Congress authority over federal spending.

The other three executive orders were assistance for renters, a memorandum on a payroll tax holiday for Americans earning less than $100,000 a year, and a memorandum on deferring student loan payments.

READ MORE: US imposes sanctions on Hong Kong chief exec Carrie Lam

Trumps order would also suspend collection of payroll taxes, which pay for Social Security and other federal programmes.

Democratic presidential candidate and former vice president, Joe Biden, called the measures half-baked and accused Trump of putting Social Security at grave risk by delaying the election of payroll taxes that pay for the programme.

in May, the Democratic-majority House of Representatives passed a coronavirus support package, which the Republican-led Senate ignored.

Previously, the Trump administration said that they didnt want to continue the $600 supplement, which expired without replacement on 31 July because it would disincentivize people's return to work.

READ MORE: Trump steps up Chinese tech war with new TikTok and WeChat executive order

House speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority leader Charles E. Schumer called on Republicans and Trump to return to the negotiating table.

There are still disagreements between both parties, after 11 days of talks, over how much to spend on COVID-19 aid. The Democrats, who control the House are asking for $3.4trn, and the Republicans, who control the Senate, seek to keep the stimulus under $1trn.

Under the US Constitution, powers to collect taxes, spend money and write laws rest with Congress.

The US has been struggling to control coronavirus infections, with the country marking the grim milestone of five million cases. The pandemic saw tens of millions of Americans lose their jobs.
By Express News Service

KOTTAYAM: Due to the torrential rains, battering the region for the past couple of days, the flood situation in Kottayam continued to be grim on Sunday morning as major rivers including Meenachil, Manimala and Muvattupuzha started to overflow.

A youth went missing after the car he was travelling in got caught in the flood waters near Manarcadu. According to the authorities, Justin, a native of Angamaly, is missing and search operation by NDRF team is underway,

Local residents said, the incident occurred around 2.30 am on Sunday when the youth was returning to Kochi after dropping a passenger, who hired the vehicle from CIAL, Nedumbassery, at Kottayam. The car fell into a paddy field near Palamury where road was submerged after a side stream of Meenachil river was overflowing.

ALSO READ | Idukki landslide: Fast network restoration helped rescue operation

Following the alert by Justin, local residents arrived the spot and involved in taking out the vehicle. While attempting to release the hand brake of the vehicle Justin was caught in the current along with the vehicle and went missing, said police.

The Meenachil river, which flowed well above the danger mark, breached banks at several points along the Kottayam-Kumarakom route and entered the road. Till Saturday evening, the authorities opened 117 relief camps cross the district, which together accommodated 2,851 persons from 888 families.

Meanwhile, the receding flood waters caused widespread troubles across the low-lying regions from Vaikom to Changanassery, bringing life across the eastern parts of the district to a complete standstill.

The vehicular traffic on AC Road has been totally disrupted it got submerged in various locations. Besides, traffic on Ettumanoor-Pala and Pala-Erattupetta roads could not be restored.

ALSO WATCH:
Mark Batterson: God 'activating gifts of the Holy Spirit' in new ways amid COVID-19, racial tension

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According to Pastor Mark Batterson, God is activating the gifts of the Holy Spirit and working in an unprecedented way amid the challenges facing society today, from the coronavirus pandemic to racial tension.

The Spirit of God doesn't just want to fill you, but wants to stretch you and create new capacity within you, Batterson, lead pastor of National Community Church in Washington, D.C., said in a message delivered at the Promise Keepers 2020 Mens Conference last weekend.

Here's the catch. The Spirit of God can't fill you if you're full of yourself. You've got to humble yourself, you got to acknowledge your need, you have to extend the invitation, and it's as simple as three words: Come, Holy Spirit.

Batterson said hes never felt more dependent upon the Holy Spirit than he does amid the challenges of today. He cited the coronavirus pandemic, racial tensions, and political polarization.

One-third of Americans say they're either clinically depressed or have an anxiety disorder, 71% of Americans are angry, 66% of Americans are fearful, he said. I want you to hear me. Don't lose faith in the end of the story. His kingdom is going to come. His will is going to be done. God's got this. God's got you.

You are here for such a time as this; you are here for such a place as this. But come on, we need the Holy Spirit's help more than ever. I believe that God is activating the gifts of the Spirit and working in a way that we haven't seen anything yet.

When the Holy Spirit fills us, it catalyzes a lot of chain reactions, he said. The Holy Spirit is still healing and revealing and sealing; the Holy Spirit is still convicting and comforting and quickening; the Holy Spirit is still filling and leading and gifting and fruiting and paracleting.

"The Holy Spirit is our comforter, is our counselor. The Holy Spirit is interceding for you with groanings it can't even be put into words. That is where our holy confidence comes from, and I want you to know the same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead dwells in you."

"Without the Holy Spirit, I'm below average. I am ordinary in every way. But I want to flip that coin. The Holy Spirit is the difference between the best you can do and the best God can do. With the help of the Holy Spirit, [there's] nothing that we cannot do.

If Christians stay humble and stay hungry, there is nothing that God cannot do in and through you, the pastor stressed.

In Acts 2:17, God promises to pour out His Spirit on all people, he continued, explaining that in that context, pour means to spill over.

[We will be] so full of God's Spirit that when people bump into us, the Spirit of God comes out of us, he said.

God's vision for your life is bigger than your vision, he declared. We need to be aware of the enemys schemes. Yes, we need to guard our hearts, for it is the wellspring of life. Yes, we need accountability structures in our lives, but the best defense is sometimes a good offense. We need a vision that is bigger and better than the temptations that we face as men of God. We need a vision that is bigger and better than our selfish ambition.

Batterson quoted Danish philosopher Sren Kierkegaard, who once stated that boredom is the root of all evil. The only way to overcome boredom is by getting a God-sized vision that keeps you on your toes and keeps you on your knees, and the only way to get such a vision is through the study of God's Word and continual prayer.

The answer to every prayer is more of the Holy Spirit, Batterson said. We need more of the Spirit, and it's the Spirit that then produces that fruit in our lives.

I don't care who you are. I don't care what you do. The Holy Spirit wants to help you do it. The Holy Spirit wants to anoint you. Its revelation beyond human knowledge, it's provision beyond human resource, it's gifting beyond ability, its power beyond human strength. Three words. Come, Holy Spirit.

The Promise Keepers 2020 Men's Conference - Virtual Event was held July 31-Aug. 1. Speakers included Pastors Tony Evens, Luis and Andrew Palau, John Gray, and others, with worship led by Phil Wickham, Danny Gokey, and Michael W. Smith. Topics included marriage and restoration, making disciples, seeking justice, building a legacy, and fatherhood.

Promise Keepers had originally planned to convene 80,000 people at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, for the official relaunch of the national mens gathering, which once saw hundreds of thousands from various denominational backgrounds gathered at its 1997 Stand in the Gap rally in Washington, D.C.

However, due to restrictions stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic, the organization opted to instead hold a free two-day virtual event, prerecorded mostly in Nashville, Tennessee.
NSW recorded ten new cases of COVID-19 on Sunday with 111 people in hospital

Television host Lisa Wilkinson has criticised the New South Wales government for refusing to make face masks mandatory amid a deadly second wave of COVID-19 in Victoria.

The veteran presenter took aim at Premier Gladys Berejiklian in a tweet on Saturday after a grocery run near her Sydney home left her stunned.

'Just did some shopping at the local IGA and I was literally the only shopper wearing a mask,' she wrote.

Lisa Wilkinson, 60, is pictured holding a face mask amid the coronavirus pandemic

Ms Wilkinson took aim at New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian in a scathing tweet (pictured) on Saturday after a grocery run left her stunned

'When I politely asked the only one of three staff wearing a mask at the checkout what the store policy was, she said, it's up to us.'

The Project host tagged Ms Berejiklian and said: 'Gladys, I don't think your message is getting through.'

Ms Berejiklian has come under fire for refusing to follow Victoria's lead and make face masks mandatory.

NSW recorded ten new cases of COVID-19 on Sunday, with 111 people now in hospital in the state fighting the virus.

The public overwhelmingly agreed with Ms Wilkinson's comments.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian addresses media in Sydney, Wednesday, August 5. She has come under fire for refusing to make face masks mandatory

Ms Wilkinson, 60, has made her position on face masks in NSW clear in a series of tweets over the past month

'The compelling message has been 'not compulsory', unfortunately. If there's been one learning in this whole situation, it's that people won't do anything that inconveniences them for the greater good,' one woman wrote online.

'Hello from Victoria... are we not a prime example of why things need to be mandated and enforced?' another commented.

Victoria had more than 7,600 active cases as of Sunday afternoon, with 394 new cases and 17 deaths recorded.

State premier Daniel Andrews enforced the use of face masks in public areas in Melbourne, with penalties of $200 if residents are caught without one.

Ms Wilkinson has also retweeted pro-mask commentary as the state's COVID-19 situation worsens

Ms Wilkinson, 60, has made her position on face masks in NSW clear in a series of tweets over the past month.

Last week, she wrote: 'So I headed to my local Woolies in NSW today, and I reckon there was maybe ten per cent (if that) of customers wearing masks. And before you ask, yes I was wearing mine.'

The journalist has also retweeted pro-mask commentary as the state's COVID-19 situation worsens.

Ms Berejiklian has maintained the state is on 'high alert' and told residents to be vigilant.

'The changing situation in Victoria means we must exercise extreme caution,' she said last week.

Anyone with even the mildest of symptoms is urged to get test in the effort to avoid a second wave of new infections. Pictured is a woman wearing a mask in Sydney's Darling Harbour

'The health of our citizens and economy must be protected  and the health advice says this is the best way to do it.

'We will also further limit the reasons Victorians can seek exemptions to come into NSW.'

Although daily number of new cases is relatively low compared to Victoria's horror outbreak, several remain a mystery, sparking fear there could be a wave of community transmission in the coming days and weeks.

'This is a critical time in the NSW response and we need to reduce any further risk of seeding of cases from Victoria,' NSW Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant said on Friday.

The nation's death toll is on track to pass 300 as Victoria recorded its deadliest day on Sunday,

Around 31,681 tests recorded up until 8pm on Saturday, up from 24,421 on Friday. Pictured is a woman being tested at a pop-clinic in Rushcutters Bay in Sydney's eastern suburbs

While federal health authorities remain confident a vaccine will be found, National Deputy Chief Medical Officer Nick Coatsworth said Australia currently has only 'two blunt tools' to tackle the virus.

'Tools like extreme social distancing and the stage four restrictions that are in place down in Victoria at the moment,' he told reporters in Canberra on Sunday.

'As we prepare, as we trial vaccines, as we prepare for the possibility of a vaccine, we must at the same time keep our distance.'

Ten of the 17 Victorian deaths confirmed on Sunday were linked to aged care outbreaks. There were also 394 new Victorian COVID-19 cases confirmed.

The latest deaths have lifted the national toll to 295 and the Victorian toll to 210, and the growing number of fatalities shows no sign of abating.

But in Victoria, which is the national epicentre of the latest outbreak, police are still doling out a high number of fines for coronavirus restriction breaches.

Masked pedestrians outside Sydney's Town Hall station on August 3

'It's ... the sort of behaviour that will mean this second wave goes longer than it should,' Victorian Premier Dan Andrews warned on Sunday.

Federal Agriculture Minister David Littleproud lamented Victoria's situation, which erupted just as it appeared the virus was coming under control across the country.

'We braced ourselves for victory and its been snatched away from us through the actions of a few,' he told Sky News' Sunday Agenda program.

'That just goes to show how vulnerable we are to this virus and every protocol needs to be lived up to.'

Some federal Victorian MPs, including Treasurer Josh Frydenberg who is now undergoing two weeks of quarantine in Canberra so he can attend the next sitting of parliament from August 24, have criticised the Andrews government's handling of the outbreak.

Scientists at the University of Queensland work on a vaccine candidate which has since progressed to human trials

But shadow assistant treasurer Stephen Jones said there was clearly existing problems in the aged care sector, most of which is overseen by the federal government and other sectors.

'When there's a crack in the dam and everyone is working around the clock to catch that up, I don't think it's a time when we should be searching for who's responsible for putting the crack in the dam,' he told reporters.

Meanwhile, Finance Minister and Western Australian senator Mathias Cormann has done an about-face to back WA Premier Mark McGowan's decision to close the state's border to everyone, except in special circumstances.

'This has been an evolving situation. People's assessments have changed,' Senator Cormann told ABC television's Insiders program.

'Given what has been happening in Victoria and given where the country is at, we support the current state border arrangements, including here in Western Australia.'
Religious leaders from across the world have united to condemn Chinas brutal repression of its Uighur Muslim minority.

Former Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams is among a more than 40-strong group demanding a halt to what they called one of the most egregious human tragedies since the Holocaust: the potential genocide of the Uighurs and other Muslims in China.

Rabbi Julia Neuberger and the representative of the Dalai Lama in Europe also lent their weight to a joint statement last night that condemned the communist regime in Beijing, asserting that the clear aim of the Chinese authorities is to eradicate the Uighur identity.

Former Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams is among a more than 40-strong group across the world have united to condemn Chinas brutal repression of its Uighur Muslim minority

They add: At least one million Uighur and other Muslims in China are incarcerated in prison camps facing starvation, torture, murder, sexual violence, slave labour and forced organ extraction.

Outside the camps, basic religious freedom is denied.

'Mosques are destroyed, children are separated from their families, and acts as simple as owning a Koran, praying or fasting can result in arrest.

The Uighurs live mostly in Xinjiang province.

Chinas hardline president Xi Xinping ramped up repression on the pretext of combating terrorism after taking power in 2012.

Rabbi Julia Neuberger (pictured) and the representative of the Dalai Lama in Europe also lent their weight to a joint statement last night that condemned the communist regime in Beijing

Despite strong evidence that up to a million Uighurs have been held in detention camps over recent years, the Chinese government has described such claims as baseless.

An academic report in June claimed Beijing had waged a campaign of forced sterilisation or birth control against Uighur women of child-bearing age, prompting calls for the UN to launch an investigation.

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab last month accused China of gross and egregious human rights abuses against the Muslim group and refused to rule out sanctions against Beijing.

But the coalition of religious heads accused world leaders of failing to act and concluded: After the Holocaust, the world said Never again. Today, we repeat those words all over again.
WARSAW, Poland (AP)  Demonstrators turned out in Warsaw and other Polish cities Saturday to protest anti-LGBT attitudes promoted by the government as well as the detention of pro-LGBT protesters.

You will not lock all of us up! people chanted at a protest in Warsaw that drew thousands of mostly young people. Most wore masks for the coronavirus pandemic. Similar protests took place in Krakow, Lublin, Wroclaw and other places.

The protests came a day after LGBT rights supporters in Warsaw scuffled with police who arrested a transgender activist, Malgorzata Szutowicz, known best as Margot. Police said they detained 48 people, while activists said police used rough tactics against them.

The police were aggressively pushing the protesters out of the way, knocking people to the ground and holding them down with their boots, the group said.

The protests come amid an intensifying standoff in Poland between the LGBT rights movement and the conservative government, which has declared it an alien, dangerous ideology. President Andrzej Duda, who was sworn in for a second term Thursday, won re-election on a strong anti-LGBT platform, and social tensions have been rising.

Some critics accuse the government of stoking tensions in order to channel attention and anger away from what they say are plans to further erode the rule of law under the populist governing party. Last week the Justice Ministry said it is preparing legislation that would require non-governmental groups to declare any foreign funding sources, echoing laws passed in Russia and Hungary that critics say are meant to hamstring groups critical of authorities.

Szutowicz was put in pre-trial detention for two months for acts of civil disobedience, including using a knife to cut the tires of a van that drives around broadcasting anti-LGBT messages, including a claim that homosexuals are preparing society to accept pedophilia.

Police allege she also used violence against the driver of the van, shaking and pushing him.

Story continues

She belongs to a group called Stop Bzdurom (Stop the Nonsense), which has been putting rainbow flags and anarchist symbols on Warsaw statues, including one of Jesus, infuriating the conservative government.

Some others sympathetic to the LGBT movement also say the stunt with the statues was offensive and counter-productive. Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski, Duda's challenger in the recent presidential election, called it "an unnecessary provocation.

Those defending her say the legal measures being used against her  as well as the detentions of others Friday night  are disproportionate. Lawyers have not had contact with her, her defense lawyer said.

Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro defended the police behavior as appropriate. He accused opposition politicians who are defending the LGBT protesters of supporting banditry.

Perhaps the knife that was used to destroy the van back then will be used for a bigger crime next time, Ziobro said. There can be no license for this type of attack ... we have to agree with this and stand together against criminals.

Dunja Mijatovic, the human rights commissioner for the Council of Europe, the continents top human rights body, called Saturday for her immediate release.

Order to detain her for 2 months sends very chilling signal for #FreedomOfSpeech & #LGBT rights in #Poland, Mijatovic tweeted.
Melanie Sykes has hit out at Keith Lemon as she branded men 'basic and limited' during a rant about her love life.

The presenter, who recently turned 50, said she felt 'sorry' for British men as she let rip at the ITV2 star during an interview for her own Frank magazine.

'Sadly, in all realms of life, most men are pretty basic and disappointing,' she said.

Candid: Melanie Sykes has hit out at Keith Lemon as she brands men 'basic and limited' during rant about her love life

'I feel a bit sorry for British men who have adopted the limited vocabulary of the television character Keith Lemon when talking about and to women.

'I would be surprised, and indeed it would be a miracle, if any of these men are actually getting laid', the TV personality added.

Mel has previously appeared on Celebrity Juice where comedian Leigh Francis takes on the persona of host Keith.

Bold: The presenter, who recently turned 50, said she felt 'sorry' for British men as she let rip at the ITV2 star during an interview for her own Frank magazine

The TV personality was previously married to Daniel Caltagirone between 2001 and 2009 and the couple share two sons Roman and Valentino.

Her second marriage to Jack Cockings ended in 2016 and she has since enjoyed romances with the likes of Jamie Theakston, Martin Kaymer and Olly Murs.

And Mel has been focusing on self-improvement after she was left 'gutted' when her relationship with Steve Coogan, 54, came to an end last year.

It it thought she began to grow increasingly concerned the Alan Partridge star didn't want to settle down with her amid their largely low-key romance.

Hitting out? Mel has previously appeared on Celebrity Juice where comedian Leigh Francis takes on the persona of host Keith (pictured together in 2014 on Lets Do Lunch with Gino and Mel)

The clean-living star recently celebrated three years of sobriety and marked the anniversary by posting a spirited message to her Instagram.

Sharing a fresh-faced selfie with her 256,000 followers, she wrote: 'Yo yo yo good morning lovelies hope you are all well.

'I gave up alcohol completely 3 years ago today whoop whoop and today also marks the 2 year anniversary of my life changing holiday to India with @adamskionline (how amazing was that trip babes?).

'Anyway blah di blah I'm doing a little dance and you can't stop me! have a good and positive day y'all. ps and for those asking, no I don't miss it because it's toxic bulls**t!'
In the wake of the Beirut blasts, a global cooperation has emerged. Humanity has put aside its myriad differences for the time being, and come together to work constructively on aiding Beirut. While it should comfort us that we can still work together in an ever-more polarizing world, this comfort hides a deeper truth. Beirut was just the first. More are coming.

Imagine youre in your house, nestled snugly in your favorite chair, watching Netflix, texting a friend, reading a book (though that last one seems a tad unlikely). Suddenly, your entire house shakes. Youre worried, and you cant understand whats going on. It stops just as suddenly as it started. Being the logical human you are, you open Google, and try to find out if its an earthquake. Its in vain though, the Internet has fails you on this count; theres no news of an earthquake.

You finally relent, chalking it up to some freak geological occurrence. Alternatively, if youre actually not, all that logically obsessive a human, you credit divine intervention, and just call it an Act of God.

Then, a short while later, you open up Twitter, and find the answer; an explosion in Beirut, is what caused your house to shake.

That was the experience of one Kevin D. Mckay. He lives in Cyprus. 240 Kilometers away from Beirut.

Hes one of many, who felt this weeks Beirut explosions. All around the globe, world leaders, diplomats, and humanity more generally have come out to express their sorrow, and pledged to aid the people of Beirut in any way possible.

Warms the cockles doesnt it? Its a rare moment that creates such sterling bipartisanship. In an extremely polarized (and ever-more polarizing) world, that there are some things we can all come together on, should comfort us.

And it does. The ideological pantomimes of right-left conflicts, the frivolous nature of religious disputes, and the inherent irrelevance of communalist strife, are all clearly put on display by such events.

However, this humanitarian shouldering arms, and our satisfaction to seeing it, hides a deeper truth.

Also Read: Amit Shah test Covid-19 negative, says MP Manoj Tiwary

Also read: PM Modi to virtually launch Rs. 1 lakh crore financing facility for farmers today

Beirut was just the first. More are coming.

There are two main explanations possible for the Beirut Blasts. First, a highly unlikely, and as of yet, evidence-free view, that it was a deliberate act of terror. Any number of radical groups exist on which to pin this; Al-Qaeda, the Taliban, ISIS; pick your poison. Some have even sought to blame Israel, because picking on the Jews never grows old, apparently.

Now, at the moment, the facts are simply not there to support such a claim.

The facts of the Beirut case, scant as they are, at the moment, are as follows. Explosive materials (ammonium nitrate, to be precise) were stored at a warehouse, near the site of the explosion. A fire breaks out, due to some kind of technological malfunction (or a deliberate act, though there is not enough evidence yet to believe this). This fire causes the first explosion, a smaller one. The second explosion, set off by the first, is much larger, does the real damage.

With over 150 confirmed dead (the death count is still rising exponentially, mind), 5,000 confirmed injured, and a great many as of yet unforeseeable problems the blasts are going to cause, Beirut has been a tragedy.

But we need to focus on why it happened, in the first place.

Even if it was a deliberate act of terror, why did the Beirut government allow such volatile materials to lie around in an unprotected warehouse for years on end? Ultimately, it was a fault of human negligence, and a man-made an industrial accident.

As Indian citizens, were all well aware of one such accident; the Bhopal Gas Tragedy. Killing over 16,000 people over time, and affecting over half a million, Bhopal should have served as a warning.

Humans are creating more and more complex technology, and while that means we can utilize it for much greater purposes, it also means theres more ways for things to go wrong.

And when they go wrong, they go horribly wrong.

In 2017 alone, almost 6,000 deaths were caused worldwide due to man-made natural disasters, which cost approximately $ 5,500 million in damages. According to a study done in the United States, 14 Americans die every day due to an occupation-related hazard, with over 30,000 non-fatal, but debilitating injuries every year. Since 1907, human industrialization has killed over 182,561 people, and caused $ 41 billion in property damages.

None of these statistics even breach the subject of industrialization deaths in developing and third world countries. On May 7th, in India, a toxic gas leak at an LG polymers plant killed 12, and hospitalized hundreds. A boiler explosion at the Neyveli Power Plant injured 8. Poisonous gas inhalation hospitalized 7 in Raigarh, and a fire broke out in a factory in Satpur.

All in the same day.

And this, when India was in the throes of an economic lockdown. An Indian economy operating at full steam, is much more deadly.

Since May, weve seen over 75 lives lost in 30 such accidents. These man-made disasters are on the rise, and fast. Just a few days ago, a fire in a Covid-19 facility in Vijayawada killed 11, and injured 30.

I might mention the long term effects of these advances as well (the particulate matter released by the energy industry kills around 4.5 million people every year), but why bother? Itll only fall on deaf ears.

Unless we take action. Unless we come together to create change. Unless we pledge not to let the lives lost in Beirut, in Bhopal, and in all the other disasters be in vain. Spread this article to your friends and family. Raise awareness. Trade Unions have already begun writing to the Prime Minister warning of this threat. We need to play our part as well.

As of this moment, 740 tonnes of ammonium nitrate lie dormant in a Container Freight Station in Chennai.

This is the new pandemic. We need to fight it.

Also read: Kozhikode plane crash: Centre announces interim relief of Rs. 10 lakh to families of deceased
Representative Image

India is an attractive proposition for UK businesses looking for alternatives to China, in view of the prevailing sentiments globally, the UK-India Business Council (UKIBC) has said. In an interview to PTI, UKIBC's first Indian Group CEO Jayant Krishna said he expects to see growth in UK-India trade as both countries come out of the coronavirus crisis, asserting that UK businesses are very keen to support India's 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat' mission.

The bilateral trade between the two countries stood at $15.5 billion in 2019-20 as against $16.87 billion in the previous fiscal.

"UK and India have started looking at opportunities emanating from the business sentiments worldwide to explore manufacturing supply chain possibilities as alternatives to China," Krishna said.

He observed that UK industries have long investments in India across sectors and the country is an increasingly attractive proposition for businesses looking to explore alternate destinations for their global supply chain.

"Moreover, UK businesses are and will look to India as an incremental base for manufacturing and research and development," the UKIBC Group CEO said.

He said there are great complementarities between India's needs and the UK's offerings and it was very positive to hear that Prime Minister Narendra Modi highlighted the centrality of sectors such as manufacturing, infrastructure, energy, pharma, space and defence, to global cooperation.

"These are all areas ripe for India-UK collaboration in creating 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat', underpinned by both nations' strong track-record in technology and innovation," Krishna said.

With the UK forging a new trading relationship with the world into 2021 and India establishing itself as a major global player, India is a key priority for trade and investment of the UK government and businesses, the UKIBC Group CEO stressed.

He said the introduction of the UK's new point-based immigration system and Graduate Immigration Route will make it easier for Indians to come to work and study in the UK.

"Accordingly, we expect to see growth in UK-India trade as both countries come out of the coronavirus crisis," Krishna said.
A former interim national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bisi Akande, has narrated how he was able to manage the party without crisis.

Mr Akande, a former governor of Osun State, spoke in an interview published by Vanguard newspaper on Sunday.

Responding to the question on how he was able to oversee the affairs of the party as its first chairman, without many disagreements, Mr Akande said it was possible because the then-new party wanted to dislodge the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in unity.

I had no magic. I am as ordinary as any other member of APC. I merely had an opportunity to lead in the moulding of the young newly merged political parties into a virile structure that would be strong enough to dislodge the PDP that then formed an octopus government on Nigeria. And I managed the wisdoms of my colleagues in the interim national executive committee just to do that.

The APC has been enmeshed in one crisis or the other since it assumed power in 2019. The latest crisis led to the unceremonious exit of Adams Oshiomhole as its national chairman.

Mr Akande, however, disagreed with his interviewers that his successors, John Odigie-Oyegun and Mr Oshiomhole, were unceremoniously kicked out of office.

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Honestly, both Oyegun and Oshiomhole are giants in the administration of our party. They have served their times in the affairs of APC in their own respective fashions in a way that moved the party to progress. History will honour each of them in the fullness of time.

He also spoke on steps taken so far to resolve the many controversies rocking the party.

As the Chairman of the partys national reconciliation committee, I have read about 170 memorandums of grievances from members across the country and discovered that all points of complaints are normal happenings among competitors within political parties structures in all democracies all over the world

He claimed the crisis in the party is being exaggerated by opposition media to confuse Nigerians.

Were it not for the impediments of COVID-19 pandemics, the committee would, by now, have resolved most of the problems. The crisis in the APC is being magnified and exaggerated by the opposition media merely to confuse the Nigerian society.

Speaking on President Muhammadu Buharis performance, the former chairman noted that those against the current administration are opponents using propaganda to frustrate government efforts.

Most of them were members of the PDP who had earlier been in power for 16 years when there was plenty of oil money to put things right but who had no clue. They are merely playing on the societys fading memory to make themselves look as better alternatives.
Forsyth County had 65 new COVID-19 cases with no additional deaths Friday, the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services reported Saturday.

The number of new daily cases in the county has been in the 21-to-65 range so far in August, after having 88 as recently as July 30.

The overall Forsyth case total is 5,213 and the death total is 52, both as of noon Saturday.

The DHHS reported there were 1,949 new cases statewide Friday. The highest-ever daily number of new cases statewide was 2,481, reported on July 18. There have been 134,766 cases in all statewide since the pandemic began in mid-March.

The DHHS also recorded 26 additional deaths related to COVID-19, raising the overall statewide total to 2,160 as of noon Saturday.

The agency said 1,129 North Carolinians are currently hospitalized with illnesses related to COVID-19, up six from Friday. There have been more than 1,000 hospitalizations in the state every day since July 7.

Dr. Christopher Ohl, an infectious-disease expert at Wake Baptist Health in Winston-Salem, said Thursday that the number of cases in Forsyth County continued their modest three-week downward trend.
Several Democrats accused the Trump administration of trying to sabotage the countrys mail system after a broad restructuring of the United States Postal Service that some have characterized as a Friday Night Massacre. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy moved forward with a significant reorganization of the Postal Service leadership along with a hiring freeze for leadership positions. The reorganization involves the reassignment or displacement of 23 USPS executives, including some who had been at the Postal Service for decades. Among the targets of the reorganization were the two top executives who oversee daily operations at the Postal Service.

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Another Friday night massacre by this administration  and this time dealing another devestating blow to our postal service. The American people deserve answers and were going to keep fighting for them. 1/2 https://t.co/kM1tReMrRk  Congresswoman Mary Gay Scanlon (@RepMGS) August 8, 2020

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The Postal Service said that the new organization will align functions based on core business operations and will provide more clarity and focus on what the Postal Service does best; collect, process, move and deliver mail and packages. But analysts say the new structure gives more power to DeJoy, a big Trump ally who has been under scrutiny lately amid delivery delays and the way that could impact the election at a time when voting by mail is expected to soar because of the pandemic.

Postmaster General DeJoy is calling this a "modified organizational structure." It's really a Trojan Horse.



Deliberate sabotage to disrupt mail service on the eve of the election  an election that hinges on mail-in ballots.#SaveThePostalService https://t.co/bLB1tDQzLu  Rep. Gerry Connolly (@GerryConnolly) August 7, 2020

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Rep. Gerry Connolly of Virginia, a Democrat who leads the committee that oversees the postal service characterized the USPS overhaul as sabotage. Connolly wrote on Twitter that the overhaul is really a Trojan Horse and amounts to deliberate sabotage to disrupt mail service on the eve of the election  an election that hinges on mail-in ballots. He wasnt alone. Sen. Elizabeth Warren linked to a story of the shakeup and wondered: How many ways can the new Postmaster General sabotage the @USPS? Sen. Jeff Merkley of Oregon also used the word sabotage to characterize the administrations actions regarding the Postal Service. Sen. Kamala Harris also joined in on the criticism, saying that the shakeup in the Postal Services leadership shows how they are trying to take down the United States Postal Service from the insideat a time when we need it the most.

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How many ways can the new Postmaster General sabotage the @USPS? The @OIGUSPS should also investigate why Louis DeJoy is removing top officials who run day-to-day operations. It's his job to get the mail delivered on time, not play partisan games. https://t.co/AeFgAn2au3  Elizabeth Warren (@SenWarren) August 8, 2020

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The shakeup in the USPS leadership came mere days after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer had a closed-door meeting with DeJoy that Schumer described as heated. Democrats have been critical of recent cost-cutting initiatives imposed by DeJoy, a big Trump donor, at the Postal Service that they say are impacting the service and could hinder the ability of Americans to vote by mail. Several key Democrats have called on the inspector general for the Postal Service to investigate the new policies imposed by DeJoy, who is the first postmaster general in nearly two decades who was not promoted from within the Postal Service.

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It could not be more clear they are trying to take down the United States Postal Service from the insideat a time when we need it the most.



Congress must immediately step up to save the Postal Service and safeguard our elections. Theres no time to waste. https://t.co/S3sodtYEpX  Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) August 8, 2020

For more of Slates news coverage, subscribe to What Next on Apple Podcasts or listen below.
A senior police official said that the cause of death was yet to be ascertained but all eleven appeared to have died by suicide after consuming some chemical

Jodhpur: Eleven members of a family of migrants from Pakistan were found dead at a farm in Rajasthan's Jodhpur district on Sunday morning, police said.

A person of the family, however, was found alive outside the hut they lived at Lodta village of Dechu area, an officer said. "But he claimed to have no idea about the incident, which is believed to have happened in the night," said Superintendent of Police (Rural) Rahul Barhat.

"We are yet to ascertain the cause and means of death. But apparently, all the members appeared to have committed suicide by consuming some chemical in the night," Barhat said.

He said there was a smell of some chemical around in the hut, suggesting that they consumed something.

The family belonging to the Bhil community had come to India from Pakistan's Sindh province in 2015 on a long-term visa. They had been living at the Lodta village farm, which they had hired for farming, for the past six months.

"There was neither any injury mark on any of the bodies nor any evidences of any foul play," the SP said. "But we have roped in a forensic team and a dog squad before arriving at any conclusion," he said.

Preliminary investigation indicated that there was some dispute in the family over some issue. "Once we interrogate the survivor, we would be in a position to find out what led to this incident," he said.

According to a police officer, the victims lived under threat from the family of their daughter-in-law, the wife of Kewal Ram (35), the surviving member of the victim family.

"She has been living with her family in Jodhpur for the past some time due to some dispute," said the police officer, citing this as a possible trigger for their suicide.

According Kewal Ram (35), they had dinner between 9 pm and 10 pm on Saturday night and went to sleep. "I went to guard our crop from animals and slept there," he said. In the morning, when he came back, he found all his family members dead.

"I then called my nephew who rushed to the spot with some other persons and informed police," said Kewal Ram, expressing his ignorance about the incident.

Those, who died have been identified as Budharam (75); his wife Antara Devi; son Ravi (31); daughters Jiya (25) and Suman (22); grandsons Mukdash (17) and Nain (12); Laxmi (40) and three minor sons of Kewal Ram.

The bodies have been sent for autopsy in Jodhpur and a medical board has been constituted to find out the cause of their death. "There was neither any injury mark on any of the bodies nor any evidences of any foul play," the SP said. "But we have roped in the forensic team and a dog squad to arrive at any final conclusion."
For the past month, the first thing Avi Steiner, 17, from Toms River, New Jersey, did when he woke up in the morning was to check English-language Israeli news sites on his phone. Steiner was eager to find out about any updates in Israeli policy on the entry of students with foreign citizenship to study in Israel. The tension unsettled his days for many weeks, but at the beginning of this week, it finally happened  with only a few hours notice, he got on a plane to Israel.

My suitcase had been packed for two months," he said in conversation with Al-Monitor from his quarantine location at a hotel near the Dead Sea. Im part of a group of several dozen students. Only on Sunday did they tell us we have a flight to Israel, and when I heard I was giddy with happiness. I was sure that it was lost. For months I didn't sleep or eat regularly because of this  but now, when I see the Dead Sea from my window, I know it was all worth it.

On Aug. 3, after a debate that lasted several weeks, professor Ronni Gamzu, Israels coronavirus czar, authorized the arrival of 17,000 yeshiva students, students at religious womens colleges, secular students and youths coming to the country with various Zionist organizations. The arriving students will immediately be placed in quarantine for 14 days, where for the first time, the State of Israel will allow a new lenient measure whereby isolation will be allowed in groups of up to six people, at institutions that have been authorized by the Ministry of Health.

Knesset members from the secular Yisrael Beitenu party bitterly attacked the decision even before its official approval, as did its chairman Avigdor Liberman, who called the decision a health hazard. He continued, In recent days we have heard that the government allowed about 16,000 yeshiva students from the United States, who are not Israeli citizens, to enter Israel before the High Holidays, without a preliminary coronavirus test. To any logical person its clear that this is an event that is not supervised and does not keep to the rules and constitutes a danger to public health and could lead us to an emergency situation.

But the ultra-Orthodox argue that this is another incident of false incitement against them. They claim that beyond the fact that the students will enter quarantine, the majority of them are not yeshiva students as Liberman stated, and all of the institutions are committed to enforce quarantine according to Ministry of Health instructions. When it is Birthright and Masa [programs of visiting Israel for Jewish adults] its fine and good, but when its suddenly the Mir Yeshiva, the ground will fall because of yeshiva students, said Knesset member Yaakov Asher of the ultra-Orthodox Yahadut HaTorah. No one wanted the students to arrive in a disorganized fashion. We are talking about them coming in a way that will ensure public health. A yeshiva student who comes to Israel to learn should be embraced. They come to Israel because these are their roots, so their sin is that they study Torah instead of Chinese philosophy?

Steiner, who followed the battle in Israel around the arrival of yeshiva students, still feels hurt by the attitude expressed toward him and his friends. Im still hurt by the vicious media frenzy against my and my friends arrival to study in Israel, he said. We came in a group of several dozen friends from New Jersey. We are all in quarantine now for 14 days. Whats the story exactly? What transmission are we talking about? Will we purposely spread diseases?

He added, The State of Israel thinks its still in the first wave, without infection or illness, but this is a country stricken by the coronavirus, which is among the countries with the highest rates of infection. So what exactly are they protecting here? In New Jersey we experienced two very difficult months in April and May, but since then we hardly have any cases. If there is a chance that someone will get the virus, it is me from the Israelis, and not the Israelis from me.

Steiner has come to study at a yeshiva in Israel for a year, after which he will return to the United States. I came in order to absorb some Zionist values, to improve my Hebrew and to get a taste of Israeliness, he noted. This is my lifes dream. Ive been waiting for this day since I was 10  and 14 days of quarantine is completely acceptable.

This is a phenomenon that has grown in recent years, and until the coronavirus pandemic, tens of thousands of young people have spent extended periods of time studying in Israel, in various programs. This is a huge economic engine for the market, said Abraham Luria, economic analyst for the ultra-Orthodox daily HaMevaser, who has studied the phenomenon in-depth.

Through research we conducted in the past, we found that every young American spends anywhere from $1,500 to $4,000 a month here  if the parents are really wealthy. They rent apartments, eat at restaurants, travel the country and enjoy spending money here. There is a whole industry of businesses that cater to these students, that directly provides the livelihood for hundreds of families and indirectly for thousands more. We discovered whole industries that are based on this tourism, that bring a lot of money to the State of Israel. Without confirmed information I assume that in closed discussions on this question, this issue also came up, Luria told Al-Monitor.

Steiner concluded, I dont understand why the State of Israel doesnt embrace us. We come to do good and commit to following the rules, including the quarantine rules. In regard to the economic aspect of their arrival in Israel, he said, My parents pay the yeshiva where I study $2,200 a month including room and board, and I agreed with my parents on pocket money of $1,700 a month for expenses like laundry, clothes, travel, food, health insurance, and so on. It is clear that we give to Israel, but the response of some politicians to us is disappointing and hurtful. Despite it all, me being here is a sweet victory.
PARIS, Aug 9 (Reuters) - French President Emmanuel Macron will host U.S. President Donald Trump and other political leaders on Sunday for a U.N.-endorsed donors' conference by video to raise emergency relief for Lebanon following this week's massive explosion in Beirut.

Lebanon was already mired in deep political and economic crisis when the blast ripped through its main port on Tuesday, killing 158 people, injuring more than 6,000 and destroying a swathe of the city.

Rebuilding Beirut could run into the billions of dollars. Economists forecast the blast could wipe up to 25% off of the country's GDP.

Many Lebanese are angry at the government's response and say the disaster highlighted the negligence of a corrupt political elite. Protesters stormed government ministries in Beirut and trashed the offices of the Association of Lebanese Banks on Saturday.

Macron visited Beirut on Thursday, the first world leader to do so after the explosion, and promised the Lebanese people humanitarian aid would come but that profound political reform was needed to resolve the country's problems and secure longer term support.

"I guarantee you, this (reconstruction) aid will not go to corrupt hands," Macron told the throngs who greeted him.

There has been an outpouring of sympathy for Lebanon from around the world this week and many countries have sent immediate humanitarian support such as a medical supplies, but there has been an absence of aid commitments so far.

Trump will participate in the video-link conference.

"Everyone wants to help!" he tweeted.

Germany will commit an additional 10 million euros ($11.79 million) in emergency aid on top of the rescue contributions already underway, its foreign minister said.

A Macron aide declined on Saturday to set a target for the conference. Emergency aid was needed for reconstruction, food aid, medical equipment and schools and hospitals, the official said.

Representatives of Britain, the European Union, China, Russia, Egypt and Jordan are expected to join the conference, hosted by Macron from his summer retreat on the French Riviera. Israel and Iran will not take part, the Elysee Palace official said. ($1 = 0.8485 euros)

(Reporting by Richard Lough and Michel Rose Editing by Frances Kerry)
Singapore celebrated its 55th National Day on Sunday with scaled down festivities amidst the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

The National Day Parade, which is the highlight of the annual celebration, had few participants and attendees, and was more compact to observe social distancing guidelines.

Members of the Singapore army, navy, air force and police kicked off the parade at the Padang, where the parade has been held every year since 1966.

Except for members of the marching band, parade participants and guests were all wearing face masks, including Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, and Singapore President Halimah Yacob.

A sparse crowd of spectators waved miniature flags as a parade of military vehicles passed by along one of the main roads of the city state.

Singapore's navy personnel also held a ceremonial onboard several ships during a maritime sail-past off Marina Bay.

In his National Day message delivered online before the parade started, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said Singapore still holds National Day parades even during difficult years, in order to renew the country's resolve to weather the storm and take Singapore through to better days.

Although Singapore's National Day this year can't be celebrated the usual way because of it's happening amidst the COVID-19 period, Lee said that Singaporeans are still determined to hold the parade as a symbol of their unity as a nation.

He added that this year's parade was also an opportunity for its citizens to salute those on the frontline fighting COVID-19 in the city state.
Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) Governor Yoon Suk-heun / Korea Times file



Daunted top supervisor's misplaced scrutiny should be directed where it really belongs



By Lee Kyung-min



Korea's top five commercial lenders are likely to close only about 40 branches nationwide in the latter half, in addition to the 126 shuttered in the first six months of the year.



The marked drop in expected closures is at odds with their digitization initiative  the top priority among financial service providers around the world  and reflects a sudden change in plans brought on by rare vocal opposition expressed by Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) Governor Yoon Suk-heun weeks earlier.



"Banks rapidly reducing their number of branches citing reasons related to COVID-19 is undesirable, although the growing trend is inevitable amid a sharp increase of contactless transactions and their cost-reducing efforts due to dwindling net interest margins," Yoon said. He made these remarks during a meeting attended by senior officials of the organization, July 21, according to a highly unusual press release that specified the governor's statements in detail. The governor's comments during high-level meetings are not usually released for publication.



He promised a comprehensive investigation to look into the reduction of banks' branches. Also mentioned was "consumer protection, responsibility and thorough supervision," which he said were the key reasons behind the rather sudden, ill-timed call. His statement was largely criticized by most lenders that clearly feel  but do not dare to go on record as saying  that Yoon overstepped his bounds. The FSS has no authority to control the number of branches a bank has.



"The closures should not inconvenience financial service consumers, especially the elderly that are not as savvy with digital devices. Banks should take responsibility so as not to inconvenience their customers. I will order high-ranking FSS officials to be completely through with their supervisory responsibilities," Yoon said.



It was when I read the above sentence that I knew I was right to think there was something bigger behind the out-of-nowhere push.



Yoon was right to reiterate the three priorities that go to the organization's reason for existence.



Yet he couldn't be more wrong about which issue the "speech" should have been about.



No one has been in a tighter bind than the top supervisor whose three recent failures have led to a slew of fiascos involving high-risk, high-return derivative financial investment vehicles, encompassing securities, funds and notes repackaged and sold by many banks as well as brokerages.



The nearly 400 trillion won ($337 billion) in shaky investments managed  or rather mismanaged  by hedge funds was pooled in part by consumers, mostly the elderly for whom Yoon said particularly heightened protection is required.



The belated emphasis on consumer protection in that sense seems beyond pointless given his failure has already caused immense losses to the victims in their late 50s and 60s who bought products sold by sales officials at banks that  due to little FSS oversight  managed to care only about short-term profit at the expense of the lifetime retirement savings of many.



In a remark further lacking sincerity, Yoon said the lax oversight of many troubled hedge funds in question was attributable to a shortage of manpower and resources.



"The FSS has been criticized for poor work, but we are understaffed and so we have nothing concrete to offer. A comprehensive investigation into all hedge funds will begin after September, and it will take about three years," Yoon said during a National Policy Committee hearing at the National Assembly July 29.



Perhaps Yoon should use part of the manpower and resources allocated to investigate the reduction of banks' branches, given the issue that concerns the loss of a lot of money is understandably much more urgent and has greater, farther-reaching impact than customers having to travel a greater distance to find a bank.



Maybe Yoon wants to remind the public  or above all, himself  that he and the entity he heads have not become completely incompetent, in a much-needed desperate attempt to stay relevant amid a brewing public uproar.



But his words  however right they may be  will have no meaning, unless he uses them on the right occasion.



It might have been much easier to sanction banks over reducing branches than to take on high-profile hedge funds and the financial industry at large over what is highly likely to become a long, drawn-out fiasco. But it was a cheap shot.



The only thing worse than keeping accountability-dodging silence is a misdirected sense of self-redemption.



Governor, your aim is off, and you know it.


It all started at 7:51 pm on Saturday when Anyesh Roy, the Deputy Commissioner of Police (Cyber Cell) in Delhi Police received a call from a Facebook official in Ireland, who identified suicidal activity on the social media account of a person with a Delhi mobile number.

The Facebook official told Roy that she would be sending the details on his official email about the account in the name of a woman along with the phone number.

Roy decided against calling the woman directly fearing a panic response, immediately located her address in east Delhi's Mandawali as well as the location of the phone. Both matched and then the address was shared with Deputy Commissioner of Police (East Delhi) Jasmeet Singh, who immediately sent local police staff to her residence.

Within minutes, a senior police official said, the police team was at the doorsteps of the woman, whom they found fine though an intercontinental call has already created much panic within the force.

The woman told police that the phone number was hers while the account in her name was being used by her husband. Asked about her husband, she told the police personnel that he had left for Mumbai after a fight with her and was working as a cook in a small hotel.

Adding to the tension, she could not provide the police team with an address but gave his mobile number. Singh then passed on this information to Roy, who tried to contact the man but his phone was not reachable.

Immediately, Roy got in touch with his counterparts in Mumbai Police Bal Singh Rajput and Dr Rashmi Karandikar. Karandikar immediately scanned for details and kept calling Rajesh, whose phone was still switched off.

Time was running out but luckily, Rajesh switched on his phone for a brief time when Karandikar managed to connect to him.

"Rajesh was in a lot of psychological distress and she counselled him. Simultaneously, Mumbai Police sent local police of Bhayandar area, a suburb of Mumbai. Local police immediately located the place where he was staying. At the end of this intercontinental exercise involving multiple jurisdictions and some quick action on the part of officials involved, there was a man on the edge of the abyss, whose life was saved," the official said.
How far off is Orora Limited (ASX:ORA) from its intrinsic value? Using the most recent financial data, we'll take a look at whether the stock is fairly priced by taking the expected future cash flows and discounting them to their present value. Our analysis will employ the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model. Models like these may appear beyond the comprehension of a lay person, but they're fairly easy to follow.

We would caution that there are many ways of valuing a company and, like the DCF, each technique has advantages and disadvantages in certain scenarios. For those who are keen learners of equity analysis, the Simply Wall St analysis model here may be something of interest to you.

View our latest analysis for Orora

Step by step through the calculation

We are going to use a two-stage DCF model, which, as the name states, takes into account two stages of growth. The first stage is generally a higher growth period which levels off heading towards the terminal value, captured in the second 'steady growth' period. In the first stage we need to estimate the cash flows to the business over the next ten years. Where possible we use analyst estimates, but when these aren't available we extrapolate the previous free cash flow (FCF) from the last estimate or reported value. We assume companies with shrinking free cash flow will slow their rate of shrinkage, and that companies with growing free cash flow will see their growth rate slow, over this period. We do this to reflect that growth tends to slow more in the early years than it does in later years.

Generally we assume that a dollar today is more valuable than a dollar in the future, so we discount the value of these future cash flows to their estimated value in today's dollars:

10-year free cash flow (FCF) forecast

2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 Levered FCF (A$, Millions) AU$177.0m AU$208.0m AU$231.0m AU$250.4m AU$266.9m AU$281.0m AU$293.3m AU$304.2m AU$314.2m AU$323.6m Growth Rate Estimate Source Analyst x3 Analyst x2 Est @ 11.06% Est @ 8.42% Est @ 6.57% Est @ 5.28% Est @ 4.37% Est @ 3.74% Est @ 3.29% Est @ 2.98% Present Value (A$, Millions) Discounted @ 8.1% AU$164 AU$178 AU$183 AU$184 AU$181 AU$176 AU$170 AU$164 AU$156 AU$149

("Est" = FCF growth rate estimated by Simply Wall St)

Present Value of 10-year Cash Flow (PVCF) = AU$1.7b

Story continues

The second stage is also known as Terminal Value, this is the business's cash flow after the first stage. For a number of reasons a very conservative growth rate is used that cannot exceed that of a country's GDP growth. In this case we have used the 5-year average of the 10-year government bond yield (2.3%) to estimate future growth. In the same way as with the 10-year 'growth' period, we discount future cash flows to today's value, using a cost of equity of 8.1%.

Terminal Value (TV)= FCF 2030  (1 + g)  (r  g) = AU$324m (1 + 2.3%)  (8.1% 2.3%) = AU$5.7b

Present Value of Terminal Value (PVTV)= TV / (1 + r)10= AU$5.7b ( 1 + 8.1%)10= AU$2.6b

The total value is the sum of cash flows for the next ten years plus the discounted terminal value, which results in the Total Equity Value, which in this case is AU$4.3b. The last step is to then divide the equity value by the number of shares outstanding. Relative to the current share price of AU$2.3, the company appears quite undervalued at a 48% discount to where the stock price trades currently. The assumptions in any calculation have a big impact on the valuation, so it is better to view this as a rough estimate, not precise down to the last cent.

dcf

The assumptions

Now the most important inputs to a discounted cash flow are the discount rate, and of course, the actual cash flows. If you don't agree with these result, have a go at the calculation yourself and play with the assumptions. The DCF also does not consider the possible cyclicality of an industry, or a company's future capital requirements, so it does not give a full picture of a company's potential performance. Given that we are looking at Orora as potential shareholders, the cost of equity is used as the discount rate, rather than the cost of capital (or weighted average cost of capital, WACC) which accounts for debt. In this calculation we've used 8.1%, which is based on a levered beta of 0.966. Beta is a measure of a stock's volatility, compared to the market as a whole. We get our beta from the industry average beta of globally comparable companies, with an imposed limit between 0.8 and 2.0, which is a reasonable range for a stable business.

Next Steps:

Whilst important, the DCF calculation ideally won't be the sole piece of analysis you scrutinize for a company. It's not possible to obtain a foolproof valuation with a DCF model. Instead the best use for a DCF model is to test certain assumptions and theories to see if they would lead to the company being undervalued or overvalued. For instance, if the terminal value growth rate is adjusted slightly, it can dramatically alter the overall result. What is the reason for the share price sitting below the intrinsic value? For Orora, we've compiled three additional elements you should look at:

Risks: Case in point, we've spotted 5 warning signs for Orora you should be aware of, and 2 of them can't be ignored. Future Earnings: How does ORA's growth rate compare to its peers and the wider market? Dig deeper into the analyst consensus number for the upcoming years by interacting with our free analyst growth expectation chart. Other Solid Businesses: Low debt, high returns on equity and good past performance are fundamental to a strong business. Why not explore our interactive list of stocks with solid business fundamentals to see if there are other companies you may not have considered!

PS. Simply Wall St updates its DCF calculation for every Australian stock every day, so if you want to find the intrinsic value of any other stock just search here.

This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.



Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com.
They were minutes away from touching down on their homeland and people were all excited, but then the disaster struck.

Many on board the ill-fated Air India flight that crashed at the Kozhikode Airport on Friday evening killing at least 18 people are recalling the moment of horror.

AP

Speaking to local media, most of them said the first thing they remember was a loud noise, followed by screams of people for help.

A woman passenger who was injured on her head said the flight was approaching the runway at high speed. She also added that she felt like being thrown around when the aircraft fell into the slop.

Others said they felt a thud before being blacked out due to the impact.

Only after regaining consciousness, they realised what has happened and screamed for help.

AP

It was the loud sound from the crash that alerted locals.

People living nearby pitched in on time to lend a helping hand to the grief struck passengers.

A local man said he rushed to the airport after hearing a "terrible thud" when the flight fell.

"Small kids were trapped under the seats and it was such a distressing sight," he said.

"When we reached there some were deplaned. Many of them were seriously injured. Legs were broken... My hands and shirt were soaked in the blood", he said.

TWITTER

Another man who participated in the rescue operations told a TV channel that "injured pilot of the aircraft was taken out from the cockpit after breaking it."

By the time ambulances started reaching the spot, the locals had already started shifting the injured passengers in cars to various hospitals in Kozhikode and Malappuram districts, he said.

Children, some as young as four and five years clung on to rescue personnel as shoes and baggage, strewn around, bore the tell-tale signs of the agonising moments endured by passengers.

twitter

The scene at the hospitals, where the injured were rushed, had similar images as health workers rushed to provide relief.

The Air India Express flight from Dubai with 190 people on board overshot the runway at Kozhikode airport in Kerala in rainy conditions and went down 35 feet into a slope before breaking up into two.
In Illinois, the speaker of the house, Michael "King" Madigan is being investigated for a massive kickback scheme with Commonwealth Edison. It seems that in order for Commonwealth to get favorable legislation, that they had to pay the king with no-show jobs, board seats and hiring lobbyists. Commonwealth is now pretending that these kickbacks didnt harm consumers.

Could ComEd Customers Get Reimbursed for Wrongfully Inflated Rates? From 2011 through the present day, millions of individuals and businesses owning or leasing property and operating businesses in the State of Illinois were unknowing victims of a vast and corrupt criminal scheme perpetrated by the States largest utility company, the complaint reads. But in a statement, ComEd spokesman Paul Elsberg said: The improper conduct described in the deferred prosecution agreement, however, does not mean that consumers were harmed by the legislation that was passed in Illinois

Now, 202 years after Illinois became a state and 50 years after King Madigan took office, Illinois, for the umpteenth time, after corrupt politicians are caught with their hand in the cookie jar, is going to focus on ethics legislation. Anyone who believes Madigan or Democrats care about ethics needs their head examined.

Every journalist and other Democrat in Illinois knows Madigan controls everything that passes and doesnt pass. He rewards his supporters with taxpayer-funded raises and pension increases as well as with committee chairmanships that are worthless because Madigan controls everything. He also seems to have judges at his beck and call who keep independent redistricting and term limits off the ballot no matter how many signatures the public gets.

Madigans rules: How Illinois gives its House speaker power to manipulate and control the legislative process But theres another source of power the majority party of Illinois holds that allows its leaders a more underhanded influence over the legislative process and, ultimately, the daily lives of Illinoisans. That power emanates from the little-known legislative rules that Illinois House of Representatives Speaker Mike Madigan  whos held that position for more than 31 years since 1983  uses on an everyday basis to orchestrate the legislative and political outcomes he wants. Those rules allow Madigan to influence the makeup of legislative committees; how lawmakers vote; and when, if ever, the bills get voted on. But the most obstructive rule of all keeps bills  even those with popular support, such as term limits  from ever seeing the light of day. Madigan, and not the General Assembly, has the power to decide what has the chance to become law. Virtually no state grants the types of powers to its legislative heads that Illinois grants to Madigan.

I havent seen any journalist ask Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin or Illinois Sen. Tammy Duckworth to demand Madigan resign as head of the Illinois Democrat Party or as speaker. They obviously dont care.

If journalists and other Democrats truly cared about ethics, corruption and the rule of law they would not have elected a billionaire who committed fraud to save property taxes.

A billionaire who takes toilets out of one of his mansions to save $300,000 does not give a damn about ethics, corruption or paying his fair share, which he always talks about. In effect Pritzker stole money from teachers, the police, firemen, pensions and other taxing bodies to save peanuts for him. It doesnt make a bit of difference that he paid it back after he was caught and was running for governor. A bank robber who pays the loot back still goes to jail. Why not someone who intentionally stole $300,000?

Cook County watchdog says 'scheme to defraud' saved Pritzker $330,000 in property taxes Billionaire Democratic governor candidate J.B. Pritzker improperly received $330,000 in property tax breaks on one of his Gold Coast mansions as part of a scheme to defraud taxpayers, Cook Countys top watchdog concluded.

If journalists and other Democrats cared about electing an honest man as U.S. senator and president twice they would have never supported the corrupt Barack Obama. The stories of corruption are endless. He was clearly part of the corrupt Chicago political machine.

Anyone who dared point out Obamas actions, policies or acquaintances were subject to being called racists by all the campaign workers posing as journalists. The media also didnt care about anything Biden had done.

See the link?

...and these, too:

What do you get when you elect a corrupt, unethical man as President and join him with a career swamp creature as vice president (Joe Biden) who has spent his entire adult life enriching himself and his family while feasting from the public trough? You get the most corrupt, unethical, lawless administration in our lifetime. The corruption and lawlessness was compounded because Obama/Biden had co-conspirators in the media and with elected officials in the House and Senate such as Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, Chuck Schumer, Adam Schiff, Jerry Nadler, Dick Durbin, Steny Hoyer and other swamp creatures who covered up the lawless acts and act as if the Obama/Biden administration was pure as the driven snow.

It is no surprise that the corruption and lawlessness started as soon as they took office.

Image credit: Ari Levinson, via Wikipedia // CC BY-SA 3.0. Enhanced with Graphite.
Bihar has become the first state in the country to have 10 lakh self-help groups (SHGs) managed by women. The groups have been functioning under Jeevika, a World Bank-supported poverty alleviation programme operational in the state since 2007 to empower women and make them self-reliant.

Arvind Kumar Choudhary, principal secretary, rural development department, said that the Jeevika model has ensured empowerment of women in a big way. It has been a project closer to the heart of chief minister Nitish Kumar and the Jeevika model has ensured financial inclusion and empowerment of women in a big way. Even during the Covid-19 pandemic, the women of Jeevika worked as bank correspondents and ensured over Rs 543 crore worth transactions through POS machines to take banking to the doorsteps of the needy people in the remotest corners of the state. Besides, it reached out to 1.09 crore households to create awareness, extend a helping hand for relief work, food security, work on sanitation etc., he added.

Bihar rural livelihood promotion Society (BRLPS), an autonomous society under the rural development department of the state government, has been designated as the State rural livelihoods Mission by the government to scale up the Jeevika model in all 534 blocks of 38 districts under the national rural livelihood Mission (NRLM). It has promoted sustainable livelihood and financial inclusion through women-based community institutions and enterprises.

Balamurugan D, mission director, NRLM said that nearly 1.20-crore women had got involved with over 10 lakh SHGs. They have scripted a new saga of women empowerment, which is visible in the rural areas. They have availed Rs 12200 crore worth loan from banks so far to start their own income-generating activities and repayment has been timely. They have repaid loan worth Rs 5,000 crore to avail fresh loan. They also have Rs 1,350 crore worth savings for inter-loaning amongst its members, he added.

Two years ago, chief minister Nitish Kumar had also commended the way women ran their SHGs and the huge increase in bank credit to them. Big shots take huge money from banks and run away from the country, while these women running SHGs make timely payments. This shows how committed and disciplined they are in financial matters, he had said.

Balamurugan said that these SHGs under Jeevika programme have been helping over 45 lakh households during the Covid-19 pandemic.

During Covid-19 pandemic, Jeevika has benefited 45.5 lakh households through its various activities, such as production of 2.14-crore masks, running Didi in Rasoi outlets to serve food to quarantined people and in-patients, disbursal of Rs 350 crore worth loan to village organisations for food security and health risk mitigation, running community-led rural retail shops for supply of essentials and organising community professionals for extensive campaigns, he said.

Besides financial inclusion of a strong women workforce, the government has also been using their services for various social campaigns and initiatives of the education, health and welfare departments.

This is a model that can take Bihar miles to achieve self-reliance in the true sense, something that India dreams to achieve. Bihar has shown how it could be done. This has been a very positive initiative. All that is needed is to integrate the activities of SHGs and give them further opportunities for scale up to also become employment generators in the rural areas, which would further give a boost to the state economy, said former director of AN Sinha Institute of Social Studies.
Amid historic turmoil stemming from the pandemic, economic crisis and unrest over racial inequality, local faith leaders today will bring thousands of San Antonians together to unite in prayer, said Max Lucado, pastor at Oak Hills Church and one of the events organizers.

People will be able to gather in their vehicles in the Freeman Coliseum parking lot for the event beginning at 7 p.m. A second Pray SA gathering will be held next Sunday, Aug. 16, as well.

Lucado said the Pray SA event is open to people of all faiths.

People who attend the event will be able to park and listen to prayers and music broadcast over an FM radio station. The event will not feature sermons but instead will be an opportunity to speak to God about your spiritual needs, Lucado said.

Well certainly pray for healing from the pandemic. Well pray for the mayor, well pray for health care workers, but were going to have a special time of prayer for the Lord to heal us from racism, he said. What we saw this summer is so disturbing, were going to pray for the Lord to bring healing.

Attendees at Pray SA will be required to wear masks if they exit their vehicle, and each car will be spaced with one parking spot in between.

The event came together over the last two months as Lucado worked with Bexar County Commissioner Tommy Calvert and other faith leaders to organize the event, including Dorian Williams, pastor at the Texas Christian Fellowship.

So far, 1,000 people have registered for the event, but there is a capacity for up to 2,600 vehicles. You can visit praySA.org to learn how to register or to attend the event virtually. All vehicles must preregister, and gates open at 6 p.m.

Lucado said he has missed meeting with parishioners Sundays and said many spiritual San Antonians have been left without a core part of their life after in-person religious services were canceled. He said he hopes the upcoming Pray SA events offer a spiritual respite.

(Churchgoers) have missed that sense of community, that sense of belonging. Theres something about seeing the faith of someone else that makes my faith stronger, Lucado said. It just seemed right that we organize some type of opportunity for people to come and pray together.

diego.mendoza-moyers@express-news.net
Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates described the companys potential deal with TikTok as a poisoned chalice.

In an interview, Gates told Wired that the acquisition of TikToks US business would not be easy for Microsoft. Who knows whats going to happen with that deal. But yes, its a poison chalice, the 64-year-old philanthropist said.

When asked if Gates was wary of Microsoft acquiring TikTok and entering the social media game, he thinks that Microsoft acquiring TikTok could make the industry more competitive, which is a good thing, but that having Trump kill off the only competitor, its pretty bizarre.

Gates also seemed confused on the US Treasury demanding a cut from the deal. I agree that the principle this is proceeding on is singly strange. The cut thing, thats doubly strange. Anyway, Microsoft will have to deal with all of that, he said.

The comments come days after Microsoft confirmed to be in talks with TikTok for the social media apps US business. US President Trump then gave the company 45 days to acquire the deal before signing an executive order that would ban TikTok from doing any business in the US.

TikTok, in its defence, accused the US of not following a 'due process' before issuing an executive order to ban the app.

Microsoft is eyeing to buy TikToks operations in several countries outside the US, including, India, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, etc.
Streaming giant Netflix says local quota rules are unnecessary and can breed mediocre shows after revealing it has invested $110 million in Australian original and co-produced childrens programs in the past four years.

In an exclusive interview with The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald, Netflix executive Ed Horasz argues local quota obligations for subscription video-on-demand services  an option being considered as part of a broader government review of Australian screen content  are unnecessary.

Netflix's Australian-made children's series Izzy's Koala World begins streaming in September. Credit:Netflix

We commission stuff from Australia because the quality is fantastic, says Horasz, global director of licensing and co-commissions in the kids and family genre. Ive never been a fan of quotas because they can breed mediocrity.

Current regulations require commercial TV broadcasters to screen at least 26 hours of first-release Australian C-rated drama per year, plus eight hours of childrens drama repeats. In April, as the coronavirus pandemic wreaked havoc on production schedules and the advertising market, the federal government suspended local childrens, documentary and adult drama quotas for 2020. Broadcasters are still obligated to air at least 55 per cent Australian content between 6pm and midnight on their main channels.
The former Saudi intelligence officer Saad Aljabri, who has accused Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of trying to have him assassinated in 2018, is reported to have been placed under heightened security following a new threat to his life.

According to an international media report, Aljabri is under protection by heavily armed officers of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, as well as private guards. Saad Aljabri served as a counterespionage chief under a rival Saudi prince, Mohammed bin Nayef, who was ousted in a bloodless palace coup by Prince Mohammed bin Salman in 2017.

The former intelligence officer is currently living in exile in Canada and has accused the Saudi crown prince of sending a hit-squad to have him killed. As per reports, Aljabri has filed a federal lawsuit in the United States against Prince Mohammed bin Salman, alleging the royal tried to trap and kill him in the United States and Canada.

READ: Saudi Aramco Half-year Profits Plunge 50% From Virus Impact

READ: Saudi Arabia Halts 3-year Aid Plan To Pakistan In Just 1 Year; 'not Keen' To Renew

Federal suit filed against Saudi Crown Prince

As re reports, Aljabri in his complaint (which was filed in Washington DC) has alleged that the failed plan to kill him took place right after Jamal Khashoggi's murder in 2018. The complaint states that the former spy possesses too much information about the Saudi crown prince, which could hamper the Arab nation's ties with United States.

In the lawsuit filed on August 6, Aljabri stated the alleged plot to kill him failed after the hit-squad was obstructed by Canadian border agents at Toronto's Pearson International Airport. As per reports, the court documents also mention that Jamal Khashoggi was killed by a group of mercenaries called the 'Tiger Squad' and the 61-year-old in his complaint alleged that it was the same squad that tried to kill him too.

Furthermore, Aljabri has claimed that Prince Mohammed bin Salman sent personal messages to him asking him to return to Saudi Arabia, some of which were 'threatening' in nature.

As per reports, when Aljabri served in the Saudi Arabia intelligence department, he was a key bridge between the country's spy agency and agencies such as CIA of the United States, MI6 of the United Kingdom, ASIS of Australia, CSIS of Canada, and NZSIS of New Zealand.

(Image/Inputs: AP)

READ: Federal Suit Filed Against Saudi Crown Prince By Ex-official

READ: Saudi Arabia: Pilgrims Circle The Kaaba For The Last Day Of Hajj
COVID-19 has brought out the worst and best in education as it has forced remote learning through the closure of schools in 188 countries, seriously disrupting the tuition of more than 1.7 billion young people.

Education expert Peter Adams.

Of greatest concern are disadvantaged students for whom the loss in learning is potentially devastating. For students with high-level capacity and strong support, the loss has been considerably less.

UNESCOs 2020 GEM Report states 40 per cent of low and lower-middle income countries have "not been able to support disadvantaged learners during temporary school shutdown.

The OECD reports that 5 to 8 per cent of French students could not be reached by their teachers two weeks after school closures. In Los Angeles, about 13 per cent of high school students had had no contact with teachers three weeks into lockdown.
BEIRUT - Hospitals and schools, then shattered and bent water pipes, then the crater that once was Lebanons port.

The rebuilding needs of Lebanon are immense, but so is the question of how to ensure the millions of dollars promised in international aid is not diverted in a country notorious for missing money, invisible infrastructure projects and its refusal to open the books.

And the port  the epicenter of the explosion that shattered Beirut, the centre of Lebanons import-based economy, and a source of graft so lucrative that Lebanons political factions were willing to divide its control so everyone could get a piece  sits at the heart of the fears.

Sundays international donor teleconference raised a total of 252.7 million euro ($298 million) in emergency aid, organizers said.

The conference was hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron, who was mobbed last week by tearful victims of the Beirut ammonium nitrate explosion begging him to ensure the corruption they blame for the blast that devastated the capital does not profit from its destruction. The French presidency said France contributed 30 million euros ($35 million).

The head of the International Monetary Fund, which wants an audit of the national bank before handing over any money, was clear: No money without changes to ensure ordinary Lebanese arent crushed by debt whose benefits they never see.

Current and future generations of Lebanese must not be saddled with more debts than they can ever repay, IMF head Kristalina Georgieva said during the conference. Commitment to these reforms will unlock billions of dollars for the benefit of the Lebanese people.

International leaders, government officials and international organization participated Sunday in the teleconference co-organized by France and the United Nations to bring emergency aid to Lebanon, including President Donald Trump.

International diplomacy usually calls for careful language. Rigged votes are irregular. The response to furious protests should be measured. Disappearing funds require transparency.

But Macrons response to the crowd in Beirut and in a later speech there was unusually blunt: The aid will not fall into corrupt hands and Lebanons discredited government must change.

In the short-term, the aid streaming into Lebanon is purely for humanitarian emergencies and relatively easy to monitor. The U.S., France, Britain, Canada and Australia, among others, have been clear that it is going directly to trusted local aid groups like the Lebanese Red Cross or U.N. agencies.

Our aid is absolutely not going to the government. Our aid is going to the people of Lebanon, said John Barsa of USAID.

But actual rebuilding requires massive imports of supplies and equipment. The contracts and subcontracts have given Lebanons ruling elite its wealth and power, while leaving the country with crumbling roads, regular electricity cuts, trash that piles on the streets and intermittent water supplies.

The level of infrastructure in Lebanon is directly linked today to the level of corruption, said Neemat Frem, a prominent Lebanese businessman and independent member of parliament. We badly need more dollars but I understand that the Lebanese state and its agencies are not competent.

Lebanon has an accumulated debt of about $100 billion, for a population of just under 7 million people  5 million Lebanese and 2 million Syrians and Palestinians, most of them refugees. Its electricity company, controlled like the port by multiple factions, posts losses of $1.5 billion a year, although Frem said most factories pay for their own generators because power is off more than its on.

Theres grand theft Lebanon and theres petty theft Lebanon. Petty theft Lebanon exists but thats not what got the country in the hole were in, said Nadim Houry, executive director of the Arab Reform Initiative.

Prior aid, Houry said, ended up as a tool in the hands of the political leaders, who kept their slice and doled out jobs and money to supporters.

Protesters, tired of the small indignities they endure to get through a day  37% of people report needing to pay bribes, compared with 4% in neighbouring Jordan, according to Transparency International  and the larger issue of a collapsing state, are going after both.

The public is going to be incredibly distrustful of the way this is done, and I think rightly so, said Frank Vogl, a co-founder of Transparency International and chairman for the Partnership for transparency Fund.

On Saturday, they seized offices of the Economy Ministry, hauling away files they said would show corruption around the sale and distribution of wheat. Lebanons wheat stockpile, stored next to the warehouse filled with ammonium nitrate, was destroyed in the explosion.

We restored the economy ministry to the Lebanese people, one man called out as they rifled through the desks.

Julien Courson, head of the Lebanon Transparency Association, said the countrys non-profits are forming a coalition to monitor how relief and aid money is spent. He estimated Lebanon loses $2 billion to corruption each year.

The decision-makers and the public servants who are in charge of these files are still in their positions. Until now, we didnt see any solution to the problem, he said.

A first step would be an online clearinghouse for every contract linked to reconstruction, Courson said. And the first project has to be highly visible and spread the benefits widely, said Christiaan Poortman, board chairman of Infrastructure Transparency Initiative.

That will help keeping some of the political stuff at a distance, Poortman said. Donors will have to be on top of this. The issue of procurement is always where lots of corruption takes place ... it needs to be done quickly, and there is always the temptation to not follow the rules and go ahead and do something where a lot of people are going to make a lot of money.

Speaking at a news conference in which he conspicuously did not appear alongside Lebanese President Michel Aoun, Macron said he was approaching Lebanon with the requirements of a friend who rushes to help, when times are hard, but not to give a blank check to systems that no longer have the trust of their people.

___

Hinnant reported from Paris. AP writers Sarah El-Deeb in Beirut and Sylvie Corbet in Paris contributed.
As everyone wait for the release of COVID-19 vaccine, study claims that being obese may render vaccines ineffective. Getting closer to finding an effective and safe vaccine that will combat the virus amid suffering from the pandemic for almost seven months, researchers claim that certain health conditions like obesity may hinder the vaccine's effectiveness, according to Times Now News.

Obese people are already at a high risk of contacting COVID-19, they are also likely to be more vulnerable to the virus, according to the researchers. Obesity is said to push the body's immune system to respond and may lead to severe inflammation. This health condition could make the body of a person less equipped in fighting the virus.

An assistant professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, Dr.Chad Petit, said, "It is not a question of not working; it is more of a question of efficacy."

The vaccine could work, but it may be less effective. Another researcher of the study considered the size of the vaccine needles for obese people since the standard size is a one-inch needle only; the vaccine could prove less useful for such cases.

Also, Dr. Schaffner, a professor at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, said, "Physicians have to be very mindful what needle-length to use so that, if you're giving an intramuscular injection, it can reach the muscle."

According to Advisory, in the United States, more than 107 million adults are classified obese based on BMI. Obesity places a person at a higher risk of developing severe cases of COVID-19 and has a high risk of dying from the virus, as per the CDC.

According to Varney, some scientists in the field of immunometabolism believe that the risks stem from the effect of obesity on a person's immune response. While healthy immune system triggers on and off, an obese individual's immune system tends to maintain a constant state of inflammation.

Vaccines are designed to elevate the inflammatory response of the immune system to fight against pathogens. However, chronic inflammation in obese adults interfere with the process and weakens vaccinations, as per Varney.

Obesity's ability to affect the response of a person to a vaccine was first discovered in 1985. During eleven months after vaccination, researchers found that immunity to hepatitis B declined more quickly by the obese hospital workers than those who are not considered obese.

Other research found similar results among obese individuals regarding the effects of the vaccines against hepatitis, rabies, influenza, and tetanus.

Will a vaccine against COVID-19 be less effective in obese adults?

Researchers claim the possibility of less effectiveness of the vaccine against new coronavirus in obese adults as per Varney.

An associate professor of nutrition at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, Raz Shaikh, said, "Will a COVID-19 vaccine work in the obese? Our prediction is no." However, just like the hope of obese people, researchers are also hopeful.

Researchers include adults with high BMIs in clinical trials for the COVID-19 vaccines, according to Varney. Timothy Garvey, an endocrinologist and director of diabetes research at the University of Alabama, reiterated that just because vaccines for people with obesity might be less effective doesn't mean it won't be effective all.

The influenza vaccine still works to patients with obesity but not as well as the average effect on others. Garvey said that they still want obese people to get vaccinated, as per KHN.

Check these out:

New Study Claims The Taller You Are, The Higher Risk of Getting COVID-19

COVID-19 Eye Transmission: Should We All Be Wearing Goggles or Face Shields?

COVID-19 and Its Positive Consequence: Long-Lost Sisters Reunite After More Than 50 Years
The Ukrainian authorities will never become exhausted in their strive for peace and the return of Ukrainian people and territories, President Volodymyr Zelensky has said.

The head of state said this during his visit to the area of the Joint Forces Operation in Donbas on Friday, August 7, the presidential press service reported.

Zelensky said that peace is the key to ensuring economic growth and improving the quality of life of all Ukrainians.

"Nobody is going to surrender anything. We have a strong, powerful army. We respect it. That is why we are fighting for Ukraine. We are fighting for such heroes so that they return alive," he said.

Zelensky also said that one of the ways to peace, along with negotiations in the Normandy and Minsk formats, was the constant and persistent strengthening of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

Andriy Ordynovych, a representative of the Joint Center for Control and Coordination (JCCC), confirmed that despite some provocations from Russian-backed forces during the truce, the Ukrainian military are in a good mood and they are ready to fight. "While talking to them, I would say that everyone is determined to defend the state and get peace as soon as possible," he said.

Separately, Zelensky visited the city of Marinka in the Donetsk region, close to the front line, and talked to its residents. They said that with no hostilities, the city is gradually reviving: people with children are returning, and many local residents are beginning to repair their homes. At the same time, people complained about the lack of natural gas and water supply.

Chairman of the Donetsk Regional State Administration and Head of the Regional Military and Civil Administration Pavlo Kyrylenko promised that with the onset of peace in the city, it would be possible to safely begin construction work to solve this problem. He said that under such conditions, natural gas and water supply could be resumed within six months.

Zelensky also asked the leadership of the region and the city to start restoring the city's infrastructure, including roads, as soon as possible.

Photo credit: President's Office

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For the first time in recent memory, Alyaksandr Lukashenka appeared to have a fight on his hands in a presidential election. A former teacher and English translator, Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya, had electrified crowds across the country, stepping into the race only after her husband, Syarhey Tsikhanouski, was barred from the ballot and arrested.

However, no election in Belarus since Lukashenka came to power in 1994 has been deemed by the West and international institutions to have been free or fair. And this time, the official outcome seemed set to be little different: State exit polls indicated that the official results would hand Lukashenka a landslide victory in the August 9 election.

But protesters poured into the streets after the balloting ended and police cracked down, making for harrowing scenes of mayhem in darkened cities and leaving the future of the country and its authoritarian leader murky.

RFE/RL looks at some of the key factors during the vote and the possible fallout for Belarus, Lukashenka, and his relations with Russia and the West.

Fraud Allegations

Facing his most serious challenge to date, Lukashenka appeared to take no chances with the vote result. Observers and opposition figures said that one of the first signs suggesting the election may have been rigged came early on August 9 when the Central Election Commission (CEC) announced that turnout from early voting that started on August 4 was some 42 percent, a record for a Belarusian presidential election. Critics say early voting is when the bulk of the ballot-box stuffing occurs, as many of these polling sites are not under close supervision and the process is easier to manipulate.

Fraud allegations mounted as voting proceeded.

Some precincts in Minsk were reporting turnout rates over 100 percent, according to the Tut.by news website.

Anti-government Telegram channel Nexta posted video of what it said was an election official in Minsk climbing out of the second-floor window of a polling station, carting away a sack of voting ballots.

Internet access was disrupted on voting day, and independent observers were in some cases barred from monitoring the vote and in some cases detained.

Incredible Numbers?

The Lukashenka government wasted little time issuing an exit poll showing him with about 80 percent of the vote and Tsikhanouskaya, who attracted thousands to rallies across the country, in the single digits. Analysts expected the official results would be similar.

The results will show a sweeping victory, Nigel Gould-Davies, a former British ambassador to Belarus and now a senior fellow for Russia and Eurasia at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, told the BBC. The results are sweeping lies.

With unprecedented crowds turning out for Tsikhanouskayas campaign rallies and independent media outlets running preelection polls that suggested her support was well into the double digits -- one indicated that a runoff between the political novice and Lukashenka would be very close -- the state exit poll results left many in disbelief.

Hes doing it to humiliate Tsikhanouskaya, but also all those who voted for her," Franak Viacorka, a Belarusian journalist and digital-media strategist for the U.S. Agency for Global Media, told Current Time, a Russian-language network led by RFE/RL in cooperation with VOA.

The Use Of Force

During the campaign, Lukashenka did not reach out to voters as much as to the military and security forces. On June 23, at a military gathering in the western city of Brest, he called on the military to suppress civil unrest and protect sovereignty from hybrid threats."

Lukashenka will not tolerate massive protests. Security forces and even part of [the] army are on alert and prepared to crack down, said Kamil Klysinski, a senior fellow at the Warsaw-based OSW Center for Eastern Studies.

As polls were closing, police and soldiers were being transported into Minsk, cordoning off the city, and taking up positions at strategic sites in anticipation of unrest. And shortly after the balloting ended, the crackdown began, with security forces clashing with protesters who took to the streets and many other cities.

Lukashenka a priori made it clear that he intends to retain his power at any cost. The question remains what the price will be, political analyst Alyaksandr Klaskovsky said in comments to Reuters.

Some Lukashenka opponents said they would not back down.

Yes, there will be protests today, tomorrow, the day after tomorrow. They wont be centralized as before to protect people, but todays events are only the beginning of the final sprint to the finish line. And we are not talking years -- we are talking two to three months, Volha Karach, head of the Belarusian NGO Our Home, told Current Time.

2010 Again -- Or Worse?

In the past as well, Lukashenka has not hesitated to call in security forces to quell postelection unrest.

Bloody Sunday, the crackdown that followed the 2010 presidential election, was particularly violent: All told, more than 600 people were detained, including seven of the election candidates -- one of them, 64-year-old Uladzimer Nyaklyaeu, was arrested while lying in a hospital bed after being beaten unconscious by security forces during the protests.

The clampdown and clashes late on August 9 came after police, soldiers, and crack OMON units, fanned out across Minsk during the voting, staking out positions around government buildings and central squares. The outcome was unclear as midnight passed

Earlier, Klysinski said that given the heavy force presence, postelection developments might be the first sign of whether Belarusian society is ready to confront security forces, including the feared OMON special forces.

What Cost For Lukashenka?

The vote came with relations between Moscow and Minsk frosty over Lukashenkas resistance to closer integration with Russia, including what appeared to be a last-moment decision in December 2019 to reject a plan to forge closer ties. The Kremlin may not be happy with Lukashenka, but analysts say Russian President Vladimir Putin and his government prefer him to the alternatives in the opposition.

If Lukashenka weathers the protests, the evidence of fraud and the crackdown will bring calls for tough action by the European Union and the United States, but also the prospect that further sanctions could push him into the arms of Russia.

Belarus Votes For President Read our ongoing coverage as Belarusian strongman Alyaksandr Lukashenka continues his brutal crackdown on NGOs, activists, and independent media following the August 2020 presidential election, widely seen as fraudulent.



So in some ways, both Moscow and the West may feel they have limited room for movement, which is what Lukashenka has counted on in the past.



Lukashenka is very lucky. On the one hand, Russia is not happy with him, but it knows very well that anyone after him will have a much better chance to ensure good relations with the EU, NATO, and the West in general, Maksim Samorukov, a fellow at the Carnegie Moscow Center, told Current Time.

On the other hand, the EU is not happy with him either, but it has been burned with Ukraine and now is not eager to do anything to destabilize Lukashenka, because it might cause an inadequate Russian reaction up to annexation, tanks, etc. Hence the West will continue its slow, clumsy, stalling engagement with him.

London-based country risk analyst Alex Kokcharov, however, said that Lukashenkas election win will be a Pyrrhic victory, with Moscow exploiting his weakened position at home to extract even more concessions, including further political integration and military bases.

So by keeping power in Minsk in this year's sham "election", Lukashenka is actually likely to lose out as Belarusian sovereignty will likely be eroded further by the Union State of Russia and Belarus, Kokcharov told RFE/RL in written comments.
Chris Suarez doesnt like the term social distancing.

At Xperience Brokerage Network, which Suarez owns and leads as CEO, real estate agents are making sure that theyre only physically distanced from their clients  and not creating social, emotional or relationship distance.

Suarez said customer relationships and the experience they provide are why he helped found the company, and why it was named a Top Workplace for 2020. Xperience is a first-time winner in The Oregonian/OregonLives Top Workplaces competition, now in its ninth year.

Never has the concept of home been even more relevant than it is right now, Leslie Hilbert, the companys general manager, said of the pandemic arriving in Oregon. One of the first things our agents did was to reach out into their sphere and their database and our communities to say, How are you doing and what can we help you with?

Xperience, part of Keller Williams Realty, was established in 2008 and is made up of six brokerages. The company has offices in Portland, Eugene, Hillsboro, Salem, Corvallis and Medford/Grants Pass, among more than 30 offices across 14 states. Suarez said Xperience has just over 1,000 agents who work with both residential and commercial clients.

Xperience Brokerage Network is a winner in The Oregonian/OregonLive's 2020 Top Workplaces competition. Posing for a portrait in Portland on July 31, 2020, are (from left): Chris Suarez, operating principal/owner; Tonja Lindbo, lead market center administrator/CFO, Eugene and Springfield; Mat Genuser, team leader, Salem; Leslie Hilbert, general manager; Katie Hardman, team leader, Portland, and Jeff Lewis, team leader, Eugene and Springfield.Randy L. Rasmussen/For The Oregonian/OregonLive

Xperiences Oregon offices made roughly $90 million in gross revenue in 2019.

Employees who took a workplace survey administered by Energage, The Oregonian/OregonLives research partner, consistently said that they enjoyed their jobs because of the caring leadership Suarez and Hilbert provide, and because they get to help people every day.

Nate Sanford, the individual agent at the Medford/Ashland office, joined Xperience in November 2014, because he wanted to have his name on the real estate sign instead of being the subset of a larger team.

At the Medford/Ashland office, he was the first expansion partner from the Portland hub. He enjoys his job because of not only the ability to help clients understand real estate and help them find their home, but also the interactions he has with agents across the country.

Its culture, its camaraderie, Sanford said. Were collaborating with agents across the country, finding out what works, what doesnt work.

An Xperience Brokerage Network meeting. The company is a winner in The Oregonian/OregonLive's 2020 Top Workplaces competition.Randy L. Rasmussen/For The Oregonian/OregonLive

To help people during the pandemic, Xperience is using 3D imaging to give virtual home tours and sell homes. Suarez and Hilbert both said Xperience and many other real estate companies were already using the virtual system to some extent before COVID-19 arrived but are adopting it more now. The company hasnt had too much of a change in sales, Suarez said.

Suarez said he set up Xperience so that he could work from anywhere long before the pandemic. Now, the company is taking advantage of technology already in place.

When (physical distancing rules) showed up, our organization was primed and ready to be able to continue work as usual from anywhere, Suarez said. It just wasnt in an office; it was at home. But from my perspective (agents) could be at home, they could be out of state, they could be out of country, and for the most part they do a lot of what they do on a daily basis.

Xperience has also responded to the protests against systemic racism across the United States.

Xperience Brokerage Network is a winner in The Oregonian/OregonLive's 2020 Top Workplaces competition. In a meeting in Portland on July 31, 2020, is Leslie Hilbert, general manager for Xperience Brokerage Network.Randy L. Rasmussen/For The Oregonian/OregonLive

Suarez and the company have held meetings every Wednesday since the beginning of the pandemic, but now they also discuss the protests and how Xperience can eliminate racism from its own systems. Mostly, that comes in making sure all clients are on equal paths and routes toward getting their best home.

Hilbert added that Xperience has instituted a zero-tolerance policy for racial injustice or inequity in the company. That extends to social media use for agents. Suarez echoed that, saying, We have had a zero-tolerance policy in anything that could be real or perceived around discrimination in any way.

Additionally, Xperience agents have helped to clean up after demonstrations in Portland, Eugene and Salem.

We wanted to show support for cities in cleanup, Suarez said. Cleaning up also shows support for those who cant demonstrate because of personal risk factors or needs, and for those who are demonstrating so that they can continue to do so, he said.

Suarez wants his agents to be helpful to the community beyond the process of buying a home. By having agents help out in the community, Suarez believes theyll be able to foster better relationships with past, current and future clients that will result in trust in Xperience for the long term.

Thats the experience hes looking for.

-- Matt Cohen; mcohen@oregonian.com

Read more Top Workplaces stories at oregonlive.com/topworkplaces. Keep up with Oregon business and economic news by subscribing to our Oregon Business Insights newsletter.
The move comes after intense U.S. pressure on the Afghan government to abide by preconditions to the talks outlined in the U.S.-Taliban peace deal. That agreement called for those talks to begin in March, but preliminary negotiations repeatedly hit snags. The Afghan government was not party to the peace deal between the United States and the Taliban, and objected to some of its terms.
BTPsOverpriced Leads the Race to Slay the Goliath

August 09 2020 Matthew Pitt

Day 1A of the Grosvenor Poker Goliath is completed and what a day it was. If there were any fears the event wouldnt hit its 100,000 guarantee they were soon quashed because players turned out in droves and created a huge 231,495 prize pool!

Some 2,013 entries were processed before the late registration period ended and these hopefuls ensured the 100,000 was blown out of the water. The 2020 Goliath Online Main Event is easily the largest multi-table tournament held on the iPoker Network for some time.

BTPsOverpriced has made their second 125 bullet count because it resulted in them claiming the overnight chip lead. The leader is the only player in the event who has a seven-figure stack. They return to the action, under the watchful eye of the PokerNews Live Reporting team, armed with a 1,148,820 stack.

ChiZhang is hot on the leaders heels thanks to turning their 25,000 starting stack into an impressive 933,396 chips by the close of play.

Other big stacks include kissmyace1 (852,507), WilfredWallace" (835,141), and LiamH (828,114).

In total, only 205 of the 2,013 starters made it through to Day 2, which shuffles up and deals at 2:00 p.m. on August 9 and continues until a champion is crowned. Only 144 of those returnees will receive a slice of the prize pool, so there are going to be more than 60 disappointed players.

Goliath Main Event Live Reporting Is Right Here!

Should they reach the money places, each player will lock up 370 for their efforts. This increases to 3,009 for reaching the final table. The first five-figure prize, namely 11,574, is awarded to the fifth-place finisher, but the champion of the 2020 Goliath Online Main Event will walk away with the title of champion and a bankroll-boosting 42,248 haul.

Sadly, it wont be a member of the Team Grosvenor stable of pros who becomes the champion. Jamie Nixon, Katie Swift, Andy Hills, Joe Beevers, and Jeff Kimber all made it through at least 13 levels but ultimately fell by the wayside before the night was over.

2020 Goliath Online Day 1 Top 10 Chip Counts

Place Player Chips 1 BTPsOverpriced 1,148,820 2 ChiZhang 933,396 3 kissmyace1 852,507 4 WilfredWallace 835,141 5 LiamH 828,114 6 FrazzleFraggle 792,330 7 PimboPanthers 757,128 8 L0G1CB0MB 721,135 9 dealersolber411 720,668 10 JOHANIDI 690,920

Play resumes at 2:00 p.m. CEST on August 9 and you can follow the action via our live reporting pages. Who will become the winner of this huge Goliath event? Tune in to find out.
At least 29 people were killed after a massive landslide, triggered by monsoon rains, swept away dozens of tea-estate workers in southwestern India, according to the police.

The landslide in Idukki district, approximately 250km (155 miles) from Kerala states capital Thiruvananthapuram, took place on Friday, but search and rescue efforts have been hampered by torrential downpours.

By yesterday evening, we had taken out 26 dead bodies. We have taken out three more today, a district police official told the AFP news agency on Sunday.

Local media reported that some 78 people were believed to live in the area; many are still missing.

Kerala has been hit by deadly floods during the annual monsoon.

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At least 18 people died in a passenger jet crash in Kerala on Friday when an Air India Express jet overshot the runway while trying to land in a storm and plunged down a bank.

The Indian Meteorological Department forecast heavy rains and sounded a red alert on Sunday for Idukki along with Wayanad and Mallapuram, two other Kerala districts.

The monsoon across South Asia is critical to replenishing rivers and groundwater but also causes widespread death and destruction.

Across the country, at least 780 people have died in incidents related to monsoons between the end of May and last Thursday, the Home Ministry said.

The incidents included drowning, landslides, collapsing buildings, electrocutions, falling trees and lightning.

More than 300 people have died in floods and landslides in eastern and northeastern India, Bangladesh and Nepal in recent weeks.
Vanessa Hudgens has been busy unloading her seemingly endless camera roll on Instagram as she, like many, continues to long for a post-pandemic world.

But the 31-year-old High School Musical star attempted to reclaim an element of normalcy on Saturday evening by emerging from lockdown to grab dinner with pals at Nobu in Malibu.

Hudgens showcased her signature bohemian style, which included a cropped silk blouse that showed off her enviable abs.

Night out: Vanessa Hudgens attempted to reclaim an element of normalcy on Saturday evening by emerging from lockdown to grab dinner with pals at Nobu in Malibu

Toned: Hudgens showcased her signature bohemian style, which included a cropped silk blouse that showed off her enviable abs

She paired the chic blouse with a black maxi skirt and a pair of 70s inspired wooden ankle strap heels.

The actress has on an eye catching metallic hat that included a stampede string made out of silver chain link.

For accessories, Vanessa decked out her neck with a variety of gold chains and she also had on a coordinating body chain.

As she made her way back to her parked vehicle, Hudgens had her designer bag slung across her body and a black to-go bag in her hand.

Chic: She paired the chic blouse with a black maxi skirt and a pair of 70s inspired wooden ankle strap heels

To-go: As she made her way back to her parked vehicle, Hudgens had her designer bag slung across her body and a black to-go bag in her hand

The Princess Switch star, despite her face mask, appeared happy to be with her gal pals for the evening.

Vanessa has been quarantining at her home in Los Angeles with her beloved rescue pup Darla, who often makes cameos on her Instagram.

Over the past week, Hudgens has been uploading a variety of photos taken of her during a past trip to Turks and Caicos.

Decked out: For accessories, Vanessa decked out her neck with a variety of gold chains and she also had on a coordinating body chain

Good for the soul: The Princess Switch star, despite her face mask, appeared happy to be with her gal pals for the evening

'Paradise,' she captioned on Friday's throwback snapshot, which showed her standing in the vacation destination's clear ocean water in a baby blue bikini.

She posed with her fingers on the straps of her bikini bottoms as she looked off into the distance.

Vanessa added her own flair to the classic bikini silhouette by rocking a zebra print bucket hat, a gold choker, and her go-to body chain.

Longing: Over the past week, Hudgens has been uploading a variety of photos taken of her during a past trip to Turks and Caicos; Vanessa pictured on Instagram on Friday

Angelic: On Thursday, Hudgens uploaded three stunning shots taken at sunset that showed her modeling an all white ensemble

On Thursday, Hudgens uploaded three stunning shots taken at sunset that showed her modeling an all white ensemble.

The angelic outfit consisted of a white tie-front bikini top, and silk striped trousers.

She also had an oversized button down shirt that matched her pants draped over her like a shall and she had the sleeves neatly rolled up.
Police have arrested a 22-year-old man accused of driving through a pedestrian-only zone in downtown Montreal on Saturday, leaving two women with injuries.

Montreal police say a vehicle travelling along Ste-Catherine Street drove into an area near the corner of Crescent Street just before 3 p.m. that had been closed off to traffic.

Local police say the man was arrested by provincial police, and could face charges that include dangerous driving and failing to remain at the scene of a crash.

The women who were on Ste-Catherine Street suffered lower-body injuries, but no one else was reported injured.

A temporary terrace at the corner of Crescent and Ste-Catherine Streets in front of a bar was completely destroyed.

A spokesman for Urgences-Sante, the local ambulance service, said debris caused the injuries.

We transported two women, one 33 years old and the other 25 years old with minor injuries, lower body injuries, said Jean-Francois Coornaert.

They were not hit by the car but by the debris from the tables and chairs, so they were very lucky.

A bar employee said their terrace was destroyed, but luckily there was no patrons sitting on it at the time.

You can see the destruction is almost a full city block in length, the tables that were at the corner of Ste-Catherine and Crescent are now down at de la Montagne and Crescent, said the employee, who asked that his name not be used.

Bergeron said the investigation is ongoing and police are looking at surveillance video and speaking to witnesses to get a better description of the vehicle.
Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, on Saturday said the Presidency should be zoned the south in 2023.

He made the remarks during an interview with BBC Hausa, adding that he has not coveted the title of President as believed in some quarters.

It has been said that I have loved the presidency since I was a minister in the FCT [Federal Capital Territory]. This is nonsense. I do not want the Nigerian presidency. God gives power, whether you like it or not. If he wants, he will give it to you. But I have never applied for the presidency of Nigeria, no one will say I have applied for it, El-Rufai said.

In Nigerian politics, there is a rotation system, where everyone agrees that if the north rules for eight years, the south will rule for eight years.

He said although the acceptance process was not written in the constitution, every politician in the country was aware of it.

That is why I came out and said that after President Buhari's eight years term, no northerner should run for the Presidency. Let the southerners also have eight years.

El-Rufai's state, Kaduna has recently been riddled with violence, especially in the South, but the Governor said the outrage over the security situation is being fuelled by people manipulating it for political, religious and ethnic gains.

He noted that the security situation in the state was stable due to security measures he was taking. (Channels TV)
Agra, Aug 9 : Unfazed by the possibility that her assertions could open up a Pandora's Box of controversies and trigger a north-versus-south India debate, historian S. Chandni Bi says there is need for a thorough review and rewriting of history of pre-independence India, objectively assessing the role of each region and community.

"Time and again we are told that the 1857 rebellion of sepoys against the British East India Company was the First War of Independence. The sentiment found an echo in the movie 'Mangal Pandey - The Rising' which depicts the hero as the first man to rise against the British.

"True, the 1857 rebellion of the sepoys against the East India Company was a major move in the process of evolution of the Indian freedom movement. But, can that be called India's First War of Independence? If it were to be, were there not similar and much more organised and violent uprisings in different parts of the country against the company rule much earlier?" asks Chandni Bi from Salem in Tamil Nadu, who teaches South Indian History at the Department of History, Centre of Advanced Study, Aligarh Muslim University (AMU).

As far as the 1857 mutiny is concerned "there seemed to be as many motives for the resistance as the number of people involved in the mutiny. The soldiers of the East India Company refused to use the cartridges and the animal (cow or pig) fat to grease them. The anger was borne out of their religious sentiments. There is nothing to concretely suggest antipathy to alien rule," she says.

Chandni Bi notes that Indian historians have clear parameters to judge which events qualify for "national status" and which do not. According to her, "The incident should involve a significantly large number of people (a mass movement); the goal should be inspired by a single motive and, finally, (there should be) a feeling of oneness among all sections/stretch of people involved against their common enemy." Applying these yardsticks, incidents, revolts or rebellions that occurred before the Swadeshi Movement of the 1920s cannot be described as national. "Hence, to call the 1857 revolt the first war of India's Independence is wide off the mark and unacceptable," says Chandni Bi.

On the freedom movement in southern India, she says there were many revolts against the East India Company and the British on either side of the Vindhyas that reflected aversion to alien rule. "There are incidents that took place in Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu a half century or more before the 1857 revolt of Mangal Pandey. Veer Savarkar had noted that the Vellore Mutiny of 1806 was similar to the 1857 revolt. Vellore has a fort where the Company kept the successors of Tipu Sultan under arrest. The sepoys and soldiers who were kept under arrest in this fort revolted overnight and freed themselves," she says.

When a committee headed by Dr S Radhakrishnan was appointed by the Union government to write the history of the freedom movement, the Tamil Arasu Kazhagam, a Tamil nationalist movement in Tamil Nadu, had protested saying that the history of the freedom movement should start with the revolt of Veerapandiya Kattabomman from the land of Panchalankurichi in Tamil Nadu.

"This personality, Veerapandiya Kattabomman was the Palayankarar (ruler) of the Palayam (a political division) Panchalankurichi, who agitated against the Company's overlordship and refused to pay taxes. He questioned their right over the land. Finally, he was betrayed by a friend and arrested by the Company. There was an open trial for not paying the dues and he was sentenced to death. He dared to kiss the noose of death by himself and refused the touch of the Company's servants," says Chandni Bi.

This was the first case involving an Indian who challenged the empire and refused to obey the diktats of the British and the reasons were political, relating to freedom and dignity, says Chandni Bi. Apart from the 1806 Vellore mutiny, similar acts of defiance were reported from Mysore and Kerala, as early as the 1790s. There is a need for rewriting the earlier history of resistance and freedom struggle with all the inputs now being provided by south Indian historians, she says.
The financial pain of Covid-19 is coming to a bank near you. AIB dropped a big bombshell on Thursday when it made a massive 1.2bn provision to cover expected loan losses due to the pandemic. This was just a day after Bank of Ireland lobbed in a 937m charge in its accounts.

Few will shed too many tears for the losses this brings about for big banks in the short term but it presages the real financial pain that is on the way for households and businesses.

A closer look at the figures for our main lenders shows that even the "big banks" are shrinking. Bank of Ireland is looking to shed 1,400 jobs. AIB has previously announced a move to cut headcount by 1,500, although that plan has since been paused.

Bank of Ireland is conducting a strategic review of its Northern Ireland business, and not ruling anything out, including offloading the operation - another contraction.

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The real shrinkage in Irish banks is in their loan books. They are simply just struggling to grow.

Bank of Ireland had loans to customers totalling 79.5bn at the end of December. After writing 3.9bn of new lending the following six months, its loans at the end of June had grown by just 100m to 79.6bn.

Loan redemptions offset almost all of that new lending while a weaker sterling negated the 1.4bn it put out in revolving credit facilities.

At AIB, the picture is similar. Total loans and advances to customers at the end of 2019 amounted to 61.5bn. Six months later it was 60.4bn. Consumers are putting more money on deposit, while businesses are too nervous to borrow, or in some cases they are going to specialist finance houses.

Less than 20pc of Bank of Ireland's loan book is unsecured lending and mortgages now account for 56pc of its group loan book.

Our big banks are getting smaller and becoming more dependent on mortgages.

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Yet, take a mortgage lender like Permanent TSB. Its total loan book at the end of 2019 was 15.9bn. Six months later it was down to 15.6bn. At this rate there won't be much left in five years time.

Central Bank is afraid to jump in

The Central Bank has decided to dip its toe into the water on the issue of insurance claims for business interruption caused by Covid-19.

The insurance regulator hasn't exactly jumped in by getting directly involved but has made a few noises about the need to treat business clients of insurers fairly.

Now it has ordered insurance companies to pay the "reasonable costs" of business customers in a number of ongoing test cases.

The Central Bank order won't give carte blanche to anyone to sue their insurer without worrying about legal costs. It will only apply in a small number of test cases.

The idea is that where there is a reasonable argument to be made about whether a policy should pay out for business interruption due to the pandemic, small firms should not have to shoulder enormous legal costs, even if they lose the case.

Surely a better approach would be for the Central Bank to adopt a similar stance to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the UK. It has taken eight insurers to court over business interruption policy wording, which insurers say do not cover the pandemic. Here, several publicans are taking FBD to court.

The FCA is seeking a court declaration to resolve contractual uncertainty in this issue. It is doing so by identifying a representative sample of cases with the most frequently used policy wordings.

It appears the Central Bank Acts do not specifically provide for what lawyers call a "clear and unequivocal basis" for the bank to do something similar here.

However, as pointed out by two solicitors at Ronan Daly Jermyn law firm in a recent blog, the Central Bank Act 1942 states that the bank is responsible for "monitoring the provision of financial services to consumers of those services to the extent that the bank considers appropriate, for the purposes of protecting the public interest and the interests of consumers".

Elsewhere, the same act says the bank "has power to do whatever is necessary for or in connection with, or reasonably incidental to, the performance of its functions."

Solicitors Brian Hunt and Michael Quinlan, suggested the combination of these two provisions give the Central Bank broad powers in relation to protecting the interests of consumers.

So why doesn't the Central Bank, referring to those powers, take a similar course of action to the FCA?

Yes, its right to do so might be challenged by the insurers. But wouldn't that make it a test case of sorts? If its right to do so was not challenged, it would provide clarity and a court ruling for consumers who feel badly let down by their insurance companies.

In other words, why doesn't the Central Bank have the courage to take a test case of its own? Why should it be small businesses already ravaged by the fallout of a pandemic who commit their limited resources and time, to sue insurers for an uncertain outcome?

The Central Bank has the resources to take what would amount to a test case, instead of simply telling insurers to cover the legal fees of small firms who go before the courts.

Why not make it a Goliath vs Goliath battle instead of David vs Goliath?

If the Central Bank was successful in pursuing a similar approach to the FCA, it would set a very valuable precedent - beyond the issue of pandemic insurance - enabling it to intervene on behalf of the consumer in future in a much more proactive way.

Dalata waits for Dublin bounce

Dublin has been hit hard by the pandemic and nowhere is this more true than in the capital city's hotels. As staycationers head off down the country, regional hotels are at least having a bit of a summer, even if it cannot last. Nobody is heading to Dublin.

So it isn't that surprising to see Dalata Hotel Group's share price languishing at around 2.61 giving it a market capitalisation of just 484m. This is a business that valued its assets a year ago at 1.33bn.

With 4,478 hotel rooms in Dublin, the company was perfectly placed to rake in profits before the pandemic, and it is now perfectly placed to suffer harder and longer in the short term.

But what about a couple of years down the road from now? Its enormous presence in Dublin should become a big advantage.

If anything there was a shortage of hotel beds in Dublin before the pandemic. Savills forecast that 6,300 new rooms would be coming along between 2019 and 2021, with 1,700 due this year and 900 next year in the three- to four-star category.

They may well get delayed now. But when Dublin eventually bounces back, Dalata should bounce right back with it.
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Who knew Jane-Finch had so many allies, so many people rooting for this hard-scrabble, down-in-the-dumps symbol of a place the politicians forgot.

All it took to uncover the love was a devious double-cross that had the province and its transit-building agency promise  then renege  on a plan to build a community hub, a recreation and arts centre fit for a real neighbourhood of real people that we love and respect.

Metrolinx, it seems, felt it could diss the people of Jane-Finch and few Ontarians would notice  no one would object. Oy, were they wrong.

From Faye in Thornhill to Jane in Toronto, Gary in Whitby and Roger in Brighton, the general clamour from readers in response to last weeks column on the broken promise settled on one question:

To whom do we voice our outrage?

How do we get Jane-Finch the beautiful, transformational, game-changing community hub, recreation and arts centre that its residents dreamed about, after it was promised for years?

Lee, a doctor who has worked in the Firgrove neighbourhood, wrote succinctly: We love this community. It is critically important not to let this slide as is the usual case too often there.

It just seems so wrong and short-sighted, said Kaelene in her email. Is there someone I can write to about this? This is an important initiative.

The reactions are not the cookie-cutter variety. They come from a deep place. Readers responded with words like treachery  outrage  disgusting  disappointment  saddened  heatbreaking.

I am a 60-year-old white woman, living in the Beaches, wrote Arlene. I have multiple health issues, but a strong core. I dont have political or powerful connections, but I can be a dog with a bone when I am angry. I am angry. I want to take action on this Metrolinx storyWhat can I do to put further flame to the feet of Metrolinx?

For some reason  maybe because of years of press reports of social dysfunction in that quadrant of the city  readers think of the neighbourhood and conclude: Give them a break. Many respondents have worked at schools in the area, attended York University, some still have family there and have watched in consternation for years.

I taught high school on Norfinch Drive then, and am consistently saddened and angered by how poorly my former students, their families and their neighbours continue to be treated, wrote Sharon.

People like to root for the underdog. We are the classic underdog, said area Coun. Anthony Perruzza.

You sense that in Cicelys email:

I am white and live in a privileged neighbourhood  I never had to deal with my children and grandchildren being unfairly treated, being treated as less-deserving, not getting an opportunity, not being safe. It breaks my heart to think of children not having hope, believing they arent worthy of more, not having a chance.

A quick background.

In the 1980s, then-mayor of North York Mel Lastman promised Jane-Finch a fantabulous rec centre. Provincial money didnt flow as anticipated and all they got was a gym and a few meeting rooms on Oakdale, south of the Jane-Finch mall.

When Toronto Mayor David Miller unveiled Transit City, a network of LRT lines, the Finch LRT was at the top of the list, stretching from the Yonge subway at Finch, west to Humber College at Highway 27. It got shortened, then nearly fell off the list  excoriated by the Mayor Rob Ford, his brother (now premier), and area Coun. Giorgio Mammoliti.

Transit City needed a maintenance yard for the LRT cars. Jane-Finch residents and area councillors like Perruzza agreed to house the yard  not a gem  in exchange for community benefits: the community hub and arts and rec centre at the front of the maintenance yard.

A new provincial government then took over transit building, created Metrolinx to build it, bypassed the city and the TTC who birthed Transit City, and things got muddled. Still, Metrolinx gave assurances that the deal was solid.

Until now.

The explanations are many. Provincial policy requires agencies like Metrolinx and school boards, for example, to dispose of excess real estate at market value  a claim Metrolinx is making with Jane-Finch.

Politicians know how to mitigate that effect. The Kathleen Wynne government, for example, created a fund that communities could draw on to pay the fair market value for lands needed in the public interest.

Doug Fords government either closed the fund or constrained it. And some claim that may have triggered Metrolinxs move to say, Oops, we cant do this deal anymore because the money isnt there to get us market value.

We dont care. Its all poli-tricks.

Honour the promise. Dont use weasel words to suggest the community hub will be built when you mean a whittled-down rec space will be shoe-horned at the base of a condo tower in some future development deal. That will not cut it.

The hub is to be a landmark along Finch, at this providential spot that is on neutral ground where warring community factions can interplay. It must be significant architecturally, reflecting public investment and a desire to elevate the space to a position of place-making.

People in this area are craving for a symbol  something they can point to and say, Thats our place. Finally we got something we can be proud of. Finally, somebody remembered us, said Perruzza.

Metrolinx is governed by provincial policy and politics. Premier Doug Ford and Transportation Minister Caroline Mulroney hold the power to fix this. So, if you want to holler at someone, call or write them.

Wise politicians dont need polling or letters to the editor to tell them what is obvious to the brain and restful to the heart. This one is easy. Deliver the promise to Jane-Finch and you are a hero, Mr. Premier. Dont leave the community twisting in the wind, wondering, hoping, forced to protest to get what is rightfully theirs.

Get ahead of the parade and deliver title of the land, and people across the province will exhale. They wont crown you king because this should never have gotten to this point. But it will remove the bitter taste in their mouths and the bile in their gut.

Royson James is a former Star reporter and a freelance contributing columnist based in Toronto. Reach him via email: royson.james@outlook.com

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Two days before students at University of Virginias College at Wise were to begin arriving on campus, the college announced it would delay classes by two weeks.

And another surprise: All students would get at-home COVID-19 test kits before returning.

While the colleges parent University of Virginia promised tests for its Charlottesville students back in July, the announcement on Monday was the first time roughly 1,400 UVa-Wise students learned they, too, would be required to test negative for COVID-19 before arriving on campus.

Some students see the news as another example of inequality between the two schools that the pandemic has exacerbated.

We are never getting the same treatment, especially with this COVID, said Weston Allen, a 24-year-old senior from Blacksburg.

Pardon the language, Allen prefaced before quoting one of his professors who had declared UVa-Wise to be the bastard child of UVa.

They always get the first stuff and its never extended to the satellite campus, Allen said. Its always delayed.

Kathy Still, a spokeswoman for the college, said the school didnt initially require student testing based on guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and on the low positivity rates in the region, when UVa-Wises reopening plan was submitted July 6 to the state.

But at that time, Wise County had a slightly higher per capita rate of cases than did the city of Radford, where Radford University in its July reopening plan mandated tests for hundreds of on-campus students.

State data show cases in Wise County increasing steadily since about early July. As of Saturday, Wise County had a rate of 332 cases per 100,000 people, compared to 278 for Radford and 304 for Montgomery County, according to the Virginia Department of Health.

The College has monitored the data since the start of the pandemic. There was not a single aspect of the data that led to our decision, Still said in an email about Mondays testing and delayed start announcement.

We relied and still rely on the VDH and the LENOWISCO Health District to guide us on metrics. We are in nearly constant contact with the director of the LENOWISCO Health District on all local COVID 19 matters, she said. I cannot speak to any decisions made by Radford.

Still cited CDC guidance which does not recommend campus entry testing of all students, faculty and staff but which says colleges may consider testing of asymptomatic students in areas with moderate to significant community transmission, as resources allow.

There has been ongoing collaboration and coordination between UVA and UVA Wise throughout the pandemic. Given recent positivity rates of the virus across Virginia, UVA and UVA Wise decided recently it is best to extend the testing plan for all students with ongoing testing support from the UVA Health Clinic on campus, Still said. We expect to receive more than enough tests for all our students, and our supply will be replenished as needed throughout the semester.

In its announcement Monday, the college said 71 residential students were already on campus. Those students, and about 100 employees, were tested that same day using kits from the UVa Health System.

Out of about 175 tests, one student tested positive and was quarantined at home, Still said.

Residential students were set to begin moving in from Aug. 5 through Aug. 10, with classes beginning Aug. 12.

News of the two-week delay came a day before UVa announced it would push back in-person classes and move-in dates by two weeks in response to an uptick in local and national coronavirus cases. Students in Charlottesville were set to start moving in Aug. 18, with classes beginning Aug. 25.

UVa also cited supply chain disruptions affecting the availability of testing materials as a reason for the delay. For tests, both UVa and UVa-Wise are contracting with the company Lets Get Checked, which has offices in New York and Dublin, Ireland.

Each test for UVa-Wise will cost $119, for which the college plans to use federal CARES Act funding, according to Still.

Andrew Leonard, a 20-year-old junior from Norton, said he is concerned about going back to campus. He thinks UVa-Wises testing plan should have been the same as UVas.

But the positive case on campus and uptick in cases locally makes him think a delay isnt enough.

I really dont think they should have opened at all, said Leonard, who is taking most of his classes online.

Allen, who said he has an autoimmune disease, said he was happy to hear that UVa-Wise eventually required students to get tested before coming back.

But he remains worried about the lack of health care infrastructure in the area, and what will happen between the time students receive their test and when they return to campus.

I dont know how this semester is going to work, he said.

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A young mother charged with murder after her stillborn baby boy was found to have toxic levels of meth in his system has been publicly backed by the California attorney general.

Xavier Becerra on Friday filed an amicus brief in support of Chelsea Becker, 26, who delivered her dead child in September 2019.

Becker has been in jail in Kings County, California, since November 2019, charged with the baby's murder.

She has been trying to get the charges against her dismissed, and Becerra backed her efforts.

Chelsea Becker, 26, gave birth to a stillborn boy in September and was arrested in November

'Today we filed an amicus brief supporting Chelsea Becker's appeal, because we believe the law was misapplied and misinterpreted,' he said.

'Section 187 of the California Penal Code was intended to protect pregnant women from harm, not charge them with murder.

'Our laws in California do not convict women who suffer the loss of their pregnancy, and in our filing today we are making clear that this law has been misused to the detriment of women, children, and families.

'We will work to end the prosecution and imprisonment of Ms Becker so we can focus on applying this law to those who put the lives of pregnant women in danger.'

Becker's baby was delivered stillborn at a hospital, but the infant's death was deemed suspicious.

The Kings County Coroner's Office completed an autopsy and ruled the baby's death a homicide due to toxic levels of meth in the baby's system.

After further investigation, police learned about Becker's years of substance abuse.

Xavier Becerra, the California attorney general, on Friday filed a motion in support of Becker

Police say Becker has had multiple children removed from her custody due to her substance abuse.

Hanford police said that Becker admitted to officers that she used meth while she was pregnant, even using the drug three days before she gave birth.

Lynn Paltrow, executive director of the National Advocates for Pregnant Women, which is assisting with Becker's defense, said the murder charges were 'outrageous' and should be dropped.

'It is outrageous that Ms Becker has been incarcerated since November of 2019 for a nonexistent crime,' she said.

Becker has a history of battling drug abuse

Keith Fagundes, Kings County district attorney, has maintained the murder law supports the charge, pointing to a 1970 amendment that added a fetus as a potential victim.

A Kings County Superior Court judge sided with his office in June, denying an application by Becker's lawyers to dismiss the case.

Fagundes said he was angered by Becerra's weighing in on the case.

'It's shocking to me the attorney general's office has taken a position without ever having contacted our office, without admitting whether they've read any police reports, without discussing these issues to say what makes this [case] different,' he told the Los Angeles Times.

'And unfortunately the petitioner is attempting to couch this in terms of a reproductive rights case and it's not about that.'

The filing does not have an immediate impact on whether the prosecution will go forward.

But it is a powerful statement of support from the state's top lawyer as the appeals court weighs whether to dismiss the case.

Becker was arrested in November and charged with murder over her stillborn baby

'The attorney general of California is the highest legal officer in the executive branch of the state government,' said Daniel Arshack, special counsel to the National Advocates for Pregnant Women.

'That they felt compelled to alert the court that the Kings County judiciary has misapplied state law is something that the court will not ignore.'

Becker's case has gained the support of medical and civil rights organizations, with 15 groups  including the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry  signing onto a brief in support of dismissing the charge.

The American Civil Liberties Union also filed a brief.

'We commend Attorney General Becerra's call for the criminal charges against Chelsea Becker to be dropped,' attorney Jennifer Chou of the ACLU of Northern California said in a statement.

'The decision to prosecute her flies in the face of California law, and holds deeply dangerous implications.'
Saudi Arabia's massive $6.2 billion, three-year financial package to Pakistan seems to have reached an end within just a year after the former expressed that it was not keen to continue rolling out the money to the debt-ridden country. Pakistani media reported that the one-year term of the lease came to an end on July 9, after which Riyadh was to renew the financial assistance for another two years. However, no talks of renewal have been made between the two countries even a month after the lease expired.

Foreign policy gayi tel lene.. https://t.co/KADN55cuar  Naila Inayat   (@nailainayat) August 8, 2020

In October 2018, Saudi Arabia decided to provide a $6.2 billion worth of financial package to Pakistan for a period of three years. This included $3 billion in cash assistance and $3.2 billion worth of annual oil and gas supply on deferred payments. The deal, however, came with a caveat, that Saudi Arabia would only provide assistance to Pakistan for a year after which it had the option to renew the package for the next two years. Sources report that Saudi Arabia is not keen to see the deal going forward anymore.

Read: India Slams Pakistan's Continued Support To Terrorism At High Level Debate At UNSC

Read: MEA Repudiates Pakistan Claim Of Reaching Out For Appointing Kulbhushan Jadhav's Lawyer

Pak borrows from China to repay Saudi Arabia

This comes amid reports of frantic Pakistan running to China requesting financial aid to avoid defaulting on its debt payments to Saudi Arabia. According to the Pakistani Ministry of Finance and the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), Pakistan has taken a loan of $1 billion from China to repay a $1 billion loan taken from Saudi Arabia.

This also comes against the backdrop of the recent 'threat' by Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi to Saudi Arabia where he claimed that if Saudi Arabia did not hold an OIC meeting over Kashmir soon, Pakistan would pull out its allies from the OIC and do so itself. The OIC has been consistently denying Imran Khan's requests of holding a meeting over Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, where the latter has been using to wage a proxy war against India for decades.

Read: Shoaib Akhtar Claims He'll Eat Grass If It'll 'enable Rise In Pakistan Army's Budget'

Read: 'Refrain From Communal Incitement': MEA Silences Pakistan On Ram Mandir Construction
Discovery Channels annual Shark Week is an event that brings all sorts of animal and reality TV lovers together. Emmy-winning wildlife cameraman Andy Casagrande reveals what it takes to film the weeklong event and what filmmakers have yet to capture.

Andy Casagrande has over 40 Shark Week credits to his name

Andy Casagrande and Emma Casagrande | Amanda Edwards/Getty Images

RELATED: Shark Week 2020: Heres When to Watch and Whats On the Schedule

As cinematographer for Discovery Channels annual Shark Week projects, wildlife filmmaker Andy Brandy Casagrande is changing conversations around sharks.

While most marine biology aficionados took the traditional university approach, Casagrande switched majors multiple times and studied at sea. He earned a dive certification in Monterey Bay which led to volunteer work in Cape Town, South Africa where the BBC, Discovery, and National Geographic often filmed.

Somehow I impressed the producer and the director and at the end of a three weeks shoot they offered me a staff job at National Geographic, Casagrande told Oceano Graphic Magazine. So I moved to Washington DC and started my professional career as a filmmaker.

Casagrande spent years filming wildlife all over the world. But, the field is competitive, according to Mental Floss.

I get about a hundred emails a month from people who want to do what I do, Casagrande said. Something about sharks just captivates the world. You get to travel to these really pristine, remote places around the world. Youre diving in amazing conditions with amazing predators.

As a filmmaker who is known for diving into open water without a cage, Casagrandes work with the Discovery Channel lends itself to the bigger conversations about sharks.

I think Shark Week ultimately creates a bigger fascination and its made the shark the most famous wild creature on Earth  theyve become this cult icon of nature. When you create awareness, you get celebrities speaking out against shark-finning. Its definitely creating a buzz around sharks that in my opinion is way more positive than negative because the people that are afraid of sharks arent the ones who are going out there cutting their fins off and selling them on the high seas at a high profit. So the more focus people have on their plight the better off well all be. Oceano Graphic Magazine

Casagrande explains what shark activity no one has captured on film

RELATED: ShaqAttack: Shaquille ONeal Returns to Shark Week After Surviving Harrowing Shark Encounter

Shark Week has grown in popularity over the years, giving more insight into sharks motivation and migration patterns. And while many were scarred from movies like Jaws, they each have their own personality.

A lot of past and current programming focusing on sharks is usually based around fear. For me it was never a fear thing, he said. When I saw sharks with the first time I was just fascinated. The reality is is thats its a creature that we live with on this planet  we need to coexist with it and understand it, and the only way to do that is by continuing to show people that they are cognitive animals.

That said, theres one thing sharks do that hasnt yet been captured during Shark Week or any other time.

The holy grail for most shark filmmakers would be to capture great white sharks mating, Casagrande said. No ones ever witnessed it. Theres no video proof or satellite data or anything to show when, where, and how white sharks mate.

Shark Week offered Casagrande plenty of near-death experiences

RELATED: Shark Week 2020: Will Smith, Snoop Dogg, Shaq Will Have Their Own Adventures

Casagrande said it often takes around underwater cameras at different angles to capture a shark in slow motion. One of his closest near-death encounters happened during Shark Week for Into the Shark Bite in Cape Town.

I was so focused on filming the sharks I started to breathe and felt it was really hard to breathe, which means in scuba-diving gear youre running out of air and you have only a few breaths left, he told the Wall Street Journal.

I was about 65-feet deep so I had to break my number one rule which is dont act like prey or they will treat you like prey. So, I had to swim up to the surface pretty quickly, because it was either like Im going to drown or Im going to have to stick around here with the sharks, and thats not going to be good either.

Casagrande explained that he swam up to the boat and a shark chased him. He turned to bump the sharks nose with his camera to deter the shark momentarily.

The expert diver learned his lesson, deciding no shot is worth sticking around for when air is compromised. Regardless, his work makes for great viewing year after year.
Ruthless traffickers have set up a base in Belgium to smuggle migrants across the Channel.

The Daily Mail has established that organised crime networks calling themselves the boat mafia have moved in to Brussels to profit from a huge rise in migrants.

Some 1,000 arrivals are using the city as an alternative staging post to France from which to plan their entry to the UK.

Every bed in the hostels, hotels and charity refuges across Brussels is full, with a six-week wait.

Twice a day about 600 migrants queue up along the canal quayside in Brussels for free meals, pictured

About 600 migrants sleep in Maximilien park near the main train station. Others sleep on a quayside by the central canal.

At night the smugglers move in, offering a trip across the Channel in an inflatable dinghy for as little as 500.

Migrants told the Mail they have been offered places on bigger boats for a more guaranteed crossing costing between 2,000 and 3,000 per person.

Some have started selling cannabis and cocaine to save up enough money.

Migrants rob other migrants at knifepoint for the fare, according to a group from Afghanistan.

Abuzar Afzali, 30, who is from a village outside Kabul, said: The park is a dangerous place at night. There are men with knives there and sometimes the boat mafia come.

At night the smugglers move in, offering a trip across the Channel in an inflatable dinghy for as little as 500. Pictured, migrants are brought to Dover harbour by Border Patrol

I want to pay them what they ask for so I can get to the UK, but I dont have the money yet. Some sell drugs to get the money. These bad men  the boat mafia  are the only way.

The emergence of a new front in the trafficking market  run mainly by Albanian or Kurdish gangs  will be deeply troubling for the Home Office, which is facing an investigation into its handling of the crisis by the Commons home affairs committee.

This year more than 4,000 migrants have made illegal crossings compared with 1,850 during the whole of last year.

Campaigners estimated this years total could reach 7,500.

Most trips start from France, but a growing number of migrants feel they have a better chance of success from Belgium.

The Mail witnessed the scale of the charitable operation to feed, clothe and provide basic medical treatment to migrants.

Twice a day about 600 queue up along the canal quayside for free meals.

One volunteer said: There is a real mix of people who want to discover your beautiful country.

They are mostly economic migrants, rather than refugees. Now there are more and more of them. Its hard to feed them all.

Most are young men from Africa, while a few come from Afghanistan, Syria, Iran and the Palestinian territories.

Enayatullah Safi said he took a year to walk from his home in the Kapisa province near Kabul in Afghanistan to western Europe.

The 24-year-old welder said: I have been in Brussels for a week and I have been sleeping on the streets because the charities have no beds left.

This year more than 4,000 migrants have made illegal crossings compared with 1,850 during the whole of last year. Coastal patrol vessel HMC Speedwell, pictured

Most people here want to get to England. That is their dream. But it is difficult to get there, because we cant afford to pay the boat mafia.

'I had to leave my home and family because of the Taliban.

'They wanted me to help blow people up by welding explosive bombs into bicycles. I would not do that.

Another migrant told how he spent two days clinging to the underside of a lorry to reach western Europe.

He said: Two of my friends who did this with me are dead because they fell asleep while holding on under the lorry. They fell out and died in the fall.

The Belgian route came under the spotlight last year after 39 Vietnamese migrants died inside a refrigerated container which was shipped from the port of Zeebrugge to Purfleet, Essex.

Mehdi Kassou, who runs a refugee charity in Brussels, said: We are stuck in a situation that inevitably leads people to their death or into the hands of traffickers who lead them to their death.

'Smugglers could not give a damn about the fate of migrants.
The Government will play the role of orienting and encouraging enterprises to take action to grasp the opportunities this Agreement brings about, he noted.

While presenting the EVFTA implementation plan, Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh affirmed that the Agreement is a great opportunity if it can be exploited effectively. But there are also many challenges, especially in a context where the COVID-19 situation is still complicated, and the competitiveness of the economy in general and enterprises in particular is quite limited.

Experience in implementing the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) for more than a year shows that the Government, ministries, sectors and localities should quickly devise implementation plans with specific actions and the right focus in order to help the Agreement come to life in a timely and effective manner, he added.

With EVFTA, the Prime Minister issued a full and synchronous implementation plan focusing on five major areas of content, including: information dissemination on the EVFTA and markets of EU countries; legal and institutional development work; measures to improve competitiveness and develop human resources; policies and guidelines for trade unions and labour organisations in enterprises; and policies on social security, environmental protection and sustainable development. Each working group is also built with specific strategic content and actions to overcome shortcomings seen in the implementation of some previous free trade agreements (FTAs).

According to Deputy Finance Minister Tran Xuan Ha, on the basis of the general plan issued by the Government, the Ministry of Finance has developed a separate plan, clearly defining the main tasks, in particular the building of laws and institutions. The Ministry has submitted to the Government for promulgation a decree on preferential export-import tariffs for the implementation of the EVFTA for the 2020-2022 period.

Meanwhile, localities across the country have also shown their thorough preparations. Vice Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Peoples Committee Duong Anh Duc said that since the European Commission approved the EVFTA (October 2018), the city has actively implemented many solutions to support businesses to take advantage of opportunities brought about by the Agreement. The focus is on understanding the rules of origin, considering this as a key factor to enjoy preferential tax rates. The city will also soon issue a logistics development master plan by 2025, with a vision to 2030.

According to Chairman of the Hanoi City Peoples Committee Nguyen Duc Chung, 23 out of 27 European countries are currently investing in Hanoi with total capital of US$4.16 billion, focusing on such fields as support industries and hi-tech goods manufacturing. In recent times, the city has built a comprehensive implementation plan for investment and cooperation promotion between Hanoi and EU countries in order to attract more capital flows into the pharmaceutical, medical and supporting industries, he said.

At the conference, comments from the business community showed that preparations were relatively ready. Representatives of associations also proposed many recommendations to help businesses make more effective use of opportunities from the EVFTA.

Director General of the Vietnam National Textile and Garment Group (Vinatex) Le Tien Truong said that the EVFTA has an important provision that allows the use of aggregate materials from countries having the FTA with the EU.

To prepare for the implementation of the EVFTA, in recent times the textile and garment industry has seen a large shift in purchasing from the Republic of Korea (RoK) and Japan with the total amount of fabric imported from these two countries currently accounting for 25% of total domestic demand.

If Vietnam quickly makes an agreement with the RoK and Japan on rules of origin, in addition to the 20% of domestic raw materials, Vietnam will have 45% of the goods that can enjoy preferential tax from the EVFTA. Therefore, Vinatex Director General proposed that the Ministry of Industry and Trade quickly finalise related agreements with Japan and the RoK.

In addition, he underscored the need to continue to attract investment for domestic raw material production by planning and investing in industrial zones dedicated to supporting industries for the textile and garment industry.

According to General Secretary of the Vietnam Leather Footwear and Handbag Association Phan Thi Thanh Xuan in the coming period, in order to take advantage of the opportunities from EVFTA, the footwear industry should focus on developing the supply of raw materials and inputs.

First of all, there should be policies to encourage the establishment of research and development centres for footwear products. Besides this, industrial and technological zones for the production of raw materials must be built; while trade centres, fairs and exhibitions connected with the logistics system should also be set up.

There should be more programmes on human resource development for enterprises, focusing on linking international training to take advantage of foreign knowledge and technologies, bringing domestic production levels gradually towards those of developed countries, she noted.
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SUNDAY, AUGUST 2

Agencies limited on enforcement

People may file complaints if businesses are not following mask guidelines to prevent the spread of COVID-19, but local health agencies have limited power to enforce rules.

Across the state, people can report complaints about businesses to the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity  and they have been.

The department had received 3,438 complaints of businesses not complying with Restore Illinois guidelines between March 19 and Friday, Huffman said. Fifty-three of those complaints were received in the previous seven days.

MONDAY, AUGUST 3

McLean reaches 545 cases

There have now been 545 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in McLean County.

105 residents were isolating at home, two more than Saturday, and four were hospitalized, one more than Saturdays total. There have been 421 individuals released from isolation and considered recovered, one more than Saturday.

More than 25,700 tests in McLean County have resulted in a cumulative positivity rate of 2.1 percent. The rolling seven-day rate is 1.9 percent through Saturday, officials reported.

TUESDAY, AUGUST 4

Statewide cases on the rise

COVID-19 cases are on the rise throughout the state and Gov. J.B. Pritzker is hoping a new $5 million state advertising campaign will help slow the spread of the novel coronavirus by encouraging use of face coverings.

Pritzker announced the campaign, which has the tagline It only works if you wear it, at the Illinois Emergency Management Agency Operations Center in Springfield. The governor said the costs are reimbursable through federal coronavirus relief funds.

Pritzker said the campaign will permeate really every kind of medium that you can think of, including a good deal on social media, cable, broadcast TV, Hulu, YouTube and many other platforms.

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 5

Virus worse in southern Illinois

The novel coronavirus is worse in southern Illinois than it is in the Chicago area, and college parties thrown by returning students risk exacerbating the spread of COVID-19, Gov. J.B. Pritzker said at an appearance at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale Tuesday.

Pritzker said Jackson County, where Carbondale is located, is one of 11 counties in warning territory according to state metrics.

Southern Illinois Region 5 of the states COVID-19 mitigation plan had a test positivity rate of 7.3 percent as of Aug. 1, while the Region 4 Metro East area on the Missouri border had a rate of 7.2 percent. Those were pushing the 8-percent threshold which would initiate state action to mitigate the spread of the virus.

THURSDAY, AUGUST 6

Rodney Davis tests positive

U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis, who spent the beginning of this week meeting with constituents in Central Illinois, has tested positive for COVID-19.

The Taylorville Republican announced the diagnosis late Wednesday on Twitter and his congressional web page.

Davis hosted traveling office hours that brought him to Mount Zion on Monday and was in Monticello on Tuesday announcing his introduction of Gabbys Law, legislation which would require hospitals to establish sepsis protocols.

Davis wife tested negative, he said, adding, Other than a higher-than-normal temperature, I am showing no symptoms at this time and feel fine.

FRIDAY, AUGUST 7

Insurance companies face lawsuits

Allstate and other large auto insurers are facing lawsuits alleging they failed to sufficiently reduce premiums to Illinois policyholders as more drivers stay off the road during the coronavirus pandemic.

In six separate lawsuits filed in Cook County Circuit Court last week, Illinois policyholders allege insurers failed to provide fair and appropriate rebates and unfairly profited from high rates.

In Illinois, miles driven by motorists dropped by nearly two-thirds in the spring, according to the suits.

Each insurer offered some form of premium relief, but the suits allege it wasnt enough to account for the drop in claims. The complaints compare the insurers to Bloomington-based State Farm, which in April offered most policyholders a 25% credit for the weeks between March 20 and May 31.

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Liquor bottles and tobacco packets have been found by the civic authorities at the National Institute of Construction Management and Research (Nicmar) Covid-19 quarantine facility in Baner.

According to officials, the sanitation staff at the centre had been providing these items to the admitted patients at higher rates.

Sandeep Kadam, PMCs assistant municipal commissioner and Baner-Balewadi ward officer, said, It is an unfortunate incident. It was found that liquor bottles and tobacco packets were supplied to admitted patients inside the Nicmar quarantine centre. According to primary inquiry, the cleaning staff hired from a contractor and ambulance drivers were involved in it. Earlier too, such incidents were reported, however, only a warning was given to them. Now, we are going to take strict action against the people involved in this.

Dr Prakash Rokade, medical officer at Aundh Civil Hospital, said, It is illegal to bring or sell such kind of things at the quarantine centre where all positive patients are staying. When a positive person consumes alcohol or tobacco it is definitely harms their health and if it affects his/her body adversely, then the medical condition of the patient will worsen.

Currently, several educational institutes and other private places like hostels, wedding halls and other residential houses have been taken over by the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) to serve as quarantine centres. At least 30,000 positive persons have been admitted to these quarantine centres or sent to home isolation, till date.

This is the third time such incident reported from the centre, however, this time the security guards alerted the authorities. A security guard found liquor bottles and tobacco packets inside the two-wheeler of a sanitation worker during check on Saturday. Earlier, mineral water bottles, eggs and hot water had been sold at these centres illegally to the patients.
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sun, August 9, 2020 08:36 528 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a4066c89ebd 4 National djoko-tjandra,graft,fugitive,lawyer,National-Police,Bareskrim,arrest Free

The National Polices Criminal Investigation Department (Bareskrim) arrested Anita Kolopaking, the lawyer of graft convict Djoko Sugiarto Tjandra, on Saturday.

National Police spokesperson Brig. Gen. Awi Setiyono said investigators arrested Anita after she was questioned as a suspect on Friday. The interrogation lasted until early Saturday, and the lawyer answered 55 questions from investigators.

Anita will be detained in Bareskrims detention center for the next 20 days, Awi said on Saturday, as quoted by kompas.com.

Bareskrim previously named Anita a suspect on July 30 and brought multiple charges against her for her alleged role in using forged letters to travel and helping a criminal on the run.

The Supreme Court sentenced Djoko to two years of imprisonment in 2009 for his involvement in the high-profile Bank Bali corruption case. However, the businessman fled to Papua New Guinea a day before the court ruling.

After a decade fleeing, Djoko managed to return to Indonesia undetected, have his new identity documents issued and file for a case review for his two-year prison sentence with the South Jakarta District Court.

Read also: AGO looks into possible crimes in prosecutor's alleged meetings with Djoko Tjandra abroad

The case implicated three high-ranking police generals, who were removed for their alleged role in helping the convict travel within the country.

One of the generals, Brig. Gen. Prasetyo Utomo was named a suspect by the police for allegedly issuing forged travel letters for Djoko and Anita in his capacity as the head of Bareskrims Civil Servant Investigator Supervisory and Coordination Bureau.

Asep Subahan, the subdistrict head of South Grogol in West Jakarta, was also dismissed for allegedly issuing an e-ID card for Djoko.

The police eventually arrested Djoko in Malaysia on July 30 and brought him back home.

The Law and Human Rights Ministry announced that Djoko had returned to Salemba detention center in Central Jakarta on Friday. He was previously detained in Bareskrims detention center to undergo several questionings.

The ministrys corrections directorate general spokesperson Rika Aprianti said Djoko was undergoing an orientation and 14-day self-isolation in an isolation cell as part of the COVID-19 health protocol for inmates.

After finishing his orientation and self-isolation, he will be placed in the prison with other convicts, Rika said in a statement. (dpk)
By PTI

SINGAPORE: Three people, who returned from India, have tested positive for COVID-19 in Singapore, the Ministry of Health said, as the country's coronavirus count rose to 54,797.

Among the four imported cases reported on Thursday, three had returned from India on July 25, said the ministry.

They include two work pass holders and one on a dependant's pass.

The fourth one is a Singaporean who had returned from Kazakhstan on July 25.

CLICK HERE FOR LIVE UPDATES

All of them were placed on 14-day Stay-Home Notice (SHN) upon arrival in Singapore, it said.

Singapore on Friday reported 242 new COVID-19 cases, including six imported infections, said the Ministry of Health (MOH).

This brings the total number of cases in the country to 54,797.

With 263 cases discharged on Thursday, 48,031 patients have fully recovered from the disease, the ministry said.

ALSO WATCH:
By Trend

Over the past 24 hours, Armenian armed forces have violated the ceasefire along the line of contact between Azerbaijani and Armenian troops 28 times, Trend reports referring to Azerbaijani Defense Ministry.

Armenian armed forces were using large-caliber machine guns and sniper rifles.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on the withdrawal of its armed forces from Nagorno Karabakh and the surrounding districts.
MUMBAI: Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut once against reiterated that Sushant Singh Rajput's death is being used by some for political gains, which is 'sickening'.

Terming it as a conspiracy against the Maharashtra government, Raut, a resident editor of Shiv Sena mouthpiece 'Saamana', alleged that politics is being done in Bihar as well as Delhi over Sushant Singh's death.

"The kind of politics being done in Bihar and Delhi over Sushant Singh Rajput's death, I believe a conspiracy is being hatched against the Maharashtra government. Mumbai Police is a capable force and is trying its best to bring out the truth," Raut said today.

Raut, through his weekly column, said that a FIR was registered on Sushant death in Patna when the alleged incident occurred in Mumbai. "The family stepped in only after 40 days after the incident," he says.

He stated that after the incident drew the attention of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar who then recommended a CBI investigation into the case, while Mumbai Police was investigating the matter and was about to reach its conclusion.

He says that if one takes a look at the series of incidents related to probe on Sushant's death, it would appear as if a script was written on it to attack Maharashtra's autonomy. He added that those who want to hide the truth behind the actor's death are the ones who do not trust the Mumbai Police.

Raut said that some people who are working 'behind the scenes' have prepared a screenplay and have put pressure on the CBI.

Raut went on to question the character of Bihar DGP Gupteshwar Pandey saying he is working for a political party.

The Shiv Sena spokesperson, who had been opposing CBI probe into the case since the very first day, claimed that probe has revealed that Sushant wasn't on good terms with his father KK Singh. "How many times did Sushant meet his father?" he asks.

"Political conspiracy is being done in the guise of Sushant's death so that truth doesn't come out. Why the haste to take away the case from Mumbai Police," he said.


The Delhi BJP plans to implement the new education policy provisions concerning primary education in schools run by municipal corporations that are ruled by the party, its president Adesh Gupta said on Sunday.

The Modi government at the Centre has announced a new National Education Policy (NEP), 34 years after the previous one came out in 1986. The NEP says students up to Class 5 should be taught in their mother tongue.

Gupta said a consultation process has been started to adopt a new curriculum based on the NEP in the schools run by the municipal corporations in the city. "The new education policy will be implemented in all the municipal schools in the current academic session," the BJP's Delhi unit president said.

Last week, Gupta held a discussion with the top leadership of the three BJP-ruled municipal corporations here and directed them to start working on implementing the new policy in the primary schools run by them. Consultations with experts and leaders of municipal corporations have started in this regard, he said, adding that the NEP emphasises on overall development as well as learning and skill development.

The three municipal corporations in Delhi run over 1,600 primary schools that enrol more than seven lakh children in classes 1-5. The services of academicians will also be taken for providing suggestions and designing the curriculum as per the NEP, Gupta said.

BJP national vice-president and Delhi unit in-charge Shyam Jaju said an awareness campaign and a consultation process for the new education policy is going on. The party is already working on the NEP, and several webinars and other consultations involving academicians and experts in the field of education have taken place, Jaju said.

The NEP envisages replacing the existing 10+2 system with a 5+3+3+4 structure based on the age group of students.
Tamil Nadu government has not woken up despite the fact that the doctors have gone on a fast thrice. AP Photo

Chennai: Even as COVID-19 continues to take a heavy toll on human life, government medical practitioners in Tamil Nadu have raised a demand for more pay.

Sending a letter that posed 10 questions to the state's health minister, the Service Doctors and Post Graduates Association (SDPGA) said despite the other states hiking the salaries of government doctors during the current pandemic, Tamil Nadu government has not woken up despite the fact that the doctors have gone on a fast thrice.

The minister had previously declared in the Assembly that the demands of government doctors would be addressed as soon as possible.

SDPGA reminded the minister of the Madras High Courts remark that government doctors in Tamil were not adequately paid.
Former NSW Premier Mike Baird has called on Dan Andrews' critics to show their support for the embattled leader and save judgement until the COVID-19 threat has passed.

Mr Baird penned an impassioned plea over Facebook on Sunday calling on Australians to go easy on the Victorian Premier as he guides the state through a horror second wave of coronavirus.

The retired politician, who formed a friendship with Mr Andrews through his time in parliament, vouched for the Premier's love of Victoria and desire to always act in its best interest.

He said Mr Andrews viewed his job as a 'privilege' and reminded people that 'every leader' is human and makes mistakes as they confront high-stake situations in their roles.

Former NSW Premier Mike Baird (pictured with his wife Kerryn at Roayl Randwick Racecourse in April 2015) has called on Australians to rally behind Premier Dan Andrews as he guides Victoria through its horror second wave of COVID-19

'The political badge you wear should mean very little during this moment,' Mr Baird wrote.

'We are living through history, and there is no playbook they give you when you become PM, Premier or Minister on how to respond.'

'Leaders are making dozens, and perhaps hundreds, of big decisions every day. And not all of them will be correct in hindsight.

'Every leader around the world is learning on the run, and the stakes are impossibly high. '

Mr Baird emphasised the unprecedented and difficult circumstances Victoria is facing, where the country's death count continues to climb.

He urged commentators to reserve criticism until after the state's fight against the pandemic has ended, when errors can be reflected on those accountable be held responsible.

'What is happening in Victoria is incredibly challenging and indeed tragic,' the post continued.

'I dont know all the details of what has transpired but it is terrible and I think most people across the country are just waiting for some good news to emerge.'

'It is not the time to second-guess or finger point. Yes we need to be agile and learn on the run, but a pile on helps no-one.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews (pictured) has come under fire for failures in the hotel quarantine program which have been linked to the secondary outbreak as well as the subsequent tough measures implemented to battle the virus

'When the dust settles, there will be time for reflection. And when mistakes are made, there will be accountability.'

'But in the fog of this battle, I believe we should choose to stand in support of our leaders and offer our admiration, and our thanks.'

'Let's give them strength, not grief, as they try to make decisions for all of us.'

'Let's support him[Mr Andrews] as he tries to do the impossible.'

Mr Baird's extended his praise to Gladys Berejiklian and Scott Morrison, who he said are also 'working tirelessly' to keep Australians safe.

Dan Andrews has come under fire for the botched hotel quarantine program which has been linked to the secondary outbreak smashing Victoria, as well as the subsequent strict measures implemented to battle the virus.

Private security companies, rather than the ADF or police as used in NSW, were contracted to guard return travellers serving mandatory 14 day quarantine in Melbourne hotels.

Mr Baird wrote that every leader makes mistakes during their high-stakes position but judgement should be reserved until after the state's COVID-19 threat is defeated

A series of failures in the scheme have since emerged, including guards breaching social distancing, failing to enforce the rules, and accusations of some having sex with travellers- all which then allowed the virus to seep into the community.

In response to soaring case numbers, the Andrews government have rolled out strict stage four restrictions across the city and stage three restrictions throughout the rest of the state.

With the six week shutdown tipped to cost the economy up to $10 billion, there have been increasing calls for Mr Andrews to step down.

To lift Mr Andrews spirits, Mr Baird ended his post with sharing a Ted Roosevelt quote which he said 'all leaders probably need right now'.

'It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better,' he wrote.

'The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.'

Melbournians wearing masks walk across a crossing in the eerily quiet CBD on Friday as Stage four restrictions zap life across the city

Many flocked to the comments to praise Mr Baird's words and rally their support behind the Premier.

'Time to set aside politics across Australia and concentrate on defeating the virus. Every State Premier and The Prime Minister are doing their best under the most challenging circumstances in 75 years,' one person wrote.

Another added: 'Thank you, Mike! Its about time the nations leaders in every walk of life stood up and led their communities. This is a mammoth effort!'

'Theyre baying for his blood this morning. If the poor man resigns then what then Victoria? Im amazed he gets up there and perseveres each day. Its a hellish time to be a state premier,' a third comment read.

Others disagreed.

'Ridiculous. We should not go out 8-5. Nothing right. Hotel quarantine failed. Masks on the beach and in the park. Hundreds thousands of our mates lost jobs. Are you serious?' one woman said.

'He puts our state in misery and allow grid addicts walk after 8. Wake up!'

'This is their job that they are paid to do. If I continuously kept making mistakes in my role, my boss would pull me in and would want answers,' another wrote.

'We are talking about peoples lives here, their livelihood, their businesses, their bread and butter. Dan Andrews is getting paid far too much to be making mistakes that are causing Victoria to collapse.'

Police check details of residents in the Melbourne central business district on Sunday

It comes as Victoria recorded 17 new deaths- the deadliest day so far in the pandemic- and 394 new cases on Sunday.

Regulations have clamped tighter over the past few weeks as case numbers continued to soar despite government measures already in place.

Dozens of Melburnians were pictured breaching social distancing measures as they flocked to St Kilda beach hours before the city's tough 8pm-5am curfew came into place last Sunday.

Under the latest lockdown, 197 people have already been fined for breaching the chief health officers directions.

Victoria Police did 3554 spot checks on homes, businesses and public places in the 24 hours to Saturday morning.

Sixty-two were fined $1,652 for breaching Melbourne's 8pm-5am curfew, while a further 36 were penalised $200 for failing to wear a face mask.
Modi also released the sixth installment of Rs 17,100 crore to more than 8.55 crore farmer beneficiaries under the PM-KISAN scheme

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday launched a financing facility of Rs 1 lakh crore under the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund for agri-entrepreneurs, startups, agri-tech players and farmer groups for post-harvest management and nurturing farm assets.

Modi also released the sixth installment of Rs 17,100 crore to more than 8.55 crore farmer beneficiaries under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) scheme.

"The fund would bring about the creation of post-harvest management infrastructures and community farming assets such as cold storage, collection centres and processing units. These assets will enable farmers to get greater value for their produce, as they will be able to store and sell at higher prices, reduce wastage and increase processing and value addition. Rs 1 lakh crore will be sanctioned under the financing facility in partnership with multiple lending institutions," read a release by the Prime Minister's Office (PMO).

The beneficiaries of the scheme will include farmers, PACS, Marketing Cooperative Societies, FPOs, SHGs, Joint Liability Groups (JLG), Multipurpose Cooperative Societies, agri-entrepreneurs, startups, and central/state agency or local body sponsored public-private Partnership Projects, it said.

PM asks farmers to wear face masks and continue maintaining social distancing amid COVID-19 pandemic.

The Prime Minister launched the new Agriculture Infrastructure Fund through video conference. Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar and senior ministry officials were also present on the occasion.

Earlier in the day, he tweeted: "Wishing countrymen especially farmers on the occasion of Balaram Jayanti, 'Hal Chhath' and 'Dau janmotsav''.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch a Rs 1 lakh financing facility under the government's Agriculture Infrastructure Fund through video-conferencing on Sunday, August 9.

PM Modi will also release the sixth installment of Rs 17,000 crore funds to 8.5 crore farmers under the PM-KISAN scheme, according to an official statement on Saturday.

The event, which will be held virtually, will be watched by lakhs of farmers and cooperatives across the country. Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar will also be present at the event.

The Centre had in July approved the creation of an agri-infra fund with a corpus of Rs 1 lakh crore in order to extend subsidised credit for farm infrastructure projects.

Also Read: Rs 1 lakh crore allocated for agri infrastructure, says Sitharaman

The Union Cabinet had approved the Central Sector Scheme of financing facility under the "Agriculture Infrastructure Fund" of Rs one lakh crore.

The fund will catalyse the creation of post-harvest management infrastructure and community farming assets such as cold storage, collection centres, and processing units, the statement pointed out.

These assets will enable farmers to get greater value for their produce as they will be able to store and sell at higher prices, reduce wastage and increase processing and value addition, it said.

Rs 1 lakh crore will be sanctioned under the financing facility in partnership with multiple lending institutions.

Eleven of the 12 public sector banks have already signed MoUs with the Department of Agriculture. A three per cent interest subvention and credit guarantee of up to Rs 2 crore will be provided to the beneficiaries to increase the viability of these projects.

Also Read: India received foreign investment of $20 billion amid pandemic: PM Modi at India-Idea's summit

The Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana (PM-KISAN) scheme, launched on December 1 2018, has provided a direct cash benefit of over Rs 75,000 crore to more than 9.9 crore farmers, it said.

This has enabled them to fulfill their agricultural requirements and support their families.

The scheme has also been instrumental in supporting farmers during the COVID-19 pandemic, through the release of nearly Rs 22,000 crore.

(With inputs from PTI)
A Philadelphia police officer who responded to a call to assist another officer whose patrol car was shot at was injured Saturday night when he was knocked to the ground by an ATV rider, police said.

Police received a 911 call about a person with a gun shortly after 10:15 p.m. at 800 Brill Street in the Summerdale section of Northeast Philadelphia. A Second District officer heard multiple gunshots upon his arrival and then heard two shots hit his patrol car on the passenger side, police said.

A 15th District officer who had arrived to help attempted to stop a male on an all-terrain vehicle but was knocked down by the rider and hit his head. He was taken to Jefferson Torresdale Hospital in stable condition, police said.

The ATV rider was apprehended a short distance away and a handgun was found in his possession, police said.

No other details were available Sunday.
Wilson was placed in custody while awaiting sentencing, according to online court records. But in April, he filed an emergency motion for release due to immediate threat posed by covid-19 pandemic, according to court records. That motion was granted at an April 30 hearing, according to records. An unsecured bond of $5,000 was set, and the sentencing hearing was postponed until November.
On the call of Centre of India Trade Unions (CITU), over 500 members of 11 labour unions protested outside Ludhiana deputy commissioners office on Sunday and demanded health care insurance among other benefits for Covid warriors. Members of unions including anganwadi workers, kisan union and Lal Jhanda Punjab Bhatha Mazdoor Union raised slogans against the Centre and state governments.

Amid surging Covid-19 cases, protesters were seen wearing masks but did not adhere to social distancing norms.

They got into a heated argument with police personnel deployed outside the DCs office to stop them from entering the premises. Barricades were installed near the office and workers sat there and protested for two hours.

Subhash Rani, general secretary of Anganwadi Mulazam Union, said, We have been working as Covid-19 warriors since March, but no benefits have been provided to helpers and workers. The government must increase honorarium of workers to Rs 25,000 and provide health care insurance benefits to anganwadi and ASHA workers.

The state government assured workers that children between the age of three to six years will be admitted to Anganwadi centres, but this year too, they have been enrolled in government schools. If this continues, anganwadi centres will close down and all workers and helpers will become jobless, she said.

Meanwhile, Karkhana Mazdoor Union, Ludhiana, protested at Focal Point and textile workers union raised slogans at Tajpur Road against the centre government for changing labour laws.

They said increasing working hours from eight to 12 hours will lead to exploitation.
A pair of gold-plated spectacles believed to have been worn by Mahatma Gandhi and presented as a gift in the 1900s have emerged on the UK auction circuit, estimated to fetch between 10,000 pounds and 15,000 pounds.

East Bristol Auctions in Hanham, south-west England, said on Sunday that they were pleasantly surprised to find that the spectacles, dropped through their letterbox in an envelope, may have such a rich history behind it.

It's a huge find of great historical importance. The vendor had presumed them to be interesting, but of no value and did tell me to dispose of them 'if they're not worth anything', said auctioneer Andy Stowe of East Bristol Auctions.

I think he nearly fell off his chair when we presented our valuation. It's a really great auction story  and one that we all dream of, he said.

The glasses, which have already attracted an online bid for 6,000 pounds, are said to have been in the family of the unnamed elderly gentleman vendor in England, who was told by his father that they were a gift to his uncle when he was working for British Petroleum in South Africa between 1910 and 1930.

The vendor's uncle definitely worked for British Petroleum in South Africa, and I believe Gandhi didn't wear glasses until the late 1910s early 1920s, says Stowe in reference to the provenance of the glasses, which are likely to be one of Gandhi's earliest pairs during his time in South Africa.

The story that appears with the lot is exactly what the vendor told us, and exactly what was told to him by his father some 50 years ago, explains Stowe.

The lot, titled Pair of Mahatma Gandhi's Personal Spectacles, forms part of the auctioneers' Military, History and Classic Cars online sale and will go under the hammer on August 21. It has already attracted much interest, including from India.

A pair of early 20th century c1920 gold plated circular rimmed spectacles by repute owned and worn by Mahatma Gandhi, notes the auction lot details.

The spectacles of usual form, with sprung gold plated arms and prescription lenses. Jointed by a gold plated nose bar, the spectacles formed an important and somewhat iconic part of Gandhi's overall appearance. It was known that he would often give away his old or unwanted pairs to those in need or those who had helped him. A rare and important pair of spectacles, it notes.

The uncle working for British Petroleum at the time and was stationed in South Africa, and it can be presumed that these were gifted by way of thanks from Gandhi for some good deed. A note from the vendor is included, the auction lot adds.

Gandhi became synonymous with the iconic round-rimmed Windsor-style glasses, common during the period when he was studying law in England in the late 1800s and 1900s. While initially used infrequently, the glasses became a regular feature during the national movement and Gandhi's civil disobedience protests in India.

He is known to have handed over his personal items as gifts to admirers and a number of similar items have emerged on the auction circuit over the years.
One thing that many of us miss amid the lockdown is travelling. Many celebrities and influencers have been posting throwback pictures, reminiscing days when they could travel without restrictions. Actor Janna Zubair is one such celebrity who loves travelling. Janna Zubair's Instagram is flooded with pictures from her travelling days. Check out some of Jannat Zubair's photos that will evoke wanderlust in you.

Janna Zubair's photos that will make you want to travel

Jannat Zubair loves travelling and amid the Pandemic, the actor misses stepping out of her house. She shared this pretty picture of herself sitting at the beach in a cute pink top and a pair of blue jeans. This is one of the best pictures on Jannat Zubair's Instagram. Along with the picture, the actor mentioned that she misses going to the beach.

Another picture on Jannat Zubair's Instagram is this picture of her on a boat. She had travelled to Mauritius and was exploring the place with her close ones. She wore a simple grey knee-length dress as she stood and posed for a picture. She looks like a complete beach person and Jannat Zubair's photos on Instagram is proof to it.

Also Read: This 19 Year Old TikTok Star Jannat Zubair's Net Worth Will Leave You Stunned

Jannat Zubair's photos on Instagram will make you want to visit the number of places she has visited. She shared a picture of her from the time she travelled to Dubai. She went on a buggy ride on the Red Sand Desert. The actor wore a white top with a pair of blue jeans and completed her outfit with a pair of white shoes.

Also Read: 'Phulwa' Actor Jannat Zubair Rahmani Opens Up About Her Bond With Her Mother & Friends

Another picture on Jannat Zubair's Instagram is this picture of her with the most beautiful backdrop. This picture was from when she travelled to Georgia. The actor looked pretty in a leather jacket and a pair of blue jeans. The gorgeous backdrop of the picture is sure to make you want to travel.

Also Read: 'Hello Hi': Tiktok Star Jannat Zubair's Upcoming Music Video

Another picture on Jannat Zubair's Instagram in a long black dress with a beautiful London City backdrop is sure to evoke the wanderlust in you. The actor travelled to that city with her family and made the most of her time, exploring the city.

Also Read: Sushant Singh's Co-star Swastika Slams Fans For Watching 'Byomkesh Bakshy' After His Death

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TikToks list of suitors is extending significantly beyond Microsoft. Wall Street Journal sources say Twitter has held preliminary talks about a possible union with TikToks US business. Its still very early, and might not move forward, but Twitter reportedly believes it has an advantage over bidders like Microsoft due to its size. It thinks it wouldnt face as much antitrust scrutiny if it clinched a deal, according to the tipsters.

Twitters size could also be a drawback, however. TikToks US business alone could be worth tens of billions of dollars, and that would be a serious obstacle when Twitters entire market capitalization is $29 billion. It would likely need to draw on help from investors and take on a large amount of debt. And while it has been relatively successful in recent years, it suffered a loss of more than $1.2 billion in its latest quarter. The company might not be in a position to buy a behemoth like TikTok.

A deal would dramatically change Twitters course, though. Its considered small relative to Facebook at the moment, but it would suddenly have considerably more clout  it has 186 million daily active users worldwide, but TikTok was said to have 41 million (not including its Chinese sibling Douyin) before the pandemic. Unlike the ill-fated Vine deal, TikTok would likely have to be treated more as a full-fledged counterpart to Twitter than a complement.

Whether or not Twitter makes a move, the report underscores the pressure on TikTok. President Trump has given the company until September 15th to sell its US operations if it wants to avoid a ban in the country. TikTok doesnt have much time to close a deal, and that means being open to offers it wouldnt have entertained in the past.
Implication for Nigerias future

By Olusegun Odunewu

If Nigeria is caught in debt bondage to China, it risks losing both valuable natural assets and sovereignty, as there have been instances where the Asian power house took over lands and valuable assets it helped to build through commercial loans when the beneficiary countries failed to repay the loans.

Therefore the recent probe by the House of Representatives Committee on Treaties and Agreements on loan agreements Nigeria has with lenders is coming at the right time.

The arguments by the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, that the probe be stalled in order not to incur the wrath of China, and therefore blocked further loans, is not only myopic but baseless.

Since all Chinese loans are tied to infrastructural developments, some of the African nations have had to forfeit their stakes in the infrastructure, which they used as collateral, after they defaulted.

From Sri Lanka, where China took over Hambantota port and more than 15,000 square feet of areas around on a 99-year lease after the country couldnt pay back a $1.3bn loan it sourced from China to build the port, to the Mediterranean port of Piraeus which was acquired from cash-strapped Greece by a Chinese firm for $436 million are lessons Nigeria needs to learn from.

Similarly, Djibouti was straddled with numerous infrastructure projects including a new port, two new airports and the Ethiopia-Djibouti railway, on a scale-out of variance with the size of the economy of the cash-strapped country.

The country became trapped in a debt crisis and had no choice but to lease land to China for $20 million per year. China established its first overseas military base in the country, its first one overseas, just a few miles from a US naval base.

Several other countries, from Africa, Asia to Latin America, have been ensnared in a Chinese debt trap, forcing them to confront agonizing choices in order to stave off default. Kenyas crushing debt to China now threatens to turn its busy port of Mombasa  the gateway to East Africa  into another Hambantota.

Also, Kenya may soon lose its largest and most lucrative port, Port of Mombasa to its creditor (China) after it defaulted in the refund. This could force Kenya to relinquish control of the port to China.

Nigeria owes China about $3.1 billion, more than 10% of the $27.6 billion external debt stock, tied to categories of capital projects, and Nigeria will still be servicing the Chinese loans till around 2038, which is the maturity date for the last loans obtained in 2018.

Some of the projects are: National Public Security Communication system Project of $399m and the Nigerian Railway Modernization Project (Idu- Kaduna section) of $500m obtained in December 2010 and are due to mature in September 2030.

Loans for the Abuja Light Rail Project of $500m and the Nigerian ICT Infrastructure Backbone Project of $100m obtained in November 2012 and January 2013 respectively. Both projects have also been fully disbursed at 100 per cent with an outstanding payment of $480m and $100m, respectively.

For the $500m Airport Terminal Expansion Project (Abuja, Kano, Lagos & Port Harcourt), the $984m Zungeru Hydroelectric Power Project, and the $325m Nigerian Parboiled Rice Processing Plants Project (Fed. Min. of Agric & Rural Dev), the maturity dates are 2034, 2033 and 2036, respectively.

In a recent interview, the Director of Centre for Infrastructure Policy Regulation and Advancement (CIPRA), Lagos Business School, Dr. Bongo Adi, explained that Nigeria lacks accountability, transparency, and responsibility to refund the loans.

According to him, Chinese Exim Bank has offered $6.6 billion to Nigeria and that is quite significant. He said: We have to look at the total debt and the capacity to repay not just to China but to our creditors. Our Debt independent revenue is at 96% now. That means for every N1 we earn, 96 kobo is used to refund loans. That has passed a critical threshold.

Out of 64 countries that host the Chinese Belt and Road initiative projects, 20 have gone under distress and 8 are about to lose their sovereign debt sustainability if they should take any further loan. If that were supposed to be a good guide, it means Nigeria needs to be very careful when we are borrowing from the Chinese.

We have seen this Chinese cycle and need to be careful. What normally happens is that the Chinese will begin to take over infrastructure assets, which is what some call Chinese Chopstick Imperialism and the experience is not just pleasant. Chinese strategically tie loans to infrastructure and that is with the intention of taking possession of the infrastructure asset if there is the default, as such asset became their collateral.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a financing facility of 1 lakh crore under the Agricultural Infrastructure Fund through a video conference.

During the ongoing conference, PM Modi will also release the sixth instalment of funds under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojna (PM-KISAN) scheme.

According to the the statement by prime ministers office, PM-KISAN scheme had provided a direct cash benefit of over 75,000 crore to more than 9.9 crore farmers and enabled them to fulfil their agricultural requirements and support their families. The scheme was launched in December 2018.

Follow the highlights here:

PM Modi launches financing facility under Agriculture Infrastructure Fund

PM Modi launches financing facility under Agriculture Infrastructure Fund and releases benefits under PM-KISAN scheme.

Union agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomar lauds PM Modi

The prime minister has always understood the importance of this sector and introduced many measures for the growth and development of the sector, Union agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomar said.

PM Modi interacts with PACS members

PM Modi interacts with Basave Gowda, from Hassan district, Karnataka, a member of the UGANE Primary Agriculture Cooperative Society (PACS) to discuss his experience of being financed under Agriculture Infrastructure Fund.

He changes lives of 1,100 families

When an educated person goes back to his village and and becomes a farmer, he changes lives of 1,100 families, says PM Modi to Mukesh Sharma, a member of the Lateri PACS from Vidisha district in Madhya Pradesh.

Use less urea during farming, urges PM Modi

PM Modi calls on farmers to use less urea fertilizers, in view of its damaging effects on climate.

PM Modi congratulates agriculture ministry and banking official

PM Modi congratulates agriculture ministry and banking officials who organised the event successfully on hal shashti, a festival farmers celebrate widely in the country.

PM Modi extends his wishes on Halshashti to farmers

Today is Halshashti, the birth anniversary of Lord Balarama. Wishing all the countrymen, especially the farmers. On this very auspicious occasion, a special fund of one lakh crore rupees was launched to prepare agricultural facilities in the country: Prime Minister Narendra Modi

Mission of one country, one market is now complete: PM Modi

Now solutions are being sought for all these questions related to farmers and farming under the self-reliant India campaign.

The mission of one country, one market, for which the work was going on for the last 7 years, is now being completed:, says PM Modi

Now farmers will be able to make modern facilities of storage

Today the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund has been launched, with this the farmers will be able to make modern facilities of storage in their villages also, says PM Modi

It is our farmers who did not let the country suffer from the problem of food and drink

It is our farmers who did not let the country suffer from the problem of food and drink during Covid-19 lockdown. When the country was in lockdown, our farmer was harvesting the fields and creating new records of sowing, says PM Modi.

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PATNA: The turmoil between Bihar and Mumbai Police over an investigation into Sushant Singh Rajput death case continued on Sunday (August 9).

Bihar Police Association president Mrityunjay Kumar Singh in a statement said that Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut, through its party mouthpiece Saamana, has accused the Bihar Police and Centre of hatching a political conspiracy against the Maharashtra government. He launched an attack on Raut saying, "not the Bihar Police but the Mumbai Police distant itself from safeguarding the law, protecting its citizens and providing knowledge of justice to the public. This (conduct of Mumbai police on Sushant death case) has been widely criticised on social media not only across the country but also globally."

"All efforts were made to cover the truth and justice from prevailing on Sushant Singh death case. However, they should know that the Bihar government is headed by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who not only ensures development for the state but is also known for safeguarding the law," the statement said.

"In Bihar, the police has the right to independently investigate a case to provide justice to the people here. There is no political interference here. The Bihar Police neither spares nor does it leaves a culprit when it comes to justice. The Mumbai Police should follow the footsteps of Bihar Police so that their deteriorating credibility can be strengthened again," the statement read.

Earlier in the day, Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut alleged that a conspiracy was being hatched against the Maharashtra government while the Mumbai Police was trying its best to bring out the truth in the case. "The kind of politics being done in Bihar and Delhi over Sushant Singh Rajput`s death, I believe a conspiracy is being hatched against the Maharashtra government. The Mumbai Police is a capable force and is trying its best to bring out the truth," Raut was quoted as saying by ANI.

"But I think some people are writing a new screenplay by staying in the background. They don`t want the truth to come out. That`s why they are using CBI and a conspiracy is hatched against Maharashtra government. After 40-50 days, when Mumbai Police is trying to reach a conclusion then attempts are being made to create confusion. Who are behind this? It is Bihar government and Bihar leaders," he said.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court will on August 11 hear a petition filed by Rhea Chakraborty seeking to transfer a FIR in Sushant Singh Rajput death case from Patna to Mumbai.

An FIR had been registered against Rhea at Patna's Rajiv Nagar police station under various sections, including abetment to suicide on the complaint of Sushant's father KK Singh.

On Friday, Rhea was questioned by the Enforcement Directorate at its Mumbai office in connection with Sushant death case. The agency also questioned Rhea's brother Showik Chakraborty and Shruti Modi.

Meanwhile, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has collected documents related to the actor's death from Bihar Police.

The investigating agency has registered a case against 6 accused including Rhea and others in connection with Sushant death.

Sushant was found dead at his Mumbai residence on June 14.
India performed 719,364 coronavirus disease (Covid-19) tests on Saturday, taking the total number of daily testing closer to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) target of one million per day by the end of August.

ICMR is in the process of ramping up Covid-19 testing in the country. Efforts are underway to make use of some of the Reverse Transcription-Polymerase Chain Reaction (rRT-PCR) machines installed in other government labs that are being used for performing other molecular tests. RT-PCR is considered the gold standard of Covid-19 testing.

Several measures are being taken to ensure testing capacity meets the target in the coming weeks. The measures include upgrading existing labs by way of increasing testing machines, manpower and also work shifts to be able to run more samples in a day, said an ICMR official, requesting anonymity.

Also read: Indias trajectory a worry as the world nears 20 million Covid-19 cases

About 200-odd machines are installed in other labs that can also be used to carry out Covid-19 testing, the official said. Also, labs of medical colleges that have the basic infrastructure to conduct molecular tests can also be mentored and upgraded to equip them to perform Covid-19 tests. All this is being done to ensure we reach the target of one million as planned, the official added.

India has performed about 25 million tests since January 22 when Covid-19 testing started with one lab at ICMRs National Institute of Virology in Pune, Maharashtra.

ICMR director general Dr Balram Bhargava said last week that the research body had adopted an intelligent and caliberated approach as far as Covid-19 testing was concerned.

When you look at the overall testing numbers, India is comfortably placed. Most states are performing adequate number of tests, however, there are certain states that are lagging behind where we need to increase testing capacity, and the labs there are being established and testing kits deployed accordingly, he said.

Also read: 35% patients in Covid hospitals from outside Delhi, says Satyendar Jain

As on Sunday, August 9, India has 1,402 labs -- 940 government and 462 private labs -- approved to perform Covid-19 testing across the country.

Such high level of testing will also lead to high number of daily positive cases, however, States have been advised to firmly focus on comprehensive tracking, prompt isolation and effective treatment, following the Centre-led strategy of test, track and treat, the health ministry said in a statement on Sunday.

Experts agree that to control the outbreak, aggressive testing is crucial.

The more you test, the higher will be the number of infected that you will be able to identify. To curtail an infectious disease from spreading, one must be able to identify, through testing, as many infected individuals as possible in time so that they are isolated and put on treatment. It will also ensure they dont roam around freely within the community and transmit the infection, said Dr T Jacob John, former head of the virology department, Christian Medical College, Vellore, Tamil Nadu.

The health ministry has held several meetings in the past week to engage with the worst-affected states.

The Covid-19 recovery rate continues to improve steadily, with 53,879 Covid-19 patients having recovered and been discharged in the past 24 hours, according to the health ministry data. With this, the total number of recoveries touched 14,80,884 on Sunday, which is at least twice the number of active cases (6,28,747).

The recovery rate of patients under medical supervision either in home isolation or in a hospital has touched 68.78%.

The number of Covid-19 patients who need hospitalization is low, and most of those who are hospitalized are recovering faster. The percentage of severely ill cases is even lower, which is why the rate of recovery is seeing constant improvement, said Dr Srikant Sharma, consultant at tje department of medicine in New Delhis Moolchand Hospital.

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Here are todays leading news stories:

Politics

-- The 47th meeting of the National Assembly Standing Committee will take place at the NA Building in Hanoi from August 10 to 12 under the chair of NA Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan.

Society

-- Vietnam recorded two new cases of novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) on Sunday morning, including a 33-year-old woman in northern Bac Giang Province and 63-year-old man in Hanoi. The countrys tally is at 812, with 395 having recovered and 10 fatalities.

-- The National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control in central Da Nang City has ordered local authorities to perform coronavirus tests on all patients who had been discharged from Da Nang Hospital, Vietnam's largest cluster, from July 15 to 26.

-- The Da Nang Labor Federation said on Saturday that financial support worth VND1 billion (US$43,000) will be handed to approximately 1,000 laborers who face difficulties due to the COVID-19 epidemic.

-- Police in Binh Tan District, Ho Chi Minh City on Saturday summoned a 31-year-old who was caught on CCTV engaging in a violent confrontation with a security guard of a local apartment building on Friday.

Education

-- More than 870,000 students began their national high school exam across Vietnam on Sunday morning. They are scheduled to take their literature and math tests on Sunday.

Sports

-- The three-year-old sons of Vietnamese gymnast brothers Giang Quoc Co and Giang Quoc Nghiep on Saturday established a Vietnam record of being the youngest pair of brothers to perform a handstand on their fathers' arms.

World News

-- Over 19.7 million people have caught COVID-19 while more than 12.7 million have recovered from the disease, according to the Ministry of Health's statistics. More than 728,700 people have lost their lives to the pathogen.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
New Delhi: Alliance Air Employees Union President Binoy Viswam, on Saturday (August 8) raised questions over the Government's decision to privatise airline Air India and leave without pay policy for its employees. He stressed that over the past two years, the entire Air India organization has been severely affected by the Government's decision to privatise the airline.

'' The uncertainty over the future as well as the Government's decision to cut wages and introduced a leave without pay policy has caused great mental stress to all employees. In such circumstances, it is possible that the maintenance and safety of aircraft is also jeopardized and it is important that the enquiry looks into these aspects as well'', said Binoy in a statement.

Expressing sadness over the Air India Express flight crash at Kozhikode Airport on Friday night the President of Alliance Air Employees Union Binoy Viswom said that the incident is heart-wrenching and a cause of deep sorrow.

Binoy said, ''I extend my utmost condolences to the families of the deceased and wish a speedy recovery to those who have been injured in this tragedy. There are no words that can seek to express the loss that you are facing. I only hope that in these times of darkness, you are able to find the strength and resilience to cope with the loss.''

The Air Employees Union president also thanked the rescue mission team which was working on the accident spot continuously. He said, ''The courage and selflessness displayed by these people is testament to the spirit of the Indian people.''

Binoy said that the matter should be investigated to prevent any such incidents in the future. He said,'' As the nation mourns this tragic event and extends solidarity with all those affected by this tragedy, it is also important that we reflect and introspect in order to prevent such incidents in the future.''

He lauded the staff and crew of Air India have displayed exemplary courage in the face of such adversity. He said, ''these brave workers have continued to provide their services even amidst the deadly COVID- I 9 pandemic and brought thousands of Indians stranded abroad back home.''

Lastly, he requested the Central Government to make note of the sacrifices and hardships being faced by employees of Air India and works towards improving their employment conditions and providing them with job security amidst the impending privatisation
PARIS Gunmen on motorcycles killed six French tourists and two Nigeriens in a wildlife park in Niger on Sunday, a senior official said.

The attackers struck in a giraffe reserve in the West African countrys KourA area, the governor of Tillaberi, Tidjani Ibrahim Katiella, told Reuters.

The two Nigeriens were working as the tourists guide and driver, AFP news agency reported.

The French foreign ministry said it was making checks into reports of the attack. There was no immediate comment from the government in Niger.

The French government warns people against travelling to large parts of Niger where militant groups including Boko Haram and affiliates of Islamic State operate.

The Koure Giraffe Reserve southeast of the capital Niamey is a popular attraction in Niger, a huge country that borders seven countries in an unstable region including Libya, Mali, Chad and Nigeria.

Militants linked to Islamic State killed four U.S. soldiers in an ambush in Niger in Oct. 2017, an attack that increased scrutiny of the U.S. counter-terrorism operations there.

France, a former colonial power in the region, also launched a coalition of West African and European allies in June to fight Islamist militants in the Sahel region that includes Niger. [nL8N2DP3QK]

It has deployed thousands of troops in the arid region south of the Sahara desert since 2013. But violence by groups linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State has been on the rise.

Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor
Police have stopped almost 30,000 people for not wearing a face covering on public transport in under a fortnight - but just 33 fines have been handed out, new figures have revealed.

Figures from the British Transport Police (BTP) show just a fifth (1,605) of the 28,964 people who have been spoken to by its officers in mid-July were told to leave the transport network for not wearing a face covering.

Of those people stopped between July 13 and July 25, just 33 were handed out a fixed penalty notice of 100, according to data released under the Freedom of Information request, the Telegraph reports.

Two were arrested after they refused to give details to police, but were de-arrested once their details were confirmed.

Meanwhile, Transport for London officials, who also have the power to slap commuters with fines, have stopped almost 54,000 people for not wearing face masks since July 4.

Police have stopped almost 30,000 people for not wearing a face covering on public transport in under a fortnight - but just 33 fines have been handed out, new figures have revealed. Pictured: A commuter wears a mask while travelling on the London Underground.

Figures from the British Transport Police (pictured: BTP officers in London) show just a fifth of the 28,964 people who have been spoken to by its officers in mid-July were told to leave the transport network for not wearing a face covering

How the government's line on face coverings has changed over the months March 12: Deputy chief medical officer Dr Jenny Harries: 'For the average member of the public walking down a street, it is not a good idea in fact, you can actually trap the virus in the mask and start breathing it in.' April 16: Chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty said: 'The evidence is weak, but the evidence of a small effect is there under certain circumstances.' April 23: Dr Jenny Harries said there could be 'a very, very small potential beneficial effect in some enclosed environments'. April 24: Health Secretary Matt Hancock said: 'On masks, as more information comes through, the science is constantly evolving and we always bear in mind that science and then take the decision. As of today, the government position is unchanged.' April 30: Boris Johnson said: 'I do think that face coverings will be useful, both for epidemiological reasons, but also for giving people confidence that they can go back to work.' June 4: Transport Secretary Grant Shapps announced that face coverings will be mandatory on public transport from June 15 'With more people using transport the evidence suggests wearing face coverings offers some - albeit limited - protection against the spread for the virus.' Advertisement

Almost 4,000 of those were prevented from boarding buses, a further 1,000 were ejected and 244 were slapped with the 100 fixed penalty notice - which can be reduced to 50 if paid within 14 days.

The figures come after Boris Johnson's government introduced a new law making face coverings mandatory on all forms of public transport across from June 15.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps announced the policy, aimed at reducing the spread of coronavirus on packed buses, tubes and trains, ten days before it came into force.

At the times, unions welcomed the move, saying it would give workers and travellers more confidence amid desperate efforts to get the economy back on its feet.

However the British Transport Police Federation, which represents rank-and-file officers on the transport network, said it was 'difficult to police'.

BTP meanwhile claim compliance is as high as 97 per cent.

A spokesperson for BTP told the Telegraph: 'The overwhelming majority of people have listened, complied and continued to play an important role in protecting other passengers and rail staff.''

Meanwhile, commenting on the London figures, a spokesperson for the Mayor of London told the Telegraph: 'Londoners have shown that they want to do the right thing and the vast majority of people using public transport are wearing a face covering to keep themselves and others safe.'

'To an extent, we're reliant on people taking steps to protect themselves and others.'

Before the police was introduced, experts were split on whether face coverings could have a major impact, but the government's Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) committee concluded in June that they can be useful to stop people spreading the disease.

More than 40 transport workers in London had died from coronavirus when the policy was announced in June.

The figures come after Boris Johnson's (pictured wearing a face mask while speaking to a BTP officer) government introduced a new law making face coverings mandatory on all forms of public transport across from June 15

Passengers could be fined 100 for not wearing a face covering on public transport in England. Pictured: A commuter is seen not wearing a face mask while travelling on the tube on July 17

Speaking at the time, Mick Whelan, general secretary of Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen (Aslef), said: 'This is a sensible step by the Secretary of State for Transport.

'We have been working closely with the government to ensure that agreed increases in services on Britain's train, and Tube, network is done in a safe and controlled manner - to help spread the loading, and maintain social distancing - for the safety of passengers and staff.

'The instruction to wear face coverings to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus will ease the concerns of people travelling, and working, on the transport network.'
Co-working player Smartworks has taken a total of over 6 lakh sq ft of office space on lease in Mumbai, Pune and Hyderabad to set up new centres as part of its plan to expand business despite the COVID-19 pandemic.

Founded in April 2016, Smartworks Coworking Spaces Pvt Ltd, currently has 31 co-working centres, comprising about 60,000 seats and 40 lakh sq ft area, across nine cities.

According to sources, Smartworks has taken on lease over 2 lakh sq ft area each in Mumbai, Pune and Hyderabad since March this year to set up three new large co-working centres, targeting big corporates.

The centre at Times Square building in Mumbai is likely to start from next month with 3,000 desks. The co-working facilities at Pune and Hyderabad are slated to be launched within this fiscal year.

A Smartworks spokesperson declined to comment on the leasing transactions.

In October last year, Smartworks had announced raising of USD 25 million (about Rs 175 crore) from Singapore's Keppel Land Ltd to fund its expansion plan and touch 1 lakh seating capacity.

The company's founder Neetish Sarda had said that it was the first round of external funding.

Its co-founder Harsh Binani had said that the company was profitable at an entity level.

Smartworks has co-working centres in Delhi, Noida, Gurugram, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Chennai and Pune.

It mostly focuses on large corporates and its clients on an average take 250-300 seats.

Smartworks charges on an average Rs 10,000 per seats, with per-seat fee ranging from Rs 6,000 to Rs 30,000, depending on the location.

Gross and net leasing of office space across major cities in India hit an all-time high during 2019 calendar year at around 60 million sq ft and 47 million sq ft, respectively.

Co-working segment contributed around 15 percent of the overall absorption of office space last year.

The co-working segment in India had been growing at a rapid pace since last few years, before it was hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to property consultants, office leasing is likely to drop by 30-50 percent this calendar year, as corporates have deferred their expansion plans due to the pandemic. New supply will also be adversely impacted.

However, experts are of the view that the demand for flexible workspace could rise post COVID as corporates would look to avoid capital expenditure on setting up their own offices.

There are around 400 co-working players in the country at present and consolidation is on cards.
New Delhi:

The government on Thursday announced that old Rs 500 bank notes will no longer be accepted at railways, buses and metros after December 10. With effect from December 3, 2016, old Rs. 500 notes were banned for purchase of petrol, diesel and gas at the stations operating under authorisation of public sector oil marketing companies and for buying airline tickets at airport counters.

Previous guidelines had it that old notes were to be accepted for the other utility bill payments as well as at railway ticketing counters and counters of government or public sector undertaking buses for purchase of tickets till December 15.

After the demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 bank notes, the government had allowed their use for utility bill payments for 72 hours.

This deadline was further extended twice, as the last one was to expire on November 24, old 500 rupee notes could again be used for payment of utility bills like electricity and water, school fees, pre-paid mobile top-up, fuel purchase and airline ticket booking.

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Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut on Sunday claimed "pressure tactics" were being used in the case of actor Sushant Singh Rajput's death and the issue was being politicised as part of a conspiracy against Maharashtra.

It is wrong to see the unfortunate suicide of the actor from a political angle, Raut said in his weekly column 'Rokhthok' in the party mouthpiece 'Saamana'.

Rajput, 34, was found hanging at his apartment in suburban Bandra on June 14.

The Central Bureau of Investigation recently took over the probe in the case, based on a Patna police FIR related to alleged criminal conspiracy and abetment to suicide against Rajput's girlfriend and actor Rhea Chakraborty.

"If one wants to indulge in politicisation and pressure tactics, anything can happen in our country. It looks like the script of Sushant's case was already written. Whatever has happened behind the curtains is a conspiracy against Maharashtra," Raut said.

When it is decided to politicise an incident, one cannot say to what extent it can be done and "this is what is happening in the unfortunate suicide of Rajput", he said.

Raut said the Bihar government alleged involvement of top political, film and business personalities and it claimed Mumbai Police will not investigate the case properly.

"That government demands CBI probe which is accepted in 24 hours. Attorney General Tushar Mehta tells the Supreme Court that the Centre has decided to hand over the probe to the CBI," Raut said, claiming this was a "direct attack on a state's autonomy".

Describing Mumbai Police as the "best investigating agency in the world" and a professional force, he said, "It investigated the Sheena Bora murder case where some top names were involved and sent all to jail. The Mumbai Police probed the 26/11 terror attack which resulted in the hanging of the accused Ajmal Kasab," the Rajya Sabha member said.

The Centre's "interference" in Rajput's case was an insult of the Mumbai Police, he claimed, adding the CBI may be a central agency, but it "wasn't independent and impartial".

"Even Narendra Modi and Amit Shah had earlier questioned the Enforcement Directorate and the CBI. They had said the Godhra riots case shouldn't be handed over to the CBI because it was a political weapon in the hands of those ruling at the Centre. If the same view is aired now, what's wrong in that," the executive editor of 'Saamana' said.

"Prima facie, Sushant Singh Rajput's case is that of suicide. There is no basis for repeated allegations that he had been murdered," he said.

Raut alleged that since the BJP cannot topple the Uddhav Thackeray government (comprising the Shiv Sena, Nationalist Congress Party and Congress) in Maharashtra, it has decided to "malign it and with the help of news channels.

"(NCP chief) Sharad Pawar called me when he saw a news channel anchor referring to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray in first person. 'The chief minister is not an individual but an institute. What is the government doing'?" he said quoting Pawar.

Raut claimed that Bihar Director General of Police Gupteshwar Pandey giving interview to a channel against Maharashtra was "violation of police discipline".

Pandey wanted to contest the assembly elections from Buxar (in Bihar) in 2009, but his plan was aborted after the BJP candidate from there threatened to contest against as an independent, Raut further claimed.

"It is laughable that Pandey should question the professionalism of Mumbai Police. It is being said Pandey can now fight the Bihar polls from Shahpur seat," he said.

Raut said the Mumbai Police should have registered a 'zero FIR' and continued with the probe in Rajput's case.

But Rajput's family had no complaints and left Mumbai for Patna (some days after his death). "The BJP politicised the incident and created a sensation" by linking a young minister in the Maharashtra cabinet to the case. Two English news channels started challenging the chief minister and confused the police, he said.

The Mumbai Police should have started media briefing, considering the case is becoming high profile, and should have declared that if any minister or politician name crops up, his statement will be recorded, Raut opined.

He said a party at the house of actor Dino Morea before Rajput's death was being linked to the case. "Morea and others are friends of (state cabinet minister) Aaditya Thackeray and if that friendship is the cause of targetting the latter, it is wrong," he added.

Raut claimed Rajput did not share good relations with his father.

"His father's second marriage was not acceptable to him (Rajput). Let the facts come out how many times Rajput visited his family in Patna. Why did (Rajput's former girlfriend) Ankita Lokhande split from Rajput and this should be part of the probe. It is wrong to see the unfortunate suicide from a political angle," he said.

Raut lamented that Rajput's former manager Disha Salian, who allegedly committed suicide a week before the actor's death, was also being maligned.

Rajput's father K K Singh on July 25 lodged a complaint with the Bihar police against Chakraborty, her parents, brother, her former manager Shruti Modi and one Samuel Miranda, whom Chakraborty had employed as the manager in Rajput's house.

Based on the complaint, the Bihar police registered an FIR against the accused persons and booked them under various sections of the Indian Penal Code including abetment to suicide, criminal conspiracy, cheating and wrongful confinement.
Perched on top of her father's shoulders as she waves her country's flag, little Alexandra Naggear beams happily.

But yesterday the three-year-old was revealed as the latest victim of the horrific blast that shattered Beirut, dying from her injuries in hospital three days later.

When a fire started at the city's port last Tuesday, Alexandra rushed to the window of her high-rise flat to watch the blaze with her parents.

Minutes later the first explosion hit  and her mother Tracy, 33, picked her up, running away from the glass screaming, trying to shield her.

But when the second major blast struck a few seconds later, the impact of the explosion ripped Alexandra out of her mother's arms.

Proud: Alexandra Naggear sitting on her father Paul's shoulders. The three-year-old was revealed as the latest victim of the horrific blast that shattered Beirut, dying from her injuries in hospital three days later

At least 158 died when 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate in a warehouse went up in flames

When the second major blast struck, the impact of the explosion ripped Alexandra out of her mother's arms

It took several minutes for her parents to dig her out from under the rubble, her grandfather Michel Awwad, 60, told the Daily Mail last night.

'They were on the balcony just watching like most people,' he said. 'My daughter said she saw a huge grey object falling from the sky and she started screaming for them to run inside.

'She was trying to cover Alexandra, she was holding her daughter and trying to cover her.

'But the pressure of the explosion was so intense and she couldn't keep hold of her and they flew inside the house.'

Mr Awwad said he thought the child hit her head on a piano or a door. Alexandra's parents rushed her to the nearest hospital on a motorbike but could not get in as the building had been hit, and had to find another.

Mr Awwad said: 'I got through to Tracy, she was screaming on the phone, telling me I think we have lost Alexandra. She was a very smart girl, it's so sad it ended like this.'

Alexandra is pictured with her grandfather, Michel. He said it took several minutes for her parents to dig her out from under the rubble

Three-year-old Alexandra was killed when she was watching the first explosion on the balcony with her mother

Alexandra's father Paul, 36, said she was 'not a martyr, she is a victim'. In a TV interview, Mr Naggear, who owns a digital marketing and consultancy business, told the government: 'You killed us inside our homes. Renounce your parties and unite to overthrow the system'

Lebanese anti-government protesters clash with security forces in the area close to the parliament in Beirut, Lebanon, 09 August

Demonstrators take part in a protest following Tuesday's blast, in Beirut, Lebanon August 9

His daughter suffered broken ribs and needed more than a dozen stitches to her face.

At least 158 died when 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate in a warehouse went up in flames.

The revelation comes as:

World leaders pledged more than 250 million euros to rebuild Beirut after the port blast

The United Nations said some $117 million will be needed for an emergency response over the next three months

At least 21 people are still missing following the blast, and the Lebanese army said hopes of finding survivors are dwindling

Furious protesters have threatened further violence after a night of street clashes in Lebanon which saw demonstrators storm several ministries

Protesters's anger has re-ignited calls from demonstrations last year calling for the wholesale removal of Lebanon's leadership

Alexandra's father Paul, 36, said she was 'not a martyr, she is a victim'. In a TV interview, Mr Naggear, who owns a digital marketing and consultancy business, told the government: 'You killed us inside our homes. Renounce your parties and unite to overthrow the system.'

The Lebanese government has faced widescale protests since last year, fuelled by an economic crisis and a collapsing currency.

A picture shows the scene of the explosion in Beirut on August 4, 2020

Thousands of protesters took to the streets at the weekend, storming ministries. Police fired tear gas and the sound of gunfire could be heard from Martyrs' Square in the city centre. At least 728 people were injured in the clashes.

Lebanese PM Hassan Diab said that he would ask for early elections as a way out of the 'structural crisis'. Information minister Manal Abdel Samad resigned yesterday.

Alexandra's grandfather said he had lived through the civil war but had now given up hope.

He said: 'I have seen tragedies in Lebanon since 1975. Every time we say it will get better. I don't believe this anymore.

'This country is run by war criminals. This time people are fed up, some want to stay and fight but the majority who have the chance to leave will leave.'

An investigation continues as to the cause of the fire. The explosive material had been seized from a ship six years ago but was never moved. Experts claimed the blast had the power of a magnitude 3.3 earthquake and the crater left is 140ft deep.

On Sunday world leaders pledged more than 250 million euros to rebuild Beirut after the port blast in the Lebanese capital.

Fifteen government leaders, including Donald Trump took part in a conference call hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron and the UN.

The donor nations also urged Lebanon to 'fully commit themselves to timely measures and reforms' in order to unlock longer-term support for the country's economic and financial recovery.

And they said assistance for 'an impartial, credible and independent inquiry' into Tuesday's explosion 'is immediately needed and available, upon request of Lebanon.'

Demonstrators hold candles and flashlights honouring the victims of the deadly explosion at Beirut port which devastated large parts of the capital, in Beirut, Lebanon, August 9

Emmanuel Macron was the first world leader to visit the former French colony after Tuesday's devastating explosion of a huge stockpile of ammonium nitrate which killed more than 150 people, wounded some 6,000 and left an estimated 300,000 homeless

A joint statement issued after the meeting in which representatives of nearly 30 countries as well as the EU and Arab League participated, did not mention a global amount.

But Macron's office said the total figure of 'emergency aid pledged or that can be mobilised quickly' amounts to 252.7 million euros ($298 millon), including 30 million euros from France.

Boris Johnson tells Lebanese president the UK will 'stand by the country in its hour of need' UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has told Lebanon's president Michel Aoun the UK will 'stand by the country in its hour of need' after the devastating explosion in Beirut's port, Downing Street said. A No 10 spokesman said: 'The Prime Minister spoke to President Aoun of Lebanon this morning to convey the UK's deepest sympathies to the Lebanese people following Tuesday's devastating explosion. He also passed on the sincere condolences of Her Majesty the Queen. 'The Prime Minister reiterated the UK's long-standing friendship with Lebanon and commitment to stand by the country in its hour of need. 'The two leaders discussed the urgent humanitarian, medical and reconstruction needs following the blast at Beirut Port and President Aoun thanked the UK for the support provided to date, including the release of 5million in emergency funding and deployment of HMS Enterprise. 'With Lebanon facing threats from a financial crisis, coronavirus and the effects of this tragic blast, they agreed to work with international partners to ensure the country's long-term recovery and rehabilitation.' Advertisement

Macron was the first world leader to visit the former French colony after Tuesday's devastating explosion of a huge stockpile of ammonium nitrate which killed more than 150 people, wounded some 6,000 and left an estimated 300,000 homeless.

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas told ZDF broadcaster that 'more than 200 million euros of emergency aid have been collected,' including 20 million euros from Germany.

The joint statement from the world leaders and their representatives underscored concerns about Lebanese government corruption.

'The participants agreed that their assistance should be timely, sufficient and consistent with the needs of the Lebanese people, well-coordinated under the leadership of the United Nations, and directly delivered to the Lebanese population, with utmost efficiency and transparency,' it said.

USAID acting administrator John Barsa also said in a conference call Sunday that American help, some $15 million announced so far, 'is absolutely not going to the government.'

The UN said some $117 million will be needed for an emergency response over the next three months, for health services, emergency shelter, food distribution and programmes to prevent further spread of COVID-19, among other interventions.

Lebanese President Michel Aoun, who was also on Sunday's group call, thanked Macron for the initiative.

'Much is needed to rebuild what has been destroyed and to restore Beirut's lustre,' the Lebanese presidency quoted him on Twitter as saying.

'The needs are many and we need to address them quickly, especially before the arrival of winter, which will accentuate the suffering of homeless citizens.'

At least 21 people are still missing from the huge blast, and the Lebanese army said Sunday hopes of finding survivors are dwindling.

Lebanese people enraged by official negligence blamed for the explosion have taken to the streets in anti-government protests that have resulted in clashes with the army.

Macron said it was now up to the authorities of Lebanon 'to act so that the country does not sink, and to respond to the aspirations that the Lebanese people are expressing right now, legitimately, in the streets of Beirut.'

Fifteen government leaders, including Donald Trump took part in a conference call hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron and the UN on Sunday

'We must all work together to ensure that neither violence nor chaos prevails,' he added. 'It is the future of Lebanon that is at stake.'

Trump also called for calm, according to the White House, which said he agreed with other leaders on the group call to 'work closely together in international response efforts.'

'President Trump also urged the government of Lebanon to conduct a full and transparent investigation, in which the United States stands ready to assist,' it said.

'The President called for calm in Lebanon and acknowledged the legitimate calls of peaceful protestors for transparency, reform, and accountability.'

Apart from heads of state and government ministers, Sunday's conference was attended by UN aid coordinator Mark Lowcock, representatives of the World Bank, the Red Cross, the IMF, the European Investment Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

Israel, with whom Lebanon has no diplomatic relations, did not participate, though Macron said it had expressed a wish to contribute, nor did Iran which wields huge influence in Lebanon through the Shiite group Hezbollah.

Warehouses full of goods including cars in the immediate area surround the blast were completely destroyed by the impact of the explosion the size of a small nuclear bomb

Damaged cars are seen at the site of Tuesday's blast, at Beirut's port area, Lebanon, August 7

Visiting explosion-ravaged Beirut this week, France's leader (pictured hugging a resident) comforted distraught crowds, promised to rebuild the city and claimed that the blast pierced France's own heart

Key Arab states in the Gulf, including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Iraq and the UAE were represented, as were Britain, China, Jordan and Egypt.

Macron said Turkey, with which France's diplomatic ties have been icy over the Libyan conflict, and Russia had indicated their support for the initiative, though they did not take part in the conference.

According to the UN, at least 15 medical facilities, including three major hospitals, sustained structural damage in the blast, and extensive damage to more than 120 schools may interrupt learning for some 55,000 children.

Thousands of people are in need of food and the blast interrupted basic water and sanitation to many neighbourhoods.

Pope Francis called Sunday appealed for 'generous help' from the international community.

Anti-government protesters hurl stones at Lebanese riot police during a protest against the Lebanese politicians who have ruled the country for decades, outside of the Lebanese Parliament in downtown Beirut on Friday evening

People were out hurling stones at riot police outside Lebanese parliament ahead of a major protest planned in downtown Martyrs' Square on Saturday

France has been sending tonnes of medical and food aid, dozens of search and rescue personnel and forensic experts to aid the investigation, as well as reconstruction materials.

On top of cash aid pledged so far, Egypt and Qatar have promised field hospitals, Brazil said it would send 4,000 tonnes of rice, and Spain 10 tonnes of wheat.

'In these horrendous times, Lebanon is not alone,' concluded the conference statement.

'Prepare the gallows because our anger doesn't end in one day': Furious Lebanese protesters threaten more violence

By Sam Baker for MailOnline

Furious protesters in Lebanon have threatened further violence after a night of street clashes in which they stormed several ministries.

The city of Beirut was shaken by a deadly explosion on August 4 and though the exact circumstances that led to the blast are as yet unknown.

Despite this, many in Lebanon blame the corruption and incompetence of their government for allowing the explosion which has so far killed 158.

Furious protesters in Lebanon have threatened further violence after a night of street clashes in which they stormed several ministries following the devastating explosion in Beirut on August 4

French experts working at the scene of the explosion say that the crater left by the explosion measures as large as 43-metre (141 foot) deep

A staggering 6,000 people were left injured by the blast which created a mushroom cloud that reminded many of an atomic bomb.

Mobile phone footage has also emerged on social media showing the moment of the explosion in high definition slow motion.

Agoston Nemeth, 42, recorded the footage on the terrace of his home, only 850ft from the explosion site.

Loud rumbling can be heard in the video as black smoke engulfs the sky, before a huge mushroom cloud and visible blast wave blows out the windows, rushing towards the camera and knocking it over.

Describing his experience of the explosion, Nemeth said: 'It was something I could not get away from. I experienced this white-hot glass exploding.

One message circulated on social media by angry protesters said: 'Prepare the gallows because our anger doesn't end in one day'

Rescue teams search for missing people today near the site of the explosion that hit the seaport of Beirut, Lebanon

'I don't know if I jumped or the shock waves pushed me, and I found myself on the floor. I don't know how much time passed.

'I noticed shattering glass and people screaming. I looked around and saw this huge orange cloud above me

A security official who was citing French experts working at the site of the disaster said that a a 43-metre (141 foot) deep crater had been left at Beirut's port.

One message circulated on social media by angry protesters said: 'Prepare the gallows because our anger doesn't end in one day.'

The protesters's anger has re-ignited calls from demonstrations last year calling for the wholesale removal of Lebanon's leadership.

The army was forced to deploy tear gas and rubber bullets to try and clear the crowds of protesters from Martyrs' Square after street violence left 65 people injured, according to the Red Cross.

Demonstrators clash with police during a protest against the political elites and the government last night

Tear gas and rubber bullets were used by the Lebanese army to try and break up crowds of protesters last night

Demonstrates even occupied the foreign ministry's building temporarily before being forced out by the army after three hours. Pictured: protesters and riot police clash in Beirut yesterday

Information minister Manal Abdel Samad (pictured) has left office and apologised to the Lebanese people for having failed them

Demonstrates even occupied the foreign ministry's building temporarily before being forced out by the army after three hours.

The economy and energy ministries were also stormed this weekend by protesters brandishing nooses.

The head of Lebanon's Maronite church patriarch Beshara Rai joined the chorus of angry voices and said the blast could be 'described as a crime against humanity'.

And today has seen the first Lebanese minister resign from government in response to the public outcry.

Information minister Manal Abdel Samad left office and apologised to the Lebanese people for having failed them.

People ride past damaged cars earlier today in a neighbourhood near the scene of the explosion

A car drives past the site of the explosion earlier today. The explosion left as many as 6,000 people injured

Local media suggest that more ministers will also resign but the government will wait to see how many personnel depart before potentially announcing its own resignation.

Lebanon Prime Minister Hassan Diab said Saturday he would propose early elections to break the impasse that is plunging Lebanon ever deeper into political and economic crisis.

In a televised address he said: 'We can't exit the country's structural crisis without holding early parliamentary elections.'

Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron has overseen a UN'back conference to raise aid for Lebanon and said that the world mys respond 'quickly and effectively' to the disaster.
With the potential ban on Chinese owned social media app TikTok fast approaching in the US, it is believed that Microsoft thinks it has a good chance of swooping in and acquiring TikTok from Chinese tech company ByteDance. US President Donald Trump had, last week, issued orders banning TikTok and instant messaging app WeChat from operating in 45 days in the country, if they are not sold by Chinese parent companies. Now Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates has leaned in on this development and believes any potential deal to acquire TikTok is akin to a poisoned chalice. This comes after Microsoft confirmed it was going ahead with negotiations and is reported that Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella had personally spoken with President Trump on the matter.

Bill Gates, who had warned the world quite early about the possible impact of the Coronavirus pandemic and how ill-prepared we all were to deal with COVID, is taking an active role in the development of vaccines. Gates, who is also technology advisor at Microsoft, isnt at all happy about the TikTok development. In an interview with Wired, he is as confused as the rest of us about the possible contours of the deal, if it at all works out. Who knows whats going to happen with that deal. But yes, its a poison chalice. Being big in the social media business is no simple game, like the encryption issue, he says. He also minces no words when he says it is bizarre that Trump has killed off the competition in the social media space.

I agree that the principle this is proceeding on is singly strange. The cut thing, thats doubly strange. Anyway, Microsoft will have to deal with all of that, adds Gates.

One of the primary reasons why Microsoft believes TikTok is an investment worth doing is it will get a readymade product in the social media space. The closest Microsoft right now is to that space is with LinkedIn, a professional network. Yet, it is no match for the might of Facebook, the Facebook owned Instagram and even Twitter and Snapchat.

Yet, Microsofts consumer-focused forays havent always worked out well, considering its prowess in the enterprise space. Windows Phone, Groove Music, the Microsoft Band fitness accessory are some examples, of when things havent worked out. Cortana, the virtual assistant, seems to be going down that paththe app for Android and iOS will be shut down next year, along with Cortana access for Harman Kardon Invoke smart speakers and the first-generation Microsoft Surface headphones. Cortana instead is getting deeper integration within the Outlook email app and Teams video meeting app, which have great enterprise significance. At the same time, the part consumer plays, that have included the Surface computing device line-up and the revamped Microsoft 365 subscriptions, in the end, do plug into the enterprise space very nicely.

Microsoft is also in a safe spot as far as regulators are concerned. While Facebook, Google, Apple and Amazon are all very much under scrutiny by the US Congress, Microsoft hasnt been dragged into it just yet because of its business and enterprise focusand that gives the company the much needed-breathing space to pursue the TikTok deal.
By PTI

AMARAVATI: As he lowered a COVID-19 patient from the third floor of the converted coronavirus care centre on his shoulders and down a steel ladder in the rescue effort, the firemans eyes watered, overcome with emotion.

It was not a usual rescue operation that the fireman was engaged in, along with 39 of his colleagues, as they were handling persons inflicted with a deadly virus but the mission had to be accomplished at any cost.

"On the one hand, it gave me immense satisfaction that I was doing my duty by rescuing people caught in a fire accident. On the other, there was a lurking fear of contracting the deadly disease as I too have a family back home," the fireman said in an emotion-choked voice.

It was a moving scene as the AP Disaster Response and Fire Services personnel rescued 32 people from the blaze in a star hotel-turned-COVID care centre in Vijayawada at dawn on Sunday.

The firemen were at the scene of the mishap in just four minutes after they received the distress call at 5.09 am.

As many as 40 firemen descended on the star hotel which was a virtual death trap with no proper fire safety measures and began the rescue operation.

Five top-ranking officials of the department supervised the operation.

Minutes later, Vijayawada Commissioner of Police B Srinivasulu led his men into the hotel and joined hands with the fire personnel.

"The fire services personnel did a tremendous job. Not only did they carry trapped persons on their shoulders to safety, but they also retrieved the bodies of the deceased. It was an exemplary job, given the high-risk situation, Srinivasulu remarked. The operation was completed in just about three hours.

"By 8 am we completed everything, including shifting the bodies," Srinivasulu added.

Director General of AP Disaster Response and Fire Services Department Md Ahsan Raza, while commending his men on their valour, said they would be suitably rewarded.

"The hotel is a major fire hazard, with no proper exit points. It was a very difficult operation, but our men carried it out well," Raza told PTI.

As a precautionary measure against COVID-19, all the personnel involved in the operation were being isolated.

Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy, Home Minister M Sucharita and other ministers commended the fire personnel over this.
Coastal lockout: Police brought in to limit entry to Belgian beach towns

by Alan Hope

August 09,2020 | Source: The Brussels Times

The mayor of Blankenberge, Daphne Dumery (N-VA) has brought in local police to stop day trippers entering the town following yesterdays pitched battle on the beach between police and trouble-makers.



Last night Dumery said the town was closed to day-trippers, and called on the rail authority SNCB to stop delivering visitors by train to the resort.



Her call came after another coastal mayor, Leopold Lippens of Knokke-Heist, followed up a plea to day-trippers to stay away with a similar order to police to allow entry only to those with a valid excuse  residents, owners of second-homes and longer-term tourists.



Further down the coast, at the largest of the destinations for beach tourists at Ostend, mayor Bart Tommelein (Open VLD) called on the SNCB to cancel the planned extra trains laid on for visitors to the coast, in an attempt to curtain the number of people who would turn to Ostend once faced with the lockdown of Knokke and Blankenberge.



But the SNCB said it would maintain its schedule unless the federal government said otherwise, pointing out that it was up to local mayors to decide for themselves whether to close down their stations.



Tommelein responded by doing just that. The citys station was scheduled to close at 11.00.



By that time trains filled with day trippers had already arrived, only to be faced with the question of whether they would be able to travel home later today.



Later, after consultation with the coastal security cell and the governor of West Flanders, Tommelein overturned his own order. The Ostend station would not close as long as other stations along the coast remained open.



Trains from the interior arrive at the coast at De Panne, Ostend, Blankenberge, Zeebrugge and Knokke.



The SNCB posted a warning on Twitter: Access to coastal communities and beaches may be refused by the local authorities. Although trains run to the coast, we recommend that you do not travel to the coast.



At Blankenberge, police have been deployed at the station to check on arrivals. Only those with a previous engagement, such as a hotel or restaurant reservation or a ticket for SeaLife or one of the other attractions in the town, will be allowed to enter. The others will be turned away without leaving the station.



If you dont have to be in Blankenberge today, stay away, a spokesperson for the municipality said. The Flemish traffic centre VVC is now displaying signs above the E40 and other roads leading to the coast warning drivers of the situation in the main resort towns, and advising them to choose another destination.

 2019 The Brussels Times

Theme(s): Others.
Canberras Review of Academic Freedom Doesnt Go Far Enough to Address Foreign Influence: MP

Federal MP Bob Katter says the Australian governments plan to evaluate and offer suggestions on how universities respond to threats to academic freedom and free speech on campuses needs to go further and address the issue of foreign influence by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

In a media release on Aug. 7, Minister for Education Dan Tehan said that the Commonwealth government is committed to protecting free speech on campuses and will review how the university sector has progressed with implementing the changes outlined in the French Model Code, named after former High Court chief justice Robert French AC, which was designed to provide a framework for institutions to ensure that academic freedom and freedom of speech is protected.

People looking at notes posted on a makeshift Lennon Wall to support the protests in Hong Kong, at the University of Queensland in Brisbane on Aug. 9, 2019. (Patrick Hamilton/AFP via Getty Images)

Tehan said: The review will consider areas of strength or weakness in institutional responses to the code and offer suggestions where alignment could be improved.

The review will be conducted by lawyer and former Deakin University Vice-Chancellor Professor (Emeritus) Sally Walker AM.

The French Model Code was drafted by French as part of his independent review of the status of academic freedom and freedom of speech in Australias higher education sector.

But according to Katter, the founder of the socially-conservative Katter Australia Party, the governments planned review doesnt go far enough.

I think the government may be trying to hose us down a bit, by backing down from a full-blown parliamentary inquiry, he said on Aug. 7, according to a statement.

Katter said he will continue to pursue a full parliamentary inquiry into foreign influence at Australian universities, adding that he has the inter-party support of Liberal MP and fellow Queenslander George Christensen, among others.

George Christensen in Canberra, Australia on Feb. 14, 2018. (Michael Masters/Getty Images)

Katter told The Epoch Times he will also be pursuing a full inquiry into the actions of the University of Queensland (UQ) and their non-action surrounding case of student activist Drew Pavlou, who has been raising concerns over the universities dealings with the Chinese Communist Party.

Now, this is a bloke (Pavlou) in his own country, expressing an opinion in the public arena, and hes bashed up by a bunch a foreign thugs who undoubtedly are working for a communist, totalitarian dictatorship, he told The Epoch Times.

Thats not the worst part, he went on. One of the four most prestigious universities in the country, they then proceed not to punish the thugs who assaulted students on their campusthey took no action against this bunch of thugsthey took action against the Australian who was organising the demonstration.

Katter asserted that foreign communist dictatorships are influencing Australian universities and their leadership, writing in the media release that this is exemplified by UQs suspension of Pavlou.

In the twelve months following the outrageous attack on UQ student, Drew Pavlou, by pro-Chinese Communist Party thugs, nothing had happened, Katter said.

Pavlou is currently seeking a court order against Dr. Xu Jie who, while serving as Brisbanes Chinese consul-general and an adjunct professor at UQ, publicly described Pavlous protest as anti-China separatist activities leaving Pavlou fearing for his physical wellbeing after receiving hundreds of death threats.

University of Queensland student and human rights activist Drew Pavlou leads a rally at the university campus in Brisbane, Australia, on July 31, 2019. (Faye Yang/The Epoch Times)

In July 2019, Pavlou organised a protest to support Hongkongers who were marching against a proposed extradition law that threatened the freedoms enjoyed in the former British colony under the One Country, Two Systems agreement with the CCP.

The peaceful protest was interrupted by violent pro-Beijing figures and Pavlou was violently attacked. Pavlou has been a vocal critic of UQs business dealings and connections to the totalitarian CCP.

UQ has welcomed the review.

UQ Vice-Chancellor Professor Deborah Terry told The Courier Mail that academic freedom and freedom of speech are a core value for the institution.

We acknowledge recent commentary may have caused some to question UQs commitment to freedom of speech and we welcome the opportunity to demonstrate otherwise, Terry said.

A spokesperson for James Cook University, which is currently facing a high court challenge from marine physics professor Dr. Peter Ridd who was controversially sacked by the university, told The Courier Mail that they also support the governments review into academic freedom.

Correction: A previous version of this article incorrectly cited the source of a quote by Prof. Deborah Terry. The Epoch Times regrets the error.
Manchester United target Jadon Sancho is back on home soil as he was spotted on Saturday night at a party hosted by famous rap duo Krept and Konan in the UK.

The Borussia Dortmund forward is waiting to complete a mega 108million move to United in the coming weeks, in what would be a record deal for an English player.

And United fans on social media were excited overnight at seeing the 20-year-old enjoy a house party in the UK, particularly given Dortmund have a series of friendlies coming up ahead of the 2020-21 Bundesliga season.

Jadon Sancho was at a house party with rappers Krept and Konan in the UK on Saturday night

A video of Sancho at the party in the UK on Saturday has circulated on social media overnight

The Borussia Dortmund forward is Manchester United's key target but they want 108million

A few United fans posted a video of Sancho on Instagram at the party alongside the eyes emoji, saying 'Sancho is back in the UK'.

Dortmund finished their 2019-20 Bundesliga season on June 27, and Sancho has since been back in training in Germany alongside new arrival Jude Bellingham, who signed from Birmingham City.

The Bundesliga runners-up have their first pre-season friendly on Wednesday in Austria against SC Rheindorf Altach, but Sancho seems to have been given the weekend off given the social media videos which have gone viral of the England star dancing at the house party.

'It's common and fine for players to go home before a training camp if they're not risky,' Sascha Fligge, Dortmund's director of media and communication, said in a statement on Sunday.

'The same goes for Jadon [Sancho].

'From our point of view, the pictures that have been shown to us so far do not violate.'

United-supporting rappers Krept (left) and Konan (right) have previous mixing with footballers having posted a photo at a party with United midfielder Jesse Lingard back in 2018

View this post on Instagram Birthday Litness with the lads  A post shared by TALLY (@kreptplaydirty) on Feb 4, 2018 at 3:15pm PST

The forward has been back in training with Borussia Dortmund but his United move is close

London-based rapper Krept and Konan, real names Casyo Johnson and Karl Wilson, are Manchester United fans and have previous mixing with the club's first team stars.

It comes amid reports the 20-year-old has already joined a Manchester United WhatsApp group in recent days.

'Manchester United are comfortable at this moment in time that they're not in any competition for the signature of Jadon Sancho,' the Transfer Window Podcast have reported.

'No other club has expressed the same level of interest and they're also very confident the player wants to come to Old Trafford.

'He has been in constant touch with England international colleagues who currently play for Manchester United.

'It's even believed he's on a WhatsApp group with some of the Manchester United players as well.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side will be strengthened next season with the 20-year-old's arrival

'Therefore United are very comfortable with their position, they believe that Dortmund will come round to the structure that they've suggested.'

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side are believed to have been Sancho's preferred destination from some time, with the 20-year-old ready to link up with the likes of Paul Pogba, Brandon Williams and Marcus Rashford - who he already plays Call of Duty with 'regularly, according to Jesse Lingard.

United fans are excited about Sancho's arrival this summer, after the wonderkid's 17 goals and 17 assists in the Bundesliga for Dortmund this season.

The deal was believed to hinge on United securing Champions League football for 2020-21 and they did that on the final day, with victory at Leicester securing a third place finish.
Atacama Large Millimeter Array image of the protoplanetary disk around HL Tauri. The dark rings are gaps in the dust and gas-rich protoplanetary disk, likely due to the formation of planets. These gaps may be similar to the disk gap thought to be formed by the formation of Jupiter in our protoplanetary disk. Credit: ESO/ALMA

Using some cosmic detective work, a team of researchers has found evidence that tiny pieces of asteroids from the inner solar system may have crossed a gap to the outer solar system, a feat once thought to be unlikely.

About 1 million years after the start of the solar system, it is thought that while Jupiter's core formed, it created a gap in the protoplanetary disk (the disk of dense gas and dust surrounding the Sun). Called the "Jupiter Gap," this divide severely limited material from getting across it and is thought to have created two distinct reservoirs in the disk.

Against the odds, however, a team of researchers including Associate Research Professor Devin L. Schrader and Research Scientist Jemma Davidson of Arizona State University's Center for Meteorite Studies have found evidence in meteorites that tiny fragments of asteroids from the inner solar system crossed the Jupiter Gap into the outer solar system. The results of their study have been recently published in Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta.

"This research provides new information about the dynamics of the early solar system," lead author Schrader said. "Our research shows that these two reservoirs were not completely isolated from one another."

The research team, which also includes scientists from the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History, the University of Hawaii at Manoa, Washington University in St. Louis, and Harvard University, were inspired to conduct this study because of samples brought back from NASA's comet sample return mission, Stardust. These samples hinted that comets could contain material that migrated from the inner solar system to the outer reaches where comets formed and suggested that the migration of material may have been more widespread in the early solar system than previously thought.

"The Stardust mission was like peeking through the blinds at the earliest solar system," said co-author Timothy McCoy, chair and curator of meteorites at the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution. "We knew that meteorites in our collections could open the window so that we could see the whole view"

With that in mind, they set out to test this hypothesis using samples of meteorites, specifically chondrites, that were present in the early solar system. And thanks to the large collection of meteorites from the Center for Meteorite Studies, the Smithsonian Institution and NASA, they had access to samples of chondrites that were believed to have formed in the inner solar system as well as those believed to have been formed in the outer solar system.

Using electron probe microanalyzers (to obtain high resolution images of the samples and major and minor element data of individual minerals) and a secondary ion mass spectrometer (used to analyze the isotopic composition of samples), the team was able to provide direct evidence for a complex mixing of materials between the inner and outer solar system.

"By looking at the kinds of samples we have in the Center for Meteorite Studies collection, we were able to investigate how material moved around in the protoplanetary disk four and a half billion years ago," co-author Davidson said.

In future studies, the team hopes to learn more from asteroid sample return missions like the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency's Hayabusa2 mission to the asteroid Ryugu, which is scheduled to return samples to Earth later this year and NASA's OSIRIS-REx to the asteroid Bennu, which is expected to return samples to Earth in 2023.

Reference:

"Outward Migration of Chondrule Fragments in the Early Solar System: O-Isotopic Evidence for Rocky Material Crossing the Jupiter Gap?" Devin L. Schrader et al., 2020 Aug. 1, Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gca.2020.05.014].



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Heavy rain, flash floods claim lives, damage houses across the country; more inclement weather expected this week.

Nearly 50 people have been killed across Pakistan after three days of heavy monsoon rain and flash floods.

According to Pakistans National Disaster Management Authority, 19 people died in rain-related incidents in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, 12 in southern Sindh province, eight in Punjab province and 10 in the countrys scenic northern Gilgit-Baltistan region in the past three days.

Rain also damaged about 100 homes and caused a breach in a flooded main canal, inundating villages in Sindh province.

Troops with boats rushed to a flood-affected district in Sindh on Sunday to evacuate people to safer places.

The military said on Sunday that it had rescued more than 100 people from Dadu district in Sindh.

Every year, many cities in Pakistan struggle to cope with the annual monsoon deluge, drawing criticism about poor planning.

The monsoon season runs from July through September, with swelling rivers damaging crops and infrastructure.

Heavy rains also lashed many districts in southwestern Balochistan province and damaged homes. According to local media reports, at least eight people were killed in the province because of the rain and flooding.

More than a dozen people are still missing in Balochistan, Younus Aziz Mengal, a spokesperson for the provincial disaster management authority, said.

He added that the flooding had damaged bridges and highways, cutting off Gawadar, a port city on the Arabian Sea.

Heavy rainfall began last week and continued on Sunday, flooding streets in the eastern city of Lahore. It especially disrupted normal life last week in Karachi, the capital of Sindh province, where sewage flooded most of the streets, prompting Prime Minister Imran Khan to order the army to assist authorities in handling the situation.

According to the Meteorological Department, heavy rains are expected to continue next week.
Looking into issues related to the states flaring and venting of natural gas, an internal Railroad Commission working group ran into issues.

Examiners in the hearings division closely scrutinized exception applications before them and required more detail and, in some cases, limits on the requested relief, Paul Dubois, assistant director for technical permitting, told the three Railroad Commissioners last week.

He said agency staff tried to apply actual data to the exception applications and, thus identified significant data issues. That led to the three elected commissioners agreeing at the open meeting, held virtually, to publish proposed revisions to the Rule 32 Data Sheet regarding flaring for public comment.

Among the proposed revisions to the Statewide Rule 32 application are:

--The period of time for which an operator may obtain an administrative exception to flare gas will be reduced in many cases. For certain exceptions, the duration may be reduced by 50 percent to 80 percent.

--Incentives will be provided for operators to use technologies to reduce the amount of gas flared.

--Operators must provide more specific information to justify the need to flare or vent gas in accordance with commission rules.

--Flares would be related to specific production properties to facilitate compliance with reported production.

--Tracking the new information and data points will be valuable in any future efforts to tailor policy that addresses flaring.

Public comments will be accepted through Sept. 4. To view the proposed revisions and submit a comment, visit the RRC website at https://rrc.texas.gov/about-us/resource-center/forms/proposed-form-changes/.

The modifications stem from recommendations presented to the commissioners in July by Commission Chairman Wayne Christians Blue Ribbon Task Force on Oil Economic Recovery, comprised of oil and gas industry associations.

Permian Basin Petroleum Association has continuously been working with our member companies on efforts that focus on our environmental stewardship and the work by regulators in Texas and New Mexico. Together these efforts include our participation in the Texas Methane and Flaring Coalition that is working with the Railroad Commission to develop better data for the agency and the public and that has led to the publication of that policy for comment at their Conference this week, Ben Shepperd, president, said in an email.

Commissioners approved Tuesday publishing draft changes to policies that govern flaring at oil and natural gas wells across the state. Flaring is often necessary because of capacity constraints on existing pipelines or for safety when equipment breaks down and natural gas cannot be shipped via pipeline, he said.

Under the agencys current rules, an oil well that does not have a pipeline connection can flare natural gas for 10 days after being placed into production. To keep flaring natural gas beyond that, operators must request a Railroad Commission permit. If approved, the permits are good for up to six months and can be renewed for good cause.

Commissioners are considering adopting a matrix of proposals from the industry-led Texas Methane and Flaring Coalition, of which PBPA is a member, that reduce the number of days operators can flare before being required to go to a hearing, Shepperd said. In their permit requests to the agency, operators will now be required to provide more detail about the well and why flaring is being requested. This will include information about the nearest pipeline as well as a detail of what processing or maintenance issue required the flaring.

Additionally, yesterday (Wednesday)PBPA led a discussion as part of our weekly webinar series with OTI Compression featuring TCEQ Commissioner Emily Lindley. She shared with us some of the agency's recent efforts in the Permian Basin including data gathered through the recent TCEQ flyovers.

Shepperd said flaring issues are not limited to Texas, saying his association is evaluating and preparing comments on two proposed New Mexico rules, one by the New Mexico Environment Department and the other by the Oil Conservation Division of the Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department.

are some of the toughest rules in the country. Fortunately, we have a good working relationship with the agencies and we are expressing our concerns in order to find the right balance between reducing emissions and reasonable, economical regulatory changes, Shepperd said.

We believe in developing a reasonable, durable, and consistent regulatory framework in Texas and New Mexico aimed at ensuring we can continue to safely and responsibly develop natural resources and promote environmental stewardship, he said.

Dubois told the commissioners that modifications to the datasheets is just part of the work the staff is doing to address flaring. Staff is also in the initial development stages of an integrated online system that makes information from different types of users, from inspectors in the field to technical specialists in Austin to be accessible in one place. Also in the works is changes to production reporting to help identify flaring events in the state.

If adopted, it will reduce the length of flaring and incentive operators to voluntarily deploy technology to reduce flaring, Dubois said of the changes.

Dubois also reported a recent positive trend that has been occurring with the rate of flaring. While the amount of gas produced in Texas declined by 13 percent from 842 billion cubic feet in June 2019 to 735 Bcf in May, the portion of produced gas that was flared dropped even more sharply -- by 79 percent -- during that same time period. While he said the reduction in flaring is tied to more than a decrease in production, the data does not show why the rate fell. He said it could also be tied to additional takeaway capacity erasing the bottlenecks that have been listed as a reason for flaring as well as the decline in drilling activity. Too, Dubois said, operators may be improving their flaring performance.

Christian said that in May, 99.5 percent of the gas produced in Texas was sold and put to use generating electricity or to make hundreds of consumer products, rather than being vented or flared.
Tres Davis remembers when he first learned about the history behind a monument that sits near Richmond City Hall.

Davis was taken aback to learn about the statue, which honors three members of a white supremacist group called the Jaybirds that feuded with the Woodpeckers, a group that worked to get Blacks elected to political offices in Fort Bend County in the years after the Civil War.

The notation at the base of the Morton Street monument reads, OUR HEROES.

In my view, the monument is a direct slap and insult to African Americans of Richmond and Fort Bend, said Davis, 53, a Black resident of the diverse suburban county.

And while petitions have circulated calling for the monument to be removed, its fate is in limbo amid questions over whether the county government or the city of Richmond owns the statue.

Davis even attempted to assert ownership over the seemingly unclaimed monument.

If its abandoned, nobody owns it. Why cant I own it? said Davis.

Now, the city of Richmond is pushing back, writing in a letter in late July that it has constructive possession over the monument and forbidding Davis or anyone associated with him from moving it.

Jaybird-Woodpecker War, 1888-1889 Jaybirds: A group including wealthy white residents that sought to wrest control of the Fort Bend County government from the Woodpeckers, a biracial coalition that included many Blacks elected during Reconstruction. Woodpeckers: With support from freed slaves, the group successfully captured top offices in the county during the years after the Civil War. The conflict: Acrimony arising from the 1888 election and the killings of leaders on both sides culminated in the so-called Battle of Richmond in front of the courthouse on Aug. 16, 1889. Among those killed was Sheriff Tom Garvey, a Woodpecker who had opposed the Jaybirds' efforts to seize power by force. Aftermath: Martial law was imposed by the Houston Light Guards, a national guard company formed by Confederate veterans, and Gov. Lawrence S. Ross arrived in Richmond to mediate. Woodpeckers who held office resigned or were removed as part of a county government reorganization. Candidates favorable to the Jaybirds were selected, putting white residents back in control. Jaybird monument: A monument honoring three Jaybirds killed during the conflict went up in March 1896, honoring the request of H.H. Frost, a Jaybird who'd requested it on his deathbed after the August 1889 battle. Supreme Court case: The Jaybird Democratic Association maintained political control of the county through whites-only pre-primary elections until the practice was challenged in court by Arizona Fleming, Willie Melton, John Terry and other Black residents in Fort Bend County. The U.S. Supreme Court found the system unconstitutional. The Jaybirds suspended political activity in 1959. See More Collapse

Asserting ownership

Davis remains determined to see the monument removed.

Davis, who has lived in Richmond for 15 years, turned to Google to figure out if he could assert ownership of the abandoned property.

After reading Texas property law, Davis decided to put a sign on the monument, stating to the public that he planned to take ownership of it. He also sent notices on July 17 to the city attorney, city manager, county attorney, Fort Bend Precinct 1 Commissioner Vincent Morales and Fort Bend County Historical Commission.

In the July 31 letter, though, the city attorney notes the monument is located on property owned by the city since 1940.

Richmond City Manager Terri Vela told the Chronicle that the ownership of the monument has switched between the city and county through the years.

The property was the site of the county courthouse in the late 1800s. In the deed from the County, an easement was retained relating to the monument. Based on the terms of the deed and easement, the County retained its ownership and control of the monument, wrote Vela.

However, Vela said, the city and county in 2013 traded property to allow Fort Bend to create a pedestrian plaza around the Travis Building and the city to acquire land for a new fire station on Houston Street. The county, he added, released the easement, but did not expressly convey the monument.

Kellen Zale, associate professor at the University of Houston Law Center, said Richmond likely has ownership of the monument based on how property was transferred.

Zale explained that normally when an entity releases an easement as Fort Bend County did, whatever object the easement was over reverts into the possession of the original landowner. In this case, the original landowner was the city of Richmond.

Based on this, Zale said, a third party such as Davis cannot come in and try to assert ownership because the property isnt technically abandoned.

At this point, if members of the public want the city to take action to do what other cities have done, which is move things that they own into museums instead of public places, then its a matter of civic activism, Zale said.

Testament to racism

Davis, who is a teacher in Alvin ISD, is an active member in the Richmond community. Hes run for city commissioner twice and for mayor.

More than 130 years after the Jaybird-Woodpecker War, Davis said traces of the countys racist past linger. He noted how African Americans still dont have political power in Richmond.

That statue stands there as a testament that what they wanted in Richmond has stood true, said Davis.

Davis also pointed to the hateful messages that have been sent to Fort Bend County Judge KP George, an Indian American, as an example. George spoke out on social media in July about receiving racist messages during the COVID-19 pandemic.

If you look at what is happening to KP George right now, it pretty much tells you that monument symbolizes what is still in a lot of peoples minds in this county, Davis said.

The monument has been a topic of discussion for years, but the killing in police custody of former Houston resident George Floyd in May has led to renewed scrutiny  and in many cases the removal  of monuments that celebrate Confederate and white supremacist causes.

In Fort Bend, acrimony arising from the 1888 election and the killings of members on both sides of the Jaybird-Woodpecker dispute culminated in the so-called Battle of Richmond in front of the courthouse on Aug. 16, 1889. Sheriff Tom Garvey, a member of the Woodpeckers, was among several people killed during the conflict.

Martial law was imposed as the governor traveled to Richmond, Woodpeckers who held office resigned or were removed from county offices, and Jaybirds were selected for official posts, ending a period of biracial government. The Jaybirds put in place a system of whites-only pre-primaries that remained until it was challenged by Black residents and ruled unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1953.

Nicholas Cox, a member of the Fort Bend County Historical Commission and a history professor, said the history behind the Jaybird-Woodpecker War has been romanticized by some in the community as a shootout at the courthouse.

Its never really been properly addressed as a white terroristic action, said Cox, 41. I think some of the folks on the (historical) commission, some of those folks in Richmond just simply dont want to see it that way, but thats what it was, it was a very late anti-Reconstruction episode of white violence.

City weighing options

Davis is still waiting for the city to legally take full ownership of the monument, now covered in tarp, but until then he plans on pushing to get it removed. A survey is currently out seeking input from the community on what to do with the monument.

Davis would like to see it moved to one of three museums: the National Museum of African American History and Culture, the lynching museum in Alabama or the Bullock Texas State History Museum.

Vela said the city is weighing input from the community.

Our City thrives on being a place where hate and racial prejudices will not be tolerated, Vela said Tuesday. Saying that, we continue to work with our community partners and private citizens to find the best solution.

brooke.lewis@chron.com
On the anniversary of Quit India Movement, the Confederation of all India Traders (CAIT) on Sunday launched a campaign 'China Quit India' to boycott Chinese goods, while its members held protests across 600 places across the country.

The trader's body said there is an urgent need to check "China's growing footsteps in India and import of Chinese goods".

Adding a new dimension to its nationwide campaign "Bhartiya Saamaan-Hamara Abhimaan", said it has launched 'China Quit India' movement to boycott and "held a protest dharna at about 600 places in different states of the country."



Expressing concerns over Chinese investment in various Indian companies, start-ups and digital apps, said there is a need to take necessary action in this regard.

It said that Chinese investments in government projects and various sensitive construction works should be put under government scanner.

On the 78th anniversary of Quit India Movement, it said people across the country had come together under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi to protest against the British Raj.

While releasing the agenda of the 'China Quit India campaign', Secretary General PraveenKhandelwal "urged the central government to carry out an all-round siege of China and its activities in India".

"Several Chinese companies have made large investments in Indian startups in sizable numbers, all such startups should be asked to exclude Chinese investors and the government should announce a lucrative policy to encourage Indian people to invest in these startups," he said.

Khandelwal also said that at least for the next three years, the provision of government's permission for any kind of business and industrial investment by China in India should be implemented immediately.

He further said that the imports from China should be closely monitored andhigher customs or anti-dumping duty should be imposed onthe goods that are being dumped or are non-essential imports.

(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.)
Just when you thought 2020 couldnt get any worse ... it took away one of the kindest, most generous people to ever exist in the nightclub world and in the world in general, read the post, added to the Dave Medusa Facebook page on Friday. Dave Medusa has sadly passed away. He passed this week of natural causes and we are just announcing this tonight as we wanted the family to be notified first.
Lukashenko: Soviet-style autocrat on Europe's doorstep In power since 1994, Lukashenko has kept his landlocked homeland wedged between Russia and EU member Poland largely stuck in a Soviet time warp

Strongman Alexander Lukashenko, who has ruled over ex-Soviet Belarus for nearly three decades, is facing down the greatest challenge to his rule ahead of presidential elections on Sunday.

In the run-up to the vote in which Lukashenko will seek a sixth term, protests have erupted across the country straddling Russia and Europe, with 37-year-old stay-at-home-mother Svetlana Tikhanovskaya emerging as his toughest rival.

Critics have mocked Lukashenko, claiming his approval ratings have hit single digits and nicknamed the 65-year-old authoritarian leader "Sasha 3 percent."

One of Lukashenko's would-be rivals, Tikhanovskaya's husband Sergei, dubbed the famously mustachioed Lukashenko "the cockroach" and his supporters waved slippers at protests to symbolise stamping out his rule.

In response, Lukashenko, who is Europe's longest serving leader, jailed his main rivals including Tikhanovsky and told opponents not to call him names.

"Insulting people is not allowed in any country in the world," he said at a meeting with Belarusians in late June.

"Do you really believe that a sitting president can have a 3-percent rating?"

During an animated address to the nation this week, Lukashenko wiped sweat from his brow as he accused the opposition of planning mass riots in the capital Minsk and urged voters to renew his tenure to stave off an uprising.

"All kinds of arrows, poisoned and COVID-ridden, are targeted at Lukashenko in order to bring him down, humiliate him, stamp on him, and destroy him," he told the packed auditorium of officials, church leaders and military personnel.

- Blunt-speaking folksiness -

He has spent the lead-up to the election touring military bases and overseeing police drills to signal that he will not tolerate attempts to unseat him.

Yet the crackdown appears only to have energised the opposition.

Tikhanovsky's wife Svetlana -- who was allowed to register as a candidate -- has joined forces with the wife of another Lukashenko opponent and the female campaign chief of an ex-banker who was jailed and barred from running.

Story continues

The president has however insisted that Belarus is not ready for a female leader.

A female president "would collapse, poor thing," he said.

Amnesty International has accused Lukashenko's government of "misogyny" and targeting female activists with discriminatory tactics.

Lukashenko is known for his blunt-speaking folksiness and the former collective farm director is routinely pictured in agricultural settings like tractor factories or potato fields.

Despite tens of thousands of coronavirus infections, he has dismissed the pandemic as a hoax and refused to introduce a lockdown or postpone the election.

He has offered dubious tips on avoiding the virus, recommending driving tractors in the countryside, drinking vodka and taking steam baths.

He has also advised Belarusian men to "keep kissing" their partners but not to "run after another woman".

- Between Russia and West -

In power since 1994, Lukashenko has kept his landlocked homeland wedged between Russia and EU member Poland largely stuck in a Soviet time warp.

A quarter of a century after the collapse of the USSR the tightly controlled eastern European nation still has a security service called the KGB, adheres to a command economy and looks to former master Moscow as its main ally, creditor and energy provider.

But Lukashenko has not been afraid to cross swords with the Kremlin as he nervously eyed its intervention in neighbouring Ukraine, and has sought to mend fences with the West.

In February, Lukashenko welcomed to Minsk US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, during the first visit to Belarus by a US Secretary of State since 1994.

Despite recurring financial crises Lukashenko has stood firmly by Soviet-era economic policies.

He has also signed the country up to the Eurasian Economic Union, Russian President Vladimir Putin's pet project.

But while Belarus remains the most closely aligned former Soviet republic to Moscow, Lukashenko insists he is no Kremlin patsy, often switching from speaking Russian to Belarusian to show his independence.

When Putin seized Crimea from Ukraine and was accused of sparking a rebellion after the February 2014 ouster of Kiev's Moscow-backed leader, Lukashenko appeared wary of Russia's aggressiveness.

He has rejected the idea of outright unification with Russia and has accused Moscow of meddling in the current presidential campaign.

Less than two weeks before the polls Belarus arrested more than 30 Russian "militants", saying they were on a mission to destabilise the country.

bur-as/jbr/jj
Aware that undocumented people frequently face abuse because of the false belief  by themselves or by third parties  that they do not have the right to report abuse or the right to a legal defense, Barcelo Durazo reiterated that the consulate is a safe place where they can go in search of counseling.

The most important thing is that they know that no one should be a victim of abuse, and that if they are, they can approach the consulate, and it will gladly have the opportunity to guide them and even link them with authorities or civil society organizations, he said.

Consul in times of COVID-19

Every Thursday, for several months, the consulate has held a live information session through its Facebook page, connecting residents to health and other services to help during the coronavirus pandemic.

Continuing to take advantage of social networks during the pandemic is one of Barcelo Durazos objectives.
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Proposals on how to restrict non-essential travel from countries outside the UK and European Union are being prepared for the Irish Government, the Health Minister has said.

Stephen Donnelly said he is concerned about high rates of coronavirus in some places, and said options will be finalised as soon as possible.

The Health Minister said that the number of travel-related cases in Ireland remains small but added that the risk is increasing.

Many are asking about travel/tourists coming into Ireland from countries with high Covid rates. My Dept is preparing options for Gov on how to restrict non-essential travel from third countries (outside EU/UK) with high rates of Covid. Am concerned about high rates in some places  Stephen Donnelly (@DonnellyStephen) August 9, 2020

Writing on Twitter, Mr Donnelly said: Many are asking about travel/tourists coming into Ireland from countries with high Covid rates.

My Dept is preparing options for Gov on how to restrict non-essential travel from third countries (outside EU/UK) with high rates of Covid. Am concerned about high rates in some places

These options will be finalised as soon as possible. While travel related cases here remain small, some countries are seeing a rapid rise in cases so the risk is increasing.

Once proposals are finalised they will be presented to Gov for discussion.

The so-called green list of countries that could be travelled to and from without movement restrictions has already been shortened from the previous 15 to 10.

The countries removed from the list were Malta, Cyprus, Gibraltar, Monaco and San Marino.

Meanwhile, it was announced on Friday night that Kildare, along with counties Laois and Offaly, will face further lockdown restrictions for the next fortnight following a spate of cases.

OBriens Fine Foods, a meat processing plant at Timahoe in Co Kildare, halted production last week after dozens of workers tested positive for coronavirus and will remain closed for two weeks.

We wish to thank our team, the community of Timahoe, our customers and suppliers for their support and understanding. This sudden spike is difficult to comprehend for all of us O'Brien's Fine Foods

In a statement on Sunday morning, OBriens Fine Foods said it wished to reaffirm that in line with public health guidance, normal operations at its Timahoe plant will not resume for the 14-day incubation period.

It stopped production on Wednesday after a number of workers tested positive.

The statement said: In consultation with the HSE, our warehousing facility and minimal related operations will function at significantly reduced capacity levels to manage perishable goods.

In line with public health guidance, in addition to testing undertaken to date, a further programme of employee testing will be conducted on days seven and 14 (as necessary). Only those employees who test negative and meet public health guidelines in full will return to work. All staff will continue to be paid in full.

The #COVID19 data in Ireland over the past few days is concerning. But there are many things each of us can do to halt the spread of this disease and protect ourselves our families and our friends 1/3  Dr Ronan Glynn (@ronan_glynn) August 1, 2020

Some 87 workers had tested positive for the virus by Friday.

The company said: In all cases, the level of asymptomatic infectivity appears to be very high.

Those who have tested positive have been advised to isolate as per the official guidance. Full risk assessment and contract tracing procedures is continuing. All close contacts of those affected are being notified, advised to self-isolate and to contact their GP.

We wish to thank our team, the community of Timahoe, our customers and suppliers for their support and understanding. This sudden spike is difficult to comprehend for all of us.

Sixty eight new cases were reported by the Department of Health in Ireland on Sunday, bringing the total number of Irish infections to 26,712.

Of the 68 latest cases, 82% are under 45 years old.

Some 41 are confirmed to be associated with outbreaks or are close contacts of a confirmed case, while two cases have been identified as community transmission.

If you have any #COVID19 symptoms, you should behave as if you have the virus and self-isolate for 14 days. Contact your GP or GP out-of-hours by phone who will assess you and arrange a free test if necessary. Learn more about symptoms here: https://t.co/JNOM6HFftn

#StaySafe pic.twitter.com/A1hkUnzr6e  HSE Ireland (@HSELive) August 8, 2020

Nineteen of the cases are in Kildare, 17 in Dublin, 15 in Offaly, 12 in Laois and five in Donegal.

Acting chief medical officer Dr Ronan Glynn said: We continue to see cases linked to the outbreaks in counties where additional public health measures have been introduced. This was expected and we will continue to monitor closely.

Professor Philip Nolan, chairman of the Irish Epidemiological Modelling Advisory Group, described the 14-day incidence per 100,000 population in Kildare, Laois and Offaly as worryingly high.

He said: While the national incidence stands at 16.3 per 100,000, in Kildare it stands at 130.3, in Laois it is 69.7 and in Offaly it is 89.8.
Srinagar, Aug 9 : An encounter has started between terrorists and security forces in Jammu and Kashmir's Kulgam district on Sunday morning, officials said.

According to details, security forces had a specific input about the presence of terrorists at Shiganpura area of Kulgam.

As the joint party of police and army zeroed in on the spot where terrorists were hiding, they came under a heavy volume of fire that triggered the encounter.

"Encounter has started at Sighanpor area of Kulgam. Police and security forces are on the job," the police said.

"Joint Operation was launched in the wee hours of the morning today on Jammu and Kashmir police inputs. Cordon was laid and contact established. Firefight ensued. Joint Operation in progress," army said.
When researcher Monica Gandhi began digging deeper into outbreaks of the novel coronavirus, she was struck by the extraordinarily high number of infected people who had no symptoms.

A Boston homeless shelter had 147 infected residents, but 88% had no symptoms even though they shared their living space. A Tyson Foods poultry plant in Springdale, Ark., had 481 infections, and 95% were asymptomatic. Prisons in Arkansas, North Carolina, Ohio and Virginia counted 3,277 infected people, but 96% were asymptomatic.

COVID-19 UPDATES: Texas sees fourth-highest day for new deaths

During its seven-month global rampage, the coronavirus has claimed more than 700,000 lives. But Gandhi began to think the bigger mystery might be why it has left so many more practically unscathed.

What was it about these asymptomatic people, who lived or worked so closely to others who fell severely ill, she wondered, that protected them? Did the "dose" of their viral exposure make a difference? Was it genetics? Or might some people already have partial resistance to the virus, contrary to our initial understanding?

Efforts to understand the diversity in the illness are finally beginning to yield results, raising hope that the knowledge will help accelerate development of vaccines and therapies - or possibly even create new pathways toward herd immunity in which enough of the population develops a mild version of the virus that they block further spread and the pandemic ends

On HoustonChronicle.com: Texas said nursing homes can allow limited visits. Then came the questions.

"A high rate of asymptomatic infection is a good thing," said Gandhi, an infectious-disease specialist at the University of California at San Francisco. "It's a good thing for the individual and a good thing for society."

The coronavirus has left numerous clues - the uneven transmission in different parts of the world, the mostly mild impact on children. Perhaps most tantalizing is the unusually large proportion of infected people with mild symptoms or none at all. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last month estimated that rate at about 40%.

Those clues have sent scientists off in different directions: Some are looking into the role of the receptor cells, which the virus uses to infiltrate the body, to better understand the role that age and genetics might play. Others are delving into masks and whether they may filter just enough of the virus so those wearing them had mild cases or no symptoms at all.

The theory that has generated the most excitement in recent weeks is that some people walking among us might already have partial immunity.

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When SARS-CoV-2, the technical name of the coronavirus that causes the disease covid-19, was first identified on Dec. 31, 2019, public health officials deemed it a "novel" virus because it was the first time it had been seen in humans who presumably had no immunity from it whatsoever. There's now some very early, tentative evidence suggesting that assumption might have been wrong.

One mind-blowing hypothesis - bolstered by a flurry of recent studies - is that a segment of the world's population may have partial protection thanks to "memory" T cells, the part of our immune system trained to recognize specific invaders. This could originate from cross-protection derived from standard childhood vaccinations. Or, as a paper published Tuesday in Science suggested, it could trace back to previous encounters with other coronaviruses, such as those that cause the common cold.

"This might potentially explain why some people seem to fend off the virus and may be less susceptible to becoming severely ill," National Institutes of Health Director Francis Collins remarked in a blog post this past week.

On a population level, such findings, if validated, could be far-reaching.

Hans-Gustaf Ljunggren, a researcher at Sweden's Karolinska Institute, and others have suggested that public immunity to the coronavirus could be significantly higher than what has been suggested by studies. In communities in Barcelona, Boston, Wuhan and other major cities, the proportion of people estimated to have antibodies and therefore presumably be immune has mostly been in the single digits. But if others had partial protection from T cells, that would raise a community's immunity level much higher.

This, Ljunggren said, would be "very good news from a public health perspective."

Some experts have gone so far as to speculate about whether some surprising recent trends in the epidemiology of the coronavirus - the drop in infection rates in Sweden where there have been no widespread lockdowns or mask requirements, or the high rates of infection in Mumbai's poor areas but little serious disease - might be due to preexisting immunity.

Others say it's far too early to draw such conclusions. Anthony Fauci, the United States' top infectious-disease expert, said in an interview that while these ideas are being intensely studied, such theories are premature. He said at least some partial preexisting immunity in some individuals seems a possibility.

And he said the amount of virus someone is exposed to - called the inoculum - "is almost certainly an important and likely factor" based on what we know about other viruses.

But Fauci cautioned that there are multiple likely reasons - including youth and general health - that determine whether a particular individual shrugs off the disease or dies of it. That reinforces the need, in his view, for continued vigilance in social distancing, masking and other precautions.

"There are so many other unknown factors that maybe determine why someone gets an asymptomatic infection," Fauci said. "It's a very difficult problem to pinpoint one thing."

- - -

News headlines have touted the idea based on blood tests that 20% of some New York communities might be immune, 7.3% in Stockholm, 7.1% in Barcelona. Those numbers come from looking at antibodies in people's blood that typically develop after they are exposed to a virus. But scientists believe another part of our immune system - T cells, a type of white blood cell that orchestrates the entire immune system - could be even more important in fighting against the coronavirus.

Recent studies have suggested that antibodies from the coronavirus seem to stick around for two to three months in some people. While work on T cells and the coronavirus is only getting started - testing T cells is much more laborious than antibody testing - previous research has shown that, in general, T cells tend to last years longer.

One of the first peer-reviewed studies on the coronavirus and T cells was published in mid-May in the journal Cell by Alessandro Sette, Shane Crotty and others at the La Jolla Institute for Immunology near San Diego.

The group was researching blood from people who were recovering from coronavirus infections and wanted to compare that to samples from uninfected controls who were donors to a blood bank from 2015 to 2018. The researchers were floored to find that in 40% to 60% of the old samples, the T cells seemed to recognize SARS-CoV-2.

"The virus didn't even exist back then, so to have this immune response was remarkable," Sette said.

Research teams from five other locations reported similar findings. In a study from the Netherlands, T cells reacted to the virus in 20% of the samples. In Germany, 34%. In Singapore, 50%.

The different teams hypothesized this could be due to previous exposure to similar pathogens. Perhaps fortuitously, SARS-CoV-2 is part of a large family of viruses. Two of them - SARS and MERS - are deadly and led to relatively brief and contained outbreaks. Four other coronavirus variants, which cause the common cold, circulate widely each year but typically result in only mild symptoms. Sette calls them the "less-evil cousins of SARS-CoV-2."

This week, Sette and others from the team reported new research in Science providing evidence the T cell responses may derive in part from memory of "common cold" coronaviruses.

"The immune system is basically a memory machine," he said. "It remembers and fights back stronger."

The researchers noted in their paper that the strongest reaction they saw was against the spike proteins that the virus uses to gain access to cells - suggesting that fewer viral copies get past these defenses.

"The current model assumes you are either protected or you are not - that it's a yes or no thing," Sette added. "But if some people have some level of preexisting immunity, that may suggest it's not a switch but more continuous."

- - -

More than 2,300 miles away, at the Mayo Clinic in Cleveland, Andrew Badley was zeroing in the possible protective effects of vaccines.

Teaming up with data experts from Nference, a company that manages their clinical data, he and other scientists looked at records from 137,037 patients treated at the health system to look for relationships between vaccinations and coronavirus infection.

They knew that the vaccine for smallpox, for example, had been shown to protect against measles and whooping cough. Today, a number of existing vaccines are being studied to see whether any might offer cross-protection against SARS-CoV-2.

The results were intriguing: Seven types of vaccines given one, two or five years in the past were associated with having a lower rate of infection with the new coronavirus. Two vaccines in particular seemed to show stronger links: People who got a pneumonia vaccine in the recent past appeared to have a 28% reduction in coronavirus risk. Those who got polio vaccines had a 43% reduction in risk.

Venky Soundararajan, chief scientific officer of Nference, remembers when he first saw how large the reduction appeared to be, he immediately picked up his phone and called Badley: "I said, 'Is this even possible?'"

The team looked at dozens of other possible explanations for the difference. It adjusted for geographic incidence of the coronavirus, demographics, comorbidities, even whether people had had mammograms or colonoscopies, under the assumption that people who got preventive care might be more apt to social distance. But the risk reduction still remained large.

"This surprised us completely," Soundararajan recalled. "Going in we didn't expect anything or maybe one or two vaccines showing modest levels of protection."

The study is only observational and cannot show a causal link by design, but Mayo researchers are looking at a way to quantify the activity of these vaccines on the coronavirus to serve as a benchmark to the new vaccines being created by companies such as Moderna. If existing vaccines appear as protective as new ones under development, he said, they could change the world's whole vaccine strategy.

- - -

Meanwhile, at NIH headquarters in Bethesda, Md., Alkis Togias has been laser-focused on one group of the mildly affected: children. He wondered whether it might have something to do with the receptor known as ACE2, through which the virus hitchhikes into the body.

In healthy people, the ACE2 receptors perform the important function of keeping blood pressure stable. The novel coronavirus latches itself to ACE2, where it replicates. Pharmaceutical companies are trying to figure out how to minimize the receptors or to trick the virus into attaching itself to a drug so it does not replicate and travel throughout the body.

Was it possible, Togias asked, that children naturally expressed the receptor in a way that makes them less vulnerable to infection?

He said recent papers have produced counterintuitive findings about one subgroup of children - those with a lot of allergies and asthma. The ACE2 receptors in those children were diminished, and when they were exposed to an allergen such as cat hair, the receptors were further reduced. Those findings, combined with data from hospitals showing that asthma did not seem to be a risk factor for the respiratory virus, as expected, have intrigued researchers.

"We are thinking allergic reactions may protect you by down-regulating the receptor," he said. "It's only a theory of course."

Togias, who is in charge of airway biology for the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, is looking at how those receptors seem to be expressed differently as people age, as part of a study of 2,000 U.S. families. By comparing those differences and immune responses within families, they hope to be able to better understand the receptors' role.

Separately, a number of genetic studies show variations in genes associated with ACE2 with people from certain geographic areas, such as Italy and parts of Asia, having distinct mutations. No one knows what significance, if any, these differences have on infection, but it's an active area of discussion in the scientific community.

- - -

Before the pandemic, Gandhi, the University of California researcher, specialized in HIV. But like other infectious-disease experts these days, she has spent many of her waking hours thinking about the coronavirus. And in scrutinizing the data on outbreaks one day, she noticed what might be a pattern: People were wearing masks in the settings with the highest percentage of asymptomatic cases.

The numbers on two cruise ships were especially striking. In the Diamond Princess, where masks weren't used and the virus was likely to have roamed free, 47% of those tested were asymptomatic. But in the Antarctic-bound Argentine cruise ship, where an outbreak hit in mid-March and surgical masks were given to all passengers and N95 masks to the crew, 81% were asymptomatic.

Similarly high rates of asymptomatic infection were documented at a pediatric dialysis unit in Indiana, a seafood plant in Oregon and a hair salon in Missouri, all of which used masks. Gandhi was also intrigued by countries such as Singapore, Vietnam and the Czech Republic that had population-level masking.

"They got cases," she noted, "but fewer deaths."

The scientific literature on viral dose goes back to around 1938 when scientists began to find evidence that being exposed to one copy of a virus is more easily overcome than being exposed to a billion copies. Researchers refer to the infectious dose as ID50 - or the dose at which 50% of the population would become infected.

While scientists do not know what that level might be for the coronavirus (it would be unethical to expose humans in this way), previous work on other nonlethal viruses showed that people tend to get less sick with lower doses and more sick with higher doses. A study published in late May involving hamsters, masks and SARS-CoV-2 found that those given coverings had milder cases than those who did not get them.

In an article published this month in the Journal of General Internal Medicine, Gandhi noted that in some outbreaks early in the pandemic in which most people did not wear masks, 15% of the infected were asymptomatic. But later on, when people began wearing masks, the rate of asymptomatic people was 40% to 45%.

She said the evidence points to masks not just protecting others - as U.S. health officials emphasize - but protecting the wearer as well. Gandhi makes the controversial argument that while people mostly have talked about asymptomatic infections as terrifying due to how people can spread the virus unwittingly, it could end up being a good thing.

"It is an intriguing hypothesis that asymptomatic infection triggering immunity may lead us to get more population-level immunity," Gandhi said. "That itself will limit spread."
Two Peel police officers have admitted to neglect of duty in the botched probe into the death of Bridget Harrison and have forfeited days off as punishment, but with the misconduct deemed to be of a less serious nature by their chief, a full and public disciplinary hearing will not be held.

Nearly two years after the provincial Office of the Independent Police Review Director launched its probe into Peel Regional Police investigations of the deaths of Bridget, her husband, Bill Harrison and their son Caleb, their families are making the results of two investigations public after Peel police Chief Nishan Duraiappah classified his officers misconduct to be less serious.

The finding concerns the investigation into the second of three killings in the same suburban Mississauga family house: Bill Harrison, 64, was found dead by his wife Bridget in the homes powder room in 2009; Bridget, 63, was discovered dead at the bottom of the stairs nearby the next year; Their son Caleb, 40, was killed in the home at 3635 Pitch Pine Cres. in 2013.

The Harrisons surviving family members believe Bridget and Calebs deaths could have been prevented had police investigated properly.

Each death on Pitch Pine Cres. death coincided with a key moment in a bitter custody battle with Caleb Harrison's ex-wife, Melissa Merritt, over their two children.

The OIPRD review of the investigation into Bridgets death found police suffered from reverse tunnel vision and inexplicably failed to address coincident connections between her and her husbands deaths and family troubles with Calebs ex  and mischaracterized evidence from pathologists that suggested Bridget had been strangled.

Instead, the investigative team, which the OIPRD criticized in general for keeping poor notes, would not be led away from their conclusion that no foul play was involved.

Less serious police misconduct charges can be dealt with at a divisional level and without the public scrutiny that comes with disciplinary hearings held under the Police Services Act. The public usually never learns of these informal decisions.

However, in a departure from the norm, two key officers in the investigation into Bridgets death, Insps. Sean Brennan and Gregory Amoroso, waived a confidentiality provision, accepted responsibility and their punishment  a loss of days off  was made public by the police service in correspondence with the families and the Star.

According to OIPRD investigator Craig McManus, Amoroso, who was an acting detective and the officer in charge of the investigation at the time, and other officers in the case initially acted appropriately. However, after Amoroso was seconded to work on the 2010 Toronto G20 Summit, OIRPD investigator Craig McManus found he appeared to have washed his hands of the probe.

Amoroso had a duty to fully apprise himself of the results of (a July 2010 case conference meeting he did not attend), and follow up on the unresolved issues raised by the coroner and chief pathologist, which he failed to do, the OIPRD report says.

Crucially, an August 2010 report prepared by Amoroso included the inaccurate observation that the case conference had provided no evidence to suggest that the deceased was a victim of foul play. McManus noted that Amoroso claimed to have little involvement in the case after May 2010, but evidence suggested otherwise. Amoroso also deleted emails related to the case in a purge before taking on a new role.

Brennan, then a detective, attended the conference meeting and ignored the message clearly delivered in any objective review that Bridget suffered injuries consistent with strangulation, amongst others, and that an accidental death was the less likely explanation, the report says.

The case was closed in September 2010. Caleb Harrison would die nearly three years later in August 2013, after which police finally treating the earlier deaths as suspicious.

Amoroso and Brennan have accepted responsibility for the misconduct, Peel police told the Star. Amoroso forfeited seven days off, while Brennan lost one day off. Since the case, both officers have been promoted to the level of inspector.

In a letter to the Harrisons lawyer, Peel police lawyer Sharon Wilmot said the decision to use informal disciplinary provisions was appropriate and in no way intended to diminish the very serious effects this has had on your clients.

The Harrisons say they feel otherwise, and that the OIPRD findings are serious and demanded a disciplinary hearing and more transparency.

Bills homicide was clearly missed. Bridgets death investigation was a complete failure due to the negligence of the two police officers, the family said in a statement to the Star. The killers remained free and emboldened to murder Caleb.

They called the chiefs decision to use the informal disciplinary route deeply concerning, adding it has reduced the loss of Bridgets life  and ultimately Calebs  to a few days of forfeited time and swept blatant transgressions under the rug.

A separate OIPRD complaint into the investigation into Bill Harrisons death found poor note-taking and several small failures that led to the file being closed without following up on possible leads that may have resulted in a different outcome to the investigation.

That complaint led to no findings of misconduct.

Clearly, the breakdown in the (police) investigation resulted in several evidentiary gaps which likely impacted the subsequent police investigations into the deaths of (Bridget) and Caleb Harrison, reads the OIPRD report into the case.

Nonetheless, the OIPRD investigation could not definitively conclude that the breakdown in the police investigation would have ultimately changed the outcome of Mr. Harrisons death investigation, or the tragic events that followed.

An OIPRD complaint investigation into police handling of Calebs death is still outstanding.

Following Star stories about the case, Ontarios Chief Coroner also announced a review of the Harrison death investigations and decades of concealed homicides  deaths written off as natural, accidental, suicidal or undetermined but were later revealed to be suspicious.

Caleb, 40, was found strangled in his bed in August 2013. His death finally led police to take a closer look at the family history, including a relationship with his former spouse, Melissa Merritt, the mother to his two children.

Merritt and her new partner, Christopher Fattore, were later charged in the Harrisons deaths.

In a trial that ended in January 2018, prosecutors alleged Merritt and Fattore conspired to murder Caleb and his mother, and that Fattore committed the acts. Fattore alone was charged with the second-degree murder of Bill.

Merritt and Fattore were convicted of first-degree murder in Calebs death. Fattore was also found guilty of murdering Bridget while Merritts charge in her former mother-in-laws death resulted in a mistrial after the jury could not reach a verdict. Fattore was found not guilty of murdering Bill.

At trial, Fattores defence argued Bill Harrisons death was natural.

Merritt and Fattore have both filed appeals.

Prosecutors argued the Harrisons were murdered at key moments in a bitter custody battle over Merritt and Calebs two children. Bill died the same day Merritt and Fattore fled Ontario with the Harrison children in contravention of a court order that gave the grandparents their sons share of custody while he was incarcerated for an impaired driving death.

Bridget died the day before she was to give a victim-impact statement at Merritts parental abduction trial, at a time when Bridget had interim custody of the children. Three years later, Caleb died the night before a 50-50 summer custody split with Merritt was to revert to sole custody for him.

The Harrison tragedy could have been an opportunity for Peel Police to address shortcomings in their behaviours and processes, the Harrisons said in the statement to the Star. Instead, it has exposed the deeper issue of widespread protectionism and impunity from accountability in policing.

Peel police, in response to Star queries, said the officers in Bridgets case take matters raised in the (OIPRD) report very seriously.

The service, said spokesperson Constable Akhil Mooken, is strongly of the view that this resolution is appropriate given the time that has passed since these investigations took place and the officers have since received significant training and gained valuable experience.

The service has also conducted its own internal administrative review of the cases.

I appreciate that this has been difficult on the family and appreciate their patience as we follow the processes outlined by the Police Services Act, said Mooken, who responded to questions posed in an email co-addressed to the chief.

The Star extended a request for comment to officers Brennan and Amoroso via Mooken and did not hear back.

The Harrisons lawyer Asha James said police chose the least transparent process and that police culture and behaviour need to change.

Serious issues of misconduct should not be dealt with informally, said James, and we had hoped that the leadership of Peel Police would be more concerned about ensuring the failures of the investigations were publicly addressed and resolved.

Clarification  Aug. 10, 2020: This story has been edited from a previous version that did not include the verdicts in the murder trials of Melissa Merritt and Christopher Fattore. Both were convicted of first-degree murder in Caleb Harrisons death, and Fattore was found guilty in Bridget Harrisons murder, for which Merritt was acquitted. Fattore was found not guilty in Bill Harrisons killing.
By Trend

Export of steel from Turkey to world markets dropped by 16.6 percent in the first half of 2020 compared to the same period of last year and amounted to $5.9 billion, Turkeys Ministry of Trade told Trend.

According to the ministry, the overall export of steel from Turkey made up 8 percent of the country's total export over the reporting period.

In June 2020, Turkey exported the steel in the amount of over $1.1 billion abroad, which is 28.6 percent more compared to the same month of 2019.

Turkeys steel export in June this year amounted to 8.4 percent of the country's total export.

During the last 12 months (from June 2019 through June 2020), Turkey exported the steel in the amount of over $12.6 billion.

In May 2020, Turkey exported the steel in the amount of $817.7 million abroad, which is 39.7 percent less compared to the same month of 2019, making up 8.2 percent of the country's total export.

From May 2019 through May 2020, Turkey exported the steel in the amount of over $12.3 billion.
Malaysia's former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad on Saturday said while that his "contentious" remarks on the Kashmir issue have led to strained relations with India, he would not apologise for them. Recalling his speech at the UN General Assembly last year, Mahathir said that his remarks on Kashmir were only mild and restrained. As was the case then, he refused to address Pakistan-backed terrorism against India.

In a series of tweets, the former PM, who resigned this year from the post, said that he was unapologetic for speaking out against "injustice", but was "sorry" that it affected Malaysia's palm oil export to India.

What transpired since my contentious speech at the UN General Assembly in September last year only served to prove that what I had said were mild and to a certain degree, restrained.  Dr Mahathir Mohamad (@chedetofficial) August 8, 2020

I offer no apology for what I had said though I am sorry that it had affected our palm oil export to India. I dont know if that is a high price to pay for speaking out against such injustices.  Dr Mahathir Mohamad (@chedetofficial) August 8, 2020

READ | Malaysia: Mahathir Mohamad To Form New Party After Expulsion

Mahathir Mohamad, who is gearing up to form a new party in Malaysia went on to say that since he is no longer the Prime Minister, he would take the liberty to speak without restrain and address the Kashmir issue without any threats.

Now that Iam no more the Prime Minister, I take it that I can now speak without restrain and address the Kashmir issue without threats of boycotts and such.



AT THE KASHMIRS ONE YEAR LOCKDOWN SINCE 5TH AUGUST 2019



KUALA LUMPUR  Dr Mahathir Mohamad (@chedetofficial) August 8, 2020

READ | Naya Kashmir: One Year On, Security-related Incidents Drop; Central Laws Take Effect

Mahathir angers India

In September 2019, a month after the Abrogation of Article 370, Mahathir had raised the Kashmir issue while speaking at the UN General Assembly, drawing a strong reaction from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), which said that India "completely rejects the references made in respect of Jammu and Kashmir, which is an integral and inalienable part of India".

"We once again call upon the Malaysian leadership to develop a better understanding of the facts, including that Pakistan which remains an epicentre of global terrorism, continues to recruit, train, arm and finance cross-border terrorism against India," the MEA had then said.

READ | Ex-Malaysian PM Najib Found Guilty Of All Charges In 1MDB Graft Case

READ | India Slams China For Raising Kashmir Issue At UNSC, Calls It 'infructuous Attempt'
Bhopal: Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Sunday said he would donate his blood plasma for treatment of COVID-19 patients.

Chouhan had tested positive for coronavirus on July 25, he was hospitalised and was discharged after 11 days on August 5.

"I was tested positive for COVID-19 earlier and I am perfectly healthy now after treatment. Antibodies to fight coronavirus must have been developed in my body and so I will soon donate plasma for therapy," an official release quoted the chief minister as saying while reviewing the COVID-19 situation in the state via video conferencing.

Since his release from the hospital, Chouhan has been under home quarantine.

Convalescent plasma therapy involves taking antibodies from the blood of a person who has recovered from COVID-19 and transfusing those into an active coronavirus infected patient to help kickstart the immune system to fight back the infection.

Chouhan was discharged from Chirayu Medical College and Hospital without a prior testing.

The CM was discharged on the basis of doctors' advice as per the ICMR policy dated May 8, 2020, wherein patients can be discharged after 10 days of symptoms onset and no fever for three days, the hospital had said.

The coronavirus tally in Madhya Pradesh crossed the 39,000-mark on Sunday with the addition of 868 cases, as per health officials.
U.S. sanctions branded 'clowning actions' as Hong Kong vows it won't be intimidated FILE PHOTO: Newly appointed head of Hong Kong Liaison Office Luo Huining speaks to media to mark his first day at office in Hong Kong

By Yanni Chow and Alun John

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Beijing's top representative office in Hong Kong said on Saturday that sanctions imposed by Washington on senior Hong Kong and Chinese officials were "clowning actions" that would not frighten or intimidate Chinese people.

Separately, the Hong Kong government said the sanctions were "shameless and despicable" and represented "blatant and barbaric" interference in China's internal affairs.

"We will not be intimidated," a government spokesman said.

The United States on Friday imposed sanctions on Luo Huining, the head of China's Liaison Office, as well as Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam and other current and former officials that Washington accuses of curtailing political freedoms in the global financial hub.

The move accelerates rapidly deteriorating Sino-U.S. ties, more than a month after Beijing imposed sweeping national security legislation on Hong Kong that drew condemnation from Western governments and sent a chill across the city.

"The unscrupulous intentions of the U.S. politicians to support the anti-China chaos in Hong Kong have been revealed, and their clowning actions are really ridiculous," the Liaison Office said in a statement. "Intimidation and threats cannot frighten the Chinese people."

Luo, the most senior mainland political official based in the Chinese-controlled territory, said U.S. sanctions on him indicated he was doing what he "should be doing for my country and Hong Kong", according to the statement.

Luo has oversight over the implementation of the contentious security law that allows mainland security agents to be officially based in China's freest city for the first time.

As well as Luo and Lam, the sanctions target Hong Kong police commissioner Chris Tang and his predecessor Stephen Lo; John Lee, Hong Kong's secretary of security, and Teresa Cheng,

the justice secretary. Xia Baolong, the director of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office in Beijing, was also named.

Story continues

Police chief Tang told local media on Saturday that maintaining the security of the country and Hong Kong was his responsibility, and foreign sanctions were meaningless.

The sanctions freeze any U.S. assets of the officials, prohibit them from carrying out business in the country and generally bar Americans from doing business with them.

Beijing-backed leader Lam has previously told local media she has no assets in the United States.

Hong Kong financial regulators moved to calm market fears on Saturday, as banks in the city grappled with the implications of the sanctions. The markets watchdog said it was not aware of any aspect of the sanctions that would affect how financial firms carry out their normal operations in the city.

"DRACONIAN" SECURITY LAW

Washington said the "draconian" security law had undermined its autonomy and set "the groundwork for censorship of any individuals or outlets that are deemed unfriendly to China."

The U.S. sanctions come a week after Hong Kong postponed a Sept. 6 election to the Chinese-ruled city's legislature by a year, citing a spike in coronavirus cases, prompting democracy activists to question whether the pandemic was the real reason.

Washington said the election delay was the latest example of Beijing undermining "the democratic processes and freedoms that have underpinned Hong Kong's prosperity."

The security legislation targets what Beijing broadly defines as secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces with up to life in prison.

Beijing and the Hong Kong government have said the law will not affect rights and freedoms, and that it is needed to plug security loopholes. They said it will only target a small minority of "troublemakers."

Fifteen people have been arrested under the law so far, including four aged 16-21 who were detained last week.

Beijing imposed the legislation directly on Hong Kong just before midnight on June 30, circumventing the city's legislature, and leaving the city's officials in the dark on the details of the law until it was implemented.

The law has steered China further on a collision course with the West, prompting countries including Australia, Canada and Britain to suspend extradition treaties with Hong Kong.

The legislation allows agents to take suspects across the border for trials in Communist Party-controlled courts, one issue that has raised alarm at home and overseas.

Some Hong Kong people have fled the city to set up home overseas, while immigration consultants have reported a surge in inquiries of people looking to leave.

Hong Kong authorities have issued arrest warrants for six pro-democracy activists who fled the city and were suspected of violating the new security.

Some political analysts say the security law coming directly from Beijing and bypassing Hong Kong's legislature signals the start of a more authoritarian rule in the semi-autonomous city and a march toward mainland control.

Critics of the law say it erodes basic rights and freedoms, guaranteed when the former British colony returned to Chinese rule in 1997, while supporters say it will bring stability after a year of often-violent anti-government and anti-China unrest.

(Reporting By Yanni Chow, Alun John, Sumeet Chatterjee, Jessie Pang, Carol Mang and Scott Murdoch; Writing by Anne Marie Roantree; Editing by Michael Perry)
David Reinert holds a large "Q" sign while waiting in line on to see President Donald J. Trump at his rally August 2, 2018 in Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania.

Rick Loomis/Getty Images

Facebook has deleted from its platform a QAnon page with more than 200,000 members.

A company spokesperson told Business Insider the removal occurred Tuesday after Facebook found its members were "repeatedly posting content that violated our policies."

QAnon is a far-right movement whose members support conspiracy theories that a secret coalition of powerful people is out to overthrow President Donald Trump.

Facebook now joins Twitter and TikTok in cracking down on QAnon content. Twitter announced it was doing so in July, and TikTok disabled hashtags associated with the movement.

Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Facebook has deleted a group page whose members were sharing and discussing conspiracy theories associated with QAnon, as BBC reported.

The Facebook group that was kicked off the platform was called "Official Q/QAnon" and boasted over 200,000 members. As BBC journalist Shayan Sardarizadeh pointed out, it's the movement's second largest Facebook group but it's not the only one on the site, and others still remain active.

A company spokesperson told Business Insider in an email that the removal was due to members "repeatedly posting content that violated our policies." The spokesperson confirmed that Facebook removed the group on Tuesday.

QAnon is a far-right movement whose members support the unfounded belief that a secret coalition of powerful figures is targeting President Donald Trump. QAnon members are largely supporters of the president and have circulated disproven theories in the past surrounding President Barack Obama and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, including that they practice Satanism and are involved in a global pedophilia ring.

Facebook isn't the only firm that has tried to put a stop to QAnon content. Twitter said in July that it was cracking down on "so-called QAnon activity" and reportedly removed 7,000 accounts associated with content pertaining to the movement. TikTok disabled two popular hashtags associated with QAnon in late July as well.

The FBI has also warned that conspiracy theories pose domestic terrorism threats. The bureau identified how an individual's belief in conspiracy theories or hoaxes may have or did result in violence, citing the Tree of Life synagogue shooting and the QAnon conspiracy.

Read the original article on Business Insider
The Hauberg family had made the estate a gift to Rock Island the previous year, after John Haubergs death; but the handover came in 57. One of the unusual aspects of the gift was that a space be reserved in the second floor servants quarters for a longtime family worker (named Charlie, as I recall) for a certain period of time: until he reached retirement age or died.

How and why the guild infiltrated the Hauberg Mansion is beyond my recall, but we soon had a going operation, with the costume workshop in the former master bedroom at the north end of the second floor. The Junior Theatre started in the parlor, but moved up to the south end of the second floor a year later.

We had free access to the building, but I cannot remember whether or not we had a key. During this time, the place was open during the day. Kramer had an office in a space just north of the kitchen. It had been either a cooling room or the laundry. It opened into a walled-off area where washing was hung. (In those days, it was considered indelicate to have personal laundry in public view.)
Sarvar Ali, 48, a resident of Patna City, takes private tuitions for a living. He is hard pressed to pay Rs 50,000 per day, living as he is on an artificial life support system at a private nursing home , after having contracted the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) on July 30. The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Patna refused Ali admission, saying the rapid antigen detection (RAD) test report was not valid, says his nephew Amber Ali.

According to Amber Ali, his uncle had to wait in a private ambulance, with oxygen support, for four hours outside AIIMS before the authorities finally refused him admission. By the time we got him to a private clinic on the 99 feet Bypass Road at Kankerbagh, his condition had deteriorated and he was put on ventilator support, he added.

After doctors prescribed his uncle plasma therapy, Amber said he made around 350 calls to find just two convalescent plasma donors. He went with them from one blood bank to another and from one medical college to another on August 5, but none was willing to oblige.

The reason: Most blood banks, including those in government medical colleges, did not have a plasmapheresis machine, required for convalescent plasma donations. The private clinic where Ali is admitted has neither the machine nor the government permission to carry out the procedure. My uncle is not eating or talking, his condition remains critical, said Amber, criticising the state government for not capping the cost of treatment in private facilities.

Shaukat Ali, 52, another Covid-19 patient, was admitted in the governments Nalanda Medical College Hospital (NMCH) on July 24. He died a day later. No doctor attended to my uncle. The nurse came just once and asked me to learn how to administer the drip, saying she would not come again, as she feared contracting the virus, recollected Aamir Hasmi, 26, a businessman.

Though there are ventilators, there is no functional team to run and manage them. As a result,the ventilators there are underutilised. Doctors do not visit patients, they get medical updates on phone, he added.

Septuagenarian Dr RB Jha, a retired professor and head of the department of surgery at the Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College Hospital (JLNMCH), Bhagalpur, died of Covid-19 on August 5. Dr Sanjay Kumar Singh, former vice-president of Indian Medical Association, Bihar, alleged Jha died of medical neglect.

Also read| Covid-19 in India: Daily tests up to 700k, 1 million target in sight

Dr Jha was in the ICU, with no one to treat him. Most 60-plus doctors are scared to go near Covid-19 patients. The paramedical staff is equally reluctant. If he were to be left at the mercy of God, a temple would have been better than the ICU, says Dr Singh.

With nearly 80,000 infections and a chronically underfunded health care system, Bihar is struggling to arrest the spread of Covid-19, which has been made worse by the influx of hundreds of thousands of migrant labourers over two months.

The state, which has largest share of rural population among states in India, has only 0.11 beds and 0.39 doctors available per thousand people, according to the National Health Profile, 2019. In comparison, the figures were 0.46 and 1.54 respectively for Maharashtra, the worst-hit state.

The state has conducted 7,917 tests per million people, the lowest of any state in the country, according to HTs internal Covid-19 dashboard, compared to the national average of 18,086.

Bihar also has the third-worst doubling rate, a measure of how many days for infections to double from a given point in time, in the country. The states doubling rate stands at 14.7 days, behind only Andhra Pradesh and Jharkhand  both at 13.2 days. In contrast, Indias doubling rate stands at 23.6 days.

To be sure, testing in the state has increased in recent days. Bihar was testing just 2,352 samples a day on June 1. The figure rose to 8,500 by the end of June. For the week ending August 1, the state conducted 19,000 daily tests at an average. Last week, this number stood at 52,000 tests a day at an average.

The increased testing has led to a fall in positivity rate, which is the ratio of positive results to the total number of tests conduced. On July 28, this number stood at 17.1% and came down to 6% on August 8.

The government, however, said the situation is slowly improving after a change of guard at the helm of the health department, with Pratyaya Amrit having taking over as principal secretary, health, on July 27. This is the second change the state government has effected since May 20, when Sanjay Kumar was shifted and then Uday Singh Kumawat.

Amrit did not respond to calls and text messages.

On August 1, Bihar launched a mobile application, Sanjivan, to enrol for home isolation, check availability of beds and requisition ambulance, besides dedicated helpline numbers for tele-consultation.

It also set up control rooms, headed by probationary Indian Administrative Service and Indian Police Service officers at dedicated Covid-19 hospitals. It has also set up dedicated personnel to source medicines for patients, instead of asking their attendants to get them.

Bihar health secretary Lokesh Kumar Singh said new cases have to be seen in the perspective of testing, indicating that spike in cases was due to higher testing.

Less than 10% of the total 71,520 tests Friday were done through the reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT PCR) test, considered to be the gold standard for Covid-19, and the rest were rapid antigen tests, which search for substances that trigger an immune response in the patient and can give results in less than an hour.

We have taken testing through rapid antigen kits to the primary health centre level in districts. We are also testing non-Covid patients coming to hospitals with other ailments. We are also testing people at flood relief camps, besides testing those in containment zones, said a state government official, on condition of anonymity.

The governments at the Centre and state are doing a reasonably good job. It is the people who are behaving irresponsibly by not adhering to norms of social distancing, wearing nasal masks and practising hand-washing habit, said Dr Ajay Kumar, former national president of the Indian Medical Association and ex-council member of the World Medical Association, which has its headquarters at Geneva.
Even though the presidential nominations at the top of ballots for Tuesdays primary are a foregone conclusion, voters will still be able to cast votes in the races.

In addition, a number of nominations for local and state races are up for grabs.

Heres a rundown of the state of play.

STRATFORD

In Stratford, a primary is set for the Democratic Registrar of Voters, where Jim Simon, a journalism professor endorsed by the Democratic Town Committee, is being challenged for the partys nomination by Rick Marcone, a three-term incumbent.

Marcone, a former DTC chairman who won the partys Democrat of the Year award as recently as 2015, drew the ire of members of his party with a donation to longtime friend and GOPer Jim Connor, who won a close race against Simon for Town Council last year.

Simon, who has called for downsizing the head count in the registrars office, said a shake-up is needed in Town Hall.

The registrar of voters office works best when you have a Democratic registrar and a Republican registrar keeping each other honest, keeping an eye on one another, making sure the final decisions are made in the best interests of the citizens, he said Friday. In Stratford weve had a Democratic registrar leaning toward the other party, contributing to the other party, so sometimes that equilibrium is lost.

Marcone has stressed his time in office overseeing more than 30 elections, state certifications as a registrar and moderator trainer and cast his opponent as inexperienced in comparison.

He said the question for voters is simple: Do you want somebody whos certified and experienced or do you want a newcomer?

The registrars office is not about whos the more loyal Democrat or Republican, its about working together to ensure fair and open elections, Marcone said. I have proven to be the right person for the job.

In the lead-up to the vote, Simon has rolled out a number of endorsement videos on Facebook from prominent local Democrats, including state Reps. Joe Gresko and Phil Young.

The Stratford Democratic party endorsed me because they want change, they want to shake things up in Town Hall, and I think well have thousands of Democrats making the same decision Tuesday, he said.

Marcone said hes been busy ensuring the election will go smoothly as possible in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and the aftermath of Tropical Storm Isaias.

My priority No. 1 is doing my job as registrar now, setting up and preparing for the primary and then looking ahead to the presidential election in November, he said. Unfortunately the campaigning is secondary to my need to do the job.

Depending on the outcome of Tuesdays vote, the candidates could be facing off again in November. Marcone said Friday he has filed signatures to appear as a petitioning candidate on the November ballot, which means the town could have three registrars after Novembers election, depending on how the votes shake out.

STATE RACES

There are also a handful of nominations for state office in the Bridgeport area up for grabs Tuesday.

Republican voters in the 128th House District will choose between Republican Town Committee-endorsed Joseph Borges, a former registrar of voters who retired from politics a decade ago, and activist Ethan Book for the GOP nomination to face off against Democratic state Rep. Christopher Rosario in November for the right to represent the East Side and Hollow neighborhoods.

In the 130th House District, which includes the downtown and the South End, Democrat Kelvin Ayala is challenging incumbent Antonio Felipe for the party nomination.

In the 126th House District with its North End and East Side neighborhoods, Tony Barr is challenging incumbent state Rep. Charlie Stallworth, who has promised to retire when his term concludes if re-elected.

And in the state Senate 22nd District, which includes all of Trumbull and parts of Bridgeport and Monroe, incumbent Marilyn Moore lost the endorsement of Democratic leaders to Marcus Brown, a Bridgeport City Council member, but is hoping the partys voters give her the nomination.

ABSENTEE BALLOT DRAMA?

Another wrinkle in this years election  no excuse absentee balloting because of the pandemic, which has resulted in huge upticks in requests.

In Stratford, there were a total of 284 absentee ballots in the most recent 2016 presidential primary. This year more than 4,000 were requested, mostly on the Democratic side.

In addition, there has been finger-pointing between local clerks and state officials after roughly 20,000 ballots went unmailed in the run-up to the primary.

In an update posted to the towns Facebook page Friday, Stratford Town Clerk Susan Pawluk said voters can return absentee ballots to the drop-box outside of Town Hall by 8 p.m. Tuesday. Voters needing to drop off absentee ballot applications should call the clerks office, 203-380-6753, between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday to make an appointment.

Meanwhile, Joshua Diaz of the town clerks office in Bridgeport  where absentee ballot controversies are nothing new  said they have processed more than 8,200 absentee ballot applications as of Thursday night.

Thats more than three times the number from last years Democratic primary for mayor, in which absentee ballots played a decisive role for incumbent Joe Ganim in his defeat of Moore, who seeks to hold on to her state Senate district in Tuesdays primary.

A subsequent Hearst Connecticut Media report revealed voters were allegedly pressured by Ganim campaign workers to vote for the mayor on their absentee ballots, as well as ineligible felons and unregistered voters participating in the primary, prompted an unsuccessful legal challenge by Moores campaign. A State Elections Enforcement Commission investigation is ongoing.

Staff writer Brian Lockhart contributed to this story.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-09 19:23:30|Editor: huaxia

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SHENZHEN, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) -- China's leading new-energy vehicle manufacturer BYD said Saturday that it has delivered the first of 22 pure electric buses ordered by German public transport operator Bogestra.

The BYD e-bus exported to German is 12 meters long and has a maximum passenger capacity of 80 people. It also has an over-200-km mileage on a single charge, according to the company.

The Chinese automaker received Bogestra's order in last September. The rest of the buses are expected to be delivered by October and serve in cities including Bochum and Gelsenkirchen in Ruhr region, Germany.

He Yipeng, general manager of BYD Europe, said the entry into the German market indicates recognition of BYD's technology and products by the local government and the public transport operator.

Data from BYD show that the company has sold its pure electric buses to more than 300 cities in over 50 countries and regions. Enditem
THERE has been a widespread welcome for funding to design new greenways connecting Limerick and Clare.

Waterways Ireland has received 140,000 in government funding to evaluate the possibility of a new greenway linking the Black Bridge at the University of Limerick to Scarriff Town Square in Co Clare.

On top of this, Limerick council has secured 150,000 for a feasibility study and options report on a 22km section of road from Rathkeale to Patrickswell through Adare, to form part of the Great Southern Greenway.

Local Green Party TD Brian Leddin said: Ive been working closely with Minister Eamon Ryan on delivering this funding which will enhance the tourism potential of the Mid-West. This important design work will involve working with communities and landowners to deliver green infrastructure for our rural areas. We want to develop many more greenways in the Mid-West.

Minister of State Niall Collins particularly welcomed the feasibility study for the Great Southern Trail extension.

He said: Connecting our existing greenways will hugely improve our entire network across the country. Patrickswell has previously been connected with a dedicated cycle route to Limerick City and now linking Patrickswell to Rathkeale will be a huge boost for these locations and also Adare village. Greenways are now becoming very popular with so many people both young and older persons. They provide a safe environment for exercise and recreation and we must continue to invest into the development of them.

This, along with other upgrades, will make Limericks Great Southern Greenway the best in the country and one to be very proud of.

It is a sentiment reflected by OPW Minister Patrick ODonovan.

He said: Our greenway plays an important role in supporting local communities to create jobs.

For more Limerick news click here
Hyderabad: COVID-19 cases will begin falling in Hyderabad and the rest of the GHMC limits by the end of August, the state health department predicted on Saturday. It said that cases in the rest of the state will begin falling by the end of September.

According to Director of Health Services Dr G. Srinivasa Rao, the number of cases in GHMC limits was coming down. The past few weeks, thanks to preventive measures taken by the government, cases have reduced in Hyderabad. There is no distress and panic in the city. This is a good sign for the GHMC area with its one crore population, he said.

He, however, said cases in the neighbouring Ranga Reddy, Medchal-Malkajgiri districts were going up. Covid-19 cases were rising in several district headquarters, he said. Addressing a press conference, he said the government was focusing on decentralizing of identification of Covid-19 cases and treatment so people identified with the disease can start receiving treatment quickly.

The recoveries were almost 70 per cent of the total identified cases and, in absolute numbers, it amounts to 99 per cent. Cases are going up worldwide with a mortality rate of seven per cent while for the country, the mortality rate was 2.5 per cent. In Telangana state, it is less than one per cent, he said.

Rao said the government was following and adapting to evolving Covid-19 treatment methods and protocols. This is a two-week disease. Full recovery is possible in two weeks. Symptomatic treatment in the first week, along with HCQ tablets, is giving good results. The government is keeping all its doctors across the state updated on the protocols. Using these methods, we are controlling the death rate from the disease in the state, he added.

The government has ensured stocks of medicines and disposables to meet the need for another two months. The government has made extensive arrangements. For people advised home isolation the government has stocked a total of 86,600 kits, with the required medicines, instructions and guidelines, in all the districts.

Of these, 33,000 are available for use in GHMC limits. He also said a total of 25,000 Remdesivir injections have been stocked in all districts of which 12,500 are available in government hospitals in GHMC limits, Rao said.
Credit: Dr Christina Wolbrecht, a professor of political science at the University of Notre Dame, says there is little evidence to suggest that vice-presidential picks have a significant electoral impact on who becomes president. Nonetheless, the optics count. Loading I would view the choice of a VP as part of a general message that campaigns send to voters: what is this campaign about? What does it prioritise? What kind of a presidency are we going to get? says Wolbrecht, co-author of the book A Century of Votes for Women. While that may not change a whole lot of votes, it certainly can change enthusiasm, activism, and general engagement in the electorate.

This is important in a close contest, Wolbrecht says, such as Trumps 2016 election victory, which was decided in a handful of battleground states. Among them was Wisconsin, where the Democrats lost by about 23,000 votes partly because many black voters refused to show up for Hillary Clinton. For Biden  a former VP to Obama who staged a remarkable comeback in the Democratic primaries largely because of the support of the black community  history is unlikely to repeat itself. If theres a black female vice-president on that ticket, then black people are coming out, Ruben Hopkins from Wisconsins Black Chamber of Commerce said last week. Theres no doubt that this is a racially charged election. The shocking police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis sparked a national rethink on structural injustice across the US, with protests continuing in major cities to this day as activists demand sweeping changes to police departments.

What's more, coronavirus and the pandemic-fuelled recession have further exacerbated the health and economic disparities between white and non-white communities. And for much of last week, Biden found himself in damage control over two gaffe-filled interviews involving race. The first involved him hitting back at a question about his cognitive ability from a black journalist by asking: "Are you a junkie? The second, which he later sought to clarify on Twitter, suggested that the African American community was a monolith compared with Latinos. The police killing of George Floyd sparked a national reckoning on race in the US. Credit:Star Tribune/AP After yesterdays statement, Sleepy Joe Biden is no longer worthy of the Black Vote! Trump tweeted in response on Friday.

Both parties know about the importance of courting the African American community, particularly on issues such as job security, justice reform, and public health. According to the Centre for American Progress, black women alone represent about 15 million registered voters, making them the largest and most politically active demographic of women of colour voters. This allegiance hasnt necessarily equated to the rapid rise of black women in senior political ranks, mind you. Indeed, Kamala Harris used to call it the donkey in the room, the idea that she was unlikely to get enough support to become the Democratic presidential nominee because she wasn't white (although Harris bid for the nomination ended up fizzling for reasons that had more to do with her lacklustre campaign). At the very least, Bidens commitment to have a female running mate  and potentially a woman of colour  is a sign that things are shifting. Senator Elizabeth Warren speaks during a campaign event in Los Angeles in March 2020. Credit:Bloomberg In terms of merit, the Democrats have had no shortage of strong contenders from which to choose, as those under consideration have dealt with key policy issues throughout their careers: law-and-order; economics; national security. However, some candidates are more politically risky than others.

Massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren, for instance, has one of the sharpest policy minds in the party, but is an easy target for Republicans to push their narrative of a radical left-wing agenda. By virtue of being Caucasian, she could also expose Biden to an internal backlash among those who would view it as a missed opportunity to seize this moment. Loading Illinois representative Tammy Duckworth is also impressive. Born in Thailand, Duckworth is a Purple Heart recipient who lost her legs in the Iraq war and has since become an advocate for veterans and people with disabilities. However, she hasn't had as much of a national profile as others, and is not as close to Biden as contenders such as Harris or Rice. Biden hasn't given much away, but has made it clear he wants a running mate with whom he is simpatico and who is ready to be president at a moments notice. This is important: whoever he picks would have an immediate stepping stone to the White House given the 77-year-old would be the oldest US president in history if elected, and is unlikely to recontest in 2024. By choosing a woman, Biden has signalled a commitment towards greater diversity and equality. By picking someone relatively younger, he would pave the way for generational change. And by selecting a black woman, some could view this as a symbolic and unifying step towards healing a bitterly divided nation.
FILE PHOTO: Spain's former king, Juan Carlos, leaves after attending the funeral ceremony of Luxembourg's Grand Duke Jean at the Notre-Dame Cathedral in Luxembourg

By Graham Keeley

BARCELONA (Reuters) - Protesters on Sunday called for an end to the Spanish monarchy after the sudden departure of the former king Juan Carlos from the country this week amid a corruption scandal.

Juan Carlos, who abdicated in 2014 in favour of his son Felipe, abruptly announced his decision to leave on Monday but there has been no official confirmation of where he went, setting off an international guessing game.

"We have to clean up the system of corruption and we should start with the crown," said Jose Emilio Martin, a bus driver, who was among about a hundred protesters in Madrid on Sunday.

Protests against the royal family have spread across Spain since the ex-monarch's dramatic exit, with about 100 republicans demonstrating in Valencia on Sunday and more protests planned in Mallorca this week during King Felipe VI's visit to the island.

A poll by SigmaDos published on Sunday in the conservative newspaper El Mundo found 63.3% of those questioned felt it was a bad idea for the 82-year-old ex-monarch to have left, while 27.2% agreed with his departure.

Some 80.3% said they thought Juan Carlos should face any potential legal proceedings. The poll, carried out between Aug. 4-6 after he left, found 12.4% said he had nothing to answer for and 7.3% did not voice an opinion.

Despite the disapproval, reflecting Juan Carlos' sinking popularity in recent years, some 69.2% of those questioned in Sunday's poll said he played an important role in the transition from dictatorship to democracy after the death of Francisco Franco in 1975, while 24.4% said he played "little or no" role.

In June, Spain's Supreme Court opened a preliminary investigation into Juan Carlos' involvement in 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. Switzerland has also opened an investigation.

Story continues

The former monarch is not formally under investigation and has repeatedly declined to comment on the allegations.

Juan Carlos's lawyer said on Monday his client was at the Spanish prosecutor's disposal despite his decision to leave.

The pro-monarchist newspaper ABC reported on Friday that Juan Carlos had travelled by private plane from Spain to the United Arab Emirates on Monday.

Other media have said he is in the Dominican Republic or in Portugal. Officials there have said they have no knowledge of him arriving.

A Spanish government spokeswoman declined on Sunday to comment on his whereabouts. His lawyer and the royal palace have all this week declined to say where Juan Carlos is.

News website Niusdiario.es posted a photograph https://www.niusdiario.es/nacional/casa-real/exclusiva-nius-foto-llegada-rey-emerito-juan-carlos-aeropuerto-abu-dabi-emiratos-arabes-unidos_18_2990670271.html on Saturday that it said showed him walking down the steps of a plane at an airport in Abu Dhabi. If confirmed, it would be the first image published of the ex-king since his departure.

United Arab Emirates officials and the Emirates Palace Hotel did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Saturday.

(Reporting by Graham Keeley; Additional reporting by Nafisa Eltahir in Dubai; Editing by Frances Kerry and Daniel Wallis)
Manitoba Liberal Leader Dougald Lamont said the province needs to dial back its reopening strategy in Brandon, which has a cluster of 40 COVID-19 cases, with about half involving workers at the Maple Leaf pork plant.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 9/8/2020 (527 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Manitoba Liberal Leader Dougald Lamont says the public must receive more detailed information about COVID-19 cases in Manitoba. (The Canadian Press files)

Manitoba Liberal Leader Dougald Lamont said the province needs to dial back its reopening strategy in Brandon, which has a cluster of 40 COVID-19 cases, with about half involving workers at the Maple Leaf pork plant.

Currently, Manitoba is in Phase Four of its reopening strategy, which allows for more people to sit in bars and restaurants as long as they can maintain a two-metre distance, and a greater number of people can gather at indoor and outdoor events, for example. There is no mask mandate in the province, but people are advised to wear one in crowded indoor places.

Lamont said Brandon should revert to earlier stages of the phased-in reopening plan because he worries there is a risk of greater community transmission.

On Sunday, chief provincial public health officer Dr. Brent Roussin said a small number of the cases in Brandon may have been transmitted in the community, but most involve people who are close contacts of each other.

Eighteen workers at the Maple Leaf Foods plant in Brandon have tested positive for COVID-19. (Tim Smith / Brandon Sun files)

A second cluster is located in the Steinbach area.

Lamont said the government should be willing to roll back the reopening plan in any COVID-19 hot spot in the province, instead of sticking to one plan for such a large geographic area.

He also said the government's pandemic communications strategy creates confusion and does a disservice to the public when information about outbreaks is not specific. For example, Roussin won't specifically say the Maple Leaf plant is involved. Instead, he refers to a business in Brandon.

The government argues it doesn't want to stigmatize groups of people. It refused to be specific even after the media had reported that the outbreak is at the meat plant.

Lamont said safety must be the "paramount concern."

"People fill in what they don't know with rumours and speculation," he said.

Lamont said many of the workers at the Brandon meat plant come from foreign countries such as Mexico and the Philippines, live together in close quarters and cannot self-isolate. He suggested the City of Brandon should look at setting up an isolation centre to help contain the spread of the virus.

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He said the Tory government all but declared the pandemic over in Manitoba by encouraging people to travel and businesses to reopen quickly. He pointed out that people don't know where to travel if they are not specifically told by the government where an outbreak is occurring, other than in specific health regions, which are vast places.

On Sunday, Roussin did say changes would be made this week in terms of information posted on the provincial COVID-19 website. Data will be broken down by health districts within each health authority. Currently they are listed under one of the five authorities.

"This will allow us to break down case numbers in more detail while continuing to ensure the privacy of Manitobans," he said.
Kanpur : , Aug 9 (IANS) When Ahmad Hassan quarrelled with his wife Nagma a week ago and went missing for a few days thereafter, little did the couple or their family know they would soon be faced with a mystery over an unidentified body.

On August 2, Ahmad Hassan of Colonelganj area of Kanpur went missing after arguing with wife Nagma. The family filed a missing complaint at the Chakeri police station when he did not return home for two days.

On August 5, police found a body and called the family for identification. They identified the body as Ahmad's and performed religious rituals and buried it.

To the utter surprise and shock of the grieving family, Ahmad returned home on August 7 -- alive. Evidently, he too was shocked to find that he had been taken to be dead and buried.

"I left home after a spat with my wife. On the way, a man helped me and I worked in a factory. I came back home on Friday after getting paid for my work. My house was locked when I reached home. But my neighbours recognised me and called the police. Later, I was taken to the police station. I came to know that a body identified by my brothers as mine was buried, but I am alive," said Ahmad.

Nagma was elated at the return of her husband. She claimed that it was just a petty fight.

"We had a verbal spat on a petty issue. He became angry and left the home in the evening. He did not come back for two days. We lodged a missing complaint. The police found a body and asked us to identify. We could not recognise the body even though the face was similar to my husband's. I was in doubt, but his brothers confirmed that it was him. I am happy that my husband has come back. We all are happy," she said.

While the family is happy, the Chakeri police is now in a quandary -- who is the man whose body was buried by the family? Kanpur Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Preetinder Singh said: "The body was identified as Ahmad's by his family but he has returned alive. We do not think that there is a need to take action against the family as they did it in confusion. We are now putting up posters at various places to identify the buried man. I have asked the police officials to see if doctors have drawn DNA samples for testing from the body or not while conducting post-mortem."
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A former Deputy Minister for Education, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has said the Ghana Education Service's) has been too harsh in the punishment meted out to 14 Senior High School students involved in acts of indiscipline in the ongoing West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE).



The National Democratic Congress MP for North Tongu said although the acts of indiscipline and vandalism are condemnable, the GES seems to have killed an ant with a sledgehammer.



I am one of many who have already condemned the misconduct of the WASSCE candidates which we saw in viral videos on social media. However, if there must be punishment, although I take the view that their apologies could have been considered - I have always subscribed to a punishment that reforms and not a punishment that destroys.



The offending students could be made to sign a bond of good behaviour, allowed to complete the final examinations after which the release of their results may be delayed until surcharging and counselling obligations have been carried out. We do not have to destroy the future of these teenagers, he wrote in a Facebook post.



Some 14 SHS students taking part in this years WASSCE have been dismissed and barred from writing their remaining papers following various acts of indiscipline captured in videos and shared on social media.



Students of the Tweneboa Kodua Senior High School and Juaben Senior High School, for instance, threatened to boycott the rest of their papers because invigilators would not allow them to cheat.



Also, candidates of Bright Senior High School in Kukurantumi attacked some invigilators and a journalist.



The GES has said students who were in schools where the destruction of school property occurred are to be surcharged for the full cost of the damage and their results will be held until they pay these costs.



However, taking to his Facebook page, Mr Ablakwa said it is important for the government to initiate independent investigations into the circumstances that led to the strange expectations and conditions, that caused the students to misbehave in the manner in which they did.



Read his full post below.





Source: ghanaweb.com









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

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When German Chancellor Angela Merkel irritated Trump  declining to sign on to Trumps harebrained scheme to include Russian President Vladimir Putin in a Group of Seven meeting  Trump retaliated by ordering the withdrawal of half of Americas troops from Germany. If he were still defense secretary, Jim Mattis might have questioned the move, noting that it would only help Russia and hurt the West. But Trump no longer tolerates senior officials who will stand up for what is right.
The former chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has raised concerns over the ongoing toxic debate around transgender rights in the UK and its long-term impact on the country.

David Isaac, who departed from his position on Saturday after four years, said supporters and opponents of gender self-identification must recognise they have much in common and should engage in respectful listening in order to move forward.

Proposed changes to the Gender Recognition Act, which would allow trans people to change their birth certificate and have their identity legally recognised without a medical diagnosis, have sparked angry debate between some womens groups and trans rights activists.

The argument deepened following reports the government plans to scrap the changes, with protests being organised by both sides of the debate.

Mr Isaac told The Observer in his final interview as EHRC chairman: Weve been calling for greater protection for trans people, but Im concerned, not just about the polarisation, but also the toxic nature of debate, which is about shutting down freedom of expression and stifling discussion.

We have to acknowledge there are lots of difficult issues in relation to women-only spaces, but shouting at each other doesnt help anybody. We need to move beyond that toxic debate so talking to each other, engaging in respectful listening even if you disagree, thats the only way forward.

He said the groups need to listen to other views, adding: There are lots of women who have been physically abused who are fearful, and weve got both groups who are anxious about being physically abused and are the subject of hate crimes, and this is currently the very thing that unites them.

On majority of the issues, there was lots of consensus that discrimination against trans people should not take place, said Mr Isaac.

Its just that weve got a few areas [where there is disagreement]  toilets, refuges and the age at which young people can actually begin treatment or block their hormone development  but on the rest there is real consensus, and we never talk about that.

The government was due to publish its response to a consultation on the proposed changes to the Gender Recognition Act in July, but this has been delayed for a third time, leaving activists on both sides frustrated.

Recommended Trans rights discussions should be grounded in real life experiences

Mr Isaac said the further delay was disappointing and the issues cannot be resolved by pausing the process. He suggested looking to how other countries have dealt with trans rights, such as France and the Nordic countries, which allow transgender people to change their gender by notifying authorities, without any medical or government intervention.

It may be that these are more liberal environments where there is less polarisation, but they havent had the same toxic debate, and we need to learn from that and work out how we can replicate that, he said.

We as a society would suffer enormously if in a decades time we were still having this debate.
The early-stage clinical trial for a vaccine has started in Singapore, with the first vaccinations expected to be given to volunteers next week, a media report has said, as the country's tally crossed over 55,000 on Sunday.

Called Lunar-Cov19, the vaccine is developed by Duke-NUS Medical School and United States pharmaceutical company Arcturus Therapeutics, The Straits Times reported.

Clinicians and researchers are now screening those who have stepped forward to ensure they are suitable for the trial, which is expected to last until October.

The SingHealth Investigational Medicine Unit is administering the trial for the vaccine.

Associate Professor Jenny Low, deputy clinical and scientific director at the SingHealth unit, told The Straits Times on Saturday that more than 250 volunteers have stepped forward for the trial.

Around 100 people will take part in the trial. The volunteers are in their 20s to 50s.

"As the trial is open to volunteers from 21 to 80 years old, we continue to be on the lookout for more participants, especially those in the older age group," she said.

Meanwhile, on Sunday reported 175 new cases, taking the country's tally to 55,104.

(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.)
For most Australians, the concept of learning to live with COVID-19 involves curtailing daily movements, reducing contact with extended family and friends and establishing routines to ensure we are cutting the risk of exposure to and spreading of the virus.

But for thousands of others, the prospect of many more months or even years of increased isolation is debilitating. Its not just the increased loneliness, vulnerability and adverse impacts to regular support networks; there are also very real threats to job security for thousands for whom work is not only a financial lifeline but a safe haven.

On the back of a surge in demand, Victorias Premier Daniel Andrews on Sunday announced an extra $60 million of mental health funding to reduce pressure on hospital emergency departments as well as increased counselling services for nurses and other healthcare workers who are in the eye of the storm.

That takes the total mental health spending in Victoria since March to $190 million and follows the federal governments announcement this week of a further $12 million injection into mental health services such as headspace, Lifeline, BeyondBlue and Kids Helpline. The NSW government has announced additional mental health spending of more than $80 million since the start of the pandemic, which included 180 additional specialist, community-based mental health clinicians and peer support workers. NSW has already invested in a $700 million mental health infrastructure program across the state.

Its hard to emphasise how important this money is to meet the need for support across the community. We have anxious teenagers doing their final year exams amid lengthy periods of remote learning as well as misbehaviour and conflict between younger students who are struggling to process the masks, stress and disruption to their lives.
Large groups of people gathering to register voters would be common at this point in a normal election year, but it is yet another area impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

I love being involved in the community and registering people to vote as you make connections, but because of the pandemic I have decided to stop volunteering completely, Juan Idrogo said.

Idrogo, 71, has volunteered for decades to register voters around the city and county. He always looks forward to the next election and has spoken with several local Democratic candidates. However, his age and multiple underlying conditions led to his decision to stay home this year.

The fact that I have had cancer a couple of times, have had other surgeries and suffered from a harsh flu episode last year that took me about a month to recover from, I believe it is best to just wait it out, Idrogo said. Also, the fact that I am a retired school administrator and will be taking care of my grandchild as my son and his wife, both teachers, go to work at school, requires for me to stay home for the health of him, my wife and myself.

Few volunteers have been certified to register voters since the pandemic began, but there are 194 available since the certification lasts for two years.

The number has gone up since I started in 2018, but the number fluctuates by who is initiating voter drives, Webb County Elections Administration Office Elections Administrator Jose Salvador Tellez said. However, since the pandemic began we have not had many people come to request to get certified because we are not giving presentations to large groups. If they want to get certified, they have to come in and set up an appointment.

Tellez said voting registration and the certification of more voting registrars tends to go up when there is a candidate that gets generates significant attention from the public like in 2018 with Beto ORourke. H said the process has also changed to get certified to register voters as people must watch a video presentation and take a test. Only those who pass become certified, which is a new policy enacted by the Texas Secretary of State. The test consists of 10 questions based on the presentation.

Due to the pandemic, Tellez said certified registrars meeting with people should continue to take all available precautions in regard to the virus.

During this period of time, everybody needs to be conscious of using protective gear and for them to use their masks and use their rubber gloves and to use a face shield when you come in contact with the public, because you are not only exposing yourself but also the potential voter who is going to register amid the pandemic, Tellez said.

The organization Move Texas said the issue could have been solved had the state enacted an online voter registration process or automatic voter registration to avoid relying heavily on volunteers.

Because Texas has failed to implement online voter registration like so many other states or even adopted automatic registration, we have seen a decline of folks able to access voter registration during this pandemic, Move Texas communications director Charlie Bonner said. So many people get registered whether it is at the DMV or they are in a concert or at a college campus as someone is coming up to them in person with a clipboard and registering them to vote. Those sort of spaces where we gather to register people to vote are also the kind of spaces that we cannot be right now because of this pandemic.

According to Bonner, they have advocated for years to try to make the state change its way in how people are registered to vote in efforts to create a better democracy, a want for civic engagement and also a more representative electorate. Although they have been unsuccessful, they note another thing during the pandemic that has helped increased voter turnout is the Black Lives Matter protests and other kinds of protests around the city and state which have awakened a new type of civic engagement among the youth.

I think that the youth today still require people to go up to them and register them to vote, but things like Zoom - which I am using it fully to continue doing my catechist duties for my church and also connecting with loved ones and staying informed - shows that potential voters can now find more resources to register themselves. However, they need a little push, Idrogo said.

Tellez said despite the potential decrease of people registering voters in person, there are several other ways in which people can register for the upcoming election including online when you renew your drivers license.

One problem Tellez notes about certified registrars is they sometimes do not turn in the applications on time as the applications must be turned in five days after being filled up to be processed on time. He believes some people who register voters often keep the applications for longer periods of time and forget about them.

Although we do not get too many complaints, there are one or two people who have said that they registered to vote, and we didnt have an application for those first-timers, Tellez said.

Move Texas said current registration numbers are lower compared to previous election years, and they are preparing several virtual campaigns to get people to register and eventually to go out and vote.

Texas is lagging behind its previous presidential election year in terms of registering voters, Bonner said. However, there is still much work to do even though COVID has made this all the more difficult as we are just working harder and innovating to be able to meet that challenge.

One of these innovations is a web portal where people can provide their information and request a registration form to be sent to their home. Move Texas can do this without being certified to register voters since the individuals who request the form will fill it up and return it themselves to their local elections administration office.

Idrogo said if a cure became available for COVID-19, he would return to registering voters without any hesitation.

I would go back at it when this is all over. However, the fact that we have to live with this virus now and a vaccine may only prevent it and not be a sufficient cure means that those days are far from happening at the moment, Idrogo said.

People can request a registration form from Move Texas at movetexas.org/register.

The Webb County Elections Administration Office is also still registering certified voter registrars by appointment only. The office can be reached at (956) 523-4050 for more information on how to become a certified registrar or to get registered to vote. The deadline to register for the Nov. 3 elections is Oct. 5.

jorge.vela@lmtonline.com
Prince William chivalrously spoke out to prevent Kate Middleton from being compared to the late Princess Diana in a television interview.

This transpired during the royal couple's interview with royal correspondent Tom Bradby shortly after the declaration of their engagement in November 2010.

The Duchess of Cambridge was asked in the interview whether she felt pressured that her then husband-to-be's mother, the Princess of Wales, was a huge iconic figure. Prince William then interjected.

Middleton was questioned by Bradby, "You are obviously going to enter this family, the most famous royal family in the world. William's mother was this massive iconic figure. The most famous figure of our age, is that worrying? Is that intimidating?" reported "Daily Star."

"Do you think about that a lot both of you, you particularly Kate, obviously?" he added.

The duchess made a stirring comment regarding Princess Diana in the interview, "Obviously I would have loved to have met her and she's obviously an inspirational woman to look up to," reported "Mirror."

"Obviously on this day and you know going forward and things, you know it is a wonderful family, the members who I've met have achieved a lot and you know very inspirational and so, yes, I do," she added.

Prince William gently interjected that there is no pressure and as Middleton remarked, it is about controlling your own future and destiny that he is confident that Middleton will do a very good job of that.

The Duke of Cambridge courteously added that no one could fill his late mother's shoes and that what she did was remarkable.

Also Read: Princess Diana's Bridesmaid Spent Time on Jeffrey Epstein's Island

At the time, following years of dating and surmising from people, Middleton, now 38, and Prince William, also 38, officially announced that they would be getting married.

The parents of Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis then revealed engagement details that transpired on a Kenya holiday in the interview.

The prince narrated, "We had a little private time away together with some friends and I just decided that it was the right time really." They had been talking regarding the subject of marriage for a while so the proposal was not a massive surprise. He proposed in a nice place in Kenya.

Prince William said that he had been planning the proposal for a while but as with every other man, a certain amount of motivation is needed to initiate the action.

As he was planning, he felt that the timing was right in Africa which was beautiful at the time. He planned to reveal his romantic side to Middleton.

Prince William Becoming King

On the subject of Kate Middleton's husband Prince William becoming King, Princess Diana was asked her opinion regarding the crown skipping a generation during a BBC's "Panorama" interview in 1995.

The Princess of Wales was asked if the position of the monarch will skip a generation in the light of marital difficulties she had with Prince Charles.

She responded that Prince William was very young at the moment so "do you want a burden like that to be put on his shoulders at such an age?"

Related Article: Meghan Markle Was Not 'Duchess Difficult,' According to Royal Wedding Choir Member

@ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
The passage of the Brandon Act is a welcome bright spot in the federal response to addressing suicide among active duty troops. Yet the issues that service members face don't disappear when they take off the uniform. Many end up with access to fewer resources once they leave the military and become more vulnerable to suicide.

So, its also good news that the Veterans Affairs is increasing its wraparound services for veterans. In addition, a White House suicide prevention task force is raising awareness about veteran suicide.



Thats not enough, and states have important roles to play, too. Here in New York state, veterans die by suicide at a much higher rate than their civilian counterparts. A New York veteran dies by suicide nearly every other day. Between 2005 and 2017, the suicide rate for New York veterans ages 18 to 34 more than doubled.



In addition to expanding access to mental health care, New York has taken steps that appear promising for a comprehensive prevention strategy: enacting stricter gun safety laws, creating a state-level suicide prevention task force with a specific focus on veterans, and increasing financial stability for veterans all may contribute to a reduction in veteran suicide.
London: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have spent the past month contacting the leaders of major corporations, lobbying them to withdraw advertising spending from "lawless" social media companies such as Facebook.

Prince Harry revealed that he and his wife had set their sights on "remodelling the architecture" of social media, warning that sweeping change was needed to protect users' mental health and stop the spread of misinformation.

Britain's Prince Harry: fed up with the effects of social media. Credit:AP

In a 1400-word column for Fast Company, a US business magazine, he said the cost of using social media was "very high", with personal data traded for profit in a "relatively lawless space".

He questioned what susceptibility to "the coercive forces in digital spaces" would mean for the next generation, adding: "As a father, this is especially concerning to me." The issue will become one of the main focuses of the couple's longer-term work through Archewell, their non-profit organisation.
Its been five full days since Donna Steinhorn last had power, and shes not sure when shell get it back.

The Rumson resident has been without electricity since Tuesday, when Tropical Storm Isaias blew through New Jersey, knocking out power to more than one million residents and causing two tornadoes.

While most of those outages have been restored, Steinhorn is one of about 42,000 who still havent seen their lights back on.

This isnt the first time shes gone without power for several days. Superstorm Sandy knocked out power for two weeks, but she was able to make frequent visits to a family member with power.

Now, during coronavirus closures of indoor dining and other indoor services, its more difficult to find refuge from outages. Shes already had to throw away the contents of her fridge, and spotty cell service has made working at home a challenge.

Its particularly difficult with the pandemic since we cant go anywhere, Steinhorn, who is in her 60s and currently recovering from breast cancer, said.

More homes lost power during Tropical Storm Isaias than did during Hurricane Irene, when almost 930,000 homes lost power. A reliance on overhead power lines and more than 912 million trees makes restoration more difficult in New Jersey than in other states, power company officials said.

The prolonged outages are made worse by a lack of clear communication on restoration times, customers, including Gov. Phil Murphy, say. Power was restored at Murphys Middletown home on Thursday, but he was first told to expect outages through Tuesday, he said.

As of 7:30 a.m. on Sunday, more than 27,000 JCP&L customers still need power restored. PSE&G has about 11,000 outages remaining, while Orange & Rockland has 3,000 outages.

Some customers could remain without power until Tuesday night, a full week since the storm hit, power companies said.

Andrea Petti, who lives with her boyfriend in Long Hill, said the prolonged internet outages are particularly difficult.

No power means no internet, so my boyfriend whos been working from home cant do any work. With COVID he cant even go downtown to a Starbucks and just sit inside to work, Petti said.

Two trees fell on the couples home, puncturing a hole in the roof that needed to be fixed.

Friday (my boyfriend) was able to drive to my parents house in Edison to work a little bit but mostly still made phone calls to the insurance company and check on the electric updates, Petti said.

She says JCP&L has shown her estimated time of restoration at 9:30 p.m. of that day every day, giving her little confidence the estimations are correct. JCP&Ls outage tracker currently shows a restoration time of 11:30 p.m. for Long Hill.

Morris County is one of the hardest hit counties, with about 8,000 JCP&L customers still without power.

A JCP&L crew came out to Steinhorns neighborhood Sunday morning, she said, but left because they needed a tree crew to clean up first. Steinhorn isnt confident shell have power back on by 9:30 p.m. Sunday, the current restoration estimate.

Were always one of the last to get power back, Steinhorn said. She was first told power would be back by Tuesday, a full week after the storm, and then that was adjusted to Saturday by 9:30 p.m.

JCP&Ls website currently shows an 11:30 p.m. on Monday restoration time for Rumson.

Neither Petti nor Steinhorn have plans to leave home during an expected heatwave this week if their power isnt back on Sunday night.

I keep thinking today will be the day so I plan on staying in the one air-conditioned room, Steinhorn, who has a portable generator pumping cold air into one room, said.

Petti said logistics make it difficult for her to stay somewhere else; she shares two cats with her boyfriend she cant take to a hotel or family members house, and she was laid off when the coronavirus shutdowns were put in place.

But without internet at home, they might have to board the cats and head somewhere else so her boyfriend can work.

Were fortunate that we can make do with just him working right now but with the added costs of damages that insurance doesnt cover and a hotel and cat boarding, it does add up and put extra pressure on him, Petti said.

Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a voluntary subscription.

Katie Kausch may be reached at kkausch@njadvancemedia.com. Tell us your coronavirus story or send a tip here.
Gov. Ned Lamont Sunday signaled that Connecticut will press forward with in-person learning this fall, without saying whether the state plans to provide regular testing of staff members or students.

During a segment on CBS Face the Nation Sunday, Lamont extolled the states low transmission rate of COVID-19 as a sign Connecticut schools are ready to reopen.

I think if Connecticut cant reopen, I dont know who can around the country, Lamont said.

Schools will ensure everyone wears a mask, install Plexiglass partitions where needed, and will separate classes from one another  making sure that one 5th grade class doesnt party with another 5th grade class, the governor said.

And I think were going to give our kids the best shot for in-classroom education, he added.

Pressed about what the states plan is to regularly test staff members and students, Lamont said teachers are able to get a test for free, but didnt give any plans for the state to provide testing.

We have 160 testing centers, any teacher that wants to, go get a free test, Lamont said. Recommending maybe some of them do that before the start of the school year.

The governors remarks came as school districts around the country are beginning to welcome students back this week some in person, others virtually.

Last month, New York City schools submitted a plan that would see students returning to school for part of the week while learning remotely on other days.

When host Margaret Brennan brought up that numbers from the governors office showing 143,000 students simply didnt log on during distanced learning this spring, Lamont called the number a tragedy.

I do not want a lost year. And everybody says lets not go back to school until its perfectly safe, until we have a vaccine, until 100 percent of the people are vaccinated. I worry that could be a lost year of education, the governor said.

In the event schools have to return to virtual classrooms this fall, Lamont said the state has bought 100,000 Chromebooks as a backup plan.

Asked about unemployment, the governor was dismissive of an executive order by President Trump Saturday that would extend unemployment benefits of $400 a week to those affected by the COVID-19 crisis.

The plan, which would give people $200 less than they had been receiving, instantly drew scrutiny from observers for side-stepping congress ability to determine federal tax policy.

On Sunday, Lamont said the plan would cost Connecticut $500 million between now and the end of the year.

Look, I can take that money from testing, I dont think thats a great idea, I can take that money from mass disinfecting from our schools, I dont think thats a great idea. In fact I think the Presidents plan is not a great idea, Lamont said.
Republicans may once have plotted to kill John Hume, and even tried to burn the former SDLP leader's wife and daughter alive when they were alone at the family's home in the Bogside, but they were given another predictable free pass last week when the Nobel Peace Prize winner's death was announced. In the IRA's case, it would apparently be rude to bring up the past.

Instead it was those who'd come out against the joint political strategy that Hume formulated with Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams in the 1990s who were lambasted.

Admittedly, I'm biased. Some of the articles posted on social media last week as examples of the criticism directed at the Hume-Adams process back in the day were written by me, and I have no quarrel with anyone's right to criticise me or anyone else for what we wrote at the time.

What was curious was the reluctance to put the articles into any kind of context.

I remember that awful time well.

I lived in north Belfast, where passions were running high. I'd only recently come back home after eight years away. The week after I returned, the IRA set off a bomb in Frizzell's fish shop on the Shankill Road, murdering nine innocent people, including two children. In the following days, loyalists began a series of retaliatory murders against ordinary Catholics.

Taking a stance against the Hume-Adams process caused huge ructions inside my own family that were never healed. I lost friends who never spoke to me again.





STOP SPEAKING OUT

My uncle, Joe Cahill, the former IRA chief of staff who is said to have ordered the Warrington bombing a few months previously which also killed two children, used to phone up my mother, his sister, to try and get her to make me stop speaking out.

Those who hold that John Hume's good intentions in wanting an end to violence were so self-evidently correct that any criticism of him is unconscionable have a simpler narrative fixed in their minds.

To them, Hume talked to Adams in an effort to get peace. Adams responded and brought the IRA to the negotiating table. This led to the Good Friday Agreement in 1998, and that in turn led to 22 years of peace. With the benefit of a one-sided hindsight, they have turned complex and shifting events decades ago into a fairy tale, a parable.

What alarmed critics was not that Hume was talking to Adams. The British government was also talking to the IRA. It was that Hume was simultaneously, and in secret, working on a joint strategy with the political representatives of a terrorist organisation that continued to carry out atrocities.

No one knew what they were formulating - at least not members of Hume's own party, or other democratic parties, or the Irish government, though the IRA Army Council had a full role in those discussions throughout.

There were regular promises that the so-called Hume-Adams document, which laid out the basis of their negotiations, would be published to reassure doubters. It wasn't.

To this day, it has never been made public. The reason, it's now clear, is because there were many different versions.

It was a strategic masterstroke. Everyone was told what they needed to be told in order to get them on board, but it bred mistrust and suspicion, both "across the North and in Ireland generally", as the former SDLP deputy leader Seamus Mallon put it in his memoir, published last year.

The Provos had always had the offer of a clear path into peace talks. Once they laid down their arms, Sinn Fein could join all other democratically elected parties around the table on an equal footing.

This wasn't good enough for republicans. They wanted more - and, through Hume-Adams, they got it.

Mallon's fear was that, having come to the end of the voyage, republicans were using Hume to scramble off a sinking ship of their own making and take over the captaincy of whatever ship kindly picked them up, and would revert to violence if they didn't get their own way.

That was hardly an unreasonable fear. While it was undated, one of the articles of mine which was circulated online last week appears to have been published in March 1994, because it references a recent IRA mortar attack on Heathrow Airport.

By that point, I was pregnant with my first child. The idea that those of us who opposed Hume-Adams were 'afraid of peace', to parrot the childish slogan of the time, is so far from the truth it's amazing it's still being repeated.

I was in my 20s, and I'd grown up in Belfast during the worst of the Troubles in the 1970s and '80s. Why would I want a repetition of that for my children?

My fear was not that there would be peace, but that the IRA would pocket each concession and then turn violence on and off strategically in order to extract more.

Within a few weeks of that article appearing, the IRA had, among the usual attacks on security forces, gone on to murder a 23-year-old Catholic man in West Belfast, whom it claimed was dealing drugs; another 23-year-old Catholic in Downpatrick, who was accused of being an informer, and whose body was found in a blue boiler suit with his hands tied behind his back after making what the IRA described as a detailed confession; and a 38-year-old Protestant father of two who worked as a civilian cleaner at the RUC station in Armagh.

His car was blown up with his entire family inside. His three-year-old daughter spent a week in a coma. Miraculously, she made a full recovery.





CANARY WHARF

Public opinion has largely forgotten such victims, and Twitter, having the memory span of a gnat, probably never even knew they existed. This, though, was the context in which those pieces were written, by myself and others.

Our fears were hardly assuaged when, in 1996, just 18 months into the subsequent ceasefire, the South Armagh Brigade of the IRA set off a 3,000lb bomb in London's Canary Wharf, murdering a 29-year-old newsagent, Inam Bashir, and his 31-year-old employee John Jeffries, and leaving dozens seriously injured, including one who suffered permanent brain damage.

The bomb was exploded because the British were demanding the IRA disarm before peace talks, which was not what the Provos had been led to expect by Hume-Adams.

The bomb worked. Under pressure from the Irish and American governments and others, the British caved in. It was agreed that disarmament would be part of the talks rather than a precondition. Disarmament didn't come about during talks either. Sinn Fein was allowed into government in 1999 while holding on to a private terrorist army.





DEMOCRATIC OUTRAGE

Seamus Mallon, who was deputy First Minister in the inaugural devolved government, regarded that as a democratic outrage, and feared it would make genuine power-sharing impossible. His predictions came to pass.

By the time the IRA eventually did agree to decommission its weapons, the middle ground of both unionism and nationalism had been destroyed, leaving a duopoly of the political representatives of the Provisional IRA and the party which had its roots in Paisleyite fundamentalism.

Both parties have evolved since to some extent, though Sinn Fein in government continues to eulogise a terrorist organisation which blew up children and newsagents to make a point. That is part of John Hume's legacy, too.

Those who insisted last week that there was no other way to end the conflict than to accede to the IRA's demands at every turn are entitled to their opinion - but it's not the only one.

It's impossible to know what might have happened had the British and Irish governments listened to Seamus Mallon instead of Hume, and demanded far more of the Provos before handing them the keys of government.





CONFIRMATION

That it was taken as gospel last week that what John Hume did was unquestionably right because it "brought peace" at any price was simply further confirmation that the situation is still being viewed entirely from a nationalist perspective.

Nationalists did what they had to do to get agreement among themselves, regardless of what unionists might think. Unionists were not only excluded from discussions about the future of their own country, but were then expected to be grateful to the IRA for not killing them any more.

John Hume delivered what he set out to deliver - a lasting cessation by the Provisional IRA. That is his great achievement. The question of whether terrorists got too much in return remains valid.

As Seamus Mallon said, maybe rewarding them was the "price we had to pay for peace", but it also "legitimised" the IRA and has enabled everything which came subsequently - the whitewashing of sectarian slaughter as regrettable but necessary collateral damage; the destruction of the centre ground in Northern Irish politics; Sinn Fein's advance on power North and South.

Were some of the pieces written at the time over the top in tone and content, including some of mine? Undoubtedly. Free speech is messy, even ugly at times. Everyone should be prepared to reflect in retrospect on what they got wrong as well as right.

But the way tribal passions were inflamed again following John Hume's death suggests that something insidious entered the mainstream of public discourse when the IRA was let in from the cold too cheaply, and it's now being amplified and quickened by social media.

This is how you control the narrative. You insist there is only one way of seeing the past and present, and denounce those who don't go along with it as heretics. The Republic needs to protect itself against those tendrils.
Recent weeks have seen growing calls to defund the police, which include rerouting and investing this money into different community programs and social services. Heres one idea where we could start: stop routine police attendance at drug overdoses.

When people call 911 to request an ambulance upon witnessing an overdose, only paramedics should be sent, and the situation should be treated as the medical emergency it is. Unfortunately, thats not what seems to be happening, at least not in Ontario, with police regularly attending overdose scenes with little obvious rhyme or reason. More often than not, there is no purpose for police to be present.

In May of 2017, the government of Canada passed the Good Samaritan Drug Overdose Act, largely in response to the skyrocketing number of opioid overdose deaths caused by the toxic drug supply in our country. While not a blanket exemption, the Good Samaritan law gives immunity from prosecution for offences related to simple drug possession to anyone who calls 911 to report an overdose or anyone on the scene when emergency services arrive. In so doing, it aims to make people less reluctant to seek emergency assistance during a drug overdose because of the fear of criminal charges.

This law is more relevant now than ever, as the ongoing overdose crisis has been further compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in what Toronto Public Health calls the worst cluster of fatalities since 2017.

In theory, following the spirit if not the letter of this imperfect law, 911 services should not be dispatching police to overdoses, and the police should not be attending. But, in practice, things are very different. Per a recent study conducted by the HIV Legal Network and Ryerson University, police often show up at the scene, despite the fact that they were not requested and are unhelpful in any medical sense.

This is especially ironic considering there are still certain police departments in Canada that do not carry or refuse to equip their officers with Narcan, a type of life-saving medication that can be used to reverse an opioid overdose, citing costs as a main issue as well as redundancy with services already provided by trained paramedics.

Not only are police unhelpful during these life-and-death situations, but they create roundabout ways to criminalize the Good Samaritans who call 911 for help. Our recent research has revealed that when police are present at an overdose, some engage in surveillance, at times even taking down names of people perceived to be involved or simply in the vicinity. Police have returned to these people in the following hours or days to get more information from them, triggering fear that they are now on the police radar.

No matter how frequently these incidents are happening, police skirting the intention of the law sends a palpable chill through the very communities the law is meant to protect. Fewer witnesses feel that calling 911 safeguards them in any way, and fewer lives are saved.

Ultimately, it is unfair to force people who use drugs to choose between their personal safety and that of an overdosing community member. With lives at stake, it is critical to restore peoples trust in the Good Samaritan law by making sure police understand and abide by it, upholding its underlying ethos of harm reduction.

Overdoses are first and foremost medical emergencies, and police involvement is unnecessary at best and counterproductive  perhaps fatal  at worst. Far from being protective, police presence can be a public health risk. Dispatching them to an overdose scene must be reserved for the very limited security instances that warrant their presence. Until then, people will continue to be discouraged from calling 911 and more needless deaths will result.

To save lives, the Good Samaritan law must be worth more than the paper on which it is written.
Karnataka health minister B Sriramulu tested positive for Covid-19 on Sunday, barely a week after chief minister BS Yediyurappa tested positive for the viral infection last Sunday.

Taking to Twitter, Sriramulu said that he was tested after he went down with flu-like symptoms. He added that he was hospitalised because he had been visiting the states 30 districts amid the spike in coronavirus cases in the state. The health minister has been admitted to the state-run Bowring Hospital in Bengaluru.

From the time of Coronas appearance, I have had the opportunity to visit the 30 districts and work in harmony with the governments desire to treat people well. It is in this backdrop that I am going to be hospitalised and treated, he said in Kannada in a series of tweets.

ALSO READ | Karnataka CM BS Yediyurappa tests positive for Covid-19

All those who have been in contact with me recently have been requested to take precautionary measures, he added.

To reassure the people of Karnataka, the health minister said, under the leadership of the chief ministers, all the departments of the state government, including the health department, have been working hard against the Covid-19 pandemic.

A week earlier, Karnataka chief minister BS Yediyurappa had tested positive for Covid-19. The chief minister had said that though he was fine, he was being hospitalised as a precaution on the advice of his doctors. He also asked all those who had come in contact with him to go for self-quarantine. The chief minister has not been discharged from hospital yet and is believed to be stable. A day later, Yediyurappas elder daughter, BY Padmavati too had tested positive for the infectious disease.

Karnataka on Saturday reported the highest single-day spike of over 7,000 cases and 93 deaths, taking the total number of infections to 1,72,102 and the death toll past the 3,000 mark, a health department statement said.

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Of crime fictions many sub-genres, among the most cherishedand most difficult to achieveis the dual-time plot.

Eve Chase excels at the tricky task and burnishes her bona fides in her third novel, The Daughters of Foxcote Manor (Putnam, $27, 368 pages).

When their London home sustains major fire damage in 1971, Walter Harrington sends wife Jeannie, 13-year-old daughter Hera, 6-year-old son Teddy and the childrens nanny, Rita Murphy, to Foxcote Manor, their country house in the Forest of Dean.

But their quiet rural life is interrupted when Hera finds an abandoned baby in the forest and a body is discovered nearby.

Flash forward to the present day, when middle-aged Londoner Sylvie Broom, prompted by her mothers near-fatal fall, begins looking into her past. Meanwhile, Sylvies daughter, Annie, becomes pregnant.

In the devilishly atmospheric story that follows, Chase builds a narrative laden with twists rendered so cleverly that readers likely will not foresee them. She does so with deeply formed characters, a setting guaranteed to evoke unease and prose that amplifies the ominous events.
An ice rink featuring a frozen waterfall in Beijings Changping district has become a popular destination among climbing enthusiasts and newcomers to ice sports. Located in the Huyu Natural Scenic Area, the rink consists of a 40-meter-high climbing area. With the approach to the Beijing Winter Olympics, ice and snow activities are attracting fans across the country. The China Tourism Academy estimated that 305 million people will visit such venues nationwide this season

Jan 18, 2022 05:36 PM
(CNN)  Terri Wilder became dreadfully ill in 2014, falling asleep immediately each day after she got home from work and laying in bed all weekend, recovering just enough to drag herself to work the next week.

"I could barely raise my hand to hail a cab," she said.

After nearly two years, Wilder was diagnosed with a disease called myalgic encephalomyelitis, also called chronic fatigue syndrome, a neuroimmune condition with symptoms including brain fog, severe fatigue, pain, immune aberrations and post-exertional malaise.

She had worked for decades as a social worker and activist for marginalized communities, focusing on HIV research and education programs and LGBTQ health. Wilder was shocked to find that ME/CFS lacked a drug approved by the Food and Drug Administration, and scientists studying the disease only received about $5 million annually in research funding from the National Institutes of Health.

At that point, she found herself in an altogether new marginalized disease community, reminiscent of the stigmatized groups she fought for at the height of the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s.

A chronic disease, ME/CFS can last for decades. It often takes root following some form of viral infection, for instance Epstein-Barr virus or Ross River virus. The novel coronavirus is just one more virus that can potentially trigger the onset of this debilitating condition.

Wilder fears that hundreds of thousands of people with Covid-19 could develop the same illness plaguing her. And leading medical experts have the same concern.

"Even after you clear the virus, there are post-viral symptoms. I know, because I follow on the phone a lot of people who call me up and talk about their course," said Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, in a July 17 interview with Medscape.

"It's extraordinary how many people have a postviral syndrome that's very strikingly similar to myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome."

Many are falling ill and staying ill

More than six months into the global coronavirus crisis, many who contract Covid-19 are not fully recovering.

Up to 35% of those diagnosed with Covid-19 were not back to their normal selves two to three weeks after testing positive for the coronavirus, according to a July 24 report by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Of the 292 people the CDC surveyed on post-Covid recoveries, those recovering from Covid-19 reported a median of seven of the CDC's 17 symptoms.

Thirty-five percent reported fatigue. And one in five younger people ages 18 to 34 without any other chronic medical conditions reported they had not fully recovered.

One of those still struggling with symptoms months later is CNN anchor Chris Cuomo, who first announced that he tested positive for the coronavirus on March 31.

Speaking on his show on July 14, he noted that myalgic encephalomyelitis had been suggested to him as a reason why he hasn't fully recovered.

"I've got brain fog that won't go away," Cuomo said. "I've got an onset of clinical depression, which is not sadness. People keep saying to me, 'Don't be sad.' I'm not sad. I'm depressed. It's different. I can't control it."

Cuomo has regularly talked on air about his battle with Covid-19, and he's conversed with viewers on Twitter about his journey, many of whom say their Covid-19 symptoms are lingering, too.

"I can't recover from workouts the way I did before," he continued.

Failure to recover from exercise, or post-exertional malaise, is often considered a hallmark ME/CFS symptom, according to a 2015 report by the National Academy of Medicine. That report also estimated that 836,000 to 2.5 million Americans suffer from ME/CFS, although most are not diagnosed.

At present, ME/CFS is estimated to have a $17 billion to $24 billion impact on the US economy, based on medical bills and patients' lost income due to many being unable to work, according to the CDC.

If you have chronic Covid-19, it's important to rest

Living with ME/CFS, seeing Covid-19 pillage her city and reading press reports of Covid-19 patients not recovering has left Wilder on edge.

She has been using all her connections from her career in public health to help raise the alarm about chronic symptoms that so-called Covid "long-haulers" are likely to face for months or years to come.

On Friday, Wilder is facilitating a webinar for people facing the lingering effects of Covid-19. That event, in collaboration with the Myalgic Encephalomyelitis Action Network, sold out quickly with minimal advertising, showing her that there's likely a big need for the information she and ME/CFS clinicians are providing.

"The first thing that terrifies me is 'Don't exercise.' You can make yourself sicker," Wilder said. "This is something that everyone with ME wishes that somebody had told them in advance. We don't want people to go through the things that we did."

Those with ME/CFS should prioritize activity management, or pacing, the CDC recommends. This means you should understand your physical and cognitive limits, and not push beyond them, as this will result in a crash, setting you back on your recovery. "Some patients and doctors refer to staying within these limits as staying within the 'energy envelope,'" the agency said.

Researchers are monitoring how patients' symptoms progress

A number of research and support groups are setting up to help people struggling with long-term Covid-19 symptoms and to explore how and why immune system abnormalities might lead to ME/CFS.

More than 14,000 people have joined an online Covid-19 support group on the website of Body Politic, which describes itself as a queer feminist health collective and media company. The community offers insights for those who have tested positive, are experiencing symptoms or are recovering from Covid-19. And it contains special sections for those whose Covid symptoms have lasted beyond 30 or 90 days.

Members of Congress are taking notice as well.

Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland is co-sponsoring a bill, HR 7057, the "Understanding Covid-19 Subsets and ME/CFS Act." The proposed legislation calls for $60 million in federal funding, or $15 million annually through 2024, for projects including data collection, collaborative research centers and a medical research program to be executed by the National Institutes of Health and the US Department of Veterans Affairs.

One of the groups that would likely vie for additional federal resources is the Open Medicine Foundation, a collaborative of scientists focusing on ME/CFS research with centers at Stanford University and Harvard University.

The group launched a study of Covid-19 patients that will monitor how their disease and its possible aftereffects, specifically chronic conditions that might occur after an illness, evolve. The researchers will analyze patients' genomes, as well as complete protein and metabolism profiles at regular intervals.

"Covid-19 gives us an unprecedented opportunity to advance our understanding of post-viral disease," said Dr. Ami Mac, the director of translational medicine at the Stanford Genome Technology Center, which is associated with the OMF.

"This could result in a longstanding public health disaster leaving in its wake untold numbers of new sufferers of a condition that feels like a 'living death' for those of us afflicted," Mac, who has ME/CFS, said.

In the next couple weeks, she hopes to finish building an app by which researchers can follow Covid-19 patients and the symptoms, tracking how and when they develop symptoms consistent with ME/CFS.

"We plan to obtain blood samples over a few years longitudinally to allow us to see which molecular changes occur that prevent resolution of symptoms," she said.

Both Mac and Wilder plan to keep dedicating themselves as strong advocates for Covid-19 long-haulers who need all the support, scientifically and socially, that they can get.

One way Wilder did that was by asking Fauci a question about ME/CFS and Covid-19 at a July 9 news conference organized by the International AIDS Society.

Fauci's acknowledgement of the link garnered international headlines, and afterwards he went on to compare the two conditions publicly on at least two other occasions last month.

"Because of my HIV background and my knowledge of social activist groups like Act Up, I just quickly realized we have to work together and I have to take advantage of every opportunity available to me," Wilder said.

This story was first published on CNN.com Chronic fatigue syndrome a possible long-term effect of Covid-19, experts say
Authorities are investigating a shooting in Alabama that left one person dead and five others injured, including an off-duty Birmingham police officer.

According to Birmingham Police Sgt. Rod Mauldin, the off-duty officer suffered non-life threatening injuries in a shooting just before midnight at #1 Stunnas Motorcycle Club in the city's Ensley neighborhood.
Six protesters have been arrested at an anti-lockdown protest in Melbourne's CBD on Sunday.

Attendees at the Melbourne Freedom March claim their rights are being compromised by the coronavirus restrictions.

Police arrest a man at the anti-lockdown protest in Melbourne's CBD on Sunday. Credit: Darrian Traynor/Getty Image

Police also issued 27 fines for breaches of the Chief Health Officers directions at the protest outside the Victorian Parliament House.

The protesters were arrested after they refused to provide their details to police. They were all released after they provided the information and fined $1652.
U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar arrives at Taipei Songshan Airport in Taipei, Taiwan, Sunday, Aug. 9, 2020. Azar arrived in Taiwan on Sunday in the highest-level visit by an American Cabinet official since the break in formal diplomatic relations between Washington and Taipei in 1979. (AP Photo/Chiang Ying-ying)

Azar Arrives in Taiwan for Highest-Level US Delegation in Decades

TAIPEI, TaiwanU.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar arrived in Taiwan on Sunday in the highest-level visit by an American Cabinet official since the break in formal diplomatic relations between Washington and Taipei in 1979.

Beijing has already protested Azars visit as a betrayal of U.S. commitments not to have official contact with the island. China claims Taiwan as its own territory, to be brought under its control by military force if necessary.

Azar is due to meet with the islands President Tsai Ing-wen along with health officials during a three-day visit aimed at highlighting cooperation in the fight against the coronavirus.

Taiwans government-run health care system has been credited with keeping the number of coronavirus cases to under 500 with just seven deaths, despite its close proximity to China where the virus originated.

A plane carrying U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar lands at Taipei Songshan Airport in Taipei, Taiwan, Sunday, Aug. 9, 2020. (AP Photo/Chiang Ying-ying)

China sees Taiwan as a key irritant in its troubled relationship with Washington, with whom it is also at odds over trade, technology, the South China Sea, and Chinas response to the virus pandemic.

The United States maintains only unofficial ties with Taiwan in deference to Beijing, but is the islands most important ally and provider of defense equipment.

Azar is the first health secretary to visit Taiwan and the first Cabinet member to visit in six years. In 2014, then-Environmental Protection Agency administrator Gina McCarthy visited Taiwan, sparking protests from Beijing.

Azars office said he will hold discussions on COVID-19, global health, and Taiwans role as a supplier of medical equipment and technology.

Azars visit was facilitated by the 2018 passage of the Taiwan Travel Act, which encouraged Washington to send higher-level officials to Taiwan after decades during which such contacts were rare and freighted with safeguards to avoid roiling ties with Beijing.

U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, center, talks with Taiwanese Deputy Foreign Minister Tien Chung-kwang as he arrives at Taipei Songshan Airport in Taipei, Taiwan, Sunday, Aug. 9, 2020. (AP Photo/Chiang Ying-ying)

U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, second left, waves to media as he arrives at Taipei Songshan Airport in Taipei, Taiwan, Sunday, Aug. 9, 2020. (AP Photo/Chiang Ying-ying)

China has cut contacts with Tsai over her refusal to recognize Chinas claim to the island and has brought increasing diplomatic, economic and military pressure against her, including by poaching away several of its remaining diplomatic allies and excluding it from international gatherings including the World Health Assembly. That, in turn, has increased already considerable bipartisan sympathy for Taipei in Washington and prompted new measures to strengthen governmental and military ties.

Also Sunday, Taiwanese Foreign Minister Joseph Wu met with the first representative of Somaliland to the island ahead of the territorys opening of a representative office in Taipei.

Wu earlier tweeted that Mohamed Omar Hagi Mohamoud had braved Chinese pressurea reference to reports that China had sought to block relations between Taiwan and the region on the Horn of Africa that broke from the rest of Somalia but is not recognized by the United Nations as an independent country.

The fact sovereignty & friendship arent for sale deserves international recognition, Wu wrote on Twitter.

On his arrival, Mahamoud wrote on Twitter, We are ready to establish good relations with all countries  those we share values of democracy are special.
Lebanons information and environment ministers resigned Sunday in the wake of massive protests over the deadly blast in Beirut's port last week, per AP.

Why it matters: In her resignation letter, Information Minister Manal Abdel-Samad called change "elusive" and apologized for not delivering more to the country, which had been devastated by a financial crisis and the coronavirus pandemic even before the blast destroyed much of the capital city.

"Given the magnitude of the catastrophe caused by the Beirut earthquake that shook the nation and hurt our hearts and minds, and in respect for the martyrs, and the pains of the wounded, missing and displaced, and in response to the public will for change, I resign from the government."

 Excerpt from Abdel-Samad's resignation letter

Public outrage has grown in recent days as protesters have taken to the streets, blaming the political ruling class for the corruption and negligence that allowed 2,700 tons of ammonium nitrate to be left unsecured near the city's port for more than six years.

Environment Minister Demanios Kattar said while resigning late Sunday that the ruling system was "flaccid and sterile," per AP.

Of note: Al Jazeera reports that nine members of parliament have also resigned over the explosion, which killed 160 people and injured some 6,000 others.

What to expect: Prime Minister Hassan Diab said in a televised speech Saturday he intends to propose early elections and would give all political parties two months to work on structural reforms.

Go deeper: What's next for Lebanon after the Beirut explosion

Editor's note: This article has been updated with details of the latest resignations.
(Natural News) Senator Tom Cotton (R., Ark.) and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) introduced a bill to ensure that public universities properly comply with students First Amendment rights.

(Article by Jack Beyer republished from FreeBeacon.com)

Cotton and McConnell, along with Sens. Kelly Loeffler (R., Ga.) and Kevin Cramer (R., S.D.), introduced the Free Speech Restoration Act on Thursday. The bill will block federal funding to public schools that do not comply with federal regulations on such practices as free speech zones and speech codes. The bill allows the federal government to revoke funding to private universities that are insufficiently transparent about their own expression policies.

The right to free expression is among the most precious of our liberties, Cottons office said in a press release. The Campus Free Speech Restoration Act will ensure that this much-neglected liberty is restored and protected on our nations college campuses.

The bill also proposes a reporting process allowing students to file complaints if private universities fail to comply with their own speech codes. If the evidence of a violation is sufficient, these complaints could trigger a federal investigation. The bill, however, contains exemptions for religious institutions of higher education.

Higher education experts applauded the bill as a strong defense of First Amendment rights.

An energetic effort to pass Cottons campus free-speech bill will do wondersnot just for our college campuses but for the country as a whole, wrote Ethics and Public Policy Center senior fellow Stanley Kurtz. In short, Tom Cottons Campus Free Speech Restoration Act is at the leading edge of the fight to restore liberty and constitutional principle to our college campusesand to our country.

Read more at: FreeBeacon.com
Sinn Fein has rubbished claims in a new book that Gerry Adams was an MI5 informer.

Undercover War: Britain's Special Forces and Their Battle Against the IRA, by Harry McCallion, makes the astonishing claim based on a letter made public in 2017.

The ex-SAS solider and RUC officer quotes from Irish state papers that mention how Fr Denis Faul put forward the theory that eight IRA members shot dead in 1987 by undercover troops at Loughgall were "set up by Gerry Adams himself".

Sinn Fein has consistently dismissed the cleric's claims as "utter nonsense".

Mr McCallion, who did several tours of Northern Ireland with the SAS before spending six years in the RUC, admits he wanted Adams "dead".

"This wasn't a sudden urge. I was a veteran with seven tours of Northern Ireland under my belt and I'd given the matter some thought," he confesses.

"One night in the mess bar, drinking with a serving officer from MI5, I was loudly voicing my opinion. Looking back, I must have sounded naive and spectacularly ill-informed, but I truly believed the best way to stop the terrorists was to target the high command. Like I said, kill Gerry Adams.

"The somewhat inebriated MI5 officer's response was surprising: 'No. He's one of ours.' I cannot confirm whether this was true, or whether it had its origins in the kind of drunken bravado that leads to all sorts of tall tales in the mess.

"However, the look of shock on the officer's face after the words came out, and his refusal to continue the conversation, were suggestive, as was the fact that he was unwilling ever to speak with me again outside a formal setting.

"I've never forgotten that night in the mess. Looking back from today's perspective, many of the most secret and dangerous operations undertaken by British forces in the province, and their outcomes, make more sense to me if the British security services truly did have an informer right at the top of the Republican movement."

Mr McCallion is adamant that a senior IRA informant tipped off the authorities about the Provos' planned attack on Loughgall RUC station, which led to the gang's biggest loss of life during the Troubles.

He suggests Adams could have leaked the information - which the ex-Sinn Fein president denies - to advance the party's political ambitions.

In the years after Loughgall the IRA suffered further heavy casualties in east Tyrone, killings that severely weakened one of its most active and deadly units.

McCallion adds: "That information devastated the East Tyrone brigade, and it kept coming. It seems quite coincidental that so much of this intelligence happened to be directed against figures in the PIRA who had the potential to threaten Adams' path towards a settlement."
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Twelve protesters in Kentuckys largest city were arrested Saturday night after they blocked roadways, surrounded vehicles, shot paintballs and destroyed property, police said.

Eight people were charged with felonies and four were charged with misdemeanours, Louisville police spokesman Sgt. Lamont Washington said in a statement.

Not all of the charges were available early Sunday, but the Courier Journal reported some counts included first-degree riot, unlawful assembly and failure to disperse.

Police announced later Sunday that due to more aggressive behaviour in the last week, including Saturday, that officers will no longer allow protesters to continue demonstrating in the streets and in caravans.

Beginning Sunday night, all pedestrians must stay out of the streets and neither cars nor pedestrians will be allowed to block intersections for any length of time, police said in a statement. Those who dont follow the new rules could be cited or arrested, the statement said.

Protests were held much of Saturday in Louisville, including an anti-eviction demonstration and a separate rally calling for action against the police officers involved in shooting Breonna Taylor the night she was killed in her apartment, the newspaper reported.

Taylor, an African American, was shot multiple times March 13 when police officers burst into her Louisville apartment using a no-knock warrant during a narcotics investigation. No drugs were found.

One officer has been terminated and two others are on administrative reassignment while authorities investigate.

Global protests on behalf of Taylor, George Floyd in Minnesota and others have been part of a national reckoning over racism and police brutality. Demonstrations have been taking place daily in Louisville since late May.
The authorities, for their part seem reluctant to fix the flaws in the government order or take the violators to task despite repeated interventions from civil society organisations.

On 20 June, the Delhi government issued an order capping prices for COVID-19 treatments in private hospitals with the proviso that all COVID-19 beds would be at rates given by the committee (formed under NITI Aayog member Dr VK Paul) subject to upper limit of 60 percent of the beds of total hospital bed capacity".

According to the order, the prices for all National Accreditation Board for Hospitals & Healthcare Providers-accredited hospitals were to be capped at Rs 10,000, Rs 15,000, and Rs 18,000 for isolation beds, ICU beds without ventilators, and with ventilators support, respectively.

Similarly, for all non-NABH accredited hospitals, the prices were Rs 8,000, Rs 13,000, and Rs 15,000, respectively.

The order clarified further: "The rates for private hospitals beds would be all inclusive as a package. This will include, but not limited to: bed, food and other amenities, monitoring, nursing care, doctors' visits/ consults, investigations including imaging, treatment as per the national protocol for COVID-19 care and standard care for co-morbidities, oxygen, blood transfusion, etc.

Despite the government order, private hospitals have continued to not only overcharge patients, but also keep them in the dark regarding the scheme.

The authorities, for their part seem reluctant to fix the flaws in the government order or take the violators to task despite repeated interventions from civil society organisations (CSOs).

Caught between insurance provider, hospital

On 20 June, 60-year-old Tarun Lata was admitted to Shri Moolchand Kharaiti Ram Hospital and Ayurvedic Research Institute, a NABH-accredited facility for COVID-19 with left side pneumonia and pleural effusion. After being kept in an isolation ward for 10 days, Lata was billed Rs 2,59,348.

The hospital bill included an average cost of PPE kits at Rs 4,477 per day and oxygen charges for nine days at the rate of Rs 1,400 per day even though she was not even administered oxygen.

When Lata's son Nitin Gulati objected to the bill and asked the hospital to charge as per the rates fixed by the Delhi government, the hospital claimed the order was passed a day after Lata was admitted to the hospital.

His father and brother also tested COVID-19 positive and were under home isolation.

It was a very traumatic situation for me, running between my mother in hospital and two other family members at home, and then there was this fiasco with the hospital, said Gulati.

On 8 August, when this reporter spoke to people in the cash counter and the admission department, and the billing department, they said that Latas case was to be charged under insurance and not the Delhi government price capping.

The front desk executive then called back to give me email addresses to write to.

Please send us your queries again. Our senior team will have to discuss and revert accordingly, the executive said.

In the meantime, the hospital had already sent a response on the case on 7 August denying these charges.

Dr Madhu Handa, medical administrator, wrote that the billing was done as per the agreement between the hospital and the insurance company.

The Delhi government order, however, lays down no special exceptions for insurance cases.

Gulati explained that he sought help from the corporate insurance cover provided by his employer.

He said that there was a tussle between the hospital and the insurance company over the bill. At first, the insurance company said that they would pay as per the Delhi government price cap only and not the full bill, informed Gulati.

The hospital, however, refused to budge. As a result, the insurance covered only Rs 1.02 lakh. After Gulati's employer approached the insurance company, an additional Rs 80,000 was added to the amount covered.

That still meant an out of pocket expenditure of Rs 80,000. But, the larger issue is that the hospital never bothered to inform us properly about the Delhi government price capping, let alone implement it, said Gulati.

Lata's is not the only case involving overcharging by Delhi hospitals, though.

Representational image. AP

Selective redressal

Nitin Kumar, 22, had to take up against three different hospitals: Max Super Speciality Hospital Saket (East Block), Goyal Hospital and Urology Centre, and Max Smart Super Speciality in Saket over alleged overcharging.

He and his mother Binney Rani tested COVID-19 positive while the rest of their family was in isolation.

"It was difficult to continue challenging the hospitals in that situation, he said.

Kumar noted that he was administered FabiFlu at Max Super Speciality Hospital without his informed consent.

Even though I consumed FabiFlu for only two days (26 tablets in total), I have been charged for two boxes of the medicine (34 tablets each). I was not given any of the medicine to take home when I was discharged, he said, adding that he had been charged Rs 6,998.

This was all via Whatsapp! he added and recalled that he repeatedly refused to give consent to such practices.

Additionally, he had also been charged for medicines and investigation, which are part of the standard care for COVID-19 patients, at Rs 2,185.50 and Rs 8,850, respectively.

Kumar sent as a complaint letter to the hospital authorities as well as members of the state and central health departments.

On 1 August, Arti Ahuja, additional secretary (MoHFW) forwarded Nitins petition against Max Super Speciality Hospital to Vikram Dev Dutt, principal secretary (Delhi HFW) urging him to "enquire into the matter and take appropriate action".

The hospital took cognisance and refunded the overbilled amount. The hospital asked him to sign a non-disclosure agreement, which he had reservations against doing and thus only gave only a written acknowledgement instead.

The complaints regarding Kumar's mothers treatment charges at Max Smart Super Speciality Hospital, Saket (East Block) and Goyal Hospital and Urology Center, however, have still not been acknowledged.

She was overbilled Rs 75,947 at Max Smart, and Rs 28,000 on a COVID-19 package along with an arbitrary pricing of Rs 4,000 for ambulance transfer at Goyal Hospital.

On 30 July, when this author spoke to Shaleen Mitra, the OSD to Delhi health minister Satyendar Jain, he was not aware of these complaints sent to his department and requested that these be forwarded to him again.

On 4 August, Mitra replied that Nitin's payment was returned by the hospital. However, he gave no acknowledgement of the complaints about overcharging in Nitin's mother's medical bills.

Tanushree Roy Chowdhury, the deputy general manager, corporate communications and public relations of Max Healthcare, initially said the complaint was resolved.

Then on 1 August, Chowdhury replied again saying she would look into the matter after the 'long weekend'. There has been no response. But she did ask repeatedly which media outlet would be carrying the story.

'Pay or take patient out'

Mayanka Sanghotras mother Narender Kaur breathed her last on 17 July in Shanti Mukand Hospital. Kaur was admitted there since 24 June after being diagnosed as COVID-19 positive. This hospital too didn't inform Mayanka of the government orders, and asked her to pay for a COVID-19 package of Rs 4 lakh instead.

Later, she was asked to procure three injections costing Rs 40,000 each and six vials of remdesiver which is really not easy to find.

When I went to search for remdesiver outside, there was so much blackmarketing! The prices ranged from Rs 30,000 to Rs 80,000. And the doctors had asked for six vials of the medicine, she said.

Malini Aisola from All India Drugs Action Network (AIDAN) said, "The (20 June) order does mention an exclusion from the rate caps for experimental therapies such as remdesivir and tocilizumab which can be charged separately. Similarly, the IL-6 test and COVID-19 diagnostic test are also excluded from the package rates. However, in spite of the order, hospitals have been tacking on charges for both medicines routinely used in COVID-19 treatment and for investigations and baseline tests that should have been included in the package. We have observed these violations repeatedly and in numerous private hospitals.

When Mayanka was informed that the bills had exceeded Rs 7.5 lakh by 5 July, she was worried. She looked around for help and managed to contact Amresh Kumar, the Aam Aadmi Party, as well as Malini.

When conversations did not seem to yield results, she wrote a complaint letter on 11 July. On 14 July, when she went to speak to the authorities about the complaint, Malini accompanied her.

Dr Tejender Pal, a physiotherapist, and Dr Samrul Hoda, from the billing department, said that these escalations would make no difference.

Mayanka claims that on 17 July, Dr Hoda told her on a phone call to either arrange the payment" or she could "take the patient out of this hospital".

Later that day, Mayanka received another call from the billing department saying that the hospital has finally agreed to revise her bills according to the government cap. The issues in her mother's medical bills were settled, but two hours later, the hospital informed Mayanka that her mother's condition was unstable. Kaur was declared dead by 9.30 pm that night.

On 26 July, the hospital directed this reporter to Dr Hoda for a statement about the overbilling in this case. But he said that he couldn't discuss the details.

He further added that he does not remember this case, and did not have access to the records as it was a weekend. He promised to get in touch with further details later.

On 7 August, he informed that he was not authorised to talk about these things, but still explained: "The patient had agreed to pay the hospital rates and was not admitted as a government category. It might have happened that they ran out of money later, and hence started saying that they want the government prices.

He also informed that though a certain undertaking exists, access to that document is restricted to me as well as the patients family.

It is a hospital document, after all. We can only hand it to authorised persons, he said.

Representational image. AP

Month after order, issues remain

On 23 June, twently-seven CSOs, including AIDAN, Jan Swasthya Abhiyan (JSA), wrote to authorities welcoming the order capping prices for COVID-19 treatment and suggested immediate action points.

The capping restriction to only 60 percent of the beds seemed arbitrary and incomprehensible to them, and they suggested that this provision be extended to all persons accessing treatment through private hospitals, and who are not covered under any laws or schemes that guarantee free treatment.

They also said that the order must apply to all COVID-19 patients including those who currently admitted and undergoing treatment in private hospitals.

In a press conference on 25 July, Inayat Singh Kakar of People's Health Movement noted that there has been no transparency or political will to implement the order.

On 25 July, these CSOs also organised a virtual press conference highlighting the continued violations of the order by private hospitals. They released another letter that highlighted problems in implementation and suggested remedial measures to the authorities.

The above mentioned testimonies are just the tip of the iceberg. Nearly two months since the order was was passed and subsequent interventions from the CSOs, issues remain.

Crumbling infrastructure

According to the National Health Accounts estimates released in March 2019, patients in India bear about 61 percent of the total health expenditure. The governments health expenditure stands at an abysmally low 30.6 percent.

The Economic Survey 2020 shows that the government expenditure on healthcare was 1.6 percent in FY20 budget, a minuscule change from 1.5 percent in FY19. The National Health Policy, 2017, has recommended that health expenditure by the government should be 2.5 percent of GDP by 2025.

A 2018 study which analysed the financial burden of households out-of-pocket payments on medicine in India over a period of 2o years between 1994 and 2014 found that 3.8 crore Indians fell below the poverty line due to spending on medicines alone.

Jashodhara Dasgupta, from SAHAYOG, a non-profit voluntary organisation, explained how the term "out of pocket expenditure" concealed quite a few crucial facts about medical costs in India.

Our public healthcare is immensely under-resourced and almost dysfunctional. In contrast, the private hospitals do have substantially more resources  both in terms of infrastructure as well as number of doctors. In times of a crisis like the pandemic, the people will be compelled to go to private hospitals, she says.

Dasgupta explained that private hospitals function primarily with the support of private insurance and State-funded insurance companies, which allows them to hike prices astronomically.

She lays out two scenarios: You see, when a minister gets admitted in a private hospital, the government covers the costs of that treatment, right? We, the taxpayers, pay for the treatment in private hospitals. The second situation is when corporate employees or PSU employees go to private hospitals, theres the safety net of employer paid insurance. Concurrently, in both the cases, private hospitals use this to their advantage and their prices are hiked up astronomically.

While the Delhi government did put together an order to contain some of the issues plaguing the private healthcare sector, the political will to implement it seems to be lacking.

When Amresh was approached about Mayankas case on 6 August, he said that he has followed the usual process of putting the patient in touch with the DMS of the hospital.

While that is an essential step, it still leaves the patient trying to fight for his or her rights against the hospital.
Ha Giang, the northernmost province in the country, hosts various historical areas like Lung Cu Flag Pole and Dong Van Karst Plateau, a UNESCO Global Geopark.

To reach the sites, people have to travel on National Road No 4C, or Happiness Road, which has been dubbed a legendary road with famed proper names including Quan Ba Heaven Gate, Fairy Mountain (Twin Mountain), Pac Xum Slope, Tham Ma Pass and Ma Pi Leng Pass.

An areal view of Happiness Road. VNS Photo Truong Vi

The latter pass is one of four most beautiful passes in the north together with O Quy Ho Pass linking Lao Cai and Lai Chau Province, Pha Din Pass in Son La Province and Khau Pha Pass in Yen Bai Province.

The Nho Que River runs at the foot of the mountain. Happiness Road runs on Ma Pi Leng Pass up to the peak. VNA/VNS Photo Nhat Anh

The pass is located on National Road 4C in Pai Lung and Pa Vi communes, Meo Vac District of Ha Giang. Ma Pi Leng in Mong language means a horses nose with the figurative meaning that the peak is quite dangerous, where even mountain horses may slip and die when climbing.

High steep cliffs when there was no road. VNA/VNS File Photo

Happiness Road links Ha Giang City with Dong Van Town and Meo Vac Town.

Ma Pi Leng Pass is a dangerous pass, some 20km long at heights of 1,200  1,400m above sea level.

Thousands of young volunteers worked to build Happiness Road. VNA/VNS File Photo

The mountain was created by the sediment of karst stone and silica limestone containing fossils from some 400 million years ago. The site also features cracks from geographical changes creating dangerous landscapes of steep cliffs and the Nho Que River running in the middle of Ma Pi Leng Pass and Xin Cai Pass, which hosts the boundary milestone and Sam Pun Border Gate with China.

French people came to examine the site in 1900 and hoped to build roads there, but could not do anything except provide food and ammunition to guard troops on local mountains using small lanes.

The road has changed locals' lives. VNA/VNS Photo Minh Tam

Before the Happiness Road was built, the more than 80,000 residents in the area traversed the Ma Pi Leng Pass by hanging on ropes to climb over high cliffs.

Construction of Happiness Road began on September 10, 1959, linking Ha Giang, Dong Van and Meo Vac.

After six years of construction, more than 1,300 young volunteers, mostly working by hand, completed the road on June 15, 1965.

The road has helped improve the lives of locals and has become a tourist magnet. VNS

Hairpin bends on the happiness road The Happiness Road, stretching nearly 200 kilometers, connects the northern mountainous city of Ha Giang with the other four districts in Ha Giang Province, including Dong Van, Quan Ba, Yen Minh and Meo Vac.
The Ohio governors positive, then negative, tests for Covid-19 have provided fuel for skeptics of government pandemic mandates and critics of his often-aggressive polices.

Im sure the Internet is lighting up with Well, you cant believe any test,  Mike DeWine said in a WCOL radio interview Friday, after a whirlwind of events the day before when the initial positive showing forced the Republican to scrub a planned meeting with President Donald Trump.

Instead of seeing Trump at the Cleveland airport, DeWine returned to this state capital for new testing with his wife, Fran, through Ohio State Universitys medical center. They then went to their southwestern Ohio farm in Cedarville, where DeWine said he planned to quarantine for 14 days. But within hours, he had received Columbus test results that were negative. The first test, part of protocol for people meeting with the president, was a rapid-result antigen test, while the Columbus testing was a genetic, laboratory test whose results are considered more reliable.

The governors office said Saturday another test for each by Ohio States Wexner Medical Center again returned negative results for DeWine and his wife.

The conflicting results come as Americans have grown frustrated about access to testing and by slow results. Ohioans also remain divided over DeWines actions to deal with the pandemic, with some saying his early shutdown actions unnecessarily damaged businesses. He was an early advocate of wearing masks to stop the Covid-19 spread even as other Republicans in Ohio remain unconvinced.

State Rep. Nino Vitale, a conservative GOP gadfly from Urbana, tweeted a photo of DeWine wearing a mask minutes after the positive test was announced Thursday.

I think the question must be asked. Has he not been wearing his mask, or do masks not stop the spread? Vitale said in his post, which also stated he wished the governor no ill will.

DeWine said he received some not so nice texts during the day Thursday about wearing masks. He reasserted Friday that while they might not be 100% effective, they do help prevent spread and have been made a noticeable difference in the states most-populated cities.

Critics were blasting him on his official Twitter account, too.

DeWine, 73, a former U.S. senator and House member who is in his first term as governor, at first appeared to have been only the second U.S. governor to positive for the coronavirus.

Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt announced he contracted the virus last month. Stitt, a Republican who has been disdainful of mask mandates, said he contracted Covid-19 by hugging friends.

Longtime Cincinnati-area conservative activist Mike Wilson, who has been analyzing and writing about coronavirus data since he contracted Covid-19 this summer, saw a storm of strong reactions on his Facebook page including from some who said DeWines results show the pandemic is a scam.

At this point, this is clearly not a hoax, said Wilson, who has fully recovered from the virus. He said continued pandemic-deniers are mostly outliers, but many other people are frustrated over what they see as DeWines overreactions and also about the testing issues. Test results, including false positives, affect individual lives by triggering quarantines that are a rising concern as Ohio schools prepare to reopen.

The number of positive cases in Ohio had decreased after the first surge, hitting a low in late May. But numbers again began to rise in mid-June as Ohio began to reopen businesses.

DeWine had resisted a statewide mask mandate until July 23. He quickly backed off an earlier try at a mask requirement inside businesses and balked at closing down bars, instead recently mandating a last call at 10 p.m. and an 11 p.m. closing time. Nearly 3,700 Ohio deaths have been linked to the coronavirus.

Wilson thinks by now, DeWine and other government officials should allow people to make their own decisions on which precautions they need or are willing to take.

Weve found that peoples individual behavior matters more than those government actions anyway, Wilson said.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 9)  A city councilor and a former barangay councilman in Cagayan de Oro City have asked a local court for a temporary restraining order against the implementation of the motorcycle back-riding policy requiring the installation of protective barriers.

City councilor Reuben Daba and former Barangay 16 councilman Walter Kiunisala filed the petition on Friday, August 7 to protest the insistence of the Inter-Agency Task Force to push through with the measure, which they deem unsafe and an extra burden.

According to Atty. James Judith, the petitioners counsel, a favorable judgment could stop the implementation of the policy in Cagayan de Oro and Misamis Oriental, or even across the country.

The petition is now with Judge Jeoffre Acebido of Regional Trial Court Branch 41.

Kiunisala said the installation of motorcycle barriers is an additional burden, adding that a full-face helmet and a face mask are enough to protect riders from the virus.

Putting up barriers would be awkward and dangerous for us while driving, he said in his native language. And I can't understand why it is needed for couples who share the same bed at home.

Daba said he hoped that the IATF will take into consideration the appeal of local governments and various groups opposing the policy.

A group of medical frontliners had earlier hit the task force for the mandatory measure, calling it unnecessary, especially for couples already living together.

CNN Philippines stringer Alwen Saliring contributed to this report.
Protesters opposing a federal initiative to address violent crime in St. Louis have understandable concerns, given the Trump administrations outrageous militarized police incursion into Portland, Oregon, last month. But its important for citizens of our crime-ravaged city to understand: this isnt that. Two key differences are that the 50 federal investigators are coming specifically to address St. Louis soaring homicide rate, not to incite showdowns with protesters; and, crucially, theyre coming at the invitation of local political leaders, not in defiance of them.

The White House has clearly abused its police power elsewhere, but that doesnt change the fact that St. Louis is awash in blood  mostly the blood of Black citizens, many of them children. Local police are overwhelmed. As long as those federal officers stick to their stated mission and work with, rather than against, local officials, their assistance should be welcome.
President Xi Jinping meets with President of the European Council Charles Michel and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen via video link in Beijing, on June 22, 2020. [Photo/Xinhua]

While the trajectory of the pandemic and its economic and political fallout remain unclear, it can be outlined that COVID-19 has posed unprecedented political and social challenges, ratcheted up the risk of a global recession, and pressed the pause button on interaction between peoples and countries for a while.

Through "cloud diplomacy" in the form of phone calls, correspondence, video summits and conferences, China endeavors to boost international efforts of joint response to the unprecedented global public health crisis, out of the belief that the pandemic will not impede the progress of human civilizations, nor can it arrest the world's determined march towards realizing common dreams of peace and prosperity.

Busy diplomatic agenda on the cloud

President Xi Jinping has held over 60 phone calls with more than 50 foreign leaders and heads of international organizations, including Russia, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Belgium, the Republic of Korea (ROK), South Africa, Ethiopia, Brazil, Chile and the United Nations.

Xi sent messages of sympathies to and exchanged letters with foreign leaders and heads of regional organizations, including the ROK, Italy, Iran, France, Germany, Spain, Serbia, Argentina and the European Union, among others, to extend his sympathy to the people of epidemic-affected countries, express China's support for their efforts in curbing the virus and further strengthening bilateral ties.

Xi has also attended a series of virtual multilateral events, including the Extraordinary G20 Leaders' Summit, the opening of the 73rd World Health Assembly, hosted the Extraordinary China-Africa Summit on Solidarity Against COVID-19, and sent congratulatory messages to the High-level Video Conference on Belt and Road International Cooperation, and the ninth China-Arab States Cooperation Forum ministerial conference.

Premier Li Keqiang has met, via video link or talked on the phone, with multiple foreign leaders, attended the Special ASEAN Plus Three Summit on COVID-19, addressed the Global Vaccine Summit 2020 in a virtual conference, chaired video symposium on New Fiscal Funds to Benefit Businesses and People, and co-chaired via video link the 22nd China-EU Summit with European Council President Charles Michel and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

The Chinese State Councilor and foreign minister Wang Yi has had over 100 phone calls with foreign counterpart, held special foreign ministers' meetings with Association of Southeast Asian Nations(ASEAN) members, Lancang-Mekong countries, Japan and the ROK, BRICS countries, and Shanghai Cooperation Organization members, addressed the High-Level Video Conference on Belt and Road International Cooperation, the ninth China-Arab States Cooperation Forum ministerial conference, the video conference of China, Russia and India Foreign Ministers. Chinese diplomats and missions abroad are actively reaching out to the international community by receiving interviews, making speeches, writing articles and attending international conferences on virtual platforms.

Highlighting solutions to collective victory

Through "cloud diplomacy", China has proposed the world for keeping to the right strategic direction with a broader international vision, for making strategic cooperation with a greater sense of historical urgency, for strengthening connectivity to provide a solid underpinning for the economic recovery, and for learning from each other to make the most of comparative strength and advantages to forge greater synergy and enhance joint strength to make a final victory against COVID-19.

Addressing the Extraordinary G20 Leaders' Summit on COVID-19, Xi called on the international community to be resolute in fighting a global war against COVID-19, make a collective response for control and treatment at the international level, leverage and coordinate international macro policies to counteract the negative impact of the contagion and prevent the world economy from falling into recession.

On May 18, Xi addressed the opening of the 73rd World Health Assembly, calling for a joint effort on the part of all countries to overcome the virus and build a global community of health for all. Six proposals were put forward: to do everything we can for COVID-19 control and treatment, to support the WHO in leading the global response, to provide greater support for Africa, to strengthen global governance in public health, to restore economic and social development, and to strengthen international cooperation.

While hosting the Extraordinary China-Africa Summit on Solidarity Against COVID-19 on June 17, Xi announced an array of measures to support African countries in curbing the epidemic and promoting socioeconomic development, including cancellation of the debt of relevant African countries in the form of interest-free government loans that are due to mature by the end of 2020 within the framework of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation.

Xi sent written message to the High-level Video Conference on Belt and Road International Cooperation, stressing that the people and their lives have always been put front and center in China's virus combat. China will do what it can and contribute its share to an early global victory against COVID-19 and to the recovery of the global economy. China will work with its partners to develop the Belt and Road into a model of cooperation, a model of health, a model of recovery and a model of growth.

In his meeting with President of the European Council Charles Michel and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen via video link on June 22, Xi pointed out three directions for the two sides to work along: China and the EU have to be two major forces for world peace and stability, two major markets for world development and prosperity, and two major civilizations for upholding multilateralism and improving global governance.

In the Congratulatory Message sent to The Ninth China-Arab States Cooperation Forum Ministerial Conference via video link on July 6, Xi emphasized that China and Arabs states need more than ever to step up cooperation to navigate this trying time and move forward together, calling on both sides to increase strategic communication and coordination to deliver more benefits to our peoples.

A responsible major global player

China will never forget that when China bore the brunt of the initial COVID-19 outbreak in January this year, 77 countries and 12 international organizations donated emergency medical supplies. Leaders of more than 170 countries, heads of 50 international and regional organizations, and more than 300 foreign political parties and organizations expressed solidarity and support for China through phone calls, letters, and statements.

In the face of a growing pandemic spread in the world, China empathized with the world and reciprocated in concrete actions.

China wasted no time in releasing information to the WHO and other relevant countries and regional organizations.

China organized video conferences to share its control and treatment experience.

China conducted more than 70 exchanges with international and regional organizations including the ASEAN, the European Union, the African Union, the APEC, the Caribbean Community, and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, as well as the ROK, Japan, Russia, Germany, and other countries.

China sent teams of experts to the affected countries, according to consensus built on the video conferences of multi-layered level, mobilized manufacturers to produce, at full speed, protective gear badly needed and shipped medical supplies to the world.

China provided two batches of cash support totaling US$50 million to the WHO, assisted the organization in purchasing personal protective equipment, and in establishing reserve centers of supplies in China. It has also participated in the WHO's "Access to COVID-19 Tools (act) Accelerator" initiative, aiming to speed up the development, production and equitable distribution of new tools.

China announced a series of major measures that China would take in supporting the global fight, including US$2 billion of international aid over two years, the establishment of a global humanitarian response depot and hub in China in cooperation with the United Nations, the establishment of a cooperation mechanism for Chinese hospitals to pair up with 30 African hospitals, the decision to make COVID-19 vaccine a global public product once it is developed and deployed in China, and the implementation of the Debt Service Suspension Initiative for the poorest countries together with other G20 members.

In the spirit of mutual assistance, the Chinese people have worked with the world an epic of international humanitarianism, a manifestation of building a community with a shared future for mankind.

Promoting globalization &Enhancing global governance

The outbreak has taken its toll on every aspect of global production and demand, triggered fluctuations on the financial market, and delivered a blow on both the industrial and supply chains. Yet it in no way has reversed the trend of economic globalization.

China stays on the course of enhancing coordination on macroeconomic policies, safeguarding an open world economy, and ensuring open, safe and stable global industrial chains.

Through "cloud diplomacy", China has made clear its belief that the international community should proceed with globalization, safeguard the multilateral trading system, cut tariffs, remove barriers, facilitate the flow of trade, and keep international industrial and supply chains secure and smooth.

China advocates that countries need to implement strong and effective fiscal and monetary policies, better coordinate financial regulations, keep global industrial and supply chains stable, promote trade and investment liberalization, and cast eyes on a "post-COVID-19 era" with a balanced and sustainable growth.

The pandemic has revealed that our global institutions have not kept up with the challenges of our 21century global reality, and has exposed the weaknesses and deficiencies of the health systems and the emergency management system.

The research and understanding of new infectious diseases are to be strengthened. The preparedness and early warning mechanism for joint prevention and control of infectious diseases are to be improved. The dire shortage of international public health resources are to be addressed.

In various occasion on virtual diplomatic platform, China calls on the international community to draw lessons from this pandemic, establish sound mechanisms including financing mechanism, monitoring mechanism, early warning and joint response mechanism, and a mechanism for reserving and allocating resources to build a global community of health for all, and work to increase the voice and representation of developing countries in global governance.

At a time of increasing uncertainties, pragmatic joint efforts could be pivotal to spurring global pandemic control and recovery.

China is working with the world to make progress out of setbacks, to turn crises into opportunities, and in both vision and action, to shape the broader global context for common good.
Police will be investigated over videos showing two men being slammed to the ground by officers after they were accused of littering.

Mobile phone footage captured at Brisbane's Fortitude Valley at 12.45am on Sunday showed one suspect being pinned to a power pole and handcuffed on the busy street.

Another officer ran at a second man and slammed him down to the concrete.

Mobile phone footage captured at Brisbane's Fortitude Valley at 12.45am on Sunday showed one suspect being pinned to a power pole and handcuffed on the busy street

Another officer ran at a second man and slammed him down to the concrete (pictured)

A third man brawled with two officers before being tackled to the ground.

Revellers crowded around the escalating situation.

'What the f***?' an unseen man yelled. 'He didn't do anything.'

Video footage showed a second man being slammed him down to the concrete (pictured)

Revellers crowded around the escalating situation. 'What the f***?' an unseen man yelled. 'He didn't do anything.' Pictured: The second man under police on the ground

Police tried to restrain the third man by his arms and feet, but he writhed out of their grasp and fell hard on to the concrete. Officers then sat on his legs.

'What did he do?' a witness asked police.

'Get back!' an officer replied.

According to 9 News, the incident began when one reveller was accused of littering in the street.

The network reported the men claimed they did nothing wrong, but a spokesman for Queensland police told Daily Mail Australia all three men were charged.

A third man brawled with two officers before being punched in the face and tackled to the ground

According to 9 News , the incident began when one reveller was accused of littering in the street. Pictured: The second man on the concrete

'A 21-year-old man was issued with a banning notice as well as two public nuisance infringement notices for obstruct police and disorderly behaviour.

'A 28-year-old man was issued with an infringement notice for public nuisance  disorderly behaviour.

'A 26-year-old man was issued with two public nuisance infringement notices, one for disorderly behaviour and the other for disobey a police requirement.'

The spokesman said senior officers are reviewing the footage to determine whether those on the scene behaved appropriately.
The spread of COVID-19 has slowed in Arizona and Pima County since the number of cases peaked in late June, but the risk level remains elevated throughout the state, several data points suggest.

Despite recent improvements in COVID-19 trends, public health experts warn that these trends could easily worsen if Arizonans dont continue to take the pandemic seriously.

We are by no extent of the imagination out of the woods, said Dr. Francisco Garcia, Pima Countys chief medical officer. We need to continue to double down on our mitigation strategies.

The number of new, confirmed countywide and statewide COVID-19 cases recently declined again from one week to the next.

A simultaneous decrease in diagnostic testing could have reduced the number of new, confirmed cases, but the percentage of tests turning up positive for COVID-19 also decreased, which suggests the virus may be spreading less, Dr. Joshua LaBaer, executive director of Arizona State Universitys Biodesign Institute, said on a conference call Wednesday.

Arizonas estimated Rt has also been trending down, with a value of .84 as of Thursday, according to the website rt.live. This reflects the reality that transmission of the virus has been somewhat reduced in Arizona, LaBear said.

The Rt measures the average number of people an infected person infects. Infections slow when the Rt is below 1.

Hospital occupancy due to COVID-19 has also decreased, LaBear said. It hasnt decreased as fast as cases, but thats no surprise since patients hospitalized for the virus can take a long time to recover.
CHATSWORTH, Calif.Williams Trading Co. has released a statement about the libel suit filed against it in late July regarding Trigg Laboratories Inc.'s product Wet lubricant. What follows is a lightly edited version of that statement:

"On July 22, 2020, Trigg Laboratories, Inc. dba Wet International, filed suit in Nevada state court against adult product distributor Williams Trading Co. for trade libel and unfair competition, among other claims, based on an e-mail that Williams sent on July 1 to retail stores with the subject: 'Easy Cross Reference from WET to [a competing brand] Now Available,' which contained the statement 'Looking to replace hard to get WET products with a new lube line?' Williams sent a subsequent e-blast on the same subject.

"Trigg objected to these e-blasts as false and misleading, and filed suit when Williams did not correct them as Trigg requested.

"Williams Trading Co. denies any liability or wrongdoing. Trigg and Williams have now resolved the matter. As part of the resolution, Williams has apologized, in a subsequent e-mail to those who received the prior e-blasts, for including an erroneous statement regarding the availability of Wet products from Trigg.

"As confirmed in the new e-blast ... all Wet formulas are available to ship now, and may be ordered directly from Trigg, online at www.buywetdirect.com, or at the telephone number listed on the website."

When contacted by AVN, Trigg founder and CEO Michael Trigg acknowledged that the dispute had been resolved.

"Wet appreciates the press release, retraction and e-blast apology from Williams Trading Co.," Trigg said. "Having reaffirmed our readiness to deliver Wet products, we are focused on supporting retailers through our Buy Wet Direct program, with excellent service, innovative products and advantageous pricing."
New Delhi, Aug 9 : IndusInd bank has acquired more than 7 per cent stake in both Eveready Industries India and McLeod Russel India by invoking pledged shares.

The bank invoked pledge on more than 56.83 lakh equity shares of Eveready Industries to pick up 7.82 per cent stake in the battery maker.

"The equity shares of Eveready Industries India Ltd held by Williamson Magor and Co Ltd were pledged with the bank for securing the outstanding dues of Seajuli Developers & Finance Limited (Seajuli), the borrower company. The bank has invoked the pledge held on aforesaid shares for recovery of its dues from Seajuli," IndusInd Bank said in a regulatory filing.

The company is in the business of manufacturing and marketing of batteries, flashlights and packet tea under the brand name of "Eveready".

The bank also invoked the pledge on more than 78.32 crore equity shares for recovery of its dues from Seajuli. The shares of McLeod Russel India held by Williamson Magor and Co Ltd were pledged with the bank for securing the outstanding dues of Seajuli Developers & Finance Limited, the borrower company.

IndusInd Bank has acquired 7.50 per cent paid-up equity share capital of the company by invoking shares.

McLeod Russel India is engaged in cultivation and manufacturing of tea. The tea produced is sold in domestic as well as international markets and is part of the Williamson Magor Group. It has 31 tea estates in Assam and two in the Dooars region of West Bengal, three estates in Vietnam and six in Uganda.
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Ammonium nitrate near Chennai to be moved out soon

India

oi-Deepika S

Chennai, Aug 09: The ammonium nitrate stored in a facility at Manali in north Chennai is being moved to Hyderabad via road. Arrangements have been made with the help of highway authorities and pollution control board officials to ensure that the transport takes place seamlessly.

The storage became a cause for serious concern in the backdrop of the explosion of the substance in the Lebanese capital city of Beirut on Tuesday, which killed 135 people and injured around 4,000.

Beirut blast: 700 tonnes of Ammonium Nitrate stored in Chennai safe, e-auction done, says Customs

The chemical worth Rs 1.80 crore was seized from a Tamil Nadu-based importer in 2015, who had allegedly declared it as fertiliser grade although it was an explosive grade, a Customs official have told.

Defence Ministry bans import of 101 Defence items: PM Modi's Atma Nirbhar Bharat | Oneindia News

However, the consignment, imported from South Korea, was safe and an e-auction process was on to clear it, he said. According to a statement issued by the Customs Department, the seized consignment was kept in safe custody in the container freight station at Manali.

"The seized chemical is securely stored and the safety of the cargo and public is ensured considering the hazardous nature of the substance," the statement said.

The freight station was located about 20 km away from the city and there was no residential locality within the vicinity of 2 km, it said.

All safety measures are being taken by the freight station and monitored by the Customs to ensure public safety. Also, the process of disposal of the cargo is taken up promptly by the Customs, it said.

The disposal would be done within a short period by following all safety measures, the statement said.

The Customs' clarification comes in the wake of reports in a section of the media that huge quantities of the chemical substance being stored could be a risk, even as political party Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) sought the government to ensure its safe disposal.

"The goods are safe and pose no danger" a senior Customs Department official told PTI when asked about the fears of safety in the backdrop of the devastating Beirut explosion.

Elaborating, the official, on condition of anonymity, said the sleuths had in November 2015 seized 697 tonnes of ammonium nitrate in 37 containers valued at Rs 1.80 crore from the importer. "The importer had misdeclared the goods as ammonium nitrate of fertiliser grade whereas on examination it was found to be of explosive grade and that (the importer) had not followed the Ammonium Nitrate Rules, 2012," he said.

The containers were seized then and were since lying at the freight station while the licence of the importer had been cancelled. While seven tonnes of the chemical got spoilt during the deluge in December 2015, the remaining 690 tonnes were under process of e-auctioning, he said.

Earlier during the day, PMK founder S Ramadoss urged the government to take immediate steps to safely dispose of the ammonium nitrate, saying a possible Beirut-like incident should be avoided.

Expressing concern over the reported huge quantity of the seized chemical kept at the freight station here since 2015, he said the uncleared substance could be a risk and that it should be safely disposed of and utilised for purposes like composting.
Yahoo UK News Video

Rishi Sunak brought an abrupt end to an interview after he was asked if he fully supported Boris Johnson. (Watch the interview above). The Chancellor was giving an interview to Sky News over the future of the prime minister, who has been accused by his former chief adviser Dominic Cummings of lying to Parliament over allegations of lockdown-breaching parties in Downing Street. Johnson rejected the claim in an interview on Tuesday afternoon, insisting he did not know in advance about the event in May 2020, adding that "no one told him" it was against the rules. Asked whether he backed his boss, Sunak replied: Of course I do. The prime minister set out his understanding of this matter in parliament last week and Id refer you to his words. Sue Gray is conducting an inquiry into this matter and I fully support the prime ministers request for patience while that inquiry concludes. Sunak then refused to comment on whether Johnson should quit following Cummings bombshell allegations. Im not going to get into hypotheticals. The Ministerial Code is clear on these matters. Pressed on whether he supported the PM unequivocally, Sunak promptly stood up, took off his microphone abruptly and walked off while his adviser stood in front of the journalist. Sunak is the bookies favourite to replace Johnson and has tried to distance himself from the scandal in recent days. He told Yahoo News UK last week that he had not attended the garden party. And he was noticeably absent from the House of Commons last Wednesday during the prime minister's apology for the anger sparked by the revelations. The Ministerial Code states that ministers who lie to Parliament and do not correct the record should resign. If Johnson is found to have lied, his position would become untenable.
The president is promising to orchestrate the kind of pay-to-play bounty that the US prohibits companies from making to other governments

Washington: If he were still running casinos in rough-and-tumble Atlantic City, New Jersey, President Donald Trumps demand about Microsofts possible purchase of TikTok might be translated this way: I want a piece of the action.

In exchange for blessing Microsofts acquisition of the Chinese-owned social media platform, Trump has said the US treasury should receive a very big proportion of the sale price.

If he follows through, it would signal an effort to carve out an entirely new role for the federal government in exerting its powers to approve or thwart business deals with national security considerations.

In essence, the president is promising to orchestrate the kind of pay-to-play bounty that the United States prohibits companies from making to governments of other countries under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

And he is playing a role that is common among the autocratic leaders on whom he has often heaped praise: using the sheer power of his office to influence the private marketplace without clear legal or regulatory authority.

Its protection money. Its not what the government of the United States should do, said Avery Gardiner, the general counsel for the Center for Democracy & Technology, a nonprofit advocacy organisation focused on digital rights, privacy and an open internet.

Its scary to think that it might apply in some parts of business and not in others, she added. It becomes a special tax if your business is involved in social media, but you can only do the deal if you pay the protection money. Thats even worse.

Numerous legal experts said they knew of no provision in US law that would allow the president, or anyone else in the government, to force two private companies to make a substantial payment to consummate a merger or an acquisition.

And even the presidents own top economic adviser played down the idea, conceding that it was not well thought out.

I dont know if thats a key stipulation, Larry Kudlow, the director of the National Economic Council, told reporters this week. It may be that the president was thinking, because the treasury has had to do so much work on this, there are a lot of options here. Im not sure its a specific concept that will be followed through.

But for Trump  who has repeated his demand no fewer than four times in the last 10 days  the instinct fits a long-standing pattern of behaviour that has always challenged his partys usual free-market philosophy.

The president berates or inflates companies with his Twitter feed, seeking to interfere in the free market. He wields his office like an economic cudgel, threatening tariffs against friend and foe alike and demanding that government contracts be renegotiated. And he frequently muses aloud about a presidency in which he can run the world as he ran his company  without the guardrails established by law, regulation, customs or norms.

Very simple, he explained to reporters this week about his approach to a TikTok deal. I mean, we have all the cards because, without us, you cant come into the United States. Its like if youre a landlord, and you have a tenant. The tenants business needs a rent; it needs a lease. And so what I said to them is, Whatever the price is, a very big proportion of that price would have to go to the Treasury of the United States.

Trump added, And they understood that. And actually, they agreed with me. I mean, I think they agreed with me very much.

A spokesman for Microsoft declined to comment. But in a statement issued last Sunday, the company offered a vague promise that it was committed to providing proper economic benefits to the United States, including the United States Treasury.

If Microsoft ends up buying TikTok or a part of its business, the combined company would be subject to existing laws that could increase local and federal tax revenue. The company could promise to bring additional jobs to the United States, which could increase economic activity and generate revenue. And there are small filing fees associated with the national security review that the two companies are undergoing.

Legal experts said there is also no law that explicitly prohibits companies from voluntarily offering a gift to the government, as long as it is not made under duress and the gift does not benefit any particular individual government officials.

But they also warn that extracting a large cash payment as a condition of a TikTok sale would undermine the integrity of a legal process that operates with specific, objective standards. That could set a precedent that deters similar deals in the future by injecting uncertainty into the prospect of any big business deal.

That appears to be exactly what Trump wants.

The federal government has a role to play in a potential arrangement between Microsoft and TikTok because of concerns that the Chinese-owned video app could pose a national security threat by funneling personal information about US citizens to the Chinese government.

In an executive order issued late Thursday, Trump banned the app from operating in the United States but said the ban would take effect in 45 days, apparently to give Microsoft time to explore a possible purchase.

This data collection threatens to allow the Chinese Communist Party access to Americans personal and proprietary information  potentially allowing China to track the locations of Federal employees and contractors, build dossiers of personal information for blackmail, and conduct corporate espionage, Trump said in the order.

Those concerns have also prompted a review by a special government panel that examines national security threats, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, also known as CFIUS.

In the past, the committee has required companies to take tangible steps to reduce the risk that their products or services could threaten the security of the United States. But experts in the process said that there are no provisions in the law that would justify Trump demanding a cash payment to mitigate security issues.

The review process has no mechanism, they said, for side payments, however labeled, as a condition of a sale to Microsoft. Several said the mere proposal could deter foreign investment in the United States.

It would be deleterious to the process, said Aimen Mir, a former deputy assistant secretary for investment security at the Treasury Department. One of the strengths of CFIUS, in the eyes of investors and companies from allied nations that are sometimes the subject of CFIUS orders or mitigation agreements, is clarity that CFIUS focuses on national security and national security alone.

It is unclear how Trump got the idea of a cash payment in the first place.

Some of the presidents advisers had objected to the potential sale of TikTok to a US company like Microsoft in part because such a deal would end up funneling U.S. dollars to China. Why should China get paid for posing a security threat to the United States?

To Trump, ever the negotiator, there appeared to be a simple solution to that problem: The United States would demand its cut, too.

The president does use the power of the federal government against individual companies in ways that are different than ever before, Gardiner said. Its very anti-democratic.

Michael D Shear, Alan Rappeport and Ana Swanson c.2020 The New York Times Company
July 26

8:30 p.m.: An officer responding to a traffic accident at South Lake Shore Drive and Campbell Street cited Valentin Uballe Jr., 35, Lake Geneva, on suspicion of hit-and-run, possession of THC and fail/stop at stop sign.

July 24

1:27 p.m.: Officers dispatched to the 600 block of West Main Street cited Mark A. Everett, 35, Chicago Heights, Illinois, on suspicion of disorderly conduct.

July 22

8:51 p.m.: An officer conducting a traffic stop on West Main Street near Wells Street cited Micholas Allen Bassett, 19, Streamwood, Illinois, on suspicion of failure to wear a seatbelt.

8:32 p.m.: An officer conducting a traffic stop on Broad Street near Geneva Street cited Tyler James Abel, 26, Burlington, on suspicion of failure to wear a seatbelt.

8:19 p.m.: An officer conducting a traffics stop on Williams Street near Marshall Street cited a 17-year-old girl from Dousman on suspicion of failure to wear a seatbelt.

8:01 p.m.: An officer conducting a traffic stop on West Main Street near South Lakeshore Drive cited Timothy Michael Stoffel, 34, Lake Geneva, on suspicion of failure to wear a seatbelt.

7:36 p.m.: An officer conducting a traffic stop on Wrigley Drive near Baker Street cited Lawrence J. Myers Brake, 31, Lake Geneva, on suspicion of failure to wear a seatbelt.

7:18 p.m.: An officer conducting a traffic stop on West Main Street near Center Street cited Maria L. Cavazos, 62, Chicago, on suspicion of failure to wear a seatbelt.

6:59 p.m.: An officer conducting a traffic stop on Button Land near Cass Street cited Ethan Drew Ehrhardt, 21, Elkhorn, on suspicion of failure to wear a seatbelt.

6:40 p.m.: An officer conducting a traffic stop in the 1400 block of North Wells Street cited Antonino Dipiazza, 20, Elk Grove, Illinois, on suspicion of exceeding speed zones for travelling 54 mph in a 25 mph zone.

6:36 p.m.: An officer conducting a traffic stop on Townline Road near North Wells Street cited Isidro H. Perez, 60, Elkhorn, on suspicion of failure to wear a seatbelt.

6:19 p.m.: An officer conducting a traffic stop on West Main Street near West Street cited Linda Lou Fuller, 80, Lake Geneva, on suspicion of failure to wear a seatbelt.

4:11 p.m.: Officers dispatched to the Riviera beach house cited Marilu Bueno, 40, Round Lake Heights, Illinois, on suspicion of disorderly conduct.

July 21

2:34 p.m.: An officer conducting a traffic stop on Wrigley Drive near Broad Street cited Mayanet Flores Balanzar, 37, Chicago, on suspicion of operating without a valid license.

8 a.m.: An officer requested by the building inspectors department on Conant Street cited Wayne M. Rogers, 58, Lake Geneva, on suspicion of blighted buildings and premises.

July 20

2:37 p.m.: Officers patrolling at 830 Wrigley Drive cited John I. Morek, 20, Chicago, on suspicion of alcohol-open beverage in public and underage drinking-possession.

8 a.m.: An officer requested by the building inspectors department to Conant Street cited Wayne M. Rogers, 58, Lake Geneva, on suspicion of blighted buildings and premises.

2:24 a.m.: An officer in the 800 block of West Main Street cited a 17-year-old boy from Chicago on suspicion of absolute sobriety and a 17-year-old boy from Chicago, and a 17-year-old girl from Park Ridge, Illinois, on suspicion of underage possession/consumption of alcohol and open intoxicants in a motor vehicle-passenger.
T J S George By

Unity of the unexpected kind is in the air. Karnatakas Chief Minister Yediyurappa caught Covid and went into quarantine, complete with hospital shirt. Soon after the news was out, Opposition leader Siddaramaiah also caught COVID and went into hospital. Declaring solidarity with both of them, Amit Shah in Delhi got the virus and went into a private hospital. Thanks to COVID, India is uniting into one wholesome viral family.

This could well be the way forward for our country. As everyone knows, we have been having factional fights among our leaders over all kinds of reasons. Ideology was the reason when Leftists and Rightists fought. That was okay because Left-Right was seen in those days as a natural and not unhealthy way to divide a nation.

The situation became complicated when Hindutva entered the scene and became a major player. It divided even Hindus into Good Hindus and Bad Hindus, the definitions of Good and Bad depending on your angle of vision. Now it looks that the future can be better if we get divided into Covid Indians and non-COVID Indians.

But politicians interfere there also and make things more confused and complicated. Just when we thought we could divide ourselves into new modernistic groups, Covid Yediyurappa visited Covid Siddaramaiah in hospital. If they had left it at a formalistic photo-op level, things would have been all right. But they got into a friendly chat, became extraordinarily happy and started laughing their hearts out. They turned Covid into a uniting force. Where is Covidised politics taking our country?

We turn to Delhi where the wisest in the country are in positions of power. We would have expected a sagacious Home Minister to guide us along the right path in such a situation. But before Covid got him, he was busy telling the world how successful India was in handling the situation. He had his own way of measuring success. According to him Indias death rate from the virus was lower than that of other countries. "That shows we have fought this fight very well," he said.

In other words, Brazils inefficiency is the yardstick with which Indias efficiency should be measured. Actually, India has recorded the fastest growth of the epidemic and the third highest number of total cases. Now that Amit Shah himself has become one of those cases, hopefully India will become more pragmatic in handling the problem.

But one thing is already clear. This unexpected, unfamiliar and arrogant pandemic has been too much for our health infrastructure to handle. Close to 50,000 infections were said to be adding to the count every day. This may not include interior areas which lie beyond the regular beat of medical personnel. Let us not forget, also, that Indias testing rate is one of the lowest among the hard-hit countries. If we take such factors into account, the actual numbers could be frightening.

But nobody is going to be frightened now that Karnatakas popular leaders seem to be enjoying their time in hospital. With the general publics follow-the-leader mentality, chances are that Covid might become not just a fashion, but a mark of patriotism. Yediyurappa and Siddaramaih certainly gave the impression that Covid was an enjoyable experience. Who can blame the more ardent followers of these leaders if they try to get Covid as a mark of loyalty?

The grim side of the situation was brought to light by the deputy chief minister of Delhi, Manish Sisodia. In a letter to the all-powerful Lieutenant Governor of Delhi, the not-powerful minister said that the closure of weekly markets had forced five lakh families to sit idle in their homes.

He urged the re-opening of hotels and markets since Covid had been brought under control. Not to do so would be "unfair to Delhis economic situation and hopes of lakhs of people". The Lt. Governor was not impressed.

He turned down the Cabinets proposal/request on the grounds that the situation remains fragile. The elected government had to bow to the appointed officer. That the consequences of Covid are being welcomed by many people is beyond doubt.

The lockdown it has brought about in many countries may have rendered millions jobless, but it has also made thousands happy  happy that they can sit at home and enjoy life. If you have the wherewithal that enables you to live without work, you are among the privileged who can ignore Covid. Moral of the story: The world is divided into those who Covid mocks at and those who mock at Covid.
Canadian-born model Tara Moss has detailed her frustrations of being 'held hostage' in Australia following five flight cancellations.

The crime author, who has dual Canadian and Australian citizenship, arrived in Sydney with her husband Berndt Sellheim and daughter Sapphire, 9, in early March with just a single suitcase for what she intended to be a short work trip.

However, Tara, 46, has explained to The Sydney Morning Herald that five months later she is still staying at her second home in the Blue Mountains after shelling out tens of thousands of dollars to get her back home to the west coast of Canada.

Difficult times: Canadian-born model Tara Moss, 46, has detailed her frustrations of being 'held hostage' in Australia following five flight cancellations

Speaking to the publication, Tara explained: 'We had to make some hard decisions fast. No one quite knew what was happening, or how things would be impacted, or for how long.'

Tara and her family first had their flights back to Canada cancelled in May, then the following month in June and later in July.

They persevered by booking flights for September and October, which have both been cancelled too.

Didn't see it coming! The crime author, who has dual Canadian and Australian citizenship, arrived in Sydney with her husband Berndt Sellheim [pictured] and daughter Sapphire, 9, in early March with just a single suitcase for what she intended to be a short work trip

With one flight, Tara paid a Japanese airline a whopping $10,000 to get her family home after seeing evidence of incoming and outgoing flights.

However, four days later they cancelled, and the client that booked the flight for the brunette was informed there would be a refund fee, even though the cancellation was in no part Tara's fault.

She said: 'If you are trying to get somewhere, you can find thousands or tens of thousands of your dollars sucked up by airlines who wont refund or wont even give you access to credits so you can book.

Cancellations: Tara has explained that five months later she is still staying at her second home in the Blue Mountains after shelling out tens of thousands of dollars to get her back home to the west coast of Canada

'The whole system is deeply flawed for consumers.'

Determined to get back to Canada, Tara has booked three itineraries with two different airlines - twice direct and once via a travel agency.

Air Canada failed to give her a full refund for cancelling her flight, offering her credit for the return leg of her original ticket.
THOROLD, ONTARIO (August 8, 2020)  Reigning S&W Service Centre 358 Modified track champion Gary Lindberg from Ridgeway, Ontario won the main event as the mighty Modifieds headlined the August 8th racing program at the historic Merrittville Speedway Saturday night. Lindberg found the winning line on the final restart to claim the victory. Rob Murray of St. Catharines won a battle of former track champions in the Hoosier Stock feature. Ridgeway, Ontarios Josh Sliter found victory lane again in the Rona Doidge Building Centres Mod Lites. Rob Goulding of Port Colborne won the Central Fabricating/Glo & Go 4 Cylinders, with Welland, Ontarios Josh Dmytrow winning in the James Auto & Speed V6s.

The S & W Service Centre 358 Modified feature saw Tyler Willard start on the pole with Mr. Small Block Pete Bicknell to his outside. Gary Lindberg made the most of his third-place starting spot to get the lead from Willard early. After multiple restarts with Willard to his outside, Lindberg lined up alongside Bicknell and was able to drive away, finding speed on the bottom line in 1 & 2, while running the top in 3 & 4. Willard would settle for second, while Mike Bowman drove from 13th starting position to finish third. Pete Bicknell and Fred Carleton rounded out the top Five.

Barry Beck and last weeks winner Dave Bailey lead the field to green in Hoosier Stock action. However, it was another defending track champion starting third on the grid in Rob Murray who would capture the victory. Bailey led early with Murray on his bumper for multiple laps. Eventually, Murray was able to slide by on the inside and take the win over Bailey, Donny Lampman, Ryan Beagle, and Steve Shaw Sr.

Defending track champions winning was a common theme as Josh Sliter won on Saturday night in the RONA/Doidge Building Centres Modified Lites. Sliter, who started from pole, was strong early but Jeffery May began to reel him in halfway through the race, gaining .2 seconds per lap on the leader before a caution. On the restart, Sliter was able to drive away from May and hold him off to win on back-to-back Saturdays at Merrittville Speedway.

In the Central Fabricating/Glo & Go Tanning 4 Cylinder event, Austin Werstroh controlled most of the race, leading Rob Goulding, Leroy Buscumb and Jay Moulton. However, several cautions never gave Werstroh the chance to get away from the pack. Goulding eventually got by Werstroh, whose front-end bodywork was damaged and may have affected his car. Goulding held off Buscumb to take the checkers driving for Jay Moulton.

Pontiac power propelled Josh Dmytrow to victory lane in the James Auto and Speed V6s. Rick Beales started from the pole and was strong early, with Dmytrow starting to his outside. In the end, it would be Dmytrow who was able to take the lead and hold off a charging John Couture late to get the win.

Fans are encouraged to keep up to date with all the schedules and if any changes are needed by following Merrittville on social media including Facebook (facebook.com/MerrittvilleSpeedway), Twitter (@Merrittville), and now on Instagram (@merrittvillespeedway).

For results, point standings, and more, check out www.merrittvillespeedway.com
Thank you for reading!

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Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-09 14:55:17|Editor: huaxia

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KUNMING, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) -- Three suspects were captured with 30 kg of heroin recently in southwest China's Yunnan Province, local police said Sunday.

After receiving a tip-off that drug dealers were planning to traffic drugs from Kunming, capital of Yunnan, to the city of Zhaotong, police in Zhaotong dispatched a task force to investigate the case.

At around 7:00 a.m. on August 2, police nabbed three suspects in Qiaojia County and seized heroin weighing 30 kg from a suitcase with number lock in the trunk of their vehicle.

All the three suspects have been put under criminal detention and further investigation is under way. Enditem
A bikini-clad doctor has revealed sexism is rife in the medical industry in a poignant Facebook post a week after photos emerged of her treating a patient while wearing a swimsuit.

In protest to a 2019 study that claimed female doctors who posted pictures of themselves in bikinis were unprofessional, Doctor Candice Myhre shared photos of her saving a mans life all while wearing a bikini.

She has now posted on Facebook a tribute to her father, a well-respected heart surgeon, and noted how he could wear a Speedo and still be successful.

My dad was a self-proclaimed feminist and humanitarian, she wrote.

As a surgical resident, he spoke out against the unethical removal of healthy uteruses in the elderly. He had a 50-year career as a heart surgeon until he was 80 and diagnosed with Parkinsons disease. As an attending doctor he gave his time freely to teach medical students.

Doctor Candice Myhre helps an injured man on the beach while wearing a bikini. Source: Instagram

Dr Myhre, who lives in the US state of Hawaii, went on to speak of her fathers successes while also sharing a powerful message about what people could learn from her dads character.

In my dads hazel eyes you were judged by who you are as a person: morals and ethics NOT gender, sexual preference, race, culture, religion, politics, or social class, she said.

He SAVED LIVES on the operating table as a cardiovascular and thoracic surgeon, he stitched me up as a kid and himself up without anaesthetic AND he wore a Speedo.

I admired him and strove to his excellence.

He was a Renaissance man and my mankini hero.

Dr Myhres Facebook post comes after she wrote a powerful message alongside the pictures of her treating a patient while wearing a bikini on Instagram last month in response to the study: Prevalence of unprofessional social media content among young vascular surgeons.

I am an Emergency Medicine Physician standing in solidarity with female vascular surgeons today. NEWSFLASH: FEMALE DOCTORS CAN WEAR WHATEVER THEY WANT, she said.

Female doctors, nurses .... all healthcare professionals  we can wear a bikini, a dress, or we can wear scrubs. This does not change how good we are at being a healthcare provider. We can wear WHATEVER we want on our free time, and still save your life.

Story continues

Doctor Candice Myhre posted the pictures of her in a bikini to fight against sexism in the medical industry. Source: Instagram

She said sexism in the medical industry was alive and well and the study only pointed to female doctors in bikinis, not male physicians in bathing suits. The study also called out female doctors who wore inappropriate Halloween costumes.

Dr Myhre said her well-respected father would not approve of such a study, and urged women in medicine to post their favourite picture of them wearing a bikini, halloween costume or dress.

We have to drown out the sexism in medicine and keep it moving. Its 2020 people. Sexism is cancelled.

Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com.

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Right before Americas first confirmed case of COVID-19 in January, an effort to tighten our states immunization requirements died in a deafening political explosion, thanks to the anti-vaxxer crowd.

Now we are in the middle of a pandemic, a serious time, so enough of this quackery. To return to school this year, whether its in person or online, students should be required to get a flu shot. Period.

We are already seeing an uptick in COVID cases, coinciding with a testing backlog that makes it virtually impossible to contain new outbreaks. The last thing we need is another highly contagious virus with COVID-like symptoms, raging through our overburdened schools, testing sites and ERs this winter.

This is a year to suck it up and go and get your flu shot, as Assemblyman Herb Conaway, a doctor who chairs the health committee, put it. Not only for yourself, for your friends and neighbors as well.

Flu regularly kills tens of thousands of people a year. But this season, any outbreak could paralyze our schools and workplaces with fear. It will send shock waves through the community that will make people afraid to engage in social, civic and economic life, which will be terrible for the economy, Conaway warns.

Which is why the nations top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, has stressed that to handle coronavirus this winter, we must control the flu this fall, and get as many people vaccinated as we possibly can.

At the top of that list should be requiring the flu shot for students and school staffers; a smart proposal Conaway is seriously considering, which was just strongly recommended by two doctors  a pulmonologist and critical care physician, and an associate professor at Harvard Medical school  in a compelling op-ed for Bloomberg Opinion.

We should immediately mandate the flu vaccine for staffers in any congregate care or group homes, also, as we do already for hospital, nursing home and home health care workers. Any delays will play out in death.

The added threat this year is two-fold: To hospital capacity, and our already very limited ability to test, trace and isolate for COVID.

Every year, our ERs are inundated with flu patients. Children and the elderly are at much higher risk of deadly complications and ending up in intensive care  the same beds that we need for COVID patients. What if coronavirus surges too? Our hospitals will be overrun again.

And flu patients, like those with measles or other vaccine-preventable illnesses, are more vulnerable to COVID-19, says Dr. Puthenmadam Radhakrishnan, from the New Jersey chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). Its a very dangerous mix.

Anything that taxes your immune system, any infection, which includes flu, is going to put you at higher risk for developing the COVID infection if youre exposed to it, he said.

Getting COVID test results back a week or two late renders them essentially useless for slowing the spread of the virus. Schools will be desperate for rapid results to make life and death decisions, like whether to close down an entire building if someone gets sick.

Now you throw in people who dont get vaccinated and are concerned about whether they have the flu or COVID, who are hitting the system thats already overstretched  there are real problems with people simply deciding not to do it, Conaway notes.

Most doctors offices are back on line now, and able to provide vaccinations. Many kids also need their regularly mandated shots because of pandemic delays. We should have closed the broad loophole for vaccine exemptions back in January, which now puts everyone at greater risk. Mandating the flu shot is the least we can do.

This is not the year to leave public health to pseudoscience.

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Internet is flooded with astounding pictures from the close-knit wedding of Miheeka Bajaj and Rana Daggubati. The pair tied the knot in Hyderabad. Their wedding was organized keeping all the precautionary measures to curb the spread of coronavirus in mind.

Indian film actor, Rana Daggubati has permanently tied the knot with Miheeka Bajaj in Hyderabad. Internet is overflowed with stunning photographs of the pair. The close knit-wedding ceremony of Bajaj and Rana was organised at the Ramanaidu Studios in Hyderabad. The most desirable bachelor of the Telugu film fraternity got espoused with the love of his life on Saturday. The photographs that have come out of the event are truly astonishing.

Rana looked his best in an off white Kurta and Miheeka rocked her bride look as she enrobed a lehenga designed by Anamika Khanna. Miheeka donned layered jewellery with her gorgeous lehenga. Everything about the wedding of these two seemed no less than a fairytale. The couple had been sharing the photos from their wedding festivities and they have clearly been ruling the internet for the past few days.

As the pair tied the knots through the ongoing coronavirus crisis, addressing this, Ranas father reportedly said before the wedding that only 30 people will be invited in the ceremony. He said that they wanted to restrict the guest list only to the family and havent called their closest friends as well. Here are some pictures from the wedding of the pair thatll astound you.

Also read: Bigg Boss 14 (2020): Start date, timing, contestants list, host, winner name

Also read: Badshah accused of buying fake YouTube views, rapper denies charges

Wishing to set the right example, Ranas father said that they do not want to risk anybodys health as the Covid-19 cases continue to tower. He told that all the attendees were checked against Covid-19 before entering the venue. Many wedding events were cancelled and some others were postponed due to the spread of coronavirus.

Also read: Sanjay Dutt tests negative for Covid-19, hopes to recover soon
Mr Halligan died at the age of 84 at his home with family, following an illness.

The Irish economist and politician served as the general secretary of the Labour Party from 1967 to 1980, and was also appointed as a Senator and elected as a TD for Dublin South-West during this time.

He served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from 1983 to 1984 and founded the IIEA, a think tank on European and international affairs. He also served as Chair of the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland.

Taoiseach Micheal Martin paid tribute to Mr Halligan, describing him as a man who gave his life to politics and the public service with a deep commitment to the institutions of the state.

It is with deep sadness that I have learned of the passing of Brendan Halligan, he said.

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Brendan was a European citizen who believed in the values of the European Union... he succeeded in facilitating a wide range of view on European and global issues. He succeeded in bringing many distinguished figures to Ireland.

Labour Party leader Alan Kelly also paid tribute, saying: Brendan Halligan was a committed socialist and a proud Labour man who I enjoyed speaking with until very recently about the future of our party.

He said Mr Halligan was a fascinating man with a formidable intellect and he was a leading light in the Labour Party who articulated the political vision for the party for more than a decade.

He added that: Through his time in Seanad Eireann, Dail Eireann and the European Parliament, Brendan fostered a deep belief in socialism and in Europe and the European Union.

He is also remembered for having founded the influential policy think tank, The Institute of International and European Affairs. The IIEA has successfully shaped political discourse around Irelands engagement with the European Union and its endearing success is a testament to Brendan Halligans vision and tenacity.

I would like to extend my sympathies and those of my Labour colleagues to Brendans wife Margie, his family and friends at this difficult time.
Barely a few days before the Rajasthan Assembly session is due to commence, chief minister Ashok Gehlot on Sunday appealed to all Congress legislators to save the democratic set-up of governance and to listen to the voice of people who had elected them.

My appeal to all MLAs is that to save democracy, to maintain peoples confidence in us and to avoid wrong traditions, you should listen to the voice of the people, Gehlot wrote in a letter to all MLAs

Gehlot has been locked in a bitter power tussle with his erstwhile deputy Sachin Pilot with about 100 Congress MLAs supporting him. The Congress legislators loyal to Gehlot are currently lodged in a Jaisalmer hotel as the party has accused the BJP of horse-trading following the open revolt by Pilot and 18 MLAs in his camp.

ALSO READ | Rajasthan police file final report in 3 cases related to toppling of Gehlot govt

Amid the severe political crisis, which Rajasthan has witnessed over the past few weeks, after Pilots open rebellion against the chief minister, the assembly session in the state will begin on August 14. The Rajasthan chief minister will probably seek a floor test to prove his majority in the 200-member assembly.

Former deputy chief minister of Rajasthan Sachin Pilot was removed from his post and also sacked as the president of the state unit of the Congress party after he and some legislators loyal to him rebelled against CM Gehlot.

You may be a legislator from any political party, you should ensure and take a decision after understanding the voters feeling about how a peoples elected government continues to work strongly for the states welfare, Gehlot said, stressing that efforts to topple the elected government had not been successful in Rajasthan.

ALSO READ | Will welcome back rebels if party brass forgives them, says Gehlot

Ahead of the assembly session, nearly six BJP MLAs from Rajasthan have shifted to Porbandar in Gujarat.

BJP MLA Nirmal Kumawat had alleged that the Congress government in Rajasthan was harassing opposition MLAs, and said they were on a pilgrimage to Somnath to seek mental peace.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Victoria and Richard Mackenzie-Childs, who live on The Yankee, a 150-foot ferryboat, which is moored in a Mariners Harbor shipyard, have launched sunset tours of their historic home.

After a story about how the couple lives on the boat, built in 1907, appeared on SIlive.com/Staten Island Advance, the couple was overwhelmed with requests for tours of the vintage ship from local historians, residents and history enthusiasts.
The Queen has been seen for the first time since arriving at Balmoral Estate at Glen Muick on Tuesday.

Her Majesty, 94, who cut a casual figure in a red top, gilet and tartan skirt, appeared to be joined by Sophie Wessex, Edward and their children, Lady Windsor, 16, and James, Viscount Severn, 12. as she headed out for a brisk walk at the weekend.

It is understood that the Queen did not attend church in Scotland on Sunday in order to stop well-wishers gathering.

The monarch and Prince Philip, 99, who have been isolating at Windsor Castle, travelled by car last week to RAF Northolt, in west London, where they boarded a private jet to Balmoral.

The Queen, 94, has been seen for the first time since arriving at Balmoral Estate at Glen Muick on Tuesday (pictured)

Her Majesty (pictured) was spotted walking her Dorgis on Balmoral Estate at Glen Muick with who appeared to be an aide

It is understood that the Queen did not attend church in Scotland on Sunday in order to stop well-wishers gathering

After a short flight, the royals touched down at Aberdeen airport where they were met by a driver and whisked off to Balmoral, roughly an hour away.

The couple landed in overcast weather, with the Queen donning a rain mac over her smart powder blue suit as her husband followed her down the stairs of the plane in his own practical waterproof coat.

They were followed by royal aides carrying luggage and a pair of dorgis, the Queen's beloved dogs which are a cross between a dachshund and a Welsh corgi.

The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh will remain at the 50,000-acre estate until early October and will be joined by family members throughout their stay.

It will be a welcome change of scenery for the couple, who have not left the grounds of Windsor Castle since March.

The monarch cut a casual figure in a red top, gilet and tartan skirt as she took her beloved Dorgis, Vulcan and Candy, for a walk

The Queen (pictured) and Prince Philip will remain at the 50,000-acre estate until early October and will be joined by family members throughout their stay

It is understood staff quarantined for two weeks in order to minimise the risk of the Queen or Prince Philip, who are both in their 90s, being exposed to Covid-19.

Reports suggest the hand-picked team of royal aides who will join the couple include Vice-Admiral Tony Johnstone-Burt, master of the household; Sir Edward Young, the Queens private secretary, and Paul Whybrew and William Henderson, her pages.

Major Nana Kofi Twumasi-Ankrah, her equerry; Terry Pendry, her head groom; Angela Kelly, the Queens personal assistant and her senior dresser; Jackie Newbold, Kellys PA; and three assistant dressers will also join, according to The Sunday Times.

It is thought staff will minimise their contact with people outside the royal household in order to create a 'Balmoral bubble' designed to keep the Queen and Prince Philip safe.

Measures will also be taken if any members of the royal family come to visit. Typically the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh are joined by their children and grandchildren, as well as close friends, throughout the summer holiday.

The monarch (pictured) and Prince Philip , 99, who have been isolating at Windsor Castle, travelled by car last week to RAF Northolt, in west London , where they boarded a private jet to Balmoral

The Queen (pictured, left) happily stood and engaged in conversation as she enjoyed the sunshine on Saturday

Balmoral will be a welcome change of scenery for the couple, who have not left the grounds of Windsor Castle since March. Pictured, the Queen on her brisk walk

It is understood that the Queen (pictured) did not attend church in Scotland on Sunday in order to stop well-wishers gathering

The Queen was wearing a red top with long sleeves and a midi skirt for her outing this afternoon

The Queen was spotted enjoying a summer walk on the Estate of Balmoral earlier this afternoon

However this year any visitors, who typically include the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall and Prince Edward and the Countess of Wessex, will likely maintain social distancing while on site.

Family members will not stay in the castle with the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh as they have done in previous years and will instead be housed in other properties in the grounds of the estate.

They will be able to meet her for outside activities instead including walks, horse riding and picnics.

Previous reports suggest Balmoral staff have been banned from social activity and the annual Ghillies Ball has also been cancelled due to coronavirus.

An insider told the Mail on Sunday 'stir-crazy' aides are staying in the New Block, a dull granite building with a dozen bedrooms outside near the castle.

The insider said: 'Without all the normal facilities which make a stay pleasant for staff, everyone's saying it's like being in Colditz, the prisoner of war camp.

Rev Kenneth MacKenzie wearing a protective face mask arrives at Crathie Kirk ahead of the Sunday Service where the monarch usually attends during her summer break at Balmoral

Crathie Kirk where the Queen usually attends Sunday Service during her summer break at Balmoral

The Queen did not attend church in Scotland on Sunday in order to stop well-wishers gathering, it is understood

Some hand sanitiser can be seen at the entrance of Crathie Kirk, next to some flowers. The Queen did not attend the service today to avoid too many well-wishers gathering
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Linkedin (Agence France-Presse) Los Angeles, United States  Sun, August 9, 2020 20:09 527 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a4066ca3d49 2 Lifestyle Virgil-Abloh,Alex-Israel,fashion,fashion-designer,artist,face-mask,Museum-of-Contemporary-Art,MOCA,Museum,los-angeles Free

As museums around the world continue to contend with the economic realities of the coronavirus pandemic, Los Angeless Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) is offering artist-designed face coverings to support its program.

The masks were designed by a selection of nine international artists and collectives, including Virgil Abloh, Mark Grotjahn, Alex Israel, Barbara Kruger, Yoko Ono and Catherine Opie.

Pipilotti Rist, Hank Willis Thomas, and The Andy Warhol Foundation for Visual Arts have also contributed to the project, which is described as upholding the museums commitment to making the experience of art accessible and encouraging the urgency of contemporary expression.

Many of the masks were exclusively designed by participating artists for this project while others represent iconic works from their catalogue.

Alex Israels contribution, aptly titled Mask for MOCA, includes a pair of detachable pins representing a smiling avocado and a self-portrait of the Los Angeles-based multimedia artist.

Catherine Opies Bo from Being and Having (detail) mask uses photography to challenge gender as performance and social construct, as most of the American photographers oeuvre.

Read also: Indonesian designers, brands make chic face masks for the fashion-forwards

Each artist saw [making masks] as a very serious opportunity to bring art into daily life, and to make it caring and protective, which is what I think the masks should be. Of course, it has to be a design that fits into the shape of the mask, but each artist found an interesting way for form to follow function, MOCA director Klaus Biesenbach told Vogue of the project.

All MOCA masks were manufactured in Los Angeles and vary in fabric depending on the design. These coverings were designed to fit a wide range of faces comfortably and securely, including children over 10 years old.

The nine MOCA masks are available individually for US$28 via the museums webstore, although art-loving fashionistas can also purchase the entire limited-edition series for US$280.

Being a responsible and caring citizen amongst citizens just became even more beautiful because of these artists contributions! Biesenbach added in a statement.

In May, the Contemporary Art Society similarly invited four British contemporary artists to customize face coverings, as part of the CAS Rapid Response Fund crowdfunding campaign.

David Shrigley, Eddie Peake, Yinka Shonibare and Linder participated in the initiative, during which a set of all four face masks would be the reward for a donation of 120 to the CAS Rapid Response Fund.
Flagbearer of the main opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), John Dramani Mahama in his assessment of the recently ended voter registration exercise has described the exercise as the most violent ever to happened in the country under the leadership of President Akufo-Addo.



According to him, the country has never had a voter registration exercise and seen a magnitude of violence as witnessed in the just ended compilation of a new voters register as seen under the Akufo-Addo government.



Speaking at a gathering in Keta Krachi in the Oti Region on Sunday, August 9, 2020, former President John Mahama said that the worse of all in the history of voter registration exercise in the country is the attempt by the NPP government to exclude some people who are citizens of the country and robbing them of their citizenships.



We have never had a registration and seen the level of violence that we have seen under this government. Registration is a peaceful exercise and so let everybody come out and register but the worse one is the attempt to exclude some people who are citizens of this country and robbing them of their citizenships, he stated.



He stressed that the just ended voter registration exercise was reduced to a point where as soon as your name does not sound familiar in somebodys ears then the assumption is that you are not a Ghanaian.



To him, the most ludicrous strategy of the governing NPP to deny people their constitutional right to register to be part of the voting process was to greet a group of people at the registration centres in French and their ability to respond back in French is taken as people who are either Togolese or Burkinabe nationals.



The most ludicrous one that I have heard was the strategy they use, they meet a group of people and they say Bonjour and if you respond Bonjour, then they say you are a Togolese or a Burkinabe but who does not know Bonjour in Ghana?



People whose ancestors were born in this country and they have contributed to the progress of this country are the great, great-grandchildren of people who lived in this country long before independence, today you go to register and somebody says you are not a Ghanaian because your name does not sound familiar; it is not what he is used to but the EC even said that assuming you believe the person is not a Ghanaian, file the complain the form, they refused and took the law into their hands, he asserted.



Looking at what transpired at the voter registration exercise, former President John Mahama claimed he can foresee what President Akufo-Addo and his NPP government intend to do in the 2020 general election; alleging that some of the vigilantes have been absorbed into the security services and others have been given national security cards and weapons.



We can foresee what they intend to do in the 2020 general election. The vigilantes, some of them have been absorbed into the security services, others are given national security card and they have weapons on them, he asserted.



I saw a very sad video of somebody in civilian clothes holding a pistol and threatening a police officer and there were other security personnel there including the military and what I saw was them begging him to calm down and I said this guy should be arrested and be behind bars right now and yet they were begging him with his pistol threatening the police officer. I mean what kind of a country have we become?



All these people are running rampage and we have just seen this recent registration exercise where thugs go and try to prevent people from registering, they go and cause confusion at the polling centres in order to disrupt the process and yet they do it with impunity and they get away with it, he bemoaned.

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.

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Readers hoping to buy Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) for its dividend will need to make their move shortly, as the stock is about to trade ex-dividend. If you purchase the stock on or after the 13th of August, you won't be eligible to receive this dividend, when it is paid on the 31st of August.

Applied Industrial Technologies's next dividend payment will be US$0.32 per share, on the back of last year when the company paid a total of US$1.28 to shareholders. Calculating the last year's worth of payments shows that Applied Industrial Technologies has a trailing yield of 1.9% on the current share price of $67.26. We love seeing companies pay a dividend, but it's also important to be sure that laying the golden eggs isn't going to kill our golden goose! We need to see whether the dividend is covered by earnings and if it's growing.

See our latest analysis for Applied Industrial Technologies

Dividends are usually paid out of company profits, so if a company pays out more than it earned then its dividend is usually at greater risk of being cut. Applied Industrial Technologies paid out 143% of profit in the past year, which we think is typically not sustainable unless there are mitigating characteristics such as unusually strong cash flow or a large cash balance. That said, even highly profitable companies sometimes might not generate enough cash to pay the dividend, which is why we should always check if the dividend is covered by cash flow. What's good is that dividends were well covered by free cash flow, with the company paying out 19% of its cash flow last year.

It's disappointing to see that the dividend was not covered by profits, but cash is more important from a dividend sustainability perspective, and Applied Industrial Technologies fortunately did generate enough cash to fund its dividend. Still, if the company repeatedly paid a dividend greater than its profits, we'd be concerned. Very few companies are able to sustainably pay dividends larger than their reported earnings.

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Click here to see the company's payout ratio, plus analyst estimates of its future dividends.

Have Earnings And Dividends Been Growing?

Businesses with shrinking earnings are tricky from a dividend perspective. If earnings fall far enough, the company could be forced to cut its dividend. With that in mind, we're discomforted by Applied Industrial Technologies's 20% per annum decline in earnings in the past five years. Such a sharp decline casts doubt on the future sustainability of the dividend.

Another key way to measure a company's dividend prospects is by measuring its historical rate of dividend growth. Applied Industrial Technologies has delivered an average of 7.9% per year annual increase in its dividend, based on the past 10 years of dividend payments. That's intriguing, but the combination of growing dividends despite declining earnings can typically only be achieved by paying out a larger percentage of profits. Applied Industrial Technologies is already paying out 143% of its profits, and with shrinking earnings we think it's unlikely that this dividend will grow quickly in the future.

The Bottom Line

Is Applied Industrial Technologies worth buying for its dividend? It's not a great combination to see a company with earnings in decline and paying out 143% of its profits, which could imply the dividend may be at risk of being cut in the future. Yet cashflow was much stronger, which makes us wonder if there are some large timing issues in Applied Industrial Technologies's cash flows, or perhaps the company has written down some assets aggressively, reducing its income. Overall it doesn't look like the most suitable dividend stock for a long-term buy and hold investor.

With that in mind though, if the poor dividend characteristics of Applied Industrial Technologies don't faze you, it's worth being mindful of the risks involved with this business. Case in point: We've spotted 5 warning signs for Applied Industrial Technologies you should be aware of.

We wouldn't recommend just buying the first dividend stock you see, though. Here's a list of interesting dividend stocks with a greater than 2% yield and an upcoming dividend.

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.
Invitations to complete the 2020 census have been mailed out. The new deadline to submit the completed forms is Sept. 30 (U.S. Census Bureau)

Have you filled out your census forms yet?

Theres less than two months left to complete the census, and Los Angeles is woefully undercounted so far. Unless that improves, the region could receive fewer federal dollars than it is entitled to for such vital services as affordable housing, public schools and job training, and fewer representatives in Washington, D.C., to fight for L.A.s interests.

This year its especially vital for Los Angeles to step up. President Trump has been trying to hijack the 2020 census for political advantage since he took office, waging a cynical campaign to depress the count in the urban, Black, Latino and immigrant communities that have been Democratic strongholds.

Trump was unable to add a citizenship question to the census, but his attempt appears to have depressed the response rate. Advocates say one reason that some residents havent filled out their forms is that theyre afraid to give the government information about their family. In reality, census responses are confidential and can be used only to compile demographic statistics. Federal law prohibits the Census Bureau from sharing individual responses with other government agencies.

Last week the Trump administration took one of its most cynical steps yet. Just days after former Census Bureau directors told Congress that the U.S. should push back the census deadline to help ensure an accurate count, the Trump administration announced that it would end census data collection earlier than planned. The bureau had said it would collect forms until Oct 31. Now its stopping on Sept. 30.

The pandemic has already held back the census workers who knock on doors to gather information from households that havent yet submitted forms. That work, which was supposed to start in April, will begin in Los Angeles on Tuesday.

They have to cover a lot of ground. So far, 60% of households in L.A. County have filled out the survey on their own; by the end of the 2010 count, 69% had. The situation is more worrisome in the city of L.A., where just 53% of households have completed the census so far. In 2010, some 68% of households filled out the forms themselves.

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Community-based organizations are making a last-ditch effort on a shortened timeline to reach the hardest-to-count households, particularly in low-income and immigrant communities, where residents may not be familiar with or trust the census or may be unable to submit the forms online. Also, these are often communities of essential workers who have been hardest hit by COVID-19. Filling out government forms may not be a top priority as a pandemic rages through their neighborhood.

Thats all the more reason we need an accurate census count, so social services will get enough funding in the communities of greatest need. City, county and school district agencies should incorporate census outreach at every point of contact  from food grab-and-go centers to school supply pickups to COVID testing sites.

But the responsibility for an accurate count shouldnt fall on locals alone. Congress needs to intervene and push back the deadline for submitting the final count. There is no good reason to rush. The nation shouldnt let the presidents political gamesmanship jeopardize the reliability of the census.
RTHK: Thai protesters stage anti-government rally

More than 1,000 anti-government demonstrators rallied in Bangkok's commercial district on Saturday after two protest leaders were arrested and held overnight.

Human rights lawyer Anon Nampa, 35, and student activist Panupong Jadnok, 23, were charged on Friday and held in connection with a series of protests demanding greater democracy.

They were released on bail on Saturday pending further investigation of the charges and on the condition that they do not re-offend.

"The court's condition was that the two not repeat actions like allegations from this case," Anon's lawyer, Weeranan Huadsri said, but they could join legal protests.

Charges against Anon and Panupong include sedition and violating an emergency decree imposed to stop the spread of the coronavirus.

At a protest on Monday, Anon had also made an extremely rare call for reforms to the powerful monarchy, but he was not charged over that.

Anon and Panupong appeared in good health when they exited the court and pledged to continue protesting.

"We will join protests that are in accordance with the constitution, he said.

He said he had always acted peacefully in accordance with the constitution and that government should stop its harassment.

Their release, however, did not appease more than 1,000 demonstrators who moved ahead with an anti-government rally in Bangkok's shopping district.

"Do not harass the citizens," protesters shouted at a bridge in front the MBK shopping centre despite police appeals to disperse.

They chanted "Police get out" and "Dictatorship shall fall" and gave the three-finger salutes of pro-democracy protesters who are demanding the dissolution of parliament, amending the constitution and new elections.

Police Colonel Patikorn Sornchai said the protesters were clearly breaking the emergency law on Saturday after being told to disperse and they would be investigated.

Demonstrations have returned to Thailand's streets to call for removal of the government of 2014 coup leader Prayuth Chan-ocha after a disputed election last year that activists say was engineered to ensure his hold on power.

"We cannot stand the tyranny and oppression that is being inflicted on the Thai people," said 22-year-old student Pattanun Arunpreechawat. "We have to come out to show that." (Reuters)

This story has been published on: 2020-08-09. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Robert Price is a journalist for KGET-TV. His column appears here Sundays. Reach him at RobertPrice@KGET.com or via Twitter: @stubblebuzz. The opinions expressed are his own.
His dumb ass and all of the Black folks that were agreeing with him. Smfh. Hopefully he has learned something.

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the amnt of other black people on my timeline who were like "but he just told the truth!!"....ya'll just bc he's black doesn't mean we have to automatically cosign him.

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Literally! Fucking disgusting.

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I felt like a crazy person seeing the other people on my timeline agree with him, especially my fellow Black people. 

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He can choke.

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hmmm... will this be a fruitful conversation or a total shitshow/PR disaster?



IDK...

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I do genuinely hope this is a good conversation that will educate more people on antisemitism... but I'm keeping my expectations low lol.

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MTE. We'll see

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mte

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ugh he reviewed that bari weiss book, like really you could have picked any other person



otherwise good on him

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See, this is the problem: his notoriety on this topic is due to his lack of understanding. Why the fuck is he featured in a candid conversation about this issue?? He clearly does not understand the Jewish identity and he doesnt represent the black experience (in so far as thats even possible). Literally, both why and what the fuck?



Edited at 2020-08-09 08:30 pm (UTC)

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Unfortunately he's a public figure who made public comments, so they believe the best way to address the issue is publicly. Logically you're correct and this has the potential to do more harm than good but I'm hopeful that's not the case and ignorant people actually learn something.

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Whats going on in that photo

Why is he holding the glasses like an ANTM reject

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My expectations are low, but I hope he is serious in his commitment

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Okay. Hoping for the best but not expecting much. I'll let y'all know when Viacom cancels Wild n Out

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I was hoping he would speak with Black Jewish leaders to highlight how his words and actions negatively impacted them so severely and the experience erasure and racism from nonBlack Jews and antisemitism from non Jewish Black ppl.





I also got that message about Jewish ppl in Hollywood.

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Yes, this this this. Instead he...read Bari Weiss's book? YIKES. NO.





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BARI WEISS??????????????????????????????????? ???????????????????????????????????????? ???????????????

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How this convo began is a longer story, but my boss tried to deny her antisemitism, with the old "I love Jesus, who was a Jew" line. I didn't let her get away with that BS, at all, and kept correcting her to say "Jewish". All in all, a frustrating effort. She simultaneously denied saying what she said to me- a very bold "I hate Jews"- and saying that she said it out of frustration (we get a lot or Jewish and straight up Israeli customers)



Someone reported her to HR, and she's been trying to find out who (she suspects me most, wonder why... maybe because you know what you said, despite your denials). It wasn't me, because I knew nothing would happend to her- I was right- but I know who it was. I was so bothered, I told just about everyone with ears, and one of them did the right thing.





Edited at 2020-08-09 08:32 pm (UTC)

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Has she put more effort into trying to figure out who reported rather than self reflecting on her antisemitism and hatefulness? She sounds trash.



Edited at 2020-08-09 08:37 pm (UTC)

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"I hate Jews"



im sorry she said that and created such a hostile working environment.



good on you for speaking up even though im sure that's not always easy.



I was going to suggest documenting it but HR already knows.



Hopefully if it happens again, you won't have to be the one to speak up and HR will actually do right by yall

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So far, there are two of us she's said this to, with my coworker telling her she needs to find work elsewhere. That was mentioned in the email, and that kind of detail is what made it obvious the person reporting was told something, rather than it being a "vindictive customer," which she initially suspected. Anything to distance herself from her antisemitism.



She says her boss- who is Jewish!- told her to expect a write up, but that hasn't happened. Too lenient besides imo.

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What look was he going for in that photo?

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I can't imagine this being sincere for productive but good luck to everyone involved.

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Residents in bushfire-ravaged towns across New South Wales have been evacuated overnight as wild weather lashes southern parts of the state and floodwaters continue to rise.

The NSW State Emergency Service issued three evacuation orders late on Sunday night after up to 200mm of rain hit a number of towns including Moruya, Nowra and inland at Captains Flat over the last 24 hours, with up to 300mm in isolated areas.

Mudslides filled with bushfire debris from the catastrophic blazes of the summer are also a cause for concern.

Residents have reported flash flooding, particularly along the Deua River, which peaked at eight metres on Sunday afternoon, and authorities are warning Monday's deluge could be even more catastrophic.

A severe weather warning has been issued for Monday with winds forecast to exceed 90km/h early in the morning in coastal regions of Sydney and the Hunter region, before the weather system reaches the mid-north coast by the afternoon.

People in low lying areas of Sussex Inlet were told to evacuate with flood levels expected to damage properties.

The SES - which has received more than 1,000 calls for help as of Monday morning - also ordered residents in Moruya's CBD and Nowra suburbs including Terara, East Nowra, Worrigee and North Nowra to evacuate to higher ground.

Most of the calls came from within Greater Sydney - many of which were related to falling trees crushing roofs, blocking roads and leaving Bankstown, Padstow and Revesby residents without electricity for several hours before emergency crews restored power.

Bureau of Meteorology senior flood hydrologist Justin Robinson said heavy rains were also expected to ease on the south coast and move towards Sydney, the Central Coast and possibly into the Hunter on Monday.

The torrential downpour has left waterfront homes in Wamberal, about 100 kilometres north of Sydney, facing collapse after a weekend of heavy surf.

Pictured: Rescue crews saving two horses amid rising flood levels in Canberra, as a kayaker's body is pulled from a stream

A catchment area in ACT was overflowing at the weekend as torrential rain lashed the territory, causing flash flooding

Winds are forecast to exceed 90km/h early in the morning in coastal regions of Sydney and the Hunter region. Pictured is the damaging weather system moving north on Sunday evening

Up to 200mm of rain fell on the burnt-out town of Moruya on the south coast of NSW on Sunday as residents in low lying areas were urged to evacuate and seek higher ground

Canberra suffered extreme and torrential rain on Sunday. Pictured: A car is pictured submerged in the rising floodwaters

Meanwhile, waterfront homes in Wamberal, north of Sydney, have been hit by major erosion after a weekend of wild weather

NSW Transport Minister and Bega MP Andrew Constance said the heavy rain was the latest challenge to face the region after bushfires ravaged the state's south coast last summer.

'There was 260mm of rain in some areas over the past three days... It has caused extensive damage, a lot of infrastructure takes a lot of battering,' he told 2GB's Ben Fordham.

About 6pm on Sunday, the body of a missing kayaker was pulled from Murrumbidgee River, south of Canberra, highlighting the dangers of getting caught out during the deluge.

The man was reported missing about 2pm after he was separated from his kayaking group amid rising river levels, torrential rain and increasingly difficult conditions. His kayak reportedly got caught under a bridge.

Mark Ethell, an evacuated resident from the Moruya Waterfront Hotel, told Channel Nine he was afraid of the impact flooding could have on his community still reeling from the bushfire season.

'I'm actually concerned for a lot of the people that have been through the fires, the COVID,' he said.

'They're living in tents, they're actually living in caravans right now and a lot of our low-lying areas around town. It's going to be pretty hard.'

The Shoalhaven River at Nowra is predicted to peak near 4.4m about 1pm on Monday with authorities warning of 'major flooding'.

An evacuation centre has been set up at the Village Centre in Batemans Bay.

Torrential rain has pummeled the south coast of New South Wales in particular, but also in Perth - where the downpour has been accompanied by powerful winds (pictured)

Cars were struggling to make it through flood waters on Sunday following torrential rain

People made a mad dash in the rain on Sunday night, carrying umbrellas

Roads were inundated with water both in NSW and ACT (pictured). SES warned residents who chose to remain in their properties that they may get stuck

Sussex Inlet was forecast to rise to 1.2m with the high tide on Sunday night and the nearby river at Island Point Road expected to peak around 1.3m later on Sunday, causing minor flooding.

People who can't stay with family and friends have been advised to go to the Sussex Inlet Police Station to register for emergency accommodation.

Anyone who chooses to stay behind after the evacuation orders were put in place faces being stranded, with authorities warning they may not be able to rescue all those who are trapped.

Similar warnings were distributed during the fire season, when the NSW Rural Fire Service warned they simply didn't have the resources to return to previously evacuated communities.

Wild weather in Kogarah, in southern Sydney, tore a tree out of the ground and left it lying across the roof of a suburban home

Flood waters were rising on Sunday, leading the SES to urge residents in parts of the south coast to evacuate their homes

By Sunday evening, that evacuation order was updated to include Terara, East Nowra, Worrigee and North Nowra

Sussex Inlet is forecast to rise to 1.2m with the high tide on Sunday night and the nearby river at Island Point Road is expected to peak around 1.3m later on Sunday causing minor flooding

Ovals and drains were also submerged in water from the extreme weather conditions in Berry on Saturday

SES Commissioner Carlene York noted the ground across parts of the south coast has become unstable as a result of last summer's bushfires, urging residents to be alert for landslides and fallen trees.

The SES responded to more than 700 calls for help and conducted more than 18 flood rescues across the weekend with most calls coming from Berry, Nowra, Broughton Vale and Gerringong.

More than 20 homes at Broughton Vale near Berry were also cut off by floodwater.

Sydneysiders have been warned to batten down the hatches as well.

By Monday, the severe weather conditions are predicted to have travelled north toward Sydney.

Bureau of Meteorology senior flood hydrologist Justin Robinson said heavy rains were expected to ease on the south coast later on Sunday and move towards Sydney, the Central Coast and possibly into the Hunter.

'Hopefully over the next 24 hours the worst of the weather will be over,' he said.

Signs were submerged on Sunday after a weekend of torrential rain

Roads were left damaged and covered in water, rubble and fallen trees when flash flooding subsided in parts of NSW

Cars were caught in rising waters in Canberra on Sunday (pictured)

SES workers spoke with residents as they urged them to take extra precautions or evacuate

Flood warnings associated with the low-pressure system have also been issued for the Queanbeyan, Molonglo and Snowy rivers.

Severe weather warnings have been issued from Moruya to Kempsey, including in Wollongong, Sydney and Newcastle.

In total, more than 300mm of rain fell across the south coast during the weekend.

While the rain is predicted to ease on Sunday night, it will likely hit Sydney and the Hunter Region by Monday morning.

The low will continue to ravage the Australian Capital Territory as the week progresses, BoM forecasters warn.

Sheep graziers have been warned to pay extra attention to their sheep during the cold snap on Monday, as plunging temperatures increase the risk of losses, particularly with lambs.

Temperatures will drop as low as 3C on Monday and peak at 13C as showers are forecast throughout the day.

By Tuesday, temperatures could plunge to as low was -2C.

A woman wearing a face mask walks through a soaked Circular Quay in Sydney

A telegraph pole is seen with water rushing past it in Berry as the popular tourist South Coast town suffers horrific rainfall

SES workers are pictured walking through flood waters after torrential rain fell in the ACT

Horses had to be rescued from a paddock which was inundated in the downpour

Shoalhaven Zoo received a drenching on Sunday, revealing two of their more heavy animals had become stranded in the rain

Meanwhile on the other side of the country in Perth, trees crashed into homes and cars as wild weather battered the city on Sunday.

A severe weather warning was issued from Carnavorn to Albany as wind gusts of 110km/h swept across the coast.

More than 3,000 properties were left without power on Sunday.

Heavy rainfall, which could lead to flash flooding, has been forecast throughout south-eastern parts of the state and coastal regions.

Perth is set to receive a month's worth of rain in just four days as a monster cold front brought in the first of the rains from Sunday.

Parts of the state recorded as much as 45mm on Sunday, with 35mm forecast for Monday and 10mm for Tuesday and Wednesday.

One couple were seen holding hands as they trudged through the water just to cross the road as the town was battered by intense rainfall in Berry on Saturday

Footage shows cars struggling to make their way through roads that were completely submerged in brown water in Berry on NSW's South Coast on Saturday

Horses had to be rescued from a paddock near Canberra by SES workers which was completely drenched in the downpour
By Jason Lim





As cool as he was, there was always something a little off about Batman: a billionaire playboy acting the righteous vigilante while wearing a whole getup like a bat, including the signature mask. While he was one of the good guys, I wouldn't be surprised if some enterprising psychologist, if given the chance, might have diagnosed the Bruce Wayne character with narcissism, psychopathy and Machiavellianism; the so-called dark triad traits.



In the COVID-19 world, ironically enough, these dark triad traits are actually strong indicators that you won't be wearing a mask. In "Personality and Individual Differences," Bartlomiej Nowaka and Pawe Brzoska of the SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities in Poland found that people who exhibited the dark triad characteristics were less likely to comply with mask-wearing mandates. Other research found similar correlations between individual personality differences and compliance with pandemic restrictions.



However, ultimately, the research found that personality traits played less of a role in determining whether someone wore a mask or not, especially when faced with such a strong external forcing function like COVID-19. Rather, it was how the people perceived the situation that had a much larger impact on whether they complied with the mask mandate or not.



This is key to understanding why a large segment of the U.S. population refuses to wear masks, despite entreaties from public health professionals. It's not whether someone is a good person or not. We literally have different perceptions of the situation, fairly neatly divided into Republicans and Democrats. According to Pew Research Center, "More than eight-in-ten Democrats and those who lean toward the Democratic Party (85 percent) say the coronavirus is a major threat to the health of the U.S. population. Republicans and Republican leaners see the disease in less serious terms: About as many Republicans say the coronavirus is a major threat to public health (46 percent) as say it is a minor threat (45 percent)."



What's even more interesting is that this perception gap between the Republicans and Democrats remains the same despite the recent precipitous rise in infection numbers in red states like Florida, Texas and Arizona. According to Pew, "The gap between Republicans and Democrats in perceptions of the public health threat posed by COVID-19 is about the same as it was in early May, before cases surged in a number of states, including Alabama, Arizona, Florida, South Carolina and Texas."



So, why the difference in perception? We classify ourselves into Republicans and Democrats, but we literally live in the same place, at the same time, and face the same virus. As they say, the virus doesn't discriminate according to your political leanings. So, how does our self-classification into opposing political parties result in such a gap in how we perceive the same exact situation facing all of us?



In the WIRED article, "Neuroscience Could Be the Key to Getting People to Wear Masks," Sidney Fussell quotes Elliot Berkman, a psychology professor at the University of Oregon studying neurological responses to public health messaging: "A lot of these attitudes are really about your group identity. Face masks are political, but it's also about groups. It's like, 'I'm a Democrat or a Republican, and that's how I think of myself. And I need to endorse this attitude so I can fit in with my group.'"



In short, political parties have become tribes to which we declare loyalty, rather than political devices to facilitate the complex logistics of engaging in public debates and negotiated decision making in a large democracy. And our tribal affiliations dictate our reality. In other words, we never perceive a reality out there in an objective, factual way. In fact, words like data-driven, fact-based, objective, etc. are nonsensical because they don't accurately describe how we actual perceive reality. As Bernardo Kastrup writes in Scientific American, "Studies have shown that there is an intimate relationship between the world we perceive, and the conceptual categories encoded in the language we speak. We don't perceive a purely objective world out there, but one subliminally pre-partitioned and pre-interpreted according to culture-bound categories."



We literally have Herman Cain, who passed away recently from COVID-19, declaring that "Masks will not be mandatory for the event, which will be attended by President Trump. PEOPLE ARE FED UP!" when tweeting in support for President Trump's July 4 event at Mount Rushmore. Writing about Cain's death from COVID-19, the NY Times asks almost plaintively, "Will Herman Cain's Death Change Republican Views on the Virus and Masks?"



And we already know that answer will be "no." Adherence to the mainstream narrative of the tribe is more important than the sense of self-identity and, consequently, self-worth to the members of said tribe. This doesn't apply just to the right. Even a cursory look at the cancel culture of the left proves that there is no shortage of quick-trigger litmus tests to maintain ideological and narrative discipline.



What's important to note is that a gap in perception cannot be criticized or shamed away. It can only be bridged by understanding and communication that can redraw the boundaries of the applicable tribes so as to facilitate the sharing of common perceptions. This is what good leaders do.





Jason Lim (jasonlim@msn.com) is a Washington, D.C.-based expert on innovation, leadership and organizational culture.


Pham Xuan Van, 88, a retired lecturer of the Animal Health Department under Vietnam National University of Agriculture, has run a charity clinic to examine and treat thousands of pets for free for more than seven years.

Students work at the animal health clinic in Ngo Xuan Quang Street in Hanois Gia Lam District.  Photo laodong.vn

Van said the purpose of the clinic, in Ngo Xuan Quang Street in Hanoi Citys Gia Lam District, was to rescue and treat animals for free, including offering veterinary acupuncture and massage for homeless dogs and cats, which she studied in Vietnam and Cuba.

After people heard of the clinic, they started to bring their pets not only from Hanoi but also nearby provinces for free treatment, she said.

Many pets at the clinic, were diagnosed with leg paralysis, metabolic diseases and epilepsy, she said.

Therefore, Van often treated them with veterinary acupuncture and massage to rehabilitate them.

However, the method took time. So, the pets had to stay at the clinic for some time until they were fully recovered, she said.

The owners only had to provide food for their pets while the medical expenses were free, she added.

Love is also medicine for any kind of wound, so she always talks with the pets during treatment.

The clinic can receive and treat a maximum of 40 pets at the same time, Lao ong (Labour) online newspaper reports.

Pham Xuan Van, 88, reads a document related to animal acupuncture in her clinic.  Photo laodong.vn

Wholehearted lecturer

The clinic is also a place for students of the universitys animal health department to apply what they have learned in reality.

There are more than 50 students from the department registering to work at the clinic to give free examination and treatment for pets.

Treating thousands of animals for many years had helped Van research and learn veterinary acupuncture methods without anaesthesia to instruct the students, she said.

Nguyen Van Anh, 23, manager of the clinic said she had worked at the clinic for three years since she was a third-year student.

Van inspires me and other students so much. She is 88 years old already, sometimes she is tired but she still goes to the clinic to treat the animals, Anh said.

Anh said dozens of pets which suffered from paralysis had recovered and some could even walk normally after being treated with acupuncture and love from Van.

Thanks to Vans devotion, Anh and other students at the clinic were encouraged to research veterinary acupuncture, Anh said.

The clinic is my joy," Van said. VNS

So your pet may roam free Pets are more like family members to animal lovers than simply creatures around the home, so giving them an ID card not only makes them that little bit closer but also helps keep track of them more easily.
ALBANY  It was just before 8 p.m. Saturday when the sound of gunshots split the air in West Hill at least 20 times in a row.

Four people were shot. One of them, an 18-year-old, died.

Saturdays shooting, which Albany police say was a drive-by with more than one shooter in the vehicle, brings the citys total number of gunshot victims this year to 91. The victim is the 11th person to be killed in Albany so far in 2020, as part of a wave of violence and gun incidents that have hit the city.

This one is still very preliminary, but what weve learned through a lot of our investigations is that the incidents of violence  specifically the shootings  involve people who know each other that are settling disputes or conflicts they have with one another, and that it is a small group of people who are responsible for a majority of the violence in the city, said Steve Smith, Albany police spokesman.

Two of Saturdays victims  including the 18-year-old who later died at Albany Medical Center Hospital  were shot in the torso. Another sustained a gunshot wound in his hand, and the fourth in his leg. The three survivors, who are 22, 28 and 29 years old, have non-life-threatening injuries, Smith said.

The last homicide happened July 11. In that case Jose Moreno, 31, of Schenectady was shot and killed around 3:15 a.m. near Grand Street and Ash Grove Place.

As shootings rise, young offenders in Albany 'run ragged'

So far, 2020 marks the second most violent year Albany has seen in recent history. In 2018, there were 15 homicides. However, there is a slight glimmer of hope, city officials say.

What we are seeing is a reduction in the pace of the violence. So the rates of shootings we were seeing a month ago have slowed down, Mayor Kathy Sheehan said Sunday. Its still too high, we still have a long road ahead of us, but we are seeing a reduction in the rate of these violent crimes.

According to Sheehan, there has been a 15 percent increase in all violent crime cases  which includes more than just shootings  in 2020 compared to 2019. But there has been a 12 percent decrease over the past 28 days.

That is an indicator to me and to those in law enforcement that by reinstating the strategies that we were engaging in prior to COVID-19, weve been able to slow the pace, but its still too high, Sheehan said.

One of those critical strategies is 518SNUG, a violence intervention group. Members of the group typically visit gun violence victims in the hospital to urge families and friends not to retaliate against the aggressor. During the pandemic, the group didnt have access to the hospital, but now they do.

Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years.

Law enforcement has also had a heavier presence in neighborhoods than during the height of the pandemic. New York suddenly closed schools and businesses in mid-March in an effort to try and stop the coronavirus. Most businesses have since reopened, and as of now school is scheduled to begin again after Labor Day. Sheehan said there has also been an increase in outreach from the faith-based community and other community-based organizations.

Sheehan also stressed that while the perpetrators of violence are typically a circle of known individuals, the reason for the high number of victims thus far is because many werent intended targets, but rather in the wrong place at the wrong time with the wrong person who was being targeted for whatever reason.

Those connections span other Capital Region cities as well, such as Schenectady and Troy, Sheehan said. Schenectady has been hit particularly hard by violence since July as two innocent female bystanders - one pregnant, the other a young mother - were killed by gunfire.

The strategies for crime prevention are things that I feel very passionately about, and I know that we could be doing more to prevent crime, Sheehan said.

I also believe we need to make sure we are aggressively prosecuting violent offenders who pick up a gun and fire at a group of people and place everyone in our community in danger, she continued. That type of brazen act and disregard for human life is something that is not acceptable in any community.

At this time the investigation into Saturday night's shooting remains ongoing and anyone with information is asked to call the Albany Police Detective Division at 518-462-8039.

100% anonymous tips may also be submitted to Capital Region Crime Stoppers online at www.capitalregioncrimestoppers.com or by downloading the free P3 Tips mobile app.
The announcement by Lidia Yermoshina, before polling stations had closed, that Mr Lukashenko had racked up 82% support in voting at hospitals and sanatoria in five regions was likely to exacerbate tensions with opposition supporters upset about the countrys deteriorating economy, political repression and the presidents cavalier dismissal of the coronavirus threat.

The presidential election pitted Mr Lukashenko, who has held an iron grip on the ex-Soviet nation since 1994, against four others, and has generated the biggest opposition protests in years.

Opposition supporters suspect election officials will manipulate the results of Sundays vote to give the 65-year-old Mr Lukashenko a sixth term.

Anti-government protests were expected later on Sunday and Mr Lukashenko has made it clear he will not hesitate to put down any demonstrations.

Voter turnout was so high that some polling places in Minsk had to work past the planned closing time of 8pm local time to accommodate voters who were waiting in long lines, Ms Yermishina said.

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Her announcement of the partial results, which showed main opposition candidate Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya with about 7% of the vote, did not specify what proportion of the electorate was represented.

Many democratic aspects of the presidential election appeared to be lacking on Sunday. Two early rivals to Mr Lukashenko were blocked from running in the race and one had to flee the country with his children after warnings that he would be arrested.

Tensions were high throughout the day as Mr Lukashenko vowed to quash any protests and at least eight opposition campaign staff were arrested. A top aide to Ms Tsikhanouskaya fled the country in the afternoon.

In the evening, police set up checkpoints on the outskirts of Minsk and were examining residence permits, apparently aiming to stem any influx of protesters from other cities.

Mr Lukashenko himself was defiant as he voted.

If you provoke, you will get the same answer, he said. Do you want to try to overthrow the government, break something, wound, offend, and expect me or someone to kneel in front of you and kiss them and the sand onto which you wandered? This will not happen.

Ms Tsikhanouskaya, the wife of a jailed opposition blogger, attracted highly visible support, a very unusual development in a country where opposition voices are generally suppressed. One of her rallies in the capital of Minsk was attended by an estimated 60,000 people.

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Mindful of Belaruss long history of violent crackdowns on dissent  protesters were beaten after the 2010 election and six rival candidates arrested, three of whom were imprisoned for years  Ms Tsikhanouskaya called for calm on Sunday

I hope that everything will be peaceful and that the police will not use force, she said after voting.

Ms Tsikhanouskaya emerged as Mr Lukashenkos main opponent after two other prominent opposition leaders were denied places on the ballot. One was jailed for charges that he calls political and the other, an entrepreneur and former ambassador to the United States Valery Tsepkalo, fled to Russia after warnings that he would be arrested and his children taken away.

Mr Tsepkalos wife Veronika became a top member of Ms Tsikhanouskayas campaign, but she, too, has now left the country, campaign spokeswoman Anna Krasulina said on Sunday.

Eight members of Ms Tsikhanouskayas campaign staff were arrested on Sunday and the campaign chief was arrested a day earlier.

Three journalists from Russias independent TV station Dozhd were detained after being forced to the ground by plainclothes police on Sunday afternoon. Maria Kolsenikova, a top associate of Ms Tsikhanouskaya who had been briefly detained on Saturday night, told the station the journalists were seized shortly after interviewing her.
In mid-2020 Russia revealed it was working on a new generation of infantry equipment called Sotnik (Centurion) to replace the current Ratnik (warrior) ensemble. Russia plans have the first Sotnik equipment delivered to special operations troops by 2025 and to everyone else five years after that. That may be overly ambitious because Sotnik consists of a lot of high-tech items that may not be ready for combat troops in time.

Some of the new items already exist, like anti-mine boots and special cloth that will reduce the thermal (heat) that identifies troops to thermal sensors. There are similar types of cloth that reduce radar effectiveness. Because of sanctions Russian may have problems importing finished items or components for Russian made versions.

Sotnik will include more powerful digital communications gear for individual troops and tighter integration with what nearby small UAVs can see. This information will be presented on a special visor or goggle display similar to what many fighter pilots currently use. Israel already has such goggles that enable tank crews to switch on outside view and show what is outside the tank via a system of small vidcams on the tank exterior. There will also be an emphasis on lighter versions of existing Ratnik items, especially heavy protective items (vest and helmet) that will also become more effective. All items in the Sotnik ensemble will be lighter so that the entire Sotnik ensemble will be, at 20 kg (44 pounds) 20 percent lighter than Ratnik equivalents.

The final list of Sotnik items wont be completed until 2023, but it was revealed that Sotnik will include new weapons and ammunition as well as use of AI (Artificial Intelligence) in electronic components. Some of the items being developed for Ratnik 3 will end up being part of the initial version of Sotnik. The proposed Sotnik items are not science fiction, but the Russian capability to manufacture these items for combat soldiers is questionable. It would not be the first time that Russian press releases got too far ahead of capabilities.

The experience with Ratnik is informative. Ratnik 1 (the original) received its last major item of equipment in early 2020 when the new Russian assault rifle, the AK-12, was finally delivered to regular infantry units. The first such unit to receive it is the 150th Motor Rifle Division of the 8th Army in the Southern Military District. The AK-12, looks like (and is) a much-updated AK-47. AK-12 was finally accepted into service in 2018 and deliveries began to special operations and airborne units in 2019. Meanwhile there were some major upgrades to the Ratnik ensemble between 2013 and the 2020a. These became known as Ratnik versions 1, 2 and 3. Some say Sotnik is simply Ratnik 4,

The government, after years of pressure and complaints from combat commanders, agreed in 2015 to make the AK-12 part of the new future soldier (Ratnik) set of gear for its infantry. As of 2015 Ratnik was obviously not complete and had not undergone any combat testing. Combat experience arrived in 2016 when Russian troops showed up in Syria. Ratnik is basically the kind of gear American troops began receiving in the 1990s. Ratnik got modern type (and still in use) bullet proof helmets and vests. In addition there was a monocular (one eye) night vision system as well as that included a thermal (heat sensing) scope for rifle, a flashlight, new combat uniform with one piece coverall, backpack, webbing (worn on chest to attach various items), waterproof camouflage/shelter tarp, wristwatch, protective glasses, knee and elbow pads, ear protection, heat source for combat rations (like U.S. MRE), chemical weapons detector and protective gear, medical kit, small combat binoculars and other individual items commonly found in Western armies.

New communications/navigation gear called Strelets (Musketeer) provided individual and larger radios. The Ratnik helmet was designed to accept a Strelets earpiece and microphone. Strelets also provided satellite navigation capability as well as optional gear for designating and transmitting location and (optionally) a picture of a target for air or artillery fire. Also included is a Russian version of the American Blue Force Tracker, which was first used in Iraq during the 2003 campaign. Russia noted that with great interest since Russian military planners and scientists had first proposed that sort of thing back in the 1950s. Western economies and electronic developments moved a lot faster than the Soviet Union (pre-1991 Russia). The U.S. was able to put Blue Force Tracker together quickly using commercial grade electronics. In the 1990s Russia got access to a lot of that tech but still has difficulty manufacturing it. This is why Strelets too so long to develop and get to the troops. For the same reason Sotnik gear may take longer to perfect than the Russians currently believe.

Much of Strelets got used for the first time in Syria and was generally successful. That combat experience quickly exposed any technical and design problems. Many of these were quickly fixed although some items took longer. Currently Russian considers Strelets mature and reliable. In practical terms Strelets did not arrive as a fully functional system until 2019.

Troops began getting most of Ratnik (minus the AK-12 and some electronic items) in 2015 and by 2017 200,000 sets of Ratnik had been delivered. That was enough to equip all the combat troops because the current Russian Army is, for the first time in history smaller than that peacetime American army. The Russian force has 350,000 troops compared to the U.S. Army with 560,000.

The current Russian ground forces consist of eight armies. Most of those armies only have one division and a few brigades. Not all of these units are at full strength. Russia is making the most of this and seeks to equip all these troops with the most modern equipment. That became a lot more expensive towards the end of the Cold War (1980s), and especially after the 1990s when Western forces came up with a growing number of more effective weapons and items of equipment that made their troops much more effective, and expensive to equip.

After 1991 the newly independent (of Russian control) countries of East Europe rushed to join NATO and equip their troops to NATO standards. At the same time, China was also modernizing its ground forces while using the U.S. and NATO as the standard to match. A modernized Chines army was something Russia never had to face. For centuries China had outdated military equipment compared to Russia and that did not begin to change until the 1990s. Now the Chinese are ahead of Russia and that irks Russian military commanders who realize that ultimately China is the major threat to Russia.

The Ratnik system is the Russian version of an American concept pioneered in the 1980s ("Land Warrior"), and resulted in the introduction of new body armor, personal communications, wearable computers, night vision devices, and personal medical equipment. Several European countries have followed, especially the German Infanterist der Zukunft (Infantryman Of The Future). Russia tried to do the same but was stalled by cash shortages and debates over whether a new infantry rifle was needed. Unlike the United States, Russia included a new rifle design (AK-12) as part of its Ratnik gear. There was a lot of opposition to the AK-12 within the Russian high command, but at the troop level, there was an even more vigorous and louder call for something to replace the Cold War era AK-74.

The entire Ratnik collection underwent final acceptance tests in late 2013. All the items of Ratnik; firearms, body armor, optic, communication and navigation devices, medical gear and power supply systems, plus uniform items including knee and elbow pads, have been tested and accepted. The new rifle was more of a problem until the government finally backed the AK-12, which uses a lot of the basic AK-47 design principles but adds many new features popular in Western assault rifles. The AK-12 is but the latest in a long line of innovative Russian infantry weapons. Appearing for the first time towards the end of World War II, assault rifles have since become the standard infantry weapon, almost entirely replacing bolt-action and semi-automatic rifles. The first-generation AK was the AK-47 followed by the AKM in the 1960s, then the AK-74 (which was somewhat similar to the U.S. M-16) in the 1970s, and limited numbers of the AN-94 (a much-improved AK-74) in the 1990s. Over fifty million AK-47s and AKMs were made, most of them outside Russia. Production, on a small scale, continues. It is still the most numerous assault rifle in use.
Labour's Dawn Butler has accused the police of racially profiling her after she was pulled over while driving in East London.

The MP for Brent Central filmed her heated confrontation in Hackney with two officers, who she claims demanded to know what was in the back of car.

After being left 'irritated and angry', she has branded the Metropolitan Police 'institutionally racist'.

She said: 'We were two black people in a car, driving through Hackney, and they thought they'll stop us.

'You can drive anywhere you want to. I mean we don't have a police state that says you're not allowed to drive from Brent to Hackney or from Chingford to Brent, you can drive anywhere you want.'

Ms Butler  who in 2015 became the third black woman to be elected an MP after Diane Abbott and Oona King - only yesterday called on Scotland Yard commissioner Cressida Dick to resign for failing to stamp out racism.

The MP for Brent Central filmed her heated confrontation in Hackney with two officers, who she claims demanded to know what was in the back of car

After being left 'irritated and angry', she has branded the Metropolitan Police 'institutionally racist

Her footage shows a uniformed constable standing outside her car, while a female officer's voice is heard off camera.

The MP says: 'I've been doing a lot of work with the police on stop and search, and how the police are stop and searching, and actually the way you do it and the way you profile is wrong.

'Because what you do is, you create an environment where you create animosity.

'And it's irritating because you cannot drive around on a Sunday afternoon whilst black because you're going to be stopped by the police.'

Speaking to Sky News, she said: 'The institution is racist. One of the other police officers came and said 'I can't see what's in the back of your car'.

'You don't need to see what's in the back of the car. Why do you need to see what's in the back of the car? What's that about?

'So there is an institutional racism in the police, we know that, and it needs to be taken out. It's cancerous and it needs to be cut out out of the police force. It's urgent, it's really urgent.'

The MP said: 'I wasn't going to go live with this at all, but because the other police officer inflamed the situation so much, I was getting irritated and angry at the way she was approaching me.

'It's such a bad way to treat people. It's exhausting, and tiring and mentally draining.

'This is a police service that is supposed to police everyone, and I understand there are issues that need to be dealt with.

'But deal with it in an equitable way, don't deal with in an unfair way, in a bias way or a racist way.'

Scotland Yard explained the car was stopped because an officer 'incorrectly entered' its registration into a police occupier and identified it as a vehicle registered to an address in Yorkshire.

'Upon stopping the vehicle and speaking with the driver, it quickly became apparent that the registration had been entered incorrectly and was registered to the driver in London,' a statement said.

'Once the mistake was realised the officer sought to explain this to the occupants; they were then allowed on their way.'

The statement did not explain why the registration was entered in the first place.

Labour's Dawn Butler has railed on social media after being pulled over by police in East London

After the stop, former shadow home secretary Diane Abbott said: 'This is so unsurprising. When will the Metropolitan Police give up on racial profiling?'

Shadow Lord Chancellor David Lammy tweeted 'big hugs' to his Labour colleague

Left-wing commentator Owen Jones sent his well wishes to Ms Butler on Twitter

Left-wing commentator Ash Sarkar sent her condolences to the Labour MP

A Met chief superintendent had earlier confirmed there had been a police stop and that the MP had expressed her 'concerns'.

Chief Superintendent Roy Smith said: 'I've just spoken with Dawn Butler by phone.

'She has given me a very balanced account of the incident. She was positive about one officer and gave feedback on others & the stop.

'We are listening to those concerns and Dawn is quite entitled to raise them.'

After the stop, former shadow home secretary Diane Abbott said: 'This is so unsurprising. When will the Metropolitan Police give up on racial profiling?'

Kate Osamor MP tweeted to her backbench Labour colleague: 'Hope you're ok?'

Ms Butler, who served as Jeremy Corbyn's shadow minister for women and equalities, yesterday hit out at Metropolitan Police officers who rubbished the notion children should be invulnerable to arrest.

In a scathing rebuke, she tweeted: 'The problem is you are arresting children going for a bike ride or going to the shops for a loaf of bread.

'Not all African-Caribbean boys should be viewed as criminals! I should be surprised the police liked this but sadly I'm not.'

And in an article published yesterday, she called on Scotland Yard Commissioner Cressida Dick to resign for failing to stamp out 'institutional racism' within her ranks.

She wrote in Metro: 'In case anyone doubts the experiences of people of colour, the statistics are stark.

'The Met are four times more likely to use force on Black people. They have stopped and searched the equivalent of one in four young black men in London during lockdown.'

She added: 'At this most pivotal time the commissioner thought it appropriate to say that 'institutionally racist' is not a 'useful way to describe' the force, which is not only unhelpful but offensive.

'It is quite telling. Cressida Dick appears to be incapable of tackling this long-known problem, and incapable of showing solidarity with those people who suffer from it the most, so she should resign.'

The Metropolitan Police said it is looking into the episode and Ms Butler could not be reached.

This week Ms Butler was named by Vogue magazine as one of the 25 most influential women shaping 2020 for her support of Black Lives Matter protests.

She described her backing of the Marxist anti-racism movement as having led to threats of attack on her office and staff having 'drastically escalated'.

Last month Great Britain sprinter Bianca Williams and her partner Ricardo dos Santos were pulled from their car and handcuffed in front of their three-month-old son.

Nothing was found in the search and the Met referred itself to the police watchdog while Cressida Dick was forced to apologise for the 'distress' caused.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct has launched an investigation into whether officers in England and Wales racially discriminate against ethnic minority people.

The latest official statistics for stop and search showed a disparity rate of 4.3 for all black, Asian and minority ethnic people and 9.7 for black people.
WASHINGTON - House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Sunday the threats of interference in the U.S. presidential election from Russia and China are not equal, pointing to a more serious risk with Moscows efforts to boost President Donald Trumps reelection bid.

Theyre not equivalent, said Pelosi, D-Calif. Russia is actively 24/7 interfering in our election. They did so in 2016, and they are doing so now. She urged intelligence agencies to put more information out there on the specific nature of the threats.

An intelligence report last week said Russia was already using a range of measures to undercut Trumps Democratic challenger, Joe Biden, and promote Trump with misinformation on social media. The statement Friday by William Evanina, director of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center, also said China does not want Trump to win a second term and has accelerated its criticism of the White House, and that Iran is also hoping Trump will lose.

Pelosi said trying to equate China and Russia on the threat of foreign election interference doesnt tell the story.

The Chinese, they said, prefer Biden  we dont know that, but thats what theyre saying, but theyre not really getting involved in the presidential election, she said.

Trumps national security adviser, Robert OBrien, said Sunday that the U.S. is taking any threat to U.S. elections seriously. He said that China has engaged in cyberattacks and phishing with respect to our election infrastructure.

Were not going to put up with it, he said. Were going to take every action necessary to keep folks out, whether its China or Russia or Iran or Cuba or Venezuela or others.

Pelosi and other congressional Democrats have expressed concern that intelligence agencies have been withholding from the public specific intelligence information about the threat of foreign interference in American politics.

The facts are chilling, Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., wrote in an op-ed published Friday evening in The Washington Post. I believe the American public needs and deserves to know them. The information should be declassified immediately.

Pelosi spoke on CNNs State of the Union and Fox News Sundayand OBrien appeared on CBS Face the Nation.
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sun, August 9, 2020 17:00 527 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a4066c9a542 1 National theft,cash,Maumere,East-Nusa-Tenggara,NTT,Sikka,sikka-regency,village-fund,village-funds Free

A bag containing Rp 161.34 million (US$11,000) in village funds in cash was stolen in Maumere city, Sikka regency, East Nusa Tenggara, on Friday, the Sikka Police have said.

Sikka Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Sajimin said the Wolomage village treasurer, Theresia Pio, had stopped by a store in Maumere city to buy some things. She had the bag of cash with her.

She left the bag at the stores bag check counter, but as she was leaving, she found that it had disappeared along with the cash inside it.

The bag full of cash was stolen, Sajimin said on Saturday, as quoted by kompas.com.

Store surveillance footage from the time of the bags disappearance shows two men in the shop. One is haggling over the price of a carpet on display in front of the store, distracting the staff at the bag check counter. The other takes the bag from the counter while the attendants are looking away.

The police are searching for the two apparent thieves.

The village fund program is one of President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's flagship policies. About Rp 257 trillion was distributed to villages during Jokowis first term, and the amount is set to increase to Rp 400 trillion in the 2019-2024 period. (trn)
As New Zealands inclusive leader Jacinda Ardern paid a visit to Radha Krishna Temple in Auckland ahead of the national polls scheduled in September, the internet was rendered stunned at the iconic PMs respect for other cultures and fellow human beings. In a Tweet shared by an Indian diplomat, Muktesh Pardeshi, Ardern can be seen attending an event at the temple on August 6 adhering to the Indian traditions and participating in the temple rituals. She was also seen relishing simple Indian vegetarian meal, Puri, Chhole, and Daal.

With over 1.1k likes, the pictures of the New Zealand PM performing aarti and accepting the holy prasad from the priest in a traditional manner touched peoples hearts. Not just that, Ardern was also seen leaving her footwear behind at the entrance of the temple and offering prayers with immense dedication as she stood at the altar of the temple in the presence of other officials and the Indian envoy. Radha Krishna Temple is reportedly a part of Mahatma Gandhi Centre, run by the Auckland Indian Association and New Zealands PM paid a short visit to seek blessings ahead of the polls.

Some precious moments with Hon. PM of New Zealand @jacindaardern at @indiannewslink event on 6 Aug 2020. She paid a short visit to Radha Krishna Mandir and enjoyed a simple Indian vegetarian meal- Puri, Chhole and Daal.  pic.twitter.com/Adn25UE1cO  Muktesh Pardeshi (@MukteshPardeshi) August 8, 2020

Read: New Zealand Marks 100 Days Of Virus Elimination

Read: VVS Laxman Goes Into Nostalgic Mode With Skyjump Photo From 2002 New Zealand Tour

Netizens admired PM's inclusiveness

Impressed at her simplicity and inclusiveness, a commenter wrote, Wish we had leaders like her. Democratically elected leaders are a true reflection of their society, and by that yardstick, New Zealand seems to be an awesome place. Another agreed, saying, so precious. Gracious she is in respecting our social and religious heritage and of course ever delicious Indian food. This is lovely! My respect for Ardern just went many notches up, appreciated the third.

True example of religious tolerance and respect for fellow humans. PM's and all other leaders including religious leaders of other nations should take a note of this   Shoby Abraham (@shoby_abraham) August 8, 2020

She is very lively. Paying full attention.. nice gesture.  Rang De Kesariya (@TweetIndia5) August 9, 2020

I already loving her quality leadership.  Charu Suman (@Tweet_CharuS) August 9, 2020

The real leader  Masiuddin.J (@jmasi63) August 8, 2020

Great to see this  Kaps  (@KapsKool) August 8, 2020

Power of Indian diaspora  ProudBharatwasi (@Always4Country) August 8, 2020

Wow great   Riya indian (@RiyaIam1) August 8, 2020

New Zealand    Always Ravi Teja Nukala (@RavitejaNukala) August 8, 2020

Respect   Anu Mathrani (@AnuMathrani) August 9, 2020

Read: New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern Launches Re-election Campaign, Promises Jobs

Read: New Zealand Sailing Stars Burling, Tuke, To Lead SailGP Team
Washington lawmakers had two weeks to negotiate and construct the next stimulus package.

However, negotiations between Republican and Democratic leaders have stalled, so it remains unclear what type of economic relief package will ultimately be presented to Americans still struggling during the coronavirus pandemic.

How much money U.S. citizens and families will receive if/when a compromise is official is unknown, but distribution amounts and eligibility requirements are at least presented on the GOP-backed HEALS Act.

There are only really two choices for them: negotiate with Democrats and meet us in the middle, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a CNet.com report.

Schumer also said the second choice is to go the route of President Donald Trump making an executive order.

Friday was the original deadline set by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.

The HEALS Act has endorsed a $1,200 direct payment cap to qualified individuals, although a persons tax filing status in 2019, among other factors, will determine how much of that $1,200 is received.

The Republican plan, according to CNet, would include $500 for dependents regardless of age.

This is a change from the first stimulus package (CARES Act), which denied payment to dependents 17 and older and university students under the age of 24.

In addition, the initial CARES Act provided no limit on the number of children who counted as dependents as long as they were under 17 and claimed by the taxpayer on their return. It meant a married couple with three kids, if qualified, could have received a maximum of $3,900.

Under the HEALS Act, without a maximum number of dependents, there is no mention of a cap on the total amount a family may receive.

A third proposal, the HEROES Act, which blazed through the House but has not yet been discussed in the Senate, has a $6,000 cap for families. It would distribute $1,200 to individuals and $1,200 each for up to three dependents.

CNet is reporting that second stimulus checks will likely be distributed in the same variations as the CARES Act, via check, direct deposit or Economic Impact Payment (EIP) cards.

While Republicans and Democrats have agreed that a second, direct payment to eligible Americans is needed, forecasting when a final bipartisan deal is struck is unknown.

US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said Friday that if the two sides can manage to reach an agreement, hes prepared to start printing [stimulus checks] the following week.
Hersha Hospitality Trust (NYSE:HT) shareholders will doubtless be very grateful to see the share price up 35% in the last quarter. But don't envy holders -- looking back over 5 years the returns have been really bad. The share price has failed to impress anyone , down a sizable 75% during that time. So we're hesitant to put much weight behind the short term increase. Of course, this could be the start of a turnaround.

View our latest analysis for Hersha Hospitality Trust

Given that Hersha Hospitality Trust didn't make a profit in the last twelve months, we'll focus on revenue growth to form a quick view of its business development. Generally speaking, companies without profits are expected to grow revenue every year, and at a good clip. As you can imagine, fast revenue growth, when maintained, often leads to fast profit growth.

In the last half decade, Hersha Hospitality Trust saw its revenue increase by 1.2% per year. That's not a very high growth rate considering it doesn't make profits. It's not so sure that share price crash of 12% per year is completely deserved, but the market is doubtless disappointed. We'd be pretty cautious about this one, although the sell-off may be too severe. We'd recommend focussing any further research on the likelihood of profitability in the foreseeable future, given the muted revenue growth.

The company's revenue and earnings (over time) are depicted in the image below (click to see the exact numbers).

It's probably worth noting we've seen significant insider buying in the last quarter, which we consider a positive. That said, we think earnings and revenue growth trends are even more important factors to consider. If you are thinking of buying or selling Hersha Hospitality Trust stock, you should check out this free report showing analyst profit forecasts.

What about the Total Shareholder Return (TSR)?

Investors should note that there's a difference between Hersha Hospitality Trust's total shareholder return (TSR) and its share price change, which we've covered above. The TSR attempts to capture the value of dividends (as if they were reinvested) as well as any spin-offs or discounted capital raisings offered to shareholders. Hersha Hospitality Trust's TSR of was a loss of 64% for the 5 years. That wasn't as bad as its share price return, because it has paid dividends.

Story continues

A Different Perspective

Hersha Hospitality Trust shareholders are down 52% for the year, but the market itself is up 18%. Even the share prices of good stocks drop sometimes, but we want to see improvements in the fundamental metrics of a business, before getting too interested. Unfortunately, last year's performance may indicate unresolved challenges, given that it was worse than the annualised loss of 10% over the last half decade. We realise that Baron Rothschild has said investors should "buy when there is blood on the streets", but we caution that investors should first be sure they are buying a high quality business. I find it very interesting to look at share price over the long term as a proxy for business performance. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too. Even so, be aware that Hersha Hospitality Trust is showing 2 warning signs in our investment analysis , and 1 of those can't be ignored...

Hersha Hospitality Trust is not the only stock that insiders are buying. For those who like to find winning investments this free list of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.

Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on US exchanges.

This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.



Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com.
He was greeted by the U.S. Marine Band and met Trump (after being tested for COVID-19 and cleared by the presidents medical team earlier that morning).

Being in the White House helped this cause to go viral, Sharpe said of the nationwide media attention the walk received. Ive gotten lots of calls from people who want more information and want to help.

A Summerfield resident (the Rockingham County side), Sharpe began this years walk July 1, accompanied by Wayne Jenkins of Stokesdale. Carrying the American flag and the Nine Lives flag, the two men averaged 10 miles a day.

It usually takes 22 days in May, but in July it took us 26 days to complete the walk, Sharpe said. It was brutal.

He decided to shorten the daily distance walked this year from 15 miles to 10 because of the intense heat of summer. A support vehicle the men, providing plenty of Gatorade and water.

I got a little sick one day from the heat, but I was OK, Sharpe said.

He and Jenkins walked eight to nine hours each day, usually beginning at 6 a.m. to get more miles in before the heat of the day.
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The new Scottish Conservatives leader has said the furlough scheme was made possible by the Union.

Douglas Ross is urging Boris Johnson to show the Union is 'inclusive and in touch' and says it is in the SNP's interests to present the Union as 'unstable'.

Rishi Sunak made his first visit to Scotland this week since becoming Chancellor and is the fifth Cabinet minister to do so, in a battle for the Union.

Writing in the Sunday Telegraph, Mr Ross said: 'Millions of workers have benefited from the UK Government's furlough scheme, one only made possible by the country's broad fiscal shoulders.'

He added: 'We must find new ways to show that our Union is a common endeavour, held together not just by convenience, but by shared values and mutual gain.'

New leader of the Scottish Conservative Party Douglas Ross (pictured right, with Chancellor Rishi Sunak) said we must find new ways to show the Union is held together by shared values and mutual gain

Mr Ross made comments about the complacency of the Tory government when it came to the link between England and Scotland.

There are concerns that the coronavirus pandemic is splitting Scotland and England due to differing approaches by Boris Johnson and First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, according to the Sunday Telegraph.

Boris Johnson is attempting to cut off support for Nicola Sturgeon and Scottish independence in the wake of Brexit and coronavirus.

Recent polls have suggested a majority support for independence for Scotland, which overwhelmingly voted against Brexit in 2016.

And elections for the Scottish Parliament next year are set to give a major sign of the strength of feeling.

On his visit, Mr Sunak played up the Treasury's help for Scotland during the pandemic economic collapse.

The Tresaury said the UK Government schemes to support businesses recovering from coronavirus have paid out 2billion in Scotland.

The loan schemes have assisted some 65,000 businesses across Scotland., with more than 600,000 employees furloughed in Scotland by the end of May.

Mr Ross said that it is in the SNP's interests to present the Union as 'unstable'. Pictured: First Minister and leader of the SNP Nicola Sturgeon

The SNP, lead by Nicola Sturgeon, renewed calls to extend the furlough scheme, which is currently due to end at the end of October.

SNP's Westminster leader Ian Blackford warned 'thousands of people could lose their jobs unnecessarily'.

He said: 'Cutting the furlough scheme prematurely is a grave mistake. By removing this crucial support in the middle of a global pandemic, and withholding the financial powers Scotland needs for a strong recovery, the Tories are increasing the risk of mass redundancies.'

Mr Johnson visited Scotland last month, as did Chief Secretary to the Treasury Steve Barclay and Business Secretary Alok Sharma.
Chennai: Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) leader Kanimozhi Karunanidhi on Sunday (August 9, 2020) recounted her experience at an airport where she was asked by a Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) officer if she was an Indian because she did not speak Hindi.

The DMK leader said that she would like to know "from when being Indian is equal to knowing Hindi".

The Lok Sabha MP from Thoothukudi constituency (Tamil Nadu) took to Twitter and wrote, "Today at the airport a CISF officer asked me if I am an Indian when I asked her to speak to me in Tamil or English as I did not know Hindi. I would like to know from when being Indian is equal to knowing Hindi."

Today at the airport a CISF officer asked me if I am an Indian when I asked her to speak to me in tamil or English as I did not know Hindi. I would like to know from when being indian is equal to knowing Hindi.#hindiimposition  Kanimozhi () (@KanimozhiDMK) August 9, 2020

The CISF acknowledged her "unpleasant experience" and asked her for the journey details.

Warm greetings from @CISFHQrs. We sincerely acknowledge your unpleasant experience. Kindly DM journey details; name of airport, location, date, and time of the incident for appropriate action in the matter.  CISF (@CISFHQrs) August 9, 2020

The paramilitary force also ordered an enquiry into the matter and said that it is not the policy of CISF to "insist upon any particular language".

The CISF has ordered an Enquiry into the matter. It is not the policy of CISF to insist upon any particular language.  CISF (@CISFHQrs) August 9, 2020

The incident comes amid the New Education Policy (NEP) 2020 that was approved by the Union Government on July 29 and has been opposed by several Tamil Nadu political leaders.

The NEP 2020 aims at making board exams easy, reduction of the curriculum to core concepts, replacement of 10+2 structure of school curricula with a 5+3+3+4 structure, and medium of instruction up to class 5 in mother tongue or regional language.

Under the NEP 2020, the medium of instruction until at least class 5, but preferably till class 8 and beyond, will be the home language, mother tongue, local language and regional language.

The Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami had recently said that the state rejects the three-language policy that was proposed as per the NEP 2020. He also requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to consider Tamil sentiments and allow states to pursue their own language policy as per the states respective ideology.

"It is worrisome and painful that the NEP makes mention of three-language policy, but the people of Tamil Nadu and all the major political parties prefer carrying forward the two-language policy," said CM Palaniswami.

The official statement also mentioned the first Dravidian party leader CN Annadurai about how he had announced in the State assembly, in 1968, that Tamil Nadu would follow only the two-language policy.

The statement also referred to AIADMK founder MG Ramachandran, who as Chief Minister had passed an assembly resolution in 1986, that talked about reinforcing the two-language policy.

Former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, late Jayalalithaa, had also said that Hindi must not be imposed on non-Hindi speaking states and that such attempts would be opposed and defeated.

Notably, Tamil Nadu witnessed widespread agitations in 1965 when the then Congress state government had attempted to make Hindi the states official language.
Pip the yachtie dachshund was due to fly into Sydney on Saturday afternoon following a five-month pandemic-induced separation from her owners.

The Eilbeck family was eagerly awaiting the homecoming of their sausage dog, who has been on a 17,000-kilometre journey which started in South Carolina in March and took in numerous temporary homes and periods of quarantine.

Pip pictured with Cam, Zoe, Max and Guy Eilbeck.

But at the last minute, Pip's flight was cancelled on Friday, putting paid to what was meant to be an emotional reunion with the Eilbecks at home on Scotland Island, Pittwater.

"I spent hours arranging to get her home and it has cost a lot more than it was supposed to," Zoe Eilbeck said. "I said to [husband] Guy: 'Am I still doing this?' He said: 'But it's Pip, she's part of the family.' "
A close twin sister, now separated forever. An attentive and doting husband who sacrificed for his family and promised his wife the moon. A student financing his education by working double shifts at Beiruts busy port.

Tuesdays enormous explosion that killed scores of people, injured thousands and caused widespread destruction across Lebanons capital touched off widespread mourning for the victims.

Although the city was mired for years in civil war and other regional violence, its beauty and cosmopolitan nature attracted fashion designers, architects and business leaders eager to make their names, as well as migrants seeking to earn money to send back home.

In an instant, thousands of lives were affected by the blast that appeared to have been caused when highly explosive ammonium nitrate being stored at the citys port ignited.

Among those who were lost:

A TWIN SISTER, SEPARATED FOREVER

Jessy Kahwaji Daoud and her twin sister Joyce were seemingly together for all of their 31 years.

They went to the same schools, took the same classes and saw each other often as adults. They each were raising a young daughter.

Immediately after Tuesdays explosion, Joyce called Jessy, knowing that she was working on the ninth-floor geriatric ward of Saint George Hospital University Medical Center. The hospital is near the port, where the blast occurred.

A man answered the phone instead and said he found it ringing next to the body of a bleeding woman.

I knew immediately that this was my sister, Joyce said.

By the time they could get her to another hospital, Jessy was dead. Joyce described her sister as someone who loves life and always had a smile on her face. She wasn't supposed to die young, Joyce added. We were born together. I wish wed died together.

The last time they saw each other was Sunday, two days before the explosion. Now, shes gone. Shes gone, Joyce said.

Joyce, who has a 5-year-old daughter, said she plans to raise her sisters 2-year-old daughter, who keeps asking for her mommy.

Joyce said her sister loved her daughter fiercely and showered her with attention.

She left me her daughter at least. Thats what we have left of Jessy, said Joyce.

___

A DOTING HUSBAND AND FATHER

Soha Saade and her husband, Jihad Saade, were at Saint George Hospital, caring for their 6-year-old daughter, Gemma, who was being treated for Hodgkin lymphoma. The daughter had one more day of treatments left at the hospital before they were scheduled to leave.

They saw smoke billowing outside and Soha went with nurses to see if there was any reason for worry. Then, the world exploded, she said. She returned to her husband of more than 10 years to find him bleeding from his head.

At that moment, she had a choice: Carry out her sick and terrified daughter, who was still connected to IV lines, or focus on helping her bleeding husband.

She decided to focus on her husband, struggling to carry him as she walked barefoot over broken pieces of glass down nine flights of stairs. Strangers helped her until her brother arrived.

Jihad, 44, already was taking his last breaths. He didnt even open his eyes. I saw his soul (leave his body), Soha said. Jihad was a deeply attentive husband and father to Gemma and their son, Karl, always making sacrifices for his family, Soha said.

He was carrying a big load. Everyone was counting on him, she said. He worked as a hotel manager in Lagos, Nigeria, where he was raised. Although they lived apart, he would visit Lebanon every two months, using the money he earned to also help his parents and sister.

He would tell me every day, Dont worry, my love, Soha recalled. If I wanted the moon, he would bring it to me. He would never make me angry. On Sunday, he gave his wife one final present a new set of pajamas and brought Gemma a plate of her favorite tabbouleh salad.

Her chemotherapy treatments over, Gemma is now staying with relatives while Soha recovers from the shock.

The hospital itself was knocked out of service by the blast, and Soha still cannot get over the circumstances of her husbands death.

You are not supposed to die in a hospital, she said. This is what is killing me.

THE PORT WORKER

Once a month, Joe Akiki worked a double shift at huge grain silos at Beiruts port. He was on that shift when an initial, smaller explosion shook the port right next to the silos on Tuesday. The 23-year-old took out his phone, shot some video and sent it to a friend.

Then the bigger blast occurred. He never answered his phone again. He sent the video of the fire and then disappeared, said Wassim Mhanna, the mayor of Akikis hometown of Kfardebian, which is a famous ski resort north of Beirut. We realized something was wrong, but we had hope.

His mother, Nohad, was interviewed earlier this week by a local TV station and said, My heart tells me he is under the rubble, but I am still waiting.

While she waited, Nohad prayed that somehow he had survived. Akikis body was finally recovered Thursday night. An electrical engineering student, Akiki worked at the silos for three years to finance his studies. He drove to Beirut and back most days while he also took afternoon classes.

He had a dream to improve his parents and own life. They went through real hardships raising them, Mhanna said.

His mother, who had lost another child aged 5, discouraged him from emigrating.

She would tell him, No, dont leave. Who would leave the land of cedar trees?' Mhanna said, referring to Lebanons famous symbol. Now we are worried about the (parents).

Akiki has a younger sister, 16. Batrawy reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-08 22:57:27|Editor: huaxia

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Aerial photo taken on July 16, 2020 shows the Wan Chai of south China's Hong Kong. (Xinhua/Lui Siu Wai)

BEIJING, Aug. 8 (Xinhua) -- China's State Council on Saturday submitted a bill to an ongoing session of the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, asking the NPC Standing Committee to make a decision for the sixth Legislative Council (LegCo) of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) to continue operation.

Entrusted by the State Council, Xia Baolong, head of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council, explained the bill to lawmakers at the session.

On July 28, HKSAR Chief Executive Carrie Lam submitted a report to the central government on matters concerning the postponement of the 2020 LegCo election in response to the emergencies brought by the recent COVID-19 epidemic in Hong Kong.

The HKSAR Chief Executive in Council has decided to postpone the election of the seventh-term LegCo, which was originally scheduled for Sept. 6, 2020, for one year, and has asked the central government in the report to request the NPC Standing Committee to make arrangements on the vacancy of the LegCo incurred due to the postponement.

The decision made by the HKSAR Chief Executive in Council to postpone the LegCo election in accordance with Hong Kong's Emergency Regulations Ordinance has solid legal basis and is in line with the actual conditions of the epidemic development in Hong Kong, according to the State Council.

The decision to postpone the LegCo election will help safeguard public security as well as the justice and fairness of the election. It serves the public interests and is necessary and appropriate, according to the State Council.

The State Council sent an official letter to Chief Executive Carrie Lam on July 29, expressing the central government's support for the decision.

Deciding in time on matters concerning the vacancy of the LegCo by the NPC Standing Committee in accordance with the law is very necessary for ensuring the governance of the HKSAR government and the normal operation of Hong Kong society, as well as for maintaining the prosperity and stability in Hong Kong, according to the State Council. 
Canadian-Australian author and former model Tara Moss is struggling to get home because airlines keep cancelling flights.

It's a predicament faced by thousands of people around the world, while cash-strapped airlines drag their heels over refunds and reportedly bump economy-class passengers.

Author and model Tara Moss with her husband Berndt Sellheim and daughter Sapphira, 9. Credit:Berndt Sellheim

When Moss arrived in Sydney in early March, it was before COVID-19 was declared a pandemic. The dual Canadian and Australian citizen was carrying a single suitcase for what was meant to be a short work trip before returning to the west coast of Canada, her home since 2018.

Instead Moss wound up bunkered down with her husband and daughter at their second home in the Blue Mountains.
Chhattisgarhs Lon Varratu initiative has met with considerable success with the surrender of 82 Maoists, looking to return to mainstream following disillusionment with the ideology of the banned outfit. The initiative received a further shot in the arm on Sunday with the surrender of 12 ultras including five with a collective reward of Rs 6 lakh on their heads for their involvement in an ambush of security forces in the past. The Maoists surrendered in Dantewada district of the state.

The surrender took place in a ceremony attended by state officials, where Dantewada superintendent of police Abhishek Pallava told PTI that the cadres were drawn to the rehabilitation campaign being run by the local police and had given up the Maoist ideology. Dantewada MLA Devti Karma was also present on the occasion, he said.

All 12 ultras said in their statement that they were disappointed with the hollow Maoist ideology, and were impressed by the Lon Varratu campaign being run by the police in Dantewada, Pallava was quoted as having told PTI.

Lon Varratu is a term from the local dialect and it means return to your village.

The police officer quoted above said that one of the surrendered ultras, Chanduram Sethiya, was an active member of platoon no 26 of Maoists and is suspected of involvement in three attacks on security forces, including the one in Bhusaras-Chingavarm in 2008 that resulted in deaths of 23 policemen and two civilians. Sethiya was carrying a reward of Rs 2 lakh on his head, Pallava said.

Lakhmu Hemla, Sunil Tati, Manu Mandavi and Maituram Barsa were the other four surrendered Maoists carrying rewards of Rs 1 lakh each on their heads, he added. They were all operating in separate areas of south Bastar.

The remaining seven ultras to have laid down their arms on Sunday were among the lower-rung of the outfit, Pallava told PTI.

One of them, Amit Kawasi was allegedly involved in the October 2018 Nilawaya attack, in which three policemen and a Doordarshan cameraman were killed in Dantewada.

Under the Lon Varratu initiative, the surrendered ultras will be rehabilitated as per the governments surrender and rehabilitation policy, which includes financial assistance.

Posters asking Maoists to surrender have been put up by the police in their hotbeds in the state since the launch of the programme in June. The posters mention the names of rebels and appeal to them to join the mainstream, the police official said.
09.08.2020 LISTEN

Management of Bright senior high school at Akyem Kukurantumi of the Eastern region has condemned the actions of some students who had a scuffle with some invigilators at the school's examination centre in the ongoing WASSCE.

Authorities of the school have also pledged to make themselves available for any investigation into the matter.

Some invigilators monitoring the Social Studies paper on Thursday, 6th August 2020 were allegedly reported to have been assaulted by some students of the school after a scuffle broke between them.

Responding to the matter in a press statement, management expressed regret of the actions of the students describing it as unfortunate as they could have withstood the alleged intimidation and abuse they were receiving from the WAEC officials.

With reference to the attack on a reporter with Graphic Communication Group, management explained the incidence occurred at the blind side of authorities as it was out of the school's premises.

However, management has denied earlier reportage alleging the Proprietor of the school incited students to assault teachers, with a video showing a security officer preventing him (the Proprietor) from entering the compound of the school.

Management has affirmed its continuous commitment to ensure the school mission of training young intellectuals for the development of the country.

---Nsemgh.com
Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed grief on the loss of lives in fire at a hotel that was being used as a Covid-19 facility in Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh on Sunday. PM Modi tweeted out saying he is anguished by the accident and hoped for the recovery of those injured. At least nine people have been killed in the accident.

Anguished by the fire at a Covid Centre in Vijayawada. My thoughts are with those who have lost their loved ones. I pray that the injured recover as soon as possible. Discussed the prevailing situation with AP CM @ysjagan Ji and assured all possible support, the prime minister tweeted.

Anguished by the fire at a Covid Centre in Vijayawada. My thoughts are with those who have lost their loved ones. I pray that the injured recover as soon as possible. Discussed the prevailing situation with AP CM @ysjagan Ji and assured all possible support.  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 9, 2020

Union home minister Amit Shah also condoled the tragic accident.

Deeply anguished by the news of tragic fire accident at a COVID-19 facility in Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh. Centre assures all possible support to the state govt. My condolences are with the affected families in this time of grief. Praying for the speedy recovery of those injured, Shah tweeted.

Deeply anguished by the news of tragic fire accident at a COVID-19 facility in Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh. Centre assures all possible support to the state govt. My condolences are with the affected families in this time of grief. Praying for the speedy recovery of those injured.  Amit Shah (@AmitShah) August 9, 2020

At least nine people were killed in a fire that broke out at a hotel in Andhra Pradeshs Vijayawada on Sunday morning. The hotel was being used as a Covid-19 dedicated facility, news agency ANI reported.

The incident took place around 5am. Around 22 patients are being treated in the hospital. We are evacuating the entire building, Mohammad Imtiaz, Krishnas district collector, was quoted as saying by ANI. He said that the cause of the fire appears to be a short circuit, as per the preliminary report but needs further investigation.

This comes days after eight people were killed in a fire at a private Covid-19 designated hospital in Gujarats Ahmedabad on Thursday. According to the police, the fire broke out due to a short circuit.


Canadian researchers say they have discovered the first known case of a dinosaur suffering from a deadly cancer.

The evidence came from a fossil leg bone discovered in Alberta, Canada in 1989. The fossil was from a dinosaur called Centrosaurus. It was a four-legged plant eating animal about 6 meters long that lived between 76 and 77 million years ago.

Examinations of the fossil showed the lower leg bone, called the fibula, was badly malformed. The scientists thought this was likely caused during the healing process of a broken leg.

But new studies of the fossil led researchers to believe the malformation was probably caused by an aggressive bone cancer called osteosarcoma. The research team included medical professionals who study and diagnose cancers in humans.

The findings were recently reported in the medical publication Lancet Oncology.

The publication describes osteosarcoma as a severe and deadly bone cancer with a worldwide incidence of 3.4 cases per million people per year. The cancer often takes the form of a disorganized bone growth that generally strikes children or young adults. The cancer can spread through bones and to other organs.

The researchers said the latest examinations of the fossil showed the dinosaur leg bone contained a massivetumor.

They said they were able to confirm that the growth was a tumor by using computed tomography, or CT, images. CT technology uses X-rays and a computer to make detailed pictures of bones, organs and tissue inside the body.

The team compared a normal Centrosaurus fibula to the malformed one. They also compared the malformed dinosaur bone to a human fibula with a confirmed case of osteosarcoma. The comparisons led the researchers to confirm a likely case of osteosarcoma.

Experts say since most tumors form in soft tissue that does not easily fossilize, there is little evidence of cancer in the fossil record.

One of the project leaders was David Evans of the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto. He spoke to Reuters news agency about the finding. He said one of the strongest pieces of evidence was that the cancer was also found in the outer layer of bone. This does not support the theory that the malformed leg was caused by a healed break.

This remarkable find shows that no matter how big or powerful some dinosaurs may seem, they were affected by many of the same diseases we see in humans and other animals today, including cancer, Evans said.

He added that the Centrosaurus linked to the fossil was likely weak and lamed by the cancer before its death. Cancer, however, may not have killed the dinosaur. Evans said the fossil was found in a large collection of Centrosaurus individuals. This suggests that they all died as a group after being caught in a flood.

Another lead researcher was Dr. Mark Crowther, a professor of medicine at McMaster University in Ontario. He said the new discovery was only made possible through the use of modern methods and an expert medical team representing several fields.

Here, we show the unmistakable signature of advanced bone cancer in a 76-million-year-old horned dinosaur - the first of its kind. Its very exciting, Crowther said.

He added that the finding speaks to the biology of cancer. This means cancer is not new and probably has been happening through time as an expected complication in all animals.

Evans added that while dinosaurs might be seen as mythical creatures, they were living, breathing animals that suffered through horrible injuries and diseases.

Im Bryan Lynn.

Reuters reported this story. Bryan Lynn adapted the report for VOA Learning English, with additional information from the Royal Ontario Museum and McMaster University. Mario Ritter, Jr. was the editor.

We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page.

Quiz - Scientists Discover First Evidence of Deadly Cancer in Dinosaur Start the Quiz to find out Start Quiz

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Words in This Story

fossil  n. the mineralized remains of plants or animals that lived a long time ago

malformed  adj. not having the expected shape because of some problem affecting growth or development

tumor  n. a mass of tissue in the body that is made up of cells that are not normal

lame  adj. unable to walk normally

signature  n. a sign that confirms somethings identity

horn  n. a hardened growth on the head of some animals such as cattle, goats and sheep

complication  n. a health problem that arises in addition to an existing one

mythical  adj. imaginary, something told about in stories but that is not real
The sustainability of your products? To do this, the furniture industry was, primarily, the durability is the keyword. A well-designed, high-quality subject matter must be sustainable per se, because he is a long time in use. The resources used for it, pay for themselves over time. Especially in the case of manufacturers of furniture classics that was a popular Argument. And it is true, too: their products rarely go broke, continue to be inherited, hardly lose value.

But that is no longer enough for today: Can be saved in the production of resources? The materials are environmentally acceptable, or should they be replaced? And what happens to a piece of furniture, when its "life time" is but once to the end? All these questions remained unanswered. But now the Zeitgeist has reached the furniture industry: sustainability has developed into a major Trend, what is also evident from the fact that some of the well-known car manufacturer in the serial production of chairs made from recycled plastic.

The Italian brands Magis and Kartell, for example, have new chairs from recycled plastic in the program. Vitra from Switzerland, brings his successful rocking chair, Tip Ton, in a Version made of recycled plastic on the market. And even the Berlin-based Indie-brand objects of our days (OUT) in this the fall of a Monobloc, a chair made entirely of one Material. News from Fritz Hansen, Arper, the seat consist of at least cups made from recycled plastic. Other companies will follow.

"Today, we have to do it with a very conscious, young society in a global context, the sustainability and Ecology go very close," says Hermann August EGGER, designed for OUT the distinctive X-Chair-Wheat. "The industry is well advised, if you are eco-efficient, recyclable and sustainable materials in the spotlight."

Use what is already available

It is a nice idea of sitting on a chair, by the time a bottle of Shampoo, a noodle packaging, or a yogurt Cup. As in the case of Tip Ton from Vitra, made from recycled content in the Yellow Sacks. Or of a chair, consisting of the waste in the own furniture production, such as the Bell Chair, Konstantin Grcic with Magis has developed. What is produced in the factory inevitably remains and the Committee is so use to something. The plastic material is finally in the world. To look better, the garbage in the sense of the circular economy as a raw material and further process it.

But it's not that simple, unfortunately. As is so often the supposedly sustainable consumption, it becomes more complex the closer you look. Whether it is "Bullshit" is, to the use of recycled plastic as the Designer Richard Hutten, and of the design expert Jan Boelen independently announce, is quite controversial in the industry. But the harsh Statements shed light on the problem: The Material cementing only our dependence on petroleum-based plastics and associated industry, says Boelen. He calls for a "systemic change" towards alternative, biodegradable materials, for example from algae.

Updated Date: 09 August 2020, 15:19
CHICOPEE  School officials unveiled a plan to bring students back to in-person classes amid the COVID-19 pandemic what would have a small number of the youngest students in each school begin in September and add more in a phase-in plan over weeks and months.

The School Committee debated different options for opening schools during the coronavirus pandemic on Wednesday night but put off deciding on which to adopt until the next meeting Aug. 12. While the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education set an Aug. 10 deadline for submitting back-to-school plans, Superintendent Lynn A. Clark said she will apply for a short waiver.

The three plans call for remote-only learning, which would have all children learning by computer from home, a hybrid plan which would divide the schools in half and have 50 percent of the students learning on Monday and Tuesdays in-person, half learning in-person on Thursdays and Fridays and Wednesdays preserved for deep-cleaning and tutoring. On days children are not in the building they will attend classes remotely, she said.

The third is a path forward. It allows in-person instruction with very small groups of students, she said, adding all plans were created with input from the staff and Chicopee Education Association and safety was teh overall factor considered.

That plan calls for just the youngest students in each school to kick off the school year alone. With the first day of school being Sept. 15, preschoolers, kindergarteners and first-graders would begin the school year in-person in elementary schools, as would sixth-graders in middle school and ninth-graders in high schools.

That will give the youngest children, who are mostly new to their school, a chance to build a connection with teachers and the building in the case that schools are closed again in the future, she said.

Clark said in the first phase there would be about 70 students in each elementary school, about 200 in the middle schools and fewer than 200 in each high school. Classrooms would have about 10 children and preferably one adult so everyone can stay at least six feet away which is recommended to prevent spreading the disease, she said.

Especially in middle and high schools, students would be divided into small cohorts. They will change classes but be limited to number of people they are exposed to daily. It would also prevent crowds in the hallways, Clark said.

In two weeks, depending if any children become infected with COVID-19 or there are other problems, the next grade level would be phased in to double the number of children in the building, she said.

In true Chicopee fashion we decided we will create a plan that works for us, she said. We wanted to have small groups of students come in some slow, strategic way that makes sense

The plan also gives educators flexibility. If changes need to be made the next phase can be delayed. Teachers can also create more phases by, for example, only having half of the grade level enter, she said.

Part of the reason the phasing will work is because about one-third of parents said in a recent survey that they will only have their children attending class remotely. Those children will be attending the Chicopee Virtual Academy, which will be taught by designated teachers, Clark said.

Other teachers will also be educating students remotely as they wait for their phase to begin, she said.

Teachers who have preexisting conditions that make them more vulnerable to the virus are given the first option of being assigned to teaching in the Virtual Academy, she said.

The virtual classes will be more structured that they were when all children were sent home in March for what started off as two weeks and ended up continuing until school ended. Teachers have also had more training and practice to prepare for the next year, she said.

While multiple communities, including Springfield and Easthampton, have opted to begin the school year with all remote classes, Clark said she is concerned that it does not work well for many children and often those who are the most high risk of performing poorly in school such as special needs children and those who are poor.

For example, of the 700 students in one of the middle schools last year, 186 never logged in for one class, 31 percent of children with disabilities did not attend a class and 37 percent of students who speak limited English did not attend a class.

The schools passed out laptops to all families who did not have computers and ensured they had an internet connection when classes closed in March. Teachers, principals and counselors all called children and their families if they noticed they were not participating and school resource officers even visited homes in person to talk to parents and ensure they had what they needed, Clark said.

In some cases children would participate after being contacted, but then their attendance would quickly wane, she said.

She said she sees the gap between high-risk students and their peers who are not high risk growing if the district only has remote learning.

School Committee members asked multiple questions about how potential illnesses and infections would be handled and a procedure of testing and quarantining was explained. The school maintenance director also talked about cleaning procedures would be handled.

Still, about half the members said they were concerned that an infection, which has caused more than 8,500 deaths statewide since March, could quickly spread through a building. Children, who can have the virus but no symptoms, can also bring it home and infect parents and grandparents.

I think it is a gross mistake, Committee member James Tanhauser said. I am not confident of the in-person plan. As of the beginning of this month, Chicopee has had one of the highest positive testing results.

While he accused some members of politicizing the return to school, Committee Member Donald Lamothe took offense to the accusation and said other members simply had different opinions on how best to educate students during the pandemic.

We have to put some school time in front of these students, he said. Right now I cant vote for remote, it is too open-ended.

Committee member David Schryver suggested putting a 45-day limit on a remote-only school day and then reviewing it to see if the numbers of people infected with the coronavirus are declining.

One key to reopening the schools will be to ensure there is adequate testing for students and teachers. Now it can still take days to get results member Mary-Elizabeth Pniak-Costello said.

David Barsalou, a committee member, said he believes in the end Gov. Charlie Baker will make the decision statewide to continue school closings, especially since the infection rate in Massachusetts is starting to rise again.

Baker announced on Friday that entering the next phase of reopenings will be delayed indefinitely.

Related content:
One of the most detailed studies yet will show that it is safe for schools to fully reopen next month, a leading child health expert has assured parents and students.

Professor Russell Viner, president of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, said that the research, which was carried out in 100 institutions in the UK, will confirm there is very little evidence of coronavirus transmission where pupils have returned.

The risks to children from Covid are very low and the risks of school closures we know are very serious, he said.

Prof Viner revealed the Public Health England study as Boris Johnson beefed up his pledge to bring all pupils back in September, calling continued closures morally indefensible.

The prime minister cited growing fears about obesity, depression and abuse, as well as diminished education  with many children having not seen a classroom since the beginning of lockdown in March.

Recommended Only just over half of Britons committed to taking coronavirus vaccine

The National Education Union has called the supposed protections of better hygiene, student bubbles and staggered drop-off and lunch times unworkable.

And Nick Gibb, the schools minister, acknowledged that ministers cannot decree that all schools reopen for all year groups, because decisions will be made by local health chiefs.

But Prof Viner, a member of the governments Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies, said: Britain as a nation should stand up and say: our children are essential.

About 20,000 pupils and teachers in 100 schools were tested to monitor the spread of the disease up to the end of the summer term, he told The Sunday Times.

Coronavirus: The global gap in education Show all 12 1 /12 Coronavirus: The global gap in education Coronavirus: The global gap in education Paddy Dowling/EAA Coronavirus: The global gap in education Paddy Dowling/EAA Coronavirus: The global gap in education Paddy Dowling/EAA Coronavirus: The global gap in education Paddy Dowling/EAA Coronavirus: The global gap in education Paddy Dowling/EAA Coronavirus: The global gap in education Paddy Dowling/EAA Coronavirus: The global gap in education Paddy Dowling/EAA Coronavirus: The global gap in education Paddy Dowling/EAA Coronavirus: The global gap in education Paddy Dowling/EAA Coronavirus: The global gap in education Paddy Dowling/EAA Coronavirus: The global gap in education Paddy Dowling/EAA Coronavirus: The global gap in education Photos Paddy Dowling/EAA

This is the some of the largest data you will find on schools anywhere. Britain has done very well in terms of thinking of collecting data in schools, he explained.

His team had also reviewed 35 studies from around the world that had examined schools and the coronavirus.

One finding has been that children play a minor role in transmission of the virus and schools play a minor role in transmission of the virus.

Everything you do to reopen society will impact the national R [rate], but reopening schools, we believe, has a very small impact on it. The majority of cases are staff, not students, Prof Viner said.

Anne Longfield, the childrens commissioner, who has called for pubs to shut if necessary to keep schools open, welcomed the prime ministers stronger language.

But she called for weekly coronavirus testing in all schools, telling Times Radio: It should become part and parcel of what a good system around school should look like.

There is very low risk of infection for children who are in nursery and in primary, and I think that people are much more confident about that, Ms Longfield said.

With secondary schools, where youve got a bigger environment and older children, again in other countries there hasnt been huge reporting of infection at all, but it makes sense that testing and tracking should be part of that.
Anna O'Donoghue, 9 Convent Road, Ballinamore, Co Leitrim, pleaded guilty to a public order offence on May 22, 2020 at Sean Bhaile, Church St, Ballinamore.

Sgt Michael Gallagher said the defendant was extremely abusive to the Gardai at 11.12pm and used foul language, saying 'f*** ye' and 'ye're only a shower of c****'. There was no apology on file.

The defendant had previous convictions from Carrick-on-Shannon District Court on September 24, 2019 for section 2 assault and public order offences.

Ms O'Donoghue apologised in court and said she had been drinking in her friend's house. She said her twin brother was in hospital in Dublin and had died that night at 11pm of respiratory sepsis. I was quite upset, she said and added that it was a once-off.

Judge Kilrane asked her if she had a difficulty with alcohol to which she replied, Maybe, yeah.

He asked her what she was doing about it to which she replied, Nothing.

He convicted and fined her 200 for the offence.
NIAMEY Gunmen on motorcycles killed six French aid workers, a Nigerien guide and a driver in a wildlife park in Niger on Sunday, officials said.

The group was attacked in a giraffe reserve just 65 km (40 miles) from the West African countrys capital Niamey, the governor of Tillaberi region, Tidjani Ibrahim Katiella, told Reuters. They were intercepted and killed," he said.

The six worked for an international aid group, Nigers Defence Minister Issoufou KatambA told Reuters. Officials had earlier described them as tourists.

Separately, a spokesman for French humanitarian aid group ACTED said its staff members were involved.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the assault. But France and other countries have warned people against travelling to parts of Niger where militants including Boko Haram and an affiliate of Islamic State operate.

French President Emmanuel Macrons office confirmed that French nationals had been killed in Niger. It said Macron spoke on the phone with Nigers President Mahamadou Issoufou, but provided no further details.

The Association of Koure Giraffe Reserve Guides issued a statement describing the attackers as a unit of terrorists" and saying the dead included its president, Kadri Abdou.

Frances TF1 television channel broadcast images that it said were taken from the scene showing the burnt-out remains of a 44 vehicle with bullet holes in the side.

The reserve southeast of the capital is a popular attraction in Niger, a huge country that borders seven states in an unstable region including Libya, Mali, Chad, Algeria and Nigeria.

Militants linked to Islamic State killed four U.S. soldiers in an ambush in Niger near the border with Mali in Oct. 2017, an attack that increased scrutiny of U.S. counter-terrorism operations there.

France, a former colonial power in the region, also launched a coalition of West African and European allies in June to fight Islamist militants in the Sahel region that includes Niger.

It has deployed thousands of troops in the arid region south of the Sahara desert since 2013. But militant violence has been on the rise.

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Officials at the Home Office are drawing up secret plans to use prisons to house the record numbers of migrants crossing the Channel to Britain from France, according to a Government whistleblower.

A Detainee Operations Manager last night claimed to The Mail on Sunday that at least five prisons could be restructured to provide short-term accommodation for the tide of migrants being intercepted as they make the treacherous 21-mile journey across one the worlds busiest shipping routes.

As the crisis escalates, officials are understood to have stepped up the use of hotels across the UK to house those arriving  with at least 20 sites now being used.

At least 151 migrants made it to the UK on Saturday, the Home Office has confirmed. Border Force vessels were active in the Channel for most of the day, working with French authorities as well as the coastguard and RNLI.

Migrants attempting to cross the Channel in a dinghy yesterday are picked up by French authorities, right, and returned to the port of Calais

The group of weary migrants attempted to cross the channel by dinghy. They are pictured being escorted back to France

A total of 15 vessels were intercepted by UK authorities. According to official figures, at least 350 people have been intercepted making the crossing from Northern France in recent days, including 235  the record for one day  on Thursday. But the insider alleged the true number is higher.

The source said: Official figures are significantly different to the information we are seeing on a daily basis. Media reporting appears to be understated and this is a concern. Actual numbers for Wednesday were 322 from Border Force detentions. These were all coastal engagements above the normal detection and removal figures. From the data on my desk in the past 72 hours, that is a true and accurate reflection of the numbers of detainees.

While the figure for detentions in the last seven days is approximately 1,277. The Home Office has not released a figure for arrivals on Wednesday but last night said discrepancies may be the result of it not including immigration enforcement activity on land, only on sea or close to the shore.

A toddler (pictured) was carried to safety by a Border Force official in Dover yesterday

As Home Secretary Priti Patel struggled to retain credibility on the issue of migration, defence chiefs were this weekend considering a request to help deal with the influx. The Ministry of Defence said it would do all it can to support the Government but one MoD source described the idea of using the Navy as completely potty, adding that military resources should not be used to address political failings.

In a tweet, the Home Secretary insisted she was working to make the dangerous Channel crossing route unviable, but that the Government faces legislative, legal and operational barriers.

Last night, she announced a new Clandestine Channel Threat Commander to help tackle the crisis. The appointment of Dan OMahoney, who is already director of the UKs Joint Maritime Security Centre, will be vital to cutting this route by bringing together all operational partners in the UK and in France, she said, although others described the move as a gimmick.

Other images showed a suspected migrant being pushed along in a wheelchair by officials in Dover yesterday

Hours earlier, two more boats carrying a total of 26 migrants arrived on the Kent coast and there were further reported landings at Deal and Folkestone. French border officials from the Gendarmerie Nationale were also photographed intercepting some migrants on dinghies and escorting them back to Calais. The Border Force and the Coastguard are bracing themselves for the arrival of hundreds more migrants this week. An analysis by think-tank MigrationWatch UK predicts 7,500 migrants will have crossed the Channel by the end of the year  more than four times the 1,892 who did so in 2019. Schools Minister Nick Gibb told the BBC that the Government is considering using boats to prevent migrants from making the crossing.

A similar push back approach is used in Australia, where military vessels intercept migrant boats and tow them back to Indonesia, but former Labour Home Secretary Jack Straw said the approach requires the co-operation of the French.

France is reportedly demanding 30 million from Britain to combat the problem, money that the Home Secretary is understood to have refused until she is given assurances on how it will be spent. It is understood the funds would be additional to the 114 million a year that the UK already pays France to help stop illegal immigration.
HICKORY  August has been designated by the US Congress as National Womens Suffrage Month, honoring the ratification of the 19th Amendment on Aug. 18, 1920, which gave all American women the right to vote.

To mark the centennial locally, the Catawba County Library is partnering with local organizations to illuminate the Hampton Inn by Hilton Hickory with traditional suffrage colors of purple, white, and gold. Highly visible from Interstate 40 between exits 125 and 126, the 121-room Hilton property will commemorate the amendments ratification with colored exterior lighting each evening from Aug. 12-31.

Historically, womens suffrage was distinguished by purple, white, and gold hues, thanks to the efforts of the National Womens Party. Their Dec. 6, 1913, newsletter explained that: Purple is the color of loyalty, constancy to purpose, unswerving steadfastness to a cause. White, the emblem of purity, symbolizes the quality of our purpose; and gold, the color of light and life, is as the torch that guides our purpose, pure and unswerving.
By Elizabeth Kwiatkowski, 08/09/2020



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[ Spoilers Warning: This report contains spoilers that reveal if Paul and Karine are still together and the latest about : Happily Ever After? couple's relationship status.]

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Did Karine leave Paul and return to Brazil or did she stick it out in the United States?

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So are Paul and Karine still together or has the couple split up?

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Elizabeth Kwiatkowski is Associate Editor of Reality TV World and has been covering the reality TV genre for more than a decade.

star Paul Staehle can't seem to make Karine Martins happy in America on Season 5 of : Happily Ever After?, so did the pair break up or are they still together and happy now?Paul, a 35-year-old from Louisville, KY, and Karine, a 23-year-old from Tonantins, Brazil, met on a dating app and talked for over a year before Paul finally flew to Brazil to meet her in person.After starring on Seasons 1 and 2 of : Before the 90 Days, the pair also appeared on Season 1 of : The Other Way.Paul and Karine got married in 2017 but their wedding didn't air until 2018.Paul and Karine also proudly announced in October 2018 that Karine was pregnant after she had suffered multiple miscarriages. The couple were ecstatic to have a baby boy on the way.But shortly before baby Pierre was born on March 22, Karine threatened to file for divorce from Paul because she was tired of fighting with him, and she believed Paul had some major trust and jealousy issues. She also didn't consider him to be a good provider.Karine wanted to feel supported and taken care of, but Paul repeatedly insisted he was doing everything he could to be a good father and husband. Paul believed his efforts were never enough for his wife.: The Other Way's first season even featured Karine and her mother leaving Paul behind in Tonantins and traveling to Manaus via boat to file for divorce shortly before Pierre was born.However, Karine decided to give Paul another chance because she loved him and thought he'd be a good father to her son.Paul and Karine had been married for two years by the time Season 5 of : The Other Way filmed. The couple had been in Brazil for over a year but Paul said they were "barely getting by."Paul and Karine therefore planned to move to the United States so Paul could get a job and make more money. He also wanted to give Pierre a better life."It took a lot, but I was able to sponsor Karine on a CR-1 visa, which is a spousal visa and allows Karine to apply and get a two-year Green Card before she even enters America," Paul told the cameras."She already has her Green Card approved; she is a complete permanent resident."A lot of people thought Karine was using Paul when they got together, but Paul said Karine was actually dead-set on living in Brazil. Karine even said she wouldn't mind raising their son together from different countries, but Paul hoped their relationship wouldn't come down to that."If Paul doesn't keep his promises, I don't know for how long I'll continue here in America," Karine said in a confessional.Karine arrived in America with bright eyes, but she was immediately disappointed when she discovered Paul's car was a mess and his mother had no intention of helping them out. Paul had also used up most of his savings in Brazil.A U.S. grocery store didn't impress Karine, and she was disgusted with living options when Paul took her to a trailer park."If Paul doesn't find a beautiful house, Pierre and I will come back to Brazil without him," Karine said in a confessional.Since Karine didn't like any of the options in the trailer park, Paul found his wife a tiny home on the same lot as the trailer park. The one-bedroom "studio," which appeared to be a renovated shed, had a little front porch and Paul cleaned it for his wife."It's good. I like it here," Karine said, adding that all she wanted was a house with walls, a bathroom and enough space for her family."Paul is really trying to make me happy. This house is the first step for me to feel comfortable here in the U.S. And right now, it makes me happy."Paul felt "so relieved" Karine liked the place, but they could only live there temporarily.And in the latest episode, Paul said Karine was no longer happy. Paul had trouble landing a job due to his criminal record and having been charged with an arson felony.Paul told his mother Mary that Karine was homesick and often complained about her body."I wouldn't want to be with somebody who is kind of like a deadbeat," Mary admitted to her son.Karine obtained her CR-1 spousal visa a few months after giving birth to Pierre and then moved to Louisville, KY, to start a new life with Paul.Karine and Paul documented their time together in America over the course of several months on social media, and they appeared to be a happy family last summer.But in early September 2019, Paul made an Instagram Stories posting claiming Karine was threatening him with divorce."Doing a poll strictly out of curiosity. For someone I know very well...... Should a wife divorce her husband over his mother buying gifts daily spoiling their son?" he wrote in the Instagram Story."Should a grandmother be banned from seeing her grandchildren over spoiling them. And a husband be divorced for defending his mother's actions?"Although Paul seemingly tried to play it off like the scenario was happening to some other couple, most of his Instagram followers knew better as the couple's social-media postings openly showed they were living near Paul's mother in the Louisville at the time with Pierre.As a result, it appeared Karine was angry with Paul's mother for "spoiling" her son as well as Paul for taking his mom's side.Things seemed to go back to normal until late September, when Paul suggested, once again, the couple's marriage was ending and Karine had initiated a divorce.According to the comments, Karine told Paul that she didn't want him in her life anymore and had retained a divorce lawyer.Paul revealed the news in a pair of since-deleted Facebook postings from September 27, according to screenshots captured by his followers."Karine asked me to remove our photos. And let everyone know that she doesn't want me in her life," he wrote in his first Facebook posting.Paul then also wrote a subsequent posting in a mix of Portuguese and English. When translated, the text states, "Karine's divorce lawyer called me. Guess I need a lawyer."Shortly afterward, Paul deleted both postings and removed most photos of Karine from his page.In October 2019, the cloud seemed to pass because Paul asked fans on Instagram for great haunted-house recommendations in the spirit of Halloween. He also posted a photo of them smiling at the time.Paul and Karine then celebrated their second wedding anniversary in early November 2019.But later that month, the pair openly discussed filing for divorce, once again.Paul claimed Karine had "started divorce proceedings in Manaus," and Karine told Us Weekly on November 12 that she was "looking for a lawyer.""Over the course of our Christmas dinner Paul and Karine broke up, got back together, broke up, got back together, broke up and this just in -- are back together. Stay tuned for more on this developing story," Instagrammer John Yates posted on December 25.In December 2019, Paul alleged Karine had taken off with their baby and was with a new man named Blake. He also said Karine was demanding a divorce again at the time.Paul and Karine's relationship has been an absolute roller coaster.In July, Paul lashed out at Karine on Instagram for allegedly calling Paul a "horrible father and husband" and threatening to move their son Pierre back to Brazil.Paul took to Instagram on July 15 with the angry message to Karine and quickly deleted it afterward, but Yates captured a screenshot of the rant and posted it on his own account.Paul blasted Karine in saying, "Yelling at me in public calling me horrible father and husband. We spend every penny we have on bills and designer [clothes] and video games for you. I did not buy anything for myself.""I made sure you and Pierre had everything you all could possibly want and I bought nothing for myself. I try to show my family USA History and I get shunned. Because only your country and culture matter," Paul continued."I take you to the hospital and stay by your side, make sure [you're] at all your doctors appointments and let you spend all your money only on what you want -- but I am a Bad Father and Husband you yell in public."Paul also insisted he's the one who changes "every poopy diaper" Pierre has."Even when I am not home and you call me to come home just to change his diaper because the smell of poop makes you sick. But I am the terrible husband and father. I also never ever cheated on you," Paul wrote."But I understand you want to take Pierre to Tonantins and live because I am such a horrible person," he concluded.The pair then appeared to briefly reconcile for about two weeks, but then things changed and exploded dramatically.On July 30, Paul posted a lengthy Instagram Live video in which he and Karine had a huge fight in which they made assault allegations , called the police, and Paul said he may file for full custody of their son Pierre after Karine allegedly cheated on Paul and violated a Child Protective Services case against her.During the Instagram Live video, an apparent friend of Karine's also told the police Karine wanted to be taken to a "shelter" where someone could "help her."The woman said Karine depended on Paul -- who seemed to be holding Karine's passport and other documents -- for everything, including money, and so Karine basically didn't have a way out.Later that night, at around 4AM on Friday, Paul posted another video on his Instagram Stories and seemed to claim the police were called again."I apologize to you guys for earlier. It's been crazy here. I did not get arrested. The cops did come back," Paul said."We had a storm and Karine got on her cell phone and called the police because the WIFI disconnected. She said I was halting her communications... which didn't make any sense to me because she had her phone the whole time and the WIFI just randomly went out.""Sometimes Internet goes out in our houses -- it happens right?! But you're going to call the cops? For that? The cops weren't too happy about it."Paul added it's "been stressful" for the couple and they "need prayers.""That's the big thing," Paul noted. "Everybody, pray for us. And like I said... I don't want Pierre in dangerous situations. Pierre has been in a very dangerous situation before and that's why things happened."Then, later on Friday, Paul reportedly made additional Instagram postings in which he claimed Karine had gone "missing" with Pierre while he was in the hospital being treated for a STD. He seemed to blame the STD allegation on Karine for allegedly cheating on him after she arrived in Kentucky."I've never cheated on Karine, ever, but apparently I've tested positive for an STD and they are giving me treatment for me," Paul said in one video.A couple of hours later, Paul then reportedly claimed Karine had filed a "full restraining order" against him and posted photos showing a copy of the order Karine had filed against him."I'm not allowed to be around her or my son, within 500 feet of them at all," he said.In the handwritten alleged application he shared, Karine made an array of shocking allegations against Paul -- including claims that he has sexually assaulted and "forcefully rapes me," "hold[s] my Green Card and all my documents," monitors her phone, has "cameras around the house" that he uses to monitor her on his phone when he is not home, has forced her to drink beer while pregnant, and has forbidden Karine's doctor from prescribing contraception to her.According to her application, Karine claims she only came to America to "visit my in-laws, and now he do not let me go back... when I ask to go back to my family he threats to take my son away.""I am terrified he will hurt me or hurt my son because I runned away from him and am even afraid to go back to Brazil now because he can go to Brazil and hurt us."The latest events represent a dramatic change from the couple's status only weeks earlier.In late June, Karine had posted a photo of Paul playing with Pierre and captioned it, "Happy Father's Day." She also added a blue heart to her post.And Paul posted an Instagram video on May 19 of a bike he had purchased and was putting together for Karine.Earlier in May, Paul had also taken to Instagram to happily announce Karine is pregnant with the couple's second child.It appeared Karine was already several months along into her pregnancy at the time.The baby's gender and due date have yet to be announced.Want more spoilers or couples updates? Click here to visit our homepage!
NEW HANOVER  Township supervisors have approved moving ahead with obtaining body cameras for township police officers to wear.

The move comes in combination with a number of other police reform measures Township Manager Jamie Gwynn outlined during Thursdays supervisors meeting, measures he would have taken, he said, regardless of the outcome of the investigation into racism in the police department.

In late June, Supervisors Chairman Charles D. Garner Jr. announced that the 11-month-long investigation into accusations made by two former officers had uncovered no evidence to confirm any of the claims they made against Police Chief Kevin McKeon and Sergeant William Moyer by two former officers.

Garners statement noted there were some reports of township employees making sporadic inappropriate racial comments in years past, which are being addressed with the individual employees.

However, the investigation found there was no suggestion that any member of the New Hanover Police Department, including any supervisor, had ever acted in a racially discriminatory manner in the performance of their duties as sworn law enforcement officers, or in their dealings with any person, including any resident, township employee or member of the general public.

Nevertheless, said Gwynn, steps are being taken to move the department forward.

The silver lining in all this is if we can become better, we should, he told the supervisors.

The four supervisors who participated in Thursday meeting  Marie Livelsberger was absent  all agreed with Gwynns proposal that the township moves forward with obtaining body cameras for police officers to wear to record their interactions with the public.

I very much support the idea, said Garner. We should move on this as soon as possible, said Supervisor W. Ross Snook.

Gwynn said it will take several months to implement, but that the supervisors had given me my marching orders.

The chief recommended this and the police department supports it, Gwynn said. The chief presented data that shows that residents feel more safe when being pulled over by a police officer if they are wearing body cameras.

In addition to buying the equipment, the township must seek out and enact policies so there is no loss of footage, said Supervisor Kurt Zebrowski.

Township Solicitor Andrew Bellwoar said we dont need to reinvent the wheel. There are certainly already policies out there, but we should start looking at those policies now and adopt policies that are specific to body cameras on police.

Thats not the only policy change the township is considering.

Gwynn outlined a long list of actives steps to get better, including having an insurance expert review existing policies and procedures and suggest changes; all employees, not just police, undertaking two training webinars on respect and harassment awareness as well as valuing diversity for employees.

Training for all employees will also include uncovering implicit bias; and for police, a two-part training on anti-bias policing.

McKeon recently sent four officers to de-escalation training, in the last two months and other officers will attend as vacations and shifts permit, said Gwynn.

We also want to look at our hiring policy to further promote diversity, said Gwynn. In that regard, he said he is reaching out to other municipal managers to discuss ways to make the pool of job applicants more diverse.

We will continue to improve, said Gwynn.

If we just believe our local newspaper, we might believe our police department is something we didnt want, said Gwynn.

He read several letters from residents, including from a retired black female professional, praising police officers for their professionalism.

A lot of things we dont share are positive, said Gwynn, and if you just look on Facebook, those comments tend to focus on the negative, but our police department is more than a few newspaper articles.

One of those positive outcomes was a commendation presented to an officer Thursday night for an investigation into the sexual assault of a student by a teacher.

Gwynn was out of the office Friday and could not provide the particulars of that investigation or text of that commendation. The most recent news item posted on the departments website is from 2018.

The most recent post on the departments Facebook page is from July 4, wishing America a happy birthday.
Israeli Defense Force (IDF) Chief of Staff, Lieutenant General Aviv Kochavi, on Friday met with elite Maglan troops that Israel says thwarted an attack on the Syrian border last week "ordered by Iran".

Four days ago quoting high-ranking sources Haaretz had reported that the military held an Iranian proxy militia responsible for the attempted attack on Syrian border, not Hezbollah. Kochavi's remarks seem to confirm the report.

The Maglan reconnaissance troops, IDF says, thwarted an attempt by a four-member cell to place explosive devices along the border fence with Syria and took them out "on the ground and in aircraft". IDF also says they have found weapons and a bag of explosive devices carried into Israeli territory 25 meters from the perimeter fence by the cell.

Maglan is a reconnaissance unit and part of the IDF 's Commando Brigade which specializes in operating behind enemy line and deep in enemy territory using advanced technologies and weaponry.

The Israeli army has said that it holds Syria responsible for "all events on Syrian soil". After the incident involving the terror cell Israel carried out several airstrikes against Syrian positions We hit a cell and now we hit the dispatchers, Netanyahu said on August 4.

Syrian state media confirmed the retaliatory Israeli missile attacks which targeted locations in the southwest of the capital Damascus but said there had been minimal damages.

You thwarted a terrorist attack ordered by Iran, which is in the process of establishing a radical axis in Syria, Lieutenant General Aviv Kochavi was quoted by Jerusalem Post as telling the soldiers in the meeting.

A squad of terrorists wanted to cause us harm, but you prevented them from touching us. This is what is demanded of you. This is what is expected of you and this is what you did in a most professional way".

The IDF sees the Syrian regime as responsible for all activities that occur in its territory and will continue to act with determination against all violations of the sovereignty of the State of Israel, the military said in a statement according to The Times of Israel.

Iran has not reacted to the accusations.
Amid the crisis, Qatar has had warmer ties with Iran and used its airspace while sharing a vast offshore oil and gas field with Tehran. The small nation is home to the massive Al-Udeid Air Base, home to the forward headquarters of the U.S. militarys Central Command. Oman, which saw its long-serving sultan die earlier this year, long has had close ties to Iran and has served as an interlocutor between Tehran and the West.
By banning US transactions with the Chinese owner of the popular video app TikTok Washington is trying to give US tech giants an upper hand as they chase a deal to take over the firm's global business, a Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said Saturday.

"The groundless ban on American citizens who are not allowed to engage with TikTok's Chinese owner ByteDance amid an aggressive drive for the social network's sale to American corporations is another flagrant example of unfair competition for dominance in the global infoscape," Maria Zakharova said in a statement.

She said the ban would violate "a wide range of Washington's international commitments to guarantee access to free and diverse media, an unfettered right to choose sources of information and promoting relevant cooperation."

The ban would also be in breach of the World Trade Organization's norms and free-market competition guidelines, Zakharova said. She added that the US invoking national security to force a Chinese company into being taken over sounded "particularly cynical."

"We call on Washington to reconsider its ways of ensuring that American IT giants maintain their monopoly in the international social media segment and bring its methods in line with widely recognized democratic values and international legal norms," she said.

The administration of President Donald Trump issued an executive order on Thursday that would ban people and entities in the United States from dealing with China-based ByteDance, citing national security concerns.

(SPUTNIK)
The return of migrant workers in Bihar has given an impetus to the sale of tractors in the state, with the state recording the highest increase in percentage terms in June in the country . Experts say the migrants are looking at agriculture as an alternate employment opportunity to compensate for loss of jobs during Covid-19.

According to figures released by the Federation of Automobile Dealers Association (FADA) in the last week of July, tractor manufacturing companies registered a growth of 122.54% Year over Year (YoY) sales in Bihar while the sales figure for the entire country was a mere 10.36 per cent.

In June, 4,304 tractors were sold in Bihar --2,370 more as compared to June 2019--which is the highest in the country.

Rajasthan clocked the second highest sales figures by selling 1,505 more tractors as compared to June 2019, while Assam secured third position by selling 1,276 more tractors.

Bihar Agriculture University director RK Sohane, says that buying tractors will help augment their income.

The sales figures indicate that small farmers are buying tractors, which will help in augmenting their income. During farming season they can deploy their tractors in the agriculture field and earn money and after that they can use it for transportation of sand and bricks, said Sohane.

Tractor dealers say that they are struggling to meet the demand in August which is generally considered lean for the sale of these farm machines.

The massive rise in tractor sales in Bihar was due to not just the return of migrant workers but also because of a bumper rabi crop in the state, said Jivan Kumar, general manager of Patna-based Ananya Tracto

Two factors are sparking the sale of tractors in Bihar - return of migrant labourers and bumper Rabi and potato crops in the state. The farmers have become cash rich by getting good prices for their crops. Also, the migrant workers who have returned to Bihar want to get engaged here and they are buying tractors, he said.

About 60% of our buyers are first-time customers, who have returned to Bihar and dont want to return to the place from where they have come in near future, so they are investing in tractors. The three-month moratorium in payment of EMI after purchase of tractors by finance companies is also boosting up the sales, he said, adding, August is considered a lean month for sale of tractors, as the agriculture activity stops and a ban on sand lifting also starts. However, we are getting lots of queries for purchase of tractors, but are unable to meet it as supply is less because of lean production in plants, he said.

According to another person engaged in the business of selling tractors, another reason for the rise in sales is that those who returned to the state could not get any other jobs and thus, they are investing in the purchase of these farm machines which can be used for other commercial activities as well.

The major reason for rise in sale of tractor is that the migrant labourers who have returned to Bihar are not getting any jobs, so they are buying tractors, which are being used for farming and transportation of sand and bricks. Besides this, the deferment of marriages due to Covid-19 has left the farmers with extra cash in hands so they are investing in buying tractors, said Kumar Ranjan, proprietor of Maa Shitla tractors in Patna.

State agriculture minister Prem Kumar said that the state government may consider providing incentives to farmers to buy tractors.

The scenario of agriculture has changed in Bihar with several schemes and incentives by the Centre and state government, so people are buying tractors to increase their income. The government might consider providing incentives to farmers to buy tractors, he said.
Update: According to court documents, the case against Steven Ratner was dismissed.



STAMFORD  A city man has been accused of hitting his wife with a car as he backed out of a driveway during a domestic dispute, police said.

Sgt. Simon Blanc said police were called to a residence off Strawberry Hill Avenue where a mans car glanced off his wife as he sped out of the driveway about 11 a.m. Sunday.

Blanc said the couple have been married for six months and are getting a divorce. Blanc said Steven Ratner, 29, of Hoyt Street, became angered when he saw some of his possessions packed with his 25-year-old wifes stuff.

Ratners defense attorney, Philip Russell, said the incident has been exaggerated.

The police report confirms that there is absolutely no claim of injury and absolutely no evidence of physical harm, he said. This is an acrimonious divorce. We are actually in possession of audio and video evidence, which discredits entirely the account on which the police acted.

Blanc said Ratner emptied one bag on the floor and the woman asked him to leave. But the woman told officers he refused, until she tried to call police, Blanc said.

Ratner then left, but the woman tried to prevent him from driving away until police arrived, Blanc said. The woman went to the parking lot where Ratner backed his car up quickly and clipped his wife with the left rear fender of the vehicle, Blanc said. The woman was not injured and did not need treatment, but complained of some pain to responding officers, Blanc said.

Ratner then went to the nearby police station on Bedford Street to report the incident and request assistance to get the rest of his stuff out of the apartment, Blanc said.

But after police talked to his wife, Ratner was charged with second-degree assault and disorderly conduct.

jnickerson@scni.com;
The donation is an initial aid". Catholic organisations are quick to respond. The death toll now stands at 154, including 25 who are unidentified. More than 5,000 people are wounded, 120 in very serious conditions. Some 60 people are still missing. Rescue teams are still digging in the rubble. A protest to "clean up Beirut" from political corruption is scheduled for this afternoon.

Vatican City (AsiaNews)  Pope Francis has sent  250,000 (US$ 295,000) euros as initial aid" to the nunciature in Beirut to meet the needs of the Lebanese Church in these moments of difficulty and suffering.

The Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development notes that This donation is intended as a sign of His Holiness's attention and closeness to the affected population and of his fatherly closeness to people in serious difficulty.

The Dicastery goes on to highlight the immediate emergency and first aid response by Catholic agencies, including Caritas Lebanon and Caritas internationalis. AsiaNews too has started its own fundraising campaign to Help devastated Beirut in collaboration with Caritas Lebanon.

The Pope's donation and other funds raised will be used to to assist those affected by the terrible explosion in the port on 4 August, which has caused hundreds of deaths and hundreds of thousands of injured and displaced persons, in addition to destroying buildings, churches, monasteries, facilities and basic sanitation.

At present the death toll from the blasts in the Port of Beirut has reached 154, including 25 people who have not yet been identified. Some 60 people are still missing, whilst more than 5,000 people have been wounded, with at least 120 in very serious conditions.

For their part, rescue teams continue to dig in the rubble looking for signs of life, and an army of young volunteers continue to clear the streets of rubble, remove debris from houses, and comfort survivors.

Meanwhile, several civil society groups have organised a protest for this afternoon to "clean up Beirut" from the political leaders considered thoroughly corrupt and responsible  out of negligence or self-interest - for last Tuesdays explosions.

In order to help the people of Beirut and Lebanon, as well as Caritas Lebanon, AsiaNews is launching a campaign to Help devastated Beirut. Those who want to contribute can make a donation to:

PIME Foundation:

- International Bank Account Number (IBAN): IT78C0306909606100000169898

- Bank Identifier Code (BIC): BCITITMM

- Reason for transfer: AN04  HELP DEVASTATED BEIRUT
The mortal remains of Captain Deepak Sathe, who was pilot-in-command of the ill-fated Air India Express plane that crashed in Kerala, were brought in a flight on Sunday afternoon.

IMAGE: Mortal remains of late Captain DV Sathe brought to Air India Building in Mumbai. Photograph: ANI Photo

The funeral of Sathe, 58, who was a resident of suburban Chandivali in Mumbai, will take place on Tuesday, said a senior Air India official.

One of two sons of the Sathes will reach India from the United States on Monday night, he said.

The mortal remains were kept at the Air India facility near the Terminal 2 of the Chhatrapati Shivaji international airport for some time before being taken to Bhabha hospital on Sunday afternoon.

Sathe's wife Sushma and one of their sons accompanied the body.

Pilots, crew of Air India and ground staff paid tributes to the late captain at the airport.

IMAGE: Mortal remains of Captain DV Sathe who lost his life in the Air India Express plane crash, being brought to Cochin International Airport, in Kochi. Photograph: ANI Photo

The flight from Dubai with 190 people on board, including a six-member crew, overshot the tabletop runway on Friday night while landing at the Kozhikode airport in heavy rain, fell into a valley 35 feet below and broke into two, killing 18 people, including both pilots.

Meanwhile, family members of late Sathe based in Nagpur have asked the media to respect their privacy in this hour of grief.

Captain Sathe's father Brigadier Vasant Sathe (retired) and his wife live in Nagpur.

A close relative on Sunday said the entire Sathe family stands together in this hour of grief.



"In the present situation, we are not interested in replying to any queries. Accordingly, do not force us to respond," reads a message sent by a family member when asked about the schedule of funeral.
 Flash

Foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) released a statement on Saturday, marking the bloc's 53rd anniversary.

The statement recalled the aspirations of the 1967 ASEAN Declaration to promote regional cooperation in the spirit of equality and partnership, and contribute towards peace, progress and prosperity in the region.

Noting the achievements made by the ASEAN in the past 53 years, the ministers reaffirmed their commitment to ensuring the effective implementation of the ASEAN Community Vision 2025.

Mentioning "growing uncertainties resulting from the changing geo-political dynamics in the regional and global landscape," the ministers reiterated their commitment to maintaining Southeast Asia as "a region of peace, security, neutrality and stability," and reaffirmed the need for the ASEAN to remain united, cohesive and resilient in promoting its purposes, principles and common interests as enshrined in the ASEAN Charter.

The statement also calls for continued building of "strategic trust and mutual confidence among countries" through continued dialogue, win-win cooperation and practical confidence building measures to create a peaceful environment conducive for sustainable growth.

Established in 1967, the ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.




Isaias snapped trees and knocked out power as it blew through the Bahamas on Saturday and churned toward the Florida coast, threatening to complicate efforts to contain the coronavirus in places where cases are surging.

Isaias weakened from a hurricane to a tropical storm on Saturday afternoon, but was expected to regain hurricane strength overnight as it barrels toward Florida.

Well start seeing impacts tonight, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis warned at a news conference.

Dont be fooled by the downgrade.

People brave the winds at Daytona Beach, Florida (Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel via AP)

Isaias is piling another burden on communities already hard-hit by previous storms and the pandemic.

Florida authorities closed beaches, parks and virus testing sites, lashing signs to palm trees so they would not blow away.

The governor warned residents to expect power outages and asked to have a weeks supply of water and food on hand.

Officials wrestled with how to prepare shelters for people to seek refuge, if need be, while safely social distancing because of the virus.

Authorities in North Carolina ordered the evacuation of Ocracoke Island, which was slammed last year by Hurricane Dorian.

Meanwhile, officials in the Bahamas opened shelters for people in Abaco island to help those who have been living in temporary structures since Dorian devastated the area, killing at least 70 people.

Isaiass maximum sustained winds dipped steadily on Saturday and were near 70 mph (110 kph) around 11pm.

By Saturday night, the storm was about 80 miles east-southeast of Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Palm Beach Ocean Rescue personnel take down the weather conditions signage in preparation for Hurricane Isaias (Thomas Cordy/The Palm Beach Post via AP)

It was expected to be near Floridas southeast coast early on Sunday, then tack near or along the states Atlantic coast during the day.

Isaias is expected to remain a hurricane through Monday, then slowly weaken on its climb up the Atlantic seaboard.

It is expected to move offshore of the coast of Georgia en route toward the mid-Atlantic states.

Heavy rain, flooding and high winds could batter much of the East Coast during the week.

Story continues

On Thursday, before it became a hurricane, Isaias uprooted trees, destroyed crops and homes and caused widespread flooding and small landslides in the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico.

One man died in the Dominican Republic while in Puerto Rico, the National Guard rescued at least 35 people from floodwaters that swept away one woman, whose body was recovered on Saturday.

Concerns about the coronavirus and the vulnerability of people who are still recovering from Dorian were adding to storm worries.

Coronavirus cases have surged in Florida in recent weeks and the added menace of a storm ratcheted up the anxiety.

State-run virus testing sites are closing in areas where the storm might hit because the sites are outdoor tents, which could topple in high winds.
Uh-oh! It could be you, or it could be us, but there's no page here.
Readers hoping to buy Phoenix Group Holdings plc (LON:PHNX) for its dividend will need to make their move shortly, as the stock is about to trade ex-dividend. If you purchase the stock on or after the 13th of August, you won't be eligible to receive this dividend, when it is paid on the 4th of September.

Phoenix Group Holdings's next dividend payment will be UK0.23 per share. Last year, in total, the company distributed UK0.47 to shareholders. Calculating the last year's worth of payments shows that Phoenix Group Holdings has a trailing yield of 6.5% on the current share price of 7.204. If you buy this business for its dividend, you should have an idea of whether Phoenix Group Holdings's dividend is reliable and sustainable. So we need to check whether the dividend payments are covered, and if earnings are growing.

See our latest analysis for Phoenix Group Holdings

Dividends are typically paid out of company income, so if a company pays out more than it earned, its dividend is usually at a higher risk of being cut. Phoenix Group Holdings is paying out an acceptable 63% of its profit, a common payout level among most companies.

Companies that pay out less in dividends than they earn in profits generally have more sustainable dividends. The lower the payout ratio, the more wiggle room the business has before it could be forced to cut the dividend.

Click here to see the company's payout ratio, plus analyst estimates of its future dividends.

Have Earnings And Dividends Been Growing?

When earnings decline, dividend companies become much harder to analyse and own safely. If earnings decline and the company is forced to cut its dividend, investors could watch the value of their investment go up in smoke. Phoenix Group Holdings's earnings per share have fallen at approximately 5.3% a year over the previous five years. Ultimately, when earnings per share decline, the size of the pie from which dividends can be paid, shrinks.

Story continues

Many investors will assess a company's dividend performance by evaluating how much the dividend payments have changed over time. Phoenix Group Holdings has delivered 12% dividend growth per year on average over the past 10 years. Growing the dividend payout ratio while earnings are declining can deliver nice returns for a while, but it's always worth checking for when the company can't increase the payout ratio any more - because then the music stops.

Final Takeaway

From a dividend perspective, should investors buy or avoid Phoenix Group Holdings? We're not overly enthused to see Phoenix Group Holdings's earnings in retreat at the same time as the company is paying out more than half of its earnings as dividends to shareholders. These characteristics don't generally lead to outstanding dividend performance, and investors may not be happy with the results of owning this stock for its dividend.

Having said that, if you're looking at this stock without much concern for the dividend, you should still be familiar of the risks involved with Phoenix Group Holdings. Be aware that Phoenix Group Holdings is showing 4 warning signs in our investment analysis, and 2 of those don't sit too well with us...

A common investment mistake is buying the first interesting stock you see. Here you can find a list of promising dividend stocks with a greater than 2% yield and an upcoming dividend.

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.
One of the three women, Veronika Tsepkalo, had fled the country, the independent media site Tut.by reported Sunday. Another, Maria Kolesnikova, was seized by police as she left campaign headquarters Saturday, but was released after a public outcry. Authorities arrested Tikhanovskayas campaign manager on Saturday for the second time in three days. Seven campaign volunteers were detained and another was missing, according to the opposition campaign.
The atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki capped six years of top-secret work by scientists from Europe and North America. Here is an overview of how that process unfolded.

Einstein warning

In 1939, Albert Einstein signs a letter warning US president Franklin D. Roosevelt of the destructive potential of nuclear fission, which was discovered by the German chemist Otto Hahn. The letter says the process could result in "extremely powerful bombs of a new type". Roosevelt creates the Advisory Body on Uranium.

Pearl Harbor

On December 7, 1941, Japanese warplanes destroy much of the US Pacific fleet based at Pearl Harbor. The next day, the United States enters World War II.

The Manhattan Project

In August 1942, the US officially launches a top-secret programme to develop an atomic bomb. The project, which had been approved the previous year, comes to be known as the "Manhattan Project". Approximately two billion dollars are spent to achieve its goal.

In 1943, Robert Oppenheimer is named scientific director of a secret lab at Los Alamos, New Mexico that is to build the bomb. The project includes top physicists from the US, Britain and Canada, in addition to several who fled the Nazi occupation of their homelands in Europe.

Potential targets

Around spring 1945, possible targets are evaluated and a list drawn up of Japanese cities that could be hit with an atomic bomb. At the top of the list is Japan's seventh-largest city, Hiroshima. Kyoto is rejected as a target owing largely to its historic and cultural importance.

Conventional bombs

On March 9-10, 1945, US warplanes carry out massive firebombing attacks on Tokyo and other major Japanese cities. Around 100,000 people die in the capital alone.

Battle of Okinawa

On March 26, the battle of Okinawa begins. More than 100,000 Japanese soldiers and a similar number of civilians die over the next three months, while 12,000 US soldiers are also killed. The battle is used by US officials to justify using atomic bombs, since an invasion of mainland Japan is forecast to result in an even higher cost.

On April 12, Roosevelt dies and Harry Truman becomes president of the United States and learns of the "Manhattan Project".

German surrender

On May 8, Germany surrenders, but fighting continues in Asia and the Pacific.

First American test

Between May and July, components of the atomic bombs are shipped to Tinian, an island in the Marianas chain from where B-29 bombers are able to reach Japan.

On July 16, at 5.30 am, the "Trinity" test takes place near Alamogordo, New Mexico, demonstrating the awesome power of an atomic bomb and marking the dawn of the nuclear age.

On July 25, Truman agrees to a mission to drop an atomic bomb on Japan. It included approval to drop additional bombs as soon as they became available.

Allied ultimatum

On July 26, in the Potsdam Declaration, Britain, China and the United States warn Japan that it must surrender or face "prompt and utter destruction".

Japan decides to "ignore" the ultimatum, although the word used -- mokusatsu -- also translates as "no comment".

Hiroshima and Nagasaki

On August 6, the US B-29 bomber "Enola Gay" drops a 9,000-pound atomic bomb over Hiroshima at 8.15 am, killing 140,000 people by the end of December, according to a widely accepted toll. Truman tells Japanese leaders that if they do not surrender "they may expect a rain of ruin from the air, the like of which has never been seen on this Earth".

On August 8, the Soviet Union declares war on Japan.

On August 9, a second atomic bomb explodes over Nagasaki at 11.02 am, killing 74,000 people.

On August 15, Japanese Emperor Hirohito tells his nation it has lost the war. He remains on the throne during post-war reconstruction of the country.

First Soviet bomb

On August 29, 1949, four years after Hiroshima and Nagasaki are destroyed, the Soviet Union successfully tests its own atomic bomb in Kazakhstan and becomes the world's second nuclear power.
The Trumpian grip on the Republican Party slackened ever so slightly this past week. Kris Kobach's loss in the Kansas Senate primary was a setback for immigration hardliners in what should have been a banner year in fortress America.

The coronavirus gave President Trump an excuse to bar  really bar, not just gesture toward  foreign travel to the U.S., which he did. But the effect will be ephemeral, fading when a vaccine is developed or herd immunity takes hold.

Kobach, a champion of stricter immigration controls, was defeated by Rep. Roger Marshall, a sock puppet of moneyed national Republican groups. With Kobach's serial failure to win an election, and the boat racing of Jeff Sessions's bid to retake his Senate seat thanks to the president's personal grudge, populists are back on their heels. The famed border wall remains incomplete in the twilight of Trump's first term. Two reliable votes on border security have, in a twist of depressive humor, been banned from emigrating to Washington. Curt Mills reports: "[A] clear effect of the dual defeat of Kobach and Sessions, beyond depriving immigration hawks of sentinels in the Senate, will be to (relatively) moderate the likely immigration policy of the 2024 Republican primary."

The setback on restrictionism represents a larger failure of America First to take root in the GOP. Immigration has always been a sticking point within the Republican coalition. Now it's losing its electoral oomph. Combined with Trump's shaky odds at re-election, the flagging of populism as a political force is giving Republican elites a hopeful vision: a return to normalcy.

The Republican Party's pre-Trump operative arrangement was Wall Street-friendly lawmakers unconcerned with culture-war skirmishes, elected by a nationalist-inclined, socially conservative base. Run-of-the-mill Republican voters wanted pride in their country and gay "sex" education out of schools; instead, Goldman Sachs got a tax cut, and a fraction of the savings were donated to the Human Rights Campaign.

Trump was a challenge to business as usual, but his populist inclinations look more like a golden flash in the pan than a changing of the guard. For the ever-scheming political class, the 2020 election is already outmoded. Sure, they'll go through the rotations of seeing it out, if only to keep the pay stubs coming, but the real money is beyond President Biden or President Trump part deux. The consultant chislers, lobbying barons, and P.R. sophisticates are already fixing their gaze on the next lucrative horizon: 2024.

Between this November and then, a long-due reckoning within the GOP will transpire. And not a fake reckoning over race or transgenderism or any other liberal hobby horse that are all really just euphemisms for shoving tolerance down reluctant throats. No, an actual reconciliation will need to happen  one between the interests of the party base and their chosen representatives.

There will be no roundtable discussion among Mitch McConnell, Sean Hannity, the president of the Heritage Foundation, the retired head of the Chippewa County Republican Party, and an Idaho plumber who's voted straight-ticket red since high school. Control of the party's ideological affinity will play out where it always does: the presidential primary.

Party operatives are already hopecasting their future presidential preferences. Their dream candidates show an uninspiring return to form. Frequently mentioned potentials include former governor Nikki Haley and senators Marco Rubio and Tim Scott. Tucker Carlson is also named, though mainly as a kingmaker from his Fox throne. The hype compasses candidates seen as a repudiation of Trump: well spoken, moderate, respectable. They're also decidedly not white. Tokenism is the coin of the identity-politics realm, and Republican apparatchiks have foolishly adopted the currency. There's a real belief in these professional circles that pointing to Senator Rubio, shouting, "Hey, there's our Hispanic candidate. See, we aren't racist after all!" will inoculate the party against charges of bigotry.

Playing by the Democrats' slanderous standards never really wins. To paraphrase Orwell, those who control the framing control the debate. And controlling the debate means planting a plethora of rhetorical mines. GOP heelers would rather stay on the field, tromping on buried traps, than take their cues from the people who actually cast ballots.

The Republican establishment desperately wants to take the party back to its status quo ante, before a churlish Manhattanite mogul took the reins. The latest primary results show they're succeeding. Trump should start considering if the recrudescence of corporate Bushism is really the legacy he wants to leave behind. "Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin," is written on the White House walls. The Medes and the Persians  meaning the Bill Kristols and the Chamber of Commerce  are spoiling for the fall of America First. Trump needs a true-believing Daniel, someone who really understands the hopes and desires of the middle-class Republican voter, to take charge after his tenure.

Who will it be?

Image: Gage Skidmore via Flickr.
BEIRUT - Lebanon's government was in crisis Sunday as key ministers resigned after the massive blast gutted parts of the capital last week and demonstrators furious with the country's ruling elite took to the streets for a second day.

World leaders including President Donald Trump took part in a donors video conference organized by French President Emmanuel Macron. A total of $298 million was raised, according to his office. Lebanese officials have estimated that the damage could amount to as much as $15 billion.

Information Minister Manal Abdel-Samad, Environment Minister Damianos Kattar and several members of parliament stepped down. But the actions fell far short of the demands of protesters enraged at the country's political elite.

In an indictment of Lebanon's government, Macron has indicated that assistance should go directly to the Lebanese people. Trump reaffirmed that the United States is "ready and willing" to continue providing aid to the people of Lebanon, but no new U.S. assistance was announced Sunday.

The International Monetary Fund said that it was ready to "redouble efforts" to help Lebanon, but that institutions need to come together to carry out policy changes - a demand the Lebanese government has resisted.

The blast at Beirut's port, which killed at least 160 people, wounded thousands and left hundreds of thousands homeless, has fueled calls for a complete shake-up of Lebanon's political system, dominated by family dynasties that have changed little in the decades since the country's 15-year civil war. The explosion has triggered outrage at the official corruption, incompetence and negligence that allowed 2,750 metric tons of ammonium nitrate, a chemical used in bombmaking, to sit unattended and unsecured at the port for six years.

During a cabinet meeting Sunday afternoon, Prime Minister Hassan Diab urged ministers who are considering resigning to wait, according to a person present who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the closed-door talks.

As violent protests engulfed the city Saturday night, Diab offered early elections. He said he needed two months to reach an agreement with the country's factions.

For citizens struggling from a catastrophic economic collapse and shattered homes, discussion of new political agreements falls short.

"We are not going to quit," Pascale Asmar, 33, said in the central Martyr's Square, a focus of the protests. "We call [Diab] the vase, because he's just for show, he does nothing."

Diab's government, formed in January after the last one quit following mass demonstrations in October, was supposed to be a rescue team of technocrats. But it was formed from familiar factions, including the Shiite parties, Hezbollah and Amal.

"He told us, 'Give us 100 days and I promise you I'm going to do something,' " Asmar said. "It's been seven months, we've had a blast, we still have people buried under the rubble and he wants to stay?"

Three members of parliament also resigned Sunday, but there was little sign of the kind of change that would satisfy the street.

Diab told his cabinet that it should "bear responsibility," according to the person at the meeting. "Right now we cannot leave the country void and vacant," he quoted the prime minister as saying.

The early elections offered by Diab are unlikely to materialize, said Randa Slim, a senior fellow at the Washington-based Middle East Institute. And even if they did, she said, any polls held soon would almost certainly benefit the ruling establishment.

She said the offer seemed designed more to appease the international community ahead of the aid conference Sunday.

"It's a trap," she said. "He knows that early elections would resuscitate the current system."

But Diab's government is clearly teetering, said Maha Yahya, director of the Carnegie Middle East Center.

"It's a lame duck government not capable of doing anything, not trusted by the international community, not trusted by the people and not trusted even by the people who brought him to power," Yahya said.

Paula Yacoubian, an independent member of parliament, announced her resignation Saturday, as did three members with the Kitaeb party.

"I cannot stay within the mafia," Yacoubian said. "They stole everything, they destroyed the country and they want to continue doing business as usual."

After the explosion, she said, the only "reasonable and sane" thing to do is to ask the government to resign "and to start again." At least seven members of parliament have resigned, and at least two others have announced plans to do so.

The blast left a city that was plunged into poverty by last year's economic collapse struggling to repair shattered homes and businesses. International donors say they are ready to help, but there has been a reluctance to give money to a government notorious for siphoning foreign aid away from the projects for which it is intended.

"Everyone wants to help!" Trump tweeted. John Barsa, the acting director of the U.S. Agency for International Development, planned to go to Beirut this week to assess needs in the wake of the explosions.

USAID last week said it would give Lebanon more than $15 million in humanitarian aid to assist in the response to the damage. The U.S. military said it has begun to deliver food, water and medical supplies to Beirut.

Barsa told reporters Sunday that the assistance will not go through the Lebanese government, which has been the subject of protests condemning corruption. Nor will it go through the World Health Organization, from which the Trump administration has said it will withdraw.

Instead, he said, health kits will be delivered to the American University of Beirut's medical center, and the hospital connected with the Lebanese American University. About $2.5 million is to be directed to the World Food Program.

Macron said "we must act quickly and efficiently so that this aid goes directly to where it is needed," Reuters reported. "Lebanon's future is at stake."

The conference's decision to channel aid through the United Nations came as a disappointment to many Lebanese, Slim said, because the United Nations typically works closely with government institutions.

"I'm afraid the aid, under the guise of humanitarian assistance, will be used one more time to give a lifeline to the kleptocratic class," she said.

Protesters on Saturday occupied government buildings, set fires and threw rocks toward security forces who fired tear gas and rubber bullets.

Some accused security forces of firing tear gas canisters before the demonstration began and of beating demonstrators without provocation. The Lebanese Red Cross said at least 65 people were transported to hospitals and 185 were treated at the scene. The army said 105 of its soldiers were injured.

Demonstrations on Sunday were smaller and quieter than the night before. Some protesters said the violence of the night before was keeping people away.

But as night fell, rock-throwing protesters clashed with security forces near the parliament. Protesters in Martyr's Square chanted for revenge and change, young people said their friends were exhausted. "Everyone is recovering," Aline Harfoush said. But others said they were ready for more tear gas. "It's a revolution," said Marcelino Khoury Hanna, 22, dressed in fatigues and accompanying a vehicle of men. They were supporting Chamel Roukoz, son-in-law of Lebanese President Michel Aoun, who backed an earlier wave of protests. "We're ready to fight back."

Taxi driver Talal Monzer, 35, was offering free rides to activists traveling back and forth from the square Sunday.

The government has to go, he said. "We need new people - people from among the people." He said the sectarian power-sharing system that has been in place since the civil war ended in 1990 needs to be replaced.

Adding to the anger are the many open questions about the blast, including what triggered an initial fire and explosion before the ammonium nitrate blew up in a mushroom cloud, and how it came to be left in the port unsecured for years.

Macron has offered to help with an international inquiry, but Lebanese officials have rejected the offer.

Aoun said demands for an international investigation into the explosion are aimed at "wasting time." He said the judiciary would act swiftly "without rushing to confirm who is a criminal and who is innocent."

Some Lebanese suspect there were munitions at the port, which is widely believed to be used by Hezbollah, which is both a political party and a heavily armed militia. They have little faith in the government's ability to give answers.

"You can't tell a criminal to go and investigate their own crimes," Asmar said.

After days of searching, international rescue teams were packing up to go home on Sunday.

The Lebanese army said teams that were searching for bodies were still working in the port.

"No single international team found any survivors," said Col. Mariusz Feltynowski, team leader with Poland's state fire service, which sent 42 rescuers and four sniffer dogs. "The government decided yesterday to end the rescue phase."

French and Russian teams found about 10 bodies, he said.

- - -

The Washington Post's Nader Durgham and Sarah Dadouch in Beirut and Suzan Haidamous and Felicia Sonmez in Washington contributed to this report.
To the Editor:

Re Rejecting Greek Life (Sunday Styles, Aug. 2):

Some decades ago I studied the impact of fraternities and sororities on the student cultures of colleges and universities. Historically, fraternities arose as a way of institutionalizing the resistance of collegians, more interested in play than in study, to the demands of faculty and administration.

Fraternities gave rooms in which to gather, drink and rabble-rouse; held files of previously assigned papers, opening the way to plagiarism, along with old exams that allowed unfair preparation and even the copying of previous successful answers.

Fraternities sorted out groups by religion, class and race, creating hierarchies of prestige. Yearly rituals involving initiation of new members gave brothers opportunities to engage in group violence. What was not to like?

Sororities may have been more circumspect, but they nonetheless offered sisters a structure of social hierarchy and imposed pressures toward conformity, bearing their own cruelties. Socializing with campus fraternities could also make college women vulnerable to sexual abuse.
The 'new normal' is accelerating the trend of foreign investors relocating production lines to Vietnam, according to Bizlive.

Alex Feldman, chair of USABC (US-ASEAN Business Council), said that US businesses believe that in the time to come, investors will pay more attention to the ability of governments to cope with external shocks when considering their investments.





Vietnams success in fighting against the epidemic has created positive influence on foreign investors decisions.



USABC, a representative of 160 member businesses, praised the investment opportunities in ASEAN and Vietnam, emphasizing the important position of ASEAN in the Indo-Pacific region, and ASEAN becoming the 4th largest trading partner and No 1 investment destination in the region for the US.



A report of VNDirect Securities released recently cited foreign sources as showing that Google and Microsoft are relocating some production lines from China to Vietnam and Thailand.

The two giant technology firms are considering selling Pixel4A, Pixel5 and Surface computers in Vietnam.



Regarding Japanese investors, a JETRO survey found that 63 percent of Japanese operational businesses want to scale up investments in Vietnam.



Meanwhile, the Japanese government has started its program on supporting Japanese enterprises to relocate their factories out of China.

The Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) on July 17 announced that 57 enterprises would receive support to move to Vietnam, Myanmar, Thailand and other Southeast Asian countries.



Praising Vietnams achievements in fighting Covid-19, Okabe Daisuke from the Japanese Embassy in Vietnam said with the high risk management capability, Vietnams economy has begun recovering while other countries are still busy struggling with Covid-19.

As the US-China relationship has become worse and the trade war escalated, there have been many discussions in the US and other countries on how to ease reliance on Chinese economy and the companies from China.

Nikkei reported that the Japanese government would prop up 70 billion yen to Japanese enterprises in this campaign. Prior to that, it also provided grants of 243.5 billion last April to help Japanese enterprises ease the reliance on China.



As the US-China relationship has become worse and the trade war escalated, there have been many discussions in the US and other countries on how to ease reliance on Chinese economy and the companies from China.



Vietnam has taken actions to attract foreign investors in the new FDI reorientation trend. Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has set up a taskforce in charge of promoting FDI.

Vietnam has resumed some commercial air routes, creating favorable conditions for foreign specialists to enter Vietnam to implement investment projects.



Vietnam has also had discussions with the US and regional countries about economic cooperation initiatives, including the Economic Prosperity Network.



Nguyen Duc Thanh, an economist, said Vietnam needs a new strategy on attracting FDI that will fit the changes in the world economic order in the next 30 years.

Mai Lan

Vietnam govt to offer extraordinary incentives for high-impact FDI projects By fulfiling certain criteria, some foreign investors would receive special treatment, said Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung.
The University of Technology Sydney fears up to 500 jobs may have to be shed next year amid financial losses of $200 million if Australia remains unable to open a so-called safe corridor for international students.

Staff cuts in the sector continue to rise, with Melbourne University announcing 450 redundancies this week on top of 500 at the University of NSW, 400 at Deakin and almost 300 at Monash.

The sector is beginning to lose hope that student numbers will bounce back for semester two 2021. Credit:Steven Siewert

The National Tertiary Education Union estimates between 3000 and 3711 full-time equivalent job losses have been announced, but the numbers could reach 30,000 by the time the full impact of COVID-19 is felt.

"With casuals its even harder to estimate, they dont announce anything, they let them go, NTEU's national president Alison Barnes said.
My instinct is to suspect any politician who uses such grandiose phrases, but the truth is, I dont think Mr. Bidens feelings about Israel are just well-rehearsed crowd pleasers. When I asked Israeli officials who know Mr. Biden, I was told that his sentiment was genuine. One very senior Israeli official, who has known Mr. Biden for many years, told me last week that from an Israeli perspective, he is the ideal Democratic candidate.

Opinion Debate Will the Democrats face a midterm wipeout? Mark Penn and Andrew Stein write that "only a broader course correction to the center will give Democrats a fighting chance in 2022" and beyond.

write that "only a broader course correction to the center will give Democrats a fighting chance in 2022" and beyond. Matthew Continetti writes that time and again, the biggest obstacle to a red wave hasnt been the Democratic Party. Its been the Republican Party.

writes that time and again, the biggest obstacle to a red wave hasnt been the Democratic Party. Its been the Republican Party. Ezra Klein speaks to David Shor, who discusses his fear that Democrats face electoral catastrophe unless they shift their messaging.

speaks to David Shor, who discusses his fear that Democrats face electoral catastrophe unless they shift their messaging. Michelle Cottle examines two primary contests that will shake the parties well beyond the states in play.

This means that we Israelis might be denied our custom of worrying about the American presidential election. We worried about what Bill Clinton might do, because he was relatively unknown. We worried about what George W. Bush might do, because he was the son of a previous president with whom the Israeli government had troubles. We worried about what Mr. Obama might do, because of the views he expressed.

The United States is Israels main ally in a difficult world. The relationship is a major part of Israels national security strategy. Without the backing of the United States, Israel looks weaker  and in the Middle East, weaker countries are the prey of stronger countries.

Israelis could be extra worried about the coming election because we fear losing President Trump. For many reasons, he is seen by Israelis as one of the friendliest leaders in the history of the United States-Israel alliance. Israel is one of few countries in the world in which the president is highly popular: A whopping 56 percent of Israelis prefer Mr. Trump in the upcoming election, compared to 16 percent who support Mr. Biden.

As far as Israelis are concerned, Mr. Biden has two disadvantages. He is not Mr. Trump, and he is a Democrat. In other words, he is not the candidate they support and he comes from the party many of them distrust. In recent years, theres been a steady drift of Democratic voters  and some Democratic politicians  away from Israel. They are more likely to say that the United States should be an impartial broker in the Middle East, rather than take Israels side  and they tended to oppose recognizing Jerusalem as Israels capital. So its not unjustified for Israelis to worry.
Evening Standard

Transport for London said significant progress was made over Christmas and the trial operations phase, which began on November 20, saw upgrades to train and signalling software and tunnel fire safety schemes. A precise opening date has yet to be announced but TfL commissioner Andy Byford said he would not allow the line  which will be renamed the Elizabeth line when services start running  to open until he was sure it was reliable. Originally due to have been opened by the Queen in December 2018, Crossrail has gone billions over budget, with the total cost now in excess of 20 billion.
Colombo: Mahinda Rajapaksa on Sunday (August 9, 2020) took oath as the Sri Lankan Prime Minister for the fourth time at the sacred Rajamaha Viharaya, a Buddhist temple in Kelaniya, a suburb of national capital Colombo.

The former Sri Lankan President took to Twitter and expressed, "I am humbled by the opportunity given to me to serve my people again. The trust Sri Lankans afford me, inspires me to continue serving my nation."

He added, "President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the new Podujana Party govt. & I will ensure that lka embarks on a progressive journey during our tenure."

I am humbled by the opportunity given to me to serve my people again. The trust #SriLankans afford me, inspires me to continue serving my nation. President @GotabayaR, the new @PodujanaParty govt. & I will ensure that #lka embarks on a progressive journey during our tenure. pic.twitter.com/We5KWAkGfL  Mahinda Rajapaksa (@PresRajapaksa) August 9, 2020

His brother, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who is the current Sri Lankan President, also attended the oath-taking ceremony.

Soon after the victory, Mahinda had tweeted, "Heartfelt gratitude to all Sri Lankans for placing their trust in President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, myself and the Podujana Party and voting for the Saubhagye Dakkama election manifesto in overwhelming numbers. We will ensure lka will not stand disappointed during our tenure."



Heartfelt gratitude to all #SriLankans for placing their trust in President @GotabayaR, myself and the @PodujanaParty and voting for the Saubhagye Dakkama election manifesto in overwhelming numbers. We will ensure #lka will not stand disappointed during our tenure. pic.twitter.com/X5FJ9kYZJ5  Mahinda Rajapaksa (@PresRajapaksa) August 7, 2020

Prime Minister Narendra Modi also congratulated Mahinda over a phone call.

In reply, Mahinda said, "Thank you, PM Narendra Modi, for your congratulatory phone call. With the strong support of the people of Sri Lanka, I look forward to working with you closely to further enhance the long-standing cooperation between our two countries. Sri Lanka & India are friends & relations."

PM Modi then said, "Thank you, Prime Minister Rajapaksa! It was a pleasure to speak to you. Once again, many congratulations. We will work together to further advance all areas of bilateral cooperation and to take our special ties to ever newer heights."

Thank you, Prime Minister @PresRajapaksa! It was a pleasure to speak to you. Once again, many congratulations. We will work together to further advance all areas of bilateral cooperation and to take our special ties to ever newer heights. https://t.co/123ahoxlMo  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 6, 2020

Mahinda first took charge as the Sri Lankan Prime Minister from 2004 to 2005 and then for brief periods in 2018 and 2019.

Notably, Mahinda has also served as the Sri Lankan President from 2005 to 2015.
Why the Badal family continues to enjoy the state police cover when it has been withdrawn from Congress Rajya Sabha MP Partap Singh Bajwa, AAP chief Bhagwant asked the on Sunday.

The Badal family, to which Union minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal belongs, is at the helm of the Shiromani Akali Dal in Punjab.

The on Saturday had decided to withdraw the police security given to Bajwa, saying he enjoys the central security cover and virtually faced no threat.

The decision had come days after Bajwa and another Congress Rajya Sabha MP, Shamsher Singh Dullo, sought a CBI probe into the illegal liquor trade in the state.

Commenting on it, the AAP chief in a statement asked why members of the Badal family continue to enjoy the state police security if it is withdrawn from the Congress MP on the pretext that he has been accorded a central security cover.

Why this criterion could not be applied to other politicians like the Badal family and SAD leader Bikram Singh Majithia who have been granted security cover by the central security agencies as well as the Punjab Police, Mann asked.

The AAP chief asked Chief Minister Amarinder Singh to clarify his stand about the voluminous security provided to the Badal family and Majithia by the

Slamming the CM for allegedly not tolerating his own criticism, the Sangrur MP said the Amarinder Singh government could go to the "extreme" extent against anyone, even if they are senior leaders of their own party for criticising its functioning.

(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.)
Protesters on Sunday called for an end to the Spanish monarchy after the sudden departure of the former king Juan Carlos from the country this week amid a corruption scandal.

Juan Carlos, who abdicated in 2014 in favour of his son Felipe, abruptly announced his decision to leave on Monday but there has been no official confirmation of where he went, setting off an international guessing game.

We have to clean up the system of corruption and we should start with the crown, said Jose Emilio Martin, a bus driver, who was among about a hundred protesters in Madrid on Sunday.

Protests against the royal family have spread across Spain since the ex-monarchs dramatic exit, with about 100 republicans demonstrating in Valencia on Sunday and more protests planned in Mallorca this week during King Felipe VIs visit to the island.

A poll by SigmaDos published on Sunday in the conservative newspaper El Mundo found 63.3% of those questioned felt it was a bad idea for the 82-year-old ex-monarch to have left, while 27.2% agreed with his departure.

Some 80.3% said they thought Juan Carlos should face any potential legal proceedings. The poll, carried out between Aug. 4-6 after he left, found 12.4% said he had nothing to answer for and 7.3% did not voice an opinion.

Despite the disapproval, reflecting Juan Carlos sinking popularity in recent years, some 69.2% of those questioned in Sundays poll said he played an important role in the transition from dictatorship to democracy after the death of Francisco Franco in 1975, while 24.4% said he played little or no role.

In June, Spains Supreme Court opened a preliminary investigation into Juan Carlos involvement in a high-speed rail contract in Saudi Arabia, after Switzerlands La Tribune de Geneve newspaper reported he had received $100 million from the late Saudi king. Switzerland has also opened an investigation.

The former monarch is not formally under investigation and has repeatedly declined to comment on the allegations.

Juan Carloss lawyer said on Monday his client was at the Spanish prosecutors disposal despite his decision to leave.

The pro-monarchist newspaper ABC reported on Friday that Juan Carlos had travelled by private plane from Spain to the United Arab Emirates on Monday.

Other media have said he is in the Dominican Republic or in Portugal. Officials there have said they have no knowledge of him arriving.

A Spanish government spokeswoman declined on Sunday to comment on his whereabouts. His lawyer and the royal palace have all this week declined to say where Juan Carlos is.

News website Niusdiario.es posted a photograph on Saturday that it said showed him walking down the steps of a plane at an airport in Abu Dhabi. If confirmed, it would be the first image published of the ex-king since his departure.

United Arab Emirates officials and the Emirates Palace Hotel did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Saturday.
By Trevor Hunnicutt and James Oliphant

(Reuters) - Democratic U.S. presidential candidate Joe Biden is expected to announce his running mate ahead of his party's national convention that kicks off on Aug. 17.

Biden has vowed to choose a woman as his potential vice president. Here are the contenders likely under consideration, according to people familiar with the process.

Senator Kamala Harris

Following widespread protests over racial injustice and police brutality, pressure increased on Biden to choose a woman of color. Harris, the daughter of Jamaican and Indian parents, fits the bill.

Harris, 55, is widely viewed as a favorite. She is a battle-tested former presidential candidate and ex-prosecutor who has shown an ability to go on the attack - a valued asset for a running mate. A first-term senator from California, she has already been heavily vetted by the media and rival campaigns.

Harris endorsed Biden after dropping out of the race. But her criticism during a Democratic primary debate of his opposition to school busing rankled some people close to Biden, who worry about her ambition and loyalty - and mounted a late-minute campaign to deny her the nomination.

Former national security adviser Susan Rice

Rice, 55, served as President Barack Obama's national security adviser during his second term, where she worked hand in hand on foreign policy matters with Biden, who was Obama's vice president.

Prior to that, Rice served as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations under Obama and has advised several other Democratic presidential candidates on national security.

A Black woman, Rice could help drive the African-American vote, the Democratic Partys most loyal constituency. But she has never run for public office, which means she would be untested on the campaign trail.

Her involvement in the controversy over the 2012 attack on the U.S. mission in Benghazi, Libya, likely would make that incident a campaign issue. Trump aides also have signaled that they would accuse Rice of being part of a "deep state" conspiracy to surveil Trump campaign officials during the 2016 presidential election - allegations Rice has denied.

Story continues

Representative Karen Bass

A late addition to Biden's shortlist, Bass, a congresswoman from Southern California and chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus, would add a progressive voice to the ticket.

Bass, 66, has an extensive background in police reform efforts and has spearheaded the legislative response in the House of Representatives to the killing of George Floyd by police in May.

But concerns have been raised among Democrats about past remarks by Bass seemingly honoring Cuban dictator Fidel Castro - statements she has now disavowed - and her membership as a young activist in a group that supported the Cuban revolution. That could make a Biden-Bass ticket vulnerable in the key swing state of Florida, which has a large Cuban-American electorate.

Representative Val Demings

Biden has said Demings, 63, an African-American congresswoman from battleground Florida, is on the shortlist for running mate.

The former Orlando police chief served as one of the managers of the House' impeachment proceedings against Republican President Donald Trump but has a lower profile among voters nationally.

Demings' background in law enforcement and her relatively unvetted past as police chief could be viewed as risk factors to a Biden campaign that wants to appeal to progressive voters.

Senator Tammy Duckworth

Duckworth, 52, has a compelling personal story and would help bolster the campaign's national security credentials.

The senator from Illinois is a combat veteran who lost her legs when her helicopter was shot down in Iraq in 2004. She went on to become the first woman with a disability and the first Thai-American elected to Congress. Duckworth, however, has not been on the forefront of civil justice issues like Harris, Bass and others on Biden's list.

Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms

Bottoms, 50, is the first-term mayor of a city that has been riven by protests over Floyd's death and the shooting of another Black man, Rayshard Brooks, by Atlanta police in June. Atlanta also has been a hot spot in the coronavirus pandemic, putting Bottoms on the front lines of the country's two largest challenges of the moment.

While Bottoms was an early supporter of Biden, her lack of experience on the federal level may doom her chances. Biden, who would be the oldest U.S. president, has insisted his No. 2 be ready to assume the presidency at any time.

Senator Elizabeth Warren

Warren, 71, has spoken with Biden regularly since dropping out of the Democratic nominating race and endorsing him. The senator from Massachusetts is seen by Biden advisers as a bridge between the former vice president and people skeptical of his commitment to progressive policy priorities.

The selection of Warren, however, could fuel allegations by the Trump campaign that Biden favors an overly leftist agenda, while potentially alienating moderate voters in battleground states that Biden is cultivating.

Former Georgia state representative Stacey Abrams

Considered a political rock star in progressive circles, Abrams, 46, is best known for nearly defeating Republican Brian Kemp in the 2018 race for governor of Georgia, traditionally a Republican-leaning state. She was the first African-American woman in U.S. history to be a major party gubernatorial nominee. She also served as the top Democratic leader in the state House of Representatives.

Since her loss to Kemp, Abrams has become a national advocate for fair elections, establishing a group, Fair Fight, that combats voter-suppression efforts.

Because of her relative lack of experience on the executive and federal levels, Abrams has not been considered a top contender for the No. 2 slot.

New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham

Lujan Grisham, 60, became the first Latina Democratic governor of a state in 2018, after serving six years in Congress. Biden's campaign has been pushed by allies to consider a running mate who could boost his support among Latino voters, potentially the largest minority voting bloc in the November election.

Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer

Whitmer, 48, raised her profile as the governor of a battleground state hit hard by the coronavirus. But she came under fire earlier this year from some Michigan residents for a stay-at-home order that they viewed as too onerous.

(Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt and James Oliphant; Editing by Colleen Jenkins, Peter Cooney and Nick Macfie)
Nine cases of coronavirus were reported Saturday in a Georgia high school that hit national headlines over viral pictures of its maskless students packed into hallways.

North Paulding High School confirmed six new cases among students and three infections of staff members less than a week after school resumed in a letter to parents.

The school did not provide details on whether the new cases were in quarantine, how many others may have been exposed, or whether it would be changing its safety measures which does not require students to wear masks.

It also didn't give any notice of whether classrooms could be shut down.

As a result, a whistleblower hotline has been created by a local representative to allow students and staff to raise concerns about the safety measures being taken in their schools.

North Paulding High School went viral this week after student Hannah Watters shared photos and video on Twitter Tuesday of her classmates crowding into hallways during the first week back. The school has now confirmed nine coronavirus cases among staff and students

Images shared earlier this week showed few students wearing masks in the crowded hallways. The school has said it can not force students to wear masks despite the confirmed cases

Georgia House Rep Beth Moore has called for students and staff to share their stories

The letter from Principal Gabe Carmona said they would continue to update the school community on cases and that intensive cleaning protocols were still in place.

'Our custodial staff continues to thoroughly clean and disinfect the school building daily, and especially affected areas,' Carmona wrote.

'It is my intention to regularly notify the NPHS community of these cases in the interest of transparency and so that we, as a community, can be aware of any trends that arise and respond accordingly.

'The health and well-being of our staff and students remains our biggest priority, and we are continuing to adjust and improve our protocols for in-person instruction to make our school the safest possible learning environment,' he added.

Angie Franks told the Atlanta Journal Constitution that two of her nephews were among the students to test positive at the school this week.

One of the boys returned home from school Monday with no sense of smell and was immediately taken to be tested.

His brother also began to display symptoms and they were confirmed with coronavirus Wednesday.

They have since been quarantining at home but Franks voiced concern about the other students that may have exposed Monday.

The letter sent by Principal Gabe Carmona to parents confirming the new cases

The school has confirmed far more cases than any other in the district since July 1

'They sat in class all day long with no masks and not social distancing,' Franks said. 'And I have no idea how many kids they came into contact with.'

She added that they had not been encouraged to wear masks in classrooms and hallways, and that the boys had not understood the gravity of the situation.

It comes as WSB TV Atlanta reports that the school has confirmed 23 coronavirus cases since July 1, far more than any other school in the distract.

There have been 53 cases reported since the start of July in Paulding County schools but the majority only have one confirmed case.

Schools did not begin in-person tuition until August 3.

In response to the viral images, Georgia State House Rep. Beth Moore established an anonymous whistleblower email account Friday for students, teachers and administrators to send pictures, videos and testimonials of the situation in their schools.

She has since posted several worrying claims that one school county board has tested positive for coronavirus and that in another school, teachers have yet to be supplied with protective and cleaning equipment.

Georgia state rep Beth Moore shares clams a school county board member has coronavirus

She has established a whistleblower hotline and is sharing teachers' stories

One teacher claimed the staff have not been supplied with the cleaning products needed

'This tweet has only been up for 1 hour & already I've received a disturbing tip of a county school board member testing positive, not telling anyone, & going to lunch at a restaurant a few days later,' she wrote in a tweet Friday.

'It's the same failure of leadership at the state & federal level.'

One teacher in Gwinnett claimed that teachers were forced into an in-person meeting, where not everyone wore masks and those who attempted to social distance were told to move closer.

'My principal is wonderful and I feel she is being pushed to do things that she knows aren't right or feasible either,' the teacher wrote.

Another teacher from the same district claimed the school's custodian was almost in tears telling teachers that they did not have enough cleaning supplies to give teachers for their classrooms.

'He said that if it is not provided soon, he will leave because he doesn't want to feel responsible for people getting sick or God forbid - dying,' they wrote.

They added that teachers had not been told where to isolate students if they are confirmed to have coronavirus during school hours and that no extra custodial staff have been hired to assist with the extra cleaning.

Video shared to social media earlier this week showed the crowded hallways as students changed classes at North Paulding High School in Georgia. Few students wore masks

North Paulding high school went viral earlier this week after two students shared images of the crowded hallways on social media.

The students, including 15-year-old Hannah Watters, were initially suspended over posting the images.

It later reversed its decision on Watters' suspension but the status of the other unnamed student's punishment is not known.

Hannah Watters said the school told her she was being suspended for violating the code of conduct by using a cellphone and social media in school hours and violating student privacy by photographing them

'This morning my school called and they have deleted my suspension,' Watters said.

'To be 100 percent clear, I can go back to school on Monday. I couldn't have done this without all the support, thank you.'

Watters had earlier said the school told her she was being suspended for violating the code of conduct by using a cellphone and social media in school hours and violating student privacy by photographing them.

After the photos went viral, Paulding County School District superintendent Brian Otott sent a letter out to parents acknowledging it didn't look good.

'There is no question that the photo does not good,' he wrote.

'Wearing a mask is a personal choice and there is no practical way to enforce a mandate to wear them. What we will do is continue to strongly encourage all students and staff to wear masks.'

There is no statewide mask mandate in the state of Georgia.

Otott went on to say that the photos were taken out of context and defended the district's reopening plan, saying the protocols were in compliance with the state's rules.

'Under the COVID-19 protocols we have adopted, class changes that look like this may happen, especially at a high school with more than 2,000 students.

'Class changes at the high school level are a challenge when maintaining a specific schedule.

'Students are in this hallway environment for just a brief period as they move to their next class.'

The 15-year-old tweeted on Friday morning that the school had decided to reverse the suspension. She had posted images of the packed school hallways on Tuesday

Another , who has not been publicly named, was also suspended after a photo they took on Monday went viral. It is not yet clear if that student's suspension has also been reversed

The school district, which began in-person classes Monday with mask-optional policies, came under fire when the photos and video emerged showing students packed shoulder-to-shoulder.

In the photos, which were taken on Monday and Tuesday, fewer than half of the students shown are wearing masks.

Watters told CNN that she posted the photos because she worried about the safety of students and teachers amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

'I was concerned for the safety of everyone in that building and everyone in the county because precautions that the CDC and guidelines that the CDC has been telling us for months now, weren't being followed,' Watters said.

She went on to reference the late John Lewis by saying: 'I'd like to say this is some good and necessary trouble.

'My biggest concern is not only about me being safe, it's about everyone being safe because behind every teacher, student and staff member there is a family, there are friends, and I would just want to keep everyone safe.'

In the Cherokee County School District, staff and students at one school were forced to begin another 14-day quarantine this week after a second-grader tested positive after their first day back.

On Saturday, Georgia confirmed the death of a seven-year-old boy from coronavirus complications who had no preexisting conditions. He has contracted the virus after attending church.

The state now has more than 209,000 cases and over 4,117 deaths with an 11.92 percent positivity rate.
If you provoke, you will get the same answer, he said. Do you want to try to overthrow the government, break something, wound, offend, and expect me or someone to kneel in front of you and kiss them and the sand onto which you wandered? This will not happen.
In Ius Voco Spurius

 Latin for Sue the bastards

Making it easier to sue individual police officers by getting rid of what is known as qualified immunity has become a rallying cry for protesters, progressives and plaintiffs lawyers in the aftermath of the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer in May.

They argue that being able to sue individual police officers across the nation personally in any civil rights case where they believe cops crossed the line is essential to reform, and the time has come to abolish the qualified immunity doctrine established by the U.S. Supreme Court as a defense for public employees.

In New Mexico, the Legislature has established a commission to consider doing away with qualified immunity as part of writing a state Civil Rights Act.

But doing so would be a mistake, no matter how appealing it might sound to progressive Democrats who hold the political upper hand in the Legislature.

First, qualified immunity doesnt apply only to police. The protection covers teachers, social workers, prosecutors, corrections officers and others. Lawmakers, meanwhile, have lawsuit immunity for actions taken as an elected official. Judges have something approaching absolute immunity for their actions  no matter how wrong they might be based on the context of evidence before them or the impact of their decision. The news media has a version of immunity in the New York Times vs. Sullivan decision that requires a public figure libel plaintiff to show actual malice or reckless disregard of the facts before the case can advance to trial.

Assuming we want to single out police officers, could legislators thread the needle and target only cops while leaving qualified immunity protections for others? Perhaps. There are serious constitutional questions there. But assuming those can be overcome, do we really want a simple negligence standard to apply to the split-second decisions officers have to make in potentially dangerous situations? Do we really want to take a rookie Albuquerque Police Department officer working graveyard in high-crime Albuquerque, making maybe $60,000 a year, and put his or her house on the line for doing something in response to a 911 call that in 20-20 hindsight might have been done better?

And if we do that, would anybody in their right mind sign up to be a police officer?

Police officers are highly regulated already, says Bob Martinez, president of the state Fraternal Order of Police. If you remove qualified immunity you are taking away one of the few protections they have. You may have people thinking twice before joining the profession.

Second, qualified immunity is far from an absolute defense. As reported by Journal investigative reporter Mike Gallagher, a Reuters study of cases from 2015 to 2019 in federal court found that qualified immunity decisions favored police only 57% of the time. There is no chance it could be successfully raised as a defense in the Floyd case  where the officers were fired and face criminal prosecution. The taxpayers there will no doubt be on the hook for a major settlement or judgment  appropriately so.

Some form of lawsuit immunity is far from unique. The state itself has sovereign immunity and dictates the terms under which it can be sued  resulting in what is known as the Tort Claims Act that sets out procedures and limits damages in many cases.

Qualified immunity evolves constantly through court decisions, but plaintiffs attorneys argue that as interpreted the bar is too high, essentially requiring them to find a previous case with the exact set of facts.

Further, when the government defendant raises qualified immunity as a defense, it often puts the case on hold while the question is decided. And if granted, it can knock out some or all of the civil rights claims in federal court  where there are no caps on damages and attorney fee provisions are more favorable.

But it doesnt necessarily kill the case. As reported by Gallagher, Bernalillo County recently settled a Sheriffs Office shooting case for $1.9 million even though the federal judge in the case concluded that qualified immunity applied to the deputy. The judge also concluded a jury could decide other questions in the case.

So while individual officers could be targeted more often if qualified immunity were eliminated, the net result is that taxpayers will have to dig deeper because at the end of the day they have deeper pockets.

Police officers  and other public employees  must be accountable for their actions. The same holds true for their employers, i.e., the taxpayers. But the notion that eliminating qualified immunity is essential to reform is misguided. There are better ways to achieve constitutional policing than placing officers in the position where they are afraid to get out of the patrol car for fear of being sued. More civilian oversight, eliminating certain kinds of restraints and requiring fellow officers to report improper use of force are just a few examples.

Efforts to eliminate qualified immunity arent as radical as cries to defund the police. But in some ways they come from the same place and would be just as counterproductive. The state needs to tread carefully here, and the public should not hesitate to weigh in on this as politicians take up the issue.

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.
Some unidentified persons opened fire at a BJP leader near Budgam railway station in Jammu and Kashmir on Sunday (August 9) morning. The man has been identified as 38-year-old Hamid Najar. It is learnt that Najar is BJP's Other Backward Class (OBC) district president in Budgam. Najar was shot when he was on morning walk. He has been shifted to SMHS hospital in Srinagar for treatment.

Security forces have cordoned off the area and search operation has been launched to nab the attackers. According to police, Najar was allotted secured accomodation due to saftey issues but he had hone out for walk without informing the security.

Police sources said that it is likely that Najar has been targeted by terrorists. It is the fourth attack on BJP leader since June in Jammu and Kashmir.

On August 6 (Thursday), some unidentified terrorists had shot dead a BJP sarpanch outside his residence at Vessu in Kulgam district of Jammu and Kashmir. The sarpanch identified as Sajjad Ahmed Khandey was staying in secured migrant camp along with several sarpanchs. Khandey had left the camp on Thursday morning to vist his home at Veesu when the terrorists fired upon him.
ALBANY  In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Congress allocated billions of dollars enabling health care providers to give coronavirus tests  for free  to people lacking health insurance.

But the program is voluntary. And health care providers can turn a greater profit by charging the uninsured for the full price of testing, out of pocket, rather than seeking a lesser reimbursement from the government for treating those patients.

In the Capital Region, instead of giving free tests and making less money, several upstate New York-based "urgent care" chains are making the uninsured pay the bill, according to interviews and records reviewed by the Times Union. That has left uninsured patients paying $125 or significantly more to get tested, a potential financial barrier to widespread testing needed to counter the pandemic.

Interactive map: Where to get tested for coronavirus in the Capital Region

At the same time they've shunned the federal dollars that would give the uninsured free testing, urgent care chains  WellNow, Community Care Physicians, and Albany Med EmUrgentCare  have applied for and received millions in federal subsidies benefiting their own bottom lines.

Since March, huge spending bills passed by Congress and signed by President Donald J. Trump provided more than $2 billion to cover testing for the uninsured, and $50 billion more to cover health care providers' virus-related costs.

From the latter funds, Community Care has applied for and received $1.9 million. WellNow has gotten $205,000. Albany Med and its physicians group have received $61.4 million, including money both for Albany Medical Center Hospital and for the companys urgent care chain. These specific federal funds can only be used to "prevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus," reimbursing expenses or lost revenues attributable to COVID-19.

Community Care and WellNow also applied for and received loans between $5 million and $10 million each from the federal Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) program, meant to keep company workforces employed during the early period of the pandemic. If spent appropriately, the millions eventually turn into grants. (After receiving the PPP funds, however, WellNow ultimately decided to return the money within a two-week grace period, the company said.)

While taking the federal help for themselves, the upstate New York-based urgent care companies have simultaneously shunned the federal funding intended to provide free testing to the uninsured, a program that would generate less virus-related revenue for the providers.

Under the program passed by Congress, health care providers are reimbursed for testing the uninsured at rates set by the federal Medicare program. Those amounts are less generous than the sums companies can collect charging the uninsured out-of-pocket.

WellNow and Community Care Physicians are for-profit entities. Like many hospitals, Albany Med is organized as a charitable nonprofit, a designation that is highly advantageous for tax purposes. But its executives still make significant salaries: In 2018, its former president and CEO, James Barba, made more than $1.9 million in compensation, according to that year's tax return.

As COVID-19 cases have risen locally, Albany County Executive Daniel McCoy recently encouraged young people to get tested. Two 20-year-old roommates in Albany did just that in early July.

Sienna Quijano had been symptomatic for three days with fever, sore throat and chills. The morning she decided to get tested for COVID-19, she had a bloody nose and was "freaking out," she said.

A friend looked up testing sites and recommended WellNow on Western Avenue in Guilderland, where there seemed a relatively short wait time. Quijano was accompanied to the clinic by Ashley Lewis, who was not symptomatic, but wanted to get tested along with her roommate. Neither has a car, so they couldn't go to a drive-through.

Lewis thought she was covered by her fathers insurance, but learned at WellNow that her coverage ended in April, when her father lost his job. Before she could see a physician's assistant for a quick visit  required by WellNow in order to get a COVID test  she was made to pay $200.

It was really a hit to my bank account, said Lewis, a pharmacy technician.

Before she was seen at WellNow, Lewis said, a physician's assistant again asked if she'd paid.

Quijano, a barista at Starbucks, said health insurance through her job is too expensive for her to afford. At WellNow, she was asked for $150 upfront to see a physician's assistant, but short on money, initially paid $130. Before leaving, she was told by WellNow staff that she needed to pay $20 more that day, or wouldn't be provided the results of her COVID test.

Their COVID results came back a few days later, and both women were negative.

Amid the pandemic's economic devastation, 5.4 million people lost their employer-based health insurance between February and May, according to a study by the consumer advocacy group Families USA  the largest recorded loss of health insurance attributable to job loss in a single year. Through there is coverage available on government-run health care exchanges, many unemployed cannot afford the premiums.

For the uninsured, there are several Capital Region sites providing free diagnostic testing  the type that reveals whether someone is currently infected  including a drive-through at the University at Albany. Rite Aid and CVS are providing free diagnostic testing for everyone, with the latter company partaking in the federal reimbursement program helping the uninsured, according to its website.

But on the website of the state Department of Health, it's difficult to discern between varying pricing policies of testing sites. The sites are listed by location, and those offering free testing for the uninsured appear beside the urgent care chains that aren't.

The Times Union reviewed Capital Region testing sites for this article, but the issues raised appear to be of national scope. A July 13 report from the Brookings Institute, a prominent Washington D.C. think tank, pointed to health care providers accepting federal funds subsidizing their own COVID-related costs, but not enrolling in the program aiding the uninsured.

Any health care provider getting support from the $50 billion federal Provider Relief Fund  the entity that gave the millions to the Capital Region urgent cares to cover their COVID-19 costs  should, as a condition of receiving the funds, be required to refrain from billing the uninsured for services such as testing, the authors wrote.

If the Trump administration fails to adopt such a requirement, then Congress should act, the authors said.

The Trump administration does not appear poised to adopt such a requirement. Asked about these concerns, a spokesman for the federal Department of Health and Human Services said only that the agency "continues to promote the availability" of the uninsured testing program and "encourages" providers to utilize the program in an "effort to support vulnerable uninsured individuals.

Urgent care companies are a rapidly expanding segment of the health care industry, recipients of billions in private equity investment nationally. They allow unscheduled, after-hours walk-in patients for non-life-threatening illness and injury, serving as a more affordable alternative to emergency rooms. They generally treat large numbers of patients in short amounts of time.

When either a new or existing patient goes to a WellNow or Community Care clinic for a diagnostic test or antibody test  the type that can reveal a past infection  they are required to see a physician assistant or other medical staff first. Albany Med EmUrgentCare, which is conducting the antibody test only, also requires a doctor visit.

The cost for the diagnostic and antibody tests, as well as doctor visits associated with them, could all be covered by the billions in federal funding making uninsured testing free  but only if a provider participates.

In the Albany area, for 10-minute doctor appointment with a new patient, the federal program would pay an urgent care facility about $45, according to data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years.

But Albany-area urgent care centers are charging new, uninsured patients an average of $197 for such appointments, or about $150 more than the federal reimbursement, according to FAIR Health, a national independent nonprofit with a database of more than 31 billion health care claims.

At WellNow, on top of the required doctor visit, a diagnostic test costs $150 out-of-pocket and an antibody test $100, according to the company's website.

By contrast, under the federal program, the most common antibody test is reimbursed at about $45, or less than half what WellNow is charging uninsured patients out of pocket.

Asked why Wellnow was not seeking the federal reimbursement, a spokesman responded that the company serves the Capital Region community by improving access to quality health care services without hidden fees and long waits. The company later asserted that the prices WellNow was charging the uninsured for tests mirrored WellNow's own costs for conducting them. WellNow declined to tell the Times Union how much the company was charging uninsured patients for a short doctor appointment.

At Community Care Physicians, the required doctor visit for a new patient can run about $150, a spokeswoman confirmed, though the price can vary. The company works with uninsured patients to discount our fees appropriately based on their finances, according to the spokeswoman, Alexis Musto.

Unlike the free drive-through sites, Community Care requires a doctor visit first because "as a physician group, we take clinical responsibility for that patient and their care/test results," Musto said.

On top of the cost of the doctor visit, the antibody test is $70 more for the uninsured. The diagnostic test itself is free for all patients as long as a federal emergency remains declared, Musto said.

Musto said the Medicare-level reimbursement of the federal program  $45 for doctors visits, for instance  doesnt cover our expenses for that COVID visit.

But Musto declined to say how much a short visit with a physician assistant does cost the company. Musto also declined to address the fact that the government gave $1.9 million to the company, specifically meant to cover added COVID-related expenses.

At Albany Med EmUrgentCare, which is offering antibody tests at three locations, the cost to see a doctor is $75 out of pocket, and the antibody test is $50 more, according to the company's website.

An Albany Med spokesman, Matthew Markham, said if an uninsured individual needed an antibody test and could not pay, EmUrgentCare would not charge the patient for the visit or the test.

He declined to specify what criteria the company uses to determine whether such a person cannot pay. He did not know if EmUrgentCare, since it began the antibody testing on June 3, had ever actually provided free testing to an uninsured person.

Albany Med felt significant financial impact from a temporary ban on elective surgeries at the pandemic's outset. Urgent care facilities also saw an initial dip in business, including WellNow at its more than 40 locations in upstate New York. Those were kept open anyway "because we might be the only thing open in town with the smaller, rural areas that we're in," WellNow's founder and president, John Radford, told the Albany Business Review in June. "Financially, it wasn't the best thing to do, but that was second in importance."

The company was also getting help from the federal government. Since early May, thousands of visits by people seeking COVID-19 tests have helped WellNow's economic fortunes. By this fall, Radford told the Business Review, his urgent care chain will likely be operating at near-full capacity.

A month after her visit to WellNow, Quijano is waiting to see if she gets any more bills, including for a strep throat test she was also given.

Neither Quijano nor her roommate Lewis understands exactly why they were charged the amounts they were charged in early July, including why Lewis was charged $50 more, despite being the one that did not have symptoms. Neither were given receipts itemizing the charges.

It seemed really arbitrary, Quijano said. They seemed to use this as an opportunity to exploit people that needed a test."

This article was updated to include the fact that WellNow returned PPP funds after initially receiving them.
The Delhi Police have announced quick promotions to constables and head constables who will find missing children in a bid to incentivise and encourage efforts at reversing the trend of disappearance of kids in the national Capital.

According to a report by the Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights (DCPCR) released last year, 17 children go missing every day in Delhi and at least two of them remain untraced. As per police statistics, at least 22,567 children went missing in 2019 from across the city, of whom police traced 12,996(57.58%).

To remedy the situation, Delhi Police commissioner SN Shrivastava on Friday issued an order, saying any constable or head constable who finds at least 50 missing children aged below 14 (of whom at least 15 children younger must be eight-years-old) in a year would be eligible for an out-of-turn promotion. HT has seen the order.

On Sunday, Shrivastava also tweeted about it. In the last two months only, 724 children aged below 18 years, have gone missing. Of these 537 have been rescued. Those police officers who rescue 50 missing children in 12 months will be given out of turn promotions. It will help in preventing such crimes, the commissioner tweeted in Hindi.

Usually, constables are eligible for promotion after five years in service, that too only if they clear a test. If the person does not take the test, it takes around 10 years to become a head constable.

A senior police officer, who did not wish to be named, said that two months ago, Shrivastava told the force that finding missing children must be a top priority at all police stations. During the weekly law and order meetings, all district police chiefs are asked about the untraced kids and the recovery rate of missing children in their area.

Of 724 children who went missing in June and July this year, we have traced 537. This recovery rate [over 74%] is far higher than the average. It will only increase after this initiative. The annual recovery rate is always around 50 every year, the officer said.

The police chief in his order also said those who recover at least 15 missing children below 14 years (of whom five children are less than eight-years-old) in a year, they would be considered for the Asadharan Karya Puraskar (AKP).

Officials said the emphasis is on children below 8 because though more children -- especially those in their teens are reported missing -- the young ones(below 8) fall prey to trafficking gangs. In many cases police have found that those between 15-18 often leave homes on their own and refuse to return when traced by the police.

The AKP is a medal awarded to city police personnel that also carries a cash reward of Rs 20,000. It is awarded to those who go beyond their line of duty by risking their lives or cracking complex cases.

Many police officials said the initiative is intended to be a morale booster, because it takes several years for a constables or head constable to be promoted.

Retired Delhi police officer Amod Kanth, who also runs Prayas  an NGO for children, said, This initiative can get remarkable results because investigating missing children can help in recovering most. There is an award system among the police to track proclaimed offenders (fugitives), which has yielded remarkable results. This shows that a similar system will help in tracking children.

Proclaimed offenders are those declared fugitives by a court. In some cases, they carry a reward for their arrest.

Sanjay Gupta, director, Chetna, an NGO that works for children welfare, said such incentives were welcome and would likely lead to an improvement in the number of missing children rescued from across the country.

If officials are encouraged, then we are sure to have a better rescue chances in missing cases. However, when being evaluated, all aspects of a police personnels work on the case should be considered. The case does not end at rescue, the police is also responsible for taking such cases to its fruitful end. An official should be judged on their overall performance in such a case; from filing the case report to sensitivity in handling the rescued children and busting the culprits, he said.

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Traffic snarls, crowded beaches and jammed restaurants are common in Orange Beach and Gulf Shores every summer.

But how many of those people who flock to the beaches actually live in South Baldwin County? A glimpse of 2020 U.S. Census participation rates illustrate that it will be hard to tally an accurate assessment of how many permanent residents are living close to Alabama beaches versus those who own rental properties and live elsewhere.

Alabamas three largest coastal cities -- Orange Beach (18.3%), Gulf Shores (35.9%) and Dauphin Island (27.7%) have glaringly low Census participation response rates compared to the states average of 60.7%. Coastal participation rates are also far lower than neighboring Baldwin County cities like Foley (68%), Fairhope (75%) and Robertsdale (67%).

But coastal Alabamas participation rates are on par with popular tourist destinations along the Florida Panhandle where Panama City Beach (26.7%) and Destin (31%) also are lagging behind state and county averages. Alabamas popular tourist towns are also in line with cities where the main industry is dominated by tourism such as Gatlinburg, Tennessee where the participation rate is 18.5% versus the states average of 62.4%; or Branson, Missouri, where the participation rate is 39.5% compared to that states average of 63.2%.

Marilyn Stephens, an assistant regional Census manager, said the main reason for low response rates in beach towns is likely due to the proliferation of rental properties. For instance, if someone living in another city but who owns a rental property along the Gulf Coast will need to fill out two Census forms  one for their permanent residence, and another for their rental property. On the form for their rental property, the owner would have to report that no one was living there on April 1, and that it was a rental property, Stephens said.

She said the low response rate means that the owners of the properties have not participated in the Census yet.

An accurate Census count is viewed as crucial among state and city leaders. Billions of dollars in federal assistance to states is determined each year through the Census count, and cities benefit based on population totals and demographic details. Funding for Medicare and Medicaid are based on census estimates, as are programs dealing with highway construction, child nutrition, college tuition assistance, public housing, wildlife restoration and job development.

Artificially low

Crowds gather at a beach in Alabama over Memorial Day weekend 2020. The beaches are Alabama's top tourism draw, and the cities of Orange Beach and Gulf Shores are filled with vacation rental units that are, according to city officials, skewing Census participation rates for the two cities.

Gulf Shores and Orange Beach city officials believe the U.S. Census Bureaus self-response rates understate due to how those housing units are counted, and they argue that the Census Bureau should make changes that would allow their communities a more accurate count.

Census response rates for tourist destinations are going to be artificially low, said Lee Jones, director of planning and community development with the city of Gulf Shores.

Said Marc Anderson, special projects coordinator with the city of Orange Beach and a member of the citys Complete Count Committee, We are aware that the U.S. Census self-response rate is vastly understated in Orange Beach, as well as other beach destinations, due to all housing in the city being counted from single-family homes to condominium units.

For Orange Beach, the city has more than 8,500 condo rental units, which Anderson said is more than our full-time population. According to a 2019 Census estimate, Orange Beachs population is 6,235 people and represented a 14.6% growth rate since the 2010 Census count.

The Census is aware of the issue as well as were hopeful it will be addressed in future counts, said Anderson.

Jones said the cities provide a document to the Census Bureau called a Local Update of Census Addresses or LUCA. The documents, he said, includes an address for every unit within the city limits.

Our response rate is measured against the citys total number of units, said Jones. The majority of units within our city limits are not occupied by full-time residents, therefore, responses to the Census are not being received from these units. Given their response rate, my guess is that the City of Orange Beach has an even higher percentage than we do of units that they are not occupied by full-time residents.

Jones said a more accurate measure of a citys response rate would be to calculate the number of responses against the number of units occupied by actual residents.

Until that comparison is made, the response rate from destinations like ours will appear to be low, when in actuality, they are not, he said.

Outreach

Still, Gulf Shores and Orange Beach are both lagging behind their participation levels from 10 years ago. Orange Beach, in 2010, had a Census participation rate of 48.7% while Gulf Shores was at 46.2%.

Alabama is trailing the national Census participation rate by less than 3 percentage points and Gov. Kay Ivey is urging people to fill out their Census forms and not to put it off any longer. She has long implored residents to fill out their Census forms, noting that billions of dollars in federal money allocations are determined by the Census count, as well as the number of members representing Alabama in Congress. The state, as projected, could lose a congressional seat ahead of the 2022 elections.

We are continuing to try to increase participation in the Census, said Jones. Plans include setting up tables at local election sites to provide opportunities for residents who have not responded to complete the Census survey online. City elections are scheduled for August 25.

The city is also sending out another round of postcards encouraging residents to respond.

In Dauphin Island  which is Alabamas only barrier island and a popular beach destination in Mobile County  Mayor Jeff Collier said he feels as if the city has done its due diligence to get residents to respond: Posters, mailers and email updates all include recommendations as to why filling out the Census is important.

Weve done all of that and probably more than what the state recommends we do for outreach, said Collier. We havent gone out knocking on doors, but I feel comfortable weve done enough normal outreach we are to do as a community.

In Orange Beach, Anderson said that city staff is pushing the Orange Beach Counts message, among others, through events and social media and other marketing efforts. The city established its Complete Count committee in partnership with an Atlanta-based Census partnership specialist.

While our response rate is much higher than the Census map shows, we can always do better, said Anderson. It is critical that everyone fill out their Census for federal purposes and state representation in Congress, of which Alabama has one  possibly two  seats at stake.

Rushed operations

Indeed, Alabama is on the cusp of potentially losing one of its seven congressional seats for the first time since 1970, thanks largely to a sluggish population growth since 2010 compared to other states in the Southeast and Southwest. Census experts believe it would take a historic undercount for Alabama to be at risk of losing two seats.

Efforts to boost Census participation is likely to be expedited in the coming weeks after the Census Bureau said Monday it would finish collecting its field data by Sept. 30, in advance of preparing final data collection and apportionment counts by Dec. 31. The agency, which is part of the Commerce Department, essentially signaled it was ending its in-person canvass of the nations population one-month earlier than expected.

While federal law requires Census data to be turned in by Dec. 31, the Census Bureau pushed in April for an extension of its deadlines through April 2021, due to difficulties of undergoing a nationwide count during the coronavirus pandemic.

Terri Ann Lowenthal, a Census consultant who once worked as a staff director of a House oversight subcommittee on the Census, said participation data in beach communities illustrates why more time is needed for the Census Bureau to complete its work. More than 37% of households in the U.S. have not responded to the census; 40% in Alabama.

This is why the Census Bureau needs time to figure out why so many households havent responded and then to make sure those residents are counted where they are supposed to be counted, said Lowenthal. If the Bureau is rushing through these remaining operations, the accuracy of what you are doing and the quality of and accuracy of what the Bureau is doing will suffer.

Gerald Webster, a professor of political geography at the University of Wyoming and a former geography professor at the University of Alabama, said with more sufficient time every non-reporting house or condo would be visited by a census field worker.

While one might expect beach communities to have somewhat lower response rates than other locations, but (the low participation levels) underscores why more time would be quite valuable to have a complete and accurate count, he said.

Ramsey Archibald contributed to this report.

Alabama still lags in Census response as deadline looms

Alabama Counts: How one Republican state bucks national trends and boosts Census awareness

Alabama forges on in Census battle after Trump retreats on citizenship question
Prince Harrys childhood friend was reportedly punished for sharing some doubts he had about Meghan Markle, even before the pair were engaged.

According to upcoming biography, Finding Freedom: Harry and Meghan and the Making of A Modern Family, Harrys pal, Tom Inskip - also known as Skippy - advised the Duke and Duchess of Sussex that they should live together before doing anything more serious.

Tom Inskip advised Harry and Meghan to live together before marrying. Photo: Getty Images

The book claims Tom revealed his reservations about Meghan before the engagement in late 2017, which saw he and his wife Lara Hughes-Young punished by not being invited to the evening wedding party at Frogmore House following the Windsor Castle ceremony, The UK Telegraph reported.

A source close to Harry and Meghan told the authors of the biography, Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand, that it caused a fallout between the once firm friends.

It really hurt him that someone he was so close to would not trust his judgment, the source told the authors.

'Skippy' attended the 2018 wedding with his wife Lara but wasn't invited to the party afterwards. Photo: Getty Images

The insider added that while the advice came from a good place, the prince was still really hurt.

It has been widely suggested that people who spoke to Scobie and Durand did so with the royal couples blessing, with the book set to be released this week.

RELATED:

Tom first formed a friendship with the royal while they were both students at Eton, and the pair were often pictured partying together in their younger years.

Harry and Tom have been close since they were students at Eton. Photo: Getty Images

They remained close until spring 2017 when the duke served as usher at Toms wedding in Montego Bay, Jamaica  accompanied by his then-girlfriend, Meghan Markle.

It is unclear whether Harry has been made godfather to the couples son Albert, who was born earlier this year.

Similarly, the identities of one-year-old son Archies godparents have also remained a secret.

Additional reporting by Lauren Clark.

Click here to sign up to our daily newsletter to get all the latest news and hacks. Or if you have a story tip, email us at lifestyle.tips@verizonmedia.com.
I had to sit across from my rapist in a police station in France. That was the procedure there, a little over a decade ago. The idea of being in the same room as the man who had committed an unspeakable violation against me less than 24 hours earlier was nightmarish.

But it wasn't the worst part. Answering police questions, I unthinkingly touched the detective's forearm while trying to articulate myself. He recoiled from me as though I was radioactive. I was not to be trusted. I burned with shame.

To be clear: I didn't want the investigator to automatically take my side - instant belief is as bad as instant disbelief, in that it renders truth meaningless. But I could have done without the display. All the complainant asks for is decency, impartiality and a fair hearing.

This moment came back to me when the O'Malley report was published on Wednesday, which reviewed how vulnerable witnesses are treated during sexual offence prosecutions and trials.

Chaired by barrister and legal academic Tom O'Malley, it recommended a raft of changes in sex crime policy all across the criminal justice system, from the Garda station to the court.

I thought of how the detective's behaviour is my abiding memory of the experience, and how it illustrates the importance of respect and dignity for victims in what are complex and sensitive cases.

But it must be acknowledged that victims come in different guises. In criminal cases - particularly in sex crimes - we can't know who the victim is until the entire process is completed, the truth out.

In a way, there is a mutualism between the accused and the accuser. How one is treated affects the other, and vice versa, with knock-on effects. So the system must afford protections to both.

To me, this policy is at the core of Tom O'Malley's review into the investigation and prosecution of sexual offences. He knows that fair treatment is essential, yet it must be balanced against the paramount function of justice: getting to the truth, returning the right verdict.

He heralded this guiding principle at a recent legal conference, when he quoted 18th century philosopher Jeremy Bentham: "The sole purpose of any legal proceedings should be to discover the truth of what happened, with accuracy of outcome the objective in the process."

O'Malley's new report - commissioned in 2018 after the sick circus of the Belfast rape trial - was hailed last week as "the perfect opportunity to help victims, vulnerable witnesses and innocent accused". It is just that.

He has covered all involved in his recommendations - and rightly so. He has reset the pendulum to a position of equilibrium.

I believe it should kick-start two changes, which are cause and effect. The O'Malley report should act as a turning point away from the unhelpful narrative that the legal system is loaded against victims, and mark the end of the hysterical and backfiring #MeToo movement.

O'Malley has returned to the spotlight the issue of the rights of the accused, jettisoned by social media and in danger of being dismissed by larger society - at great cost to us all.

The key recommendation in the report is not one that will necessarily please the #MeToo pitchfork mob: those accused of sexual assault should be granted anonymity in court. Yet it needs to be the case to protect a different kind of victim: those on the receiving end of ruinous false accusations, or who may not be guilty of the crime of which they are accused.

It concluded there is "no logical reason" why this protection should be afforded to rape accused and not those accused of sex assault, acknowledging the "heavy stigma" of an accusation.

An additional recommendation is that the public should not be permitted to attend such assault cases. Laws which prosecute revealing identities in the media should be extended to social media, it advises.

It should go some way to preventing the ruination of lives at the pointing of a finger. It is too late, of course, for comedians Sil Fox and Al Porter; both of whom had their names, reputations, careers and lives destroyed by sex assault charges, before Fox's case was dismissed and Porter's was dropped. Fox (87), is now suing the State for damages.

It will have no consequence for Paddy Jackson, the Ireland and Ulster rugby player who was acquitted of rape in one of the most high-profile trials ever seen on this island. The verdict sparked outrage among those who believed they knew better than a judge and jury who sat through nine weeks of evidence. The law is different in Northern Ireland - the public can attend rape cases, and the rape accused is named.

It is vital that the justice system here holds firm in what is the new Salem, where the online mob threatens to overturn its authority. It aims to do away with the courts of justice and replace it with the court of public opinion. Radicals reject verdicts that don't align with their ideology, and create life sentences in social jail for those they decide should be punished.

O'Malley's report puts an end to the normalisation of this culture. It treats both parties as deserving of equal protection in the eyes of the law. Anything else is anti-human rights.

Supporters of #MeToo will often cite how the legal system is useless and so they had to take complaints online. This is an illusory truth, but one that is widespread. Campaigners know social norms are more effective than the law when it comes to culture shifts.

Promoting this message - that the system is actually against them - has the effect of putting women off reporting sex crimes. A British survey in 2012 found that more than two-thirds of women said the "low" conviction rate would put them off reporting a rape.

The received wisdom that the conviction rate is at a "tiny percentage" is wrong. What is mostly referred to is the attrition rate, which is the number of convictions resulting from reports of a crime. And even that figure is higher than normally stated.

In fact, the conviction rate for rape and sexual assault - the percentage of convictions once the case is before the courts - stands at 83pc, according to the DPP's most recent figure. The Rape Crisis Centre's Noeline Blackwell cited the overall sex offence conviction rate of 92pc on RTE recently - a figure so high, it went over the heads of many. It's strong evidence that victims should be supported and helped to take their cases to the gardai and the courts.

Despite much progress, there is room for improvement in the system, and O'Malley addressed that with a number of measures that emphasise the experience of complainants throughout the process, bolstering some aspects of legal representation for victims and increasing Garda facilities and training. The key recommendation is a pre-trial procedure, an idea championed by the DPP Claire Loftus, as it will reduce trial delays.

This is a reset for the handling of sex crimes in Ireland. Let's hope it is a move away from the harmful, ultimately pointless #MeToo movement and towards a restoration of public confidence in the criminal justice system - the loss of which is fatal to any democracy.
Animals that are ambush hunters tend to be very still until they have their prey where they want them. Then, the ambush hunter is an explosion of efficient motion and the prey . . . well, the prey is toast. With Saturdays executive orders and press conference, Trump proved himself to be a masterful ambush hunter, and the Democrats found themselves being hapless prey.

As with so many of their initiatives in 2020, the Democrats got greedy. Time and time again, theyve used the excuse of the Wuhan virus and George Floyds death to advance hard-left policies unrelated either to the virus or to the exceedingly rare instances when American police wantonly kill black men.

When the virus first appeared, Trump, in good faith, allowed Fauci to lead him down the primrose path. This meant giving in to, and signing off on, the Democrats demands for stimulus bills. His agreement made the Democrats foolhardy. With the economy on life support, deaths from the virus dropping, and Americans desperately wanting to go back to work, the Democrats decided that they could again lard the latest stimulus bill with all manner of things. They assumed Trump would be either trapped or compliant.

What they hadnt realized was that Trump, like a cat watching a rat draw near, was just waiting for the right moment to spring. Saturday was that day. In the kind of press conference that helps win elections, Trump explained that he was cutting through the Democrats ridiculous negotiating tactics and using his executive power to bring relief directly to Americans. Heres the entire press conference, including his walking away at the end when CBSs shrewish and disrespectful Paula Reid refuses to stop screaming questions at him:

The executive orders Trump signed do four things:

Create a payroll tax holiday for Americans earning less than $100,000 annually. The executive order will be retroactive to August 1 and end on December 31, putting more money in employees pockets. Continue enhanced unemployment benefits at $400 per week, which is $200 less than the Democrats were demanding, which Trump alleges (probably correctly) makes going back to work more attractive. Extend the eviction moratorium on federal subsidized housing. Suspend student loan payments. (Its to be hoped that Trump will not ultimately endorse Elizabeth Warrens demand that the Wuhan virus should be used as an excuse to forgive all student loans. If someone was stupid enough to get a $300,000 gender studies degree, taxpayers should not be on the hook.)

As Trump acknowledged to reporters in the Q-and-A session, the Democrats will sue but it wont be a good look for them. The moment Trump announced his executive orders, psychology says that Americans immediately felt ownership of these benefits. Theyll resent any effort to reverse them and will be unimpressed by arguments about executive overreach -- especially because all that the Republicans have to say is Dreamers and DACA to show how hypocritical Democrats are being.

Trump also explained to Americans that he had to sign these executive orders because the Democrats demands were ridiculous.

President Trump: "The Democrat bill includes stimulus checks for illegal aliens, the mass release of illegal aliens from detention, they also compel the mass release of inmates, including serious felons... what does this have to do with the stimulus for the economy?" pic.twitter.com/nGmE7ztEuD  ForAmerica (@ForAmerica) August 8, 2020

President @realDonaldTrump on how Democrats want to use the Coronavirus Relief Bill to ban voter ID and signature verification for federal elections.



Why would Democrats want to do that? pic.twitter.com/y17tUWKtUZ  Team Trump (Text TRUMP to 88022) (@TeamTrump) August 8, 2020

Even people who arent huge Trump fans were impressed. Paul Mirengoff, who cant warm up to Trump but knows hes better than Biden, called Trumps actions on Saturday a political masterstroke. While Mirengoff is concerned, as everyone should be, about executive overreach (something at which Obama excelled), he recognizes the political strength behind Trumps having emerged suddenly and overwhelmed the Democrats:

[A]s a political matter, Trumps move looks like a masterstroke. Since the days of FDR, the public has always seemed to approve of presidents who act to ameliorate suffering while Congress diddles. A flurry of activity, even of the futile or potentially counterproductive kind, makes a president look energetic and caring.

People who underestimate Trump routinely do so at their peril. Everything he does is calculated, including tweets that send his political opponents scurrying around like cats chasing a light while hes getting things done to help the American people.

Image: White House YouTube screengrab
Lebanon's Information Minister Manal Abdel Samad announced her resignation on August 9, apologising for the catastrophe caused by the Beirut explosion. The resignation from Abdel Samad comes amid strong protests against the government over the blast at a portside warehouse which has claimed at least 158 lives and injured around 5,000 people.

The Information Minister said in a statement that the government couldnt meet the demands of the public and the reality does not match our ambitions. She added that change in Lebanon remains elusive and the horrible explosions in the city has prompted her to resign from the government. A number of MPs have already submitted their resignations following the blast.

Several demonstrators stormed government building including the Foreign Ministry office on August 8 following the massive explosion that rocked the Lebanese capital. The demonstrators reportedly raised flags in protest and demanded resignation from the current government resign while calling for a political overhaul.

The governor, Marwan Abboud, had said that the damage due to the explosion in portside warehouse extends over half of Lebanons capital and up to 300,000 have been left homeless. He said that the cost of damage from the blast is over $3 billion, as it has severely damaged buildings and establishments in the city.

[A woman yells at Lebanese soldiers during scuffles with the soldiers who are blocking a road as French President Emmanuel Macron visits. Credit: AP]

[French President Emmanuel Macron hugs a resident as he visits a devastated street of Beirut, Lebanon. Credit: AP]

[Riot police advance to push back anti-government protesters in Beirut, Lebanon, on August 7. Credit: Hassan Ammar/ AP]

Read: Beirut Explosion: World Leaders To Hold Talks To Raise Aid For Lebanon

Read: Beirut Blast: Protestors Storm Foreign Ministry Building, Demand Government To Resign

Aid Summit

International leaders will hold talks, hosted by France and the UN, via video conference at 4.30pm IST on August 9. US President Donald Trump is also expected to join the meeting co-ordinated by French President Emmanuel Macron. The aid summit will aim to mobilize Lebanon's major international partners and to organize and coordinate emergency support from the international community. It will try to address the most immediate needs in terms of medical, food, education and housing rehabilitation.

Earlier, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) had said that the agency has allocated $15 million to Lebanon. UN humanitarian chief Mark Lowcock released $6 million from the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to help the response to the Beirut port blast, bringing the total to $15 million after UN Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator for Lebanon released $9 million from the Lebanon Humanitarian Fund.

Read: Beirut Blast: Wife Of Dutch Envoy Dies After Battling Injuries For Four Days

Read: Beirut Blast: NASA's Satellite Images Show Scale Of Destruction; Pics Inside

(With agency inputs)
For years, South Floridas Black churches have gathered their flocks on the Sunday before Election Day and led them to the polls on the final day of early voting.

The coronavirus pandemic wont change that. But it will change how and when Souls to the Polls takes place in a region with one of the worst outbreaks in the country.

This election, Black faith leaders are encouraging parishioners to vote on either Sunday before the primary on Aug. 18. And instead of lining up to vote inside polling places, some churches are encouraging their members to drive this Sunday to early voting centers and deposit mail ballots at outdoor drop boxes instead of sending them through the U.S. Postal Service.

The deadline to request a mail ballot is 5 p.m. Saturday.

Were not laying down on voting, said Carl Johnson, pastor of the 93rd Street Community Baptist Church in West Little River and moderator of over 41 churches in Miami-Dade and Broward counties. Were emphasizing that we still must vote.

According to fliers circulating among churches and campaigns, New Birth Baptist Church, Mount Sinai Missionary Baptist Church and other congregations in Miami-Dade County are teaming up with Al Sharptons National Action Network, gospel AM radio station WMBM and Black sororities to encourage parishioners to drive their mail ballots to the polls this Sunday at the early voting site in the library at the Miami Dade College North Campus.

An advertisement for Souls to the Polls in Miami-Dade County on Aug. 9, 2020.

In Broward County, several churches, including New Hope Baptist Church  which ahead of the August primary two years ago marched with gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum to the early voting site at the African American Research Library and Cultural Center in Fort Lauderdale  are encouraging their congregations to decorate their cars and drive to the library. Pastor Henry E. Green Jr., of Mount Hermon A.M.E. Church in Fort Lauderdale, said congregants are choosing the method best for them, either dropping off mail ballots or going inside to vote.

Story continues

Kim McCray, a political organizer, lobbyist and parishioner at New Birth Baptist Church, one of the largest and most influential Black churches in Miami, said Sundays events are taking place a week early in order to give everyone time to adjust and vote comfortably amid the pandemic.

Within our community, theres a lot of voters who prefer to vote in person, she said. Traditionally, Souls to the Polls is normally held that Sunday before Election Day. But with so much happening now, its important for the community to get out as early as possible.

An advertisement promoting Souls to the Polls in Broward Count Aug. 9, 2020.

Early voting remains a fairly new phenomenon in Florida elections, starting in the 1990s before it was formalized statewide by law in 2004. Typically, Souls to the Polls is a bigger draw during November elections. But Black churches do make an effort to push parishioners to the polls during the August primary.

That is true this year as well, though its more complicated. While churches are allowed to open their doors in Miami-Dade and Broward counties, many have chosen to go virtual rather than risk an outbreak in their pews, making it more difficult to rally members or involve candidates.

People still have the fear of the virus, said Johnson.

But churches arent only relying on mail ballots and motorcades to get the vote out. Johnson, moderator of the Seaboard Missionary Baptist Association, said faith leaders are calling their church members and other pastors to encourage parishioners to participate in the election. He said part of the message to church members is to vote in honor of John Lewis, a prominent voting rights activist, Christian and Black congressman who died last month.

Even though he died, he still lives on through these various churches, said Johnson.

So far, through the first four days of early voting, the number of voters casting ballots in Miami-Dade County is actually greater than the number participating over the same period in 2018, so the novel coronavirus doesnt appear to have diminished in-person voting. Mail voting is also at a record pace.

The effectiveness of a new-look Souls to the Polls could be consequential for local races in Miami-Dade County, where roughly a quarter-million of the countys 1.5 million registered voters are non-Hispanic Blacks. Democrats, especially, are watching turnout, given that Black voters make up roughly a third of the registered Democrats in the county.

Candidates often visit churches and speak to congregations before they go to vote. This year, theyre hoping to set up video chats with pastors, and plan to appear in person to greet voters as they show up. In the race for county mayor, for instance, Alex Penelas is planning to be at the Miami Dade College North Campus Sunday to greet voters participating in the drive-thru Souls to the Polls.

Typically, what youd do is organize a bunch of people to go to church and from church theyd either walk  to an early voting site or drive from church, said Reggie Cardozo, a political consultant working with state Rep. Kionne McGhees run for County Commission District 9 in South Miami-Dade and Rep. Shevrin Jones state Senate District 35 campaign. Were trying to be creative with how we engage with members of the clergy and the faith community on that day.
Los Angeles, Aug 9 : Actor Robert Pattinson said he lied to filmmaker Christopher Nolan to make it to the screen test for superhero film, The Batman.

In an interview to Irish Times, Pattinson recalled his attempt to sneak away from "Tenet" set for his "Batman" audition. He said that he cited "family emergency" for his absence from the sets of "Tenet", but the filmmaker was quick to figure out the truth, reports ew.com.

"It's funny because Chris is so secretive about everything to do with his movies," Pattinson said, adding: "And then I had to be really secretive about Batman stuff. So I had to lie to Chris about having to go for a screen test a" I said I had a family emergency. And as soon as I said 'it's a family emergency' he said: "You're doing the Batman audition, aren't you?'" Nolan is known for putting his own spin on Batman with the "Dark Knight" trilogy.

Pattinson credits "Tenet" for helping him get in shape for the role of the caped crusader.

"When I'm running on screen I'm generally paired with John David (Washington) who is an ex-NFL player so it was the most unfair thing in the world. The maximum workout I do most of the time is a casual stroll. John David can run all day long. It was good that I ended up being pretty fit. But definitely, at the beginning, there were days I just could not walk afterwards," Pattinson said.

Nolan's "Tenet" has been described as "an action epic evolving from the world of international espionage". The second trailer of the film 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.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, Aug. 9

By Leman Zeynalova - Trend:

The Anglo-American Lydian International firm, as the business entity engaged in gold extraction, is causing a tremendous environmental contamination to the fresh-water resources in the Caucasus and depleting the natural resources of Armenian agriculture, soil, and subsoil, Peter M. Tase, the US expert in European and Latin American politics, told Trend.

"The people of Armenia have been condemned with the harmful toxic waste left behind from the companies that are extracting gold in their backyard, meanwhile government officials and politicians are growing wealthy thanks to the briberies received from a number companies engaged in mining (gold extraction) activities. This identical practice is also present in other countries and regions such as South America and Africa, where the environment is highly vulnerable, fresh water resources become scarce and local politicians suddenly open bank accounts in countries that are a fiscal paradise and favor money laundering schemes," noted Tase.

"Armenia is heavily dependent on Agriculture and pollution originated by mining companies is detrimental to its national economy and Gross Domestic Production," Tase stressed.

"Mining enterprises negatively affect the deposition rate of soil particles. What is considered fundamental is the fact that open cut mining removes the rare minerals closest to the surface which are easiest to extract, but also exposes to erosion, the largest area of the underlying soil," emphasized the expert.

"The unloading of 'soil residues can form unvegetated hills that are a source of leachate and sediments, which may end up in waterways. Alluvial mining typically occurs on floodplain terraces, these sediment-filled ponds may reduce re-establishment of vegetation, alter river channels, and expose soils to erosion," he said.

"Gold mining decreases water clarity and reduces visibility for water animals and fish seeking food and places to live. Mining damages fish gills (breathing apparatus under water) and destroy filter feeding apparatus of invertebrates," the expert said.

"The mining activities in Armenias Amulsar must be shot down immediately and Armenian government should explore other venues that ensure sustainable economic development, withdraw its armed forces from sovereign territory of Azerbaijan is the first step for Armenia to become an industrialized and economically sustainable nation," Tase stressed.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong delivered his National Day 2020 message at the Istana. (SCREENSHOT: Prime Minister's Office/YouTube)

SINGAPORE  While Singaporeans are not able to celebrate in their usual way amid COVID-19, they are determined to hold the National Day Parade as a symbol of unity as a nation, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Sunday (9 August).

Delivering his National Day message, Lee said a smaller Parade would be held at the Padang, along with ceremonies at seven other locations around the island this morning.

Each location will symbolise one aspect of our response to COVID-19  Providing medical care for Singaporeans at NCID; supporting our workforce with skills and jobs at the Lifelong Learning Institute; keeping learning going for our students at North Vista Secondary School; or sustaining our community spirit at Kampung Admiralty, he added.

With Singaporeans across the island and in far-flung lands joining the Parade virtually and celebrating with one another, they will share special moments like when the Red Lions land, the mobile column reaches the town areas, or the state flag is flown past, Lee said.

The COVID-19 crisis is far from over as Singapore braces for more economic difficulties ahead, according to Lee. The sharp increase in the number of COVID-19 cases, as seen in other countries, can happen to Singapore despite precautions being taken.

It will most likely take a year or two before a vaccine is widely available, and the threat of the virus is blunted...Business closures, retrenchments and unemployment are all likely to go up in the coming months, Lee said.

Singaporeans need to be resilient in the face of the severe economic downturn but Lee said it is not the first economic crisis they have experienced, such as the Asian Financial Crisis (1997-1998) and the Global Financial Crisis (2007-2009).

Each time the outlook was ominous, and we feared the worst, but each time we worked hard to secure our position, gritted our teeth, and came through together.

Various measures have been put in place such as the Jobs Support Scheme and Self-employed Person Income Relief Scheme to ease the economic burden and help Singaporeans find new jobs and skills.

Story continues

Lee expressed confidence that Singapore will get through this current crisis too, though it may take longer.

Heng Swee Keat, Deputy Prime Minister, Coordinating Minister for Economic Policies and Minister for Finance, Masagos Zulkifli, Minister for Social and Family Development and Second Minister for Health, and S Iswaran, Minister for Communications and Information, also delivered Lees National Day message in Mandarin, Malay and Tamil respectively.

Stay in the know on-the-go: Join Yahoo Singapore's Telegram channel at http://t.me/YahooSingapore

Other Singapore stories

On The Mic: Environmental lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic

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Turkey's resumed search for oil and gas in the eastern Mediterranean is "extremely worrying", the EU said Sunday after Greece and Egypt set up an exclusive economic zone in the region.

"Latest naval mobilisations in eastern Mediterranean... will lead to a greater antagonism and distrust," foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said, calling the development "extremely worrying".

"Maritime boundaries must be defined through dialogue and negotiations, not through unilateral actions and mobilisation of naval forces," Borrell said in a statement.

The discovery of vast gas reserves in the region in recent years has sparked a prospecting scramble by Greece, Turkey and Egypt as well as Cyprus and Israel.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced Ankara's resumption of operations on Friday, accusing arch-foe Greece of failing to keep its promises.

His comments came a day after Athens and Cairo signed an agreement to set up an exclusive economic zone in the region.

On Sunday, Borrell said "disputes must be solved in accordance with international law," adding that Brussels was "committed to help solving such disputes and disagreements in this area of vital security interest".

He added: "The present course of action will not serve the interests either of the European Union, or of Turkey. We have to work together for the security in the Mediterranean."

The deal between Greece and Egypt aimed to establish maritime boundaries between the two countries and appeared to be a direct response to a similar accord reached last November between Turkey and the UN-recognised government in Libya.

The agreement considerably enlarged Turkey's maritime territory and drew accusations from several countries, led by Greece, that Ankara was trying to assert its dominance in the region.

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Linkedin Andi Hajramuni (The Jakarta Post) Makassar  Sun, August 9, 2020 13:36 528 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a4066c9373b 1 National Child-sexual-abuse,sexual-abuse,sexual-abuse-victims,sexual-violence,sexual-violence-against-children,Makassar,South-Sulawesi,teacher Free

A 55-year-old male Qur'an teacher in Makassar, South Sulawesi, has been reported for allegedly sexually abusing his students.

Makassar Integrated Care Center for the Empowerment of Women and Children (P2TP2A) head Andi Tenri Pallalo said the office had received a total of five reports against the teacher, identified by the initials MP, from victims families so far.

We have been handling this case since last week. We are currently assisting and conducting assessment by psychologists because the victims are minors, Tenri said on Saturday.

She said the victims were girls aged 9 to 12 years old. The abuse came to light after one of the victims mothers became suspicious of why her daughter suddenly refused to go to class.

After being questioned, the girl said that she was molested by her teacher, Tenri said.

After the mother reported the alleged sexual abuse, other victims families came forward with similar allegations. Tenri said there may be other victims that have yet to file reports.

The Makassar Polices Women and Children Protection (PPA) division head Insp. Ismail said the police had received reports from three victims as of Saturday.

He said that according to the victims testimony, MP had sexually abused them during their Quran recitation lessons. The victims would be approached by the Quran teacher and then he would put his hands under their clothes and touch their private parts.

Ismail added, however, that MP had yet to be summoned for questioning, because police were still collecting evidence to strengthen the case.

We have been coordinating with the psychologist team of P2TP2A regarding the victims assessment results, he said. We have also been coordinating with the hospital for the physical examination and the collection of evidence. (trn)
As many Connecticut residents woke up to their sixth day without power Sunday, the states largest power supplier has said most of the state should see their power restored before midnight Tuesday, a week after Tropical Storm Isaias pounded the Northeast.

As of Sunday afternoon, about 136,000 Eversource customers remain without power, according to outage data provided by the company.

With more than 741,000 customers restored since the storm began, crews have made significant progress and we expect 90 percent of all of our customers will have power on Sunday evening, the utility company said in a tweet Saturday.

Speaking during a segment on CBS Face the Nation Sunday, Gov. Ned Lamont said out-of-state line crews had not been required to quarantine before coming to work in Connecticut.

No, were not quarantining them, theyre essential workers, were getting them back up on the poles as fast as we can, Lamont told host Margaret Brennan.

He said those workers are being tested for COVID-19.

We were hit hard by this tropical storm. We lost almost half our power across the state. Then you realize that means water treatment centers and nursing homes and a whole variety of real emergencies that have to be put out, Lamont said.

But were getting people tested and were fixing the wires. Number one, safety, we gotta get the electricity back up, he added.

United Illuminating, which provides electricity to 17 towns and cities in southern Fairfield and New Haven counties, said about 7,400 of its customers still remain without power.

Danbury, a city of a little under 85,000 residents in northern Fairfield county, tops the list for number of outages at 6,782, followed by the coastal town of Westport at 6,259 and the Hartford County town of Glastonbury at 5,900.

Danbury and Westport are expected to be substantially restored  meaning less than one percent of residents will be out of power  by midnight Tuesday, according to Eversource. Glastonbury is supposed to be restored by noon that day.

In Weston, Norfolk and Redding, more than 85 percent of Eversources customers still had no power as of Sunday morning, with nearly 95 percent out in Weston alone. (Fairfield, Shelton and North Branford had the highest percentage of outages by Eversource customers, but those communities are mostly served by UI, skewing the numbers).

Lamont said the expected restoration times should act as deadlines, for the utility company.

I expect and demand that Eversource act with urgency over the coming days, said Lamont, who has called for the states utilities regulatory agency to investigate Eversources handling of the storm.

On Saturday, the chairman of the state senates energy and technology committee called on Eversource CEO James Judge to resign over the companys response to the damage from Isaias.

As a business owner myself, I know accountability starts at the top, and Eversource CEO James J. Judge needs to be held accountable for his company's unacceptable preparation for, and reaction to, this storm. He should resign as CEO of Eversource. said state Sen. Norm Needleman, a Democrat whose district covers a dozen communities in southern central Connecticut.

U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal has also called for Judge to resign and for Eversource not to charge customers for storm cleanup costs.

Eversources spokesman did not address the charge that Judge should resign directly when reached for comment Sunday.

We recognize the tremendous impact the storm and resulting outages have had on customers across the state, Mitch Gross, a spokesman for the utility company said in a prepared statement.

As with all storms, we will participate in an after-action review with regulators and community stakeholders to evaluate our approach to emergency response efforts and storm restoration. But today were focused on one thing  doing everything we can do to restore power to our customers, he said.

In New Haven, Mayor Justin Elicker said repairs have brought outages down from 12,000 at their peak to 769 as of Sunday morning. The work meant 98.7 percent of the city now has power, Elicker said in a prepared statement.

Eleven crews from UI are currently working in the city.

We still have work to do and will continue until full restoration. Once all power is restored, we will transition to full debris removal from streets and sidewalks. I assure you, we will get back to normal, Elicker said.
Australia is still 18 months away from a COVID-19 vaccine they can access at their local GP - with the possibility looming an effective jab may never arrive.

The World Health Organisation warned this week the world may never have a 'silver bullet' for COVID-19 capable of completely neutralising the virus' spread.

Dean of Health Sciences at Melbourne's Swinburne University Professor Bruce Thompson told Daily Mail Australia there was no guarantee even a working vaccine would be effective at suppressing the virus.

'We're cautiously optimistic we're going in the right direction but we dont have actual proof that if you take this vaccine it will protect you and your symptoms are going to be way less than they are now,' he said.

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Masked pedestrians outside Sydney's Town Hall station on August 3. A leading Australian scientist has warned Australia may never get a 'silver bullet' vaccine which would immediately neutralise COVID-19

Two Australian research teams in Adelaide and at the University of Queensland are already at the clinical trial stage in the development of a COVID-19 vaccine - meaning they are testing their drug on humans.

Globally as of the end of July, there are 250 vaccine candidates and 30 at the human trial stage.

Professor Thompson said even if a viable sample was ready for September, it would be another prospect altogether to get it produced in enough quantity for the mass market.

'We're talking about the middle to the end of next year when we'll have a vaccine ready for your GP to give you,' he said.

'We need to start thinking about how we minimise the spread in other ways like through contact tracing.

'Through syndromic analysis we can start looking at how the virus is spreading through small areas and containing those outbreaks.

'You have to also consider the real possibility we dont ever have a effective vaccine  we may not have the silver bullet.'

A medical specialist wearing a protective suit opens a test kit at a rapid testing center in Vietnam. While the world waits for a mass-produced vaccine, rapid testing would allow Australians to find out their COVID results in 30 seconds at home

Scientists at the University of Queensland work on a vaccine candidate which has since progressed to human trials

The vaccine production process for COVID-19 is already being fast-tracked, with normal development timelines spanning as long as four years.

Professor Thompson said rapid testing - whereby Australians can turn around a COVID-19 test in 30 seconds at home much like a pregnancy test - and better treatment were other ways the government can suppress the virus' spread before a vaccine arrives.

'What we need to do is be ahead of the curve so we dont have to keep locking down like we are at the moment,' Professor Thompson said.

Last month, US wonder drug Remdisivir became the first major treatment to receive approval from the Australian government to treat the novel coronavirus.
MONTREALFor Politimi Karounis, August is usually spent buying new backpacks, pencils and notebooks for her two elementary school-aged children as they excitedly prepare to reunite with friends and teachers.

But this year, only weeks away from the first day of classes, Karounis said a sense of uncertainty prevails in her household around Quebecs plan to reopen all schools during the COVID-19 pandemic.

There is no perfect decision, but as a government, make a call, acknowledge peoples anxiety, acknowledge parents, and say: Listen, we hear you, heres what were going to do, Karounis, who lives in Montreals west end, said in a recent interview.

Karounis is among scores of parents across Quebec who are voicing their concerns around the governments intention for all students from pre-school through Grade 9 to physically return to classrooms at the end of the month.

She and other parents want schools to offer an option for remote learning, such as online courses. Others are asking for smaller class sizes, additional safeguards to prevent a COVID-19 outbreak, and more details about Quebecs plan should an outbreak occur.

A petition asking the government to revise its plan had garnered more than 16,700 signatures by Saturday afternoon.

Under Quebecs back-to-school strategy, which was unveiled in June and is expected to be updated on Monday, students across the province will physically go back to school full-time from pre-school to Grade 9.

The students will be divided into in-class bubbles of six, and each bubble will need to stay one metre apart from each other. Teachers will move between classrooms and maintain a two-metre distance from students.

For students in Grades 10 and 11, the current plan offers them the choice to go back full-time, or attend classes in-person one day out of two. School boards will be responsible for creating contingency measures should a COVID-19 outbreak occur.

Education Minister Jean-Francois Roberge said Aug. 6 he was working with Quebecs public health director, Dr. Horacio Arruda, and Health Minister Christian Dube to update the provinces plan. He is expected to hold a news conference on Monday afternoon to reveal details.

Anxious parents and teachers say they expect Roberge to offer clear guidelines governing how schools will address COVID-19 outbreaks. They are also looking for the government to address the issue of mask-wearing inside school buildings.

Marwah Rizqy, Opposition education critic with the Liberals, sent more than two dozen questions to Arruda in a public letter dated Aug. 3.

Is the mask mandatory? Are you going to test all the kids if you have only one case, or youre only going to test the kids from the same bubble? Rizqy said in a recent interview, about some of the outstanding questions that parents, teachers and lawmakers have.

I think parents have the right to know how theyre going to manage if theres COVID-19 inside the school. I think they have the right to know if there is a real health emergency protocol.

Heidi Yetman, president of the Quebec Provincial Association of Teachers, which represents 8,000 teachers at English-language school boards in the province, said her members are anxious because they feel like they cant adequately prepare for their students return.

The government closed elementary and high schools across Quebec in March when the pandemic began. High schools remained shuttered through the school year, while elementary classes outside the Montreal area reopened in May.

Theres this feeling in the air that were heading towards this big storm, Yetman said in a recent interview. She said a major concern is the governments plan to bring 100 per cent of students up to grade 9 back at once.

If we cram 36 students (into a class), even with the bubbles and the distancing ... were going to have more (COVID-19) cases, absolutely, and were going to have closures, she said.

High schools should remain at 50 per cent capacity, using alternating schedules, Yetman said. A six-student bubble may look good on paper but that system would be very, very difficult to manage, she added.

Yetman said the province should make masks mandatory for students aged 12 and up, provide additional cleaning supplies and portable hand-washing stations, and fund more mental health support services.

Quebec should also create a province-wide protocol in the case of COVID-19 outbreaks, and push the school start date after Labour Day to give teachers more time to prepare, Yetman said.

Julius Grey, a Montreal-based constitutional lawyer, said the province could face a lawsuit if it doesnt allow schools to offer remote learning.

Grey sent a letter on behalf of Karounis and three other parents to the government on Aug. 5, demanding a remote learning option and arguing the physical attendance requirement violates the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

There should be an alternative provided of remaining registered in the school and getting assistance from the school without physically going there, Grey said in a recent interview.

Karounis said she plans to keep her children at home because her mother, who often takes care of them, is immunocompromised and more susceptible to contracting COVID-19.

She said she hopes the education minister will listen to parents concerns and provide them with a distance learning option.

Were hopeful that the minister is going to take our concerns into consideration when elaborating the new plan, Karounis said.

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Students, faculty and staff in the University of California system will be required to get flu vaccinations before Nov. 1 as part of a new system-wide executive order, UC officials announced Friday.

The order was issued as the state continues to battle a surge of coronavirus cases.

UC officials described it as a proactive measure to help protect members of the UC community  and the public at large  and to ameliorate the severe burdens on health care systems anticipated during the coming fall and winter from influenza and COVID-19 illnesses.

The UC system already required students to be screened for tuberculosis and vaccinated for measles, mumps, rubella, chicken pox, meningococcus, tetanus and whooping cough.

A few other universities nationwide have enacted similar policies  Purdue University in Indiana, for example, decided in June to require people returning to campus to get the shot. The University of Miami and the University of Tennessee at Knoxville have also added flu vaccine requirements.

The UC systems medical plans will cover the vaccinations at no cost for students, faculty and staff who are enrolled in University of California medical plans, according to UC officials.

For those without group health care coverage, all (Affordable Care Act)-compliant health plans also cover flu vaccinations as part of a preventive care package that includes no co-pay, UC officials said.

The new requirement reflects an effort to avoid a potential surge of patients with the flu who seek care at clinics and hospitals across the state while local health departments are still grappling with the coronavirus, which shares a number of symptoms with flu. It also means that fewer people will have flu and COVID-19 at the same time, a combination that could potentially worsen their health outcome.

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.

Officials said they will soon release more information on how the new requirement will be implemented, and when the flu shot will be available.

People will be able to request medical exemptions, and a process will also be in place for requests to accommodate people with disabilities or religious needs, officials said.

Lauren Hernandez is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: lauren.hernandez@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @ByLHernandez
No new deaths related to the disease have been reported, leaving the death toll at 1,772 in the State.

Of the new cases, 41 are confirmed to be associated with outbreaks or are close contacts of a confirmed case, while 2 cases have been identified as community transmission.

There are 19 cases located in Kildare, 17 in Dublin, 15 in Offaly, 12 in Laois and five in Donegal. 82 per cent are under 45 years of age.

There are now a total of 26,712 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in the State.

Dr Ronan Glynn, acting chief medical officer, said: We continue to see cases linked to the outbreaks in counties where additional public health measures have been introduced. This was expected and we will continue to monitor closely.

From tomorrow face coverings will be mandatory in retail and other indoor settings like hairdressers, cinemas and museums. We know that most people are already wearing face coverings and we hope to see even greater uptake over the coming days.

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Time and again people have shown their willingness to follow public health guidance in the interest of protecting each other from this disease. Wearing a face covering is just one more way in which people can demonstrate their solidarity with one another as we seek to suppress the spread of Covid-19.

Midlands Lockdown

The figures come as the Midlands counties of Kildare, Laois and Offaly remain in local lockdowns amid a spike in Covid-19 cases linked to outbreaks in meat processing plants and direct provision centres.

Dr Philip Nolan of the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) has said it is "impossible" to know when the Midlands outbreaks will be brought under control: Theres a lot of people being tested right now. Wed expect to see quite a number of those tests come through positive.

So we do expect to see relatively high case counts for the coming days, and then its impossible to say when this will be wrestled back under control. It could be a matter of days, it could be significantly longer.

He said the three counties under lockdown are experiencing new infections at several multiples of the national average, far above the current national incidence of 16.3 infected people per hundred thousand population.

Kildare is at 130, so thats close to seven times the national average. Laois is at 70 per hundred thousand, Offaly at 90 per hundred thousand. Looking across the Dublin region with its much higher population, youre looking at an instance much closer to 10.
In battling the coronavirus crisis, which has left more than 158,000 Americans dead, many of the nations governors have disregarded the presidents nebulous recommendations, instead opting for what they believe is best for their residents. So have the nations schools, with many of the countrys largest districts preparing for distance learning when they reopen this fall, despite Trumps repeated calls for kids to return to classrooms in person. And the presidents own top public health officials are routinely contradicting him in public  offering grim, fact-based assessments of the raging virus in contrast to his own frequently rosy proclamations.
Kim Jong-un ordered the distribution of aid to the border city of Kaesong - KCNA via KNS

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has ordered the distribution of aid to the border city of Kaesong after the area was locked down last month to fight the coronavirus, state media said on Sunday.

Authorities raised the state of emergency to the maximum level for the city in July, saying they had discovered the country's first suspected virus case.

A train carrying goods arrived in the "totally blocked" city of Kaesong on Friday, the official KCNA news agency reported.

"The Supreme Leader has made sure that emergency measures were taken for supplying food and medicines right after the city was totally blocked and this time he saw to it that lots of rice and subsidy were sent to the city," it said.

Mr Kim had been concerned "day and night" about people in Kaesong as they continue their "campaign for checking the spread of the malignant virus", the report added.

Last month, Pyongyang said a defector who had left for South Korea three years ago returned on July 19 by "illegally crossing" the heavily fortified border dividing the two countries.

The man showed symptoms of coronavirus and was put under "strict quarantine", authorities said, but the North has yet to confirm whether he tested positive.

If confirmed, it would be the first officially recognised case of Covid-19 in North Korea, where medical infrastructure is seen as woefully inadequate to deal with any epidemic.

The nuclear-armed North closed its borders in late January as the virus spread in neighbouring China.

It imposed tough restrictions that put thousands of people into isolation, but analysts say the country is unlikely to have avoided the contagion.
Indias tally of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) jumped to more than 2.15 million on Sunday morning after 349,315 cases and 5,244 deaths were recorded in one week, according to the Union health ministrys data.

According to the health ministrys dashboard, there are 2,153,010 infections after 64,399 Covid-19 cases and 861 fatalities were reported from across the country between Saturday and Sunday morning. On Monday, there were 1,803,695 Covid-19 cases, including 38,135 deaths.

Click here for full Covid-19 coverage

Sunday saw a record one-day jump in the number of daily coronavirus disease cases even as more than 60,000 infections were reported for the third straight day. There were 61,537 cases on Saturday and 62,538 on Friday.

The health ministry dashboard showed there are more than 1.48 million people who have recovered from the viral disease as of Sunday morning, taking the recovery rate to 68.78%. It showed 53,877 people recovered in the last 24 hours.

There are 628,747 active cases and 43,379 death in the country so far.

In the last one month, Covid-19 Recovery Rate has shot up from 48.20% to 68.32%. Effective Clinical Management based on a Standard of Care approach has led to more patients recovering and lesser fatality, the health ministry said in a tweet on Sunday.

It also said Covid-19 testing in India has increased exponentially and that a new high of 7 lakh tests were done in the last 24 hours. Such high level of testing will also lead to a high number of daily positive cases, however, states have been advised to firmly focus on comprehensive tracking, prompt isolation and effective treatment, it added.

The Centre on Saturday advised 13 districts across eight states and a Union territory to focus on ramping up testing and addressing delays in diagnosis results, flagging that the Covid-19 case fatality rate in these regions was higher than the national average and that they contributed 14% of all deaths due to the disease in India.

At a meeting chaired by Union health secretary Rajesh Bhushan, the states were told to ensure adequate availability of ambulances, according to the Union health ministry.

The 13 districts are Kamrup Metro in Assam, Patna in Bihar, Ranchi in Jharkhand; Alappuzha and Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala, Ganjam in Odisha, Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh; North 24 Paraganas, Hooghly, Howrah, Kolkata and Maldah in West Bengal, and Delhi.

The districts account for 14% of all deaths due to Covid-19 in India, according to the Centres data.

According to data shared by the health ministry, India has reported one of the lowest Covid-19 mortalities compared to the total cases, with about 30 deaths per million population. The global average stands at 91 deaths per million population. The highest mortality rate has been reported by the United Kingdom with 684 deaths per million population, followed by the United States with 475 deaths per million.

Bhushan had held a similar meeting on Friday with 16 other districts in Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Karnataka reporting Covid-19 mortality higher than the national and states averages.
Canadas new back-to-school COVID-19 guidelines include many of the measures already adapted by the Ontario government, but go further urging a phased in return to class, face shields for teachers and Plexiglas dividers.

The federal document released Friday also suggests better ventilation for schools and moving classes outdoors where weather and space permit.

Those are in addition to distancing measures Ontario schools already plan to adopt such as reduced hallway traffic and non-medical masks for students and teachers.

The national guidelines recommend reduced room occupancy to allow for distancing, but there are no specifics about lowering class sizes.

Concerns about class sizes have been raised by Toronto Public Health officials. The issue is a key point of contention between Premier Doug Fords government and many parents and teachers. They fear that current elementary class sizes  in particular kindergarten and Grades 4-8 where classes can hit around 30 students  puts too many children and teachers in the same room.

Experts from the Hospital for Sick Children have also said they cannot support a plan where physical distancing is compromised by the number of students in a room.

Toronto District School Board (TDSB) chair Robin Pilkey said she has received emails from parents telling her that the board has a moral imperative to lower class sizes. But it cant be done without more money for teachers.

In some classrooms it will be fine and in some classrooms it will be problematic, she said.

Its a tricky position weve been put in and Im hoping the (provincial) government will reconsider this, said Pilkey.

Ontario has provided $30 million for about 300 additional teachers and boards have to apply for the funding on a case-by-case basis.

If we do get money for that we would likely put it in areas of the city that have a higher incidence of COVID so we can make those classes smaller, said Pilkey.

On Monday the board begins a pre-registration survey to determine how many children are coming back to school and plan class sizes and teacher placements accordingly. But Pilkey said its difficult for parents to say whether they want to send their kids back because they dont know what school will look like.

Youve got to wonder if thats part of the governments strategy  hoping people just wont come, she said.

Students that dont return will receive online instruction but it wont necessarily be taught by the teachers from their own school. The board hopes to use teachers who cant return to school because of their own health considerations to run lessons remotely, said Pilkey.

The TDSB already plans for teachers and students above Grade 4 to wear non-medical masks. While elementary classes will continue in as conventional a manner as possible, high school will lower class sizes by rotating students who will take turns going to school and have a modified quadmester program of learning where they focus on two courses at a time rather than the usual four.

There are no plans to build physical barriers that could be potentially isolating for children in modern classrooms that dont easily support divided desk configurations, said Pilkey. But if it was the only way to keep kids safe, it could be considered.

She said there is merit in looking at a phased-in start to the school year that would allow schools to see how things are working with smaller numbers in attendance. But that is a provincial decision and for now, everyone goes back on Sept. 8.

Decisions havent been made about face shields for teachers but it could be considered for staff that move from class to class. Pilkey said she couldnt see an objection if staff felt safest wearing them.

The federal document called, COVID-19 guidance for schools Kindergarten to Grade 8, is not prescriptive but designed to be used alongside provincial guidelines with local health conditions in mind, Canadas Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam said.

Given that physical distancing may not always be possible in school settings its important to layer multiple measures to reduce the risk of COVID-19 spread, she said.

Measures will vary across school settings and student populations.

The province has responded to some of school boards priorities such as personal protective and cleaning equipment, mental health, special education and training, said a statement from Cathy Abraham, president of the Ontario Public School Boards Association (OPSBA).

However, a number of school boards remain concerned about the lack of sufficient funding to reduce class sizes as recommended in the Sick Kids report, as well as the federal guidelines, she said.

Abraham said the association will continue to advocate for sufficient funding to make the return to school as safe as possible.

A spokesperson for Ontario Education Minister Stephen Lecce called the Ontario back-to-school plan a living document that is meant to adapt to scientific advice as it emerges.

We are proud to lead the nation in funding per student, an aggressive masking policy for Grades 4 to 12, hiring over 1,300 custodians and an additional cleaning funding, along with the hiring of 500 public health nurses to support student health in our schools, said Alexandra Adamo.

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Five men were shot, and a woman was stabbed outside a large house party in Brockton Saturday night.

A woman walked into the Brockton fire station on Main Street just before 10 p.m. Saturday and sought medical help, according to the Plymouth District Attorneys Office.

The woman had several stab wounds. She was given medical treatment, but refused further treatment and left the station, authorities said.

Police responded to the area and attempted to speak with the female victim, who was uncooperative, according to the district attorneys office.

The same victim later called the police and requested further medical help. She was taken to Good Samaritan Hospital.

Around 10:35 p.m., police received a ShotSpotter notification for gunshots in the area of Laureston Street. The gunshot-detection system notified police that at least six shots were fired.

When officers arrived, they found a large crowd in the yard at 124 Laureston St. Some people were also in the street.

Police learned five men had been shot and were taken to area hospitals.

Preliminarily, the investigation has found that 124 Laureston Street was rented and a large party occurred outside of the residence, authorities said. During the party, one female victim was stabbed and left the party.

None of the six victims are from Brockton.

Massachusetts State Police detectives and Brockton police continue to investigate the shootings and the stabbing.
Two former U.S. soldiers who participated in Operation Gideon, an act that aimed to overthrow the Venezuelan government, have been sentenced to 20 years in prison after admitting to the crimes, Venezuelan Attorney General Tarek William Saab announced on Twitter on Friday night.

Luke Alexander Denman, 34, and Airan Berry, 41, had "confessed to having committed the crimes of conspiracy, association, illicit trafficking in weapons of war and terrorism" over an attempted invasion, allegedly aimed at toppling President Nicolas Maduro, the prosecutor said.

Denman and Berry were captured in May along with six Venezuelan nationals in a boat carrying weapons off the coast of the central state of Aragua. Maduro claimed it was a plot to assassinate him and install opposition leader Juan Guaido in his place, and Caracas has accused U.S. President Donald Trump of being directly responsible for the raid, in which eight attackers were allegedly killed.

The Venezuelan leader has described the raid as a "remake" of the failed 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion, when Cuban exiles covertly financed and directed by the U.S. government attempted to overthrow then Cuban leader Fidel Castro.

Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro speaks during the country's Bolivarian National Guard anniversary ceremony in Caracas, Venezuela, August 4, 2020. /Reuters

But the United States has denied any involvement in the Venezuela incident. "If I wanted to go into Venezuela I wouldn't make a secret about it," Trump said in an interview with Fox News shortly after.

Maduro has also accused Guaido  who in January 2019 declared himself acting president in a direct challenge to Maduro's authority  of being Trump's accomplice in planning the invasion, a charge Guaido denies.

The U.S. army has confirmed that Denman and Berry are former members of the Green Berets who were deployed to Iraq. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has said the Trump administration would work to repatriate Denman and Berry. The U.S. will "use every tool that we have available to try to get them back," he told reporters in May.

(AFP)
15:34 | Lima, Aug. 3.

"Once the crisis is over, and in accordance with the country's long history of fiscal responsibility, it is essential to establish an orderly, gradual and credible consolidation process for the non-financial public sector's fiscal deficit, which will allow preserving the sustainability of public finances," he expressed.





The high-ranking official affirmed that this consolidation trajectory foresees an increase in permanent tax revenues that allows for a moderate expansion of public spending, so that an adequate provision of public goods and services remains in place.





The Cabinet chief mentioned that the fiscal strengths accumulated after several years of disciplined management have been essential to launching one of the most important economic plans in the region and in the history of the country with the purpose of facing the pandemic.





Fiscal rules





Furthermore, the Prime Minister indicated that in the current context characterized by high uncertainty fiscal rules were exceptionally and temporarily suspended in response to the health and economic crises caused by COVID-19





"Thus, once the pandemic has been overcome, the public finances management will aim to drive fiscal aggregates towards a path of sustainability in the medium term," he stated.





Cateriano also pointed out that this will make rebuilding the country's fiscal space possible in order to preserve the Peruvian State's response capacity to future adverse shocks, and to finance important reforms that increase the potential growth of the economy and the well-being of citizens





Therefore, he said, it should be noted that the expected fiscal path will consider the dissipation of the transitory measures approved in the context of the crisis.
90 Day Fiance star Andrei Castravet has never gotten along with his in-laws. But, on recent episodes of the fifth season of TLCs 90 Day Fiance: Happily Ever After, Andreis relationship with his wife Elizabeth Potthast Castravets relatives has spiraled more out of control than ever.

After Andrei and Elizabeth flew to Andreis home country of Moldova with their young daughter, Eleanor, for their second wedding, Elizabeths brother and father (Charlie and Chuck Potthast) followed suit.

Right away, the tension was palpable between Andrei and his in-laws as they questioned him about his pastfrom his time as a police officer in Moldova to his sudden move to Ireland after quitting his job as a detective.

In a new sneak peek of an upcoming episode of 90 Day Fiance: Happily Ever After, Andrei and Charlie nearly came to blows after a night of drinking and dinner with Andreis friends and family. And Elizabeth wasnt happy, calling her husbands behavior out-f*cking-rageous.

Andrei Castravet, baby Eleanor, and Elizabeth Potthast Castravet | Elizabeth Potthast Castravet via Instagram

Andrei pushed his wife to ask her family members to leave Moldova

In a 90 Day Fiance sneak peek, things got more heated than ever between Andrei and his in-laws. After Chuck and Charlie asked Andrei one too many questions about his past, Andrei blew up and told Elizabeths brother he wanted to take things outside.

Charlie was only too happy to obligeissuing several threats to Andrei himselfand the angry pair of men scuffled and shoved each other before being pulled apart by Andreis wife, brother, and friends.

After Charlie and Andrei sat back down, they continued to trade insults and engage in some name-calling and vague threats. Elizabeth insisted they were both at fault, while both her husband and brother seemed to want her to take their side.

Meanwhile, Elizabeths dad wondered if this display of temper was his real son-in-law.

This is a real eye-opening experience for me, to see him in his home country, and hes finally being himself, Chuck told Andreis friends. Is this the real Andrei, or did I know a different Andrei for two years back in America?

Andrei, still seething, made it clear that he wanted Chuck and Charlie to leave. He ordered his wife to tell them to pack their bags and go back to the U.S., but she refused.

The fact is, Im not just gonna tolerate bulls*it here at the table, Andrei told his brother- and father-in-law. Youre not welcome at the table if youre gonna talk s*it.

Ill sit here all day and talk s*it, Charlie retorted angrily.

RELATED: 90 Day Fiance: Andrei Demands That Elizabeth Send Her Family Back to the U.S. in New Sneak Peek

RELATED: 90 Day Fiance: Fans Speculate That Elizabeth Potthasts Family Is Trying to Get Their Own Spinoff

Elizabeth said Andrei and Charlies fight ruined the night

Finally, Elizabeth decided that she and Andrei should head home in order to avoid yet another argument.

Im not gonna sit here and listen to you fight with my family, the 90 Day Fiance star told her husband. Elizabeth had often taken a backseat in the past while Andrei argued with her family memberseven taking his side much of the timebut she finally appeared to reach her limit.

This night is ruined, the visibly shaken 29-year-old told 90 Day Fiance producers. Andrei has been drinking, and hes treating my family this way. Its just not okay. Im so exhausted, and Im so over all the f*cking negativity. Were here to come together and enjoy each others time, and hes just making it worse.

But Elizabeths father took her decision to leave as an insult to him as a guest in Moldova, especially because he was paying for the couples upcoming second wedding.

Thats it? Youre gonna leave us with your friends and your brother and walk out of the restaurant p*ssed off? Chuck challenged Andrei and Elizabeth. Not a good move.

Thanks for having us! Charlie added sarcastically as his sister and brother-in-law stormed out of the restaurant.

Classless, Chuck quipped.

The 90 Day Fiance star called her husband out for his aggressionbut their problems werent over

Although Elizabeth rarely defended herself when it came to arguments with Andrei, she made her feelings very clear as she and her husband headed to their car. The new mom criticized her husband for humiliating her and ruining the evening with his temper.

Your behavior is out-f*cking-rageous, Elizabeth told Andrei in no uncertain terms. Outrageous. Who behaves like that in front of all those people? Thats f*cking embarrassing!

Andrei interrupted his wife to say something about her behavior, but Elizabeth wasnt having it anymore. Clearly fed up, the 90 Day Fiance star began to lay into her husband like never before.

Me? Youre seriously not gonna say you, you, you right now, Elizabeth exclaimed angrily. You just almost freaking fought my brother. Like, what is wrong with you?

Andrei suddenly turned and began to spring back to the restaurant, clearly bent on having it out with Elizabeths brother physically once and for all.

Come on. Im gonna f*ck him up. Im telling you, he yelled as he pulled at the restaurant door.

Elizabeth tried to yank her husband away and convince him not to fight her brother as the preview clip came to an end.

Babe. Youre not fighting my brother, she cried in desperation. Youre insane!
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-08 21:57:29|Editor: huaxia

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The logo of TikTok is displayed on the screen of a smartphone on a computer screen background in Arlington, Virginia, the United States, Aug. 3, 2020. (Xinhua/Liu Jie)

"The actions of the U.S. authorities run counter to the basic principles of a free market economy and violate rules of the World Trade Organization," Zakharova said.



MOSCOW, Aug. 8 (Xinhua) -- U.S. efforts to clamp down on popular short video-sharing app TikTok are an "egregious" example of unfair economic competition for U.S. dominance in the international information space, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said Saturday.

"The actions of the U.S. authorities run counter to the basic principles of a free market economy and violate rules of the World Trade Organization," Zakharova said in a commentary posted on the foreign ministry's website.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday issued an executive order banning any U.S. transactions with Chinese tech firm ByteDance, owner of TikTok, starting 45 days from then.

Washington has also threatened to ban TikTok's business in the United States if it is not sold to a U.S. company before Sept. 15.

These restrictions have violated a wide range of Washington's international obligations to ensure the free and wide distribution of information, the free choice of its sources, and to encourage cooperation in this area, Zakharova said.

She said that Moscow is calling on Washington to reconsider its methods to preserve the monopoly of U.S. IT giants in international social networks and ensure they meet generally accepted values and international legal norms.

"We hope that specialized international structures and human rights organizations will react appropriately and give an impartial assessment of these actions," she added. 
(Natural News) Whats the best way to destroy the civil society? If you answered something to the effect of, Get rid of all deterrents to crime and unrest, youd be correct.

Humans are, by our very nature, aggressive and prone to take advantage of certain situations. But as our societies matured, they were also allowed to flourish because we made them civil.

How so? By building institutions like police departments, court systems, and places to put lawbreakers as punishment  the latter an inducement not to break the law again or to keep dangerous people out of the civil society.

But in recent months, Leftist Marxists have sought to capitalize on the death of George Floyd to implement a strategy theyve been planning since the days of Barack Obama: Anarchy that will lead to a massive change in the way Americans are governed (and most of us wont like it).

The plan is being implemented in cities where Leftist Marxists dominate  like Portland, Ore., Minneapolis, Minn., and Seattle, Wash., the latter of which is about to get rid of all police, all jails, and all juvenile detention facilities.

The Epoch Times reports:

Seattle, Washington, has been laying out plans to abolish its police department as the wider county lays out a path to getting rid of the regions largest jail and abolish juvenile detention.

The city plans to replace the police department with a civilian led Department of Community Safety & Violence Prevention, according to a resolution published last week.

A majority of the City Council has endorsed defunding the department, though latest developments suggest at least a slowdown of the plan.

In addition to ditching the police department, King County, where Seattle is located, is planning to get rid of all youth detention facilities by 2025, while the city and county both plan to phase out jails and detention facilities.

Rational people dont think these are good ideas, but nobody has accused the lunatics running the Emerald City of being rational people. The notion that touchy-feely violence prevention people can successfully intervene in a violent criminal act (murder, bank robbery, strong-armed robbery, fighting with deadly weapons, etc.) is complete idiocy.

And in fact, Seattle residents with all of their faculties were reminded just how prone to failure such policies are: The recently-dismantled CHOP zone, which became a deadly shooting gallery within a month of its creation.

This is the same zone where residents had to beg for food from the outside world just days after it was set up because homeless people stole it all.

Getting rid of all of the institutions weve built over the past 100 years to become the most successful, wealthiest country in the history of the world just isnt sane. But if youre trying to create chaos so that you can launch a revolution that will change our founding form of government into something else, you have to create violence and anarchy in order to do it.

Thats really what this Seattle experiment is all about.

Meanwhile, Seattle has had a growing violence problem. Violent crime is up more than 40 percent between 2008 and 2019, particularly aggravated assaults, which have nearly doubled, police department data shows, The Epoch Times notes further.

Despite the economic shutdown this year, violent crime numbers are keeping pace with last year, according to data from July 8. Burglaries are up by 23 percent, arson by 85 percent, likely due to regular protests and riots that have often included vandalizing property, the outlet notes further.

And now, theyre going to kill off the police.

Again, these stats ought to be stiff reality checks for sane, rational leaders who claim to want to serve and protect the citizens who elected them.

But theyre being ignored, which means that has to be on purpose.

If you live in Seattle, get out. If you stay, good luck.

Sources include:

TheEpochTimes.com

NaturalNews.com
Vietnam confirmed 31 coronavirus infections, more than half in the epicenter Da Nang, and one virus-related death on Sunday.

All the new cases were traced back to Da Nang, a touristy city on the central coast that began emerging as an outbreak hotbed late last month, the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control said.

Nineteen of the patients were recorded in the coastal city, eight in neighboring Quang Nam Province, two in Quang Tri Province, one in Hanoi, and one in Bac Giang Province.

A 55-year-old COVID-19 patient was pronounced dead on Sunday, taking the death toll to eleven.

She had a history of high blood pressure.

Vietnam has documented 841 coronavirus cases as of Sunday night, of which 317 were imported and 395 have beaten the virus.

The dead, except the latest fatality, all had severe underlying conditions.

The number of domestic infections linked to Da Nang has hit 384 since July 25, when the touristy city logged Vietnam's first locally-transmitted case after 99 days.

The pathogen has spread to 14 other provinces and cities in Vietnam since.

A total of 178,695 people who were in close contact with detected patients or entered the Southeast Asian country from outbreak-stricken regions are being quarantined when this story goes to press.

Over 19.8 million people have gone down with COVID-19 around the world, with above 12.7 million having recovered from the disease, according to statistics.

The virus has killed more than 730,000 people globally.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
Masks during class, masks only in the halls, no masks at all. Distance when possible, no distance within same-grade groups, no distance at all.

As Germany's 16 states start sending millions of children back to school in the middle of the global coronavirus pandemic, the country's famous sense of Ordnung has given way to uncertainty, with a hodgepodge of regional regulations that officials acknowledge may or may not work. There can't, and never will be 100% certainty, said Torsten Kuehne, the official in charge of schools in Pankow, Berlin's most populous district ...
UK logs more than 1,000 new cases; US infections surpass 5 million; nearly 200 doctors in India affected.

Greece reported 203 new cases, its highest daily tally since the start of the outbreak in the country.

The United States has set a record for coronavirus cases, with more than five million people now infected, according to a Reuters tally, as the countrys top infectious diseases official offered hope earlier this week that an effective vaccine might be available by years end.

Chiles coronavirus deaths have surpassed 10,000 deaths with over 373,000 confirmed cases.

Nearly 200 doctors in India have died after contracting COVID-19, the India Medical Association reported.

At least 19.7 million people around the world have been diagnosed with COVID-19, while the global death toll crossed 728,000. More than 11.9 million have recovered.

Here are the latest updates:

Sunday, August 9

20:40 GMT  NY governor calls Trump benefits executive order laughable

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo dismissed President Donald Trumps executive orders as laughable and another chapter in the federal governments botched response to the coronavirus as he praised New Yorkers for mostly good behaviour that has reduced the infection rate in his state.

The Democrat was particularly critical of Trumps Saturday announcement that states must pay part of $400 weekly unemployment insurance benefits.

He told a telephone news conference that Trumps plan would likely cost New York state $4bn.

20:30 GMT  Death toll in Chile surpasses 10,000

Chiles coronavirus deaths have crossed 10,000 with over 373,000 confirmed cases, as Latin America continues to be the epicentre of the COVID-19 pandemic.





20:05 GMT  Bolsonaro assails Brazil network blaming him for virus deaths

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro lambasted the cowardice of the countrys most widely viewed TV network for suggesting he bore heavy blame for the nations more than 100,000 coronavirus deaths.

The far-right president accused TV Globo of treating the death milestone as if it were a World Cup final, saying on Twitter that it had been both cowardly and disrespectful of the dead.

On Saturday night, shortly after the official announcement that the 100,000-death mark had been passed, TV Globo opened its news report with a long editorial highly critical of Bolsonaros handling of the health crisis.

Bolsonaro in a tweet said disinformation kills more than the virus [FIle: Adriano Machado/Reuters]

19:32 GMT  Jeweler makes $1.5m gold coronavirus mask

An Israeli jewellery company is working on what it says will be the worlds most expensive coronavirus mask, a gold, diamond-encrusted face covering with a price tag of $1.5m.

The 18-karat white gold mask will be decorated with 3,600 white and black diamonds and fitted with top-rated N99 filters at the request of the buyer, said designer Isaac Levy.

Levy, owner of the Yvel company, said the buyer had two other demands: that it be completed by the end of the year, and that it would be the priciest in the world. That last condition, he said, was the easiest to fulfil.

19:10 GMT  Opinion: The coronavirus betrays Netanyahu

Not long ago, I wrote an opinion piece for Al Jazeera English, suggesting that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will go down in history as the first leader who owes his seat to a virus.

Indeed, in April, it was the public fear of the pandemic that made Blue and White alliance leader Benny Gantz violate his election promise to voters not to form a coalition with Netanyahu.

The incumbent prime minister had used the military call for everyone to get under the stretcher to urge his political rivals to join forces with him in defeating the common viral enemy.

Read more here.

A protester holds a sign depicting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a protest against him outside the prime minister residence in Jerusalem [Oded Balilty/AP]

18:43 GMT  Georgia school with large crowds reports positive cases

A total of nine students and staff members at a Georgia high school have tested positive for the coronavirus, the principal said in a letter to parents after the school made headlines for online photos showing hallways packed with teens  many of them not wearing masks.

Principal Gabe Carmona wrote Saturday that six students and three staff members at North Paulding High School west of Atlanta tested positive for COVID-19.

Georgia has over 197,000 coronavirus cases and more than 4,000 deaths.

18:15 GMT  Over 2,700 cases have no identifiable source  Victoria premier

The premier of Australias Victoria state says more than 2,700 active cases have no known source and remain the primary concern of health authorities.

Victoria saw a welcome drop in its new COVID-19 cases with 394 but a record 17 deaths, including two people in their 50s. It took the hard-hit states toll to 210 and the Australian total of deaths to 295.

Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews said confirmed cases also include almost 1,000 health care workers.





17:45 GMT  Nearly 1800 UK companies informed govt of plans to cut jobs  BBC

The number of British companies planning to cut staff numbers in June was five times higher than in the same month a year earlier, in an ominous sign of COVID-19s economic impact.

Figures obtained by the BBC show that 1,778 companies informed the government of plans to cut a total of 139,000 jobs. A year earlier, the figure was 345 companies announcing a total of 24,000 job losses.

Businesses are required to inform the Insolvency Service if they plan to cut 20 or more jobs.

17:10 GMT  Greece registers highest daily tally of COVID 19 cases

Greece reported 203 new cases of COVID-19, its highest daily tally since the start of the outbreak in the country, a government official said.

The latest jump in cases brings the total number of infections in the country to 5,623 since its first infection surfaced in late February.

Greece has recorded 211 deaths to date, according to Johns Hopkins University [File: Petros Giannakouris/AP]

16:50 GMT  Nearly 200 doctors dead from coronavirus  medical association

The Indian Medical Association says 196 doctors have died of COVID-19 so far and, in an open letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, requested adequate care for physicians and their families.

The Health Ministry recorded nearly 64,000 new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours for a total of 2,153,010. At least 628,747 patients are still undergoing treatment.

India also recorded 861 fatalities, driving the death toll to 43,379.

16:25 GMT  Daily tally of virus cases in Italy leaps higher

Italys tally of daily new COVID-19 cases leaped higher, with 463 cases, according to health ministry figures.

Many of the latest cases have been found in young people returning from holidays abroad.

Italys day-to-day new caseload had previously soared far above 500 confirmed infections, but the number had dropped to 347 on Saturday, more in line with numbers of the past few weeks.

15:59 GMT  Arrests after scuffles on beach in Belgium town

A Belgian seaside town closed access to tourists after arrests were made on Saturday following fights on a beach.

Local reports in Blankenberge say its mayor Daphne Dumery had made the decision after police battled with those refusing to follow social distancing rules.

On Saturday, Belgian broadcaster VTM covered the heavy police presence in the coastal town and showed footage of arrests being made.

15:25 GMT  UKs COVID-19 daily infections rise to highest level since June

The United Kingdom reported 1,062 new positive tests for coronavirus, the highest daily rise in new COVID-19 infections since late June, at a time of new local lockdowns in some areas and worries over a second wave of infections.

Official data showed 1,062 people tested positive for COVID-19 on Sunday, above the 1,000 new daily cases mark for the first time since June, and 304 higher than the 758 new cases reported on Saturday.

14:50 GMT  Brazil coronavirus deaths urged to be investigated

Oxfam Brazil has urged that an official investigation into Brazils coronavirus deaths, which surpassed 100,000 on Saturday, be conducted.

This is a shameful day for Brazil. We can no longer witness our governments lack of action in the face of mass coronavirus death. We stand in solidarity with other Brazilian organizations in invoking the power of law to intervene and hold this government to account, said Katia Maia, executive director of Oxfam Brazil, in a news release.

Oxfam Brazil and the Brazilian Institute of Consumer Protection (IDEC) petitioned the Federal Public Prosecutors Office and the Public Prosecutors Office of the Federal Court of Accounts on July 28 to investigate the countless flaws in the Jair Bolsonaro-led governments response, the statement said.

14:24 GMT  US hits five million COVID-19 cases: Johns Hopkins

The United States has registered more than five million cases in the coronavirus pandemic, as well as at least 162,000 deaths as the country struggles to control the disease, according to Johns Hopkins University.

Polls have shown a large majority of voters unhappy with President Donald Trumps handling of the crisis, ahead of the November election that could see him ousted from office.

13:58 GMT  LA County coronavirus hospitalisations continue to decline

Los Angeles County public health officials on Saturday reported 2,645 new cases of the coronavirus and 51 related deaths but said hospitalisations continue to decline.

The latest case numbers did not include a pending backlog of lab reports the county is expecting the state to send via its electronic reporting system over the next couple of days, officials said.

It is not clear whether that will change the overall picture of how rapidly the virus continues to spread.

Still, officials said, death and hospitalisation statistics were not affected by the reporting glitch, which has rendered new case numbers inaccurate.





Hello, this is Usaid Siddiqui in Doha taking over from my colleague Shereena Qazi.

12:34 GMT  Malawi cracks down on alarming virus surge

Malawi shut bars and churches in new restrictions to limit the alarming spread of coronavirus, three months after a court blocked the government from imposing a full lockdown.

200401081427251

Since the first positive case was detected on April 2, confirmed cases have nearly doubled over the past four weeks to hit over 4,624, including 143 deaths as of Saturday.

Malawi had not been placed under a lockdown after a court in April blocked the government from enforcing a full lockdown because it had failed to announce any measures to cushion the vulnerable.

11:35 GMT  Vietnam reports 31 new COVID-19 cases, one death

Vietnams health ministry reported 31 new COVID-19 cases and an additional death, taking the countrys total tally to 841, with 11 fatalities.

All of the new cases are linked to the central city of Danang, where the new outbreak began late last month, the ministry said in a statement.

There have been 355 cases since the virus resurfaced in Danang, with 11 deaths. Coronavirus infections have since been detected in at least 15 locations in Vietnam.

10:50 GMT  North Korea brings aid supplies to border town under lockdown

North Koreas governing party has delivered special aid packages of food and medical equipment to residents of Kaesong, near the border with South Korea, after imposing a lockdown there due to COVID-19 concerns, state media said.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un declared an emergency and imposed a lockdown on the small border town last month after a person, who defected to South Korea in 2017, returned to Kaesong across the highly fortified border showing coronavirus symptoms.





Pyongyang has not confirmed any coronavirus infections but has been taking strict quarantine measures and screening the town, while providing food, test kits and other medical equipment, according to state media.

South Korea has confirmed 14,598 coronavirus cases and 305 COVID-19 deaths, the Korea Centers for Disease Prevention and Control said on Sunday.

09:55 GMT  Coronavirus cases emerge at second mine in Papua New Guinea

The novel coronavirus has been detected at a second mine in Papua New Guinea, after an employee at the Lihir Mine owned by Newcrest Mining Ltd tested positive for the disease.

The 30-year-old male, who flew in from Port Moresby at the end of July, is among 26 confirmed cases reported by the National Pandemic Control Centre in the capital Port Moresby.

The island nation has now reported a total of 214 coronavirus cases and three deaths.

09:40 GMT  UK PM says schools must open in September

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said reopening schools in September was a social, economic and moral imperative and insisted they would be able to operate safely despite the ongoing threat from the pandemic.





His comments follow a study earlier this month which warned that Britain risks a second wave of COVID-19 this winter twice as large as the initial outbreak if schools open without an improved test-and-trace system.

Johnson said restarting schools was a national priority. Schools would be the last places to close in future local lockdowns, he was quoted by another newspaper as telling a meeting on Thursday.

07:35 GMT  Deadly fire at coronavirus facility in south India

At least 11 coronavirus patients were killed by a fire at a southern Indian hotel being used as a COVID-19 facility, officials said, in the second such incident this month.

The blaze at Hotel Swarna Palace in the city of Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh state, broke out at 5am local time (23:30 GMT Saturday).

Rescue teams evacuated those trapped in the multi-storey building, according to senior police officer Srinivasulu, who uses only one name.

At least 22 people had been brought to hospitals, he said.

Read more here

05:33 GMT  New Zealand records 100 days without domestic virus case

New Zealanders have returned to normal life, but authorities are concerned that people were now refusing testing, not using the government contact tracing apps, and even ignoring basic hygiene rules [Mark Baker/AP]

New Zealand marked 100 days without a domestic transmission of the coronavirus on Sunday, but warned against complacency as countries like Vietnam and Australia which once had the virus under control now battle a resurgence in infections.

New Zealands successful fight against COVID-19 has made the Pacific island nation of five million one of the safest places in the world right now, Reuters News Agency reported.

New Zealanders have returned to normal life, but authorities are concerned that people were now refusing testing, not using the government contact tracing apps, and even ignoring basic hygiene rules.

Achieving 100 days without community transmission is a significant milestone, however, as we all know, we cant afford to be complacent, Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield warned.

New Zealand has 23 active cases in managed isolation facilities, and had 1,219 COVID-19 cases overall.

05:24 GMT  Qatar posts 97.15 percent coronavirus recovery rate

Qatar has posted a 97.15 percent recovery rate out of its 112,650 coronavirus cases, according to the Johns Hopkins University tally.

Of that total number of cases, 109,438 cases have recovered, with 182 total deaths as of Sunday.

04:51  Saudi Arabia records 1,467 new coronavirus cases

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has recorded 1,467 new coronavirus cases, pushing the total number of infections in the country to 287,262.

Al Arabiya quoted the health ministry as saying on Sunday that 37 people have died from the disease, bringing the death toll nationwide to 3,130.

A total of 250,440 of the patients have recovered, according to the report.

04:15 GMT  Singapore marks 55th National Day amid the coronavirus pandemic

A gun fires during a gun salute at the National Day Parade, amid the coronavirus disease outbreak, in Singapore on Sunday [Edgar Su/Reuters]

Singapore marked its 55th National Day on Sunday, with Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong calling for unity and resilience to fight the coronavirus pandemic.

In his speech, Lee warned the pandemic is far from over and that the number of cases in the country can still rise despite all our precautions.

Amid the health scare, Singapore Airforce (RSAF) planes flew past the city, and the review guard fired their guns in a salute to the nation.

Singapore has more than 54,000 cases and 27 deaths. At least 48,500 of the patients have recovered.

03:30 GMT  Germanys confirmed coronavirus cases rise by 555 to 215,891

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany increased by 555 to 215,891, Reuters news agency reported on Sunday quoting data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases.

The reported death toll rose by one to 9,196, the tally showed.

03:00 GMT  South Korea reports 36 new COVID-19 cases

Medical residents attend a 24-hour strike in Seoul amid the coronavirus disease pandemic to protest against a government plan to increase medical school admissions by 400 a year for the next decade [Yonhap via Reuters]

South Koreas new coronavirus cases inched up to 36, with 30 local infections, raising the total numver to 14,598, Yonhap news agency reported on Sunday quoting the countrys health agency.

The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said that of the new locally transmitted cases, 25 were reported in densely populated Seoul and nearby metropolitan areas, where around half of the countrys 50-million population resides.

The country reported one more coronavirus-related death, brining the total to 305.

The number of patients fully cured of the virus reached 13,642, up 13 from the previous day, representing 93.45 percent of the total cases.

02:22 GMT  China reports 23 new COVID-19 cases in mainland

China has reported 23 new coronavirus cases in the mainland as of the end of August 8, down from 31 a day earlier, Reuters news agency reported on Sunday quoting the countrys health authority.

Among the new cases, 15 were locally transmitted and eight were imported infections, the National Health Commission said in a statement published on its website.

Some 45 people were discharged on Saturday and there are still 817 active cases in the country, including 43 severe cases.

The total number of infections in mainland China now stands at 84,619, with the death toll unchanged at 4,634.

01:45 GMT  Mexico stops bleeding jobs during pandemic, president says

Mexico has started getting people back to work again in August after losing 1.1 million formal jobs between March and July due to the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic, Reuters news agency reported quoting President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.

Weve stopped losing jobs, Lopez Obrador said in a video posted on YouTube. So far in August almost 15,000 new jobs have been created.

Citing data from Mexicos Social Security Institute, Lopez Obrador said 1.1 million formal jobs were lost between March and July, with the nadir in April with some 555,000 losses. That slowed to 3,900 formal job losses in July, he said.

The bulk of Mexicans work in the informal economy, and they have borne the brunt of job losses triggered by the pandemics effects on Latin Americas second-largest economy.

Health workers ride a boat on a canal in Xochimilco on their way to collect samples door-to-door to test for COVID-19 in Mexico City [Eduardo Verdugo/AP]

01:15 GMT  Mexicos coronavirus death tally exceeds 52,000, cases above 475,900

Mexicos health ministry has reported 6,495 new confirmed coronavirus infections and 695 additional fatalities, bringing the total in the country to 475,902 cases and 52,006 deaths, according to Reuters news agency.

Officials have said the real number of infected people is likely significantly higher than the confirmed cases.

Mexico has the third highest coronavirus death tally globally, behind the United States and Brazil.

00:05 GMT  US sets record as coronavirus cases top 5 million

The United States set a record for coronavirus cases on Saturday, with more than five million people now infected, according to a Reuters tally, as the countrys top infectious diseases official offered hope earlier this week that an effective vaccine might be available by years end.

With one out of every 66 residents infected, the US leads the world in COVID-19 cases, according to a Reuters analysis. The country has also recorded more than 160,000 deaths, nearly a quarter of the worlds total.

The latest development comes as President Donald Trump signed executive orders intended to provide economic relief to Americans hurt by the coronavirus pandemic after the White House failed to reach a deal with Congress.

00:01 GMT  Brazil coronavirus death toll hits 100,000

Brazils coronavirus deaths have surpassed 100,000 deaths five months after the first reported case in a sign that the country has not contained the deadly disease.

The nation of 210 million people has been reporting an average of more than 1,000 daily deaths from the pandemic since late May and reported 905 for the latest 24-hour period.

The health ministry said there had been a total of 3,012,412 confirmed infections with the new coronavirus  death and infection tolls second only to the US. As in many nations, experts believe that both numbers are severe undercounts due to insufficient testing.

________________________________________________________________

Hello and welcome to Al Jazeeras continuing coverage of the coronavirus pandemic. Im Ted Regencia in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

For all the key developments from yesterday, August 8, go here.
Vietnam has confirmed 29 new coronavirus cases and another fatality of the disease, all closely tied to Da Nang outbreak, the Ministry of Health said in its August 9 update at 18.00hrs.

19 cases aged 7 to 85 were registered in Da Nang City, the epicenter of the outbreak. They include 8 people who had close contact with COVID-19 patients, 3 patients given treatment at Da Nang Hospital, three caregivers, a medical worker, a servant, along with three others.

Meanwhile, Quang Nam and Quang Tri provinces recorded eight and two cases respectively. Most of them had contact with COVID-19 patients and were patient caregivers.

The same day, the Ministry of Health reported another COVID-19 fatality in Hue. According to the ministry, the 55-year-old woman, a resident of Da Nang city, died of the acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and the coronavirus.

The patient tested positive for the virus on July 29 and was transferred to Central Hue Hospital the following day.

On August 7, her condition deteriorated and the patient completely relied on mechanical ventilation, continuous dialysis and ECMO, a life support machine. Two days later, she passed away after suffering severe hypotension, gastrointestinal bleeding, and circulatory respiratory arrest.

As of 18.00hrs August 9, Vietnam has confirmed 841 coronavirus cases, including 384 cases detected in the community following the recurrence of the virus in Da Nang city on July 25.

The latest coronavirus outbreak has spread to 15 cities and provinces across three regions of the country. Da Nang topped the list with 265 cases, followed by Quang Nam (75) and Ho Chi Minh City (8).

11 fatalities have been reported since the outbreak started in Da Nang.

VOV
An approved coronavirus vaccine could end up being effective only 50-60% of the time, meaning public health measures will still be needed to keep the pandemic under control, Anthony Fauci, the top US infectious diseases expert, has said.

We dont know yet what the efficacy might be. We dont know if it will be 50% or 60%. Id like it to be 75% or more, Fauci said in a webinar hosted by Brown University on Friday. But the chances of it being 98% effective is not great, which means you must never abandon the public health approach.

Lockdown measures imposed to keep the virus from spreading have devastated the economy, which suffered its biggest blow since the Great Depression in the second quarter, with gross domestic product dropping at its steepest pace in at least 73 years.

The coronavirus has infected nearly 5 million people in the US and killed more than 160,000, making it the worst-affected country in the world.

Also read: United States sets record as coronavirus cases top 5 million

Latin America and the Caribbean surpassed Europe on Friday to become the region hardest-hit with 213,120 fatalities Over the last week, 44% of global fatalities - 18,300 out of 41,500 - occurred in the region.

Brazil approaches 100,000 Covid-19 deaths

Rio de Janeiro is approaching the grim milestone of 100,000 deaths from Covid-19. The country has reported an average of more than 1,000 daily deaths from the pandemic since late May.

The health ministry on Friday reported a total of 2,962,442 confirmed cases and 99,572 deaths - tolls second only to the US.
Kerala continues to be pounded by heavy rains, which have triggered floods and landslides in the past few days. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued red alert for heavy rainfall for five districts in the state.

Meanwhile, the death toll in the massive landslide, which occurred on Friday and flattened a row of 20 houses of tea estate workers in Idukki district climbed to 28 on Sunday.

As per the district administration, more than 40 people are still missing. The authorities gave pressed sniffer dogs into service to locate bodies.

Here are the latest updates on floods in Kerala:

 The carcass of a wild elephant was found floating in Periyar river in Neryamangalam. Three days ago, another carcass was found. Forest officials blame landslides for the loss of animals lives in the forest. Periyar in a tiger reserve and favourite habitat of elephants.

 The road route to the famous Sabarimala hill temple has also been disrupted due to landslides.

 The Kerala government has issued warning for people living on the banks of major rivers in the state. The government said that the situation has worsened in some areas which have been receiving incessant rain since last night. The state government has also asked the people to prepare an emergency kit and be ready for evacuation if the situation continues to aggravate.

 The four shutters of Neyyar dam have been opened in Thiruvananthapuram district. Shutters of Aruvikkara dam have also been opened as the catchment areas of both the dams are receiving heavy rainfall since Saturday, the district administration said.

 The Ernakulam district administration said on Saturday that they have suffered a loss of Rs 1.22 crore in widespread damage caused by the heavy rainfall. According to the District Administration, many houses and agricultural lands have suffered huge damage including in Chellanam, the coastal village in the city.

 There are 852 people including 97 children in 30 relief camps in the district. The district administration has set up eight camps for people aged above 60.

 A portion of the Shiva Temple (situated on the bank of the Periyar River) in Aluva in Kochi district continues to remain submerged.

 According to the State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA), Kerala received an average rainfall of 95 mm in the last 24 hours (till Saturday) while Vadakara in Kozhikode recorded 32.7 cms of rain, the heaviest in the state.

 Vaythiri in Wayanad received 19.3 cms of rain while Peerumedu in Idukki district 18.5 cm, news agency quoted SDMA officials as saying.

 In the Southwest monsoon season, which began in June first week, Kerala has reported a total of 51 deaths till Thursday night due to various incidents of drowning, landslides, and tree fall, news agency PTI reported.
Tanaiste Leo Varadkar has hinted that further support could be made available to midlands businesses that have been hit by fresh Covid-19 restrictions.

It comes as a minister and some Government TDs criticised restrictions for Laois, Offaly and Kildare which came into force yesterday.

Residents in all three counties must restrict their movements for the next two weeks, while hundreds of businesses are being forced to close. Restaurants and those pubs serving food must limit their services.

Mr Varadkar, who is Enterprise Minister, said he was "determined to do everything in my power to help businesses and workers affected", telling the Sunday Independent: "I know people are shocked and angry about how suddenly this all happened. I understand that especially for businesses it's extremely difficult to plan in the current environment. We had to act quickly to ensure we could limit the impact of the spike as much as possible.

"We always anticipated there would be spikes and clusters leading to sectoral or local lockdowns, but we had hoped to get into Phase Four and into September or October before it happened. If we're lucky we'll be able to contain it and get back on track."

He said anyone laid off will be able to claim the Pandemic Unemployment Payment, and the new Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme is based on turnover in the second half of the year. "Losing two weeks' trade will mean many more businesses in the three counties will qualify than would have been the case," he added. A senior Government source said further measures for firms in the affected region may be introduced.

Martin Heydon, the junior agriculture minister and Fine Gael TD for Kildare South, said local businesses are "devastated and angry" about the Government decision.

He said: "We need to consider the impact our decisions have on people on the ground. Our communications need to be better and I have expressed that view to both my ministerial colleagues and Nphet."

Government TDs in the region, including Fianna Fail's Barry Cowen in Offaly and James Lawless in Kildare, called for further support for businesses. "Many of the restaurants had stock in for the weekend which will all be lost because of the very short notice. Those businesses have already invested in PPE, screens, socially distanced interiors and now have to take a hit again," Mr Lawless said.

Mr Cowen said: "The Government must redouble efforts and assistance to businesses affected in these counties to recognise and show an example to other regions that might face a similar fate in the future."

Mr Lawless criticised the county-wide ban, pointing out parts of Meath are closer to the affected plant at Timahoe than other parts of Kildare. Former justice minister and Laois-Offaly TD Charlie Flanagan said the measures were "draconian" and would be an "enforcement nightmare".

He cited the example of Graiguecullen on the Laois/Carlow border where he said there are housing estates straddling both counties. "Some houses in lockdown, some not," he said.
Michelle Obama said this week that she was experiencing low-grade depression and seemed to suggest that it was because of a combination of quarantine, racial unrest and the Trump administrations response to the pandemic.

In the second episode of her new podcast, which was released Wednesday, Obama, the former first lady, told Washington Post columnist Michele Norris that she has had low points recently.

There have been periods throughout this quarantine where I just have felt too low, Obama said, adding that her sleep was off. You know, Ive gone through those emotional highs and lows that I think everybody feels, where you just dont feel yourself.

I know that I am dealing with some form of low-grade depression, she added. Not just because of the quarantine, but because of the racial strife, and just seeing this administration, watching the hypocrisy of it, day in and day out, is dispiriting.

She suggested that her depression was related to the ongoing protests and racial unrest around the United States since the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody in May.

I have to say, that waking up to the news, waking up to how this administration has or has not responded, waking up to yet another story of a Black man or a Black person somehow being dehumanized or hurt or killed, or falsely accused of something, it is exhausting, she said. It has led to a weight that I havent felt in my life  in, in a while.

Obama said she had benefited from keeping a routine, including exercise, getting fresh air and having a regular dinner time.

The psychological effects of the pandemic are not yet fully clear. But the World Health Organization warned in May of a massive increase in mental health conditions in the coming months, fueled by anxiety and isolation as well as by the fear of contagion and the deaths of relatives and friends.

A survey conducted in June by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that more than 30% of adults in the United States were reporting symptoms consistent with anxiety or depression since the coronavirus pandemic began.

Depression is an illness that affects more than 264 million people worldwide, according to the WHO. Dr. Timothy Sullivan, the psychiatry and behavioral sciences chair at Staten Island University Hospital, described it as a complicated mental state.

Depending on how its defined, anyone, particularly at a time like this, could be experiencing some of the symptoms, Sullivan said, including trouble sleeping and low energy.

Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years.

Depression is a result of individual biological risk factors coupled with influences in the environment, Sullivan said. When someone experiences a loss, we know that it can make them sad, he said, citing one example. But if that loss also causes them to change fundamental routines that are important to their health, thats going to create an additional risk factor.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, he said, weve learned that when people experience significant disruptions in their daily routines, those disruptions can predispose people to depression.

Asked how the news could affect a persons mood or battle with depression, Sullivan said: I think the main risk with news events is that people tend to ruminate about them. We know that when people ruminate, it increases feelings of helplessness and, in some cases, hopelessness, and that mental state does worsen mood and increases risk of depression.

Sullivan said that if you think you may be experiencing symptoms of depression, you should review your daily routines and try to establish healthy patterns, including managing sleep, eating at regular times of the day, exercising and having meaningful social interactions early in the morning, if possible.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
Weeks after Congress leader Sachin Pilot's revolt and ahead of the assembly session in the state, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has written a letter all 200 MLAs, urging them to stand with truth and save democracy.

In the three-page letter sent on Saturday, Gehlot about the fighting the Covid-19 pandemic and attempts made to topple his government.

I appeal to all of you to save democracy, keep the faith of the public in us and to avoid wrong traditions you should listen to the voice of public. Regardless of which party you belong to, by keeping the sentiment of people in mind you must be mindful of the fact that how an elected government continued to work for the people and hence it was able to thwart all attempts to topple the government, Gehlot wrote, adding, "I am confident that you all with stand with truth and will contribute in delivering promises made to the public.

Amid the pandemic, we should all be concerned about fighting coronavirus... saving lives, economy, jobs. The state government is working day and night for this. At such a time, some of our colleagues and opposition leaders are trying to conspire against us... this is unfortunate," he added.

Gehlot also said that former Prime Ministers Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi and Atal Bihari Vajpayee also faced defeats during elections, but didn't let the democracy get weakened".

Stressing on the need for Peoples mandate, he said, Victory and defeat are a part of election cycles.

Congress leader Sachin Pilot, 42, and nearly 18 MLAs loyal to him have revolted against Gehlot, who many believe, still has an edge in the numbers game and is confident of having a majority.

The state assembly is meeting from August 14 and Gehlot may call for a trust vote.

While a section of the BJP has been keen to topple the Gehlot government with support of Congress rebels, sources said enior BJP leader Vasundhara Raje has not been very enthusiastic about it.

Meanwhile the Congress on Thursday claimed to have the numbers and majority in Rajasthan and said it is eagerly waiting for the state assembly session on August 14.

Senior spokesperson of the party Ajay Maken said it was "status quo" as far as the rebel Congress MLAs in Rajasthan are concerned.

He said the Congress is "upbeat" about proving its majority as the opposition has not had the courage to bring forth a "no-confidence motion" against the Ashok Gehlot-led government in the state.

"The numbers are with us. The majority is with us and the biggest thing is that the truth is also with us. We wanted to convene a session of the state Assembly and even the opposition has not got the courage to bring a no confidence motion against us, as everyone knows that the majority is with us," Maken told reporters, when asked about the party's position in Rajasthan.

Maken is one of the two central observers sent by the Congress high-command to oversee the political developments in Rajasthan, where party leader and former deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot, along with 18 other MLAs, has revolted against the government.

Asked whether any of the rebels had got in touch with the party, Maken said it was "status quo".
There will always be discrimination because humans are flawed. Some Blacks hate whites and vice versa. Some white Europeans hate other white Europeans and some Blacks hate other Blacks. The protests and riots are about control; using young people who dont know history, to protest, thinking this is all about Blacks needing more support. The race situation in this country was pretty good until these riots.

Slavery existed before America. Black Dr. Walter Williams reminded us that the word slave comes from white Slavic people used as slaves.
By Express News Service

VIJAYAWADA: Ten patients were killed and 18 others sustained burns in a fire accident at a COVID Care Centre being run in the Swarna Palace Hotel by Ramesh Hospitals on Eluru Road in the heart of Vijayawada city, early Sunday.

One of the victims was charred to death while the remaining nine died of asphyxiation. Three of them were women and seven of them were men.

Expressing shock and grief, Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy announced an ex gratia of Rs 50 lakh each to the bereaved families and directed officials to ensure medical care for the injured.

The fire accident took place in the hotel which was taken on lease and run by a private hospital to treat #COVID19 patients in Vijayawada.

Express Photos | @prasantmadugula @xpressandhra @shibasahu2012 pic.twitter.com/spyUO9q6II  The New Indian Express (@NewIndianXpress) August 9, 2020

Prime Minister Narendra Modi condoled the death of the patients and had a telephonic conversation with the Chief Minister during which he offered all possible support from the Centre. The fire, suspected to have been caused by short-circuit, broke out around 4.45 a.m. when most of the inmates were asleep.

The flames and smoke soon spread to the first and second floors of the five-storeyed building, suffocating the people trapped inside. There were 44 people including 31 patients, inside the centre at the time of the incident.

Some of them broke the glass windows and perched on the balconies screaming for help.

Quick Response Teams, fire tenders, NDRF and police personnel rushed to the spot following a distress call from the housekeeping staff.

With the wooden railings on fire and in the absence of an alternate staircase, firefighters used ladders, broke open the windows and rescued 18 people. The injured were shifted to nearby hospitals.

At least, 15 patients were moved to the Ramesh Hospitals.

Narrating his nightmare, a survivor, Pavan Sai Kishan, said, "Thick smoke engulfed the hotel. I could not go anywhere. I broke the window panes, stood on the slab outside and screamed for help. I called up police and fire services personnel. It was only with their help that I could survive."

Most of the inmates were gripped by panic, more so after it became clear that there was no way out of the building.

Fire broke out at Swarna Palace in Vijayawada where a private hospital was treating #COVID19 patients.

Express Photos | @prasantmadugula @xpressandhra @shibasahu2012 pic.twitter.com/qNt7Bck6Ht  The New Indian Express (@NewIndianXpress) August 9, 2020

Four of them jumped from the first floor where the fire was raging. They sustained serious injuries. All of them were rushed to a hospital where their condition is said to be stable.

Health Minister Alla Kali Krishna Srinivas and Home Minister M Sucharitha held a review meeting with police and district officials.

Later, speaking to the media, he explained that there were 31 COVID patients in the hotel and of them, 18 were rescued.

"The body of one was found charred on the first floor. Nine patients who were on the second floor died of asphyxiation. Apart from the 31 patients, there were seven hospital staff and six hotel staff when the mishap took place," Sucharitha said and added that efforts of fire services and police personnel saved lives.

Ramesh Hospitals, a private establishment, has taken Swarna Palace Hotel on lease from July. It has been using the hotel to house COVID patients with mild symptoms. It had applied for permission to treat COVID patients in May.

Based on the complaint of the local tehsildar, a case has been registered against both the hospital and the hotel under Section 304 (II) (Whoever causes death of any person by doing any rash or negligent act not amounting to culpable homicide) and 308 (attempt to commit culpable homicide) read with 34 of the IPC.

The tehsildar, in the complaint, said it appeared that the hotel and hospital managements had knowledge of electrical defects in the building but avoided rectifying the same considering the expense involved.

"Knowing the fact that if the defects are not rectified, there is a possibility of short-circuit, they opened the COVID care centre in the hotel," the complaint alleges.

Acting swiftly, the government constituted two separate committees -- one to study the cause of the mishap and another to probe if the hospital has the requisite permissions.

The panels have been directed to submit their reports in 48 hours.

"The committee to be constituted with CEO, Arogyasri and Director of Health will look into whether the hospital has the permissions. The other committee will probe the cause of the accident," the Health Minister said adding preliminary inquiry pointed to the negligence of the hospital management.

"We will take stern action against whoever is responsible,'' he asserted and appealed to the people to approach government hospitals if they test positive for the virus.

President Ramnath Kovind, Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu, TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu, BJP State president Somu Veerraju and Jana Sena president Pawan Kalyan were among those who conveyed their condolences to the bereaved families.
A CARTOONIST from Hambleden has paid tribute to his long-standing friend Sir Alan Parker, the acclaimed film director, who died on Friday at the age of 76.

Gray Jolliffe first met him in 1963 at the London advertising agency Maxwell Clarke, where he was working as a copywriter and art director and Parker had just joined as an office errand boy.

The newcomer was interested in the creative side of the business so Mr Jolliffe, who is best known for his Wicked Willie series and the Daily Mails Chloe and Co strip, helped him into a copywriting role at which he excelled.

Parker went on to direct television adverts for another agency then branched out into film, directing hits such as Bugsy Malone (1976), Midnight Express (1978), Mississippi Burning (1988) and The Commitments (1991).

He was nominated for eight Baftas, winning five, three Golden Globes and two Oscars and was made a CBE in 1995 before being knighted for services to film in 2002.

Parker, who was married twice and had five children, had been diagnosed with an undisclosed illness before his death.

He and Mr Jolliffe had remained close friends over more than five decades and they celebrated almost every New Years Eve together with their respective families, with whom they also enjoyed joint holidays.

Mr Jolliffe, 81, said Parker showed talent from the outset so quickly progressed in his field.

After joining Maxwell Clarke, he interviewed for a creative role at an agency owned by Peter Mayle, who later wrote the hit memoir A Year In Provence.

Parker was being paid 10 a week so he asked for a salary of fifteen, meaning weekly, and was shocked to be offered a contract at 1,500 per year or 30 per week.

Mr Jolliffe recalled: He thought hed really gone out on a limb asking for 15 a week so when he got that letter he was saying, My God, I cant justify a salary like that. It just goes to show how long ago that was.

The pair worked together again at Collett Dickenson Pearce, another agency, in the late Sixties and Parker began directing rough versions of TV adverts in the companys basement.

His shorts, in which he cast friends and family as actors, were so good that clients would ask him to direct the real thing instead of hiring a production company.

At the time, union rules forbade this so he launched his own company with backers including producer David Puttnam, now Lord Puttnam, who encouraged him to go to Hollywood after he directed several films for television.

Mr Jolliffe said: They didnt see why they should pay someone else, which was a very valid point.

He was so good at getting performances out of people, even when it was only a pilot.

Once he was doing that, he realised it was what he wanted to do with his life. He became more and more successful, making these wonderful ads for Harveys Bristol Cream and Parker pens, then decided he wanted to do feature films.

Parker spent about 20 years in California but never lost touch with his old friend, whom he affectionately dubbed G-Boy J.

Mr Jolliffe returned the favour, nicknaming him A-Boy P.

During that time, the directors output also included Fame (1980), Pink Floyd: The Wall (1982), Birdy (1984), Evita (1996), for which Madonna personally approached him to play the title role, and Angelas Ashes (1999).

Parker became known for his tough, uncompromising approach, which caused major rows while making the Pink Floyd film as he clashed with the bands leader Roger Waters. He said it was among the most miserable experiences of his career.

Mr Jolliffe said: Al was notorious for conflict with producers and didnt suffer fools gladly. He was an auteur who had to have total control and just wanted to do his own thing so he would be quite cantakerous if anyone got in the way.

Ive been to the premiere of all his movies, which have varied in their success. Some werent as well received because he was an experimenter but they all came from a brilliant mind. He didnt do straightforward stories with crooks, car chases and all that stuff.

But he remained down-to-earth and never became snobbish or let it go to his head. He was totally accessible, unassuming and self-confident but never big-headed, even though he had every right to be.

He was stubborn but it was about defending his artistry rather than ego. If someone offered a suggestion which he thought was an improvement, hed gladly listen and go with it.

He was slightly embarrassed when he got his knighthood. I phoned to congratulate him and asked, Do I have to call you Sir Alan from now on?

He replied: Ill always be Al to you  but I cant speak for Lady Parker, which I thought was very funny.

Mr Joliffe, who lives with Niki, his wife of 58 years, said Parker had a great sense of humour and was also a skilled cartoonist and painter. When they first worked together, he recalls him strapping tins of industrial glue to his feet to make himself taller in imitation of the male models who frequented their agencys office.

He said: Most of us wore jeans in those days but he wore these huge baggy trousers with braces which became his trademark. He always joked that he could jump up, turn in mid air and land with them back to front.

He was a great teller of jokes and stories and we laughed a lot together, both here and in America.

Despite being in LA, he always hated lounging in the sun  he was more of a night person.

One time when we went over, I said we were going to the beach and he replied, Why would you do that?. Wed just flown thousands of miles but he didnt see why wed want to drive a few more miles to paddle in the sea.

Al loved his wine and we had lunch at least once a month at the Chelsea Arts Club, which we would always end up falling out of.

But he was very strict when he was working and never got addicted to anything except his creative

pursuits.

He was surrounded by people taking cocaine in Hollywood but he frowned on it massively and would take the p*** out of addicts, which made him something of a minority.

He drew fantastic cartoons about the realities of working in the film industry, though he always drew the speech bubbles first so the text would spill out of them. I kept telling him to leave the bubble until last but it never sank in.

Al was a fantastic copywriter from the very beginning and also did silk-screen paintings so he was immensely creative at whatever he turned his hand to, though he was also very modest.

Sadly, he was pretty sick last New Years Eve, when it was just the four of us meeting up, and I hardly saw him after that as he was on a lot of drugs and didnt really want to meet anybody.

Its a great shame that I never had the chance to say goodbye but we had a lot of fun times together and Ill miss the old b***** terribly.

In a feature on the mens friendship in the Independent in 1999, Parker said: [Gray] is one of those friends for life  Ive heard his jokes and stories a zillion times but he still makes me laugh.

Hes very special and, as you get older, you realise you dont meet many people like that in a lifetime.
Amars political journey began in Kolkata with Subrata Mukherjee and against Somen Mitra who died recently

Uma attends temple service

The Ram Janmabhoomi temple bhoomipujan at Ayodhya was a grand affair where everything went as per plan. But behind the scenes was disquiet within both the BJP and the Congress.

Uma Bharti, a key figure during 1980s-1990s Ram Janmabhoomi movement, first said she would stay away and then landed up on the banks of river Saryu.

Uma was reportedly miffed that she was not formally invited at the first instance. The firebrand sanyasin has not been keeping well so the Covid-19 scare is said to have also played on her mind while initially declining to be there.

In the Congress, the leftist lobby worked hard to oppose Ram Janmabhoomi temple inauguration but pressure from party MPs worked. Rahul Gandhi took a nuanced position while Priyanka Gandhi, Amarinder Singh and Kamal Nath took a pro-temple stand.

Nath organised Hanuman Chaalisa at his Bhopal residence and posted a picture of him in a saffron robe on twitter. Not to be left behind, Mani Shankar Aiyar wrote a newspaper article professing Congress faith in secularism.

Pilot intractable

There are so signs of truce in the Rajasthan Congress. The Ashok Gehlot government has dropped its charges, but rebel Sachin Pilot is reportedly still insisting upon the removal of Gehlot as chief minister.

Peacemakers want Rahul, Sonia and Priyanka Gandhi to draft either Gehlot or Pilot into the AICC secretariat but both are unwilling. Rahul, who is set to return as AICC chief, is in particular opposed to the idea of jettisoning Gehlot as a pre-condition.

A quiet departure

It was a sad and quiet exit for Amar Singh who for most of his life remained boisterous and flamboyant. Defence minister Rajnath Singh, Jyotiraditya Scindia and Jayaprada were prominent persons who paid their respects at Singhs Chhattarpur farmhouse in Delhi minutes before his mortal remains were consigned to flames.

Amars political journey began in Kolkata with Subrata Mukherjee and against Somen Mitra who died recently. During a Kolkata corporation election, the Amar-Somen animosity turned so intense that Amar had to flee Kolkata.

He could only return to the city after giving an undertaking that he would not indulge in Kolkatas municipal politics. The initial setback in politics made Amar turn to the Birla and Bhartia households that gave him a big foothold in Delhi.

Celluloid patriotism

Have you heard of a Patriotic Film Festival? Well, everything is possible in New India. The National Film Development Corporation (NFDC) is organising an online patriotic film festival as part of the Independence Day Celebrations 2020 by the Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.

Shyam Benegals 1996 Gandhi Se Mahatma Tak, Bimal Roys 1944 acclaimed Bengali film Udayer Pathey, Mani Ratnams Tamil hit Roja (1992) and Rajkumar Santoshis 2002 drama, The Legend of Bhagat Singh are some of the acclaimed films which can be watched on www.cinemasofindia.com

Just good neighbours

Love in the time of Covid: Nanavati Hospital, Mumbai has been insisting that megastar Amitabh Bachchan is not a shareholder in Radiant Life Care, the private company that manages the hospital.

However, an interesting development has come to light. Abhay Soi, the promoter and managing director of Radiant, and the Bachchans are soon going to be neighbours.

Both families reportedly have bought apartments in the Uber luxury development Three Sixty West at Worli, which will be serviced by the Ritz Carlton Hotel chain. In the spirit of friendship and loving neighbourliness, we expect many more lyrical tweets in praise of the hospital from you know who.
By Kang Seung-woo



Despite an en masse resignation offer from six senior presidential secretaries over policy missteps in multiple areas including failed real estate regulations, public sentiment toward President Moon Jae-in's administration is still negative, with people criticizing them for choosing houses over jobs.





President Moon Jae-in and his chief of staff Noh Young-min / Korea Times file
2 1 of 2 Karen Warren, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer Show More Show Less 2 of 2 Karen Warren, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer Show More Show Less



A fire on Sunday damaged 16 units at a Cypress Station apartment, displacing multiple families, according to authorities.

No injuries have been reported. The two-alarm fire broke out at an apartment in the 900 block of Cypress Station Drive. The Ponderosa Fire Department called for assistance from the Harris County Fire Marshals Office, which is investigating the cause.
Lebanon's environment minister resigned from Prime Minister Hassan Diab's government on Sunday, saying the government had lost a number of opportunities to reform, a statement said.

Damianos Kattar's departure follows the resignation of Information Minister Manal Abdel Samad earlier on Sunday in the wake of the explosion that rocked Beirut on Tuesday

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US Christians increasingly departing from core truths of Christian worldview, survey finds

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A new survey shows that the majority of Americans no longer believe that Jesus is the path to salvation and instead believe that being a good person is sufficient.

As part of the ongoing release of the Arizona Christian University-based Cultural Research Center's American Worldview Inventory, the latest findings  exploring perceptions of sin and salvation  from George Barna, the group's director, show that nearly two-thirds of Americans believe that having some kind of faith is more important than the particular faith with which someone aligns.

Sixty-eight percent who embrace that notion identify as Christians, including 56% of self-described evangelicals and 62% of those who identify as Pentecostals. Sixty-seven percent of mainline Protestants and 77% of Catholics also embraced that idea, the findings show.



Slightly over half of Christian respondents said they believe someone can attain salvation by "being or doing good," a figure that includes, 46% of Pentecostals, 44% of mainline Protestants, 41% of evangelicals, and 70% of Catholics.

In addition to the viewpoint that eternal salvation can be earned, survey results show that 58% of Americans believe that no absolute moral truth exists and that the basis of truth are factors or sources other than God. Seventy-seven percent said that right and wrong is determined by factors other than the Bible. Fifty-nine percent said that the Bible is not God's authoritative and true Word and 69% said people are basically good.

If you look at some of the dominant elements in the American mind and heart today, as illuminated by the Inventory, most people believe that the purpose of life is feeling good about yourself," Barna said in a statement sent to The Christian Post.

"Most people contend that all faiths are of equal value, that entry into Gods eternal presence is determined by ones personal means of choice and that there are no absolutes to guide or grow us morally.

That philosophy of life contradicts a fundamental basis of what may be the two most significant documents to the longevity and success of America  the Bible and the Constitution of the United States. Those documents agree that this nation will only be healthy and fruitful if it is populated by moral people. By abandoning our moral standards and traditions, and replacing them with inclusive and conditional preferences, we're losing the foundations that have enabled the American experiment to succeed for more than two centuries. We can only hope that our critical moral institutions  particularly the family and the church  will wake up and help the nation to get back on track.

The results are from a January 2020 survey among a nationally representative sample of 2,000 adults, with a maximum sampling error of approximately plus or minus 2 percentage points, based on the 95% confidence interval.

The comprehensive research has documented the profound shifts in worldview among Americans in recent decades. Whereas 30 years ago, people spent considerable time thinking and learning about God, much of the current culture has become increasingly self-focused, Barna previously noted.

The release of the AWVI research was going to coincide with the launch of the Cultural Research Center at ACU in Glendale, Arizona, in March but the center's formal event had to be delayed until the fall due to COVID-19.
INDEPENDENCE, Ohio -- The city has replaced the fountain in the Elmwood Park pond with a new model that offers aesthetic features as well as ecological benefits for the water.

Recreation Director Tom Walchanowicz said the previous fountain was 12 years old and was experiencing several maintenance issues. So the city decided to reach out to the Kiwanis Club of Independence, which had donated funds for the previous fountain, to see if they would be interested in funding the new fountain project.

William Guttermuth, a member of the clubs board of directors, said approving the donation for the fountain was the final thing the club was able to do before businesses and organizations shut down during the coronavirus pandemic.

While the Kiwanis Clubs focus is on supporting organizations that help children, such as Independences STAR Camp and the Up Side of Downs, Guttermuth said the club holds an annual fishing derby at Elmwood Pond and that the new fountain will be a part of that events ambiance.

Its a nice improvement, and (the donation) was approved at our last in-person meeting before the pandemic, Guttermuth said.

The club donated $5,000 toward the fountains purchase and the city paid the remainder of the grand total, which came in at just under $8,000.

Walchanowicz said the fountain is an Otterbine model and was purchased from Jones Fish & Lake Management. This company also completed the installation as part of the total price.

Walchanowicz said the previous fountain was also an Otterbine model, and because the city was a repeat Otterbine purchaser, it was eligible for discounts that come with a loyalty program.

While the project was in the works since the spring, there was a six-week wait for the fountain to arrive. The installation took place July 8.

It is a three-tiered aerating fountain, which Walchanowicz said puts oxygen back into the water to improve the overall pond quality. He stated there would be no negative effects of the new fountain on pond activities such as fishing or the remote-control boating club.

Its a nice addition. We are hoping to get another 10 to 12 years out of it, said Walchanowicz.

He said the previous fountain also had lights, but they malfunctioned after a period of time, leaving the fountain without illumination for the past five years. The new installation includes LED lights, with colored lenses that can be added to display different color patterns in the evenings.

The lights run on a timer starting at dusk and staying lit until around midnight. Lights can also be visible on the fountain in the early morning hours.

Maintenance for the fountain falls under the Independence Technical Services Department, which will remove the fountain in the fall and reinstall it in the springtime.

Read more from the Parma Sun Post.
The Covid-19 pandemic caused Bollywood film productions to come to a complete stand still in mid March. While TV shoots resumed shooting in June, films and web series were still waiting it out, until recently. While dubbing and work meetings were on, shooting was totally stalled until recently.

Actor Akshay Kumar has left for London in the United Kingdom for the shoot his film, Bell Bottom. He was accompanied by the films cast Huma S Qureshi, Lara Dutta and others. Incidentally, Kumar was also one of the first actors to shoot a commercial during the lockdown. Talking about resuming work amid the pandemic, Kumar recently told Hindustan Times, I dont think Ive stayed away from the camera for so long and now, theres a newfound excitement to be back on set.

Actors Dhanush and Sara Ali Khan are also set to begin shooting for director Aanand L. Rais romantic drama Atrangi Re in Madurai. Khaali Peeli, starring Ishaan Kahtter and Ananya Panday is also set to resume shoot very soon.

Late last month, Yoodlee Films became the first production studio to start shooting for two full-fledged feature films -- rom-com Comedy Couple and Marathi film - Zombivali  a horror comedy.

Shooting in this time is a different experience all together, - a curiously strange one given the situation we find ourselves in. But the production house is taking all precautions, and safety for all to the highest standard is being ensured. The actors and crew are a great sport too, making it a unique and fun experience! says director Nachiket Samant, who is helming Comedy Couple starring Saqib Salim and Shweta Basu Prasad.

Precautions and safety is paramount for those who have resumed work, says Siddharth Anand Kumar, Vice-President, Films and Events, Saregama,(owner of Yoodlee). He further shares how people from the production house have been in touch with health-care experts to monitor every shooting schedule.

Things are quite different and a little more expensive also with all the precautions one needs to take. But thats okay. We are shooting, the things are going well, the footage looks good. I think this period is basically a tribute to adaptability of humans. You can put us in any situation and obviously you get stunned for a while and paralysed, but when you start to be logical you figure a way out. Thats what has happened to us also, shares Anand.

Not just films, the shootings of web series, which are not less grand than a film shoot have also begun. Director Ken Ghosh, who is helming Abhay 2 admits that these are indeed difficult times but that does not mean that people will sit at home. I was pretty excited to get back on set. There were a few rejigs that were required here and there because some part of the series was shot before lockdown and some parts had to be shot post it and so we had to shoot in a way that the continuity did not get distorted while also keeping in mind the social distancing protocols. Those were the adjustments that we had to make. A web series is no less than shooting a film and that is always a challenge but we did adapt, he says.

Actor Chunky Panday, who stars in the series, says that he just had four days of shoot left and somehow the production unit designed the shoot in such a way that he could do it in just two days. Yes, it is a challenge to work with a lesser number of crew but it was smooth, much to my surprise. I think the way everything was organized made all the difference and made it rather easy for all of us. There is always the fear among all of us but we have to move on while also practising all precautions, he adds.

So is it at all challenging for actors to adapt to this new way of shooting? Actor Aftab Shivdasani, who has started shooting Poison 2 amid the pandemic, says not really. I think its fine. I didnt have any problems at all. The day prior to the shoot, the crew had come and set up the shot, the production, the lighting was done. All of it was done before the actors landed up on set the next day, he explains.

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By PTI

NAGPUR: Shocked to get an "inflated" electricity bill, a 57-year-old man allegedly committed suicide by setting himself on fire in Nagpur city, police said on Sunday.

The incident occurred on Saturday afternoon at his residence in Yashodhara Nagar locality, police said.

"The family members of the deceased, identified as Liladhar Laxman Gaidhane, told the police that he was depressed and tense after getting Rs 40,000 power bill last week. Due to the shock, he had increased his liquor consumption," an official of Yashodhara Nagar police station said.

"On Saturday afternoon, Gaidhane immolated himself after pouring kerosene. The family members rushed him to a hospital, where he breathed his last," he said.

According to the police official, the family of the deceased lives on the ground floor of the house, while their tenants live on the first floor.

"No suicide note was recovered from the spot and a case of accidental death was registered," he added.

(If you are having suicidal thoughts, or are worried about a friend or need emotional support, someone is always there to listen. Call AASRA's 24x7 Helpline: +91-9820466726 for assistance.)
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-09 12:06:56|Editor: huaxia

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XINING, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) -- Infrared cameras have captured rare footage of Chinese mountain cats in Qilian Mountain National Park in northwest China's Qinghai Province, the park administration said.

The cameras recorded five Chinese mountain cats, including a female and four cubs, which appeared to be having fun and playing on scrubland at an altitude of around 3,000 meters.

Also known as the Chinese desert cat, the wild cat is under second-class national protection.

A total of 65 infrared cameras were set up by a Chinese mountain cat investigation team from mid-May to mid-June this year to monitor the species. Researchers retrieved 45 memory cards that recorded the videos of the species and other wildlife in late July.

The survey, launched in November last year, was co-conducted by Peking University and the Qinghai section of the national park.

"For a long time, the species was rarely spotted due to its secretive nature and small population," said Liu Yanlin, who is in charge of the team.

According to Liu, it is rare for one female Chinese mountain cat to successfully raise four cubs at once, indicating that the food chain in the Qinghai section of the park is complete, the food for animals at the top of the food chain is sufficient, and the reproduction rate of the felines is relatively high.

Qilian Mountain National Park, one of China's pilot national parks, covers 50,200 square km, including 34,400 square km in Gansu Province and 15,800 square km in Qinghai. Enditem
Cicadas come around every 17 years. Candidates for governor show up every four years and we have another crop on the way and it looks like a bumper crop, at that. Democrats may have as many as six contenders; we count at least four Republicans who have made noises about running. Its fair to say that most of them dont have much familiarity with Southwest and Southside Virginia. Unfortunately, that wont matter much in the end: This isnt where the votes are. Yet were still here, and we have questions for all the candidates. Here goes:

1. Whos got a plan to build a new economy in rural Virginia? Those candidates from the urban crescent may not fully understand how lucky their communities are, economically speaking. Theyre not in a part of the state that has seen traditional employers wither and die  and not replaced. Theyre generally from parts of the state that are seeing double-digit population growth over the past decade. Meanwhile, most rural counties are losing population  some by double-digit margins. There are two very different Virginias. So what does our next governor intend to do about this? Were under no illusion that any governor, acting on his or her own, can reverse these trends. These are national trends  indeed, global trends. The new economy rewards localities with a deep labor pool of high-skilled workers  and thats not rural Virginia, or rural anywhere. Why did Amazon pick Arlington? Because 74% of the workers there have at least a college degree. In much of Southside and Southwest Virginia, that figure is only in the teens  if that. In Dickenson County, the figure is 9.3%; in Greensville County, 7.5%. Before he died, former Gov. Gerald Baliles urged Virginia to mount a modern-day Marshall Plan to raise the educational levels in rural Virginia. Whos got a plan for that?

2. Whos got a plan to replace coal jobs in Southwest Virginia? No part of Virginia is hemorrhaging people at a faster rate than the coal counties  or perhaps we should say, the former coal counties. All the Democrats, to one degree or another, have backed a faster transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy. Thats great for the planet, just not that particular part of the planet. Democrats say that renewable energy will create its own jobs boom and theyre right  it will, it is. But those jobs are all over, not concentrated in Southwest Virginia like those coal jobs were. Some Democrats will point out that there are incentives for companies to locate those green energy jobs in distressed communities. That sounds nice, but likely insufficient. Republicans, meanwhile, are often keen to look backwards and blame the environmental regulations of the Obama administration. Heres the problem: More coal plants have closed under President Trump than under Barack Obamas first term. The real war on coal now is being waged by something conservatives used to champion  the free market. Democrats, please dont come out here and talk about how green energy will save us economically unless you have a specific plan for how those green energy jobs will be located in the coalfields. Republicans, please dont come out here saying youre going to save coal when even you should know you cant. Do either of you have a specific economic plan for the coal counties  or are you content to let them depopulate?

3. Whos got a plan to end disparities in school funding? Heres an inconvenient fact: Many rural counties in Virginia would be better off if they were in West Virginia. Yes, you read that right. West Virginia funds its schools at a higher level than Virginia does. More to the point, every Virginia locality along the state line gets less per student than its counterpart across the border except two  Highland County and Shenandoah County. Are our gubernatorial candidates proud to be in a state where many rural schools are less-funded than in West Virginia? How many even know that? They may not because  with the exception of Republican Bill Carrico of Grayson County  theyre all from suburbs that can afford to kick in lots of their own money. In rural Virginia, thats just not realistic. Some of you may already have connected the dots  or at least connected question 3 with question 1. Were living in an economy where education usually dictates results, yet our rural localities cant really afford to fund schools at the level they need to be. Most school systems in rural Virginia are subsidized by the state  but even then its not enough. And not what West Virginia  West Virginia!  is spending.

Now, money alone doesnt guarantee a quality education. But it can pay to fix up schools that are, in some cases, literally falling apart. And it can pay for technology that schools in the states more privileged suburbs often take for granted. And, please, dont point to the part of the Virginia Constitution that says the state shall seek to ensure that an educational program of high quality is established and continually maintained. The state Supreme Court ruled back in 1994 thats essentially meaningless  the shall seek to phrase makes it merely aspirational. If you want to make that mean something, then you can pass the constitutional amendment that state Sen. Bill Stanley, R-Franklin County, proposed earlier this year that would have mandated equal educational opportunities. Does anyone support that? We dont mean to single out specific candidates, but one of them  state Sen. Jennifer McClellan, D-Richmond  voted against that. Why should we believe any candidates protestations about school disparity if they dont support that amendment?

4. Who has a plan for getting rural Virginia fully wired with rural broadband? This should be an easy one because theres already a plan, it just hasnt been fully acted on because the solution is expensive and laborious. Northam has set a goal of getting the whole state on broadband by 2028. Whos got a plan to accelerate that? This is one issue where Democrats and Republicans can easily find common ground because everybody agrees that rural Virginia cant participate in the modern economy if theres no broadband. The pandemic has only highlighted that digital divide: You cant do virtual learning or virtual anything else if theres no internet  and in some parts of Virginia thats what they have. None at all.

So, now that weve posed these four questions, wed like to hear the candidates answers.

 The Roanoke Times
Pravind Jugnauth says response crews bracing for the worst as nation battles an unprecedented environmental emergency.

A ship that ran aground off Mauritius leaking tonnes of oil into the ocean is cracking, the prime minister said, threatening an even greater ecological and economic disaster for the island nation.

More than 1,000 tonnes of fuel have seeped from the bulk carrier MV Wakashio into the azure sea off southeast Mauritius, befouling the coral reefs, white-sand beaches and pristine lagoons that lure tourists from around the globe.

But another 2,500 tonnes remain aboard the stricken vessel, which ran aground on a reef on July 25 but only started oozing from a crack in the hull in the past week.

Experts warn a further rupture could unleash a spill that will be beyond catastrophic for the fragile coastal ecosystem upon which Mauritius, and its economy, relies.





Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth on Sunday said response crews had managed to stymie the leak for now but were bracing for the worst.

The cracks have grown. The situation is even worse, he said. The risk of the boat breaking in half still exists.

Japan on Sunday said it would send a six-member expert team to assist with what Mauritius has declared an unprecedented environmental emergency.

France also dispatched a naval vessel, a military aircraft and technical advisers from nearby Reunion Island after Mauritius appealed for international help.

Thousands of volunteers, many smeared head-to-toe in black sludge, have marshalled along the coastline, stringing together miles of improvised floating barriers made of straw in a desperate attempt to hold back the oily tide.

Mitsui OSK Lines, which operates the vessel owned by another Japanese company, promised on Sunday to make all-out efforts to resolve the case.

We are terribly sorry, the shipping firms vice president, Akihiko Ono, told reporters in Tokyo.

But some fear the damage is already done.

Aerial images show the enormity of the disaster, with huge stretches of crystal-clear seas around the marooned cargo ship stained a deep inky black.

Thick muck has coated mangrove forests and unspoiled inlets up and down the coastline, exacting irreparable harm and undoing years of painstaking conservation work, environmental activists say.

People scoop leaked oil from the vessel MV Wakashio that ran aground and caused oil leakage in southeast Mauritius [Daren Mauree/LExpress Maurice/AFP]

Already too late

The slick has already begun drifting further up the coast, fanned along by strong winds and currents.

I think its already too late. If the ship breaks in two, the situation will be out of control, Vassen Kauppaymuthoo, an oceanographer and environmental engineer, told AFP news agency.

Were talking about a major disaster that is progressing and its getting more complicated hour by hour.

Pressure is mounting on the government to explain why more was not done in the two weeks since the ship ran aground.

The opposition has called for the resignation of the environment and fisheries ministers, while volunteers have ignored an official order to leave the clean-up operation to local authorities, donning rubber gloves to sift through the sludge.

People by the thousands are coming together. No one is listening to the government any more, said Ashok Subron, an environmental activist at Mahebourg, one of the worst-hit areas.

People have realised that they need to take things into their hands. We are here to protect our fauna and flora.

Mauritius and its 1.3 million inhabitants depend crucially on the sea for ecotourism, having fostered a reputation as a conservation success story and a world-class destination for nature lovers.

The spill is a double blow for tourist operators who had hoped foreign tourists could soon return to Mauritius, which currently has no active case of the novel coronavirus.
BEIRUT - World leaders and international organizations pledged nearly $300 million in emergency humanitarian aid to Beirut in the wake of the devastating explosion, but warned on Sunday that no money for rebuilding the capital will be made available until Lebanese authorities commit themselves to the political and economic reforms demanded by the people.

Over 30 participants to the international conference offered help for a credible and independent investigation into the Aug. 4 Beirut explosion, another key demand of the Lebanese crowds who took to the streets Saturday and Sunday.

In Beirut, two Lebanese Cabinet ministers, including a top aid to the premier, resigned amid signals that the embattled government may be unraveling in the aftermath of the devastating blast that ripped through the capital. The blast killed 160 and wounded 6,000, raising public anger to new levels.

The resignation of Information Minister Manal Abdel-Samad, in which she cited failure to meet the peoples aspirations and last weeks blast, was followed by a swirl of reports that other ministers were also resigning.

Late Sunday, Environment Minister Demanios Kattar resigned, calling the ruling system flaccid and sterile.

He stepped down despite closed-door meetings into the evening and a flurry of phone calls between Prime Minister Hassan Diab and several ministers following Abdel-Samads announcement. The political haggling had appeared to put off more resignations, and a Cabinet meeting is planned Monday.

If seven of the 20 ministers resign, the Cabinet would effectively have to step down and remain in place as a caretaker government.

Maha Yahya, the director of the Beirut-based Carnegie Middle East Center, said the discussions clearly point to backroom deals that seek to put together a new government thats acceptable to domestic and international powers, as well as the angered public.

The current government really has been a lame duck, she said, unable to undertake any reform or show independence in a highly divisive political atmosphere. Even the ministers are deserting the sinking ship.

Meanwhile, four more lawmakers announced Sunday they were resigning from the 128-seat parliament, joining four others who declared it earlier. Parliament is also due to convene later this week.

As the political negotiations took place, protesters converged again on the parliament area Sunday afternoon, setting off another night of violent demonstrations. Hundreds of protesters clashed with security forces, attempting to breach the heavily-guarded parliament. Security forces responded with tear gas and chased the protesters in the streets of downtown, in a smaller repeat of scenes from the night before.

The protesters blame the ruling elite for the chronic mismanagement and corruption that is believed to be behind the explosion in a Beirut Port warehouse. Hundreds of tons of highly explosive material were stored in the waterfront hangar, and the blast sent a shock wave that defaced the coastline of Beirut  destroying hundreds of buildings.

The final statement from participants at Sundays donor conference co-organized by France and the United Nations read: In these horrendous times, Lebanon is not alone.

The teleconference participants promised emergency aid  focusing on medicine and hospitals, schools, food and housing.

The donors pledged the aid will be co-ordinated by the U.N. and delivered directly to the Lebanese people  in a clear indication that no money is going to the government and its coffers.

French President Emmanuel Macron, whose country once governed Lebanon as a protectorate, said, We have to do everything we can so that violence and chaos do not win the day.

The explosion of August 4 was like a thunderbolt. Its time to wake up and take action. The Lebanese authorities now have to put in place ... political and economic reforms.

Amid the conference participants were President Donald Trump, Jordans King Abdullah II, Egypts President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi and other top officials from China, the European Union and the Gulf Arab countries.

At the angry demonstrations Saturday, protesters set up gallows and nooses in central Beirut and held mock hanging sessions of cut-out cardboard images of top Lebanese officials.

Demonstrators held signs that read resign or hang. One police officer was killed and dozens of people were hurt in confrontations that lasted for hours and where security forces used rubber bullets to disperse the crowds.

On Saturday and in a new expression of rage, protesters also fanned out around the city, storming a couple of government ministries and briefly declaring the Foreign Ministry as the headquarters of their movement. In the economy and energy ministries, the protesters ransacked offices and seized public documents claiming they would reveal how corruption has permeated successive governments.

In the country where civil war raged for 15 years, few, if any, have been held accountable for it and most of the warlords remain in power or leading powerful political factions.

On Sunday, Frances ambassador to Lebanon said his country is taking part in the investigation of the Aug. 4 blast. Bruno Foucher tweeted that 46 officers are operating as part of the judicial investigation. That probe was started by a French prosecutor after a national of France, Jean-Marc Bonfils, was killed in the blast and others injured.

It is a guarantee of impartiality and speed in the investigation, Foucher tweeted.

The government, backed by the powerful militant Hezbollah group and its allies, announced it is defaulting on Lebanons sovereign debt and has since been engaged in difficult, internally divisive talks with the International Monetary Fund for assistance. The coronavirus restrictions deepened the impact of the economic and financial crisis and fueled public anger against the new government. Lebanese have criticized Diabs government for being unable to tackle the challenges, saying it represents the deep-seated political class that has had a hold of the countrys politics since the end of the civil war in 1990.

In a televised speech Saturday evening and in an attempt to diffuse public anger, Diab offered to propose early parliamentary elections said he was prepared to stay in the post for two months to allow time for politicians to work on structural reforms.

____

Corbet contributed from Paris.
Indias trajectory of daily cases of Covid-19 is now ahead of that of the United States, making it the country with the highest number of daily infections, as total cases globally appear set to breach the 20 million-mark on Sunday night with the US, India and Brazil leading the surge in infections.

As the pandemic accelerates in some of the worlds most populous regions, 19,922,762 total cases of the coronavirus disease had been recorded across the world till late Sunday night with 731,747 fatalities  reflecting a global case fatality rate of 3.7%. Of these, 2,212,737 cases and 44,462 deaths have been reported in India (CFR of 2.01%), which is the third worst-hit nation in the world after the US and Brazil.

Also read| Covid-19: What you need to know today

In the seven-day period between August 1 and August 8, India reported 399,263 new Covid-19 cases against 384,089 cases in the US  the highest and second highest most daily cases globally. This is the first time the average weekly trajectory in India eclipsed United Statess, which has been hit the hardest by the pandemic by a significant margin. The average daily new cases over the past week indicates India may be beginning to close the gap.

To be sure, the US on Sunday reached the extraordinary milestone of five million cases, more than twice those in India. Even Brazil, which breached the three million-mark on Sunday, has nearly 800,000 more cases than India, so the latter may not be overtaking the two worst-hit countries any time soon.

Also read: US tops 5 million confirmed coronavirus cases, to Europes alarm

Brazil had the third highest number of daily cases on average in the above mentioned time period  304,493. In the seven days before that, India reported 366,196 new infections while the US reported 447,026 and Brazil 312,442, according to HTs dashboard and Worldometer.

This is the first time in a month-and-a-half that any countrys cases have grown faster than the USs. The last time this happed was on June 25, when Brazil was reporting a steady spike in cases and the second surge of cases in the US was only kicking off.

Among the three worst-hit nations, only Indias trajectory is currently rising  the other two have been reporting a near-steady decline in new infections over the past few weeks.

Together, US, Brazil and India were responsible for more than 1.1 million (61%) of the 1.8 million new cases reported across the world.

In all, infections have been reported in at least 210 countries and territories since the first cases were identified in China in December 2019. After a rapid initial outbreak, China managed to control the outbreak by the end of February (the nation has since dropped to the 30th place globally, with 84,619 cases). However, by then, the virus spread to several other countries, particularly in Europe. Italy became one of the earliest hot spots of the outbreak in Europe along with Spain, the United Kingdom and Germany.

The World Health Organization declared the Covid-19 outbreak a public health emergency on January 30, 2020, and a pandemic on March 11, 2020.

The US, meanwhile, has been the worst-hit nation in the world since it overtook China on March 26. As of Sunday night, it has more than 5,166,319 cases and 165,269 deaths.

In terms of continents, nearly a third (31%) of cases have come from North America, followed by Asias 25% of cases and South Americas 24% of cases. Europe accounts for over 15% of all confirmed cases in the world.

As countries across the world started lifting months of lockdowns induced by Covid-19, many that had largely controlled a first wave, started seeing a second wave of cases. Key among them was the United States, but cases have also been rising in Europe the past few weeks with nations such as Spain, Italy reporting new batches of cases since the last week of July.

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Ice, ice, baby

Star participants: Daler Mehndi & Sania Mirza

The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, 2014, encouraged nominees to be filmed with a bucket of ice-water being poured over their heads. If they forfeit, they make a financial donation.

Why this worked? It was for a great cause and the perfect OG challenge. This is one of the first to go viral, says fitness and fashion influencer Baseer Ali. Popular as @baseer_bob, he has 1 m followers on Instagram.

Kiki, do you love me?

Star participants: Norah Fatehi & Varun Sharma

Canadian rapper Drakes 2018 release In My Feelings went viral as the Kiki Challenge, where participants jumped out of a moving car and filmed themselves dancing to the song alongside the car.

Why this worked?People got too involved although it was dangerous, says Baseer.

Spot the difference

Star participants: Padma Lakshmi & Vir Das

The 10-year Challenge was meant to highlight how well people had aged. It spread like wildfire when celebs started sharing two side-by-side photographs of themselves 10 years apart.

Why this worked? Reliving childhood memories is fun so Im happy that someone created this challenge, says travel and beauty influencer Meghna Kaur. Known as @shetroublemaker, she has 844k followers on Instagram.

Caffeine high

Star participants: Neil Nitin Mukesh & Pooja Dhingra

One of the first challenges to surface after the worldwide lockdown kicked in, the Dalgona Coffee Challenge was born from people missing frothy coffee.

Why this worked? This was a cool one as it was easy to participate. Besides, its timing was good, says Baseer.

Women on top

Star participants: Bhumi Pednekar & Ivanka Trump

The recent Women For Women challenge, where women are posting black-and- white pictures of themselves, and nominating others is all the rage.

Why this worked? This has to be my favourite one but Im not sure if all women participating in it are aware of the motive behind it, which is to empower fellow women!

From HT Brunch, August 9, 2020

Follow us on twitter.com/HTBrunch

Connect with us on facebook.com/hindustantimesbrunch
But Howard-Chittams also noted recent efforts to defund police and concerns over police conduct in the wake of the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Unfortunately, the police have been neutered by the politicians, she said. Its hard for the police to do what they are expected to do, and the job they want to do.
DMK lawmaker Kanimozhi on Sunday said that a CISF official asked if she was an Indian when she expressed her inability to speak in Hindi. The Member of Parliament also asked if being Indian was equal to knowing Hindi.

Today at the airport a CISF officer asked me if I am an Indian when I asked her to speak to me in tamil or English as I did not know Hindi. I would like to know from when being indian is equal to knowing Hindi, Kanimozhi said in a tweet.

Today at the airport a CISF officer asked me if "I am an Indian" when I asked her to speak to me in tamil or English as I did not know Hindi. I would like to know from when being indian is equal to knowing Hindi.#hindiimposition  Kanimozhi () (@KanimozhiDMK) August 9, 2020

The incident reportedly happened at Chennai airport when the Thoothukkodi MP arrived there to board a flight to Delhi in the afternoon, news agency PTI reported quoting DMK party sources.

Reacting to her tweet, the Central Industrial Security Force, which is responsible for security at airports in the country, asked the MP to share details of the incident and said an enquiry has been ordered into the matter.

The CISF has ordered an Enquiry into the matter. It is not the policy of CISF to insist upon any particular language, said a tweet by the paramilitary force.

The MP thanked CISF for the immediate response and assurance to take action.

The CISF has ordered an Enquiry into the matter. It is not the policy of CISF to insist upon any particular language.  CISF (@CISFHQrs) August 9, 2020

The issue of so-called imposition of Hindi language has been a sore point with the southern states including Tamil Nadu where the DMK is the main opposition party. It is once again in news following the Centres announcement of the New Education Policy (NEP) last month which has adopted a three-language formula.

Earlier this week, Tamil Nadu chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami rejected the three-language formula, saying that the state will not change its two-language policy.

We are saddened by the three-language formula introduced by the central government in National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. Our state is already following two-language policy (of Tamil and English) for decades and there will be no changes in it, Palaniswami said after chairing a cabinet meeting in Chennai.

He requested the Prime Minister to allow states to make a decision as per their own policy.

The MK Stalin-led Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and many opposition parties in Tamil Nadu have also opposed the new education policy and want a review of the sweeping reforms it has proposed.

The DMK chief has said the NEP was an attempt at alleged imposition of Hindi and Sanskrit and vowed to fight against it by joining hands with like-minded political parties and chief ministers of other states.

However, the Centre has denied the charge of trying to impose any language on any state. Union HRD minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank has said that the Centre will not impose any language on any state through NEP. Nishank posted the clarification through a tweet in Tamil while replying to former Union minister from Tamil Nadu Pon Radhakrishnan.

I would once again like to insist that the central government will not impose any language on any state, Nishank said last week.
https://www.aish.com/ci/s/Orthodox-Jew-Falsely-Accused-of-Treason.html

For years Dr. David Tenenbaum has worked to clear his name.

Dr. David Tenenbaum, an expert in armor and survivability, worked for 14 years as a civilian engineer in the U.S. Army Tank-automotive and Armaments Command (TACOM) in Warren, Michigan, researching ways to improve combat vehicles ability to withstand blasts. An observant Jew, he stuck out at work as one of the only identifiably Jewish employees on the base, where he was subjected to anti-Semitic comments and actions.

Once, he found pork rinds on his desk. Another time, a colleague gave him literature about Christianity. A woman at work once patted him on his head and asked why he wore that thing, gesturing towards his yarmulke. But all that is minor compared to the false accusations leveled against for spying for Israel, and the ensuing nightmare that he and his family went through. Dr. Tenenbaum details the abuse in a shocking memoir, Accused of Treason: The US Armys Witch Hunt for a Jewish Spy (Post Hill Press, 2020). He recently spoke to Aish.com.

As the rumors spread, malicious coworkers speculated that David was spying for Israel.

In the early 1990s, some of Davids colleagues began to make up bizarre rumors behind his back about the unusually large knapsack he brought to and from work each day. He explains that he needed it as he brought a kosher lunch and Jewish books to study during his lunch break. Noting the hefty bag David carried with him, some of his colleagues began to spin untrue rumors that his knapsack contained classified documents. As the rumors spread, malicious coworkers speculated that David was spying for Israel.

In 1992, a disgruntled colleague made a secret complaint about David, alleging that his knapsack was stuffed with classified documents. The colleague had heard David speaking with an Israeli liaison officer on the base, and in his complaint he leapt to the wild, unsubstantiated idea that they were somehow colluding against the United States.

The colleague embroidered his report with other inaccuracies; he accused Dr. Tenenbaum of saying disparaging things about the United States (David maintains he never did), and that David suggested that US government employees become overly close to Israel and Israelis. (Again, David denies that claim.) The official complaint went nowhere, but his colleagues continued a whisper campaign behind Davids back, accusing him of being more loyal to the Jewish state than to the US. The rumors went on for years.

In 1995 David became one of the key developers of a major new project, the Light Armor Systems Survivability project (LASS), a US Army program to make Humvees more survivable in the face of explosives. With US troops facing improvised explosive devices in the Middle East, the project was urgent. From the beginning, David and LASS partnered with engineers in Israel and Germany, two key US allies with extensive experience in making vehicles safer in the event of explosions.

Fluent in Hebrew and one of the founding engineers within LASS, Dr. Tenenbaum explains that one of the reasons he was hired was because he was able to liaise with Israeli engineers. In 1995 he traveled to Israel  on a trip that was approved by the US Government  to attend an international ballistics conference. It was the third trip to Israel that the US Army sent David on  it enabled me to confer with world experts in the ballistics and survivability/armor field, David explained in an exclusive interview with Aish.com.

The conference was uneventful, except in one respect: civilian employees of Davids level were meant to be debriefed after returning from international travel. Weeks, then months passed, but nobody contacted him to debrief him about the conference. In time, he forgot about it as LASS continued to grow; David found himself ever busier at work, and the details of his latest Israel trip faded from his memory.

Dr. David Tenenbaum outside the TACOM base

Eventually, more than nine months after the Israel conference, David received a phone call ordering him to report for a debriefing with Military Intelligence officials. The debriefing went horribly. After so many months, David couldnt remember the name of the hotel hed stayed at in Israel. He had the feeling that his interrogators mistrusted him and were trying to trip him up.

A few months later, in 1996, Davids boss asked him to submit paperwork for a higher level security clearance. He now feels that request was a ruse to allow him to be questioned again about his ties to Israel. They were using the pretense of a security clearance upgrade as a ruse to interrogate me without having an attorney present as they suspected me of being an Israeli spy, Dr. Tenenbaum recalled.

His interrogation was overseen by Lt. Col. John Simonini, a virulent anti-Semite who voiced lurid fantasies about Jews supposedly evil.

This interrogation was overseen by Lt. Col. John Simonini, the head of the Security and Counterintelligence Office at Davids base. Though David didnt realize it at the time, David now says that Lt. Col. Simonini was a virulent anti-Semite who regularly voiced lurid fantasies about Jews supposedly evil and all-encompassing tendencies. He seemed to have David in his sights as an Israeli spy.

The meeting began with good cop, bad cop, and became combative after a lunch break. They accused David of being uncooperative and said hed passed classified information to Israel. They told him he could either take a polygraph test or be fired, and implied that they would seek to prosecute him as a spy. In one afternoon, Davids career as a trusted civilian employee with the US Army seemed to be in danger of crashing down all around him.

David eventually went home, unaware of the shocking recommendations Lt. Col. Siminoni was making behind his back: Siminoni told the FBI that David had compromised himself in the debriefing interview, and asserted that the Army now had new information to add to the baseless and secret 1992 complaint against him. With no proof, Siminoni was accusing David of spying for a foreign country, a crime that can carry the death penalty in the United States.

A few weeks later, David agreed to undergo a polygraph exam. The exam took many hours and was harrowing. The examiner called David a liar and falsely claimed that he had gotten other Jews to confess and he would get Tenenbaum to confess too, David described. David kept saying that he had nothing to confess, as he had done nothing wrong. Shockingly, David later found out that far from recording Davids assertions of innocence, the polygrapher lied and falsely told the FBI that Tenenbaum had confessed to being a spy.

Far from recording Davids assertions of innocence, the polygrapher lied and falsely told the FBI that Tenenbaum had confessed to being a spy.

The questioning continued. The next day, February 14, 1997, FBI and other federal agencies came to Davids workplace and interrogated him again. What about the Hebrew phone calls his colleagues had overheard him making, they asked. Was he passing along official secrets during these Hebrew language conversations?

For David it was a terrible moment. Had his own colleagues turned on him, assuming that he was committing treason every time he spoke Hebrew? I speak to my children in Hebrew, he explained. I want them to be bilingual. Even though dozens of members on Davids international team of engineers regularly spoke foreign languages at home and even at the office  Dr. Tenenbaum jokes that his office used to be known as the UN because of its highly international diverse nature  his use of Hebrew had seemingly raised suspicions about his loyalty to America.

The next day on Shabbat, during lunch with their two children and guest, half a dozen FBI agents raided the Tannenbaum home in the heavily Jewish suburb of Southfield, Michigan. The details of that day remain vividly lodged in his memory.

David had just come home from synagogue. His wife Madeline had just set cholent on the table. Their kids gathered round, and David was about to make Kiddush. Suddenly, three cars pulled up to the house. FBI agents knocked on the door, showed the family a search warrant, and proceeded to comb through every room of the familys home with a fine-tooth comb. Though some of the agents seemed zealous in their search, the lead FBI agent, Special Agent James Gugino, kept muttering, I dont know what Im doing here, I told them not to do the search.

Madeline watched in horror as FBI agents looked through her personal belongings and the couples children cowered in fear. Their oldest child, Nechama, remained deeply fearful of strangers for years afterwards.

The FBI agents took Davids computer away  as well as some of their childrens coloring and musical books, saying that there could be some secret codes within these childrens items.

After the search, David hired a lawyer and began a years-long campaign to clear his name. Dismissing the allegations of spying that were leveled against him, David notes that if Id ever done what some of these newspapers said, you and I wouldnt be talking right now  Id be in jail. David is clear: I never did anything wrong, which by the way was substantiated by (Lt. Col.) Simoninis right hand man, Paul Barnard, in a sworn deposition... I never ever gave any classified materials, deliberately or inadvertently, to Israel.

The Army suspended David from February 1997 until May 1998. He eventually was ordered back to work, but endured years of suspicion and repeated questions about his loyalty. You have no idea what it was like, he said, likening his stressful situation to the sword of Damocles, as he waited for a resolution in his case.

FBI agents followed him 24/7 for months, interviewed his neighbors, and leaked details about suspicions against him to the press. Dr. Tenenbaum believes that the case of Jonathan Pollard, a civilian Navy employee who, as part of a plea bargain, pleaded guilty in 1987 to passing classified information to Israel about Arab nations, might have helped create an atmosphere of mistrust and suspicion around him and other Jewish civilians working for the US military.

Let me clarify that there were never any charges against me, David stressed. There were baseless anti-Semitic slanders.

After he was completely cleared of the horrific crime of treason, he was forbidden from working with Israelis.

Nevertheless, once he returned to work after he was completely cleared of the horrific crime of treason, he was forbidden from working with Israelis, despite the fact that Israel is a leader in the field of armor and survivability and despite the fact that he had done nothing wrong.

After years of harassment, David was finally given back his security clearance in 1998. They even upgraded my security clearance, he noted, yet for years he never received a formal apology. Anyone looking him up on the internet would find a host of misleading news articles about him, detailing unproven allegations and smears that he was a spy.

Throughout, his Orthodox Jewish community and his Jewish faith helped sustain him. Davids father was a Holocaust survivor and his harrowing history also helped David keep his own travails in perspective. My humor keeps me sane.

Davids attorneys filed a lawsuit in federal court in Detroit to force the US Government to apologize for their treatment of him, but the case was dismissed after government lawyers argued that the case couldnt be tried because it involved state secrets. In 2006, then US Senator Carl Levin of Michigan managed to get the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General (IG) to review Davids case.

In July 2008 the IGs office released a report saying that David finally got vindication: the report admitted that hed faced discrimination based on his religion and ethnicity. David used the report as evidence in a new lawsuit against the US Army in 2009, seeking damages. This case was dismissed, again on state secrets grounds.

David has become a government whistleblower. He wants the US public to know about his ordeal and learn two key things. One is the anti-Semitism he faced from within the US Army. He still hopes to receive an apology for the way he was treated.

His whistleblower status reflects his desire to alert the public that LASS, the Humvee program he helped direct, came to end when he was charged with espionage. Years later, hes still upset about the effects of closing the program: There were thousands of casualties because of IEDs (improvised explosive devices), which might have been fixed if the program hadnt been shut down. He wants the US public to know that the persecution he faced might have weakened programs that would have protected American troops.

For the past thirteen years, David has been teaching a class at his local synagogue and he tries to apply the lessons hes learned. We all face our own life trials and challenges, and its up to us how we react to those trials and challenges. We teach our children that there are consequences to their actions and we also need to be held accountable for our actions. The government has never been accountable for their horrific behavior.

Its not the tests you go through in life that define you, Dr. Tenenbaum said, summing up his hard-learned wisdom after years of struggle to finally clear his name. Its our reaction to those tests that defines who we are.
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This CoolSocial report was updated on 2022-01-18, you can refresh this analysis whenever you want.
Jeep recently unveiled its first hybrid vehicles based on the Compass and Renegade SUVs, but the FCA-owned brand is also working on an all-electric hauler. Recent intel claims that the upcoming crossover will be even smaller than the Renegade and that it will benefit from technology by PSA, following the recently announced merger between FCA and the French group that owns Peugeot, Citroen, and Opel.

A baby SUV that will slot below the Renegade

Introduced in 2014, the Jeep Renegade is the companys smallest SUV at 166.6 inches long and 71 inches wide. Spanish outlet Periodismo del Motor claims that the upcoming baby SUV will be even smaller than that. How small?

Well, it seems that Jeep is planning to launch a crossover that's only slightly bigger the Suzuki Jimny.

The Japanese off-roader is 143.5 inches long in its biggest configuration, so this new Jeep will be 150 to 155 inches long. The vehicle will retain the boxy design of the bigger Jeeps, so it will probably look like a more rugged Jimny.

While it wont be the smallest Jeep ever, it will be the companys smallest SUV since the TJ-generation Wrangler, discontinued in 2006. Its size will enable it to compete not only with the Suzuki Jimny, but also with the Nissan Juke, Volkswagen T-Cross, and Ford EcoSport, all of which are very successful in Europe. In fact, this new SUV is being developed with the European market in mind and will be built at FCAs plant Melfi, Italy, where the Jeep Renegade and Compass are built alongside the Fiat 500X.

The baby Jeep will be fully electric

Although there's no official confirmation as of this writing, most reports claim that this tiny SUV will be all-electric.

Although Jeep just introduced its first-ever hybrid vehicles, the brands European marketing chief, Marco Pigozzi, said earlier this year that "we have the capability to deliver the electrification we need." He also claims that the electric Jeep will retain the off-road capability of its bigger siblings. "The car will be able to be used as a bad-ass Jeep, but it has also been designed to be used every day," Pigozzi told Auto Express earlier this year.

The baby Jeep will feature PSA underpinnings

While the Renegade is based on the Fiat 500X, the new electric SUV will feature underpinnings from the PSA Group. Specifically, this hauler will be based on the Common Modular Platform (CMP) thats currently being used in the Peugeot 2008 and DS 3 Crossback. These small crossovers are available with gasoline and diesel engines, but also in all-electric form with 50-kWh batteries. The DS 3 Crossback comes with a single electric motor rated at 136 horsepower and 192 pound-feet of torque that provides a top speed of 93 mph. The drivetrain is able to run for up to 332 km (206 miles) on a single charge on the WLTP cycle.

Since both the 2008 and the DS 3 Crossback are also available with gas and diesel engine, we cant rule out the possibility that the baby Jeep will also offer something similar. If it happens, it will probably share both PureTech and BlueHDi engines with its PSA siblings. The 1.2-liter PureTech, inline-three gas engine generates up to 155 horsepower and 177 pound-feet of twist, while the BlueHDi, a 1.5-liter four-cylinder diesel, cranks out 102 horses and 184 pound-feet of torque.

This is possible thanks to the recently announced merger between Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and the PSA Group. The newly founded global group will be called Stellantis and will enable brands under FCA and PSA to share platforms, drivetrains, and technology.

The baby Jeep EV will be in showrooms by 2022

Jeep has yet to confirm a release date for this hauler, but recent reports claim that it will hit European showrooms by 2022. This means that the EV should debut in 2021, which also means that we should start seeing camouflaged test vehicles soon. Its not yet clear whether this new Jeep will be sold in the United States or not.

Source: Periodismo del Motor
While there are several billionaires in the world, the same cannot be said of centibillionaires, those whose fortunes have crossed the $100bn mark.

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Before Thursday, August 6, there were just two centibillioniares in the world - Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates.

With a record bump in Facebook Incs profit in less than 28 hours, Mark Zuckerberg joined the club, as his wealth climbed to $100bn.

Below is, therefore, facts about the worlds centibillionaires:

Mark Zuckerberg ($100B):

Born on May 14, 1984, Zuckerberg launched his Facebook at Harvard University right from his student hostel room in 2004. By 2012, the network surpassed 1 billion users connecting people from around the world.

His tech passion was very much encouraged by his father who taught him Atari BASIC Programming in the 1990s and later hired a tutor to put him through. Mark put his skill to work and later built a programme called ZuckNet.

That was not only his early days exploit, he worked for a company called the Intelligent Media Group to build a music app that was named Synapse Media Player.

Bill Gates ($120B)

The oldest among the centibillionaire at age 64, the Microsoft co-founder was born and raised in America. It should also be noted that he has been on the Forbes list of worlds richest people since 1987.

A collage of the three world's richest men. Photo source: Bloomberg

Source: UGC

He has also been known as a great philanthropist as he has given so much to mankind through the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, said to be the worlds biggest charity organization.

Though Gates' family wanted him to be a lawyer, he took a liking to tech as he wrote his first software program at early age 13.

At 17, his skill greatly advanced as he formed a company called Trad-O-Data to process traffic data using the technology of Intel 8008 processor.

Jeff Bezos ($190B)

An American born on January 12, 1964, he was raised in both Houston and Miami and later graduated from Princeton University in 1986, bagging a degree in electrical engineering and computer science.

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Bezos bought Washington Post, one of the worlds most respected newspapers, in 2013 for a whopping sum of $250 million. His ownership of the paper changed its digital structure.

He is also given to charity. In 2018, he made a big donation of $33 million to TheDream US, a college scholarship fund for immigrants brought to America when they were small. He also gave $10 million to With Honor, an organisation that encourages veterans in politics.

Meanwhile, Legit.ng earlier reported that The worlds richest man, Jeff, added a whopping $13 billion (N5,054,010,000,000) to his fortune on Monday, July 20, the largest wealth growth for an individual since 2012.

Would you rather have money or be poor and have a good family? | Legit TV

Source: Legit.ng
Paris, TX (75460)

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Partly cloudy skies in the morning will give way to cloudy skies during the afternoon. Slight chance of a rain shower. Morning high of 59F with temps falling sharply to near 40. WSW winds shifting to NNW at 15 to 25 mph..

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Partly cloudy skies. Low 23F. Winds N at 15 to 25 mph. Higher wind gusts possible.
By Panos Kotzathanasis | Published on 2020/08/08

In the plethora of war films in international cinema, it is quite difficult to find ones that actually focus on characters instead of the action, and use the war as a basis in order to present various comments. The late Kim Kee-duk achieves just that in his feature debut, which netted him the Best New Director Award at the 1962 Grand Bell Awards.

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The titular five the story revolves around are young men, all of which seem to carry some sort of "baggage" from their past. Oh Deok-soo, whose father is the commander of the battalion he serves into, has always felt that he was treated unequally compared with his first-born brother, a sentiment that intensifies due to the circumstances. Jeong-gook is an intellectual who considers the war a joke, and is actually chastised for his behaviour by both his squad leader and his fellow soldiers. Joo-hwan is a father of five from Seoul, who faces financial issues, to the point that eventually his wife sends him a number of bills instead of a letter, in one of the funniest episodes in the movie. Yeong-seon is a farm boy who is much more graphic about his sex life than is appropriate, as presented in another quite funny episode. Hoon-goo has anger and mother issues, as presented through a number of flashbacks. However, after a number of deaths of their comrades, and a discovery that comes in the worse way possible, the five marines volunteer for a risky mission of bombing an ammunition depot the North Koreans are building.

Kim Kee-duk directs a film that is split into two, radically different parts, with the fate of the squad leader functioning as the dichotomy. The first and larger part deals with the former lives of the marines and particularly their family situations, in an effort to humanize the soldiers and prevent them from being seen as simple killing machines. Their interactions with the squad leader are the main medium of this approach, with his harsh but usually fair attitude bringing out their character in the best fashion. Furthermore, this aspect also brings to the fore the violence that is usually associated with barracks, and in general spaced inhabited by men in extreme situations. The same, although on a secondary level, applies to the interactions between them and with fellow soldiers, whose deaths usually function as a catalyst that turns the protagonists from naive young men to patriotic soldiers, with their transformation being one of the best aspects of the narrative.

In that regard, the acting is on a rather high level, as the protagonists are equally convincing in both the comedic and the dramatic parts of the narrative. Shin Young-kyun as Oh Deok-soo and Dok Go-sung as Jeong Choong-gil are the ones who stand out as the hero and the villain respectively, with their characters being the main source of drama in the first part, along with Choi Moo-ryong as Jeong-gook, although in a smaller part. Park Nou-sik as Yeong-seon is the main source of comedy in the movie, and is quite good in the part.

The second part of the film, which revolves around the mission the five take, follows the rules of the blockbuster, with explosions, disasters, constant gunshots and a sense of agony that works exceptionally well for the narrative, since not all of the protagonists survive and the viewer realizes the fact quite early. In that fashion, however, the melodrama that starts at the end of the first part concludes in the second, which also serves as a medium of showing that sacrifice for the country is the ultimate honor for a man, in a somewhat propagandistic comment.

Lee Seong-jun's cinematography, as the whole of the technical aspect of the film, finds its apogee in this second part, which is quite impressive, even with the use of actual footage from the war.

"Five Marines" is a strange war film, since it is, by no means, anti-war, but also does not go very far in its paeans for the army, particularly through the intense melodramatic aspect that highlights the fact that even heroes die.

Review by Panos Kotzathanasis

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"Five Marines" is directed by Kim Kee-duk, and features Shin Young-kyun, Choi Moo-ryong, Hwang Hae, Flyboy, Park Nou-sik, Kim Seung-ho-I. Release date in Korea: 1961/10/20.
Some degree of immune reactivity against SARS-CoV-2 already pre-existed in the general population, according to a paper published in Nature Reviews Immunology.

Earlier in May, another study by researchers Alba Grifoni and others, also detected reactivity in 50 percent of donor blood samples obtained in the United States between 2015 and 2018.

These studies, therefore, suggest that even before coronavirus-causing SARS-CoV-2 appeared in the human population, some people had grown immune to it.

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Although the recent paper by German researchers Alessandro Sette and Shane Crotty, titled, Pre-existing immunity to SARS-CoV-2: The knowns and unknowns, does not conclude the reason for the immunity, it suggests that it might be due to immunity to other coronaviruses in the past.

The researchers note that the detection of the immunity prevalence has implications for Covid-19 disease severity, herd immunity and vaccine development, which still wait to be addressed with actual data.

Founding director of Yale University's Yale-Griffin Prevention Research Center, Dr David L Katz, told CNN in an interview that it is excellent news at the population level.

We have had indications for this from a long time that many people may not be prone to get this particular virus at all because they have partial native resistance likely due to prior coronavirus exposures, he said.

Stressing that both the US research paper issued under Cell journal as well as the German research paper, published under the Immunology section of prestigious journal Nature, have reached the same conclusion, Katz told the publication that although the percentage side is a bit unclear, both the papers point to big numbers.

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Referring to the papers, he added, It said the same thing  40 to 60 percent people without exposure to this particular virus had essentially developed an immune system defence force that was predisposed to react to this virus as if it had seen it before.

Answering if he thinks a significant amount of population is partly resistant to Covid-19, the preventive medicine specialist said, My impression is that there has long been evidence that thats true.

Citing the example of the Diamond Princess ship which saw a major Covid-19 outbreak, he suggested the presence of pre-existing immunity as only a small percentage of the passengers got infected.

READ: Coronavirus-striken Diamond Princess leaves Yokohama

Reviewing the findings of the research papers and its impact on the Covid-19 vaccination efforts, Katz pointed that the studies reveal various aspects of the SARS-CoV-2 our immune system can react to which can be used to trigger a reaction using proteins from different coronaviruses.

The more ways you have of triggering an immune response thats protective against a particular threat, the more opportunity you have to create an effective vaccine. So, even if this isnt directly related to vaccine development efforts that are ongoing now but I think its good news on the vaccine front too, he said in the interview.
Elections have consequences. Whether voting for president or senator, Americans should be wary of those who avoid discussing their stands on the issues. When Joe Biden and Mark Kelly do talk about the issues, it is obvious that their views are in line with the leftists. Just because Mark Kelly's name has the astronaut title, that does not mean that it should change to the title of senator. Those who might think of voting for him should look at his stance or non-stance on the issues. American Thinker interviewed some Arizonans who spoke about how Kelly is not right for Arizona.

David Eppihimer, the Pima County Republican Party chairman, strongly believes that "Mark Kelly tries to portray himself as an Arizonan, but he is not. I believe he is a Texan and maintains a home there. He wants to make himself out as an independent from Arizona. This is how Kyrsten Sinema got elected to the Senate, by portraying herself effectively as a centrist, not as a hardline Democrat, which she is. Kelly will vote straight down the Democratic/Chuck Schumer party line."

Mark Kelly has also aligned himself with Joe Biden. Kelly made his support known in a tweet: "Joe Biden understands the challenges Arizonans face and knows what it's like to be knocked down, get back up, and keep serving others. We need a president who will unite us and find common ground to get things done. That's why I'll be voting for Joe Biden."

Arizona is a permit- less carry or Constitutional Carry gun state. This seems to be endangered if Mark Kelly is elected senator, considering that Joe Biden has announced he would make Beto O'Rourke his gun czar, the same person who openly advocates for gun confiscation. Kelly has called for gun control but touts it as a moderate stance. Yet the New York Times had this headline in October, 2019, "Is Arizona Shifting on Gun Control? Senate Race May Offer an Answer." The article points out issues Kelly wants to focus on, stating, "Conspicuously missing from that list: gun control." But Arizonans should be wary, considering that Kelly said this: "But a gun is a pretty simple thing. It's not a fighter jet. It's not a spaceship. It's a basic instrument designed for one thing: to kill." Eppihimer says, "This whole environment with rioters is changing the narrative because people need guns to protect themselves, their family, and their businesses."

Kelly's stand on education is aligned with Biden. The Democratic presidential candidate has said that to expand the federal government's power over education by "[f]or-profit charter schools should be banned[.] ... [R]equire charter schools ... to abide by the laws and regulations applicable to traditional public schools, and oppose any and all voucher and neo-voucher programs such as Education Savings Accounts and Tax-credit Scholarship programs." There is no mistaking Kelly's stand, considering that on his website, he says he is a proud product of public education and that he stands "with teachers as they fight for higher pay and more funding."

Dr. Kelli Ward, the chairwoman of the Arizona Republican Party, says Senator Martha McSally understands that "education is not a one-size-fits-all policy because it does not work. Joe Biden and Mark Kelly will force students into staying with failing schools. This harms the low-income student because they do not have the resources. The COVID-19 virus has awoken parents to see their options, whether public schools, charter schools, private schools, or homeschooling."

In May of this year, Biden announced that Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the co-author of the "Green New Deal," will be co-chairwoman of his campaign task force on climate change. The GND calls for the elimination of all fossil fuel energy production, the lifeblood of American industry and life, including not only all oil, but also natural gas, eliminating all nuclear power, to eliminate 99 percent of cars that have combustion engines, to gut and rebuild every building in America, including every home, factory, and apartment buildings, to eliminate air travel, and to ban meat. Arizona has many cattle ranchers. What would happen to that industry?

Kelly proudly endorses a radical climate change agenda, although he has not publicly endorsed the GND. He has commented, "Left unchecked, climate change poses a threat to Arizona's economy and our way of life. As one of the nation's leading producers of renewable energy, this is also an opportunity for Arizona."

Regarding national security, just as Joe Biden and his son had ties to China, so does Mark Kelly. China has shown its hand, and Americans should be very wary of those politicians in China's back pocket. Just look at this video, where Kelly is on a motorcycle with both the American and Chinese flags. In the fall of 2014, the CEO of World View Enterprises, the company Kelly co-founded, announced during a visit to Beijing that Tencent had invested an undisclosed sum of money in the Tucson-based space travel venture. Several prominent lawmakers said Tencent is an arm of the Chinese Communist Party and a threat to U.S. national security. Republican senators Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley in late April introduced a bill aimed at preventing Chinese espionage by prohibiting U.S. federal employees from conducting official business over platforms run by Tencent. Like Joe Biden, who had his son working alongside the Chinese, Kelly's oldest daughter works for Tencent. When RealClearPolitics tried to get him to explain his association, he sidestepped the questions.

Dr. Kelli Ward points out how Nike has decided not to have a plant in Goodyear, Arizona. She noted to American Thinker, "They have slave labor in China, but the company is not going to help Americans have jobs. Mark Kelly has not commented and loves to keep quiet. Patriotic Americans understand Nike is using slave labor in China while having as a spokesman Colin Kaepernick, who hates America. Nike and the Democrats are massive hypocrites, and I am hoping people wake up and see through them."

Another national security issue is border security. Kelly has lambasted the Trump administration: "Let me be clear: we can't be taking children away from their parents and locking them in cages. I don't think that's who we are as a country." Art Del Cueto, a vice president of the National Border Patrol Council, tells American Thinker how he was dissed by Mark Kelly. "In 2016, after a Tucson Veterans' Day parade, I went over to say hi to him. He turned around and saw I was on the Border Patrol Council and then made the hand gesture to go away. Since I am Hispanic, if he was part of a different political party, people would yell he was a racist."

Regarding border security, Art, who is on the front lines, does not think Kelly believes in border security. "His outcry about children in cages happened during the Obama/Biden administration, not the Trump administration. The separation of children from parents is because they were crossing by themselves and there was no parent present. At the end of the day, I think Mark Kelly is an extremist and is out for his own gain."

Eppihimer says that besides his leftist stances on other issues, "Mark Kelly is talking in general terms. He never gets into the specifics, whether on health care, the economy, or education. He is not campaigning personally, but does it with commercials where almost every TV break is a Mark Kelly commercial. He is using the Joe Biden playbook, where he is not coming out to face the constituents on the issues and answering their questions on where he stands."

Dr. Kelli Ward agrees: "He is just like Hidin' Biden. He is a slick far leftist progressive who wants to trick Arizonans to vote for him. The vast majority of Arizona voters are deeply patriotic, vastly independent, and will make sure they are educated when entering the voter booth."

The Arizona seat is important to make sure the Republicans keep the majority in the Senate. It is obvious that Mark Kelly is not in line with Arizonans and Americans on the issues. While he will support the Democratic progressive agenda, Senator McSally is working to make sure Arizonans and Americans are the top priority. The best example to see how she cares versus the Democrats is her proposal for Congress to pass a simple seven-day extension of expanded unemployment benefits that Chuck Schumer blocked. Arizonans, Americans, and the Senate need more leaders like Martha McSally and not someone like Mark Kelly.

The author writes for American Thinker. She has done book reviews and author interviews and has written a number of national security, political, and foreign policy articles.
The barred spiral galaxy known as NGC 4907 shows its starry face from 270 million light-years away to anyone who can see it from the Northern Hemisphere.

This is a new image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope of the face-on galaxy, displaying its beautiful spiral arms, wound loosely around its central bright bar of stars.

Shining brightly below the galaxy is a star that is actually within our own Milky Way galaxy. This star appears much brighter than the billions of stars in NGC 4907 as it is 100,000 times closer, residing only 2,500 light-years away.

NGC 4907 is also part of the Coma Cluster, a group of over 1,000 galaxies, some of which can be seen around NGC 4907 in this image. This massive cluster of galaxies lies within the constellation of Coma Berenices, which is named for the locks of Queen Berenice II of Egypt: the only constellation named after a historical person.

Text credit: ESA (European Space Agency) Image credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, M. Gregg

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An Army commander caught cheating during lockdown is also under investigation for bullying, it emerged yesterday.

Major General Rupert Jones, 51, previously Britains highest-ranking soldier in Iraq, will face the Army Board over two misconduct charges.

The father-of-three, whose father Herbert H Jones was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross for his heroism in the Falklands conflict, is facing a charge of bullying.

The accusation concerns the bullying of a fellow officer, although the Ministry of Defence refused to disclose any details.

Major General Rupert Jones, 51, previously Britain's highest-ranking soldier in Iraq, will face the Army Board over two misconduct charges

An Army source told The Sun: Jones was a real high-flyer but this is potentially career-ending. There arent many places for a two-star (general) to go and competition for promotion is fierce.

An Army spokesman said yesterday: We are investigating the facts of this matter, and while we do so it would not be right to comment further.

The fresh probe comes after the Daily Mail revealed that Maj Gen Jones was under investigation for allegedly breaking social distancing rules by having an affair with a married woman.

It emerged last month that he had left his wife Lucinda, 47, and moved out of their 1.5 million home in the West Country. The couple have three children, aged between 16 and 20.

Family: With wife Lucinda and his mother Sara after birth of son Henry

His lover is understood to work outside the military and had left her husband to pursue the relationship. A source said: His marriage has now broken down because he has met someone else and he has had an affair.

This is not a fling  this is the person he wants to spend the rest of his life with. He has fallen in love with someone else.

The Army is still investigating whether Maj Gen Jones breached lockdown rules after he became the latest high-profile figure to be accused of flouting the measures. Government adviser Professor Neil Ferguson, 51, who helped devise the lockdown, quit his role after inviting his married lover Antonia Staats, 38, for a tryst at his home in May.

MP Rosie Duffield, 49, quit as a Labour whip after her married lover, TV director James Routh, visited her home in Kent.

And Boris Johnsons chief adviser Dominic Cummings faced a storm of criticism after it emerged he drove 260 miles from London to Durham during the lockdown.

Maj Gen Jones has an extraordinary military pedigree.

Major General Rupert Jones is pictured (left) as a boy with his father Colonel 'H' Jones, mother Sara and older brother David

He was 13 when his father was killed storming an Argentine machine gun nest at Goose Green, and followed him into the Devonshire & Dorset Regiment.

He became one of the Armys youngest commanding officers when he took charge of the 4th Battalion, The Rifles, at the age of 38.

He has served in Iraq, Afghanistan and Northern Ireland and was awarded an MBE for his role in drawing up Ministry of Defence plans to cope with potential national crises.

Maj Gen Jones was Britains senior general in Iraq in 2016 and 2017 as part of the US-led campaign against Islamic State.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-09 13:13:06|Editor: huaxia

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TOKYO, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) -- Japan's city of Nagasaki on Sunday marked the 75th anniversary of the atomic bombing in World War II, with about 500 people and representatives from some 70 countries and regions attending the annual memorial ceremony.

The ceremony was held at the Peace Park and the number of participants this year was roughly one-tenth of the usual number to avoid crowding as COVID-19 continues to spread across the country.

Tomihisa Taue, the city's mayor, urged the central government to immediately sign a UN treaty banning nuclear weapons at the ceremony, and called for more efforts toward the elimination of nuclear weapons.

Nagasaki was hit by an atomic bomb on Aug. 9, 1945, which prompted Japan's surrender, making it the second city to have endured atomic bombing after Japan's Hiroshima was hit on Aug. 6 the same year.

While Japan inwardly looks at the tragedies it had experienced at the end of World War II, historians and political minds of the international community have encouraged Japan to come to see themselves not as merely victims of the atomic bombings but also as the perpetrators who led to these tragic incidents to happen in the first place.

Japan brutally occupied many parts of Asia before and during World War II, causing untold suffering and death to hundreds of thousands of innocent victims. Enditem
Pacific Gas and Electric Co. must hire new tree-trimming supervisors, improve records about the age of risky electrical equipment and bolster the way it inspects high-voltage power lines under a recent order from a federal judge.

U.S. District Judge William Alsup imposed the mandates Friday as additional conditions on PG&Es probation arising from the deadly 2010 San Bruno gas pipeline explosion. It comes after months of back-and-forth among Alsup, PG&E and others as the judge sought further ways to help prevent the company from starting more major wildfires, such as those sparked by its equipment over the past five years.

Alsups latest decision replaces an earlier and stricter order that could have made PG&E hire many more inspectors and force contractors who work on transmission towers to carry enough insurance to cover losses suffered by the public should their inspections be deficient and thereby start a wildfire.

PG&E urged Alsup to reconsider that decision and proposed a more modest set of conditions in June after conferring with federal prosecutors and the companys court-appointed monitor. Fridays order adopts those conditions in full.

By Sept. 1, PG&E must hire a vegetation management inspection manager to help oversee the contractors who cut branches and trees so they do not fall on power lines and start fires.

Starting at the end of September and continuing through January 2021, PG&E must then hire a total of 30 people who will conduct in-field oversight of PG&E contractors while the work is being performed, verifying and correcting any deviation from applicable scopes of work pursuant to PG&E policies and legal requirements, the order says.

Additionally, PG&E must conduct a reasonable search for records about the age and installation date for certain transmission tower equipment in high-fire-threat areas, according to the order. Where such records are not available, the company has to make conservative estimates. PG&E will factor location-specific conditions into a program that will estimate how long it expects critical transmission equipment to last safely.

That condition is aimed at preventing a repeat of a disaster similar to the 2018 Camp Fire, which was started when a worn hook broke on a century-old transmission tower in Butte County. It was the deadliest and most destructive wildfire in state history, and the company recently pleaded guilty to 84 felony counts of involuntary manslaughter over it.

Finally, PG&E is required to hire a new crew that will oversee equipment inspections of transmission lines, the heavy-duty power lines supported by tall metal towers. The company must replace certain kinds of hardware, including the type of hook responsible for the Camp Fire, within 90 days when the hardware gets close to losing 50% of its material.

Air Quality Tracker Check levels down to the neighborhood Ratings for the Bay Area and California, updated every 10 minutes

Alsup stressed in his order that the 50% criteria was a minimum performance standard and said there will be circumstances where safety is in danger even when pieces of transmission towers have not yet reached that threshold.

Under no circumstances shall PG&E contend that the Court has blessed approaching 50% as an acceptable benchmark for replacement of cold-end hardware, Alsup said. Safety requires replacement on a case-by-case basis, not just when certain cold-end hardware approaches 50% material loss.

PG&E said in an emailed statement that it shares the goals of Alsup, federal lawyers, its court-appointed monitor and state regulators to further improve wildfire safety for our customers and communities and to eliminate utility-caused wildfires.

We remain focused on our most important responsibility  the safety of the customers and communities we serve, and doing right by the victims of past wildfires, the companys statement said.

J.D. Morris is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jd.morris@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @thejdmorris
We all know that things have been a little rocky among the members of the royal family lately. Ever since Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex announced that they would be stepping down from their royal duties, we have heard more than one report of tension. However, when we look at things from Meghan and Harrys point of view, it can be quite confusing.

Ever since the couple announced that they were in a serious relationship, just about everything that they do has become headline news. The only problem is that Prince Harry and Meghan are a notoriously private couple, and they felt as if they pretty uncomfortable constantly being under the royal microscope.

The British tabloids can be absolutely relentless, and it may be safe to assume that Meghan, a former American actress who was used to living a quiet life, was pretty unprepared for the overwhelming amount of attention she would be receiving. Despite asking photographers and reporters to back off a bit, things continued to get worse until the Sussexes decided that the only solution would be to leave the United Kingdom  as well as the royal family  altogether.

Unfortunately, at a time when he needed them the most, Prince Harry reportedly felt unsupported by his family.

A swift royal departure

Even though everyone was well aware that Meghan and Prince Harry were having problems, no one could have possibly predicted that they would decide to take a step back from their royal duties. Still, that is exactly what happened, and after living in Windsor, England for a short while, the couple spent some time in Canada, and finally moved to LA, California, to begin a new life independent of the royals.

According to Observer, the couple is staying in a lavish home owned by Tyler Perry, and they have been doing their best to lie low for the past few months. Even so, Meghan and Prince Harry have been keeping in touch with the public by making video appearances, and they have been continuing their humanitarian work, which was the plan all along.

Did Meghan have a hard time with the split?

Over the past few years, Meghans life was constantly changing. She went from living in Toronto, Canada, where she had a role on the legal drama Suits, to living a high-profile life as the Duchess of Sussex.

People took an even greater interest in Prince Harry and Meghans life when their son, Archie Harrison, was born, and it got to the point where Prince Harry released more than one statement asking the news media to stop hounding his wife.

Now that the couple is living in California, there is no doubt that Meghan still feels more than a bit of pressure. So, was the duchess having a hard time with the split? She may have felt unsupported, and there were several signs pointing to the fact that she did.

According to The List, Meghan famously said in an interview that royal life was unfair and that she was struggling with the overwhelming life that she was living.

Prince Harry reportedly felt unsupported by his family

Prince Harry | Paul Edwards  WPA Pool/Getty Images

RELATED: Prince Harry Doesnt Have a Problem With Meghan Markle Stealing the Spotlight

Was Meghan the only one who felt unsupported? Apparently not. According to People, a source connected to the new book about the royal couple says that Prince Harry felt that his family could have done more to support him and his wife, and the sad reality is, that they did not.

A source told Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand, authors of Finding Freedom: Harry and Meghan and the Making of a Modern Royal Family, that Prince Harry feels that there were so many occasions when the institution and his family could have helped them, stood up for them, backed them up, and never did.

Perhaps Prince Harry thought that those closest to him would have his back no matter what, and he was upset to discover that they chose not to stand up for him during this difficult time. We can only hope that things get better for Meghan and Prince Harry and that they find the happiness that they deserve.
Parviz Fattah, the head of Irans Mostazafan Foundation, a multi-billion financial conglomerate operating under the aegis of Ali Khamenei, says that one of the Supreme Leader's confidants and close relatives has refused to return assets that belong to the foundation.

Fattah added that some military organizations including the IRGC have also refused to vacate properties belonging to Mostazafan Foundation.

During the past four decades, the Mostazafan Foundation, or the foundation for the oppressed, confiscated many homes, mansions, factories, firms, lands and financial institutions that belonged to the people. Its mission is to help the needy, but like many other Islamic Republic entities it has become a major player in business. To what extent it in fact helps the poor is questionable. Some might say that the foundation is Mr. Khameneis wealth-management outfit.

Most of the real estate at the disposal of Mostazafan Foundation which are currently being used by high-level officials of the Islamic republic belonged to private individuals and firms, but the foundation has forcefully confiscated them based on orders by revolutionary courts, which often ruled against defendants deemed opponents of the regime.

Speaking in an interview on the state-owned television August 8, Fattah said Gholam Ali Haddad-Adel, who is the father-in-law of Khamenei's influential son, Mojtaba, has not returned an 8,000 square meter land in Tehran that belonged to Mostazafan Foundation. Haddad-Adel is also a senior adviser to Khamenei.

According to Fattah, the land was worth 4 tillion rials. It is hard to calculate the doller value of the property, since we do not know when the property was put under Haddad-Adlels control. But if we use the current official rate of 42,000 rials for each dollar, the property is valued at more than $95 million.

Fattah said Haddad-Adel, who owns a series of wealthy schools in Tehran and Qom wanted to build a school on the land, but he did not have the authorization for that.

One question is why the head of the foundation is disclosing such a sensitive matter now, more than a year after being after being appointed as the head of the organization.

Fattah is one of the most talked about candidates for the presidential election in 2021. His attack on powerful officials and entities could be an attempt to present himself as a justice seeking, anti-corruption and anti-nepotism candidate. It is not unlikely that he might even have Khamenei's permission for such a move.

Elsewhere in the interview, Fattah said that Haddad-Adel has also refused to return the land on which his current Farhang School is built. He said the land worth 2 trillion rials, belongs to the Mostazafan Foundation that has rented it out to Haddad Adel.

According to Fattah, the rental being paid by Haddad Adel for the land is far less than the current market rate in Tehran.

"The foundation wants to adjust the rent and the land should be returned to it but this has not been done despite all efforts," said Fattah.

Speaking about other individuals and organizations using foundation assets without paying for them, Fattah named the IRGC, the Iranian Parliament (Majles), the naval force of the Iranian army, and former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Fattah said Ahmadinejad's office is based in a 1,800 square meter property in Velenjak in one of the most affluent parts of Tehran. The property is worth around 2 trillion rials or just under $50 million, he said.

The 12-storey building of the Majles Research Center in Niavaran, another one of the most expensive areas of Tehran, also belongs to the Mostazafan Foundation which has called on the Majles to vacate it with no avail, said Fattah.

Also in Kouhak areas in Tehran, the naval force of the army is currently using the foundations land while Vali Amr Corps of the IRGC that is responsible for the security of Islamic Republic officials has occupied a 2 trillion rial land. According to Fattah, the IRGC has prevented the Mostazafan Foundation's access to the property and has refused to return it to the foundation.

Fattah said that these properties need to be returned to Mostazafan Foundation so that it can sell them and use the money for charitable purposes.

He said in the interview that the foundation has sold 360 trillion rials worth of real estate in 2019 out of which 70 trillion rials has been the foundation's profit.

Fattah added that the Khamenei-supervised foundation has plans to enter oil projects as part of its efforts to expand its economic activities.

The Mostazafan Foundation has been often criticized by regime insiders including the Rouhani administration as well as critics such as former President Ahmadinejad for tax evasion and non-transparent financial transactions. Other critics have also pointed out that there are no checks and balances in Mostazafan Foundation and other financial institutions that operate under Khamenei's supervision.
Revenue Minister R Ashoka has directed that five teams comprising personnel from State and National Disaster Response forces, police, fire and emergency services and Home Guards should be deployed for accelerating the search operation in Talacauvery. Four people went missing after a massive landslide at Talacauvery last week.

Ashoka visited the landslide spot along with Kodagu district in-charge minister V Somanna on Sunday. He directed the authorities that rescue operation be conducted in three shifts and completed in two days.

The minister said that there was no dearth of funds to tackle natural calamity and an additional Rs 5 crore would be released to Kodagu district for this purpose.

District in-charge minister V Somanna said that the search operations had been conducted at a depth of 65 feet below the landslide spot.

Elected representatives from the district and Kodagu Deputy Commissioner Annies Kanmani were present.
What we have seen for the past few weeks by way of abductions, detentions, illegal and unlawful arrests, the increase in abuses of citizens, abuse of our journalists, abuse of our lawyers and generally all the citizens in the country, it is an escalation of the problems that have been there, which are essentially a problem of governance, a problem of legitimacy, around the disputed elections in 2018, he said.
The past few months of Oregon protests have underscored the importance of local journalists in getting the facts in front of readers.

We live in a world where social media is good for many things. Twitter is a never-ending buffet of news headlines, addictive for most journalists. Facebook can bring families and affiliated communities together. TikTok has emerged as a source of amusement and diversion in trying times.

But information however unreliable, moves hastily through social media channels. Sometimes, even video evidence can mislead. Reporting out the facts takes precious time, and the corrected or contextual information may never catch up to the bad.

Late last month, a video on Facebook purporting to show House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat and frequent foil of President Donald Trump, slurring her words. The video was viewed more than 2 million times before it was revealed that it had been manipulated so as to create an inaccurate portrayal.

In Oregon, journalists on the ground helped shed light on a video shared widely on social media as supposed evidence that a policeman in Salem had thrown a white power sign as a gesture of solidarity with a protester.

Oregon State Police investigated, and body camera footage put the moment in an entirely different light: the OK sign was in conjunction with the trooper asking if a protester who had been shoved to the ground was all right.

But that July 5 article appeared after the original tweets with the accusation had been shared thousands of times, including one retweeted 120,000 times. Did most of those people ever see the article with more context and facts?

Portland protests have been the source of many viral moments, some of which were misconstrued on social media or by nonlocal media.

Recently, Fox appeared to tie a shooting in the Montavilla neighborhood with downtown protests five miles away. Portland sees 150-round shooting at apartment building, as crowds continue violent clashes with police, says the headline on Foxnews.com. That prompted The Oregonian/OregonLive to set the record straight.

But not before another outlet, the New York Post, put out a highly misleading headline that said: Portland woman shot in hail of 150 bullets during Black Lives Matter protest. The protest was in fact going on, miles and miles away from the shooting scene. Police say the shooting had no known connection to the protests, which the Post reported in the body of the story.

(I asked both Fox News and The Post for comment but did not hear back by deadline.)

An article by Maxine Bernstein about a protester accused of throwing a large firework toward the federal courthouse was picked up by numerous outlets. It had a juicy twist involving the protesters grandma, which proved irresistible to the Post, Fox News and The Sun in the United Kingdom.

The trouble is the farther the story got from Portland, the farther the truth got stretched.

The day after Bernsteins story, an Aug. 1 account in The Post report reads:

(V)ideos captured the moment a makeshift bomb was thrown at the Portland federal courthouse during another night of violent protest. A Trump-loving, 69-year-old woman soon stepped forward to out the suspect publicly  as her own grandson.

Fox News picked up the Post account: The grandmother claimed to immediately recognize the vest as the one she had bought for her grandson, Gabriel Rico Agard-Berryhill, according to the New York Post.

The Sun, a British tabloid, carried this headline: OUTED BY GRAN: Teen who threw explosives at Portland court given up by his GRAN who recognized vest she gifted him.

The Oregonian/OregonLives longtime crime and justice reporter, Bernstein, wrote about the case on July 31. She relied primarily on court records, such as an affidavit from investigators.

The affidavit says law enforcement agents relied on social media and video to pinpoint which person threw the firework. The individual depicted throwing the incendiary object or an object with energetic material was a young, Caucasian male wearing a green colored vest with black colored diagonal stripes on the back and writing stating ICONS, the affidavit said.

It goes on to say investigators were informed via Twitter about a product review by grammaf on hibbett.com for a vest that appeared to be sold via the hibbett.com website.

The review was posted eight days before the crime, which occurred July 28, according to an image included in the affidavit.

Investigators said the teen told them he was surprised by the strength of the explosion and knew he was in trouble and, the affidavit says, that is why he contacted his PO (probation officer) and turned himself in.

So Grandma didnt immediately recognize the vest. She didnt drop a dime on the teen-ager by calling authorities after seeing the video of him throwing the firework.

All journalists make errors, even though we guard against them. But I can guarantee local reporters, closer to the events, are going to have a more accurate accounting. And while we cant chase down every hoax on social media, we do feel an obligation to correct the record if misleading or inaccurate information is widely shared and locally relevant.

Your subscription, whether to The Oregonian or to OregonLive, through our new digital subscription, is what supports this vital work. To subscribe and gain access to our exclusive reporting on OregonLive, go to oregonlive.com/digitalsubscription.

Therese Bottomly is editor and vice president of content for The Oregonian/OregonLive. Reach her at tbottomly@oregonian.com or 503-221-8434.
The Gulf Cooperation Council, in a letter to the United Nations Security Council, is reported to have called for an extension of the arms embargo on Iran. The order has kept Iran from purchasing foreign-made weapons like fighter jest, tanks, and warships.

As per reports, the GCC urged the UNSC to extend the embargo and further impose any additional measures necessary to prevent the destabilising proliferation of Iranian weapons, such as targeted asset freeze, and travel ban on individuals involved in the supply, sale or transfer of arms or related material to or from Iran.

READ: Iran Urges UN To Hold US Accountable For Plane Inception In Syrian Airspace

The council, comprised of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, has alleged that Iran had not ceased or desisted from armed interventions in neighbouring countries, directly and through organisations and movements armed and trained by Iran.

According to international media reports, the group said that Iran has continued to proliferate weapons across the region as an integral part of its expansionist regional policy and longstanding interference in the internal affairs of Arab states.

The UN blocked Iran from replacing its ageing equipment, much of which had been purchased before the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Iran was banned from buying foreign weapons amid tensions over its nuclear program. According to the 2015 Iranian nuclear deal, the UN had agreed to end the arms embargo this October.

READ: US Intelligence Official Claims Russia, China, Iran Are Meddling In Presidential Election

US seeks support to extend arms embargo

As per reports, GCCs letter comes as it remains torn by the ongoing Qatar crisis, which saw Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the Emirates cut diplomatic ties and launch a boycott of the nation beginning in 2017. Kuwait, on the other hand, sought to mediate the crisis, however, its 91-year-old emir was recently hospitalised in the US suffering from an undisclosed ailment.

Moreover, the GCC letter also comes weeks after Brian Hook, the US envoy for Iran, said that the Arab nations unity on the issue sends a very strong message to the world and the UNSC needs to listen to the region. The United States has been seeking to garner more outside support to extend the arms embargo, as per reports. US is also set to introduce a resolution at the Security Council as soon as August 10 to extend the Iran arms embargo.

READ: Iran Indifferent To Trump Envoy's Quitting Amid Embargo Push

READ: US Ambassador Says Iran Is World No. 1 Sponsor Of Terrorism
Luis Palau identifies key to bringing wayward children back to Christ

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International evangelist Luis Palau has encouraged Christian parents to instill biblical principles in their children from the earlier years, citing the Word of God as the key to bringing wayward kids back to Christ.

In a message delivered at the two-day virtual Promise Keepers 2020 Men's Conference, Luis and Andrew Palau, leaders of the Luis Palau Association, shared how Scripture memorization and a faithful witness contributed to Andrews conversion as a young adult.

Before Andrew was born, Luis Palaus mother told him his unborn son would be the next evangelist.

I took it seriously as from the Lord because she was a godly woman, Luis, known as the Billy Graham of Latin America, said. She was a prayerful woman.

But while Andrew was a good son, he didn't know Jesus Christ and we knew that, Luis said.

My wife used to say, If he's got feathers like a bird, if he flies like a bird, if he chirps like a bird, hes a bird, and Andrew is not a child of God, he recalled. People were shocked when she would say that, but she would say, No, but he will be someday, and he was.

When Andrew was working across the country, Luis would send him letters  and each one included a Bible verse.

Every letter had a Bible verse and I really drove it home, Luis said. I remember saying to the Lord, Lord, what do I tell Andrew? I mean, he knows the Gospel, but what do I tell him? And I felt the Lord saying to me, Just remind him that God has a plan and a purpose. So I often used to say, 'Andrew, God has a plan for your life, and it's got to be glorious because it's of God.'

At 27 years old, Andrew embraced Christianity after hearing his father preach at an evangelistic event in Kingston, Jamaica.

For the 1,000th time, I heard about the cross and the spirit and the promise of eternity and a purpose for living. And it was God's time for me, Andrew said. Dad has helped me to grow since then.

Today, Andrew preaches at his own festivals around the world, from the United States to Rwanda, Romania, Egypt, Mexico, India, Poland, and Jamaica.

Andrew referred to Luis as not only his physical, human father, but also his spiritual father.

In the face of 27 years of my rebellion against God and the ways of the family, dad and mom ... prayed for me faithfully and then they lived the life. Their testimony was sound and strong. Not perfect, but that testimony was so powerful to me as a young man.

When everything else failed me, and it will, and it does, there they stood, sound, full of peace and joy. They shared with me the Good News because they knew that's the power of God unto salvation. They didn't want me to just be a good boy, and be more obedient to them and stop crashing their cars ... but they wanted me to become a man of God. They knew the Good News was the transforming power for that to take place in my life.

They never gave up."

Luis stressed that the Word of God is the key to raising children who know and love the Lord.

It has power, he said. So when you teach your son and try to implant biblical truth, remember to work on memory work, Bible verses. That will never go away ... plant the Word of God. Its the powerful dynamite.

Stick by your son, even if he's not walking with the Lord or he may not know the Lord. Love him just like God the Father loves you. He doesn't reject you because you smoke a cigarette or drank three beers. The Lord won't do that. He just won't reject you.

He added: The Lord has used Andrew to lead many to Christ, but all of those principles we planted in him when he was a boy, all the way through his teenage years, and even when he was a young adult, whether he liked or not.

Your son, your daughter can lead people to Jesus Christ if you plant biblical principles in their heart. Plant the seed in your children, evangelize, win people to Christ. You'll have no regrets at the end of your life."

The Promise Keepers 2020 Men's Conference - Virtual Event was held July 31-Aug. 1. Speakers included Pastors Tony Evens, Mark Batterson, John Gray, and others, with worship led by Phil Wickham, Danny Gokey, and Michael W. Smith. Topics included marriage and restoration, making disciples, seeking justice, building a legacy, and fatherhood.
- Ogie Diaz mentioned Jennylyn Mercado during the recent interview he had with MJ Felipe

- He unhesitatingly talked about the actress being vocal about the issues that ABS-CBN is facing

- The comedian stated that the Philippines is a democratic country so everyone has the right to voice out their opinions

- According to Ogie, the Kapuso star must continue speaking up for what she believes is right

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Ogie Diaz aired his honest opinion about Jennylyn Mercado being very vocal regarding the much-talked-about issues that ABS-CBN is facing.

KAMI learned that the gorgeous actress continues to show support for the media giant despite receiving heavy backlash on social media.

She even claimed in a recent Twitter post that it may be considered injustice itself if people will remain neutral or silent during times of injustice.

Jennylyn Mercado (Courtesy of Flickr)

Source: UGC

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Through an online interview with MJ Felipe, Ogie suddenly mentioned the name of Jennylyn while talking about the people who risk their lives to join protests for ABS-CBN.

The comedian pointed out that the Philippines is a democratic country so everyone is free to exercise the right to speak up.

As the conversation progressed, the prominent talent manager urged the Kapuso actress to continue voicing out what she believes is right.

Hindi natin pwedeng tanggalan ng karapatan ang kahit sino na magsalita lalo na kung siya ay taxpayer, lalo na kung siya ay nagmamalasakit, lalo na kung siya ay Pilipino Ogie quipped.

Kung nanonood si Jennylyn sa atin, Sige lang Jennylyn, magsalita ka Sino ba naman yung iba na aawatin mo si Angel Locsin, aawatin mo si Jennylyn Mercado, aawatin mo kahit sino na magsalita. Hello? he added.

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Watch the video of the interview below (Proceed to 17th minute):

Ogie Diaz is a showbiz personality who also serves as the talent manager of Liza Soberano. He is also the co-handler of Enrique Gil.

He recently confirmed to the public that the love team LizQuen will be starring in another movie. It will be directed by Cathy Garcia-Molina.

The celebrity also reacted to the decision of ABS-CBN to let its transmission be used by the government for the upcoming school year.

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<! Governor Nyesom Wike >

Michael Adeshina

Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike said Osagie Ize-Iyamu, the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the governorship election in Edo State, does not have the backing of President Muhammdu Buhari and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.

According to Wike, the absence of the President and Vice President at the flag-off of the APC Governorship campaign on Saturday was a confirmation that Ize-Iyamu is on his own.

While speaking on Sunday; Wike said: The absence of the President and Vice President at the flag-off of the APC Governorship campaign is a confirmation that he does not have their support.

Governor Wike, who is the Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party National Campaign Council for Edo 2020 Governorship Election, also reacted to the strong statement issued by Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Friday 7 August, on the Edo House of Assembly crisis.

In the statement, Tinubu called Governor Godwin Obaseki, a dictator and a reminder of Nigerias years of military rule for blocking majority members of the house from performing their duties.

Tinubu noted that recent actions of Governor Obaseki represent the gravest possible assault on constitutional democracy and the rule of law and escalation of violence and tension in the state he purports to govern.

Tinubu added that Obasekis conduct in the past year is undoubtedly impeachable.

In response to the letter, Wike said he was shocked by the letter released by Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

He said: Tinubu is one man that I have great respect for so when I read the papers, I was taken aback. It is unfortunate that members that were not inaugurated can turn around to illegally impeach people.

What Governor Obaseki did is what any Chief Security officer should do. It is justifiable in order to avoid chaos.

The certificate claims about Governor Obaseki by the former APC National Chairman is a non-issue because he is the best candidate for Edo State.

It is unfortunate that we are in a country that somebody that does not have a certificate will question the one that has.

His claim that if APC losses the election they will secure the mandate through the courts is a total confirmation that the Party cannot win the Edo election through the ballot box.

Securing victory through the courts will be null and void as there are still Judges in Nigeria with conscience who cannot dance to the tune of the APC.

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New Delhi, Aug 9 (UNI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said for the development of New India, the entire nation needs to progress.

Interacting with BJP Karyakartas of Andaman and Nicobar Islands through video-conferencing, Mr Modi said the government may function from a specific point, but its work should reach out to every one and more importantly, to the person at the end of the ladder.

He said 12 islands of Andaman and Nicobar have been selected where high-impact projects will be expanded.

'Andaman and Nicobar is at a strategic location in relation to trade and blue economy. It is linked to Kerala, Kolkata and Bangladesh,' he said.



The iconic Andaman & Nicobar Islands will become digitally independent on August 10, when Mr Modi will dedicate his dream project 'The Submarine Optical Fiber Cable' to the nation.

The Andaman and Nicobar Islands contributed in India's struggle for Independence, Mr Modi said, adding that it will also play a key role in Aatmanirbhar Bharat and the security and growth of New India.

'Our country is lucky that we have different things in different parts. The ones we can develop, like we are going to give impetus to industries like Andaman Nicobar to sea products and Coconut products,' he said.

Mr Modi said many Higher Educational Institutions have been created for the youth of this region.

'To make the life of the island easier, whatever is necessary to bring prosperity there, they are being completed quickly,' he pointed out.

The Prime Minister said the islands are also being connected to the rest of the country by airways, improving air connectivity from one island to another.

Port Blair Airport is being expanded in a big way, he maintained.

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Top North Dakota Republican Party officials have disavowed the anti-LGBTQ resolution recently approved by delegates, but it appears that some members plan to continue advocating for the abhorrent language.

A letter signed by 17 members of the resolutions committee, including two state lawmakers, says they support keeping the Resolution in its current form. We look forward to a discussion next cycle about potential changes.

The resolution they apparently plan to continue supporting includes language such as LGBT practices are unhealthy and dangerous, sometimes endangering or shortening life and sometimes infecting society at large. The language is reminiscent of dehumanizing propaganda of the past. It's the type of language used by totalitarian regimes that have preyed on minorities and people of other faiths.

Although it is unclear who wrote the most offensive language in the resolution, those who signed the letter supporting it include Rep. Jeff Magrum, R-Hazelton, and Rep. Jeff Hoverson, R-Minot.

The group seems to think that adding a line stating The Republican Party of North Dakota does not advocate discrimination borne of hatred for ones fellow man somehow makes the rest of it less despicable. It doesn't. It's bigotry at its worst.

The resolution was part of a package of party policy statements approved by Republican party delegates 621-139 in a mail-in vote in April, The Associated Press reported. Delegates could only vote up or down on the 36-page document; they could not vote on individual issues.

Since Forum News Service first reported about the resolutions, several prominent Republicans including Gov. Doug Burgum have denounced the language. The executive committee of the Republican Party, which includes Burgum and state House and Senate majority leaders, voted to oppose the anti-LGBTQ resolution. The NDGOP took the resolutions off the party website and instead made them available upon request.

Supporters of the resolution argue in their letter that there is no legal mechanism in our rules that would allow us to revert or revise the language. It seems likely it will come up again in two years.

It's a failure of Republican Party leadership that the language was allowed to go as far as it did. The Republicans need to get rid of that language now and not wait two years to correct their horrible mistake.

The next step the North Dakota Republican Party should take is to abolish its resolutions committee. Its clear that the current system allows a fringe group to hijack the process and promote views that are held by a minority of members.

Candidates are not expected to follow the resolutions, which are an extension of the party platform. So having them at all seems unnecessary.

Some indicated that delegates who supported the resolutions had not actually read them. If the resolutions are not important enough for delegates to read or discuss, then they should be eliminated altogether.

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Teslas Autopilot has changed the way cars are driven, and the automotive world will never be the same. While this was introduced as a technology to assist the driver, many people have taken it on its face value  or word value in this case. The companys Level 2 self-driving system has come under scrutiny many times for various reasons, and it still haunts Elon Musk, who is tired of reiterating that people cannot rely completely on it as a full self-driving system. He recently spoke to Automotive News, and blamed the owners for not using it the way it was intended to be used.

Autopilot Is A Confused Terminology

Several cases of Autopilot causing fatalities have emerged in the past. Last month, a German court even ruled that the automaker is misleading customers about Autopilot and banned Tesla from advertising the system in Germany. A lot of folks believe that this is because people are taking Autopilot at its face value.

Elon Musk, as expected, isnt happy with the decision. When asked if the systems name should be changed, he said, Absolutely not; thats ridiculous,".

"The people who misuse Autopilot, it's not because they're new to it and don't understand it. The people who first use Autopilot are extremely paranoid about it. It's not like, If you just introduced a different name, I would have really treated it differently.' If something goes wrong with Autopilot, it's because someone is misusing it and using it directly contrary to how we've said it should be used."

Whether you like him or not, hes got a point this time. The general notion associated with the term is an automated system that does the job for you. When you Google Autopilot, this comes up - An autopilot is a system used to control the trajectory of an aircraft, marine craft or spacecraft without requiring constant manual control by a human operator. Autopilot does not replace human operators. The last sentence itself clarifies it. Heck, even pilots dont just let the Autopilot control the aircraft completely; so, why do people hand over the controls to the car?

Tesla tells the owners to use it as a system that helps them, but the drivers need to be alert and ready to take over in case of an emergency. They shouldnt be using their smartphones or taking naps when the Autopilot is activated. It would be quite helpful if owners read about the Autopilot in the owners manual. Musk further added, "Its not like some newbie who just got the car and, based on the name, thought theyd instantly trust the car to drive itself, Thats the idiotic premise of being upset with the Autopilot name. Idiotic."

Final Thoughts

I know this is going stir up the conversation here, but what do you think Tesla should do? Should it stick to the Autopilot name, or change it to something thats not misleading? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section below.

Source: Automotive News
(@ChaudhryMAli88)

ABU DHABI, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News / WAM - 07th Aug, 2020) Dr Ali Rashid Al Nuaimi, President of the World Council of Muslim Communities, met today in Abu Dhabi, Bujar Spahiu, the Grand Mufti of Albania and Chairman of the Sunni Muslim Community of Albania, currently visiting the UAE capital.

The meeting addressed the efforts made by Muslim communities around the world in curbing the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic and their role in promoting synergy between all organisations and governments in this respect.

The two sides also reviewed prospects of promoting the principles of moderation, tolerance, peaceful coexistence, belonging to homeland, respect for law, and pluralism, particularly under the challenging circumstances the world is going through.

Dr Al Nuaimi expressed hope the visit of the Albanian grand scholar would result in further consolidating the values of tolerance between all Muslim communities to the higher good of humanity at large.

The two scholars exchanged commemorative shields at the end of the meeting.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, Aug. 9

By Nargiz Sadikhova - Trend:

The value of trade turnover between Kazakhstan and Vietnam amounted to over $70.9 million over first four months of 2020, compared to $164.9 million during the same period of 2019, Trend reports with reference to Kazakhstans Statistics Committee.

The share of Vietnam in the total value of Kazakhstans trade turnover stood at 0.3 percent during the reporting period of 2020 compared to 0.6 percent during the same period of 2019.

Kazakhstans export to Vietnam amounted to $1.3 million over the period from January through April 2020 compared to $60.3 million during the same period of 2019.

Vietnams share in the total volume of Kazakhstans export amounted to less than 0.1 percent during the reporting period of 2020, compared to 0.3 percent during the same period of 2019.

In turn, Kazakhstans import from Vietnam amounted to $69.6 million over the reporting period compared to $104.6 million during the same period of 2019.

Vietnams total share in Kazakhstans import reached 0.7 percent during the reporting period of 2020 compared to 1 percent during the same period of 2019.

Total volume of Kazakhstans trade turnover made up $28.1 million over the period from Jan. through Apr. 2020 which indicates a decrease from $28.8 million during the same period of 2019.

Kazakhstans export amounted to $18.3 million during the reporting period of 2020 ($18.5 million in the same period of 2019), whereas import amounted to $9.8 million ($10.3 million in the same period of 2019).

---

Follow the author on twitter: @nargiz_sadikh
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe lays a wreath during a ceremony marking the 75th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki at the Nagasaki Peace Park on Aug. 9, 2020. AFP



Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will refrain from visiting the Yasukuni shrine for war dead on the 75th anniversary of Japan's defeat in World War Two, Jiji news agency said on Sunday, but will make an offering on the emotive day, as he has done in the past.



The shrine, dedicated to Japanese who have died during past wars including World War Two, is seen as a potent symbol of the controversy that persists over the conflict's legacy in East Asia.






Philadelphia is officially in modified, restricted green, and gyms have been allowed to reopen. But indoor dining remains off-limits. An outdoor dining set up on 13th Street is pictured. Read more

When Marquita Burnett heard Philadelphia was moving to the green phase of reopening, she was confused. She was pretty sure the city had already earned a green designation from Pennsylvanias governor (it had). The next thing she knew, the city was scaling back some of the businesses it had planned to reopen (namely, indoor dining and gyms). But it was still calling this phase restricted green.

I feel like its been back and forth  the mayor says one thing, the governor says another. So who do you really listen to? asked Burnett, a 32-year-old teachers assistant.

Looking for something to do with her 6-year-old son at the end of June, she saw the mayor announce that libraries could open in the new, modified green phase. But people who worked at the library were posting on Twitter that they were not open.

The lines are very blurred, said Burnett. Are we completely in the green, or not?

When the coronavirus shutdown was ordered in March, the message was straightforward and simple: Stay at home; dont leave the house except to perform essential work or shop at essential businesses. However hard those restrictions were to stomach, they were clear.

Skip ahead four months. As businesses started to reopen, mixed messages on every level of government have made whats permissible and safe feel like a matter of interpretation.

Absent any overarching or consistent national messaging, elected officials are left to come up with localized rules, which at times contradict one another, presenting a false choice between personal freedoms and protecting ones health. That forces individuals to make decisions about their actions that carry heavy moral weight.

Color-coded confusion

Pennsylvanias phased reopening, coded according to the colors of a traffic light, factors in two indicators: the amount of virus circulating in the community, and the degree to which the economy is open.

In the beginning, we had a plan where there was pretty tight linkage between level of viral transmission and reopening activities, said Susan Coffin, a pediatric infectious-disease specialist working on Childrens Hospital of Philadelphias response to the pandemic. Over time, she said, though the color-coding system remained a good indicator for which businesses were opening up, it stopped reflecting the viral risk as closely as the number of new cases ebbed and flowed. And that, she said, has resulted in confusion.

 READ MORE: Three approaches for the green phase, if youre high risk

Philadelphia is officially in modified, restricted green, and gyms have been allowed to reopen. Indoor dining remains off-limits.

Now, we are seeing what might sound like a contradictory message: Yes, we are reopening, but, no, we dont want you to stop behaving as though there is virus in our community.

In neighboring New Jersey, by contrast, the phased reopening is incremental. There is no overall color-coding; instead, each phase offers a broad sense of what will change, and, industry-by-industry, individual restrictions are loosened one at a time.

For his part, Philadelphia Health Commissioner Thomas Farley said he wished people could have ignored Pennsylvanias color-coding altogether.

The governor came up with this high-level plan with these three different colors, but clearly Philadelphia is unique, Farley told reporters at a June 30 news conference at which he announced the city would pause before entering the full green phase. So were calling it green, but I would rather have people focus less on the color and more on what activities are allowed and not allowed.

 READ MORE: Philly is pleading with business owners to follow coronavirus safety rules. But its not issuing fines.

Part of the issue is that the science is evolving and information about the novel coronavirus changes rapidly. Masks, for example, were initially explicitly discouraged because of short supply. Once they became more available, and research emerged supporting their use, masks were back in full force.

Though health departments do their best to keep up with the research as it emerges  and to explain why their recommendations change, when they do  it can be hard to keep track. And it doesnt help when politicians contradict the science-backed recommendations.

We cant be out there as the secretary of health telling you to wear a mask and your local elected official is telling you, Dont wear a mask. Youll be fine,  said April Hutcheson, communications director for the Pennsylvania Department of Health. It makes the job more challenging.

But there is some messaging health departments can control. Pennsylvania laid out what many interpreted as specific metrics for testing capacity, contact tracing, nursing home outbreaks, and the number of new cases that counties would have to hit to move to less restrictive phases by a certain date. Many counties in the southeastern part of the state didnt meet those benchmarks but transitioned anyway. The governor later said the metrics were not hard marks but would be considered in concert with other factors to determine overall risk.

 FAQ: Your coronavirus questions, answered.

Setting aside whether Pennsylvanias transition from red to yellow led to an increase in coronavirus cases, the mixed messaging was likely to contribute to distrust in government, said Ellen Peters, who runs the Center for Science Communication Research at the University of Oregon.

It gives people inconsistent information, so youre being told, Eh, that didnt happen, but were going to go ahead and do it anyway, said Peters, whose Oregon county similarly failed to meet its benchmarks but moved into a new phase anyway. And so people are left with Well, the guidelines dont matter then. If they dont matter, what else can I not trust that this city or state entity is telling me? 

Research has shown that when people are stuck at an impasse, they are more likely to just opt for doing what they want to do in the first place.

 READ MORE: How to defuse arguments over masks and personal space as Philly reopens

How safe is safe?

The health departments at the city and state level point to their regular news briefings, where they advise not just which activities are safe, but also how to do them safely. Asking people to constantly evaluate what they consider safe is a tall order.

What does it mean to be careful right now? I dont think thats actually a meaningful instruction, said Tess Wilkinson-Ryan, a professor of law and psychology at the University of Pennsylvania.

The level of care we are asking of individuals is really high  we would never ask this in normal life.

At the start of the pandemic, what it meant to be safe was easier to grasp, said Wilkinson-Ryan. Memes like flattening the curve gave people new language they needed to understand the broader reasoning behind shutting down the economy. They felt as if they were doing something by doing nothing  it created a norm. In the partial reopening, that norm is gone, but it is not clear what replaces it as people make decisions about how to keep themselves and others safe.

Without those clear rules, Wilkinson-Ryan, Marquita Burnett, and others have been left to make their own decisions based on a combination of the emerging science around the virus, whom they trust, and whats most important to them.

Burnett, for instance, had been taking her son to get his hair cut on his barbers front porch. The barber always wore a mask and took the virus seriously, so when the barbershop reopened, she felt comfortable taking her son there.

But shes not comfortable with any of her typical summer activities, like going to the zoo, amusement parks, or outdoor restaurants. If she cant predict the way a crowd of strangers will act, shes not taking the risk.

Despite her sound reasoning, its easy to imagine someone else, confronted with the same choices, making the exact opposite decisions: skipping the barbershop because its indoors; hitting the zoo because its outside.

Its sort of like asking everyone to decide their own speed limit based on, like, the make and model of their car, said Wilkinson-Ryan.  Think about who youre going to drive with. Think about the importance of your destination. Good luck! 

 READ MORE: Public bathrooms are risky during the pandemic. These safety tips can help.

Placing blame

Because one persons idea of careful in a pandemic is different from anothers, she said, the most helpful instructions are those that are clear and specific: maximum capacities in public spaces; marks on the ground to denote six feet of distance; specific instructions for people on how often they should go to the grocery store.

Otherwise, people are likely to come to different conclusions based on the same information, which in turn, leads to public shaming. And that has its own risks.

When someone gets angry, they shut down to new information. They react and simply do what they want to do, said Peters of the University of Oregon. I could see where you could get much worse health behaviors from shaming other people.

 READ MORE: How cancel culture caught on so quickly | The Angry Grammarian

She cited pictures of people on beaches as a flash point, where some felt justified shaming others. The perspective of some photos, though, may have made beaches look more crowded than they were. Maybe in reality, people are pretty far apart and theyre outdoors, she said.

Wilkinson-Ryan said the shaming is a natural result of a lack of clear norms in a new and changing environment. Overburdened with decisions, its also a cognitive shortcut.

Its easy and salient to think about what people in my neighborhood are doing wrong, said Wilkinson-Ryan. Theyre sitting at the park, theyre playing, theyre touching each other. Thats an availability bias: It comes easily to mind because its part of my everyday life. You tend to place blame on the causes that come to mind quickly and easily.

She sees people blaming neighbors who make different decisions rather than holding state legislatures and Congress accountable.

 READ MORE: Youre probably not an expert at assessing COVID-19 risks. Your doctor can help. | Expert Opinion

In other countries, coordinated federal responses skirted this issue to some degree. National messaging meant there was no need to deputize hundreds of local health officials to project hyperlocal and often conflicting messages.

It really is kind of ridiculous, that idea of asking all of these people to come up with their own experts and their own way of guiding behavior in the states or cities, rather than having the experts in the country come together and decide what is the best guidance for all of us and having the politicians stick with that, said Peters.

To streamline her own decision-making, Peters said she adopted a What Would Anthony Fauci Do? approach. But when everyone is guided by a different North Star, people are bound to crash into one another.

This story is part of a partnership that includes WHYY, NPR, and Kaiser Health News. Kaiser Health News 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 three senators from Ebonyi State and a member of the House of Representatives were among prominent members who boycotted the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) state congress on Saturday.

New leaders were elected at the event to pilot the affairs of the states ruling party for the next four years.

But the three senators, Sam Egwu (Ebonyi North), Ama Nnachi (Ebonyi South) and Obinna Ogba (Ebonyi Central), and the representative for Afikpo North/South federal constituency, Iduma Igariwey, stayed away from the congress.

Four out of five House of reps members elected on the platform of PDP attended and participated at the congress which was held at the Abakaliki Township stadium.

Their absence may not be unconnected with their alleged demand for new state party executives ahead of 2023. Instead, all the incumbents were reelected at the congress.

But Governor David Umahi at the congress called for peace in the party, saying there was no reason for tension in the polity.

On the absence of the federal lawmakers, he said: I want to commend our National Assembly members. If anybody has angered you, please caucus leader we will have a meeting on Thursday evening, tell the other senators and Reps who are not here. I am the father of the state and we have worked together 2015, 2019. There is nothing that can divide us, whatever is any misgiving if any, let us discuss on Thursday and move forward. This is very important.

The reelected state chairman of the party, Onyekachi Nwebonyi, assured that the state executives will continue to entrench internal democracy in the party.
Aramcos dividends play a critical role in helping the Saudi government to manage its fiscal deficit. Photo: Budrul Chukrut/SOPA Images

Saudi Aramco (2222.SR) saw profits collapse by 73.4% in the second quarter (Q2) of the year, reflecting a devastating year for oil markets and the global energy economy at large.

Sales at the worlds biggest oil company were hit by a decline in energy demand and a slump in oil prices.

Aramco, Saudi Arabias majority-state owned company and the worlds largest crude producer said that it expected capital expenditure to be at the lower end of $20bn (15.3bn) to $30bn range.

The results are in line with major oil companies, as lockdowns to limit coronavirus spread reduced travel  causing a reduction in oil consumption and sent prices tumbling to decades low levels.

READ MORE: Week ahead: UK employment data, Eurozone and UK GDP readings, US retail sales

Despite the loss, the oil producer said that it plans to stick to its $75bn dividend pledge to its shareholders this year, paying out $18.75bn per quarter.

The coronavirus pandemic-induced, global slowdown in oil demand, pushed Aramcos net income for Q2 down to $6.57bn, from $24.7bn in the same period last year and $16.6bn in the first quarter of 2020.

In the companys first earnings press conference, Aramco president and chief executive, Amin Nasser blamed strong headwinds from reduced demand and lower oil prices for the financial results.

The result for Q2 reflects the biggest shock for global energy markets, which saw oil demand fall to 25-year lows and market prices plunge by three-quarters.

READ MORE: Coronavirus: BP halves dividend as it swings to record $6.7bn loss

The oil giant became the worlds most valuable company after it listed on the Saudi stock exchange in 2019  but its since got toppled by US tech company Apple (AAPL) after COVID-19 took its toll on the oil industry.

Aramcos dividends play a critical role in helping Saudi Arabias government manage its fiscal deficit.

Earlier this month, BP (BP.L) cut its dividend for the first time in a decade after a record $6.7bn Q2 loss  while in April, Royal Dutch Shell (RDSB.L) cut its dividend for the first time since the Second World War.
New Delhi, Aug 9 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday launched the financing facility under the Agricuture Infrastructure Fund worth Rs 1 lakh crore.

The agriculture infrastructure fund was announced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman as part of the Aatmanirbhar Bharat economic package in May.

It will provide for funding of agriculture infrastructure projects at the farm-gate and aggregation points such as primary agricultural cooperative societies, farmer producer organisations and agriculture entrepreneurs, among others. Infrastructure to be created through the fund would include post-harvest infrastructure and community farming assets such as cold storage, collection centres and processing units.

This will provide an impetus for development of other financially viable post-harvest management infrastructure, as per the government.

It was announced in view of the lack of adequate cold chain and post-harvest management infrastructure in the vicinity of farm-gate that causes gaps in value chains.

The Prime Minister also initiated the transfer of Rs 17,100 crore benefit to bank accounts of 8.55 crore farmers under the PM-KISAN scheme.

During the virtual launch programme, Modi also talked to farmers across states through video conferencing.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Google's office in Mountain View, California.

Brooks Kraft LLC/Corbis via Getty Images

The coronavirus outbreak will have long-lasting effects on US workers, particularly when it comes to the open office made popular by Silicon Valley companies like Facebook and Google.

Experts say that the open office was never very positive for employees, who reported feeling less productive and more distracted, got sick more easily, and felt pressured to work longer and harder because of their lack of privacy.

When offices begin reopening, whether that's this year or next summer, we're likely to see a shift away from the open floor plan.

"Open floor plans are most definitely going to disappear," Rhiannon Staples, chief marketing officer at human resources management company Hibob, told Business Insider. "I feel like it was already on its way out and this was the kick it needed to get it out the door."

Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

As the coronavirus continues its spread, unabated, in many parts of the US, it's becoming increasingly apparent that a return to "normal" is still far in the future. That's true for American office workers, many of whom have been working from their homes since March.

But when workers are able to return to work en masse, whether that's this winter or a year from now, the office probably won't look as they left it.

Corporations nationwide are considering how to reopen spaces, from new ventilation systems systems to socially distanced elevators and closed-off kitchens. But the biggest change might be to the space as a whole.

Experts predict that the wide-open office, popularized by tech industry titans like Google and Facebook, will become a thing of the past. The fad, already becoming passe, has become almost dangerous in the face of the virus  employees often sit packed in large, open rooms, with desks placed close enough to reach out and touch your coworker.

Story continues

But don't mourn the death of that open-office floor plan just yet: though it was once heralded as the key to employee collaboration and productivity, it was never all that great for workers anyway.

The rise of the open office

Facebook's headquarters.

Sarah Jacobs

Beginning in the early aughts, American tech workers began leaving cubicles behind in favor of an open-floor-plan office space.

It all started with Google, which revealed its new headquarters, the Googleplex, in 2005. Based in Mountain View, California, it was  and still is  unlike any office in America. It had a bowling alley! And sleep pods! And even sand volleyball courts!

The Googleplex, with its open design and flexible spaces, was heralded as the future.

"The attitude was: We're inventing a new world, why do we need the old world?" Clive Wilkinson, the architect who designed the Googleplex, told Fast Company last year.

Soon, companies started coming to Wilkinson and saying they wanted to by like Google, he told Fast Company. Not long after, Facebook followed suit, opening what it says is the biggest open-floor-plan office in the world: approximately 2,800 employees working in "one giant room," CEO Mark Zuckerberg said when it opened in 2015.

"We saw a big pendulum shift where everyone came out of private offices and big cubicles into the open office, and that was an epic fail, because one size does not fit all. The open office has gotten a really bad rap as a result of doing it really badly," Melissa Hanley, CEO of the design firm Blitz, which counts Microsoft and Instacart among its clients, told Business Insider.

At the time, the idea was that if you broke down physical barriers between workers, it would break down metaphorical ones as well. Employees would be able to easily collaborate on projects and would be enticed to engage in a free-flow of ideas with their next-door neighbor. The company's CEO, once ensconced in a glass corner office, would now sit right out on the floor next to their employees, a person of the people.

But that's not exactly what happened.

Instead, employees put on headphones to shut out the noise that came along with wide-open spaces. They reported feeling stressed, anxious, and less likely to collaborate with those around them. In fact, a Harvard Business Review study from last year found that when a company switched to an open office, face-to-face interactions actually decreased by 70%  employees just communicated electronically instead.

And that wasn't the only problem. A prescient 2018 piece by Vice's Mark Hay argued that open offices are vectors for disease, with employees who work in them taking more sick days than those who work in enclosed offices.

"In the workplace, it only follows that if you're working in close proximity and handling objects and interacting closely with each other, it's a very easy route of transmission for germs, viruses, bacteria," Melissa Perry, a public-health researcher at George Washington University's Milken Institute School of Public Health, told Business Insider earlier this year.

Socializing productivity

Employees at Pinterest's headquarters in San Francisco.

Kim Kulish/Corbis via Getty Images

But beyond the prevalence of germs, there's another downside of the open office, at least for employees.

"The open-plan office has always been in some ways in the interest of the company rather than the worker, because it socializes productivity," Melissa Gregg, Intel's chief technologist for user experience, recently told The New York Times. "It forces workers to watch each other's work, and it creates very few spaces of privacy for individual workers."

Mentally, there's a pressure that comes with open offices. Workers don't want to look like they're not working hard, or like they're ducking out early. As Jeff Pochepan argued in Inc Magazine in 2018, this means that workers may work longer hours or feel undue pressure to be "on" and engaged 100% of the time, since everyone can see them.

"I definitely think there's a concept within agile workplaces about accountability and thinking that you set something out that you're going to do and then you have to report back, did you do it," Hanley said. "I do think that the visual access to each other is probably feeding into that."

Tracy Brower, a sociologist and principal in the Applied Research + Consulting Group at furniture manufacturer Steelcase, likened open offices to manufacturing, where workers generally kept an even, steady pace until a "rate-buster" came in  someone who worked harder and faster, thereby pushing the whole group too much.

"There's hustle culture where, I may not actually be more productive, but by goodness, I'm going to stay later than my boss, no matter what," Brower told Business Insider. "I think we can get caught up in working for the sake of working and being busy for the sake of being busy."

'The kick it needed to get it out the door'

The Garage at Google, where the company says employees can come together to learn, create, and make.

Brooks Kraft LLC/Corbis via Getty Images

In the short term, the office is already changing. Companies are considering density like never before, spacing out workstations, limiting large groups in conference rooms and elevators, and placing partitions in between desks, almost like the cubicles of yore.

But these cosmetic alterations are likely to be the precursor to a bigger change. Even though a full return to the office still appears to be a long way off, experts agree that when we do return  perhaps in summer 2021, as Google and Facebook expect  we should expect some permanent changes.

"Open floor plans are most definitely going to disappear," Rhiannon Staples, chief marketing officer at human resources management company Hibob, told Business Insider. "I feel like it was already on its way out and this was the kick it needed to get it out the door."

But Brower said she doesn't think the open office is 100% dead  it's just going to feel different than it did in early 2020.

"The pendulum has really swung toward open, open, open, and lots of density," Brower said. "I think what has now happened is we're starting to swing that pendulum way to the other side  more barriers, more boundaries, less density."

While that mentality is critical for the safety of employees in the near future, Brower said she doesn't expect things to stay that way.

"I think what we will end up seeing is that pendulum landing somewhere a little bit close to the middle," Brower said. "This is actually our opportunity to reimagine, reinvent, use the coronavirus almost as an accelerator to get to places that are maybe even better than it would have been."

Read the original article on Business Insider
Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) has dialed up his spicy slams of President Trump, including this swipe at yesterday's signing ceremony: "The pen-and-phone theory of executive lawmaking is unconstitutional slop."

Why it matters: Trump increasingly looks  to business and to fellow Republicans  like a loser in November. So they're more likely to create distance to save their own skins. Sasse also won his May primary, further freeing him.

Earlier, Sasse had this to say as the White House and Democratic leaders negotiated a new coronavirus rescue package:

The swamp should stop pretending theres some thoughtful negotiation happening here. ... The White House is trying to solve bad polling by agreeing to indefensibly bad debt. This proposal is not targeted to fix precise problems  it's about Democrats and Trumpers competing to outspend each other.

After the Lafayette Square fracas, Sasse said: "I'm against clearing out a peaceful protest for a photo op that treats the Word of God as a political prop."

On intelligence about Russian bounties: "Number one, who knew what when? Did the commander in chief know and, if not, how the hell not? What is going on in our process?"

"And, number two, what are we gonna do to impose proportional cost in response? In a situation like this, that would mean Taliban and GRU [Russian military intelligence agency] body bags."

On Trump's plan to withdraw troops from Germany: " Chairman Xi and Vladimir Putin are reckless  and this withdrawal will only embolden them."

On a report Trump might withdraw troops from South Korea: "{This kind of strategic incompetence is Jimmy Carter-level weak."

Flashback ... Sasse in his maiden Senate speech in 2015: "Everything cannot be simply Republicans versus Democrats. ... I promise you that I plan to speak up when the next president of my party exceeds his or her proper powers."
New Delhi, Aug 9 : As the pandemic severely hits the economy, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the rural economy of India is on a strong footing, bucking the overall economic slowdown, courtesy the 'record' procurement of farmers' produce by the government.

Speaking at the launch programme of the Rs 1 lakh crore Agriculture Infrastructure Fund, Modi said it was due to the farmers that the country did not have to face problems in terms of essential food items during the lockdown.

"When the country was under lockdown, our farmers were harvesting their crop and were also making new records in terms of sowing," he said.

Prime Minister added that the government assured record public procurement of the farmers' produce, leading to an increase of Rs 27,000 crore in the money transferred to the farmers.

Talking of the recent decisions to end the Essential Commodities Act and freeing the farmers from the limitations of selling at the APMC of a concerned state, he said that these decisions will change the scenario of rural economy in the country and will also lead to multiple increase in farmers' income.

He noted that the government plans to set up around 10,000 farmer-producer organisations (FPO) in the country.

On Sunday, Modi launched the Rs 1 lakh crore financing facility under the 'Agriculture Infrastructure Fund'. The fund was announced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman as part of the Aatmanirbhar Bharat economic package in May.

It has been created for funding in agriculture infrastructure projects at the farm-gate and aggregation points such as primary agricultural cooperative societies, farmer producer organisations and agriculture entrepreneurs, among others.

This will provide impetus for development of other financially viable post harvest management infrastructure, as per the government. It was announced in view of the lack of adequate cold chain and post harvest management infrastructure in the vicinity of farm gate causes gaps in value chains.

The Prime Minister also initiated the transfer of Rs 17,100 crore benefit to bank accounts of 8.55 crore farmers under the PM-KISAN scheme.

He expressed his satisfaction with the pace of implementation of the PM-KISAN scheme. He also noted that the scale of the program is so large that the funds released on Sunday have reached more people than the entire population of several countries taken together.

During the virtual launch program, Modi also interacted with three Primary Agriculture Credit Societies from Karnataka, Gujarat, and Madhya Pradesh.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-10 00:15:32|Editor: huaxia

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Chinese Vice Premier Sun Chunlan, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, attends and addresses a conference to mark the 90th founding anniversary of the Chinese Peasants and Workers Democratic Party (CPWDP) on behalf of the CPC Central Committee in Beijing, capital of China, Aug. 9, 2020. (Xinhua/Liu Bin)

BEIJING, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) -- A conference was held Sunday to mark the 90th founding anniversary of the Chinese Peasants and Workers Democratic Party (CPWDP) in Beijing.

Vice Premier Sun Chunlan attended and addressed the gathering on behalf of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee.

Over the 90 years, the CPWDP has made important contributions to the great cause of China's revolution, development and reform, according to the congratulatory message given by Sun, also a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee.

Particularly in fighting the COVID-19 epidemic, the CPWDP has given full play to their advantages of talents in the field of medicine and health, the congratulatory message said.

The vast number of CPWDP-member medical personnel devoted themselves to joining the battle on the front lines, demonstrating their love for the people and the country with concrete actions, it continued.

Chen Zhu, chairman of the CPWDP Central Committee and vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, reviewed the glorious journey of the CPWDP in the past 90 years, and urged all CPWDP members to make new and greater contributions in realizing the Chinese Dream of national rejuvenation. Enditem
The incident is understood to have taken place when Kanimozhi was at the Chennai international airport to take a flight to Delhi

Chennai/New Delhi: DMK MP Kanimozhi on Sunday alleged that a CISF official asked her if "she was an Indian" as she could not speak Hindi, prompting the paramilitary force to respond saying appropriate action will be taken.

The incident is understood to have taken place when Kanimozhi was at the Chennai international airport to take a flight to Delhi.

Kanimozhi, who is also the DMK's women's wing secretary, said on her official Twitter account

Today at the airport a CISF officer asked me if I am an Indian when I asked her to speak to me in tamil or English as I did not know Hindi. I would like to know from when being indian is equal to knowing Hindi.#hindiimposition  Kanimozhi () (@KanimozhiDMK) August 9, 2020

The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) sought details from her soon after.

"Warm greetings from @CISFHQrs. We sincerely acknowledge your unpleasant experience. Kindly DM journey details; name of airport, location, date, and time of the incident for appropriate action in the matter," the CISF tweeted.

Kanimozhi is the member of Parliament from Thoothukkudi in Tamil Nadu.

The CISF is the national civil aviation security force and it provides counter-terrorist and anti-sabotage cover to 64 such facilities in the country at present.
Experts reveal, using their new model, that a projected number of 70,000 lives can be saved in the United States by December 1 if people will regularly use facemasks.

The United States remains to have the highest number of COVID-19 infections around the globe. The Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center has recorded nearly 5 million infections and a death toll of over 160,000.

However, experts revealed that the number of COVID-19 deaths could reach 300,000 by December 1 if people do not use and wear facemasks, especially if they are exposed to public places. Today, these are only a few measures that can help stop the spread of the virus.

Moreover, experts also revealed that around 30,000 lives could be saved if Americans will wear facemasks. The projected number is based on the new model that experts used. Along with the mandatory wearing of facemasks is the strict compliance of COVID-19 health and safety guidelines set by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Dr. William Schaffner of Vanderbilt University told CNN News that 70,000 people could be saved if people wear facemasks every day and every time they leave their homes. At the same time, the projected 300,000 deaths saddened him as well.

He said, "This virus Is not just going to disappear or vanish. The virus is with us, and we're going to have to combat it, and the simple thing that we can all do is wear a mask. Please, everyone, wear your mask every day."

Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN Chief medical correspondent, said on Friday said that the number of lives that could be saved by wearing facemasks could even be higher. Dr. Gupta also added that facemasks could cut the virus transmission by more than 40 percent.

Health experts reported that during the early days of the virus outbreak, older adults were more at risk of getting infected with the virus. However, new data shows from the World Health Organization that infected teens and young adults have increased.

The World Health Organization said that the increase of COVID-19 cases is linked to broader testing, higher detection of milder cases, and shifting demographics of hot spots. However, the international health agency warned that the increase is also because of easing the strict measures in June.

Recently, a 7-year-old boy died due to COVID-19 in Georgia. The African-American boy is the youngest victim of the virus in the state, according to the data obtained from the state health department. Additionally, the boy has no underlying condition.

Meanwhile, New Mexico Human Services Secretary Dr. David Scrase urged people not to plan big gatherings for the upcoming Labor Day. He said on Thursday to celebrate the Labor Day within the family and told them that there would be more time to do it.

Dr. Christopher Murray, University of Washington's Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation director, also said the importance of wearing a facemask. He also supported that it can potentially save over 70,000 lives, as mentioned by other experts.

Murray said, "It's rare that you see something so simple, so inexpensive, so easy for everybody to participate in can have such an extraordinary impact in the US and also all over the world." As of today, wearing facemask is only one of the ways to stop virus transmission in the absence of the COVID-19 vaccine.

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The fall of the Confederate statues reminds us that no nation forever can be shackled to symbols that defy its values, subvert its purpose, and cause its people anguish and pain.

Removing these statues, though, also creates an opportunity, and focuses us on what we must do to build a just and equitable society.

Part of the answer must be to confront the ways systemic racism has put Black people on the front lines of environmental hazard and harm far too often, and for far too long.

Few things more directly impact the quality of our lives and health. Drinking safe water, breathing clean air and eating healthy food are basic human rights. And part of the promise of an equitable society is that each of us has the opportunity to live in a comfortable and affordable home near good schools, workplaces and centers of commerce.

And yet, if youre Black in America, these fundamentals are far from assured. The latest indicator: Black people are more than twice as likely as their white counterparts to die from the coronavirus.
Damaged ship leaking oil off Mauritius could split: PM Attempts to stabilise the stricken vessel and pump 4,000 tonnes of fuel from its hold have failed

A ship that ran aground off Mauritius leaking tonnes of oil into the ocean is cracking, the prime minister said Sunday, threatening an even greater ecological and economic disaster for the island nation.

More than 1,000 tonnes of fuel has seeped from the bulk carrier MV Wakashio into the azure sea off southeast Mauritius, befouling the coral reefs, white-sand beaches and pristine lagoons that lure tourists from around the globe.

But another 2,500 tonnes remain aboard the stricken vessel, which ran aground on a reef on July 25 but only started oozing from a crack in the hull in the past week.

Experts warn a further rupture could unleash a spill that will be beyond catastrophic for the fragile coastal ecosystem upon which Mauritius, and its economy, relies.

Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth said response crews had managed to stymie the leak for now, but were bracing for the worst.

"The cracks have grown. The situation is even worse," he told reporters late Sunday.

"The risk of the boat breaking in half still exists."

Japan said Sunday it would send a six-member expert team to assist with what Mauritius has declared an unprecedented environmental emergency.

France also dispatched a naval vessel, a military aircraft and technical advisers from nearby Reunion Island after Mauritius appealed for international help.

Thousands of volunteers, many smeared head-to-toe in black sludge, have marshalled along the coastline, stringing together miles of improvised floating barriers made of straw in a desperate attempt to hold back the oily tide.

Mitsui OSK Lines, which operates the vessel owned by another Japanese company, promised Sunday to "make all-out efforts to resolve the case".

"We are terribly sorry," the shipping firm's vice president, Akihiko Ono, told reporters in Tokyo.

But some fear the damage is already done.

Aerial images show the enormity of the disaster, with huge stretches of crystal-clear seas around the marooned cargo ship stained a deep inky black.

Story continues

Thick muck has coated mangrove forests and unspoiled inlets up and down the coastline, exacting irreparable harm and undoing years of painstaking conservation work, environmental activists say.

- 'Already too late' -

The slick has already begun drifting further up the coast, fanned along by strong winds and currents.

"I think it's already too late. If the ship breaks in two, the situation will be out of control," Vassen Kauppaymuthoo, an oceanographer and environmental engineer, told AFP.

"Were talking about a major disaster that is progressing, and its getting more complicated hour by hour."

Pressure is mounting on the government to explain why more was not done in the two weeks since the bulker ran aground.

The opposition has called for the resignation of the environment and fisheries ministers, while volunteers have ignored an official order to leave the clean-up operation to local authorities, donning rubber gloves to sift through the sludge.

"People by the thousands are coming together. No one is listening to the government anymore," said Ashok Subron, an environmental activist at Mahebourg, one of the worst-hit areas.

"People have realised that they need to take things into their hands. We are here to protect our fauna and flora."

Police boarded the Japanese-owned but Panamanian-flagged Wakashio on Sunday and seized the ship's log book and black box as part of investigations into the disaster.

The bulker struck a reef at Pointe d'Esny, an ecological jewel fringed by idyllic beaches, colourful reefs, sanctuaries for rare and endemic wildlife, and unique RAMSAR-listed wetlands.

Mauritius and its 1.3 million inhabitants depend crucially on the sea for ecotourism, having fostered a reputation as a conservation success story and a world-class destination for nature lovers.

The spill is a double blow for tourist operators who had hoped foreign tourists could soon return to Mauritius. The Indian Ocean nation has no active cases of coronavirus, and had declared wary victory after a long stretch without any new infections.

"Fishing is our only activity. We don't know how we will be able to feed our families," one fishermen, who gave his name only as Michael, told AFP.

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Parents are doing the best they can to make arrangements for their children. Yessica Amezquitas daughter Mahogany will be starting kindergarten at Herman Badillo Bilingual Academy in Buffalo this fall.

Amezquita, who is a program coordinator with the Leaving Our Legacy youth group, has been working from home for months. But its unclear how long that will continue.

There are a lot of day cares but a lot of them are closed still or limited in capacity, she said. That just means theres a lot of waiting lists.

For the first several weeks after the pandemic hit, she and her partner both were able to work from home. In May, he went back to work. After that, five or six relatives were able to help.

Now, two of Mahoganys grandparents help with child care. Whenever Amezquita drops her daughter off to them, she asks them about any potential Covid-19 symptoms they might be having, any recent exposure to other people.

As a parent, its a new norm that we have to set up to make sure we have a system in place when she does get taken care of by a family member, she said. To go through that screening measure: Have you been well enough for me to drop her off?
A British 'Jihadi' bride who denies leading an all-female Islamic State unit in Syria is now back in the UK living on a canal boat and claiming Universal Credit.

Natalie Bracht, 45, who holds dual British and Germany citizenship, was said to have travelled to Syria towards the end of 2014 before begging to be allowed to return to the UK in October 2018.

She had most recently been living in Heidelberg, Germany, but when the coronavirus pandemic hit, she was repatriated, according to The Sunday People.

Natalie Bracht, 45, was repatriated when the coronavirus pandemic hit and has been living in a canal boat and has claimed Universal Credit

After visiting the British consulate in Dusseldorf Bracht was given a ticket for a British Airways flight to London on April 3.

On arrival in the UK she was then questioned for more than three hours by Special Branch under Schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act 2000.

The mother-of-nine told the paper: 'They asked me where I had stayed in Syria. I had to tell them a couple of times, "Guys, I wasn't in Syria."'

Bracht also said that she was asked for her thoughts on Brexit, elections and vaccines.

She said she had initially been put up in a 44-a-night Travelodge before moving onto a barge and claims she receives help from the Helping Households Under Great Stress organisation.

On arrival in the UK she was then questioned for more than three hours by Special Branch under Schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act 2000. Pictured: File image of Natalie Bracht at King's Cross station, issued on November 18, 2008

Bracht now hopes to work as a busker and has claimed Universal Credit.

It was previously alleged that Bracht had married Celso Rodrigues da Costa, 31, an IS fighter from London after travelling to Syria and that she was among a group of Western women being held in Kurdish-controlled camps in northern Syria.

But she has now denied ever having joined Islamic State in Syria and said that living as a full-time terror suspect has made her stronger.

However, Bracht also said that she started volunteering in 2012 as an interpreter for the controversial campaign group Cage.

She translated letters for terror suspects held in prison all over the world because of concerns she had over Islamophobia.

Bracht, who holds dual British and Germany citizenship, was said to have travelled to Syria towards the end of 2014

She said: 'They are in prison, then they are free again and then they are not convicted but treated for the rest of their lives as full-time terror suspects. They never had convictions.'

Cage has said that it had no record of Bracht volunteering.

Bracht's comments come only weeks after Shamima Begum was involved in a legal battle to win back her British citizenship to return to the UK.

The 45-year-old said that Begum had been brainwashed on the internet and shouldn't have been allowed to leave the country in the first place.

The Home Office said: 'We do not comment on individual cases.'
In the age of 24-hour news, when people move on to the next story quicker than they pour their morning coffee, John McAreavey has been confronted with a strange kind of compassion fatigue.

It's almost 10 years since his late wife Michaela Harte's murder, and people wonder if it is time to 'move on'.

"A lot of people tend to think that, as time passes, you should just forget about things you know?" he says, incredulously. Last week he found "a lot of response coming through [on social media?] from people saying to 'get over this'".

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At a level, he can understand that. "Fortunately [most people] have never experienced trauma or injustice," he says, acknowledging that "it's a very, very difficult thing to understand" why he would continue the fight for justice all these years later.

In 2011, 27-year-old Michaela left him at the restaurant on their Mauritian honeymoon and headed for room 1025 of the Legends Hotel to collect chocolate to have with their tea. Unbeknownst to her, her killer or killers were in the room, and police believe Michaela disturbed them as they were stealing the couple's belongings.

As John waited, he watched a video on his phone and took pictures. Twenty minutes later -when Michaela failed to return - he went to check on her and was met with a scene that would change his life forever.

Now, almost a decade on, he made headlines again last week after he questioned the timing of the latest police probe. It came a week after he criticised Liverpool FC's newly signed commercial deal with the Mauritius tourist board: "It actually made me feel unwell," he says, citing "the trouble that they went through over 30 years [to get justice] for the victims of the Hillsborough disaster and how they had to fight so hard and so long".

As for the past 10 years, John says he can handle the grief, the groundless rumours that he was responsible for his wife's murder and even a shambolic court case - in which the two hotel workers he believes were responsible eventually walked free. But the idea that he would ever give up the fight for Michaela?

Impossible.

"This isn't healthy for me [to come out in the media again]. It's very painful every time I decide to say something more. It gives me great anxiety and stress. There are wounds there. You don't have to poke too far to feel that again. And I have often asked myself, 'Can I continue to do this and to bear that weight?' but the reality is I couldn't contemplate not doing it. How could I reconcile in my head that I am going to leave it now? I just don't know - even on practical terms - how that would be. I'm not that type of person."

The grief takes a physical toll: "Stress hormones in my body would have really broken me down over the years. Very bad stomachs, just making you actually physically sick. People talk about stress, they say 'stress is a killer' and sometimes it's an off-the-cuff remark, but it actually is. It can kill you. It really can. I am very conscious of that. I try to minimise it as best as I can."

Meditation and physical exercise help, but in the early years, he literally had to sit with the pain.

"I didn't really want to hear from anybody and I didn't really mean to be mean about that. I used to get these people with the best will in the world and they would have reached out and told you that they had lost someone - be it a mother, father, wife or husband - and it was nearly always accompanied by [so] 'I know how you feel' and that really used to annoy me because well a) you don't know me, b) you never knew Michaela, and c) you didn't know the relationship, so how could you know how I felt?

"And I suppose it was very much a case of 'well if you lost someone, this is the scripted way you are going to feel and we all go through that'. And that just did not sit well with me."

In the beginning he was at a complete loss: "I used to spend the early days Googling, but there is nothing out there that can help you overcome a traumatic death like that. It was the worst case possible - to lose someone in that way - and to lose someone so young."

Eventually, he says, "what I did learn was that I had to own my grief. I had to feel every inch of it. I didn't want to be three or four years down the line having blocked everything out and then have all of these unprocessed feelings."

He recalls: "I really wanted to feel the depths of those lows - and God they were low. But it was important to feel and honour it."

Gratitude helped: "I was very, very thankful for everything I had with Michaela in that relationship and I was thankful for the time we had together and, I suppose, I am an eternal optimist and so hope starts to creep back in and you eventually start to experience the good again."

A strange question, perhaps, but how did he actually 'feel' his feelings? "It's not a mad question at all. People just don't know how to be present any more. For me, I wanted to be alone and to be by myself and that was the time I really got to understand what my feelings were. It's very important to spend time alone - it's very different to being lonely."

Most people were lost for words, and that was OK. "It can be just a look in the eye or a hand on the shoulder and someone saying, 'I'm thinking of you,' and when that's sincerely said you can always receive it in the best way."

But he has also been met with the other extreme. During the trial of the two chief suspects, hotel cleaners Avinash Treebhoowoon and Sandip Moneea, a Mauritius radio station conducted a poll to ask who people believed was responsible for the murder, and 75pc of the island's public pointed the finger at John. At the time, he said he didn't care what people thought, but did it hurt more when baseless allegations trickled back home?

"Ach no, it honestly doesn't. I just think it's [down to] how fickle people are and it's just ignorance," he says. "As with most things in life, anything you say about another person, it's all to do with your perspective and what you are going through at any given time."

He encourages people to listen to a podcast available on iTunes and Spotify, which details the case, the evidence found in the room and the mistakes the police made. For those who believe he has no hope of justice in a country that was seen to have conducted a bungled police investigation and shambolic two-month trial, he points to other cases around the world which give hope.

"I take inspiration from Stephen Lawrence's mother, who fought for so long when her son was murdered. It can be done, if you are prepared to stay on course."

Doreen and Neville Lawrence fought tirelessly for justice for their 18-year-old son who was murdered in 1993. Their campaigning led to police reforms and brought the world's gaze on the "institutional racism" of the Met Police. His killers were found guilty - 18 years after the murder.

John recalls how his sister Claire reached out to Doreen Lawrence: "The biggest thing that she communicated was the level of patience required and to understand that it's going to take time."

So what next? "I want the two men who were previously acquitted arrested again for her murder... They deserve to be in court again. They deserve to sweat again.

"This isn't about vengeance. It's about right and wrong. If you kill someone, you have to pay.

"I just have to continue to think that there is an opportunity to get justice because Michaela deserves that. It's the least of what she deserves."

He has reached out to Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney for help and hopes that the Irish Government will assist him in putting pressure on Mauritius authorities to bring about a retrial.

His recent criticism has already being making waves: "Whatever I seem to say on Twitter regarding Michaela's case does get over there. So, I know what I am doing. I know that I have to press the right buttons. It's a very useful platform."

Another possible route then. Since the case, streaming platforms have won hundreds of millions of subscribers. Netflix in particular has focused the true-crime genre and a number of its cold-case documentaries have led to retrials. Is it something he would consider?

"It's something I have been asked before. It's a genre that's come out in the past five years that really does grab people's attention. I watch them and very much enjoy them.

"But I guess the only way I would contemplate something like that would be to ask, does this help or hinder? You would be very much opening yourself up. Would it be worth that? I don't know. I have to have consideration for my wife and family so I don't know."

The interest in his story has not abated. "I have been approached by God knows how many programme makers over the years... I would never say never to anything that I felt could help."

Whatever happens next, he is clear on one thing: "I owe it to Michaela to fight to the very last."
Mumbai, Aug 9 : Vishal Kirti, the US-based brother-in-law of late actor Sushant Singh Rajput, has slammed a media report for what he feels are demeaning remarks about Bihari families.

Vishal, who is married to Sushant's sister Shweta Singh Kirti, shared a link of his blog on his unverified Twitter account, in which he has criticised the journalist in question for stating " the way the family has reacted says a lot about the burden of being a son in a Bihari family" in her article.

Responding to the article, Vishal tweeted: "This is where Jyoti's (journalist) stereotypical 'toxic Bihari family' trope gets debunked. The FIR didn't say that my father-in-law couldn't stand Ankita. The FIR mentions one specific person called Rhea and giving it an anti-feminist flare is toxic journalism." Vishal mentioned that the write-up has affected Sushant's family.

"I wanted to let it go since, despite the tragedy in the family, I have to work just like many of Sushant's other family members and after a long work-week, I was reluctant about addressing these issues. But decided otherwise since I found out that this was affecting not only my loved ones but people from Bihar in general.

"Let me say at the outset that the aforementioned article is unintelligent in many ways and is extremely offensive, not only to Sushant's family but to Indian families in general," he added.

Vishal also gave a warning to the "unsophisticated writers to not indulge in a disingenuous analysis of the situation".

According to him, Rhea had created a hostile environment for Sushant.

"If hostile environmental conditions are brought out in the FIR, that's because Sushant's family in India were aware of the situation created by Rhea and her stooges, as exposed in their complaints to the Bandra DCP in February 2020 and SOS calls Sushant gave to his family in November 2019, January 2020, and June 2020. Those hostile environmental conditions could include gaslighting, blackmailing, alienating, covert medication, overt overmedication, and so on.

"I am not saying that a very hostile environment is necessary for people to fall into depression but in this case, the presence of a hostile environment seems to ring true," Vishal said.

Reacting to the writer's claim that "Bihari families can't stand girlfriends", Vishal wrote: "This is a preposterous generalization on many levels. Let's start with Sushant. Many people know that Sushant dated Ankita for at least six years and they lived together for a good portion of that relationship. People have seen great pictures of Ankita and Sushant's family together and almost everyone knows that some members of Sushant's family, including my wife, are in constant touch with Ankita.

"Sushant then presumably dated Kriti (although he did not explicitly mention that they were dating, so they might be just very good friends) and the last time we met him in July 2017, Kriti met with us as well. We were fond of Kriti too," Vishal wrote.

Sushant breathed his last on June 14. The Central Bureau of Investigation has stepped in to investigate Sushant Singh Rajput's untimely demise.

Latest updates on Sushant Singh Rajput Death Mystery
A police van rammed into a crowd of protesters.

Belarusian police have started detaining protesters on Victory Square in the center of Minsk after polling stations closed on the August 9 Election Day in Belarus.

"Eyewitnesses report that law enforcers jump out of police vans and detain people. People shout: 'Go away!' and 'Our home is Belarus!' Roars are heard along the entire avenue," the Telegram channel Tut.by reported.

There are reports about clashes between protesters and riot police at the intersection of Masherov and Pobediteley Avenues. People are being detained near Planet Hotel in Minsk.

Eyewitnesses say stun grenades are used near Pobediteley Avenue in Minsk.

Some of protesters are injured, according to media reports. People began to ward off detainees seized by the riot police.

An incident was also reported when a police van rammed into a crowd of protesters.

"A man was knocked down  people immediately ran up to him. Police started throwing stun grenades at them. From five to six people pulled the victim out  he is seriously injured. An ambulance arrived. Many people gathered around. The crowd is showing 'Murderers!'" the Telegram channel Tut.by reported.

According to MBKh media, the van deliberately drove into the crowd from protesters' back, one person is unconscious, covered in blood and doctors are trying to resuscitate him. At least two people were injured in the incident, according to early reports.

"The second person is also unconscious, he has a bone sticking out of his heel," the media added.

The Telegram channel Nexta said that protesters had started building barricades in the center of Minsk, using garbage cans.

Rallies in Minsk began after the end of voting at polling stations during the presidential election on August 9. According to preliminary data, incumbent Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko is winning with 80% of the vote.
BRIDGEPORT  Seven United Illuminating crews arrived in the city Saturday to work on power restoration for the more than 1,000 customers still without power in the states largest city.

Mayor Joe Ganim said the seven UI crews were backed by city tree crews as cleanup and restoration efforts continued across Connecticut after Tuesdays damaging storm.




South Korea's new coronavirus cases hovered above 30 for the second straight day on Sunday, as local infections traced to religious gatherings continued to rise amid a fall in cases coming in from overseas.







The country identified 36 virus cases, including 30 local infections, raising the total caseload to 14,598, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC).







The tally marked a fall from 43 additional cases reported Saturday.







The Seoul metropolitan area has accounted for most of the newly added virus cases this month.







Of the locally transmitted cases, 25 were reported in densely populated Seoul and nearby metropolitan areas, where around half of the country's 50-million population resides.







In particular, many cases were tied to church gatherings in Goyang, just northwest of Seoul.







Two churches in Goyang have emerged as an epicenter of cluster infections that have spread to a day care center in the city.







South Korea had been banning church members from having gatherings other than regular worship services amid the soaring number of related patients, but it decided to lift the regulation on July 24.







Cases coming in from overseas fell to a single digit after increasing by double-digit numbers for 43 consecutive days. Among the 6 additional cases, one was detected at a quarantine checkpoint at an airport.







The country suffered a sharp increase in the number of such cases due to South Korean workers returning home from Iraq, along with sailors from Russian ships docked at its port.







Since June, 94 seafarers from nine Russia-flagged ships docked in Busan have tested positive for COVID-19.







The country reported one more virus death, keeping the number of fatalities at 305, according to the KCDC. The fatality rate reached 2.09 percent.







The number of patients fully cured of the virus reached 13,642, up 13 from the previous day. This indicates 93.45 percent of patients reported here have recovered. (Yonhap)


The story of why Josslyn Mounsey and Thairu Taban lost their jobs at Metrolinx is as heartbreaking as it is unnecessary.

Mounsey, 30, a single mother of three, and Taban, 24, were both hired last May as transit safety dispatchers at the Metrolinx operations centre in Oakville. Mounseys job with the regional transportation agency was a 14-month contract while Taban landed a permanent position.

They were both grateful for decent-paying work with benefits and a pension plan. And both knew they had made their Black immigrant parents proud.

Mounsey called having the job liberating, adding, I felt like my life is going to begin now. Taban wanted to show the kids in Flemingdon Park, where he grew up, that its possible to get a good job and build a good life.

This turned out to be a tragic illusion.

They both passed immediate criminal checks and started working, but a condition of being hired was undergoing a deeper Toronto Police Service (TPS) background check. Both failed that review.

Neither Mounsey nor Taban has a criminal record. Neither of them can find out why they failed. And neither can challenge the verdict, delivered as a cold pass or fail. Metrolinx, as the employer, is not even told why a candidate fails a background check.

Both Mounsey and Taban suspect family connections determined their fate, but they will never know. This is wrong.

Mounseys father was murdered when she was four but she has had no contact with his family since then. She also acted as a surety for an ex-boyfriend facing a drug offence. On her mothers side of the family she has an uncle and cousin who are police officers in Durham Region.

Tabans older brother has a pretty serious criminal record. Taban was often mistaken for his brother and stopped by police when living in Flemingdon Park. Taban rarely communicates with his brother.

Mounsey and Taban can only speculate that its these connections that cost them their jobs. The failure to disclose reasons for failing the check and the failure to allow an appeal is an abuse of power by the TPS  and the agencies that use it for background checks, which include the Toronto Transit Comission, Toronto Community Housing, and the University of Toronto.

Mounsey and Taban have hired a lawyer and launched a human rights complaint. Theyre fighting for financial damages, for answers, and ultimately to get their jobs back.

In 2019, TPS received 194 request for background checks from outside agencies and 93 per cent of them passed, the police service told the Stars Jim Rankin. That appears to be a high success rate, but it doesnt justify the lack of transparency and ability to appeal.

If there is one bright spot to this tale of injustice, its that as of late last year, Metrolinx stopped using TPS for its deeper background checks. It now uses the Cobourg police force, which provides employers with explanations for recommending a failed check and, ultimately, its only a recommendation. The final decision remains with the employer, not the police force.

Typical of this story, no reason was given for the Metrolinx decision to stop using the TPS and switch to Cobourg police.

All agencies that are using TPS for background checks should follow the lead of Metrolinx  at least until the force becomes more transparent and accountable for its rulings.

Mounsey cant help but feel that what happened to her and Taban are two more examples of obstacles facing Black youth today. Such policies as TPSs severe pass/fail rulings are shutting the door on the Black youth that are coming from Toronto, that are trying to better their lives, Mounsey told the Star.

Theres hope the TPS background check policy will be targeted by the recently launched service-wide review of its employment practices, using an equity lens. Its past time to fix this broken system.
These are the schools that have canceled classes for Jan. 18

Some school districts across the county are virtual today. Others will make up the snow day.
One of Prince Harry's oldest friends expressed his reservations about Meghan Markle but was 'punished' for giving his advice, a new book claims.

Tom 'Skippy' Inskip had been a close friend of the Duke after they met at Eton College, and were for a time inseparable.

But according to the upcoming biography, Finding Freedom, Skippy had a falling out with Prince Harry after he shared his 'doubts' about the Duchess before they became engaged.

He is believed to have advised Harry and Meghan to live together before 'doing anything more serious.'

According to the upcoming biography, Finding Freedom, Tom 'Skippy' Inskip had a falling out with Prince Harry after he shared his 'doubts' about the Duchess before they became engaged.

A source close to Duke and Duchess of Sussex told the book's authors that although his advice 'came from a good place,' Prince Harry 'didnt totally see it that way', according to the Sunday Telegraph.

'It really hurt him that someone he was so close to would not trust his judgment,' added the source, who is believed to have spoken out with the permission of Harry and Meghan.

As a result, Mr Inskip and his wife Lara were reportedly 'punished' by being excluded from Prince Harry and Meghans wedding party at Frogmore House.

Instead, they had to watch as the Royal couples new friends such as Oprah Winfrey and George Clooney made their way to the event.

He is believed to have advised Harry and Meghan to live together before 'doing anything more serious'. A source close to Duke and Duchess of Sussex told the book's authors that although his advice 'came from a good place,' Prince Harry 'didnt totally see it that way'

It is believed that Skippy, who lives in Washington DC and works at US tech giant Afiniti, have since reconciled after the death of his mother-in-law last year following severe mental health problems.

Skippy was one of those in Las Vegas in 2012 when Harry was infamously caught playing naked billiards with showgirls in a hotel suite.

And he was also with the Prince when he was seen inhaling 'hippy crack' - or laughing gas - at another party.

Skippy was one of those in Las Vegas in 2012 when Harry was infamously caught playing naked billiards with showgirls in a hotel suite. Pictured: Harry and Skippy at the 2013 wedding of James Meade and Lady Laura Marsham

Harry acted as an usher at Skippys wedding to literary agent Lara in Jamaica back in 2017, when Meghan made one of her first appearances with the Prince.

It has been previously revealed that Harrys brother, Prince William, also advised him to slow down, leading to reports of a deep rift between the two.

According to the book, which is published on Tuesday, Harry took offence when William told him: 'Take as much time as you need to get to know this girl.'

Harry is said to have considered the choice of the words 'this girl' to be condescending.

'In those last two words, "this girl", Harry heard the tone of snobbishness that was anathema to his approach to the world,' claims the book.

'During his ten-year career in the military, outside the Royal bubble, he had learnt not to make snap judgments about people based on their accent, education, ethnicity, class or profession.'
By Express News Service

TIRUPATI: A total of 743 employees of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) tested positive for COVID-19 after the temple was opened for darshan to devotees following relaxation of lockdown norms.

TTD Executive Officer Anil Kumar Singh, who interacted with pilgrims and devotees from various parts of the country as part of Dial Your EO programme, said that since the Srivari temple opened for darshan to devotees on June 11, so far, 743 TTD employees tested positive for COVID-19 and of them 402 have recovered and joined duties. Another 338 are undergoing teatment in TTD rest houses-turned-COVID centres at Srinivasam, Vishnunivasam and Madhavam.

Only three employees succumbed to the virus and we are giving best possible arrangements and treatment to all our employees in the COVID centres,'' he said.

The EO said following COVID guidelines prescribed by the Central and State Governments, the TTD resumed darshan for pilgrims from June 11 onwards.

Initially everyone appreciated the move of TTD. But as soon as the cases started increasing in Tirupati, the blame was thrown on us by social media and also by some vested persons that we have resumed darshan only to make money. We are spending more money on all facilities of COVID measures rather than what we are making out from pilgrims,'' he said adding that so far devotees expressed immense

satisfaction over the arrangements of darshan, accommodation, Kalyana Katta, laddu, annaprasadam and other facilities made by TTD.

"The cases have not increased in Tirupati alone, but the entire state as well the country is facing a similar problem, he asserted.

Singhal said about 2.38 lakh pilgrims from different parts of the country had darshan of Lord Venkateswara in July.

Speaking to media after the Dial your EO programme, the EO said, though there was a dip in the footfall to Tirumala due to surge of COVID-19 cases across the country, from the past three days, the number of pilgrims picked up again.

"On August 8, about 8500-odd pilgrims had darshan against the quota of 9000 tickets, he observed.
Vijayawada, Aug 9 : At least 10 patients were killed and several others injured in a fire at a hotel functioning as a Covid care facility early on Sunday, Andhra Pradesh Health Minister Alla Nani said.

The government has set up a committee to inquire into the incident, said the minister, who inspected the scene at the Swarna Palace hotel which had been converted into a paid Covid care centre by a private hospital here.

The inquiry committee has been tasked with submitting its findings to the government within 48 hours, he added.

Following a review meeting with local authorities and officials concerned, the minister said that the fire had broken out at 4.45 a.m., while the fire station received the first intimation at 5.09 a.m.

Panic-stricken inmates began screaming for help and a few staff members leapt off from the first floor, suffering injuries.

There were around 50 people in the building at the time of the mishap, of whom 31 were Covid-19 patients. The remaining inmates were medical staff and support personnel.

Ten Covid-19 patients, including two women at the centre, were killed in the blaze suspected to have been set off by a short circuit. The remaining Covid patients are reported to be safe and recovering.

Stating that initial investigations point to several violations, the minister said that a police case has been registered against the Ramesh Hospital's management under multiple sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy has expressed sorrow over the tragedy and announced an ex-gratia payment of Rs 50 lakh to families of each victims.
" " Scavenging for plastic, a child stands atop a mountain of garbage in one of Indonesia's largest dump sites. Ulet Ifansasti/Stringer/Getty Images News/ Getty Images

Humanity exacts a terrifying toll on the planet. After all, everything we build or consume comes out of our environment. It all requires a portion of the world and changes that portion in the process. Varied woodlands become a ubiquitous field of corn. A wilderness becomes a grid of streets, lights and skyscrapers. What's more, we remake the world a little more to our liking every day.

To better gauge civilization's impact on the environment, scientists developed eco-footprint analysis (EFA) to measure just how much land is necessary to support a particular segment of the population's consumption level. By this metric, we can judge how much of a demand individual demographics put on nature.

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People in developed countries such as the United States and Japan, for instance, each require an estimated 10 to 25 acres of land to support their lifestyle. That's one heck of a footprint. According to population ecologist William E. Rees, the global average breaks down to 5.4 acres per person. Unfortunately, the planet has only enough bioproductive surface area to allot 4.4 acres to each of its 6.8 billion residents. Human civilization's eco-footprint is already 22 percent beyond sustainable levels.

So far in human history, this insatiable hunger has led to the extinction of countless species, ranging from the woolly mammoths of the Ice Age to the Tasmanian tiger in the 20th century. Even the Neanderthals fell to human clubs and human competition for resources. Other species have thrived, either through cultivation and domestication or reckless introduction into new local ecosystems.

We've turned deserts into farmlands and gorges into artificial lakes; we've erected architectural colossi to house both our living and our dead. Even the atmosphere itself has changed due to our bottomless hunger for resources. Many scientists date human-influenced global climate change back to the Industrial Revolution of the 1800s. Others, such as environmental scientist William F. Ruddiman, insist that carbon dioxide concentrations began to rise 8,000 years ago due to early slash-and-burn agriculture practices.

Pollution has also taken its toll on the environment, poisoning ecosystems with harmful chemicals and littering them with refuse. Garbage dumps have become favored hangouts for advantageous species such as rats and seagulls. Sunken ships and ruined piers have become new underwater habitats.

Along with human enterprise, human conflict has also altered the environment. For example, more than three decades after the Vietnam War, the local ecosystem is still rife with craters, unexploded ordnance and widespread toxic residues that span the entire food chain. Some critics of this form of warfare even go so far as to brand it "ecocide" and petition for its inclusion in international law.

In the centuries ahead, humans may find a way to scale back on their eco-footprint. Likewise, they may learn to manipulate the environment even more or reach out into the solar system for the resources they require.

Explore the links on the next page to learn even more about human civilization.
A 32-year-old citizen of Ukraine was killed in a massive explosion in the port of Beirut, Lebanon, on August 4.

"He was only 32. He was going to get married. Not so long ago he visited the embassy to take part in the voting," Ukraine's Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Lebanon Ihor Ostash said on Facebook late on August 8. "The young promising economist left the KPMG office, heading home... A terrible explosion took the life of the citizen of Ukraine, William Azar. His mother, Natalya Azar, is from Kyiv."

According to the embassy's previous report, Ukrainians were not seriously injured in the explosion. "They sustained minor injuries, such as wounds or bruises. But no one was seriously injured," the ambassador said then.

As UNIAN reported earlier, a massive explosion rocked the port area of Lebanon's capital, Beirut, on August 4.

As of August 8, there were 158 people killed and 6,000 wounded in the incident. It was unclear what exactly caused the explosion. Lebanon's prime minister said an investigation would focus on an estimated 2,750 metric tons of the explosive ammonium nitrate stored at a warehouse.

After the explosion in Beirut, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky ordered to check the handling of explosive materials in Ukraine. The Ukrainian government, in turn, endorsed a draft presidential decree on the provision of humanitarian aid to Lebanon to overcome the consequences of the disaster.
One of the country's most senior civil servants repeatedly warned that the roadmap for reopening Ireland was too slow and questioned the rationale behind the nationwide lockdown earlier this year, the Sunday Independent can reveal.

In emails to senior colleagues, Robert Watt, secretary general at the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, argued shops and some bars and restaurants should have reopened weeks earlier than they did, and warned of the long-term economic damage caused by the shutdown of the country.

Emails obtained by this newspaper reveal the internal debate between senior civil servants including Mr Watt, the State's top civil servant Martin Fraser and other secretaries general across key Government departments who were responsible for responding to the public health and economic crisis.

The emails show that Department of Business secretary general Orlaigh Quinn was concerned the 350 pandemic unemployment payment would incentivise people to quit their jobs. Mr Watt also queried whether some industries should be nationalised and suggested the VHI's income from health insurance premiums be used to pay for the use of private hospitals during the pandemic.

In the email correspondence, Mr Watt emerges as a strong critic of the country being shut down for so long, asking for the evidence for maintaining the shutdown, as well as suggesting it was more dangerous to reopen some shops and not others, and questioning why Ireland was slower to reopen than other European countries.

In an email on May 25, Mr Watt expressed concern at the small drop in numbers on the Pandemic Unemployment Payment, which at that stage was being claimed by just under 580,000 people who were out of work.

"The fiscal costs are mounting weekly and the long-term damage to the economy will be significant if we continue with this approach to the social restrictions," he wrote.

"We have got to accelerate this roadmap. It is too slow, given the number of cases we have, the lessons we are learning from other countries and the enormous damage being done to the country. Most retail shops should be opening this week - it makes no sense that I can go to Woodies and not to Ikea or Arnotts. It could be argued that the approach is more dangerous given the crowds turning up at a limited number of retail outlets. Next week restaurants, bar and coffee shops with outdoor facilities should be open. The current restrictions have no sound policy basis. I also fear that people will start ignoring even the basic public health advice, given the erosion of support for the current approach."

Mr Watt's views were addressed to Mr Fraser, Dr Quinn and Department of Finance secretary general Derek Moran.

Mr Watt's email came at a time when the number of new cases in Ireland was falling, the virus had been "effectively extinguished from the community", according to chief medical officer Dr Tony Holohan and on the same day that no new deaths were reported in the State for the first time in two months. Most but not all retailers did not reopen until June 8 while restaurants and pubs that serve food were not reopened until June 29.

The emails, released under Freedom of Information, cover the period between March of this year, when the first public health restrictions were introduced, and early June when the country had started to reopen again.

Mr Watt emailed Mr Fraser again as well as Department of Health secretary general Jim Breslin on June 3 with a copy of a Davy Research note on the Irish economy which, he said, showed Ireland "has the slowest recovery from the lockdown of all the countries surveyed". Mr Watt said that Ireland is "projected to be four to six weeks behind other countries, I would be interested in seeing the rationale behind this?" He had previously suggested in an email to Mr Fraser, Dr Quinn, and Department of Transport secretary general Graham Doyle on May 20 that the roadmap was "about six-eight weeks behind the average of European countries".

He added: "Have not seen any assessment which justifies this delay as bankruptcies rise and businesses continue to fail, it will be hard to explain why Ireland is different."

Nine days earlier, on May 11, Mr Watt wrote to Mr Fraser about the Government plan to reopen the country and the economic analyses his Department was carrying out into the impact of the lockdown. "You know our view that previous decisions were taken with too narrow a perspective and that wider economic and social factors need to be considered,". he wrote.

In a series of emails on March 25, Mr Watt asked Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe and DPER officials for their views on what further State support could be provided for people's incomes and jobs and what demands the Government was likely to receive to support companies and specific sectors.

Mr Watt circulated the email to other secretaries general, prompting a reply from Mr Doyle in the Department of Transport, who said the possible need for some State invention in the air cargo industry could not be excluded and that there could be a "relatively early solvency issue" with Bus Eireann. Mr Watt responded that the key issue was "we represent the taxpayer and public - no open-ended bailouts or guarantees for shareholders or bondholders this time!!!!"

In response to an email from Mr Fraser, Mr Watt wrote that supply chain industries would need specific support from the Government, saying: "There are dozens of other entities lining up - non-essential probably in many cases. We are drafting a framework or else Dept X will press for a stupid deal behind the scrum and that will be the benchmark. We then have chaos. In a different context, the 'deal' on childcare is an example of what happens."

This is believed to be a reference to a deal struck with childcare providers that ensured all staff were paid their full wages while their facilities were closed.

Civil servants will not be getting a 'working from home' allowance

Some civil servants asked if they could claim a 'working at home' allowance during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Department of Public Expenditure secretary general Robert Watt blocked the attempts, however.

On March 27, he emailed all other Department secretaries general to say several staff had contacted the National Shared Services Office, which administers HR and payroll for government departments, about setting up procedures to let staff claim 'working at home' allowances and expenses.

"NSSO will not [be] facilitating this," he wrote. "Furthermore, we should be sending a clear message that such claims will not be entertained or funded."

The Department said last week that given the increase in employees working from home, a number of public service bodies sought clarification on the treatment of daily working from home allowances.

However, guidance as issued to public service employers states: "It is open to employees to make claims directly to Revenue in respect of actual costs incurred in working from home at the end of the relevant tax year, in accordance with the relevant tax laws."

Supermarkets feared payments could encourage workers to quit low-pay jobs for safety of home

A top civil servant warned that setting the Pandemic Unemployment Payment at 350 could "increase the incentive" for people to quit their jobs.

Orlaigh Quinn, secretary general at the Department of Business, told senior civil service colleagues of her concerns at the emergency dole payment for people who lost their jobs as a result of pandemic.

In an email to her fellow secretaries general and Revenue chairman Niall Cody on March 24, Dr Quinn referred to a meeting a day earlier with Tesco, Dunnes, Lidl, Aldi and Musgraves.

"They made a serious point that if the revised unemployment corona payment is set too high or at the same rate as the wage subsidy, it will act as a disincentive to workers to remain in employment," she wrote. "Their workers are already just above the minimum wage. Many have childcare responsibilities who have lost their creche, and many are scared of the virus impact from customers."

Dr Quinn said that, given the Government's moratorium on rent/mortgages and the inability to spend money in the economy, "this lower income need could increase the incentive to leave work".

She said Tesco saw an immediate hit on employment in the UK when prime minister Boris Johnson announced employment supports for workers there.

Dr Quinn said the Government needed to be "very clear" on the messaging about the wage subsidy scheme and the benefits of keeping staff on payroll rather than the PUP.

She said there would be major knock-on impacts on the food processing industry and agriculture workers.

She wrote: "There are a number of potential behavioural consequences here, some of which we may not have considered fully."

In response John McKeon, her counterpart at the Department of Social Protection, asked if the Government was doing enough to highlight the value of the income taxes foregone as this meant the value of the State contribution was more than 600.
The National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT) has welcomed the disciplinary measures issued by the Ghana Education Service (GES) but thinks the students should have been allowed to finish writing their examination.



The GES has dismissed some 14 final year students who are believed to have been involved in riots and the destruction of school properties in the wake of the ongoing West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE).



The students were agitating over a paper that didn't go well for them. These students have been barred from continuing with their exams.



Speaking on Joy News' Prime, NAGRAT President, Angel Carbonu said in as much as the students need to be punished 'we don't need to destroy them'.



I dont think we should take the opportunity from them to write the exams. While we are punishing them, we need not destroy them. If we are not careful, we will create monsters for society to deal with. The aim of punishment is to reform and that should be the focus we have to take. They should be debordinaised in the first place and accompanied to the school premises to write the paper and leave the school premises immediately so that, they will not be a further influence on the other students, he suggested.



Teachers interdicted



The GES statement also said three teachers from Tweneboa Kodua SHS, Kade SHTS and Sekondi College who are alleged to have played a key role in the riots have been interdicted and barred from invigilating.



In reaction, the NAGRAT President said: Teachers have a code of conduct and conditions of service. If you have information that a teacher has broken rules of the establishment, you take the teacher through the disciplinary process. Give the teacher a fair hearing before you take the final sanctions, Mr. Carbonu said.



Listen to him in the video below









GES - No Mercy



Meanwhile, The Ghana Education Service has asked parents not to plead for mercy.



Speaking in an interview on Peace FM's news @ 6 pm, Director-General of the GES, Prof Kwasi Opoku-Amankwa said, "we dont want any parent or guardian pleading or asking for mercy . . . they should allow them to be punished and reformed to become good citizens in society".





Source: Rebecca Addo Tetteh/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









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

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There are few more righteous sights than the paunchy US Secretary of State savaging the Peoples Republic of China with his next volley on Chinese territorial aspirations. In July, Mike Pompeo released a statement putting any uncertain minds at ease on where Washington stood on the matter. We are making clear: Beijings claims to offshore resources across most of the South China Sea are completely unlawful, as is its campaign of bullying to control them.

International politics, for all that confidence, rides on the stead of hypocrisy. The more vehement a condemnation regarding a course of conduct, the more likely the stead is about to turn. For all the promises of freedom of navigation and repudiation of Chinese claims to the South China Sea, the United States nurses its own questionable readings of international law. The term rule based order is a lovely one seemingly shorn of realpolitik (nothing of the sort), but collapses on closer inspection.

When it comes to the matter of alleged Chinese violations of maritime law in the South China Sea, odd messages bubble from the mouths of US officials on, for instance, violations of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. Pompeo speaks of preserving peace and stability, upholding freedom of the seas in a manner consistent with international law, maintain the unimpeded flow of commerce and opposing any attempt to use coercion or force to settle disputes. He also refers to UNCLOS, a document the United States has not ratified despite President Barack Obamas previous plea that the Senate, were it to do so, should help strengthen our case [against Chinas actions in the South China Sea]. Smugly, Pompeo cites the ruling of the Arbitral Tribunal constituted in accordance with UNCLOS, as its finding on July 12, 2016 rejecting the PRCs maritime claims as having no basis in international law.

The same can be said of the enormous air base known as Diego Garcia, located in the Chagos Archipelago in the Indian Ocean. It is worth noting that predatory behaviour was very much part of the policy towards the indigenous populace of the island, which had been a dependency of the British colony of Mauritius. In 1965, the Chagos Islands was separated from Mauritius in exchange for an indemnity of 3 million. What was created in its place was a legal misnomer of some nastiness: the British Indian Ocean Territory.

In 1966, the US was promised a strategic tenancy on Diego Garcia for five decades. The UK Permanent Under-Secretary promised to be tough about this. The object of the exercise was to get some rocks which will remain ours; there will be no indigenous population except seagulls who have not yet got a Committee (the Status of Women does not cover the rights of Birds. Very droll.

This brutal endeavour was done as part of Britains continued need to feel relevant in the post-colonial power game, a supposedly sagacious proxy for the projection of US power. It was also done against the spirit of decolonisation stressed in UN General Assembly Resolution 1514 (XV), which noted that [a]ny attempt aimed at the partial or total disruption of the national unity and the territorial integrity of a country is incompatible with the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations.

The British authorities were true to their word: the indigenous population between 1967 and 1973 was forcibly relocated to Mauritius and the Seychelles, with the US paying $14 million for the effort. The way for the establishment of a military base was cleared but only after pockets of Chagossian resistance were crushed through threats and intimidation.

Analysts from the US perspective look at this situation as one forced upon the United States and find China, as tends to be the pattern these days, the catalyst of encouragement. The policy trigger, writes retired Rear Admiral Michael McDevitt, was the 1962 Sino-Indian war, when Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru had pressed Washington for military assistance to India. The Kennedy administration obliged by sending the USS Kitty Hawk, an aircraft carrier with the express purpose of deterring China in the event of any push towards Calcutta. The analysis by McDevitt is bloodless, mechanical, and makes no mention of the Chagossians. Absent are US methods of terroristic pummelling. What he does describe is the indispensable nature of the base, perfect  for US Navy maritime patrol aircraft and especially US Air Force heavy bombers.

These were not views shared by many members of the UN General Assembly. In June 2017, the General Assembly, in resolution 71/292, requested an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice on whether the decolonisation of Mauritius had been lawfully completed with regards the separation of the Chagos Archipelago. A second question also arose on the legal consequences of the UKs continued administration  of the Chagos Archipelago including with respect to the inability to implement a programme for the resettlement on the Chagos Archipelago of its nationals, in particular those of Chagossian origin.

In its February 25, 2019 opinion, the ICJ found that the process of decolonisation of Mauritius was not lawfully completed when that country acceded to independence. The UK was under an obligation to bring to an end its administration of the Chagos Archipelago as rapidly as possible. The judges acknowledged resolution 1514 (XV) as a defining moment in the consolidation of State practice on decolonisation and that oth State practice and opinio juris at the relevant time confirm the customary law character of the right to territorial integrity of a non-self-governing territory as a corollary of the right to self-determination. No evidence of approval of the practice of an administering powers detachment of part of a non-self-governing territory, certainly for the purposes of maintaining colonial rule over it, was shown. States have consistently emphasised that respect for the territorial integrity of a non-self-governing territory is a key element in the exercise of the right to self-determination under international law.

The UN affirmed the 13-1 opinion in May 2019, calling upon Britain to withdraw its colonial administration within six months and duly acknowledge Chagos as forming an integral part of Mauritius. Eviction orders received that month were ignored by the British, showing that the Anglo-American reverence for the sacred rules-based international order can be selectively profane when it needs to be. The United Kingdom is not in doubt about our sovereignty over the British Ocean Territory, insisted Britains ambassador to the UN, Karen Pierce. The territory had never been part of Mauritius and it had freely entered into an agreement covering fishing rights and marine resources. The question left begging here was how the entity could lawfully enter into any arrangements with Britain over Chagos if the territory had never formed the basis of Mauritian control. The spirit of Neville Chamberlain, one approving the ceding and dividing of territory not his own, is still very much alive.

It is worth nothing that the approval of the ICJ findings, along with international law bodies in general, is very much dependent on favourability towards the great power. Playground bullies are always bound to ignore them; small states, less likely to. Just as China refuses to acknowledge the legitimacy of international judicial rulings on its maritime claims, the US and Britain refuse to acknowledge determinations regarding the status of Diego Garcia and the Chagossians. Thats the rules-based order in international relations for you.

Dr. Binoy Kampmark was a Commonwealth Scholar at Selwyn College, Cambridge. He lectures at RMIT University, Melbourne. Email: [email protected]
Actor Rhea Chakraborty has shared screenshots of a WhatsApp conversation she had with boyfriend Sushant Singh Rajput, in which hed expressed concerns about his sister Priyankas behaviour with Rhea. Sushant died by suicide on June 14, and his family has accused Rhea of abetting it.

In the conversations, shared by Rhea with India Today, the actor said that he believed his sister was manipulating his friend and roommate Siddharth Pithani.

The conversations begin with Sushant praising Rhea and her brother Showik. Your family is very epic. Showik is compassionate and you too who are mine, you are a sufficient cause for the inevitable change and respite globally. It will be a pleasure for me to be around you folks Cheers my friend for being a rockstar, he writes. In the next message, Sushant continues, You please smile, you look great like that. I would try to sleep now. I wish I had a dream like Jamila. Would it be amazing? Bye.

ALSO WATCH | Rhea Chakraborty questioned for over 8 hours by ED in money laundering case

He then writes that he is worried about his sister, and says: pure evil. He says that she is manipulating Sid bhai. He writes, (To Priyanka), You do this, after the shameful act, making this a coverup to distract attention playing the victim card to the most non negotiable act of molestation under the influence of alcohol...

Sushants family lawyer had previously said in an interview to Pinkvilla that Rhea had accused Priyanka of having molested her, which created a barrier between the siblings. He had said that Sushant and Priyanka made up a few days later and the whole thing was just a mind game played by Rhea. He realised his mistake that in a short span of few days Rhea had played a mind game to separate two siblings who were inseparable and happened to be each others strongest emotional support, he had said.

Sushant in his message continued that his sister had gone against the teachings of their mother. He wrote, If youre blinded by your ego, God bless you because Im not afraid and I will continue doing what Ive done till now in bringing out the necessary changes in the world. Let God and nature decide what act is right now.

Sushant addressed his next message to Sid bhai -- possibly Sidharth Pithani -- and wrote that She has hit you in front of my eyes...

Rhea had previously shared a page from Sushants diary, in which hed expressed gratitude for having her and her family in his life. She had also shared a picture of a sipper, which she claimed was the only belonging of Sushants that she has in her possession.

Rhea was questioned for around nine hours on Friday by the Enforcement Directorate. The agency, which investigates money laundering and foreign exchange violations, also questioned her brother, Showik, and her business manager, Shruti Modi, who also worked for Sushant.

Also read: Rhea Chakraborty shares page from Sushant Singh Rajputs diary, in which hed expressed gratitude for her and her family

Rhea has refrained from commenting on the case, but said in a self-made video, I have immense faith in God and the judiciary. I believe that I will get justice. Even though a lot of horrible things are being said about me on the electronic media, I refrain from commenting on the advice of my lawyers as the matter is sub-judice. Satyameva jayate, the truth shall prevail.

Meanwhile, Sushants death will now be probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), a move that has been welcomed by his family members. The investigating agency has registered a case against Rhea, her family members and two of her associates.

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Protesters in Lebanon's capital were in the streets into the night on Saturday, as fury mounted over Tuesday's explosion that devastated much of Beirut.

Human Rights Watch researcher Aya Majzoub told British broadcaster Sky News that people were "enraged that so many politicians and public officials were aware that more than 2,700 tonnes of explosive material was just left in the port for years without any safety measures".

"There hasn't been a single apology. There have been barely any resignations and none among high-level officials", Majzoub added.

Tuesday's blast killed nearly 160 people and wounded nearly 6,000. Dozens were still missing on Saturday.

It also damaged 6,200 buildings and left hundreds of thousands of people homeless.

Activists who called for the protest set up mock gallows at Beirut's Martyrs' Square, their symbolic violence aimed at politicians whose corruption and negligence they blame for Tuesday's blast.

The disaster has taken popular anger to a new level in a country already reeling from an unprecedented economic and financial crisis and near bankruptcy.

In a televised speech Saturday evening, Prime Minister Hassan Diab said the only solution was to hold early elections, which he planned to propose in a draft bill.

In the capital's hard-hit Achrafieh district, a group of protesters, including retired army officers, stormed the building of the foreign ministry, vowing to make it the headquarters for the revolution.

At least 142 people were hurt in the clashes, and 32 of them needed to be taken to the hospital, according to the Red Cross.
FORT BREGANCON World powers have a duty to support the Lebanese people after a massive blast devastated their capital as the countrys future is at stake, French President Emmanuel Macron told an emergency donors conference on Sunday.

Lebanons debt-laden economy was already mired in crisis and reeling from the coronavirus pandemic before the port explosion, which killed 158 people. But foreign governments are wary about writing blank cheques to a government perceived by its own people to be deeply corrupt.

In opening remarks to an online donor conference he co-organised, Macron said the international response should be coordinated by the United Nations in Lebanon.

Our task today is to act swiftly and efficiently, to coordinate our aid on the ground so that this aid goes as quickly as possible to the Lebanese people," Macron said via video-link from his summer retreat on the French Riviera.

The president said the offer of assistance included support for an impartial, credible and independent inquiry into the Aug. 4 blast, which has prompted some Lebanese to call for a revolt to topple their political leaders.

The explosion gutted entire neighbourhoods, leaving 250,000 people homeless, razing businesses and destroying critical grain supplies.

Rebuilding Beirut will likely run into the billions of dollars. Economists forecast the blast could wipe up to 25% off of the countrys GDP.

Many Lebanese are angry at the governments response and say the disaster highlighted the negligence of a corrupt political elite. Protesters stormed government ministries in Beirut and trashed the offices of the Association of Lebanese Banks on Saturday.

TRUMP: EVERYONE WANTS TO HELP"

Macron visited Beirut on Thursday, the first world leader to do so after the explosion, and promised humanitarian aid would come but that profound political reform was needed to resolve the countrys problems and secure longer term support.

I guarantee you, this (reconstruction) aid will not go to corrupt hands," Macron told the throngs who greeted him.

There has been an outpouring of sympathy for Lebanon from around the world this week and many countries have sent immediate humanitarian support such as a medical supplies, but there has been an absence of financial aid commitments so far.

Macron said the international community had a duty to help.

Our role is to be by their sides," he said. Lebanons future is at stake."

A Macron aide declined on Saturday to set a target for the conference. Emergency aid was needed for reconstruction, food aid, medical equipment and schools and hospitals, the official said.

Israel and Iran were not taking part in the video-link conference, the Elysee Palace official said.

U.S. President Donald Trump will participate. Everyone wants to help!" he tweeted.

($1 = 0.8485 euros)

Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor
By Express News Service

VIJAYAWADA: The Independent Schools Management Association (ISMA) has urged the state government to allow CBSE schools to conduct online classes till the time of reopening of schools. In a letter written to Commissioner of School Education V China Veerabhadrudu, the ISMA stated that the CBSE schools strictly adhered to the guidelines issued by the CBSE and ICSE while conducting online classes in April.



We facilitated online learning in April following NCERTs four-week plan and also began the eight-week Alternative Academic Year Plan from mid-June. But we suspended online classes following the governments directive to all private schools in this regard, the ISMA said.

It further stated that the CBSE schools in all the states, except in AP, are conducting online classes. The CBSE and ICSE, which reduced the syllabus for grades IX-XII, stated that the board exams for the current academic year will be held in March 2021 as usual. Hence, it will be difficult for teachers and students to complete the syllabus if online classes are not allowed, the ISMA said.

Further, it also stated that the Commissioner granted permission to follow the CBSE guidelines, which gave clarity to continue with all the teaching and administrative work. However, due to the APSERMC directive that fees should be collected online after the commencement of the academic year, they are not able to collect fees from students.



But the APSERMC later directed us to pay 100 per cent salaries to the teachers, without allowing us to collect the fees. A private unaided institution is not able to manage its expenditure beyond a certain period unless the fees are collected. Most schools also have fee dues, the association said.
A visitor to an Apple store wears a T-shirt promoting Tik Tok in Beijing. Nigel Inkster, a former intelligence and operations director at the UK's Secret Intelligence Service, said the Beijing-owned app could serve as an entry-point for Chinese hackers - Ng Han Guan/AP

Government ministers must be wary of allowing their children to use the popular TikTok app for fear of exposing secrets to Chinese spies, a former MI6 chief has warned.

TikTok is a Chinese video-sharing social-networking service owned by ByteDance, a Beijing-based internet technology company.

Nigel Inkster, a former intelligence and operations director at the British Secret Intelligence Service, said the Beijing-owned app could serve as an entry-point for hackers backed by the Communist state.

Mr Inkster, who left the service in 2006 and is now a leading expert on Chinas cyber threat at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, warned Chinas security services were adept at finding digital weak spots for high-profile targets from which to siphon off sensitive material.

His comments come as US President Donald Trump announced sweeping legal restrictions on TikTok in the US, citing security concerns.

The app has become a runaway success with children and teenagers in the past few years for its short dance and prank videos, and it now has roughly 800 million users worldwide.

However, the app, which was created in 2018, is owned by the Beijing-based tech giant ByteDance, which comes under Chinas sweeping security laws stating any company or citizen has to assist its security services.

TikTok has repeatedly said that none of its users data is stored in China and it is not shared with the communist regime.

However, Mr Inkster told The Telegraph that as long as TikTok was owned by a Chinese company the countrys security services potentially had a back door into its data. #

He warned the app could also serve as an entry point to prominent UK figures' online devices, even if on the phones of household members or relatives sharing the same wi-fi network.

Where the Chinese intelligence services are very strong is in identifying non-obvious entry points to certain targets, Mr Inkster said.

They have shown a lot of skill in this regard: attacking a target from a variety of different directions, none of them obviously pointing to the target, but that will bring them closer to it.

Story continues

This [TikTok being used as an entry point] is something I am sure people are having to think about.

A spokesman for the National Cyber Security Centre, part of GCHQ, said it does not currently consider TikTok a significant additional security risk.

TikTok and its links to China have been coming under increasing scrutiny in recent weeks and on Thursday President Trump signed an executive order that will place severe restrictions on the companys US operation within 45 days.

At the same time, the US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, warned that TikTok and other Chinese apps such as WeChat posed significant threats to the personal data of American citizens.

Amid the mounting political pressure, ByteDance has entered into talks with US tech giant Microsoft with a view to selling off the prized social media network.

Meanwhile, the app has boomed in popularity in the UK in recent years, with Ofcom figures showing almost half of eight to 12-year-olds are using it.

A spokesman for TikTok said: TikTok does not operate in China and is not even available there.

Our UK user data is currently stored in the US and Singapore and will soon be transferred to a new data centre in Ireland.

We have never provided user data to the Chinese government, nor would we do so if asked.

Mr Inkster said he felt it is unlikely the UK is close to taking a step as dramatic as banning the app despite the pressure ratcheting up in Washington, adding ministers would need a high burden of proof that it posed a national security risk.

However, he said even if TikTok is considered a potential liability for Cabinet members and senior civil servants, it would be difficult for Whitehall to impose an effective moratorium on the family members downloading it.

He added: I dont underestimate the difficulty of doing that with families. Individuals employed by the Government, that is easy enough to do.

You can say Thou Shalt Not as a condition of employment, but extending that to families may be problematic and not that realistic.

A Government spokesman said: All departments have robust processes in place to ensure communication around Government business is secure.
BRASILIA/RIO DE JANEIRO -- Brazils death toll from COVID-19 passed 100,000 on Saturday and continue to climb as most Brazilian cities reopen shops and dining even though the pandemic has yet to peak.

Confronting its most lethal outbreak since the Spanish flu a century ago, Brazil reported its first cases of the novel coronavirus at the end of February. The virus took three months to kill 50,000 people, and just 50 days to kill the next 50,000.

Led by President Jair Bolsonaro, who has played down the gravity of the pandemic and fought lockdowns by local officials, Brazilians who protested nightly from their windows in the first months of the outbreak have met the grim milestone with a shrug.

We should be living in despair, because this is a tragedy like a world war. But Brazil is under collective anesthesia, said Dr. Jose Davi Urbaez, a senior member of the Infectious Diseases Society.

He and other pubic health experts have raised the alarm that Brazil still has no coordinated plan to fight the pandemic, as many officials focus on reopening, which is likely to boost the spread of the disease and worsen the outbreak.

The health ministry on Saturday reported 49,970 new confirmed cases and 905 deaths in the last 24 hours, raising the number of cases to more than 3 million and the death toll to 100,477.

Brazils Supreme Court and Congress, institutions that have criticized Bolsonaros handling of the pandemic, respectively declared three and four days of national mourning for the 100,000 dead. The president did not comment publicly.

Two health ministers, both physicians, have resigned over differences with Bolsonaro. The acting health minister is an army general who has abandoned the call for social distancing, which experts says is essential but the president opposes.

Bolsonaro, who has called COVID-19 a little flu, says he recovered from his own infection thanks to hydroxychloroquine, an anti-malarial drug that remains unproven against the coronavirus.

We dont know where it will stop, maybe at 150,000 or 200,000 deaths. Only time will show the full impact of COVID-19 here, said Alexandre Naime, head of Sao Paulo State Universitys department of infectious diseases.

He said the only comparison may be diseases brought by colonizers, such as smallpox, that decimated indigenous populations when Europeans first arrived in the Americas.

While that history is long past, Urbaez said Brazil today seems equally resigned to the COVID-19 deaths to come.

The governments message today is: Catch your coronavirus and if its serious, there is intensive care. That sums up our policy today, said Urbaez of the Infectious Disease Society.
Former Air Force base in Gettysburg on market for $4.5 M

A former air force base near Gettysburg is up for sale. The base is listed as having 50 beds and 15 bathrooms on a 42-acre parcel of land.
The governments of the U.S., U.K., Australia, Canada and New Zealand said they are gravely concerned by the Hong Kong governments decision to postpone legislative elections and bar pro-democracy candidates from participating.

These moves have undermined the democratic process that has been fundamental to Hong Kongs stability and prosperity, the U.S. secretary of state and foreign ministers from the other countries said in a joint statement.

They also expressed deep concern over Beijings imposition of the new National Security Law in Hong Kong, which will make it a crime to advocate for independence from China. The law is eroding the Hong Kong peoples fundamental rights and liberties, the statement said.

We support the legitimate expectations of the people of Hong Kong to elect Legislative Council representatives via genuinely free, fair, and credible elections. We call on the Hong Kong government to reinstate the eligibility of disqualified candidates so that the elections can take place in an environment conducive to the exercise of democratic rights and freedoms.

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State governors in Northeast Nigeria on Saturday called on the federal government to properly arm the Nigerian police so it can assist the military to defeat the Boko Haram extremists.

The governors said this during their second subregional meeting in Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State.

The governors, comprising those of Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Taraba and Yobe states, had earlier this year agreed to form a regional.body to be known as of North East Governors Forum. Their first meeting held in March this year, in Gombe State, where they the discussed common challenges confronting their region.

Due to the new coronavirus pandemic, the forum could not hold its quarterly meeting until now.

During the Maiduguri meeting, held behind closed doors, the governors reportedly discussed the challenges facing the sub-region after which they issued a communique.

In the 10-point Communique, issued late Saturday night, the governors commended the federal governments fight against Boko Haram insurgency with a call for the armed forces to intensify effort to secure hard-to-reach areas in the region and ensure safe access to farmlands.

The forum also called on the Federal Government of Nigeria to ensure the deployment of state of the art military hardware to the region.

They recommended that the manpower deficit in the Nigerian Armed Forces should be bridged by allowing the Police to carry state of the art weapons where necessary.

They also suggested that the police should be equipped with strategic equipment like high-velocity tear gas, trackers and Armoured Personnel Carriers (APC).

As a way of addressing the remote cause of the Boko Haram insurgency, the forum implored the Federal Ministry of Water Resources to double its commitment to recharging the Lake Chad from National water bodies and strengthen the river basins in the sub-region.

The governors also pledged a united front towards fostering regional integration, growth and development especially in exploitation of its oil and gas potentials, mineral resources, agriculture and industrialization.

Boko Haram Terrorists used to illustrate the story.

The governors called on the federal government to revoke selected roads contracts awarded by the federal ministry of works for years without progress and re-award same to more competent contractors to ensure timely execution.

They also called on the federal government to ensure local content in the execution of the Mambila Hydroelectric power project and other programmes of the North East Development Commission to ensure synergy with state governments.

The forum said it supported the management and board of the North East Development Commission and agreed to work together in producing a comprehensive strategic Master Plan for the region that will ensure sustainable development.

READ ALSO:

On the Almajiri (street children) system, the governors said they are in total support of the federal governments plan in transforming the system to strengthen both Islamic and western education as well as stop street begging and prevalence of out of school children in the region as agreed by the Northern Governors.

The communique indicated that the Governor of Borno State, Babagana Zulum, has been nominated and endorsed as the forums chairman for a period, during which their headquarters will remain in Maiduguri, Borno State.

The forums next meeting is to be held on November 7, 2020, in Yola, Adamawa State
Alleged Proud Boy members got into a violent clash with Black Lives Matter supporters in Seattle during a pro-police rally, while pro-police and anti-racism protesters brawled in Colorado.

The pro-police, anti-racism clashes that sparked across the Northwest are part of a larger discussion over policing and what role law enforcement plays in racial inequality.

Shocking video posted to social media from the Fort Collins, Colorado, protests shows an all-out brawl as the police supporters pummel Black Lives Matter demonstrators they claimed had attacked a veteran in a wheelchair.

Moments before, the pro-police group, decked out in American flags and carrying Trump 2020 flags, where seen pushing back the counter-protesters blasting them as members of Antifa and 'Commie scum'.

Claims that the BLM protesters attacked a man in a wheelchair seen earlier in the footage cannot be confirmed in the video.

Scroll down for video

An all-out brawl erupted in a ditch between pro-police and anti-racism protesters in Fort Collins, Colorado on Saturday afternoon. Three were arrested for disorderly conduct

In a separate incident an anti-racism protester was beaten to the ground before his arrest

A high school student shared video to Instagram claiming the protester pictured above was arrested without cause. Fort Collins police say arrests were made over 'physical altercations'

It instead shows Back the Blue rally attendees kneeling on top of the counter protesters who they ferociously punch and batter with American flags while the surrounding group continue to shout, 'Go home, Commie Scum'.

'Keep punching each other in the face but don't shoot anybody,' one person is heard shouting, warning all the keep away from their weapons.

Another person in the video, shot by a Back the Blue rally attendee, is also heard claiming that one of the anti-racism protesters had a knife but that it was taken off him.

Police arrive minutes later and arrest two of the BLM protesters, one of whom is shown in a video resisting arrest and trying to escape cops.

The violence erupted after the Back the Blue rally, which began outside of the Fort Collins Police Services building on Timberline Road, was met with two groups of counter-protesters.

Hundreds of police supporters had lined the street with 'Thin Blue Line' flags and 'Defend the Police' signs.

According to The Collegian, a Black Lives Matter rally had taken place at Colorado State University earlier in the day after which some traveled to Fort Collins Police Station to begin the counter-protest.

The pro-police protesters claimed the counter-protesters had assaulted a veteran in a wheelchair seen earlier in the clip but it could not be confirmed from footage shared

The counter-protesters are seen being held to the ground and pummeled

Antifa assaulted someone in a wheelchair. Thats what set off the beat down from residents. Police were on the scene to arrest the commies. pic.twitter.com/LhqHFztjV2  Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) August 9, 2020

They report that there were peaceful conversations being held between the protesters and counter-protesters but that trouble began when a second group of anti-racism protesters emerged who were dressed all in black and whom the pro-police group began to refer to as Antifa.

'As soon as I approached, I see people that have come from the side of the street from the pro-cops, they are wanting to, I want to say,  surround maybe three or four individuals who are holding up these signs that say Black Lives Matter to have a conversation,' Julius Philpot, a frequent speaker at local Black Lives Matter rallies told the paper.

Yet after 20 minutes, the second group dressed in 'all black tactical gear' approached, he claimed.

The second group angered the pro-police protesters and they gathered to push them forward and away from the area while verbally harassing them.

'So, we are currently marching the Antifa commie bas****s out of the neighborhood because nobody wants Antifa in the neighborhood. Nobody wants them here, so were marching them out,' the pro-police protester recording the video narrated.

ANTIFA made the mistake of pulling their shit in Ft. Collins, CO, and the results were glorious. pic.twitter.com/wSKrYAG1BE  John Cardillo (@johncardillo) August 9, 2020

The pro-police group had chased the counter-protesters dressed all in black down two blocks

One person was heard telling those fighting to be careful not to shoot

'I think it's quite disgusting,' said Brian Loma, founder of the Denver-based Cut the Plastic.

'I value that these people want to have a rally and they want to hold the line, but what I saw was women and as well as some gentlemen being forced, pushed, not only off the sidewalk into the street and then basically chased for two blocks into a trail.'

Video of the incident was also shared online by local high school student and organizer with the Fort Collins People's Initiative for Equity, Ciara Wilson, who is heard screaming at the violence to stop when the brawl erupts.

She said that despite the claims that the violence was started by the counter-protesters, it was the pro-police group who attacked without cause.

'Once they get all the way down the street from the police station, it just goes into an all-out brawl in the middle of a grassy pit,' Wilson told The Collegiate.

'Ten to 15 people just piled up on top of each other. Chokeholds, batons, punched in the face all of it, and there were no police.

In other videos a Black Lives Matter protester is heard speaking to the police supporters and telling his fellow counter-protesters to be careful of their actions and not to start violence

A dozen men were seen brawling in the ditch as the counter-protesters were blasted as 'Antifa'

The counter-protesters are seen trying to help each other up before cops arrest two of them

'At the first pro-police rally that we've had in Fort Collins, I, a 16-year-old girl, witnessed two beatings, and then the people who got beat were the ones that got arrested when they were the ones who had been assaulted,' she added.

'It was getting so violent so quickly, and the Fort Collins Police Service did nothing to help. They came after everyone had already gotten viciously beaten, they didn't arrest the correct people and they didn't do anything to try to deescalate the situation.  It was horrendous.'

She shared four videos to Instagram of the violence and arrests, claiming that only the counter-protesters were detained and they were not told the reason for their arrest.

The first video she shared showed a closer view of the brawl then the one shot by the Back the Blue protester.

In the clip, she can be seen running toward the fight before standing helplessly as she screams for it to stop.

The counter-protesters are shown being pounded as they struggle to get up.

One manages to escape and begins to hit a pro-police demonstrator but is quickly grabbed around the neck and kept in a choke hold on the ground.

In another incident, a counter-protester is seen being beaten on the ground before police arrive and he is arrested. The reason for the violent incident is not known

Other counter-protesters scream for help and he is held to the ground and beaten. He was then led away by police while those who were beating him walked away

In the second video, Wilson again runs to help an anti-racism protester with three men kneeling on top of him while he kicks to try and escape.

'Are you ok, sir? Are you ok? We're here for you,' she cries.

Police quickly arrive and appear to take the counter-protester who was being beaten away as somebody shouts that he 'got lucky'.

Another video shows three police officers again kneeling on top of a protester to arrest him in the grass.

In Wilson's final video, a Black Lives Matter protester is warning the other counter-protesters dressed all in black to be mindful of their actions and remember that they are representing the movement.

This protesters worked his fellow anti-racism protesters not to incite violence

The group watched on before he was interrupted and shouted at by the police supporters

'I can't tell you how to act or react but what I'm saying is when you all want to say Black Lives Matter and you support that this,' he begins before being interrupted.

'They are gonna say black people started it and we brainwashed this person or this person I'm going to be the first person and the only person, as one of the only black people here,' he adds before being interrupted by the pro-police group again.

Fort Collins Police Department was contacted by DailyMail.com to confirm the arrests made and the department's report on the incident but a representative was not available.

In a statement to The Collegiate, however, Public Relations Manager Kate Kimble confirmed that 'physical disturbances' outside the station resulted in three arrests and one citation.

A group of counter protesters is pepper sprayed during a confrontation with the Proud Boys, a far right group, during a rally to stop police defuning in Seattle

Pictured: police officer stands in front of counter protesters who came out in oppposition of pro-police protesters on Sunday

The booking report for the department on Saturday show that three people - two men and one woman- were arrested for disorderly conduct.

One of the men was also booked for possession of an illegal weapon.

'We respect everyones right to peacefully assemble to voice their concerns,' Kimble said. 'For the safety of our community, acts of violence, destruction of property and other unlawful behavior will not be tolerated.'

She added there was an 'active and ongoing investigation into these incidents'.

Anyone with information on the incidents is asked to contact Fort Collins police department.

In Seattle, thousands of pro-police supporters donned blue and American patriotic colors as the massive crowd of demonstrators wrapped around city hall for a 'Back the Blue' rally.

The pro-police group was gathered outside Seattle City Hall ahead of Monday's City Council vote that is expected to defund parts of the police department.

Thousands of pro-police supporters wrapped around Seattle City Hall on Sunday to fight against the police department being defunded

The clash between pro-police and anti-racism protests on Sunday was the latest in a string of such instances in recent weeks

Pictured: one pro-police protesters held a sign reading 'defund universities...not police'

City officials announced that all northbound lanes in the area were closed as pro-police individuals waved American flags and held signs that read 'Stop Defunding' from behind a metal barricade.

At one point, alleged Proud Boys members arrived with an eponymous flag to the demonstration.

Pro-police protesters were soon met with a group of anti-racism, Black Lives Matter supporters who arrived to counter-protest.

King 5 reports that the two opposing group tried to drown each other out with 'Black Lives Matter' and 'Blue Lives Matter' chants.

Protesters who arrived at City Hall were asked to wear blue in support of law enforcement and were heard chanting 'Blue Lives Matter'

On Monday, Seattle City Council is expected to make a vote on defunding the local police department

Demands for the Seattle Police Department to be defunded were shouted by anti-racism, Black Lives Matter protesters, who previously urged city officials to divert 50 percent of the department's funds to community initiatives.

David Lewsi, a counter-protester, told KOMO News that the point of defunding the police department is not meant to abolish the entire institution.

'Whats were saying is lets allocate those funds, reallocate those funds, to people in industries and occupations that are trained to do so,' he said.

'This isnt saying abolish the police altogether, this is saying put the funds in to the organizations that actually decrease the crime that we have here. If you increase education and housing and welfare in these neighborhoods, we wont have as much crime.'

During the events, conservative journalist Jason Rants with KTHH Radio reported a number of small confrontations.

A woman in a MAGA hat pushes back against the Antifa goons. pic.twitter.com/nFXInWQlAi  Jason Rantz on KTTH Radio (@jasonrantz) August 9, 2020

And the situation turned violent when a number of alleged Proud Boys marched through the group of anti-racism protesters.

Proud Boys is a far-right group that focuses on 'Western Values' while having a history of misogyny, transphobia, islamophobia and white supremacy.

A photo taken from the scene appeared to show an alleged Proud Boy member making the 'OK' hand symbol, which has come to represent hate and intolerance.

Local news stations and social media reported that a group of alleged Proud Boy members were at the demonstration and clashed with Black Lives Matter protesters

A number of Seattle Police Department officers were spotted at the demonstration to make sure Black Lives Matter and pro-police supporters did not get into a conflict

Pictured: A child holds a Thin Blue Line flag during the Seattle Police Officers Guild rally to stop defunding of the Seattle Police Department on Sunday

Some of the anti-racism protesters reportedly followed the alleged Proud Boys and a skirmish broke out.

Members of each group threw punches and fought on the concrete street as witnesses stood nearby.

KOMO News reports that at least one counter-protester was pepper sprayed by an alleged Proud Boys member.

By 5pm, pro-police protesters and anti-racism protesters had retired from their demonstrations as the roadways were cleared.

Earlier this year, Seattle was the site of intense, ongoing Black Lives Matter and police brutality protests that swept the nation after the death of George Floyd.
SRINAGAR: A terrorist was killed and two others were seriously injured as security forces foiled an infiltration bid along the Line of Control (LoC) in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir on Sunday (August 9).

The infiltration bid was scuttled in Krishna Ghati sector on Friday when the alert troops noticed a group of terrorists attempting to sneak into this side from across the LoC and immediately engaged them, Jammu-based PRO (defence) Lt Col Devender Anand told PTI.

He said that while one terrorist was killed on teh spot in the gunfight, two others were seriously injured. The Army officer said that subsequent search in the area showed that the dead body of the terrorist was dragged away from the incident site.

He added that the forces recovered 1 AK 47 rifle, 2 AK 47 magazines and some eatables from the site. He said that the seized eatables had Pakistan markings on them few other items clearly indicated the complicity of Pakistan in sponsoring terror activities in Jammu and Kashmir.



"Security forces are maintaining a robust counter-infiltration grid along the LoC to foil any nefarious designs by Pakistan," Lt Col Anand said.
While women won the right to vote in 1920, women are not equal in the eyes of the law. As the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia said in 2011: Certainly the Constitution does not require discrimination on the basis of sex. The only issue is whether it prohibits it. It doesnt. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg explained, Every constitution written since the end of World War II includes a provision that men and women are citizens of equal stature. Ours does not. This will not change until we amend the US Constitution with the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA): "Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex.

An ERA Coalition/Fund for Womens Equality poll conducted in October 2015 revealed that 90% of men and 96% of women, and Democrats (97%), Republicans (90%) and Independents (92%) said they would support an amendment to the U.S. Constitution that guarantees equality to women and men. Gender-based equality represents the present-day views of the vast majority of people across the United States

Suffragist Alice Paul first introduced the ERA amendment in 1923. In 1972, nearly 50 years after it was first introduced, the ERA passed the House and Senate with the required two-thirds majority.

The amendment was then sent for ratification to the states, but only 35 of the 38 states needed had ratified it by the time the Congressionally imposed deadline of 1982 expired. Then Nevada voted in 2017 to ratify the ERA, Illinois ratified in 2018, and in 2020 Virginia ratified, becoming the 38th and final state required.

The only remaining barrier to the ERA becoming the 28th amendment to the U.S. Constitution is the arbitrary 1982 ratification deadline. There are two efforts underway to deal with this barrier. The first is a lawsuit to compel the National Archivist to make the ERA the official 28th Amendment filed by the three states that ratified after 1982, to which Gov. Bullock filed an amicus brief on behalf of Montana on the side of ratification.

The second effort is for Congress to rescind the deadline. In February 2020, the U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation eliminating the ratification deadline. Now the U.S. Senate needs to do the same, by passing SJR 6.

Montana Sen. Tester co-sponsored SJR 6, so a thank you is in order. Montana Sen. Daines has not taken a formal position; he needs to hear from Montanans about supporting the ERA and SJR 6.

The LWV Montana is launching a campaign to update people on the current status of the ERA amendment and encourage Montanas U.S. senators to support SJR6. Our website https://my.lwv.org/montana-league-women-voters has a link to a short video covering the history of the ERA and where it stands today, as well as links to other informational sites.

What can you do? Contact Montanas U.S. senators to support SJR 6 and move it through the legislative process. To help with this effort, LWV Montana created pre-addressed postcards with the image of Lady Liberty and the words Equal Rights Amendment, Its Time! on one side and blank space for your message on the other. These postcards are free and can be ordered on the LWV Montana website.

Its time to contact Montanas U.S. senators to ensure that the ERA becomes the 28th amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Go to the LWV Montana website to order a free Lady Liberty postcard kit to send your personal message to Senators Daines and Tester.

Equal Rights Amendment: It's time!

Nancy Leifer, president, League of Women Voters Montana

Margaret Bentwood, co-president, League of Women Voters of the Helena Area

Clare Kearns, co-president, League of Women Voters of the Helena Area

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Linkedin Josa Lukman (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sun, August 9, 2020 15:00 528 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a4066c94075 1 Books #literature,#literary,#people,#profile,#author,#books,#Indonesia,#IwanGayo Free

Those of a certain age are likely familiar with Buku Pintar, a series of encyclopedias first published in 1982 and a perpetual bestseller in the pre-internet days.

At hundreds of pages in length, the books contained enough information a regular Indonesian would need in their daily life, from national history to geographic trivia.

With the wide variety of topics at hand, you would expect the series author himself to lead a varied life, and you of course would be right.

Hailing from the town of Takengon in the highlands of Aceh, Iwan Gayos life is as interesting as they come.

In an online webinar held by community group Ikatan Musara Gayo, the 68-year-old recalled that, by his own mothers account, he was someone not accepted by the Earth.

My birth was a very difficult process [...] My mother said she repeatedly had the midwife over to her house to help with my birth, and many times it would not turn fruitful. It was only in the eleventh month that she finally gave birth, and even then she couldnt breastfeed me because of her sickness, Iwan said.

As a young boy, Iwan walked with a gait that earned him the nickname King Kong, after the enormous gorilla-like monster from the movies. Everyone in the family referred to him as Abang King Kong, which soon stopped after his gait returned to normal in elementary school.

When I went to school, my father took me to the principal, where he asked for my name. My father named me Iwan Glaxo, which I didnt understand at that time, he said.

Apparently, he named me after the imported British powdered milk Glaxo, which I consumed instead of breastmilk.

Human search engine: Iwan Gayo got his start in producing compendiums after a failed scholarship application, which inspired him to hit the library. (Courtesy of Twitter/-)

While the name was symbolic of the hardships he faced early in life, Iwans peers were not as accepting, intentionally calling him Iwan Glaxon, a pun off klakson (automotive horn). Because of this, he changed his name to Iwan AB (Iwan Abu Bakar).

I hated it very much, and I wasnt very comfortable in school. I wasnt very receptive to my teachers materials  I was only able to read in third grade, and I stuttered when doing so. Looking back on it, I was reassured because the genius Thomas Alva Edison also learned to read at a later age, he said.

As he wasnt interested in staying in school all the time, Iwan had a sense of wanderlust in middle school that took him to cities like Medan in North Sumatra without any real end destination.

Later on in 1968, Iwan wanted to make his way to Jakarta because he wanted to shake hands with the founding father, Sukarno.

After six months of selling cigarettes, with no funds saved up because his friends often took the money, Iwan decided to make the journey to Jakarta regardless, taking a ship and working throughout the trip there by cutting onions.

Even in Jakarta, he wasnt content staying in one place at his uncles house, eventually packing his bag and exploring the capital.

He eventually arrived at the Jakarta Social Affairs Agency in Kebon Sirih, Central Jakarta, becoming a ward of the state after making himself cry on the spot.

However, after getting into a scuffle and spending a stint in jail, Iwan was no longer welcome there.

Once he was released, he became a journalist, where he finally had the name Iwan Gayo printed as his byline.

I didnt like the name Iwan Glaxo and Iwan AB didnt feel right. I then put the name Iwan Gayo. People would underestimate me, as I had wild hair and didnt dress snazzy.

As the newly minted Iwan Gayo, he covered the first legislative election in July 1971, trailing Sukarnos son Guntur Soekarnoputra as he campaigned at Blok S in Kebayoran. He was assigned to write Guntur as Indonesias Kennedy.

He went and waited but Guntur did not show up. Being a new journalist, he did not know where to go, what he should refer to or even what was happening.

After asking around, I found out that Guntur was being held back because Soeharto was not keen on Sukarno, he said, adding that he began to dislike the second president for crushing his dream of meeting Sukarno.

Even so, Iwan still wrote the article, titled Guntur Sukarno  Indonesias Kennedy  did not turn up at Blok S. He found out later that Guntur swore to never be involved in elections.

In 1982, Iwan received the Adinegoro Award, the most prestigious award for Indonesian journalists.

As for his Buku Pintar series  which has had a long run with the latest editions of the Junior and Senior books being the 39th and 50th versions respectively  Iwan said the idea came from a test for a scholarship program for journalists, part of the Colombo Plan regional organization.

When I applied, I was tested [in English], and even though all the questions were standard issue, I understood none of them. Its questions, like What is your name?, How old are you? and so on, meant to test our language capabilities. Because I was also deathly nervous, I didnt land the spot.

I was crushed, because many of my fathers books were in English. I had to learn the language so I sold the motorcycle I got from the [Adinegoro] prize to my friend and went to Yogyakarta and Bandung to learn English.

During his studies at the United States Information Service, Iwan spent a considerable amount of time hitting the books in the reference room, where he discovered the Information Please Almanac.

Iwan read the almanac so often that the head librarian asked him why he liked the book so much when there were other books in the librarys collection.

He asked me if I wanted one, which I of course said yes. Since its an annual book, hed give me the latest edition, he recalled. After I received it, I didnt have to make photocopies anymore, and I immediately went and designed Buku Pintar Junior. (ste)
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Linkedin Lim Jang-won (The Korea Herald/Asia News Network)  Sun, August 9, 2020 16:31 527 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a4066c98eed 2 Destinations South-Korea,Scandinavian,food,destination,travel Free

Located across the west wall of the palace Changdeokgung in Wonseo-dong in central Seoul is what, at first glance, looks like a hanok cafe. Inside, however, authentic Scandinavian dishes are offered on Royal Copenhagen porcelain, offering a cuisine unfamiliar to many Koreans at perhaps the most Korean place.

Sogongheon, meaning a place that brings people together to do good, opened after two years of construction. The two-story hanok, with a separate hanok annex behind it, breaks the stereotype that hanok restaurants offer only traditional Korean food.

As someone whos run a Korean restaurant for a long time, I dont think a hanok needs to serve only Korean food, said Kim Youn-young, the owner and head chef at Sogongheon who headed well-known Korean restaurant Yongsusan for over 30 years. I thought itd be interesting to experience Korean culture while having Western food.

Not many Koreans these days have personal experience with hanok, as the traditional houses have mostly disappeared in cities. Kim thinks Koreans will be delighted to have an opportunity to experience hanok while trying new food.

On the first floor, Danish pastries, or wienerbrod, make the hanok feel like a wooden cabin. Coffee and tea are all served in delicate blue-and-white Royal Copenhagen, as Kim disagrees with the use of takeout cups.

I want people to take their time when drinking. Also, I care about the environment, said Kim.

It is on the second floor that the full warmth of the hanok can be felt. The view of Changdeokgung with its over 500-year-old gingko tree from the central window provides a unique experience of Korean culture. The Scandinavian cuisine, mostly Danish, gives another dimension to the uniqueness of this cultural experience.

Kim is no stranger to Danish food, as she studied and lived there as a teacher for several years. Her mother-in-law, who is Danish, taught her the traditional recipes of Danish cuisine. Kim is also passing on the recipes to her own daughter, who is also a chef at Sogongheon.

Read also: Jeju Island is a sanctuary in virus times

As traveling to Scandinavia is harder than ever because of COVID-19, Sogongheon provides a glimpse of the region with its authentic cuisine.

The roast beef med ristet log at Sogongheon is its signature Scandinavian dish. (Sogongheon/The Korea Herald/File)

The food, ranging from the roast beef med ristet log to smorrebrod (a Danish-style open-faced sandwich), is something not many Koreans have ever tried. At dinner, a six-course Scandinavian meal is served.

Sogongheon also serves as a multipurpose cultural hub, with the basement hosting art exhibitions and the upper levels serving as a cafe and restaurant.

The inaugural exhibition, Memories of the Gaze: City Scape by photographer Jae Yong Rhee, shows the change in still objects chronicled over time, fitting of Sogongheons location next to the over 600-year-old Joseon era palace.

Rhees works in the exhibition capture the construction process of buildings by bringing together multiple photos of the same building in different phases of the construction into one. The construction processes of Sogongheon and buildings in Berlin are captured in surreal photos.

Another series includes capturing the same building from multiple angles and combining the photos. Rhees photo collection of 20 different rice mills in Korea presented this way allows viewers to catch a glimpse of different time frames of the landmark.

The exhibition runs until Oct. 23.

Sogongheon is open every day from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.

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
Republicans and Democrats failed to reach an agreement on 7 August on the lastest stimulus relief package amid the coronavirus pandemic, which came as bad news for millions of Americans eagerly awaiting a second stimulus check.

This does not mean that there will not be a second round of checks, it means that it will take longer for the IRS to start sending them once the stimulus relief package is drafted and signed by President Donald Trump. Democrats and Republicans have very different views on how much the total spending will be.

Even though nothing is official, it is expected that Congress will approve one of the Economic Impact Payments and both parties will agree on a second round of checks worth $1,200.

When are people going to receive the second check

According to the U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnunchin, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) could start printing the stimulus checks as early as the following week if President Donald Trump signs the stimulus package into law using the power of the executive order.

Since both parties are leaning towards approving a bill similar to the CARES Act, the people who qualify will be based the parameters that were used in that first bill, which was signed by President Trump back in March. The first round of stimulus payments were mostly sent by direct debit, with the first recipients receiving them as early as April 15th.

In light of the experience from that first round of stimulus payments, the IRS will send the second round of payments faster. Also Mnunchin said that, checks can be printed and sent the week after the president signs the stimulus legislation.
P olice have stopped 30,000 people on public transport for not wearing a face covering in just two weeks, but only dished out 33 fines, official figures reveal.

British Transport Police (BTP) figures show about a fifth (1,605) of the 28,964 people spoken to by officers in mid-July were told to leave the transport for not covering their face.

But just 33 of those stopped from July 13 to 25 were given a fine of 100, according to information obtained by the Telegraph through a Freedom of Information request.

And two people were arrested for not giving out details to the police when asked, but were de-arrested when they gave this information.

A man at Baker Street Tube station / PA

Meanwhile, Transport for London (TfL) workers have stopped almost 54,000 people for not wearing face masks since July 4 and given 244 people the 100 fine.

Nearly 4,000 of those stopped were prevented from boarding buses and 1,000 more were booted off services.

Wearing face coverings on public transport has been mandatory since June 15, to help stop the spread of coronavirus.

Grant Shapps announced the policy on June 4 and said: "A face covering helps protect out fellow passengers, it's something that we can each do to help each other."

A staff member cleaning a Tube train / PA

When the policy was announced in June more than 44 TfL staff members had died with coronavirus.

A spokesperson for the British Transport Police said in response to the figures: "The overwhelming majority of people have listened, complied and continued to play an important role in protecting other passengers and rail staff.''

Commenting on the London figures, a spokesperson for the Mayor of London told the Telegraph: "Londoners have shown that they want to do the right thing and the vast majority of people using public transport are wearing a face covering to keep themselves and others safe.

"To an extent, we're reliant on people taking steps to protect themselves and others."
WASHINGTON>> President Donald Trump is making grandiose claims about slashing drug prices and the efficacy of a treatment for COVID-19 that dont hold up to reality.

In a tweet Sunday, he asserts that he will reduce drug prices by at least 50%. Thats highly unlikely. Measures announced last month by the president will take time to roll out and their effects are uncertain. They also have been less ambitious than a plan by Speaker Nancy Pelosi that passed the House.

Meanwhile, Trump once again asserted that hydroxychloroquine is a drug safe and effective for treating COVID-19, only to be firmly rebutted Sunday by his own testing coordinator, who said people should move on to more effective measures, such as social distancing and wearing masks.

A look at Trumps statements on health care, as well as his distortions over the past week on mail-in voting and Democratic rival Joe Bidens record:

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS

TRUMP: When you see the Drug Companies taking massive television ads against me, forget what they say (which is false), YOU KNOW THAT DRUG PRICES ARE COMING DOWN, BIG.  tweet Sunday.

TRUMP: We think were going to cut prescription drug prices 50, 60, even 70%.  remarks Thursday to New Hampshire supporters.

TRUMP, promising a big reduction in drug prices: No other President would be able to produce what I have.  tweet Tuesday.

THE FACTS: Actually, no massive, across-the-board cuts are in the offing for drug prices.

Efforts announced last month by the president  such as allowing importation of medicines from countries where prices are lower  take time to roll out. It remains to be seen how much theyll move the needle on prices.

Drug importation, for example, requires regulatory actions to be taken and supply chains to be established, a tall order when the election is just three months away.

Trump has taken actions to reduce patient costs for some drugs, such as insulin, but the steps have been less ambitious than those in a bill from Speaker Nancy Pelosi that the House passed last year. Her proposal would authorize Medicare to negotiate prices for expensive medications and use savings from lower drug costs to establish Medicare coverage for dental care, hearing and vision.

She would cap Medicare recipients out-of-pocket costs for medicines at $2,000 a year. No limit exists on those annual costs now. The vast majority of Medicare recipients have low drug costs, but the Kaiser Family Foundation estimated that in 2017, about 1 million Medicare recipients paid much more, averaging $3,200 in a year.

White House actions, while not insignificant, dont amount to the massive changes Trump brags about. One major initiative would give people on Medicare the option of limiting their out-of-pocket costs for insulin to $35 a month starting next year, by picking an enhanced prescription drug plan for a slightly higher premium.

___

VIRUS DRUG

TRUMP, on the use of hydroxychloroquine to treat or try to prevent the coronavirus: I happen to be a believer in hydroxy. I used it. I had no problem. I happen to be a believer.  remarks Wednesday to reporters.

THE FACTS: Trumps continued promotion of the anti-malaria drug for COVID-19 has been repeatedly dismissed by his own health experts, including Adm. Brett Giroir, the administrations lead official on testing, who made clear Sunday he does not recommend the treatment.

Most physicians and prescribers are evidence-based, and theyre not influenced by whatever is on Twitter or anything else, he told NBCs Meet the Press. In this case, anything else includes endorsements of the drug by the president.

Giroir said the evidence just doesnt show hydroxychloroquine is effective right now.

He said people need to move on and talk about what is effective. He pointed to measures such as hand-washing, social-distancing and wearing masks, as well as treatments such as remdesivir and steroids.

Trumps own health agencies as well as Dr. Anthony Fauci, the governments top infectious diseases expert, have cautioned that taking hydroxychloroquine to stave off the virus could be dangerous due to side effects. If the president is to be believed, he took the drug himself.

Trump repeatedly has pushed hydroxychloroquine, with or without the antibiotic azithromycin. But no large, rigorous studies have found them safe or effective for COVID-19, and they can cause heart rhythm problems and other serious side effects. The Food and Drug Administration has warned against the drug combination and said hydroxychloroquine should only be used for the coronavirus in hospitals and research settings.

___

TRUMP, on hydroxychloroquine: Many, many people agree with me. A great test just came out from the Ford clinic in Michigan  very respected.  remarks Wednesday to reporters.

THE FACTS: Trump is cherry picking a study widely criticized as flawed, ignoring multiple studies finding hydroxychloroquine doesnt help.

Numerous rigorous tests of hydroxychloroquine, including a large one from Britain and one led by the National Institutes of Health, concluded that the anti-malaria drug was ineffective for treating hospitalized coronavirus patients.

The Henry Ford Health System study that Trump refers to was an observational look back at how various patients fared. It was not a rigorous test where similar patients are randomly assigned to get the drug or not and where each group is compared later on how they did.

In the study, some people with heart or certain other conditions were not given the drugs, which can cause heart rhythm problems, so those patients were fundamentally different from the group they were compared with. Researchers said they adjusted statistically for some differences, but the many variables make it tough to reach firm conclusions.

Some patients also received other treatments such as steroids and the antiviral drug remdesivir, further clouding any ability to tell whether hydroxychloroquine helped.

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NOVEMBER ELECTION

TRUMP: Must know Election results on the night of the Election, not days, months, or even years later!  tweet Thursday.

TRUMP: I want to have the result of the election. I dont want to be waiting around for weeks and months.  news conference Thursday.

THE FACTS: Hes demanding something no one can deliver. The president appeared unaware that American democracy cant be shaped to produce a same-day result to sate his impatience.

Theres certainly no requirement for a winner to be declared election night, and the prospect of having to wait to know who won has not been used as justification to try to delay the vote itself.

State election officials in some battleground states recently warned it may take days to count an expected surge of ballots that people send by mail because they dont feel safe showing up to the polls. In an election as close as 2016s, a delayed tally in key states could keep the outcome from being quickly known.

Delayed results are common in a few states where elections are already conducted largely by mail. But a presidential election hasnt been left in limbo since 2000, when ballot irregularities in Florida led to weeks of chaos and court fights.

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TRUMP: With Universal Mail-In Voting (not Absentee Voting, which is good), 2020 will be the most INACCURATE & FRAUDULENT Election in history. It will be a great embarrassment to the USA. Delay the Election until people can properly, securely and safely vote???  tweet Thursday.

THE FACTS: Trump has persistently theorized about voter fraud and never supported those theories with facts. He appointed a commission to get to the bottom of voter fraud and it disbanded without making any findings.

Time and again, voter fraud has proved exceedingly rare, and voting without going to polling places has become more common.

Multiple checks, such as signature verification in many states, must happen before a ballot can be counted, and experts say any fraud can be detected.

Five states relied on mail-in ballots even before the coronavirus pandemic raised concerns about voting in person. Those states say they have the necessary safeguards in place to ensure that a hostile foreign actor doesnt co-opt the vote. More states intend to rely more heavily on mail-in voting for the same reason.

Trump is simply wrong about mail-in balloting raising a tremendous potential for fraud, Richard L. Hasen, an elections expert at the University of California, Irvine, School of Law, wrote recently. While certain pockets of the country have seen their share of absentee-ballot scandals, problems are extremely rare in the five states that rely primarily on vote-by-mail, including the heavily Republican state of Utah.

Indeed, election experts widely say that all forms of voter fraud are rare. The Brennan Center for Justice in 2017 ranked the risk of ballot fraud at an infinitesimal 0.00004% to 0.0009%, based on studies of past elections.

Even so, Trump has sketched wild scenarios, recently imagining thousands and thousands of people sitting in somebodys living room, signing ballots all over the place.

As for the extraordinary step of moving the Nov. 3 election, the chances are almost nil. On Sunday, Trump campaign senior adviser Jason Miller suggested Trump wont push for a delay.

The election is going to be on Nov. 3, Miller told Fox News Sunday. President Trump wants the election on Nov. 3.

The date of the presidential election  the Tuesday after the first Monday in November in every fourth year  is enshrined in federal law and would require an act of Congress to change. Democrats, who control the House, will not support Trump on this. Republicans, who control the Senate, are unlikely to, either.

___

TRUMP: Mail-In Voting is an easy way for foreign countries to enter the race.  tweet Thursday.

THE FACTS: No, its one of the most difficult ways for a foreign adversary to meddle in a U.S. election.

Swaying a federal election using absentee ballots would mean paying thousands of U.S. citizens, carefully selected in key cities in battleground states, who are willing to conspire with a foreign government and risk detection and prosecution.

Far easier and cheaper would be a social media campaign seeking to discourage certain groups of people from voting, something the FBI has already warned about. Or launching a sophisticated cyberattack on voter registration data that would eliminate certain voters from the rolls, causing havoc at polling places or election offices as officials look to count ballots from people who are missing from their voter databases.

Last month Attorney General Bill Barr raised the possibility that a foreign country could print up tens of thousands of counterfeit ballots. He argued they would be hard to detect, but thats been disputed by election experts.

Absentee ballots are printed on special paper and must be formatted correctly in order to be processed and counted. Ballots are specific to each precinct, often with a long list of local races, and would be easily identified as fraudulent if everything didnt match precisely.

This is a complete red herring, said Wendy Weiser, director of the democracy program at the Brennan Center for Justice. Its completely not plausible, and not something that security and election experts are actually worried about.

___

BIDENS PLATFORM

TRUMP: Biden came out against fracking. Well, that means Texas is going to be one of the most unemployed states in our country. That means Oklahoma, North Dakota, New Mexico are going to be a disaster. Ohio, Pennsylvania  disaster. No fracking.  news conference Thursday.

THE FACTS: No, thats not Bidens position at all.

In a March 15 primary debate, Biden misstated his fracking policy to suggest hed ban it and his campaign quickly corrected the record. Trump continually ignores the correction.

Biden has been otherwise consistent on his middle-of-the-road position, going so far as to tell an anti-fracking activist that he ought to vote for somebody else if he wanted an immediate fracking ban. He proposes to deny new fracking permits only on federal lands. Such a limited step cannot spell disaster for entire states. By far the most fracking happens on private land.

___

TRUMP: Joe Biden said he would defund the police. Biden would defund them. Hed abolish them, I guess.  remarks Thursday to New Hampshire supporters.

THE FACTS: Weve heard this falsehood many times. Whats new is that Trump was informed face to face nearly two weeks ago that Biden does not propose defunding or abolishing police, yet he is still saying it.

Biden actually proposes more money for police departments and he has explicitly rejected the calls of some on the left to defund or abolish departments. Hed spend more to support improvements in police practices.

Two weeks ago, Fox News reporter Chris Wallace confronted Trump on the matter when the president tried to hang a defund-abolish label on Biden. Trump cited a policy document drafted by aides to Biden and ex-rival Bernie Sanders. It contains recommendations, not necessarily policies embraced by the candidate. But even that document would not defund or wipe out police departments.

It seeks, for example, increased funding for officer health and well-being in police departments across the country, including for personal safety equipment and mental health services.

___

RUSSIAN BOUNTIES

TRUMP, on a U.S. intelligence assessment that Russia was paying a bounty to militants in Afghanistan to kill Americans there. If it reached my desk I would have done something about it.  interview Tuesday with Axios on HBO.

THE FACTS: His claim that the matter didnt reach him is unconvincing.

The Associated Press reported in June that the assessment was included in at least one of Trumps written daily intelligence briefings last year. As well, then-national security adviser John Bolton told colleagues he briefed Trump on the intelligence assessment and the subject was the sole purpose of that meeting with the president.

This was according to U.S. officials with direct knowledge of the intelligence who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the highly sensitive information publicly.

Trump said this past week he did not raise the matter in recent phone calls with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo would not tell senators in testimony whether he has brought it up with his Russian counterpart. He said he discusses with the Russians all threats that they pose to Americans and U.S. interests.

White House officials have argued that Trump wasnt briefed on the suspected bounties because the assessment is not conclusive. However presidents are commonly informed of the most consequential intelligence even if the findings are not complete, so they can make decisions about potential or emerging threats.
KP Vishnuprasad By

Express News Service

MALAPPURAM: Amid the numbing tragedy caused by the plane crash at the Kozhikode airport on Friday, what shone through in the hour of overpowering grief was the selfless service rendered by the people in Malappuram. Their commitment to the cause ensured that the relief and rescue operations proceeded without a hitch.

Within minutes of the Air India Express crash-landing at the tabletop airport around 7.40pm, several hundred people living nearby rushed to the accident site.

We rushed to the area. We saw that the plane had broken in two. Though the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) initially refused to let us in, later they asked us to help in the rescue operations as only a few persons from the airport were available in the beginning to carry out the rescue operations, said Junaid Karipur, who had participated in the rescue operations.

Responding to the CISF call, more people entered the airport premises for the rescue operation. Those living in the vicinity of the airport got in touch with their contacts through WhatsApp, urging their participation.

It was a distressing sight there. We heard passengers of the ill-fated aircraft trapped under the debris crying out for help. Some people had sustained severe injuries. So we pulled them out of the debris and laid them on the ground in a nearby area while waiting for ambulances to arrive. Though initially only one ambulance was available, later the authorities arranged for more ambulances along with rescue workers from fire and rescue services department, police and NDRF, said Fazal Puthiyakath, another rescuer.

The injured were first taken to Relief Hospital at Kondotty. When the hospital was filled with patients, we sent the injured to other hospitals in Kozhikode and Malappuram districts.

The rescuers had to cope on two fronts  inclement weather and the Covid threat. It was raining heavily at times during the rescue operation. We didnt mind heavy rain or the Covid threat during the rescue operations. Our only thought was saving the lives of those trapped under the debris, Puthiyakath added.

After the people were shifted to the hospitals, a challenge the hospital authorities faced was the shortage of blood in blood banks. The local people had a solution for the issue as well.

They immediately spread message through WhatsApp groups asking people to donate blood. Within minutes, hundreds of people queued up at hospitals in the area, including the Medical College Hospital, Baby Memorial Hospital and Relief Hospital in Kozhikode to donate blood. Even those who participated in the rescue operations donated blood.

Nawalul Rahman, who coordinated the blood donation campaign on the day, said, Several teams, including mine, had first taken up the issue of blood shortage. We spread the message through social media groups. Following this, around 3,000 people contacted me through calls and messages, indicating their willingness to donate blood. Many of them went to the hospitals to donate blood. People who came forward to help in the hour of need should be appreciated.
B oris Johnson is set to travel to Scotland for a two-week summer holiday, according to reports.

The Prime Minister, fiancee Carrie Symonds and their three-month old son Wilfred will go away next weekend for a fortnight, the Sunday Times reported.

Mr Johnson previously spoke about allowing a brief staycation to creep into the agenda, if thats possible, when asked about plans for the summer.

Downing Street declined to comment. The House of Commons has been on recess since July 22 and will not sit again until September 1.

The Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his partner Carrie Symonds with their son Wilfred in the study of No. 10 Downing Street speaking via zoom to the midwifes that helped deliver their son at the UCLH. / Andrew Parsons/No10 Downing St

The news comes after other MPs have had problems due to quarantine restrictions imposed on visitors returning from overseas destinations.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps was in Spain when the country was struck off the safe list of travel destinations, while minister for London Paul Scully was in Lanzarote - meaning both had to quarantine when they came home.

Grant Shapps returning home from Spain / BBC News

Speaking last month, Mr Johnson said: I would encourage people still to think of wonderful staycations here in the UK. There are all sorts of fantastic destinations, the best in the world, I would say.

All my happiest holiday memories are of holiday vacations here in the UK, bucket-and-spade jobs or whatever, and I thoroughly, thoroughly recommend it, and Im sure that people will have a great time over the summer.
Protesters set up symbolic nooses at Beiruts Martyrs Square to hang politicians whose corruption and negligence they blame for explosion

A man poses for a picture with a cardboard cut-out of Hassan Nasrallah (L), the head of Lebanon's Shiite Muslim movement Hezbollah, and former Foreign Minister Gibran Bassil hung by Lebanese protesters in downtown Beirut. (AFP)

Beirut: Public fury over this weeks massive explosion in Beirut took a new turn Saturday night as protesters stormed government institutions and clashed for hours with security forces, who responded with heavy volleys of tear gas and rubber bullets.

One police officer was killed and dozens of people hurt in the confrontations, which played out in streets that were wrecked from Tuesdays blast at the port that devastated much of the city and killed nearly 160 people. Dozens were still missing and nearly 6,000 people injured.

The disaster has taken popular anger to a new level in a country already reeling from an unprecedented economic and financial crisis and near bankruptcy.

Activists who called for the protest set up symbolic nooses at Beiruts Martyrs Square to hang politicians whose corruption and negligence they blame for the explosion.

The blast was fueled by thousands of tons of ammonium nitrate that had been improperly stored at the port for more than six years. Apparently set off by a fire, the explosion was by far the biggest in Lebanons troubled history and caused an estimated $10 billion to 15 billion in damage, according to Beiruts governor. It also damaged 6,200 buildings and left hundreds of thousands of people homeless.

Resignation or hang, read a banner held by protesters, who also planned to hold a symbolic funeral for the dead. Some nooses were also set up along the bridges outside the port.

Khodr Ghadir, 23, said the noose was for everyone who has been in power for the last 30 years. What happened was a spark for people to return to the streets.

A placard listed the names of the dead, printed over a photo of the blasts enormous pink mushroom cloud. We are here for you, it read.

Dozens of protesters stormed the buildings of government ministries and the headquarters of the banking association, turning their rage to state and financial institutions.

Earlier Saturday, the protesters entered the empty buildings of the foreign ministry, declaring it a headquarters of their movement. Others then fanned out to enter the economy and energy ministries, some walking away with documents claiming they will reveal the extent of corruption that permeates the government. Some also entered the environment ministry.

Many protesters said they now had only their homes and even those are no longer safe. They blamed the governments inefficiency and political division for the country ills, including the recent disaster that hit almost every home.

The violence unfolded on the eve of an international conference co-hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron and United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres aimed at bringing donors together to supply emergency aid and equipment to the Lebanese population.

In a televised speech Saturday evening, Prime Minister Hassan Diab said the only solution was to hold early elections, which he planned to propose in a draft bill. He called on all political parties to put aside their disagreements and said he was prepared to stay in the post for two months to allow time for politicians to work on structural reforms.

The offer is unlikely to soothe the escalating fury on the street.

In central Beirut, some protesters threw stones at security forces, who then released heavy tear gas. Near parliament, protesters tried to jump over barriers that closed the road leading to the legislature. The protesters later set on fire a truck that was fortifying barriers on a road leading to parliament.

At least 238 people were hurt in the clashes, and 63 of them needed to be taken to the hospital, according to the Red Cross. Several protesters were carried away with blood running down their faces. At one point, gunfire could be heard, but its source was not immediately clear.

The countrys ruling class, made up mostly of former civil war-era leaders, is blamed for incompetence and mismanagement that contributed to Tuesdays explosion.

The current leaders bloodline needs to end. We want the death of the old Lebanon and the birth of a new one, said Tarek, a 23-year-old university student who had prepared a mix of water and paint in a bottle to throw at the police. No peaceful protest would bring about change, he said.

Sandy Chlela, a 35-year old from Kousba in the north, disagreed with Tarek. She said she had no illusion that the protests would bring change, but the demonstrations were a necessary expression of anger and puts some pressure on the politicians.

I know it will not change much but we cant act as if nothing happened, the computer programmer said.

The state, which is investigating the cause of the explosion, has been conspicuously absent from the ravaged streets of Beirut, with almost zero involvement in the cleanup. Instead, teams of young volunteers with brooms have fanned out to sweep up broken glass and reopen roads.

The U.S embassy in Beirut tweeted that the Lebanese people have suffered too much and deserve to have leaders who listen to them and change course to respond to popular demands for transparency and accountability.

Documents that surfaced after the blast showed that officials had been repeatedly warned for years that the presence of 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate at the port posed a grave danger, but no one acted to remove it. Officials have been blaming one another, and 19 people have been detained, including the ports chief, the head of Lebanons customs department and his predecessor.

The protests came as senior officials from the Middle East and Europe visited in a show of solidarity with the tiny country that is still in shock.

The president of the European Council, Charles Michel, arrived in Beirut for a brief visit. Turkeys vice president and the countrys foreign minister met Aoun and said that Ankara was ready to help rebuild Beiruts port and evacuate some of the wounded to Turkey for treatment.

At the site of the blast, workers continued searching for dozens of missing people.
A children's book is displayed at a U.S. Census walk-up counting site set up for Hunt County in Greenville, Texas, Friday, July 31, 2020. Read more

Census experts and advocates warn that the Trump administration's decision to end the decennial count a month earlier than expected will result in a dramatic undercount of Black and Latino communities across the country, which could have grave effects on federal funding and political representation in their neighborhoods.

They point in particular to alarmingly low response rates in places such as the Rio Grande Valley in Texas and the Bronx in New York, where the coronavirus pandemic had already interrupted outreach in some of the country's hardest-to-count census tracts. National nonprofits and community activists are putting together urgent persuasion campaigns in an attempt to cram three months of work into two - driving through neighborhoods with bullhorns taped to vehicles, pouring funds into geotagged digital advertising, and phone-banking.

"We're in the middle of a global pandemic, and they might be shortchanging every Latino community for 10 years to come. This is cruel," said Lizette Escobedo, who leads the census program for NALEO Educational Fund, a nonpartisan Latino rights organization.

The census represents an important fault line in the battle over structural racism and equity, with high stakes. It dictates the allocation of federal dollars and influences everything from infrastructure investments to education programs like free and reduced lunch to public health-care spending. The data is also used when deciding the boundaries of legislative districts.

People who do not self-report their information are usually visited by a Census Bureau worker. Because of delays caused by the pandemic, the federal government earlier this year extended the deadline for in-person follow-up, from mid-August to Oct. 31. But the administration abruptly announced last week that it would require data collection to end by Sept. 30 instead.

By law, the final census count must be delivered to the president by Dec. 31 of the year it takes place. Census Bureau officials have said the shortened deadline is part of an effort to meet that requirement. The bureau declined to comment about the risk of undercounting communities of color, but issued a statement announcing it would hire more workers to achieve a complete count.

Escobedo and others said they believe the decision was motivated by a desire to suppress the political power of communities of color, which traditionally vote Democratic.

Even in non-pandemic times, the likeliest communities to be undercounted are typically also the most marginalized in the country, said Diana Elliott, a principal research associate at the Urban Institute, a nonpartisan think tank. That includes communities of color, people living in rural areas or without permanent addresses, high-poverty neighborhoods, immigrant communities and places where government distrust is high. People in majority White and affluent communities, by contrast, are likelier to be counted.

"If certain areas are not represented with their full accurate count, that means their funding will be diminished as well," Elliott said. "I think, for example, of the Rio Grande Valley. That area of Texas will get less money than, say, the suburbs of Dallas. And that's not really a fair and equitable distribution of resources."

Critics have previously accused the Trump administration of politicizing the census. Last year, the U.S. Supreme Court stopped the census from asking participants if they are American citizens, which activists and experts said would discourage undocumented people from participating.

Last month, President Donald Trump signed a memorandum in support of excluding the estimated number of undocumented immigrants in the country from the count used to apportion congressional districts. Several groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union and a coalition of state attorneys general, have filed lawsuits to block the shift in policy.

The administration's efforts to exclude undocumented immigrants, a radical departure from past policy, has support among some conservatives. Hans von Spakovsky, a senior legal fellow at the Heritage Foundation, said he believes including them in the count unfairly dilutes the political power of American citizens.

"None of them have any right to representation in Congress because they are not citizens of the United States," said von Spakovsky. "If you got rid of noncitizens in the apportionment process, California would probably lose five congressional seats."

The new deadline, however, could disenfranchise American citizens and legal residents, too.

Four previous Census Bureau directors testified at a hearing last month that the shorter time frame is likely to lead to an inaccurate count. The State Data Center, a partnership between the Census Bureau and U.S. states and territories to make census data available to the public, also opposes ending field activities a month earlier, said Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., chairman of the House Oversight subcommittee on civil rights and civil liberties.

"At this point, we're seeing an undercount of Black communities everywhere. Deep undercounts of places in the South," said Rashad Robinson, the president of Color of Change, a nonprofit organization working to maximize the census count among Black communities. "As covid continues to rip through those communities, it is a very challenging thing to see communities that absolutely need resources that could be left out."

On Wednesday, the National Congress of American Indians joined several other prominent Indigenous rights groups in denouncing the administration's accelerated timeline, calling it a direct threat to their well-being during a public health crisis that may have lingering effects for years.

"Our tribal nations and tribal communities have been ravaged by COVID-19, and an extension of the Census enumeration period was a humane lifeline during an unprecedented global health catastrophe," the groups said in a statement. "An inaccurate Census count will decimate our ability to advocate for necessary services for our most vulnerable communities."

Several experts said they are especially worried about the Latino count in Texas, where more than a dozen Latino-heavy counties have the lowest participation rates in the country.

One in four Texans live in hard-to-count areas where poverty, rural, and a lack of internet connections drive down census participation, said Katie Martin Lightfoot, who coordinates the grass-roots Texas Counts campaign, an informal committee that brings together local leaders and census organizers across the state. Data shows that Latinos in particular have the lowest response rate statewide.

Data experts on her team have estimated that even a 1 percent undercount would lead to a loss of $300 million per year for the next decade.

In some ways, the deck was already stacked for a potential undercount there. While other states dedicate tens of millions of dollars to census outreach efforts meant to boost the count, the Texas state legislature provided no funding at all. That left the task of encouraging participation up to local philanthropies and nonprofits, Martin said.

"Think about covid-19 and the pandemic and how much we're relying on these resources now. And people are still going to need those services, and that burden will fall on the state and the local governments," she said.

The overall self-response rate in Texas so far is 58 percent, compared to 64 percent by this point in 2010, said Martin. But as few as 37 percent of households have responded in some counties in the Rio Grande Valley.

About 63 percent of all households in the United States have completed the census, according to the Census Bureau.

The new timeline has jolted state and local officials even in places where abundant resources have been allocated toward the count.

California invested $187 million in outreach efforts to directly target the hardest-to-count communities. Officials in California say the new deadline will present significant challenges but they are confident about their response rate so far given the geographic and demographic diversity of the state.

"The next few months are very critical. Our job is made more difficult with some of the most recent actions by the federal government, and so we want to focus on tactics that are showing to be really effective, like phone banking with a patch through to the U.S. Census Bureau," said Maricela Rodriguez, who works in the office of California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat.

Laura Russell, a census coordinator for Carroll County, Md., said the mostly White, suburban county has one of the best self-response rates in the nation. And yet even there, officials worry about an undercount, especially among preschool children and the area's small Latino community. They are mindful, she said, that they could lose up to $1,800 a head in federal funding.

Russell said county officials and volunteers have approached Latino community leaders and businesses to help solicit responses. All materials about the census were handed out in Spanish and English. The committee also worked with Latino-owned businesses and worked with the faith community, such as the Catholic Church.

"I think the No. 1 reason (Latinos have a low response rate) is they're afraid of the government. They don't want anybody to know they're here or to ask them questions," she said.

The pandemic has derailed even carefully tailored plans and tried-and-true methods of reaching these communities, including canvassing events outside grocery stores or census-focused events at local parks.

In New York, political leaders had signaled the 2020 Census was a significant priority, but those plans largely fell by the wayside when New York City became the initial epicenter of the pandemic in the United States. Escobedo, who runs NALEO's census outreach, said many of the funds the state had allocated toward the census were never distributed.

While Escobedo had prepared for some of the political challenges the census has faced this year, she could not have anticipated the pandemic.

"Latinos are dying at a faster rate. Latinos are suffering financially more than anyone else," she said. "So now you're going into a community where you're reminding them the census funds schools and funds transportation. And they're thinking, 'I don't really have the time and space to think about the census.' "

But the administration's revised timeline, she said, is in some ways more troubling than the disruptions caused by the pandemic because it is a self-inflicted wound coming from within the government.

Folks are actually terrified of what a full count of Latinos can mean. But were not going anywhere. This is our country. We are American as everyone else. This fight doesnt keep me up at night, it wakes me up every morning, she said. I want to make sure that I can take that political potential and turn it into political will.
Before heading to a small backyard family gathering a couple of weeks ago, Alex Pollard made a very 2020 stop: the COVID-19 assessment centre.

The 23-year-old Mississauga choreographer wanted some extra peace of mind before seeing some older family members, even though he was still careful.

I went just to be safe, he said, to do my part before getting together with anyone.

This kind of proactive testing before an event, trip, or even a date, is something many are choosing this summer, without symptoms or exposure. But experts caution, while its great people are getting tested, a negative result doesnt mean you can party like its 2019.

Its something Andrew Kennedy, patient care manager of Sunnybrook hospitals assessment centre, has been seeing a lot of since Ontario opened up testing guidelines in late May.

The province has been consistently processing more than 25,000 tests daily, sometimes more than 30,000. Kennedy said they are seeing four to five times the volume they were seeing in April at Sunnybrook, where you dont need an appointment. This sometimes means theres a line, but it moves pretty quickly, he added.

William Osler Health Systems Brampton and Etobicoke assessment centres have also been busy, said spokesperson Donna Harris in an email. They conducted over 38,000 tests in July compared to just over 10,000 in April, and in mid-June moved the Peel Memorial site to South Fletchers Sportsplex in Brampton, to accommodate more people.

The official guidelines still say that anyone who has even one symptom, is worried theyve been exposed, or is at risk through their employment, can get a test, according to Health Ministry spokesperson David Jensen.

But Kennedy said theyre not turning anyone away, anyone who wants to get tested gets tested. Before the guidelines were opened up, people were coming who had symptoms or exposure, but since then were seeing more people looking for proactive, clearance to be able to do something.

That could be a family gathering, or even a wedding where the bride and groom have asked everyone to get tested before coming.

He believes people got this idea around the time the province announced visitors to long-term-care homes could come if they tested negative. At the assessment centre they counsel them that a test is just a snapshot in time and doesnt mean youre 100 per cent COVID free.

Its not a free pass to go do whatever you want.

The issue, said Colin Furness, assistant professor at the Faculty of Information and Dalla Lana School of Public Health, is that you could get a negative result, either because the virus was just not present at the back of your nose during the swab, or youre still incubating it. One recent Toronto study found the nasal swabs picked up about 89 per cent of infections.

I dont want to say to people dont get tested, you want people to get tested, but when they use it as a badge of, I must be fine I got tested, thats a problem, Furness said.

Its not the same as getting an HIV test, for example, because (with COVID-19) you can be fine one day and not the next.

It does depend on the circumstances, and there is a big difference between testing to be extra careful, and using it as an excuse to go to a huge indoor party without social distancing. But even when changing households, for example, a better strategy would be to isolate for 14 days. Even seven would be better than nothing, Furness said.

Its commendable, said Shannon Majowicz, an associate professor with the University of Waterloos School of Public Health and Health Systems, that people are thinking about how to live and work and play in the safest way possible.

But she recommends they follow public health guidelines, and not seek out extra testing without symptoms or possible exposure. A negative result is not permission to ignore masks and physical distancing.

On the one hand, its wonderful that we have such capacity for diagnostic testing, said Isaac Bogoch, Infectious Disease Specialist at the University of Toronto and University Health Network. Ontario has come a long way in boosting capacity after an initial backlog restricted testing at the beginning of the pandemic.

Thats a win, and the fact that people can just waltz in to a diagnostic testing centre and get a test done is tremendous. The fewer barriers to diagnostic testing the better.

But at an individual level, the test is only as good as peoples behaviour in the proceeding few days before the test, and a negative result might provide a false sense of security.

All of this prophylactic testing does provide the province with more data to get a sense of how much COVID is lurking in the population, added Furness.

But it would be better if it was being done more strategically, as deliberate randomized testing for high-risk groups. For example, testing waiters and bartenders to get a picture of transmission in restaurants and bars as most of Ontario moves into Phase 3.

Pollard, for one, plans to get tested proactively every couple of weeks as he opens up his City Centre Dance studio, even though hell still be wearing a mask and taking other safety precautions.

After a 45-minute wait at the Credit Valley Hospital drive-thru assessment centre, the whole process was very smooth and he got his negative results back online just 24 hours later. He wants to be as responsible as possible, given he lives with his older parents, and also downloaded the COVID app.

Regular testing should be a thing. I feel it makes sense as things are going to be opening up and were going to be back out. I just feel like you may as well, he said.

Charles Wilson, who got a test before heading to a socially distanced Sudbury wedding over the Civic Holiday long-weekend, agrees.

He chronicled his testing on social media to demystify the process and show others that its no big deal.

If youve had water squirted up your nose, youve been in more pain than getting a COVID test, he said.

Wilson had the test to put the bride and groom and their mostly local guests at ease, although he still wore a mask and the whole event was socially distanced. The 35-year-old also plans to get regular tests every couple of weeks as he heads back to work at Durham College. But he understands what it doesnt say.

What that test tells me is, as of 9:03 a.m., the SARS-CoV-2 virus is not in my respiratory system. It doesnt mean its not going to be there at 9:04 a.m., he said.

Its not an insurance policy. Its not a parachute. Its not a seatbelt.
you are here:
In three ravaged neighborhoods  one middle class, one poor, and one upscale  the catastrophe has united everyone in rage against a government seen as corrupt, dysfunctional and ineffectual. Dozens of conversations in these areas found residents of different classes who were already seething over the countrys failures of leadership and are now demanding change even more forcefully than before.

Lebanon had already been sinking into a bog of interlocking crises that will make recovery far more difficult. Even before the coronavirus pandemic triggered a global recession, Lebanons economy was shrinking, its currency was crashing and banks were refusing to give people their money. Power cuts left many in the dark, and protesters marched frequently against their leaders.

Then a huge cache of ammonium nitrate, a chemical used in fertilizer and explosives, detonated at the port on Tuesday, killing more than 150 people, injuring some 6,000 and leaving hundreds of thousands homeless, according to officials.

That lent a new sense of urgency to the campaign for a change in government.

Gemmayzeh

If you ever received a postcard from Beirut, chances are good the photo on it was taken around Gemmayzeh. Just south of the port, the predominantly Christian, middle-class district is dotted with stone churches and historic homes with exposed rafters and arches facing the street.
The Honourable Minister of Education,

Ministry of Education,

Accra.

Dear Honourable Minister,

We note with concern and regret, the events surrounding the commencement of written papers at this year's WASSCE, specifically, the misconduct of students and some teachers. We wish to render an unqualified, collective apology to His Excellency the President of the Republic of Ghana, for any embarrassment occasioned by the unfortunate pronouncements of some recalcitrant students who have thankfully, been brought to book. Having monitored examinations in Ghana in times past and present, we wish to proceed to make the following observations that are at the base of this year's WASSCE disturbances, and recommend some remedial measures moving forward:

1. Secondary education has been publicized enough; Politicians must cease making predictions on this year's WASSCE results as it has a tendency of affecting public acceptance. Anytime a politician makes such predictions, it fuels a process that may lead to the politicization of the results of the WASSCE.

2. There is growing indiscipline in our schools due to the interference of external actors in schools' disciplinary processes and outcomes. Such interferences only embolden students with impunity and lower the recognition of the authority of school heads as principals of discipline in schools. Let's leave school heads to manage the schools in line with the GES' disciplinary code, and hold them accountable for their stewardship.

3. There is a developed black market for trading in examination leaks, commonly called 'Apo'. This industry has developed with the growth of the internet and mobile communication gadgets. Our study of the 'Apo' value chain in the past decade suggests that every year, students contribute huge sums amongst themselves, to purchase these questions, sometimes from anonymous sources. This has over the years lowered the enthusiasm and efforts invested in learning by some finalists, as these questions mostly do not disappoint. Last year, there were leaked questions on social media in Integrated Science and mathematics, which all appeared in the exam. Unfortunately, this year, there has been a disappointment, leading to the rioting.

4. The security of questions continue to be a huge challenge for the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) for decades, without which there wouldn't have emerged this black market. WAEC has failed over the years to secure their questions, consistently raising questions of standards and quality assurance. In view of the inefficiencies in WAEC's examining approaches, we respectfully recommend the establishment of an Independent regulatory authority for examining bodies, including WAEC, while taking steps to dilute their monopoly.

5. A Regulator of Assessments, similar to the Office of Qualification and Assessments in the United Kingdom, would provide quality assurance, standards enforcements and grant/revoke licenses to examining bodies including WAEC, on the basis of the quality of their assessment practices, including the security of questions. Presently, WAEC does not operate under any external regulation, and cannot determine and appraise their own standards and performance. Pursuant, a detailed memorandum is being submitted to your good offices and Parliament.

6. Presently, there are several international examining bodies operating in the pre-tertiary education space, specifically in the private sector. The reputations of these groups are not in question as one hardly hears of any leakage in examination papers. It is our considered opinion that, it is long overdue for Ghana to consider inviting some healthy competition in the Public Pre-Tertiary Examinations Sector to help improve standards under the proposed Regulator of Assessments.

7. It is necessary to approach this year's WASSCE unrest with an honest and holistic perspective, with the aim of systemic reform. Anything short of this would, as usual, manage the situation temporarily for a recurrence next year.

8. Finally, while the decision by the Ghana Education Service to dismiss the rampaging students is commendable, we wish to appeal to you, to consider allowing them to sit for their remaining papers in their respective schools as day students, under the necessary security.

Very sincerely,

Kofi Asare

Executive Director

Cc: The Director-General, Ghana Education Service
As much of the state sat through the weekend waiting for the lights to come back on, there was something a little too familiar about the back and forth over blame.

Local and state leaders fumed. Utility executives defended their records. The congressional delegation sent a pointed letter to regulators charged with investigating the response, or lack thereof.

For residents without power, who pay some of the highest electricity rates in the nation, the lack of information was as frustrating as anything. Eversource said it would have the power back for most of the state by Tuesday, a full week after the tropical storm hit. Thats seven days without a refrigerator, air conditioning, internet access and, for people with well water, flushing toilets and working sinks.

Even there, the company was unable to provide a better answer than Evaluating Outage for thousands of people who at least want to be able to plan when their lives can resume some normalcy.

But that was too much to ask in a time of pandemic. People without power who under other circumstances would have decamped to their parents house, to a friends spare bedroom or maybe to a hotel were instead stuck with the choice of abandoning social distancing that is deemed urgent to stop the spread of coronavirus or doing without lifes necessities.

The only solace is that at least its not cold out.

But late in the week came signs that this was not to be the same kind of official response. State Rep. Steve Stafstrom, of Bridgeport, on Friday asked a key question via his Twitter account: Can someone explain to me why a public utility that operates as a monopoly can be traded on an exchange and has a fiduciary responsibility to maximize shareholder profit?

Thats something many people in the state would like to understand.

Theoretically, the advantage of having private companies take over public responsibilities would be that they are nimbler, less prone to bureaucracy and bloat, and are able to make changes as needed to quickly respond to changing conditions. But how does that work when there is no meaningful competition? Its not like some upstart can come in and take over the business of wiring the state.

Also on Friday, U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney, D-2, urged that any investigation of the states main electric utilities compare them to the superb response  by Connecticuts Municipal Public Utilities, many of which are in Connecticuts Second District, including Norwich Public Utilities, which saw a far lower rate of electricity loss than larger companies such as Eversource.

In all the recent weather disasters of the past decade, municipal providers consistently outperform Eversource and (United Illuminating) in power restoration and service, Courtney wrote.

If public officials are serious about pursuing this line of inquiry, it could lead to a major rethinking of how Connecticut handles its utilities obligations. Privatization was pushed through decades ago with a promise of better service, lower prices and more convenience. A week without power from a strong but not at all unprecedented storm is not what anyone had in mind.

As they seek answers for what went wrong, officials need to pursue this line of inquiry.
For the first time, Delhi Fire Service (DFS) is hiring private firefighters on contract to make up for the lack of manpower. On Monday, 500 professionals from a private firm, trained in firefighting and carrying out rescue operations, will join the DFS, top officials said.

Senior officers from the department said all the 500 personnel are trained and match the DFSs standards of training in firefighting. The 500 were selected through a stringent process, they said.

Atul Garg, director, Delhi Fire Service, said a firefighter should be able to bravely, and at the same time efficiently react to a situation when lives are at stake. Even though these new cadets have been hired after a detailed process to check their proficiency in firefighting, they will be under continuous supervision of senior officers, Garg said.

Garg said this is the first time that DFS is hiring private firefighters. It is a temporary arrangement. Despite recruiting around 600 men last year, we were still short of 706 firefighters. With these 500 men, we will be able to fill more than 80% of our vacancies.The process of recruitment is also underway. Because it is a long process, these contractual employees will fill in till the time the governments recruitment is completed, he said.

These men will play role of support staff for us. While our regular firefighters have a 24-hour shift, the contractual staff will have only eight-hour shift. We will provide them with all the safety gear, uniforms and other equipment when theyre at work. They will also assist our staff in maintenance of equipment and conducting awareness programmes, Garg said.

He said the contractual firefighters have been taken from the private firm, Digitek, via GEM (government e-market place) - a central government owned e-portal where common user goods and services can be procured. The DFS will pay the Digitek which will pay salary to its staff, he added.

Former chief of Delhi Fire Service, AK Sharma, who led the department for six years between 2010 and 2016, said it is a good way to fill in for pending vacancies.

Since these professionals are already trained the training part is also done away with which saves DFSs time and resources. DFS requires skilled professionals which have not been provided for long time. If the manpower requirement is being met using other avenues theres no harm in this, Sharma said.

Officials at the Digitek did not respond to repeated calls and messages.
The death toll in the landslide at a tea estate in Keralas Idukki district rose to 42 on Sunday as rescuers recovered 16 more bodies, officials familiar with the matter said, adding that 28 people continued to be missing.

Three days of heavy rain triggered the landslide in the early hours of Friday that razed a tea plantation workers settlement in Idukki.

Rescue work is in full swing. Latest equipment reached the site and rescue personnel are cutting big boulders to clear the site. They are also using sniffer dogs, said district collector H Dineshan.

Officials feared that the missing count might rise as students staying in hostels had returned to their homes in the area due to the coronavirus pandemic. Right now officials have estimated the missing numbers based on the staff records maintained by the workers employer, Kannan Devan Hill Plantation (KDHP) Limited.

A team of 75 National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) personnel along with fire and healthcare workers are currently engaged in the rescue work. The regional centre of the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a red alert for Idukki and six other districts, warning of heavy rainfall in the coming days.

Opposition parties accused chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan of apathy. We want the CM to visit the area at the earliest to realise the gravity of the situation, said Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and minister of state (MoS) for external affairs V Muraleedharan asked why compensation promised to the victims of the landslide (Rs 2 lakh) was lower than that promised to the victims of Kozhikode plane crash.(Rs 10 lakh).

Lives are same everywhere. I dont know why such a variation in compensation is there in landslide victims case, said Muraleedharan.

The chief minister, however, maintained that all the victims and the families of those who died in the landslide will be duly compensated.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR Ramesh Babu Ramesh Babu is HTs bureau chief in Kerala, with about three decades of experience in journalism. ...view detail
<! Yemi Solade >

Veteran actor, Yemi Solade, said the Nigerian movie industry, known as Nollywood, is presently a cover-up industry for internet fraudsters and prostitutes.

The 60-year-old actor made the comment in an interview with NigerianTribune when asked if he was pleased with the state of the Nigerian movie industry presently.

He said: The Nollywood is not there right now. The Nollywood you see now is all-encompassing. Its like an uncompleted building that is not guarded and what you meet there would amaze you. It has become an all-comers affair, anybody can stroll in and act. All the Yahoo boy are now there, all the prostitutes that you can imagine are there.

People cannot even differentiate between the core professionals and these class of clowns who have infiltrated the association, but they didnt just fly in, some people whom you refer to as core professionals brought them in.

Its just so porous that anybody can become an actor, the entry point is so porous and annoying. Its a profession and it must be handled and treated as one. I am not really pleased with the state of the industry. Its a professional body and we must portray ourselves as one that has mastered the art and craft of the profession.

When asked if there are plans in the industry for the aged, he said: I am not in any professional body or administration to know what they are planning, but I will tell you that in any professional body, they should, as a matter of fact, have plans for their aged members. Little wonder we have some social media influencers raising donations for some actors on social media platforms, for people to help raise funds for them. If there were insurance schemes, and plans in place for the aged, or members of the industry, they wont run to the social media to raise alms for their failing health conditions. So I dont think there is anything like that. There is too much show, and we dont need that, we send wrong signals to the world, we are giving the world a different impression about us, people see the few ones who are living large on social media platforms, you see them, everyone celebrating their material possessions, and if somebody falls sick and start asking for a donation, you start wondering that these people have money. So we need to do things right and set a good mark for others to follow.

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By applying the renewal theory in probability to reduce recall bias in initial case reports, scientists have come up with a new estimate for the incubation period of COVID-19. Their mean estimate of 7.76 days, longer than previous estimates of 4 to 5 days, involves the largest amount of patient samples to date in such an analysis.

By providing health authorities with a potentially more accurate figure for the incubation period, the results could inform guidelines for containment efforts such as quarantines and studies investigating the disease's transmission. Countries and health authorities have implemented various containment measures such as quarantines to slow the spread of COVID-19. To work effectively, these strategies depend on understanding the disease's incubation period, or the time between someone becoming infected and showing the first symptoms of disease, and how much it varies from individual to individual. However, researchers lack a reliable estimate of the incubation period of COVID-19. The few existing estimates of 4 to 5 days were based on small samples sizes, limited data, and self-reports that could be biased by the memory or judgment of the patient or interviewer.

Here, Jing Qin and colleagues developed a low-cost approach to estimate incubation periods and applied it to 1,084 confirmed cases of COVID-19 that had known histories of travel or residency in Wuhan, China. Their approach improves accuracy by relying on a public database of dates of infection, and uses the renewal theory in probability to reduce recall bias - the inaccurate recollection of past events. Ultimately, the team calculated that the median incubation period was 7.75 days, with 10% of patients showing an incubation period of 14.28 days.

The authors note that this last finding may concern health authorities relying on the standard 14-day quarantine, but caution that their approach relies on several assumptions and may not apply to later cases where the virus may have mutated.
They say silence is golden, but for those working from home and feeling isolated, the lack of human company can almost be deafening - so many are now turning to artificial 'soundscapes' of offices for comfort.

Dozens of websites and apps now offer a constant stream of background sounds to recreate the hustle and bustle of the office environment.

Visitors to soundofcolleagues.com can enjoy everything from phones ringing, people chatting and the coffee machine brewing, to rain pelting against the windows, the clacking of keyboards and even the friendly bark of the office dog.

Dozens of apps are websites are helping home-based workers feel less isolated at home by offering the soundscape of a busy office environment (file pic)

The project is the work of Red Pipe Studios, based in Stockholm. Its founder, Tobias Norman, told The Sunday Times that his website has attracted a million visitors worldwide, including 75,000 from Britain.

He said: 'Humans tend to feel more comfortable in a group and people can get stressed when suddenly they are put in a more isolated situation.'

Neil Greenberg, professor of mental health at King's College London, added: 'With silence, it's easy to be distracted by small interruptions.

'You're better off being in a busy environment where you get used to the noise and then concentrate on what's in front of you,' said Greenberg.

The Sound of Colleagues website offers a variety of noises, from the clacking of keyboards to rain pelting against a window and even a friendly office dog barking

Another website offering simulated noises can be found at imisstheoffice.eu, where visitors can enjoy the sound of people walking across the office floor, laughing and even that annoying colleague who constantly whistles.

Working from home is currently the norm for thousands of people across the country, with almost five in six office employees still staying at home despite the Government's drive to get staff to return to their workplaces.

A Daily Mail audit of 30 of Britain's biggest firms, representing 320,000 employees, found that just 17 per cent of office-based staff would travel to work this week.

Boris Johnson had heralded last Monday as the day 'work from home' guidance ends and Britain should return to the office.

Reuters Square in Canary Wharf, pictured last week, remains deserted as office workers largely shun going back into the workplace and instead stay at home

He said Britons could go back to the workplace at the 'discretion' of their employers and would no longer be advised to stay away from public transport.

But many businesses are not planning for most workers to return to offices until at least towards the end of the year, while the likes of Facebook and bank RBS said staff will not go back until 2021.

Just one firm surveyed, investment bank JP Morgan, had set a target for a substantial return to the office today  just 2,400 of its 19,000 staff.

The approach taken by white-collar workers is in stark contrast to building sites, warehouses, shops and restaurants where staff have been at their workplace for weeks.

Kevin Ellis, chairman of accountancy giant PwC, which has 22,000 staff in Britain, said he believed his employees would only spend three or four days per week at work even after the pandemic.

It had 5,000 staff in its offices last week and he hoped to reach 11,000 by the end of last week.

The Mail contacted 60 of Britain's biggest firms and half provided a response. Of the 320,000 workers, there are just over 53,000 going into the office.

Three companies said their employees would not return to work until 2021, while a further nine had not confirmed a date.

The Mail's findings come as a report said London's pubs, shops and restaurants alone had lost 2.3billion in lunch and after-work trade between March and June.

The Centre for Economics and Business Research calculated the cost of lockdown to 'ghost town' London's hospitality sector at 25million per day.
At the end of the inquest into Love Island presenter Caroline Flack's death last week, the coroner returned a verdict of suicide.

"I find the reason for her taking her life was she now knew she was being prosecuted for certainty, and she knew she would face the media, press, publicity - it would all come down upon her," said coroner Mary Hassell. "To me that's it in essence."

The coroner referred to Flack's "fluctuating mental health" and struggles in the past that weren't helped by a life in the limelight. Friends and family referred to other suspected attempts to end her life in the period between the alleged assault on her boyfriend Lewis Burton, and Flack's death.

The coroner found herself in no doubt that Flack had intended to die. It was all very sad and painted a picture of pure hopelessness that was heartbreaking.

Also heartbreaking was the pain of Flack's loved ones, particularly her mother Christine, whose anger at the treatment of her daughter and what she perceived as a hard-headed mission to prosecute set the tone of the process.

After the verdict, Christine spoke about how those who pursued her daughter should feel "ashamed", of how she took her life because of her fear of a "show trial".

"I believe she was a celebrity who some felt needed to be made an example of," Christine said. "As opposed to being treated as anyone else would have been, which is all Caroline wanted. I don't believe Caroline was treated as anyone else would have been."

She said that while she recognised that all domestic abuse had to be treated seriously, that this was not a case of domestic abuse, and it's there that this all gets a bit tricky.

If Flack had been a man, there would - we hope - be appropriate sympathy for the suicide, but likely very little for the events that preceded it.

The charge of assault against Flack stemmed from an incident last December, when her partner Lewis Burton phoned emergency services and said she was trying to kill him. When emergency services arrived, he was bleeding from a head wound. Burton said he was asleep and woke when Flack began hitting him around the head with a heavy object.

At the scene, which was bloodied and has been reported as resembling something out of a horror film, Flack told police: "I hit him, he was cheating on me."

During the inquest last week at Poplar Coroner's Court, London, chief Crown prosecutor Lisa Ramsarran testified that the injury to Burton's head was "significant". The coroner replied that she "struggled" to regard it as such. The skin was broken, it was explained by the prosecutor, and Burton was bleeding profusely.

If it was a case of a man allegedly whacking his female partner in the head with a phone, would we be so amenable to dismissing it?

What this should cause us to question, however, is whether as a society we rate different degrees of abuse differently. Does abuse have to leave a physical mark or injury in order to be abuse? Is a once-off, or very occasional, assault OK? Is a woman abuser less dangerous than a man?

Christine Flack might have had a point. Her daughter might have been treated more harshly because she was in the public eye, but if Caroline had been given a caution, could that have been perceived as light treatment, again because she was a celebrity?

The fact that Lewis Burton seemed still to care for Flack and said he did not want her to be prosecuted shouldn't influence anything. Abuse victims regularly plea on behalf of their abusers, and if it was a woman saying 'please don't prosecute my male abuser', we'd have a different take on all of this.

It continues to come more easily to us to cast women as the gentler sex, and, latterly, it's the easy route to put an anti-woman spin on any harsh treatment of a woman. The Flack case is a case it point, but so is the current storm around Ellen DeGeneres, though it is admittedly far less tragic.

Since early this year, stories have been emerging of Ellen as a rather less kindly character than we might have believed. A champion of equality, the star's chat show is a juggernaut, beloved of her celebrity interviews, adored by audiences for her down-to-earth handling of stars and ordinary folk alike. Ellen had a self-deprecating 'everyperson' appeal, until cracks began to appear in that image.

Ellen was nasty to staff; Ellen was imperious, power-mad, egomaniacal, they said. At the start of lockdown, some of her production crew claimed they were left in the dark as to their job security, while she filmed at home with a smaller team.

She drew criticism for moaning about her lockdown mansion seeming like a prison. Then the noise around her being a nightmare to work with grew. Other TV personalities chimed in with stories about being told not to make eye contact with her, about finding her frosty on set, about her basically being a media monster.

Ellen's wife, Portia de Rossi, was obviously one of those who came out in her defence. Others focused on the idea that Ellen was being taken down purely because she's a woman in a powerful position and that couldn't be allowed.

What no one seems to have said, however, is that if all these allegations were made about a male TV presenter, he'd have been put out to at least temporary pasture months ago.

Allegations like this would be more likely believed if they were levelled against a man, while Ellen remains gainfully employed, with one NBC producer saying last week that "no one is going off air".

We have a culture at the moment that is predisposed, in equal proportion, to making both villains and victims of people - sometimes even the same people, sometimes even at the same time.

In the case of Caroline Flack, what no one disputed last week was that she needed help and either didn't get it or didn't get enough of it.

But to say that is not to diminish the alleged seriousness of what occurred that night in December.

We can feel sympathy for Caroline Flack, while also acknowledging that she might have done something very wrong. But then we must, of course, extend that to a man in the same situation, and that's where it gets tricky.
Dutch commentator Olav Mol has lashed out at Ferrari for daring to lodge a protest against Racing Point's 'pink Mercedes'.

Multiple teams are enraged that, with its brake ducts found to have been illegally copied from Mercedes, Racing Point was fined EUR 400,000 and stripped of 15 points - but the car can continue to race.

"The appeal? Even Racing Point is appealing, which is a sign that the verdict makes everyone unhappy," said F1 legend and Renault advisor Alain Prost.

Racing Point, of course, is appealing to have the penalty overturned, while its rival teams believe the sanction is not nearly strong enough.

"We are appealing because we did not violate the regulations - sporting or technical - and we want to restore our good name," said team boss Otmar Szafnauer.

Olav Mol slammed Ferrari for joining the group of teams vowing to appeal the leniency of the penalty.

"I can understand Renault, because they started the protest," he told Ziggo Sport. He said he also understands why independent teams like Williams and McLaren would be unhappy.

McLaren team boss Andreas Seidl told Sky Deutschland: "The important thing is that this fairy tale is over about someone buying a large camera and building a car capable of fighting for the podium from the photos."

Dutch commentator Mol, though, is unhappiest at Ferrari's decision to appeal.

"That Ferrari would interfere, I find that downright scandalous," Mol charged.

"Ferrari got caught with something on their engine last year, then they made that secret deal with the FIA that no one knows anything about.

"This (Racing Point) story is 14 pages of text that is out in the open. And then Ferrari suddenly gets involved when they did something really wrong last year?"

(GMM)
Atiku Abubakar, Former Vice President, has condoled with the family and friends of ex-Ogun East Senator, Buruji Kashamu.

Kashamu, who was a member of the 8th Senate, died of COVID-19 on Saturday, at a Lagos hospital, as disclosed by Senator Ben Murray Bruce in a tweet.

Reacting, Atiku on Twitter, prayed that his soul Rest In Peace.

Atiku tweeted: My thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends of late Senator Buruji Kashamu. May the Almighty Allah accept his soul, forgive his shortcomings and heal the loved ones he left behind.

Kashamu, 62, served as a Senator representing Ogun-East in the eighth National Assembly under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

He joins a list of prominent Nigerians who have succumbed to the novel coronavirus.

Abba Kyari, former Chief of Staff to President Muhammadu Buhari, and Abiola Ajimobi, former Governor of Oyo state, have also passed on from COVID-19 complications.

Kashamus Spokesman, Austin Oniyokor, in a statement, on Saturday night, said his boss would be buried according to Islamic rites, in his hometown of Ijebu Igbo, Ogun State, by 12pm, on Sunday (today).
CINCINNATI -- The coronavirus has challenged our country in unprecedented ways. To overcome this crisis, we are looking in part to our world-class research institutions to help develop treatments and vaccines for this disease. But these places of discovery and innovation are also prime targets for thieves.

In May, we were shocked to learn that, in Northeast Ohio, a researcher previously affiliated with the Cleveland Clinic was allegedly stealing research from the Clinics labs and taking it to China. According to the Department of Justice, this researcher and his research team received more than $3.6 million in U.S. taxpayer-funded grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), but hid that he was a dean at a Chinese university.

According to the criminal complaint, this researcher, who was also a professor at Case Western Reserve University, received $3 million in funding from the Chinese Communist Party to replicate his Cleveland Clinic research. He also had to work for 10 months per year in China while working full-time in Ohio and he even admitted to hand-carrying biological samples and research from the Cleveland Clinic directly to China. Whats more, the researcher attempted to recruit other U.S.-based researchers for his Chinese university.

If true, this researcher defrauded not only the U.S. government, but also the American taxpayers and his co-workers at the Cleveland Clinic. Notably, the Cleveland Clinic has worked closely with law enforcement officials and the NIH in investigating this case. Its an alarming story, but not an isolated incident.

As chair of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, I led a bipartisan yearlong investigation last year into how the Chinese Communist Party has used so-called talent recruitment programs, most notably its Thousand Talents Program, to steal U.S. taxpayer-funded research to fuel the rise of Chinas military and economy over the past two decades.

U.S. Sen. Rob Portman is the junior senator from Ohio.

Every year, federal grant-making agencies distribute more than $150 billion in U.S. taxpayer funds for research. These funds are then allocated to our research institutions in the form of grants. In most cases, this system works well. But we found a troubling pattern where foreign governments like China have systematically targeted the most promising U.S.-based researchers, recruited them to talent programs like Thousand Talents, and paid them to take their American taxpayer-funded research to Chinese universities. While stealing this research is bad, whats worse is that it is not taken for academic purposes. Instead, according to a State Department witness at our Senate hearing last November, there is a clear link between the research being taken from American labs and the latest advancements in Chinas military and its economy.

This kind of behavior must stop -- other countries, including adversaries like Russia, Iran, and North Korea, operate these same sorts of talent recruitment programs. Just recently, it was reported that 54 NIH-funded researchers nationwide have resigned or been fired for hiding their ties to foreign research institutions as part of an investigation into this problem. Of the cases NIH studied, 70 percent of the researchers failed to disclose foreign grant funding, while 90 percent of the researchers investigated had ties to China.

I recently introduced bipartisan legislation called the Safeguarding American Innovation Act to end this practice and ensure that federal grant recipients are held accountable for hiding their foreign ties on federal grant applications. It will also reform the foreign researcher visa application process, require more safeguards on sensitive research, and help us better track where our grant money is going. The bill was approved by the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee unanimously.

By passing this legislation, we can hold the Chinese Communist Party accountable and put an end to their theft of our taxpayer-funded research.

Republican Sen. Rob Portman is the junior U.S. senator from Ohio.

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When the coronavirus first surged across the planet, the World Health Organisation urged nations to "test, test, test" their citizens for the presence of COVID-19. But inevitably during a pandemic, every nation will be tested too. Australias biggest test  socially, economically, politically  has just begun thanks to the situation in Victoria.

Can we hold together? The signs are not promising, if the Victorian experience is anything to go by. It is a cautionary example of what can happen when a government falters at a time when fear nestles in a corner of every mind and drives public policy.

To an extent, the heat that Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has been getting has been fair enough. Credit:Justin McManus

Back when the first restrictions came into force during the autumn, there was a genuine sense of a shared burden, of boring in and getting it done. The community accepted the need to put up with the inconvenience and discomfort to get it over with.

Victorias secondary outbreak has not inspired the same feeling of unity inside or outside the state. As Melbourne moved into stage four lockdown last week, a local festival celebrating a culture of complaint got into full swing.
Preeja Prasad By

Express News Service

BENGALURU: To contain the spread of flu, Cloudnine Group of Hospitals, maternity, childcare and fertility hospitals organised a flu vaccination awareness campaign with Fern Meadows RWA in Bengaluru.

As an extension, the Hospital will be conducting the flu shot drive in other parts of the city, in subsequent months. The drive at the RWA was organised with the objective of creating awareness and the need for the flu vaccination, not just for children but for adults too. As a part of the drive, more than 150 residents participated in the session organised by the hospital.

Amongst all the attendees, senior citizens participated as well. Around 120 vaccines were administered to the residents of ferns meadows RWA which included adults and children.

During the interaction with the RWA, doctors stated that flu, which is often mistaken for the common cold because it has similar symptoms, is a contagious respiratory illness caused by influenza A or B viruses. While anyone can get the flu, children are at a higher risk  especially ones under 5 years of age and they are usually the ones transmitting the virus. June to October is considered as flu season in the country where several head to the hospital for their annual flu shots.

Ravi Mondreti, Member of the Organising Committee of the RWA said, These shots are a must for everyone including children, their parents and senior citizens amidst the pandemic.
By PTI

JAMMU: The increasing attacks on party workers in Kashmir valley shows Pakistan's frustration, Jammu and Kashmir BJP president Ravinder Raina said on Sunday while asserting that the region would be made "free of terrorism".

Raina also said his party would not be cowed down by such attacks and will intensify its activities to cover each home in the valley.

The BJP leader was reacting to the latest attack on BJP worker Abdul Hamid Najar, a resident of Mohiendpora village, who was shot at and critically injured by militants in Budgam district of central Kashmir earlier in the morning.

Najar was the third BJP worker targeted by militants within the past one week. Earlier, a BJP leader was killed and another injured in south Kashmir's Kulgam district.

He has been shifted to a hospital for treatment.

The attacks on BJP leaders in the UT intensified after terrorists killed a prominent BJP leader along with his father and brother, who were also members of the saffron party, in north Kashmir last month.

"Those involved in such attacks have neither escaped death in the past nor will they save their lives in future. We will not allow safe heavens to terrorists and will make Kashmir free of terrorism," Raina said.

He said Pakistan cannot stop the growing popularity of BJP in the valley by such "cowardly acts".

"Today the tricolour and BJP flag have reached every nook and corner in the valley, causing frustration to Pakistan which has started attacking the BJP activists through its terrorists.

We will intensify our activities and will hoist the tricolour and party flag in every house," the BJP leader said.

Describing the attack on Najar as an act of cowardice, Raina said Pakistan-backed terrorists are undertaking such attacks under frustration.

"The people in Jammu and Kashmir know that the terrorists and separatists have destroyed the region at the behest of Pakistan over the past 30 years by indulging in innocent killings," he said.

Complimenting the security forces for anti-militancy operations, he said: "Our Army, paramilitary forces and police are neutralising the terrorists to clean the valley of their presence. The attacks are the result of their frustration and we will not be cowed down by such dastardly acts".
A study which has been published in the journal Nature gives further evidence that the virus that causes covid-19, SARS-CoV2, is transmitted by air or through surfaces. University of Nebraska Medical Center conducted the study along with National Strategic Research Institute USA. The study suggests that there is environmental contamination of surface and air samples with the virus in places where covid-19 positive patients were isolated.

New revelation

According to the study, the researchers collected air and surface samples during the isolation of 13 individuals which were infected with Covid-19 in the University of Nebraska Medical Center. This was done to examine the viral shedding from the isolated individuals. As the cases increased in various parts of the world, a continued shortage of evidence on routes of SARS-CoV-2 transmission resulted in shifting infection prevention and control guidelines between the classically defined airborne and droplet precautions. According to the study, researchers suggest that viral contamination was detected in all the samples. This supported the use of airborne isolation precautions when caring for covid-19 patients.

Read: Australia: Victoria Reports 394 New Cases Of Coronavirus And 17 Fatalities

Patients who required hospital care were taken by the Nebraska Biocontainment Unit. However, the mildly ill individuals were isolated in the National Quarantine Unit. Both these units are situated in the medical center campus.

Read: COVID-19 May Have Longer Incubation Period Lasting Up To 8 Days: Study

According to the study, 77.8% of samples of cell phones were found positive for SARS-CoV-2 and 55.6% of remote controls were positive. Samples collected from washrooms were 81% positive. 70.8% of the bedside tables and bed rails indicated the presence of viral RNA. The study said that out of all the rooms that were tested, 75% were positive for SARS-CoV-2 RNA. The study said that the implementation of a standard suite of infection prevention and control procedures prevented all sorts of cases of covid-19 in healthcare workers. The health workers self monitored for 14 days after last contact with either ward. They also went through two nasal swab PCR assays after a gap of 24 hours in case they reported fever or any respiratory infection symptoms.

Read: COVID-19 Patients Likely To Experience Chronic Symptoms Post Hospitalisation: Study

Also Read: Pluto's Glaciers May Be Growing Due To Change In The Dwarf Planet's Seasons: Study

(Image Credits: Unsplash)
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 9) Despite the consecutive spikes in COVID-19 cases over the past few days, Interior Secretary Eduardo Ano on Sunday voiced hope that the country will soon see a drop in the number of virus infections due to the return of stricter modified enhanced community quarantine in Metro Manila and nearby regions.

Speaking to CNN Philippines, Ano said officials have formed teams that will monitor the implementation of lockdown measures at the local government level.

Down to the barangay level, tinitingnan natin yung pag-lockdown nila sa mga lugar. At yung pag-eextract natin ng mga positives na nandito sa mga barangay at sa mga bahay, ilalagay sa COVID facilities, Ano said in an interview with Newsroom Weekend.

So ine-expect kasi natin na itong period na ito, magsisimulang bababa yung numero because of the MECQ dito sa NCR (National Capital Region), he added.

[Translation: Down to the barangay level, were checking the lockdowns implemented. Those who test positive and those who are on home quarantine will also be transferred to COVID facilities. So we expect that during this period, the numbers will start to decline because of the MECQ in NCR.]

The Interior chief noted the MECQ protocol will also help boost the countrys contact tracing program, as more residents who may be considered as close contacts will be easily located and isolated.

President Rodrigo Duterte had placed Metro Manila and the provinces of Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, and Rizal back to MECQ from August 4 to 18 partly heeding the call of frontliners who have sought for the strictest ECQ in Mega Manila. The medical community said a stricter quarantine will help the healthcare system and the workers themselves take a breather and pave the way for the refinement of pandemic control strategies.

READ: Physicians: This is the last time well call for timeout amid COVID-19 crisis

Ano, for his part, said the government will continue to implement the Oplan Kalinga program and will help transfer patients to COVID-19 facilities to effectively control the spread of the viral disease.

The Interior chief stressed the COVID-19 task force has yet to come up with a recommendation for the new lockdown measure to be implemented after August 18, as authorities are still studying trends and data on the virus situation.

To date, COVID-19 cases in the country have reached over 126,000 with the Health Department reporting 4,226 new infections on Saturday.
She recently reunited with her Italian boyfriend Benjamin Mascolo after being separated during lockdown.

And Bella Thorne was looking stunning as she stepped out for dinner in Malibu on Saturday.

The actress, 22, flaunted her toned midriff in a half-buttoned striped pink cardigan for the evening on the town.

Stylish: Bella Thorne was looking stunning as she stepped out for dinner with friends in Malibu on Saturday

The star was cautious in a silver face mask as she joined her sister Dani and friends at Nobu.

The My Own Worst Enemy star paired the sweater with black ripped jeans as she showcased her enviable physique.

The actress completed the ensemble with a quilted handbag and a pair of heels as she nailed the stylish look.

Beauty: The anctress, 22, flaunted her toned midriff in a half-buttoned striped pink cardigan for the evening on the tow

It comes after the beauty couldn't resist packing on the PDA with her boyfriend Benjamin Mascolo on Monday.

The actress took to Instagram to share a collection of loved-up snaps with the pop star, 27.

Bella went braless as she showcased her slender figure in a beige ribbed Puma midi dress for the pictures.

Adding some glamorous accessories, the former Disney star wore a pearl necklace, oversized sunglasses and a metallic scrunchie.

PDA: Bella couldn't resist packing on the PDA with her Italian boyfriend Benjamin Mascolo on Monday

Smitten: The actress took to Instagram to share a collection of loved-up snaps with the pop star, 27

Bella styled her fiery red locks into a sleek straightened hairdo and added a slick of pretty make-up.

Benjamin opted for a more low-key look in a pair of ripped skinny jeans and an oversized black T-shirt.

Bella captioned the photos with: 'Soooo date night?' as the couple posed for a collection of photos.

The beauty and her Italian boyfriend recently reunited after five months following COVID-19 travel restrictions.

Loved-up: Bella went braless as she showcased her slender figure in a beige ribbed Puma midi dress for the pictures

Happy lady: The beauty and her Italian boyfriend recently reunited after five months following COVID-19 travel restrictions

In March, the United States imposed a travel ban on European countries as cases spiked in America.

Bella and Benjamin finally met up again on July 7 and she gushed on Instagram: 'After 5 months reunited & it feels so good.'

She then asked her followers: 'where shall we go next ?? since ben isn't allowed in America yet... and I can't go to Italy unless I have a work permit there.'

The couple decided to head to Los Cabos, Mexico, which began reopening in mid-June.

Bella and Benjamin were recently at the centre of a swirl of engagement rumours when she was seen with a ring on her wedding finger.

However her representative told JustJared this Friday: 'Bella and Benjamin are very much in love and very happy, but there are no wedding plans in the near future.'
The ASEAN Foreign Ministers have issued a statement on the importance of maintaining peace and stability in Southeast Asia. Following is the full text of the statement:

The ASEAN flag is hoisted in Hanoi to mark the bloc's 53rd founding anniversary (Photo: VNA)

We, the ASEAN Foreign Ministers, on the 53rd anniversary of the establishment of ASEAN, recall the aspirations of the 1967 ASEAN Declaration to promote regional cooperation in the spirit of equality and partnership, and contribute towards peace, progress and prosperity in the region.

We note with satisfaction the achievements made by ASEAN in the past 53 years, in particular the progress in the realisation of a rules-based, people-oriented, and people-centred ASEAN Community.

We reaffirm our strong commitment to ensuring the effective implementation of the ASEAN Community Vision 2025, and sustaining the momentum of ASEAN Community building beyond 2025.

Having closely followed the growing uncertainties resulting from the changing geo-political dynamics in the regional and global landscape, noting with concern that these may have detrimental ramifications for the region, and acknowledging that without peace and stability, sustainable progress and prosperity would be unattainable, we, the ASEAN Foreign Ministers:

1. Reiterate our commitment to maintaining Southeast Asia as a region of peace, security, neutrality and stability, and strengthening peace-oriented values in the region in line with international law.

2. Reaffirm the need for ASEAN to remain united, cohesive, and resilient in promoting its purposes, principles, and common interest as enshrined in the ASEAN Charter.

3. Further reaffirm the importance of upholding the purposes and principles of the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (TAC) as well as in the Zone of Peace, Freedom and Neutrality Declaration, and the Declaration of the East Asia Summit on the Principles for Mutually Beneficial Relations.

4. Call on all countries to exercise self-restraint in the conduct of activities that would complicate or escalate disputes and affect peace and stability, to refrain from the threat or use of force, and to resolve differences and disputes by peaceful means in accordance with international law.

5. Call for the continued building of strategic trust and mutual confidence among countries through continued dialogue, win-win cooperation and practical confidence building measures to create a peaceful environment conducive for sustainable growth.

6. Commit ourselves to strengthening ASEAN Centrality and encourage the constructive engagement of ASEANs external partners, through ASEAN-led mechanisms such as the East Asia Summit (EAS), ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) and ASEAN Defence Ministers Meeting Plus (ADMM-Plus), in building mutual trust and confidence as well as an open, transparent, inclusive and rules-based regional architecture.

7. Reaffirm the objectives and principles of the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP) and encourage external partners to work with ASEAN in promoting the AOIP and undertaking cooperation on the key areas of cooperation identified in the Outlook to enhance mutual trust, mutual respect and mutual benefit through ASEAN-led mechanisms.

8. Reiterate our commitment to supporting multilateralism founded on the principles of the UN Charter and anchored in international law, while emphasising a multilateral approach in addressing emerging challenges and actively shaping a more effective rules-based multilateral architecture that is capable of tackling pressing common regional and global issues./.
Australian confectioner Robern Mernz has shared the first glimpse of its latest product - Violet Crumble Chocolate Honeycomb Milk.

Chocoholics will soon be able to buy 500ml bottles of the decadent drink - but the brand is keeping any further detail of the launch a closely guarded secret.

Made in Adelaide, South Australia, Violet Crumble bars are similar to the British-made Cadbury Crunchie. They are sold for $1.50 in supermarkets, convenience stores and service stations.

The iconic sweet has inspired dozens of dessert recipes this year, including a Violet Crumble cheesecake and chocolate slices created by Adelaide food blogger Laura Bakhtiarian.

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Australian confectioner Robern Mernz has shared the first glimpse of its latest product - Violet Crumble Chocolate Honeycomb Milk (pictured)

The milk is flavoured with the iconic Violet Crumble honeycomb bar, similar to the British-made Cadbury Crunchie

She used six simple ingredients - plain biscuits, unsalted butter, sweetened condensed milk, plain chocolate, vegetable oil and the crunchy honeycomb bars - to make the bite-sized slices in just 15 minutes.

First, Ms Bakhtiarian melted the butter and condensed milk in a small saucepan over a low heat.

Then she crushed the biscuits and Violet Crumble bars in a separate bowl and tipped them into the butter and milk.

Once combined, she pressed the mixture into a greased pan and left it to set.

Next she melted the chocolate and oil and poured the mixture over the biscuit base before refrigerating until firm.

Violet Crumble is an iconic Australian sweet that's inspired dozens of decadent dessert recipes

Laura Bakhtiarian's Violet Crumble chocolate slices, made from six simple ingredients

Ms Bakhtiarian also created a recipe for Violet Crumble cheesecake which went viral on social media and was even shared on manufacturer Robern Mernz's official Facebook page.

Many hailed the cheesecake, which is made from nine ingredients - chocolate biscuits, butter, gelatine, milk chocolate chunks, cream cheese, sugar, thickened cream, water and Violet Crumble bars - as the best thing on social media this year.

One fan said: 'I need this in my life, like now.'

'This is perfection!' said a second.

A third added: 'Dreams really do come true.'

Ms Bakhtiarian's viral Violet Crumble cheesecake, which was shared on confectioner Robern Mernz's official Facebook page in February
A heartbroken mum has spoken about the moment she found her 10-year-old son dying in the street after being run over - and how his death has saved the lives of 10 people.

Jack Power died after being run down by a van while crossing the road on August 19, 2018 - just a month before his 11th birthday.

The bright, compassionate boy was crossing a set of lights on a suburban road in Melbourne with his six-year-old sister and 12-year-old friend when disaster struck.

The two girls were left unscathed but Jack wasn't as lucky and suffered severe head injuries.

Jack Power (pictured) was a bright, compassionate young boy who tragically lost his life on August 19, 2018 after being struck by a moving van

Heartbroken mum Bonnie Power (pictured ) said her son had a big heart and helped change the lives of others both before and after his passing

None of the children had a mobile phone with them, so the eldest girl ran to a nearby house to call her mum who was with Bonnie at the time.

'We were only a two-minute drive around the corner and I didn't think the situation was serious. I just thought Jack might've fallen over and hurt himself,' Jack's brave mum Bonnie Power said.

When Bonnie arrived at the scene, she saw a stranger giving CPR to a young boy from a distance but was in denial that it was her son because a camouflage jacket was placed on the victim.

'I initially thought they've mistaken this boy for Jack because he doesn't wear camouflage clothing, so because of that I thought 'thank god' until I walked a bit closer and realised it was him,' she said.

Jack was rushed to the Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne soon after.

When the accident occurred, the two girls were left unscathed but Jack wasn't as lucky and suffered from severe head injuries

Jack was rushed to the Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne and suffered from severe head injuries

'He was in the hospital for 24 hours and had surgery on his skull to try remove the blood and reduce the inflammation,' Bonnie said.

'But during that time the surgeons kept coming out and saying he's not doing very well, but I just looked at them and said "well it's not over yet, you need to go back and do more".'

After a few hours Jack remained on life support and the nurses asked Bonnie if she wanted to call any family members to come visit Jack.

'I was definitely in denial and didn't realise the nurse was trying to subtly say this was going to be the end,' she said.

'He was in the hospital for 24 hours and had surgery on his skull to try remove the blood and reduce the inflammation,' Bonnie said

After a few hours Jack remained on life support and the nurses asked Bonnie if she wanted to call any family members to come visit Jack

In the community, Jack was known to be a friendly young boy who always included other children in games and helped others who struggled with maths

While at the hospital Bonnie kept saying to Jack 'you need to fight this' and 'don't give up', but the nurses said if he were to survive, he wouldn't be the same because of the amount of blood on his brain.

'That's when I realised we needed to give him the opportunity to decide what he wants to do,' Bonnie said.

'I said to Jack, "if you want to go and if this is too much, then you have my blessing. I've heard you might see a light and the end of a tunnel, so if you see that and want to walk down that tunnel, you can"'.

Within a few minutes, Bonnie said the numbers on Jack's monitor 'skyrocketed' and his blood pressure began to increase further.

Sadly despite the efforts of doctors, Jack passed away shortly after as the family made the decision to turn off his life support.

While at the hospital Bonnie kept saying to Jack 'you need to fight this' and 'don't give up'

'Then I realised we needed to give him the opportunity to decide what he wants to do,' Bonnie said

Just before he died, a representative from Donate Life asked Bonnie if she had considered donating Jack's organs.

She was surprised the woman asked 'such a hard question' at a difficult time, but she hadn't considered it before.

'When making the decision I asked myself "what would Jack want?" and I knew he would want to help people - so I said yes,' Bonnie said.

During the time spent at the hospital, a representative from Donate Life asked Bonnie if she had considered donating Jack's organs and consenting on his behalf - which she agreed to as she knew he would've wanted to help people

HAVE YOU CONSIDERED BECOMING AN ORGAN DONOR? While the majority of Australians believe it's important to be an organ and tissue donor, only one in three are registered Around 1,700 Australians are currently waitlisted for a transplant, and a further 12,000 are on dialysis In 2019, 1,683 lives were transformed by 548 deceased and 239 living organ donors and their families In 2019, more than 12,000 Australians benefited from eye and tissue donation In Australia, 90% of families say yes to donation when their loved one is a registered donor, which compares to the national consent rate of 62% By registering to be an organ donor and telling your family you want to donate, you have the chance to save lives Those who wish to become an organ donor can register at donatelife.gov.au Source: Donate Life Advertisement

Jack's organs have gone on to assist ten strangers of varying ages to live better, healthier lives.

The organs used by the transplant team from Donate Life included Jack's heart, liver, kidneys, intestines, pancreas, lungs, eyes and parts of the skin.

A young boy received Jack's liver, intestines and pancreas, and is now enjoying eating more often which he was unable to do before.

In a letter from Donate Life, the recipients said they are 'forever grateful' to have received Jack's organs, which Bonnie said has touched her heart and she knows she made the right choice.

Jack's organs have assisted ten strangers of varying ages to live better, healthier lives. In a letter from Donate Life, the recipients said they are 'forever grateful'

'Our little boy who didn't get a chance to live a full life is now helping total strangers live theirs,' Bonnie said

'When the accident happened, I feel like I took a deep breath and I have only just exhaled after realising how Jack has helped so many people,' Bonnie said.

She said the response from the community and others on Facebook has been immense and she is eternally grateful for the support the family has received.

'Our little boy who didn't get a chance to live a full life is now helping total strangers live theirs,' she said.

'He has helped so many families have that extra time with their loved ones and that is just so special.'

Bonnie encourages other families to have a conversation about organ donation with their loved ones.

Those who wish to become an organ donor can register their details at Donate Life.

Since the incident, the family have been urging motorists to be more aware when driving and to avoid distractions
A man who was filmed assaulting an RFE/RL correspondent at a rally for Bulgarias ruling GERB party in Sofia has been charged with hooliganism and detained after admitting to being a paid provocateur.



In a statement on August 7, the Sofia District Prosecutors Office said the 20-year-old man was being prosecuted for snatching RFE/RL journalist Polina Paunovas phone and throwing it over a fence.



Prosecutors said the unidentified man confessed to the crime and was fully cooperating with police.



Another 22-year-old man who was present during the assault was taken into custody the same day and later released. Police have also questioned a 66-year-old who can be seen in the footage insulting Paunova.



The incident occurred at an August 5 GERB party rally attended by Prime Minister Boyko Borisov, who is under pressure from weeks of anti-government protests.



Protesters were also at the GERB party event demanding the resignation of Borisovs third cabinet and the government's chief prosecutor, Ivan Geshev.

In a twist to the assault case, prosecutors said the 20-year-old man claimed that people involved in organizing the protests had promised him payment if he provoked and carried out provocative actions against participants at the event held at Sofia Tech Park on August 5.



The claim that it was anti-government protesters who paid a provocateur, and not a GERB party member roughing up journalists and the opposition, has raised questions over how the government may be trying to spin the narrative.



RFE/RL footage from the event shows GERB party public-relations people escorting an anti-government heckler from the area.



The same public-relations men also tried to stop RFE/RL from filming and were on video harassing other people.



The 20-year-old man who assaulted RFE/RL correspondent Paunova was also seen on video with GERB party members and its public-relations team.



GERB claims that they do not know the individuals in question and that they were "paid provocateurs," even though they were wearing GERB stickers.



After the rally, the GERB party filed a complaint with the police, alleging that their employee had also been attacked and beaten.
Oregon lawmakers will consider a broader ban on police use of chokeholds and further restricting other use of force in the special session scheduled for Monday.

Lawmakers and Gov. Kate Brown expected the second special session of the year to consist primarily of spending cuts and other maneuvers to close a more than $1 billion shortfall in the state budget, and at the end of last week it was uncertain whether lawmakers would consider any of the police reform bills a legislative committee has been developing in recent weeks.

But by Sunday morning, a use of force reform bill was included in the slate of draft bills for lawmakers to start work on in roughly 24 hours. This and other bills for the second special session can be viewed on the Legislatures website.

Spending cuts of around $400 million and other strategies to patch the state budget  including a $400 million transfer from Oregons education reserve fund  will still be the focus of the second special legislative session of 2020. Lawmakers will also take up a couple bills to help jobless and underemployed Oregonians, many of whose claims have been held up as the state struggled to handle record numbers of laid off workers filing for benefits. One of those bills would make sure laid off people can earn at least $300 a week from new part-time work before their unemployment payments are reduced.

Lawmakers will also consider a bill to increase fees on geothermal, oil, mineral and other mining activities to help fund the states geology agency. They do not plan to consider rolling back a new state business tax break that economists estimate will cut Oregons revenues by roughly $200 million in the current budget cycle. The state automatically copies federal tax law including new business breaks in Congress CARES Act earlier this year. Critics say the state version of those tax cuts will mostly benefit the wealthy, but lawmakers appear disinterested in cancelling the provisions even as they take a knife to human services and other state spending.

Protesters across Oregon and the nation in recent months highlighted law enforcements use of deadly chokeholds, after a Minneapolis police officer killed a Black man named George Floyd by putting his knee on Floyds neck for approximately 8 minutes. The Oregon Legislature already passed a law to restrict the use of chokeholds during a special session focused on police accountability bills in June, but that law had a broad exception allowing chokeholds in situations where deadly force was legal in Oregon.

The new legislative proposal also includes an exception, but unlike current law it would only allow police and corrections officers in jails, prison and youth detention centers to use chokeholds in situations where Oregonians broadly can use deadly force: In self-defense, or to protect a third person whom they reasonably believe is at imminent risk of harm.

Oregon law currently allows law enforcement officers to use deadly force against a person in several situations, including when they believe the person committed or attempted a felony or a handful of other crimes including arson and burglary. Officers are also justified in using deadly force, the current law says, when the officers life or personal safety is endangered in the particular circumstances involved.

Newly proposed restrictions on other types of police use of force are intended to bring Oregon law into alignment with a 1985 U.S. Supreme Court case Tennessee v. Garner that held police must limit their use of deadly force to situations where it is necessary to prevent the escape and the officer has probable cause to believe that the suspect poses a significant threat of death or serious bodily harm to the officer or others, according to a recent legislative analysis.

A version of the legislation that had a public hearing last week would have allowed police officers to use physical force only when they believe that the person poses an imminent threat of physical injury to the peace officer or to a third person and the use of physical force is necessary to make a lawful arrest, defend the officer or another person, or prevent the escape of someone in custody.

In the version lawmakers will consider Monday, officers use of force would not be limited to situations where they believe a person poses an imminent threat of physical injury to the officer or someone else. The language has been softened to allow police to use force during an arrest or other listed situation where the officer reasonably believes it is necessary to prevent physical injury.

Police officers would only be allowed to use deadly force when they reasonably believe a person poses an imminent threat of physical injury, and the bill would require officers whenever possible to verbally warn people before using physical force and employ de-escalation techniques. The broad use of force provisions would take effect in January 2021 if passed, whereas the expanded restrictions on chokeholds would take effect immediately.

Police in Portland and a number of other communities around the state already follow use of force policies similar to the proposed change in state law. For example in Portland, the use of force policy directs officers to consider whether the individual poses an immediate threat to the safety of the officers or others.

-- Hillary Borrud; hborrud@oregonian.com; @hborrud

Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories.
French President Emmanuel Macron and the United Nations co-hosted a virtual donors' conference Sunday to solicit international aid for Lebanon, whose capital Beirut was devastated by explosions on Tuesday that left more than 150 people dead and a quarter of a million homeless.

"We must act quickly and efficiently so that this aid goes directly to where it is needed," Macron said in his opening remarks for the UN-backed donors' conference, which was being held by video link.

Macron also called on the Lebanese government to act responsibly to safeguard the country's future.

"It is up to the authorities of the country to act so that the country does not sink, and to respond to the aspirations that the Lebanese people are expressing right now, legitimately, in the streets of Beirut," Macron said.

"We must all work together to ensure that neither violence nor chaos prevails," he added. "It is the future of Lebanon that is at stake."

The conference succeeded to raise pledges worth nearly 253 million euros for immediate humanitarian relief on Sunday, Macrons office said.

France has so far committed 55 security personnel and 6 tonnes of health equipment to Lebanon as well as urgent care doctors. The European Commission on Sunday added 30 million to the 33 million it pledged on Friday to finance emergency aid to Lebanon.

But some foreign governments have been wary about writing blank cheques to a government perceived by its own people to be deeply corrupt.

The blast at the Beirut port, blamed on a vast store of ammonium nitrate that was allowed to rot for years in a warehouse, killed more than 150 people and left a quarter of a million homeless.

The explosions amplified the anger of many Lebanese. The political class was already under enormous pressure from a protest movement that rejects it as inept, corrupt and beholden to the country's myriad sectarian groups rather than the national interest.

Story continues

Battling runaway inflation, mass unemployment and rising poverty, the government is struggling. Many have seen their life savings simply evaporate. And despite weeks of talks, the cabinet failed to reached a deal with the International Monetary Fund on a rescue package after Lebanon defaulted on its debt earlier this year.

Calls for transparency

Macron on Thursday became the first world leader to visit Beirut after Tuesday's double explosion and warned Lebanese leaders that while international aid would be forthcoming deep change was needed to resolve the country's problems.

Speaking in Beirut during his visit, Macron said that the conference aimed to mobilise funding from Europe, the US and regional states to provide medicine, care, food and housing, but he also called for transparency and said any aid would go "directly to the people" as well as relief groups.

"We will also put in place clear and transparent governance so that all of this aid  whether it is French aid or international  is directly channelled to the people, to NGOs, to the teams in the field who need it, without any possible opacity or diversion," he said.

Prime Minister Hassan Diab has said he would soon be calling for early elections amid the anger of many Lebanese, thousands of whom took to the streets in anti-government protests on Saturday. A group of protesters led by retired Lebanese army officers also stormed the foreign ministry.

Emergency response

An "emergency response framework" drafted by the United Nations said $66.3 million was needed for immediate humanitarian aid for Lebanon, including health services for the injured, emergency shelter for those whose homes were destroyed, food distribution and programmes to "prevent further spread of Covid-19".

Phase II of the plan will require $50.6 million to rebuild public infrastructure, rehabilitate private homes and prevent disease outbreaks.

More than 30 international leaders and government officials took part in the video conference co-organised by France and the United Nations on Sunday, including US President Donald Trump, Jordan's King Abdullah II and Egypt's President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi.

Key Arab states in the Gulf, including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Iraq and the UAE were represented as were Britain and China.

Turkey and Russia, absent from the conference, are expected to provide aid as well, Macron said in his opening speech.

Lebanon's President Michel Aoun, UN aid coordinator Mark Lowcock and representatives of the World Bank, the Red Cross, the IMF and European nations also took part.

Iran, which wields huge influence in Lebanon through the Shiite group Hezbollah, was not on the list of participants. Israel, with whom Lebanon has no diplomatic relations, was not at the conference but has offered aid.

Macron, who helped host the conference from his summer residence on the Mediterranean, has said he will be returning to Lebanon on September 1 to check on the country's progress.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP and REUTERS)
Thousands of people gathered on Saturday to protest against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu outside his official residence.

According to The Times of Israel, as many as 15,000 people were present at the protest site while organisers estimated the crowd at 32,000 people (based on the number of armbands given out by them), as per the organisers.

The Times of Israel further reported that the demonstration "appeared to be" the largest yet growing movement saw people in thousands to rally against Netanyahu. Many activists dressed up as "extraterrestrials" mocking the Prime Minister's son Yair who previously termed the protestors as 'aliens'.

The protestors were also seen carrying handmade signs, chanting slogans and waving the national flag.

Independent businesspeople also joined the protests "as no separate demonstration of those economically battered" by the COVID-19 pandemic was held.

Last week, thousands of protesters took part in anti-government protests outside the official residence of Prime Minister Netanyahu.

According to The Times of Israel, that was the biggest rally to be held in the capital since the recent start of anti-government protests.

People had demonstrated outside Netanyahu's private home in the coastal town of Caesarea. Besides these, thousands had protested against the premier at bridges and highway overpasses across the country.

Netanyahu is facing charges of bribery, fraud, and breach of trust. He has been probed within simultaneously several cases on corruption and bribery for a few years now, the reason why he had to abandon all ministerial posts but premiership amid Israel experiencing a lengthy political power crisis with three snap general elections in a year.

-ANI

Also Read: China's entry to WTO, the worst of all deals: Trump
Our daily lives are filled with risks  lots of risks. Just look at these examples:

 Every year, 30,000 to 40,000 Americans die in automobile accidents, yet none of us is willing to give up cars to avoid the possibility of dying in a crash.

 Heart disease kills more than 600,000 of our fellow citizens annually, yet we continue to eat fast food and pack on extra pounds.

 Diabetes puts more than 80,000 Americans into their graves each year, yet we do not ban the use of sugar.

 Close to 50,000 Americans take their own lives annually, yet we have instituted COVID-19 policies that have increased the incidence of suicide to the highest levels seen since the Great Depression.

 Millions of children are infected with influenza each year, and hundreds die from the disease. But we have never closed our schools or insisted on masking the population to prevent the spread of flu.

 Child abuse and child sex-trafficking are at record levels in this country, and many specialists believe that it is due, in part, to our schools being closed while adults are unable to go their normal daily routines.

The CDC estimated that as many as 500,000 people died worldwide from the H1N1 virus in 2009  the first year that that virus circulated. Overall, 80 percent of H1N1 virusrelated deaths were thought to have occurred in people younger than 65 years of age. Despite this, we didn't close the schools, mask the population, or shut down the economy.

In 1968, the Hong Kong Flu killed approximately 4 million people globally. Not only did we not shut down our economy in the face of that staggering number, but the three-day Woodstock Rock Festival in upstate New York was held in the midst of the epidemic.

Isn't it time we stopped living our lives and dictating what we can and cannot do based on fear of every new danger? Instead, shouldn't we let each individual decide what risks he is willing to take?

The famous declaration in President Franklin D. Roosevelt's first inaugural address seems as apropos today as it was in 1933: "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself."

We are Americans  the freest, most prosperous society in the history of the world. We fought to end slavery, losing over 600,000 Americans in the Civil War. We fought in two world wars and played a dominant role in winning both. Those wars cost the lives of more than 500,00 Americans.

We take risks to enjoy the freedom they gave us  or at least we used to. We ride motorcycles, skydive, climb mountains, and drive too fast. We eat the wrong foods, drink too much alcohol, and live in ways that are often not healthy  and we cherish our right to do so.

"Better safe than sorry" has not been elevated to a national motto. It doesn't appear on any flags; no one is rushing to buy T-shirts emblazoned with those words. But "Live Free or Die"? That's a different story. It is the motto of the state of New Hampshire and was a colonial rallying cry. The words "and the home of the brave" end the National Anthem. Do we still believe that it is?

Fear is far deadlier and a more contagious disease than COVID-19. Fear raises our blood pressure to unhealthful levels; fear influences us to make poor decisions. We fear being criticized, we fear exposing our ideas, we fear offending others, and we fear being infected by a virus that is not much more deadly than viruses of the past.

As a physician with more than 25 years in practice, I will tell you what I tell my patients: you should not fear COVID-19. You should properly prepare and protect the most vulnerable in your homes, your businesses, and society, but you should join everyone else in living your life in maximum liberty with commonsense protections and precautions.

I can also report that we have an effective treatment when symptoms of COVID-19 are seen early and remain mild. These treatments can also offer protection for the most vulnerable.

Stop listening to those who want you to stay in a state of chronic fear. Turn off the mainstream media constantly using fear to capture your attention. Don't let those who want power over our lives to gain more of a foothold in Washington.

Turn on friendships and optimism and life. Turn on church and community and hope. Live with purpose, and fear fatigue will never become a problem.
Seventy-five years ago, on the bright clear morning of August 6, 1945, the United States dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, immediately killing 70,000 people, and so grievously crushing, burning and irradiating another 50,000 that they too soon died. Even from within the deadliest conflict in history, such devastation from a single, airdropped device raised the stakes of war from conquest into the realm of human annihilation. Three days after Hiroshima the United States dropped additional evidence on Nagasaki, and Japan surrendered. Afterward, as part of a clampdown on information ...
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Linkedin Caroline Giovanie (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sun, August 9, 2020 12:03 528 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a4066c921d7 1 Entertainment Glass-Animals,Dreamland,Britain,Album-review,music,Dave-Bayley Free

The British four-man psychedelic pop/indie rock band Glass Animals just came out with its third studio album Dreamland after a two-year hiatus due to an accident drummer Joe Seaward had with his bike colliding with a lorry that left him with a fractured skull and broken leg.

It was during Seawards recovery that front man Dave Bayley wrote Dreamland.

I didnt know if Joe was going to survive, or recover, said Bayley to The Independent. He studied neuroscience at university and understood what had happened to his childhood friend. In a time like that, all you can seem to do is start thinking about the past.

Centering on the theme of nostalgia, the band kicked off its Deja Vu tour in small venues on February 25 in Washington D.C.s U Street Musical Hall. The band was supposed to finish up its last concert on June 16 but the tour was halted mid-March due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Back in England, the band continued online promotions for Dreamland, initially scheduled for release on July 10 but postponed to Aug. 7 to continue the focus on the Black Lives Matter movement, with Bayley saying the fight for civil rights is so much bigger and more important than any single piece of music on Instagram.

Now the album is finally out with 12 songs and four audio clips from Bayleys childhood home movies. Five of the songs on the album have been pre-released and some have been played live on their Deja Vu tour.

Described as the most personal, most difficult record Bayley has ever done, the album strays from the bands previous two, with debut album ZABA being inspired from childrens books and sophomore album How To Be A Human Being from stories that other people told the band. The record has songs that describe Bayleys relationships with friends, family, romantic partners, as well as the socialized foundations he grew up on.

The album name and title track Dreamland starts with a soft, childlike melody, indicating the ambience of the song to be reflective and sentimental. The track is meant to be an outline of the album, picking lyrics from the other songs while also having listeners catch a glimpse of Bayleys childhood.

Tracks like Tangerine, Hot Sugar, Melon and the Coconut, among other songs, speak about failed relationships.

With the beginning of a romance being too curated, Waterfalls Coming Out of Your Mouth speaks of how people in early stages of relationships are not themselves and constantly lying.

The end of something is captured in Its All So Incredibly Loud that pivots on only three seconds of life: the silence between when you tell someone something that will absolutely devastate them and their reaction, which Bayley described as the most deafening thing he has ever experienced.

Bayleys childhood permeates Space Ghost Coast to Coast and Domestic Bliss with the former being his childhood best friend back in Texas, who tried to bring a gun on the first day of high school. The song talks about their childhood listening to hip-hop and playing video games but also darker aspects like being raised in a toxic masculinity culture. Bayley questions whether being surrounded by violence as young boys played into his friends actions.

The latter song talks about Bayleys childhood friends mother who was abused by her husband. In an interview with NME, Bayley said he was too young to realize what was happening and why she had blood on her nose. In a time when most are in lockdown, Bayley also highlights that domestic violence has risen.

The album wraps up with Helium, which, in a similar vein to Dreamland, encapsulates everything that has been said in the previous songs and ends with the same tune as "Dreamland", placing it in full circle. (wng)

------------------

The writer is an intern at The Jakarta Post.
Sushant Singh Rajputs Former Assistant: Rhea Chakraborty Didn't Want The Old Staff, Fired All Of Us
The opening hours at mental health clinics will also be extended and now operate seven days a week. Loading "This whole mental health package ... is about telling people we value them  your existence, your role in the community, your life is important," Mr Foley said. "The pandemic is stressful. The pandemic has seen anxiety and depression levels rise substantially, but there is help out there, there is support." The funding will provide 144 new mental health beds for at-risk areas of Melbourne, bringing forward recommendations from the Royal Commission into Victoria's Mental Health System.

Mr Foley highlighted the Barwon region, the western suburbs, the Melbourne health catchment and the Northern Hospital catchment as the areas with most demand for increased mental health funding. The announcement comes on top of $130 million in funding since March and $12 million pledged by the federal government last week for mental health support services. "We knew running into this global pandemic that our mental health system wasn't fit for purpose," Mr Foley said. "And that's why we've held, or we're holding Australia's first royal commission into our mental health system to make sure that people get the support where they need it in a timely way."

Deputy Chief Medical Officer Dr Nick Coatsworth said the lockdowns would produce "a range of undesirable effects", including exacerbating mental health issues for young people. Premier Daniel Andrews said the state had "zero chance" of driving down cases if people refused to follow the rules. Credit:Getty Images "Community has to be part of this, friends and family need to observe changes, reach out and know mental health support more broadly is there," Dr Coatsworth said. "It is a considerable focus of the federal and state governments right now." Mr Foley urged people struggling with mental health challenges, whether pre-existing or triggered by the pandemic and social restrictions, to seek help. But he ruled out following New Zealand's lead in allowing people living alone and struggling to cope to nominate a "support person" who can visit and check on their welfare.

Beyond Blue CEO Georgie Harman said reports of people presenting to hospital emergency departments for self-harm were "extremely concerning", and described the new funding as a welcome step towards better supporting them. "Busy, noisy emergency departments are not helpful places to be for people in suicidal crisis," Ms Harman said. "This funding is crucial to ensuring they receive wrap-around support in the community, now and over the coming years." Under Melbourne's stage four restrictions, people are allowed to leave home to provide and seek care, but Mr Andrews said the bar to meet that threshold was high. He said Melburnians would not be allowed to visit loved ones to provide mental health support if they did not have a diagnosed condition. Mr Andrews said 10 of the 17 deaths announced on Sunday were connected to aged-care outbreaks. They include two men aged in their 50s, four men in their 70s, four women and two men in their 80s, and three men and two women in their 90s.

He warned Victorians not to read too much into the lower case numbers, warning the effect of stage four restrictions could take some time to be reflected in the data. "So we're probably seeing the tail end of the stabilisation that was the product of the stage three rules," he said. "Obviously, any day where there are fewer cases than the previous day is a good one." There are 994 active cases in health workers (four fewer than Saturday) and 1748 cases in aged care settings, which is an increase of 60 since Saturday. The Department of Health and Human Services has identified seven cases linked to a new outbreak at JBS Brooklyn, which had been at the centre of an outbreak last month. The department is also investigating four cases linked to Knox International in Brooklyn and four cases linked to PGG Wrightson Seeds in Truganina.

A total of 2758 coronavirus cases in Victoria since the start of the pandemic have been from community transmission, with Mr Andrews calling these cases, in many ways, our "biggest challenge". Some 41,416 tests were processed on Saturday, the second-highest daily number. Victoria Police issued 268 fines, including 77 for curfew breaches, 38 for failing to wear a face covering, and 13 at vehicle checkpoints. Officers conducted 3841 spot checks on people at homes, businesses and public places. Mr Andrews pleaded with Victorians to follow the stage four restrictions in Melbourne and stage three restrictions in regional and rural Victoria.

"If we don't follow the rules, we as a state have zero chance of driving down cases," the Premier said. "It won't happen by accident, it won't happen because of good fortune, it won't happen because of passage of time." Opposition Leader Michael O'Brien welcomed the government's mental health package, but said it needed "to do more" and extend compassion to vulnerable people. "For example, you can leave your house to go and visit an intimate partner, but you might have an elderly widow who's by herself and nobody can visit her from her family for any reason," Mr O'Brien said. "I understand the government wants to try and limit the amount of traffic on the road, but when you look at the way the rules have been applied, there does just seem to be some inconsistencies."
Some investors rely on dividends for growing their wealth, and if you're one of those dividend sleuths, you might be intrigued to know that Shaw Communications Inc. (TSE:SJR.B) is about to go ex-dividend in just 3 days. You will need to purchase shares before the 13th of August to receive the dividend, which will be paid on the 28th of August.

Shaw Communications's next dividend payment will be CA$0.099 per share. Last year, in total, the company distributed CA$1.19 to shareholders. Looking at the last 12 months of distributions, Shaw Communications has a trailing yield of approximately 4.8% on its current stock price of CA$24.73. If you buy this business for its dividend, you should have an idea of whether Shaw Communications's dividend is reliable and sustainable. As a result, readers should always check whether Shaw Communications has been able to grow its dividends, or if the dividend might be cut.

Check out our latest analysis for Shaw Communications

Dividends are typically paid from company earnings. If a company pays more in dividends than it earned in profit, then the dividend could be unsustainable. Last year, Shaw Communications paid out 91% of its income as dividends, which is above a level that we're comfortable with, especially if the company needs to reinvest in its business. A useful secondary check can be to evaluate whether Shaw Communications generated enough free cash flow to afford its dividend. The company paid out 105% of its free cash flow over the last year, which we think is outside the ideal range for most businesses. Cash flows are usually much more volatile than earnings, so this could be a temporary effect - but we'd generally want look more closely here.

Cash is slightly more important than profit from a dividend perspective, but given Shaw Communications's payouts were not well covered by either earnings or cash flow, we would be concerned about the sustainability of this dividend.

Story continues

Click here to see the company's payout ratio, plus analyst estimates of its future dividends.

Have Earnings And Dividends Been Growing?

Businesses with shrinking earnings are tricky from a dividend perspective. Investors love dividends, so if earnings fall and the dividend is reduced, expect a stock to be sold off heavily at the same time. Shaw Communications's earnings per share have fallen at approximately 6.7% a year over the previous five years. Such a sharp decline casts doubt on the future sustainability of the dividend.

Many investors will assess a company's dividend performance by evaluating how much the dividend payments have changed over time. In the last 10 years, Shaw Communications has lifted its dividend by approximately 3.5% a year on average. The only way to pay higher dividends when earnings are shrinking is either to pay out a larger percentage of profits, spend cash from the balance sheet, or borrow the money. Shaw Communications is already paying out 91% of its profits, and with shrinking earnings we think it's unlikely that this dividend will grow quickly in the future.

To Sum It Up

Should investors buy Shaw Communications for the upcoming dividend? Not only are earnings per share declining, but Shaw Communications is paying out an uncomfortably high percentage of both its earnings and cashflow to shareholders as dividends. This is a clearly suboptimal combination that usually suggests the dividend is at risk of being cut. If not now, then perhaps in the future. It's not an attractive combination from a dividend perspective, and we're inclined to pass on this one for the time being.

Although, if you're still interested in Shaw Communications and want to know more, you'll find it very useful to know what risks this stock faces. Every company has risks, and we've spotted 3 warning signs for Shaw Communications you should know about.

A common investment mistake is buying the first interesting stock you see. Here you can find a list of promising dividend stocks with a greater than 2% yield and an upcoming dividend.

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.
Ministry has prepared a list of 101 items for which the embargo on imports is planned to be progressively implemented between 2020 and 2024

New Delhi: In a major reform initiative to boost the domestic defence industry, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday announced restrictions on import of 101 weapons and military platforms including artillery guns, assault rifles and transport aircraft.

"The Ministry of Defence is now ready for a big push to #AtmanirbharBharat initiative," Singh said on Twitter while making the announcement.

He said the ministry has prepared a list of 101 items for which the embargo on imports is planned to be progressively implemented between 2020 and 2024.

The list of 101 embargoed items comprises some high technology weapon systems like artillery guns, assault rifles, corvettes, sonar systems, transport aircraft, light combat helicopters (LCHs), radars and many other items.

Singh said all necessary steps would be taken to ensure that timelines for domestic production of equipment identified under a negative list for import are met, adding the measures will include a co-ordinated mechanism for hand-holding of the industry by the defence services.

"The embargo on imports is planned to be progressively implemented between 2020 and 2024. The aim behind promulgation of the list is to apprise the Indian defence industry about the anticipated requirements of the armed forces so that they are better prepared to realise the goal of indigenisation," he said.
Targeting Akhilesh, Shah asks why Lord Ram had to live in a tent

HM Shah seeks suggestions of MPs, other stakeholders on move to amend IPC, CrPC, Evidence Act

Amit Shah compliments PM Modi, citizens for successful completion of 1 yr of Covid vaccination

No Covid19 test done on Amit Shah since last week, clarifies MHA

India

oi-Madhuri Adnal

New Delhi, Aug 09: The COVID-19 test of Home Minister Amit Shah has not been conducted since last week, a Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) official has told ANI.

This clarification comes after BJP leader and MP Manoj Tiwari tweeted saying that Shah had tested negative for coronavirus.

BJP leader Manoj Tiwari tweets Amit Shah tests negative for Coronavirus, then deletes it

The BJP leader has now deleted his tweet.

Defence Ministry bans import of 101 Defence items: PM Modi's Atma Nirbhar Bharat | Oneindia News

Nearly a week after saying he had tested positive for coronavirus, Shah was the first member of the Union Cabinet to test positive for the disease.

For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications

Story first published: Sunday, August 9, 2020, 13:24 [IST]
Allegations of fraud worth Rs 1,204 crore against Cox & Kings, made by Axis Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank, are under investigation by the Mumbai Polices economic offences wing (EOW).

Ajay Peter Kerkar, Director and Group CEO of Cox & Kings, told The Times of India the investigation is an inquiry.

Axis Bank in its complaint alleged that some office bearers of Cox & Kings and its sister-concerns cheated the bank of Rs 1,030 crore after availing loans, which were not repaid.

In its complaint, Kotak Mahindra Bank alleged that the travel company in manifold transactions managed to siphon off huge sums  from banks, financial institutions and public investors through subsidiaries and offshore companies. The bank added that it extended financial services to Cox & Kings since 2012 and outstanding amount till June 24, 2019 was Rs 174.3 crore.

Moneycontrol could not confirm the development independently.

Following the default, banks assigned PriceWaterhouse-Coopers (PWC) to undertake a forensic audit. Two of these draft reports found irregularities and fraudulent practices of some of office bearers of the travel company, it said.

PWCs first draft report for Kotak said the bank had all reason to believe that receivable Rs 449 crore from 15 parties were fictitious as these parties had common addresses, were created on the same day, and were not found at mentioned address during physical visit.

First information report (FIR) for both cases is yet to be registered. Notably, the two complaints by Kotak and Axis, take such complaints against the travel company to three, as a preliminary enquiry is already ongoing based on complaint of payment default worth Rs 239 crore by IndusInd Bank, the report added.
Police investigate the scene around 38th and Poplar Streets, by the Clayborn Lewis Community Center Playground, where six people were shot just before 9:30 p.m. Saturday. A half hour later an 11-year-old boy became the 101st kid shot in the city this year, sustaining a graze wound to the head and shoulder near Olney Playground. Read more

One week after a 7-year-old boy was struck by a stray bullet while playing on his porch in West Philadelphia and died two days later, an 11-year-old boy was injured by gunfire Saturday night and another suffered a graze wound Sunday night. They are believed to be the 101st and 102nd children shot in the city this year.

The 100th came Saturday night when a 17-year-old male was among six people shot in a playground near the Philadelphia Zoo, an explosion of gun violence that Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw decried as a senseless act.

Sundays shooting occurred on the 1500 block of South Napa Street. Police said an 11-year-old boy suffered a graze wound to the back as part of a triple shooting, and was in stable condition at Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia. A 43-year-old woman was shot in the foot and a 31-year-old man in the chest, police said. Both were hospitalized in stable and critical condition, respectively.

On Saturday night, the 11-year-old was walking on the 6000 block of A Street in Olney, where the Olney Playground is located, around 9:52 p.m. when he heard gunshots and vehicles traveling at a high rate of speed, according to police.

He sustained graze wounds to the back of his head and to his right shoulder, and was in stable condition at St. Christophers Hospital for Children, police said.

They did not report any arrests or provide any additional information.

At 9:21 p.m., five adults and the 17-year-old were shot at the Clayborn Lewis Community Center in West Philadelphia, at 38th and Poplar Streets, police said. All were hospitalized in stable condition.

Investigators used flashlights to search for evidence among the jungle gym and other playground equipment late Saturday night. No arrests were reported.

On Aug. 1, Zamar Jones was sitting on his porch on the 200 block of North Simpson Street when three men began firing at one another. Zamar was shot in the head and died at Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia last Monday afternoon. The three suspected gunmen have been arrested.

 READ MORE: In latest Philadelphia shootings, children are frequent victims

On Wednesday night, a 6-year-old girl was struck in the chest by a stray bullet while she was playing in front of her familys home on the 900 block of North 42nd Street in West Philadelphia, police said. She was hospitalized in stable condition at St. Christophers.

 READ MORE: Girl, 6, stable after being shot in West Philly

This is not acceptable, this is not normal, and this is not something that we should ever tolerate or become immune to as a society, Outlaw had said of that shooting.

 READ MORE: West Philly PlayStreet shooting death leaves grandmother determined to press on to save summer

An Inquirer review of Philadelphia police statistics found that not only are more children being shot, they are a growing share of shooting victims. People under age 18 have made up nearly one in 10 of the citys shooting victims this year, more than any other year since at least 2015, The Inquirer found. All but a few of the victims this year were Black.

Staff writer Dylan Purcell contributed to this article.
Spain's former king Juan Carlos was banished from the country by his son - the reigning King Felipe VI - amid the latter's corruption scandal, sources claim.

The 82-year-old revealed on Monday that he had decided to leave Spain to help his son, the current King Felipe VI, 'exercise his responsibilities'.

But sources claimed it was King Felipe who cast his father out to save his family from 'certain happenings' relating to Juan Carlos's relationship with his German mistress Corinna zu Sayn-Wittgenstein - with some fearing he might not come back.

Sayn-Wittgenstein has been placed under investigation in relation to audio recordings of a meeting between herself and retired Spanish police commissioner Jose Manuel Villarejo at her London home in 2015.

Spain's former king Juan Carlos (left) was banished from the country by his son (right) - the reigning King Felipe VI - amid the latter's corruption scandal, sources claim

Corinna zu Sayn-Wittgenstein, pictured above in 2019, is the former mistress of Spain's Juan Carlos

Pictured left to right: Then-Princess Letizia , Prince Felipe, Queen Sofia and King Juan Carlos pose for a photo in 2009

In the recordings, she allegedly claimed Juan Carlos received a secret commission for helping to win a 5.5 billion Saudi rail deal.

Villarejo asked for a meeting under the pretense that Spain's intelligence services were plotting to implicate her in criminal activity and went on to leak the tapes of their conversation to the media.

A source told The Sunday Times that the German businesswoman and philanthropist 'was different from any of his other girlfriends' and he was 'absolutely besotted'

While he is immune from prosecution as he remains Spain's 'king emeritus', he will answer questions from prosecutors, his lawyer said.

A Royal Palace spokesman and a lawyer for Juan Carlos both said they had nothing to say. They have made no public comment beyond Monday's announcement of the king's departure.

King Felipe pictured with former king Juan Carlos and Spain's Queen Letizia at the Spanish National day military parade in Madrid on October 12, 2012

Most Spaniards think ex-King Juan Carlos should not have left, opinion poll finds Nearly two-thirds of Spaniards believe former King Juan Carlos, who left the country this week amid a financial scandal, should not have gone abroad, according to an opinion poll published on Sunday. Juan Carlos, who abdicated in 2014 in favour of his son Felipe, abruptly announced his decision to leave on Monday but there has been no official confirmation of where he went, setting off an international guessing game. The poll by SigmaDos for the conservative newspaper El Mundo found 63.3 per cent of those questioned felt it was a bad idea for the 82-year-old ex-monarch to have left, while 27.2 per cent agreed with his departure. Some 80.3 per cent said they thought Juan Carlos should face any potential legal proceedings. The poll, carried out between Aug. 4-6 after he left, found 12.4 per cent said he had nothing to answer for and 7.3 per cent did not voice an opinion. Advertisement

The former king previously said his exit is only temporary telling friends: 'I'm not on holiday and I'm not abandoning Spain. This is just a parenthesis.'

It was reported yesterday that his current hideaway is a 10,000-a-night presidential suite in one of the world's most expensive hotels in Abu Dhabi.

Respected right-wing Spanish daily ABC reported the former king checked into the Emirates Palace Hotel on Monday evening, around the same time his letter to his son Felipe VI announcing his decision to leave Spain was made public.

It said he had taken a private plane from Vigo near Spain's north-west border with Portugal on Monday with at least five other passengers including four bodyguards.

Juan Carlos is said to have been in a relationship with Sayn-Wittgenstein between 2004 and 2008.

The couple are already facing other legal trouble in Switzerland, where an inquiry is investigating secret offshore accounts linked to the pair.

Swiss prosecutors are examining a 65 million (59 million) payment the former King made to Sayn-Wittgenstein in 2012 under suspicion of money laundering.

An alleged $100 million donation in 2008 - then worth 65 million - to Juan Carlos from the then-King of Saudi Arabia, is also being looked at by Yves Bertossa, a Swiss prosecutor.

Bertossa is investigating whether the donation and the subsequent payment to Sayn-Wittgenstein were connected to the payment of illegal commissions for the construction of a railway in Saudi Arabia.

The railway was constructed by a Spanish consortium in 2011.

Spain's then King Juan Carlos (left) and Spain's Crown Prince Felipe (centre) salute past Spain's Queen Sofia during the Pascua Militar ceremony at the Royal Palace in Madrid

Spain's former monarch, King Juan Carlos I (pictured), says he is leaving Spain to live in another country amid a financial scandal

Ms Sayn-Wittgenstein's legal defence deny the payment was linked with illegal commissions, instead claiming that it was a gift.

A lawyer for Ms Sayn-Wittgenstein, Robin Rathmell, said: 'Corinna never hired or discussed hiring Villarejo and therefore never paid him for anything,' according to The Times. 'Our client will robustly defend her rights against these baseless accusations.'

Juan Carlos came to the throne in 1975 after the death of General Francisco Franco and was widely respected for his role in helping guide Spain from dictatorship to democracy, but recent scandals have tarnished his image.

News of the former monarch's exit is continuing to make huge waves at home.

An online petition to change the name of Madrid's King Juan Carlos university had racked up more than 39,000 signatures on Wednesday morning.

'Corruption cases surrounding the Royal Family keep appearing, torpedoing the image of a monarchy that had been presented to us as 'wholesome' and 'humble'' the petition read.

A lawyer for Ms Sayn-Wittgenstein, Robin Rathmell, said: 'Corinna never hired or discussed hiring Villarejo and therefore never paid him for anything,' according to The Times. 'Our client will robustly defend her rights against these baseless accusations.'
The orders could face legal challenges questioning the US presidents authority to spend taxpayer money without express approval of Congress

Bedminster: Seizing the power of his podium and his pen, President Donald Trump on Saturday bypassed the nations lawmakers as he claimed the authority to defer payroll taxes and replace an expired unemployment benefit with a lower amount after negotiations with Congress on a new coronavirus rescue package collapsed.

At his private country club in Bedminster, New Jersey, Trump signed executive orders to act where Congress hasnt. Not only has the pandemic undermined the economy and upended American lives, but it has also imperilled the presidents November reelection.

Perhaps most crucially, Trump moved to continue paying a supplemental federal unemployment benefit for millions of Americans out of work during the outbreak. However, his order called for up to $400 payments each week, one-third less than the $600 people had been receiving. How many people would receive the benefit and how long it might take to arrive were open questions.

Congress had allowed the higher payments to lapse on Aug. 1, and negotiations to extend them were mired in partisan gridlock, with the White House and Democrats miles apart.

The Democratic congressional leaders Trump criticized and insulted with nicknames in remarks ahead of signing the orders, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, dismissed Trumps actions as meager in the face of economic and health crises facing Americans. Trumps Democratic opponent in the presidential race, Joe Biden, said the president had issued a series of half-baked measures and accused him of putting Social Security at risk.

The executive orders could face legal challenges questioning the presidents authority to spend taxpayer dollars without the express approval of Congress. Trump had largely stayed on the sidelines during the administrations negotiations with congressional leaders, leaving the talks on his side to chief of staff Mark Meadows and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.

Trumps embrace of executive actions to sidestep Congress ran in sharp contrast to his criticism of former President Barack Obamas use of executive orders on a more limited basis. And the presidents step-back from talks with Congress broke with his self-assured negotiating skills.

Trump, who has not spoken with Pelosi since last year, sought to play the role of election-year savior, with the $400 weekly assistance, as well as a deferral of payroll tax and federal student loan payments and the continuation of a freeze on some evictions during the crisis.

Its $400 a week, and were doing it without the Democrats, Trump said, asking states to cover 25% of the cost. Trump is seeking to set aside $44 billion in previously approved disaster aid to help states maintain supplemental pandemic jobless benefits, but Trump said it would be up to states to determine how much, if any of it, to fund, so the benefits could be smaller still.

Many states already faced budget shortfalls due to the coronavirus pandemic and would have difficulty assuming the new obligation. The previous unemployment benefit was fully funded by Washington.

Democrats had said they would lower their spending demands from $3.4 trillion to $2 trillion but said the White House needed to increase its offer. Republicans had proposed a $1 trillion plan.

White House aides watched the talks break down with apprehension, fearful that failure to close a deal could further damage an economic recovery already showing signs of slowing down. Fridays jobs report, though it beat expectations, was smaller than the past two months, in part because a resurgence of the virus led to states rolling back their reopenings.

The presidents team believes the economy needs to stabilize and show signs of growth for him to have any chance at winning reelection. Aides were hoping to frame the executive orders as a sign that Trump was taking action in a time of crisis. But it also would reinforce the view that the president, who took office declaring he was a dealmaker, was unable to steer the process to an agreement.

Trump said Saturday the orders will take care of pretty much this entire situation, as we know it. But they are far smaller in scope than congressional legislation, and even aides acknowledged they didnt meet all needs.

This is not a perfect answer  well be the first ones to say that, Meadows said Friday as talks broke down and executive orders seemed a certainty. Its all that we can do and all the president can do within the confines of his executive power.

Trump said the employee portion of the payroll tax would be deferred from Aug. 1 through the end of the year. The move would not directly aid unemployed workers, who do not pay the tax when they are jobless, and employees would need to repay the federal government eventually without an act of Congress.

In essence, the deferral is an interest-free loan that would have to be repaid. Trump said hell try to get lawmakers to extend it, and the timing would line up with a post-election lame-duck session in which Congress will try to pass government funding bills.

If I win, I may extend and terminate, Trump said, repeating a longtime goal but remaining silent on how hed fund the Medicare and Social Security benefits that the 7% tax on employee income covers. Employers also pay 7.65% of their payrolls into the funds.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., issued a statement saying he supported Trump exploring his options to get unemployment benefits and other relief to the people who need them the most. Like Trump, McConnell accused Democrats of using the coronavirus package negotiations to pursue other goals.

Democrats said they were not favorably impressed by Trumps orders. In a joint statement, Pelosi and Schumer said that these policy announcements provide little real help to families. They added: Democrats repeat our call to Republicans to return to the table, meet us halfway and work together to deliver immediate relief to the American people. Lives are being lost, and time is of the essence.

Playing off Trumps reputation as a dealmaker, Biden said: This is no art of the deal. This is not presidential leadership. These orders are not real solutions. They are just another cynical ploy designed to deflect responsibility. Some measures do far more harm than good.

The Democratic chairman of the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee, Rep. Richard E. Neal of Massachusetts, accused Trump of brazenly circumventing Congress to institute tax policy that destabilizes Social Security. He also cited a threat to Medicare funding.

The use of executive actions drew criticism from Republican Sen. Ben Sasse of Nebraska. The pen-and-phone theory of executive lawmaking is unconstitutional slop, said Sasse, a member of the Senates Judiciary and Finance panels. He added that Trump does not have the power to unilaterally rewrite the payroll tax law. Under the Constitution, that power belongs to the American people acting through their members of Congress.

With no deal on virus relief in sight, lawmakers went home on instructions to be ready to return for a vote on an agreement. A stalemate that could stretch well into August and even September was possible, casting doubt on the ability of the Trump administration and Democrats to come together on a fifth COVID-19 response bill.

Often an impasse in Washington is of little consequence for the public  but this would mean more hardship for millions of people who are losing enhanced jobless benefits and cause further damage to the economy.

Schumer said the White House had rejected an offer by Pelosi to curb Democratic demands by about $1 trillion. Schumer urged the White House to negotiate with Democrats and meet us in the middle. Dont say its your way or no way.

The breakdown in negotiations over the last several days was particularly distressing for schools trying to reopen. But other priorities were also languishing, including a fresh round of $1,200 direct payments to most people, a cash infusion for the struggling Postal Service and money to help states hold elections in November.

Senate Republicans were split, with roughly half of McConnells rank and file opposed to another rescue bill.
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A landmark coronavirus study has found the risk of transmission in classrooms is minimal, ratcheting up pressure on the Education Secretary to fully reopen schools in September.

Boris Johnson is understood to have warned that Gavin Williamson's 'head will be on the chopping block' if pupils are not back in lessons next month.

The Prime Minister has declared resuming classes a 'national priority' and is planning an advertising blitz to urge anxious parents to send their child back to school.

His campaign was yesterday bolstered by encouraging scientific evidence which found a low threat of catching infection in schools.

Government Sage adviser Professor Russell Viner outlined the forthcoming Public Health England study and stressed that reopening schools was 'imperative'.

'A new study that has been done in UK schools confirms there is very little evidence that the virus is transmitted in schools,' he told the Sunday Times.

'This is some of the largest data you will find on schools anywhere. Britain has done very well in terms of thinking of collecting data in schools.'

Labour, the unions, and the Children's Commissioner have all today voiced support for the principle of schools reopening in September.

But thorny issues such as routine testing and the wearing of masks remain - which were both today slapped down by the schools minister.

Boris Johnson (right) is understood to have warned that Gavin Williamson's (left) 'head will be on the chopping block' if pupils are not back in lessons next month

Leading scientist Professor Russell Viner, president of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health and a member of Sage said: 'A new study that has been done in UK schools confirms there is very little evidence that the virus is transmitted in schools

Minister rejects Children's Commissioner's calls for regular testing in schools The government's schools minister has slapped down calls from England's Children's Commissioner to introduce routine testing when schools reopen in September. Nick Gibb today said students and staff would only be tested if they displayed symptoms. But Anne Longfield earlier called for checks to become 'part and parcel' of school life and suggested they should be done weekly. She told Times Radio: 'I think it needs to be as regular as it needs to be for the infection to be caught... certainly not one-offs but regular occurrences so they're part and parcel of the running of a school.' But speaking on the same programme, Mr Gibb later said: 'Anybody who shows symptoms in schools will be tested, not routine testing, the advice we have is it's better when people show symptoms. 'If they test positive the people that pupil has been in contact with will be self-isolating. Everything we do is led by the science, the priority for the new 90-minute tests has to be the new hospitals and laboratories, the measures we are putting in place, the hierarchy of controls is the most effective measures of the virus.' Advertisement

As the reopening of schools was bumped to the top of ministers' agenda:

Children's Commissioner Anne Longfield called on the government to introduce regular testing for all students and staff in schools;

Labour's shadow education secretary Kate Green said she supports getting children back to school in September, but said the government needs to ramp up its track and trace system;

New research laid bare the damaging educational impact on pupils who have missed schooling during the lockdown;

The coronavirus death toll rose by 55 yesterday, to 46,556, compared to a rise of 74 last Saturday, while 758 new infections were reported, 13 fewer than a week ago;

Scientific advisers warned that the UK-wide reproduction rate, R, is between 0.8 and 1.0, the point at which the virus starts spreading exponentially again;

Oxford University researchers developing a vaccine were embroiled in an ethics row about whether to deliberately infect human volunteers  and warned that although there was a 50 per cent chance of a jab being available next year, it was likely to be only partially effective and carry side-effects;

A survey found that barely half of the adult population is committed to being immunised against Covid-19;

France is on the brink of joining the list of countries from where British travellers will have to go into quarantine upon their return;

Young people in Preston were being urged 'don't kill Granny' as the city was subjected to new lockdown measures following a spike in infections;

Up to 16 children and staff were forced to isolate at home after a coronavirus outbreak at a nursery in Bury, which has also been put into local lockdown.

Prof Viner, also president of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, said keeping schools shut would take a further toll on both young people's academic attainment and mental health.

Mr Johnson outlined similar concerns in an article for today's Mail on Sunday where he heralded the resuming of lessons a 'moral duty' and 'crucial' for pupils' 'welfare, their health and for their future.'

He wrote: 'The education of our children is crucial for their welfare, their health and for their future. That is why it is a national priority to get all pupils back into school in September.

'The message I have given to Ministers and civil servants is this: we can do it  and we will do it. Social justice demands it.'

He spoke of the 'uplifting sight as millions of parents rose to the challenge of educating their children' amid the added pressures of lockdown, but said that had to end.

The PHE study, which tested more than 20,000 pupils and 100 teachers, is hoped to allay the concerns of wary teacher unions, which thwarted ministers' initial attempts to resume classes for fears of staff catching the virus.

Ministers are poised to lock horns with union bosses who have unveiled a list of demands if teachers are to go back next month. Mary Bousted, head of the National Education Union, (left) urged schools to ignore 'threatening noises' from the Government and refuse to reopen if they feel it is unsafe

Union bosses were last night accused of 'nit-picking' after releasing an exhaustive list of 200 safety demands.

The National Education Union has urged its 450,000 teachers to 'escalate' action if their schools do not adhere to their 200-strong Covid-secure checklist.

The demands included assurances the working day will not be lengthened, children waiting to be picked up to be kept isolated, and support for staff suffering workload anxiety.

Education select committee chair Robert Halfon MP last night hit out at the demands and told the Sun on Sunday: 'It is incredible not one of these 200 nitpicking questions asks the most important thing of all - what's best for the kids?'

But today Amanda Martin, co-president of the NEU, said there is no price on safety, and pointed out that they had been urging their members to plan for the reopening in September.

She told Times Radio: 'I think the NEU right from the beginning has been on the right side of history by saying schools should remain open to key worker kids and the most vulnerable.

'We have half a million members, we have had schools open all the way through lockdown and we have been supporting them with checklists... We have said schools should be ready to open in September.'

She said her union has requested information from Sage and the government for a risk assessment about reopening schools in September.

Boris Johnson has said that getting children back to school is a national priority (pictured during a visit to The Discovery School in Kings Hill last month)

Prof Viner, a member of Sage, insisted reopening schools was a non-negotiable, even if it meant sacrificing other freedoms as a trade-off.

The desperate need to prioritse education was endorsed by Children's Commissioner Anne Longfield, who said in the event of future lockdowns schools should not be closed as a default to save 'disruption to the lives of adults'.

She today threw her weight behind Mr Johnson's bullishness to reopen schools, even if it meant pubs were sacrificed.

Speaking to Times Radio, she said: 'Children have been out of schools for five months... There was a moment I thought children have been forgotten in the relaxation.

'They must reopen and they must stay open so if there are future lockdowns they are the last to close and first to reopen.'

Quizzed if that meant people should be restricted from indoor drinking in pubs, she said: 'I've talked about that when decisions need to be made in future lockdowns, it makes absolute sense if there's a limited amount of social interactions before infections are raised.'

She said she was 'dismayed' that theme parks and even zoos were opened before schools, but said she is pleased that the PM has bumped resuming lessons to the top of the government's agenda.

Ms Longfield said that regular testing should become 'part and parcel' of school life from next month.

She said: 'I think it needs to be as regular as it needs to be for the infection to be caught... certainly not one-offs but regular occurrences so they're part and parcel of the running of a school.'

But this was slapped down by schools minister Nick Gibb, who said only those who developed symptoms would be tested.

The minister this morning told Times Radio: 'Anybody who shows symptoms in schools will be tested, it won't be routine testing... the advice we have is it's better when people show symptoms.

If they test positive the people that pupil has been in contact with will be self-isolating... Everything we do is led by the science... the priority for the new 90-minute tests has to be the new hospitals and laboraties, the measures we are putting in place, the hierarchy of controls is the most effective measures of the virus.'

On masks, he added: 'These kind of issues will be up to head teachers, but there's no need for masks to be worn within schools if the hierarchy of controls, the measures I have outlines, are in place.'

Labour expressed support for the reopening of schools in September, but surged the government to support teachers by bolstering the test and trace infrastructure.

Shadow education secretary Kate Green said: 'I think it's essential that schools open in September and that all pupils are expected to be back in the classrooms.

'I do think the Government could be doing more to support them (teachers) particularly, for example, making sure we've got a really robust Test and Trace system in place.

'The work is being done to make schools safe but more is needed to support those schools, they may need extra resources for example for extra clearing or to stagger the school day or to make sure children can travel to and fro safely.

'The Government has a window between now and the beginning of September to get that right and it absolutely must do so.

'It's really, really important that we don't write off a generation of Covid children - they need to be back in class, the whole of our futures depend on this.'

Not a single confirmed case of a school pupil passing on coronavirus to their teacher exists anywhere in the world, says a leading expert

By Stephen Adams, Medical Editor for The Mail on Sunday

No confirmed cases exist anywhere in the world of school pupils passing on Covid to their teachers, an expert has said.

All the available evidence points to children being poor spreaders of the virus, said Professor Mark Woolhouse, who cast doubt on the theory that reopening schools will trigger a deadly second wave.

Last week, a modelling forecast published in The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health warned that opening schools across the UK in September could lead to a tsunami of new cases, more than twice the size of the first wave.

But Prof Woolhouse said a second study published in the medical journal the same day, which found infected children in Australian schools had passed the virus on to hardly anyone, had been largely ignored.

During the first wave, 15 schools and ten nurseries in the state of New South Wales reported 27 cases where children or staff had attended while infectious with Covid-19.

Fifteen of these 'index' cases were staff and 12 were children.

Class pledge: Boris Johnson on a visit to a Kent school last month

These 12 children were in close contact with 103 staff, found contact tracers.

Only one of them was discovered to have passed the virus on to a member of staff in a single instance, although this is understood to have occurred in a nursery.

Nor did infected children pass the virus on to their classmates to any great degree, with that happening in only two of 649 close contacts  a virus 'attack rate' of just 0.3 per cent.

By contrast, the 15 infected staff members passed it on to 4.4 per cent of colleagues who were close contacts (to seven out of 160).

Prof Woolhouse, head of infectious disease epidemiology at Edinburgh University, said: 'Science progresses by people publishing research. So what we do as carefully as we possibly can is scan what's been published in the literature to see if there are any reported cases, in this case of a child transmitting to a teacher in the classroom.

'The fact that there aren't any that we can find, and there still aren't, doesn't mean that it's not possible in principle and doesn't mean that it won't happen on occasion.

Prof Woolhouse, head of infectious disease epidemiology at Edinburgh University, said: 'Science progresses by people publishing research.'

'But it does suggest that out of all the ways that we see and have found this virus to transmit  and remember, there are thousands and thousands of transmission events that have been inferred [from contact tracing]  out of all those thousands, still we can't find a single one involving a child transmitting to a teacher in a classroom.'

He added: 'Even if this virus doesn't spread easily among the children, it certainly will spread among staff if it gets the opportunity.

'The evidence so far is that the most dangerous room in the school is not the classroom, it's the staff room. So schools need to pay attention to that, and not take their eye off the right ball.'

Prof Woolhouse advises the Government on coronavirus as a member of the Scientific Pandemic Group on Modelling (SPI-M), although he stressed he was speaking in a personal capacity.

Academics concluded reopening schools without improving contact tracing could trigger a second wave up to 2.3 times the size of the first, leading to 250,000 more deaths

His comments come amid renewed calls for caution by teaching unions, with the National Education Union urging schools to ignore 'threatening noises' from the Government and to refuse to reopen if they feel it is unsafe.

The unions will have felt emboldened to speak out by last week's modelling study, by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) and University College London (UCL).

Academics concluded reopening schools without improving contact tracing could trigger a second wave up to 2.3 times the size of the first, leading to 250,000 more deaths.

Prof Woolhouse said that apocalyptic outcome was 'highly unlikely given the current evidence'.

He added: 'I'm slightly worried that, just through an accident of timing, schools will get blamed for pushing the R number over 1. But all activity can contribute to R rising, not just schools.'

Missing out on school is disaster that lasts forever - as the huge damage inflicted on youngsters by a long break from the classroom is laid bare by several new studies

By Julie Henry for The Mail On Sunday

The huge damage inflicted on youngsters by a long break from school has been laid bare by several new studies.

Interrupted schooling has deep and long-lasting effects on children, according to Oxford University researchers who used data from school closures in a disaster zone. They said the study 'has relevance for other disasters, including the Covid-19 pandemic'.

The study found that children's test scores in areas of Pakistan hit by a 2005 earthquake were between one- and-a-half and two years behind their peers in untouched areas.

Those affected face losing 15 per cent of their earnings every year for the rest of their lives.

In another study, US researchers looked at the effects of the 'summer slide'  when children forget over the long holidays what they have previously learned  to estimate the impact of school closures caused by the coronavirus.

It said students are likely to return to the classroom with less than 50 per cent of the knowledge and skills they had in maths.

Meanwhile, a major UK study into the long-term consequences of the Covid crisis on the younger generation is being undertaken by Exeter University.

In another study, US researchers looked at the effects of the 'summer slide'  when children forget over the long holidays what they have previously learned  to estimate the impact of school closures caused by the coronavirus (file photo)

Dr Lee Elliot Major, the university's professor of social mobility, said: 'What is already clear is that the drastic losses in learning will have profound impacts on the lives of many children and young people.

'Every extra week away from face-to-face teaching adds to the cumulative damage over a lifetime. We need to assess the short-term risks of containing the virus against the longer-term, but in many ways more profound, risks of damaging the prospects for a whole generation.'

Natalie Perera, executive director of the independent Education Policy Institute (EPI), said: 'Pupils across the country have suffered huge learning loss since the lockdown began, with the most disadvantaged and vulnerable pupils hit the hardest by school closures.

'The period of disruption faced by schools is likely to have increased the achievement gap between the poorest pupils and the rest, which is already 18 months of learning by the end of compulsory education.

'The Government must offer maximum support to schools so that they are able to continue with pupils' education in a safe and secure environment.'

Maura Regan, chief executive officer of Bishop Hogarth Catholic Education Trust, which runs 18 academies in the North-East, told The Mail on Sunday that schools 'owe it to society' to have staff back working so that children's education can get back on track and parents can return to work.

Interrupted schooling has deep and long-lasting effects on children, according to Oxford University researchers (file photo)

'In essence we need to get children in school in September. I'd like to see us back full time and back permanently full time,' she said.

'There is a balance to be struck between the risk and the priority of getting children back and the economy going.

'But the detrimental impact on children, especially the most vulnerable who might not have the drive or the parental support, is huge.'

Other research shows that the least well-off children have suffered the most from being out of school.

An Institute for Fiscal Studies report found children from better-off households are spending 30 per cent more time each day on educational activities than children from the poorest fifth of homes.

BORIS JOHNSON: Keeping our schools closed a moment longer than is absolutely necessary is socially intolerable, economically unsustainable and morally indefensible

The education of our children is crucial for their welfare, their health and for their future. That is why it is a national priority to get all pupils back into school in September.

The message I have given to Ministers and civil servants is this: we can do it  and we will do it. Social justice demands it.

Back in March, we had no option but to close schools to all but vulnerable children and those of critical workers, as part of our wider effort to protect the NHS and save lives.

One of the most uplifting sights as our country came together during the lockdown was the transformation of living rooms and kitchens into classrooms, as millions of parents rose to the challenge of educating their children.

'The message I have given to Ministers and civil servants is this: we can do it  and we will do it. Social justice demands it'

Pictured: Prime Minister Boris Johnson visiting the Discovery School in West Malling, Kent, in July this year

For many, this was achieved while juggling the pressures of work and childcare, compounded by the mounting toll of the restrictions necessarily imposed by our fight against coronavirus  swings and slides locked up, playdates banned, grandparents unable to help.

It was  and for many families continues to be  a truly Herculean effort of which I will always be in awe. It was also supported by many brilliant teachers providing remote learning for their pupils, the thousands of laptops and tablets we bought and shipped to the children who needed them to access online resources, and the stunning creation of Oak National Academy, which developed an entire online curriculum in just a matter of weeks.

But we are in a different situation now to the one we faced earlier this year.

Thanks to the enormous sacrifices made by the British people, we have made very significant progress in our fight against the virus. The number of infections has been forced down from an estimated 157,000 in early May to around 28,000 at the start of this month.

Scientists have learned more about how the virus spreads and how we can control it.

Crucially, studies have shown that children face a much lower risk than adults.

This pandemic isn't over, and the last thing any of us can afford to do is become complacent.

But now that we know enough to reopen schools to all pupils safely, we have a moral duty to do so.

Because there is ultimately no substitute for a child learning at school to give them the knowledge, skills and wherewithal to succeed in life.

It's why we've had compulsory schooling in this country for 140 years, and the evidence is incontrovertible.

Time spent out of class means lower average academic attainment, with a lasting effect on future life chances. The less children are in school, the worse it is for their health. Sport England reports one in three children has done less physical activity in lockdown, with many suffering from poorer mental health, including through reduced access to vital support.

'Time spent out of class means lower average academic attainment, with a lasting effect on future life chances. The less children are in school, the worse it is for their health'

Most painfully of all, the costs of school closure have fallen disproportionately on the most disadvantaged, the very children who need school the most. Surveys estimate that while the majority of pupils have been learning at home, as many as a quarter of pupils were doing less than two hours of school work a day.

Children in the richest families spent over 75 minutes more per day on home-schooling than those in the poorest, and one study predicted that the attainment gap between children from economically deprived households and their peers could widen by more than a third.

The Children's Commissioner has reported increased risk of exposure to domestic violence, exploitation and addiction, both at home and on the streets.

The longer this continues, the more likely it is that some will tumble out of education, employment or training altogether, never to return. On top of all this, there are the spiralling economic costs of parents and carers unable to work without the school or wraparound childcare they depend on; and the devastating long-term cost looming from the stunting of our children's future productivity.

This damage is taking place all over the world, with the United Nations Secretary General last week warning of a 'generational catastrophe that could waste untold human potential, undermine decades of progress and exacerbate entrenched inequalities'.

We simply cannot allow this to continue.

Keeping our schools closed a moment longer than absolutely necessary is socially intolerable, economically unsustainable and morally indefensible.

I have always believed that talent is uniformly distributed but opportunity is not, and the first step to changing that is by helping those who have fallen behind to catch up.

So we are investing 1 billion in catch-up support, including a new 350 million National Tutoring Programme. We have announced 14 billion extra for schools and a new ten-year school building programme, as part of the Government's mission to build back better.

But first of all we must open the school gates to all pupils once again.

The Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies has advised that the risk to children themselves of becoming severely ill from coronavirus is low.

Our test and trace system is up and running  already, it has identified almost 200,000 people who might otherwise inadvertently spread the virus, and advised them to self-isolate  and we have worked closely with teaching unions and school leaders on measures to ensure that our schools are Covid secure.

Grouping children into bubbles, staggered drop-off times, regular handwashing and providing schools and colleges with a number of home-testing kits for those who would be unable to access a testing centre.

It is a detailed plan for getting all of our children back to school in a way that is safe.

In June, we began the phased return of Reception, Year 1 and Year 6 and, after some initial apprehension, many parents reported how much happier their children were and what a relief it was to be back.

Now we must all work together to bring this best practice to the task of reopening schools to all pupils in September.

Nothing will have a greater effect on the life chances of our children and nothing is more important for the future of our country.
Hyderabad: The Covid-19 pandemic has given rise to much fear and paranoia among the general populace, as evident from many confrontations and intimidation of infected patients or their relatives.

Sai Gopals is one such story, where his infected relatives were forced to evacuate a house they were living in temporarily at Kamala Nagar in Vanasthalipuram after colony residents reportedly threatened them with physical violence.

Gopal, is a resident of Saroornagar, has relatives hailing from Kollapur in Nagarkurnool district. His great aunt, an 86-year-old woman, and her son tested positive for Covid-19 a few days ago. Gopals family decided to bring the woman, her son and daughter-in-law to Hyderabad so that they could get better medical care.

Doctors at the hospital she was examined at said she could stay in home isolation with oxygen support until she recovers. Incidentally, Gopals mother has also tested positive for Covid-19, hence, the three could not stay at Gopals house. They had to find a place where they could stay for a few weeks.

Gopal said, We checked with our relatives and friends. We found an independent house at Kamala Nagar, which has been empty for many years. The owner allowed us to use it for a few days. We moved them there three days ago.

However, on Friday evening, everything changed when he and his sister Swaroopa came with an oxygen cylinder to replace an empty one. Some colony residents saw the cylinder, gathered around us, and were very aggressively asking who we were and we were up to, said Gopal.

The residents reportedly broke tree branches and threatened to beat up Gopal and his sister and hurled abuses at them.

Once they realised my relatives were Covid-19 patients, they wanted us to take our relatives away from the colony immediately. They simply refused to listen to reason. This was around 11 pm, and I told them I would do so in the morning. They werent having any of it, he said.

Gopal recalled how the residents didnt even let him go home to get another car to transport his relatives. I told the mob I would bring another car, but they told me No! You wont come back if you leave, he said. Gopal managed to get a cousin to bring another car, in which the three persons were finally moved.

Speaking over the phone to Deccan Chronicle, Gopal broke down recalling the ordeal. Some residents picked up stones and threatened to throw them at us. There were 50 of them, and just two of us; we were too scared to even talk to them, he said. The Vanasthalipuram police were reportedly asked to intervene, but according to Gopal, they sided with the colony residents.

All through this, not a single soul thought how an 86-year-old Covid-19 patient could be transported in the middle of the night, and what impact it would have on her health. At around 11.30 pm, we decided we had to leave, he said.

The family managed to find an isolation facility in Gachibowli, where the three persons are currently lodged. The whole experience has shown us how horrible people can be to each other. We were truly afraid for our safety, added Gopal.

Later, Gopals sister lodged a complaint against the colony residents, accusing them of verbal abuse and threatening them.

K. Venkat Reddy, sub-inspector, Vanasthalipuram Sector-I, acknowledged the complaint and said he was inquiring into it. We will see if the complainant indeed had permission to stay at the house. If they did, we will definitely take action against those who might have intimidated them, he said.
Western Australias powerhouse Australian Ninja Warrior couple Olivia Vivian and Ben Polson have fought their way to the grand final of this years season, taking on new challenges  and each other  in their quest to be crowned the nations best.

Early heats proved no obstacle to the athletic couple, but the Power Tower pitted them against each other, taking the Perth duos rivalry to the next level.

Perth's Ben Polson in action on Australian Ninja Warrior. Credit:Nine

Vivian blitzed the semi-finals, and said she only felt the rigour of the course when she was pushing through. But her veteran status put her in good stead.

Going through, you realise how difficult this semi-final course was, and what really helped me was the experience Ive had from past seasons, she said.
Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz, a towering scholar of the bedrock Jewish texts who spent four and a half decades writing a 45-volume translation of the Babylonian Talmud and made it accessible to hundreds of thousands of readers, died on Friday in Jerusalem. He was 83.

Shaarei Zedek Medical Center confirmed his death. A publicist for the Steinsaltz Center for Jewish Knowledge said he had had acute pneumonia.

For centuries, the study of Talmud  in 2,711 double-sided pages, the record of rabbinical debates on the laws and ethics of Judaism heard in the academies of Babylonia (modern-day Iraq) between A.D. 200 and 500  was confined mostly to yeshivas. There, students, young and old, hunched over dog-eared volumes of Talmud, sometimes without teachers, would teach one another the meanings of what they were reading, largely in Aramaic, and argue the implications.

Rabbi Steinsaltzs achievement was to take the Talmud out of this relatively exclusive sphere and, with a Hebrew translation, allow ordinary Jews, taking the Long Island Rail Road to work or gathering in a cafe in Tel Aviv, to study those texts on their own. The Hebrew edition has been translated by publishers into English, French, Russian and Spanish.
The association was set up to unite Nigerian writers and bring them under a common organisation but the purpose is now threatened.

The ideals behind the setting up of the Nigerian writers Association is currently imperilled as raging strife threatens to tear the body apart.

Sources say, on one hand, the battle is mainly for who heads the Association which boasts of hundreds of Nigerian writers.

On the other, control over a large expanse of land, in a choice area of the Federal Capital Territory also seems to be a source of conflict.

In the current tussle, all is fair in war, as the major contenders hold fast to their positions even as the image of the association totters on the edge.

CHINUA ACHEBES LEGACY

The Association was birthed on June 27, 1981, during a conference called by the literary giant, Chinua Achebe.

At the maiden gathering which had in attendance major global players in the literary world, attendees agreed to form a major platform to harness the literary potentials in Nigeria.

Two Kenyan writers, Ngugi Wa Thiongo and Gacheche Wauringi, added colour to the event. The Association was later registered as a corporate body with the Corporate Affairs Commission, Abuja.

Its Board of Trustees included Mabel Segun, Labo Yari, Mr Achebe (now deceased) and T.M Aluko (deceased)

Its fundamental objectives are to promote Nigerian literature; encourage the collection, recording and transcription of oral literature and promote the interest of authors.

From Mr Achebe, its first President in 1981, the 39-year-old association has been led by prominent personalities including Kole Omotosho, Femi Osofisan, Ken Saro-Wiwa, Odia Ofeimun, Abubakar Gimba, Olu Obafemi, Wale Okediran, Jerry Agada, Remi Raji and lately, Denja Abdullahi.

Denja Abdullahi [Credit: Denja Abdullahis facebook page]

But after Mr Abdullahis two-term tenure in 2019, the Association was ripped apart by a crisis that is far from abating. Currently, there are two factions laying claim to the mantle of leadership of ANA while some others say the two factions are illegal.

At Enugu, the maiden gathering which had in attendance major global players in the literary world, attendees agreed to form a major platform to harness the literary potentials in Nigeria

IMPASSE

The Associations 38th convention held between October 31 and November 3, 2019, at the Institute of Management (IMT) Enugu to herald new leaders, ended up a fiasco.

The quagmire later degenerated into confusion that has lingered over the last few months.

Accusations of vote-buying, imposition of delegates, disenfranchisement, intimidation of voters, non-adherence to a regional zoning formula and unethical conduct marred the process as contestants accused one another of illegalities. The event was later truncated when it degenerated into violence.

At the convention, the top position attracted the greatest conflict. The major contenders for the Presidency of the association were Camillus Ukah, Ahmed Maiwada, Ofonime Inyang and Chike Ofili.

Mr Ukah, who was then the Vice President of the Association, enjoys the support of the outgoing President, Mr Abdullahi. Mr Inyang was the outgoing general secretary. The other two also had considerable leverage.

The Association is usually led by a governing National Executive Council which comprises 14 officials headed by a President. The officials are elected every two years at a national convention. State executive councils also exist to manage the affairs of the different chapters.

Ahmed Maiwada [Picture courtesy, Daily Nigerian]

After the botched Enugu event, two Presidential aspirants who now head the prominent factions are at daggers drawn today: Messrs Ukah and Maiwada. The other two also appear not to have sheathed their swords.

Both (Maiwada and Ukah) men later gave their account of what led to the chaos at the event in separate interviews.

The immediate past President, Mr Abdullahi, also gave his own account in an April 24 interview.

None of them believe they were to blame for the Enugu fiasco.

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The convention ended in a deadlock after the major contenders and the leaders of the Association could not reach a compromise. By then, the Abdullahi-led executive had been dissolved hence there was a leadership vacuum.

Odia Ofeimun

To fill the vacuum, PREMIUM TIMES was told a committee tagged ANA Electoral Committee led by Akachi Adimora-Ezeigbo as chairman, Mr Ofeimun, (former ANA president), Remi Raji (also ex-ANA president), Diego Okenyodo and Yemi Adebiyi were mandated to set up another timeline for elections within six months.

The 25 ANA state chairmen were reported to have agreed to this.

But, perhaps, as an inkling to a budding crisis, two members of the now-dissolved electoral committee reportedly, at the same venue, also released a new timetable for a subsequent election to be held on February 22, 2020.

ONE ASSOCIATION, TWO PRESIDENTS

The November 2019 botched event became the first in cascading steps that led to more crises.

On March 7, 2020, as the global coronavirus pandemic intensified, some state chapter chairpersons and secretaries of the Association gathered in Abuja for an emergency general meeting ostensibly to appraise the crisis.

Another electoral committee had been set up in the previous weeks by a faction reportedly led by one of the contestants (Maiwada) to conduct new polls.

At the end of the controversial Abuja event, which soon dovetailed into an election, a new executive led by Mr Maiwada emerged to the consternation of the other faction.

During an interview with the Blueprint on March 13, Mr Maiwada reportedly said a revolution had taken place in ANA with his emergence as the new president.

The other faction, which comprised the immediate past President and Mr Ukah, however, called his emergence a coup and asked all the state chapters to disregard the elections.

By July 18, the crisis deepened as the Agada led committee, despite moves by the new president to frustrate its work, eventually concluded its transition programme and conducted another election.

At the election which held in Makurdi, Benue State, Mr Ukah was elected yet as president with a new crop of executives.

Camilus Ukah

However, Mr Maiwada, who was elected during the first election appeared initially to be holding the longer end of the stick as his executive team had been occupying a controversial Abuja land, which hosts the known office of the union. At least until last week, when the Camilus group said it had taken charge of the property.

Mr Maiwada, a lawyer, in previous interviews, insisted he worked closely with past ANA executives and was instrumental to the recovery of a large expanse of the land in Abuja, which was donated to the Association to build a writers village.

Some sources, however, say the land, swathes of which were illegally sold by some unnamed ex-leaders of the union, is the major source of conflict.

ABUJA LAND CONTROVERSY

Sources within the ANA leadership told PREMIUM TIMES the crisis, described as a perennial one, is linked to the tussle over who oversees over (initial) 60 hectares of land in Mpape, Abuja donated to the Association by the late General Mamman Vatsa, in 1985.

Mr Vatsa, a poet and writer, was executed by ex-military President, Ibrahim Babangida, on March 5, 1986, over an alleged coup attempt.

The ex-General, when he was the FCT minister, apart from hosting their annual conferences, also gave the massive piece of land to Nigerian writers to build a Writers Village.

The land, which is yet to be fully developed has been encroached upon over the years and is now about 36.9 hectares according to one of the factional ANA Presidents, Mr Maiwada, in an interview with Sun, who said he represented the Association during the tussle to recover the land.

When PREMIUM TIMES reached out to Mr Maiwada during the week, he initially agreed to comment on the leadership tussle and the apparent struggle over the land. He asked the reporter to send his questions. But he then declined two days after with a short message:

I didnt have time to answer your questions, because Id been battling with the contempt of the court committed by Mallam Denja Abdullahi, who led Mr Camillus Ukah and his team of illegal men and women to the ANA land yesterday, where they broke into our national headquarters office and entered while I still had the keys in my custody, he said. Besides, answering some of the questions could make me run the risk of committing contempt of court, as the matter is already before the FCT High Court, awaiting determination.

He did not give further details on the said court issue.

But Mr Abdullahi, who says he has since handed over to the authentic President (Camillus) disputed this. He told PREMIUM TIMES there is no valid court order barring his team from the land.

He said although he was informed a case had been filed in court over the matter before the coronavirus pandemic, he is yet to receive any court papers as the court is yet to sit over the matter or issue any order.

Mr Camillus did not respond to enquiries on the issues. However, he deployed Bentex Torlafia, the National Legal Adviser of his faction, to give responses on his behalf and executive.

Maiwada brought two court bailiffs to serve us a writ of summons that is not addressed to any of us and does not concern any of us and had nothing to do with our purpose on the ANA land, seeking to enforce a nonexistent court order. I had to explain to them that their actions were illegal and that they were only being used. They realised this and left without any more troubles, Mr Torlafia said on the Mpape confrontation during the week.

The Mpape Divisional Police Officer had to intervene to avert a clash on the land between members of the two groups during the week. He reportedly advised them to seek judicial redress to resolve the crisis.

LAND: CENTRE OF DISPUTE

A source, who asked not to be named, however, said the main source of the conflict is over who controls the large expanse of land.

The writer-cum-activist, who was one of those who left the Association in the heat of the crisis, said the major battle is not about leading the Association.

He also insists portions of the land had been sold off by past leaders and factions of the Association illegally and the sharing of the proceeds led to conflict. He did not mention any name, when prodded further.

The land that was donated by the late General, Mamman Vatsa, was over 60 hectares. But over the years, that land has been illegally sold off until it remained about 36 hectares, he said. A particular faction had always been in control of ANA and ran the Association the way they wanted. That was why some of us left the Association. We were not happy at the way the union was being run.

The largely undeveloped land donated by late Mamman Vatsa to the Association of Nigerian Authors. [Credit: Tosin Omoniyi]

He said the land controversy and sharing proceeds from it ruptured the clique that had been running the Association and polarised them into the current factions.

Meanwhile, one of the current contenders, Mr Maiwada, in the Sun interview, had said the remaining land was worth N1.2 billion as of 2012.

When I finished that case, I recovered 36.9 hectares. The value of that 36.9 hectares, as at (of) 2012 when I recovered it, was N1.2 billion, according to KMVL, the new developer. After seeing that, I made a token request of N15 million only as my payment (it was supposed to be 10 per cent on the value of the recovered land), because I was also a member of ANA, and didnt want to charge more than that. Unknown to me, the ANA authorities then had requested for N20 million from the developer to pay me, and got it, yet I did not get a kobo.

They should have kept, at least, N5 million and pay me my N15 million; but they didnt. The developer was not supposed to give them a kobo, for that was not part of the agreement we signed with the developer. But he still gave them. These people blew the money. At the Kaduna ANA convention (2015), I was about to tell the congress what was going on, but I was called aside to calm down, that I would still get my money despite the change of government. That was how I kept quiet, he was quoted by the newspaper.

NO LAND SOLD

The allegations against successive leadership of the Association on the ANA land is utterly false. No leadership of ANA over the years has sold any piece to anyone. In fact, no leadership of ANA has ever had the capacity to sell the land to anyone, Mr Abdullahi told PREMIUM TIMES.

He also said, the initial land allocated during the Vatsa era has since decreased from 61 hectares to 36 due to seizure by the FCT authorities and encroachment by locals.

The Remi Raji exco signed an MOU with another developer, KMVL, in 2012 and the firm went to take possession of the property. In the course of that, it was discovered at AGIS that the available land out of the initial 61 hectares given has reduced to 36 hectares.

Government has over the years given parts of the land to other land users as a result of under-development by ANA. On the original land now stands a presidential police barracks and all other approved structures.

The largely undeveloped land donated by late Mamman Vatsa to the Association of Nigerian Authors. [Credit: Tosin Omoniyi]

No ANA executive has had any control or documents and the power to sell any part of the land to anyone. Even throughout my tenure, I did not have any legal titles or deeds to the land in my custody apart from the MOU I inherited from the previous executive, so with which documents would I and my executive have sold any land?, he said while sharing a copy of the MOU with PREMIUM TIMES.

The MOU, which was signed between the association and KMVL on September 28, 2013, authorised the firm to develop the land on Plot 3158, Mpape District for the writers under specific terms.

The document was prepared by Mr Maiwada under the auspices of the Wadata Chambers.

The document also acknowledged that the original land title deeds were in the possession of the Abuja Geographical Information Service (AGIS).

KMVL was to develop on five (5) hectares of the land, a conference centre, secretariat, e-library, suites for state chapters, 50-bed hotel with an Olympic sized swimming pool and chalets for residency programmes. These were to be built within two years.

The largely undeveloped land donated by late Mamman Vatsa to the Association of Nigerian Authors. [Credit: Tosin Omoniyi] The largely undeveloped land donated by late Mamman Vatsa to the Association of Nigerian Authors. [Credit: Tosin Omoniyi]

The firm was to operate the hotel under a build-transfer-operate agreement for 21 years while the remaining 13 hectares of land as indicated by the land budget were to be disposed of as earlier agreed.

Meanwhile, Mr Abdullahi also dismissed Mr Maiwadas claims to the leadership of the Association.

He said the official had already been expelled by the Association during its July meeting in Makurdi where Mr Ukah was elected so he no longer had any rights in the group. He also denied manipulating the Enugu botched election or trying to foist his ex-deputy, Mr Ukah, on the Association.

The crisis now in ANA was simply orchestrated by a group led by an erstwhile National Legal Adviser (Maiwada) of the Association who wants to forcefully enthrone himself on the Association as President through peddling of false rumours, legalistic tricks, brigandage and all sorts of antics you find in the larger political field which he has imported into ANA out of sheer desperation, said Mr Abdullahi, who is a Director with the National Council of Arts and Culture.

The largely undeveloped land donated by late Mamman Vatsa to the Association of Nigerian Authors. [Credit: Tosin Omoniyi] ANA land.

The crisis was orchestrated by a desperate group and they have blacklisted all the elders from intervening. They have shown gross disrespect to all the elders and official organs of the Association. They claimed to have started a revolution in ANA and that they must lead or destroy the Association if not allowed to lead.

They have rebuffed all the mediating roles of the elders so ANA has to just simply allow the constitutional provisions to play out. They have threatened to challenge everything in court and had even gone to court. They are being led by a lawyer so litigation is their forte and they think they can use the court to wrest the power they could not get at the polls. ANA is waiting for them.

Also, Mr Torlafia said the Camillus faction was duly elected.

He said all laid down legalities stipulated by the ANA Constitution were followed during the July election as against what was illegally obtained in the Abuja elections (in March).

They (other faction) simply hijacked the process and played on the gullibility of non-discerning members through an upside-down reading of the National ANA Constitution, they went ahead with the abomination called National ANA election in Abuja in March, 2020, he added. As far as I am concerned, they were not validity elected, inaugurated and have not had any handover from any of the past National ANA executives whether formal or not, done to them.

He also said there was nothing wrong in Mr Abdullahi supporting his ex-VP for the top position after his tenure.

There is no denying that Camillus was a part of the immediate past administration of Denja, but he can also be indicted if found wanting. He is answerable to Congress, not to Denja or any one person for that matter. For those saying this, the question at this point will be, has that been the practice? All the past National ANA presidential hopefuls at one point or the other were National ANA executives and part of one administration or another.

Many structures are springing up on the disputed ANA land [Credit: Tosin Omoniyi]

On the alleged illegal land sale, he said there were only allegations.

This is an allegation nobody has yet seriously taken up, not to talk of proven. Informed findings indicate that the National ANA leadership gave up their rights to all the bequeathed land at Mpape, Abuja to a Property Development Company called KMVL to erect befitting structures on JUST 5 hectares of the land for National ANA at the total expense of the Property Development Company, and manage same for 21 years with shared benefits accrued to National ANA and the company.

This contract was meant to be executed since (for) the last 4 years. So, for me what is even wrong is the clauses and the non-execution of that agreement, if you ask me. Nobody has come out to prove that any National ANA Land has been sold, the closest you can discover to this allegation is that as a result of not occupying the Mpape land for long, some criminal-minded persons who have nothing to do with ANA have poached, encroached and occupied several parts of the land, including its illegal sale to unsuspecting members of the public.

This has been a matter the National ANA has been in a court battle for long in trying to recover the encroached land. And nobody till date has even come forward to say he or she bought National ANA Land from any National ANA officer, he explained in a lengthy defence sent to PREMIUM TIMES.

PREMIUM TIMES reached out to Kola Shaw, the director of the developer, KMVL, to get reactions on the status of the land. He did not respond to calls or text messages seeking clarification. An online search for details of the firm did not yield any information or website detailing its operations.

However, two workers on the site, (Michael and Dare), when the reporter visited said work was going on on the land but confirmed that there was indeed a conflict on which faction had authentic access to the land.

Apart from the unfinished buildings of the association, the reporter also noticed several structures already springing on the large expanse of land located in an affluent and lush area just on the outskirts of the urban area.

Sanni Abubakar, the FCT Minister Muhammed Bellos media aide, said he could not comment on the alleged reallocation/seizure of parts of the land by the FCT authorities yet until he sees relevant documents by those making the claims.

We will need to see documentary evidence before we can react to the claim, he said Friday. Without the documents, whatever we say will be speculations. Let them give you documents to back their claims, bring them to us to verify, then we can react.

THIRD FORCE

Meanwhile, there are some members who do not believe the Association has leaders for now. Members of this group are calling on Nigerians to ignore the two factions while new elections are held to usher in new leaders.

One of them is Mr Ofili, one of the contestants in 2019. He told PREMIUM TIMES that the two factions, which he said were once united in illegality, are illegal.

There is no President in ANA yet because the last election was aborted. The two (Maiwada, Camillus) are pretenders on the throne, he said. They are th**ves on the throne with the different gangs they belong to. ANA has no President.

He said the Enugu election was aborted because of irregularities and the manipulation of the delegates lists. He said the subsequent elections in March and July were illegal.

What both of them have been doing is organising themselves into power. So, dont ever report that there are two factions. There are just two th**ves trying to take the ANA throne.

He said it is only the ANA Congress that has the powers to enthrone new leaders and the Association must revert to it to get out of its present logjam. Or resort to the courts if this fails, he adds.

He also insisted that the battle for the soul of the Association was over which faction controls the Abuja land and how to cover up for the (alleged) illegal sale of portions of it.

They have sold off portions of the land and now want to find themselves in power by hook or crook to ensure they perpetrate whatever they are trying to do with the land.

Another member who holds a similar position is Folu Agoi, ex-chairman of the Lagos chapter of ANA. Mr Agoi, who is the current President PEN, Nigeria, said his chapter and a few others do not recognise the two factions.

Giving the known background to the crisis, he also said the two elections held in 2020 were shambolic and the Lagos chapter condemned them.

My thoughts are symbolic of the Lagos chapterthe way forward is to have conversations amongst the major parties involved, constitute a new electoral committee at a congress and then have a proper election, the official said.

PREMIUM TIMES learnt that moves by prominent ex-leaders of the Association to restore peace has largely been fruitless.

One of those who reportedly made moves to ensure peace among the factions is a globally acclaimed poet and polemicist Mr Ofeimun.

Mr Ofeimun, who served as the General Secretary of the union between 1986 and 1988, told PREMIUM TIMES on Saturday that he has since stopped trying to broker peace

I will not speak about the ANA crisis. Sorry about that. I have decided not to add one word, Mr Ofeimun said tersely. I am no longer trying to broker peace. I want them (factions) to slug it out.

Despite his apparent exasperation, he subtly offered a solution out of the impasse.

There is only one way to solve this problem. Let all the known Nigerian writers be listed, their membership (of the Association) determined before any solution will take place. Bye-bye, he said.
Waste-to-electricity is believed to be the best solution to the waste crisis in Hanoi, but one waste-to-electricity plant will not be enough.

At the Nam Son Waste Treatment Complex in the suburban district of Soc Son, tens of thousands of tones of waste produce bad odor, affecting the life of millions of residents.





Hanoians are looking forward to seeing the waste-to-electricity plant, treating 4,000 tons per day, become operational. The plant is hoped to settle problems that have existed for tens of years.



However, experts believe that the plant alone cannot solve the problems.



Dr Edward McBean from Guelph University in Canada said it is not difficult to import European technologies to use at Asian waste treatment plans.



However, the biggest problem is that the waste structure in Asia is different from that in Europe.

Some plants built several years ago in India and Indonesia, for example, have huge investment capital of $300 million, but have not been operating effectively.



Garbage in most Asian countries has complex components, including organic matter, inorganic and even hazardous waste. The typical feature of waste in Vietnam is that it contains many decomposing ingredients such as leftovers, fruits, leaves, and agricultural waste.

Garbage in most Asian countries has complex components, including organic matter, inorganic and even hazardous waste. The typical feature of waste in Vietnam is that it contains many decomposing ingredients such as leftovers, fruits, leaves, and agricultural waste.

Burning all kinds of waste causes incinerators to operate ineffectively and can even cause toxic waste.

Dr Hanspeter Schreier from British Columbia University said different types of waste require different treatments, and not all types of waste are suitable to heat destruction.



In large cities in Canada, waste is classified into four groups  organic, inorganic, difficult-to-decompose inorganic waste and products from paper. Hazardous waste such as batteries is collected and treated separately.



Regarding Hanois plan of burning 4,000 tons of waste a day, experts said it would be not simple to implement the idea.



Dr Edward McBean emphasized that sorting waste at source is a must. He believes that no matter which technology is applied, waste will be properly treated if it is classified.



If families sort waste at source with an accuracy rate of 80 percent, the government would be able to save a huge amount of money to treat waste. Residents need to start by changing their habits and improving their awareness.



This is a big challenge. In Vietnam, the state still pays for waste treatment and no business wants to invest in the field because of the low profitability. The government needs to work with the people to improve waste sorting and treatment.

Thanh Lich

HCM City veteran wages war on garbage Normally, twice a day, Nguyen Ngoc Duc, a 66-year-old war veteran in Binh Tan District, HCM City, collects garbage from the Chien Luoc Canal.
Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut on Sunday claimed "pressure tactics" were being used in the case of actor Sushant Singh Rajput's death and the issue was being politicised as part of a conspiracy against Maharashtra.

It is wrong to see the unfortunate suicide of the actor from a political angle, Raut said in his weekly column ''Rokhthok'' in the party mouthpiece ''Saamana''. Rajput, 34, was found hanging at his apartment in suburban Bandra on June 14.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) recently took over the probe in the case, based on a Patna police FIR related to alleged criminal conspiracy and abetment to suicide against Rajput's girlfriend and actor Rhea Chakraborty.

"If one wants to indulge in politicisation and pressure tactics, anything can happen in our country. It looks like the script of Sushant's case was already written. Whatever has happened behind the curtains is a conspiracy against Maharashtra," Raut said.

When it is decided to politicise an incident, one cannot say to what extent it can be done and "this is what is happening in the unfortunate suicide of Rajput", he said.

Raut said the Bihar government alleged involvement of top political, film and business personalities and it claimed Mumbai Police will not investigate the case properly.

"That government demands CBI probe which is accepted in 24 hours. Attorney General Tushar Mehta tells the Supreme Court that the Centre has decided to hand over the probe to the CBI," Raut said, claiming this was a "direct attack on a state's autonomy".

Describing Mumbai Police as the "best investigating agency in the world" and a professional force, he said, "It investigated the Sheena Bora murder case where some top names were involved and sent all to jail. The Mumbai Police probed the 26/11 terror attack which resulted in the hanging of the accused Ajmal Kasab," the Rajya Sabha member said.

The Centre's "interference" in Rajput's case was an insult of the Mumbai Police, he claimed, adding the CBI may be a central agency, but it "wasn't independent and impartial".

"Even Narendra Modi and Amit Shah had earlier questioned the Enforcement Directorate and the CBI. They had said the Godhra riots case shouldn't be handed over to the CBI because it was a political weapon in the hands of those ruling at the Centre. If the same view is aired now, what's wrong in that," the executive editor of ''Saamana'' said.

"Prima facie, Sushant Singh Rajput's case is that of suicide. There is no basis for repeated allegations that he had been murdered," he said.

Raut alleged that since the BJP cannot topple the Uddhav Thackeray government (comprising the Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress) in Maharashtra, it has decided to "malign it and with the help of news channels.

"(NCP chief) Sharad Pawar called me when he saw a news channel anchor referring to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray in first person. ''The chief minister is not an individual but an institute. What is the government doing''?" he said quoting Pawar.

Raut claimed that Bihar Director General of Police Gupteshwar Pandey giving interview to a channel against Maharashtra was "violation of police discipline".

Pandey wanted to contest the Assembly elections from Buxar (in Bihar) in 2009, but his plan was aborted after the BJP candidate from there threatened to contest against as an independent, Raut further claimed.

"It is laughable that Pandey should question the professionalism of Mumbai Police. It is being said Pandey can now fight the Bihar polls from Shahpur seat," he said. Raut said the Mumbai Police should have registered a ''zero FIR'' and continued with the probe in Rajput's case.

But Rajput's family had no complaints and left Mumbai for Patna (some days after his death). "The BJP politicised the incident and created a sensation" by linking a young minister in the Maharashtra cabinet to the case. Two English news channels started challenging the chief minister and confused the police, he said.

The Mumbai Police should have started media briefing, considering the case is becoming high profile and should have declared that if any minister or politician name crops up, his statement will be recorded, Raut opined.

He said a party at the house of actor Dino Morea before Rajput's death was being linked to the case. "Morea and others are friends of (state cabinet minister) Aaditya Thackeray and if that friendship is the cause of targeting the latter, it is wrong," he added.

Raut claimed Rajput did not share good relations with his father.

"His father's second marriage was not acceptable to him (Rajput). Let the facts come out how many times Rajput visited his family in Patna. Why did (Rajput's former girlfriend) Anita Lokhande split from Rajput and this should be part of the probe. It is wrong to see the unfortunate suicide from a political angle," he said.

Raut lamented that Rajput's former manager Disha Salian, who allegedly died by suicide a week before the actor's death, was also being maligned.

Rajput's father KK Singh on July 25 lodged a complaint with the Bihar police against Chakraborty, her parents, brother, her former manager Shruti Modi and one Samuel Miranda, whom Chakraborty had employed as the manager in Rajput's house.

Based on the complaint, the Bihar police registered an FIR against the accused persons and booked them under various sections of the Indian Penal Code including abetment to suicide, criminal conspiracy, cheating and wrongful confinement.

ALSO READ: Sushant Singh Case: Father KK Singh Files Counter Affidavit Before SC Against Rhea Chakraborty

Worried about your mental well-being or of someone you know? Help is just a call away. Reach out to the nearest mental health specialist at COOJ Mental Health Foundation (COOJ)- 0832-2252525, Parivarthan- +91 7676 602 602, Connecting Trust- +91 992 200 1122/+91-992 200 4305 or Sahai- 080-25497777/ SAHAIHELPLINE@GMAIL.COM
Tanjoh Christopher Fon WhatsApp

Pastor Tanjoh Christopher Fon, 55, a humanitarian aid worker with the Community Initiative for Sustainable Development, COMINSUD, was murdered Friday, August 7, 2020, in Batibo Subdivision, Momo Division of Cameroons North West Region.

The Pastor of the New Apostolic Church was serving with COMINSUD as a field agent for the general food distribution project supported by the World Food Program (WFP) to affected and displaced persons in the Guzang cluster.

Tanjoh Christopher was abducted from his home by armed men at about 9 am and about 11 am, the family was alerted that he had been abandoned at the entrance to the St. John of God Hospital Batibo bleeding to death, said Fon Nsoh, Coordinator of COMINSUD.

Concordant sources, including the immediate family members of the deceased, say Pastor Tanjoh's crime was that he denounced the excesses of the armed men on the civilian population they claim to protect.

In an audio recorded in the Moghamo local dialect and sent to an Amba captain, whom Tanjoh referred to as my junior brother, Tanjoh is head advising the rebel against greed and extortion.

He also condemns kidnappings and extortion of ransom from the population they claim to protect. He says they could not claim to  be fighting against La Republique when at the same time they were terrorizing the population. He concludes that as a Pastor, and under the God he serves, he would always stand for the truth.

We think that as an older person and pastor, he did just what he was supposed to do. Civilians should not be the target and the object of the current armed conflict, said Fon Nsoh, COMINSUD Coordinator. If people are to fight for the population, they should not also make the population suffer. By every standard, civilians, especially aid workers, need protection within the context of the conflict between persons in arms. 

COMINSUD says they continue to appeal for the protection of humanitarian aid workers and the vulnerable population especially by all parties involved in the longstanding crisis in the North West and South West Regions since 2017.

We remain deeply saddened by this horrific execution of a humanitarian by all standards and condemn the act in very strong terms. Our deepest condolences go to the family, Fon Nsoh's dispatch read in part.

Pastor Tanjoh was born on August 8, 1965, and was to celebrate his 55th birthday on Saturday, August 8, 2020. Sadly, he was buried in Guzang on his birthday.

UN condemns killing

The Humanitarian Coordinator ad interim in Cameroon, Mrs. Siti Batoul Oussein, strongly condemned the killing of Tanjoh, humanitarian aid worker serving with the Community Initiative for Sustainable Development (COMINSUD) in Batibo Subdivision in the North West region of Cameroon.

I am outraged and saddened by the killing of another aid worker in the North West region of Cameroon. On behalf of the United Nations and the wider humanitarian community in Cameroon, I extend our deepest condolences to his family, community and to COMINSUD, said Mrs. Oussein.

The UN regrets that this killing is the latest in a series of attacks, violent extortion and harassment against humanitarians in the South West and North West regions. It comes barely a month after the killing of a community health worker in the South West region, it said.

Violence against humanitarian workers is not acceptable under any circumstances. It jeopardizes access to much needed assistance for people affected by the crisis in the South West and North West regions, said Mrs. Oussein.

Mrs. Oussein reiterated the United Nations call for all armed actors to refrain from any attacks or obstruction of aid workers and humanitarian agencies on whose assistance so many lives depend.
Copyright  2020 Albuquerque Journal

Diabetes, heart disease and lung disease were the most prevalent underlying conditions in New Mexicans who died from COVID-19, according to a Journal analysis of state health records.

Medical professionals say these conditions, among the most common, are a clear contributor to the death toll of a virus that has taken the lives of more than 680 across the state.

Every infectious disease, every pathogen, is more effective in its disease course when the immune response is not working well, Daniel Sosin, an epidemiologist with the New Mexico Department of Health, told the Journal. The challenge for us right now is understanding what parts of the immune response and how do we counter that.

Of the cases he has reviewed, Sosin said there is a clear progression with underlying conditions. They are present in 47% of people who test positive, 79% of hospitalizations and 92% of deaths.

Sosin said conditions connected with our immune function have proven particularly dangerous, such as cancer, kidney disease, lung disease, immunodeficiency disorder, obesity, heart conditions and diabetes.

With three decades of experience working for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention under his belt, Sosin said the covonavirus that causes COVID-19 is unique in its fortitude.

(Its) not the most severe virus weve had in outbreak form, but the combination of how easily spread it is, how severe it is  is unique, he said. Its ability to remain in our communities for as long as it has and keep coming back when we back away is also unique.

Those most at risk

Records provided to the Journal by the state Health Department paint a picture of those lives the virus has claimed  and those, seemingly, most at risk. The records show known underlying conditions for every documented COVID-19 fatality as of Thursday, a total of 669 cases. The names, ages and sex of the deceased individuals were excluded to protect their privacy. Of the 669 cases, 148 were left blank or listed as unknown.

NMDOH spokesman David Morgan said the case investigation process, as it stands, is imperfect.

It is possible that a question was not asked in an interview or that an interview was not done to capture this information, he said. In the case of a fatality, we try to gather information from next of kin, or hospital staff or records, but this is not always possible.

Excluding the 148 cases where information wasnt filled out, 521 people died from COVID-19 between March 25 and Aug. 6. Of those, 95% had underlying conditions. Only 24 of the 521, 5%, were listed as having no underlying conditions.

Of the 521 cases, half had cardiovascular disease, 46% had diabetes, and 29% had chronic lung disease. Sosin said those conditions are more common, in general.

Additionally, NMDOH records showed 17% of those who died had renal disease, 8% had liver disease and 7% had an immunodeficiency disorder.

As time has gone on, Morgan said NMDOH has started tracking other preexisting conditions in accordance with CDC guidelines during the rapidly evolving pandemic.

We were capturing information deemed important to public health action and have been adapting as information changes, he said.

Since July 8, NMDOH began recording severe obesity  a body-mass index of 40 or higher  autoimmune disease and hypertension.

Of the 133 deaths since July 8 where data was available, 61% had hypertension, 12% were severely obese and 3% had an autoimmune disease.

All told, at least 29% of New Mexicans who contracted COVID-19 and died also had neurological disabilities, including dementia, Parkinsons disease and Alzheimers.

However, Sosin said no causal relationship between neurological disability and deaths has been found yet, and the numbers could relate to age.

What is clear, he said, is mortality rates go up as age increases.

Theres no indication that this virus is going away before (many more people) are infected or immunized, he said. It is so critically important that persons with underlying conditions or advanced age are protected by all of us.

Multiple conditions

The outsized role of preexisting conditions in the deaths of COVID-19 patients is not lost on medical professionals.

Denise Gonzales, a medical director at Presbyterian Hospital, sees it firsthand.

Despite low hospitalizations and a low mortality rate in New Mexico, Gonzales said she is seeing a trend in deaths: Patients with either a weak immune system or a weak body are most vulnerable, especially in instances where patients have more than one underlying condition.

So somebody with (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) from years of smoking, plus diabetes, is the most terrible case that you can have because you cant respond to the stress of an illness and you cant respond appropriately to fight off the infection either, Gonzales said.

With every single additional disease, you have additional risk of not being able to respond appropriately and not being able to survive.

Many conditions often go hand in hand  like cardiovascular conditions, and obesity, in the presence of diabetes.

The Journals analysis of DOH data found that two-thirds of those with preexisting conditions who died had two or more. For instance, one patient was morbidly obese and suffering from renal disease, cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

Like Sosin, Gonzales said she noted patients are at the highest risk of mortality if they have diabetes, obesity, chronic lung disease, and liver disease like cirrhosis.

Outside of the underlying conditions currently being tracked by NMDOH, some patients were in their own dire straits that can bring a host of complications; at least 11 had severe alcohol abuse, two had lupus and one was a kidney donor.

I can tell you that personally, Ive only cared for one person who seemingly didnt have any of those risk factors, but this patient was obese and so that is a risk factor, she said. But other than that, at least of the patients that Ive taken care of, they all have at least one of those risk factors: diabetes, liver disease, chronic kidney disease.

All potentially at risk

During the pandemic, Sosin said, focus is needed on those populations that grapple most with underlying conditions  notably Native American populations hit particularly hard on the Navajo Nation and in northwestern New Mexico.

So far, the Navajo Nation, which includes large swaths of New Mexico, Arizona and Utah, has seen more than 9,000 cases of COVID-19 and more than 450 deaths related to the virus.

Sosin said they are trying to reinforce COVID-safe practices in those populations, take active measures to prevent infections and provide early care because we know their course of illness can be much more severe, including death.

According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Native Americans are nearly three times as likely to be diagnosed with diabetes and 50% more likely to be obese or diagnosed with heart disease than non-Hispanic whites.

Sosin said any treatment for those with underlying conditions would target certain parts of the immune and inflammatory response. But there is still more research to be done.

It does appear that the immune response and inflammatory response to COVID-19 is particularly intense, and as we understand more how to control that, we may have more effective ways to treat (those with) the conditions, he said.

Despite the numbers, Sosin said nobody should get complacent as the virus can put anyone  no matter their health  in the hospital, or worse. It is happening all across the country.

Medical professionals stress that even if an individual who contracts COVID-19 doesnt die, they may have lasting complications, and they may pass the disease to someone who does have preexisting conditions.

It is an important message that everybody is potentially at risk. This is an easily transmitted virus and it does cause severe disease, he said. These are numbers of deaths we havent seen from a pandemic for over a hundred years. This is serious and it doesnt avoid people without underlying conditions.

Winter is coming

Looking ahead, Sosin said they are concerned by the versatility of COVID-19, as it doesnt appear to have seasonality.

Early in the course of the pandemic, in late winter and early spring, we were all counting on it going away like most seasonal respiratory viruses until we hit the fall, he said. What we see is, whenever we ease up the pressure on these COVID-safe practices, the virus shoots back. It comes back just as strong, or stronger.

He added, This virus is really related to the ways that we share the virus, and stopping it has to do with all the practices the governor is calling for.

Sosin urged people to take those precautions to heart as the state heads toward the uncertainty of winter: wear a mask, practice social distancing and regularly clean surfaces.

He said the approaching fall and winter will create complexity as health care providers have to determine which cases are COVID-19 and which are a common cold, strep throat or seasonal viruses.

Also, the spread of COVID-19 could be amplified by symptoms of those viruses, such as sniffling and coughing.

The additional burden on the health care system is really what were worried about. If were not able to bring control  and maintain a low level of infections of COVID-19  when we have COVID-19 infection on top of other severe respiratory viral infections, we will have trouble maintaining the health care systems and quality of health care that we can currently provide, he said. We havent experienced it yet but are certainly concerned that, if there are multiple concurrent infections, that we will have more severe outcomes.
Picture the scene in its nostalgic innocence, the way its always been captured in photo albums and home movies: family and friends huddled together, voices raised in song; a smiling face illuminated by flickering flames atop a colourful cake; a momentary darkness when the music ends and the room fills with the distinctive whiff of blown-out birthday candles.

Now imagine it again, this time having spent a 100-something days in quarantine, barraged by news graphics detailing the spit-plume that erupts from our faces every time we speak, laugh, sing or cough. Visualise that same gathering of loved ones, hovering shoulder-to-shoulder, cheering as someone forcibly exhales a blast of aerosolised germs across the surface of a communal dessert.

Will we ever go back to that? Someday, when we are freed from pandemic purgatory, when our birthday parties no longer involve a grid of pixelated faces on a computer screen, will we still dim the lights and sing as a glowing cake slowly glides into the room? Should we even want to go back?

The tradition of blowing out candles on a cake has always kind of grossed me out, to be honest, even before Covid-19, says Caissie St. Onge, a comedy writer and television producer in Los Angeles. I played the trumpet for years, and have always known too well just how much spit a persons breath contains. Sure, shes gone along with it at family parties  it makes for a festive moment and better pictures, she says  but unless the candle-blower is her husband or her kid, shes passing on dessert. Why would I want to eat something I just saw you blow on? she asks. No thanks.

But for those who never played in the horn section of the band, a cake crowned with candles might still represent something purer. Jennifer Carlson, a human resources director and mom of two sets of twins in Florida, still remembers the climactic moments of her own childhood birthday parties  the mesmerising glow of the flames, her parents turning off the lights, all of her favourite people surrounding her. She still remembers the year she wished for a princess doll, and actually got one, and how that made her feel: Almost as if magic really does happen, she says. I do hope the tradition of blowing out candles on the cake continues.

History suggests it will, in one form or another. The pairing of cakes and candles has been part of humanitys story since ancient Greece, says Bethanne Patrick, an author and Washington Post contributor, who researched the origin of birthday cakes and candles for her book An Uncommon History of Common Things. Back then, candles were ceremonially placed atop a cake and brought as a worshipful offering to the temple of Artemis, goddess of the hunt, Patrick says.

Candles on cakes evolved from an extravagant ceremony to a celebration for regular people (Getty) (Getty Images)

Birthday parties were added to the mix in 18th-century Germany, Patrick says, thanks in part to one Count Ludwig Von Zinzendorf, who celebrated his birthday in 1746 with a lavish bash featuring a massive cake festooned with candles. Germans started placing a candle on cakes  the fire was meant to represent the light of life itself  to celebrate their childrens birthdays. Candles on cakes evolved from ceremony to extravagance to a celebration for regular people, Patrick says.

From the start, the act of extinguishing the flames was infused with potent symbolism. The original idea is that the smoke would carry your wish up to the gods, Patrick says. As part of the process of individuation in the industrial age, it became increasingly about a single persons wish instead of the wish of a community. When you blew out the candle, that carried your wish out to the universe.

If its just you and your kids at home and your kids are going to blow out the candles and its just your family eating the cake, I dont think people are going to worry

The tradition took root in the United States at the end of the 19th century, before the devastation wrought by the 1918 flu pandemic. Patrick couldnt say for sure how birthday parties were affected or altered during that particular chapter of history  but that pandemic obviously didnt stop anyone from blowing out birthday candles once the crisis had ended, which perhaps reveals something about how quickly germaphobia subsides once an imminent threat has passed.

And its not like prior warnings have done much to dissuade us. In 2017, a widely circulated study (unappetizingly titled Bacterial Transfer Associated with Blowing Out Candles on a Birthday Cake) revealed that blowing out the candles over the icing surface resulted in 1400 per cent more bacteria compared to icing not blown on  meaning that any microorganisms dwelling in the candle blowers respiratory tract would probably make their way onto your plate. Ugh  and yet, the upshot was still that the scenario is pretty harmless: In reality, if you did this 100,000 times, then the chance of getting sick would probably be very minimal, one of the studys authors told The Atlantic.

The tradition took root in the US at the end of the 19th century (Getty) (Getty Images)

Candle industry experts arent worried about the future of this tradition. Kathy LaVanier, president of the National Candle Association, says shes talked to wholesalers and retailers who report no sign of waning sales  in fact, theyre seeing exponential growth in the baking category as a whole, and birthday candles havent slowed down at all, she says. I think people are definitely still doing it. If its just you and your kids at home and your kids are going to blow out the candles and its just your family eating the cake, I dont think people are going to worry. And from an industry perspective, a couple of the people Ive spoken to said that cupcakes have become more popular in recent years anyway.

Given everything were going through as a country, I dont think people are going to be inclined right now to give up things that make them feel good, she adds. If anything, were going to gravitate towards wanting to do more of that.

When something is worth saving, we find ways to make it work  and within the constraints of quarantine, people are already coming up with inventive workarounds: they place a single candle atop an individual cupcake. They wave their hands to extinguish the flames. They poke candles through a paper plate to fashion a homemade cake shield. They offer alternative dessert options for those who have long-cringed at the thought of breath-fogged frosting. They applaud the ceremonial birthday candle blowout from a safe distance, through glowing screens, until someday they hopefully wont have to anymore.

But maybe the return we long for isnt really about candles, anyway. Its the ritual that surrounds them  the creation of a happy memory, the voices of friends joined in a familiar melody, our family members gathered to celebrate the passage of another year of life  that feels, especially now, like something worth wishing for.

 The Washington Post
The State Security Service (SSS) has released two other #RevolutionNow protesters arrested in Osun State.

Seven protesters were, Wednesday, arrested by the security agents in Osogbo during the protest against bad governance, lack of infrastructure, and corruption.

PREMIUM TIMES reported how the SSS released three of the seven persons to their parents on Thursday. They are Olowolafe Dunsi, Martins Jesuloni and Gift Martins.

Another person, Oguntola Samuel, was released on Friday while Abiodun Sanusi, and Olatokun Oyedele, were freed from SSS custody on Saturday evening.

Only Olawale Bakare, among the protesters, is yet to be released.

Mr Sowore  Publisher of Sahara Reporters  confirmed the release on Twitter.

BREAKING: #RevolutionNow activist Corper Abiodun Sanusi @AbiodunSanusi01 has been released after so much pressure on lawless DSS, they are still holding Olawale Mandate Bakare @IamMandate claiming he broke his bail conditions! #RevolutionNow #FreeMandateNow.

BREAKING: #RevolutionNow activist Corper Abiodun Sanusi @AbiodunSanusi01 has been released after so much pressure on lawless DSS, they are still holding Olawale Mandate Bakare @IamMandate claiming he broke his bail conditions! #RevolutionNow #FreeMandateNow pic.twitter.com/ppYlBbvjQn  Omoyele Sowore (@YeleSowore) August 8, 2020

Lawless DSS has been forced to release #Revolutionnow activist Oyedele Olatokun, Olatokun has been released after serious pressure in the last two days. Only Olawale Mandate Bakare remains in detention, we must free him, no going back! #RevolutionNow.

Lawless DSS has been forced to release #Revolutionnow activist Oyedele Olatokun, Olatokun has been released after serious pressure in the last two days. Only Olawale Mandate Bakare remains in detention, we must free him, no going back! #RevolutionNow pic.twitter.com/Kljc0hYVZW  Omoyele Sowore (@YeleSowore) August 8, 2020

Mr Bakare who remains in detention is a co-defendant in the treason charge against the founder of the movement, Mr Sowore.

PREMIUM TIMES reported that similar protests were held in other states and the Federal Capital Territory. Those arrested during the protests in Lagos, Ogun and Abuja were released the same day they were arrested.

In addition, a court had earlier ruled that the disruption of last years protest by the police was against the right to freedom of expression and assembly of the arrested individuals.
In his July 27, 2020 newsletter Morgan Griffith states that national defense is among the highest priorities of the federal government and because of this, he is on-board with a Trump administration concept that our forces stationed in Germany should be reduced by about one-third. Sure enough, days later President Trump announced the withdrawal of 12,500 troops from Germany sparking outrage from Democrats and Republicansbut not Mr. Griffith who seems to have had inside information.

Mr. Griffith went on to say that he thought the withdrawn troops should be stationed in Poland, a move that makes no strategic sense. I understand that Donald Trump is mad at Angela Merkel and would like to reward the friendlier authoritarian government of Poland, but this is not a move in the long range interests of the US. The sophisticated infrastructure established in Germany allows us to respond quickly to problems that might arise in Europe and in the Middle East and Africa. Rather than save money, as Mr. Griffith postulates, it would be expensive to start over in Poland and would not help protect our wider interests in the world. Germany can and should contribute more to NATO, but downgrading our presence in Germany and subsidizing Poland because Mr. Trump is having another hissy fit is not in the interests of the nation.

Keeping the American people safe is the primary duty of the President and of our elected officials in Congress. National defense is one component of that broader responsibility, and in this regard, Mr. Trump and his Republican enablers, including Morgan Griffith, have been AWOL. If both Trump and Griffith were genuinely interested in keeping the American people safe, they would have been spending more time combatting the spread of Covid-19 and in mitigating the pandemics horrible economic consequences. Griffiths July 20 newsletter epitomizes the administrations failure. In this newsletter, Mr. Griffith celebrates a July 14 Trump initiative to ramp up testing in nursing homes. While this is welcome, it is like shutting the barn door after the horse has gone. It is six months too late.

NANCY LIEBRECHT

FRIES
The governor of Ohio has asked churchgoers to wear face masks, after one person with coronavirus attending church led to the infection of 91 other people across five different counties in the state.

Posting a graphic showing the infections reach to his Facebook page, Ohio governor Mike DeWine explained how the virus spread from the church service on 14 June to 4 July.

All it takes is one person to cause tremendous #COVID19 spread, the governor wrote.

Mr DeWine underlined that while the case study stems from a church, it can take place anywhere.

I continue to encourage everyone to wear masks and social distance whenever you gather  including at worship services, he added.

At a news briefing on Tuesday where the alarming graphic was displayed, the governor said it spread like wildfire, and described it as very, very scary.

We know that our faith-based leaders want nothing more than to protect those who come to worship. We want to provide our faith communities with all the information we can from doctors and health experts to arm them with the tools to conduct the services safely.

He added that while the state has been careful to exempt religious services from coronavirus regulations, Ohio is now asking worshippers to wear masks in church.

A spokesperson for the Ohio Department of Health has declined to reveal the name of the church, citing the need to protect private health information.

She added that those who may have come into contact with infected people had been notified through contact-tracing efforts, NBC reported.

The graphic illustrates how widely one infected person can spread the coronavirus. Fifty-three people at the service became ill, and 18 of those went on to infect at least one other person.

All 91 developed symptoms of the virus, the governor said.

Mr DeWine also shared some recent examples of community transmission on Twitter earlier this week. He detailed cases where the virus has been passed between family and friends, including at a wedding and a bridal shower.

None of us want to stay away from our families and of course, its natural to want to show affection when you see them, Mr DeWine wrote on Twitter. But this virus [is] lurking. Please try to remember that you are showing love by protecting them.

More than 96,000 people have tested positive for the coronavirus in the state.
California was one of the first states to act fast when the coronavirus pandemic entered the United States. The state issued a stay-at-home order that saved around 40 million residents. There wasn't any public information on just how badly the pandemic was affecting the hospitals.

Leaked information

Despite covering the real impact of the pandemic, the public soon found out that medical staff in hospitals struggled with a lack of PPEs, ventilator shortage, and an overwhelming number of patients, as reported by CNET.

The issues were discussed by hospital staff from San Diego to Los Angeles on a pager network. However, a security researcher named Troy Brown, said at his presentation at Defcon's Internet-of-Things village that the messages were leaked.

Brown saw it all, including the personal information of patients, like their names and their COVID-19 status, as well as how often patients were transferred from the coronavirus wing to the morgue.

Also Read: COVID-19 Cases Blow Up in Countries Previously Praised for Effective Response to Pandemic

The personal and sensitive information was being sent without encryption over hospital pagers, according to Brown. It allowed him to view the private conversation s from March to August.

Brown said that the unencrypted pager messages include numerous information on COVID-19 patients. He was shocked to know that it was being broadcast in plain text for a long distance. He also pointed out that hospitals should do a better job of securing their wireless communications.

Hospitals having messaging protocols that can be easily hacked is not new. Researchers have already warned the hospitals about the issue for years.

In October 2019, news reports focused on one researcher in London who found that pagers used by UK's National Health Service had been leaking medical data on emergency calls.

Pagers can be encrypted easily, but 80% of hospitals are still using it, according to Spok. Brown was able to use a $20 software-defined radio to listen in on one radio tower located near his home, which broadcasted messages from 70 miles away.

Once Brown started eavesdropping, he said he saw a lot of information about COVID-19 from hospitals, including the types of requests that patients made. The details showed a glimpse of how people were viewing the coronavirus pandemic and how the perceptions have changed as the conditions got worse.

Brown saw sensitive information including the patient's name, age, gender, diagnosis, COVID-19 status, what treatment they were getting, and the PPE supply stats of the hospital, their ventilators, and inventory of beds. He also saw when the patients died of COVID-19.

Tightening security

At the beginning of the pandemic, the messages included notes about the shortness of breath, fever, and other symptoms related to the disease. By April, the messages included questions about COVID-19 added by default even if the patient did not have COVID-19.

Brown said that his intention was not to call out a specific hospital. His goal is to highlight the issues of hospitals using unencrypted systems and violating patient privacy and how easy it is to hack it.

Privacy in health care is important during a pandemic because patients need to trust that hospitals will be able to keep their personal information secure when they go in for tests or provide their data for contact tracing. According to CNBC, lawmakers have called for privacy protections for coronavirus treatment because of these reasons.

Related Article: Asymptomatic COVID-19 Patients Just as Virulent as Those Exhibiting Symptoms, Study Suggests

@ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Some notable supporters of President Muhammadu Buhari, as well as supporters of the national leadership of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), at the weekend, scolded the APC national leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, former APC national chairman, Adams Oshiomhole, and others for attacking Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State on perceived sin committed while he was a member of the APC. National Daily monitored the debate on a social media platform.

The Buharists and APC supporters expressed discomfort over attack on Governor Obaseki by Tinubu, Oshiomhole, Kano State governor, Umar Ganduje, AGF Abubakar Malami, and others for actions he took while he was a member of the APC which they failed to realize then were wrong and illegal; and thus, they were silent over the governors actions. They are asking the question  why is it now that Governor Obaseki decamped to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and is contesting against APC and its unpopular candidate that they realized the actions were illegal and threat to democracy?

A notable Buharist and ardent APC supporter took to the social media platform to open the debate. He declared: the sin Tinubu et al are accusing Obaseki of was committed while the governor was in APC. Why didnt they raise the issue then?

Some others simply noted that those APC leaders attacking the Edo State governor on the State House of Assembly crisis, which has become the major sin of Governor Obaseki as Tinubu noted in his statement, beside other APC leaders and governors, are simply displaying acts of hypocrisy. They cautioned the Edo people to beware of hypocrites and resist distractions in choosing their next governor.

However, some other APC supporters recalled that President Muhammadu Buhari made attempts to intervene, but the Edo governor did not yield to the counsel. Some other also recalled the intervention of the House of Representatives which the governor also resisted.

The Buharists and APC supporters, however, countered their argument that Tinubu never intervened when the going was good with Obaseki only to declare war on the Edo governor now that they are in opposite camps. They demanded evidence or proof of Tinubus intervention then to establish his statesmanship or leader of all.

They further argued that Oshiomhole has been the fulcrum point of the political crisis in Edo State, causing divisions in the state party and the state legislature, and, therefore, lacks the credibility to criticize the Edo governor in a crisis himself is a principal actor.

They, therefore, advocated that the APC leaders who were silent on the controversies in the Edo APC or the Assembly controversies when Governor Obaseki was still in APC lack the credibility to attack the governor now that he is in the PDP. They maintained that something cannot be right when it is in your favour and wrong when you are at the receiving end.
Dozens of tonnes of Vietnamese longan enter Australia over past few weeks

Dozens of tonnes of Vietnamese longans have been exported to Australia and distributed in the states of South Australia and Western Australia over the past few weeks.



The most recent was the shipment of 7.5 tonnes of longans from the Mekong Delta provinces which arrived in Australia on August 6 and the 9-tonne batch departing from the northern province of Hai Duong on August 8 will join a promotional event, titled Nhan Viet Nam minh (Vietnamese longans), to be held by the Vietnam Trade Office in Australia.

Dozens of tonnes of Vietnamese longans enter Australia over the past few weeks. (Photo: VNA)



Both batches were imported by 4 Ways Fresh  a Australia-based agribusiness founded in early 1993.



According to 4 Ways Fresh CEO Ly Hoang Duy, Vietnamese fresh longans have gained good impression and favours from local consumers. Vietnamese longans are sold at lower prices compared to those grown in Australia, Duy said, adding that though the longans are small, they have special flavours and very sweet.



Since the beginning of 2020, 4 Ways Fresh has imported about 30 tonnes of longans from Vietnam, mostly the Mekong Delta. After the shipment of 9 tonnes of longans from Hai Duong arrived in Australian, the company plans to raise the weekly import to 10 tonnes to meet increasing demand.



The event Vietnamese longans will last until the harvest season ends in Vietnam, according to head of the Vietnam Trade Office in Australia Nguyen Phu Hoa. It will include promotional activities on social networks, he added.



In 2019, longan has become the fourth Vietnamese fruit to gain permission to enter Australian market after lychee, mango and dragon fruit.
News had it that Prince Charles is hoping against hope that his second son will return back home. It might be the last thing on Prince Harry's mind, though.

According to Express UK, Prince Charles has a strong bond with his second son, Prince Harry, that he would never accept the fact that this now has a new and probably permanent life outside of the UK. This, despite the bombshell new book by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, making fresh claims about why they deemed it the best to leave the palace and their royal positions for good.

One cannot blame Prince Charles - he is a father, after all.

That said, the heir to the throne remains in regular contact with his youngest son, living with his wife and kid, Baby Archie.

A source said: "They have a very strong and close father-and-son relationship." The source added, "Many people have speculated that the book was the end for Harry and Meghan in Britain."

The book was bound to do that, given the sheer number of people criticized and even attacked. Prince William and Kate Middleton were not even spared.

However, Prince Charles does not care; it seems. The source added that the Prince of Wales has made it abundantly clear that Prince Harry and his family are always welcome to go home because the door is always open for them.

Even if Prince Harry appears to have no plans to go home yet, Prince Charles is going out of his way to always catch up with his son. The source even said that even though Charles is not an avid user of texts, he does not let this deter him from contacting his son. As such, he is making a lot of video and phone calls to his son chasing the American dream of financial independence..

The source added that the controversial book, "Finding Freedom" has never been a massive talking point between the father-son duo, more because Prince Charles is determined not to make it a problem.

"He has provided financial support, as any father would do when their son moves with a young family to the other side of the world," the source even added.

It'll probably be a sad day for Prince Charles on Prince Harry's birthday, though. Not only are they not going to spend the day together, but a report also claims that Prince Harry would spend it with someone he considers a father figure. According to Daily Star UK, since Prince Charles and Prince William are unlikely to attend Prince Harry's 36th birthday bash for September 15, he'll probably be spending it with his new father figure in life, David Foster renowned music producer. Foster will be hosting the party himself in his LA home.

A source confirmed this. Foster's wife, Katharine McPhee revealed that two truly have a beautiful relationship akin to a father and son.

The 70-year-old will probably go all out in making the day perfect for the Duke of Sussex. A source told People: "David wants to make it special for Harry but also keep it casual and low-key with some fine wine, great food, and intimate company.

READ MORE: Meghan Markle, Prince Harry Disgraced Forever: Biography 'Finding Freedom' Will Not Fix Their Image At All
By West Kentucky Star Staff Aug. 09, 2020 | 10:44 AM | PADUCAH

Police have released the names of the five victims in a shooting late Saturday night on Paducahs north side, one of whom has died.The Paducah Police Department says officers in the area of the 900 block of Boyd Street heard multiple gunshots at around 11:50 p.m., just as several 911 calls came in from callers saying several people had been shot.Officers said they arrived to find three men from Illinois and two women from Paducah had been shot. All victims were taken to local hospitals for treatment. Two of the men were transferred to an out-of-state hospital.Police said 32-year-old Keyshawn Childress, of Mounds, IL, was pronounced dead early Sunday morning at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville.Twenty-one-year-old Demonta Woodward, also of Mounds, was airlifted to an out-of-state hospital in critical condition.Twenty-five-year-old Keenan A. Parson, of Marion, IL, 28-year-old Cynthia White, and 29-year-old Miranda Williams, both of Paducah, were all taken to Paducah hospitals in stable condition.Detectives say they are continuing to investigate the shootings.Anyone with information is asked to call the Paducah Police Department at 270-444-8550. Information also may be provided anonymously through West Kentucky Crime Stoppers by texting WKY and your tip to 847411 (tip 411) or by downloading the app WKY Crime Stoppers from the Apple Store or Google Play. Tipsters also may access the online tip form through the City of Paducah website at the link below. Information leading to an arrest or indictment may result in a reward of up to $1,000.

On the Net:
The federal government has raised the prospect of spending more on income support if needed to deal with a second wave of the pandemic as Labor warns cuts to the dole would rip millions of dollars out of the retail sector.

Finance Minister Mathias Cormann reaffirmed plans for the JobKeeker wage subsidy to start scaling back from September, but left the door open for extensions to the scheme if the pandemic worsens.

Minister for Finance Mathias Cormann. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

"We do need to transition out of this historically unprecedented crisis level, fiscal support and get the economy into the new normal in an appropriately phased transition," Senator Cormann said.

But Labor spokeswoman for families and social services Linda Burney warned reducing JobSeeker back to the original rate would cut $326.9 million worth of fortnightly spending from the retail sector. This includes $80.1 million in Victoria and $95.8 million in NSW.
Director General of Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) Arun Kumar on Sunday (August 9) said that the black box of Air India Express flight that crash-landed at Kerala's Kozhikode Airport on Friday (August 7) has been brought to Delhi and will be examined at DGCA lab.

Kumar added that soon DGCA will have all transcripts from recovered black boxes. "We are also going to talk to Boeing to examine aircrafts original equipment and check for defects. Only after conducting a thorough and unbiased probe, can we tell what exactly happened," he added.

The DGCA chief said that after Mangalore air crash, suggestions were given by a committee regarding table-top runways and it was suggested by the committee to improve the pavement strength of Kozhikode airport. He added that the committee has also suggested to increase the runway and safety area of the airport. According to Kumar, the Airport Authority of India had recarpeted the runway and the strengthening of the runway was done in 2016.

Referring to the Kozhikode place crash, Kumar said that since it is an international airport, international aviation bodies can help DGCA in the investigation.

A total of 18 people died after an Air India Express flight with 190 onboard overshot and fell 35 metres off the end of the runway at the Kozhikode airport in treacherous conditions on Friday (August 7). The plane broke into three parts after falling into the gorge.

The Boeing 737 jet, on a Vande Bharat mission as flight AIX 1344 from Dubai, was bringing in Indians stranded abroad due to the coronavirus pandemic.
From left are Mercedes-Benz Korea interim CEO Kim Jee-seop, Mercedes-Benz Sweden and Denmark President Bjorn Hauber and former Mercedes-Benz Korea CEO Dimitris Psillakis. Courtesy of Mercedes-Benz Korea



By Nam Hyun-woo



Mercedes-Benz Korea is under fire here after being hit with a hefty fine over rigging emissions data for its diesel vehicles, while the country manager position remains open as its newly designated CEO has not taken over the helm of company.



The previous CEO left Korea immediately before the prosecution began a separate investigation into Mercedes-Benz Korea. As such, criticism has been leveled that the company is attempting to dodge responsibility by leaving its Korean executives to handle the probe.



According to Mercedes-Benz Korea, it appointed Vice President Kim Jee-seop as interim president and CEO of the company last week.



Initially, Mercedes-Benz Sweden and Denmark President Bjorn Hauber was to succeed previous chief, Dimitris Psillakis, as of Aug. 1, but decided he could not take the position "due to personal reasons," the company said.



It explained that Hauber did not take the position due to "concerns over his family in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic," denying any relation to emissions rigging scandal.



However, few believe the claim, as Hauber accepted the job in May, when the COVID-19 situation here was not much different than it is now. At that time, Hauber said in a press release, "I am extremely pleased to have been appointed as the new President and CEO of Mercedes-Benz Korea  I will make very efforts to continue our success in the Korean market by providing Mercedes-Benz's unique value and the best customer experience."



Officials in the country's automobile industry assume that the investigations into the emissions rigging affected Hauber's decision.



On May 6, the Ministry of Environment fined Mercedes-Benz Korea 77.6 billion won ($64.6 million), after it ruled that the company had installed emissions manipulation programs in 37,154 vehicles it sold from 2012 to 2018. This was the largest fine imposed by the ministry against an automaker in the so-called Dieselgate scandal, surpassing the 17.8 billion won handed down to Audi Volkswagen Korea in 2016.



Along with the fine, the ministry filed a complaint with the prosecution, which searched the company's headquarters near Seoul Station, May 27.



Before the investigation commenced, former CEO Psillakis, who led the company from 2015, went on a business trip and did not return after being appointed as president and CEO of Mercedes-Benz Canada starting Aug. 1.



Though Psillakis said in written interviews with a number of Korean newspapers that neither Mercedes-Benz Korea nor Daimler AG were aware of the fine and investigations, local criticism has grown against Hauber for declining to take the position.



Industry officials said Mercedes-Benz designated a vice president as an "acting president" to deal with the investigation and take the responsibility, instead of sending a foreign CEO here to do so.



"The position of the Mercedes-Benz Korea CEO is now a poisoned chalice  the brand is showing robust growth in the Korean market, but at the same time it is under investigation by the prosecution," an import vehicle brand official said requesting anonymity.



"In such circumstances, it is natural that a foreign executive would refrain from taking the position to handle a negative issue that occurred during their predecessor's tenure," the official said. "Nevertheless, the practice of appointing an acting president to address the situation can be criticized as an attempt to dodge responsibility."



Some industry officials compare Mercedes-Benz's risk management with that of BMW Korea, which faced serious risks following a series of fires in its diesel vehicles in 2018.



At that time, BMW Group Korea Chairman Kim Hyo-joon apologized to the public for the fires and faced prosecution on claims that the company attempted to downplay problems in its diesel engines.



Since then, BMW headquarters and board members have been making continued apologies to allay consumer concerns, and held a number of world premiere events in Korea, which were interpreted as the brand's efforts to regain trust and showcase its commitment to the Korean market.



"BMW is recovering its reputation here, as its chief and headquarters took responsibility for their actions," another industry official said.


MANZINI  The Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) of South Africa is questioning an investment of E150 million given to Inyatsi Construction by SA asset managers.

A South African company styled JM BUSHA Asset Managers (Pty) Ltd invested the money with the countrys leading construction firm to raise capital.



It is alleged that the investment was unauthorised as the clients (owners of the funds) were not aware it had been given to the construction company.

The FSCA, established by the Financial Sector Regulation Act 9 of 2017, is in charge of the oversight and regulation of the non-banking sectors of South Africas financial services, and is responsible for market conduct regulation and supervision.

It reports to Tito Mboweni, the Minister of Finance.



counterpart



It must be said that JM BUSHA Asset Managers (Pty) Ltd is the same entity whose sister company JM BUSHA Capital Swaziland was taken to court in October 2019 by FSCAs Eswatini counterpart, the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA).

FSRA approached the High Court on October 9, 2019 on an exparte basis seeking an order to, among other things, interdict and restrain Inyatsi Construction Group Holdings (Pty) Ltd and PricewaterhouseCoopers Services from paying JM BUSHA Capital Swaziland (Pty) Ltd a sum of E16 million.



These were proceeds of Inyatsi Construction Holdings Medium Term Note Series ICL 206 and 207, which were due for payment on October 11, 2019. The Times SUNDAY has seen documents from South Africas FSCA wherein it complains that JM BUSHA Asset Managers (Pty) Ltd invested a portion of funds for its five South African clients, mainly Workers Pension and Provident Funds, with Inyatsi Construction without their (clients) knowledge.



Apart from the E150 million invested with the construction company, JM BUSHA Asset Managers allegedly invested E200 million with Shepherd Bushiri Investments, a company incorporated under the laws of South Africa.

It was founded by Prophet Shepherd Bushiri, the senior Pastor of Enlightened Christian Gathering (ECG), which has a branch in Eswatini.

Another entity that was listed among companies that received unauthorised investment is the SME Bank Namibia which was given E60 million.



The company that invested the money with Inyatsi made an enforceable undertaking in terms of Section 151 (1) of the Financial Sector Regulation Act of 2017.

Reads Section 151 (1): A person may give a written undertaking to the responsible authority concerning that persons future conduct in relation to a matter regulated by a financial sector law, and that undertaking, upon its acceptance by the responsible authority, becomes enforceable by the responsible authority as contemplated in this Act.

Subsection 2 was also invoked, which reads: A written undertaking referred to in subsection (1) may include an undertaking to provide specified redress to financial customers.



limitations



The undertaking was signed by Joseph Makamba Busha on June 23, 2020 on behalf of JM BUSHA Asset Managers (Pty) Ltd and FSCAs Divisional Executive Brandon Topham on July 13, 2020. Reads Article 6 of the enforceable undertaking: JM BUSHA did not comply with the guidelines, limitations and restrictions provided for in the investment mandates of these clients and were consequently unauthorised investments. In addition, JM BUSHA did not properly disclose the investments to the clients.

The Times SUNDAY contacted the FSCA if it had an audience with Inyatsi Construction to establish facts of the matter and what the money (E150 million) was for. In response, the Authoritys Communication Department told this publication that the money was given to Inyatsi as capital investment.



FSCA stated that it did not investigate why the company wanted to raise capital because such practice would have been outside its scope and jurisdiction. Further asked how it discovered that Inyatsi received an investment of E150 million, the SA statutory body said it has extensive powers of investigations. It said it could subpoena documents, interview persons under oath and obtain relevant evidence such as bank statements, phone records, to mention a few of its powers and functions.

Would there be any disciplinary action against Inyatsi? The FSCA made it clear in its statement that the Eswatini company was not subject to its jurisdiction.



In fact, FSCA said it did not express an opinion to the effect that Inyatsi had contravened any law. Gugulethu Bennett, the Group Marketing Manager at Inyatsi Construction, said her company was aware of the matter. Bennett was asked if Inyatsi Construction was aware of the undertaking made by JM BUSHA Asset Managers (Pty)Ltd wherein invested a portion of funds of its clients with her company to the tune of E150 million.



biannually



She said Inyatsi had medium term note which was paid biannually. The group marketing manager disclosed that it had to be repaid by October 2021.

She pointed out that they had an agreement in place with the asset managers, which they were abiding by.



Joseph Makamba Busha, the Representative of JM BUSHA Asset Managers (Pty) Ltd, declined to comment on the matter, but hinted the suspension of his companys licence by FSCA has been lifted. A source close to him refuted assertion that the clients that included the Electrical Contracting Industry Pension and Provident Funds, Engineering Industry Pension Fund, Metal Industry Provident Fund and SAMWU Risk National Provident Fund were not aware of the E150 million investment with Inyatsi.

He said they invested the money with the local company to get returns. When he was informed that Inyatsi Construction managed multimillion Emalangeni tenders in Eswatini and might not have actually needed the money, the source said: You are talking about money that appears in the financial books, theres no company that has money which you can physically touch. Companies want to raise capital, thats what Inyatsi did.

He said other entities raised capital with the Public Service Pension Fund (PSPF).



Is there anything wrong with money being taken from PSPF? Certainly not! Pensions and provident funds for workers in Eswatini are being used for investments in South Africa, and that is what we were trying to do, invest money for SA workers in Eswatini. Is there anything wrong about that? wondered the source, who came to the defence of JM BUSHA Asset Managers (Pty) Ltd.

Article 4 of the document states that JM Busha and Joseph Makamba Busha (Mr. Busha), the Managing Director, Chief Investment Officer; representative and key individual of JM BUSHA has agreed to give the enforceable undertaking.



Licence suspension



Article 3 states that the licence of JM BUSHA had been suspended due to its failure to comply with the financial soundness requirements in terms of Determination of Fit and Proper Requirements for Financial Services Providers, 2008.

However, in a Notice published on July 31, 2020, the FSCA announced that the suspension of JM BUSHA Asset Managers (Pty) Ltd (FSP 730) has been lifted with effect from July 14, 2020. The Notice is called the Notice on Lifting of Suspension of Authorisation No.3 of 2020. It was issued by CD da Silva on behalf of FSCA.



Meanwhile, it is reflected in the documents that JM BUSHA and Mr Busha (respondents) had undertaken, in terms of Section 151 (1 (2) of the FSR Act to do the following 

l Remedy the non-compliance issues relating to the financial soundness of JM BUSHA within 30 days of the last signature on this enforceable undertaking;

l Take all reasonable steps to recover the funds identified in this enforceable undertaking for the benefit of the clients, and to pursue and exhaust every lawful avenue to recover the funds. The costs of such recovery will be for the account of the respondents and not to be funded, directly or indirectly by the clients;



l Subtantially augment the compliance function of JM BUSHA by inter alia:

(a) Appointing an internal compliance officer separate from the investment managers and investment function of JM BUSHA;

(b) Appoint an external compliance firm to assist JM BUSHA in its compliance function;



(c) Appoint an additional independent key individual who will focus on compliance;

(d) Submit monthly reports to the FSCA, on or before the 7th day of each month, on all material compliance issues, and specifically on investment mandate compliance, signed by the key individuals and countersigned by the internal and external compliance officers, and the external auditor of JM BUSHA, until such time as the FSCA relieves JM BUSHA of the required reports or reduce the reporting requirements.

Documents in the possession of this newspaper state that the respondents acknowledged that they were familiar with the provisions of Section 151 of the FSR Act, and more specifically 151 (4). Section 151 (4) reads: If a financial institution licensed under a specific financial sector law that gave an enforceable undertaking breaches a term of the undertaking, the responsible authority may suspend or withdraw the licence.




A former Ekiti State governor, Ayodele Fayose, has criticised a former president, Olusegun Obasanjo, over his comment on Buruji Kashamus death.

Mr Kashamu, a former Ogun senator and Peoples Democratic Party chieftain, died Saturday at the First Cardiology Consultants Hospital in Lagos.

His friend and former colleague at the Senate, Ben Murray-Bruce, confirmed that he was hospitalised at the facility after contracting COVID-19.

Mr Kashamu was the founder of Western Lotto Limited, one of Nigerias lottery operators.

He served as the senator representing Ogun East in the eighth National Assembly and for years was wanted in the United States for alleged drug offenses. He had denied wrongdoing.

Mr Obasanjo on Saturday condoled with the Ogun State Government over the demise of the businessman.

In a statement signed by his spokesperson Kehinde Akinyemi, Mr Obasanjo said while Mr Kashamus death was sad, his life and history left lessons for those of us on this side of the veil.

Senator Buruji Kashamu in his lifetime used the maneuver of law and politics to escape from facing justice on alleged criminal offences in Nigeria and outside Nigeria, Mr Obasanjo said.

Reacting to the statement, Mr Fayose, in his condolence message posted on Twitter, condemned the former presidents comment, saying it is regrettable.

I also condemn the statement made by former President Obasanjo on his (Kashamu) death.

It is regrettable that Obasanjo could say what he said about Buruji Kashamu after his death and when he can no longer question him. Why didnt he say that when Kashamu was alive? he said.

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He further asked if Mr Obasanjo can say in good conscience that he did not at some point collaborated with Kashamu and most of the things he (Kashamu) did politically were not with his collaboration?

The feud between Messrs Obasanjo and Kashamu over the leadership of the PDP in the South West was quite pronounced in 2013 when Mr Obasanjo criticised the PDP leadership for retaining Mr. Kashamu as a leader of the party in the region.

He described the deceased as a drug baron who will buy candidates, parties and eventually buy power.

Shortly afterwards, Mr Kashamu filed a N20 billion libel suit against the former president, which he did not withdraw until 2015.
Daughter of celebrated wildlife conservationist, zookeeper, and explorer Steve Irwin recently took to Instagram to share a touching post that has left fans of the deceased television personality heartbroken.

Bindi Irwin, daughter of the Australian wildlife explorer who was pegged 'The Crocodile Hunter', got married to long-time beau and wakeboarding professional Chandler Powell earlier in the year.

Taking to the photo-sharing site, Bindi shared an image of how her wedding photo would have looked like if her father were still alive. A television personality herself since childhood, Bindi shared the painting on of her reimagined wedding day which she edited to incorporate an image of Irwin senior in it.

The painting had been created by

Bindi shared the moving image with a quote by poet Thomas Campbell. "To live in hearts we leave behind is not to die," she wrote.

Created by artist Debb Oliver, the digital painting has now gone viral on social media.

Steve known more commonly as The Crocodile Hunter was famous for hosting a wildlife documentary television series of the same name along with his wife Terri. He met his death at age 41, after he was pierced in the heart by a short-tail stingrays barb while filming an underwater documentary titled Ocean's Deadliest at Batt Reef in Queensland in 2004.

READ: Steve Irwin's Son Robert Recreates Iconic Photo of His Dad Cuddling a Koala

His 16-year-old Robert recently went viral as a spitting image of Irwin when was seen cuddling a koala while sporting a classic khaki uniform and leather watchband, similar to a viral Steve Irwin photo from years ago.
A teenager was killed and at least 20 others injured in a shooting at an apparent block party in Washington, D.C., overnight Saturday.

Police are searching for multiple gunmen who opened fire at a social gathering that took place at 33rd St. and Dubois Place SE on Saturday night, according to Metropolitan Police Chief Peter Newsham. 17-year-old Christopher Brown was identified by Newsham as the sole fatality as of Sunday morning.

Police respond to a shooting in a Washington, D.C., neighborhood on Aug. 9, 2020. (Tom Yeatman)

Brown was taken to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead. A police officer, who was not identified, is in critical condition and fighting for her life, Newsham said.

The rest of those who were injured at the party sustained non-life threatening wounds.

It appeared that a dispute broke out at the event and multiple weapons were produced as a result, police said. A motive is not yet known.

We have at least three shooters because we have at least three separate locations where ... where gunshots were fired, Newsham said. And its my understanding that the shots went off simultaneously.

A preliminary investigation indicated handguns were used in the shootings.

Newsham confirmed there were officers at the scene of the gathering, which did not have a permit. The police chief said that such large gatherings were too dangerous to be had during the coronavirus pandemic and amid the spread of COVID-19.

The officer response was not large enough to break up the gathering, which Newsham said had hundreds of people in attendance.

This image provided by a resident in Washington, D.C., neighborhood shows a party where a shooting later occurred. (via NBC News)

D.C Mayor Muriel Bowser remarked that several people who had no regard for human life attacked the gathering.

Its very important that as a community we have zero tolerance for this activity, that we support the Metropolitan Police Department when theyre going to have to make very difficult decisions in breaking up these events, Bowser said.

Bowser warned the community that some people may be jailed while breaking up parties or large events that violate the law in the district, which currently restricts gatherings of more than 50 people.

Related: National Guard officer weighs in on D.C. demonstrations
Evan Vucci

It is terrible to think that it is good that ones father is not around, but that is exactly what comes to mind as I see the President Donald Trump's Department of Homeland Security goon squad attacking demonstrators in Portland and as I hear the president threaten to invade other U.S. cities with the paramilitary force that he has created. My father, after all, already lived through a similar experience. That was in Germany during the 1930s, and my father, whose family had lived in Germany for generations, was confined after the November 1938 attacks on Jews and Jewish institutions that became known as Kristallnacht (Night of Broken Glass). Like thousands of others, he was released from confinement only on the promise that he leave his native country. When asked many years later what he and his acquaintances had thought of Hitler as the future dictator consolidated control of the Nazi party and German government, my father said that, until it was too late, they saw Hitler as a clown who would not amount to much. My father died 20 years ago at the age of 94. It is good that he does not have to witness the antics of our clown occupant of the White House. Now, I can only hope that enough members of Congress, on both sides of the aisle, are ready to confront the menace to democracy that Trump has become.

Leo S. Levy

Slingerlands
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) prevented the Senate from acting on the Supreme Court nomination of Merrick Garland. (Susan Walsh / Associated Press)

The Supreme Court term that ended last month was a refreshing reproach to the perception that the justices are simply politicians in black robes.

True, there were several 5-4 decisions in which Republican appointees voted one way and Democratic appointees the other. But in some truly consequential cases  including a historic decision protecting gay and transgender workers against discrimination  liberal and conservative justices found common ground. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., an appointee of President George W. Bush, joined Democratic appointees in several rulings, including a decision striking down an anti-abortion law in Louisiana.

Unfortunately, it will take more than signs of consensus on the court to remove it as a subject of partisan debate, especially in a presidential election year.

Shortly after the term ended, 87-year-old Ruth Bader Ginsburg, whom President Clinton appointed, announced that she was being treated for a recurrence of cancer. Democrats immediately raised justifiable concerns that Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) would try to ram through a Trump appointee if Ginsburg died or retired this year. This is the same McConnell who blocked the Senate from considering President Obamas nomination of Merrick Garland in 2016 because it was an election year and the American people should have a voice in the selection of their next Supreme Court justice.

President Trump, meanwhile, has made it clear that he sees future appointments to the Supreme Court as a campaign issue. And Vice President Mike Pence recently said that Roberts had been a disappointment to conservatives.

For their part, Democrats have continued to complain about the mistreatment of Garland. During the contest for the Democratic presidential nomination, several candidates  though not former Vice President Joe Biden  expressed interest in expanding the number of seats on the Supreme Court. The proposed platform for the Democratic Party envisions unspecified structural court reforms to counter the Republicans success in filling (or prolonging) vacancies.

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Court-packing is a terrible idea. And if a Democratic Congress expanded the Supreme Court to influence its rulings, what would prevent a future Republican Congress and president from following suit?

The Democrats exasperation with Trump and McConnell is understandable, but the solution isnt tit-for-tat partisanship but rather a depoliticization of the process for appointing justices. Liberal and conservative legal experts have joined in proposing that justices  who now serve for life unless they choose to retire  be appointed instead to fixed terms. The most popular proposal would provide for an 18-year term.

Fixed terms would have several advantages. They would prevent justices from serving past their prime or clinging to their positions in an attempt to ensure that a president they trust will appoint their successors. Fixed terms also would expand the pool of potential nominees to include seasoned lawyers. The current system of life tenure on the court encourages presidents to maximize their influence by choosing younger nominees who potentially will serve for decades.

Most important, fixed terms would lower the stakes in any particular nomination to the court. That would especially be the case if, as some advocates of fixed terms suggest, appointments to the court occurred on a regular basis.

A proposal for 18-year terms favored by the reform group Fix the Court would allow a president to make two Supreme Court nominations during a four-year term. Most recent presidents have appointed at least two justices, but the frequency of appointments has varied. For example, Richard Nixon appointed four justices in his first term; Jimmy Carter didn't get the chance to appoint any.

Theres no denying that presidents choose justices they believe will share their legal philosophy, even if their appointees often wind up disappointing them. Staggered appointments would prevent any given president from exercising disproportionate influence on the court by taking advantage of a windfall of vacancies.

Because justices currently on the court would probably need to be allowed to serve out their life terms, a system of regular appointments might result in a temporary enlargement of the court until all nine members had been nominated to fixed terms. That sort of transitional expansion, however, raises none of the issues that packing the court to influence its rulings would raise.

Congress arguably has the power to force the shift to fixed terms. The Constitution says that federal judges shall hold their offices during good behavior, a provision generally interpreted as conferring life tenure. But Congress wouldn't necessarily violate that provision if it passed a statute barring justices from spending more than 18 years of their life tenure on the Supreme Court, reassigning them after that to lower courts  where retired Supreme Court justices have already heard cases on occasion.

The argument on the other side is that, because the Supreme Court was created by the Constitution, Congress may not force justices to step down. Roberts made a similar argument in 2011 when he noted that justices couldnt be formally bound by the ethics code for federal judges because the code applies only to lower courts created by Congress.

Even if a statute providing for fixed terms would pass constitutional muster, however, it would be better if the change were accomplished through an amendment to the Constitution. That is admittedly a more arduous process, but an amendment would mean that successive Congresses couldnt repeal or reinstate fixed terms to gain partisan advantage.

There are other ways to depoliticize the selection of Supreme Court justices. For example, the filibuster on justices' nominations  which the Republican-controlled Senate did away with to assure Neil Gorsuchs confirmation  could be restored. As undemocratic as the filibuster is, it would at least encourage the nomination of jurists who can command some bipartisan support.

But fixed terms, combined with regular appointments to the court, would be the surest way to restore both the image and the reality of a nonpartisan court, while protecting judicial independence. Eighteen is enough.
Mike Cohen/Getty Images for The New York Times

Bill Gates says there's one massive problem with COVID-19 tests in the US: results take too long to come back.

He said in a recent interview with WIRED that the majority of US COVID-19 tests are "completely garbage" and "wasted."

To solve the problem of slow testing, Gates said medical providers shouldn't receive payment for COVID-19 tests unless they can produce results within 48 hours.

He also called on Mark Zuckerberg to do more to combat the spread of misinformation and conspiracy theories on Facebook.

Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Bill Gates believes one of the biggest roadblocks to effective COVID-19 testing in the US is "stupidity," he said in an interview with WIRED published Friday.

Specifically, Gates said most US tests are "completely garbage" because it takes so long to return results. Coronavirus tests across the US regularly take more than a week to return results, frustrating public health authorities who rely on timely testing data.

"Well, that's just stupidity," Gates said when asked about the delays in testing results. "The majority of all US tests are completely garbage, wasted."

The Microsoft founder-turned-philanthropist said he thinks there's a simple solution: Medical providers should only receive payment for tests if they return results within 48 hours.

"If you don't care how late the date is and you reimburse at the same level, of course they're going to take every customer. Because they are making ridiculous money," Gates said. "You have to have the reimbursement system pay a little bit extra for 24 hours, pay the normal fee for 48 hours, and pay nothing [if it isn't done by then]. And they will fix it overnight."

For years, Gates had warned that the US was unprepared for a massive pandemic. Since the onset of COVID-19, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has heavily funded testing and vaccine research.

Story continues

Gates himself has also become the target of conspiracy theories stemming from his high-profile advocacy for a more robust response to the virus, including a false theory that Gates plans to inject people with microchips under the pretense of administering vaccines.

In Friday's WIRED interview, Gates acknowledged that conspiracy theories spread like wildfire on social media and suggested that Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg should do more to combat misinformation on Facebook.

"I like Mark, I think he's got very good values, but he and I do disagree on the trade-offs involved there," Gates said. "We give literally tens of billions for vaccines to save lives, then people turn around saying, 'No, we're trying to make money and we're trying to end lives.' That's kind of a wild inversion of what our values are and what our track record is."

Gates also weighed in on the potential Microsoft acquisition of TikTok's US and international operations, calling President Trump's interference in the deal "pretty bizarre."

Read Bill Gates' full WIRED interview here.

Read the original article on Business Insider
A 16-year-old boy who was allegedly wielding a knife which slashed Brett Halcro has been refused bail in the NSW Children's Court

The victim of a horror stabbing allegedly committed by a gang of elite private school boys had himself recently landed in court over a drunken assault and shoplifting.

Brett Halcro, 36, was left blind in one eye and in a coma after being set upon by as many as nine teenagers at Pyrmont in central Sydney about 11pm last Friday.

One of the teenagers allegedly 'sliced' him across the face seven times before driving a knife into his eye.

A NSW Children's Court magistrate this week called text messages allegedly sent by one of the group in the hours after the crime the worst thing she had ever read.

Mr Halcro is in a coma at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, but is expected to be taken off a respirator in the coming days.

He was reported to have been in Sydney after getting stuck when the Victorian border closed, but it can be revealed that three months ago he punched a shopkeeper after being caught stealing.

Court documents seen by Daily Mail Australia state Mr Halcro had drunk half a bottle of vodka before walking into a City Convenience store on the corner of Elizabeth and Liverpool Streets about 4.15pm on May 9.

Once inside the shop he put a sausage roll and chocolate protein drink in his right trouser pocket and left without paying for the goods, which were worth $8.90.

After the shopkeeper followed the father-of-one out of the store and confronted him Mr Halcro hit him in the shoulder with his fist.

A bystander then also confronted Mr Halcro, who responded: 'What's your f***ing problem?'

The victim of a horror stabbing allegedly committed by a gang of private school boys had himself recently landed in court over a drunken assault and shoplifting. Brett Halcro (pictured) lost his eye and was left in a coma but is likely to be woken up in the coming days

A group of nine teenagers has been arrested over the disturbing attack in which they allegedly knocked Mr Halcro from his bike, (pictured) before stomping on him and stabbing him in the eye

The bystander corralled Mr Halcro back inside the store and the worker was able to shut the doors - locking the thief inside.

Mr Halcro was then placed under citizen's arrest until police arrived.

The court documents revealed Mr Halcro has an alcohol dependence for which he was taking medication.

Mr Halcro pleaded guilty to common assault and shoplifting and was put on on a nine-month conditional release order in June.

NSW Police insist he was an 'innocent victim' in the horror attack at Pyrmont.

A member of the gang that allegedly stabbed and bashed Mr Halcro after knocking him off his bicycle turned on one of their own in the hours that followed.

The 16-year-old boy, who was among the first arrested over the disturbing attack was allegedly sent death threats after speaking to police.

Another teenager not directly involved in the alleged assault allegedly sent messages afterwards threatening to 'kill' the 16-year-old.

It is understood the messages were sent to a Snapchat group and involved the teen vowing to take revenge against the boy and telling friends he had 'rolled'.

So far nine teenagers - some of them students at elite Sydney private schools - have been charged over the attack, but because of their age none can be identified.

Brett Halcro tried to steal a sausage roll and a chocolate protein drink from this 7-Eleven on the corner of Liverpool and Elizabeth Streets in Sydney then punched the shopkeeper

Theresa Keecherer (right), Mr Halcro's ex-girlfriend and the mother of his young daughter, said she is 'furious' at his alleged attackers and believes if found guilty they should go to jail

Mr Halcro has been blinded in one eye and will suffer permanent disfigurement to his face as a result of the attack, but a relative said in a GoFundMe post he was set to be taken out of his coma by doctors at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in coming days.

'Brett is making steady improvements. He is still heavily sedated and on a respirator, but doctors are hopeful to be able to wake him in coming days,' he said.

'The injuries to Brett's face are substantial and confronting, but the surgeons have done an amazing job. Subsequent surgeries will be very likely.'

Mr Halcro's ex-girlfriend and the mother of his young daughter told The Herald Sun she is 'furious' at his alleged attackers and is adamant they should be jailed if found guilty - regardless of their age.

Theresa Keecherer said she had not been able to bring herself to tell the four-year-old the bad news.

A drug-addicted 15-year-old (left) had his actions slammed as 'vile' by a magistrate,

'She does wonder why he hasnt been calling. We normally talk every night,' she said.

'His number one priority is our little girl. She is the highlight of his life.

'I don't care if they are 15 or 16 years old. They need to be locked up. It is psychopathic.'

Mr Halcro was rendered stuck in Sydney and unable to get home to Melbourne when the borders were shut due to COVID-19.

He had been up north helping his father when he was attacked.

Surry Hills Children's Court this week heard that only one boy had shown remorse in the wake of the attack - and he was the one to allegedly be threatened by his mates.

'This is not a case (like some of his co-accused) where he got onto a phone and sent text messages saying what took place,' the threatened boy's lawyer Peter O'Brien said.

'After being reluctant to answer questions, eventually the young person does answer questions and gives police the name of the knife assailant to police.'

It was these alleged actions that led the boy to receive death threats from his friend.

His friend was charged with inciting the commission of crimes and refused bail this week.

The details of the alleged attack are so disturbing that an experienced magistrate of both adult and children's courts called them the worst thing she had ever read.

'I have never read anything so abhorrent,' Magistrate Mary Ryan said.

'The facts before me and the actions taken by these young persons are abhorrent. It is reading that offends the normal notions of what a civil society is.

'There is an indication of his thoughts in the form of text messages (he sent) that are so concerning, that it is just something I've not read as facts from an adult who has carried out an offence.'

Police will rely on CCTV, mobile phone footage and eyewitness accounts as part of their case against the youngsters.

It is understood the alleged attack may have been sparked by two girls who were among the group claiming they had been 'raped' or 'groped' by the victim, but NSW Police have said the man was an 'innocent victim'

The alleged attackers and some friends had rented an Airbnb in the city for the night and CCTV footage from the apartment will be used in evidence.

But among their most crucial evidence will be text messages sent by a 15-year-old to a friend after the attack in which he detailed the alleged assault of their victim.

The young man allegedly claimed watching the attack unfold made him laugh.

'I stomped on him and gutted his head he got knocked out after I bottled him on the head,' the youngster allegedly wrote in one text message.

'I put the shattered bottle in his stomach and then jetted (a co-accused) slit his face like 15 times and stabbed him in the eye.'

It is believed the alleged attacker was then asked by his friend if he knew the man.

'Nah mate. Ahahahaha he was in the wrong place at the wrong time,' he allegedly replied.

'He (a co-accused) stuck it in his eye. Put it in deeper and swivelled the knife around. So funny.'

A 15-year-old allegedly sent these shocking text messages to a mate in the hours after he and his gang of mates allegedly bashed and stabbed their victim, leaving him blind in one eye and in a coma. He allegedly detailed the incident in depth and claimed that seeing the incident unfold in front of him was 'so funny'

A number of the youths are due to reappear before Surry Hills Children's Court (pictured) on September 29

The court heard that the attack may have been sparked by a girl who was among the group claiming she had been sexually assaulted by the man.

In the moments before the alleged bashing, one of the girls was asked: 'Is that the one who raped you?' to which she allegedly replied: 'Yeah that's the one'.

But NSW Police claim this is false and the man was an innocent party.

Two of the alleged attackers were known to attend the prestigious Barker College in Sydney's north, while another attended Carlingford High School.

Two of the alleged gang members have been released on bail, while the other seven remain in juvenile detention.

Despite the large number of arrests already made, police inquiries are continuing.
Authorities are seeking a man who has been accused of entering or attempting to enter homes in at least three separate incidents this week.

In a press release, Scotts Bluff County Sheriff Mark Overman says that a man, described to be white, in his mid-30s, being about 5'10" in height and weighing 165 pounds, attempted to enter a rural house near Gering on or about July 30. A woman reported that a man knocked at her door, but she did not answer. She alleged the man went to the rear of her home, attempted to enter through a window, damaging a mechanism and a screen in the process. The man fled as she screamed.

A second incident was reported on the same day, in which a woman who was not at home, but observed a man, via home security cameras, as he entered a porch area of her home. A man with a similar description has also been tied to a third incident, in which he is alleged to have stopped at a rural residence, knocked on a door and told a woman that a dog had been struck and ran into a cornfield. The man asked the woman to help him find the dog and she refused. She locked the door and the man left.

Overman said that authorities are also being made aware of other similar incidents in the rural Morrill area through social media posts.
The OBrien Fine Foods plant in Timahoe Co KIldare where cases of Covid-19 were confirmed. Photo by Steve Humphreys. 7th August 2020

A food factory in Kildare has suspended normal operations for until August 18 after 86 employees tested positive for Covid-19.

A statement from OBrien Fine Foods, which specialises in meat products, said normal operations have been brought to a halt for the 14-day incubation period from August 4 to 18.

Management said in consultation with the HSE, its warehousing facility minimal operations will continue at "significantly reduced capacity levels to manage perishable goods."

Expand Close Dark cloud: Timahoe, Co Kildare, is coming to terms with restrictions announced as a result of a Covid-19 outbreak in the OBrien Fine Foods plant. Photo: Steve Humphreys / Facebook

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Whatsapp Dark cloud: Timahoe, Co Kildare, is coming to terms with restrictions announced as a result of a Covid-19 outbreak in the OBrien Fine Foods plant. Photo: Steve Humphreys

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Further employee testing will be carried out on days 7 and 14 and only employees who test negative and meet public health guidelines in full will return to work.

The company said it will continue to pay all staff in full.

It added that in line with public health guidance, once processing operations are fully recommenced, staff will undergo testing at 14 day intervals.

Arrangements will be put in place for the safe transportation of all employees to and from work to lessen the risk of transmission.

The factory suspended all processing operations at it Timahoe facility last Wednesday after 80 of its employees tested positive for Covid-19.

Testing on a further 42 employees was carried out on Thursday with six staff testing positive for Covid-19.

A spokesperson said: "Those who have tested positive have been advised to isolate as per the official guidance. Full risk assessment and contract tracing procedures is continuing. All close contacts of those affected are being notified, advised to self-isolate and to contact their GP.

"Since the first cases of COVID-19 were identified in Ireland last February, we have operated with an abundance of caution and safety.

"In consultation with the Health Service Executive (HSE), we have taken what we believe was the most responsible actions at all times, putting a rigorous health and safety policy in place, testing all employees, undertaking a further deep clean of the facility, and ultimately suspending processing operations."

It comes as counties Kildare, Offaly and Laois were put under lockdown following a surge of Covid-19 cases there.

From midnight on Saturday, those living in the three counties have to restrict their movements and there will be garda checkpoints around Kildare, Offaly and Laois.

Announcing the measure on Friday, Taoiseach Micheal Martin said he felt for the impacted counties Kildare, Laois and Offaly, but said they the have the support of Ireland behind them as the nation fights the virus.

Acting Chief Medical Officer Dr Ronan Glynn later told a Covid-19 briefing that the three counties would be locked down for two weeks.

This situation is really rapid, an awful lot can happen in 24 hours, nevermind two weeks, Dr Glynn said.

We hope to be in a much better place in two weeks but we can't guarantee it.

Meanwhile, one further death linked to Covid-19 and 174 new cases were reported by the Department of Health on Saturday.

Of the latest cases, the majority (110) are located in Kildare, followed by Dublin (seven), Cork (seven), Offaly (seven) and six in Meath.
This is the moment beachgoers in Belgium fought each other with umbrellas and sun loungers.

The video was filmed at Blankenberge beach yesterday after people clashed with police and lifeguards.

Mayor Daphne Dumery has closed Blankenberge to day-trippers today following the incident, saying the town needs a 'time-out', according to The Brussels Times.

Footage filmed at Blankenberge beach in Belgium yesterday shows beachgoers clashing with police

At the beginning of the clip, beachgoers can be seen clashing with police as sand flies around.

A chair is hurled across the beach as people throw punches and sand at each other.

Umbrellas can also be seen flying through the air after beachgoers threw them in the video which was posted on Twitter shortly before 6pm yesterday.

The fight is said to have started after a lifeguard pointed out to a group of around 40 young people that sitting on the breakwater was prohibited, according to The Brussels Times.

A chair is hurled across the beach as police officers hold batons as they were called to the fight which reportedly started after a lifeguard pointed out that sitting on the breakwater was prohibited

Umbrellas were also thrown across the beach in the fight which was posted on Twitter shortly before 6pm yesterday

The group reportedly refused to leave so the police were then called which was when a brawl between the group and police broke out. Several people were arrested.

Train companies were asked to stop services arriving at Blankenberge today between 9am and 4pm with police will be manning checkpoints along roads leading up to the resort.

Residents, owners of second homes and tourists staying for several days will still be allowed to access Blankenberge.

Rail authority SNCB said trains will remain on schedule and the situation will change if the federal government decides.

Mayor Daphne Dumery has closed Blankenberge to day-trippers today following the incident, saying the town needs a 'time-out'
(Reuters) - British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has ordered a public relations campaign to ensure schools reopen on time in September and said in a meeting that they should be the last places to close even in case of a local lockdown, The Sunday Times newspaper reported.

"The PM stressed (in a Thursday meeting) that the harm done to children's education by not attending school as well as to their mental health is far more damaging than the low risk posed (by the coronavirus), which schools will be carefully managing," the newspaper quoted a source as having said.

A study published on Tuesday said Britain risks a second wave of COVID-19 this winter twice as large as the initial outbreak if it reopens schools full-time without improving its test-and-trace system.

Schools in Britain closed in March during a national lockdown, except for the children of key workers, and reopened in June for a small number of pupils. The government wants all pupils to return to school by early September, with Johnson calling this a national priority.

(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Daniel Wallis)
Last Halloween, weeks after three workers on the Hard Rock hotel project in New Orleans were killed in a crush of concrete and steel, a judge in Boston convicted the owner of a drainpipe company of manslaughter and witness intimidation over a trench collapse in 2016 that drowned two workers in mud. The owner, Kevin Otto, got two years behind bars.

Prison terms also were handed out following the deaths in Philadelphia of six people when a wall collapsed over a Salvation Army thrift store in 2013. A state jury convicted the contractor, Griffin Campbell, on counts of involuntary manslaughter, reckless endangerment and causing a catastrophe. He was sentenced to 15 to 20 years. The excavator, Sean Benschop, pleaded guilty and got half that much time.

Yet another man-made calamity with echoes of Oct. 12 in New Orleans has prosecutors in Florida mulling felony charges now. Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundles office wouldnt discuss its looming decision over the 2018 collapse of a pedestrian bridge at Florida International University that left six dead and injured 14. A spokesman noted how potentially complex and technical such investigations can be.

On the eve of receiving his brothers remains from the wreckage of the Hard Rock hotel, Frank Wimberly said Friday that he wants criminal charges filed over the fatal collapse, though he said he knew little about anything in the works.

I just think this wasnt an accident. It was negligent, he said. It doesnt bring it back. I just want justice in every way possible.

But as Wimberly returned with family members on Saturday to watch the remnants of Quinnyon Wimberlys corpse descend from a crane to the street below, there was no indication that local or state authorities were moving forward on a criminal case as of yet.

Mayor LaToya Cantrells administration said its still awaiting a final report from the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration. A lengthy OSHA report on the Florida bridge collapse took 16 months, though most of the agencys recent post-mortem reports on construction failures have taken less time than that.

The federal agency already released its initial findings in April, however, issuing violations against 11 of the contractors that were working on the hotel when it pancaked from the top on a Saturday morning with about 100 workers inside.

Among the citations were serious violations and one willful violation issued to Heaslip Engineering, the lead engineer on the Hard Rock. Such language has often presaged a criminal prosecution. Heaslip has denied the allegations.

Elsewhere, criminal charges have followed similar findings by OSHA, with or without a final report.

In a tearful news conference Saturday, Cantrell portrayed the body recovery as a pivot point, with a focus turning now to justice for the families.

Clearly the shift is there, she said. Cantrell declined to say whether she wants to see those responsible for building the fatal project prosecuted criminally, in addition to a slew of pending civil lawsuits they face.

I want to see justice for the families as it relates to this tragedy, she said.

Watch: Emotional LaToya Cantrell and Tim McConnell speak at Hard Rock scene after remains recovered New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell and New Orleans Fire Department Chief Tim McConnell addressed the media just after noon, saying that Saturda

Cantrell said that an autopsy would be performed on Wimberlys remains and a forensic investigation would take up to two months. She acknowledged that whatever criminal investigation might come from the New Orleans Police Department into the fatal collapse awaits OSHA's report. The city declined to say when it's expected to be done.

A few months ago, the lead contractor, Citadel Builders, claimed there had been no interviews or evidence collected toward a criminal case at all, after an initial seizure of items from inside the Hard Rock collapse site.

The city didnt dispute that account, though it is seeking to deny Citadel in its request for body-cam footage of the collapse site by claiming those records relate to pending or reasonably anticipated criminal litigation.

City Attorney Sunni LeBoeuf wrote only that the number of citations OSHA has issued, and the human toll of the collapse  three dead, 18 injured  meant there exists the possibility that significant offenses arising from criminal negligence may follow.

All of the city agencies that were initially involved  including NOPD and the New Orleans Fire Department  have adopted supporting roles behind OSHAs lead in the collapse investigation, the city said.

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Lt. Nick Manale, spokesman for Louisiana State Police, said this week that his agency isn't involved in any investigation of the Hard Rock collapse.

+14 Victim recovery phase to begin at Hard Rock hotel after 'significant' progress during weekend The remains of two construction workers trapped in the wreckage of the collapsed Hard Rock Hotel since last October may be reached as soon as

So far at least, Orleans Parish District Attorney Leon Cannizzaros office is out of the loop as well, spokesman Ken Daley said.

Our office is not involved in the investigation of the Hard Rock collapse and has received no reports, referrals or recommendations for state charges from any agency that is, Daley said. We must refer you to the federal, state and city agencies investigating the incident, as your questions to us are moot at this time.

Cannizzaros response will itself be moot soon, as he announced last month that he wont seek a third term. That will likely leave any decision on state charges to the winner among four hopefuls who have qualified for his seat.

Its uncertain if federal agents are looking into a criminal case over the collapse itself. Several investigative agencies, including New Orleans Inspector General Derry Harpers office, have indicated they are probing the citys building inspection personnel, including inspections of the Hard Rock project.

Derrys office did not immediately respond to a query about any criminal aspects to its investigation, over the collapse itself or possible malfeasance at City Hall.

Former U.S. Attorney Kenneth Polite is taking the lead, meanwhile, in a city review of its troubled permitting and inspection agency, officials have said.

A former building inspector for the city, Frank Richardson, pleaded guilty just weeks after the Hard Rock collapse to charges that he had accepted at least $65,000 in bribes in exchange for filing phony inspection reports  none of them related to the Hard Rock. Richardson has yet to be sentenced, which could be a sign he is cooperating with a larger probe. A handful of other inspectors quit last year amid evidence they hadn't visited buildings where they signed off on inspections.

A spokeswoman for the FBIs New Orleans field office referred questions about any federal criminal investigation to U.S. Attorney Peter Strassers office. A spokesman for Strassers office said he could not confirm or deny the existence of an investigation as a matter of policy.

In several other cases, its been left to state prosecutors to decide whether to charge contractors over fatal accidents. Some, as in Florida, have waited on OSHA before deliberating over possible charges. The technical nature of investigations into industrial or construction accidents is often beyond the capacity of local police departments.

OSHA defines a willful violation as one in which "the employer either knowingly failed to comply with a legal requirement (purposeful disregard) or acted with plain indifference to employee safety."

Criminal charges go by a different standard, and a higher burden for proving it.

When the district attorney in Boston at the time, Dan Conley, charged Otto and his company in the trench collapse, he alleged they willfully, wantonly, and recklessly failed to take the standard safety precautions that could have averted that tragedy."

To Angela Magrette, that description seems to fit the bill for the Hard Rock collapse to a tee.

On Saturday morning, she stared up from behind a mask at the mess of construction that killed her twin brother, Anthony Magrette, at age 49 on the seventh floor.

A crew four stories higher was scraping Wimberlys remains from hanging concrete.

They knew what was going on. They knew they were trying to cut corners, she said quietly.

Magrette pointed to the builders and the city inspectors as targets for possible criminal charges that she hopes will come. She said the autopsy report for her brother showed he was alive in the partially collapsed hotel for 27 hours before he perished.

If it takes to my dying day, I will not stop until someone is held accountable for killing my brother, she said. I need them to feel a pinch of what I feel.
The contractor working on the first phase of the Sunyani Airport rehabilitation project, Resources Access Limited, has assured the Aviation Minister that the Airport would be re-opened in two months time.

This is because 85% of the project is complete while efforts are being made to ensure that the remaining works are executed on schedule to the pave for domestic airline operations to bounce back in the Bono region and its surrounding regions.

The Sunyani Airport has been closed-down since 2015 due to problems on its runway and unavailability of an apron, among other reasons.

As part of the Phase One of the project, a 90 by 60 meter apron is being constructed to serve as the parking area for at least two aircrafts while the run-way is also being re-constructed and extended to cover 1,500 meters instead of the current length of 1,200 meters.

Asphalting of the run-way is set to commence soon, according to the contractor executing the project which is estimated to cost 48 point six million cedis.

The Minister of Aviation, Joseph Kofi Adda; together with his Deputy, Yaw Afful and the Bono Regional Minister, Mrs. Evelyn Ama Kumi-Richardson as well as some officials of the Ghana Airports Company Limited have inspected the progress of work on the project.

The arrival and departure lounges were also receiving face-lifts at the time of the visit with fixtures and fittings being worked on.

Speaking to the media after the inspection tour, Mr. Adda said he was satisfied with the progress of work.

The Minister however expressed grave concern about the level of encroachment on several portions of the land meant for future expansion of the airport and called on citizens to desist from trespassing public lands.

The Bono Regional Minster, Mrs. Kumi-Richardson was happy that the airport is about to be re-opened to relieve the people of the area the hassle of traveling by road to Kumasi before accessing air transport services.

According to her, the re-opening of the Sunyani Airport will also go a long way to create jobs for the people of the area.
(Newser)  The US failure to contain the spread of the coronavirus has been met with astonishment and alarm in Europe, as the world's most powerful country edges closer to a global record of 5 million confirmed infections. Perhaps nowhere outside the US is America's bungled virus response viewed with more consternation than in Italy, which was the epicenter of Europe's epidemic, the AP reports. Italians were unprepared when the outbreak exploded in February, and the country still has one of the worlds highest official death tolls at 35,000. But after a strict nationwide, 10-week lockdown, vigilant tracing of new clusters and general acceptance of mask mandates and social distancing, Italy has become a model of virus containment. "We Italians always saw America as a model," said a newspaper columnist. "But with this virus we've discovered a country that is very fragile, with bad infrastructure and a public health system that is nonexistent."

story continues below

Much of the incredulity in Europe stems from the fact that America had the benefit of time, European experience, and medical know-how to treat the virus that the continent itself didn't have when the first COVID-19 patients started filling intensive care units. Italian Health Minister Roberto Speranza hasn't shied away from criticizing the US, officially condemning as "wrong" Washington's decision to withhold funding from the World Health Organization and expressing amazement at President Trumps virus response. After Trump finally donned a mask last month, Speranza told La7 television: I'm not surprised by Trump's behavior now; I'm profoundly surprised by his behavior before." A woman walking along Lake Bracciano, north of Rome, wondered about Americans. "Don't they care about their health?" she asked. "They need to take our precautions. ... They need a real lockdown."

(Read more coronavirus stories.)
The Police Administration has instituted a new special promotion mechanism for policemen who serve in the northern Ghana.



The Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mr James Oppong-Boanuh who made this known said police men and women who passed out of the training school and are posted to the northern parts of Ghana will be promoted three years before their next promotion as compared to their counterparts posted to areas such as Accra and Tema.



That, he said was part of the motivation policies that has been instituted by the Police Administration.



The IGP said this when he inaugurated a 250 capacity conference room and a police band for the Northern Regional Police Command in Tamale last Friday, August 7, 2020.



The conference hall project was started in 2016 by the then Northern Regional Police Commander, Mr Isaac Ken Yeboah, now the Director General of the Police Criminal Investigation Department (CID) through personal financial contributions from senior police officers in the region.



Mr Oppong-Boanuh said "this is not common phenomenon for police officers to dip their hands into their pockets and construct something for the institution. So I believe that the regional commanders who initiated and the one who completed deserved commendation".



He expressed gratitude to all and sundry who also contributed in diverse ways for the construction of the conference hall.



Elections



Touching on the upcoming presidential and parliamentary elections, the IGP urged all police officers to be very circumspect, highly professional and impartial in the discharge of their duties.





He further urged officers and men of the service to follow laid down procedures to police the ballot and protect life and property.



"You must act on every complaint that you receive and you must do so speedily to clear the doubt of all critics", he said.



Mr Oppong-Boanuh also used the occasion to sound a note of caution to the youth, not to allow themselves to be used by anybody to destabilize the state.



"Do not allow yourself to be convinced or to be persuaded by anybody to go into violence because if you do the long arm of the law will catch with you. Let me say that let no one attempt to take the law into their own hands because if you do the police will arrest you and deal with you", he added.



The Gukpe-Naa, Alhassan Abdulai, Paramount Chief of Gulkpegu Traditional Area (Tamale) pledged the support of the chiefs in ensuring peace in the region.

Source: Graphiconline.com









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

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CLEVELAND, Ohio - One good way to judge whether a person is politically on the left or the right, and how far in each direction, is to ask him or her the following two questions:

1. Do you believe that Joe Biden and his handlers are doing their best to find a way to avoid facing President Donald Trump in one or more debates?

2. Do you believe that if Biden wins in November, Trump will claim fraud, and refuse to leave the White House?
Mumbai Police has issued official statement in connection with celebrity manager Disha Salian's death on Sunday. Vishal Thakur, DCP Zone-11 has shared that contrary to some reports, Disha's dead body was not naked when found by the police on June 8. Police reached on the spot of Disha's death immediately and her parents were there too, Thakur said in a statement shared by news agency ANI.

Furthermore, giving an update into the investigation in the case, Thakur said that the police have recorded the statements of 20-25 people so far, including Disha's friend Ankita, who last spoke to her on mobile phone.

This is to clarify that the reports of Disha Salian's body being found naked is false. After the incident, Police immediately reached the spot and did 'panchnama' of the body. Her parents were at the spot: Vishal Thakur, DCP Zone-11. #Mumbai  ANI (@ANI) August 9, 2020

Disha had made last call to her friend Ankita whose statement has been recorded. Statements of 20-25 people recorded so far: Vishal Thakur, DCP Zone-11. #Mumbai https://t.co/SMfGFVzQ6B  ANI (@ANI) August 9, 2020

Disha, 28, allegedly committed suicide by jumping from a high-rise building in Malad area in Mumbai on June 8. An accidental death report (ADR) has been registered in connection with her death at Malvani Police Station.

News reports have also hinted at Disha's involvement with politicians and attending parties with big names of the film fraternity. Some have alleged that she was raped and murdered. The case is being probed.

Read: Satisfied with Mumbai Cops' Probe in Disha's Death, Says Her Father Satish Salian
For three decades, Kelly Flint flourished as a corporate travel agent, sending everyone from business titans to oil riggers around the planet. Then came the worst pandemic in a century, leaving her jobless and marooned in an uncertain economy.

Furloughed since March, Flint has dipped into her retirement account to pay her bills, frustrated that her $600 weekly emergency federal aid payments have expired. She yearns, too, for an end to the twin disasters that now dominate her life: recession and pandemic.

I dont deal well with the unknowns, she says. I never have.

Across America are legions of Kelly Flints, women and men who dont know when theyll receive another paycheck  or if.

The Covid-19 outbreak and resulting economic upheaval have thrown millions of lives into disarray. Industries have collapsed, businesses closed, jobs disappeared. Compounding the misery is a question no one can answer: When will this all be over?

If 2020 had to be condensed into a single word  and there are many, many words to describe it  uncertainty would hover at the top of the list. Uncertainty about health. About the future. About the country itself. And uncertainty about livelihoods and jobs and economic security in a historical moment where each day seems to bring a fresh wave of unwanted developments.

America has faced economic calamity before, most recently during the recession of 2008, when the jobless rate soared to 10%. That pales in comparison to the two crises that have cost more than 160,000 American lives and ushered in spiraling unemployment  30 million job losses, of which 17.5 million people remain unemployed.

Uncertainty, painted onto the landscape by the numbers. And behind each one, a human being. Here are some of their thoughts.

___

Ill either be here or Ill build my peace elsewhere. ... I cant get wrapped up in the unknowns when I have blessings in front of me.

 LISA VINES, 56, of Memphis, Tennessee, laid off in March from her sales job at a promotional product company where shed worked for 20 years.

___

Ive learned that you cant possibly plan for everything and, though its a cliche, youve just got to roll with the punches. And Ive learned to go where the next thing leads me. Hopefully, that will be soon.

 JARED SAIGH of Iron River, Michigan, laid off in 2019 from a marketing company. He was then hired to lead a nonprofit attached to his local hospital, but the offer was rescinded after the pandemic swooped in.

___

This is a day-to-day process, and I cant worry about the things I cannot change.

 JAMES JACKSON, 51, of Florida, who lost his job as a hospitality worker after his workplace closed in March. Hes now looking for a warehouse job and worries about having enough food for his kids, 8 to 18, and being able to afford school supplies and clothes.

___

There are certain things you cant control, and you have to let it go. I cant control the pandemic. I cant control the job market. ... In the back of my mind, theres still a tiny drawer of anxiety and worry. ... But Im starting to tell myself, Listen, youre going to be fine.

 BRETT LIPSHUTZ, 46, of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, who lost his job as a bilingual software trainer when the pandemic hit. Hes starting a tofu business with friends and expects to be able to teach French in the Milwaukee public high schools this fall.

___

I feel like I dont have very much of a purpose now.

 MORGAN GITHMARK, 24, of North Carolina, who had to quit her marketing job in March because it involved face-to-face encounters with customers at big-box stores. She is diabetic and has an increased chance of serious illness if she contracts the coronavirus.

___

Im the type of person who, if I if I have an idea of what Im facing, I can try to make a plan that makes sense. But you dont really know what it is you need to do.

 MICAH ANDERSON, 37, who lost his job when the Portland, Oregon, club where he tended bar was forced to close in the pandemics early days. Now he walks almost everywhere. He has reduced his food budget to essentials. He doesnt go out with friends. Hes become politically active, calling the offices of federal lawmakers, urging them to back a bill creating a $120 billion fund to help rescue restaurants and bars.

___

At the end of the day, the only person whos going to get me out of this is me.

 DEANNA KOUSKOULAS, 30, of Michigan, who was laid off from a copywriting-marketing job in suburban Detroit after six months of work. Shes now interviewing for jobs, preparing for the post-pandemic era. She spends part of every morning sharpening and expanding her skills, studying graphic design on YouTube, among other things, so I can come out strong when things do go back to normal.

___

Uncertainty ripples outward. There are so many things that, because of it, simply cant be done.

Job uncertainty is new for Flint, 53, the travel agent. Shes never been unemployed, and its doubly scary, she says, because shes single. Every week, she sends out fresh resumes from her home in Galveston, Texas. Ive had anxiety that Ive never had before. Ive even had panic attacks. Ive had crazy dreams of zombies, she says. It has worn on me.

For Micah Anderson, the uncertainty has been the hardest part  having zero idea of what next week is going to even look like.

You just have no clue. You make decisions the best you can. And you hope that they turn out OK.
 The United States intends to hold the Taliban to these commitments, Mr. Pompeo said.

Suhail Shaheen, the spokesman for the Taliban negotiating team, said that once the 400 prisoners were released they dont see any hurdle to beginning talks.

Many delegates said it appeared that the Afghan government had already given in to U.S. pressure to release the remaining prisoners. The assembly, convened solely for consultation and with no executive power, was a way for Mr. Ghani to share political responsibility, they said. Representatives from several committees added that they were asked to give affirmative or negative recommendations on the release of the 400 prisoners without being provided details of what the prisoners were accused or convicted of.

Over the past couple of months, officials gave varied reasons as to why they could not release the remaining prisoners. Some said that the group included foreign citizens convicted of murder and that the government did not have the authority to offer forgiveness on behalf of victims families. Other officials said some of the prisoners were drug dealers or members of organized-crime gangs, unaffiliated with the Taliban. Those criminals, however, were included on lists of prisoners whose release the Taliban demanded.

A government document left some question as to the crimes of the named prisoners. It said 156 of the 400 prisoners had been sentenced to death, 105 were convicted of homicide, 34 of kidnapping and 51 of narcotics trafficking. A handful were convicted of rape. But it also said that 44 had been blacklisted by the Afghan government and its partners. The crimes of four prisoners were listed as unidentifiable.

Mohammad Ali Akhlaqi, a member of Parliament who was a delegate, said that in the committees the delegates were given a clear choice: that the only obstacle blocking direct negotiations with the Taliban was the release of the remaining prisoners. The Taliban had committed to beginning the talks right away if the prisoners were released, or ratcheting up the violence if they were not.

Obviously, people want the bloodshed to be stopped, Mr. Akhlaqi said. The question is misleading. As the president himself said, he is not authorized to release these 400 prisoners because they have committed major crimes and they already have been sentenced.
Maharashtra on Sunday reported 390 Covid-19 deaths, highest in a day, taking its death toll to 17,757, health department data stated. However, from the deaths reported on Sunday, 260 fatalities were from the previous 48 hours, 76 were from the previous week and the remaining 56 deaths were from a week before. Maharashtra also recorded its second-highest single-day spike in Covid-19 cases with 12,248 new infections, taking the states tally to 515,332. The highest one-day spike of 12,822 cases was recorded on Saturday.

According to official data, 78,070 samples were tested, of which 12,248 samples were positive, translating to a positivity rate of 15.68%. The overall positivity rate of the state improved marginally and stood at 18.91%. The state also recorded 13,348 discharged patients on Sunday, taking the tally of recovered people to 351,710. The recovery rate of the state stood at 68.25%.

A day after the state crossed the grim landmark of 500,000 cases, state health minister Rajesh Tope declined to comment if the state had reached the community transmission stage. So far, 60 to 70 per cent of the cases that are reported are from high-risk contracts and from quarantine facilities. It is not the case that people who randomly get tested are positive.

Therefore, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and WHO only should respond to the issue of community transmission after careful study. We have been transparent in the data; they have all the data with them, he told reporters in Satara.

The rising number of deaths is a concern for the state government and the health department, officials said. The district authorities have been directed to emphasise on the reduction in the Case Fatality Rate (CFR), which stood at 3.45%, against the national rate of 2.04%.

Maharashtra, which has the highest number of fatalities due to the coronavirus disease in the country, stands second to Gujarat in terms of the CFR. However, the gap between the two states is narrowing. As per the data of state Medical Education and Drugs Department (MEDD) released on July 28, the CFR of the state was 3.62%, while Gujarats mortality rate is 4.13%, which is a difference of 0.51%. Gujarats mortality rate has dropped faster in comparison to Maharashtra. During the period, Maharashtra saw a drop of 0.17%, while Gujarat saw 0.37%.

Dr Pradeep Awate, state surveillance officer, admitted that though the CFR is decreasing gradually, the absolute number of deaths reported is high. The absolute number of deaths that are reported daily is high, but the focus of the entire administration is on reducing the fatalities. We have modified out standard operating procedures with experience in these months, Awate said.

The Central government too, in a review meeting held last week, expressed concern over the high number of Covid-19 deaths and has listed 10 districts that need to do more to tackle the cases and fatalities. The 10 districts include Pune, Mumbai, Thane, Palghar, Raigad, Nashik, Ahmednagar, Jalgaon, Sangli and Nagpur. Spread in rural parts of the state where the health infrastructure is weak has made it difficult for the authorities to control the fatality rate.

Tope, who was in Satara to review the Covid-19 situation in Kolhapur and Satara, said, The number of cases [reported] daily are going up, but the recoveries are over 3.50 lakh with a rate of 68%. Our focus is to keep the deaths lower. Early detection is important. For instance, in Satara and Kolhapur, the deaths are seen between one to five days after hospitalisation. We are working to bring it down.

Kolhapur and Satara districts have seen a surge in cases last month, while the CFR is also on the higher side at 2.45 and 3.02%. Kolhapur has 5,320 active cases, while Satara has 2,024 active cases. Satara district added 257 new cases, while Kolhapur city and district added 137 and 307 new cases on Sunday.

These districts have a high positivity rate of around 35%. The public representatives from the district have said that the cases increase with people coming in from hotspot areas into the district and now it has spread. But this is the nature of this virus. There is a need for more tracing and testing. House-to-house surveillance will be started and people with co-morbidities will be set aside, he told reporters in Satara after the review meeting.

He added that the district administration is also looking to set up a jumbo facility to augment bed capacity. A new testing laboratory will be set up in Satara district to reduce the turnaround time as currently, the samples went to Pune, the minister said.

Meanwhile, Pune city topped the state with the highest number of cases on Sunday with 1433 new infections, taking citys tally to 70,933. Mumbai reported 1,066 new infections, taking citys tally to 123,382. Pune recorded 58 fatalities while Mumbai reported 48, taking their tallies to 1802 and 6799, respectively.

Pune district reported 517 new cases, and Pimpri-Chinchwad reported 1,066 cases. Another hotspot in the state, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), excluding Mumbai, reported 2,183 new cases. The region contributed 17.82% of the total caseload reported on Sunday. The MMR, in June and July, contributed around 40% of the states daily caseload.

Nashik city reported 807 new cases, while Nagpur city reported 488 new cases. The states second capital is nearing 6000 Covid-19 cases. Beed, Osmanabad, and Latur districts reported 235, 161 and 297 new infections, while Aurangabad district added 280 new cases.

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San Francisco, Aug 9 : As Microsoft pursues talks to purchase the US business of TikTok, Bill Gates has termed the potential deal between the two companies a poisoned chalice.

In an interview with the Wired, published on Saturday, the Microsoft co-founder said that being a top player in the social media business is not a simple job.

"Who knows what's going to happen with that deal. But yes, it's a poison chalice," the billionaire philanthropist was quoted as saying in the interview.

When asked if he is wary of Microsoft getting into the social media game, Gates suggested that the software giant's entry will give Facebook more competition which is "probably a good thing." Reacting to a question on US President Donald Trump's demand that that the country should get a large percentage of the proceeds if part of the short video-sharing platform TikTok's business is bought by an American firm, Gates said that the way things were proceeding were quite strange and the cut thing is "doubly strange." "Anyway, Microsoft will have to deal with all of that," he was quoted as saying.

Trump earlier set a deadline around September 15 for Microsoft to close the deal with TikTok that it was pursuing.

The US President followed it up with an executive order on August 6, prohibiting US firms from doing transactions with TikTok after September 20.

A "shocked" TikTok on August 7 threatened legal action against the executive order.

"We will pursue all remedies available to us in order to ensure that the rule of law is not discarded and that our company and our users are treated fairly -- if not by the Administration, then by the US courts," TikTok had said in the statement.
To your striked out question, probably marvel.



To the other one, yesterday (but not Goya. bushs. To be honest theyre probably 45 supporters as well )

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What's wrong with Bush's?

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Its possible the beans were there before the boycott, I think it would be shittier to throw away perfectly good food. Anyway most boycotts are performative anyway people just get quiet about the companies they openly support.

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mte

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Yeah my family down south went to chick fil a and it was the only option/I wasn't driving etc on the trip and so I ordered and my coworker tried to press me on it and I'm like, didn't you get half your stuff from Amazon? Just as I thought

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Gurl, integrity.



Supporting a company that's unabashedly about bigotry?





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If its any consolation, the new CEO apparently stopped donating to organizations like Salvation Army, etc. that support gay conversion. They quietly did this under the radar I suppose to still keep the homophobic christians who love going there happy but I was pleasantly surprised when I found that out.

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I hadn't had Chik Fil A in years, since the boycott, until 2018 after my SIL picked me up from a day spent in the ER in excruciating back pain (slipped discs, yay!) and honestly I did not give a fuuuuck what was put in my mouth before my pain pills kicked in. And then back on the boycott. It was good, though. Although I was starving. But yeah, it was good.

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Also, throwing out perfectly good items you've already bought because of a boycott is such a stupid Republican thing to do. They're the ones who think they're getting one over on Starbucks at Christmas by going and buying a coffee, but saying their name is Merry Christmas. Or burning their Nikes because of Colin Kaepernick.

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Yeah, I have Goya black beans and brown rice in my pantry right now. Ill use what I have and then find another brand once stocks are depleted.



Tbh Ill be sad to see the brown rice go - Ive never had good results with any other brand.

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I still have Goya stuff to use up. I'm Puerto Rican, so their stuff has been part of my life forever. Thankfully most of it I will replace with other stuff but I'm poor and my work basically disappeared and unemployment got cut back down so I'm going to make use of everything I have and just buy other stuff later.

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She lives with John, her mom, and a housekeeper, too, doesnt she? What if one of the other three adults in the house bought them?



I know Chrissy is messy but this is just so extra and reaching to find something to be mad at her about IMO. Hell, maybe she did buy them recently and just didnt even think about it bc she was busy. Maybe she does grocery delivery and her shopper made a replacement.



Like theres so many things that are more likely than I very specifically said Im boycotting this brand but LOL yay trump!





Its weird.

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need to call the food pantry to see if I can donate my can there along with some other excess things I have

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Donating to a food pantry isn't an option or?



Who's throwing out food?

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Omg a Dix pour cent gif on ONTD

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it's sf funny, i didn't watch it for ages because he english title sounded kinda dumb and i'm so glad i ended up checking it out of boredom.

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Herveeeeeee

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If she said she would boycott she should follow up otherwise it's a bit weird to even make a statement. However I guess she would have had the can already.When I switched to only buying cruelty free make up/skincare/etc it took me some time to finish up my non FC products since it would be a waste to throw them away.



Anyway last week I had a salad with red beans and it was lovely. I love salads.

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i boycotted Barilla for a few years until they changed their stance on lgbt rights

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did they???

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Did they? Because I'm still boycotting them and all their brands but sometimes I slipped. Would be nice if they're a really good company/family owned business now but I have my doubts.

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I didn't know they changed their views. Good to know even though I really only buy fresh pasta anymore.

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De Cecco all the way!

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this is clearly stake holders stepping in and forcing a change because the gay dollar is strong. i doubt that the owner has personally changed his stance so i'll continue boycotting them until my final breath.

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Same, and I was so happy they changed their company opinion because my kid is coeliac and their gf pasta is the only one that she and I both really like.

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We still don't buy them out of principal.



They changed their stance for convenience too soon.



I'm not ready to make nice, I'm not ready to back down.



They gon learn today!





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I hold grudges so I'm pretty good with boycotts.



I made tacos on Friday with Trader Joe's organic black beans.

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yea I switched to TJs for beans before this because no one had any at other stores for awhile.

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Lol, same for the same reason.

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same, I am a very petty person and that extends to boycotts lol

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same lol. i still dont shop at sephora because of the Chinese/Asian name lawsuit from years ago

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What was the last dish you made with beans, ONTD?



A chickpea salad if that counts. I usually bought Goya chickpeas in the past but now I don't. I don't remember what brand it was I bought but now I have a bunch of dried chickpeas I can rehydrate.

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I'm going to give her the benefit of the doubt and say that it was there already. No point in wasting food, contrary to what Twitter might think.

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If this was a can shes had in the cabinet who am I to be mad shes not wasting food.

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My first thought was that she already had the can in her pantry.



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She could have bought them previously, who knows. Stuff like this though makes me question how anyone can share so much of their life online, you will constantly have people questioning you no matter what you do, some of the stupid shit I see people try to say to accounts I follow thinking that they're doing something.. I feel like it'd make me hate people.

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anyone calling her out for this doesnt really care about the goya boycott anyway they just hate her

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Is that what fillers look like close up? Yikes.

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Are those cheeks natural or fillers? I've only seen her since the grimacing gif, are there throwback pics where she looks normal?

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I asked my mom if she had any black beans and all she had was Goya but i still used them, im not going to waste food lol

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Prof. Kwamena Ahwoi, a former Local Government and Rural Development Minister has chronicled the roles that Jerry Rawlings and Captain Kojo Tsikata played in the establishment of the Electoral Commission after its enabling legislation had been enacted.



He wrote in his book, Working With Rawlings that, in the period of the transition from revolutionary rule to Constitutional rule, Justice Josiah Ofori-Boateng, the Chairman of the Interim National Electoral Commission (INEC) served notice that he wanted to return to the Bench as a Court of Appeal Judge.



In this instance, Captain Tsikata suggested that Dr Afari-Gyan, the man he discovered at the Achimota Drinking Spot be promoted to the position of Chairman of the INEC later to be known as the Electoral Commission of Ghana.



President Rawlings agreed, the PNDC approved, and it became a done deal, he recounted in his book.



He continued that just around that time, Nana Oduro Numapa, the Deputy Chairman of the Commission (Finance and Administration) died. And Captain Tsikata suggested that he should be replaced by another eminent Ashanti.



Mr Dixon Kwame Afreh, an Ashanti and an eminent legal academic and therefore an eminent Ashanti who had taught Mr Ahwoi Criminal Law at the Law Faculty of the University of Ghana, who had unceremoniously resigned his position at the Pan-African News Agency (PANA) as Director-General and had returned home was appointed.



According to him, he took him to see Captain Tsikata who was excited at his joining the INEC team because of his (Afrehs) CPP background.



The two of us took him to Chairman Rawlings. Rawlings agreed to his appointment. Mr Dixon Kwame Afreh became the Deputy Chairman, INEC, in charge of Finance and Administration, he said.



For the position of Deputy Chairman, Operations, David Kanga, Headmaster of Navrongo Secondary School and a respected opinion leader from the Upper East Region and who had chaired on the sessions of the regional fora on Evolving a True Democracy organized by the NCD, was approached to fill the vacancy and he accepted.









Source: Peacefmonline.com









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

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New Delhi:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a meeting with senior minister in Parliament on Thursday to find a way to break the deadlock between the government and the Opposition over the demonetisation issue.

The logjam in the Parliament's Winter Session has entered its 17th day with the opposition parties still adamant on PM Modi's apology and holding the debate under Rule 184.

Earlier in the day, Opposition leaders observed 'black day' to mark one month of demonetisation move in front of Gandhi statue inside Parliament premises.

Here are the updates on House proceedings:

2.55pm

# Lok Sabha adjourned for the day

2.46pm

# PM has said that till December 30th, the situation will be back to normal and we're trying to solve all problems: Arun Jaitley in Lok Sabha

# Congress was in power from 2004-14, I challenge them to tell about even one step taken to curb black money in the 10 years: Jaitley in Lok Sabha

2pm

# Rajya Sabha adjourned for the day amid uproar

#A No longer will the progress and prosperity of rural India be curtailed by corruption and black money. Our villages must get their due: PM Modi on Twitter

# I have always said that the government's measure will bring a degree of inconvenience but this short term pain will pave way for long term gains: PM Modi

We also have a historic opportunity to embrace increased cashless payments & integrate latest technology in economic transactions. a Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) December 8, 2016

No longer will the progress & prosperity of rural India be curtailed by corruption & black money. Our villages must get their due. a Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) December 8, 2016

# The government's decision has several gains for farmers, traders, labourers, who are the economic backbone of our nation: PM Modi

# I salute the people of India for wholeheartedly participating in this ongoing Yagna against corruption, terrorism and black money: PM Modi on Twitter

12pm

# Rajya Sabha adjourned till 2pm

11.47am

# Lok Sabha adjourned till 12pm

11.22am

# Rajya Sabha adjourned till 12pm

# More than 100 people have died post-demonetisation, we wanted that they must be paid homage in the Parliament but the government refused it: Ghulam Nabi Azad in RS

11.15am

# Opposition parties are making their accusations, but the moment we stand up to answer, they storm the well of House to protest: Venkaiah Naidu in Rajya Sabha

# Uproar in Rajya Sabha over demonetisation issue

11am

# PM should come to Parliament to debate on demonetisation, Rahul Gandhi before session begins

Govt must take some follow up measures&significantly increase infrastructure &social sector expenditures,reduce taxes substantially-SKanoria a ANI (@ANI_news) December 8, 2016

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-08 22:39:30|Editor: huaxia

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Photo taken on July 14, 2020 shows the Golden Bauhinia Square in south China's Hong Kong, July 14, 2020. (Xinhua/Wu Xiaochu)

A spokesperson for the Office of the Commissioner of the Chinese Foreign Ministry in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) said that the United States had been bent on obstructing and undermining the HKSAR's efforts to safeguard national security by attacking and smearing the national security law in the HKSAR. The so-called sanctions will be futile and self-defeating.

HONG KONG, Aug. 8 (Xinhua) -- The Office of the Commissioner of the Chinese Foreign Ministry in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) on Saturday expressed strong indignation over and protested against the so-called sanctions announced by the U.S. Department of the Treasury on officials in charge of Hong Kong affairs of the Central People's Government and the HKSAR government, stressing that such sanctions will only be self-defeating.

A spokesperson for the commissioner office said that it is a legitimate right of countries to formulate and implement national security law. By establishing and improving the legal system and enforcement mechanisms for safeguarding national security in the HKSAR, the Law of the People's Republic of China on Safeguarding National Security in the HKSAR has brought Hong Kong back to the right track and ensured greater success of "one country, two systems," which has gained broad support.

However, the United States has been bent on obstructing and undermining the HKSAR's efforts to safeguard national security by attacking and smearing the national security law in the HKSAR, and now imposing the so-called sanctions on officials in charge of Hong Kong affairs of the Central People's Government and the HKSAR government, the spokesperson said.

In doing so, it has laid bare its intention to deny others the basic right to install a security door at home, its hegemonic practice of trampling upon principles of international law and basic norms governing international relations, and its hypocrisy in claiming commitment to Hong Kong's prosperity and stability, the spokesperson added.

The spokesperson pointed out that Hong Kong is part of China, and any external force shall not interfere in Hong Kong affairs. The HKSAR has the full support of the motherland. Therefore, no scheme to mess up Hong Kong will ever succeed, and no coercion, pressure or sanction will ever hold back the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and the steady and sustainable development of "one country, two systems."

The spokesperson emphasized that the Chinese government is rock-firm in safeguarding national sovereignty, security and development interests, in implementing "one country, two systems," and in opposing external interference in Hong Kong affairs.

Any U.S. sanction is futile, the spokesperson said, adding that on the contrary, it will only reflect its wishful thinking to play Hong Kong as a card against China and anxiety about China's development, and further confirm that "one country, two systems" will enjoy brighter prospects and that China's national rejuvenation is an unstoppable trend.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-10 03:54:21|Editor: huaxia

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Damaged buildings are seen at the Port of Beirut in Lebanon, Aug. 8, 2020. The Lebanese Health Ministry announced on Saturday that 158 people died and 6,000 were wounded by the huge explosions that hit Beirut's port on Tuesday. (Xinhua/Bilal Jawich)

The total figure of "emergency aid pledged or that can be mobilized quickly" amounts over 252 million euros (297.08 million U.S. dollars), said the French presidency.

PARIS, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) -- The international community on Sunday pledged timely and sufficient aid, well-coordinated under the leadership of the United Nations (UN), to assist the Lebanese people hit by the massive explosions at the Beirut port five days ago.

After a UN-backed virtual conference, hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron, representatives from Britain, Qatar, the United States, the European Union, China, the World Bank and others issued a joint statement pledging solidarity with and support to the Lebanese people.

"The participants agreed that their assistance should be timely, sufficient and consistent with the needs of the Lebanese people, well-coordinated under the leadership of the United Nations, and directly delivered to the Lebanese population, with utmost efficiency and transparency," said the statement.

French President Emmanuel Macron gives a speech in Baabda, east of Beirut, Lebanon, Aug. 6, 2020. Macron arrived in Beirut on Thursday following Beirut's huge explosions which has killed at least 137 people and injured nearly 5,000. (Dalati & Nohra/Handout via Xinhua)

To help Lebanon overcome the tragedy and recover better, "we will need all hands on deck," UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed told the conference.

"I give my pledge that the United Nations is committed to helping the people of Lebanon in every way we can," she said.

Mohammed called for a focus on support to four priority sectors, health, food, the rehabilitation of buildings and the rehabilitation of schools.

Lebanese President Michel Aoun told the conference that rebuilding Beirut requires a lot of efforts and resources.

"The earthquake struck us while we are in the midst of economic and financial crisis, in addition to the existence of over 1 million refugees in Lebanon and the repercussions of COVID-19. Dealing with all these is way beyond the capacity of Lebanon," Aoun noted.

The total figure of "emergency aid pledged or that can be mobilized quickly" amounts over 252 million euros (297.08 million U.S. dollars), said the French presidency.

"We are sending a clear message: we, the global community, Lebanon's closest friends and partners, will not let the Lebanese people down," Macron tweeted.

French President Emmanuel Macron visits the Port of Beirut in Beirut, Lebanon, Aug. 6, 2020. (Dalati & Nohra/Handout via Xinhua)
Courtesy of Andrew Grande

[Thumbs up] Andrew Grande was watching his kids and their babysitter play outside his League City home when he spotted an alligators head rise out of the canal. He dashed out and quickly moved everyone to safety as the 11-foot, 500-pound gator drew closer. I had a gut feeling it wanted my daughter as a snack, Grande told the Chron.com with surely no pun intended. It took three hours and seven people to pull the reptilian beast from the water, after which point he was transported to Gator Country, a nearby theme park. Its unfortunate that this wild animal ended up in captivity, but after all, he was the instigator. As for the kids, theyll be OK. Nothing shuts down a my dad is better than your dad schoolyard fight faster than saying your dad wrestled a giant alligator to save your life.

[Thumbs down] Turning now from alligators to crook-odiles, a Houston man is accused of applying for pandemic relief to the tune of $1.6 million, which he used to treat himself to a Lamborghini, a Rolex watch and a strip club spending spree. Government investigators quickly realized that making it rain is not a valid expense under the Paycheck Protection Program and have charged the man with fraud.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-09 19:15:38|Editor: huaxia

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People walk on a street in Dhaka, Bangladesh on Aug. 9, 2020. Bangladesh's COVID-19 cases rose to 257,600 on Sunday with 2,487 new cases reported, and deaths from the virus increased to 3,399. (Xinhua)

DHAKA, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) -- Bangladesh's COVID-19 cases rose to 257,600 on Sunday with 2,487 new cases reported, and deaths from the virus increased to 3,399.

Senior Health Ministry official Nasima Sultana told a briefing on Sunday that 34 deaths were reported in the last 24 hours across Bangladesh.

According to the official, 10,759 samples were tested in the last 24 hours in labs across the country.

She said the total number of recovered patients in the country stands at 148,370 with 1,766 new recoveries.

According to the official, the COVID-19 fatality rate in Bangladesh is now 1.32 percent and the current recovery rate is 57.60 percent. Enditem
The six-member Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) has asked the United Nations to extend an international arms embargo on Iran, a move pushed strongly by the United States.

The secretariat of the GCC, made up of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, said in a statement on Sunday that Iran's continued interference in neighbouring countries made an extension necessary.

The arms embargo on Iran is currently set to end on Oct. 18 under Tehran's 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, which Washington quit in 2018.

The request, in a letter to the United Nations, is a show of unity from the GCC. In mid-2017, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt severed political, trade and transport ties with Qatar over accusations it had been supporting terrorism and cosying up to Iran.

"It is inappropriate to lift restrictions on the supply of weapons from and to Iran until Iran gives up its destabilising activities in the region and stops supplying terrorist and sectarian organisations with weapons," a statement from GCC Secretary General Nayef Falah Mubarak al-Hajraf said.

If the United States is unsuccessful in extending the embargo, it has threatened to trigger a return of all U.N. sanctions on Iran under a process agreed in the 2015 deal.

The U.S.-drafted resolution needs at least nine votes in favour to force Russia and China to use their vetoes, which Moscow and Beijing have signalled they will do. Some diplomats question whether Washington can even secure those nine, however.

*This story was edited by Ahram Online.

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Thousands of demonstrators marched through downtown Montreal Saturday to protest against the Quebec government's mandatory mask regulations.

The protesters  the vast majority of whom did not wear masks  carried signs and wore t-shirts indicating a variety of motivations and ideologies in opposition to face coverings.

Some demanded freedom, some were critical of the Coalition Avenir Quebec government, Premier Francois Legault or public health director Dr. Horacio Arruda, and others espoused various theories about COVID-19 and U.S. politics.

"I find it illogical," said Nathalie Warren, who travelled from Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que. for the protest.

"Say we go into a restaurant," she said. "We walk in wearing a mask, because, what, COVID is there? Then we sit down and we can take the masks off because, what, the COVID is gone?"

Under the government's regulations, masks are mandatory in restaurants when clients are moving around because it is harder to maintain a physical distance from others in those instances, provincial health authorities have said. When a client is seated, they may remove their mask as long as they are at a two-metre distance from others.

"We want our liberty. We want the right to say yes to a vaccine. We want the right to decide. It's our life, it's our bodies, it's up to us," said Warren.

"I'm not OK with children going to school wearing masks, and physical distancing," said Irene Sarmiento. "It makes no sense. The children aren't to blame. The population is being abused."

So far, the Quebec government has not made masks mandatory for students heading back to school.

Jean-Claude Taliana/Radio-Canada

There were frequent spontaneous chants of "liberte" as the march wound from the main gates of McGill University on Sherbrooke Street to the CBC/Radio-Canada building on Rene-Levesque Boulevard. Montreal police surveyed the event from motorcycles and bicycles.

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At previous anti-mask protests in the province, demonstrators argued that mandatory mask rules are not fair and that the threat of COVID-19 is not as serious as is being reported.

On Saturday, some people made a show of embracing each other or exchanging double-cheek kisses. During speeches at the end, there were loud cheers for suggestions the mask law had no scientific basis and was instead an effort to control the population.

The science on masks and COVID-19, however, is now quite clear. Since the start of the pandemic, scientists have learned more about asymptomatic carriers and how the virus could spread through airborne particles.

Public health experts note that you should wear a cloth face covering not to protect yourself, but to protect those physically close to you by reducing the chance some of your respiratory droplets come into contact with them.

A recent study, which looked at research carried out in 16 countries on six continents, concluded that "wearing face masks protects people (both health-care workers and the general public) against infection by these coronaviruses, and that eye protection could confer additional benefit."

In the past, the Quebec government has said that people are allowed to protest. On July 27, responding to protests the previous weekend, Deputy Premier Genevieve Guilbault said there would be "consequences" if there continued to be incidents where people "transgress the rules of public health."

"It has nothing to do with taking away anyone's right to protest or express themselves," Guilbault said. "It's obvious that anybody can protest. But nobody has the right to put anyone else's health in danger."
According to information published by the U.S. Navy on August 4, 2020, the U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyer USS Thomas Hudner (DDG 116) joins the U.S. Coast Guard and several allied navies in the maritime component of Canadian Operation NANOOK-TUUGAALIK 2020.

According to information published by the U.S. Navy on August 4, 2020, the U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyer USS Thomas Hudner (DDG 116) joins the U.S. Coast Guard and several allied navies in the maritime component of Canadian Operation NANOOK-TUUGAALIK 2020.

Follow Navy Recognition on Google News at this link

The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Thomas Hudner (DDG 116) moves alongside Royal Canadian ship MV Asterix during a replenishment-at-sea approach drill between the U.S. Coast Guard, US Navy and Royal Canadian Navy, August 5, 2020. (Picture source U.S. Navy)

The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Thomas Hudner (DDG 116) is joining members of the U.S. Coast Guard, Canadian Armed Forces, French Navy, and the Royal Danish Navy, to participate in the maritime component of Operation NANOOK-TUUGAALIK 2020.

Operation NANOOK is the Canadian Armed Forces signature northern operation, comprising a series of comprehensive, joint, interagency, and multinational activities designed to exercise the defense of Canada and security in the region. NANOOK-TUUGAALIK is the maritime component of the NANOOK series of deployments and training events and designed as a maritime presence operation and domain awareness of the seas in the Eastern Arctic.

The United States is one of eight Arctic nations and the National Defense Strategy calls upon the military to increase its presence in the Arctic over the long term and to conduct joint operations with Arctic allies to strengthen situational awareness and information sharing.

Operation NANOOK has taken place each year since 2007, normally during the months of August and September. Due to the current COVID-19 pandemic, this iteration will be shorter than past years, with no planned port visits or community relations activities.

This years maritime component for Operation NANOOK includes the Royal Canadian Navy ships HMCS Glace Bay, HMCS Ville de Quebec, and MV Asterix; the U.S. Navy Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Thomas Hudner (DDG 116), the Misfits of Helicopter Maritime Strike (HSM) 46.2; the U.S. Coast Guard cutter USCGC Tahoma, French Navy coastal patrol vessel FS Fulmar, and the Royal Danish Navy frigate HDMS Triton.
DELHI: An encounter took place between Special Cell of Delhi Police and Mewati gang members at Vasant Kunj area in the national capital on Sunday (August 9). According to reports, one criminal Arshad was injured in the police firing.

Arshad is accused of looting several cases of looting and uprooting ATM machines in Delhi-NCR. Police said he had come to Vasant Kunj to conduct scrutiny as he planning to conduct a similar crime in the area.

However, he was surrounded by the Delhi Police.
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09.08.2020 LISTEN

When David killed Uriah and took his wife the blood of the dead man refused to keep quiet. It continued speaking loudly and restlessly until God responded. Yes, blood does not die. It speaks. It reacts until it gets justice. If you have deliberately directly or remotely caused the death of anybody, expect firm and harsh responses from heaven. David made the worst mistake of his life when he murdered an innocent man and he paid direly for it. He went through hell. His family and the whole of Israel suffered for that. When other kings were busy working and going to wars, King David was at home, idling away. Instead of going to battles, he was loitering in the palace and as a result fell into sin of covetousness and immorality and to cover his track, he committed murder. My God! One sin will always lead to another. Sin begets sin. Unrighteousness begets unrighteousness. That is why you must not take the first wrong step. If you do, you will definitely need many more wrong steps to cover it up and that will ultimately lead you an irreversible point of regret and destruction. When you are doing the wrong thing at the wrong time the result will also always be wrong and painful. David left his assignment, he left his duty post started loitering, coveting another mans wife, impregnated her, tried everything evil plot to cover his tracks and when they failed killed the womans husband and took the woman. Did you see the web of evil cause by carelessness and carnality?

This singular incident caused so much sorrow, pain, tears and regret to this great man. If he knew that all that will happen, I dont think he would have allowed that mistake. You know sometimes because we dont know all the details of the price we will pay we go ahead and commit sin, crimes. There is a price for every carelessness, wrong decision and actions. The eternal law remains that if you sow, you reap. If you dont get it today, just wait for it tomorrow because it must surely come. I wish we will be more careful of what we are doing now. True. When God heard the cry of Uriahs blood, he came swiftly and released generational curses on David and his family. I was really touched by his words through Prophet Nathan, Why, then, have you despised the word of the LORD and done this horrible deed? For you have murdered Uriah the Hittite with the sword of the Ammonites and stolen his wife. From this time on, your family will live by the sword because you have despised me by taking Uriahs wife to be your own. This is what the LORD says: Because of what you have done, I will cause your own household to rebel against you. I will give your wives to another man before your very eyes, and he will go to bed with them in public view. You did it secretly, but I will make this happen to you openly in the sight of all Israel. 2 Samuel 12:9-12. May God have mercy on us!

Covetousness, envy, anger and hatred will often lead to higher sins like murder, betrayal and destruction. And that is why we were told to always uproot them from our hearts when we notice them. Dont allow them to take root because they will certainly lead you to destroy others and yourself. Nobody commits murder without these  covetousness, bitterness, envy and hatred. And they often drop into us like the insignificant mustard seed that will later grow, dominate and overshadow. Look at the story of Ahab, Jezebel and Naboth. The wicked demonic Jezebel arranged the murder of Naboth so that her husband King Ahab would take over the mans vineyard. Yes, the plot succeeded, but the innocent blood of Naboth refused to be silenced. God heard the cry and sent Prophet Elijah to pass this verdict on the notorious king and the queen, Give him this message: this is what the LORD says: Wasnt it enough that you killed Naboth? Must you rob him, too? Because you have done this, dogs will lick your blood at the very place where they licked the blood of Naboth! ... And regarding Jezebel, the LORD says, Dogs will eat Jezebels body at the plot of land in Jezreel. The members of Ahabs family who die in the city will be eaten by dogs, and those who die in the field will be eaten by vultures 1 Kings 21:19, 23-34. Yes, they and their family shall also die painfully and the dogs and birds shall also lick their blood and eat their meat because they have spilled an innocent blood. Be very careful of what you do to others. You cannot mess with lives and go free. What you sow is what you will reap! You can get my audiobook/book Breaking Generational Curses: Claiming Your Freedom on amazon.com to read more about all these. Do we still have Jezebels today? Dont take just any advice. Pray over it first. And also make sure it is righteous.

There are terrible curses that follow those who contribute to other peoples death and suffering, especially the innocent. Murders, treachery, victimisation, betrayal that always stem from covetousness, envy, anger and wickedness will always attract the maximum divine punishment. These carry heavy curses that always turn generational. Yes, you may have done it in the secret but God saw you and the reward to you and your family shall be open and painful. When Judas gleefully betrayed his master for monetary gain, he paid for it with his own life and his family was also cursed. The money instead of being a blessing turned to sand in his mouth. Wealth and positions from crooked means will always ultimately turn into pain, sorrow and curses. And did you notice that the family and the land are always mentioned or affected by these curses? You must get my above mentioned audiobook from Amazon or other sites immediately to understand this very well. So many people, families, towns and our land are suffering today because of the amount of wickedness, injustice, victimisation and spilling of blood. There are blood and innocent cries everywhere, all around us for vengeance and justice. And they will not stop until they are avenged or appeased. Till next week.

Rev Gabriel Agbo is of the Assemblies of God and the Author of the book Power of Midnight Prayer website www.authorsden.com/pastorgabrielnagbo E-mail: [email protected] Tel: 08037113283
Good style is all in the genes... or should that be jeans?

Damian Hurley may have inherited his looks from his doppelganger mother Liz  but as for his sartorial choices, thats down to him alone.

And the 18-year-old model grabbed attention last week when he was seen laughing with a female friend while wearing a decidedly bold choice of trouser, a pair of mermaid-pattern jeans.

Damian Hurley, 18, grabbed attention last week when he was seen laughing with a female friend, pictured, while wearing a pair of mermaid-pattern jeans

Even more eye-opening than the design  by Jonathan Anderson of the luxury Spanish fashion house Loewe  is the 570 price tag.

Damian, and his glamorous pal chatted animatedly as they waited outside upmarket Argentinian restaurant Casa Cruz in Notting Hill, West London, where they celebrated a friends birthday, the teenager occasionally flicking back his long locks.

Damian, whos also a budding actor, later shared photographs of the evening with his 83,000 Instagram followers, accompanied with the caption: Happiest night all together again after five months apart.

An onlooker said: Damian looked in great spirits. He seemed to be in a happier place, constantly laughing and joking throughout the evening.

Damian had been devastated by the death of his father, Steve Bing, in June.

Damian and his pal chatted animatedly as they waited outside upmarket Argentinian restaurant Casa Cruz in Notting Hill, West London, where they celebrated a friends birthday

The 55-year-old film-maker jumped to his death from the 27th floor of his apartment building in Los Angeles.

After the tragedy, the teenager thanked his social media followers for their overwhelming kindness, adding: Your love and support has helped me greatly during this challenging time.

Damian has spent lockdown with his 55-year-old mother in the family mansion in Herefordshire.
Researching MBA Programs During COVID-19

When deciding which MBA program to attend, many prospective students want to visit campuses to get a feel for the culture and what their schools have to offer.

But with many campuses closed and courses shifting online, how should applicants research their ideal MBA program?

Caroline Diarte Edwards of Fortuna Admissions recently offered a few tips on how applicants should research MBA programs during this time.

SELF-REFLECTION

Experts suggest applicants be the first to take some time to do substantial self-reflection before jumping into research.

Pause to get introspective about your ambitions, strengths, passions, and personal values, Diarte Edwards writes. The time you invest in introspection will directly influence your ability to be discerning throughout the research process.

FOLLOW A HIERARCHY OF INFORMATION

Diarte Edwards says applicants should follow the hierarchy of good information when researching MBA programs.

While youll want to digest each schools website, its valuable to start with a look at its MBA Student Profile and Employment Report, she writes. Both reflect data about current and graduating students, which gives you a sense of where students are coming from and where theyre headed after graduation.

Additionally, it can be helpful to check out school-hosted blogs to get timely and accurate updates of whats going on at b-schools.

In addition to keeping applicants apprised of news, changes, and opportunities, a blogs tone and content are revealing about its personality and priorities, Diarte Edwards writes. Same for its social media channels, where you can follow the latest and often get the swiftest response to your queries.

NETWORK DIGITALLY

Since in-person networking will be difficult to do, Diarte Edwards suggests that applicants double down on digital networking efforts.

Sleuth out students and alumni who share similar interests and initiate frank conversations that help you understand a schools identity beyond its polished brand, she writes. By having those in-depth conversations, youll build up an impression over time about whether a program is the right place for you.

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Sources: Fortuna Admissions, Poets & Quants

Cornell University. Cornell photo

Tips for The Cornell Johnson Essays

The SC Johnson College of Business at Cornell ranked in the top 20 b-schools for P&Qs annual rankings.

Getting into the MBA program is no easy feat as the admissions team seeks out top-notch applicants.

One of the most crucial aspects of the Johnson application is the essay component. This requires applicants to complete a Goals Statement as well as two essays: the Impact Essay and the Back of Your Resume Essay.

The experts at Stratus Admissions recently offered a few tips on how to best write the Cornell Johnson essays and what the admissions team is looking for.

REQUIRED ESSAY COMPONENTS

The Goals Statement is a short-answer section in which applicants share their short- and long-term goals.

If applicants secure an interview, they are expected to elaborate on their Goals Statement further and connect their past experiences with their future aspirations.

The Impact Essay essentially asks applicants to explain how they intend to make an impact during their time at Johnson. This essay, according to Johnsons website, is designed to explore the intersection of engagement and community culture.

The Back of Your Resume Essay is an opportunity for applicants to present themselves as an individual. Essentially, the name is exactly what it is: space for applicants to convey their personality and individualism outside of their resumes accomplishments and numbers.

CONVEY YOUR IMPACT

Johnson admissions team is interested in understanding what kind of impact an applicant will leave on the Johnson community.

Experts say utilizing the Impact Essay to convey how youll do this is key.

To write a successful Impact Essay, you have to do your research; reach out to a few club officers of professional or shared interest groups at Cornell that are relevant to your background or goals, according to Stratus. Identify ways you can get involved and feel free to name drop your contacts in the essay. Touch base with alumni. Determine the volunteering or mentorship opportunities of which you will take advantage. Participate in virtual or in-person information sessions.

HAVE BALANCE

Another important note is to convey how you stay balanced in your accomplishments as well as who you are outside the classroom.

Having balance, experts say, can help illustrate your interests and personality beyond your accolades and goals.

Cornell is known as a culture that works, learns, and plays hard, according to Stratus. Does this represent your life? If it does, share the details with Johnson. Investment banker and whiskey connoisseur, thats what we are talking about. Being the social catalyst for your group counts at Cornell. After all, Ithaca winters are cold and dark.

Sources: Stratus Admissions Counseling, Poets & Quants, Cornell SC Johnson College of Business

When Harvard announced a more sympathetic approach to deferrals for international students hard-pressed by the global pandemic, other schools took notice. Harvard Gazette photo

B-Schools Help Support Local Businesses During Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has swept its way through the nation as many businesses struggle to stay afloat.

Small businesses, in particular, are hurting. In a PNAS survey of more than 5,800 small businesses, 43% of businesses reported being temporarily closed  nearly all in response to COVID-19.

But what exactly can b-schools do to support local businesses during this time?

Matt Symonds, co-founder of Fortuna Admissions and a contributor at Forbes, recently looked at how b-schools are responding during the pandemic and offering support to local businesses.

PARTNERSHIPS

Across the world, a number of b-schools are partnering with local businesses, bringing in MBAs to help support business goals.

At Wharton, students are working hand-in-hand with the Philadelphia Zoo to help expand on the zoos virtual engagement and need to reprioritize goals in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Like many businesses, the Zoo was forced to suddenly close its doors. Wharton MBAs brainstormed digital strategiesfrom social media content planning to fund-raising ideas that would help the Zoo reach its consumer base virtually.

The students delivered a very compelling and thoughtful plan for expansion but their innovative thinking didnt just stop there, Kristen Waldron, director of strategic initiatives at Philadelphia Zoo, says in a blog post on Wharton Stories. With the Zoo temporarily closed, the Fellows turned their creativity toward brainstorming additional ideas to support our online engagement.

INITIATIVES

At MIP Politecnico di Milano, the Keep ON Learning initiative was launched to allow students, alumni, professors, and companies to tap into and contribute advice, articles and live webinars, and in-depth analyses through digital platforms.

The unusual situation in which we find ourselves is forcing us to rethink our daily habits and way of working, in some cases to totally reinvent them, with all the difficulties associated with this, Federico Frattini, Dean of MIP Politecnico di Milano, says in a statement. I believe that the best answer that each of us can give in this moment, the most valuable contribution to the common cause, is to continue to carry out our projects. And its what we are doing at MIP. We work each day to allow students, professors, staff, companies, alumni, and all our other partners, to continue to rely on us.

TRAINING

The NEOMA Business School in France is helping support local businesses through its Start-up Lab, offering a training course around topics such as finance and strategy with free webinars and tailored coaching.

The unprecedented transition period that companies are currently going through requires them to prepare their employees for the changes they are facing and will continue to face in the months to come, Stephane Dubreuille, the Director of Executive Education at NEOMA Business School, tells Forbes. Naturally, for this, our Executive Education programs have been developed to respond as much as possible to these new business needs.

Sources: Forbes, PNAS, The Wharton School, Politecnico Milano, NEOMA Business School

The post Researching MBA Programs During COVID-19 appeared first on Poets&Quants.
For many on both sides of the political aisle, the pandemic ushered in a change in voting patterns.

Nearly two out of every three primary voters who mailed in their ballots voted in person during the last election in which they cast a ballot, the analysis shows.

The switch from in-person to mail-in balloting was even more acute among Democratic Party voters. About 77% of Democrats mailing in their primary ballots voted in person the last election in which they voted.

Among GOP primary voters, about 60% of those mailing in their ballots cast in-person ballots in the last election in which they voted.

The leaders of both major state political parties said this week that absentee balloting would be a major focus of their campaigns this summer and fall.

Republican State Party Chairman David McLain said in an interview that his party is placing an emphasis on increasing the number of mail-in absentee ballots for the general election.

Its going to be a very large push from the Oklahoma Republican Party, McLain said. He said as part of the push, voters will be asked to return their marked ballots as soon as possible.
On August 5, Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi set the process of the construction of a Ram temple at Ayodhya in motion. This is a moment of political triumph for Hindutva politics. And the euphoria in the Hindutva camp, especially the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and its political affiliate, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), is not surprising.

What is disappointing, however, is the reaction of the secular camp. Its response can be described as empty assertions against the victory of political Hindutva, wishful thinking about a closure of such politics, or, just opportunistic celebration. Rahul Gandhis tweet trying to seek some sort of self-righteous, even metaphysical, solace by portraying Ram as opposed to the politics of hate and injustice fits the first category. The Communist Party of India (Marxist)s statement lamenting that the bhoomi pujan should not have been made into a political event fits the second category. Priyanka Gandhi Vadras statement, and the response of most other political leaders, which celebrated the act in the hope that it will be used as an occasion to promote harmony and cultural affinity, fits the third category.

None of these positions will worry the BJP. It will celebrate, and rightly so, the construction of the temple as the biggest political success of its larger ideological project. It is also naive to expect that the BJP will not use the Ram temple issue for future political gains. The BJP is not concerned about whether its opponents think of its actions as justifiable or not. What matters for the BJP is the view of the majority, which as of now, appears firmly with the party.

The fate of secular politics in India, today more than ever, depends on whether or not its practitioners can explain its raison detre to the Hindus. None of the mainstream political players are even trying to do that.

To be sure, there has been a fourth kind of reaction as well; largely from civil society voices. It paints August 5 as an apocalyptic event of sorts, when constitutional ideas have been destroyed forever. Irrespective of whether one agrees or disagrees with this assessment, such a position necessarily entails an abdication of politics per se. If there is nothing left to save, whats the point of doing anything?

The collective despondency, captured by all the positions described above, is an alibi for the lack of political imagination and will of those who claim to champion the politics of secularism.

The Ram temple movement was the beginning of a political experiment to achieve a majoritarian political consolidation, which, in turn, was aimed at capturing power. It brought immense dividends initially. But it does not explain the current dominance of the BJP. Nor will it guarantee that its fortunes remain intact. Political Hindutva, like all political ideologies, will need to keep renewing its ideological hegemony. It has so far managed this: The Ram temple movement in the 1990s, politicisation of the surgical strikes and Balakot attacks against Pakistan before the 2019 polls, the politics around the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, and annulment of Article 370 under the second Modi government are examples of continuous efforts to ensure this.

This macro-politics is accompanied with a continuous simmering of religious polarisation, something Sajjan Kumar and Sudha Pai have described in detail in their book, Everyday Communalism: Riots in Contemporary Uttar Pradesh. The BJP has been shrewd in utilising each of these issues to impart dynamism to political Hindutva, and prevent it from becoming an ossified project. The so-called love jihad and cow vigilantism are good tools in rural and semi-urban centres. The party believed that they need not be unleashed in more posh urban settings, lest the middle classes get alienated. Even on the contentious issue of beef-eating, the BJP has shown remarkable tactical flexibility in states such as Kerala, where a large number of Hindus are beef-eaters.

The Opposition, meanwhile, has singularly failed to counter this politics because its methods are confused and half-hearted. For example, the secular camp could have resorted to an intelligent-yet-peaceful symbolism to organise a protest on August 5. Those who oppose the BJP are not an insignificant number. Contrast this with how the BJP cleverly called upon people to light lamps, which ensured mass participation even in the times of a pandemic.

Similarly, no mass campaign has ever been undertaken to counter cow vigilantes, even though it is common knowledge that even Hindus in the livestock economy have suffered due to this menace.

It is easier to ascribe these problems to personality-centric deficiencies. That, however, is only the surface of the problem. At the root of the present crisis of secularism is a lack of conviction among its so-called vanguards about its political prospects itself. This is what explains frequent tactical resorts of buying peace with Hindutva via the public display of Hindu beliefs by politicians. It is these acts which have given legitimacy to assertions from the Right that the Nehruvian secular consensus, and not Hindutva, was the political fringe in India.

Interestingly, Jawaharlal Nehru himself never took this consensus for granted. In his preface to Ramdhari Singh Dinkars Sanskriti ke Char Adhyay, written in 1955, Nehru warns Indian intellectuals against aping their English counterparts. He could see the former losing touch with the people, who were untouched by modern western ideas. Secularism, especially the concept of separation of the State from religion, is one of the core ideas of western modernity.

The prerequisite to strengthening any political project is to first identify its weaknesses, rather than pretend that all is well. This intellectual integrity must be complemented with political conviction to address these weaknesses. Secularisms current defendants, unlike Nehru, have neither of these qualities.

roshan.k@htlive.com

The views expressed are personal

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Japan's quiet push to protect its supply chains in the era of covid-19 may prove a boon for Southeast Asian nations looking to gain from the growing backlash against China.

The Japanese government is paying about 12 billion yen ($114 million) to 30 companies to increase production in Southeast Asia, in the first round of a multi-billion dollar program to diversify supply chains after covid-19 and worsening relations between the U.S. and China.

Japan wants to cut its reliance on China or any other individual nation and the money will hasten the trend of firms moving out of China and into cheaper neighbors like Vietnam or Thailand.

Fujikin Inc. makes parts used in semiconductor manufacturing and is one firm benefiting from the incentives. The Osaka-based manufacturer will receive subsidies worth two-thirds of its costs to shift production out of China and into Vietnam.

"We'd been thinking about increasing our capacity in Vietnam before the subsidy was announced, and it fit right in," said company President Shinya Nojima.

When the virus shut down Fujikin's suppliers in China earlier this year, their customers became worried about shipments of parts. "Our customers were asking us: Is the China procurement happening? Are we going to be able to meet the deadline?" Nojima said Monday.

The coronavirus outbreak, and the lockdowns that followed, have forced businesses and government officials around the world to rethink their supply chains in order to reduce reliance on China as a manufacturing source.

Japan had already been a key player in Southeast Asia, home to some of Asia's fastest-expanding economies before the pandemic and a growing and youthful population. Japanese investment into five of the region's economies -- Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand -- rose at nearly double the pace into China over the past decade.

Infrastructure development formed a big chunk of that investment, with Japanese firms vying with Chinese ones to build railways and hospitals in countries like Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam.

The U.S.-China trade war and worries about China's growing dominance in Southeast Asia have fostered stronger economic ties between Japan and the region.

Japan is considered the most trusted major power among Southeast Asian nations, according to an annual survey by the Singapore-based ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, released in January. Of 1,308 people surveyed across five professional sectors, 61.2% said they had confidence Japan would "do theright thing" to provide public goods.

That trust goes both ways, with Japan putting a net $139 billion into Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines over the past decade.

"Even before coronavirus and the U.S.-China trade war struck, there was a shift away from production in China," said Satoshi Kitashima, a deputy director at the Japan External Trade Organization.

Vietnam has emerged as the clear favorite for many manufacturers over the years, given its proximity to China, relatively low labor and power costs, and its openness to foreign investment. Kitashima, who had previously spent nine years in Vietnam facilitating business between the two countries, said there's been a clear upward swing in Japanese direct investment into Vietnam since the global financial crisis more than a decade ago.

Fujikin's Nojima says Vietnam's wages are a 10th of Japan's and lower than in China, while Kitashima says many firms are now moving to Vietnam with their focus on the nation's young and rapidly growing domestic market. Investors also credit Vietnam for its stable political leadership and ability to contain the coronavirus outbreak, although the nation has recently seen a spike in cases again.

Of the 30 firms that secured Japanese government subsidies to expand production abroad to protect their supply chains, half of them will be using that money in Vietnam.

One of them is Showa International Co., a Tokyo-based business that's been making clothes in Vietnam for 25 years. The pandemic has seen it ramp up production of medical gowns and masks, with Kazuo Nishizawa, head of the company, projecting it should be able to produce up to 150,000 gowns a month.

"There's still a large shortage of gowns and masks," he said. With demand surging across the world, "we have a mission to first be able to provide stable supplies to Japan," he said.

In the first round of the new subsidy program, 57 companies shared 57.4 billion yen to boost output in Japan, and the 30 companies shared about 12 billion yen to increase output in other nations. That leaves around 174 billion yen that firms can apply for in the next round.

Indonesia, Southeast Asia's largest economy and the world's fourth most-populous nation, is another country that's benefited from a surge in Japanese investment, including in Jakarta's first underground rail network.

Japan was the biggest Asian investor in Indonesia in the first quarter, according to data from the central bank. In June, authorities announced that seven foreign companies will relocate their plants from China to Indonesia with a total investment value of $850 million. Three of them were from Japan, including electronics giant Panasonic Corp. and auto parts maker Denso Corp.

"FDI from Japan will remain high or even higher, especially because the second phase of the mass rapid transit construction project in Jakarta will soon begin," said Yuliot, a deputy chairman at the Indonesian Investment Coordinating Board, who goes by one name. Another reason is "the relocation trend of Japanese plants from China to Indonesia," he said.

Within Japan, pressure is growing to secure supply chains.

"In the past supply chains were put together solely from the perspective of economic rationale," Akira Amari, a confidante of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and a senior ruling party official, said in an interview last month. "Amid the coronavirus crisis, the thinking is shifting toward diversifying risk from the perspective of national economic security."
A lot of viewers who watched Netflixs The Kissing Booth 2 actually rooted for Elle (Joey King) and Marco (Taylor Zakhar Perez) as opposed to Elle and Noah (Jacob Elordi). So of course, everyone is all into these speculations that Perez and King could be a couple in real-life. Perez addressed all of this in a new interview.

Taylor Zakhar Perez in 2018 | Donato Sardella/Getty Images for GUESS

Heres why people began to think Taylor Zakhar Perez and Joey King were dating

Fans noticed that the duo would frequently post photos and videos with each other and leave comments that added fuel to the fire. For example, a Instagram post that Perez made for Kings birthday had people think that maybe the real-life actors who play Elle and Marco were really the endgame.

Perez wrote in part, Honestly I could write about this woman all day. She is the reason I joined the KB2 family, she welcomed me with open arms and love, she supported me, she pushed me, she made me laugh (like pee my pants laughter and had to check my underwear), she inspired me to be a bettter actor, she shared her family with me, THE LIST GOES ON. Grateful for you forever.

RELATED: The Kissing Booth 2: Maisie Richardson-Sellers on What Changes About Chloe as the Film Goes on

Fans went wild in the comments as King commented on the post and said, Cant imagine my life without you. I heart you T.

The actor addressed the rumors as they began to spread

In a recent interview with ET Online, Perez spoke openly about his relationship with King. We just kind of hit it off, he said. When we were in South Africa, we had dinner together. I cooked for her, she cooked for me. We just became kind of like the best of friends.

After filming, he says that they began hanging out during quarantine and both needed someone to lean on during these times. He explained, When we got back to Los Angeles we just kept hanging out. We live really near each other. And then the quarantine hit and we kinda just needed someone to trust during that time, like, OK, I know youre not going out. I know who youre seeing. So we just became really close.

Last weekend we went to celebrate her birthday and a friend of mines birthday, he added, noting that the group of friends all got coronavirus (COVID-19) tests to be safe. We just went together and had a good time.

However, despite them being very close, Perez denies that he and King are more than friends. I love her. I love her dearly. Id do anything for her, he said. Were not dating. Ill end it with that.

Joey King has actually dated a The Kissing Booth star before

Before these rumors, King was in a relationship with one of her cast mates from The Kissing Booth. She dated Jacob Elordi, but they broke up in 2018. By the time they began filming The Kissing Booth 2, the couple was not together. One would think that would have contributed to awkwardness, something that Perez also addressed in the recent interview.

Im sure it was odd for her [King] to go back into a production with someone that she dated, he said. And so me being this new castmate and Joel [Courtney] being there and Meganne [Young], we kind of just all meshed really well together.

RELATED: The Kissing Booth Star Jacob Elordi Explains Why His Height Made Him Sensitive

King and Elordi seem to be on good terms, though she did delete a tweet in which she called him out after he claimed in an interview that he had not watched The Kissing Booth 2.

The Kissing Booth 3, which has already filmed, will debut on Netflix in 2021.
In a special gesture on Sunday, Kerala police personnel went to quarantine centres housing civilians-- who had rushed to rescue injured passengers stuck inside the crashed Indian Express flight from Dubai at Karipur Airport on Friday night-- and gave them a salute, to honour their contribution in rescue and relief operations.

A group of 20-30 civilians had joined officials of the CISF, Kerala police, Airport Authority of India staff, fire fighters, airline crew in the rescue operation that lasted close to three hours and helped successfully pull out all 190 passengers and crew members from the Boeing 737 aircraft that fell 35 feet down into a valley after overshooting the runway at the Karipur airport in Kozhikode and crashing into the airport wall.

The locals, who rushed to help, had gathered on the main road adjacent to the perimeter wall of the airport after hearing the sound of the crash.

After the rescue work was finished, they were requested to put themselves in quarantine since at least two rescued passenger tested positive for the coronavirus infection.

The state will always remember their work but we have to take precautions, state health minister K K Shailaja had said.

As many as 30 CISF personnel involved in the rescue operations were also quarantined on Saturday for the next 14 days.

The CISF brass has also decided to award the Director General (DG) commendation DISC to three officers for their outstanding efforts during the rescue operations.

DG CISF Rajesh Ranjan has announced to award DGs commendation DISC to Deputy Commandant/CASO, Kishore Kumar AV, Assistant Sub-Inspector Ajit Singh and Assistant Sub-Inspector Mangal Singh, in recognition of their outstanding efforts during the rescue operations at Calicut Airport, CISF said in a press note.

The crashed aircraft was arriving from Dubai to Kozhikode under the governments Vande Bharat Mission to bring back Indians stranded abroad amidst the Covid pandemic.

The efforts of the rescue team including civilians is even more commendable considering that the area was wet and continuous rains had slowed down movement and approach. Visibility was another major challenge as the area was dark initially till emergency lights and other equipment arrived at the site of the incident.

Rescue teams were also mindful of the fact that a lot of fuel had spilled out from the plane which could have caught fire or even caused an explosion.

The cutters and other equipment were used to cut cables and the metallic body of the aircraft to make way for the rescue teams to enter the aircraft and pull out passengers safely.
Two Lebanese government ministers have quit following the devastating explosion in Beirut that killed more than 150 people, as violent protests gripped the city for a second straight day.

As protesters called for a sustained uprising to topple the country's leaders, police fired tear gas and clashed with hundreds of people attempting to breach the heavily guarded parliament.

A fire broke out at an entrance to parliament square as rock-throwing protesters tried to break into the cordoned-off area, Lebanese TV channels showed.

In the political fallout of the blast, information minister Manal Abdel-Samad said she was resigning "given the magnitude of the catastrophe" and "in response to the public will for change".

Hours later, environment minister Kattar Demianos also stepped down, amid reports more might follow.

The resignations suggest the embattled government may be unravelling in the aftermath of the blast, which killed at least 158 people in Beirut and raised public anger to new levels.

International donors, who joined a teleconference on Sunday, pledged $300m (230m) to rebuild Lebanon's shattered capital but only if the nation's leaders agree to reforms demanded by protesters.

The Lebanese army said on Sunday that hopes of finding more survivors following the blast were fading, with 21 people still missing.

It follows a night of violent anti-government protests in Lebanon's capital as anger mounts over the alleged mismanagement and corruption behind the explosion.

A police officer died and more than 170 people were injured in the demonstrations on Saturday, as protesters tried to break into the parliament building before going on to storm several government ministries.

Demonstrators set up gallows and nooses and held mock hanging sessions of cut-out cardboard images of top Lebanese officials, while some held signs that read "resign or hang".

The devastating explosion in Beirut on Tuesday killed at least 158 people and injured more than 6,000, while destroying parts of the city.

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The blast happened after 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate - a chemical used as a fertiliser and in explosives - caught fire after being stored unsafely at a port warehouse for six years, Lebanese President Michel Aoun has said.

Five of the Lebanese parliament's 128 members have announced their resignation since Saturday.

But the country's top Catholic cleric said the "whole government" should resign as it cannot "change the way it governs".

"The resignation of an MP or a minister is not enough," Christian Maronite Patriarch Bechara Boutros al-Rai said.

"The whole government should resign as it is unable to help the country recover."

Lawyer Maya Habli said: "People should sleep in the streets and demonstrate against the government until it falls."

In a televised speech on Saturday evening, Prime Minister Hassan Diab said the only solution was to hold early elections.

He called on all political parties to put aside their disagreements and said he was prepared to stay in the post for two months to allow time for politicians to work on structural reforms.

On Sunday, an international conference was co-hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron and United Nations secretary-general Antonio Guterres aimed at bringing donors together to supply emergency aid and equipment to Lebanon.

"Despite differences in view, everyone must come to the help of Lebanon and its people," Mr Macron said via video-link from his summer retreat on the French Riviera.

"Our task today is to act swiftly and efficiently."

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The UK has promised another 20m in aid following the blast and pledged to "stand by the Lebanese people".

The rescue package is in addition to 5m already given by the British government.

Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump indicated his willingness to offer support, tweeting: "Everyone wants to help!"
Is the Fort Bend County Narcotics Task Force racially profiling?

Based on an investigation by Chronicle reporters Eric Dexheimer and St. John Barned-Smith, the answer is an unequivocal yes.

Data show that officers assigned to the task force stop and search Latino motorists at a rate that is statistically impossible unless race is a driving factor. This means that you are more likely to experience a humiliating, hours-long stop by the side of the road if you happen to have a Spanish surname.

This is not unique to Fort Bend  studies have found that if you are Black or brown, you are more likely to be stopped, searched and arrested by police  but that doesnt make what is going on there any less egregious.

During a two-year period, for example, records show one officer made 819 stops, out of which almost 98 percent of them involved Latinos behind the wheel. He was not alone. Other task force members had similar rates that run counter to the regions demographics, which put Latinos at 21 percent of the population. Statewide, Latinos are only 40 percent of the population.

The task force is overseen by the Fort Bend County Sheriffs Office and includes members from nearby police departments. Contrast its numbers with those of the countys sheriffs deputies alone: They reported that fewer than 16 percent of their traffic stops in 2019 were of Latinos.

Racial profiling is against the law in Texas. It is also unconstitutional. But vague statutes that fail to even properly define what represents a violation and no state agency monitoring compliance mean there is little accountability.

A decades-long struggle to remedy this has failed. Simply collecting data to identify which of the states nearly 2,000 law enforcement agencies are unfairly targeting minorities has been met with roadblocks.

The Sandra Bland Act, named after the 28-year-old Black woman who died five years ago in a rural Texas jail after a traffic stop, required law enforcement to separate traffic stop data by race. A Chronicle investigation in June discovered that the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement, in charge of collecting the information, failed to ask police departments for the breakdown.

The data will now be handled correctly, officials said, and starting next year experts at Texas A&M will analyze and identify patterns of racial profiling. Thats an important first step, but even with proof in hand, no agency has any mandate or power to really do anything about it  something which the Legislature must address in the upcoming session.

The U.S. Department of Justice can investigate law enforcement for discriminatory practices, but cases have been rare during past administrations and nonexistent during President Donald Trumps tenure.

That means the responsibility falls to the law enforcement agencies themselves, who are loath to investigate their own personnel, and may sometimes not even see the problem.

When questioned about the data, David Marcaurele, chief deputy for the Fort Bend Sheriffs Office, laid out the task forces approach to pursuing Mexican drug cartels.

While we do not target ethnicity it is only logical that if you are performing drug interdiction duties looking for legitimate indicators of potential drug traffickers you would expect that the resultant ethnicity would correlate with whatever ethnicity the drug organizations are using to do this trafficking, he told the Chronicle.

That may sound like a commonsense strategy, but its also a slippery logical slope that posits that all traffickers are Latinos, therefore we stop all Latinos to find traffickers.

This creates more than just an inconvenience for a group of people  again, 40 percent of the Texas population, most of whom are decidedly not drug traffickers. It engenders a mistrust of police that ultimately makes us all less safe.

But what about the results? Is the task forces targeting of Latinos, at the expense of alienating the entire community, accomplishing any public safety goals that would provide even the slightest validation of the ham-handed strategy?

Nope. Overall, 99 percent of traffic stops by the task force didnt result in a citation, with even those traveling well over the speed limit receiving only a warning. In the case of the one officer whose stops were almost 98 percent Latino drivers, only a handful of searches have resulted in notable seizures of drugs or money, including 67 pounds of marijuana found in a truck in 2018.

That sounds like an awful waste of time, not to mention tax dollars.

Trever Nehls, who is running to replace his brother, Troy Nehls, as Fort Bend County sheriff, did not respond to a request for comment. His opponent, Eric Fagan, called the task forces actions a perfect example of racial profiling.

Law enforcement officers must have policies in place that say everyone in the public  who we serve  must be treated fairly, with respect and without bias, Fagan said.

We agree.

The Fort Bend County Narcotics Task Force has a problem with racial profiling. It needs to change. And so does the state law that allows this discrimination to keep happening across Texas.
The recommended storage time for chilled beef could be raised from 10 to 21 days. (Getty Images)

An extension of use-by dates on meat could be introduced after scientists found it keeps safe in fridges longer than previously thought.

Researchers looked at whether it was possible to extend the shelf life of chilled beef, lamb and pork without leading to botulism, a type of food poisoning, or other health issues.

The British-Australian study  funded by UK supermarkets and processors  discovered that taking such a step would be safe.

The findings have been looked at by the UKs Advisory Committee on the Microbiological Safety of Food, and the Food Standard Agencys chief executive Emily Miles has ordered further risk assessments to take place by autumn.

Read more: How to reduce food waste during lockdown

This means that, by Christmas, how long you can keep certain meats in the fridge could be upped by more than a week.

For example, the shelf life of chilled beef may be increased from 10 to 21 days.

Similarly, pork could be given a 15-day use-by date, while lamb may receive a 14-day use-by date.

David Lindars, technical operations director of the British Meat Processors Association, told the Daily Mail: We are optimistic shelf-life will be extended.

Read more: What is cloud bread? The latest TikTok trend to try at home

At the end of the day, it is a decision for manufacturers and retailers to set the shelf life of meat products. But longer use-by dates will be a significant factor in reducing meat waste.

It comes after another report suggested supermarket shoppers have been more conscious of food going to waste during the coronavirus lockdown.

According to a survey by environmental charity Hubbub, more than half of people (57%) admitted they value food more now since the restrictions kicked in.

Additionally, in the drive to make the contents of their fridges and cupboards last longer, one in six are paying less attention to best-before and use-by dates, and eating more out-of-date food than usual.

Read more: Marathon bars are back! 30 years after being renamed Snickers

Story continues

Almost half of people (48%) also said they were throwing away less food, with just 5% admitting to throwing away more.

Of those wasting less, more than half (51%) revealed they were planning meals more carefully (51%) and getting better at using up their leftovers.

More than a third are using their freezers more than usual, and are freezing a wider variety of foods.

It comes as it was estimated UK households generate 6.5 million tonnes of food waste every year  of which 4.5 million (69%) is edible.
Since joining the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) 25 years ago, Vietnam has rapidly integrated and deeply participated in all cooperation areas of ASEAN,

actively helped to maintain intra-bloc solidarity, and strengthened cooperation among member states and between the group and its partner countries, thus contributing remarkably to ASEANs development and successes today.

In particular, as the Chair of ASEAN 2020, Vietnam has actively joined hands with other member countries in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, helping to affirm the calibre of a resilient and dynamic community.

Over the last 25 years, Vietnam has made important and active contributions to building and developing the ASEAN Community, showing its active and responsible role in the group.

In the context of the serious financial crisis in Asia in 1997-1998, Vietnam successfully hosted the 6th ASEAN Summit in Hanoi in December 1998, just three years after it officially became a member of the bloc.

With the approval of the Hanoi Plan of Action, the 6th ASEAN Summit significantly contributed to promoting solidarity and cooperation, and restoring ASEAN's image, especially orienting ASEAN's cooperation and development in the following years to realise the groups Vision 2020.

Vietnam successfully completed its role as Chairman of the 34th ASEAN Standing Committee (ASC) and the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), and successfully hosted important conferences, forums and dialogues.

With Vietnams efforts, ASEAN and the ASEAN Regional Forum have achieved important results and continued to develop in the right direction in line with the interests of each ASEAN country and the common interests of the entire region.

The role and responsibility of Vietnam were clearly demonstrated through its successful undertaking of ASEAN Chair in 2010  the important period for the process of building the ASEAN Community as this was seen as a pivotal year in the remaining five years for ASEAN to fulfill its goal to build the Community, and the year ASEAN began to officially stabilise its operation as an apparatus in line with the legal framework regulated by the ASEAN Charter.

Vietnam and other ASEAN member nations set a cross-cutting priority for ASEAN cooperation in this period to accelerate actions in order to realise the goal of forming the ASEAN Community. The successful completion of the ASEAN Chair 2010 helped enhance Vietnam's international role and position and promote the image of a reformed and dynamic Vietnam with an independent and self-reliant foreign policy.

With its two positions, Vietnam helped to push forwards the establishment of the ASEAN Community in 2015, thus enhancing the bloc's international role and position.

Vietnam has contributed to the formation, consolidation and development of ASEAN-established and led institutions, and promoting the blocs external relations by deciding to expand the East Asia Summit (EAS) to admit the US and Russia.

It hosted the first ASEAN Defense Ministers Meeting (ADMM ) and lobbied to represent ASEAN at the G-20 Summits in the Republic of Korea and Canada.

The country also proposed a series of initiatives and programmes such as "ASEAN Vision 2020 and Implementation Plan", Declaration of ASEAN Concord II, "ASEAN Charter", 2009-2015 Roadmap for ASEAN Community, ASEAN Integration Initiative, and Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity.

In recent years, Vietnam has been evaluated as a dynamic, responsible and prominent member with its important contribution to maintaining unity, peace and security in the ASEAN region.



Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh said that Vietnam has actively prepared for its role as the ASEAN Chair 2020 from the end of 2018, with the hope to lay next bricks for building a strong ASEAN Community.

"Since joining the "regional boat of ASEAN in 1995, Vietnam has joined hands with other member countries in rowing the boat through many difficulties, and struggling with fierce eddies of the global ocean", he said.

Vietnams persistent efforts have contributed to building solidarity and unity within ASEAN, helping the bloc overcome difficult and challenging times, he stressed, noting that taking the role of the ASEAN Chair on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of its accession, Vietnam has many advantages but will also face many difficulties and challenges.

Promoting ASEAN to grow strongly and sustainably will be a practical contribution of Vietnam to the Community, he added.

With the ASEAN Year 2020 themed 'Cohesive and Responsive', Vietnam wants to assert that solidarity is a decisive factor for the sustainability of ASEAN.

In the context that the COVID-19 pandemic seemed impossible for all programmes, Vietnam has promptly organised meetings in the form of video conferencing to ensure uninterrupted and smooth ASEAN activities. Vietnam has not only effectively contained the domestic spread of the disease, but also raised the spirit of international cooperation and mutual assistance in the most urgent and difficult times.

Dr. Balaz Szanto from Webster Thailand stressed that Vietnam is an important member and plays a key role in ASEAN.

Vietnam's ASEAN leadership will have distinct effects on important issues, including promoting the settlement of territorial disputes at sea, as well as other issues, in the ASEAN agenda, he noted.

Meanwhile, Deputy Foreign Minister of Laos Thongphane Savanphet said Vietnam is doing well its role as the ASEAN Chair 2020, especially in leading the bloc to overcome the difficulties and challenges amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Vietnam has take the role as ASEAN chair since January 2020, the time when the COVID-19 was spreading globally.

Fully aware of its responsibilities, Vietnam has been responsive and flexible to together with other ASEAN member states fight the pandemic, said Deputy Foreign Minister Nguyen Quoc Dung, who is also head of Vietnam ASEAN SOM (Senior Officials Meeting).

Vietnam has quickly seen the need to temporarily shift the focus of ASEAN cooperation to response to COVID-19 and viewed it as ASEANs top priority in the current context, Dung said.

Since the COVID-19 broke out, the country has played an active role in leading and coordinating ASEANs concerted efforts and cooperation with partners to contain the spread of the coronavirus and minimise its socio-economic impacts.

Against the backdrop of the disease uncertainty, Vietnam released a Chairmans Statement on ASEAN Collective Response to the Outbreak of COVID-19 on February 14, putting out an alert for the disease and showing its determination to foster regional and international cooperation in response to the virus. It has also held a series of teleconferences with ASEAN partners  China, the EU and the US  as well as international organisations to discuss ways to soon bring the epidemic under control.

The common denominator of shared interest, which has brought the ASEAN members together over the last five decades, has multiplied in the wake of adversity and challenges, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said in his remarks at the opening ceremony of the 36th ASEAN Summit held virtually in June. The COVID-19 pandemic is a test of ASEAN's mettle as a maturing community.

PM Phuc said he is deeply confident that after every storm and typhoon, the stalks of paddy rice on the logo of ASEAN will grow tighter-knit, and from it more grains of rice will spring forth, filled with the love, care and solidarity that define our big ASEAN family.

In March, the ASEAN Coordinating Council (ACC)s Working Group on Public Health Emergencies was set up as a proposal by Vietnam, as the Chair of ASEAN 2020, with a view to forge collaboration among ASEAN countries to cope with COVID-19.

Vietnam has also proposed various other initiatives to strengthen ASEANs joint efforts in dealing with the pandemic, such as the establishment of a regional reserve of medical supplies, a shared set of standard operating procedures for responding to public health emergencies, the COVID-19 ASEAN Response Fund, and a regional task force against fake news.

The country has also organised an online table-top exercise on COVID-19 response among regional military medical forces in May.

Vietnam is an invaluable member of the ASEAN Community and has actively shepherded a number of important initiatives and led efforts that continue to enrich the ASEAN agenda and experience, Permanent Representative of the Philippines to ASEAN Ambassador Noel Servigon told the Vietnam News Agency's reporter in Jakarta.

Vietnams remarkable success in containing the pandemic has served as a model not only in ASEAN but throughout the world, Servigon said. Our concerted efforts this year will help ensure that all member states emerge stronger and better equipped to respond and recover from future pandemics./.VNA
The logo of social media video sharing app TikTok, and US President Donald Trump at the White House in Washington, DC, July 30, are seen in this combination of file photos created Aug. 01. AFP-Yonhap



By Kim Yoo-chul



Regulators here are "monitoring" the latest moves by India, Japan and the United States against TikTok before possibly instituting a similar ban on the app stating data and privacy concerns.



Senior industry officials contacted by The Korea Times, Sunday, said while "nothing definitive" had been decided it was possible the government would take action against the app which has raised security concerns. TikTok was the country's most downloaded Android video-sharing application ahead of YouTube, Instagram and Facebook as of July this year.



"The country's top telecom regulator is closely monitoring the latest updates and other relevant developments on TikTok primarily from data and privacy concerns. A possible ban of TikTok is likely but only after further evidence justifying the app operator's direct involvement in seriously abusing data and the privacy of its Korean users. We are keeping an eye on TikTok," an official directly involved with the matter said.



Korea's top telecom regulator, the Korea Communications Commission (KCC), recently imposed a 186 million fine on TikTok for collecting personal information of users under the age of 14 without parental consent and not previously notifying users about transferring the collected data to its corporate servers overseas, in Singapore and the United States, the KCC said.



There has been a lot of news over the past month in the social media world. TikTok was banned in India following a military showdown with China. Facebook appeared in front of Congress defending its Instagram and WhatsApp acquisitions. U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to ban TikTok and Microsoft announced a possible bid for the app.



The officials said it was worthwhile watching moves by Japanese regulators regarding the app as talk of a U.S. ban picked up steam. Tokyo is also considering a similar ban. However, TikTok's regulatory troubles and security concerns failed to slow down the app's adoption in Korea, according to sources.



Mark Shmulik, a senior analyst at Bernstein Research said Japanese regulators and businesses were closely watching global events unfurl. Similarly, he said it wouldn't be surprised to see announcements of "imminent bans."



Europe, regarded as a "wildcard," has yet to clarify its views on the app. TikTok recently announced its first EU data center will be constructed in Ireland as part of a move to entrench the app in that market.



"The TikTok issue has clearly become part of 'which country you will support more' as political tensions between the United States and China are growing further. Trump is pressuring long-time allies of the U.S. to stand behind its campaign at a time leading up to an election when political talks and discussions on the app are increasing," another government source said.



TikTok published a statement Friday in which it said it "will pursue all remedies available  in order to ensure that the rule of law is not discarded and that our company and our users are treated fairly  if not by the administration, then by the US courts."


Heart Of Chewbacca captured the first of two $50,000 Ohio Sires Stakes (OHSS) for two-year-old pacing colts on Saturday night (Aug. 8) at Scioto Downs.

The Ron Burke trainee took the lead from the start for driver Danny Noble and never looked back, flying through fractions of :26.3, :55.1 and 1:23.1 before unleashing a :28 final kick to score his third lifetime win in a blistering 1:51.1 (equalling the track record and setting a national seasons mark for a two-year-old pacing colt on a five-eighths mile oval).

The striking black colt by Bring On The Beach-Jts Chewbacca-Four Starzzz Shark is owned by Dennis Owens and Norman Rae Racing and left the gate as the 1-9 favourite. Bred by Spring Haven Farm, Heart Of Chewbacca now has $64,375 in career earnings.

The gutsy Im Sorry Man was second at 8-1 for Kayne Kauffman, while another Burke trainee, the 23-1 longshot Barnard Hanover, grabbed show honours with Chris Page driving.

Hardt At Work and driver-trainer Mike Micallef got the best of 4-5 favourite Charlie May in the second OHSS contest, clocked in a lifetime mark of 1:52.2. Charlie May had led at nearly every step of the mile, but in the final strides Hardt At Work snuck up the inside to best his rival handily. Four-Star Flash, a 35-1 longshot, was third for Ronnie Wrenn, Jr.

Owned by Brett Boyd Racing and Anthony Formosa, the son of Manhardt-River Bend Raider-Keystone Raider picked up career victory three in his fifth start. Bred by Gene L. Miller, Hardt At Work now has $65,500 in his bankroll. The brown gelding captured Leg One in 1:55.1 before finishing second in Leg Two to Charlie May.

(Ohio Sires Stakes)
ICD Brookfield Place, the region's premier lifestyle and business destination, has been awarded with the prestigious LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Platinum rating for sustainability and green building initiatives.

Located in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) and directly connected to the Gate Avenue, it will become one of the most prominent office towers in Dubai and will establish a new benchmark in commercial development for the region.

A 1.5-million-sq-ft mixed-use development, ICD Brookfield Place features a landmark office tower,

large open civic spaces, world-class food emporium, and fine dining restaurants.

The 53-storey tower will provide over 900,000 sq ft of Grade A lettable office space. The top three levels of the tower will comprise the exclusive sky view suites, a crowning feature of the landmark building.

This is another phenomenal accomplishment for the iconic Dubai project. It is being jointly developed by the Investment Corporation of Dubai (ICD), a government-owned wealth fund, and Canadas Brookfield Property Partners at an investment of over $1 billion in Dubai, UAE.-TradeArabia News Service
By PTI

NEW DELHI: The Congress youth wing launched a campaign on Sunday to "raise the voice" against unemployment, with Rahul Gandhi alleging that the Modi government's decision of demonetisation, its "faulty" implementation of GST and lockdown have "destroyed" the country's economic structure.

The opposition party said it launched the "Rozgar Do" campaign as never before have "we seen the figures, the scope, the degree of unemployment, which this country is suffering" now.

"When Narendra Modi became the prime minister, he promised the youth of the country that he will give jobs to 2 crore youths every year. He sold a dream, but the reality is that 14 crore people have become unemployed due to the policies of Narendra Modi," Gandhi alleged.

"Why did this happen? Because of wrong policies. Demonetisation, faulty implementation of GST and then lockdown -- these three steps have destroyed the economic structure of the country and the truth now is that India cannot give employment to its youth," the former Congress chief said in a video message on Twitter.

ALSO READ: Draft EIA notification 'dangerous', 'disaster'; protest against it, says Rahul Gandhi

Therefore, the Youth Congress has hit the street to raise these issues in all towns, he said.

The Youth Congress said the campaign will help raise the voice of the unemployed youth.

"Anti-youth policies of the central government will be highlighted among the youth of the country through social media and other mediums," it said in a statement.

"Please join the 'Rozgar Do' programme and along with Youth Congress, get jobs for the youth of this nation," Gandhi said and congratulated the Youth Congress on its foundation day.

Expressing solidarity with the campaign, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said "youth power" is India's strength.

"As opposed to the BJP government's job-destroying policies, there is a need to create more and more employment opportunities for the youth of India," she said on Twitter.

"Rozgar Do is the demand of young India. Employment is the need of young India," she added.

Other Congress leaders posted videos on social media voicing their concern over unemployment in the country.

Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said the demand of every youth is "Rozgar Do" (give employment).

"We all demand, it is our right that the youth of the country should get employment on the basis of qualifications and get ahead in the progress of the country," he said.

Digvijaya Singh, Depender Hooda, Gaurav Gogoi, Rajeev Satav, Gaurav Vallabh and Ragini Nayak also called for increasing employment opportunities for the youth.

Emphasizing the need for the campaign, Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi said when Prime Minister Narendra Modi assumed office the unemployment rate was 4.9 per cent, but in May 2020, it reached 29 per cent.

Singhvi said there is also a negative GDP growth projection ranging from -4 to -7.5 per cent.

Tax collections are down by 46 per cent and at least 12 crore people are supposed to have lost their jobs, he claimed.
A nanomedicine-based strategy for chemo-immunotherapy (CIT) of glioblastoma (GBM), which has the worst prognosis among brain tumors, was successfully developed. In vivo experiments demonstrated that the combined use of epirubicin-encapsulating nano-micelles (Epi/m) with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) eradicated PTEN-negative GBM, which is highly resistant to ICI alone. Due to the synergistic effects of Epi/m plus ICI combination, the number of tumor-infiltrating T cells (TIL) and other antitumor immune cells significantly increased to kill cancer cells effectively. On the other hand, intratumoral bone marrow-derived immunosuppressive cells (MDSC), which interfere with the immune response, were significantly reduced.

The CIT also provided robust immunological memory effects against the tumors, which effectively rejected newly implanted PTEN-negative GBM cells in the brain. While free epirubicin can cause damage to organs, including hematopoietic organs especially, our nanomedicine strategy significantly reduced these side effects, improving the immune response. Epi/m has already advanced into clinical trials for other cancer types, and this CIT strategy could be expected to be translated to clinical evaluation in the future. These results has been published in ACS Nano (Impact Factor = 14.588 in 2019) issued on August 6 by the American Chemical Society.

The Innovation Center of Nanomedicine ((Director: Prof. Kazunori Kataoka, Location: Kawasaki-City, Abbreviation: iCONM) announced that a new therapeutic option for glioblastoma (GBM) was demonstrated in mice, in a collaboration study with the Department of Bioengineering, Graduate School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo. GBM is a brain tumor with extremely rapid progression and poor prognosis (5-year survival rate: 10.1%). Although several compounds are being evaluated in clinical studies, there is no therapeutic option to significantly improve the survival period. In particular, patients with abnormalities in the PTEN gene, one of the cancer suppressor genes, are highly resistant to currently available therapies and have high medical needs. In general, immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) are considered to ineffective against GBM, as GBM is immunosuppressive with low T cell infiltration. In the method presented in this paper, iCONM's nano-drug delivery technology allows selective tumor accumulation of epirubicin, which causes immunogenic cell death (ICD), to tumor tissues, thereby, causing ICD locally for synergizing with ICI.

As a result, this nanomedicine-based chemo-immunotherapy (CIT) was effective in mice transplanted with GBM in the brain (hereinafter referred to as mouse GBM model), and succeeded in significantly prolonging mice survival. The combination of the epirubicin-loaded nano-micelles treated mice showed high infiltration of cytotoxic T cells (TIL) and decreased bone marrow-derived immunosuppressive cells (MDSC). Eventually suppression of the immune checkpoint function was observed.

Mutations in the PTEN gene occur frequently in GBM, resulting in immunosuppressive pathways that promote the resistance to ICIs. Thus, while ICIs eradicated 40% of tumors in a mouse GBM model in which the PTEN gene is normal, in a model in which the PTEN gene was knocked-out, ICIs were unable to extend mice survival. At the cellular level, it was found that PTEN-deficient cells (CT2A-luc) expressed approximately 5-fold more PDL1 than that of normal cells, which is probably connected to the therapeutic resistance with ICI. As epirubicin have shown the ability to suppress PDL1 expression in tumors, such as breast cancer, it would be possible to decrease PDL1 levels of GBM if sufficient amount of epirubicin can be delivered into GBM lesions. Thus, CIT using nanomicelles containing epirubicin (Epi/m) in combination of ICI were used for enhancing the antitumor efficacy against GBM.

In a GBM model with normal PTEN expression (GL261-luc), Epi/m (5 mg/kg on Epi basis) plus anti-PD1 antibodies (5 mg/kg) resulted in the survival of all mice for more than 70 days, with a remarkable extension of survival time. In this model, PBS-treated mice died within 30 days, mice treated with anti-PD1 antibodies alone (5 mg/kg) allowed 40% of mice to survive for at least 70 days, and Epi/m (5 mg/kg of Epi basis) resulted 80% of mice survival for more than 70 days. In contrast, in the PTEN-deficient model (CT2A-luc), Epi/m (5 mg/kg on Epi basis) plus anti-PD1 antibodies (5 mg/kg) resulted in only 30% of mice survival for more than 70 days, and no clear survival effect could be confirmed for the other control groups. When the dose was increased to 15 mg/kg of Epi/m (in Epi basis) and combined with anti-PD1 antibodies (5 mg/kg), 90% of mice were able to survive for more than 70 days, remarkably prolonging mice survival.
A leading member of the ruling NPP government, Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko has lauded President Nana Akufo-Addo for being courageous at the face of opposition and adversity.



Describing the President as a wise leader, Gabby emphasized that it takes a great leader like President Akufo-Addo to make bold decisions that will benefit the nation.



To him, the President has shown an exemplary Leadership.



Leadership is best tested in times of crisis. Let me repeat, you see what a leader is actually made of when he or she is faced with a crisis . . . Ghana deserves the leadership it has: wise, decisive and caring, with a strong eye always on the future of our children. In Akufo-Addo we have a wise leader we can trust to serve and deliver, he stated.



Read the full statement below:



Not so long ago, some Ghanaians, including John Mahamas NDC and some heads of think tanks, were busily urging the president to reverse his decision to reopen schools for final exams and rather send the final year students back home to their parents. Media commentators and the general public, especially parents, became genuinely nervous and wondered if the decision to send the kids back to school was right as COVID-19 infections continued to spread.



To the opposition and some key conversation influencers, including the think tankers, it was as if a Ghanaian President should not think outside of the box. Surely, we must be better than that. Progress is not made by those who sit and wait. Progress is made by those who choose to take calculated new and bold steps for humankind. Societies that do so move up and on and that know that by so doing, they, hopefully, set an example for other leaders and their countries to follow. That is how progress is made. Such leadership is particularly critical now as the world struggles to cope with the understanding and impact of the novel CORONAVIRUS pandemic. Leaders everywhere are looking elsewhere at each other for inspiration and guidance. Let us be in no doubt that Ghana has stepped up to the challenge of offering leadership to the world in this time of global crisis.



But, of course, the NDC leadership had to be heard, too. So they camped, put on their thinking cap, analysed the situation and held a press conference on July 13 to share their reasoned position with us: As we speak, Nigeria, a major participant in the WASSCE exam has rescinded its decision to reopen schools, while Kenya has also decided to close schools until 2021. We urge President Akufo-Addo to prioritize human lives over electoral fancies, the NDC announced to the nation and called for all students to be sent back home and schools closed.



To them, the reopening was all for the voter registration. But, we should give our president some deserved credit. Ghana was among the first countries to shut down schools. We did so before many countries, including the UK, did so. Ghana has been early in taking tough decisions to either restrict movements or to gradually ease restrictions. That is leadership. It is a responsible and thoughtful leadership.



Leadership is best tested in times of crisis. Let me repeat, you see what a leader is actually made of when he or she is faced with a crisis.



We saw it when, under John Mahama, the NDC leadership struggled for years without closure to deal with two self-inflicted home-made crisiseconomic management crisis and the dumsor crisis. We are seeing it now with how Nana Akufo-Addo and his NPP are managing the COVID-19 global pandemic here in Ghana and his management of the economy, first, out of the Mahama crisis the NPP inherited, and currently, against the otherwise devastating impact of the coronavirus on economic activity in general in Ghana.



It is about leadership. It is about strong, decisive, thoughtful and compassionate leadership. It is about a leader who has the pause of his countryby this, the economy and the people, mainly the ordinary people. It is about balancing the need to protect lives on the one hand, with the need to secure livelihoods and our future, on the other hand. It is about a leadership of service. It is about a leader you can trust. A leader you can trust to protect you; to serve you; to help you meet your aspirations. It is about wise leadership, pure and simple.



Today, other African nations are reopening their schools, citing Ghanas example and lessons from Ghana. It is because they trust the wisdom of the leadership in charge of Ghana.



It has been a dead year for education, but President Akufo-Addo looked at the science, the data and the social science and, armed with the knowledge that we have a new norm and we must learn how to live responsibly with it, he, therefore, took the decision in May to let final year students go back to finish off.



He did so responsibly by embarking upon a most ambitious logistical programme which saw to the successful provision of millions of PPEs, etc for the 1.2m students plus staff. Indeed, the story of the ultra-competent manner that the PPEs were procured and distributed nationwide has not been graphically told. It showed crisis management at its best.

From June, other African governments began to follow Ghanas example. Senegal, Cameroun, Tanzania and South Africa, for example. Nigeria has now joined. In September, Kenya will start with their phased reopening of schools, beginning with universities and TVETs.



In concluding, let it be clear that those who wanted the schools to be closed were not necessarily wrong to say so. They simply showed a proclivity to opt for the seemingly easier option. Ghana requires a leadership that has the courage to step out of the lanes or ordinariness and onto the uncharted paths of possibilities.



Ghana deserves the leadership it has: wise, decisive and caring, with a strong eye always on the future of our children. In Akufo-Addo we have a wise leader we can trust to serve and deliver.

#LeadershipMatters

#TheAlternativeIsStillScary

#TheAlternativeIsStillEmpty

Source: Josephine Acheampomaa/[email protected]









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Local school districts in Southwest Virginia  which plan to offer both in-school and virtual school programs this fall amid the COVID-19 pandemic  are working to provide internet access for all students.

Earlier this summer, parents in Smyth County were surveyed to determine the number of students who do not have internet access, according to Dennis Carter, the countys school superintendent. The district found that about 7% of the student population does not have access.

There is an additional problem we are encountering, Carter said. Access and bandwidth are two very different concerns.

Some families who have access dont have the strength of signal to stream videos or for multiple children to access the internet at the same time.

We have also found that access is viewed through two lenses, the lens of affordability, for those families who have access but cannot afford it, and families who do not have access due to where they live, Carter said.

Affordability is easier to navigate than geographic locations, he added.

All 14 Smyth County schools are now internet hot spots, which are areas where computers can connect wirelessly. Families can simply pull into the parking lot and access the internet. The district is also trying to determine how to expand the program into higher population density areas.

The United Way of Southwest Virginia is also offering mini-grants to localities to help establish hot spot areas. Carter said the district is in discussion with the county administrator for possible solutions.

Bristol Virginia City Schools Chief Technology Officer Jeff Shelton said the system has identified 108 families that need hot spots. The city has 115 hot spots available.

We will provide more if needed, just may have a delay in getting them, he said.

In Washington County, Schools Superintendent Brian Ratliff said outdoor wireless access has been added to each of the countys school parking lots.

The lessons can be accessed from any location with public internet access, Ratliff said. Schools have been instructed to work with those students without internet access to facilitate them being able to participate in classes.

Teachers will frame lesson plans as asynchronous as possible so that students can download their lessons at a location with internet access and then work on them at home while offline, Ratliff said.

In Wise County, School Superintendent Greg Mullins noted that many students live in areas that cannot be served because internet is simply unavailable.

We have trained our teachers on providing offline content for those in homes with no internet, Mullins said. Our school Wi-Fi is extended into our school parking lots to provide students a well-lit, secure option if they desire to come utilize it after school hours.

Back in March, the United Way of Southwest Virginia launched the COVID Relief Fund as a result of the pandemic. As part of the response, the organization accepted a gift from the American Electric Power Foundation designated to support the installation of more than 25 Wi-Fi hot spots across the region, according to Mary Ann Holbrook, director of United Way community relations.

In addition, the organization has released $25,000 to be awarded in the form of matching grants in partnership with the four planning district commissions that serve the region. The goal is to increase accessibility to the internet. The United Way of Bristol TN/VA also made commitments to the fund.

Point Broadband, formerly BVU Optinet and Sunset Fiber, continues efforts to expand service in the region, according to General Manager Joseph Puckett.

Over the last two years, Point Broadband has invested millions of dollars into the fiber network and has provided service to areas of Tazewell County, Russell County, Washington County and Lee County in Virginia, Puckett said.

The company connected nearly 6,000 customers from Jan. 1, 2019 to June 30, 2020.

Puckett said there are still significant areas in the region that lack access to high-speed broadband. Point Broadband is a participant in grant programs in Tennessee and Virginia. The company continues to apply for grants so it can further expand its broadband network, he added.

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New Delhi:

Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi sayd saying his "foolish decision" on demonetisation has "devastated" the country.

Leading the 'Black Day' protest at Parliament, Gandhi accused Modi of shying away from having a discussion on the issue in Parliament, but stressed that opposition parties will "not let him run away" from both Houses, where "everything will become clear" once the Prime Minister takes part in debate.

Speaking to reporters in Parliament premises, Rahul said the Prime Minister is "having nice time" and has over the past one month "changed his narrative" on the issue while people are reeling under hardships.

Besides Congress, leaders of all opposition parties including TMC, CPI(M), CPI, JD(U), Samajwadi Party joined the protest wearing black band on their arms.

"The Prime Minister took this so-called bold decision. The bold decision can also be a foolish decision. And this was a foolish decision, it has devastated the country. More than 100 people have died. Farmers, fishermen, daily wage earners have been hit hard. "He (the Prime Minister) is laughing. He is having a nice time, while the people of the country are suffering," Gandhi said.

"So, he is switching from one issue to another. And we are going to catch him inside the House. He is not going to be able to run inside the House," he said.

Referring to the Prime Minister's cashless economy talk, Gandhi said, "There is this concept of PayTM. Pay to Modi, that's the idea behind cashless economy. That's few people should get maximum benefit from cash transactions."

Gandhi once again demanded a debate in Lok Sabha on demonetisation under a rule which entails voting and claimed some BJP MPs too will support the opposition's demand. "We know people in BJP will vote in our favour if such debate is allowed. If he (Modi) speaks inside...doodh ka doodh aur pani ka pani ho jayega (everything will become clear)," he said. On his "Pay to Modi" jibe, Gandhi said he will explain on his allegation inside Lok Sabha if allowed to speak.

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Two dogs were reportedly left in a car for more than two hours as temperatures soared at a Cornwall beach town today.

Devon and Cornwall Police officers were called and smashed the windows to rescue the animals, which had been left in the locked vehicle near Looe beach, despite the heatwave.

One local man, who posted about the incident on social media, said the dogs had been left in the car 'for over two hours' and no-one had returned to the car to check on them.

Devon and Cornwall Police were called to Looe beach after reports of two dogs locked in a car

Kieran Mccrash Mclelland said the police were already at the scene when he noticed the dogs in the car.

By Sunday afternoon, his social media post had received more than 460 shares.

Temperatures at Looe reached 23C (73.4F) on Sunday afternoon.

The incident happened as animal welfare groups urged pet owners to take greater care during Britain's heatwave.

According to the RSPCA, owners should 'never leave animals in hot cars, conservatories, outbuildings or caravans, even if it's just for a short while.'

Pet owners have been asked to be mindful of the welfare of their animals, as temperatures soar across the UK. Pictured: St Ives in Cornwall

The organisation added: 'Temperatures can quickly rise to 47C (117F) in these environments, which can be deadly.

'You can also keep your pets safe by using a pet-safe sun cream on exposed parts of your pets' skin, and of course, by providing plenty of access to shade and fresh water.

'It's also worth checking pets regularly for flystrike. You can also help your pets cool down by putting ice cubes in their water bowl or by providing damp towels for them to lie on.'
Less than two months out from the federal budget, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg will be forced to self-isolate in a rental property in Canberra for two weeks to attend the next sitting of Parliament.

At least a dozen Victorian MPs and nine of their staffers have registered with ACT authorities to self-isolate for 14 days, so they are out in time for parliament resuming on August 24.

Treaurer Josh Frydenberg will self-isolate for 14 days in Canberra to attend Parliament. Credit:Luis Enrique Ascui

More MPs will be given permission to self-isolate in their homes in Victoria - which some have labelled the "family hostage option" because it forces others living in the house to also quarantine. They will likely jump straight on a RAAF VIP flight in a fortnight to take them to the nation's capital.

The two different options may shed further light on the differences in quarantine regimes between Canberra and Victoria, with the ACT government running a strict approach with regular and random police checks.
Photo: The Canadian Press Scores of parents across Quebec are voicing their concerns around the government's intention to get all students from pre-school through Grade 9 to physically return to schools across the province at the end of the month. School buses are shown at a depot in Vaudreuil-Dorion, Que., west of Montreal, Sunday, May 10, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes

For Politimi Karounis, August is usually spent buying new backpacks, pencils and notebooks for her two elementary school-aged children as they excitedly prepare to reunite with friends and teachers.

But this year, only weeks away from the first day of classes, Karounis said a sense of uncertainty prevails in her household around Quebec's plan to reopen all schools during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"There is no perfect decision, but as a government, make a call, acknowledge peoples' anxiety, acknowledge parents, and say: 'Listen, we hear you, here's what we're going to do,'" Karounis, who lives in Montreal's west end, said in a recent interview.

Karounis is among scores of parents across Quebec who are voicing their concerns around the government's intention for all students from pre-school through Grade 9 to physically return to classrooms at the end of the month.

She and other parents want schools to offer an option for remote learning, such as online courses. Others are asking for smaller class sizes, additional safeguards to prevent a COVID-19 outbreak, and more details about Quebec's plan should an outbreak occur.

A petition asking the government to revise its plan had garnered more than 16,700 signatures by Saturday afternoon.

Under Quebec's back-to-school strategy, which was unveiled in June and is expected to be updated this week, students across the province will physically go back to school full-time from pre-school to Grade 9.

The students will be divided into in-class bubbles of six, and each bubble will need to stay one metre apart from each other. Teachers will move between classrooms and maintain a two-metre distance from students.

For students in Grades 10 and 11, the current plan offers them the choice to go back full-time, or attend classes in-person one day out of two. School boards will be responsible for creating contingency measures should a COVID-19 outbreak occur.

Education Minister Jean-Francois Roberge said Aug. 6 he was working with Quebec's public health director, Dr. Horacio Arruda, and Health Minister Christian Dube to update the province's plan. He is expected to hold a news conference early this week to reveal details.

Anxious parents and teachers say they expect Roberge to offer clear guidelines governing how schools will address COVID-19 outbreaks. They are also looking for the government to address the issue of mask-wearing inside school buildings.

Marwah Rizqy, Opposition education critic with the Liberals, sent more than two dozen questions to Arruda in a public letter dated Aug. 3.

"Is the mask mandatory? Are you going to test all the kids if you have only one case, or you're only going to test the kids from the same bubble?" Rizqy said in a recent interview, about some of the outstanding questions that parents, teachers and lawmakers have.

"I think parents have the right to know how they're going to manage if there's COVID-19 inside the school. I think they have the right to know if there is a real health emergency protocol."

Heidi Yetman, president of the Quebec Provincial Association of Teachers, which represents 8,000 teachers at English-language school boards in the province, said her members are anxious because they feel like they can't adequately prepare for their students' return.

The government closed elementary and high schools across Quebec in March when the pandemic began. High schools remained shuttered through the school year, while elementary classes outside the Montreal area reopened in May.

"There's this feeling in the air that we're heading towards this big storm," Yetman said in a recent interview. She said a major concern is the government's plan to bring 100 per cent of students up to grade 9 back at once.

"If we cram 36 students (into a class), even with the bubbles and the distancing ... we're going to have more (COVID-19) cases, absolutely, and we're going to have closures," she said.

High schools should remain at 50 per cent capacity, using alternating schedules, Yetman said. A six-student bubble may look good on paper but that system "would be very, very difficult to manage," she added.

Yetman said the province should make masks mandatory for students aged 12 and up, provide additional cleaning supplies and portable hand-washing stations, and fund more mental health support services.

Quebec should also create a province-wide protocol in the case of COVID-19 outbreaks, and push the school start date after Labour Day to give teachers more time to prepare, Yetman said.

Julius Grey, a Montreal-based constitutional lawyer, said the province could face a lawsuit if it doesn't allow schools to offer remote learning.

Grey sent a letter on behalf of Karounis and three other parents to the government on Aug. 5, demanding a remote learning option and arguing the physical attendance requirement violates the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

"There should be an alternative provided of remaining registered in the school and getting assistance from the school without physically going there," Grey said in a recent interview.

Karounis said she plans to keep her children at home because her mother, who often takes care of them, is immunocompromised and more susceptible to contracting COVID-19.

She said she hopes the education minister will listen to parents' concerns and provide them with a distance learning option.

"We're hopeful that the minister is going to take our concerns into consideration when elaborating the new plan," Karounis said.
Shibaje : Aug 9 (IANS) With the unexpected advent of online classes for students post the Covid pandemic, some of them from a few villages in Karnataka's Dakshina Kannada district could not easily connect to the virtual lessons, forcing them to climb small hills to catch the signal.

Students from Perla, Bandihole, Hosathota, Boodudamakki, Shibaje, Belthangady and others in the coastal district are climbing hills for internet connection.

Located in South Canara area, bound by the Arabian Sea in the west and Western Ghats in the east, Uduipi district in the north and Kerala state in the south, Dakshina Kannada is an education hub.

In fact, falling under Mangaluru forest circle, Belthangady is one of the nine ranges of Kudremukh wildlife division which is subdivided into Kudremukh and Siddapura wildlife subdivisions.

Likewise, forests in the Kudremukh National Park are primarily evergreen to semi-evergreen, located at an altitude of above 1,000 m with extensive and rolling grasslands, surrounding pockets of Shola forest in valleys and depressions.

With such a geography and terrain, mobile signal is not always strong and uniform in these villages.

As a result, some students in the district's peripheral villages bordering the Western Ghats are facing mobile phone internet connection forcing them to scale the peaks for signal.

Despite the signal issue in these times when a lot of life is depending on the virtual world for transactions, the district authorities did not receive any complaint.

"We have not received any complaint from anybody about the lack of mobile internet connection," told newly arrived Deputy Commissioner K. V. Rajendra to IANS.

Following a local report and some media enquiries on the issue, the senior officer entrusted his subordinates to look into the matter.

Yathish Ullal, Assistant Commissioner of Puttur, managed to connect with the students from the villages and offered them a solution or two, after learning about the issue only on Monday.

"These are all peripheral villages. Dakshina Kannada has an area overlapping with the Western Ghats. This Shibaje village is in the core of the Western Ghats. Meriar, Shibaje, Charmadi, all these villages come in the boundaries, obviously, there is a network issue," observed Ullal.

As a solution, he suggested the students to avail internet facility at the village gram panchayats, which are connected by the Digital India broadband connection.

However, the students were not very keen on availing the facility.

"Since it is just for only two hours a day for online classes, they are not taking up these facilities. They don't want to move out of their comfort zone. It is their backyard, doesn't mean it is some forest. It is not some remote area,a he said.

According to the assistant commissioner, Belthangady and Shibaje village have a hilly landscape where the villagers own some estates.

As they are in their own properties, they are going to the top of those hillocks for mobile internet connection.

Incidentally, even after contacting, the students did not even complain and on the contrary they were happy to climb the hills and told the officer that it was not a problem for them.

The second solution Ullal offered the students was to come to a nearby town area where they could sit in a school to receive internet connection to attend their classes.

"They are not interested. They were telling we are happy here, we are enjoying, it is a nice facility for us, why should we be worried about it," he pointed out.

Ullal said the students were exhibiting an adventurous spirit and enjoying the process of climbing the hilltops.

Another alternative he suggested the students was to get a Reliance Jio 4G connection.

"Reliance Jio is giving good service in all the area. We have told them (students) to try to get Jio connection. It is giving good network," he said.

However, he highlighted that if many people complain about the bad signal, the district administration will definitely talk to the telecom service providers to strengthen their services.

Though that route can be explored, Ullal said nothing would happen in the next 3-4 months as all these villages are peripherally located and overlap into multiple authorities such as the forest department, wildlife areas and others.

"Even if permission is given, I don't think anything will happen in the next 3-4 months. It will take all labour, material and everything to materialize," he said.

Despite all these processes, he reiterated that the gram panchayats offering wi-fi signal could be the best solution.

"We will ask them to share it with the students. We are asking all the gram panchayats to try out this. Will start this from Shibaje. It is not yet communicated, but I have consulted a few of the gram panchayats," said Ullal.

The gram panchayats have agreed to share the Digital Indian broadband connection with the needy students.

Dakshina Kannada is 347 away from Bengaluru by the coast. Mangaluru, its district headquarters served as trading post for several centuries.

It was ruled by the Alups and the Vijayanagara dynasty but the Portuguese had the strongest influence who came in the 15th century.

Later, the district fell into the hands of Haider Ali to become the chief port of Mysuru, and after the fall of Tipu Sultan, it went into the British hands.

(Sharon Thambala can be contacted at thambalasharon@gmail.com)
Huge crowds descended on the UKs coastal areas for the third day of this weekends heatwave, causing two-mile traffic jams as councils urged people to find less busy places to make social distancing possible.

In Bournemouth, dozens of people camped overnight in tents or in their cars to ensure their spot on the beach on Sunday.

Car parks in Camber Sands and Dorset were nearly full by midday, forcing police to turn people away and close roads in order to manage traffic.

By 10.30am on Sunday, Rother District Council had posted a tweet advising people: Camber Sands car parks will soon be full. Please consider other destinations and help us keep the roads clear for residents and emergency service vehicles.

Thanet Council said Joss Bay and Ramsgate beaches are now extremely busy and warned around 3.30pm that high tide was approaching, making social distancing even more difficult.

We have 19 miles of coastline, so consider all the places you could visit, or come back when its quieter, it added.

It comes after HM Coastguard was called out to 340 incidents across the UK on Saturday, the highest number of incidents in a single day in more than four years.

Coastguard Rescue Teams attended 221 incidents and both RNLI and independent lifeboats were called out on 155 occasions combined. Aircraft were also used to assist at the coast and sea.

People enjoy the hot weather at Bournemouth beach in Dorset (PA)

Blackpool Police said there were a larger than usual number of children going missing on Saturday as throngs of visitors crowded the streets and urged tourists to ensure you have your children in sight at all times.

Bournemouth beach (PA)

Bournemouth beach (PA)

Tents pitched up on Bournemouth beach in Dorset as the sun rises (PA)

Leftover litter and rubbish once the crowds clear is also a concern for councils and residents in beauty spots, following incidents of people flocking to these areas and leaving a mess behind.

People using disposable barbecue sets and not getting rid of them properly has caused devastation in Devon, said police.

People enjoy the hot weather on Margate beach (Reuters) (REUTERS)

People enjoy the hot weather at Southend beach in Essex (PA)

Brighton beach is packed as the south of England basks in a summer heatwave (Images) (Getty Images)

There has already been a lot of devastation caused to local areas as a result of BBQs not being disposed of safely, said Devon and Cornwall Police in a tweet on Sunday morning. Please act responsibly.

People enjoy the hot weather at Boscombe beach in Dorset (PA)

People walk along the beach front on Boscombe beach in Dorset (PA)

Waste ready to be collected on Bournemouth beach (PA)

Temperatures are expected to reach 35C on Sunday, with Kent, Sussex and parts of London seeing the highest temperatures, said the Met Office.

Friday was the hottest August day in 17 years as the mercury hit 36.4C at Heathrow and Kew Gardens. The heatwave was forecast to last until Monday or even Tuesday, but yellow thunderstorm warnings have been issued for all parts of the UK for Monday through to Wednesday.
Despite only 4pc of Irish GPs having used the technology previously, telemedicine quickly became a core part of the response in primary care as doctors replaced face-to-face appointments with virtual clinics (stock photo)

Technology has proven to be a critical element of Ireland's healthcare sector in recent months. As the Covid-19 virus threat spread, healthcare professionals faced the unprecedented challenge of meeting the needs of those infected while also, where possible, maintaining distancing guidelines. There was also a need to continue to meet the healthcare needs of those with non-Covid related health challenges - often people requiring urgent or emergency care as well as those with long-term chronic illnesses.

What we have seen, and applauded, over the past four months is the bravery and commitment of those working across the Irish healthcare system and, indeed, the world. These frontline workers never shied away from doing what was needed, and we thank them for that. What has become apparent is that in many cases, access to the latest technology has helped them meet the challenge they had to face.

Despite only 4pc of Irish GPs having used the technology previously, telemedicine quickly became a core part of the response in primary care as doctors replaced face-to-face appointments with virtual clinics. Electronic prescriptions helped to enable social distancing while providing a convenient service for patients.

We've also witnessed how advanced computing continues to help researchers to gain better insights as part of the ongoing quest to better understand the virus, including the identification of prevention methods, treatment options and helping to determine where resources are needed most.

Supercomputers have been put to work to mitigate the spread of the virus and to help solve some of the real-world challenges it creates. In Ireland, a supercomputer provided by Dell Technologies will provide Ireland's applied AI research centre, CeADAR, with the power to drive innovation in healthcare and beyond.

Turning point for change

But does the increasing use of technology mark a turning point for digital transformation in healthcare or was it simply an emergency response to the crisis?

I believe we should take the lessons from this unprecedented time, apply them and build on them. Many of the practices that were introduced because of necessity are ones that could work on a permanent basis. Virtual clinics have proved to be efficient and convenient for both patient and doctor, so why stop now? The roll out of technology at all levels of the healthcare system has shown us all how digital health services can deliver care more effectively and empower patients with better outcomes.

Ireland now has a unique opportunity to use ad-hoc changes as a catalyst for long-term transformation. The proposed Programme for Government reinforces the commitment to implement Slaintecare and would see greater investment in modern eHealth and ICT infrastructure.

The introduction of new means of securely sharing patient information across the public health system is something that has long been needed.

The new children's hospital will be the first acute hospital in the country to have an electronic healthcare record for each patient. This will, in time, be the norm across the system as a whole. Virtual clinics and leveraging data to inform decision-making will deliver better patient outcomes.

However, rapid change won't be achievable all at once and nor will it occur without addressing some of the long-standing obstacles that have slowed the pace of reform over the past decade.

Overcoming persistent obstacles

While some progress has been made in moving to digital health records, the adoption of electronic medical records stands at just 3pc in Europe. Accelerating the shift from paper to the Cloud would enable GPs and consultants at primary and acute care level in Ireland to instantly access patient history and make more informed diagnoses.

In many instances, outdated infrastructure is hindering healthcare professionals in quickly sharing diagnostic imaging and lab results. Within a single hospital, there can be several different systems for patient data creating interoperability issues and cracks within the system.

Although initial investments in e-health under Project Ireland 2040 were steps in the right direction, the rate of adoption of emerging technologies such as AI and machine learning has not been as fast as it should have been.

We need to accelerate the deployment of technology to help make a real difference for patients and staff.

However, the greatest obstacle to enduring transformation is neither the right technology nor strategy. It is culture and mindset. Digital transformation requires a change in culture that encourages new ways of thinking and working at all levels of the healthcare system and one that focuses on the outcomes that can be achieved for patients through technology.

Flexible working can mean that care becomes more focused on the individual, both for patients and for our medical professionals.

With the help of remote technology, the roll-out of a virtual 24-hour triage service can ensure patients have the always-on care they need while also directing them into the correct stream.

No time to delay

Ireland's population is expected to increase by one million by 2040 while the number of people aged 75-84 will jump by 76pc by 2031.

If we are to ensure that healthcare professionals are fully equipped to meet these growing demands on the service, technology will need to play a greater role. We have to change how things are done rather than doing more of the same things.

Although digital transformation brings its own challenges, it can be as simple as implementing technology that is in wide use, such as health monitoring apps on phones or drawing insights from patient data from across the system.

Just see how the adoption of the Covid tracker app has been adopted by the Irish public. Over 1.5m people have now downloaded the app.

Sometimes it takes a crisis to change mindsets. Let's not waste this opportunity and let us instead use Covid-19 as a catalyst for widespread transformation.

In doing so, Ireland's healthcare system will be able to better sustain the wellbeing of a growing population while continually improving the outcomes for patients around the country.

Jason Ward is vice-president and managing director, Dell Technologies Ireland
In the competition for talent over the last few years, employers have been falling over themselves to provide a wider and deeper range of employee benefits.

Some of these employee benefits will naturally have a direct and positive impact on the value of your pay package either immediately or in the long run, including pension contributions, health and life insurance, share options and top-ups to parental benefits.

But there's been an explosion in 'non-pay' benefits aimed at improving your lifestyle, many of which will also have a positive effect on your finances. For example, gym membership, additional time off, subsidised childcare, tax-free vouchers, and access to employee assistance programmes, to mention a few.

Indeed, some employers, particularly large multinationals, offer such a bewildering array of such benefits that it can be hard to know which combination of them might represent the greatest value to you at your life stage.

Pensions

It's no surprise to learn that pension contributions still rank as the top perk thanks to its tangible financial value and tax efficiency, which is confirmed by a January 2020 survey of (mainly large) Irish employers by the main professional body for HR professionals, the Chartered Institute for Personnel and Development (CIPD).

Using as a benchmark the 6pc maximum employer contribution recommended under the Government's plans for auto-enrolment pensions, the CIPD survey found that around a third of them contribute less than 6pc to their schemes, while a third contribute more than 6pc. Of the balance, half would pay exactly 6pc and the other half would pay nothing at all.

CIPD director Mary Connaughton says that she has seen companies contributing as much as 15pc to their schemes, but that those in senior management levels are more likely to benefit from such rates.

After pension contributions (82pc), the most popular perks according to the CIPD survey include sick leave top-ups (57pc), on-site facilities (canteen, gym etc) (55pc), parental benefit top-ups (55pc), tax-free vouchers (49pc) and health insurance contributions (44pc).

Benefits-in-kind

Needless to say, taking into account any benefit-in-kind (BIK) tax liability from a perk should be part of your considerations. The most common perks subject to benefit-in-kind taxation are company cars or loans at a preferential rate.

Connaughton notes that changes to the BIK regime back in the early noughties made cars a less attractive benefit to anyone who didn't have high annual mileage in terms of using it for business (although it's worth noting that some electric cars still benefit from a zero per cent BIK, a rate that was extended to December 2022 in Budget 2020). But ever since the Government increased the minimum tax threshold on small non-cash benefits from 250 to 500 in 2015, tax-free vouchers to a value of up to 500 have become very popular, she said.

Time off

At 53pc, additional annual leave ranks highly as a perk too, a CIPD survey undertaken in June 2020 revealed a massive drop in the numbers of employers who said they were planning to make a bonus payment this year. Nearly 80pc of employers said in January this year they were planning to pay bonuses, but that figure dropped to just 21pc by the end of the first half of 2020.

The upshot of this is that as the capacity to pay bonuses and certain other benefits suffers, some firms may look to offering more time-off instead. Connaughton says the CIPD is advising its member employers to consider this as an alternative to cutting benefits altogether. "Offering to give people an extra day leave on their birthday, for instance, is a very personal, emotive, positive way to give people some extra time off."

Online jobs search firm Indeed, which employs 1,000 people in Ireland, has recently begun to offer what it calls "You Days" - a company-wide perk which gives all employees a day off at the same time.

Flexible working

But what seems like a notable omission from the CIPD's ranking of most popular perks is remote and flexible working, given how much it has been talked up as a key benefit in the post-Covid era.

However, Connaughton reports that in the 12 months up to January this year, organisations had been getting a lot of requests for remote and flexible working, and around 70pc of firms were offering some form of it - but less than one day a week on average. But the CIPD's June 2020 survey reveals that 70pc of employers said they were now willing to offer a degree of remote working in the future that they hadn't been willing to offer in the past.

Caroline McEnery, director of the HRSuite, agrees that flexible working and remote working have been among the most desired benefits for some time but that, post-Covid 19, they are likely now to be the absolute number one for many employees.

The financial benefit, she says, is about cutting down the cost of commuting, including the money saved on takeaway lunches and coffees, among other things. Some families may save on childcare costs if their hours were more flexible.

"The advantage to them is not just economical and financial, but also from a managing work-life balance point of view," she said.

Furthermore, employers can give you a tax-free allowance of up to 3.20 a day to cover the costs of working from home (namely heating, electricity and broadband), although McEnery notes that this is not a legal obligation. If your costs exceed 3.20 a day you can still claim tax relief yourself on the balance at the end of the year, although you can still apply for this tax relief if your employer doesn't pay anything towards your remote working costs.

Employee wellbeing

There can be indirect financial benefits, too, from perks that come under the banner of 'employee wellbeing'. For instance, if you have certain health issues or financial worries, some companies will offer free or subsidised access to qualified and certified counsellors and financial advisors.

"I think getting advice and guidance that's objective and independent to help people in that regard is very much appreciated and seen of value," said McEnery, adding that such services can be very expensive otherwise, but also difficult to find.

She believes that the novelty value of things like on-site facilities and free-food made famous by the likes of Google, Facebook and other tech multinationals has worn off. "Now people I think are putting more weight on financial advice, wellbeing, employee assistance, those kind of things."

Ultimately, the value of employee benefits is often connected to the life stage of the person, said Connaughton. "So someone who is finished college and going into a job is more likely to be looking for development and time-off and things like that. Whereas top-ups to maternity and paternity benefit will have much more value in a few years' time if you are starting a family."

McEnery agrees. "I think when you start with things like healthcare and flexibility and remote working and pensions, they're comparable, and it's easy for the employee to do a cross-reference with those.

"When you get into the ones that are more personalised, like the gym membership or employee assistance... the benefit is based on your personal circumstances and your personal preferences."

Other benefits to perk up your pocket

Unlimited annual leave

Not to be confused with additional annual leave, unlimited leave is a concept made popular in the US whereby employees can, in theory, take as much leave as they want.

Reports globally suggest that in reality it is having the opposite effect in that workers are not taking enough leave.

Mary Connaughton, director of the HR body CIPD, says that unlimited leave is not common here yet, not least because working time legislation means that employers have to make sure all employees take a minimum of 20 days a year, "so it's not so easy to manage in Ireland".

Training

Further training, usually under the banner of continuous professional development (CPD), is a pretty standard benefit. This can be provided in a range of ways, such as through professional memberships, mentor programmes, internal or external online courses, or support towards gaining a new, high-level qualification.

As well as benefiting the company, it improves your prospects of promotion and better pay.

Childcare supports

HR expert Caroline McEnery says that even before Covid-19, employees were already placing a "huge weight and value" on anything that would support them in terms of childcare costs, whether that's some form of subsidised, on-site childcare facilities or more flexible working.

"It's something we're going to hear a lot more about," she said.

Cycle-to-work scheme

Likely to become even more popular in the months and years to come, the Cycle to Work scheme allows companies to facilitate the purchase of a bicycle and/or accessories up to a maximum of 1,000 (soon to rise to 1,250 for a normal bike, and up to 1,500 for an e-bike). The scheme is tax efficient, meaning savings of up to 51pc on your purchase.

Free food/drink

Although it tends to be confined to larger organisations that have the space and resources to provide it, free food and drink on-site is still a popular, money-saving perk.

Share options

Employers who are publicly listed can give employees the option to buy shares in the company and, depending on the structure of the scheme and whether or not it is Revenue-approved, it can be tax-efficient as well (although the rules are complex). "It's a great retention tool, as well as a benefit for people because they'll obviously feel more vested in the organisation," said McEnery.
Hyderabad: Telangana IT and industries minister K T Rama Rao has warned private hospitals against presenting hefty bills to patients. Responding to questions from Twitterati on the COVID-19 pandemic and other issues on Sunday, Rama Rao said the state government has in the past taken action against erring hospitals and will not hesitate to do so again.

Replying to a question about the stance of the state government on Pothireddypadu issue, the minister said we will fight for our rightful share in Krishna waters. Already an SLP (special leave petition) has been filed in the

Supreme Court by the state government.

Reacting to a question pertaining to Telanganas contribution to the Ram temple construction in Ayodhya, Rama Rao said, We will pray and hope for Ram rajya

where people of all faiths, castes and classes will be respected and treated equally, as enshrined in Constitution of our great country.

He reiterated the State governments commitment to provide quality

treatment to COVID-19 patients in government hospitals.

Pointing out that while the mortality rate is less than 1 per cent in Telangana, the recovery rate in the state was the highest in the country at 72 per cent, KTR said that coronavirus testing was already underway in more than 1,200 centres across the State and that over 23,000 tests were being conducted every day and the testing will be increased to more than 40,000 tests per day in a few days.

The Minister appealed to the people stating that rather than spreading anti-government propaganda against government hospitals, people should also recognise the services being rendered by these hospitals where thousands of people have already been treated and sent home safely.

Maintaining that the government alone cannot fight the pandemic, he urged people to join the ongoing battle against COVID-19 across the world.

KTR said, Fear psychosis, stigma and social ostracism, were causing a lot of grief. I am very pained to see the story of an old couple committing suicide recently to not infect their family.

He emphasised the need to strengthen the medical sector further in not only Telangana state, but also across the world after the Covid-19 experience.

Replying to a question about not implementing Ayushman Bharat to help

people during the pandemic time, he said the state governments Aarogyasri was more comprehensive than the Central scheme and in fact, Ayushman Bharat was modelled after Aarogyasri.

He made it clear that Telangana was not in race with any other State in fighting the pandemic as each state has its own set of challenges which were being dealt as per WHO (World Health Organisation) and ICMR (Indian Council of Medical Research) guidelines.

Answering a question about estimated time for vaccine for Covid-19, the minister said I was told by the vaccine manufacturers that it may take 6-9 months to release the vaccine and he is hoping that the vaccine will come from Telangana first, but will also be happy if it comes up sooner from another country.
South Africa: Government takes steps to protect women and children

While progress has been made in advancing womens rights, President Cyril Ramaphosa on Sunday spoke out against the abuse of women and children.

As we mark Women's Day this year, South Africa is in the grip of two pandemics - the Coronavirus pandemic and the scourge of gender-based violence and femicide. Ever more women and children are being abused and losing their lives at the hands of men, said President Ramaphosa.

The Presidents comments come as the country commemorates the 64th anniversary of Womens Day.

It cannot be that this Women's Day is drenched in the tears of families who have lost their sisters, daughters and mothers to violence perpetrated by men, he said.

In his virtual address, the President said the women of 1956 who marched to the Union Buildings, did not fight for their rights alone, but also for the rights of the generations of women to come.

Sixty-four years ago, our mothers, daughters, sisters and grandmothers stood defiant and proud, united in their demand to live in freedom, President Ramaphosa said.

Action against GBV

President Ramaphosa said government have taken concrete actions to provide greater support and care to survivors of gender-based violence (GBV).

We have increased the number of shelters and care centres for survivors and improved the capacity of our police to deal with crimes of gender-based violence. We have made important progress in reforming our laws to give greater protection to survivors of domestic and sexual violence.

One of the most important ways to reduce the vulnerability of women to gender-based violence is to enable them to become financially independent. We have an opportunity to build a country in which women's right to dignity, security, safety and protection is non-negotiable, President Ramaphosa said.

President Ramaphosa said gains have been made in in advancing women's rights and in broadening women's access to education among others.

He also highlighted that the lived reality for millions of women is different from the promise contained in our Constitution.

We know that millions of South African women still live in conditions of poverty and unemployment. They face discrimination and violence. To give effect to our commitment to the upliftment of women, South Africa has joined Generation Equality, a global campaign to achieve gender equality by 2030.

As part of this campaign, we are part of two Action Coalitions, one on economic justice and rights and another on gender-based violence and femicide, he said.

These Action Coalitions mobilise governments, civil society and the private sector for collective action.

The President again emphasised that South Africa faces two pandemics namely COVID-19 and GBV and femicide.

We can no longer as a nation ignore the deafening cries of women and children for protection, for help and for justice, he said.

It has been 11 months since the President announced an Emergency Response Action Plan to combat GBV and femicide.

Since then we have taken concrete actions to provide greater support and care to survivors of gender-based violence. Action taken include the increased number of shelters and care centres for survivors and improved capacity of the police to deal with crimes of GBV.

Progress in reforming laws to give greater protection to survivors of domestic and sexual violence has also been made.

One of the most important ways to reduce the vulnerability of women to gender-based violence is to enable them to become financially independent. With the launch of Generation Equality and with the implementation of the National Strategic Plan we have a unique opportunity to refashion our society and the lives of the women of South Africa, he said in his address.

Action will also be taken to ensure that women are safe from gender-based violence in the workplace.

In her message of support, Minister in the Presidency Responsible for Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities Maite Nkoana-Mashabane called on communities to report cases of abuse against women and children to the police.

We demand justice and harsh sentences for the perpetrators of gender-based violence and femicide, she said.

Social compact

The President also spoke of the commitment to a new social compact with the countrys women.

This will be driven by bold actions.The first action is to expand the access of women to economic opportunity, he said.

Among other things, government will set aside 40% of public procurement for women-owned businesses.

National departments will be expected to monitor and report on how many women have participated in each public procurement process.

They will have to develop clear plans on how they will broaden women's participation over the next 12 months.

As Chair of the African Union we will also be working on policy guidelines to help member states, on our continent, develop similar interventions.

The second action is to support women who operate small or micro businesses, including in the informal sector.

The third action is to speed up the process of giving women access to productive assets such as land.

Land reform

On land reform, government will ensure that this process favours all historically disadvantaged people - including women - in getting land and the means to farm it.

Of the R75 million in COVID-19 relief earmarked for farming input vouchers, 53% of the beneficiaries will be rural women.

We must ensure that women subsistence and small-scale farmers continue to receive support beyond the lockdown.



Supporting women businesses

At a time that the country is still under lockdown, President Ramaphosa said COVID-19 relief is also being provided to women-owned SMMEs through development finance institutions.

For example, of the total number of SMMEs benefiting from the Debt Relief Finance Scheme, 33% are women-owned businesses.

We have prioritised black-owned and women-owned businesses in the procurement of personal protective equipment. There have been a number of success stories of women either starting businesses to produce personal protective equipment or modifying existing business operations.

He also expressed concern about corruption that has marred our national effort to make personal protective equipment (PPEs) accessible to health workers.

We expect the law enforcement agencies to find the culprits and ensure they face the full might of the law, said President Ramaphosa. SAnews.gov.za

This story has been published on: 2020-08-09. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
The Irish Government is proposing to ban non-essential travel from a number of countries with high cases of Covid-19, including the US.

The Sunday Independent has revealed that Irish Health Minister Stephen Donnelly is drawing up the plans and it also includes Brazil.

There has been widespread concern about the number of tourists arriving in Ireland from countries with high levels of Covid-19.

However a spokesperson for Mr Donnelly said "the number of cases of Covid-19 detected among travellers from overseas has been very low".

The restrictions will not apply to countries in the UK or EU.

Meanwhile, face masks are to become mandatory in shops and other enclosed public spaces from Monday.

The Executive made the decision earlier this week, having previously stopped short of enforcing the measure.

However after the public were advised to begin wearing masks compliance levels remained low.

At the urging of Health Minister Robin Swann the Executive agreed to make the wearing of face coverings mandatory from the start of next week.

However, confusion remains over who actually will enforce the policy.

Read More

Here's how Sunday unfolded:
Lindsey Graham said Sunday that the FBI 'misled' the Senate Intelligence Committee during a March 2018 briefing where they bolstered up the reliability of the infamous Steele Dossier even though the primary sub-source said most of the information is 'hearsay.'

New redacted documents released Sunday by the Senate Judiciary Committee, of which Graham is chairman, reveal that the primary sub-source of the dossier told the FBI that all the information included came from 'word of mouth and hearsay.'

This runs contrary to what the FBI represented to the panel during the 2018 briefing, when the committee was told there was no reason to doubt the dossier

Graham said Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz decided to call the FBI in to brief the Senate Intelligence Committee during the Russian election interference investigation after lawmakers became suspicious about the sub-source information.

'And they did to the Senate Intel Committee what they did to the FISA court,' the South Carolina Republican said in reference to the FBI's briefing to his colleagues. 'They misled the hell out of them.'

'They said there's no evidence from the sub-source to suggest that Steele fabricated anything in the dossier,' Graham, a Trump ally, continued.

Senator Lindsey Graham said Sunday that the FBI 'misled' the Senate Intelligence Committee when claiming there was no reason to double the reliability of the information in the Steele Dossier

Newly revealed documents from the Senate Judiciary Committee show, however, that the sub-source admitted a lot of the information included in the dossier was 'hearsay,' 'word of mouth' or was 'jest' comments made 'over beers'

This was contrary to what the FBI told the committee in the spring of 2018, when they were told that the primary sub-source 'maintains trusted relationships with individuals who are capable of reporting on the material he collected for Steele.'

The redacted documents also bring doubt over the 'golden showers' aspect of the dossier.

The dossier claimed that the president was being blackmailed by Russia because Moscow had video proof of an alleged incident where Trump apparently watched prostitutes pee on a hotel bed in Moscow while he was there for the Miss Universe Pageant in 2013.

The sub-source revealed to the FBI, the newly released document shows, that much of the conversation he had were 'with friends over beers.'

The individual also claimed some of the information, including allegations about Trump's sexual activities, were comments made in 'jest.'

Despite the primary sub-source telling the FBI that Christopher Steele  the former British spy and author of the dossier that contributed to the launch of the Russia probe  made claims based on his own 'analytical conclusions' and 'judgements,' the FBI still told the Intelligence Committee the dossier was 'reliable.'

The Steele Dossier was a pivotal document in the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) court ordering warrants for former Trump aide Carter Page as part of the larger investigation.
Vallejo is in turmoil and under scrutiny over the police forces history of killings and allegations of misconduct and abuse of people of color. The fatal shooting of San Francisco resident Sean Monterrosa in June tipped the scales, renewing attention on officers past killings of Willie McCoy in 2019 and Ronell Foster in 2018, among others. Each of the shootings was captured on video.

The state attorney general has opened a review into how the department operates. At the same time, the department is under fire for destroying evidence in the Monterrosa case and over allegations by a former captain that some officers marked killings by bending their badges. Heres what you need to know:

Photo 9F3HH95D vallejo0808_roundup.5

How many people have Vallejo officers killed?

Nineteen since June 2010. Eighteen were shot and one died after being tased, according to the Solano County district attorney. No officers have been charged in connection to the killings.

What happened to Sean Monterrosa?

Santiago Mejia / The Chronicle

Now Playing: Body camera footage released by Vallejo Police Department shows the June 2, 2020 incident when an officer shot and killed 22-year-old Sean Monterrosa. Video: Vallejo Police Department

As protests raged across the country in the wake of the police killing of George Floyd, Vallejo officers responded to reports of riot-related activity at a Walgreens around 12:30 a.m. on June 2.

As three officers in an unmarked pickup pulled into the lot, an officer in the backseat fired a rifle through the windshield and struck Monterrosa, 22, in the head. Police have described him as being on his knees, or crouching, with hands raised. The officer, police said, thought Monterrosa had a gun. A hammer, but no gun, was found in Monterrosas sweatshirt pocket.

The police union obtained a temporary restraining order preventing the city from disclosing the name of the officer who shot Monterrosa. But last week, Monterrosas family filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against Vallejo police, naming the officer as Jarrett Tonn, who records show has been involved in prior shootings. The city said it will seek a change of venue to ensure a fair trial and a court order to silence Monterrosas attorneys.

The state Attorney Generals Office is investigating destruction of evidence in the case  the bullet-shattered windshield.

Key headlines:

Aug. 6: Family of Sean Monterrosa files wrongful death suit against city of Vallejo over police shooting

July 17: State to investigate Vallejo police destruction of evidence in Sean Monterrosa killing

July 15: Vallejo officials confirm key evidence in killing of Sean Monterrosa was destroyed

July 8: Video: Police footage shows Vallejo officer fatally shot SF man from trucks back seat

June 3: SF resident was kneeling when fatally shot by Vallejo police during civil unrest

Now Playing: Vallejo police released body camera footage Monday of a February 2018 shooting that killed Ronnell Foster, a 33-year-old city resident accused of grabbing an officers flashlight during a struggle. Video: San Francisco Chronicle

What happened to Willie McCoy?

Courtesy David Harrison

Willie McCoy, 21, lost consciousness or fell asleep in a Taco Bell drive-through on Feb. 9, 2019, prompting an employee to call police.

Six officers responded and noticed McCoy had a gun in his lap. As they discussed how to handle the situation, McCoy moved and officers shouted commands and opened fire almost immediately. The officers fired 55 rounds in 3.5 seconds, with 38 bullets hitting McCoy. His family filed a federal lawsuit against Vallejo in June 2019.

Last week, Vallejo police released documents revealing that Police Chief Shawny Williams recommended firing one of the six officers, Ryan McMahon, after an internal investigation found McMahon could have accidentally shot another officer when he opened fire. McMahon, who is on paid leave, also fired his gun negligently when he fatally shot Ronell Foster, an unarmed bicyclist, in 2018, the chief wrote.

Key headlines:

Aug. 5: Vallejo police chief recommends firing officer in Willie McCoy, Ronell Foster killings

June 12 2019: Willie McCoy shooting: Vallejo police fired 55 shots in 3.5 seconds, acted reasonable, report says

March 29, 2019: Vallejo police release body-camera footage in Willie McCoy shooting

Feb. 28, 2019: Willie McCoys family files wrongful death claim against Vallejo police

Feb. 13, 2019: Cell phone video captures Vallejo police shooting of local rapper in Taco Bell drive-through

What happened to Ronell Foster?

Gwendolyn Wu

On the evening of Feb. 13, 2018, Foster, 33, was riding his bicycle without a light, catching the attention of Officer McMahon, who tried to pull him over. Foster fled first by bike, then on foot, into a dark alley. McMahon said Foster, who was unarmed, grabbed his metal flashlight and tried to strike him, prompting him to open fire.

Dark, grainy police body-camera footage does not clearly show whether Foster presented the flashlight in the threatening manner that police described in statements. Police said the officer tried tasing Foster but that it was ineffective.

Key headlines:

Jan. 31: Vallejo police killing of Ronell Foster justified, says Solano County district attorney

May 6, 2019: Vallejo police release body cam footage of 2018 fatal shooting of bicyclist

March 28, 2018: Vallejo man shot, killed by police didnt attack officer, lawsuit says

Feb. 14, 2018: Vallejo officer fatally shoots man who allegedly raised flashlight in fight

Where do the shooting investigations stand?

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.

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Criminal investigations into the killings of Monterrosa and McCoy have been in limbo because Solano County District Attorney Krishna Abrams, who would typically make charging decisions, refused to handle the cases.

Abrams recused herself July 2 in the interest of safety and justice, saying state Attorney General Xavier Becerra should take over. But his office declined, saying Abrams had no conflict of interest in the cases. On July 31, Abrams announced on Facebook she hired Michael Ramos, a former San Bernardino County district attorney, to review the McCoy shooting.

We listened to the concerns of the community and the overwhelming public demand for an independent review of this case and reached out to the Attorney Generals Office for assistance, the post said. Although it is disappointing the Attorney General declined our request to review the case, we are confident that Mr. Ramos will provide a fair, comprehensive and independent review.

John Burris, attorney for the McCoy family, criticized the selection of Ramos, saying the special prosecutor does not have a history of holding police accountable.

It is unclear when the Monterrosa shooting will be fully investigated, or by whom. In the killing of Foster, Abrams office investigated and cleared McMahon of criminal wrongdoing.

Why is the California attorney general investigating Vallejo police?

Vallejo Police Department

California Attorney General Xavier Becerra announced a review and reform agreement with Vallejo three days after police killed Monterrosa. Becerra said the review was prompted by several recent high-profile VPD officer-involved shootings, and called the agreement a critical step in efforts to rebuild community trust in police.

The review will include an investigation of use-of-force procedures, antibias policing and officer accountability, Becerra said. Reforms will center on training, policies and transparency in alignment with national standards and best practices.

The department has also engaged a consultant to review the Monterrosa shooting. The same consultant concluded in June that Vallejo police werent properly reviewing use-of-force incidents, adequately investigating misconduct allegations or appropriately disciplining officers.

What are the badge-bending allegations?

Chris Preovolos / Hearst Newspapers

John Whitney, a former Vallejo police captain who is preparing to sue the city, said he was fired last year in retaliation for pointing out misconduct within the Police Department, including concerns that some officers bent tips of their star badges to mark people they killed.

Whitney became aware of the practice in April 2019, after the McCoy killing, and notified then-Police Chief Andrew Bidou, Mayor Bob Sampayan, City Manager Greg Nyhoff and then-City Attorney Claudia Quintana before he was released last August after 19 years on the job, his lawyer, Alison Berry Wilkinson, told The Chronicle.

Assistant City Manager Anne Cardwell told The Chronicle the city was aware of previous complaints about badge-bending. She said Sampayan was in contact with Nyhoff about rumors of such a prior practice in years past, and that Nyhoff had consulted with former Police Chief Bidou, who indicated it had been previously investigated and such claims had not been substantiated.

But Wilkinson said that Whitney, before his ouster, ordered supervisors to inspect officers uniforms and collect any bent badges. After 10 badges were turned in, Wilkinson said, Bidou told Whitney the repair costs could raise suspicion and cost him his job. Instead, the chief had the badges returned to officers, who were to fix them on their own, Wilkinson said. Bidou has not commented.

Chief Williams, who took over in November after Bidou retired, opened an official inquiry into the badge-bending allegations, which were first reported by news site Open Vallejo. But even if the probe finds officers who participated, Vallejo may not be able to discipline them, The Chronicle reported, because state law sets a one-year deadline for disciplinary action against officers after officials learn of misconduct.

Whitney also said that, in 2015, Bidou told the departments spokesman, Lt. Kenny Park, to burn that bitch  an alleged reference to kidnap victim Denise Huskins. She was taken from her boyfriends Vallejo home and held for ransom before her captor let her go two days later. Rather than looking for the attacker, Vallejo police accused Huskins and her boyfriend of faking the whole thing. At a news conference, Park called it an orchestrated event. The city paid the couple $2.5 million in a settlement.

Michael Cabanatuan is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: mcabanatuan@sfchronicle.com Twitter@ctuan
Beirut is a 'devastated city;' the Church has a 'duty' to help, Cardinal declares

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A cardinal serving in Lebanon said churches have a duty to help Beirut, which he described as a devastated city after a massive explosion at its port killed at least 145 people and injured 5,000.

Beirut is a devastated city. A catastrophe struck there because of the mysterious explosion which occurred in its port, Cardinal Bechara Boutros Rai, Maronite Patriarch of Antioch, said Wednesday in a statement released by the Catholic Telegraph.

The Church, which has set up a relief network throughout Lebanese territory, today finds itself faced with a new great duty which it is unable to assume on its own, he added.

Rai called the devastation of the explosion a war scene without war, adding that there was desolation in all its streets, neighborhoods, and houses.

From sea to mountain: How a massive explosion left a trail of destruction across Beirut and beyond. https://t.co/yIQq4LcTDbpic.twitter.com/3K8DfjzmMD  CNN International (@cnni) August 6, 2020

[The Church stands] in solidarity with the afflicted, the families of the victims, the wounded, and the displaced that it is ready to welcome in its institutions, he continued.

The Maronite Church is an Eastern rite denomination that has canonical ties to the Roman Catholic Church, tracing their origins to an early church Syrian hermit named St. Maron.

On Tuesday, an explosion caused by an estimate of 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate, used in fertilizers and bombs, that had been stockpiled for years in a port warehouse. The explosion left 460 feet wide crater at the site of the blast which is now filled with water from the sea.

The result was a massive explosion that leveled homes and smashed windows, resulting in thousands of casualties; the noise of the blast could be heard as far away as the island of Cyprus.

New footage of the explosion in Beirut pic.twitter.com/Zo4Hs25sUK  Faytuks News ???? (@Faytuks) August 6, 2020

French President Emmanuel Macron toured the city Thursday, where crowds pleaded with him for help.

As he walked the streets of the hardest-hit neighborhoods, Christians shouted: "Mr. Macron, free us from Hezbollah," The Epoch Times reported, adding that they were referring to the Iran-backed Shi'ite Muslim terrorist organization.

Another person in the crowd told Macron ... youre on General Gouraud Street, he freed us from the Ottomans. Free us from the current authorities." The French president assured residents he would send medical aid to Lebanon and said he would discuss "home truths" with the government about reforms Western countries have been seeking regarding its economy and politics.

Others in the crowd chanted Revolution and The people want to bring down the regime," France 24 reported, adding that those were the same slogans chanted last year during mass protests.

The Lebanese government is investigating the cause of the Beirut explosion, having already put multiple port officials under house arrest.

"Those responsible will be held accountable whomever and wherever he is," said Interior Minister Mohammed Fahmi at a press conference on Wednesday, NBC News reported.

The Rev. Scott Parker, who resides in Beirut and works for the Presbyterian Church (USA) Presbyterian Mission, reported on social media that they were under lockdown.

Weve got stay-at-home orders because of the spread of chemicals through the air, Parker said, according to the Presbyterian News Service.

Please pray for the vulnerable, and the hospital and rescue workers and all who are helping those in need."
He says having his own plane is his one 'guilty pleasure' in life. But billionaire Bill Gates also likes to splash his cash on shares in private jet companies.

Last week, the Microsoft founder ploughed more of his fortune into London-listed Signature Aviation, which offers refuelling and other services for private air travel.

Gates first invested in the FTSE 250 company  which used to be called BBA Aviation  in 2009 after the company was hit by the global financial crisis. He later became the largest shareholder.

Bill Gates has ploughed more of his fortune into London-listed Signature Aviation

Last week, he used Signature's most recent share price slump  triggered by the coronavirus crisis which has severely curbed air travel  to snap up shares on the cheap.

Gates twice raised his shareholding in the company and he now owns a stake of more than 17 per cent, worth 350million.

It is the first time Gates, who owns the shares through his Cascade Investments vehicle and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, has raised his stake in more than two years.

At four-year lows, Signature's shares have already started to recover. Gates clearly believes it won't be long before they really take off again.

InterContinental Hotels

Hospitality giant InterContinental Hotels will this week lay bare the impact of the Covid-19 crisis on its business, which includes the Holiday Inn and Crowne Plaza chains.

With large numbers of hotels having shut their doors for months on end during the global lockdown, you might expect the group to be reeling.

Yet City scribblers predict that InterContinental will still manage to report a modest profit for the first six months of the year on Tuesday.

Why? Well the first quarter was relatively unaffected by the outbreak and analysts at Peel Hunt say the group may be recovering faster than rivals as it has plenty of mid-market hotels that aren't in city centres.

Bellway

Britain's housing market will get a health check this week when builder Bellway gives an update on trading for the 12 months to July.

It has been two months since the company last updated investors, and they will be keen to see if the housebuilder has grown its order book since then. At the time, orders stood at 1.5billion, which is slightly behind 2019's figure.

Analysts believe it should have grown in the weeks since the June update.

However, they also think that problems for the housing market could arise in the autumn when the Government's furlough scheme starts to be unwound.

Avast

It only entered the FTSE 100 in June, but already the cyber security company Avast looks like a stalwart of the blue-chip index given the carnage of recent months.

The Czech-based company's shares have surged, giving it a market valuation of more than 6billion.

The firm is one of the few to have been boosted by lockdown as people working from home have bolstered their laptops' defences with its products.

Analysts reckon that Avast will reveal that billings grew by 8 per cent in the first six months of the year compared to the same period in 2019, thanks in no small part to this lockdown home-working boom.
checkmate 743 shows that dual immunotherapy, nivolumab + ipilimumab

Denver--(Embargoed for 7 a.m. EST August 8, 2020) The combination of first-line nivolumab and ipilimumab demonstrated an improvement of overall survival for patients with unresectable malignant pleural mesothelioma compared to platinum-based chemotherapy, according to research presented today at the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer Virtual Presidential Symposium.

The study is presented by Paul Baas, M.D., from The Netherlands Cancer Institute and The University of Leiden, in Amsterdam. Watch a video of Dr. Baas explaining his research here: https:/ / vimeo. com/ 443190432/ 32a40271f0

Nivolumab is an immunotherapy that works as a checkpoint inhibitor, blocking a signal that prevents activation of T cells from attacking the cancer. Ipilimumab is a monoclonal antibody that works to activate the immune system by targeting CTLA-4, a protein receptor that downregulates the immune system. When administered in combination, this dual immunotherapy has shown clinical benefit in 6 different tumor types, including mesothelioma.

Malignant pleural mesothelioma is a highly aggressive cancer with a five-year survival rate of less than 10 percent. Current standard of care treatment is chemotherapy with few treatment advances in the last 15 years.

In this large phase III study, Dr. Baas and the global study investigators randomly assigned more than 600 patients: 303 to the nivolumab + ipilimumab arm and 302 to the chemotherapy arm. The study had a minimal follow up of close to two years. Two-year overall survival rates were 40.8% for the patients in the experimental treatment arm vs 27.0% in chemotherapy arm. Of the 30.3% of patients in the study-combination group who experienced grade 3-4 adverse events, 15% discontinued therapy compared with 7.4% of the 32.0% of patients in chemotherapy group.

"CheckMate 743 met its primary endpoint of statistically improved OS with nivolumab + ipilimumab vs standard of care chemotherapy in first-line treatment of patients with mesothelioma," said Dr. Baas. "These clinically meaningful data represent the first positive phase 3 trial of immunotherapy in first-line MPM and should be considered as a new standard of care."

###

About the IASLC: The International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) is the only global organization dedicated solely to the study of lung cancer and other thoracic malignancies. Founded in 1974, the association's membership includes more than 7,500 lung cancer specialists across all disciplines in over 100 countries, forming a global network working together to conquer lung and thoracic cancers worldwide. The association also publishes the Journal of Thoracic Oncology, the primary educational and informational publication for topics relevant to the prevention, detection, diagnosis, and treatment of all thoracic malignancies. Visit http://www. iaslc. org for more information.

About the WCLC: The WCLC is the world's largest meeting dedicated to lung cancer and other thoracic malignancies, attracting more than 7,000 researchers, physicians and specialists from more than 100 countries. The goal is to increase awareness, collaboration and understanding of lung cancer, and to help participants implement the latest developments across the globe. The conference will cover a wide range of disciplines and unveil several research studies and clinical trial results. For more information, visit wclc2020.iaslc.org.

This story has been published on: 2020-08-09. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
While Britain's biggest companies have wrestled with dividend payments, smaller firms have found the battle even harder. Hundreds have suspended, postponed or cut dividends and more are likely to follow.

However, some jewels remain  firms that have rewarded shareholders and, crucially, look set to continue doing so.

Among the FTSE 250 index, companies such as Direct Line and Sabre Insurance are both offering chunky yields, backed up by earnings.

Companies such as Direct Line and Sabre Insurance are both offering chunky yields

As a member of the FTSE 100, Direct Line was a perennial member of the Midas Dogs of the Footsie portfolio. But the Churchill to Privilege insurer was demoted from the elite index last September and earlier this year cancelled its 2019 final dividend.

Just last week, however, chief executive Penny James reinstated dividends for this year and delivered a special payment to compensate shareholders for the 2019 cancellation.

Covid-19 drove up costs in some areas but claims were sharply down as fewer motorists took to the road so the company had a much better first half than expected.

Direct Line shares rose in response to James's generosity on the dividend front but, at 3.34, the stock is still yielding more than 8 per cent and the business seems to be in rude health.

Sabre also specialises in motor insurance, including Go Girl, for young female drivers. Primarily though, it focuses on insuring top-end cars and drivers who may find it hard to obtain cover elsewhere.

Midas recommended Sabre in 2018, when the stock was 2.61 and the shares were yielding 5.6 per cent. The shares had risen to 3.08 before the pandemic erupted but they have since fallen back to 2.65 again.

Operationally however, Sabre is doing well and boss Geoff Carter, an insurance veteran, believes the company's prospects are sound. A dividend of 19p is forecast for 2020, putting the stock on a yield of over 7 per cent.

Even now solid stocks can still be found

Looking beyond insurers, PayPoint appears more resilient than many. The group was a favourite stock of Neil Woodford's, one of the few shares in his Equity Income fund that provided an income.

PayPoint provides kit that allows customers to make cashless payments in convenience stores and collect parcels from online retailers, such as Amazon. Consumers can also pay utility bills with PayPoint technology and top up mobile phones.

As shoppers shy away from cash and turn increasingly to cards to purchase even small items such as pints of milk or packets of digestives, PayPoint is benefiting. The utility bill arm has done less well but in the long-term, PayPoint should deliver the goods.

Right now, PayPoint is suffering from lingering  and probably ill-founded  fears about its prospects. The stock has fallen from 10.90 in January to 6.36 at the end of last week.

With a dividend of 31p forecast for the year to March 2021, that puts the shares on a yield of just over 5 per cent and brokers at Liberum expect the stock to rebound to 10 in the coming months on a yield approaching 5 per cent.

AIM-listed Highland Gold shares have risen, partly thanks to a rising gold price

Over on the junior AIM stock market for even smaller firms, Highland Gold deserves a closer look.

The company owns four operating gold mines in Russia so it has benefited from the soaring gold price and will continue to do so. But Highland has also put in place a number of self-help measures, designed to increase efficiency and expand production.

Highland is run by Eugene Shvidler, a Russian-American billionaire and close friend of Roman Abramovich. Shvidler owns shares in Abramovich's steel-making firm Evraz and Abramovich owns just over 4 per cent of Highland, which sounds cosy but does suggest they want both to succeed. To date, they have done considerably better with the gold miner than its larger steel-making peer.

Last month, Shvidler said Highland expected to produce up to 300,000 ounces of gold this year and confirmed that production and sales had been largely unaffected by the pandemic.

The news, combined with a rising gold price, sent Highland shares up from 2.17 to 2.95 and analysts expect that the stock will continue to gain ground.

Midas recommended Highland in September 2018, when the shares were 1.63 and yielding just over 6 per cent. Today, the shares are 80 per cent ahead, Highland is yielding 4.7 per cent and it seems as if rewarding shareholders remains a priority.

Searching for sustainable income among smaller companies can be challenging at the best of times but is even trickier during periods of economic turmoil. Companies that seem to offer inordinately high yields are best avoided. If a stock looks too good to be true, it probably is. But solid businesses whose dividends are backed up by earnings, can still be found, even now.
Delhis health minister Satyendar Jain on Sunday said around 35% of beds in Covid hospitals in Delhi are currently occupied by patients from other states. He also said that the number of Covid cases in the Capital are witnessing a spike once again because a large number of patients from other states are getting tested in Delhi.

Till last month, we observed that total bed occupancy in Covid hospitals in the city in terms of absolute numbers was dropping by around 100 per day on an average. But, for at least the last 10 days, the number has been more or less constant. When we studied the trends, it emerged that around 35% of patients who have occupied beds currently are outsiders. In fact, on Saturday, 224 Delhi residents were admitted in Covid hospitals, compared to 97 patients from other states, said Jain, who himself recovered from Covid and joined the office last month.

On Sunday, Delhi recorded 1,300 new infections taking the cumulative number of cases to 145,427. As many as 1,404 fresh cases were recorded on Saturday. However, between August 1 and 7, Delhi witnessed an average of 1,028 fresh cases per day.

Jain attributed the spike to people from other states who arrive in Delhi and get tested.

Also read: 1,300 new coronavirus cases take Delhis tally past 1.45 lakh mark

He said, Most such cases surface only when health teams reach out to the patients for follow up and realise that they have left for their residence. So far, we have seen patients from Ghaziabad, Noida, Kolkata and other places who got in Delhi and diagnosed Covid positive. Large number of patients are outsiders. As far as Delhi is concerned, cases which originate in the city are actually going down.

When asked if the increased numbers could be a result of increased RT-PCR tests in the last few days, Jain said, There are strict guidelines for conducting RT-PCR tests set by the ICMR. It says that only symptomatic people can be recommended for the test. On our part we have been conducting a large number of antigen test. And individuals who test negative despite having symptoms are sent for RT-PCR test.

Under guidelines of the government, only Covid patients with severe symptoms or those with moderate symptoms along with comorbidities are admitted in hospitals. As on Sunday evening, 3,085 (out of 13,517) beds in Covid hospitals in Delhi were occupied  which is 27 higher than the previous day, in terms of absolute numbers, government records showed.
Kathmandu, August 9

Nepals Ministry of Foreign Affairs says where Lord Buddha was born cannot be a subject of debate as the international community is aware that he was born in Nepal.

The ministrys response comes in response to a statement by Indian Minister for External Affairs S Jaishankar who cited Gautam Buddha as one between two greatest Indians ever.

It is a well-established and undeniable fact proven by historical and archaeological evidence that Gautam Buddha was born in Lumbini, Nepal, the official spokesperson of the ministry says, Lumbini, the birthplace of Buddha and the fountain of Buddhism, is one of the UNESCO world heritage sites.

The spokesperson also remembers that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself, while addressing the Nepali parliament in 2014, had said, Nepal is the country where the apostle of peace in the world, Buddha, was born.

The matter remains beyond doubt and controversy and thus cannot be a subject of debate, the statement says, 

No doubt: India

Meanwhile, the spokesperson of the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, Anurag Srivastava also issued a statement, saying there was no doubt that Buddha was born in Nepal.

EAMs remarks yesterday at the CII event referred to our shared Buddhist heritage, he said, There is no doubt that Gautam Buddha was born in Lumbini, which is in Nepal.
In March, Congress authorized a multibillion-dollar bailout for farms suffering losses because of the coronavirus pandemic and left the Agriculture Department to work out how the money would be spent. When the program was rolled out two months later, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said its $16 billion in direct payments would be a "lifeline" for farmers of "all sizes and all ... production."

But that's not what happened, according to an NBC News analysis of the first nearly 700,000 payments, totaling $5.6 billion, obtained through a public records request. The Coronavirus Food Assistance Program, while greatly appreciated by many farmers, has been marked by structural challenges. The preliminary data suggest that it has favored large, industrialized farms over smaller, diversified ones, provided loopholes for corporate farms and sent sizable payments to foreign-owned operations. Ultimately, many struggling farmers remain ineligible for assistance, unable to get access to any of Congress' funds.

The uneven distribution is stark. The top 1 percent of recipients got more than 20 percent of the money, totaling $1.2 billion. The top 10 percent got over 60 percent of the pot, while the bottom 10 percent got just 0.26 percent. The top 10 percent of recipients got average payments of almost $95,000, while the bottom 10 percent averaged around $300.

Image: Sonny Perdue (Jabin Botsford / The Washington Post via Getty Images)

"I'm sure the money helped those larger operations tremendously," said Lonnie Sigler, an Alabama rancher and high school agriscience teacher. "But for a person like myself that sells once every six months, it's hard to see how it can help you all that much."

Joseph Janzen, a professor of agricultural economics at Kansas State University, said: "It's a constant struggle in U.S. agricultural policy. The tension between the mass of small farms and the little group of huge farms makes the idea of equality in farm payments incredibly complicated."

Story continues

Nearly 2,300 operations received more than $250,000, which was set as the payment limit for a single farm. But the rules gave corporate farms ways to get more money. For example, the Agriculture Department allows farms to get up to $750,000 if three shareholders each spent more than 400 hours working in the business. Experts also say there is no real payment limit for farms structured as "general partnerships," because of a long-standing loophole in farm subsidy policy. That's presumably how Titan Swine, a hog farming partnership of 20-plus independent producers in northwest Iowa, got over $2.5 million in taxpayer cash and five other farms got $1 million or more.

Related: Quick-fix programs to get billions to farmers, like the trade-war bailouts and PPP, have come with complications, critics say.

"The payment limitations are supposed to help make things more fair," said Tyler Whitley, a program manager for the Rural Advancement Foundation International. It's "so USDA can spread money to more farmers and a couple farms don't suck in huge amounts."

In a statement, Titan Swine said it's comprised of "farm families involved in the day to day operation of the company."

"Titan Swine was formed to group assets, knowledge, and economies of scale to better compete with large corporate farms in livestock ownership," the company said.

Full coverage of the coronavirus outbreak

It's first come, first served; the funds that have been paid so far are just 80 percent of each farm's maximum payment, and the rest will be released later if money remains. That's not saying much for folks at the bottom. Almost 7,000 farms got less than $200, and nearly 200 got less than $20. The lowest payout was 7 cents.

Sigler, the Alabama rancher, got about $2,000 from the Agriculture Department, but he still stands to lose as much as $9,000 in 2020. He has lost $4,500 so far and estimates that that will double unless prices for calves recover. He hasn't sold any because prices have been so bad that he would have been selling at a significant loss.

NBC News found over a dozen examples of bailouts that went to what appear to be foreign-owned farms, including a Swiss-owned farm in Texas, a Korean-owned farm in South Dakota and a series of Dutch-owned companies in Wisconsin. Their payments add up to over $3.6 million, an average payout above the Agriculture Department's payment cap.

NBC News identified the farms by cross-referencing data from Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosures, obtained via a public records request in September 2019. Some matches may be out of date, given that the Agriculture Department's most recent records are from 2017. However, more foreign recipients could have applied under names that didn't precisely match their foreign ownership disclosures to the Agriculture Department.

Related: Its an absolute last resort that is probably the hardest decision farmers will make in their farming careers, the head of a pork producers association said of euthanizing herds.

Many of the issues aren't new. It's not easy to design a multibillion-dollar bailout in two months, so the Agriculture Department's program looks a lot like another recent bailout: $28 billion to help farmers through the U.S.-China trade war. The common criticisms of the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program were inherited from the earlier program's framework, experts say.

"If USDA had had a little more time to craft this, maybe it would have shaped up differently," said Mike Stranz, vice president of advocacy for the National Farmers Union. "But Congress was in a hurry, and that put USDA in a difficult position with this program, having to process, understand and evaluate all of the losses that farmers were feeling in this pandemic in just two months."

In a statement, the Agriculture Department said it had to act fast to provide relief given uncertainty and market volatility.

"The $16 billion Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP) has provided critical support to our farmers and ranchers, maintained the integrity of our food supply chain, and ensured every American continues to receive and have access to the food they need," a department spokesperson said. "USDA acted quickly to assist America's farmers and ranchers  of all sizes and for all market outlets  as they faced the initial fallout of COVID-19."

Said Joseph Glauber, a senior research fellow at the International Food Policy Research Institute who is a former chief economist at the Agriculture Department: "When you have a program in response to some emergency, you want to get money out as soon as possible. But at the same time, people want accountability for those monies. They want to make sure it's going to the right people and that somehow the amount of money going to people is commensurate with the amount of money lost, so you're not overpaying some and underpaying others. To get all those things right is tough."

The problems with the formula

When Congress wrote up the bailout, it included specific language to ensure that funds went to "producers of specialty crops" and "producers that supply local food systems, including farmers markets, restaurants and schools."

But advocates say those very farmers are among the most likely to be left out.

"We were really hopeful that the program ... would take into account the specific needs of those smaller, newer businesses," said Sanaz Arjomand, federal policy director for the National Young Farmers Coalition. "This program really doesn't go where it needs to go for local and regional producers, the same ones called out in the legislative language."

Take Haley Miyaoka, 24, who started a farm on the island of Oahu in Hawaii to grow about 20 vegetables, like peppers, cucumbers, eggplant and herbs, for farmers markets and restaurants. She is the archetypal program recipient under the CARES Act language, but the Agriculture Department program wasn't even on her radar. If she had applied, she would have had to apply crop by crop, likely with scarce returns.

Image: Haley Miyaoka (Ahiki Acres)

The process was far simpler for Brady Cooper, who grows soybeans, wheat and corn in Oklahoma. He knows the drill with the Agriculture Department, having participated in past programs, like the trade war bailout. He said he got nearly $5,000 from the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program, which pretty much covers his losses.

"It helped make us whole," Cooper said.

Overall, much of the money has gone to the usual suspects, according to publicly available Agriculture Department data. The top five beneficiary states are Iowa, Nebraska, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Texas. Iowa tops the chart, with nearly $700 million, and Nebraska is next, with nearly $500 million. Ultimately, three commodities  cattle, dairy and corn  got over 80 percent of the pot.

"I don't see it as a situation where the secretary really understands and supports the diversity of American agriculture," said Sen. Debbie Stabenow of Michigan, the ranking Democrat on the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, who helped negotiate the CARES Act language for agriculture.

"I just want it to be fair," Stabenow said later. "They seem to weave in a lot of bias and favoritism for certain crops and regions. It just doesn't make sense based on actual losses."

To some degree, the payments reflect the demographics of U.S. agriculture. Payments are unequal because production levels are unequal; large-scale family farms, with over $1 million in cash farm income, account for just 3 percent of farms and nearly 50 percent of agricultural production. California and Illinois aside, the top five beneficiary states are all among the top producers of agricultural products.

"The program was designed to make sure farmers who are most impacted receive the most aid," the Agriculture Department said in a statement, saying large farms operate far more farmland and generate disproportionate production value. "COVID-19 impacts on these farmers was relatively greater, which means they received higher payments yet a smaller share of overall loss. USDA continues to do vast outreach to farmers and ranchers of all sizes and from all sectors of production agriculture to educate and promote CFAP sign up."

But critics contend that flaws in the formula cause it to exclude less traditional operations, like local farm systems and niche fruits and vegetables. The formula is based not on lost income but rather on a rigid system of lost sales volumes, inventory and price declines from mid-January and mid-April. Commodities sold before Jan. 15 aren't covered. Small farmers, who can't afford to store large crop inventories after harvest, may find themselves frustrated, experts say.

"If you're a bigger operation with more resources, you can afford to hang onto your crop until you get a price you like," Whitley said. "But in this farm economy, that's not a realistic option for a lot of people. They are really living crop to crop, and that crop has to go right out the door."

Because the Agriculture Department makes calculations using wholesale prices, farmers who rely on higher-priced markets may be undercompensated. While a pound of Miyaoka's organic, sustainably farmed basil brings in $12 in Hawaiian farmers markets, the Agriculture Department compensates a pound of basil at just $1.65.

"Smaller producers have definitely been hit hard by this and are seeing an inability to reach their customers in usual ways," Arjomand said. "Some have resources to pivot, but others really don't. Having a program that is equitably accessible to all folks and business models going forward is really important."

'What about me?'

The list of grievances continues, to the tune of over 1,500 comments sent in to the federal government. Many come from producers who aren't eligible for funds at all. A New York peony farmer writes that he lost $50,000 after weddings and big events slowed. A Sonoma, California, wine grapes producer has sold only 30 percent of her crop as tasting rooms and restaurants are closed. A Florida beekeeper described $30,000 in losses as fruit farmers plant and pollinate less. An oyster producer said that he has essentially no market without restaurants and that he has 50,000 oysters that will die soon if they aren't sold.

The list goes on: maple syrup, mink, ethanol, crawfish, tobacco, chicken, hemp, honey, eggs, cotton, alfalfa and many more.

"We were getting voicemails and emails from farmers all around the country saying: 'What am I going to do? I'm going to lose everything if I don't get something,'" said Michael Nepveux, an economist at the American Farm Bureau Federation.

"Our role was saying, 'Don't forget about these guys, and don't forget about those guys,'" Nepveux said. "Just because USDA doesn't collect price data on niche products like parsnips and passion fruit doesn't mean these farmers aren't suffering."

For farmers to receive payments, their crops must show price declines of more than 5 percent from mid-January and mid-April. Price drops after mid-April don't count, which could pose a problem for late spring and summer crops.

It was a bummer for wheat farmers, for example, who briefly experienced high wheat prices in mid-April as Americans panic-bought flour and bread. So when the program rolled out, the Agriculture Department covered only two of six wheat types: hard red spring (used for pizza and bagels) and durum (used for pasta). But Dave Milligan, the organization's president, grows soft white wheat, the kind used in cakes. It's not covered, and Milligan said the losses are weighing on his margins.

"We hope things will change in the future," Milligan said. "We know they absolutely cannot serve everybody with this program, because they had to roll it out so fast."

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In the Agriculture Department statement, a spokesperson said the department wanted to be sure that it could cover COVID-19 effects in all production agriculture sectors focusing on only the first quarter and a small part of the second quarter, given uncertainty and volatile market conditions.

The Agriculture Department also said that the program includes 89 specialty crops and that additional specialty crops will be added in the coming weeks. It said it has conducted targeted outreach to specialty crop producers, including fruit and vegetable growers, to ensure that producers are knowledgeable about the program and are clear on how to apply. It also said it structured the program so leftover money could be used to offset coronavirus market effects in the rest of 2020 and into 2021 if it's available.

But even within well-endowed sectors like livestock and dairy, some farmers and ranchers say the Agriculture Department's aid still hasn't covered their wounds. That includes Titan Swine, the Iowa hog farming partnership, which has been the biggest single beneficiary of the program's funds.

"Titan Swine suffered market losses due to the COVID 19 pandemic in the amount of around ~$6,000,000.00," Titan Swine said in a statement. "While the CFAP payment was helpful, it was a long ways from making our company close to whole. "

The company said it had to take the "unthinkable step" of euthanizing nearly 8,000 market animals because of the pandemic's effect on processing facilities. Agriculture Department funds still may not be enough to overcome the financial burden on some members, friends and neighbors, it said..

Nepveux said: "We're at a point in this country where the majority of food dollars that Americans spend go to food away from home. I don't know if there is any USDA program that could have absorbed all those losses."

Industry estimates of coronavirus-related losses approached $40 billion as of May, according to the Congressional Research Service. Lawmakers, advocates and Perdue, the agriculture secretary, have all said more money will be needed. Already, direct agriculture aid has hit a record high under President Donald Trump, with at least $50 billion in payments to farmers in 2019 and 2020.

"It seems like a never-ending cycle of ad hoc program after ad hoc program," said Janzen, of Kansas State University. "And in the end, I don't know if anyone is really totally satisfied with the outcome."
New Delhi:

Former president A P J Abdul Kalam wanted to witness Mangalyaan missions launch on September 24, 2014.

However he had to leave Bengaluru with childlike reluctance the day before as he had a university convocation to address, says the then ISRO chief K Radhakrishnan in his memoir.

On 23 September, a day before the D-day, we had a very pleasant surprise - Kalam Sir decided to take a detour from his Chennai-Delhi trip and join us at Bengaluru. He spent a couple of hours at ISTRAC, greeted everyone present there and listened to a briefing by mission director Kesava Raju at MOX, says Radhakrishnan in My Odyssey: Memoirs of the Man behind the Mangalyaan Mission.

Kalam Sir, our first mission director of SLV-3 in 1979-80, appeared satisfied with our preparations. I could guess that he was in two minds, whether to stay back with us for the next day or honour his commitment for a convocation address at a university in north India.

With childlike reluctance, he left for the airport to catch the last flight to Delhi but reminded me to keep him posted on the progress because he wanted to mention it during the convocation address the next afternoon, he recalls.

India scripted space history that day by successfully placing its low-cost Mars spacecraft Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) in orbit around the red planet in its very first attempt.

Like many of his fellow space professionals, Radhakrishnan, who was ISRO chief till December 2014, too was enamoured by the idea of an interplanetary probe to Mars while he was the director of Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre.

The possibility of an Indian Mars probe had been discussed in our weekend sessions with V Adimurthy, the then associate director of VSSC, and his brilliant engineers led by R V Ramanan, he says.

After taking over as the chief of ISRO in November 2009, I wished to pursue this with passion and professionalism. Adimurthy superannuated in May 2010, and I did not lose a minute in inviting him to the headquarters as a Satish Dhawan professor to contribute as our adviser on the interplanetary mission.

Within three weeks of his taking over, we had a deliberation involving all centre directors of ISRO and the director of the Physical Research Laboratory at Antariksh Bhavan. We discussed the possibilities and constraints of a spacecraft mission to Mars that could just fly by the planet for a short while or be manoeuvred to orbit Mars several times (it was too premature then to even think of a lander mission to Mars), he writes.

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New Delhi, Aug 9 : The Centre on Sunday assured the Andhra Pradesh government of all possible support in the wake of a fire at a COVID-19 treatment facility in Vijayawada that killed seven people.

"Deeply anguished by the news of the tragic fire accident at a COVID-19 facility in Vijayawada in Andhra Pradesh. The Centre assures all possible support to the state government. My condolences are with the affected families in this time of grief. Praying for the speedy recovery of those injured," Union Home Minister Amit Shah tweeted.

Seven people, including two women, have so far died in the fire that broke out at a paid COVID Care Centre run from a hotel by a private hospital in the Andhra Pradesh city at around 5 a.m. on Sunday.

Around 50 persons, including 30 coronavirus patients, were reported to be present at the facility when the tragedy struck.

According to initial information, suffocation due to smoke emanating from the fire is said to have caused most casualties.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-09 13:08:09|Editor: huaxia

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State Disaster Force personnel carry the body of a fire victim at a COVID-19 facility converted from a hotel in Vijayawada district of India's southern state of Andhra Pradesh, Aug. 9, 2020. At least seven people died in India's southern state of Andhra Pradesh when a fire engulfed a COVID-19 facility on Sunday morning, a local administration official said. (Str/Xinhua)

NEW DELHI, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) -- At least seven people died in India's southern state of Andhra Pradesh when a fire engulfed a COVID-19 facility on Sunday morning, a local administration official said.

The mishap took place in a hotel converted into COVID-19 facility at the state's Vijayawada district.

Nearly 20 people were safely rescued from the site, and transferred to a hospital.

Though the exact cause of the fire was not known, the local administration official said a short circuit might have led to the blaze.

"Anguished by the fire at a COVID Center in Vijayawada. My thoughts are with those who have lost their loved ones. I pray that the injured recover as soon as possible. Discussed the prevailing situation with Andhra Pradesh chief minister and assured all possible support," Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted.

This is the second such incident in the country this week. A similar accident took place at a COVID-19 facility in the western state of Gujarat on Thursday, in which eight people had died.
When President Donald Trump gave an Independence Day speech at Mount Rushmore in early July, South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem gifted him with a four-foot statue of the famous landmark with one notable addition.

Trumps face was added to it.

According to CNN, though, the President wants more.

It reported that a White House aide reached out to Noem last year to inquire about possibly adding Trumps face to the landmark.

Its not possible, according to Business Insider, because theres no stable surface left for carving a fifth face.

But, according to the reports, its a dream of Trumps and its something he has brought up more than once. In fact, Noem told South Dakotas Argus Leader, he mentioned it during their first meeting in the Oval Office.

He said, Kristi, come on over here. Shake my hand, she said. I shook his hand, and I said, Mr. President, you should come to South Dakota sometime. We have Mount Rushmore. And he goes, Do you know its my dream to have my face on Mount Rushmore?

Noem said she started laughing.

He wasnt laughing, she said. So, he was totally serious.
Daril Cinquanta, a retired Denver police officer, never forgot the man who shot him while he was on duty in 1971. So when the man, Luis Archuleta, escaped from prison in 1974, Mr. Cinquanta made it his mission to track him down.

He spent years calling contacts hoping to develop leads on Mr. Archuletas whereabouts. In the 1980s, information led him to believe that Mr. Archuleta was in San Jose, Calif., but it was a dead end. Mr. Archuletas escape was even highlighted on the television show Americas Most Wanted.

Mr. Cinquantas persistence paid off after nearly 50 years when he got an anonymous call on June 24 suggesting that he look up a name: Ramon Montoya.

The caller believed that the fugitive who shot Mr. Cinquanta was going by that name, and provided an address in Espanola, N.M., about 25 miles north of Santa Fe.
According to Law 360's report, Vodafone is seeking the cost of the SIM cards, around 317,000 in commission it paid to Sim Local and 1.5m in connection fees (PA)

UK-based telecommunications company Vodafone has hit Sim Local, an Irish SIM card distributor, with a 2m (2.2m) counterclaim in the UK High Court for the activation of more than 140,000 cards, saying the surge in sales did not appear to be genuine.

In a court filing, Vodafone's UK business claimed Sim Local's UK subsidiary had been responsible for several SIM card activations over the summer of 2019 made by "machines" and other devices. It said these could not be identified when compared to individual customers signing up for a phone plan.

Sim Local had previously sued the British company for 10m in June, claiming it was owed the money as commission payments for selling the carrier's phone plans.

In the filing, first reported by legal news website Law360, Vodafone questioned the legitimacy of the SIM card activations, claiming unauthorised third parties had distributed the cards.

A surge in units being activated occurred from May to July 2019.

According to court documents, sales fell after a call between the two companies in September 2019. Vodafone said it had exercised its right to reduce commission payments that month.

Vodafone suggested card activations should have fallen as customers gradually began using SIM cards bought between June and September 2019. When the fall didn't happen, it claimed a large number of the 145,000 activated cards had been "undertaken in order to generate high levels of commission".

The telecommunications company said card activations had fallen to just 800 by March this year.

According to Law 360's report, Vodafone is seeking the cost of the SIM cards, around 317,000 in commission it paid to Sim Local and 1.5m in connection fees.

In its claim for the 10m from June, Sim Local said it distributed the SIM cards in line with the contract's trading terms. The company, part of the Travelwin Group, also sells cards through vending machines in large airports.
T he UK has recorded more than 1,000 new coronavirus infections in a day for the first time since late June.

Government statistics say 1,062 new cases of Covid-19 were reported in the 24 hours until 9am on Sunday. The last time the number was over 1,000 was on June 27, when 1,380 new cases were recorded.

The UK has seen a gradual rise in coronavirus infections since it began lifting lockdown restrictions in mid-June.

The government has put the next stage of reopening, which had been due to take effect on August 1, on hold for at least two weeks.

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The number of patients hospitalised with the virus continues to decline, as does the daily number of deaths. Eight new Covid-19 fatalities were reported Sunday.

The UK's official coronavirus death toll stands at 46,574, the highest in Europe.

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It comes as Boris Johnson has been urged to boost coronavirus testing and tracing in order to safely reopen schools to all pupils without needing to impose further restrictions on businesses or social lives.

The Prime Minister said it is the national priority to get children back in class in England next month, but he has been warned by scientific advisers that trade-offs may be necessary to keep transmission down.

People wearing faces mask cross the Millennium Bridge / Getty Images

Mr Johnson is understood to favour forcing pubs, restaurants and shops to shut ahead of schools in the event of severe local Covid-19 flare-ups.

Police officers detain an activist during a protest over the impact of coronavirus on Brazil's indigenous communities / REUTERS

However, Government advisers, opposition politicians, teachers and the childrens commissioner for England Anne Longfield have all called for improvements to testing before pupils return in September.

Their calls came as the Prime Minister wrote in the Mail on Sunday that we have a moral duty to reopen schools to all pupils after months without in-person education for most children.

He warned of the spiralling economic costs of parents and carers being unable to work, adding: Keeping our schools closed a moment longer than absolutely necessary is socially intolerable, economically unsustainable and morally indefensible.

The Prime Minister was also keen to stress the potential damage to childrens health if they do not return and that the virus presents only a very low threat of making them seriously ill, amid concerns parents may not feel comfortable sending them back during the pandemic.
Sharjah Entrepreneurship Center (Sheraa) and CE-Ventures have disbursed more than AED700,000 ($190,560) in equity-free grants to 11 startups, offering them an opportunity to navigate current economic challenges.



The 11 selected startups operate in the retail, real estate, fintech, travel & tourism, agriculture, education, technology and creative sectors. Sheraa and CE-Ventures effort to support local industries is inspired by Sharjahs keen interest in promoting and supporting startups in a variety of sectors that continue to contribute to the emirates strong and diversified economy.



This joint fund falls under the #UbuntuLoveChallenge, a global initiative spearheaded by Sheikha Bodour Bint Sultan Al Qasimi, Chairperson of Sharjah Entrepreneurship Centre (Sheraa), and Mamadou Kwidjim Toure, founder of the Africa 2.0 Foundation. The collaboration between CE-Ventures and Sheraa follows Sheraas $1 million Startup Solidarity Fund announcement made earlier this year.



Najla Al Midfa, CEO of Sheraa, said: Injecting emergency capital into Sheraa startups that have been unduly affected by the pandemic has been a top priority to ensure they are able to quickly recover and resume their stride. Our partnership with CE-Ventures has been crucial in selecting startups that are able to benefit in the long run. The collaboration is a testimony to our mutual dedication to building a vibrant entrepreneurship ecosystem that contributes to a thriving economy.



Tushar Singhvi, Director of CE-Ventures, the corporate venture capital (CVC) platform of Crescent Enterprises, said: In collaboration with Sheraa, we have selected 11 startups that demonstrated a culture of resilience, continued to have robust business models, and proactively pivoted to weather the crisis. To navigate the challenging market environment, these startups are set to keep a tight rein on operational costs without undermining their ability to do business now, and to step up operations in the future. CE-Ventures continues to proactively evaluate investment opportunities in transformative companies that are well positioned for sustainable growth and positive social impact.



The application process commenced in May 2020 with eligible startups being shortlisted by a committee comprised of members from CE-Ventures, Sheraa and an independent venture capital firm. Each startup was evaluated based on a combination of qualitative and quantitative data across three main areas; Cash Flow, Product & Business Model, and Team. This allowed a definitive assessment on key business functions of the startups as well as their outlook post-Covid 19.



Candidates were requested to submit detailed business plans that attested to the startups performance based on revenue and profitability prior to the pandemic, as well as their ability to mitigate the current negative impact of COVID-19.Apart from technical assessments, the shortlisting process also reviewed the startup teams competencies and expertise to help gauge their capacity to manage the business during the present crisis, and capability to effectively utilize incoming funds to grow their business.



Sheraa, a non-profit government organization, is headquartered at the American University of Sharjah and hosts a thriving community of ambitious entrepreneurs. The second Sheraa hub, launched in September 2018, is located at the University of Sharjah.



CE-Ventures is the corporate venture capital (CVC) platform of Crescent Enterprises, making strategic investments in early- to late-stage high-growth companies and select venture funds globally. The platform was launched in 2017 and initially capitalised with $150 million to be invested by 2020, 50 percent of which is targeted at the Mena region.  TradeArabia News Service
Teacher union bosses have been accused of trying to throttle government plans to reopen schools next month with a 200-long list of safety demands.

The National Education Union has provided its half a million members with a 'checklist' of Covid-secure measures which its institution should be enforcing.

If these demands are not met, and concerns are not acted upon, the union urges staff to 'escalate' their quarrel.

It comes as Geoff Barton, the general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, also warned that schools could teach pupils on a 'week on, week off' basis if the government continued to demand that all children return to school by September.

Mr Barton told The Daily Telegraph: 'If you want to limit the number of children on site or travelling to and from school, a big part of that is using rotas and the obvious way to do it is week on, week off.'

The general secretary added that leadership teams would be drawing up their own plans in the absence of clear guidance from the government.

The 200-long list of safety demands asks if the timetable includes sufficient creative subjects, and space for dialogue and sustained thinking? (Stock image)

The list of demands also questions if lidded bins with double bagging be available in every classroom. (Stock image)

MPs last night branded the 24-page document a 'wrecker's charter' which could thwart the PM's 'national priority' for classes to resume (pictured at The Discovery School in July)

He added: 'The majority of leadership teams will be thinking about different scenarios and how they can get some children to school. In the absence of clear guidance from the Government, leaders are making their own contingency plans.'

Last night MPs ripped into the 25-page 'wrecker's charter' by the NEU which they said could thwart the Prime Minister's 'national priority' for classes to resume.

Education select committee chair Robert Halfon MP branded the criteria 'impossible' and told the Sun on Sunday: 'It is incredible not one of these 200 nitpicking questions asks the most important thing of all - what's best for the kids?'

The National Education Union has provided its half a million members with a 'checklist' of Covid-secure measures which its institution should be enforcing

The demands, which the NEU claim to have adopted from Department for Education guidance, include questions such as: 'Will lidded bins with double bagging be available in every classroom and work area?'

Another asks: 'Has the school agreed that any staff required to quarantine in September as a result of holidays booked prior to the Government's quarantine announcement will be able to work at home or be allowed paid leave of absence?'

The unions were blamed for blocking ministers' initial efforts to reopen schools before the summer holidays after expressing deep safety concerns.

Members of the Conservative party also accused Labour of 'playing politics' by refusing to say unequivocally that it is 'safe' to return to school.

Amanda Milling, co-chairman of the Conservative Party, said: 'Once again, Labour refuse to take a stance and back our plans to get kids back to school in September.

'Sir Keir Starmer won't stand up to the unions, won't take a position and shows more interest in playing politics than in our children's wellbeing.'

But today NEU president Amanda Martin said she believed the union had been 'on the right side of history' and stood by the checklist.

Some of the (very detailed) questions Will each classroom be provided with gloves and disinfectant spray in case a pupil coughs or sneezes on a piece of equipment or furniture? Does the timetable include sufficient creative subjects, and space for dialogue and sustained thinking? Will lidded bins with double bagging be available in every classroom and work area? Will dedicated space be available for any breastfeeding women to express milk, and will the space be cleaned thoroughly after each use? Will communication on social distancing take place regularly to reinforce key messages with translation into the preferred language of employees for whom English is not the first language? Has the behaviour policy been reviewed to acknowledge the increased level of trauma and anxiety experienced by pupils and the impacts on engagement, self-esteem and behaviours? Advertisement

She told Times Radio: 'This is people's safety. What costs safety? I as someone who works in Portsmouth and received the information from my Portsmouth school have had those checklists back where governors and heads and staff have worked together.

'It's about ensuring confidence, it's about ensuring safety and if that means that's going through those 25 pages and have conversations about 'what would happen if this happened?', then that's exactly what we need to do and plan, planning is essential.'

Quizzed about whether the NEU is given teachers the green light to go back to lessons next month, Ms Martin added: 'We have said that schools should be ready to open in September.

'We have a number of meetings in the last week of August, we have asked our reps to look at the brand-new checklist that came out right at the end of summer term and we need to see what it means in regards to the scientists.

'We have asked the scientists to give us some modelling so we can make sure schools can be as Covid safe as possible.'

She added: 'The fact that the government are coming out this morning saying we're a national priority is a really positive thing'.

Schools minister Nick Gibb today said he had been consulting with the unions, although said they did not always agree.

Care Minister Helen Whately today said it was a 'national priority' to get children back to school in autumn.

Ms Whately told Sky News: 'Getting our children back to school this autumn is absolutely a national priority, we're determined to see children back to school.

'We had to close down schools back in March as part of the lockdown, I know that teachers and parents have made huge efforts to continue children's education from home.

'But it's not the same as children being in school and sadly we have seen children from disadvantaged backgrounds more likely to fall behind during this time, so it's essential that we have children back at school this autumn.'

Heads can decide on masks for teachers Individual heads will be able to decide whether teachers can wear masks in lessons, the schools minister said yesterday. Nick Gibb also rejected growing calls for regular routine coronavirus testing of staff and pupils. Anne Longfield, the Children's Commissioner for England, said she would like to see everyone in schools tested once a week. She also said teachers and older children should be able to wear masks 'if it makes them feel more reassured'. It came after teaching unions urged Education Secretary Gavin Williamson to allow staff to use masks if they choose. Department for Education guidance states that face coverings are not needed where pupils and staff mix in consistent 'bubbles'. Advertisement

She added: 'Schools will be a safe environment for children to be taught in, of course in the event a child has a temperature or any type of symptoms, it's very important they get a rapid test.

'Schools will be provided with home test kits.'

In the checklist's preamble, the document states: 'Union reps should seek meetings with school leaders in order to discuss plans for full opening.

'School leaders' difficult responsibility will be assisted by comprehensive union input. Consultation must start as soon as possible and allow for improvements to be made to those plans.

'If unfortunately there is a either a failure to consult, or members' concerns are not being addressed, then this should be escalated.'

It came as a landmark coronavirus study found the risk of transmission in classrooms is minimal, ratcheting up pressure on the Education Secretary to fully reopen schools in September.

Education Secretary Gavin Williamson said: 'The education and care of our children is a national priority. Ahead of the full return of all pupils to school in September, we are continuing to do everything in our power to ensure all children can be back in their classrooms safely, as this is the best place for them to be for their education, development and wellbeing.

'We have always been and will continue to be guided by the best scientific and medical advice. The latest research which is expected to be published later this year - one of the largest studies on the coronavirus in schools in the world - makes it clear there is little evidence that the virus is transmitted at school.

'There is also growing confidence among parents about their children returning. This is down to the hard work of school staff across the country who are putting in place a range of protective measures to prepare to welcome back all pupils at the start of term.'

Boris Johnson is understood to have warned that Gavin Williamson's 'head will be on the chopping block' if pupils are not back in lessons next month.

Today NEU president Amanda Martin said she believed the union had been 'on the right side of history' and stood by the checklist. Education select committee chair Robert Halfon MP branded the criteria 'impossible'

The teaching union asks if there will be a dedicated space available for any breastfeeding women to express milk. (Stock image)

The NEU also asked if each classroom will be provided with gloves and disinfectant spray in case a pupil coughs or sneezes on a piece of equipment. (Stock image)

Scientists say children are 'very minor players in the transmission of Covid-19 overall' The latest tensions over Covid-19's impact on education come as a European study suggested reopening schools was not a major danger in community transmission of the disease. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control studied 15 countries, including the UK, and concluded: 'There is conflicting published evidence on the impact of school closure/re-opening on community transmission levels, although the evidence from contact tracing in schools, and observational data from a number of EU countries suggest that re-opening schools has not been associated with significant increases in community transmission.' Professor Russell Viner, president of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health and a member of Sage, said studies had suggested children were 'very minor players in the transmission overall' of the virus. He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: 'There are five studies from around the world from New South Wales, from Australia, Singapore, from Ireland, from Germany, and from France, and in each of those there appears to be very, very little transmission in schools. 'We know that children can and do transmit this virus, of course they do, but they're very minor players in the transmission overall, particularly younger children. 'It's increasingly clear that older children - teenagers probably - transmit as much as adults, but schools themselves play very little role. 'They're a closed setting but actually we see very few outbreaks in schools, large outbreaks, and actually there's very little transmission from child to child or child to adult, actually much of the transmission in schools is from adults bringing it in, particularly staff. 'There's increasing evidence in the UK and the Government is doing a number of studies which have showed apparently very little transmission and very little infection when schools were open in England.' Advertisement

The Prime Minister has declared resuming classes a 'national priority' and is planning an advertising blitz to urge anxious parents to send their child back to school.

A Downing Street source said the PM believed the harm being done to children's education prospects and mental health by not attending school was more damaging than the risks posed to them by the virus.

Mr Johnson wrote in an article for The Mail on Sunday: 'This pandemic isn't over, and the last thing any of us can afford to do is become complacent.

'But now that we know enough to reopen schools to all pupils safely, we have a moral duty to do so.'

The PM also warned of the 'spiralling economic costs' of parents and carers being unable to work.

He added: 'Keeping our schools closed a moment longer than absolutely necessary is socially intolerable, economically unsustainable and morally indefensible.'

His campaign was yesterday bolstered by encouraging scientific evidence which found a low threat of catching infection in schools.

But National Education Union deputy general secretary Avis Gilmore called for ministers to 'be clear' about support if a second wave of the virus strikes.

'Robust track, trace and test alongside health and safety checks in schools and colleges are necessary,' she said.

Government Sage adviser Professor Russell Viner outlined the forthcoming Public Health England study and stressed that reopening schools was 'imperative'.

'A new study that has been done in UK schools confirms there is very little evidence that the virus is transmitted in schools,' he told the Sunday Times.

'This is some of the largest data you will find on schools anywhere. Britain has done very well in terms of thinking of collecting data in schools.

Professor Russell Viner, president of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health and a member of Sage, said studies had suggested children were 'very minor players in the transmission overall' of the virus.

Professor Sir Jeremy Farrar, the director of the Wellcome Trust - who is advising the Government's coronavirus response, said the 'brief window' before schools reopen must be 'used wisely' otherwise new restrictions will be needed.

He wrote in the Observer: 'Most urgently, we need to ramp up testing. We are not where we need to be. We must improve contact tracing, so we're identifying more cases and providing better, faster data locally.

'If we don't, we may not be able to reopen schools without introducing new restrictions elsewhere. These are the trade-offs we face - if we do not act now.'

Greater Manchester's Mayor has said that getting children back into classrooms should be a top priority.

However, Andy Burnham told BBC Breakfast on Monday that the test and trace programme had to be better to give parents the confidence to send their children back to school.

He added: 'It's got to be the top priority, getting kids back to school, because they have had huge disruption this year.

'We have got to make every arrangement possible so that people can have that peace of mind.

'But it does point then at the test and trace system, it isn't yet good enough and I am saying to the Government we need to work together to get this system right over August so that we can then both of us give that confidence to those parents.'

Pupils pose NO RISK of spreading Covid, study reveals - as Gavin Williamson 'faces the chop if he doesn't get schools open again in September' and PM warns keeping them home is worse for them than coronavirus

By JACK ELSOM and JOE MIDDLETON FOR MAILONLINE and GLEN OWEN POLITICAL EDITOR FOR THE MAIL ON SUNDAY

A landmark coronavirus study has found the risk of transmission in classrooms is minimal, ratcheting up pressure on the Education Secretary to fully reopen schools in September.

Boris Johnson is understood to have warned that Gavin Williamson's 'head will be on the chopping block' if pupils are not back in lessons next month.

The Prime Minister has declared resuming classes a 'national priority' and is planning an advertising blitz to urge anxious parents to send their child back to school.

His campaign was yesterday bolstered by encouraging scientific evidence which found a low threat of catching infection in schools.

Government Sage adviser Professor Russell Viner outlined the forthcoming Public Health England study and stressed that reopening schools was 'imperative'.

'A new study that has been done in UK schools confirms there is very little evidence that the virus is transmitted in schools,' he told the Sunday Times.

Boris Johnson (right) is understood to have warned that Gavin Williamson's (left) 'head will be on the chopping block' if pupils are not back in lessons next month

'This is some of the largest data you will find on schools anywhere. Britain has done very well in terms of thinking of collecting data in schools.'

Labour, the unions, and the Children's Commissioner have all today voiced support for the principle of schools reopening in September.

But thorny issues such as routine testing and the wearing of masks remain - which were both today slapped down by the schools minister.

As the reopening of schools was bumped to the top of ministers' agenda:

Children's Commissioner Anne Longfield called on the government to introduce regular testing for all students and staff in schools;

Labour's shadow education secretary Kate Green said she supports getting children back to school in September, but said the government needs to ramp up its track and trace system;

New research laid bare the damaging educational impact on pupils who have missed schooling during the lockdown;

The coronavirus death toll rose by 55 yesterday, to 46,556, compared to a rise of 74 last Saturday, while 758 new infections were reported, 13 fewer than a week ago;

Scientific advisers warned that the UK-wide reproduction rate, R, is between 0.8 and 1.0, the point at which the virus starts spreading exponentially again;

Oxford University researchers developing a vaccine were embroiled in an ethics row about whether to deliberately infect human volunteers  and warned that although there was a 50 per cent chance of a jab being available next year, it was likely to be only partially effective and carry side-effects;

A survey found that barely half of the adult population is committed to being immunised against Covid-19;

France is on the brink of joining the list of countries from where British travellers will have to go into quarantine upon their return;

Young people in Preston were being urged 'don't kill Granny' as the city was subjected to new lockdown measures following a spike in infections;

Up to 16 children and staff were forced to isolate at home after a coronavirus outbreak at a nursery in Bury, which has also been put into local lockdown.

Prof Viner, also president of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, said keeping schools shut would take a further toll on both young people's academic attainment and mental health.

Ministers are poised to lock horns with union bosses who have unveiled a list of demands if teachers are to go back next month. Mary Bousted, head of the National Education Union, (left) urged schools to ignore 'threatening noises' from the Government and refuse to reopen if they feel it is unsafe

Mr Johnson outlined similar concerns in an article for today's Mail on Sunday where he heralded the resuming of lessons a 'moral duty' and 'crucial' for pupils' 'welfare, their health and for their future.'

Minister rejects Children's Commissioner's calls for regular testing in schools The government's schools minister has slapped down calls from England's Children's Commissioner to introduce routine testing when schools reopen in September. Nick Gibb today said students and staff would only be tested if they displayed symptoms. But Anne Longfield earlier called for checks to become 'part and parcel' of school life and suggested they should be done weekly. She told Times Radio: 'I think it needs to be as regular as it needs to be for the infection to be caught... certainly not one-offs but regular occurrences so they're part and parcel of the running of a school.' But speaking on the same programme, Mr Gibb later said: 'Anybody who shows symptoms in schools will be tested, not routine testing, the advice we have is it's better when people show symptoms. 'If they test positive the people that pupil has been in contact with will be self-isolating. Everything we do is led by the science, the priority for the new 90-minute tests has to be the new hospitals and laboratories, the measures we are putting in place, the hierarchy of controls is the most effective measures of the virus.' Advertisement

He wrote: 'The education of our children is crucial for their welfare, their health and for their future. That is why it is a national priority to get all pupils back into school in September.

'The message I have given to Ministers and civil servants is this: we can do it  and we will do it. Social justice demands it.'

He spoke of the 'uplifting sight as millions of parents rose to the challenge of educating their children' amid the added pressures of lockdown, but said that had to end.

The PHE study, which tested more than 20,000 pupils and 100 teachers, is hoped to allay the concerns of wary teacher unions, which thwarted ministers' initial attempts to resume classes for fears of staff catching the virus.

Union bosses were last night accused of 'nit-picking' after releasing an exhaustive list of 200 safety demands.

The National Education Union has urged its 450,000 teachers to 'escalate' action if their schools do not adhere to their 200-strong Covid-secure checklist.

The demands included assurances the working day will not be lengthened, children waiting to be picked up to be kept isolated, and support for staff suffering workload anxiety.

Education select committee chair Robert Halfon MP last night hit out at the demands and told the Sun on Sunday: 'It is incredible not one of these 200 nitpicking questions asks the most important thing of all - what's best for the kids?'

But today Amanda Martin, co-president of the NEU, said there is no price on safety, and pointed out that they had been urging their members to plan for the reopening in September.

She told Times Radio: 'I think the NEU right from the beginning has been on the right side of history by saying schools should remain open to key worker kids and the most vulnerable.

'We have half a million members, we have had schools open all the way through lockdown and we have been supporting them with checklists... We have said schools should be ready to open in September.'

She said her union has requested information from Sage and the government for a risk assessment about reopening schools in September.

Prof Viner, a member of Sage, insisted reopening schools was a non-negotiable, even if it meant sacrificing other freedoms as a trade-off.

The desperate need to prioritse education was endorsed by Children's Commissioner Anne Longfield, who said in the event of future lockdowns schools should not be closed as a default to save 'disruption to the lives of adults'.

She today threw her weight behind Mr Johnson's bullishness to reopen schools, even if it meant pubs were sacrificed.

Speaking to Times Radio, she said: 'Children have been out of schools for five months... There was a moment I thought children have been forgotten in the relaxation.

'They must reopen and they must stay open so if there are future lockdowns they are the last to close and first to reopen.'

Quizzed if that meant people should be restricted from indoor drinking in pubs, she said: 'I've talked about that when decisions need to be made in future lockdowns, it makes absolute sense if there's a limited amount of social interactions before infections are raised.'

She said she was 'dismayed' that theme parks and even zoos were opened before schools, but said she is pleased that the PM has bumped resuming lessons to the top of the government's agenda.

Ms Longfield said that regular testing should become 'part and parcel' of school life from next month.

She said: 'I think it needs to be as regular as it needs to be for the infection to be caught... certainly not one-offs but regular occurrences so they're part and parcel of the running of a school.'

COVID DEATHS/CASES TOTAL DEATHS: 46,574 LATEST DAILY: 8 NEW DEATHS TOTAL CASES: 310,825 LATEST DAILY: 1,062 NEW CASES Advertisement

But this was slapped down by schools minister Nick Gibb, who said only those who developed symptoms would be tested.

The minister this morning told Times Radio: 'Anybody who shows symptoms in schools will be tested, it won't be routine testing... the advice we have is it's better when people show symptoms.

If they test positive the people that pupil has been in contact with will be self-isolating... Everything we do is led by the science... the priority for the new 90-minute tests has to be the new hospitals and laboraties, the measures we are putting in place, the hierarchy of controls is the most effective measures of the virus.'

On masks, he added: 'These kind of issues will be up to head teachers, but there's no need for masks to be worn within schools if the hierarchy of controls, the measures I have outlines, are in place.'

Labour expressed support for the reopening of schools in September, but surged the government to support teachers by bolstering the test and trace infrastructure.

Shadow education secretary Kate Green said: 'I think it's essential that schools open in September and that all pupils are expected to be back in the classrooms.

'I do think the Government could be doing more to support them (teachers) particularly, for example, making sure we've got a really robust Test and Trace system in place.

'The work is being done to make schools safe but more is needed to support those schools, they may need extra resources for example for extra clearing or to stagger the school day or to make sure children can travel to and fro safely.

'The Government has a window between now and the beginning of September to get that right and it absolutely must do so.

'It's really, really important that we don't write off a generation of Covid children - they need to be back in class, the whole of our futures depend on this.'

Heads can decide on masks for teachers

By Policy Editor for the Daily Mail

Individual heads will be able to decide whether teachers can wear masks in lessons, the schools minister said yesterday.

Nick Gibb also rejected growing calls for regular routine coronavirus testing of staff and pupils.

Anne Longfield, the Children's Commissioner for England, said she would like to see everyone in schools tested once a week. She also said teachers and older children should be able to wear masks 'if it makes them feel more reassured'.

It came after teaching unions urged Education Secretary Gavin Williamson to allow staff to use masks if they choose.

Department for Education guidance states that face coverings are not needed where pupils and staff mix in consistent 'bubbles'.

Asked whether teachers should be allowed to wear masks if they wish to, Mr Gibb noted that the scientific advice was that there was no reason for staff or pupils to wear face coverings in school. But he added: 'These kind of issues will be up to the head teachers.

'But there is no need for mask-wearing within the school, provided that the hierarchy of controls... are in place.'

On testing, he said: 'Anybody that shows symptoms in schools  teachers and pupils  will be prioritised.

'Not routine testing. The advice we have is that it's better to test when people actually show symptoms.'

It came as Professor Russell Viner, a member of the government advisory group Sage, said that one of the biggest studies into the risk of coronavirus spreading in schools will soon confirm there is 'very little evidence' that it is transmitted there.

The research by Public Health England looked at 20,000 pupils and teachers in 100 schools across England who were tested to monitor the spread of the disease up to the end of the summer term.

It will be published later in the year.

Race against time to appeal: Thousands of A-level pupils face missing out on university places if marks estimated by teachers are downgraded - as UCAS predicts busiest EVER year for clearing

By Josh White Education Reporter for the Daily Mail

A-level pupils whose marks are downgraded by computer face missing out on university places while exam boards sift through a flood of appeals, experts warned last night.

This years exams were cancelled because of coronavirus so marks will be based on teachers estimates of what entrants would have achieved.

But exam boards are expected to lower nearly 40 per cent of grades using a computerised marking scheme to ensure results are not significantly higher than previous years. This means tens of thousands of pupils will not achieve the marks they had hoped for when they get their A-level grades on Thursday.

Pictured: Lexie Bell and her father Michael Bell who are suing exams regulators over A-level grading system

As a result, they may not be able to attend their first-choice university unless they successfully appeal.

Those who appeal must be awarded a higher grade by September 7 to attend the university they have chosen. But the Daily Mail has learned that exam boards, which are in charge of appeals, have refused to commit to this timeframe. Instead, they have given themselves 42 days to resolve complaints  meaning the university term will have started before most cases are dealt with.

Many pupils, teachers and parents in England are nervous about this years results after last weeks debacle over the Scottish Higher exams.

In Scotland, 124,000 grades awarded by teachers were lowered, with the poorest entrants getting their marks downgraded at more than double the rate of the richest.

Last night Tory MP Robert Halfon, chairman of the education select committee, said: Our select committee report predicted a potential Wild West system which favours the well-heeled and the sharp-elbowed, and doesnt appear fair.

It is absolutely vital that the appeals system is done quickly and efficiently, in the space of a couple of weeks, to ensure that students get their fair grades so they can progress to university.

Pictured: Erin Bleakley (centre) with protestors in George Square in Glasgow to protest against the Scottish Qualifications Authority's (SQA) method of producing exam results this year

Pupils in England who are unhappy with their grades must rely on their schools to mount appeals for them, based on stringent criteria, potentially adding to the delays. Last night none of the big three exams boards  AQA, OCR and Pearson Edexcel  provided assurances that it would be able to meet the September 7 deadline set by university admissions body Ucas.

The Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ), which represents the exam boards, said its members were committed to completing appeals as quickly as possible.

But it admitted grade appeals may take six weeks or longer. This means a complaint lodged on A-levels results day  and most will come later than this  does not have to be dealt with until September 24.

The awarding bodies aim to complete initial reviews within 42 calendar days of the receipt of the application, a JCQ handbook for head teachers states.

I worry my marks will be unfairly downgraded A girl who is predicted to get an A* and two A grades at A-level fears she will be marked down  because she is one of her schools brightest pupils. Lexie Bell, a sixth-former at Shoeburyness High School in Southend-on-Sea, thinks she is at risk because previous year groups have failed to get above a C in her chosen subjects. When her teachers predicted grades are processed, the schools previous lower performances could mean her results are downgraded to put them in line with the overall trend. She is now worried about not making her offer from Sussex University. Ofqual is effectively tying in students to the performance of previous students at their school, which is in no way representative of an individuals ability to do well, Lexies father Michael told The Observer. It will take too long. By the time their appeals have been decided, pupils will already have lost their places at university. Lexie, 18, was studying English literature, psychology and religious education when the exams were cancelled because of coronavirus. Mr Bell is crowdfunding for a judicial review of Ofquals decision-making. I cant tell you how stressed my daughter is, he said. If her grades get marked down, because of the grades the school has achieved previously, the sense of injustice will be huge. Advertisement

Neil Roskilly, chief executive of the Independent Schools Association, which represents more than 500 private schools, said: Forty-two days is disappointing because the process will be simple. He said the JCQ had buried this crucial detail at the foot of the document  and warned that the delay could also see youngsters who miss out on their grades fail to enrol in time for fresh exams in the autumn.

Those who are challenging their marks are encouraged to contact their universitys admission departments as soon as possible to discuss their position.

But Mr Roskilly said he was worried that middle-class pushy parents would find it easier to negotiate than those from poorer backgrounds. The universities... dont have the set-up to fully consider a students academic record, he added.

In a recent consultation on appeals, one exam board warned Englands exams watchdog Ofqual: While each initial review may not take a significant time to resolve, the volume of appeals may mean that the response to an appeal may not be swift.

Labour education spokesman Kate Green said she was worried the appeals process was not robust enough.

Ofqual has admitted that high ability students at poor schools stand to get worse-than-deserved results this year because they fall outside the pattern of results the computer model relies on.

The proportion of teachers believing their A-level and GCSE students are likely to get a fair deal has fallen from 39 per cent to just 24 per cent, a poll published by TES revealed. One teacher said: I do not believe awarding results based on the historic performance of a school is fair. Year groups will have different abilities, and some cohorts will be stronger than previous cohorts.

Childrens Commissioner Anne Longfield said her real worry that the most disadvantaged children will be the ones that will miss out and those in schools that have not been faring well, or indeed those with a history of poor achievement, will be downgraded by the algorithm.

Schools minister Nick Gibb defended this years system, saying it was the fairest and best system that we could devise.

An Ofqual spokesman said: Exam boards are committed to completing appeals as quickly as possible.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- The NYPD is seeking the publics assistance in locating a 12-year-old girl reported missing.

Jaslene Dames, a resident of Barker Street in West Brighton, was last seen leaving her residence on Friday at approximately 11:20 a.m., according to a written statement from the NYPDs Deputy Commissioner of Public Information.

Dames, described by police as a Hispanic female, is 4 feet 11 inches tall and approximately 100 pounds, with brown eyes and blond hair. She was last seen wearing black pants and black sneakers.

The NYPD provided a photo of Dames.

Anyone with information in regard to this missing person is asked to call the NYPDs Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the CrimeStoppers website at WWW.NYPDCRIMESTOPPERS.COM or on Twitter @NYPDTips.

All calls are strictly confidential.
MIDDLETOWN  Next month, the Pennsylvania State Police are expected to move into the brand-new 18,000 square-foot facility next door to their operations along Baltimore Pike.

The project began approximately two years ago with the design of the facility, then a building schedule was assembled at the end of last year. In January, construction began on the site.

Then the pandemic hit.

Everything shut down here for about two weeks, Ryan W. Pekarsky, senior project manager of Crum Lynne-based Target Building Construction, said. Brian Forney, Targets superintendent, added that with the nature of the project directly impacting police, a waiver was quick in order.

Even with that, there were challenges to be faced.

COVID was new to everybody, Forney said. It wasnt like we could just start right back up with all the stipulations put in place.

Pekarsky said he first wanted to confirm he had a superintendent in place and Forney replied, Absolutely.

His first task was ordering a bunch of hand sanitizer, gloves and masks.

Some guys didnt feel comfortable coming back, Forney explained.

Pekarsky agreed, adding, A lot of people didnt want to work at that time.

So, they had to hire many new subcontractors, in some ways it was almost like starting all over.

We were starting to deal with new foremen, a new wave of employees out there, Pekarsky said. They just wanted to come back to work.

However, coming back to work was quite different than it was previously.

Nobody was used to wearing masks, Forney said. Nobody was used to washing their hands all the time. It was a little bit of an adjustment getting used to, on our end and on their end.

Even still, Pekarsky said the guidance continues to change.

Its still evolving, he said. Just Monday or Tuesday, we got another email from the (General Building Contractors Association) that theres more rules being put in place.

The rules hampered progress for a bit, as workers learned to adjust.

Forney explained that as the temperatures heated in the spring and then the summer, the crews had to deal with wearing masks in the heat while being outside. Its affecting their progress, it was slowing things down a little bit, he said. In hot weather, the mask is getting all foggy.

They also were attentive with the workforce.

The big thing we came out with was, If you dont feel well, dont come out to the site,' Pekarsky said. We dont care if its the sniffles, you dont come out to the site.

In addition, everyone that came onto the site was required to sign in, to make contact tracing easier, should they have needed it.

Forney said Target also created their own plan that included the requirements from the federal government and the township  and all 22 contractors had to sign off on it.

We had all the contractors come up with a site-specific plan for their companies and how theyre going to follow the rules, he said. They had to have a site-specific plan that they were going to provide their employees with certain PPE equipment. We were going to provide the hand sanitizer and the wash stations but they were responsible for their own masks and gloves, which was tough. It was new for everybody. This was a lot of information thrown at us. It was a lot of information that we were throwing at our contractors and expecting them to follow every day.

All this applied to anyone working on site. At its height, there were about 48 workers there, with the average being 30 to 32 at a time, they explained.

Pekarsky recalled that just as the guidance was implemented, the steel was being erected  and crews had to stay 6 feet away from each other. They also wore face shields on top of their existing safety googles and equipment. Because no one knew, he explained.

Added to that was the imperative nature of their job.

We were trying to make up the two weeks that we lost because they really need to move in here, Pekarsky said. That buildings falling apart  they were asking us to do whatever we could. We did our best.

They were able to make up that time and get back on schedule, and they credit very cooperative subcontractors for helping to make that happen.

The existing barracks building was built 37 years ago, although an addition was added 16 years ago.

We basically created a more user friendly (facility), Forney said. At the old state police barracks, walking through there, youre walking through tiny hallways in these rooms where you see the officers shoulder to shoulder  These spaces are more wide open where they can be centrally located as per department, where they can actually function a lot better.

The new facility with light gray walls and beige tiled floors throughout features a 19-work station crimes unit and a 15-work station special crimes unit. Itll include a processing lab, a garage, two colonel offices, one lieutenent office, mens and womens locker rooms, a conference room, a staff services area and a communications center. It also will include its own crime lab, where evaluations will be able to occur in-house, rather than having to be sent out to third-party contractors.

Theres also a fitness room and a kitchen for troopers use. And, the expansive lobby covered with stone veneer includes high security windows.

Target Building Construction staff enjoyed the interaction with the troopers, especially Lt. James Hennigan.

You can see how devoted he is to the project, Forney said. Its exciting to see how interested they are in the project. They look like little kids on Christmas.

Pekarksy said he likewise has enjoyed their presence.

Its been really nice working with them, he said. We were just talking about how were going to miss this job.

The Target Building Construction staff offered their hopes for the 110 staff who will be occupying the building.

Forney said he wants it to feel like home for them, that they feel that they can do their job to the best of their ability without worrying about  leaks in the building or that their equipment is in a box in a back corner of a room they cant get at. Its user-friendly and that they can use it to the best of their ability to serve their community.

Pekarsky, likewise, wished them well.

They have enough stress on their plate, they dont need to be worrying about if their locker room has a flood in it or that their wall is falling down, he said. Theyve been very accommodating  We wish them the best.
It has emerged that the Coronavirus burial team is overwhelmed by the death toll from the deadly disease in Ghana.



Leader of the team, Inspector Joseph Asitanga, has been quoted in a report as saying that the number of bodies awaiting burial at various morgues are high.



Today were burying six; were overwhelmed with the bodies in the various morgues, a report by Adomonline quoted Inspector Asitanga on Saturday, August 8, 2020.



According to him, a lot more bodies are still in waiting after some 97 have already been buried, the report stated.



Following the outbreak of the pandemic in Ghana, the state directed that bodies of people who succumb to the coronavirus will not be released to the bereaved families for burial.



Rather, the state will take charge of the burial within the shortest possible time after the death, in consultation with the family of the victim.



Latest updates on Ghanas coronavirus situation as of August 7, 2020, puts the national death toll from the pandemic at 206, according to the Ghana Health Service.



Six bodies were buried by the coronavirus burial team on Thursday afternoon at the Awudome cemetery.



At times we move around town in the night or day time we see people gathered in their numbers very close without observing the national protocol measures but we get sadden that people feel that Covid is not within where they find themselves, Inspector Asitanga is further quoted in the Adomonline report.



He has also raised concerns about the interference by some relatives of the deceased saying, we went through so much hustle and drama at the hands of these relatives and thats been the situation a lot of the time. We plead with them to allow us to do our work.



According to the report, Thursdays exercise saw some relatives of deceased in a mild standoff with hospital morgue officials and the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) workers.



The family members had wanted an opportunity to see the bodies of their relatives and pay final respect but that according to the burial team would be in breach of their protocols.



The team also called on the government to better equip them with logistics and motivation to work.

Source: ghanaweb.com









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The Navi Mumbai crime branch on Friday arrested two men who forged documents to apply for e-passes during the lockdown. The accused made money by charging the applicants between 1,000 and 1,500 for their illegal services.

The accused duo, identified as Navnath Dabde, 37, and Ishwar Shinde, 30, had been applying for passes since the start of the Covid-19 lockdown in March. In the last four months, they applied for around 40 e-passes, the police suspect.

Dabde, a driver, was rendered jobless during the lockdown. He decided to partner with Shinde, a real estate agent to commit the forgeries. The duo started getting clients through word of mouth after they successfully tricked the system early in April.

Prior to the relaxation of lockdown rules, passes of those residing outside Navi Mumbai were not approved by the city police as local address proof was essential.

The duo used to forge the address on the Aadhaar card of applicants from outside Navi Mumbai. Using a made-up reason, they would apply for the pass and get it approved, said NB Kolhatkar, senior inspector, central unit.

After police received a tip-off, they set up a sting operation with a dummy customer and contacted the accused.

The men were called to meet in Belapur, near the police commissioners office on Friday, where they were taken into custody after they told the dummy customer how they would get the e-pass approval.

So far, police have found 15 persons who paid the men for the passes. An investigation is on to find out how many other passes were issued using fake documents. Officers said that not all the passes applied for by the duo were approved.

Dabde and Shinde do not have a prior criminal history. They have been remanded in police custody till Monday.

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In Beirut, a police officer was killed during a protest, the Lebanese Interior Ministry informs.

The department clarified that he died as a result of an attack at the Le Gray hotel.

Thousands of people went to an anti-government rally demanding the resignation of the government and reforms. Mass clashes between protesters and security forces are taking place in Beirut. Several Lebanese media outlets report shooting in the city.
Unemployment will this week be shown surging towards the three million mark even before the furlough scheme is wound down.

Key figures due on Tuesday are expected to show employment levels heading for depths unseen since the 1980s.

Up to 60,000 more people are believed to be claiming unemployment benefits as job losses mount.

Economists say unemployment using both main measures is already shooting up

The Governments furlough job retention scheme to help pay staff is being withdrawn and will end completely on October 31.

Economists say unemployment using both main measures  the claimant count and the Labour Force Survey  is already shooting up.

George Buckley, chief UK economist at Nomura, warned: The current increase is the calm before the storm.

Not only is the job retention scheme going to end, but there are half a million people who say they are in work but are getting no wages. The danger is that they will end up in the unemployment figures.

Peter Dixon, chief UK economist at Commerzbank, is forecasting a rise in the claimant count of between 55,000 and 60,000, taking the total to within a range of 2.65million to 2.66million.

Since the virus-related lockdown in March, this figure has soared by 112.2 per cent, or 1.4million.

The claimant count includes some low-paid people receiving in-work benefits, so it is an imperfect measure of unemployment.

Some economists prefer to rely on the Labour Force Survey measure, which will next week give the jobless total for the second quarter of the year.

On Thursday, the Bank of England cut its unemployment forecast to 9% of the workforce

This currently stands at 1.35million. The independent Office for Budget Responsibility forecasts it to average more than 10 per cent of the workforce next year, which would push up the total by about two million people, to 3.35million.

On Thursday, the Bank of England cut its unemployment forecast to 9 per cent of the workforce. That would be below the 12 per cent rate seen after the severe economic recession in the 1980s.

Dhaval Joshi, chief European strategist at BCA Research, said: There has been a drip-drip of redundancies in those industries worst affected by the coronavirus  such as retail, airlines, tourism and hospitality  but the crunch point will come this autumn when the furlough scheme ends. That will open the floodgates.

Figures for gross domestic product in the three months to June will be released on Wednesday. During the three months to May, GDP crashed by 19.1 per cent compared with the three months to April.

Consensus Economics, which compiles all the major forecasts of City institutions, said the average estimate is for GDP to fall by 9.2 per cent across 2020 as a whole and to recover by 5.9 per cent in 2021.

The EY ITEM Club, which uses the Treasurys computer model of the economy, takes a gloomier view. Its summer forecast downgraded a previous prediction of minus eight per cent this year to one of 11.5 per cent.

The Bank of England now expects the economy to slump 9.5 per cent for 2020 as a whole, down from its previous estimate of 14 per cent.
In the race to win the Latino vote this November, Joe Biden is having Charlas (chats) with Latinos over Zoom and President Trump is bringing Goya Foods to the Oval Office. But who will place the Latino community center stage for the presidential debates this fall? That responsibility belongs to the presidential candidates, but also on another unsuspecting player: the Commission on Presidential Debates.

In the 244-year history of the United States, there has never been a Latino to moderate a presidential debate. The commission, whose chief responsibility is to educate the American public on their choices for president through debates, has consistently fallen short over the decades to change this fact. With fewer than four months away from the presidential election, its time to go on the offensive and say enough. We need a Latino moderator this fall.

Latinos make up 18.5% of the American population at over 60 million people. Given its size, the civic and economic power of the community is clear. Over 32 million Latinos will be eligible to vote this November, making us the largest racial or ethnic group in the electorate this upcoming election. When paired with our purchasing power  expected to reach $1.9 trillion by 2023  we are a force ripe for attention, consideration and investment.

The current COVID-19 crisis has only magnified why a Latino moderator is necessary. Nationally, Latinos make up 35% of all positive cases. In states like California, there are more Latinos infected with COVID-19 than all the total cases in Canada. This wasnt the product of bad luck, but of failed public policies that have negated our communitys ability to access affordable housing, health care and a larger social safety net that would protect people in moments like these.

There is no question that COVID-19 will dominate the topics at this years presidential debates. Although Americans of all stripes are facing great uncertainty during this global pandemic, the role of a debate moderator is to not only ask the questions top-of-mind for voters, but to follow up with nuanced questions that reflect the growing needs of a changing electorate. With Arizona, Florida and Texas in play this November, three states where the Latino vote will be consequential in determining a winner, it is all the more reason to uplift COVID-19s impact on the Latino community on the debate stage.

This is why the Commission on Presidential Debates must step up boldly to solve this perennial problem of Latino exclusion during these historic civic events. Rather than bring forth the ire of activists, advocates and Spanish-language media companies after an announcement that excludes Latino journalists from these debates, the commission can do right by this country as it undergoes another test in its quest to improve race and ethnic relations.

And its hard to see why a Latino journalist hasnt already been chosen. According to the commissions criteria for selecting a moderator, the person must have: a) familiarity with the candidates and the major issues of the presidential campaign; b) extensive experience in live television broadcast news; and c) an understanding that the debate should focus maximum time and attention on the candidates and their views.

Applying those standards, there are no shortage of options to pick from. Journalists like Maria Elena Salinas of CBS News have decades of experience in broadcast news. In 2012, she and fellow Univision anchor Jorge Ramos co-moderated a Meet the Candidates Forum with President Obama and Mitt Romney, after being shut out from the larger presidential debates.

Ilia Calderon, the first Afro-Latina to anchor a weekday evening news program for Univision, has the aptitude and experience to undertake a high-profile debate. In March, she co-moderated the final Democratic primary debate between Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders. And if the commission wants to go further and meet the intersection of Latino voters and youth voters, selecting Alicia Menendez of MSNBC would represent a generational shift in how presidential debates reach historically underrepresented audiences.

The Latino Community Foundation, a philanthropic group based in California, recently sent a letter to the Commission on Presidential Debates making our case for a Latino moderator. While California is not a swing state, we too want to hear our issues and experiences discussed on the debate stage.

Because as the past four years have shown, to be Latino in America has meant to live with profound fear, anxiety and grief. From child separations at the border to a mass shooting in El Paso, and now a public health and economic crisis under COVID-19, Latinos deserve our opportunity to ask the next president how he will help our community.

Who asks those questions matters. And we are no longer asking for representation. We are demanding it.

Christian Arana is policy director at the Latino Community Foundation in San Francisco.
Saudi Arabia has halted the provision of oil on loan for Pakistan after the Imran Khan government threatened to split the Organization of Islamic Countries (OIC) over Kashmir.

Hit by a severe economic crisis, Pakistan had borrowed a $6.2 billion loan from Saudi Arabia in 2018.

The loan package included a provision under which Saudi Arabia granted Pakistan $3.2 billion worth of oil, a year on deferred payments.

Pakistani media on Saturday said that the provision meant for Islamabad expired two months ago and has not been renewed by Riyadh.

Instead, Islamabad has prematurely returned $1 billion Saudi loan, four months ahead of repayment period, The Express Tribune said quoting sources and Sajid Qazi, the spokesperson of the Petroleum Division.

Recently Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi during a talk show on a news channel had threatened that if the OIC headed by Saudi Arabia did not convene a foreign ministers' meeting on Kashmir, Prime Minister Imran Khan would hold it on his own with his allies among the Islamic countries.

"If you cannot convene it, then I'll be compelled to ask Prime Minister Imran Khan to call a meeting of the Islamic countries that are ready to stand with us on the issue of Kashmir...," he had threatened on Ary news channel.

The OIC, the biggest bloc of Islamic countries in the world, has repeatedly declined Islamabad's several requests to hold a meeting on Indian Kashmir -- a region which Pakistan Army attempted to invade four times in the last seven decades and where it has been waging a proxy war against India for last three decades.

Since August 2019 when India revoked special status of the Jammu and Kashmir state and brought it directly under the control of the Central government by bifurcating it into two Union Territories, the Imran Khan government has been seeking support of the 57-member OIC over the issue in Pakistan's favour.

One of the major reasons for OIC's lack of support for Pakistan has been Riyadh's displeasure with Islamabad's proximity with Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan who nurtures the ambition of replacing Saudi Arabia as leader of all the Sunni Islamic countries.
Russia is attempting to discredit Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden ahead of the US election, America's counterintelligence chief has said.

William Evanina, director of the US National Counterintelligence and Security Center, said officials were also concerned about "ongoing and potential activity by China and Iran " in relation to the election.

He accused the Kremlin of conspiring against Mr Biden 's bid for the White House, while Beijing and Tehran are said to want Donald Trump voted out of office.

In a statement released on Friday, Mr Evanina said officials believed Moscow is working to "denigrate" Mr Biden, who national polls suggest is in pole position to be elected in November .

"Many foreign actors have a preference for who wins the election, which they express through a range of overt and private statements, covert influence efforts are rarer," he said.

"We are primarily concerned about the ongoing and potential activity by China, Russia and Iran."

Mr Evanina added: "We assess that Russia is using a range of measures to primarily denigrate former vice president Biden and what it sees as an anti-Russia 'establishment'.

"This is consistent with Moscow's public criticism of him when he was vice president for his role in the Obama administration's policies on Ukraine and its support for the anti- Putin opposition inside Russia."

In the statement, he also referred to Andrii Derkach, a pro-Russia Ukrainian politician who has been active in levelling unsubstantiated corruption allegations against Mr Biden and his son Hunter.

Hunter Biden used to sit on the board of Burisma, a Ukrainian natural gas company, which became a key focus of the impeachment trial against Mr Trump last year.

Russia was accused of helping Mr Trump win the 2016 election by discrediting rival Hillary Clinton.

Mrs Clinton's campaign was targeted in an email hack just days before Americans were due to head to the ballots and cast their votes.

Story continues

Mr Trump's campaign was later accused of conspiring with Russia to win the election, which he denied.

Former special counsel Robert Mueller subsequently launched an investigation.

It concluded that Russian interference took place "in a sweeping and systematic fashion", but "did not establish that members of the Trump campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government".

:: Listen to Divided States on Apple Podcasts , Google Podcasts , Spotify , Spreaker

In relation to Iran, Mr Evanina accused Tehran of trying to undermine US democratic institutions, divide America and discredit Mr Trump by "spreading disinformation on social media and recirculating anti-US content".

For China, Mr Evanina said the country views the president as "unpredictable" and does not want to see him re-elected, referencing Beijing's criticism of how the US handled the COVID-19 pandemic and Mr Trump's recent spat with social media company TikTok .

Mr Trump insists he is the "last person Russia wants to be in office" and has suggested China wants Mr Biden to win, claiming that Beijing would "own" the US if his main rival does come out on top.

The White House said it would "not tolerate foreign interference in our electoral processes" and it will "respond to malicious foreign threats that target our democratic institutions".
Image Credit... Giacomo Bagnara

Whats Up? (Aug. 2-8)

Employment Growth Slows

The July employment report on Friday morning showed that Americas job market appears to be losing steam after two months of improvement. The 1.8 million jobs added in July was a sharp slowdown from the 4.8 million gained in June, as businesses closed again in parts of the country where the virus has surged. The unemployment rate was 10.2 percent in July, down from 11.1 percent in June. Only a little more than 40 percent of the jobs lost since the pandemic hit have been recovered. And even as employers are hiring, other workers are being let go permanently after assuming that their layoffs were temporary.

Whats Next for a Stimulus

With stimulus talks in Washington at a stalemate, President Trump on Saturday issued executive orders to pay $400 a week in extra jobless benefits, extend the moratorium on evictions, delay payroll tax collections for some workers and give flexibility to Americans who owe student loans. But it remains unclear what authority Mr. Trump has to act on his own. Until that is resolved or Congress reaches a deal, people who have been living close to the edge financially may not be able to pay the rent, stave off hunger or avoid mounting debt.

Going After Chinese Apps

President Trump signed an executive order on Thursday banning transactions with ByteDance, the parent company of the popular social media app TikTok. The order in effect sets a 45-day deadline for an acquisition of TikTok, which is in talks to be acquired by Microsoft. Mr. Trump signed a similar order for WeChat, an app that is ubiquitous in China and used around the world by people of Chinese descent to communicate with friends, read news and carry out business transactions. The administration cited security concerns for the moves, which escalated tensions with China. Dont be surprised if China retaliates.

Image Credit... Giacomo Bagnara

Whats Next? (Aug. 9-15)

Retail Therapy? Not So Much

Retail sales figures for July will come out on Friday, but its already clear that sales have still not bounced back to anywhere near pre-pandemic levels. Even with many stores now open, people are holding back because theyre wary of bumping up against other customers in stores and are cautious about spending money in a weakened economy. Economists expect Julys gains to be smaller than the past two months, after a 18.2 percent monthly jump in May and a 7.5 percent increase in June.
While RSS continues to claim that it is a cultural and social organization and RSS has involved itself in several welfare activities with admirable efficiency, BJP continued to claim that it is an independent political party.





by N.S.Venkataraman





In 16th century Mughals (Islam ) invaded India, stayed back and then started the spread of Islamic religion in the country. Several Hindu families were converted into Islam religion by coercion and other methods.













In 1608, Britishers entered India as traders and then slowly started occupying the country, when Christianity spread in India. Several Hindus were converted into Christianity by coercion and other methods.





With the entry of Mughals and Christian Missionaries and they systematically spreading their religion in India, threat started on the existentialism of the Hindu religion in India , with little resistance from Hindus for all practical purposes. While savants like Swami Vivekananda espoused the rich philosophy of Hindu religion and brought it to the attention of some parts of the world and tried to create sense of pride amongst Hindus, his valiant efforts had little impact on the rapid spread of Islam and Christianity in India at the cost of Hindu religion.





Many Hindus were helplessly concerned about the reducing number of Hindu population in India. At this time, many concerned Hindus wanted to build a counter force to protect the Indian philosophy, tradition and culture and Hindu way of life, which inevitably mean protecting the Hindu religion from further erosion. Thus, emerged Rashtriya Swayam Sevak Sangh ( RSS) , a few years before Indias independence, which caught the imagination of section of Hindus to some extent.





While years have passed on and several developments have taken place and even RSS was banned for sometime in India for whatever reasons, the fact is that RSS remains as a force to be reckoned with in India. Attempts to discredit RSS has been continuing but many people believe that RSS has played a positive role in stemming the onslaught on the existence of Hindu religion in India. This is the ground reality.





RSS has been claiming till today that it is essentially a cultural organization, functioning with the objective of conserving and highlighting the traditions and value systems of India , which mean the philosophy of Hinduism. However, the fact is that several members of RSS have been showing interest in political activities, thinking that attainment of political power is an essential requirement to protect the glory of India and Hindu religion.





Certainly, a decisive change took place when a pledged member of RSS namely Vajpayee became the Prime Minister of India and later on ,another pledged member of RSS namely Narendra Modi became the Prime Minister and stays on the job after convincingly winning in the national parliamentary election for second term , enjoying reasonable level of public esteem and popularity.





While RSS continues to claim that it is a cultural and social organization and RSS has involved itself in several welfare activities with admirable efficiency, BJP continued to claim that it is an independent political party.





On the other hand, it is crystal clear that BJP is the political arm of RSS or RSS is the social arm of BJP, with foot soldiers of RSS actively campaigning for BJP in several elections. Both these entities are so closely intervened that one cannot anymore distinguish between RSS and BJP with regard to the goals and objectives.





Earlier, an impression was sought to be created that RSS functions independently and BJP functions independently. But, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has now removed this curtain by making the foundation stone laying ceremony of Ram temple in Ayodhya as an official function and inviting the chief of RSS to participate in the function and the associated religious ceremony.





Obviously, Prime Minister Modi has invited RSS chief with deliberate intention of establishing the fact and conveying the view to the nation that BJP and RSS are the same with regard to objectives and long term goal. The veil that BJP and RSS are different has now been erased by no less a person than Prime Minster of India.





Unlike the earlier Prime Ministers who were extremely reluctant to be seen in public eye as wedded to Hindu philosophy, Narendra Modi has clearly demonstrated his determination to be seen and understood as a Hindu with strong faith in Hindu philosophy and rituals.





In several other countries in the world, it is common for the governments to be officially associated with particular religion as seen in several Islamic countries and other countries where Christianity is the official religion. This has not been so in India ,as India has declared itself as a secular country.





While India continues to remain as secular country, with all religions enjoying similar status and those belonging to minority religions even getting special privileges, it is for the first time that Indian Prime Minister has asserted the predominant status of Hindu religion in India.





While the secularists in India object to this approach and stand of Narendera Modi, there is nothing wrong or unsecular with regard to the approach of Modi,as the basic concept of secularism still stand strong and vibrant in India. A Prime Minister declaring himself as Hindu and adopting Hindu religious practices and his party being associated with another organization (RSS) wedded to spread of Hindu philosophy does not mean that secular philosophy of India has been given up.





There is certainly nothing inappropriate in declaring that BJP and RSS share the same values and they complement each other.
Anusha Ravi By

Express News Service

BENGALURU: From losing out on being the probable candidate in the 2018 assembly elections to leading the BJP to a historic victory in Varuna constituency in the 2019 bypolls to now being appointed as the vice president of BJP Karnataka unit, BY Vijayendra, son of Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa, has come into his own. In an interview with The New Indian Express, Vijayendra outlines his plans and explains why his appointment as a vice-president of the state unit cannot be seen through the prism of dynasty politics.

Did you anticipate this new role?



No. But I am grateful to my party leaders for entrusting me with this responsibility. BJP doesnt believe in dynasty politics but this is an exception because the partys leadership has faith in me. It is a great opportunity for me.

What are your goals for yourself and the party as its vice president?



As far as the organisation is concerned, there are a lot of areas that we need to work on like in Old Mysuru and Hyderabad Karnataka regions. We were stuck at 104 seats in the last elections. Yediyurappa has a dream of winning 150 plus seats in the next assembly polls and we need to work in that direction. Since we are in power at the Centre as well as in the State, there are a lot of expectations among the people. It is a Herculean task because of the prevailing COVID-19 crisis and the financial situation. I have to tour the State and understand the problems of the people, especially the youth, who lost jobs during the COVID-19 crisis. We need to work in the direction of bringing more employment and investments into Karnataka.



You were set to make your electoral debut from Varuna in the 2018 polls. What changed?



Though I was not interested in electoral politics, our workers in Varuna decided that someone like me should fight from the constituency. It was on their insistence that I decided to contest. Varuna was then CM Siddaramaiahs home turf and I wanted to take it up as a challenge. However, our leadership decided I should not contest and as a party worker I accepted their decision.

Is this one step closer to electoral politics for you?



I dont think in those terms at all. I will go with the partys directions. My goal is clear, I want to work in the organisation, travel across the State and meet our cadres.

BJP is a party that prides itself for standing against nepotism. But your father is the Chief Minister, your brother is an MP.



As far as B Y Raghavendra is concerned, if you go back to 2009, when he was made to contest, the party chose him. Yediyurappa did not request a seat for him or lobby. The party needed a candidate who could defeat a former CM like S Bangarappa. It wasnt an easy task and the party felt Raghavendra was its best bet. As for me, our Central or State leadership do not look at me as just my fathers son. They have probably recognised the good work I had done during the KR Pete byelection and the Lok Sabha election and have given me this opportunity.



You were entrusted with ensuring a victory in KR Pete. What was your takeaway from it?



What I learnt from it was that people think beyond caste equations. Caste is a concept only in the minds of leaders whereas people are for development. Fortunately, the development works initiated in KR Pete when Yediyurappa was CM in 2009 helped. People felt reassured as Yediyurappa was the Chief Minister again. Despite not having a strong party base or cadre, our hard work as a team, our candidate Narayanagowda and Yediyurappa hailing from Mandya helped us in the victory.



How do you respond to allegations of your interference in Yediyurappas administration?



It is easy for people to make such allegations against me or any member of the CMs family. I am only a bridge between the Chief Minister and party cadres. I have never interfered in official work nor have our MPs or ministers made such allegations. These are just rumours in the media and I do not give them much importance.



As Yediyurappa completes one year in office, there seems to be unrest in the party and government.



There may be some concerns. We have been in the opposition for the last six-seven years. MLAs are eager to ensure developmental activities in their constituencies. In the last few years, their constituencies did not receive funds or assistance from the earlier governments. Given the prevailing situation, the government has its limitations. As finance minister too, the Chief Minister has to maintain financial discipline. Having said that, there is no unrest. Concerns are being addressed. Before the COVID-19 crisis, the CM met MLAs region-wise to understand their concerns and definitely things are improving.
An area group of first generation Lebanese women are holding a Stand up for Lebanon event Sunday evening in Easton.

The group plans to gather at 6 p.m. in the citys Centre Square to take a stand in solidarity with their homeland. Their focus is educating others about rescue missions and rebuilding efforts following the recent explosions in Beirut. The group also plans to raise funds in the effort, according to an event organizer.

Please join us as we will be taking a stand in solidarity with Lebanon as we revolt against the corrupt government, an event flyer reads.

Two gigantic explosions rocked Beirut on Tuesday. The blasts tore through buildings with dozens reported being trapped under wreckage.

Within seconds, more than a quarter of a million people were left homeless, around 6,200 buildings were estimated to be damaged, and 135 people were reported killed with another 5,000 injured.

Investigators are probing possible negligence in the storage of tons of a highly explosive fertilizer in a waterfront warehouse, while the government ordered the house arrest of several port officials. The investigation specifically targets how 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate, a highly-explosive chemical used in fertilizers, came to be stored at the facility for six years.

Public anger mounted against the ruling elite being blamed for the chronic mismanagement and carelessness that led to the disaster. The Port of Beirut and customs office is notorious for being one of the most corrupt and lucrative institutions in Lebanon, where various factions and politicians hold sway.

Losses from the blast are estimated to be between $10 billion to $15 billion, Beirut Gov. Marwan Abboud told Saudi-owned TV station Al-Hadath. Lebanon has an accumulated debt of about $100 billion, for a population of just under 7 million people  5 million Lebanese and 2 million Syrians and Palestinians, most of them refugees.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine (R) tested negative for COVID-19 for a second time after initially testing positive last week, he announced Saturday.

Why it matters: 73-year-old DeWine was set to meet President Trump Thursday on the tarmac at an airport in Cleveland and was tested as part of standard protocol.

A tweet previously embedded here has been deleted or was tweeted from an account that has been suspended or deleted.

Trump was planning to visit northeast Ohio to attend a campaign fundraiser and tour a local manufacturing plant.

A very good friend of mine just tested positive. ... We want to wish him the best. Hell be fine, Trump told reporters on Thursday.

The big picture: DeWine returned one positive and one negative result after being tested twice for the virus last Thursday, his office announced.

The Republican governor has received rare bipartisan praise for his response to the pandemic. He was one of the earliest governors to close bars and restaurants in March and implement a stay-at-home order in an effort to slow the virus' spread.

DeWine in May condemned the partisan debate over face masks, arguing: "This is not about politics. ... It's about helping other people."

An Axios focus group in April found that Ohio voters wanted Trump to behave more like a governor during the pandemic, and cited DeWine as a glowing example.

"Gov. DeWine has been a rock. Hes cool, calm, collected. He has a good team. He does make decisions and hes made absolutely great ones. I have a lot of confidence in him," Pat M., 64, said at the time.

Editor's note: This article has been updated with the latest test results.
WATERLOO REGION  Microplastics  tiny pieces of plastic that can threaten aquatic life  have been discovered in freshwater mussels in the Grand River, a new study shows.

Ryan Prosser, assistant professor with the school of environmental sciences at the University of Guelph, who specializes in aquatic toxicology, said most research has focused on microplastics in marine ecosystems in oceans.

But last month, he and a colleague published the first study of the presence of microplastics in mussel populations in the Grand River. They sampled fluted-shell mussels (Lasmingona costata) at six sites between West Montrose and Glen Morris.

Small amounts of microplastics were found in 71 per cent of the mussels sampled.

Prosser feels torn about his findings.

Its always exciting to be exploring something new, but part of me deep down was hoping I wouldnt find (microplastics), and then we could say maybe its not as much of an issue for the Grand River. But we did find them.

Im not saying the sky is falling, but (microplastics) are here.

"This is not just an ocean thing; this is an issue for our Great Lakes and the rivers that feed them.

Microplastics come from a variety of sources, including plastic debris that breaks up into small pieces as it degrades, and other particles that are used in personal cleansing products as exfoliants. These tiny pieces of plastic tend to absorb harmful chemicals, and then expose organisms to them.

If an organism can not expel the microplastics in some way, then it will build up and cause even further damage, says Prosser.

He would like to conduct more research to see how widespread the microplastics are among other species in the Grand, and also to find out the amount of microplastics that definitively harm mussels and other aquatic invertebrates.

Prosser says freshwater mussels are a truly unique species. They clean river water by taking in dozens of litres of water a day, and filtering out algae and bacteria, including E. coli. Some can live up to 80 years.

Theyre considered ecosystem engineers, Prosser said.

They have a really important role in a river. They can change a whole ecosystem. I grew up in southern Ontario but didnt know they were here.

North America is "like the Amazon" for freshwater mussels, and southern Ontario has the most species in Canada, he said.

Freshwater mussels send their young to live on fish gills for the first month of their lives and have a whole tool box of tactics to achieve this.

Some, like the wavy-rayed lampmussel, create a lure made of tissue from their shell that looks like a minnow. They twitch it to attract fish, and when one comes to inspect, the female mussel releases her young into the gills.

Other species, like the snuffbox mussel, grab fish by the snout with their shell when the fish is foraging along a river bottom.

Native freshwater mussel species like these used to be prolific throughout the Great Lakes but have now severely declined because of decreased water quality and the presence of invasive zebra mussels, says Prosser.

He says the river systems that feed into the Great Lakes are a last refuge for native freshwater mussel species.

For example, the last places in Canada the snuffbox mussel can be found are in the Sydenham and Ausable rivers.

Now its clear freshwater mussels must deal with microplastics too.
A footy fan said he invited his four friends over to watch a game as an excuse for breaching COVID-19 restrictions.

Police handed him the $1,652 fine after finding the host with his mates at his Mount Alexander property, north-west of Melbourne, on Saturday.

The man was just one of 268 people who were found to have breached coronavirus restrictions across the state over the last 24 hours.

A footy fanatic said he invited his four friends over to watch a game as he tried to talk his way out of a fine for breaching COVID-19 restrictions (pictured, police arrest a man on day one of stage four lockdown)

The man was just one of 268 people who were found to have breached coronavirus restrictions across the state over the last 24 hours (pictured, police patrol Melbourne streets during curfew)

Police also stopped a driver who claimed he was helping a friend move a television from Doncaster East to Dandenong in Melbourne.

He told officers he planned to make a pitstop to get a burger from a fast food restaurant.

Another man was caught breaching curfew and walking St Albans street at 2am.

He had been on his way home after sharing some drinks with friends in the city.

Police also handed out fines to 38 people for not wearing a face-mask for an approved reason and 77 residents for breaching curfew.

Under stage four restrictions applying to metropolitan Melbourne, people must stay at home between 8pm and 5am, unless they need to leave for work, medical care or caregiving.

Outside of those hours, residents can't leave home unless they are shopping for food or essential items, for exercise or permitted work and must stay within a 5km radius of their homes.

Under stage three restrictions applying to regional Victoria and Mitchell Shire, stay-at-home restrictions are in effect.

All Victorians must wear a face mask when they leave home.

The breaches come as state premier Daniel Andrews urges Victorians to accept a COVID-19 normal until a vaccine is found.

'What I would want to do is make sure there are as many people at Christmas dinner as possible,' Daniel Andrews said on Saturday.

'Until we get the vaccine, it is going to be part of our lives, but it is not about going back to normal, it is about finding COVID-normal.'

The state reported 466 new cases on Saturday, 450 on Friday and 471 on Thursday.

The figure comes as state premier Daniel Andrews urges Victorians to accept a COVID-19 normal until a vaccine is found (pictured, a police patrol walk past an emptied Flinders Street Station)

Another 12 deaths in the 24 hours to Saturday, including a man in his 30s and six deaths linked to aged care, brought the state's toll to 193.

Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton found the positive message in the numbers - that 400-500 daily averages meant stabilisation, rather than exponential growth.

'But we can't have 500 cases every single day and the associated morbidity, hospitalisation, intensive care requirements and debts that are associated with that number every day,' he said.
Ahram Online charts a guide to the ongoing Sirte-Jufra battle in Libya, objectives of each party to the conflict and the existing politico-military alliances

Six years ago, Libya saw a division in power between two authorities in Tripoli and Tobruk.

The ongoing Sirte-Jufra battle involves fighting between the two authorities, including the Libyan National Army (LNA) and the troops of the Government of National Accord (GNA).

Who backs whom

The LNA and the Tobruk-based House of Representatives developed an alliance, controlling Libyas oil-rich, eastern regions. Egypt, France, Russia and the United Arab Emirates back the LNA.

The GNA, backed by Turkish troops, Syrian mercenaries and Qatar, functions 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 in January, February, and March 2020.

Prior to 2014, it was much harder to define the key players in Libyas ongoing war, for the country saw an armed conflict between a long list of local actors that began after an uprising and loss of power by long-serving leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.

How it all started

LNA leader Khalifa Haftar  a former general of the Libyan army  launched a military campaign, including air strikes, against Islamist militant groups in Benghazi in 2014, which he successfully concluded in 2017.

Parliament, established in 2014, did not recognise the GNA. In fact, it was not happy to see Islamist militants controlling both Tripoli and the GNA, deciding to move to the eastern city of Tobruk.

In December 2015, the United Nations (UN) mediated the so-called Libyan Political Agreement (LPA). By virtue of the LPA, the Tripoli-based Presidency Council (PC) leads the GNA, which is required to earn the approval of the parliament in Tobruk. But parliament voted twice against the list of GNA ministers.

The political deadlock led Haftars LNA to resume his anti-Islamist campaigns, succeeding in spreading his control over the two cities of Derna and Sirte after defeating pro-GNA local fighters and Islamist, and GNA troops in 2018 and 2020, respectively.

Sirte is located about 230 miles (370 kilometres) east of the capital Tripoli, which is controlled by the GNA, while Derna lies 165 miles (265 kilometres) away from Libyas western borders with Egypt.

The geopolitical significance of both cities explains the strategic value of such victories by the LNA.

Fight over Tripoli

Meanwhile, the LNA started its offensive on Tripoli in 2019, though  almost one year later  conducting a "redistribution and repositioning in the battle fronts, disengaging from some crowded residential areas." The GNA, in parallel to this development, succeeded in recapturing several territories, including the northwestern town of Bani Walid, Tarhuna city and the western Al-Watiya air base.

The GNA and its Prime Minister Fayez Al-Sarraj could not have managed to make such gains without the military intervention of Turkey. Yet, the Turkish-GNA operations did not go beyond this stage at such point in time, for they were mainly concerned with stopping the military gains made by the LNA. This is why they are now looking forward to establish control over Sirte and Al-Jufra.

Oil-for-protection deal

By sending troops and mercenaries to Libya, Turkey is providing on-ground backing to one out of few remaining Islamist forces in the region, expanding its regional role  as it is militarily involved in parts of Syria and Iraq  and increasing its chances in having access to natural resources.

Turkey signed an accord with the GNA last year to create an exclusive economic zone from Turkeys southern Mediterranean shore to Libyas northeast coast. Some of the areas involved are around Cyprus, and the latter accuses Turkey of searching for gas in its territorial waters. This implicitly leads to the conclusion that Turkey and the GNA have concluded an oil-for-protection agreement.

Insisting on moving forward towards Sirte and Al-Jufra, on 14 July, the GNAs spokesperson Mohamed Kanono stressed that "the time has come for oil to flow once again and to beat the hands messing with the Libyans' troops."

This also explains the significance of Sirte and Al-Jufra for the GNA and the Turks. Sirte, for example, gives whoever controls it access to tens of oil pipelines and gas tubes across the Mediterranean. From Sirte to Benghazi, this is 570-km coastal area.

The redline

For the LNA  which controls Libyas oil crescent  and its backers, especially Egypt, the priority in Libya goes to security considerations.

An alliance of Libyan tribes recently announced the opening of oil fields and the approval for the LNA's general command, in cooperation with the UN and the international community, to ensure that "oil revenues do not fall in the hands of terrorist militias."

Speaking in front of Zueitina Oil Company in Tripoli, leading tribal figures and sheikhs said they previously "stopped [oil] production and export to call on the international community and the UN to develop a mechanism" that guarantees that oil is not controlled by militias. This led to an increase in food prices and the US dollar exchange rate and an inability by the state to pay the salaries of citizens, they added.

"We willingly allowed the flow of oil and we will shut it down if the oil is used again to kill and intimidate us," the tribal leaders warned. The LNA, which has the same position on the oil issue, also called for developing a mechanism through which Libyas oil revenues are fairly distributed across the North African country.

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 Al-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 and supported crisis-resolution efforts.

On 14 July, the Libyan parliament authorised an Egyptian military intervention if need be to protect Libya's "national security" amid the ongoing "Turkish occupation.

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Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden speaks at a campaign event in July at the William "Hicks" Anderson Community Center in Wilmington, Del. Biden again waded into controversy over how he discusses race and ethnicity, as he compared the relative diversity of the Black and Hispanic populations in the United States. Read more

Over the last few days, thereve been a few brief moments when you could almost ignore the cotton mask pulling on your ears, or the four claustrophobic walls of your quarantine hideaway and pretend that 2020 was the normal, presidential-election-obsessed year we were promised way back in a gray winter when Mayor Pete was still a Thing, Bernie was a front-runner, and overconfident Trumpists were turning Wildwood into their Woodstock.

In a silly season of cardboard fans and fake cheering, the mini-frenzy over this weeks looming pick by presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden of a female running mate  the intense tracking of private jets into Wilmington, the overreaction around a cryptic remark to a Fox News reporter, the anonymous leaks, and the backstabbing  is the closest weve come to political normalcy since early March. So is the never-ending confirmation of the joke that Will Rogers uttered way back in the 1930s, that he didnt belong to an organized political party because hes a Democrat.

The VP selection process  still a mess of American Exceptionalism after 231 years  is super important, but only occasionally for its stated main purpose of choosing a president-in-waiting in case of emergency. For every Lyndon Johnson (or Spiro Agnew, the petty crook who nearly became POTUS), there are several Paul Ryans or Tim Kaines  the latter so unmemorable that the New York Times Maureen Dowd completely forgot about Hillary Clinton picking him in 2016 in a column this weekend about gender dynamics in presidential tickets.

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Yet, Id argue that the Kaine pick was consequential for what it told us about Clintons doomed candidacy  bland, overly cautious, and failing to grasp the dangerous reality-show appeal of Donald Trump. Likewise, even without yet knowing whom hes going to select, Bidens drawn-out and not always pretty VP deliberations have told us a lot about how the would-be 46th president would govern, and its ... not great.

Aside from his No. 1 attribute that hes not Trump, Biden has shown us over the last 14 months his best features: His empathy, which is the polar opposite of the Current Occupant, and his ability to listen even to his sometimes rivals like Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders and adjust his policies on the key issues like climate change or restoring Americas middle class, are what offers hope that the country can start moving in a forward direction again.

But forward at what speed? Frankly, the Delawareans veep derby  ignoring pleas for an early pick to go with a traditional, drawn-out process that becomes more vicious and backbiting the longer it drags on, with hints of indecision and a factionalized party racing to fill the void  has spotlighted the potential fears about a Biden administration. Especially in a someday-post-coronavirus America that screams for bold, radical solutions.

At its worst, Team Biden looks like a country for old men. OK, to be more accurate: Old white men. Bidens flexibility on ideas  his shift from 1970s Anti-Busing Guy to hero of gay marriage in the 2010s  is balanced by his rigid loyalty to friendships forged in times very different from our current moment. Its gob-smacking that the search for a woman who will finally break the glass ceiling of holding national office is led by the 76-year-old lobbyist and ex-Connecticut senator Chris Dodd. Biden may have complete faith in his old friend, but Dodd should have lost the confidence of anyone who read about his 20th-century exploits with the late Sen. Ted Kennedy, which publicized the regrettable term waitress sandwich and was arguably criminal.

The involvement of old-timers like Dodd may explain the irony of a search for a female vice president infected by structural sexism. How else to explain the painful trope that the seeming front-runner, California Sen. Kamala Harris, appears too ambitious (because now we want unambitious people a heartbeat from the presidency?). Why did Phillys own Ed Rendell  a 76-year-old white man ... Im sensing a trend  tell CNN that Harris can rub people the wrong way? Does the Biden Amtrak club car of septuagenarian advisers even know how bad this sounds?

The infighting has smudged a solid list of world-class women who are reported to be the finalists. Harris, former national security adviser Susan Rice, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Tammy Duckworth, Rep. Karen Bass, and several others all bring different strengths, but each is far better qualified than the artificial piety of obsequious bootlicker Mike Pence to become the American president.

Of that list, I continue to think that Harris is both the most likely pick and, arguably, the best one because of her skills as a political attack dog and her Oval Office-ready resume  and that was before her Black and South Asian background got zapped by 2020s zeitgeist. Plus, the crusade to replace Trump with Biden has been all about doing the obvious things, like a Harris pick. I think Whitmer would be the riskiest choice because theres a real danger of alienating Black voters. And I think Warren must be Bidens policy Svengali, a more important job than vice president.

But the main thing I think is that weve learned, both from the events of the last decade and also from Bidens 2020 campaign, that while whos in the West Wing is important, what matters more is who will be outside in Lafayette Square, demanding real change and holding the feet of Biden  and whomever he picks for VP  to the proverbial fire.

A Biden presidency  allow me to suspend our collective fears about Trumps likely November shenanigans  could potentially be borne back ceaselessly into the past, weighed down by the gravity of That 70s Show of gray-haired advisers. After all, Biden has already been in the White House  as newly sworn-in vice president in 2009  when a new administration gave too much power to corporate Democrats and the caution that has corrupted the party since the Reagan years, and when a right-wing tea party filled a void while Barack Obamas voters were out at brunch.

Its great that Biden talks to Warren on bankruptcy law now, and listens to Bernie Sanders on climate, but at the end of the day, the Biden campaign is run by veteran lobbyists like Steve Ricchetti, with past ties to the health-care industry and continued work for AT&T while working for Biden, and by other corporate consultants. A President Biden is going to listen to those folks  unless the voice of the people is louder.

 READ MORE: 2020 defeated America because of Americans, not just Donald Trump | Will Bunch

We cant allow 2021 to become a repeat of 2009. The energy of the George Floyd protest movements  the electricity thats been so lacking in Bidens what-else-are-you-gonna-do slog to the White House  cant stop on Nov. 4, 2020, or Jan. 21, 2021, and certainly not for the 2022 midterms and, yes, another presidential election in 2024.

The inherent initial promise of Bidens candidacy, to set the clock back to 2015, was never good enough. The Democratic standard-bearer has already moved closer to universal health care and the goals of the Green New Deal than many had expected  but only because the voters are now demanding these things. The fundamental brokenness of America exposed by the coronavirus wont get fixed unless people stay in the streets and fight. And progressives cant yield ground to a tea party II that already exists in the minds of Tucker Carlson and Tom Cotton.

The bold leadership that will drive America forward in 2021, 22, 23, and 24 is much more likely to come from a new squad of radical change agents on Capitol Hill  like current Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ayanna Pressley, or likely frosh Congress members Cori Bush and Jamaal Bowman  than from whatever highly qualified woman Biden picks to be his No. 2.

In fact, I know this probably isnt a particularly popular idea in this fraught moment of the 2020 election, but I hope progressive Democrats will start thinking  not now, but sooner rather than later  about how one of their own can win the 2024 presidential election, regardless of whatever machinations might occur involving Biden and his vice president. Thats a tough but necessary step if were serious about ending structural racism, structural sexism, and gross inequality in American society  the only politics that matters.

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The chief of the UK's exam regulator had defended this year's A-level and GCSE marking system amid warnings that it will unfairly penalise disadvantaged students.

This year's A-Level results will be published on Thursday, but with pupils unable to attend their exams due to the coronavirus crisis, grades have been calculated using teachers' predictions combined with a statistical model.

Taking into account the school and student's past attainment, the head of Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation (Ofqual) has insisted that this approach was the 'fairest possible way' to award grades.

Roger Taylor said that using grade predictions from teachers alone would ruin the credibility of pupils' qualifications.

Roger Taylor has said using teachers' grade predictions alone 'would mean such an increase in the numbers of top grades, that they would no longer be credible, something that has happened in other countries, dealing with the same circumstances.'

'It would create a perpetual unfairness between this year's grades compared to past and future generations,' Mr Taylor said, writing in The Sunday Telegraph.

'There would be young people who would have most likely earned a C in an exam receiving an A grade,' he said.

'Lastly, it would mean such an increase in the numbers of top grades, that they would no longer be credible, something that has happened in other countries, dealing with the same circumstances,' he added.

However, a similar system used in Scotland saw thousands of students receive poorer results than they expected.

Ofqual analysis revealed that teachers increased A-Level marks by 12 per cent and GCSE marks by 9 per cent.

The Social Mobility Commission said that the exam regulator has 'a moral imperative to address any injustices that occur' (file photo)

The body itself has admitted that a substantial number of students will receive at least one exam grade that has been adjusted from their teachers assessment as a result of the moderation process.

Critics of the system have said that bright students are at a disadvantage by being at poor-performing schools or that improving state schools may have their grades unfairly downgraded.

James Turner, CEO of educational charity The Sutton Trust, told The Guardian that past academic year has been 'exceptional' as he warned that 'the pandemic has affected the poorest the most'.

One independent analysis predicted that nearly 40 per cent of A-Level results could be downgraded, affecting 300,000 grades, The Sunday Telegraph reported.

While Ofqual belatedly announced an appeal process last week, parents have said that it is not fit for purpose as students will not be able to appeal individually and schools will be required to pay a fee to challenge grades.

The Social Mobility Commission said that the exam regulator has 'a moral imperative to address any injustices that occur.'

Commissioner Sammy Wright, a deputy headteacher herself, said: 'Overwhelmingly, disadvantaged students attend poorly performing schools. My biggest concern is not for the kids who want to appeal, but for the kids who don't even think to appeal.

'There are a lot of students who, if they get lower grades than they expect, will just simply take that as a knock to their sense of self.'
Kathmandu: Nepal Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has instructed to commence work on a certain "Ram Janmabhumi Ayodhya Dham" to further his claims that "real Ayodhya lies in Nepal, not in India".

He has even laid out a comprehensive master plan to celebrate Ram Navami with grandeur at Ayodhyapuri, the so-called birthplace of Lord Ram, by placing idols of Ram, Laxman, Sita and Hanuman.

Oli directed the Chief of Madi Municipality of Chitwan and other peoples representatives at the Prime Ministers residence in Baluwatar on Saturday. He has also ordered the renaming of the Madi municipality located near Thori to Ayodhyapuri, as per Nepal's official news agency National News Committee.

The agency reports that on the occasion of Navami this Dussehra PM Oli will conduct a 'Bhoomi Pujan' after which the construction work of the temple will begin.

A few days ago, Nepali Prime Minister Oli had claimed that the birthplace of Lord Rama was at Ayodhyapuri near Thori, Nepal.

Notably, it is believed that Goddess Sita was born in Janakpuri which is in Nepal. Every year, Ram Baraat the wedding procession of Lord Ram leaves for Janakpuri from Ayodhya with much fanfare.

The controversy around the native place of Lord Ram in an extension of what has transpired on the geographical level.

In June, the Nepal Parliament cleared a constitution amendment bill to reflect a new map in the national emblem. This map shows Indian territories Lipulekh, Kalapani and Limpiyadhura as part of Nepal.
How many people need to be protected by a vaccine before its recommended for widespread use? Ideally, rates of disease will be 70 percent lower in vaccinated people than in unvaccinated people. The World Health Organization says a vaccine should be at minimum 50 percent effective, averaged across age groups. (We know from influenza that vaccines dont always work as well on older adults whose immune systems have declined.)

This benchmark is crucial because a weak vaccine might be worse than no vaccine at all. We do not want people who are only slightly protected to behave as if they are invulnerable, which could exacerbate transmission. It is also costly to roll out a vaccine, diverting attention away from other efforts that we know work, like mask-wearing, and from testing better vaccines.

The last thing Phase III trials do is examine safety. Earlier trials do this, too, but larger trials allow us to detect rarer side effects. One of those rare effects researchers are paying attention to is a paradoxical phenomenon known as immune enhancement, in which a vaccinated persons immune system overreacts to infection. Researchers can test for this by comparing the rates of disease severe enough to require hospitalization across the two groups. A clear signal that hospitalization is higher among vaccinated participants would mark the end of a vaccine.

The speed of the trials depends on how quickly we can detect a difference between the two groups. If two vaccinated people became sick versus 10 who got a placebo, it could be because of chance. But if it were 20 compared to 100, we would feel much more confident that the vaccine was working.

A key to getting a quick result is placing the trial in outbreak hot spots where people are most likely to be infected. We can even target the highest-risk people within those areas, using mobile teams to travel to neighborhoods, bringing the trial directly to the people. Some trials explicitly prioritize essential workers like health care workers or grocery employees. Others are simply focused on enrolling large numbers of participants as fast as possible.

Combining those efforts, it could take as little as three to six months to generate enough convincing safety and efficacy data for companies to apply for expedited review by the Food and Drug Administration.

There are ways for vaccines to be approved without definitive efficacy data, based on animal or immune response data instead, but the bar is extremely high, and for good reason. A precondition is that efficacy trials are not possible, typically because the disease is so rare or sporadic that it would require hundreds of thousands of participants to be followed for many years to tell if the vaccine is effective (rabies, for example). That is not the situation here.
The domestic short supply of pork is expected to be offset by imports, but it is difficult to import pork now because of a decline of 12 percent in global supply of pigs, mostly caused by Asian Swine Fever (ASF).

Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Phung Duc Tien said that there is no restriction on pork imports and the Department of Animal Health has created favorable conditions for customs clearance.

China, one of the biggest consumers of pork in the world, has seen its herd of pigs decreasing by 50 percent. However, 93,000 tons of pork so far have been imported.

Regarding the import of live pigs, Vietnam has negotiated with Thailand on importing 70,000 pigs. The pork price has decreased to VND78,000-88,000 per kilogram.



Vietnam has basically contained ASF, one year after the outbreak.



ASF now exists in only some localities. Around 98 percent of communes have not discovered new outbreaks over the last 21 days.



Much progress has been made in fighting against ASF to date, he said. Though Vietnam still cannot produce vaccine against ASF, Vietnam has successfully taken measures to prevent the spread of the epidemic.



Vietnam has invented a kit that helps discover ASF quickly, and has made progress in research in vaccine development and developing pig species with high immunity.

The 16 largest livestock companies have seen their herds increasing rapidly by 66.35 percent, while the average figure is 5 percent for the whole country. The total herd of pigs is now equal to 85 percent of the end of 2018.

Tien cited reports from local authorities as saying that there were 24.9 million pigs as of the end of June, including 2.8 million sows.

The 16 largest livestock companies have seen their herds increasing rapidly by 66.35 percent, while the average figure is 5 percent for the whole country. The total herd of pigs is now equal to 85 percent of the end of 2018.



It takes time to repopulate pigs. A large number of pigs was culled from May to September 2019. The insemination only began in September and October 2019.

The products of the repopulation campaign will be available after six months.



He predicted that supply and demand will be in balance by the end of the year.

In fact, imports are not favored in Vietnam. Vietnamese housewives prefer fresh meat to frozen products, therefore, import pork can be only used by eateries and catering companies, while it is rarely sold to consumers.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT) has suggested adding pork to the list of products for the governments price stabilization.

Mai Lan

Group set up to inspect VN pork market The Ministry of Industry and Trade has founded a group to inspect the pork market which saw prices at high levels since the end of 2019 despite the Governments effort to increase supply to make up for the drops caused by African swine fever.
In the vast landscape of the Kafue National Park in western Zambia, bushmeat snaring has imperiled the conservation of the park's lions and other wildlife. Over the years, this brutal activity has maimed or killed several lions in the park. It has also created the "injured and tripod" of Kafue, victims of snaring some of who have lost a limb but managed to survive the ordeal.

A tripod lioness. Image credit: Ferrison Kalembelembe-Muambi Lodge

In 2017, drawn by the tragic plight of these big cats, Panthera (the global wild cat conservation organization) in partnership with Zambias Department of National Parks and Wildlife (DNPW) and the Zambian Carnivore Programme (ZCP), launched a massive program to curb poaching in the park. Named the Kafue Law Enforcement and Wildlife Support program (KLAWS), it aimed to "klaw" back Kafue's wild spaces for its rightful owners - the wildlife of the national park. Today, KLAWS has made great strides in the direction. To date, it has convicted 246 poachers, removed 1,563 snares, and destroyed 289 poachers' camps. It has also provided a more secure home to Kafue's snares lion survivors like "The Queen" and their progeny like "Shy" to survive and thrive.

"Our program, the Kafue Law Enforcement Support Program, has steadily helped to significantly decrease poacher activity in intensive protection zones within the park, which leads to critical protection of the lives of threatened lions and other wildlife," Dr. Kim Young-Overton, KAZA (Kavango-Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area) Program Director for Panthera, informed World Atlas.

The Evils Of Bushmeat Snaring

A snared lion in the Kafue National Park. Image credit: ZCP

Only a century ago, Africa was the proud home to over 200,000 lions. Today, these big cats are found in less than 5% of their historic range and have been eliminated from 26 African nations. Their numbers have declined catastrophically with only around 20,000 of these big cats surviving in the African wilds. They too are quietly disappearing.

Threats to these lions are numerous and growing. Habitat loss and fragmentation, unsustainable trophy hunting, and persecution by local communities angered by livestock depredation are all contributing to the demise of the African lions. But towering above all is the illegal hunting of lion prey for bushmeat and lions themselves for trade of their body parts.

While local African communities have hunted the continent's wildlife on a subsistence basis for thousands of years, the poaching of lions was never so intense as it is now. Rapidly expanding populations, organized commercial bushmeat trade, and a flourishing black market for lion body parts in some Asian countries is catalyzing the extermination of the lions faster than ever before.

A snare released after desnaring a lion. It is hard to imagine that this simple metal loop kills thousands of wild animals in Africa through a painful process. Image credit: Jonah Gula

Snaring is one of the most common techniques of trapping wildlife and these predators in the continent. Easy to make and inexpensive, silent but vicious metal wire snares are laid down to ensnare the unlucky animal. Once caught, the animal might take days to die. In the absence of water and food, it starves and gets dehydrated. It also becomes susceptible to attacks by other animals. The wounds caused by the snare become infected and the animal suffers a cruel and painful death.

In 2017, 186 surveys in 24 African nations revealed that bushmeat poaching was the number one threat to lions in the surveyed countries. While lions often get trapped accidentally in snares set out to catch herbivores, sometimes these predators are also the prime target of illegal hunting operations. A 2017 study by a conservationist during his doctoral research exhibited that after buffaloes and zebras, lions were the most preferred catch of bushmeat hunters.

Kafue's Tripod Lions Meet With A Good Fortune

The desnaring of Shy in 2017 by ZCP AND DNPW at the Kafue NP. Image credit: Jonah Gula

Like most of Africa, Kafue National Park's wildlife and lions also suffered the same fate for years. However, their fortune changed for the better when Panthera began supporting DNPW together with ZCP as a joint conservation team.

In 2012, the team managed to save a lioness from a snare. Named the "Queen" of the Papyrus Pride, this tripod lioness who lost a limb to the snaring incident, soon successfully bore cubs. "Shy," a male cub, was one of them. As he grew up to become a sub-adult, Shy, like most young male lions, left the pride to establish one of his own.

Shy as a cub in the Kafue NP in 2014. Image credit: Caz Sanguinetti (ZCP)

In 2017, he too met the same fate as his mother. He was caught in a snare but later desnared by ZCP and DNPW. The next year, he fathered cubs with the Moshi pride. His luck ran out once again and he was ousted from the pride by a stronger competitor. After searching for a place of his own and traveling long distances, Shy finally managed to rule the Hook Bridge Pride and became the proud father of cubs with the Hook Bridge Lioness.

While the above story of "Queen" and "Shy" ends with a happy note, it also displays the extreme vulnerability of the African lions to bushmeat snaring. Both mother and son became victims of the same torturous killing method. Luckily for them, however, they were rescued before it was too late.

Hook Bridge cubs with Shy and the lioness. Image credit: Clare Barkworth

Today, the anti-poaching teams supported by the KLAWS program are diligently working towards the goal of securing the Kafue National Park for these lions and their progeny. The implementation of the latest technology for monitoring and reporting wildlife crimes, and the creation of lockdown zones to eliminate poachers from the park are all steps that have greatly benefitted Kafue's wildlife.

The success of the KLAW program is visible in the decrease in the number of animals injured or maimed by snares as compared to the years before its implementation. But the story does not end here in a happily-ever-after.

The Pandemic's Ruthless Impact On Conservation Efforts

Hook Bridge lioness with her cubs. Image credit: David Findlay

The COVID-19 pandemic that struck every country in the world also derailed wildlife conservation in Africa. As the pandemic-triggered lockdowns and other measures were implemented, wildlife tourism in the continent suffered a major blow. In a world region riddled with crises, the economic downturn as a result of the pandemic had an immediate harsh effect on its wildlife conservation scenario. News of a rise in poaching incidents poured in from all corners of Africa. Kafue was no exception to this as mentioned by Dr. Young-Overton.

"In Kafue National Park we are seeing an increase in poachers accessing intensive protection zones that were previously secured. The near-collapse of the tourism sector has further increased poverty in regions surrounding protected areas. Poachers have been emboldened by need. The lack of tourism activity has reduced the presence of tourism operators providing eyes and ears on the ground, thus leaving important wildlife areas that used to be regularly frequented by tourism activities open to poaching. Given that our program is integrated with these activities, conservation personnel are struggling to be present across large swaths of prime lion habitat where tourism operators used to be present. This, combined with an increase in bushmeat poaching (unlawful harvest of herbivores for the illegal bushmeat trade) and increased targeted poaching of lions for lion body parts, has left lion prides extremely vulnerable to prey depletion, snare injuries and direct killing during this pandemic crisis," she explained the ill-effects of the pandemic on Kafue's wildlife.

Hook Bridge cubs. Image credit: David Findlay

"In Kafue NP we have already lost two lions to poachers from known prides in prime lion habitat and are battling with increased numbers of snares. We are preparing for further losses as the effects of the pandemic deepen poverty, tourism activities remain at near zero and the value of lion body parts increases and/or illegal markets become more available. The death or injury of even one key member of a pride, or particularly a pride male, can have significant effects on population size resilience, eg if the pride male is killed the cubs can be subject to infanticide and subadults driven out by a new male," she further stated.
As the coronavirus courses devastatingly around the world, the left on both sides of the Atlantic, joined by a long history of mutual influence and inspiration, finds itself in a shared predicament: How can we exercise power without governing directly? And beyond that, how can we shape the world that emerges after the pandemic?

Contest elections

On the left, electoralism  pursuing public office through elections  is a hotly debated tactic. Some see the activity as fatally compromised. But contesting elections is essential to winning radical reforms that change the consensus on what is possible and build power.

Take Paris and Barcelona. In the early 2010s, neither city, sitting in countries governed by the center and the right, seemed a likely venue for a resurgence of left-wing politics. But in the course of two years, each was led by leftist mayors  first Anne Hidalgo in Paris in 2014, then Ada Colau in Barcelona the next year. They built new public housing, banned polluting cars from city streets and expanded urban green spaces, becoming the heads of the radical municipalism movement.

Opinion Debate Will the Democrats face a midterm wipeout? Mark Penn and Andrew Stein write that "only a broader course correction to the center will give Democrats a fighting chance in 2022" and beyond.

write that "only a broader course correction to the center will give Democrats a fighting chance in 2022" and beyond. Matthew Continetti writes that time and again, the biggest obstacle to a red wave hasnt been the Democratic Party. Its been the Republican Party.

writes that time and again, the biggest obstacle to a red wave hasnt been the Democratic Party. Its been the Republican Party. Ezra Klein speaks to David Shor, who discusses his fear that Democrats face electoral catastrophe unless they shift their messaging.

speaks to David Shor, who discusses his fear that Democrats face electoral catastrophe unless they shift their messaging. Michelle Cottle examines two primary contests that will shake the parties well beyond the states in play.

A small city in northwest Britain had led the way. When plans for a massive shopping mall fell through in late 2011, Preston seemed doomed to the chronic disinvestment suffered by deindustrialized municipalities around the world. But since then, the left-led City Council has transformed the city into a laboratory for innovative policies, from supporting worker cooperatives to contracting local farmers to provide produce for public school meals. The experience proved so successful it earned its own name: The Preston Model.

Winning the chance to reshape policy, as councilors, state legislators and mayors, is why elections are crucial. But successful campaigns for national office are also powerful ways to broadcast transformative ideas. In the United States, for example, the election of Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar to Congress has spread demands like the Green New Deal, rent cancellation and Palestinian rights far beyond the margins.
Pelosi, Schumer Say Theyre Still Willing to Negotiate on a New Relief Deal

The top Democrats described Trump's executive order as unconstitutional

Top Democrats on Sunday took issue with President Donald Trumps executive order to address the economic crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic after talks between Republicans and Democrats broke down last week.

We have to reach an agreement, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) told Fox News Sunday.

Weve got to meet halfway. Weve got to do the best we can for the American people. But what theyre putting forth does not meet that standard, she said following stalled negotiations.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) seemed to suggest that more actions need to be taken despite the executive order.

We have this huge crisis, the largest economic crisis since the depression, the greatest health crisis since the pandemic, Schumer told ABC News on Sunday. He added, The event at the country club is what Trump does, a big show but it doesnt do anything, as the American people look at these executive orders they dont come close to doing the job.

Schumer again called for the continuation of $600-per-week unemployment benefits, which were authorized in Marchs CARES Act. Trumps executive order was a compromise between Senate Republicans $200-per-week plan and the CARES Acts plan, meaning that $400 in federal payments will be sent to unemployed Americans if it is implemented.

On the unemployment benefit, first, the $600 a week has been very successful, its kept millions of people out of poverty, pumped more money into the economy, consumer spending is probably the best thing in the economy, Schumer, who was one of the lead negotiators with the White House, told the news outlet.

And Pelosi, another negotiator, said that funding for state and local governments is needed while describing the executive orders as absurdly unconstitutional.

These entities, she argued, have expenses from the coronavirus. They have lost revenue. Because of that, they are firing health care workers, first responders, teachers, and the rest, sanitation, transportation because they dont have the money.

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi presides over Resolution 755, Articles of Impeachment Against President Donald Trump as the House votes at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, on Dec. 18, 2019. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)

Second of all, everything is left outour assistance to the schools, feeding the hungry, helping people who are going to be evicted. The presidents moratorium, he just did a study to look at a moratorium. Somethings wrong. Either the president doesnt know what hes talking about. Clearly, his aides dont know what he is talking about, or somethings very wrong here about meeting the needs of the American people at this time, she told CNN on Sunday.

Last week, Pelosi and Schumer said they proposed a $2 trillion compromise with the White House and Republicans. But Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told reporters later that it is a non-starter before officials indicated that Trump would seek an executive order to remedy the crisis.

Trumps executive orders also intend to extend a moratorium on student loan payments and consider ways to deal with foreclosure and evictions.

Some have suggested that the orders could be challenged in court.

But Trump told CBS News last week that he believes it is going to go very rapidly through the courts.

Despite the criticism from both sites, Trump told reporters that he hopes the White House can do something with top Democrats on a later date to address the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus-related economic crisis.
More tech news includes Bill Gates sharing his views on Microsofts TikTok deal and BSNL announcing special offers for its users in Andaman and Nicobar islands.

It was a relatively slow day in the world of technology today. On one hand, Microsoft founder Bill Gates shared his thoughts on Microsofts potential deal of purchasing TikTok. On the other hand, BSNL announced its special offers for its wireline and mobile users in Andaman and Nicobar islands.

So, heres everything that happened in the world of tech today:

Amazon Freedom Day sale

Amazon is hosting the Freedom Day sale on its platform. The sale began on August 8 and it will go on until August 11. Today was the second day of the sale wherein the e-retailer was offering massive discounts on the purchase of smartphones, consumer electronics, large appliances, TVs, daily essentials, and other items. Here are the top deals.

Bill Gates shares views on Microsofts TikTok deal

Microsoft is in talks with ByteDance over the acquisition of TikTok's US business. Now, Microsoft founder Bill Gates has called the deal a poison chalice.

Windows 10 security bug

Security researchers have spotted a bug in Windows Print Spooler that could allow hackers to take control of a private network and hijack connected printer devices.

BSNL offers for Andaman and Nicobar islands

PM Modi will inaugurate the submarine optical fibre cable link connecting Chennai and Port Blair on Monday. Ahead of the event, BSNL has announced a bunch of new offers for all its wireline and mobile customers in the Andaman and Nicobar islands. Here are all the details.
Los Angeles public health officials reported on Saturday that COVID-19 hospitalizations in the county continue to decline, despite reports on cases and deaths not seeing better numbers.

The latest COVID-19 hospitalizations were not affected by the glitch experienced by Los Angeles. Numbers on new cases are supposed to be sent back by the state via electronic reporting system over the next few days, officials said.

It is not clear whether the backlog will change the whole picture of how fast the virus is spreading in Los Angeles, but the delay did not affect COVID-19 hospitalization numbers.

Only numbers on new cases rendered out of date, so the county may expect a jump in infection numbers once the backlog had resolved.

The county's contact tracing efforts have also been affected by the backlog.

Los Angeles saw their COVID-19 confinements with an average decline of 5.2%, as per the Los Angeles Times tracker.

On Saturday, the county reported another 51 deaths and 2,645 new cases of COVID-19, NBC Los Angeles reported. The county has now tallied 206,778 cases and 4,967 deaths in total.

Cautious Optimism for COVID-19 Hospitalizations

Barbara Ferrer, the county health directress, said that the numbers in the first week of August make them "cautiously optimistic".

Ferrer is looking to the future of the county. She said that, with plans to recover from the pandemic, the recent lessons from Los Angeles' recent past serve as a reminder to stay wary.

She asked people to put off activities for some time, avoid parties and crowded places, wear face coverings in public and keep a safe distance of six feet from others.

Health officials have noted that younger people make up a bulk of reported newer COVID-19 cases. They also make up a large percentage of people who are sent to hospitals due to the virus.

This portion of the population is the one most likely to attend large gatherings.

Statewide-Drop in COVID-19 Hospitalizations

Los Angeles accounts for 37% of the state's infections.

With the decline it saw, lately, California itself has reported lower numbers in COVID-19 hospitalizations, according to tracker figures reported by Orange County Register.

There were 208 fewer COVID-19 hospitalizations (7,277) as of Friday. It is down 15% from the July 25 record of 8,571.

California saw 181 deaths linked to COVID-19 Friday, with the total going up 10,171. New cases on Friday are 9,471, bringing the total number of cases up to at least 547,988.

One more county that had a drop in hospitalizations is Orange County. It had a total of 491 confirmed COVID-19 patients and a three-day average that represented a 5.1% decline.

The county added 322 cases and 16 deaths on Saturday, which brought its total to 39,076 cases and 720 deaths.

Officials tell people that the number of cases, even those noted by single counties, may be low due to glitches in the state's database.

It is not yet clear if the lost test results are spread out all over the state or confined to a small number of counties.

Want to read more? Take a look at these!

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Many of the characters in Bhulbhulaiya aur Anya Kahaniyan grapple with a homebound existence, isolation, insomnia, anxietyand even a deadly disease.

Among the many unimaginable things that transpired in 2020, one has been rather fortunate for me. A strangers tweet appearing on my timeline resulted in an exciting literary discoverythe short stories of Sara Rai. Her anthology Bhulbhulaiya aur Anya Kahaniyan (Labyrinth and Other Stories), published in 2015, was one of the dozen nominees for the LiBeraturpreis this year. Litprom, a German literary organisation, instituted the award for female authors from the Global South in 1987.

While Rai did not win the prize, her work is uncannily relevant during the pandemic. Many of her characters grapple with a homebound existence, isolation, insomnia, anxietyand even a deadly disease. But these are not presented as extraordinary events that disrupt the thrum of life. Rather, these are woven into the fabric of existence, a constant presence that her characters have to reckon with.

In Dewaarein (Walls), a beautiful goat that bizarrely jerks its head to turn back and stare envelopes a household in dread. Biyaban Mein (Wilderness) features a woman ruminating over her life as she grapples with writers block. She seems jaded until she ventures into a broken-down bus frequented by drunkards and thieves. In Thar Maru (Thar Desert), Amrita seems inexplicably concerned with the longevity of the desert even as her life slips from her grip.

Most of Rais stories have few dialogues, but her crisp prose engagingly propels the narrative. Her descriptions of the characters mental states and their physical surroundings create an immersive world that the reader effortlessly gets ensconced in. In Ek Dusra Aasmaan (Other Skies), for instance, we are privy to the anxieties of Altaf, who is haunted by the religious violence in Gujarat, despite living in distant Allahabad:

Kabhi aisa hota ki raah chalte mujhe koi burkaposh aurat dikh jaati. Fauran mera dimag bagair meri marzi ke, hisaab lagane lagta uske burqe mein kitni jaldi aag lagegi; aag upar se phailegi ya neeche se. Dadhiyon ko dekh ke khaas taur par mere dimag mein aag ka khayal aa jata (Sometimes, walking down a road, Id spot a woman in a burqa. At once my mind, all on its own, would begin to calculate how quickly her burqa would catch fire, whether the fire would spread from above or below. Id think about fire especially when I looked at people with beards).

One of the most electric stories in the collection is Bhulbhulaiya. When a journalist asks "How are you?" by way of introduction, the protagonist Kulsum Bano replies, Main bohot buri hoon; bad se badtareen, baddimag, badtameez, nihayat badakhlaq, ek beintaha takleefdeh budhiya(I am terrible; worse than the worst, brainless, mannerless, immoral, an annoying hag...)"

Kulsum is annoyed that the journalist will box her voice in a recorder and take it away, but she eventually concedes to her dogged requests for an interview. After her flippant, flummoxing but invariably interesting responses, we get an intimate view of the world she is cocooned in. She has outlived the myriad members of her aristocratic family and stays with attendants in her crumbling mansion. Kulsum revels in the unconventional life she has ledher father indulged his daughters and dismissed all suitors as not worthy of her. The past seamlessly flows into her present, reality into reveries.

Like Kulsum, many of her characters are aloneand even lonely or closed off from the world. Rais exploration of alienation is reminiscent of Margaret Atwoods anthology Dancing Girls. Her tales, however, are not dreary or mired in despaireven a seemingly morose story ends up confounding expectations. They burrow into everyday emotions and experiences to foreground their unusual or indiscernible facets. Sometimes, she achieves this by imbuing the mundane (the falling of a tamarind tree after heavy rain, for instance) with mystery, while treating the extraordinary (a reunion after decades of separation) as a commonplace occurrence.

Hers are not the plot-driven tales of O Henry or Saki, the ones that surprise with an upheaval at the end or a sudden reversal of expectations. Her stories offer a different kind of resolution, which are no less satisfyingthe untwining of knots in ones personality, the amorphous yearnings we can finally pinpoint to, an inexplicable gesture that calms an entrenched anxiety. They are lyrical, in the vein of Chekhov, Mansfield, Joyce and others who forsake elaborate plots and satisfying climaxes to explore a characters thoughts and experiences.

A rhythm rich with the cadences of life imbues Rais writing. Her language is simple, the kind that rolls off peoples tongues in daily conversations. She easily switches between widely diverging registersfrom the lavish Urdu of an abrasive, ageing aristocrat to the mutterings of a homeless Musahar woman.

In her stories, Sanskrit and Hindi words are comfortably positioned with Urdu and Persian onesa euphonic departure from the Sanskritised literary prose that Hindi authors commonly use. English words like disturb, confuse and life sit unobtrusively with their Hindustani counterparts.

Perhaps, this meld draws from her eclectic family background. Her father, Sripat Rai, was the editor of the literary magazine Kahani and the son of one of the greatest Hindi writers, Premchand. Her mother, Zahra Rai, belonged to a Shia Muslim family from Benares and also wrote short stories.

Sara Rai has published three short story collections and a novel, but there is scant information about her or her works online. I could find only a couple of her stories in English, which she has translated herself. While there do not seem to be any translations in other Indian languages, Rais writings have been published in German and Italian. In 2019, she won Germanys Coburg Ruckert Prize.

Now, perhaps, is a good time to take her writings to a larger audience. As more of us learn to live with ourselves and deal with unexpected, bizarre happenings, Rais stories fortify the possibilities inherent in our inner universes and relationshipsnot just with people, but with our surroundings. They can be a handy companion to tread the contours of this strange new world.
Police came under attack while responding to a hate crime in Dungannon in the early hours of Sunday morning.

There were two reports of criminal damage of a house in the Woodburn Crescent area, the first occurred at approximately 11.29pm and the second at approximately 12.05am.

A front door window was damaged at the house.

Police are treating the incident as a racially motivated hate crime.

A 17-year-old male was arrested on suspicion of criminal damage. He was later released on police bail pending further investigation.

Whilst police were attending the scene they came under attack from a group throwing masonry and other missiles. A number of fires were also started by the group.



The Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service attended the scene and extinguished the fires.

A number of police vehicles sustained damage, however no one was injured.

Sinn Fein MP Michelle Gildernew said she "utterly condemned" the attack.

"This is a welcoming community that is home to many cultures and celebrates diversity. There can be no place in our society for racism or any form of discrimination," the Fermanagh and South Tyrone MP said.

"I would encourage anyone with information on these incidents to bring it to the PSNI."

PSNI Inspector McNeill said: "No-one has the right to intimidate anyone, people have a right to feel safe within their own homes.

"This type of behaviour is totally unacceptable. I would say to those who are responsible for attacking this house and attacking police there will be a full investigation to identify those responsible.



Police would appeal to anyone who has any information that could assist with our enquiries to contact police at Dungannon on the non-emergency number 101, quoting reference 24 09/08/20, or submit a report online using our non-emergency reporting form via http://www.psni.police.uk/makeareport/.

"You can also contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online at http://crimestoppers-uk.org/."
Riot Police and contractors remove wood for a bonfire in the Distillery Street area of west Belfast on August 8th 2020 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph)

First Minister Arlene Foster has condemned the "disgraceful scenes" at a bonfire removal in west Belfast on Saturday afternoon.

Police came under attack in the Distillery Street area from large groups of youths throwing petrol bombs, masonry and other missiles.

They were in attendance to support contractors who had been tasked by the landowner to remove the bonfire material.

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At least 26 police officers suffered injuries during the incident and were receiving treatment as of Saturday evening.

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Whatsapp Riot Police and contractors remove wood for a bonfire in the Distillery Street area of west Belfast on August 8th 2020 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph)

Pictures from the scene showed officers in full riot gear engaging with local young people.

"Our thoughts are with the injured officers," the DUP leader said.

Mrs Foster said it was "important to see prosecutions in due course" and that "a message must be sent that this is not acceptable".

PSNI Superintendent Melanie Jones said footage from evidence gathering cameras would be reviewed to identify those involved.

She called the violent scenes "completely unacceptable".

We will continue to work with the local community, representatives and other partners to address this issue, but it is disappointing that some young people and their guardians are not listening to our repeated warnings," Superintendent Jones said.



People who choose to engage in criminal and anti-social behaviour must understand it is unacceptable and must stop. People have a right to live in peace and to feel safe in their communities."

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Superintendent Jones urged parents to take responsibility for their children.

Parents and guardians have an important obligation to keep young people safe by knowing where they are going and who they are with," she said.

"Young people must understand the dangers of getting involved in behaviour which could result in them injuring themselves or others, or ultimately, ending up with a criminal record.

Justice Minister Naomi Long said the incident was "absolutely disgraceful conduct".

"Officers should not face this kind of violence as they try to keep people safe. Residents are sick of this nonsense every year - they want peace and quiet I hope that no-one was seriously injured and that they all make a full and speedy recovery," the Alliance leader said.

Expand Close Riot Police and contractors remove wood for a bonfire in the Distillery Street area of west Belfast on August 8th 2020 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph / Facebook

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Whatsapp Riot Police and contractors remove wood for a bonfire in the Distillery Street area of west Belfast on August 8th 2020 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph)

PSNI Chief Constable Simon Byrne said his "thoughts are with our injured colleagues who faced shocking violence just trying to do their job".

NI Secretary Brandon Lewis said "officers should never have to face this kind of violence".

"They work every day to keep us all safe. I wish all the officers speedy recoveries," he said.

"Huge thanks for their efforts to keep communities safe and peaceful."

Police Federation Chair Mark Lindsay said police officers were "sick of being a punchbag for the failures of society".

Once again, police officers have been drawn into the middle of a row over what should or shouldnt take place," he said.

What happened posed real risks to the lives of officers. Petrol bombing is a clear attempt to murder or maim officers who were there to uphold the law."

The operation was the second incident at a bonfire removal in as many days after police were targeted with missiles in the Lower Falls area on Friday.

However no officers suffered injuries during that operation.

Bonfires are being gathered across Northern Ireland to mark the anniversary of internment later this month.

Expand Close Riot Police and contractors remove wood for a bonfire in the Distillery Street area of west Belfast on August 8th 2020 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph / Facebook

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Whatsapp Riot Police and contractors remove wood for a bonfire in the Distillery Street area of west Belfast on August 8th 2020 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph)

Last year a standoff developed between young people and police in the New Lodge area of North Belfast

A PSNI spokeswoman said officers are assisting other agencies.

"As a police service we have been clear in our position that we will always support other agencies to carry out their statutory functions and this includes the lawful removal of bonfire materials," she said.
Militants on Sunday shot at and injured a BJP worker in Budgam district of Jammu and Kashmir, police said. A police official said militants fired upon Abdul Hamid Najar, a resident of Mohiendpora area of Budgam in central Kashmir this morning, leaving him injured.

He said Najar is a BJP worker. Najar was shifted to a hospital and further details on his condition were awaited, the official added.

BJP Jammu and Kashmir spokesman Altaf Thakur strongly condemned the attack on Najar, terming it as barbaric and an inhuman act.

He said that militants have been attacking unarmed people like Najar which is cowardice and that police must track the attackers forthwith and punish them.

(With inputs from PTI)
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WASHINGTON - A 17-year-old was killed and an off-duty District of Columbia police officer was fighting for her life after authorities said at least 20 people were shot when a dispute broke out early Sunday at a cookout attended by hundreds of people in Washington.

D.C. police said at least three shooters opened fire from different locations about 12:30 a.m., sending panicked partygoers racing for cover and others screaming for friends and relatives.

The dead teenager was identified as Christopher Brown.

"I really don't understand how my child's life is just gone," said the victim's mother, Artecka Brown, 33. She said she last spoke to her son two days ago, when she hugged him and told him "I love you."

The unidentified off-duty police officer, who apparently was at the party, was critically injured and was "fighting for her life," D.C. Police Chief Peter Newsham said. Officials said the officer, who is 22 years old and has been on the force about one year, was struck in the neck.

Authorities said there was a dispute before shots were fired, and police said they believe there were exchanges of gunfire. At least 11 of the victims were women. Police initially said 21 people had been shot, but later determined that one of the injured victims had not been struck by a bullet.

Videos posted on social media show revelers partying shoulder-to-shoulder. After the shots, some victims fell while others scattered; the crime scene sprawled for blocks, with police marking 170 pieces of evidence. Police said nearly 100 bullets were fired.

The party and the tragedy that ensued revived questions about large gatherings that flout Democratic Mayor Muriel Bowser's order that prohibits groups larger than 50 people and requires those older than 2 to wear a mask when they leave home and are likely to come into contact with others. The mask requirement, one of the strictest in the nation, was toughened recently after cases began to spike.

The Bowser administration has thus far emphasized voluntary compliance over enforcement through arrests and fines, though the mayor indicated Sunday that police might now take a tougher stand.

Newsham said police had been aware of the party through an online advertisement for the event and were monitoring it. He said officers called in additional help as the crowd grew, but apparently did not intervene. He also said they did not believe they had enough officers to break up the gathering.

"I'm concerned that the event wasn't broken up," Newsham said in an interview, adding that he is reviewing the response. He said it appears officers were present when the shooting occurred.

A Wilson Building official said the administration was exploring whether to penalize the promoters of the block party, who advertised the event on Instagram. The organizers could not be reached for comment; they did not return a message left on Instagram.

Sunday's shootings came three weeks after nine people were shot in front of a restaurant in another section of the city. That shooting on the afternoon of July 19 left one of the victims dead.

Authorities on Sunday were hard-pressed to recall another time when so many people were shot in a single incident.

More than 115 people have been slain in the city this year, a 17% increase over this time in 2019, which ended the year with a decade high. Those killed include an 11-year-old boy shot at a stop-the-violence cookout on the Fourth of July and a 71-year-old shot while protecting her granddaughter.

D.C. officials have attributed some of the killings to disputes involving neighborhood crews and gangs, and between people who know each other.

Newsham blames the availability of illegal firearms and says people caught using them are not deterred by the criminal justice system. He also has said criminal suspects freed from jail because of the coronavirus pandemic are contributing to the violence.

Residents of the neighborhood said the annual block party draws people from across D.C. A flier advertised the fifth annual "34th-n-EAT" cookout, and indicated free food and drinks, with relatives of the teenage victim saying it drew an even larger crowd than in prior years.

The flier promised a "drama free event."

A music artist known by his social media moniker SaintClairDMV, who attended the block party, said there were as many as 400 attendees at its peak. He said it was peaceful and people were having fun for hours.

The artist, who declined to provide his real name, said there were enough police there that it "made you think twice about being stupid."

Mari Doyle, 22, said she and her mother were returning to their home in the neighborhood when they heard gunfire. They immediately ducked and ran for cover.

"As soon as we got out the car, rounds went off," said Doyle, who lives a block away from the shooting. "All you heard was people yelling for their friends."

Brown said Christopher had a 1-year-old son and another child on the way. He was the oldest of five boys.

Relatives said he'll be remembered most for his dancing ability and signature smile.

Charisma Brown, Christopher's aunt, expressed dismay that police did not break up the event sooner. She described it as a gathering of hundreds and said it had been advertised for days.

"If we're in the coronavirus thing, why were they allowed to gather that big? Why were they allowed to throw a function that big?" she said. "They said there was a flier sent out, they knew about this. This wasn't something that was hidden.

"My son's 12. I'm scared for him to get older," she said. Noting her nephew's child and the one on the way: "They will never know how much of a beautiful soul their father has," she said.

D.C. officials said the hundreds of people at the party made it a clear violation of Bowser's orders to control the spread of the coronavirus. Violations carry fines up to $1,000.

Authorities have struggled with how to address violations of the city's coronavirus restrictions and have repeatedly declined to say specifically how police would enforce the rules.

Speaking from the scene of Sunday's shooting, Bowser indicated that law enforcement may have to be more aggressive.

"It's very important that as a community we have a zero-tolerance [policy] for this activity," Bowser said, noting that police will make some "difficult decisions" and "break up these events."

Bowser added, "And the community is going to have to understand that some people may have to go to jail.

"We know it's summertime, people have been cooped up and they don't have a lot of places to go," Bowser said. "There have been cookouts that have happened peacefully for years and years that are spinning out of control."

D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson, a Democrat, said enforcing social distancing at such events presents a quandary for authorities - as well as partygoers, who should not feel like police are a hindrance.

"A block party is the ultimate community activity," he said. "But if the alternative is to prevent parties or break them up, I think that's going to backfire on police."

Mendelson said that there's no easy solution to enforcement, but that those congregating across D.C. must recognize that masks wearing and social distancing make a difference in the midst of a public health emergency.

"I don't think we want to arrest people for not wearing masks, but people need to wear masks, and I don't know how we make that happen if people are going to disobey the directive," he said.

Dexter Humphry, an Advisory Neighborhood Commission member for the area where the shooting occurred, said the people who organized the event should be held responsible.

Humphry said sending a few police officers to break up a party with hundreds of attendees "could cause a riot." He said word needs to get out to residents "that we've got to stop having these parties."

Patricia Howard-Chittams, an ANC representative for the Greenway neighborhood, said convincing people to listen is hard.

"We can only hope that people will follow the instructions given out by the mayor and the health commissioner," she said. "Unfortunately, some people in this community think they are immune."

Howard-Chittams said there are several places in and around the neighborhood where large gatherings occur, including one less than a mile from Sunday's shooting that critics on social media noted included crowds without masks, no social distancing and lots of alcohol.

"These are not new hot spots," she said. "The police have been well aware of these for years."

But, Howard-Chittams also noted recent efforts to defund police and concerns over police conduct in the wake of the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody. "Unfortunately, the police have been neutered by the politicians," she said. "It's hard for the police to do what they are expected to do, and the job they want to do."
Many people associate tutor with academia, but Canada lists them under immediate family members who are exempt from travel restrictions.

What is a tutor and why are they exempt from travel restrictions?

What is a tutor and why are they exempt from travel restrictions? Many people associate tutor with academia, but Canada lists them under immediate family members who are exempt from travel restrictions.

What is a tutor and why are they exempt from travel restrictions? Many people associate tutor with academia, but Canada lists them under immediate family members who are exempt from travel restrictions.

What is a tutor and why are they exempt from travel restrictions? Many people associate tutor with academia, but Canada lists them under immediate family members who are exempt from travel restrictions. Shelby Thevenot Aa Accessibility Font Style Serif

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Canada has listed tutors as immediate family members, causing confusion for people who are only familiar with the word being used in academia.

In Canada, many people think of tutors as people who help students study a particular subject.

However, the Government of Canada groups them in with guardians under the list of family members who are exempt from travel restrictions. They define guardians and tutors as: individuals who are responsible for caring for a foreign national minor who is living apart from a parent for an extended period of time, for example, to attend a secondary school in Canada.

Find out if you are eligible to sponsor a family member

Minors are people who are under the age of 18 in Canada.

Different jurisdictions have varied definitions of tutors and guardians, though they both serve similar functions. A guardian or tutor does not take over all parental responsibilities, as in the case of adoptive parents, but has the authority to make decisions on behalf of a minor when a parent is not available.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) told CIC News that a number of foreign national children who study in Canada live with a guardian or tutor during their studies instead of with their parents.

Guardians and tutors were included in the exemptions because IRCC wanted to avoid situations where they were separated from their foreign national wards.

The Government of Canada first implemented travel restrictions to prevent the spread of COVID-19 during the March break, when some of these foreign national minors were travelling abroad, IRCC said in an email. Guardians and tutors were included in the definition of an immediate family member to ensure these foreign national minors were not stranded because the people housing them in Canada did not meet the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations definition of an immediate family member.

In order to come to Canada, the guardian or tutor must be able to prove that they normally live at the same address as the minor. Live-in nannies are not considered to be guardians or tutors.

Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) provides the following list of some of the acceptable documents that prove the employment or status as a guardian or tutor:

documents that indicate the relationship to the child;

documents that indicate legal responsibility for the child and authority to make decisions in the absence of their parents;

documents showing power of attorney; or

a judicial court order or affidavit.

The onus is on the guardians or tutors to satisfy the border services officer that they meet the requirements for entry into Canada. Travellers should also have documentation that will demonstrate their reason for travel and length of stay. In addition, they should bring any other information that may prove how they meet the exemption. The final decision is made by a CBSA officer on a case-by-case basis, based on the information available to them at the time of processing.

Find out if you are eligible for family class sponsorship

 2020 CIC News All Rights Reserved
A woman waves the Lebanese flag during a protest against the political elites - AP

Two Lebanese ministers resigned from the country's beleaguered government on Sunday in protest at the tragic explosion in Beirut that left at least 158 people dead.

Information minister Manal Abdel-Samad and environment minister Demianos Kattar, one of prime minister Hassan Diabs closest advisers, both announced they were stepping down from the government, which is accused of gross negligence and failing to prevent the deadly blast.

Ms Abdel-Samad cited the governments failure to enact reforms and the Beirut catastrophe as his two reasons for stepping down.

Mr Diab asked other ministers to delay their resignations until the results of a special Cabinet session, set to be held Monday afternoon, where a proposal by the prime minister to hold early elections is set to be discussed.

It came as protestors clashed with security forces for a second day in Beirut, with security forces firing tear gas and - according to some reports - live ammunition.

Weve reached the limit of what we can take. People were shot in the protests last night and still came down tonight. Theres nothing left to lose, said protestor Maria Bitar, as chants of revolution rolled down the heavily fortified streets close to Lebanons Parliament building.

Tuesdays blast is understood to have been caused by 2,750 tons of confiscated ammonium nitrate stored in Beirut port for the past six years. The chemical, most commonly used as a fertiliser, is highly explosive.

Beiruts residents are seething that such a dangerous material was stored with so few precautions, so close to civilian areas. Over 6,000 were injured and several hundred thousand were left homeless with homes and businesses destroyed across whole neighbourhoods of the city.

We live in a corrupt country and we cannot live this way anymore. Weve had enough, were like living dead, like zombies in our own country, said 26-year-old Anthony, wearing a gas mask to protect from the volleys of tear gas fired by security forces. The government will be forced to give up before we do.

Story continues

Early elections were one of the key demands of the protest movement that flared up last October as Lebanons currency started to collapse, which forced the resignation of former Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri.

The Diab-led government was formed in mid-January, but has failed to turn around the countrys ailing fortunes. The currency has now lost 80 per cent of its official value, wiping out savings and livelihoods.

Lebanese protesters, enraged by a deadly explosion blamed on government negligence, clash with security forces for the second evening near an access street to the parliament in central Beirut - AFP

Mr Diab has argued his relatively young government is not responsible for Tuesdays devastating explosion, but has faced massive public anger demanding the entire political class bear responsibility for the tragedy.

Lebanons top Christian Maronite cleric said the entire cabinet should resign as it cannot change the way it governs.

The resignation of an MP or a minister is not enough ... the whole government should resign as it is unable to help the country recover, Patriarch Bechara al-Rai said in his Sunday sermon.

Security forces said they were looking into reports of possible live fire during the previous days protests. Footage shared on social media appeared to show a plain clothes officer firing a handgun into a crowd of protestors, while a doctor from Beiruts Hotel Dieu hospital shared a scan appearing to show a patient peppered with birdshot.

Meanwhile the Lebanese army said that hope was fading of finding any further survivors at the blast site at Beiruts port, despite the arrival of international search and rescue teams.

"After three days of search and rescue operations we can say we have finished the first phase, which involved the possibility of finding survivors," Colonel Roger Khoury told a press conference.

The Lebanese owner of a cruise ship sunk by the explosion has said he would be filing a lawsuit against all those responsible. Two crew members of the Orient Queen were killed in the blast.
Alex Morse, a Democratic candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives from Massachusetts, apologized Friday after a prominent college group accused him of having inappropriate contact with students.

Morse, who has served as mayor of Holyoke, Massachusetts, since 2012, used his position of power for romantic or sexual gain, according to a letter sent by the College Democrats of Massachusetts to Morse on Thursday. The allegations were first reported by The Massachusetts Daily Collegian.

The group accused Morse, 31, of regularly matching on dating apps with college students  some as young as 18  and having sexual contact with students at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where he taught classes.

Numerous incidents over the course of several years have shown that it is no longer appropriate to encourage interaction between College Democrats and Alex Morse, the group, which has 25 chapters across the state, wrote in its letter.

In a statement, Morse acknowledged having had consensual adult relationships with some college students and apologized to anyone he has made feel uncomfortable.

I want to be clear that every relationship Ive had has been consensual. However, I also recognize that I have to be cognizant of my position of power, Morse said in response to the allegations.

He added: As Ive become more comfortable with myself and my sexuality, like any young, single, openly gay man, I have had consensual adult relationships, including some with college students. Navigating life as both a young gay man and an elected official can be difficult, but that doesnt excuse poor judgment.

Holyoke Mayor Alex Morse was accused of sexual misconduct by the College Democrats of Massachusetts. (Melanie Stetson Freeman via Getty Images)

The University of Massachusetts Amherst on Saturday announced a review of the allegations. The university said it has no plans to rehire Morse, who worked as an adjunct instructor between 2014 and fall 2019.

Morse became the youngest and first openly gay mayor of Holyoke after he was elected in 2011 at the age of 22....

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Tuan Vu from Oxfam and Aurora D. Geotina-Garcia, chair of the Philippine Womens Economic Network

Theres no doubt that COVID-19 has hit ASEAN economies hard. With the pandemic continuing to escalate around the world, the predictions of economic losses keep mounting  the economies of East Asia and Pacific excluding China are forecast to contract by 1.2 per cent in 2020. Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, and the Philippines could be hit particularly hard with contractions of 7, 7.7, 3.8, and 3.6. per cent respectively, according to the International Monetary Fund and government sources.

Resulting job losses and reduced income will affect 41 million people in East Asia and the Pacific, including the ASEAN, according to the World Bank. MSMEs have been at the heart of ASEAN prosperity, accounting from 88.8 to almost 100 per cent of enterprises in member states. Around 52-97 per cent of nations total employment is provided by MSMEs and they account for 42.2 per cent of gross value added to the economy. These enterprises are among the worst affected by the pandemic both economically and socially.

Negative impacts are borne by most vulnerable groups like migrant workers, women, and people in remote or less developed areas. They often rely on smaller businesses for employment and product and service delivery as bigger businesses are unlikely to reach them.

The ASEAN Business Advisory Council (ABAC) has called for the inclusion of MSMEs in ASEAN and member states recovery plans through provision of social safety nets for most vulnerable businesses and their workers and advancement of MSME interests as we define a new and transformative normal. The ABAC, established to provide private sector feedback and guidance to boost ASEAN efforts towards economic integration, made these calls in response to leaders declarations.

While member states have already put stimulus packages in place with social protection for people and inputs to businesses, much stronger and more focused inputs are needed to reach the most vulnerable  especially MSMEs and communities that rely on them. With MSMEs being interdependent and people often underserved by big businesses, these inputs will go a long way in cushioning socio-economic blows upon the people of the region who need help the most.

Despite gloomy circumstances, we believe that MSMEs have what it takes to quickly recover from COVID-19 because of their flexibility and adaptability to changing environments. And because MSMEs participate in various levels of supply chains and enable healthy market competition, they and bigger businesses can provide a strong foundation for national economy recovery.

To harness the full potential of MSMEs in supporting this, a more conducive environment that will enable MSMEs to quickly adapt their business operations to a new normal is required. A better normal for business, an Oxfam in Asia report, details this and other recommendations on how the ASEANs smaller enterprises can recover and thrive during and beyond COVID-19.

A seamless flow of trade in domestic and regional markets and appropriate operating guidelines and facilitation for safe reopening of business operations are essential pieces of the puzzle, along with support for adaptation for smaller businesses in need. Direct and specific financing flows for MSMEs are critical for insulating them from being crowded out and dominated by the big companies and their interests.

MSMEs capacities require upscaling, and opportunities must be created for growth. This can be achieved within a context of a cohesive ASEAN common market to be promoted as a safe and attractive investment destination for global value chains that were disrupted by the pandemic. Support for business digitalisation to facilitate adjustment to consumer and market changes and a transition to e-commerce too will be useful. Most importantly, MSMEs should be encouraged and enabled to shift to more resilient business development models.

Finally, maximum possible support must be invested in current and future wellbeing of both formal and informal MSME workers. Adequate healthcare and unemployment insurance coverage should be expanded where these are still not universally available. Informal businesses must be supported to become formal and legitimate enterprises without imposing additional administrative and/or financial burdens on small enterprises. Workers need new and enhanced skills to adapt to change and maximise the new opportunities.

Targeted programmes to reach women and other disadvantaged groups are critical, particularly for those on daily wages and in remote and less developed areas. As the voice of the private sector in the ASEAN, ABAC can build upon its calls and amplify recommendations to leaders on enabling MSMEs to be included in the blocs Regional Economic Recovery Plan and follow-up action.

In building a fairer and more sustainable economy, MSMEs that adapt to a new normal transforming into businesses with more innovative, resilient, and responsible ways of working can contribute to a stronger and healthier ASEAN. An ASEAN where all communities are safe, the environment is protected and resilient, women are on an equal footing, and all workers can make ends meet and live with dignity.

Such a new normal can only be achieved by enabling globally competitive, innovative, Inclusive, and resilient MSMEs, as envisioned in the ASEAN Strategic Action Plan for SME Development.
By Yiming Woo

FORT BREGANCON, France (Reuters) - An emergency donor conference on Sunday for blast-stricken Lebanon raised pledges worth nearly 253 million euros ($298 million) for immediate humanitarian relief, the French presidency said.

Those commitments would not be conditional on political or institutional reform, President Emmanuel Macron's office said. There were also pledges made for longer-term support that would depend on changes brought in by the authorities, the Elysee Palace said.

World powers promised not to fail the Lebanese people as the capital, Beirut, recovers from the massive explosion that killed 158 people and destroyed swathes of the city last Tuesday. Lebanon was already mired in political and financial crisis before the blast.

But foreign countries demanded transparency over how the aid is used, wary of writing blank cheques to a government viewed by its own people as deeply corrupt. Some are concerned about the influence of Iran through the Shi'ite group Hezbollah.

The "assistance should be timely, sufficient and consistent with the needs of the Lebanese people ... and directly delivered to the Lebanese population, with utmost efficiency and transparency," the final communique stated.

Macron, who visited Beirut on Thursday, hosted the conference by video-link and in his opening remarks urged participating nations to put aside their differences and support the Lebanese people.

The international response should be coordinated by the United Nations in Lebanon, he added.

The offer of assistance included support for an impartial, credible and independent inquiry into the blast. Public anger over the explosion has prompted some Lebanese to call for a revolt to topple their political leaders.

"Our role is to be by their side," Macron said from his summer retreat on the French Riviera.

REFORMS

President Donald Trump told the conference the United States was ready to continue providing aid to help the Lebanese, the White House said.

Story continues

"The President called for calm in Lebanon and acknowledged the legitimate calls of peaceful protesters for transparency, reform and accountability," a White House statement said.

Trump later said the United States would send additional planes loaded with medical supplies, food and water and would give substantial aid to Lebanon, though he declined to give a dollar figure.

"We haven't given a number, but it will be substantial. On a humanitarian basis, we have to do it," Trump told reporters in Morristown, New Jersey.

The International Monetary Fund said it was willing to redouble efforts to help Lebanon after the devastating blast, but said all of the country's institutions needed to show willingness to carry out reforms.

In a statement to the conference, the IMF's managing director, Kristalina Georgieva, laid out reforms expected, including steps to restore the solvency of public finances and the soundness of the financial system, and temporary safeguards to avoid continued capital outflows.

The explosion gutted entire neighbourhoods, leaving 250,000 people homeless, razing businesses and destroying critical grain supplies.

Rebuilding Beirut will likely run into the billions of dollars. Economists forecast the blast could wipe up to 25% off of the country's GDP.

Up to Sunday's conference there had been an array of offers of immediate humanitarian support such as rescue teams and medical supplies.

In a sign of the mistrust between Beirut and donors before the blast, debt default talks between the Lebanese government and International Monetary Fund had stalled in the absence of reforms.

The communique said Lebanon's partners were ready to support the country's longer-term economic recovery if leaders committed fully to the changes expected by the Lebanese.

Many Lebanese say the blast, blamed on a huge store of ammonium nitrate, highlighted the negligence of a corrupt political elite. Protesters stormed government ministries in Beirut on Saturday and demonstrations erupted again on Sunday.

(Reporting by Yiming Woo in Fort Bregancon and Richard Lough and Michel Rose in Paris; Additional reporting by Jeff Mason in Morristown, New Jersey; Writing by Richard Lough; Editing by Philippa Fletcher, Nick Macfie and Frances Kerry)
German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas says his country will provide an additional 10 million euros in emergency aid to Lebanon following the explosion that killed more than 150 people and injured thousands more.

In a statement Sunday, Maas said that ``even after the worst of the rubble is removed there will remain a lot to do'' because even before the disaster Lebanon faced ``overwhelming challenges.''

Maas said that ``without urgently needed reforms there can be neither sustainable change nor stability.''

Berlin is the second biggest bilateral donor to Lebanon, according to the German Foreign Ministry. Since 2012, Germany has provided more than 1.2 billion euros in development aid to the country, as well as 634 million euros for humanitarian work.

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Three Texas Parks and Wildlife employees died Saturday in a helicopter crash in West Texas as they surveyed the landscape for desert bighorn sheep, the state agency said.

The trio were flying over Black Gap Wildlife Management Area, just northeast of Big Bend National Park, when the aircraft crashed. The pilot, who was a private contractor for the state agency, was taken to El Paso for medical treatment.
A final year female student of Vitting Senior High School has reportedly abandoned her West African Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) papers due to pregnancy.



The girl whose identity has been withheld is a final year Home Economics student at the Vitting SHS who got pregnant during the closure of schools due to COVID-19 and has since not returned for her WASSCE exams.



Breaking the news to GhanaWeb, the headmaster of the school, Mr. Douglas H. Yakubu said the school made an arrangement for the girl to come and write the exams but she refused for fear of stigmatization.



Mr. Douglass also expressed concerns over what is currently happening in some schools with regard to students going on a rampage.



All heads of institutions in Ghana should be concern about what is happening." He said.



He emphasized the need for headmasters to prepare the students, and let them understand that, it is for their own safety to write the papers peacefully and go home.



The exam is written once in a year and if you miss this year, you have to try next year and whether we will permit you to write it in the school is another question," he advised.



He further stated, that the students need to be talked to, let them understand that they need to sit up, prepare, study, and then write the exams.



He also stressed that, they will not succumb to any pressure from anybody to allow the students to copy.



Ghanaweb can, however, report that, the World Health Organization(WHO) safety measures were strictly adhered to, as 28 students were made to sit for a class.

Source: ghanaweb.com









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

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NEW YORK, N.Y. -- The coronavirus may have stopped the annual 9/11 name reading ceremony at Ground Zero from taking place this year, where hundreds have gathered annually for nearly two decades to read the names of their fallen loved ones.

But this year, one group has plans to hold a smaller name reading nearby.

The Staten Island-based Tunnel to Towers Foundation, a nonprofit that honors fallen 9/11 firefighter Stephen Siller and other victims of the attacks, plans to host a 140-person, in-person reading near Ground Zero that day.

The speakers will read the names of the nearly 3,000 victims who lost their lives in the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks following social distancing measures.

The Tunnel to Towers Foundation decided last week to hold a smaller in-person reading after the 9/11 Memorial and Museum announced it would play pre-recorded names of the victims from the museums Memoriam exhibition at the Lower Manhattan memorial rather than having family members go on stage and read the names of their loved ones as part of the annual ceremonial tradition.

Organizers of the 9/11 Memorial and Museum event said the way the annual ceremony is set up, with family members coming up on stage and reading the names of their loved ones one-by-one, would not have allowed them to social distance.

Tunnel to Towers Foundation CEO Frank Siller said the 9/11 Memorial and Museums decision to switch to pre-recorded readings upset many 9/11 families, who he said, will already be gathered at Ground Zero that day to pay their respects.

Siller said he is confident the group can safely host an in-person reading and give 9/11 families the opportunity to honor their loved ones following every possible safety precaution.

All 9/11 families are going to be down there and you cant have somebody come up one person at a time [on stage] and make it safe? Siller said of the 9/11 Memorial and Museums decision to switch to a pre-recorded reading and not allow families to go up on stage. We didnt get that, and thats why we wanted to make sure that we gave that opportunity to families to read the names.

Theres a lot of families very upset and we know that, and were a 9/11 foundation, and our first mission is to make sure we never forget and we honor the sacrifice that was made that day, Siller said.

The foundation says it will require attendees wear face coverings and will provide face coverings on site for all attendees listening to the name reading.

They will also enforce social distancing measures and make hand sanitizer available to attendees.

Siller said readers will wipe down microphones after reading the names of fallen 9/11 victims and that the foundation is even looking to set up multiple microphones to socially distance speakers.

CAN READING TAKE PLACE UNDER GUIDELINES?

But it is unclear whether the foundations in-person reading ceremony will be permitted under the citys current guidelines.

Mayor Bill de Blasio announced in July that large events would be canceled through Sept. 30, while the states current guidelines only allow for social gatherings of up to 50 people.

The city said in July that permits would be denied for events larger than one block and for any stage or video events that require amplification. However, the city said protests, religious events, and press conferences would still be allowed.

City Hall did not respond to request for comment at press time when asked whether the in-person reading would be permitted under its current guidelines.

Siller did not say whether the group received city approval for the name reading, only saying that he was working with the NYPD and Port Authority Police Department who patrol the area.

Siller said the ceremony would be less than a block large and pointed out that the 9/11 families would be at the memorial that day already.

I can guarantee to everybody that it will be done in such a safe way, Siller said. I would never jeopardize anybodys health or well being and those families will be down there already at Ground Zero, were just giving them an opportunity to read the names.

The Tunnel to Towers Foundation is planning its ceremony near Ground Zero for 8:40 a.m.

Family members who want to speak can register here.

On Staten Island, the boroughs annual 9/11 Postcards Memorial Ceremony will be held virtually this year. Families will read the names of their loved ones via videotape Borough President James Oddo will incorporate those videos into a live stream.

FOLLOW SYDNEY KASHIWAGI ON TWITTER.
Canadian security services have allegedly increased their protection over a former top Saudi counter-terrorism official after being alerted to a new assassination attempt.

The Globe and Mail were told that Canadian security agencies were recently alerted to a new attempt to assassinate Saad Aljabri.

Aljabri recently filed a federal lawsuit against Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, alleging the royal tried to trap and kill him in the U.S. and Canada.

This lawsuit is the latest attempt by former intelligence officer Saad Aljabri to put pressure on the crown prince who has spent years in exile abroad.

Former intelligence officer Saad Aljabri (right) filed a federal lawsuit against Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, alleging the royal tried to trap and kill him in the U.S. and Canada. Pictured left: Saad's daughter Sarah who he claims has been detained by Saudi officials to lure him back to the kingdom

Filed on Thursday, the lawsuit alleges that the crown prince had two of Aljabri's children, Sarah and Omar, detained to try and force him back to the kingdom.

Saudi Arabia's attempts to forcibly return some of its citizens received global attention after Jamal Khashoggi was killed in the Saudi Consulate in Turkey.

The crown prince denies he had any knowledge of the operation, but Western intelligence agencies and the U.S. Senate have declared the prince ultimately responsible for Khashoggi's killing.

Aljabri's lawsuit claims a 'kill team' was dispatched for him in Canada just two weeks after the same squad killed Khashoggi in October 2018 but that the effort was thwarted by Canadian border security officials.

The Saudi government has not officially commented on Aljabri but has issued extradition requests and Interpol notices.

Aljabri also alleges that the crown prince (pictured) continues to try and have him killed even now

Saudi officials told the Wall Street Journal that Aljabri is wanted for corruption involving billions of dollars during his time at the interior ministry.

The US state department has called on Saudi Arabia to immediately release Aljabri's children.

Khalid Aljabri, Saad's son, released a statement which said: 'After exhausting every single avenue for a peaceful remedy, we were left with no other choice but to seek justice and accountability in a U.S. federal court.'

Saad Aljabri left Saudi Arabia when Prince Mohammed bin Nayef fell from power and was stripped of his authority by Prince Mohammed bin Salman, whose father is king.

Prince Nayef was detained in March and it is believed this is when Aljabri's children were allegedly also detained.
OMAGH, Northern Ireland  Millions of Americans consider Ireland a home away from home. But as the number of coronavirus cases in the United States surges, many Irish businesses say they have been forced to turn away some of their most lucrative customers  vacationing Americans.

Most visitors to Ireland, including those from the U.S., have to fill out a COVID-19 Passenger Locator Form that includes their contact details while in the country and where they will be staying.

They also are required to self-quarantine for 14 days, staying indoors and avoiding contact with other people as much as possible. But there are few if any checks on whether visitors actually comply with the requirement. And for many in Ireland, visitors from the U.S. seem to pose a particularly serious threat.

COVID-19 cases have surpassed 5 million in the U.S., with several states seeing an uptick in the last 14 days.

In Florida, for example, where flights are still departing for Ireland, the coronavirus-related death rate is 6 per 100,000 cases  30 times higher than the current rate in Ireland over the past two weeks, which is 0.2.

Ireland is one of only a few European Union countries still allowing Americans to visit at all. But, with little to no quarantine enforcement on visitors, some Irish business owners say they have had to take matters into their own hands. Across social media, many have shared similar stories of fending off American tourists who should be self-isolating but are not.

Image: Outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Galway (Clodagh Kilcoyne / Reuters)

JP McMahon, a Galway-based chef and restaurateur, says its absolute madness that flights are still arriving in Ireland from badly hit areas of the United States, such as Texas.

He said he has had to ask a new question on his booking system: Have customers traveled abroad or returned to Ireland in the last two weeks? If they have, his staff calls to let them know they cannot come to the restaurant.

But McMahon cant check everyone  and ultimately he has to rely on peoples word.

Story continues

We're already running at 50 percent below usual, he said. So we just don't have the resources to stop every single person and to try and deal with them in a way where you would if you went through passport control in an airport.

Most of the E.U. has extended its travel ban on Americans, leaving just Albania, Kosovo, Serbia and North Macedonia  none of them considered tourism hotspots  as last-minute alternatives to Ireland for Americans set on visiting the Continent this summer.

More than 2 million tourists from the U.S. and Canada visit Ireland every year  a $2 billion shot in the arm for a tourism industry that supports the jobs of 325,000 people. And despite a sharp fall in those numbers during the pandemic, the Irish government says as many as 250 Americans are still arriving in Ireland every day.

The issue has created a dilemma for business owners who rely heavily on American customers but feel compelled to turn them away.

Janet Cavanagh, the owner of E-whizz, a bike touring company in the west of the Irish Republic, says 90 percent of her guided tour business is from the U.S. and Canada. But she felt she had no choice but to cancel an American couples tour.

I asked them if they had done their 14 days isolation, as per the Irish government regulations, they said they had not, Cavanagh said. "They didn't realize that it was mandatory. So I wasn't really willing to do a tour with them if they just landed into Ireland off a flight from the States.

The Irish government says arrangements are being made for a more robust system of follow-up checks to ensure that those entering the country are staying where they said they would stay per the form.

Caitlin Potts, 29, an SEO content writer from Columbus, Ohio, studied in Northern Ireland in 2012. She planned to go on a trip of a lifetime with her parents to Ireland and Scotland this summer.

This plan basically has been in the works for years now because they wanted to see where I traveled, things like that, Potts said. So, a lot of this was going to be retracing my steps and, you know, some new things along the way.

But when it seemed clear that COVID-19 wasnt going away any time soon, and with her parents in their 60s, Potts said he felt it was better to be safe than sorry and decided to cancel the trip.

Full coverage of the coronavirus outbreak

Kevin Kelly, the business development director for the Boston-based tour operator Crystal Travel & Tours, said sending clients like Potts to Ireland and Britain just wasnt an option.

We didn't want anyone going abroad with any trepidation, Kelly said. We made every effort that we could to provide cash refunds, where we were able to do so to our clients that did not want to travel and were reluctant to postpone.

Despite relying heavily on summer travel as a business, Kelly says visiting Ireland is not something he would suggest for Americans right now.

We would probably advise against it, you know, not just the fact that the quarantine is there, but it's also when you get there, there's nothing really much to do, he said. I mean, even the visitor attractions and the sightseeing opportunities are limited.
KARACHI, Pakistan - Three days of heavy monsoon rains triggering flash floods killed at least 58 people in various parts of Pakistan, as troops with boats rushed Sunday to evacuate people from flood-affected districts in the countrys southern Sindh and southwestern Baluchistan provinces.

Every year, many cities in Pakistan struggle to cope with the annual monsoon deluge, drawing criticism about poor planning. The monsoon season runs from July through September, during which swelling rivers cause damage to crops and infrastructure.

According to Pakistans National Disaster Management Authority, 19 people were killed in rain-related incidents in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, 12 in southern Sindh province, eight in Punjab province and 10 in the countrys scenic northern Gligit Baltistan region in the past three days.

Rains also partially damaged about 100 homes and caused a breach in a flooded main canal, inundating villages in Sindh province. In a statement, the military said troops used boats to rescue stranded people and move them to safety. It said a medical camp was also established and food was being provided to the rescued people.

Heavy rains also lashed many districts in the southwestern Baluchistan province, killing eight people, damaging homes and inundating many villages in the district of Jhal Magsi, according to Saleem Zakir, spokesman for provincial disaster management authority. He said rescuers with the armys help were still trying to evacuate people from the districts flood-hit villages.

He said floods damaged a bridge and a gas pipeline and destroyed coastal roads on the Arabian Sea, severing links to the port of Gwadar, part of Chinas multi-billion dollar one-road project linking south and Central Asia to China.

According to local media reports, hundreds of people moved to nearby hills when the floodwaters entered their villages in remote areas of Baluchistan, and the military used helicopters and boats to move them to safer places. Authorities were dispatching tents and food for the flood-affected people.

Heavy rainfall began last week and continued Sunday, flooding streets even in the eastern city of Lahore. It especially disrupted normal life last week in Karachi, the provincial capital of Sindh province and Pakistans commercial hub, where sewage flooded most of the streets, prompting Prime Minister Imran Khan to order the army to assist authorities in handling the situation.

According to the Meteorological Department, heavy rains are expected to continue next week.

In Pakistan and neighbouring India, deadly floods occur regularly during the monsoon season.

___

Associated Press writers Abdul Sattar in Quetta, Pakistan and Riaz Khan in Peshawar, Pakistan contributed to this report.

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Gianna Nino-Tapias imagined the next time she would wake up at 3 a.m. for work would be for rounds as a medical resident. But this summer she woke up with her mom, back home in eastern Washington state, packed enough food and water for the blistering heat, and headed out to the fields.

After an hour-long drive, she and her mother, Susana Tapias, waited in line to get their temperature checked. Nino-Tapias, with a masters degree in epidemiology, would think about the lack of social distancing in the lines while they waited.

They strapped gallon pails to their chests and picked blueberries as fast as they reasonably could. If farmworkers dont pick enough to make minimum wage, they arent allowed to work.

They picked and picked until 2 or 3 p.m., the hottest part of the day. It reached 110 degrees recently. On days like that, it was hard to even think or talk; wearing a mask felt like suffocating. Before the portable toilets were recently moved closer, shed try not to use the restroom through the work day, as it would take away from time she could be picking.

Gianna Nino-Tapias holds a day's worth of buckets to be filled with blueberries. Workers are paid about $3.50 a bucket and can pick four buckets in an hour on a good day. They're usually out there picking for 8 to 10 hours a day, even when it gets up to 110 degrees, and they're cut from the job if they can't manage to make minimum wage.

After work, Nino-Tapias and her mom drove home, cooked dinner for their family, including her three siblings sent home from college due to the pandemic, and got ready to do it again the next day. She and her mother used painkilling creams on their knees, feet and lower back, but seasonal farmworkers dont receive insurance, so going to the doctor is never really an option unless its an emergency.

The 24-year-old received her masters degree from Stanford University in June and starts medical school there this month. She thought she would never have to trek out to those fields again, where her mother has worked for the past 20 years and where she started working when she was 14.

But, like for millions across the country, COVID-19 meant losing her work at a shopping mall and library. She applied to every kind of job she thought she could get, from retail to contact tracing, but she never heard back from anyone.

Story continues

Gianna Nino-Tapias graduated with a master's degree in epidemiology from Stanford in June and is going back to start medical school this month. She wants to become a doctor so she can help people like her mother, who struggle to get proper help from doctors because they don't speak English well.

So she found herself back in the fields this summer, picking blueberries alongside her mom for $3.50 a gallon. On a good day, she filled four gallons in an hour.

On July 29 she tweeted, How much do you pay for your blueberries? More than 2,000 replied to the tweet, most expressing concern about buying ethically sourced food, and some offering to help Nino-Tapias with tuition.

More: Michigan university among 1st in U.S. to test campus living during COVID-19 pandemic

But the tweet wasnt a call for charity, and it was about more than just buying blueberries. The words represented a burst of pride at how far shes come as a low-income, Mixtec woman of color from a migrant farmworker family and an appreciation for how hard she and her family have worked. And it was a cry of frustration for the conditions farmworkers face every summer, as well as a resignation that some wont ever have the path out that she does.

Alongside her mom, the farmworkers have been Nino-Tapias biggest supporters, ever since she was a child. Get an education so you can get out of here, they would tell her in the fields. So you can get a job with air conditioning.

Susana Tapias has always been the biggest supporter for her daughter, Gianna Nino-Tapias, wanting to give her children the opportunity to get an education in the U.S. because she never could afford to back in Mexico. She's been a farmworker for the past 20 years. "She's so smart and talented," Gianna said, "but sometimes people look down on her because she doesn't have a traditional Western education."

Susana Tapias is one of the smartest people her daughter knows, but she couldnt afford a college education back in Mexico and had to take care of her family in the U.S. after moving here in her early 20s.

Nino-Tapias, who was born in the U.S, debated whether to attend a community college near home because her mom struggled to pay bills online or go to doctors appointments without her daughters translation skills. Ultimately, she decided Stanford offered the best education, with support from the Bill and Melinda Gates Millennium Scholarship. She could come back from California and help her family when she was a doctor, she told herself.

Party killers: Colleges hope new rules will slow COVID-19 spread, students aren't convinced

Watching her mom out in the fields made her want to become a doctor in the first place. She saw the joint and back pain her mother endured, saw how she struggled to communicate with doctors without her daughters help.

Most medical students come from wealthy backgrounds, and many have parents who are also doctors. In 2019, fewer than 4% of doctors in the U.S. identified as Hispanic, Latino or of Spanish origin. Every additional one could make a difference, she decided.

In getting her master's degree from Stanford, Gianna Nino-Tapias took a community health advocacy course in 2016-17 where she worked in partnership with a woman's health department in East Palo Alto.

Nino-Tapias has started the process of moving back to Stanford, where she has air conditioning, speedy wifi and loves to run around campus. It feels like living in a completely different world.

But she still spends a lot of her day thinking about her friends and family in the fields  how they work so hard for so little, but how supportive theyve been of her.

'The virus beat us': Colleges are increasingly going online for fall 2020 semester as COVID-19 cases rise

She always tells people to not buy produce from big companies if they can afford it and support local farms that are more likely to treat their workers fairly. But if nothing else, she wants people at least to think of the workers in the fields when they buy a pack of blueberries.

If youre thinking about all the people that have touched your food before it got to you, all of the people who have hopes and dreams for their kids or for themselves, she said, I think that is a super invaluable gratitude to give, even if its just in your head.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Med student returns to blueberry picking for lesson in COVID resolve
Amidst a global pandemic and economic catastrophe, we are coming together to recognize our shared humanity, common values and mutual interests.

Rather than letting demagogues divide us, we are uniting, regardless of party affiliation and documentation status, in our fight for social and economic justice. We are heartened by the diverse coalition supporting the Black Lives Matter protests and encouraged by the understanding that we must address similar challenges faced by Latinos and Native Americans.

As a former Rio Rancho High School principal, I am inspired by the warm friendships I have seen between my former students who have become police officers and those who have joined the protests. Such relationships give me confidence that we can come through these unsettled times stronger and more united.

What do we mean by unity and common interests? To me, it means putting partisan differences aside and coming together for critical change.

But we must first acknowledge our history  our lofty ideals and disappointing failures in fully realizing them  and work together for progress in a spirit of reconciliation.

We must address the climate crisis and environmental pollution, recognizing their disproportionate effects on communities of color, low-income families and indigenous communities. We must drastically reduce our carbon footprint.

Solar and wind energy can help while generating good green private-sector jobs. We must also preserve the natural resources of our beautiful state for the health of our people, our planet and New Mexicos economic well-being.

Quality health care for all and affordable prescription drugs should be a right, not a privilege. We need healthy children who are ready to learn and an energetic workforce to advance our states economic development.

It is almost unimaginable that efforts are being made to strip over 20 million people of their health care. This governmental malpractice is being pursued by the Trump administration and 18 Republican-led states who are asking the Supreme Court to repeal the Affordable Care Act.

We must have a fair and thriving economy. We must reverse the 40-year decline in union membership, and we must obtain a living wage for all workers.

We must protect front-line workers even as they are threatened by COVID-19. Before the pandemic, one in four children in New Mexico faced hunger or food insecurity; COVID -19 has worsened this crisis.

Children who experience poverty and hunger suffer diminished health, economic opportunity and mobility. This is not acceptable.

Every child must have access to a first-rate public education. One significant obstacle is that the availability of broadband access is woefully inadequate.

This puts too many of our most vulnerable students at a serious disadvantage, a problem exacerbated by COVID -19 when online learning is essential to every childs educational progress. We truly are all in this together, and we must forge our path forward together.

Putting our partisan differences aside, let us reaffirm our common values and work for competent and accountable government that seeks to create a strong and cohesive society and thriving economy for all people.

(Gary Tripp is a Rio Rancho resident and Democrat running for the District 44 state House of Representatives seat.)


REDMOND (dpa-AFX) - Twitter has had preliminary talks with TikTok's Chinese owner ByteDance to buy the U.S. operations of the video-sharing app, the Wall Street Journal reported citing people familiar with the matter. Meanwhile, Microsoft has been the only company so far to say publicly it is pursuing TikTok.



It is unclear whether Twitter will pursue a deal with TikTok, which would face significant challenges, Journal also reported.



The biggest challenge to any deal is the Trump administration's executive order from August 6th. The executive order bars ByteDance from handling transactions in the US. The order takes effect within 45 days. The administration considers the Chinese-owned app a potential security threat to the U.S.



The Journal said that Twitter would be considered a long-shot in a bid for TikTok, with Microsoft the likely front runner in any deal.



Twitter is much smaller than Microsoft, and the social platform could be likely to face less antitrust scrutiny than Microsoft. But Twitter also doesn't have as much money as the software giant for a possible purchase, the report said.



Last Sunday, Microsoft said that it was prepared to continue discussions to explore a purchase of TikTok in the United States. Other American investors could participate in the potential acquisition on a minority basis.



Microsoft had said it would keep working with the U.S. Government on a deal and it planned to conclude talks with TikTok's parent company, ByteDance, by 15th September.



The purchase would cover TikTok service in the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand and would result in Microsoft owning and operating TikTok in those markets.



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

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Barkha Kumari By

You know whats better than a gin? Its a gin with a story. Malayali-Irish couple Bhagya Lekshmi and Robert Barrett can tell that well. Its been barely a month since they launched their first spirit in Ireland, made using spices from a women-run co-operative in Kerala, and the news has gone viral in the rest of Europe, India and America.

Lekshmi is baffled as she is sleepless from the thousand calls and pings shes getting: "People outside Ireland haven't even tasted the gin and then to see this demand! I think they are loving the story behind Maharani Gin."

Or should we say, stories? A product of Rebel City Distillery, founded by Barrett in his home city Cork in Ireland, Maharani Gin is a meet-cute, a cocktail of cultures and histories, and a tribute to powerful women through the ages, all sealed in a charming bottle.

Labour of love

Lekshmi grew up in Mangad village in Keralas Thrissur district, worked in Chennai after getting a degree in IT engineering and later moved to Dublin to pursue Program Management. It was on a blind date in 2015 when Lekshmi met Barrett, who had cut his teeth brewing and distilling across countries.

"I hadnt tried spirits until I met Robert. I had only had toddy in Kerala, that too with my family because its not considered alcohol in our state. So he opened me up to the world of drinks and how to enjoy them slowly, over two-three hours. It was different for me because, in India, people gulp down drinks and drink to get drunk."

By 2017, the couple had tied the knot amid the backwaters of Kollam. Post-wedding, Barrett started discovering the famed spices of Kerala. Lekshmi, who works full-time at a tech MNC in Ireland and helps out Barrett in hand-bottling the gin and hand-writing the batch numbers, shares, "I bring cassia (Chinese cinnamon) from Kerala to make biryani. It smells divine and Robert loves it. He also likes our nutmeg-mace. Robert loves everything from briyani, dosa, and Madras filter coffee to my mothers idiyappam and chicken curry, so we cook Indian and Irish food on alternate days."

The spice-talk got Lekshmi suggesting him to make gin with Kerala spices. "Gin is a flavoured spirit and when I think of flavours, I think of Kerala because we have a long history of the spice trade," she reasons. That was it.

Bold and brew-tiful

Lekshmi is a feminist, so she wanted these botanicals to come from a women-led co-operative. Her internet search ended at Vanamoolika Herbals in Wayanad in her state. So the couple visited the centre, which employs over 200 women, last June and were stoked about the quality of spices and that they were grown organically.

To their great luck, they found a distributor of Vanamoolika products in Ireland. With that, Barrett got down to stirring up a concoction with nutmeg-mace, cassia and pomelo from Kerala and Indonesian cardamom sourced from Italy.

Since gin is considered a females drink, Lekshmi wanted to raise a toast to the rebellious women of Kerala inside out. So came the name Maharani (queen), Malayalam lettering viplav (rebel) spirit on sticker and moksham (liberation) on the cap, and a tribute note for the Vanamoolika at the back. Ask her why just Keralite women and she invokes folklore from her region, that of Nangeli.

"She cut off her breasts to protest against a caste-based breast tax. That explains the sword in the logo. From Nangeli to Kudumbashree, a self-help group for women that Kerala started in the 1990s, I grew up hearing about the strong women of Kerala. Even my mother. She isnt that educated but she stands by her beliefs."

How much of a rebel is Lekshmi? "I took a career break at 28 to study despite the 'You should marry comments coming my way. And when I decided to marry, I chose an inter-racial marriage," she makes a case.

If Lekshmi had a rebellious history to show off, so did Barrett! "Cork is named Rebel City in honour of Michael Collins, who fought Irelands War of Independence. And since ours is the first distillery to come up in Cork in 50 long years, we thought Rebel City Distillery was a befitting name." Theres more. "Our craft distillery has come up at Marina Commercial Park, where the Ford Factory once stood. So we have kept the historical look of the place raw."

A matter of pride

Maharani Gin is going places even without a PR machinery. "We launched the drink on June 23 but it went viral only recently, after a Keralite in Ireland shared the video of Bottle No 427 from the first batch on social media. Then proud Indians, especially Keralites, made it famous," Lekshmi recalls.

A few turned up at their facility in mundu for a photo-op. But the Irish are equally excited, she wants you to know. "We are getting great reviews from drink experts in Ireland. The ambassador of the Indian embassy in Ireland is happy we could connect two cultures. The Irish Food Board helped us with investments."

So when will Maharani Gin hit the Indian shelves? "With this lockdown and excise permissions, it will take some time. I want to give the first bottle to my parents, and my brother and sister-in-law, who are handling the social media pages of Rebel City Distillery on my behalf because I cant take it anymore. I have a full-time job, you see!" Lekshmi signs off with her endearing laugh, also sharing that she plans to raise a toast to the women of Vanamoolika in a web conference.

Gin and Tale
https://www.aish.com/jw/s/Learning-from-Rabbi-Adin-Steinsaltz.html

A long-ago lecture by Rabbi Steinsaltz inspired me to tap into 4,000 years of Jewish wisdom.

I was in college, exploring Jewish classes and activities at Hillel. Someone said an eminent rabbi named Adin Steinzaltz was visiting campus - he was embarking on an ambitious project translating the Talmud into Hebrew, English and French. His interpretations were penetrating and insightful, they said, and his translation was a major addition to Jewish knowledge. Did I want to come along and hear him?

I wasnt sure that any rabbi attempting to translate the Talmud would have much to say to me. I pictured him as dry and stern, concerned only with dusty old texts. What could he possibly have to say to me?

As the auditorium filled up, I saw that Rabbi Steinsaltz wore a black coat and skullcap and sported a long beard that was turning white - exactly as Id pictured him. Surely hed disapprove of me and the other non-religious students in the room. Suddenly, he turned to the blackboard behind him, picked up some chalk and began sketching. Was he writing some obscure formula or Hebrew text I wondered? He drew a smiling cartoon mouse, finishing the sketch with whiskers and turned to face his audience with a huge grin on his face and launched into his talk.

Turned out that Rabbi Steinsaltz understood our worldview very well. After all, hed grown up in a non-religious family too, in Jerusalem, in the 1940s and 1950s. As a teenager, Rabbi Steinsaltz felt the tug of religion and asked his parents if he could study Jewish subjects with a local rabbi. They agreed and eventually Adin Steinsaltz was leading an Orthodox life. By the time he was 23 years old, he was a high school principal - the youngest in all of Israel. In 1965, when he was 38, he began his monumental translation of the Talmud.

What are we waiting for? he asked the assembled students. Its been many years since I listened to Rabbi Steinsaltz, but that central question remains burned in my memory. We each have so much potential inside of us  whats holding us back?

For Rabbi Steinsaltz, responding to the pull of the Divine in our lives was akin to answering a great cosmic telephone, he told his rapt student audience.

In the Torah, Abraham, Jacob, Moses and Isaiah all hear God call out their names, and each of these towering figures replies in the same way: Hineni - Im here. Rabbi Steinsaltz said, The call goes everywhere, in every time, and never stops. But most people dont hear it. When you hear the call you say, Hineni  Im here.

Rabbi Steinsaltz had a genius for making big ideas fun. That phone call he talked about - the pull of the Divine - is like someone in outer space looking for life in the universe. Just imagine a person sitting on a star, he said, sending messages to other planets: hes sending messages over and over. Now what will be the breakthrough point? The breakthrough point is when there is any answer. When at the end of nowhere, somebody answers. That somebody can be each of us, if only we pay attention to the call of the Divine in our lives.

As I sat in that lecture hall, I realized I wanted to start making some decisions about my own life. I wanted to answer the call Rabbi Steinsaltz had described. I too wanted to say Im here. I too wanted to build a life dedicated to making the world a better, more holy place. Rabbi Steinsaltz seemed so wise and kind - so happy - and I wanted to be able to use Jewish teachings to feel as confident and optimistic as well.

Torah is the shared inheritance of all the Jewish people. We have a responsibility to share our common heritage with all Jews.

Rabbi Steinsaltz often reiterated that Torah is the shared inheritance of all the Jewish people. We have a responsibility to share our common heritage with all Jews. I bought his books and read his wisdom. The thousands of pages he wrote are bursting with his unique style of humor, wisdom, encouragement and love.

Rabbi Stensaltzs book The Essential Talmud first introduced me to the Talmud, describing its history and purpose. The last lines have always stayed in my mind: in a chapter called The Talmud Has Never Been Completed, he made the case that its up to us to continue studying the Talmud. He explained that even the most learned sages study the Talmud over and over, finding new knowledge each time. It helped give me the courage to begin studying Jewish texts.

His essays in Simple Words: Thinking About What Really Matters in Life (1999) has helped me cope with some of my most difficult decisions, applying Jewish wisdom to real world dilemmas. (W)e may discover that God has always existed within us, by thinking deeply about the words we use in our lives and what their deeper meanings are, Rabbi Steinsaltz wrote. Each challenge we face in life, no matter how hard, can help us improve and refine ourselves, uncovering our God-given purpose.

When I heard of Rabbi Steinsaltzs death at the age of 83 this past Friday, August 7, 2020, I knew I would spend Shabbat rereading some of his books, and honoring his life by studying Torah in his memory. Rereading his works felt like hearing from a wise old friend, reminding me that I can achieve great things, bringing untold measures of holiness into the world if I only try to listen to that insistent, constant call of the Divine in the world. That message is his powerful legacy to us, the Jewish people.
Six people were injured when gunmen opened fire at a barbecue in a city park, and an 11-year-old boy was grazed by a bullet in a separate shooting this weekend in Philadelphia.

Police were busy early Sunday investigating at least seven different shooting incidents that injured at least 11 people in the city, Action News 6 ABC is reporting.

In one of the shootings, an 11-year-old boy was walking outside when he was grazed in the back of the head and shoulder when gunfire broke out on the 6000 block of A Street in the Olney neighborhood around 10 p.m., NBC 10 is reporting.

He was rushed to the hospital.

Six people were injured when four or five shooters opened fire on a barbecue at a park on the 3800 block of Poplar Street in the Mantua neighborhood, injuring a pregnant woman, two other women and three boys in their late teens, according to reports. Investigators say 28 shots were fired.

In another incident, bullets struck a police officers car on Oxford Circle as he was responding to a shooting at a block party. Another officer called in to help tried to stop a man on an ATV, who struck the officer and knocked him to the ground, reports indicate.

A 19-year-old man is in critical but stable condition after he was shot three times in the arm and stomach around 2:48 a.m. Sunday on the 1800 block of Pratt Street, reports indicate, and about two hours later, police found a man who had been shot in the leg at 10th and Market streets.

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.
On Season 2 of 90 Day Fiance: The Other Way, Deavan Clegg has made a second attempt at leaving her old life in Salt Lake City, UT behind to start anew in South Korea with the father of her child, Jihoon Lee. However, there has been some major trouble in paradise from the start, and now Deavan knows that Jihoon wasnt being honest about his employment or finances. Now she hopes he can prove that he isnt lying again.

Deavan Clegg learns about Jihoon Lees real financial situation

90 Day Fiance stars Jihoon Lee and Deavan Clegg | TLC

Deavan is giving up a lot to move to South Korea to start a new life. Shes taking her baby, Taeyang, and her daughter from a previous relationship, Drascilla, and uprooting them to a new place on the other side of the world. Deavan was under the impression that Jihoon had a full-time job making more money than he actually does. It turns out that Jihoon only has a part-time job, and he isnt making enough to support them all.

Deavan had to use her own money to pay for their apartment for a month in Korea. Shes moved her whole life over to another country thinking that shed have some support from her fiance, but as things stand, they wont be able to survive on his current income.

Jihoon admits he didnt take Deavan seriously

RELATED: 90 Day Fiance: Fans React to Jihoon Lee and Deavan Cleggs Translation Issues

Deavan is thinking about moving back to America, but before she does, she wants to talk to Jihoon and his parents, Jung and Hong Ju. Shes anxious to speak to his mother, in particular, to learn why Jihoons money is going into her bank account. However, when they sit down for dinner, the translation technology makes things worse because it translates things incorrectly. Jihoon gets frustrated, and actually storms out and says, Just go back to America.

Deavan goes outside to get away from the situation, and Jihoon finds her and they talk. Jihoon tells Deavan that he didnt take her seriously because of long distance. Because of long distance, I didnt take you seriously, Jihoon tells Deavan. Shes clearly upset about this new revelation, and she tells him she never wants to talk to him again.

He just wanted to go have fun, because this is not a serious relationship because its long distance, Deavan tells the cameras. Ive been scammed. Straight up.

How Deavan hopes Jihoon will prove he isnt lying

Its understandable why Deavan is upset. Jihoon is the father of her son, and he lied to her about his finances and having a full-time job. She picked up her whole life to start over in South Korea, to just find out what she thought to be true isnt really the case. How is she supposed to feel secure in a foreign country with a man that lied to her? How can she ever trust a word he says from now on?

Deavan hopes that Jihoon can prove he isnt lying by transferring her some money that he saved previously. I need you to transfer me the $3000 today to prove that you want me to be here and to prove that youre going to step up, Devean explains to Jihoon.

Jihoon goes to get his mother so they can withdraw the cash and he brings it back to Deavan. Its not necessarily about having this money, its about knowing hes not lying, Deavan explains. And I need him to prove hes not lying.

Chances are that if Jihoon was lying about the money, Deavan would be on a plane back to the United States. Luckily that isnt the case, since Deavan needed to know that Jihoon wasnt lying again. Hopefully they can move forward one more time. Deavan decides to give Jihoon one more shot, but its for a trial period. She gives him one month to prove hes changed, or shell return to America. She also wants Jihoon to have a joint bank account with only her, not his parents.

If Jihoon can step up, they could possibly make things work together as a family. Well have to see how things play out.
Former Miss India World, actor Natasha Suri has tested positive for Covid-19. As a result, she will have to give the promotions of her upcoming project, Dangerous, a miss. It also stars Karan Singh Grover and Bipasha Basu.

In an interview with Bombay Times, Natasha said, Around six days ago, I had gone to Pune for some urgent work. After I came back, I fell ill and had fever, sore throat and weakness. I underwent a test three days ago, which came positive. Currently, I am in home quarantine. I still have fever and weakness. I am on medication and also taking immunity boosters. I live with my grandmother and sister, so I will get them tested, too.

Natasha will miss out on the promotions of Dangerous because of her Covid-19 diagnosis. The film will begin streaming on MX Player from August 14. The promotions were to begin from August 10, and I am very sad that I wont be able to participate in them. Nonetheless, I am excited about the project, sharing screen space with some very good actors and working with such a great team, she said.

Also see: Rhea Chakraborty shares WhatsApp messages with Sushant Singh Rajput, in which hed called sister manipulative

Natasha made her feature film debut with the 2016 Malayalam comedy King Liar, which also starred Dileep and Madonna Sebastian. She was last seen in the Zee5 original film Virgin Bhanupriya, which released last month.

Dangerous, directed by Bhushan Patel, marks the onscreen reunion of Karan and Bipasha after the 2015 horror-thriller Alone. Karan will be seen as a millionaire whose wife is abducted by unknown people. Bipasha plays his ex-girlfriend, who is also in charge of the investigation.

Bipasha, who will make a comeback to acting after five years, had said in a statement, Our fans have been wanting to see me and Karan on screen again. Dangerous was a script that really had me riveted, the twists and turns are sure to leave you astounded and this seemed like the perfect project to collaborate with each other again.

Follow @htshowbiz for more
COLUMBIA  More than 73,000 lower-income K-12 students with no internet at home will soon receive Wi-Fi hot spots, enabling them to participate in virtual instruction that's set to start across South Carolina in as little as a week.

But the temporary bridge across the state's digital divide still leaves thousands of students unable to do their schoolwork online. Not all students who lack access to high-speed internet are being hooked up. And even with the devices, the cellphone signal it receives may be too weak in some rural spots to do much good.

"Were definitely going to be in a much better place than when schools closed in the spring," said state Education Department spokesman Ryan Brown. "Is the state's broadband problem solved? Absolutely not. This is a COVID-19 emergency response solution, not a long-term solution."

More than 180,000 homes statewide lack access to high-speed internet, either because the lines don't exist or residents can't afford what's available, according to the latest mapping by the state Office of Regulatory Staff, which represents the public in utility regulation. How that breaks down is not yet known.

In Charleston County, the state's second-largest district, "we have people with money who cant get it and people who can get it and cant afford it," said Tom Nawrocki, the district's information technology director. "And we have homeless children were also trying to reach."

Who's getting them?

The hot spots are going to eligible students in school districts statewide, with Dorchester District 2 in Summerville receiving the biggest shipment of 7,627, followed by 5,292 for Lancaster County students, 4,200 to Charleston County and 3,959 to Chesterfield County, according to the regulatory agency, which legislators tasked with buying the hot spots and coordinating the distribution.

In addition to the 73,000 hot spots for K-12 students, nearly 12,000 are going to qualifying students at South Carolina's two- and four-year colleges.

It was a quick turnaround for state government.

Legislators authorized in late June spending up to $50 million of $1.9 billion in federal COVID-19 aid on hot spots for students and a plan to start extending high-speed internet statewide. School districts had until Wednesday to figure out how many students qualified and apply.

Rural districts with the highest poverty levels got first dibs.

"The accessibility to the internet in these rural areas is just minimal to nonexisting," said Allendale County Superintendent Margaret Gilmore. "To be able to offer these hot spots to our families is such a huge plus and tremendous blessing. ... Our students deserve a quality education, and that can't happen without broadband."

Nearly all of Allendale County's students live in poverty. The 647 hot spots it's receiving will give 80 percent of students an internet connection, since many are siblings.

The state's poorest district opens the school year Aug. 31 under a hybrid plan of two days weekly of in-classroom instruction and three days of virtual learning.

Filling gaps

Not every student who needs high-speed internet qualifies for the state help. Families must fall within 250 percent of the federal poverty level, which translates to less than $43,100 for a single parent with one child and $65,500 for a family of four. And they can't already have internet service to the home of any speed.

Newberry County, which starts Aug. 24  also with a two-days-in-the-classroom hybrid plan  is receiving 2,600 hot spots. For students who still can't connect, "we've got a backup plan," said Superintendent Jim Suber.

Teachers will download assignments onto students' district-supplied computer tablets when they're at school "and the child can take it home and work on it," then bring it back on their next day in class, he said.

When schools statewide were forced to close in mid-March and transition overnight to remote instruction, Newberry County was among districts that relied on sending paper packets home, which "wasn't effective," Suber said.

State schools Superintendent Molly Spearman has said repeatedly that off-campus learning this fall will be a vast improvement, partly because of the hot spots but also because teachers  who have protested against returning to the classroom amid the state's high COVID-19 case numbers  will be better trained on how to teach online.

"The quality of education is going to be far greater," Nawrocki said. "In March, it was a scramble. It was, 'Theres online meeting things. Just use Zoom or Webex or Microsoft Teams. Figure it out.'"

In the spring, Charleston County used a mix of virtual lessons and paper packets, depending on the home and community. As in other districts, students could access Wi-Fi on school buses to do their work, but getting to the bus could be an issue.

While the hot spots will provide home internet access to more students when the school year starts Sept. 8, with possibly just one day weekly in class, gaps will remain. One issue is that a hot spot doesn't actually create a cell signal. It provides one at whatever strength a cellphone can get at that location.

For students who live in a spot "where, with the best cellphone on the market they get one bar outside their home, and they go inside their home and get half a bar, it doesn't matter what the device can do. One bar is one bar," Nawrocki said. "It's a Band-Aid, for sure. But it's a start that we are all 100 percent behind."

Over the summer, the district installed Wi-Fi antennas at the 63 schools that lacked one, ensuring all students have what Nawrocki called a worst-case option of traveling to a school to sit outside and work.

The "crazy things" he's exploring to fill gaps include working with municipalities to put antennas on telephone poles near apartment complexes and trailer parks, buying satellite phones and using a low-orbiting satellite to provide connection, similar to what cruise ships do, he said.

"We need to find a concept that works and then we can ask for the funding. Were not stopping with just hot spots. We want to see what we can do for these children who really need it," he said. "It might be expensive, but who can put a price on what the childs education is worth?"

Next steps

Legislators are expected to put at least another $50 million into extending broadband when they return next month. That would match the $100 million Gov. Henry McMaster's reopening task force recommended putting toward the effort from the $1.9 billion of federal COVID-19 relief aid, which must be spent by year's end.

They still need to allocate more than $600 million remaining in that pot of CARES Act money, as well as craft and pass a state budget for the fiscal year that started July 1.

"This is something that Republicans and Democrats alike can unite around. There's nothing Republican or Democrat about making sure that every single South Carolinian has access to high-quality, effective broadband," said state Sen. Tom David, R-Beaufort, who sat on McMaster's accelerateSC task force.

Legislators were told in June that it could cost $800 million to extend high-speed internet statewide.

The state could get some additional federal help on an issue that's managed to unite the entire South Carolina delegation.

"If we have learned anything from this pandemic, it's that our health care system is being challenged significantly. Our education system has demonstrated its inadequacies and our broadband deployment in places like South Carolina is atrocious," U.S. House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn said last week in a Zoom meeting with state legislators.

The Columbia Democrat helped push legislation through the House last month that would spend $100 billion to extend reliable internet service to underserved areas nationwide. And South Carolina's two GOP U.S. senators, Lindsey Graham and Tim Scott, are sponsoring a proposal putting $10 billion toward broadband.

"There are places in South Carolina that you might as well be on the moon when it comes to getting cellphone service or high-speed internet," Graham said last week while at the South Carolina School of Medicine.
Actress Rhea Chakraborty has shared screenshots of the conversation she had with her boyfriend, late actor Sushant Singh Rajput, in which he expressed concerns about his sister Priyanka, calling her evil and manipulative.

In the chat shared by Rhea's legal team with IANS, the actor says that he believed his sister was manipulating Sid Bhai', where he seems to be referring to either his sister's husband Siddharth or his friend and roommate Siddharth Pithani.

Sushant also praises Rhea, her brother Showik and family in the chat.

"Your family is very epic. Showik is compassionate and you too who are mine, you are a sufficient cause for the inevitable change and respite globally. Behind these important changes. It will be a pleasure for me to be around you folks Cheers my friend for being a rockstar," he wrote.

In the next message, Sushant said: "You please smile, you look great like that. I would try to sleep now. I wish I had a dream like Jamila. Would it be amazing? Bye."

He then wrote about his sister, calling her "pure evil". He says that she is manipulating Sid bhai'.

Sushant wrote: "("To Priyanka"), You do this, after the shameful act, making this a coverup to attract attention playing the victim card to the most non negotiable act of molestation under the influence of alcohol."

Sushant in his message further wrote that his sister had gone against the teachings of their mother. He wrote, "If you're blinded by your ego, God bless you because I'm not afraid and I will continue doing what I've done till now in bringing out the necessary changes in the world. Let God and nature decide what act' is right now."

The late actor addressed his next message to Sid bhai', and wrote: "She has hit you in front of my eyes and that was right and here after committing a crime where the girl (here my sister) has done what..."

It was previously reported that Rhea had accused Priyanka of molesting her after being too drunk, which created a barrier between the siblings. It seems Sushant is referring to the incident in the chats.

On Saturday, Rhea had revealed the only two things of her late boyfriend Sushant Singh Rajput that she possesses.

Rhea's lawyer Satish Maneshinde shared a photo of a "gratitude list" written by Sushant on Rhea's notebook, where he has mentioned that he is grateful for his life and the presence of Rhea's family in his life.

She also shared a photo the late actor's sipper with Chhichhore -- the title of Sushant's 2019 hit -- written on it.

"The only property of Sushant that I possess. And this is his handwriting lillu is showik (her brother), bebu is me, sir is my dad, ma'am is my mom, fudge is his dog," Rhea explained the names on the note.

The note is undated and it comes a day after the Enforcement Directorate questioned Rhea, her brother Showik, her chartered accountant Ritesh Shah and former manager Shruti Modi for over eight hours in connection with the money laundering probe, in the wake of Sushant's death.

Sushant was found hanging at his residence in Bandra on June 14. Rhea has been accused of abetment to suicide and money laundering among other charges in an FIR filed by the late actor's father KK Singh.
Then came Steve Bullock and the coronavirus pandemic. And with less than three months until Election Day, the faceoff between the two-term Democratic governor from Helena and the wealthy former software executive from Bozeman has transformed into a margin-of-error race that has helped put Senate control within reach for Democrats. It will measure whether Montanas proud history of political individualism is sustainable in an era when voters are more polarized than ever.
Christopher Nolan reveals that Tenet has less than 300 VFX shots (Image by Warner Bros)

Now that it looks as though Tenet will actually be released into cinemas, at least in Great Britain, audiences can finally start to anticipate the spectacle that Christopher Nolan is going to deliver.

It turns out that most of the action scenes that Nolan has created for Tenet, though, were actually done practically and without visual effects. So much so that Nolan recently told this months edition of ICG Magazine that Tenet has less VFX shots than most romantic comedies.

The visual side of the film is huge in scale. But our VFX shot count is probably lower than most romantic comedies, he explained.

Read More: Christopher Nolan reveals outdoor set built for 'Tenet' was one of the largest of all-time

Editor Jennifer Lame went even further, revealing that Tenet actually has less than 300 visual effects shots in the entire movie. To put that in comparison, Avengers: Endgame had over 2,000 visual effects shots.

(L-r) JOHN DAVID WASHINGTON and director/writer/producer CHRISTOPHER NOLAN on the set of Warner Bros. Pictures action epic "TENET," a Warner Bros. Pictures release. (Warner Bros.)

Nolan said that it was up to visual effects supervisor Andrew Jackson to come up with the safety net for Tenet, before explaining, We wanted it all in-camera, but if it couldnt be done, what choices are there in post-production?

I like to say, Andrew kind of bid himself out of a job because he helped us achieve such an enormous amount practically. There were still very complicated visual effects for the team at Double Negative, but Andrews expertise and background in on-set effects benefitted us enormously.

Read more: Twitter has a field day after Anne Hathaway reveals Christopher Nolan 'doesn't allow chairs'

It wasnt just Jackson that Nolan heaped praise on, though. The Interstellar and Dark Knight director also lauded his collaboration with director of photographer Hoyte van Hoytema, saying, The director/DP relationship is at least as important as the one I establish with a lead actor. The greatest DPs help you find a storytelling balance between creative exploration and practical execution.

Well get to see the results of their collaboration when Tenet is hopefully released in cinemas on 26 August.
New Delhi, Aug 9 : Shrinking family sizes, lack of awareness about age-related conditions and availability of specialised care homes for the elderly are some of the reasons why families in India are opting to go for assisted living for their senior members.

Neha Sinha, a trained psychologist and dementia expert, co-founded Epoch Elder Care, which runs three homes for the elderly in Gurugram and Pune, informed by years of her practice in psychology. "Over the years, I have learnt that elders need holistic care (emotional, cognitive, social and physical) focusing on every aspect of their lives instead of just focusing on their healthcare needs. At Epoch Elder Care, one of our focus areas is on providing specialised care for elders with neurological conditions like dementia and Parkinson's disease," she told IANSlife in an interview.

Changing family lives With a focus on the person as much as the clinical condition, personalised care in a home-like environment can help elders lead meaningful lives. In a country like India, where Sinha says the culture largely is to look after your own parents till the very end, availing professional services for elder care is still wrapped in stigma.

"In earlier times when joint families existed, the presence of seniors in the household was considered a blessing and the responsibility was shared equally between all family members. Also, life expectancy was shorter and therefore one wasn't dealing with chronic conditions for decades. With more and more nuclear families becoming the norm, families are struggling to care for their elders even if they have access to all resources," said the Epoch Elder Care CEO and Co-Founder.

Adding, "Also, due to lack of awareness about neurological disorders associated with ageing, families of the elders tend to react differently, even though they may have the best of intentions. Many times, family members are confused about how to deal with the situation. They are embarrassed, and find it uncomfortable speaking about their elderly parents publicly and seeking help for the same, especially if they have conditions such as dementia. Stigmatisation of availing professional services leads to lack of proper care and thereby, at times, may be neglect of the elderly." Sinha believes, what does not help is the elder care services industry in India still being in its nascent stage. "Looking after seniors is still considered as an individual responsibility and not that of the community or the government. Stigma associated with availing elder care services or seeking external help to look after one's parent has been a key barrier to engage professional care, and has significant negative impact on the health and well-being of elders and their caregivers." She said that many people normalise chronic conditions like dementia and Parkinson's as a part of ageing.

Assisted living for elders According to Sinha, assisted living homes and services are required when elders are no longer able to function or lead their lives independently either due to age related issues or because they need specialised care because of a medical condition. The homes are equipped to ensure that all aspects of ageing are taken care of keeping the current medical condition in mind.

Whether it is early identification of a disease condition, a life threatening situation, a fall, assistance in daily activities such as bathing, eating etc. or social engagement- an elderly's care plan will have focus areas on each aspect.

Epoch, which runs the Frida, Vermeer and and Monet houses - named after the most influential artists of all times, says this is because the homes are thoughtfully designed to add colour to the life of an elderly who come stay with them and make this stage of life as lively and fulfilling as possible.

Asked how are elders at Epoch coping with social distancing norms and these lonely times, Sinha mentions an increase in video calls with families, no outdoor activities but plenty indoor ones, and care staff staying at homes to avoid exposure. Epoch plans to expand in northern India in the coming months and next year and continue to focus on specialised care for seniors.

(IANSlife can be contacted at ianslife@ians.in)
In possibly the first such attack of its kind, gunmen killed six French tourists as well as their local guide and driver in an area in southwestern Niger known for its unique giraffes.

It is believed to be the first such attack on tourists in the area, a popular attraction in the former French colony thanks to its unique population of West African or Niger giraffes.

Motives unknown

The assault took place in the town of Koure an hour's drive from Niger's capital Niamey.

Official sources said they came on motorcycles through the bush and waited for the arrival of the tourists."

The tourists' vehicle reportedly belonged to the French humanitarian organisation ACTED.

AFP claimed to have seen grisly pictures of the scene, showing bodies lying near a torched vehicle with bullet holes in its rear window.

Giraffe territory

Around 20 years ago, a small herd of West African giraffes found a safe haven from poachers and predators in the Koure area.

Today they number in their hundreds and are a key tourist attraction, enjoying the protection of local people and conservation groups.

However the Tillaberi region is in a hugely unstable location, near the borders of Mali and Burkina Faso.

The region has become a hideout for Sahel jihadist groups such as the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS).

The use of motorcycles has been totally banned since January in an attempt to curb the movements of such jihadists.
BBC 1Xtra DJ Sideman has quit the radio station in protest against the use of the n-word in a BBC News report.

The BBC was hit with more than 18,600 complaints over the use of the racial slur by its social affairs correspondent Fiona Lamdin, who is white.

She repeated the n-word in a report on what police believe to have been a racially-motivated hit-and-run attack on a young NHS worker in Bristol.

While relaying what frightened witnesses allegedly heard the perpetrators shout as they fled, Lamdin narrated in a pre-recorded segment: Just to warn you, youre about to hear highly offensive language, because as the men ran away, they hurled racial abuse, calling him a n*****.

In a video on Instagram, captioned "I can't look the other way", Sideman said: The action and the defence of the action feels like a slap in the face of our community. Thats why, effective immediately, Im leaving my job as a radio broadcaster for BBC 1Xtra. With no apology I just dont feel comfortable being aligned with the organisation.

He added: The BBC sanctioning the n-word being said on national television by a white person is something I can't rock with.

"This is an error of judgement where I can't just smile with you through the process and act like everything is OK."

A spokesperson for BBC 1Xtra said: "Sideman is an incredibly talented DJ. Obviously we are disappointed that he has taken this decision.

"We absolutely wish him well for the future. The door is always open for future projects."

Sidemans protest move has been applauded on social media. DJ Charlie Sloth said: "I admire and respect you David! Well done for standing up for what you believe is right! You're a King!! This world needs people like you!"

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In a tweet, BBC Radio London presenter Eddie Nestor also described Sideman as a "king", adding that he was writing a public letter to BBC bosses.

Author Afua Hirsch said: Standing w my brother DJ Sideman - who has quit @bbc1xtra in protest at BBC's astonishing decision to defend using the N-word on air @sidemanallday. Brave. Why does a black man have to walk away from his job for @BBCNews to listen to basic anti-racism? Tired of this s***.

In response to Sideman's resignation, a BBC spokesperson said the decision to use the word in the report "was not taken lightly and without considerable detailed thought: we were aware that it would cause offence".

"The BBC set out the context of the news report about the shocking attack on an NHS worker in Bristol. As we have said, the word is highly offensive and we completely accept and understand why people have been upset by its use.

"But, in this specific context we felt the need to explain, and report, not just the injuries but, given their alleged extreme nature, the words alleged to have been used  a position which, as we have said, was supported by the family and the victim."
A new report claims that more than 97,000 American children have tested positive for coronavirus in just the last two weeks of July.

The news comes as school districts around the country are preparing to reopen for the new school year or have already started in-person classes.

The American Academy of Pediatrics released the report stating that the positive test results came in between July 16 to July 30, according to CBS News This Morning.

A new report reveals that more than 97,000 kids tested positive for coronavirus between July 16 to 30. A child is seen getting tested for the virus in Los Angeles (file image)

The news comes as schools across the country prepare for the return to in-person classes for the new school year. A school bus driver is seen disinfecting a school bus on August 5

The group also said that out of the nearly five million reported coronavirus cases in the US to date, more than 338,000 people who tested positive were children.

In July, more than 25 children were reported to have died from coronavirus.

Vanderbilt University's Dr. Tina Hartert told CBS News that she hopes testing more children for the virus will provide information that can help show what role children have in transmitting the virus.

Hartert is leading a government-funded study that involves sending 2,000 families DIY coronavirus testing kits, which allows parents to collect samples and then send them back to 'a central repository,' she said.

School officials in more than 13,000 school districts have been tasked with getting children back to in-person classes for the new school year, after schools shut down in March during the first wave of coronavirus.

The country's largest school district is in New York City.

New York State Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Friday that schools in NYC could reopen in the fall.

NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio promised that school officials 'have worked incessantly to get this right' and said that schools in the city would reopen for in-person lessons.

'They've looked at examples from all over the world of what will keep the school community safe, and they've made a series of choices of how to do things from the health and safety lens first, while also making sure we can educate our kids,' he said in a Friday press conference.

Researchers are sending DIY test kits to parents so they can collect samples that might help inform what role kids have in the spread of coronavirus. A mother is seen swabbing her son during a COVID-19 testing event in Los Angeles on July 8

Parents and children are seen here voicing their concerns about the return of in-person classes for the new school year

Parents now have a choice to register their kids for in-person instruction, remote learning or a hybrid of the two options.

School officials in other states have been detailing plans for keeping students safe in school.

In Michigan, Niles Community Schools Superintendent Dan Applegate demonstrated Plexiglas barriers as a method students with speech impediments can participate in class while also wearing masks.

During a press conference, while behind a Plexiglas barrier, he said: 'As I'm sitting here and I can articulate. The student on the other side will be wearing a mask. Then I can put my mask on, and that student can drop their mask and articulate as well.'

In Indiana's Lawrence Township, Transportation Director Matt Miles said that school buses would be thoroughly cleaned with hospital-grade disinfectant sprays via 'fogging machines.'

The district does not anticipate many students will be riding the buses though, as 35 per cent of children in the area are expected to take remote classes.
Three decades after the fall of the Soviet Union, Belarus lives and breathes its Soviet legacy: there is scant privately owned property in the nation of 9.5 million people, 80pc of the economy is in state hands, and Lenin's statue still takes pride of place in the main square of the capital Minsk.

For the first time since he was elected in 1994, Alexander Lukashenko (65), a former collective farm boss and the last of Europe's dictators, faces a formidable challenge at the polls. Until just a few months ago, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya (37) was a stay-at-home mother, and a reluctant politician.

This year's presidential campaign that culminates in the elections today has galvanised even Mr Lukashenko's former supporters and government functionaries.

Mikalay Lysyankou, for example, was proud of being appointed director of a collective farm in the town of Stoubtsy at the age of 26. But he has come to realise that the Soviet way in which agriculture is still run in Belarus is just not working. "A collective farm in Belarus now is the same as a collective farm in the Soviet Union in the 1980s," he said. "Our president got stuck in the 1980s, and wants our country to stay there."

Hundreds lined the streets this spring to sign up with opposition candidates. Tens of thousands came to protest in small towns that had never seen any political activism.

"Several things are at play right now: a tough economic situation, life is getting harder for Belarusians as well as Lukashenko's inaction during the coronavirus crisis," Ales Bialiatski, a veteran human rights activist who spent three years in jail, said.

When the pandemic struck Belarus, President Lukashenko laughed at the danger. No lockdown was ordered. His flagrant denial of the pandemic's scale when the country's hospitals were overwhelmed was a tipping point for many.

This weekend Belarus counted 68,576 Covid-19 cases - on a par with neighbouring Ukraine, which has four times the population.

By the time election officials registered four candidates to run against Mr Lukashenko, his three main rivals had been sidelined.

His only opponent who was allowed to seek office, then, is Mrs Tsikhanouskaya, who decided to stand after her husband, a jailed blogger, was disqualified. She received threats about her children and was close to abandoning her bid. But she managed to send her son (10) and daughter (5) out of the country before she launched her campaign.

Mrs Tsikhanouskaya said: "It was a thing I did for love. Everything in this country is based on fear... I wake every morning and I want to give up. I have my cry and I move on."

Together with two other women she has mounted an impressive campaign. They drew 60,000 to an event in Minsk last week - the largest rally since the fall of the Soviet Union.

President Lukashenko has dismissed the trio as "wretched girls" co-opted by those who take their orders from Russia, Belarus' closest ally.

Last night Mrs Tsikhanouskaya's campaign manager, Maria Moroz, was arrested. Knowing the brutality with which Belarus' plainclothes policemen act, Mrs Tsikhanouskaya said: "As a mum, I will never urge people to take to the streets. I don't want this to happen. But we're left with no choice."

Independent
The Director General of the National Protection Directorate of the Ghana Police Service, Commissioner of Police (COP) Patrick Akolgo has commended the Upper East Regional Police Command for the relative peace and low crime rate in the region.

He urged the police service not to be complacent but to continue to evolve more effective strategies to further reduce crime rate in the Region because day in day out crime continues to assume new trends.



According to the Regional Police Command except for a few cases of robbery recorded at Naaga,Sirigu,Tilli Forest and on the Bolgatanga-Navrongo roads before May 2020,crime rate in the Region has reduced significantly since then.



COP Akolgo who is also the Police Management and Advisory Board (POMAB) member responsible for the Upper East Regional Police Command gave the commendation during a five-day working visit to the Region.



The visit which started on Monday August 3, 2020, ended on Friday August 7, 2020.The visit was occasioned by the Inspector General of Polices directive for all POMAB members to visit their respective assigned regions to have firsthand information about the operations and administration of the regions.



It was also to afford the POMAB members the opportunity of interacting with police implementers and to demonstrate to them how the top brass of the police service re-organize the role of local policing in Ghana for effective combat of crime.



COP Akolgo noted that his visit was not to find fault but rather to help identify challenges facing police implementers with the aim of finding lasting solutions to them.



He therefore entreated personnel of the Service to adopt strategies to fight crime as criminals continue to change their modus operandi from time to time.



Petition



According to COP Akolgo,he has received a petition from some livestock traders that export and import cattle and other food stuff to and from neighbouring countries as well as the Northern parts of the country.



The traders, he said have expressed concern about the unnecessary delays on the highways by the police that sometimes resulted in the death of some animals whenever they are being transported to major marketing centres.





He therefore advised personnel of the Motor Traffic and Transport Department of the Ghana Police Service to channel their efforts into traffic management and refrain from inspection of motor vehicle documents which causes unnecessary delays particularly in this Coronavirus period.



Regional Commander



The Upper East Regional Police Commander,Deputy Commissioner of Police(DCOP),Osei Kwaku Ampofo Duku indicated that reducing crime in the Region was one of his major source of worry and so he had put in place various strategies which is eventually yielding fruitful results.



According to DCOP Ampofo Duku, except for a few cases of robbery recorded at Naaga,Sirigu,Tilli Forest and on the Bolgatanga-Navrongo roads before May 2020,crime rate in the Region has reduced significantly since then.



Regional Minister



The Regional Minister,Ms Tangoba Abayage commended the police over the low crime rate being recorded and entreated them to work harder to improve the current trend.



COP Patrick Akolgo(left) during a courtesy call on the Upper East Regional Minister, Ms Tangoba Abayage(right)



She lauded governments efforts at equipping the police in the region with the necessary logistics to be able to discharge their duties without any hindrance.



Visit



COP Akolgo's first Port of call was the Regional Police Command where he held a meeting with the Regional Police Commander and other Senior Police Officers.



He also called on the Upper East Regional Minister,Ms Tangoba Abayage and visited the Sandema District Police Command as well as the Bawku Divisional Police Command among other places.







Source: Graphiconline.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
SCARTH  Though eyewitness reports suggest it was only active for 10 to 15 minutes, Fridays tornado in southwestern Manitoba cut a devastating swath of destruction through farmland near the community of Scarth, killing two people, injuring another, and leaving one property in particularly bad shape.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 9/8/2020 (527 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Uprooted and broken trees, damaged grain bins and other damaged farm equipment are all strewn about Giovanni Colangelo's farm south of Virden on Saturday morning after a powerful tornado tore through the farm Friday evening. (Tim Smith/The Brandon Sun)

SCARTH  Though eyewitness reports suggest it was only active for 10 to 15 minutes, Fridays tornado in southwestern Manitoba cut a devastating swath of destruction through farmland near the community of Scarth, killing two people, injuring another, and leaving one property in particularly bad shape.

Giovanni Colangelo runs a grain farm right off of Highway 83, roughly 16 kilometres south of Virden, which stood in the direct path of the twister that started to take form around 8 p.m.

Manitoba storm chaser Jordan Carruthers saw the tornado bear down on the property from afar and witnessed the savage wind chew up bits of Colangelos grain silos.

"Quite a few grain bins from the farm were tossed into the field across the road," he said. "I think that one farm yard was likely the only property that really got hit. Other than that, the tornado was in the field the entire time."

Colangelo declined to talk on the record, but allowed reporters from the Sun to tour his property the following morning and document the extent of the devastation left in the tornados wake.

Morris Debaar and John Galvin survey the damage on Giovanni Colangelo's farm south of Virden on Saturday morning after a tornado tore through the area the previous night. (Kyle Darbyson/The Brandon Sun)

Not only was the area littered with uprooted trees, hydro poles and over various bits of debris, but a lot of Colangelos farming equipment was damaged beyond repair. One grain auger was completely unrecognizable, with the sheer force of Fridays tornado bending it into a pretzel shape.

Grain silos were crumpled up like they were made of paper, with several of them being either toppled over or torn apart because of the wind.

The trailer of a semi-truck was also completely missing, with some locals theorizing that it had been carried off by the tornado.

Westman farmers search for a missing truck trailer that was carried off by a tornado that cut through Giovanni Colangelo's property, located near Scarth, Friday evening. (Kyle Darbyson/The Brandon Sun)

Luckily, nobody living on this site was hurt in the storm.

Throughout the morning, scores of Colangelos neighbours arrived on the scene to provide moral support and to assess the damage for themselves.

Fridays tornado also claimed the lives of two Melita residents, a 18-year-old man and 18-year-old girl, who were driving along Highway 83 when the twister touched down.

One of Giovanni Colangelo's grain augers lies broken and twisted Saturday morning after a tornado tore through his farm, located south of Virden, Friday evening. (Kyle Darbyson/ The Brandon Sun)

A 54-year-old man from Sioux Valley Dakota First Nation was also caught in the storm and was rushed to a nearby hospital with serious, but non-life-threatening, injuries.

Life-long producer Bruce Gabrielle told the Sun that he has never witnessed devastation like this in all his years of farming in the region and described the scene on Colangelos property as "surreal."

"Ive seen damage from tornadoes, but nothing like this," he said.

One of Giovanni Colangelo's grain bins lies on its side Saturday morning after a powerful tornado blew through his Scarth-area farm Friday night. (Kyle Darbyson/ The Brandon Sun)

John Galvin was similarly shocked with what he saw Saturday morning and expressed concern about how the smaller bits of debris scattered through the region will affect the upcoming harvest for Colangelo and any other nearby producers.

"Theres a lot of debris out in the fields," he said. "Well have to have spotters in front of the combine or on the combine to watch for metal and stuff so we dont ingest the debris."

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Environment Canada and investigators with Western University-based Northern Tornadoes Project eventually classified Fridays tornado as an EF-2 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale.

As a hobbyist, Carruthers said this tornado is one of the most powerful twisters hes witnessed in Manitoba since he started chasing storms 12 years ago.

Although he doesnt think this section of the province will experience another tornado of this magnitude for the rest of the year, Carruthers said Westman residents should remain wary of more extreme weather to come in August.

"Looking over the models, it looks like there could be a couple more severe days in the next week or two," he said Saturday afternoon. "So well definitely be out there keeping an eye out on things."

 kdarbyson@brandonsun.com

 Twitter: @KyleDarbyson
My husband and I assumed that we could be carrying the virus and strapped on our Army green cloth masks as soon as we heard the moving trucks pull into our driveway. By then I had opened every window in both the old and the new house in an effort to keep the air flowing and to flush out any virus-laden particles that we, or the movers, might shed.


Kim Kardashian West and Kanye West "seem much happier" after their Dominican Republic getaway.

The 39-year-old reality TV star and the 43-year-old rapper jetted off on a week-long vacation with their children following a tumultuous period in their marriage in which Kanye publicly claimed he wanted a divorce, before later issuing an apology, and insiders say the holiday was a great success.

A source told PEOPLE: "They had a good family week in the Dominican Republic. They are continuing the family vacation in Colorado. Kim and Kanye are getting along. They both seem much happier."

During Kim's recent visit to their Wyoming ranch, where Kanye had been staying during the Covid-19 pandemic, the couple decided to take a family trip with their children - North, seven, Saint, four, Chicago, two, and Psalm, 15 months - after their marriage issues went public.

Amid a series of now-deleted tweets, Kanye previously claimed he tried to end his marriage after learning that his wife had met fellow rapper Meek Mill at a hotel to discuss prison reform.

He wrote: "I been trying to get divorced since Kim met with Meek at the Warldolf for 'prison reform'.

"Meek is my man and was respectful That's my dog Kim was out of line I'm worth 5 billion dollars and more than that through Christ But ya'll ain't listen to MJ and now ya'll believe them??? (sic)"

Kim and Meek both spoke at the Criminal Justice Reform Summit in Los Angeles in 2018.

Kanye later tweeted an apology to Kim, writing: "I would like to apologize to my wife Kim for going public with something that was a private matter. I did not cover her like she has covered me.

"To Kim I want to say I know I hurt you. Please forgive me. Thank you for always being there for me. (sic)"


When John Daniell was 10 years old, his mother told him she was a spy for New Zealands Security Intelligence Service (SIS). Its a hell of a hook, and sets the scene to Radio New Zealands latest podcast, The Service. Daniell is joined by investigative journalist Guyon Espiner, as the two explore some previously unknown exploits of New Zealand during the Cold War.

What makes it work as a podcast and as a story is that it's got those dual things going on, says Espiner. On one hand it's a personal story of John growing up in a house where his mum and stepfather were SIS officers. So it's a personal story of that and his quest to find out about this family's story. And it's also an historical and political story about the role of New Zealand's intelligence operations in the Cold War.

The show details a number of covert operations on Wellington soil, including a break-in at the Czech embassy in 1986, in an attempt to get the Warsaw Pact codes. I had no idea New Zealand broke into embassies, says Espiner in disbelief.

New Zealand is a member of the Five Eyes network, an intelligence alliance that includes Australia, Canada, the UK and USA. The Service reveals raids by the SIS on the Indian High Commission and another break-in on the Iranian embassy, this time to install listening devices for the CIA.
Malaysia's former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad (Photo: Xinhua/VNA)



Mahathir, 95, the worlds oldest elected leader until his resignation in February, said the party, still unnamed, would be independent, champion the rights of the country's Muslim majority and battle corruption.



Speaking with reporters at a press conference, he said that the party will fight those involved in bribery and the stealing of money.



Mahathir said he will be chairman and the party would not be part of the current government or the opposition alliance of which he used to be a member.



Mahathir took office as the Malaysian PM for the second term in May 2018 . He once held the position from 1981 to 2003./.
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Thousands of Angelenos who've visited the Griffith Park Merry-Go-Round over the last three decades have crossed paths with a beaming, twinkly-eyed man named Julio Gosdinski.

Gosdinski co-owned and operated the carousel, one of the country's oldest and fastest -- clocking in at 14 miles per hour. It's also one of the most recognizable, immortalized over the years in film and TV.

An immigrant who moved here from Peru when he was 12, Gosdinski started working at the landmark as a teenager. One of the owners bequeathed half the business to him in 2011.

Friends of Julio Gosdinski visited his merry-go-round after his death and wrote a chalk art tribute. (Teena Apeles)

He became the carousel's keeper, the one who touched up the paint on the carved horses and maintained the 94-year-old equipment.

"That was his first and last job is what he likes to say," said his friend Dora Herrera, an officer on the Friends of Griffith Park board.

She murmured at how right he was. Gosdinski died Friday at age 49, leaving friends in shock at the loss of a sprightly, generous man who had dedicated his life to the carousel.

His younger sister Annelieese Gosdinski-Espinoza said he died in his sleep and was discovered Friday morning by their mother, who lived with him in Atwater Village.

Gosdinski-Espinoza said she did not know if her brother had been suffering from a medical condition but he had complained of stomach issues for several days prior.

She said her brother didn't share much of his personal life, in part because he didn't want people to worry about him. He was open, though, about his love for Star Wars and the Schnauzer Terrier mix he called Princess Angelina Contessa Louisa Francesca Banana Fanna Bo Besca -- "a.k.a Dot."

He also greatly enjoyed being with children, helping watch his friends' kids and working as a teacher's aide during the merry-go-round's off-season.

Gosdinski-Espinoza said she and her mother have been deeply moved by the outpouring of love from the community which includes online tributes to her brother and a GoFundMe page launched to defray funeral costs.

"Who would have thought a little immigrant kid from Peru would eventually make such an impact on the community?" Gosdinski-Espinoza said.

AN ESCAPE FROM 'THE REAL WORLD'

Friends say the carousel wasn't just a job for Gosdinski. He called it an escape from the 'real world' in an interview with the creative collective Narrated Objects in 2017.

"There's something about it that is very soothing and it's very magical," he said.

As riders flew by on the carved horses, the slender Gosdinski could be seen leaning back on a bench with friends belting out tunes piped from the carousel's Stinson 165 Military Band Organ, like a "Spoonful of Sugar."

In a 2017 profile, Gosdinski took pride in the carousel's details, including that none of the horses were stationary.

"We have 66 horses, all jumpers," Gosdinski told KQED. "We have a few horses that were carved back in 1895, so they're actually older than the merry-go-round. Those are the jewels of the carousel."

His enthusiasm, captured in the 2017 documentary "Julio's Dream," made an impression.

"I kid you not, anybody that he came in contact with walked away feeling a little brighter," said Kathryn Louyse, another Griffith Park board member.

Friends recounted how he would happily give free rides to people who loved the carousel, like a young man with developmental disabilities who had been coming since he was a child, sometimes twice a day.

Tracy James met Gosdinski 20 years ago when she was a young single mom desperate for an activity at the park to occupy her daughter.

"He wouldn't charge us to keep riding," said James, who years later would see him regularly when she became the assistant to Griffith Park's superintendent. "We would just sit there and spend an hour going around in circles until the kid was exhausted."

Former employee Iris Pineda said Gosdinski's generosity extended to public schools. He donated gift packages for schools to use as auction items that included tickets for rides, coloring books and T-shirts decorated by a merry-go-round.

WHAT'S NEXT FOR THE CAROUSEL?

Julio Gosdinski talking with friends at the carousel he had worked at since he was a teen.(Courtesy Dora Herrera)

Pineda, who stayed friends with Gosdinski after working for him for five years, questioned how the merry-go-round would continue to operate without him.

"Someone to have that knowledge and skill set of that machine and how just everything operates -- I don't know that anyone can replace that," Pineda said.

Herrera agreed that Gosdinski had a one-of-a-kind understanding of the carousel.

"It's a very sensitive, delicate piece of machinery," Herrera said. "You had to learn its little quirks. And Julio just took to it."

Gerry Hans, president of the Friends of Griffith Park board, said despite the challenges emerging in the wake of Gosdinksi's death, he and other members are committed to keeping the merry-go-round operational.

"We're going to do everything to take care of the carousel and find good ownership and continue to keep it where it is," Hans said.

Hans said the carousel is in a "pretty unique situation" because it is not owned by the park but by Gosdinksi and his partner Rosemary West. Board members say West is the ex-wife of Warren Deasy, who had given Gosdinksi his ownership half.

The aging carousel's carved horses are fragile and need upkeep. Here is one horse damaged in a photo shoot. (Kathryn Louyse)

Hans said he'd like to keep raising funds for the carousel's upkeep so it can stay. Recently, he said, the Friends of Griffith Park received a $2,000 grant to go toward tuning the organ and to repair some of the lights.

Gosdinski's former employee Pineda said she was hopeful the carousel would endure too -- for people to enjoy, but also as a place for her to remember her friend.

She said in recent weeks, he had been visiting the carousel, imagining when the pandemic would ebb and he could re-open. He put up plexiglass at the ticket stand and pictured how far apart people would have to wait in line.

"He was ready to go," Pineda said. "He really did have a passion for it."

WE ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS
Pubs create the perfect storm for spreading coronavirus and carry more risk than planes, experts have found.

Indoor pub drinkers are potentially subjecting themselves to a build-up of infected droplets caused by poor ventilation and people having continuous conversations, often speaking more loudly to be heard over the din of a noisy bar, the academics warn.

Households mixing in pubs and homes has been blamed for a rise in Covid-19 cases in Preston, leading to lockdown restrictions being reimposed there.

Young people in the city are being targeted with a Dont kill Granny message to slow the spread of the virus.

Council chiefs believe young people going out are catching the virus, and although they usually have fewer symptoms than most, they are taking it back home and infecting others in the community.

Aberdeen has also been placed in a fresh lockdown after an outbreak emerged of cases linked to bars.

Julian W Tang, honorary associate professor of respiratory sciences at the University of Leicester, said: If the air space is poorly ventilated, that air thats full of virus is not going to go anywhere. Its going to linger there until the virus dries up and dies over time.

The most common method of transmission in the UK is probably through conversations, he added.

In a pub you go there to talk, you go there to do exactly what you need to do to transmit the virus to each other, he said.

When people laugh, they produce a lot of air, so if someone in a group makes a joke, they are massively exposed to exhaled air from the laughter around them.

Asked whether being in a busy pub was similar to being on a plane in terms of risk, he said: Its even worse because the aeroplane has very good ventilation. Pubs dont have very good ventilation.

He added: On a plane the danger is from your nearest neighbours because that air is not filtered away quickly enough before you inhale it.

If you ask me would I rather fly on a plane or go to a pub, Id rather fly on a plane.

Pubs in Preston were said to be busy on Friday night despite the new lockdown introduced just hours earlier.

Dr Bharat Pankhania, senior clinical lecturer at the University of Exeter, told the PA news agency that after even one or two drinks people are likely to be less cautious.

What do you do in the pub? Well you drink, and you have a conversation, he said.

But several conversations in a confined space equals incrementally raising your voice to be heard. Talking more loudly results in the release of more droplets which may be carrying infection.

So more droplets equals more chance of picking up one droplet that eventually infects the other person.

It is a perfect storm aided and abetted by alcohol the enabler.

Dr Pankhania pointed out that pubs attract sociable people who are likely to have met up with many others.

So they are meeting a lot of people as well as meeting you in the pub. You might be meeting them only, but you dont know how many they have met, he said.

Even going to the pub alone is a risk because the virus could be in free circulation, he said.

As for restaurants, he said: I personally think going into a restaurant indoors where there are lots of tables etc in a confined space, without any new attention to increased ventilation, I would say its best you avoid it.

Additional reporting by PA
The Coalition is to be renamed the Gasolition. Ian Catt, Surry Hills Treasurer's head must roll for icare travesty It appears icare executives have little apparent concern for anything except money (''Perrottet's icare staffer joined US trade trip'', August 8-9). But the revelation that the minister had two political advisers in his office paid for by icare, including a US Republican, is really quite beyond the pale. Icares premiums were collected to help injured NSW workers. The minister has a whole department to advise him but he used icares money to dispatch his minder to the US. The minister should resign and the matter should be referred to the DPP. Arthur Chesterfield-Evans, Woolwich Couldnt agree more strongly with Dr Simon Longstaff (''Superb job at icare? No, Minister'', August 8-9). COVID-19 cant be an excuse for sloppy politics. NSW lost one Premier who didnt declare a bottle of red. Now we have the office of the Treasurer in Dominic Perrottet that has allegedly transgressed much more significantly refusing to resign, or at least step down pending investigation, and a Premier who continues to refuse to do anything about it. We are all in this together  except those with the power to say they are not. Yes, Dr Longstaff, hypocrisy at its most blatant. Barry French, Cronulla

It's time, Dominic Perrottet. Your judgment and ministerial leadership has been found to be seriously deficient with respect to administration of icare and your own office staff. We, the voters, have lost confidence. Resign your ministry now before you are pushed. Shane Nunan, Finley It has been evident for some time that conflict of interest is a phrase unknown to the federal Coalition, now it seems we have it in the state Treasury at the expense of the people this scheme was meant to protect. Resignation is the only appropriate action. Jock Webb, Narromine Leadership is about having a vision and a strategy to execute on that vision, with the ability to communicate this in a clear and understandable way. Leaders have to set an example and be role models. Perrottet is no leader and no role model. The Premier, by keeping him in his role as Treasurer, is failing the leadership test as well. The inability of both the Treasurer and the Premier to do the right thing undermines our faith in democracy and respect for our elected representatives. It is not too late to act, but that window of opportunity is closing rapidly. Voters have long memories. John Whiteing, Willoughby Clamp down now before virus gets loose in NSW

I am under indefinite house arrest. My only crime is being in a vulnerable category for COVID. It is unsafe for me to leave home. The sentence has been imposed by the Premier ("Experts on edge as cases begin to slip through the cracks", August 8-9). The state was so close to eradicating the virus, but rather than push on to a quick conclusion like New Zealand, the Premier prematurely allowed people to return to more or less normal life, acknowledging at the time that her decision would result in more cases. Now we are seeing the consequences, and despite having the example and threat of Victoria on our doorstep she refuses to take strong, proactive steps to tackle a deteriorating situation, such as properly sealing our borders and shutting down non-essential services, particularly notorious incubators like pubs, restaurants and places of worship. Make 1.5 metres social distancing an enforceable regulation, not a request. Surely protecting human life must be the primary duty of care for a government, rather than pandering to vested interests? Paul Cunningham, Frenchs Forest Premier, if ever there was a time, it is now. Come in hard and fast with pub and similar venue closures and masks for all and reap the rewards later for a good job done. Bruce Auld, Borenore

If the Premier is so concerned with what is happening in pubs and clubs, why is she not worried about what is happening on public transport? On the 3.15pm Central to Newcastle train last week most of the passengers were not wearing masks. Impossible to keep social distancing in a fairly crowded space. The man opposite me who wasnt wearing a mask coughed into his hands and did not use a hand sanitiser. What did he touch on his way out of the carriage? Judy Hooworth, Morisset Me-first culture Scott Morrison's comment that any country to find and not share a vaccine "would be judged terribly by history" is a legitimate view. The world today is short of leaders with vision and the realities of the political climate lead to more job keeping than legacy seeking ("Building a vaccine", August 8-9). The movement is clearly towards "me first" and the winners will be those with money or influence. Best to focus on a favourable place in line. Robert Caraian, Crows Nest Misogyny alive and well Jacqueline Maleys analysis of NSW State parliamentarian Brad Hazzards recent derogatory comments to Opposition Leader Jodi McKay indicates that misogyny is alive and well in Australian society ("Hazardous territory a too-easy trip of the tongue", August 8-9). How sad that one of our paid leaders continues with this ugly mindset. What a poor example he is setting for others to follow. Karen Eldridge, Leichhardt

No apology or excuse could ever expunge what was revealed by Hazzard's vitriolic and personal attack on Jodi McKay. Any victims of bullying in the workplace would recognise this effort at intimidation. The veneer of civility removed and a full-on psychological assault. Even more disturbing to read of the guffaws of his colleagues. The Premier must take some action. Louise Dolan, Birchgrove The way politicians answer (or not) questions in Parliament is a good indication of their maturity. The infantile, sexist way Hazzard responded to a perfectly valid question on the availability of masks in NSW by the leader of the State Opposition shows a few things. Firstly, that there are not enough masks available and he is reluctant to admit that. Secondly, having been shown up as having failed to provide sufficient masks, he tries to bluster his way out by a rude, crude avalanche of abuse that only goes to emphasise his failings. If I ever had any trust or confidence in his capabilities as Minister for Health, that has totally evaporated. He should resign or be sacked. John Greenway, Wentworth Falls Simple truth about jobs As expected, Ross Gittins tells it as it really is, unlike like those who tell it as they falsely think it is ("People on the dole dont want a job? Dont believe it", August 8-9). Anyone with even a fundamental understanding of arithmetic division can see that the 1.8 million on JobSeeker and youth allowance wont go in to the 129,000 job vacancies. Col Shephard, Yamba Bad example to students

"Scandal-plagued", "rebellion", "aggressive and disrespectful", "staggering", "unconscionable and reckless", "entitled, defamatory and deceptive": this is how a student representative body is described for wanting to be involved in decision-making at their college ("St Paul's warden clashes with students, agitates status quo", August 8-9). Surely there could have been a better way for these communications to be managed. Listening and respecting would be a starting point, and equipping young adults about to embark on their own career paths with positive negotiation skills, rather than the poor communication skills they go on to emulate. There is a possibility some of these students will hold roles in public life and leadership. I hope theyve just learned how not to respond when someone comes to them with concerns. Elizabeth Forrest, Balgowlah Heights Adopt a dog What a shame it is to see that "designer puppies" are selling in great numbers and at such cost ("Its a breeders life as cost for fancy furry friends soars", August 8-9). There are tens of thousands of deserving dogs languishing in pounds while people opt for an expensive animal bred specifically for this demand. In the meantime, many dogs crying out for a home will invariably be put down. Judy Hungerford, North Curl Curl Sad news for diners It is sad news indeed to hear that BBQ King is closing after 40 years in Chinatown ("City chefs in shock as industry favourite closes", August 8-9). I wonder how many readers remember another eating favourite, Erics Seafood Cafe, Pacific Highway, Crows Nest. To the best of my knowledge the cafe operated for more than 70 years, first by the founder then by his son Tony. Laminate tables, plastic flowers in vases on the wall, no water views but food second to none at very reasonable prices, take your own drinks with no corkage, all delivered by friendly staff. The cafe was a favourite of ABC employees from Gore Hill studios, politicians, bookmakers, publicans and many other colourful characters. Paul Totman, Mittagong

Golden days of the silver screen Such affluence in the 1950s (Letters, August, 8-9). In Wollongong in the late-40s it was sixpence for a Saturday arvo movie. Three pence for the front stalls, a penny each way in the bus and a tooth-testing creamy toffee at interval. Paul Wand, Wollongong As a lolly boy at the Astra Theatre in Parramatta I would position myself at the front of the stalls 10 minutes before interval with a tray of sweets and ice cream tubs. With my back to the screen its illumination afforded me an excellent view of the audience and I did witness some interesting activities. Rod Allan, Kelso I do not miss the old picture show days. At the Gladesville theatre the ushers made you stand while Liz rode around on her horse, as the screen was being pelted with Jaffas from the front row. Paul Keys, Clouds Creek In an early display of my republican leanings at the Palace Cinema in Maitland I once remained seated during the national anthem and for my insolence got a whack on the head with the usherettes torch.

Rick Johnston, Potts Point
By Michael Georgy

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Lebanese police fired tear gas to try to disperse rock-throwing protesters blocking a road near parliament in Beirut on Sunday in a second day of anti-government demonstrations triggered by last week's devastating explosion.

Fire broke out at an entrance to Parliament Square as demonstrators tried to break into a cordoned-off area, TV footage showed. Protesters also broke into the housing and transport ministry offices.

Two government ministers resigned amid the political fallout of the blast and months of economic crisis, saying the government had failed to reform.

Tuesday's explosion of more than 2,000 tonnes of ammonium nitrate killed 158 people and injured more than 6,000, compounding months of political and economic collapse and prompting furious calls for the government to quit.

Riot police wearing body armour and carrying batons clashed with demonstrators as thousands converged on Parliament Square and nearby Martyrs' Square, a Reuters correspondent said.

"We gave these leaders so many chances to help us and they always failed. We want them all out, especially Hezbollah, because it's a militia and just intimidates people with its weapons," Walid Jamal, an unemployed demonstrator, said, referring to the country's most influential Iran-backed armed grouping that has ministers in the government.

The country's top Christian Maronite cleric, Patriarch Bechara Boutros al-Rai, said the cabinet should resign as it cannot "change the way it governs".

"The resignation of an MP or a minister is not enough ... the whole government should resign as it is unable to help the country recover," he said in his Sunday sermon.

Lebanon's environment minister resigned on Sunday, saying the government had lost a number of opportunities to reform, a statement said.

Damianos Kattar's departure follows the resignation of Information Minister Manal Abdel Samad earlier on Sunday

Story continues

in the wake of the explosion.

Anger boiled over into violent scenes in central Beirut on Saturday. Those protests were the biggest since October when thousands of people took to the streets to demand an end to corruption, bad governance and mismanagement.

About 10,000 people gathered at Martyrs' Square, which was transformed into a battle zone in the evening between police and protesters who tried to break down a barrier along a road leading to parliament. Some demonstrators stormed government ministries and the Association of Lebanese Banks.

One policeman was killed and the Red Cross said more than 170 people were injured in clashes.

'CHANGE THE GOVERNMENT'

"The police fired at me. But that won't stop us from demonstrating until we change the government from top to bottom," Younis Flayti, 55, a retired army officer, said on Sunday.

Nearby, mechanic Sabir Jamali sat beside a noose attached to a wooden frame in Martyrs' Square, intended as a symbolic warning to Lebanese leaders to resign or face hanging.

"Every leader who oppresses us should be hanged," he said, adding he will protest again.

Lawyer Maya Habli surveyed the demolished port.

"People should sleep in the streets and demonstrate against the government until it falls," she said.

The prime minister and presidency have said 2,750 tonnes of highly explosive ammonium nitrate, which is used in making fertilisers and bombs, had been stored for six years without safety measures at the port warehouse.

The government has said it will hold those responsible to account.

An emergency donor conference in France raised pledges worth nearly 253 million euros ($298 million) for immediate humanitarian relief, the French presidency said.

For many, the blast was a dreadful reminder of the 1975-1990 civil war that tore the nation apart and destroyed swathes of Beirut, much of which has since been rebuilt.

"I worked in Kuwait for 15 years in sanitation to save money and build a gift shop in Lebanon and it was destroyed by the explosion," said Maroun Shehadi.

"Nothing will change until our leaders just leave."

(Additional reporting by Maher Chmaytelli and Richard Lough; Editing by Frances Kerry and Nick Macfie)
Ms. Harris began her second term as attorney general the next year by outlining steps to make policing fairer and more transparent, saying we must acknowledge that too many have felt the sting of injustice. Still, she hesitated, refusing to endorse AB-86, a bill opposed by police unions that would have required her office to appoint special prosecutors to examine deadly police shootings.

In San Francisco, the police killed 18 people during Ms. Harriss six years as attorney general. But if there was a single flash point, it was the shooting of 26-year-old Mario Woods in December 2015. Widely circulated cellphone videos showed officers surrounding Mr. Woods  disturbed, strung out on methamphetamines and armed with a steak knife. Five officers fired 46 rounds, hitting him with 21.

A series of rallies followed, and an 18-day hunger strike by five men who came to be known as the Frisco Five. Many believed that Ms. Harris would take action, as her predecessor, Jerry Brown, had done in 2009, when he obtained a court order placing the police department in Maywood under his oversight after widespread misconduct.

In a letter to Ms. Harris, Jeff Adachi, then San Franciscos public defender, urged her to exert her authority in the Woods case and several other shootings. An investigation, he said, would settle the pressing question of whether the racism evidenced in these incidents is endemic.

Ultimately, it was the Justice Department that intervened, led by Mr. Davis, the former East Palo Alto police chief, who had become director of the agencys office of community-oriented policing services. Mr. Davis said his work was bolstered by warnings from Ms. Harris that she would investigate the San Francisco police if necessary.

We werent absent, said Venus Johnson, a former associate attorney general who advised Ms. Harris on criminal justice issues, adding that there were frequent discussions with San Francisco officials. We werent putting our heads in the sand. We were actively involved. (The city later adopted some recommendations from a 68-page Justice Department report that found disproportionate use of force against people of color. In 2018, the district attorney said he would not bring criminal charges in the Woods case, though he called the shooting unnecessary and disturbing.)
Some residents of Okeho town, Kajola Local Government Area of Oyo State, have been accused of stealing huge sums of money they allegedly recovered from armed robbers who attacked the communitys First Bank branch on July 29.

Corroborating the allegation, the traditional ruler of the town, Onjo of Okeho, Rafiu Mustapha, told PREMIUM TIMES that investigations were ongoing to arrest the bad boys and bring them to book.

A senior official of the bank, who does not want to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter, had told PREMIUM TIMES about the gallantry displayed by the communitys vigilantes, local hunters and some members of the Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC).

He said they intercepted the robbers a few metres from the bank, arrested four of them and lynched them.

However, the source added, as soon as the car in which the robbers were fleeing with the cash reportedly loaded in rice sacks was ambushed, leading to an accident, a crowd of young men and women forced the trunk of the car open and emptied the sacks.

The source said; It is unfortunate that the gallantry displayed by the community men is now being overshadowed by the activities of the unscrupulous men and women in the community who stole what had already been saved by the brave warriors.

This money is roughly N60 million and nobody has reported that a penny was retrieved. That is unfortunate. So what is the difference between the robbers who attacked us, killed a police officer and stole from the vaults, and those who shared the loot? Who says the robbers are not known to the community, then? Was it a set-up or what? The community needs to redeem its image.

The banks operation manager, Saheed Aiyelagbe, who confirmed the development to our reporter on Sunday morning, said he could not be categorical about those who stole the money.

He also did not confirm the exact amount stolen from the bank, saying the internal control officials of the bank had visited the branch and had established the figure.

The vigilantes arrested those robbers, but unfortunately when we got to the scene, we didnt find any cash there. So who stole the money specifically, I cant say. But if Kabiyesi has confirmed that, he would know better because we were still inside the banks premises lying down when those things were happening. So we cannot tell what happened outside our premises.

Were working round the clock  Monarch

The communitys traditional ruler, who decried the development, said he was already mobilising the community to expose the bad eggs who may have taken part in the sharing of the loot.

The monarch said; Yes, those who shared the money are bad boys from our community. They are everywhere here but we are working hard on exposing them, and I am sure God will expose them. We learnt they are already fighting over their shares. But by His grace, they will be exposed.

If you recalled, on Thursday, July 30, a day after the incident, ahead of the commissioners visit, the police had brought one suspect arrested in connection to the incident to the community, and our people had tried to burn the suspect. Maybe it was during an attempt to disperse the crowd that stray bullets hit a resident and one of the drivers of the police escort vehicles. The police officer also later died that day. I went to the police in Ibadan and I was told the bullet retrieved from the late officer was from a double barrel gun. So it is unclear who shot, and that is what we are still battling again.

Empty sacks used at d bank robbery seen the next morning near the vehicle.

So, on Tuesday, I went to see the commissioner of police on the whole matter. So, we are cooperating with the police to get all those that shared the loot.

The traditional ruler added that to boost the morale of the valiant men, he personally gave N50,000 to the nine representatives of the vigilantes, OPC and local hunters.

Arrested suspects aiding our investigation  Police

Meanwhile police said investigations into the case are still ongoing and that in a short while, the public will be briefed.

Speaking with our reporter on the phone, the police spokesperson in Oyo State, Olugbenga Fadeyi, said the report of both the discreet and preliminary investigations will unravel the details of the robbery.

Mr. Fadeyi said; So after both the discreet and preliminary investigations, we will reach out to the press, and that will be in a short while. This is because we already have some suspects in our custody who are assisting the police in our investigations.

Apart from the two suspects earlier arrested, the police on Tuesday said they have three more suspected.

A report by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) quoted a statement credited to Mr Fadeyi, which it noted confirmed the arrest.

The bank was attacked on July 29 by armed robbers who took away an undisclosed amount of money, NAN had reported.

According to the report, Mr Fadeyi said five suspects have so far been arrested in connection with the robbery, adding that they were being interrogated by the Special Anti-Robbery Squad in Ibadan.

No 18-seater involved in the robbery

Meanwhile, the bank official has denied the report that the robbers left the bank in an 18-seater bus, saying instead, the robbers loaded stolen cash in two cars; one belonging to a worker of the financial institution and the second car hijacked from a customer.

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The official said; I dont know where they got the story of the 18-seater bus. If you look at the picture of the scene of the accident, you would see a blue Toyota Corolla car that was involved in the accident. That belongs to a colleague. The other car was also a Toyota Corolla but was hijacked at the entrance of the bank.

So apart from the one that had an accident, we have a short video of the escape of the second car. But surprisingly, a few kilometres away, the other vehicle couldnt move again, maybe its security. So the other members of the gang jumped into the bush to escape. We also didnt find any money in that car either.
Siddhanta Mishra By

Express News Service

NEW DELHI: The Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights (DCPCR) has ordered for the formation of a School Management Committee Cell (SMCC) which will look to make schools safer for children and provide basic education to all.

This will be the first such committee in the national capital which will monitor the functioning of all the School Management Committees (SMC). As per the notification, the main aim of this body will be to strengthen functioning of the SMC and its collaboration with the DCPCR. The SMCC shall review progress of any projects with any development agency and promises made by managing committee in that particular school.

The SMCC will ensure that no child is engaged in labour and that if it is found by the committee, shall be reported to DCPCR. This committee will also ensure that no child is absent for more than 30 consecutive days without any notice to the principal. The committee members will have powers to check attendance of children and ensure that no child has less than 33 per cent attendance and if so, then they should reach out to them.

The director of education shall nominate five members from the SMCs of each district, while three other members will be nominated by the director from the respective local body and two will be from a non-profit organisation chosen by DCPCR chairperson. The cell will monitor the functioning of Special Training Centers (STC) and the attendance of children in these centres.

As per the law, every school in the country has to have an SMC consisting of at least 16 members ranging from the principal, teachers, parents, official from the local body and social worker. This will be an away for the commission and the SMCs to be in touch regarding the development of children.

Aim to strengthen functioning

As per the notification, the main aim of this body will be to strengthen functioning of the SMC and its collaboration with the DCPCR
The Congress on Sunday sought to set at rest speculation over an extension of the tenure of Sonia Gandhi as the partys interim chief beyond Monday, August 10, saying she will continue to occupy the post until the process of electing a new president is completed.

A Congress functionary said an extension was a technical requirement under the partys constitution given that a regular president is yet to be elected. The party also has to inform the Election Commission of its decision.

The party has maintained that the process of electing a new president could not be initiated because of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic and the nationwide lockdown enforced on March 25 to contain its spread.

Soon after her appointment, there were assembly elections in Maharashtra and Haryana in October-November last year followed by polls in Jharkhand and Delhi. Then the Covid-19 struck, added the party functionary quoted above.

The Congress Working Committee (CWC) named Sonia Gandhi as the partys interim chief on August 10 last year after Rahul Gandhi refused to take back the resignation he tendered in May after the partys rout in the Lok Sabha elections in which the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was re-elected for a second straight term .

The CWC has powers to appoint a provisional president pending the election of a regular president by the All India Congress Committee (AICC), the partys central unit comprising around 2,000 members from across the country.

Neither nature nor politics nor political parties permit or tolerate a vacuum. Just like nature abhors a vacuum, political parties cannot function in a vacuum. It is true that the tenure is expiring tomorrow (Monday). There is a laid down procedure in the constitution for elections, Congress spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi said, addressing a virtual news conference.

In the meanwhile, if anybody is suggesting that the Congress will become headless on the stroke of midnight of August 10, is it possible? Is that a fair interpretation of any constitution that August 10 midnight happens and the seat suddenly becomes vacant? Nobody can suggest that. No point giving simple views as they have to be in accord with common sense, he added.

Singhvi said the process of electing a new party chief will be completed soon and till then Sonia Gandhi will remain at the helm.

Sonia Gandhi ji is the president and she will continue till such time a proper procedure is implemented and it will be implemented in the not too distant future. It is as simple as that, he said.

A veteran Congress leader said on the condition of anonymity that general secretary in-charge of the organisation KC Venugopal will have to inform the election commission that the organisational polls could not be held due to certain reasons and till the time the process is completed Sonia Gandhi will continue to discharge her responsibilities as the partys interim president.

The CWC can ratify this decision anytime, he added.

There is a process that goes to the CWC and the AICC and this will start anytime and you will get the results soon. We are bound by our party constitution, added Singhvi.

In the run-up to the August 10 deadline, some sections of the Congress had started demanding that Rahul Gandhi return to the post. He was elected the Congress president in December 2017 for five years till 2022.

Congress leaders say that while Rahul Gandhi is not keen to accept that responsibility in the immediate future, Sonia Gandhi is also unwilling to continue in the post for long.

In the CWC meeting on August 10 last year, Sonia Gandhi agreed to lead the party once again after repeated pleas by her colleagues and only on the condition that she would stay on interim chief only till an election to choose a full-time president is held.

Its unfair to her to expect her to carry this burden indefinitely, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor told PTI.

He said the Congress must expedite the process of finding a full-term president, through a participatory and democratic procedure, to arrest the growing public perception that the party is adrift and rudderless if Rahul Gandhi does not wish to become president.
Dozens of Lebanese protesters stormed the Economy Ministry in Beirut on Saturday, channeling their rage against state after the huge blast that killed over 160 people. Earlier on Saturday, protesters entered the empty buildings of the Foreign Ministry and declared it the headquarters of their protest movement.Others fanned out to enter the economy and energy ministries, and some walked away with documents claiming they will reveal the extent of corruption that permeates the government.Some also entered the Enviroement Ministry.

Meanwhile, dozens of protesters broke into the banking association headquarters.Saturday's rally was in response to the devastating explosion at the Port of Beirut on Tuesday that killed nearly 160 people and wounded 6,000, defacing the capitals coastline. Protesters demanded justice for the victims and wanted to hold the government accountable, complaining that years of corruption and mismanagement have brought about the disaster.Public anger had already been rising in Lebanon before the blast because of an unprecedented financial crisis in which the national currency lost 80% of its value.

Banks imposed informal capital controls in a controversial effort to control the collapse of the pound and foreign currency flight.The dire conditions were deepened with rising power cuts and concerns that hospitals were facing severe shortages and financial troubles.

(Image Credit: AP)
Hours after the death of John Hume, Gerry Adams, in his opening statement to RTE, laid down the line later to be followed by the southern media.

John Hume, Adams said, had been "vilified and denounced by elements of the Southern Establishment".

That took some gall given that Adams was a senior figure during a time when the IRA casually mooted shooting John Hume.

But Twitter took its line from Ed Moloney's blog; he has never corrected the following false statement.

"No one who was around in April 1993... can forget the reaction of the Sunday Independent newspaper in the weeks that followed.

"Leading the charge was Eoghan Harris, former RTE bureaucrat cum censor in chief, Workers Party ideologe (sic) and scourge of everything Irish Nationalist."

Let me nail these two falsehoods. First, in 1993 I was writing for the Sunday Times not the Sunday Independent.

Second, far from "leading the charge" I was actually one of the first commentators to support the Hume-Adams talks.

In September 1993, a week after Hume-Adams went public, writing in the Sunday Times, I came to the following prophetic conclusion: "If it is not a ploy, and if the Provisionals pull off the peace, they stand to make substantial gains at the expense of the SDLP in the North and Fianna Fail in the South."

A month later, on October 29, 1993, I wrote an equally supportive piece in the Irish Times headed 'Time to Lift the Provo Quarantine'.

In short, unlike critics in the Sunday Independent, I supported the Hume-Adams talks from the start.

My reservations began three years later, in February 1996, when the IRA bombed London Docklands, killing two people.

But, like Hume, I was so focused on peace that I still turned up at the UUP Conference of 1999, calling the Good Friday Agreement an "Amazing Grace", asking unionists to take a leap of faith in Sinn Fein.

Looking back at my own refusal to face reality, I can see why John Hume put his fears aside and kept talking to Adams & Co.

Looking back, too, I can see that writers in the Sunday Independent, focused on the Irish Republic as well as Northern Ireland, grasped a nettle I did not want to grasp.

Far from vilifying Hume, they were arguing - perhaps too robustly in Eamon Dunphy's case - against taking the IRA wolf into the fold of the Irish Republic.

Significantly, three chief critics of Hume-Adams came from strong nationalist families.

Conor Cruise O'Brien's mother, Kathleen Sheehy, is the model for the ultra-nationalist Miss Ivors in Joyce's The Dead. John A Murphy comes from Cork republican stock; Eilis O'Hanlon from Belfast republican royalty.

Do their critics really believe they were inspired by what Coleridge, referring to Iago, called "motiveless malignancy"?

In retrospect, they courageously risked the abuse that has followed them since to protect the Irish Republic from what they saw as contamination.

In return Sinn Fein subjected them to a very motivated malignancy cravenly accepted by media.

The worst was the smear that the Sunday Independent had run a cartoon which depicted blood dripping from John Hume's hands.

John Burns of the Sunday Times, in a forensic piece, published on 11 October 2015, demolished this myth.

He concluded: "Hume appears to be showing us his hands, one of which is shaded. There are no drips of blood."

John Hume, in his passion to bring a physical peace to Northern Ireland, did not seem to see the dire political implications of bringing the IRA into the bosom of the Republic, with the results we see today.

But northern nationalist critics of the Sunday Independent were not wrong in believing some of their writers were putting the Irish Republic's interests before those of northern nationalism. In doing so they were in a long tradition.

As far back as 1974, Dermot Nally, assistant secretary to the Cabinet, with special responsibility for Northern Ireland, wrote a revealing memo to Taoiseach Liam Cosgrave.

Nally noted the interests of the Republic "diverge markedly from the interests and policies of the SDLP and a reasonable degree of progress for the three million people living here is more important, no matter what Northern interests think, than power sharing, if the choice comes to that".

Barry Desmond, former minister for health in the Republic, echoed Dermot Nally's protective stance in his fearless memoir, Finally and in Conclusion, published in 2000.

From first to last in his long political career, Desmond unflinchingly stood up to Sinn Fein.

In a powerful polemical passage towards the end of his memoir, he summons the shade of his Old IRA father to denounce the pretensions of the Provisional IRA - or indeed any IRA which would arrogate to itself the role which belongs solely to the Army of the Irish Republic.

"My father was a volunteer in 1917 to 1921. He believed, and I believe, that there can be no place for those who wish to subvert our army, our president, our government and our constitution."

Looking back in 2000, when our evergreen national media were lauding Sinn Fein's version of the peace process, Desmond returns to his prophetic fears about where bringing the IRA into the body politic of the Republic will end. But he is certain the rot began with the Hume-Adams talks.

He gives John Hume a friendly but firm grilling for what he saw as a serious mistake in bringing the IRA in from the cold when they were on the point of defeat.

"For a short time while I was in government in the 1980s I thought John might face down the Provos."

This did not happen, Desmond says, "because John had himself taken the narrow 'final solution' negotiating stance with successive governments, he and Gerry Adams lived off each other throughout the 1990s in a Riverdance of Hume-speak and Adams ambiguities".

Desmond has no doubt that the only reason the Provos agreed to talk to Hume was because they were hurting badly from penetration by the Garda, RUC and British intelligence.

"They now expect us to bow the knee in retrospective admiration for the 'armed struggle'."

From Hume-Adams flowed the "peace process" which sees Sinn Fein dominating Northern nationalism and well set for State power in the Republic.

But John Hume is not responsible for any adverse results of his Herculean work for peace in his beloved Northern Ireland.

He is not responsible for Northern nationalists voting for Sinn Fein. Nor for the southern media's indulgence of Sinn Fein and the loss of our moral compass.

John Hume never lost his own moral compass. His cherished peace process was taken from him by evil elements and used to erode ethical boundaries in both parts of the island.

Like Conor Cruise O'Brien, I believe John Hume was "driven on by a passionate desire to bring about peace in our time".

Ar dheis De go raibh a anam uasal.
Man uses his smartphone as he stands near a billboard for Chinese technology firm Huawei at the PT Expo in Beijing on Oct. 31, 2019. (Mark Schiefelbein/AP Photo)

Huawei: Smartphone Chips Running Out Under US Sanctions

BEIJINGChinese tech giant Huawei is running out of processors used to make smartphones because of U.S. sanctions and will be forced to stop production of its own most advanced chips, a company executive says, in a sign of growing damage to Huaweis business from U.S. pressure.

Huawei Technologies Ltd., one of the biggest producers of smartphones and network equipment, is at the center of U.S.-Chinese tension over technology and security. The feud has spread to include the popular Chinese-owned video app TikTok and China-based messaging service WeChat.

Washington cut off Huaweis access to U.S. components and technology, including Googles music and other smartphone services last year. Those penalties were tightened in May, when the White House barred vendors worldwide from using U.S. technology to produce components for Huawei.

Production of Kirin chips designed by Huaweis own engineers will stop Sept. 15 because they are made by contractors that need U.S. manufacturing technology, said Richard Yu, president of the companys consumer unit. He said Huawei lacks the ability to make its own chips.

This is a very big loss for us, Yu said Aug. 7 at an industry conference, China Info 100, according to a video recording of his comments posted on multiple websites.

Unfortunately, in the second round of U.S. sanctions, our chip producers only accepted orders until May 15. Production will close on Sept. 15, Yu said. This year may be the last generation of Huawei Kirin high-end chips.

More broadly, Huaweis smartphone production has no chips and no supply, Yu said.

Yu said this years smartphone sales probably will be lower than 2019s level of 240 million handsets but gave no details. The company didnt immediately respond to questions Saturday.

Huawei, founded in 1987 by a former military engineer, denies accusations it might facilitate Chinese spying. Chinese officials accuse Washington of using national security as an excuse to stop a competitor to U.S. tech industries.

Huawei is a leader among emerging Chinese competitors in telecoms, electric cars, renewable energy, and other fields in which the ruling Communist Party hopes China can become a global leader.

Huawei has 180,000 employees and one of the worlds biggest research and development budgets at more than $15 billion a year. But, like most global tech brands, it relies on contractors to manufacture its products.

Earlier, Huawei announced its global sales rose 13.1 percent over a year ago to 454 billion yuan ($65 billion) in the first half of 2020. Yu said that was due to strong sales of high-end products but gave no details.

Huawei became the worlds top-selling smartphone brand in the three months ending in June, passing rival Samsung for the first time due to strong demand in China, according to Canalys. Sales abroad fell 27 percent from a year earlier.

Washington also is lobbying European and other allies to exclude Huawei from planned next-generation networks as a security risk.

In other U.S.-Chinese clashes, TikToks owner, ByteDance Ltd., is under White House pressure to sell the video app. Thats due to fears its access to personal information about millions of American users might be a security risk.

On Aug. 6, President Donald Trump announced a ban on unspecified transactions with TikTok and the Chinese owner of WeChat, a popular messaging service.

By Joe McDonald
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Efforts continue for Con Edison, as they work to restore power to residents on Staten Island.

At least 1,484 customers are still without power from Tropical Storm Isaias as of Saturday evening, according to the companys online outage map.

The estimated time of restoration is Sunday at 11 p.m.

Earlier, the Advance/SILive.com reported that Con Ed had 1,000 crews set to arrive on Saturday to restore customers.

There were about 50,000 who lost power on Staten Island after the storm Tuesday.

The numbers will come down significantly, and it really depends on precisely what the damage is at each location, Consolidated Edison Company of New York President Tim Cawley said. I would expect a number of customers to certainly go into Monday. The numbers will decrease significantly, but these will be smaller jobs involving lots of labor.

Politicians have called for answers from the utility company for what theyve characterized as a slow response to the damage wrought by the storm, and limited information on expected restoration times.

Customers who have been impacted for more than 48 consecutive hours, can fill out a claims form to cover spoiled food, medication or perishable commercial merchandise.
New Delhi:

Governor of Andaman, Jagdish Mukhi, on Friday said that around 320 foreign tourists are stranded at Avelock and Neil islands in the Andamans after heavy rain and "cyclonic weather conditions" are safe. He also added, that approximately 1000 tourists are stranded at the islands.



On Thursday, Home Minister Rajnath Singh cited the numbers of tourists stranded at the islands at 1,400 tourists. who are stranded at avelock and Neil islands in the Andamans after heavy rain and "cyclonic weather conditions" are safe. He also made an appeal to the families of the tourists not to panic.

Also Read: Cyclone 'Vardah' likely to intensify near Andaman Islands on Friday

"The government will launch the rescue operations immediately after the intensity of the cyclone reduces. The teams are ready in Port Blair," Rajnath Singh tweeted.

Four ships  Bitra, Bangaram, Kumbhir and LCU 38  have been sent by the navy for evacuating the tourists but they were unable to dock on Wednesday due to the bad weather.

According to officials, the waves that are up to 5 m high, are making the job of transferring the tourists onto the ships difficult and dangerous.

"The ships are waiting outside the harbour. Adequate food, fresh water, medicines and doctors besides divers and local administration personnel are being ferried on board to provide relief," a Defence official said.

Cyclonic conditions caused by a severe depression over the Bay of Bengal have hit the two islands, located around 40 km from Port Blair. The depression resulted in heavy rain, strong winds and a rough sea.

An 'L1 Disaster' has been declared by the administration.

All the tourists who are stranded in Havelock Island are safe. The government has made all the preparations to evacuate them.  Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) December 8, 2016

The government will launch the rescue operations immediately after the intensity of the cyclone reduces. The teams are ready in Port Blair.  Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) December 8, 2016

I appeal to the family members of stranded tourists that they should not panic as everyone in the Havelock Islands are reported to be safe.  Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) December 8, 2016

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
Union Commerce and Railway Minister Piyush has said that the Centre is open for business and Government E-Marketplace (GeM) will play the role of a bridge between government and supplier.

GeM is an online platform developed by the Centre for public procurement for various government departments and ministries. Goyal said that Indian Raliways will completely move on to GeM portal in next 8-10 months. The Minister said that the move is aimed for better efficiency and transparency. Goyal made the reamrks while speaking at National Public Procurement Policy platform organized by industry body CII.

Goyal said that all procurement processes have been made public on GeM portal from July 1. He added that this will help for more and more vendors/players participation and increase competitiveness

According to Goyal, Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led goverment at the Centre wants to make GeM a Unified Public Procurement Platform in coming years. He said the entire bidding and procurement process will be seamless through GeM.

Notably, any supplier or vendor who fails to deliver timely or supplies a Bad quality product will not only be blacklisted on GeM but also in entire Indian government system. No government department will procure any item from the blacklisted vendor.

The government has also made 'Make In India' marking mandatory on products on GeM portal and for all those products which are not Made In India but are required in India then the GeM will need to publicize it widely.

Goyal said that Railways and RDSO are developing new vendors for the products which are currently not Made In India but are required in India.The Minister said that time has come to get over with the fear of COVID-19 and get back to the economic activities with confidence and energy.
New Delhi:

The security forces on Thursday gunned down three Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists in an encounter in Arwani, Anantnag in Jammu and Kashmir, reports said. The combing operation was underway.

A search operation was launched in Hassanpora village in Bijbehara area of Anantnag following specific intelligence inputs about the presence of militants in the village, a police official said.A

He said as the security forces were conducting the search operation, the militants fired upon them triggering an encounter.

Sources said that security forces also have inputs about presence of Lashkar-e-Taibaas operational commander Abu Dujana in the area.

Dujana is a Pakistani citizen and he carries a Rs 12.50 lakh reward on his head.



The latest encounter comes seven days after a suspected militant was gunned down by the security forces during an anti-militancy operation in the same district on December 1.A

#FLASH Fresh exchange of fire between terrorists and security forces starts in Arwani, Anantnag (J&K). More details awaited. a ANI (@ANI_news) December 8, 2016

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Kanye West has been making new headlines every few days with his presidential campaign and explosive tweets. Some fear hes experiencing a manic episode. Kanye has had mental health problems in the past, and he sought treatment, but this time hes adamant that he doesnt need help.

In fact, he claims his wife Kim Kardashian and her mom, Kris Jenner, are essentially trying to ruin him. Fans were excited when Kim went to Wyoming to visit her husband for the first time since the manic behavior began.

Kanye West and Kim Kardashian met in Wyoming

Kim Kardashian and Kanye West | Ian West/PA Images via Getty Images

Just a few short weeks before Kanyes campaign rally, the Kardashian-West family was in Wyoming happily celebrating North Wests 7th birthday. They rode horses, and hung out on the Kardashian West ranch. Things looked calm and happy.

No one could have imagined that at the end of July, all eyes would be on Kim as she flew back to Wyoming to meet her husband after his many insulting, demeaning, and cruel tweets.

Before leaving, Kim posted about Kanyes bipolar disorder and asked fans to give them space while they try and get his mental health back on track. She didnt reveal what happened in Wyoming. Neither did Kanye, although he didnt walk back any of his previous tweets. But Kims trip gave some fans a shot of much-needed hope.

Fans were happy to see Kanye West and Kim Kardashian talking it out

Despite the fact that Kim requested privacy, there were some photos of her trip to Wyoming. TMZ apparently obtained some pics of Kanye and Kim in their car at a Wendys drive through. A Kanye fan account, ye4us, posted a shot from TMZ of the couple. The tweet read: Kim Kardashian and Kanye West back together in Wyoming, dodging paparazzi as usual. Love seeing them back together.

Many of the commenters expressed joy at seeing the power couple apparently together again. It seems fan appreciates the way Kim and Kanye come together to put family first, and they dont want to see their relationship end.

Other fans thought that the Wendys trip was a good sign. Fans think that if theyre doing things as mundane as getting fast food together, their situation cant be that bad. But other fans werent as hopeful for Kim and Kanyes future.

Some fans thought that things looked tense on Kim Kardashians Wyoming trip

RELATED: The Reason Kim Kardashian West Was Crying While Talking to Kanye on Wyoming Trip Revealed

Some of the twitter commenters were quick to point out that TMZ released some depressing photos. The fan account posted a casual looking one, but other pics seem to show Kim and Kanye screaming at each other, and Kim in tears. Fans were also quick to point out that Kim isnt wearing her wedding ring in any of the pics. As one fan put it, Wheres Kims Rock?

Other commenters just dont think Kim and Kanye make a good couple. One fan doesnt want to see an unhappy couple get back together. Others seem to believe Kanyes accusations against Kim.

They think Kanye should stay away, since she and her mother are trying to control him. They think Kanyes tweets may have had some merit, or that Kim and her mom did something to incite Kanyes paranoid behavior.

Other fans were clearly team Kim. They think Kanye is actually the controlling one. In the past, Kanye has been open about dictating what his wife wears, and a fight over her Met Gala dress was broadcast on Keeping Up with the Kardashians.

Other fans were more neutral. They just want Kanye to get the help he needs, whether he and Kim ultimately stay together or not.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 7)  The Department of Health (DOH) said it has formed working groups that will help in the formulation of COVID-19 response for specific clusters.

Health Undersecretary Lilibeth David said the groups will help in addressing seven key issues raised by medical professionals during their dialogue with them, which include transportation safety, workplace safety, public compliance with self-protection, and re-opening of industries

We have categorized these in different work streams that will allow us, working alongside with representatives of each, to further put details in our strategies and implement them effectively, David said.

The undersecretary said a working group that will ensure the welfare of the countrys healthcare workers has been proposed. It will include a surveillance team that will conduct contact tracing in case of infection among health frontliners, she said.

David said another group will ensure safety in workplaces, which will also have a surveillance team to minimize transmission in work areas.

She said the plan of action is currently coordinated with the labor and trade departments, as well as other concerned agencies referred by medical societies to come up with specific workplace guidelines.

The DOH previously said that cases of COVID-19 are observed mostly among healthcare workers, barangays, and workplaces. The surge of cases in the past months led to the implementation of a modified enhanced community quarantine in some areas like Metro Manila until Aug. 18.

As for transportation, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said the DOH is coordinating with the Department of Interior and Local Government, the Department of Public Works and Highways, and the Department of Transportation to revisit the policy on active transport, like bicycles.

He also encouraged the use of such mode of transportation to workers in areas under MECQ given that mass transportation is again limited.
A Border Force vessel brings a group of migrants into Dover on Sunday. (PA)

The government is working on plans to turn migrant boats around in the English Channel after a record number of crossings in recent days.

Home secretary Priti Patel has appointed a "clandestine Channel threat commander" whose job will be to make the English Channel "unviable for small boat crossings".

The man selected for the job is Dan O'Mahoney, a former Border Force official and marine who was deployed to Kosovo and Iraq.

OMahoney will reportedly work alongside French authorities to explore measures such as "adopting interceptions at sea and the direct return of boats", according to Sky News.

A Dover Pilot Harbour Patrol boat taking migrant dinghies out to sea. (PA)

Patel said on Sunday: "The number of illegal small boat crossings is appalling.

"We are working to make this route unviable and arresting the criminals facilitating these crossings and making sure they are brought to justice."

It comes as Dover MP Natalie Elphicke called on France to get a grip and attempt to stop migrants from crossing before they reach the boats.

Its time for a clear plan to put an end to these crossings. A plan that starts at the French coast. This cannot continue because the Channel is dangerous and lives have been lost, she wrote in the Sunday Express.

This is why the French must get a grip, step up patrols and take firm action against the trafficking gangs.

They should act now to dismantle the camps, just as they dismantled the notorious Calais Jungle some years ago.

More than 4,000 migrants have now reached the UK in 2020, by crossing the English Channel in small boats.

Families with young children have been among hundreds of people arriving in Dover in the last few days as the political row over the crisis has intensified.

While south-east England basked in roasting sunshine on Saturday, another 151 migrants arrived in the UK after crossing the dangerous Dover Strait.

The Home Office has officially asked the Royal Navy for help and a former Royal Marine has been appointed "clandestine Channel threat commander".

More migrants have reached the UK on Sunday morning. Up to 12 people were seen being brought ashore in Dover aboard patrol boat Speedwell.
Rajapaksa took oath during a grand ceremony at Kelaniya Temple, a Buddhist temple on the outskirts of Sri Lanka's capital Colombo in the presence of the diplomatic community and legislators from the ruling and opposition parties, Xinhua news agency reported.

Colombo, Aug 9 (IANS) Leader of Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna party Mahinda Rajapaksa took oath as the nation's new prime minister on Sunday after his party secured a landslide victory in the recently concluded parliamentary election.

Rajapaksa was sworn in as the prime minister of the country for the fourth time.

Rajapaksa's party won 145 seats in the August 5 election which was held to elect new legislators in a 225-member parliament.

His new cabinet will take oath later this week.

According to the Elections Commission, the parliamentary election held last Wednesday was one of the most peaceful held in Sri Lankan history with a 71 per cent voter turnout.

The election was held under strict health guidelines due to COVID-19 pandemic which has infected over 2,800 people in the country.

According to Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the new parliament will convene on August 20.

--IANS

rt/
A councilor for Los Angeles who voted to slash $150 million from the annual budget of the LAPD has called the police to his house eight times since April, it has been claimed.

Mike Bonin, 53, was among 11 councilors who agreed in June to reduce the annual budget, in the wake of calls to defund police forces across the country following the May 25 death of George Floyd.

On Friday night Bonin was accused of having called the cops to his LA home eight times since April, including requesting protection from protesters.

Councilor Mike Bonin voted in June to slash $150 million from the LAPD's annual budget

LAPD were called to Bonin's house, near Venice Beach, eight times since April, it is claimed

Fox News reporter Bill Melugin tweeted a link to a public records request, detailing the calls to Bonin's Venice Beach home.

Bonin, however, denied that he had made the calls, and said they were generated by the police themselves.

'I have NEVER asked LAPD for patrols at my house,' he tweeted in response to Melugin, and described the Fox reporter's tweet as 'false'.

'When protests occurred at the homes of other elected officials and LAPD offered to send patrols to my home as a precaution, I specifically asked for no patrols at my home.

'Seven of the eight calls you cite were apparently generated by LAPD themselves, sending patrols without my request and often without my knowledge.

'The only time LAPD has come at my request was to pick up as evidence the syringes that one of the right-wing protesters left on our doorsteps.'

Bonin responded to a tweet from Fox News reporter Bill Melugin, linking to a records request

Bonin insisted that he had only called LAPD to his home once since April

The councilor said the one time he asked officers for assistance was with debris from protests

Bonin claimed that the information had been planted to damage his reputation, in light of his vote to cut the police budget and his work challenging the powerful police unions.

He said he refused to be intimidated.

'This is a cute tactic to try to silence or intimidate a public official who is standing up to the police union,' he said. 'It aint working.'

Bonin claimed that the information was made public in retaliation for his vote to defund LAPD

Melugin then hit back, tweeting what he said was a text message from a LAPD source denying that the calls to Bonin's home were generated by the police, without his knowledge.

'This was definitely a call for service by Bonin or a member of his staff,' the text read.

'The call would have been placed by the resident or someone reporting something happening at that address.'
How far off is Andlauer Healthcare Group Inc. (TSE:AND) from its intrinsic value? Using the most recent financial data, we'll take a look at whether the stock is fairly priced by taking the forecast future cash flows of the company and discounting them back to today's value. We will take advantage of the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model for this purpose. It may sound complicated, but actually it is quite simple!

Remember though, that there are many ways to estimate a company's value, and a DCF is just one method. Anyone interested in learning a bit more about intrinsic value should have a read of the Simply Wall St analysis model.

View our latest analysis for Andlauer Healthcare Group

Crunching the numbers

We are going to use a two-stage DCF model, which, as the name states, takes into account two stages of growth. The first stage is generally a higher growth period which levels off heading towards the terminal value, captured in the second 'steady growth' period. To start off with, we need to estimate the next ten years of cash flows. Where possible we use analyst estimates, but when these aren't available we extrapolate the previous free cash flow (FCF) from the last estimate or reported value. We assume companies with shrinking free cash flow will slow their rate of shrinkage, and that companies with growing free cash flow will see their growth rate slow, over this period. We do this to reflect that growth tends to slow more in the early years than it does in later years.

A DCF is all about the idea that a dollar in the future is less valuable than a dollar today, so we need to discount the sum of these future cash flows to arrive at a present value estimate:

10-year free cash flow (FCF) forecast

2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 Levered FCF (CA$, Millions) CA$43.8m CA$64.0m CA$68.8m CA$72.8m CA$76.1m CA$78.9m CA$81.3m CA$83.4m CA$85.4m CA$87.2m Growth Rate Estimate Source Analyst x4 Analyst x1 Est @ 7.51% Est @ 5.76% Est @ 4.53% Est @ 3.67% Est @ 3.07% Est @ 2.64% Est @ 2.35% Est @ 2.14% Present Value (CA$, Millions) Discounted @ 6.5% CA$41.1 CA$56.5 CA$57.0 CA$56.6 CA$55.6 CA$54.1 CA$52.4 CA$50.5 CA$48.6 CA$46.6

("Est" = FCF growth rate estimated by Simply Wall St)

Present Value of 10-year Cash Flow (PVCF) = CA$519m

Story continues

The second stage is also known as Terminal Value, this is the business's cash flow after the first stage. For a number of reasons a very conservative growth rate is used that cannot exceed that of a country's GDP growth. In this case we have used the 5-year average of the 10-year government bond yield (1.7%) to estimate future growth. In the same way as with the 10-year 'growth' period, we discount future cash flows to today's value, using a cost of equity of 6.5%.

Terminal Value (TV)= FCF 2030  (1 + g)  (r  g) = CA$87m (1 + 1.7%)  (6.5% 1.7%) = CA$1.8b

Present Value of Terminal Value (PVTV)= TV / (1 + r)10= CA$1.8b ( 1 + 6.5%)10= CA$985m

The total value is the sum of cash flows for the next ten years plus the discounted terminal value, which results in the Total Equity Value, which in this case is CA$1.5b. The last step is to then divide the equity value by the number of shares outstanding. Compared to the current share price of CA$39.2, the company appears about fair value at a 2.0% discount to where the stock price trades currently. Valuations are imprecise instruments though, rather like a telescope - move a few degrees and end up in a different galaxy. Do keep this in mind.

dcf

Important assumptions

The calculation above is very dependent on two assumptions. The first is the discount rate and the other is the cash flows. Part of investing is coming up with your own evaluation of a company's future performance, so try the calculation yourself and check your own assumptions. The DCF also does not consider the possible cyclicality of an industry, or a company's future capital requirements, so it does not give a full picture of a company's potential performance. Given that we are looking at Andlauer Healthcare Group as potential shareholders, the cost of equity is used as the discount rate, rather than the cost of capital (or weighted average cost of capital, WACC) which accounts for debt. In this calculation we've used 6.5%, which is based on a levered beta of 0.800. Beta is a measure of a stock's volatility, compared to the market as a whole. We get our beta from the industry average beta of globally comparable companies, with an imposed limit between 0.8 and 2.0, which is a reasonable range for a stable business.

Moving On:

Although the valuation of a company is important, it ideally won't be the sole piece of analysis you scrutinize for a company. DCF models are not the be-all and end-all of investment valuation. Instead the best use for a DCF model is to test certain assumptions and theories to see if they would lead to the company being undervalued or overvalued. If a company grows at a different rate, or if its cost of equity or risk free rate changes sharply, the output can look very different. For Andlauer Healthcare Group, we've compiled three essential factors you should consider:

Risks: For example, we've discovered 2 warning signs for Andlauer Healthcare Group that you should be aware of before investing here. Management:Have insiders been ramping up their shares to take advantage of the market's sentiment for AND's future outlook? Check out our management and board analysis with insights on CEO compensation and governance factors. Other High Quality Alternatives: Do you like a good all-rounder? Explore our interactive list of high quality stocks to get an idea of what else is out there you may be missing!

PS. Simply Wall St updates its DCF calculation for every Canadian stock every day, so if you want to find the intrinsic value of any other stock just search here.

This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.



Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com.
Constructors complete innovative 1.2m Coleg Cambria rural education centre during lockdown

This article is old - Published: Sunday, Aug 9th, 2020

Constructors have completed an innovative 1.2m rural education centre during lockdown.

The new community learning complex at Coleg Cambria Llysfasi will serve people in rural areas of north east Wales as part of the Welsh Governments Prosperity for All vision to provide more education links in towns and villages across the country.

Wrexham-based Read Construction worked in partnership with the college to finish the Ruthin Road project ahead of the 2020/21 academic year.

The two-storey facility includes IT and multimedia suites, workshops, classrooms, breakout spaces, a kitchen, offices, and meeting rooms which will deliver bilingual and family and community-focused services.

Iain Clarke, Assistant Principal at Llysfasi, said: For nearly a century this college has been committed to supporting local communities across North Wales.

One of our main drivers is celebration and preservation of the Welsh language, and the new community hub will ensure we do that.

It is an outstanding resource that will deliver programmes and courses for community groups, businesses and individuals for many years to come, meeting our key strategic aims and supporting communities in all aspects of educational excellence.

He added: The building is spectacular and complements our picturesque surroundings here in Denbighshire. It looks amazing, and we cant wait to welcome people here when the time is right.

Stuart Hetherington, Contract Manager at Read Construction, explained how the firm managed to deliver the facility on time, despite the challenges of Coronavirus.

We delighted to have worked collaboratively with Coleg Cambria on this fantastic new community hub building, he said.

Read worked alongside Coleg Cambria and our dedicated supply chain to ensure our workforce and the surrounding community remained safe.

We are looking forward to handing over the scheme to our client, which will make a significant difference to the local community  giving access to services that are essential for the rural area.

For more on Coleg Cambria, visit the website: www.cambria.ac.uk
https://www.aish.com/sp/so/Life-Doesnt-have-to-be-Perfect-to-be-Wonderful.html

When we can't change a situation, we're challenged to change ourselves.

Having a child with special needs invariably prompts people to say the most irritating things to you in an ironic attempt to bring comfort.

God chooses special parents for special children.

You must be so strong.

She doesn't look like she has Down syndrome.

Downs kids are always so happy!

God only gives you what you can cope with.

Why didn't you find out before she was born so you could do something about it?

Some statements are outright disgusting, but I do realize that most people are well meaning. I usually bite my tongue, but sometimes I respond (because I cant help it): How do you feel that God apparently does not consider you strong  or special  because He did not give you a child with special needs?

I once commented to someone that I could not understand why people abort babies with Down syndrome. The person, who totally missed the point, responded, Well, at least Cailas high functioning.

After all the inappropriate comments we encountered after Cailas birth and the ongoing battles we had for Cailas acceptance in several different settings, we were a bit frustrated to say the least. So much so that my husband, Gavin, wanted to print a T-shirt that would make a statement: I have an extra copy of chromosome 21 as a reason for my cognitive challenges. Whats your excuse?

We would all wear these shirts with pride as a family hopefully bringing truth and clarity to the world and a heavy dose of sarcasm for people that just dont get it.

I stumbled upon a quote that aptly sums up how I feel about us parents of children with disabilities: You never know how strong you are until strong is your only option.

I have an extra copy of chromosome 21 as a reason for my cognitive challenges. Whats your excuse

Thats more like it. Many days we are tired, and we dont want to put in the extra hours and resources  but that is simply not an option. This doesn't make us particularly strong or special, but it certainly does take more out of us on every level.

What people could say is, Wow, this is going to be a tough journey. Is this hard for you guys? It is probably going to take more work as a parent. And most importantly, Mazal tov! Only one couple said that to us at the hospital. A child is a blessing no matter what the diagnosis.

When you first give birth to a baby with special needs you are inevitably forwarded the famous essay by Emily Perl Kingsley, Welcome to Holland.

Kingsley, who herself has a child with Down syndrome, wrote the piece in 1987. The premise is that you were planning a vacation to Italy, but the plane landed in Holland instead. The metaphor being that you give birth as expected only to find out the child comes with a surprising diagnosis. Not going to Italy, your dream vacation, is disappointing if not devastating. Holland isn't what you planned for, but you come to find it is beautiful in its own way.

Meanwhile, all your friends do end up going to Italy and they tell you how great it is. And the pain of that will never, ever, ever, ever go awaybecause the loss of that dream is a very, very significant loss, Kingsley writes. Butif you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn't get to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely thingsabout Holland.

Parents of children with special needs have a love-hate reaction to this poem. On one hand, when I first read it, I agreed with the overall analogy. A lot of it is true  Kingsley would know. On the other hand, Kingsley should have noted that going to Italy would have been like staying at five-star hotels. The trip to Holland is like a budget backpacking trek where you have to plan each step, lug your own bags, cook your own meals, take public transit and face traveling challenges every step of the way. Being a parent of a child with special needs is hard work. Holland may be a wonderful place to visit, but in this analogy, it is no vacation.

I would quickly learn that my work was never done. The productivity and efficiency that I was used to in business and home life was extremely challenged after Cailas birth. For example, doctor visits which were routine for my other children  the usual colds, flus and odd broken bone  were intricate and numerous for Caila. We were swept up by a myriad of appointments after her birth to check for all possible medical complications related to or caused by the extra chromosome  from eyesight and hearing to possible thyroid issues and leukemia of all things! Many of these checkups would morph into annual appointments to make sure she was still okay.

When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves. Viktor Frankl

Then we set out to discover what our rights were and what therapies Caila was eligible for by law. Procuring all the therapies and interventions  and ultimately cramming those into our busy lives  was the next challenge. Speech, occupational, physical therapy sessions are just a sampling of the new additions that crept into our schedules.

As parents, our goal has always been to make sure Caila gets what she needs and deserves by law. Under the Individual with Disabilities Education Act, a child is entitled to a Free and Appropriate Education (FAPE). Many times, what the Education Department deems as free and appropriate is at odds with what the parents believe. I heard one scary example where an administrator determined FAPE for a wheelchair-bound child was at a school with no elevators!

To be frank, it was all overwhelming  and still is. When Caila was born we briefly dwelled on, Why us? Then with a surge of hope and inspiration we said, Of course us! But as the years progressed, many days we plead, Oh my God, please help!

We were drowning. In wanting to give Caila the best, we stretched our resources to the maximum.

What's Normal?

I believe that I adjusted well to Cailas diagnosis because we only found out on her third day of life. By that point I had cuddled her and had gotten to know her for the baby she was and not through a label. The social worker assigned to Gavin and I shortly after Cailas birth insisted that our lack of sorrow was abnormal and there must be something wrong with us. I did confess to her as we prepared to take a trip to South Africa to bring Caila to meet her grandparents that I was petrified about the crime there. She threw her hands up in disbelief: The crime in a distant country nags at you more than your daughters diagnosis?

My first concerns were focused mainly on how Cailas diagnosis would impact our other children and our fast-paced lifestyle. As time moved on, I began to see the world differently. Caila had challenges, but she was an adorable and interactive baby and toddler. And life was still normal. Caila became the light of our lives and that of our extended community. Rather than typifying the generic retarded person with a series of physical conditions that I read about in those books, she was just another one of my children.

I developed a new philosophy: Life does not have to be perfect to be wonderful. Another hurdle for me was the high stock society puts on physical and mental acuity. Our Facebook and Instagram accounts are lined with snapshots of perfect families, dazzling success stories and enviable travel adventures. Contrary to that, the books I read about Down syndrome listed all of the potential problems. I presumed my own social media accounts would forever remain bereft of happy tales.

All people with Down syndrome will have different symptoms manifest due to the extra chromosome, but much of the information given to parents at the outset can leave them with the impression that their child will have every symptom! And that life would not be worth living. This mindset is patently wrong.

Caila came with physical and cognitive challenges, but she arrived with an already developed empathetic soul, something that is under-appreciated in our world. When she was just two, she noticed another young girl her age at the playground who was not yet walking. It turns out that girl had cerebral palsy and was apprehensive to play with the other kids. Caila walked over to her, held her hand and  with a hug  coaxed her to join in with the other kids.

Caila taught me it is okay to take it slower, appreciate life, to love unconditionally.

In fact, Cailas gift to me is the different lens I now have to view the world. She became my own tikkun, my correction. Before I had Caila, I lived a fast-paced, high-stress life. I didn't stop to take a look at who or what was around me. Caila taught me it is okay to take it slower, appreciate life, to love unconditionally.

Having Caila has also changed my perspective of what I actually consider a challenge. I realized that while chatting with my grandmother in South Africa. She asked me about Caila and I shared some cute stories, the usual grandparent fodder. She enjoyed it, yet at the end she commented that even though Caila is cute now, I will need to look after her for the rest of my life. What can you do when God gives you challenges, she sighed.

Her voice had the resigned tone of: The poor Samuels, their lives are full of tragedy. My grandmother had two grandchildren and a great-granddaughter with disabilities. I understand her worldview is rather pessimistic, but I do not consider raising Caila a burden. Many people resign themselves to the fact that they have a child with disabilities. We decided to reframe our world with a proactive approach.

One inspiring and thought-provoking movie that I saw confirmed our approach and our instincts of inclusion and treating your child as normal. Yo, Tambien (Me, Too), is about a young man with Down syndrome who graduated from university and landed a regular job. He fell in love with a coworker and the movie was about their relationship and its challenges.

The heart-wrenching theme, for me, however, was the question, What is normal? In the movie the son asks the mother Why did you want me to be normal? She tells him  in my words  I had no choice but to allow you to reach your potential.

That is exactly how I feel about Caila. It is why we invest so much in her, at a cost to our own time, money and, sometimes, sanity.

But I still struggle with all these questions. We strive to help our children be normal, but is this fair to the child? And what is normal anyway? Is it fair to put Caila through so many hours of therapy? Should I also be investing this much in my typical children?

It is an exhausting mental and emotional process to revisit these questions on a regular basis. Going to Holland has been much harder than going to Italy would have been. But since thats where we landed, we are committed to make the most of it.

Excerpted from Jodi Samuel's just-published book "Chutzpah, Wisdom and Wine: The Journey of an Unstoppable Woman, Jodis mission is to change the world, one small, unique step at a time. As an entrepreneur, international speaker, special needs advocate and super mom, on any given day you may find Jodi starting a new business, organizing a community event or conducting an interview with the Wall Street Journal while riding a camel in Morocco. This moving story of personal transformation makes her memoir an inspiring and valuable read for anyone who feels they are still reaching for their best self.

Click here to order your copy.

In Israel click here to purchase.
French President Emmanuel Macron delivers his speech during a news conference, following Tuesday's blast in Beirut's port area, in Beirut, Lebanon, on Aug. 6, 2020. (Thibault Camus/Pool via Reuters)

Macron to Host Fundraising Conference for Beirut as EU Conveys Solidarity

French President Emmanuel Macron will host U.S. President Donald Trump and other political leaders on Sunday for a U.N.-endorsed donors conference by video to raise emergency relief for Lebanon following this weeks massive explosion in Beirut. U.N. Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed is co-organizer of the meeting.

Lebanon was already mired in deep political and economic crisis when the blast ripped through its main port on Tuesday, killing 158 people, injuring more than 6,000, and destroying a swathe of the city.

The cost of rebuilding Beirut could run into the billions. Economists forecast the blast could wipe up to 25 percent off of the countrys GDP.

Many Lebanese are angry at the governments response and say the disaster highlighted the negligence of a corrupt political elite. Protesters stormed government ministries in Beirut and trashed the offices of the Association of Lebanese Banks on Saturday.

A woman shouts at a member of the army during anti-government demonstrations in Beirut, Lebanon, on August 8, 2020. (Marwan Tahtah/Getty Images)

A soldier throws a stone during anti-government protests in Beirut, Lebanon, on August 8, 2020. (Marwan Tahtah/Getty Images)

Macron visited Beirut on Thursday, the first world leader to do so after the explosion, and promised the Lebanese people humanitarian aid would come but that profound political reform was needed to resolve the countrys problems and secure longer term support.

I guarantee you, this (reconstruction) aid will not go to corrupt hands, Macron told the throngs who greeted him.

French President Emmanuel Macron and Lebanons President Michel Aoun wear protective face masks as they meet following Tuesdays blast in Beiruts port area, at the presidential palace in Baabda, Lebanon, on Aug. 6, 2020. (Mohamed Azakir/Reuters)

There has been an outpouring of sympathy for Lebanon from around the world this week and many countries have sent immediate humanitarian support such as a medical supplies.

Trump will participate in the video-link conference.

Everyone wants to help! he posted on Twitter.

We will be having a conference call on Sunday with President Macron, leaders of Lebanon, and leaders from various other parts of the world. Everyone wants to help!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 7, 2020

U.S. President Donald Trump (L) and French President Emmanuel Macron (R) shake hand at the end of a press conference following meetings at the Elysee Palace in Paris, on July 13, 2017. (Alain Jocard/AFP via Getty Images)

Germany will commit an additional 10 million euros ($11.79 million) in emergency aid on top of the rescue contributions already underway, its foreign minister said.

The UK said it will pledge 20 million pounds ($26. 09 million) at the conference, in addition to the 5 million pounds ($6. 52 million) already made available.

Representatives of Britain, the European Union, China, Russia, Egypt, and Jordan are expected to join the conference, hosted by Macron from his summer retreat on the French Riviera.

Charles Michel, President of the European Council, visited Beirut on Saturday. Together with the president of the European Commission, he urged all EU Member States to intensify their assistance to Lebanon both for immediate needs and for longer-term reconstruction.

Im touched by the bravery of the Lebanese people who have been hit by this tragedy in an already difficult context. The EU is a long-standing friend and partner. We are in full solidarity with Lebanon more than ever in these difficult times.

The EU said it has mobilized 33 million euros ($38. 90 million) for emergency needs and more than 250 rescuers from European Member States are on the ground.

During his visit, Michel stressed the importance of political reform in Lebanon.

Local political forces should seize the opportunity and unite around a national effort to respond to the immediate needs but also more long term challenges the country is facing. Its of critical importance for Lebanon to implement the fundamental structural reforms. The Lebanese can count on the European Union in this effortbut internal unity is key.

He also called for concrete steps to reform the financial system and to adopt anti-corruption measures, a EU statement said.
Law enforcement agencies in southeast Alabama and north Florida are seeking information on a Dothan-area man missing for more than a month.

According to information posted by the Jackson County (Florida) Sheriffs Office, Raul Ambriz Guillen is a 51-year-old Hispanic man last seen July 4 in Dothan. He was known to frequent the areas of Gordon, Ala., southeast of Dothan, and Graceville, Fla., just across the state line south of Dothan.

The Jackson County Sheriffs Office described Guillen as 5 feet 9 inches tall, approximately 190 lbs, with brown hair and brown eyes and a close-shaven goatee. He has several tattoos: a female saint on his right forearm and spider web on left forearm, ROSA on the right shoulder, and smile now-cry-later across his chest.

Anyone with information about the case is encouraged to contact the Jackson County Sheriff's Office at 850-482-9624 or Chipola Crime Stoppers at 850-526-5000.

The Dothan Eagle reported that the Houston County (Alabama) Sheriffs Office and the Dothan Police Department also are pursuing the case. According to a report in the Eagle, Guillens daughter said that her father had called his ex-wife the day before he disappeared and attempted to borrow money because he needed to get away from some people he believed to be dangerous.

According to the Jackson County Sheriffs Office, Guillens family has been unable to contact him by phone or social media.
This trend is not only hurting us, its literally killing us. The reason Trump has utterly failed to manage the Covid-19 pandemic is that he finally met a force he could not discredit and deflect by turning it into politics  Mother Nature. She is impenetrable to politics because all she consists of is chemistry, biology and physics. And she will do whatever they dictate  in this case, spread a coronavirus  whether Trump affirms it or not.

The leaders of Germany, Sweden and South Korea asserted just the opposite, saying: No, there are scientific facts independent of politics and there is the common good, and we will bow to those facts and we will serve the common good with a public health strategy.

The other day Trump told a G.O.P. audience in Cleveland that, if Biden won, Biden would hurt the Bible, hurt God. Hes against God, hes against guns, hes against energy, our kind of energy.

Our kind of energy?

Yup, it turns out there is now Republican energy  oil, gas and coal  and Democratic energy  wind, solar and hydro. And if you believe in oil, gas and coal, you are also supposed to oppose abortion and face masks. And if you believe in solar, wind and hydro, you are presumed to be pro-abortion rights and pro-face mask. This kind of thinking, in the extreme, is what destroyed Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Libya and Yemen and is increasingly eating away at Israel.

But if you listen to the street demonstrators in Beirut, you can hear how so many Lebanese are starved for a government that represents the common good. Here in America, too. Who are the leaders many of us still respect and yearn for  even when we disagree with them? asked Halbertal.

They are the leaders, he answered, who believe that there is a realm of the sacred  of the common good  that is outside of politics and who make big decisions based on their best judgment of the common good  not their naked power interests.

These leaders will do a lot for their parties; they are not averse to politics. They engage in it intensely  but they recognize where it has to stop and start. They wont subvert the Constitution or start a war or play down a public health hazard to save their own power.
Oranga Tamariki, the Ministry for Children, grew out of the Ministry for Social Development (MSD) and now, three years after it was formed, is looking to deploy its own data and analytics platform.

The Ministry was established to provide care and support for young New Zealanders whose wellbeing is at significant risk of harm. It has been the subject of several reports into its operations, most recently the Chief Ombudsmans report He Take Kohukihuki, A Matter of Urgency, but the decision to deploy a greenfields EDAP was first mooted in the Expert Advisory Panel report that led to the establishment of the Ministry.

Anita Easton, Oranga Tamariki head of data and information corporate services, says the Ministry has been working with MSD over the past year to determine whether to build an enterprise data and analytics platform (EDAP) together, or separately.

The need to strengthen our data and analytics capability was highlighted in the Expert Advisory Panel Report, says Easton. However, the decision to progress independently was a result of the work completed in the initiation phase of the joint programme.

We have both [Oranga Tamariki and MSD] recognised that our requirements are quite different; the data we hold has different data elements and levels of detail, our reporting and analytics needs are different, and our underlying technology architectures also differ. We intend to continue to work together and learn from each other, she says.

Currently both ministries share an on-premises, SAS-based data warehouse and analytics platform. As this doesnt align with its ICT strategy, Oranga Tamariki has issued a Registration of Interest (ROI) for a systems integrator to establish a cloud- based EDAP in either Amazon Web Services or Microsoft Azure. It is expected that there will be about 6000 users of the EDAP.

Algorithm charter informs data, analytics work

In the ROI it notes that Oranga Tamariki is an evidence-based organisation with a variety of complex challenging business processes. We need to measure and monitor both our day to day work and the effectiveness of our interventions. As such we make use of a wide range of operational and strategic reporting, and are progressively undertaking more predictive analytics and modelling.

The ministry is therefore looking for a modern analytics and visualisation platform with access to near real-time data, and intuitive tools that can be accessed by frontline workers on any approved device.

This work will be informed by the Governments new Algorithm Charter which commits signatories to managing how algorithms are used. Specifically, they are expected to strike the right balance between privacy and transparency, prevent unintended bias, and reflect the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi.

Oranga Tamariki is a founding signatory to the Algorithm Charter for Aotearoa New Zealand. All our analysis is informed by the charter commitments, and we believe the Enterprise Data and Analytics Platform will particularly contribute to our implementation of Transparency/Kia Whitikia e te Ra and Data/Te Raraunga, Easton says.

ROI calls for cloud-based platform

According to the ROI documents, the ministry is looking for a systems integrator that will design a cloud-based EDAP in either AWS or Azure, using best of breed components where appropriate.

So why are these two public cloud platforms being specified in the ROI?

We have our core systems deployed in AWS and Azure and there is value in colocation of the data and analytics platform, Easton told Computerworld New Zealand.

The ministrys current technology is outlined in the ROI. The core IT system CYRAS (Care and Protection, Youth Justice, Residential and Adoption Services) is hosted by AWS in Australia and is used by around 2,500 staff. CYRAS holds the case histories of all children in care and as such is the national register for all tamariki either in our care or on the fringe of statutory care needs.

Other IT being used by the ministry is the public cloud-based Genesys platform for the contact centre, Salesforce for caregiver information, and Microsoft 365 for desktop applications.

We adopt agile and cost-effective asset-light solutions such as cloud-based services, the ROI notes. We also implement technology solutions using as-a-service models. A core principle around our technology solutions is the adoption of All of Government common capabilities or contracts where they are available.

When asked by Computerworld New Zealand to identify the key advantage of the as a service model, Easton says, It allows us to keep our focus on supporting children, young people and families; we are not in the business of owning or running a large technology infrastructure.

The Request for Proposal process is expected to kick off in the final quarter of this year, with final stage in the process  a proof of concept  in 2021.
Schools and universities suspended in-person classes in March in the wake of the pandemic

Egypts Minister of Education Tarek Shawky announced Sunday that the new school year will start on 17 October.

According to a statement issued by the cabinet, Prime Minister Mostafa Mabdouli discussed with the ministers of education and higher education plans for the new academic year 2020-2021 amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Schools normally start in September in Egypt but the date for the beginning of the academic year has been pushed back due to the pandemic, the minister had said earlier

Egypt has 23 million school students classified into four stages: from kindergarten to secondary education, Education Minister Tarek Shawky said.

The minister says Egypt has a comprehensive electronic system for secondary education.

The full plan for the upcoming school year will be revealed in September, with the prime minister planned to review it on 20 August.

Schools and universities suspended in-person classes in March in the wake of the pandemic. Most students have remained at home since, with assignments given online, although pupils taking their final high school exams did so in person in June and July.

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People are pictured at the devastated site of the explosion in the port of Beirut, Lebanon, Thursday, Aug.6, 2020. AP



South Korea's military unit based in Lebanon provided emergency relief items to the Middle Eastern country on Saturday to help recovery from a recent deadly explosion, Seoul's defense ministry said.



A total of 6,000 sets of medical supplies and other relief items were handed over by the Dongmyung Unit to Lebanese military authorities, the ministry said, adding that 4,000 more packages will be delivered soon.



If the Lebanese government makes a request, the South Korean unit will proactively review additional support, including equipment and other supplies for recovery, according to the military.






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By Jerri-Lynn Scofield, who has worked as a securities lawyer and a derivatives trader. She is currently writing a book about textile artisans.

The 24th inmate from San Quentin State Prison died Friday from COVID-19 complications, part of the unfolding national prison apocalypse.

San Quentin has the largest cluster of COVID-19 cases in the country, with a third of inmates and staff members -about 2500 people  testing positive.

As reported by The Mercury News:

The inmate is the 52nd in the state prison system to die from complications of the virus, according to the states tracker. The prisons have confirmed 8,665 cases of the virus in the system, including 1,007 over the past two weeks.

The initial outbreak at San Quentin seems to be a direct consequence of Californias prisoner transfer policy, according to The Guardian, San Quentin faces Californias deadliest prison outbreak after latest Covid fatalities:

The outbreak at San Quentin began after a late-May transfer of 121 people whom officials deemed to be at high risk of contracting and becoming seriously ill from Covid-19, from the California Institution for Men in Chino. Before the transfer San Quentin had zero positive cases; within four weeks of the move, it had reached almost 1,200 cases.

First Person Account from Inside San Quentin

Let me turn over the floor to Rahsaan Thomas, a San Quentin inmate, writing in Inside, Ive served 19 years in San Quentin prison and I just got diagnosed with COVID-19. Where is the justice?:

The corrections officers arent good at telling us whether were positive. For some people, the only hint has been when an officer keys your door, meaning youre forced to stay in your cell while everyone else goes to chow. When theyre done, you pick up your tray or sack lunch with everyone else who tested positive. They dont clean the railings or anything between groups of people with positive cases and negative cases. Everyone mingles in the same space, one after the other. Everyone who lives in North Block will have COVID-19 sooner or later. Its up to the disease whether we live or die because the system wont release people who committed violent crimes, and thats almost all of us in the cell blocks. No emergency consideration is being given for the fact that some of us havent committed another violent crime in 20 years and, therefore, arent violent anymore.

Thomas notes that releasing prisoners is one way to stem the pandemic. Yet despite the crisis facing the state, California has been slow to furlough some inmates:

They could have released 900 people from San Quentin without a crime spree. For people who have committed violent crimes and served life sentences, the recidivism rate is dramatically low, less than 2%, according to studies, and none for a new violent crime. Most people age out of crime after 40. Hell, a lot of these menaces to society in here are gray-haired old men on walkers and canes. Were the safest group to release, but I guess violent criminal is the new dog-whistle word for Blacks. We get arrested more for violent crimes than other races, so despite the lowest recidivism rates, the doors remain closed to those who have committed violent crimes even during a freaking deadly pandemic. Yeah, there are some people who arent ready, some who may never be ready to safely release. But there are more than 3,200 people here, of which I firmly believe we can squeeze a list of 900 people to release without endangering the public. Some would even improve society. And dont tell me COVID-19 is a natural disaster and not the systems fault. Out there in the world, yeah. But in prison, you cant get the virus unless someone brings it in. In our case, they transferred the virus here from another prison. Then they didnt learn and transferred it from here to another prison  instead of letting people go.

Thomas faces up squarely to what he has done and does not succumb to maudlin self-pity, but asks:

As horrible as I was years ago, I killed one person. Now 22 people have died in my prison alone from this COVID-19 fiasco. And you call me violent?

Now, if Thomas is correct  and we have no reason to assume hes lying  California hasnt taken sufficient precautions to sanitize the prison nor to maintain proper social distancing. The number of positive cases certainly suggests that is the case. And yes, I understand this is San Quentin, not Club Med- although I fail to see why paying ones debt to society means forfeiting ones humanity. Scandinavian prisons, I understand, are nowhere near as brutal  nor I would guess, as unsafe at the moment.

Californias lack of prevention went so far as to impede distribution of donated hand sanitiser intended to make inmates safer. According to KTVU, Why San Quentin didnt hand out rapper E-40s hand sanitizer donation:

Rapper E-40 made headlines in May when he said he planned to donate 1,000 gallons of hand sanitizer to San Quentin and Lompoc prisoners, hoping the cleaning solution would help disinfect skin and surfaces in crowded cells. But KTVU has learned that the hand sanitizer has not made it outside of its boxes and certainly not into the hands of incarcerated people, at least, not at San Quentin. In an email, California Department of Corrections spokeswoman Dana Simas said while the prison system appreciates the communitys desire to donate items to help address COVID-19, there are detailed procedures for accepting donations that are laid out by department and California state government policies. She wrote that San Quentin State Prison still has the items, but the institution has received ample donations in addition to the hand sanitizer being produced by the California Prison Industry Authority that is being provided to both staff and in the incarcerated population statewide. Without providing details, Simas added: Unfortunately, the donation was not submitted in accordance with these policies. Simas did provide a general sheet of information that San Quentin administrators must consider before accepting donations. One criteria is that prison officials must consider the perception of the acceptance to other suppliers. How does the department remain fair and impartial if a decision is eventually made to solicit the product?

Indeed. Thats certainly one California bureacrats definition of fairness. Still, theres only speculation so far as to why the hand sanitiser has not yet found its way to San Quentin inmates. KTVU nonetheless suggests:

Since the exact details of why E-40s donation was not accepted, the internet speculated: Its probably because of the alcohol in the sanitizer. E-40 and a representative from Toms Town distillery told KTVU on Thursday that this was the first they are hearing of this and they are genuinely confused as to why the why prison says their sanitizer doesnt comply. The alcohol in the sanitizer, they pointed out, is also rubbing alcohol, not the kind you drink. When E-40 first came up with the idea of donating the hand sanitizer, he said he could only imagine the prisoners anxiety, living in such tight quarters with limited social distancing, and he wanted to do something to help. As of this week, 51 incarcerated people have died in California prisons. Both the rapper and the company said they worked closely with government and prison officials to make sure their sanitizer met FDA and state correctional standards and guidelines. They also said they filled out the necessary paperwork that they were given. E-40 said he hopes to get more answers as to what happened so that his gift can get into the hands of those who need it most right now. His intention from the beginning, he said, was to do some good in the world and to save lives.

Some Context: Insight from Michele Deitch, Prison Expert at the LBJ School of Public Affairs/Univeisity of Texas School of Law

Now, the San Quentin outbreak is only one of many  albeit the worst  unfolding at prisons throughout the country. And many of these infections and subsequent deaths were completely preventable, if prison authorities heeded the advice of prison experts such as my old friend, Michele Deitch, who holds a joint appointment at the University of Texas LBJ School of Public Affairs and the University of Texas School of Law.

When we were at Oxford together back during the Thatcher years, Michele was already studying prisons and prisoners. I recently reconnected with her at a wedding in January and last featured her thoughts in an interview I posted in March, Prisons and the COVID-19 Pandemic: What Must Be Done NOW to Prevent Catastrophe.

Alas, needless to say, California  and most of the rest of the country, for that matter, failed to follow Micheles prescient advice, even though similar recommendations were amplified and repeated by other prison experts.

Californias decision to transfer infected prisoners into San Quentin is unfathomable it put so many vulnerable individuals, both incarcerated people and staff, at risk., said Deitch. And we are now seeing the entirely predictable and tragic consequences of that terrible decision. It is hard to imagine the sheer terror and anxiety that people housed in San Quentin must feel, since they are without any control over their environment nor do they have any ability to protect themselves from this virus.

Michele notes that California has finally taking additional steps to protect vulnerable inmates, by agreeing to their early release. But these actions should have happened far earlier.

California has finally relented and agreed to expedite the parole release dates for roughly 18,000 people. This is something that should have happened ages ago, long before the virus was so widespread, when experts were saying that the situation was a disaster in the making, said Deitch.

Now, the agency is faced with the challenges of releasing many people who either have or have been exposed to the virus, she continued. Service providers are scrambling to help them find safe housing and sort out their re-entry needs, which is always difficult and exponentially more difficult during a pandemic.

Especially as landlords start evicting people, in search of higher rents  which returning inmates are unlikely to be able to pay.

In addition, the Guardian reports;

As of Tuesday morning, the state prison system had seen 8,362 positive cases in total since late March, 6,720 of which have been marked as resolved, according to the state prison coronavirus reporting tool. Now that the number of active cases has decreased, Michael Bien, an attorney who has long fought to reduce prison populations, says that the state must start to re-establish programs that were paused to stop the spread of Covid. Prisons should allow people to earn credits that can decrease their sentences and establish remote psychiatry for those who need it, he said. There has been some good news, but the control they achieved is at the cost of totally locking down prisons and stopping transfers and rehabilitative groups. That is not a solution, Bien said. If this continues, people are gonna lose whatever rehabilitation theyve had, and the mental health of patients will worsen.

These observations echo points made by Michele in her March interview with me.

Californias Specific Response to Queries Regarding San Quentin Deaths

In the face of such a catastrophe at San Quentin, what else does California do? Why, attempt to cover it up, naturally. According to KTVU again, this time in 24th San Quentin inmate dies of COVID-19 as mystery shrouds most IDs:

The person died Thursday and no additional information will be given out to protect individual medical privacy, the agency said, though a First Amendment lawyer said keeping the names private violates California law.

Why does this remind me of CalPERS  where IIRC the staff routinely seeks to suppress the disclosure of information as clearly mandated under California law? (See, as only one of numerous examples, Yvess latest take on CalPERS, which if you havent seen it already, is well worth a read, CalPERS Chief Investment Officer Ben Meng Resigns Following Our Exposing His False, Felonious Financial Disclosure Filings and Private Equity Conflicts of Interest).

Over to KTVU, in the Mystery Shrouds Most IDs link, again:

On top of that, the Department of Corrections has been releasing some of the names, pictures and brief criminal histories of certain incarcerated people  only those who are on Death Row. When asked why that is, prison spokeswoman Dana Simas said in an email: CDCR has, for decades, issued a press release in the event a condemned inmate dies within our custody, regardless of COVID. You can see the list of condemned inmates who have died within our custody here. We wont be providing any further information on those not identified as condemned. Thank you. But David Snyder, an attorney with the First Amendment Coalition, said that dead people do not have a right to privacy, and if the CDCR is claiming a privacy exemption allows them to withhold those names, they are wrong. Snyder added that there is a high public interest in those who have died of COVID at San Quentin, partly because of the coronavirus outbreaks there and partly because they are on the public radar, meaning they are people who were convicted of crimes by public officials acting in the name of the public. KTVU has been trying to learn the names of all the prisoners who have died of coronavirus through other government channels as well as by reaching out to family members and friends. Two of those men are: Melford Henson, 65, who died of coronavirus on May 6 at the California Institution for Men in Chino and Carlos Oropeza Canez, 60, who died of coronavirus at Avenal State Prison on June 20. County coroners also should have the names of those who died. In Marin County, just four of the 23 San Quentin coronavirus cases were overseen at the coroners office there, according to Sheriff Chief Deputy Roger Fielding. Its unclear where this weeks death will be investigated. Fielding released the names of those who died in his jurisdiction. Three were on Death Row and their names had already been released. The name of the fourth person is John Stevens, 72, who died of coronavirus on July 14 at San Quentin. The rest of the incarcerated San Quentin people died at hospitals in other counties, so the coroners in Alameda County, San Mate and San Francisco counties are reviewing their deaths. KTVU has not yet been able to track down any of these death reports.

California Policy

While we may not know their names, at least some  if not all  of these men died as a result of Californias misguided policy of transferring COVID-19 prisoners to San Quentin. And similarly, others will get sick or die because San Quentin inmates were transferred onward to other California state prisons.

No one denies these men were convicted of committing crimes and for that they are being duly punished. But many now dead or diseased inmates were not sentenced to death for their convictions. And even for those who were so sentenced  but COVID-19 took instead  the death penalty was never supposed to be exacted like this. Doesnt the 8th Amendment have something to say about cruel and unusual punishment?

****

I post these videos in memory of my father, Harry Scofield, who would have turned 90 on the 12th had he not died in 2000. He was a die-hard Johnny Cash fan and I remember listening to Cash recordings with him.

From Cashs live 69 concert at San Quentin.
An anti-government protester clashes with riot police officers during a protest against the political elites and the government after this week's deadly explosion at Beirut port which devastated large parts of the capital in Beirut, Lebanon. (AP)

Beirut: Public fury over this weeks massive explosion in Beirut took a new turn Saturday night as protesters stormed government institutions and clashed for hours with security forces, who responded with heavy volleys of tear gas and rubber bullets.

One police officer was killed and dozens of people hurt in the confrontations, which played out in streets that were wrecked from Tuesdays blast at the port that devastated much of the city and killed nearly 160 people. Dozens were still missing and nearly 6,000 people injured.

The disaster has taken popular anger to a new level in a country already reeling from an unprecedented economic and financial crisis and near bankruptcy.

Activists who called for the protest set up symbolic nooses at Beiruts Martyrs Square to hang politicians whose corruption and negligence they blame for the explosion.

The blast was fueled by thousands of tons of ammonium nitrate that had been improperly stored at the port for more than six years. Apparently set off by a fire, the explosion was by far the biggest in Lebanons troubled history and caused an estimated $10 billion to 15 billion in damage, according to Beiruts governor. It also damaged 6,200 buildings and left hundreds of thousands of people homeless.

Resignation or hang, read a banner held by protesters, who also planned to hold a symbolic funeral for the dead. Some nooses were also set up along the bridges outside the port.

Khodr Ghadir, 23, said the noose was for everyone who has been in power for the last 30 years. What happened was a spark for people to return to the streets.

A placard listed the names of the dead, printed over a photo of the blasts enormous pink mushroom cloud. We are here for you, it read.

Dozens of protesters stormed the buildings of government ministries and the headquarters of the banking association, turning their rage to state and financial institutions.

Earlier Saturday, the protesters entered the empty buildings of the foreign ministry, declaring it a headquarters of their movement. Others then fanned out to enter the economy and energy ministries, some walking away with documents claiming they will reveal the extent of corruption that permeates the government. Some also entered the environment ministry.

Many protesters said they now had only their homes and even those are no longer safe. They blamed the governments inefficiency and political division for the country ills, including the recent disaster that hit almost every home.

The violence unfolded on the eve of an international conference co-hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron and United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres aimed at bringing donors together to supply emergency aid and equipment to the Lebanese population.

In a televised speech Saturday evening, Prime Minister Hassan Diab said the only solution was to hold early elections, which he planned to propose in a draft bill. He called on all political parties to put aside their disagreements and said he was prepared to stay in the post for two months to allow time for politicians to work on structural reforms.

The offer is unlikely to soothe the escalating fury on the street.

In central Beirut, some protesters threw stones at security forces, who then released heavy tear gas. Near parliament, protesters tried to jump over barriers that closed the road leading to the legislature. The protesters later set on fire a truck that was fortifying barriers on a road leading to parliament.

At least 238 people were hurt in the clashes, and 63 of them needed to be taken to the hospital, according to the Red Cross. Several protesters were carried away with blood running down their faces. At one point, gunfire could be heard, but its source was not immediately clear.

The countrys ruling class, made up mostly of former civil war-era leaders, is blamed for incompetence and mismanagement that contributed to Tuesdays explosion.

The current leaders bloodline needs to end. We want the death of the old Lebanon and the birth of a new one, said Tarek, a 23-year-old university student who had prepared a mix of water and paint in a bottle to throw at the police. No peaceful protest would bring about change, he said.

Sandy Chlela, a 35-year old from Kousba in the north, disagreed with Tarek. She said she had no illusion that the protests would bring change, but the demonstrations were a necessary expression of anger and puts some pressure on the politicians.

I know it will not change much but we cant act as if nothing happened, the computer programmer said.

The state, which is investigating the cause of the explosion, has been conspicuously absent from the ravaged streets of Beirut, with almost zero involvement in the cleanup. Instead, teams of young volunteers with brooms have fanned out to sweep up broken glass and reopen roads.

The U.S embassy in Beirut tweeted that the Lebanese people have suffered too much and deserve to have leaders who listen to them and change course to respond to popular demands for transparency and accountability.

Documents that surfaced after the blast showed that officials had been repeatedly warned for years that the presence of 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate at the port posed a grave danger, but no one acted to remove it. Officials have been blaming one another, and 19 people have been detained, including the ports chief, the head of Lebanons customs department and his predecessor.

The protests came as senior officials from the Middle East and Europe visited in a show of solidarity with the tiny country that is still in shock.

The president of the European Council, Charles Michel, arrived in Beirut for a brief visit. Turkeys vice president and the countrys foreign minister met Aoun and said that Ankara was ready to help rebuild Beiruts port and evacuate some of the wounded to Turkey for treatment.

At the site of the blast, workers continued searching for dozens of missing people.
(Natural News) Social media giant Twitter is now blocking the sharing of videos from alternative video platforms such as Bitchute and Brighteon.

The fact that Twitter is no longer allowing video links from these sites was first discovered by independent journalist Tim Pool. In a tweet, Pool tried linking to a couple of Bitchute videos, only to find out that they didnt work.

Trying to share and embed any links from Bitchute or Brighteon now causes Twitter to throw up a generic error message saying Something went wrong, but dont fret.

Alternative video platforms blocked at behest of U.K. liberal group

Bitchute and other alternative video platforms have grown in influence for hosting videos that have been blocked from mainstream platforms. Numerous videos that have been removed from YouTube or even Twitter are still available to watch on these platforms.

So far, the blocking only seems to prevent new Bitchute and Brighteon videos from being shared. Any existing tweets with links to alternative video sites still have their links working correctly. However, clicking on those links still brings up a warning from Twitter, claiming that the links are unsafe.

The link you are trying to access has been identified by Twitter or our partners as being potentially spammy or unsafe, in accordance with Twitters URL policy, the message states.

Twitter has yet to make a statement on why it has decided to block links from alternative video sites. A report from Big League Politics, however, speculates that the company may have done it at the behest of Hope Not Hate, the U.K.-based activist organization that lobbies Big Tech to censor their political rivals.

Major social media platforms including Facebook and Twitter should ban the sharing of Bitchute links on their platform, thereby significantly reducing the impact of this extreme and dangerous material, writes the group in their blog about Bitchute.

Law enforcement investigate Bitchute for distribution of content that breaks British law, including terrorism legislation, the group adds. The Government should introduce an Online Harms Bill that includes meaningful consequences for bespoke platforms such as Bitchute that host, promote or distribute terrorism, extremist and hateful content.

U.K. liberal groups push for more deplatforming

If Hope Not Hate is behind Twitters blocking of Bitchute and Brighteon, then it wouldnt be the first time that a tech giant has bowed down to pressure from a leftist group at the expense of conservative media.

Last June, it came out that Google had demonetized Zero Hedge (and threatened the Federalist with the same) at the behest of another U.K.-based liberal group called the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH).

Both groups have worked together with Hope Not Hate founder Nick Lowles actually endorsing the CCDH. More importantly, both groups have successfully engaged in efforts to have websites and individuals who disagree with their agenda deplatformed.

In April 2019, Hope Not Hate published a blog titled Deplatforming Works: Lets Get On With It. While the blog tries to pay lip service to how deplatforming goes against free speech, it goes on to explain how doing so is actually better as it has an enormous effect in curtailing the influence of those who were deplatformed.

However, it is possible to value and uphold freedom of speech and expression while simultaneously calling for the removal of dangerous extremists from social media platforms, the blog claimed. We must not confuse their right to say what they please (within the law) with their right to say it wherever they please: a right they do not have.

Whats more alarming is the support that these organizations get within the U.K. and the U.K. government itself. While Hope Not Hate claims to not receive any government funding, it has received support from politicians, including both former and current ministers of parliament. The CCDH, on the other hand, all but flaunts its links to the government, counting among its numbers individuals linked to the U.K. Labour Party including some who are close to current Labour leader Kier Starmer, as well as to his predecessor, Gordon Brown. (Related: Election meddling? UK govt-linked group is responsible for Googles demonetization of conservative sites.)

The connections that these groups have raise questions of just how much theyre being used as political tools of those in the Left. Could these groups simply be using their platforms of stopping online hate to censor the Lefts critics and put them in power?

Learn more about how the Left is trying to silence conservative voices at Censorship.news.

Sources include:

BigLeaguePolitics.com

HopeNotHate.org.uk

Breitbart.com
The paintings of John Nieto thread the complex heritage of the Southwest through his own native ancestry, splashed in the primary colors of Matisse.

Open at Santa Fes LewAllen Galleries at 1613 Paseo de Peralta,

lewallengalleries.com, John Nieto: The Legacy Paintings showcases 34 works from the late painters estate through Aug. 29. Nieto died in 2018.

The artist traced his New Mexican ancestry  Mescalero Apache and Navajo, as well as Spanish  back 300 years. Across his career, he lived in Santa Fe and Corrales before moving near Dallas as his health deteriorated.

Nietos intensely fauvist palette emerged after he saw an exhibition at the Dallas Art Museum. French for wild beasts, the Fauves were a group of early 20th century modern artists whose work emphasized painterly qualities and bold color over the representational values retained by the Impressionists.

An enamoured Nieto traveled to Paris, visiting its museums to research the Fauvist leaders Henri Matisse and Andre Derain. His discovery of the Fauves and their use of saturated color to communicate emotional meaning proved crucial to his development.

A 1960 visit to the Mescalero Mountain Dance with his grandmother gave him the imagery he needed.

On the way back, she said, Will you do me a favor? Will you paint my people?  LewAllen co-owner Ken Marvel said. Thats when he realized he was going to

explore his Native American heritage in his work.

A longtime Nieto collector, Marvel got to know the artist.

He was incredible; he was always dressed in black, Marvel said. It had to do with his sense of the medicine wheel, and that part of the medicine wheel that has to do with spirituality. He was a quiet man. He was very much a meditative soul. But he was also a man of great humor. He would charm us with stories of Native American rituals  how animals are important in the Native American belief system; they are communicators, spirit guides.

He was also a very learned man, Marvel continued. He would quote esoteric philosophers from French existential writings.

The paintings on view all date from the 80s through the 90s.

He loved color, Marvel said. He said Matisse said color is the wild part of art. He did not mix colors; he used them right out of the tube.

The paintings Hopi Potter (1991) and Mary from Acoma Pueblo (1988), both acrylic on canvas, reveal his reverence for women.

He attributed his career to his grandmother, Marvel said. That began a real respect, reverence for the feminine.

Similarly, Old Person (1989), acrylic on canvas, with its electric profusion of saturated hues, is a nod to his elders.

John had an enormous respect for wisdom, Marvel said.

Red Cloud (Sioux) (1990), captures the dignified chief with a U.S. government medal dangling from his neck.

The history of the Native American leaders also fascinated John, Marvel said. It was a legacy of broken promises. It was a survival John thought should never be forgotten. Even though many were dispossessed of their land, they always retained their dignity and courage.

His Yacqui Deer Dancer (1994) also arose from the experience of a Mountain Spirit Dance.

The man is probably the greatest American Fauvist of contemporary art, Marvel said. His work is a reliquary of history and dignity.

Nieto also painted non-native portraits of Southwestern icons, including Maria Benitez and Georgia OKeeffe. Nietos Delegate to the White House hung in President Ronald Reagans Oval Office until it was moved to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California.

Nieto received the New Mexico Governors Award for achievement in the arts in 1994 and Southern Methodist Universitys Distinguished Alumni Award in 2006. Today his work hangs in prominent museums across the country.
Governors in the northeast have unanimously elected Borno State Governor, Professor Babagana Umara Zulum as the pioneer chairman of their forum, for a period of two years.

This was contained in a communique issued at the end of the forums second meeting held in Maiduguri yesterday.

The meeting was attended by governors of Adamawa- Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri, Gombe- Mohammed Inuwa Yahaya, Borno- Prof Babagana Umara Zulum, Bauchi- Sen. Bala Mohammed, Deputy Governors of Taraba- Engr Haruna Manu and Yobe, Idi Barde Gubana.

The governors also agreed to make Maiduguri headquarters of their forum and agreed to hold their third meeting on November 7, 2020 in Yola, Adamawa state.

Northeast Governors raise 11 points communique

Borno Governor and Chairman, Northeast Governors forum, Babagana Umara Zulum on Saturday night, read an 11-point communique issued at the end of the forums second meeting.

He said after the governors discussed the challenges facing the sub-region, they resolved as follows:

1. The Forum commends the effort of the Federal Government of Nigeria in fighting insurgency. However, the Armed Forces should intensify effort to secure hard-to-reach areas in the region and ensure safe access to farm lands.

2. The Forum called on the Federal Government of Nigeria to ensure the deployment of state of the art military hard ware to the region.

3. The Forum recommends that the manpower deficit in the Nigerian Armed Forces should be bridged by allowing the Police to carry state of the art weapons where necessary and be provided with strategic equipment like high velocity tear gas, trackers and Armoured Personnel Carriers (APC).

4. The Forum calls on the Federal Ministry of Water Resources to ensure that attention is given to recharging the Lake Chad from National water bodies and strengthen the river basins in the sub region.

5. The Forum pledges to work together to foster regional integration, growth and development especially in exploitation of its oil and gas potentials, mineral resources, agriculture and industrialization.

6. The Forum called on the Federal Government to revoke selected roads contracts awarded by Federal Ministry of Works for years without progress and re-award same to more competent contractors and fund to ensure timely execution.

7. The Forum urged the Federal Government to ensure local content in the execution of the Mambila Hydro electric power project and other programmes of the North East Development Commission to ensure synergy with state governments.

8. The Forum supports the management and Board of the North East Development Commission and agreed to work together in producing comprehensive strategic Master Plan for the region that will ensure sustainable development.

9. The Forum affirmed its commitment to support the Federal Government agenda of transforming the Almajiri system with a view to strengthening both Islamic and western education as well as stopping street begging and prevalence of out of school children in the region as agreed by the Northern Governors.

10. The Forum also nominated Professor Babagana Umara Zulum, MNSE, mni, Executive Governor of Borno State as Chairman of the Forum for a period of two years and the Headquarters of the Forum will be located in Maiduguri, Borno State.

11. The next meeting of the Forum comes up on November 7th 2020 in Yola, Adamawa State.
 Flash

Venezuelan Attorney General Tarek William Saab reported that the two Americans who participated in Operation Gideon, an act that aimed to overthrow the Venezuelan government, have been sentenced to 20 years in prison after admitting to the crimes.

U.S. citizens Luke Denman and Airan Berry have been "sentenced to 20 years' imprisonment," Saab announced on his official Twitter account on Friday night.

The prosecutor said that the two former members of the U.S. military had "confessed to having committed the crimes of conspiracy, association, illicit trafficking in weapons of war and terrorism."

Luke Denman and Airan Berry were captured in May along with six Venezuelan nationals in a boat carrying weapons off the coast of the central state of Aragua.




Mumbai, Aug 9 : After actor Rana Daggubati tied the knot with his ladylove Miheeka Bajaj, several celebrities from Indian film industry too to social media to congratulate the couple.

Sharing a picture of the newlyweds from their pre-wedding functions, Mahesh Babu tweeted: "Congratulations on your wedding @RanaDaggubati and Miheeka! Wishing you both a lifetime of love and happiness." Mahesh Babu's wife Namrata Shirodkar too showered Rana and Miheeka with loads of love.

"My dear @ranadaggubati, you're officially married! Welcome to the club. Sending you love, blessings and loads of happiness !! Congratulations to you and @miheeka," Namrata wrote on Instagram.

Actor Nani wished the couple in a humorous way.He posted a photo of himself watching the live streaming of Rana's wedding through Virtual Reality (VR).

"Watching the end of an iconic bachelor @RanaDaggubati. Congratulations babai. Ee technology ento," Nani quipped.

The wedding ceremony was organised at the Ramanaidu Studios in Hyderabad on Saturday night.

Allu Arjun, Samantha Akkineni, Naga Chaitanya and Ram Charan among several others were spotted at the wedding.

Congratulating the couple, superstar Akshay Kumar tweeted: "Perfect way to get permanently locked-down :) Congratulations @RanaDaggubati , wishing you both a lifetime of happiness." Samantha even shared a glimpse of the wedding day.

She posted a photograph of the couple along with their family, on her Instagram account.

"The most adorable Miheeka...Welcome to the family," Samantha wrote.
The Mumbai Police on Saturday filed its response in the Supreme Court clearing stance on petition filed by accused actor Rhea Chakraborty to transfer Sushant Singh Rajput's death case from Bihar to Mumbai for investigation, says, Bihar's involvement in the case could've led to a 'chaotic situation' reiterating Chakraborty's 'federal structure' argument.

An investigation by Mumbai and Bihar Police into Sushant Singh Rajputs death case would have lead to a chaotic situation, said the Maharashtra Police in its reply filed in the Supreme Court on Saturday.

A copy of affidavit accessed by ANI stated that an investigation by the two different states police into the same incident, which had occurred in a single state only, will lead to a chaotic situation, as the investigation of one state police may interfere with the investigation of another state police.

As the Bihar Police did not have jurisdiction to investigate into the FIR or examine witnesses, the question of co-operation by the Mumbai Police into the simultaneous enquiry by the Bihar Police did not arise, the Maharashtra Police told the top court in its affidavit.

Also read: PM Modi to launch Rs. 1 lakh crore financing facility under PM-KISAN scheme tomorrow

Also read: Kozhikode plane crash: Centre announces interim relief of Rs. 10 lakh to families of deceased

Stressing on the quarantine of IPS office Vinay Tiwari, who went from Bihar to Mumbai to investigate Rajputs death case, the Maharashtra police denied the suggestion that the quarantine of Tiwari was aimed at obstructing the investigation by the Bihar Police.

The action of Bihar Police in not transferring the FIR and continuing with the simultaneous inquiry into the offence alleged into the FIR was totally malafide and violated the principles of federalism enshrined in the Constitution, the Maharashtra Police stated in its 20-page affidavit.

It also stated that the CBI should not have registered an FIR on the request of the Bihar government in Sushant Singh Rajputs death case.

In the present facts and circumstances of the present case, the FIR ought to be transferred as a Zero FIR to the Bandra police station, Mumbai, the Maharashtra Police stated in its reply before the Apex Court.

Further, it was also submitted that a fair, proper, professional and impartial investigation has been and also will be conducted by the Mumbai Police.

The Mumbai Police are investigating the incident fairly, properly, professionally and impartially, the Maharashtra Police stated in its reply.

During the course of the investigation, the Mumbai Police, has, to date, recorded the statements of 56 persons and is investigating the facts and circumstances leading to the death of the late actor, from each and every angle, the Maharashtra Police said.

The Supreme Court will hear on August 11 (Tuesday), the petition filed by Rhea Chakroborty seeking to transfer a First Information Report (FIR) in Sushant Singh Rajputs death case from Patna to Mumbai.

A petition has been filed by actor Rhea in the apex court seeking transfer of investigation in the case to Mumbai, said her lawyer Satish Maneshinde on July 29.

An FIR had been registered against Rhea at Rajiv Nagar police station in Patna under various sections, including abetment to suicide on the complaint of Rajputs father.

On Friday, Rhea was questioned by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) at its office in Mumbai in connection with Rajputs death case. The agency also questioned Showik Chakraborty, Rheas brother, and Shruti Modi.

Meanwhile, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has collected documents related to the actors death from Bihar Police.

Sushant was found dead at his Mumbai residence on June 14.

Also read: SSR death probe: Rajputs father calls Rhea Chakrabortys petition before SC infructuous
Advising against overhyping decisions not to join Free Trade agreements (FTAs), External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Saturday said it is important not to get into false choices and that there was a need to have detailed honest debates.

Speaking at a discussion in India@75 Summit organised by CII, the minister said proponents of Free Trade Agreements make out as if that is the only vehicle to engage the world.

He also referred to Indias decision not to join the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) last year and said apprehensions that it reflected protectionist tendencies were not correct.

Its important not to get into false choices. The choice is not today between will India engage or not engage the world. Proponents of FTAs make out as if that is the only vehicle to engage the world and if you missed out of RCEP, you are missing something very big in the world, he said.

I am not sure that its an accurate assessment of RCEP or FTAs... We need to drill down, get to basics, have detailed honest debates and not make these mantras oh my God, were retreating and becoming protectionists. A lot of our problems arise when we start overhyping it, he

In November last year, India decided not to join the RCEP agreement as its key concerns were not addressed. The key issues behind New Delhis decision not to be part of RCEP included inadequate protection against import surge, insufficient differential with China, possible circumvention of rules of origin, keeping the base year as 2014 and no credible assurances on market access and non-tariff barriers.

In May, China said it will welcome India back to negotiations on the RCEP at an appropriate time.
Beijing: China has sentenced a fourth Canadian citizen to death on drug charges in less than two years following a sharp downturn in ties over the arrest of an executive of Chinese tech giant Huawei.

Ye Jianhui was sentenced by the Foshan Municipal Intermediate Court in the southern province of Guangdong on Friday. Ye had been found guilty of manufacturing and transporting illegal drugs, the court said in a brief statement.

A security officer wearing a face mask to help protect against the coronavirus gestures outside the Canadian embassy in Beijing on Thursday. Credit:AP

Another suspect in the case was also given the death penalty and four others were sentenced to between seven years and life in prison, it said. Death sentences are automatically referred to Chinas highest court for review.

Ties between Canada and China have nosedived over Canada's late 2018 arrest of Meng Wanzhou, a company executive and the daughter of Huawei's founder, at Vancouvers airport at the request of the US, which wants her extradited to face fraud charges over the companys dealings with Iran.
Unmindful of the heavy rains and COVID-19 fears, the "Real Heroes"-- the local people, who had rushed to rescue passengers of the Air India Express from Dubai that crashed while landing at the airport here on Friday night, have gone on quarantine.

Despite the airport area falling under containment zone, many locals had rushed to the accident spot on hearing about the mishap, which had claimed 18 lives and left over 100 injured.

Their selfless act has come in for praise from various quarters.

Police sources said 135 locals and 42 police personnel who had participated in the rescue operations have gone into quarantine.

They had not been wearing protective clothing or gloves and had come in close contact with the injured, the sources said.

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

The flight with 190 people on board had overshot the tabletop runway while landing in heavy rains and fallen into a valley 35 feet below and broken into two portions.

After one of the deceased passengers tested positive for COVID-19 on Saturday, Health minister KK Shailaja had asked all local rescuers to go on quarantine.

The state government had also decided to conduct COVID-19 tests for all the people involved in the rescue operations.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had on Saturday praised the 'fast response' of the local people and officials who were among the first to reach the crash site.

Vijayan in a tweet had said "Yesterday, the fast response of the local people and officials made all the difference. They brave bad weather and COVID fears to rescue their fellow beings. The long queues of people who wanted to donate blood was just one example", Vijayan had said.
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said on CNNS State of the Union Sunday that he doesnt know if Ohio will be able to chip in toward the extra $400 a week in unemployment payments President Donald Trump announced Saturday.

Were looking at it right now to see if we can do this, DeWine told CNNs Dana Bash, about Trumps order to pay 25% -- or $100 -- extra a week to thousands of unemployed Ohioans.

I want to thank the president, DeWine said from his Cedarville home. The president had a difficult situation. He had a blunt instrument, thats the executive order. Hes trying to do something. Hes trying to move the ball forward.

He said Congress needs to negotiate a deal.

We need to look at this like we are at war. Throughout our history when we have had a foreign invader, we pull together, Democrats and Republicans. We have an invader. That is this virus. Im confident they can do that.

The interview was DeWines first since testing positive for the coronavirus with a rapid antigen test required to meet Trump on Thursday. He has since had two negative PCR tests, which tests for genetic material and is considered more reliable.

Heres what else he had to say.

On coronavirus tests

Bash questioned the accuracy of tests.

DeWine stressed during the Sunday morning interview that he doesnt want Ohioans to think that tests arent reliable, adding that Ohio is teaming up with six states, though they havent decided which tests to buy.

I think what people should not take away from my experience that testing is not reliable or doesnt work, DeWine said. What I took was as you pointed out an antigen test which should be looked at as a screening test.

People should not take away from my experience that testing is not reliable or doesnt work, he said. What I took is an antigen test, which really should be looked at as a screening test...The antigen tests are fairly new and the companies that are coming out with them quite frankly have the burden of showing, you know, how good they are. Could they be used in some situation, yeah they could be, but you have to understand going in that if you can get the false positives, like happened in my case, or you can get the false negative.

Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Ohio, North Carolina and Virginia are working together.

DeWine said he along with the six governors have agreed to put their purchasing power together for these tests. But, he noted, they are taking it one step at a time.

On mail-in voting

Bash asked if DeWine was concerned about voter fraud, with mail-in voting in November.

An expected surge in mail-in voting because of the coronavirus pandemic combined with a troubled U.S. Postal Service has raised concerns that ballots wont reach election boards on time.

DeWine downplayed concerns and said he has faith in Secretary of State Frank LaRose and county boards of elections, run by both Democrats and Republicans.

We have a long, long experience of doing that in Ohio, he said. Im comfortable. You always have to worry about fraud. You have to be vigilant... Its going to work.

Read more coronavirus coverage on cleveland.com:

Are false positives from antigen tests ratcheting up Ohio coronavirus case numbers? Doctors correct testing myths

City of Cleveland reports 56 new cases of coronavirus Saturday, no new deaths

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, First Lady Fran DeWine again test negative for coronavirus

Ohio reports 1,294 new coronavirus cases: Saturday update

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, First Lady Fran DeWine again test negative for coronavirus
11 members of Pak Hindu migrant family found dead in Jodhpur

India

pti-Deepika S

Jodhpur, Aug 09: Eleven members of a family of Pakistan Hindu migrants were found dead at a farm in Rajasthan's Jodhpur district on Sunday morning, police said.

A person of the family, however, was found alive outside the hut they lived at Lodta village of Dechu area, an officer said.

"But he claimed to have no idea about the incident, which believed to have happened in the night," said Superintendent of Police (Rural) Rahul Barhat.

Pakistan releases new political map including J&K as its own

"We are yet to ascertain the cause and means of death. But apparently, all the members appeared to have committed suicide by consuming some chemical in the night," Barhat said.

Defence Ministry bans import of 101 Defence items: PM Modi's Atma Nirbhar Bharat | Oneindia News

He said there was a smell of some chemical around in the hut, suggesting that they consumed something.

All the family members were Hindu migrants from Pakistan from the Bhil community and had been living on the farm in the village, which they had hired for farming.

"There was neither any injury mark on any of the bodies nor any evidences of any foul play," the SP said. "But we have roped in the forensic team and a dog squad to arrive at any final conclusion."

Preliminary information indicated that there was some dispute in the family over some issue.

"Once we interrogate the survivor, we would be in any position to find out that what had led to this incident", he said.
By Express News Service

BENGALURU: Karnataka's Health Minister B Sriramulu on Sunday said that he had tested positive for COVID-19 and was admitted to a hospital for further treatment. Sriramulu, who has toured all 30 districts of the State to review the COVID-19 crisis, said he developed a fever on Sunday following which he was tested for COVID-19 and his results have come out positive.

"At a time when I am touring all districts across the State to ensure citizens receive the best of treatment as per the government's aspirations, I have been forced to undergo a test of strength. I am being admitted into a hospital for further treatment," Sriramulu said in a series of tweets after he confirmed that he had tested positive for COVID19. Unlike his counterparts, Sriramulu chose to get admitted to a government hospital in Bengaluru. The Minister is currently being treated at Bowring Hospital in Shivajinagar of Bengaluru.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa and Leader of Opposition and Congress Legislature Party Chief Siddaramaiah continue to be treated at a private hospital in Bengaluru. Wishes for the Minister's health and recovery have been pouring in from party colleagues as well as leaders from other parties.
Mark Fasano, pictured outside his home with wife Becca Block and sons Ryan, 7, and Jack, 2, is among the Lower Merion parents who think the district could be offering some in-person learning safely. Read more

When his childrens school district announced that it would bring students back part time this fall, Alex Uram thought: We can handle this.

While working from home and supervising a rising kindergartner and third grader has been a challenge, the Montgomery County father, whose wife works in a medical facility, figured he could get his work done in the mornings and evenings on days his children werent physically in class in the Colonial School District.

He was stunned this week when the districts superintendent recommended that schools only reopen virtually, upending his familys plans.

What has changed in the last two weeks from them approving a plan to We cant do it anymore'? Uram said.

A growing number of school districts around Philadelphia are opting to begin the school year virtually  a shift that accelerated this past week, with boards all over the region approving and in some cases changing their plans on how to open in just a few weeks.

West Chester, Upper Darby, and Colonial were among the districts that approved virtual openings, as did Haverford  reversing course just one week after saying it would try a hybrid plan.

The rippling decisions have won support from parents worried about sending children back, but frustrated others now in a child-care bind  and fearing their kids will be forced to repeat what for many was a dismaying experience with virtual learning.

In Lower Merion, school board members spent four hours Wednesday debating considerations and hearing out parents  including advocates for an in-person return  before voting 8-1 in favor of a virtual plan.

Parents in a variety of communities have questioned why it isnt safe to reopen, pointing to infection rates and recommendations from medical groups on the importance of in-person learning, including the American Academy of Pediatrics. (The group, which in late June said school plans should start with a goal of having students physically present, later warned against a one-size-fits-all approach, and called on Congress to provide resources for schools to reopen safely.)

In an interview with the Washington Post published Friday, Anthony Fauci, the nations top infectious-disease expert, said: Everybody should try within the context of the level of infection that you have to get the kids back to school. He said states with smoldering infections should tighten reopening plans, possibly with hybrid in-person and online programs, while those with high levels of infection may want to pause.

School leaders around Philadelphia  which announced it would open virtually through mid-November  say theyre worried about the potential for spread of the coronavirus, and delays in getting test results. And as other districts have announced virtual starts, officials anticipate effects on their staffs, since teachers live in different communities and may have child-care issues.

 READ MORE: School reopenings are a mess, home-schooling pods are coming, and they could make inequality even worse

Superintendents are also watching as some schools have reopened in other parts of the country, then shut down or imposed quarantines. They say they dont want to bring students back only to close abruptly because of an outbreak.

Why should we be the test case? West Chester Area School District Superintendent Jim Scanlon said during a school board meeting Monday, explaining why he was recommending a completely virtual start even though just 20% of district parents favored that option. Like other school leaders, he pledged an improved virtual program from the spring.

In Millville, in South Jerseys Cumberland County, the school district canceled its summer child-care program last week after a second staff member tested positive for the virus.

[H]ere we are, a district that did our best, followed the protocols, and we couldnt do it in a controlled environment, let alone when you go into a bigger, larger-scale situation in September, Superintendent Tony Trongone told the Vineland Daily Journal. What are we going to do?

In Haverford Township, Superintendent Maureen Reusche asked the school board Thursday night to approve an all-virtual start, despite one week earlier recommending a hybrid reopening plan.

Reusche said she was concerned by Delaware County case data, as well as a model from University of Texas researchers that showed a school of 1,000 students reopening in Delaware County could expect five infected students to show up during the first week of instruction. She also said doctors from the University of Pennsylvania and Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia had advised the district to wait to reopen, predicting a potential spike in cases after Labor Day weekend.

Reusche said she knew some parents would be upset, and understandably so. This isnt their choice, she said. But, she said, this isnt anybodys choice.

Some parents argue that school leaders could open buildings in a strategic way, and should be trying to find in-person solutions  especially in affluent communities they contend should have the ability to make school environments safer.

In Lower Merion, Mark Fasano, who has children ages 7 and 2, thinks the district should reopen starting with its youngest students, reassessing every one to two weeks. He sees minimal risk in that approach, in part given the cases Montgomery County has reported among young children. (Of the nearly 10,000 positive cases the county has registered since March, 151 have been among kids 9 or younger.)

We would not be OK with any in-person scenario that was unsafe  for anyone, Fasano said. Like other parents, he questioned what it would take for the district to begin reopening, with no clear time frame for a vaccine: This could take years.

Pressed during Wednesdays meeting, Superintendent Robert Copeland did not provide specifics on the public health benchmarks needed to reopen.

But he said he wanted faster testing, which would allow schools to perform more effective contact tracing  saying he had grave concerns about how many people an infected student could interact with before a test result was returned.

While parents may be willing to accept the risk, I have the responsibility of recommending to the board what risk I think the school district should enter, Copeland said. And I think the risk would be too great.

 READ MORE: Every teacher I know is flipping out: As pandemic back-to-school plans form, educators are wary

Not all area districts are going virtual. The Wissahickon school board voted 6-2 on Thursday to stick with its plan to offer in-person learning five days a week for K-5 students, and a hybrid option for grades 6-12.

Other districts that have been planning varying degrees of in-person returns include Radnor, Central Bucks, and Unionville-Chadds Ford, which last week voted to hire 21 elementary teachers to reduce class sizes and ensure six feet of social distancing among students.

In the neighboring Colonial district, where the board voted 6-3 Thursday to start the year virtually, parents like Sully Francis said they understood the decision.

A bilingual counseling assistant in the Philadelphia School District, Francis worries about children, particularly in poorer districts like Philadelphia, not having their needs met while schools are closed. And as a parent of incoming fifth and third graders  the latter of whom struggled with virtual school in the spring  Francis knows in-person learning would help her children.

But she doesnt think schools can open safely, staff can keep young children apart, or stop them from putting their hands in their mouths. Our priority is supposed to be health, Francis said.

On Thursday night, nearly 1,000 people stayed tuned into a YouTube livestream as the Colonial meeting neared midnight, five hours after it began.

Among them was Uram, who said before the meeting he would do anything to enable his children to return to school. I will live my life as if Im in the red phase for this entire school year. I will not go anywhere, he said.

Later, he told the board, You dont seem to grasp the gravity of what youre about to do to us as parents.
A man has been shot and another stabbed during an attack near London's Hyde Park - just a mile away from where a man was fatally wounded in another stabbing hours earlier.

One of the victims, a man in his 20s, is said to be in a serious but stable condition with a gunshot wound following the shooting in Upper Berkeley Street, near to Marble Arch, in the early hours of Sunday morning.

A second victim, also in his 20s, was also taken to hospital with a stab wound and head injury following the incident at around 2am today.

Police say the second man's injuries do not appear to be life-threatening at this time.

A police cordon is today in place as detectives investigate the incident.

A man has been shot and another stabbed during an attack near London's Hyde Park - just a mile away from where a man was fatally wounded in another stabbing hours earlier. Pictured: Police at the scene of the incident on Upper Berkeley Street

One of the victims, a man in his 20s, is said to be in a serious but stable condition with gunshot wounds following the shooting in Upper Berkeley Street, near to Marble Arch, in the early hours of Sunday morning

Police say the second man's injuries do not appear to be life-threatening at this time. A police cordon is today in place as detectives investigate the incident

The Metropolitan Police say a man has been arrested on suspicion of possession of Class-A drugs.

The incident comes after three men were arrested after a teenager died in what police believe is an unconnected stabbing in 'broad daylight' on London's Oxford Street.

Police and ambulance service rushed to the teen's aid following the incident in the Market Place area of Oxford Street at around 5.30pm yesterday.

The teenager was rushed to hospital in central London but was pronounced dead around two hours later.

The incident comes after three men were arrested after a teenager died in a stabbing in 'broad daylight' on London's Oxford Street. Pictured: Police at the scene today

Police and ambulance service rushed to the teen's aid following the incident in the Market Place area of Oxford Street at around 5.30pm yesterday. Pictured: Police at the scene today

Police have confirmed a man was stabbed, after a person was seen to be lying on the ground.

Police and the London Ambulance Service attended the scene on Market Street where a man has been stabbed

The teen's next of kin have been informed by the police, who confirmed that a post-mortem examination would be carried out.

The Metropolitan Police's Specialist Crime Command have launched a murder investigation and have arrested three males. No further details have yet been given.

The famous shopping street has been closed to traffic at the junction of Great Portland Street.

Following the incident, a Met spokeswoman said: 'Officers attended and found a male suffering from a stab injury.

Three arrests have been made following the incident and the street was closed to traffic at the junction of Great Portland Street

'He was taken by the London Ambulance Service to a central London hospital; we await an update on his condition.

'Anyone with information is asked to call police via 101 quoting reference Cad 6404/08Aug.'

A London Ambulance Service spokesperson said: 'We dispatched two ambulance crews, an incident response officer and a medic in a car to the scene. We also dispatched a London's Air Ambulance trauma team.

'We treated a person at the scene and took them to a major trauma centre.'
Thousands of Israelis rallied outside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's residence in Jerusalem on Saturday as anger mounted over corruption allegations and his handling of the coronavirus crisis.

"Your time is up", read the giant letters projected on to a building at the protest site, as demonstrators waved Israeli flags and called on Netanyahu to resign over what they say is his failure to protect jobs and businesses affected by the pandemic.

The protest movement has intensified in recent weeks, with critics accusing Netanyahu of being distracted by a corruption case against him. He denies wrongdoing.

Netanyahu, who was sworn in for a fifth term in May after a closely fought election, has accused the protesters of trampling democracy and the Israeli media of encouraging dissent.

Netanyahu's right-wing Likud party on Saturday called the protests "left-wing riots" and accused Israel's popular Channel 12 news of "doing everything it can to encourage the far-left demonstrations" of the premier's opponents.

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

"Netanyahu is fighting to get Israel's economy back to normal and to trasnfer funds and grants to Israeli citizens," Likud said in a statement posted to Netanyahu's Twitter page.

Protests have stretched beyond Netanyahu's official residence in Jerusalem, with many Israelis gathering on bridges and highway junctions across the country.

On a busy highway overpass north of Israel's commercial hub of Tel Aviv, demonstrators waved black flags and chanted slogans while cars honked their horns from the road below.

One protester, Yael, said she had lost her job at a Tel Aviv restaurant and that government aid has been slow to come.

"You'd think that a once-in-a-lifetime crisis like this would push Netanyahu to act, and it hasn't. Enough is enough," she said, declining to give her last name.

Israel in May lifted a partial lockdown that had flattened an infection curve. But a second surge of COVID-19 cases and ensuing restrictions have seen Netanyahu's approval ratings plunge to under 30 percent.

Many restrictions have since been lifted to revive business activity, but unemployment hovers at 21.5 percent and the economy is expected to contract 6 percent in 2020.
B ritain could be heading into another full lockdown if Boris Johnson doesn't to sort out the "disastrous" test and trace programme, a former government adviser has said.

Sir David King told the Sunday Mirror the the UK is "nowhere near" the safe reopening of schools, adding: We need a proper test and trace system by September. Otherwise full school opening will put us right back.

Sir David, 80, the former chief scientific advisor to Tony Blair who now heads the Independent Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies shadowing the PM's scientific team, called on Mr Johnson to "get it right".

He said: The Government has a month to deal with the level of infectivity as it stands now. Reopening schools should be a priority, but we believe we are nowhere near the point where it can be done safely.

The R rate of infection number is expected to rise by about 0.5 when all schools open.

Sir David urged the PM to let councils run test and trace as he hit out at the current system, run by private firm Serco.

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Tracing here is one phone call and you are asked to isolate. There is no follow-up as to whether people do," he said, adding: The Government made a disastrous mistake giving contact tracing to a firm with no healthcare expertise."

It comes as Boris Johnson, writing in the Mail on Sunday, said it is the national priority to get all pupils back into classrooms in September after months without in-person education.

Coronavirus hits the UK - In pictures 1 /81 Coronavirus hits the UK - In pictures A deserted Westminster Bridge PA A man wearing a face mask or covering due to the COVID-19 pandemic, walks past customers sat outside a restaurant AFP via Getty Images Boris Johnson addresses the nation on the Coronavirus lockdown Andrew Parsons Runners pass cardboard cutouts of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II and Prince William during the London Marathon in London AP An empty escalator at Charing Coss London Underground tube station Jeremy Selwyn Electronic bilboards displays a message warning people to stay home in Sheffield PA A sign is displayed in the window of a student accommodation building following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Mancheste Reuters People take part in a 'We Do Not Consent' rally at Trafalgar Square, organised by Stop New Normal, to protest against coronavirus restrictions, in Londo AP People sing and dance in Leicester Square on the eve on the 10PM curfew Reuters Hearts painted by a team of artists from Upfest are seen in the grass at Queen Square, following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Bristol Reuters Graffiti reads 'good luck and stay safe', as the number of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases grow around the world, under a bridge in London Reuters A sign is pictured in Soho, amid the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in London Reuters Prime Minister Boris Johnson gestures, during a coronavirus briefing in Downing Street, London AP A person runs past posters with a message of hope, as the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues in Manchester REUTERS Riot police face protesters who took part in a 'We Do Not Consent' rally at Trafalgar Square, organised by Stop New Normal, to protest against coronavirus restrictions in London AP An image of The Queen eith quotes from her broadcast to the UK and the Commonwealth in relation to the Coronavirus epidemic are displayed on lights in London's Piccadilly Circus PA Military vehicles cross Westminster Bridge after members of the 101 Logistic Brigade delivered a consignment of medical masks to St Thomas' hospital Getty Images Durdle Door in Dorset Reuters Captain Tom Moore via Reuters Mia, aged 8, and Jack, aged 5, take part in "PE with Joe" a daily live workout with Joe Wicks on Youtube to help kids stay fit who have to stay indoors due to the Coronavirus outbreak PA An NHS worker reacts at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital during the Clap for our Carers campaign in support of the NHS Reuters Goats which have taken over the deserted streets of Llandudno @AndrewStuart via PA Tobias Weller PA Novikov restaurant in London with its shutters pulled down while the restaurant is closed London Landscapes: Hyde Park and the Serpentine, central London. Matt Writtle A newspaper vendor in Manchester city centre giving away free toilet rolls with every paper bought as shops run low on supplies due to fears over the spread of the coronavirus PA Theo Clay looks out of his window next to his hand-drawn picture of a rainbow in Liverpool, as the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continue Reuters A young man cuts another man's hair on top of a closed hairdresser in Oxford Reuters General view of the new NHS Nightingale Hospital, built to fight against the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in London via Reuters Jason Baird is seen dressed as Spiderman during his daily exercise to cheer up local children in Stockport, as the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues Reuters A woman wearing a face mask walks past Buckingham Palace Getty Images A man holds mobile phone displaying a text message alert sent by the government warning that new rules are in force across the UK and people must stay at home PA Medical staff on the Covid-19 ward at the Neath Port Talbot Hospital, in Wales, as the health services continue their response to the coronavirus outbreak. PA Prime Minister Boris Johnson taking part in a virtual Cabinet meeting with his top team of ministers PA A shopper walks past empty shelves in a Lidl store on in Wallington. After spates of "panic buying" cleared supermarket shelves of items like toilet paper and cleaning products, stores across the UK have introduced limits on purchases during the COVID-19 pandemic. Some have also created special time slots for the elderly and other shoppers vulnerable to the new coronavirus. Getty Images People on a busy tube train in London at rush hour PA Mia, aged 8 and her brother Jack, aged 5 from Essex, continue their school work at home, after being sent home due to the coronavirus PA Children are painting 'Chase the rainbows' artwork and springing up in windows across the country Reuters Social distancing in Primrose Hill Jeremy Selwyn A general view of a locked gate at Anfield, Liverpool as The Premier League has been suspended PA Homeless people in London AFP via Getty Images A piece of art by the artist, known as the Rebel Bear has appeared on a wall on Bank Street in Glasgow. The new addition to Glasgow's street art is capturing the global Coronavirus crisis. The piece features a woman and a man pulling back to give each other a kiss PA The Queen leaves Buckingham Palace, London, for Windsor Castle to socially distance herself amid the coronavirus pandemic PA A general view on Grey street, Newcastle as coronavirus cases grow around the world Reuters Matt Raw, a British national who returned from the coronavirus-hit city of Wuhan in China, leaves quaratine at Arrowe Park Hospital on Merseyside PA Britain's Chief Medical Officer Professor Chris Whitty (L) and Chief Scientific Adviser Patrick Vallance look on as British Prime Minister Boris Johnson gestures as he speaks during a coronavirus disease (COVID-19) news conference inside 10 Downing Street Reuters The ticket-validation terminals at the tram stop on Edinburgh's Princes Street are cleaned following the coronavirus outbreak. PA Locked school gates at Rockcliffe First School in Whitley Bay, Tyne and Wear PA A sign at a Sainsbury's supermarket informs customers that limits have been set on a small number of products as the number of coronavirus (COVID-19) cases grow around the world Reuters Jawad Javed delivers coronavirus protection kits that he and his wife have put together to the vulnerable people of their community of Stenhousemuir, between Glasgow and Edinburgh AFP via Getty Images A sign advertising a book titled "How Will We Survive On Earth?" Getty Images A man who appears to be homeless sleeping wearing a mask today in Victoria Jeremy Selwyn A pedestrian walks past graffiti that reads "Diseases are in the City" in Edinburgh AFP via Getty Images Staff from The Lyric Theatre, London inform patrons, as it shuts its doors PA A quiet looking George IV Bridge in Edinburgh PA A quieter than usual British Museum Getty Images A racegoer attends Cheltenham in a fashionable face mask SplashNews.com A commuter wears a face mask at London Bridge Station Jeremy Selwyn A empty restaurant in the Bull Ring Shopping Centre Getty Images A deserted Trafalgar Square in London PA Passengers determined to avoid the coronavirus before leaving the UK arrive at Gatwick Airport Getty Images

This pandemic isnt over, and the last thing any of us can afford to do is become complacent, he wrote.

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But now that we know enough to reopen schools to all pupils safely, we have a moral duty to do so."
The Chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Western Regional Caucus in Accra, George Sipa-Adjah Yankey is convinced the party will win at least 90% of the 17 parliamentary seats in the Region in the December 2020 polls.



The former Chief Executive of the Ghana National Gas Company expressed this at a ceremony to inaugurate a 30-man Western Regional NDC 2020 campaign team.



NDC currently has four parliamentary seats in the Western Region.



Prior to the 2016 general elections, the NDC held 10 seats out of which they lost 6 during the 2016 polls.



Mr. Yankey said the members of the committee must stay united, make sacrifices, and campaign at the grassroots level to ensure that the partys 90% parliamentary victory is guaranteed.



We in the Western Region are very determined to win as many seats as possible. All would however depend on us the members of the committee, the sub-committee, and even the non-members of the committees to work together as a team. Everyone should commit their energies, resources, and time to support the campaign and with this, Im sure we can achieve anything as a team. I recently went to the four constituencies I have adopted, namely Jomoro, Evalue-Ajomoro-Gwira, Ellembele and Ahanta West. The enthusiasm I saw by the people at the various registration centres and at our meetings with our party members showed their readiness to fight for victory. So we need to motivate and encourage them through our work and get back to the grassroots. Following the flagbearer around would not win us any vote, but going to the roots of the constituencies would give us the 90 percent of the parliamentary seats, he said.



The inauguration of the campaign team was supervised by Dr. Samuel Sarpong, a member of the NDCs National Campaign team who urged members not to be distracted by petty internal squabbles.



The Western Regional Communication Officer, Richard Kirk Mensah told Citi News campaign team will be expected to coordinate party activities.



The inaugurated Western Regional NDC 2020 campaign team will coordinate all party activities to secure victory in the December 7th polls. The team is led by our Regional Chairman, Nana Toku, and comprises of 7 frontline regional executives as well as representatives from the former Members of Parliament, former Ministers, former MMDCEs, former regional executives, cadres, pro forum members, and special interest groups.



It is a COVID-19 period, so the party is not going to do those big rallies and funfair campaign. It is going to be issue-based, decentralized type of campaign where the constituencies would be detached to the branches to make sure our message gets to our grassroots. We are going to ensure that this campaign team would also take very key responsibility of special groups, thus Taxi drivers, the fisherfolks, farmers, the physically challenged and other constituents.



The Chairman of the campaign team who doubles as the Regional Chairman, Nana Toku in his acceptance speech also added his voice to the need to ensure party unity at all levels, as that will secure victory for the NDC.



The Deputy National Organizer of the NDC, Chief Biney Nickson, in a speech he read on behalf of the flagbearer, John Dramani Mahama, assured the party and Ghanaians at large that the party is ready to win power in the upcoming general elections.



We have been tasked by destiny with nothing less than pulling Ghana back from the edge of disaster. We are charged with executing a rescue mission to alleviate hardship and suffering. It is a rescue mission to halt the corruption and collapse of our democratic institutions and restore hope and confidence in the future.



The campaign team members are as follows.



1. Nana Kojo Toku  Chairman

2. Hon. Capt(Rtd) Anthony Cudjoe

3. Hon.Daniel Eshun

4. Joseph Nelson

5. Japhet Baidoo

6. Richard kirk-Mensah

7. Daniel Darlington Atitso

8. George Dadzie Jnr

9. Gladys Egyin

10. Hafiso Alasko

11. Papa Assan

12. Hon.Charlotte Otua Odum

13. Samuel Idun

14. Hon.George sipa Yankey

15. Hon. Armah kofi Buah

16. Anita Annan

17. Hajia Sadika

18. Hon. Alfred Ekow Gyan

19. Hon Akwasi Opong-Fosu

20. Alhaji Mahama Fuseni

21. Shirley Grace Agyekum

22. Kissi Sam

23. Brigadier General Whajah

24. Mrs Acheampong

25. Mr Augustine Nyamekye

26. Jackline Dzapata

27. Malik Bobbenla

28. Dr. Mark Carl Ahin

29. Solomon Nkansah

30. Jonathan York.

Source: citinewsroom.com









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Jaipur, Aug 9 : Ahead of the Rajasthan Assembly session scheduled to begin on August 14, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Sunday wrote a letter to all MLAs, appealing to them to listen to the people's voice to save democracy and to stand by truth.

The Chief Minister sought cooperation from them to what he called fulfil the promises of development and prosperity of the desert state.

"Victory and defeat are the part of elections. However, as a leader, you should stand with people. I hope you shall stand with truth. People's mandate remains over and above everything. You should extend full cooperation in fulfilling promises made to the people. Leaders like Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, and Atalji also faced defeat in elections. However, they never weakened the democratic traditions and constitutional values," he added.

Gehlot alleged that even during the COVID-19 pandemic, a few of Congress MLAs along with the opposition lawmakers were engaged in a conspiracy to "destabilise our elected government, which is quite unfortunate".

Gehlot recalled that in 1993-96, attempts were made to topple the state government led by BJP leader Bhairon Singh Shekhawat by buying and selling MLAs.

"At that time, as Union Minister of State and state Congress President, I met then Governor Baliram Bhagat and Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao and opposed the very idea of toppling the elected government, stating that this is against our democratic values. Even the people of this state would never want such a tradition to be established in Rajasthan," he added.

The Chief Minister maintained that six Bahujan Samaj Party MLAs joined the Congress in the state in the past by following all norms.

"They decided to merge with the Congress Legislature Party for forming a stable government and to ensure developmental work in their respective areas within the purview of law." He ended his letter by saying that he is confident that all MLAs will stand with by truth and work for the development and prosperity of the state.
Sri Lanka's former president Mahinda Rajapaksa was sworn in on Sunday as the country's new prime minister at a historic Buddhist temple, days after his party won a landslide victory in the General Election. The 74-year-old Sri Lanka People's Party (SLPP) leader was administered the oath of office for the ninth Parliament by his younger brother and President Gotabaya Rajapaksa at the sacred Rajamaha Viharaya in Kelaniya, a north Colombo suburb.

Mahinda Rajapaksa completed 50 years of parliamentary politics in July this year. He was elected as a Member of Parliament at the young age of 24 in 1970. He has since been elected President twice and has been appointed Prime Minister thrice.

The SLPP, led by Mahinda Rajapaksa, registered a landslide victory in the August 5 general election, securing a two-thirds majority in Parliament needed to amend the Constitution to further consolidate the powerful Rajapaksa family's grip on power.

Mahinda Rajapaksa polled over 500,000 individual preference votesthe highest ever recorded by a candidate in the history of elections.

The SLPP won in 145 constituencies, bagging a total of 150 seats with its allies, a two-thirds majority in the 225-member Parliament.

The cabinet ministers, state and deputy ministers are expected to be sworn-in on Monday.

The Rajapaksa familyincluding SLPP founder and its National Organiser 69-year-old Basil Rajapaksa, who is the younger brother of Gotabaya Rajapaksa, 71, and Mahinda Rajapaksahas dominated Sri Lankan politics for two decades.

Mahinda Rajapaksa previously served as the president for nearly a decade from 2005 to 2015.

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa had won the November presidential election on the SLPP ticket.

In the parliamentary election, he was seeking 150 seats mandatory to execute constitutional changes, including to repeal the 19th Amendment to the Constitution which had curbed the presidential powers while strengthening the role of Parliament.

Activists, already alarmed by the diminishing space for dissent and criticism in the island nation, fear such a move could lead to authoritarianism.

The biggest casualty from the election outcome was the United National Party (UNP) of former prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe which managed to win only one seat. The country's grand old party failed to win a single seat from any of the 22 districts.

UNP leader and four-time prime minister Wickremesinghe was unseated for the first time since he entered Parliament in 1977.
Jammu, Aug 9 : A terrorist was killed and two others injured as the Army foiled their infiltration bid on Sunday from across the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district.

Defence Ministry spokesman Colonel Devender Anand said: "A group of terrorists attempted to infiltrate in the Krishna Ghati Sector but alert Indian troops detected them close to the LoC and engaged them, resulting in the killing of one terrorist and serious injuries to two others.

"Subsequent search in the area showed that the terrorist's body had been dragged away from the site." One AK-47 assault rifle, two AK-47 magazines, and some eatables were seized from the spot.

"Pakistan markings on the eatables and a few other items clearly indicate the complicity of Pakistan in sponsoring terror activists in J&K," the spokesman said.

He said that security forces are maintaining a robust counter-infiltration grid along the LoC to foil any nefarious design of Pakistan.

The spokesman added that Pakistan troops violated ceasefire at many locations on Sunday, including Krishna Ghati, and Mankote and Mendhar sectors of Poonch district.
10 dead in fire at coronavirus facility in Vijayawada hotel; AP govt anounces Rs 50 lakh ex-gratia

India

oi-Madhuri Adnal

Vijayawada, Aug 09: A major fire broke out at Swarna palace, a hotel being used as coronavirus COVID-19 facility, in Andhra Pradesh's Vijayawada city on Sunday (August 9) morning. According to police at least nine Covid-19 patients died and several others were injured during the incident. The incident took place around 5 am.

It is learnt that around 30 COVID-19 patients were present inside the Swarna Palace hotel situated on Eluru Road when the fire broke out. The COVID-19 patients in the hotel were shifted to other hospital.

''The incident took place around 5 am. Around 22 patients are being treated in hospital. We are evacuating the entire building. The reason of fire appears to be a short circuit, as per the preliminary report, but we will have to ascertain,'' Krishna DC Mohammad Imtiaz said.

Fire breaks out at COVID-19 hospital in Ahmedabad, 8 patients dead

At least 10 people died when a #fire broke out at Swarna Palace hotel, which was rented by pvt hosp to treat #coronavirus patients in the wee hrs of #Sunday in #Vijayawada. pic.twitter.com/6we9tUZuvc  Ravi Chaturvedi (@Ravi4Bharat) August 9, 2020

Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy expressed shock & grief over the fire mishap and enquired about the cause of the accident. He directed the concerned officials to take up the rescue measures and admit the injured in nearby hospitals. The Chief Minister also instructed officials to conduct an inquiry into the accident. The fire occurred in the hotel which was taken on lease and being run by a private hospital to treat COVID19 patient.

Defence Ministry bans import of 101 Defence items: PM Modi's Atma Nirbhar Bharat | Oneindia News

Andhra Pradesh government has announces Rs 50 lakhs ex gratia each to the families of those who lost their lives in the fire at a hotel, being utilised as a COVID19 facility in Vijayawada.

Meanwhile, eight people were killed in a fire in the intensive care unit (ICU) of a private Covid-19 designated hospital in Gujarat's Ahmedabad on Thursday. Police had said the fire broke out due to a short circuit on the fourth floor of the hospital.
WASHINGTON  If you want to know what a campaign really thinks about its chances, you dont listen to what it says, you watch where it puts its money.

This week's Data Download is looking at how the President Donald Trump and Joe Biden teams (and their main affiliated outside groups) have changed their broadcast ad spending over the summer. The numbers offer a peek into which states the campaigns actually believe to be competitive and they appear to hold some good news for the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee.

Every election season starts with a fairly well-defined electoral map, marked by states that both sides feel are truly tossups and states where each side feels it can go on the offensive and change the outcome. Since June, the ad spending shows there has been movement in those groups for both candidates.

Much has been made of how Trump won the White House by flipping these three states to his column in 2016. Most everyone assumed they would be a key focus of campaigning and spending in this election and that is mostly true.

Both campaigns seem fully engaged in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania  between June 2 and July 20 both were actively spending hundreds of thousands of dollars a week in each  but there was one big shift in July.

The week of June 2, the Trump and Biden forces were spending at roughly the same level in Michigan, $474,000 for Team Trump and $498,000 for Team Biden. But in late June, the Trump number started to decline and by July 21, the numbers were roughly $16,000 for Team Trump and about $1.5 million for the Biden effort in the state.

Those numbers suggest that the Trump campaign and its main allies probably didnt like what they were seeing on the ground in Michigan in terms of polling. And, of the three states, Michigan does seem to be the hardest slog for the Trump campaign. A Detroit Free Press poll released on Friday showed Trump had narrowed the gap with Biden in a head-to-head matchup ... to 11 points.

Story continues

The Trump campaign doesnt need Michigan to win and may think its money is better spent elsewhere.

The Democrats lost the White House in 2016, so they need to flip states Trump won in order to have a chance in November. Beyond the three Great Lakes states that arguably won the presidency for Trump, the Biden team has a particular interest in these states that, demographically, may be good targets for them. The broadcast ad money spent in these states shows both campaigns are now invested in duking it out in Arizona, Florida and North Carolina, but Arizona looks different than the other two.

In Florida and North Carolina, the Biden team has gone from no money spent the week of June 2 to near parity with the Trump and his supporting groups by the end of July. The week of July 21, the numbers were $1.4 million for Biden and $1.5 million for Trump in North Carolina. In Florida, it was $2.3 million for Biden and $2.4 million for Trump that week.

But in Arizona, Bidens campaign and main allies went from spending nothing to outspending Trump and his main groups. The week of June 2, Team Trumps spending was at $161,000 versus nothing for Biden. By the week of July 21, Biden and his groups were spending almost $1.3 million to Trump and companys $1.1 million

Thats a notable shift and, again, its come as polls show Biden performing well in Arizona. In late July an NBC News/Marist poll showed Biden up by about 5 points, while a Morning Consult poll showed Biden up by 7 points. Numbers like those show why Biden is on the offensive here.

Even when you win the presidency, the goal is always to expand the map and make your opponent defend states on his side of the ledger. At the start of this cycle, the Trump campaign talked about a few targets they had in mind, these three states being key on that list. At the end of this summer, a few of these options look like they were non-starters for the Trump team, at least by judging their ad investments. But they may have staked out some ground in Nevada.

In Minnesota and New Mexico, a pretty clear pattern is evident. In both cases the Trump money started at zero and then quickly shot up into the $100,000-plus range per week, before crashing down again. On the week of the 21st, the Trump Minnesota spending was down to $21,000 and the teams New Mexico spending was down to about $7,000. The entire time, Bidens campaign and main groups have responded by doing nothing  the ultimate I dont care if you want to spend money there response.

But in Nevada, the Trump Team did not bail. Their spending has gone from zero the week of June 2nd to more than $400,000 and stayed there through July 21st. And while the Biden seemed to be ignoring that spending early on and through the 21st, more recent ad buys suggest they are paying attention now.

The message in the state: Stay tuned, both campaigns may see this as a real and important battleground.

Again, Election Day is still almost three months away and the heavy campaign ad spending has yet to hit. Campaign perceptions and battlegrounds can change, and the Trump campaign is shifting its advertising strategy under its new campaign manager. But as of late July/early August, Joe Biden and his biggest supporting groups seem to be making strides in Great Lakes and leaning into their targets on offense, while the Trump team is looking for an opening in the southwest.
A dreaded shooter associated with gangster turned politician Mukhtar Ansari and also an accused in BJP leader Krishnanand Rais 2005 murder was gunned down by Uttar Pradesh special task force on the outskirts of Lucknow on Sunday morning, police officials said.

Rakesh Pandey alias Hanuman Pandey carried a reward of Rs 1 lakh on his head, officials added.

They said Pandey was involved in several murders and shoot-outs, carried out allegedly by Mukhtar Ansaris gang in the past 27 years. Ansari was accused of hatching a conspiracy to kill Rai-- an MLA from Mohammadabad assembly constituency in Ghazipur-- while in jail, but was acquitted during trial in a lower court.

Mukhtar Ansari and another gangster Prem Prakash Singh alias Munna Bajrangi are also accused in Rais murder case.

Bajrangi was shot dead by another gangster Sunil Rathi inside Baghpat jail on July 9, 2018.

STF inspector general (IG) of police Amitabh Yash said a team was continuously trying to track Pandey for the past many months.

Pandey was gunned down in retaliatory firing while the team was trying to arrest him when he came to meet one of his accomplices on Kanpur Road, under Sarojini Nagar police station limits, Yash said.

He said Pandey was in a four-wheeler with four other people but the others managed to escape during the encounter.

Another STF official said Pandey had at least 10 criminal cases registered against him between 1993 and 2012. He added that no criminal case was lodged against him after 2012, however, his involvement surfaced in two cases, including fraudulent procurement of firearms licence in his wife Saroj Lata Pandeys name in Mau in 2004 and purchase of two pistols from a gangster Neeraj Singh in May 2020.

The official said a case of procuring firearms licence was lodged against his wife and the then station officer of Kopaganj police station Mritunjay Mishra (for negligence) at the Kopaganj police station of Mau on July 8 this year.

He added that the STF was, however, tracing him since May 28 this year when the arrest of two criminals -- Neeraj Singh and Shubham Mishra -- revealed that Pandey was collecting firearms and ammunition and was planning some crime.
JACKSON, MI  Hunt Elementary School Principal Mary Jo Raczkowski-Shannon is comfortable in her claim that the beginning of another school year isnt her first rodeo.

But its hard to ignore the difference greeting her this year in her 22nd year on the job. The novel cornavirus has definitely shaken things up.

Hunt always starts the year a little earlier than most other Jackson schools because it follows a balanced calendar where breaks are spread out during the year.

But this year, students arrived in masks for their first day of school on Tuesday, Aug. 4, saying goodbye to their parents outside, rather than inside the building, or in their classrooms, to prevent the spread of germs.

They walked down one-way hallways where stickers are laid out on the floor to help them practice social distancing while they wait for the bathroom. In their classrooms, their teachers desk is protected by a plexiglass shield, while their desks are spaced out as much as possible  cutting class sizes in half.

Recess is divided by grade level. And when students eat lunch now, its not in the cafeteria. Its individually packaged meals brought to their classrooms.

All in all, the first days of school went well, Raczkowski-Shannon said.

We did not have one crier, she said of the traditional tears streaming down childrens faces when theyre separated from their parents on the first day of school. Thats unheard of.

In other words, different doesnt necessarily mean bad, Raczkowski-Shannon said.

Students and staff were phenomenal in a model that sends them to in-person classes in two different groups  one on Mondays and Tuesdays and the other on Thursdays and Fridays.

Wednesday is dedicated to virtual learning for all students, but Hunts teachers are scattered throughout the building, creating videos theyll send to students to aid in their remote learning. Wednesday is also dedicated to deep cleaning the building to avoid exposure to the virus.

Jackson Public Schools approves hybrid plan that includes in-person classes

This is all a part of the new reality for Hunts students, teachers and families in Phase 4 of Gov. Gretchen Whitmers roadmap to reopen schools.

When teachers arent working with students in-person, theyre teaching them virtually. Theyre required to post 14 video lessons online for students each week across a grade level  five English/language arts, five math, two social studies and two science.

Unlike last spring, when teachers were putting together virtual lessons on the fly, Raczkowski-Shannon said this approach is much more organized.

We were pretty much maintaining in the spring. Now were teaching lessons there will be assessments on, she said. Its a completely different ballgame.

Having a day to work on material for virtual learning is beneficial for teachers, fifth grade teacher Mike French said.

We can bounce ideas off each other, he said. Were in the building and we have all the materials that we need to be able to incorporate into the videos were creating.

After starting the day in person on Tuesday with some nerves, students quickly adjusted and warmed up to the idea of being in the same building with each other for the first time since March, French said. He said he only had to tap his own nose gently once as a quick reminder to a student to wear their mask properly.

I thought the kids were a little apprehensive, but at the same time, excited to be back, French said. They really wanted to be here and were kind of bummed they couldnt come (the next day).

After some initial concerns about how safe in-person classes might be, parent Toni Crawford said she was heartened by the steps her 11-year-old daughters teacher and the school were taking to ensure safety.

I was terrified, but after speaking with the teacher and seeing how there are only 10 people in the classroom, theyre distanced away from each other and they still wear their masks, I felt more comfortable, Crawford said Friday while dropping her daughter off. Today is a good day. Im feeling a lot better.

Ultimately, Crawford said she believes she made the right decision to send her daughter back for in-person classes, allowing her to reunite with friends she hasnt seen in months.

Students exceeded her expectations in how they approached the first day, balancing their excitement to be back in the classroom with the recognition that there are new rules to follow, fifth grade teacher Amy Smith said.

They were very flexible and cognizant of their surroundings, she said. As soon as we took them out of the gym (at the beginning of the day), they were already aware that, I need to give space, I need to do my part. We didnt have to tell them.

Smith, who manages one of the larger classrooms in the building with 14 students, said she enjoys the new learning format, largely due to the buy-in from students.

I think the kids are going to have more personalized learning, she said. We are more like tutors and they are taking ownership of the learning.

Kindergarten teacher Christy Edinger said she feels fortunate to be part of the first Jackson school reopening, because she and her fellow teachers can learn the best practices of teaching in a hybrid format more quickly.

I think the technology aspect of it is going to be challenging, Edinger said. I love the platform that were going to use, but with the younger kids, thats going to be a little challenging. Someone is going to have to be right beside them, day after day for a long time in order to help get them used to it.

To help you navigate this complicated fall, were pleased to offer you a simpler way to get all of your education news: Our new Michigan Schools: Education in the COVID Era newsletter delivered right to your inbox. To receive this newsletter, simply click here to sign up.

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Reopening schools depends on how people behave, Michigans Dr. Khaldun says
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Linkedin (Agence France-Presse) Moscow, Russia  Sun, August 9, 2020 08:02 528 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a4066c89a6c 2 Science & Tech Russia,rocket,space,Venus,Elon-Musk,SpaceX Free

The head of Russia's space agency said Friday that Roscosmos wants to return to Venus and bring back soil samples and build spacecraft that will surpass Elon Musk's rockets.

Last week America's first crewed spaceship to fly to the International Space Station in nearly a decade returned safely to Earth, splashing down in the Gulf of Mexico.

The mission was carried out jointly by NASA and Musk's SpaceX. Its Falcon 9 rocket is semi-reusable.

"We are making a methane rocket to replace the Soyuz-2," Roscosmos chief Dmitry Rogozin said in an interview with state news agency RIA Novosti.

He said it will be a reusable space complex, noting that it will be possible to use its first stage at least 100 times.

"Of course we are looking at what our American colleagues are doing," said Rogozin. "But our engineers are trying to take a shortcut -- not to repeat what our SpaceX colleagues are doing but surpass them."

Rogozin said he was not impressed with the SpaceX spacecraft, saying its landing was "rather rough".

"It's not designed for ground landing -- that's exactly why American colleagues chose to land on the water the way it was done 45 years ago," Rogozin said.

Russia had for many years enjoyed a monopoly as the only country able to ferry astronauts, and the SpaceX launch meant the loss of a sizeable income. A seat in the Soyuz costs NASA around $80 million.

Read also: SpaceX brings NASA astronauts home safe in milestone mission

'Return to Venus'

Rogozin said he also wanted Russia to return to Venus.

"It was always a 'Russian planet,'" he said.

The Soviet Union was the only nation to have landed probes on the surface of Venus.

"I believe that Venus is more interesting than Mars," Rogozin said, adding that studying Venus could help scientists understand how to deal with climate change on Earth.

Venus, whose atmosphere is made up nearly completely of carbon dioxide, is considered to be the hottest planet in the solar system.

"If we don't study what is happening on Venus then we won't understand how to prevent a similar scenario from happening on our planet."

He said he wanted Russians -- in cooperation with Americans or by themselves -- to bring back the surface materials of Venus.

"It would indeed a breakthrough," Rogozin said.

"We know how to do it," he added, saying Russian scientists were currently studying relevant Soviet-era documents.

But Roscosmos lamented that repeated budget cuts risked threatening many of the programs.

"I don't quite understand how to work in these conditions," he said. "We are seeing that leading foreign space agencies are increasing their budgets."
RICHMOND, Va. - Governors and state labour department officials were scrambling Monday to determine whether they could implement President Donald Trumps executive order to partially extend unemployment assistance payments to millions of Americans struggling to find work in the pandemic-scarred economy.

Trumps order allocates $44 billion in federal dollars from FEMAs Disaster Relief Fund to boost unemployment aid for the jobless and calls on states to kick in roughly $15 billion. The Trump administration says states can pull from federal coronavirus relief funds already distributed to states earlier in the crisis.

But some states have already fully allocated that money for other critical needs.

Trumps actions on unemployment insurance and other relief aid were another expansive flexing of presidential authority that could usurp Congresss power to approve federal spending.

The order extends additional unemployment payments of $400 a week to help cushion the economic fallout of the pandemic. Congress had approved payments of $600 a week at the outset of the outbreak, but those benefits expired Aug. 1 and Congress has been unable to agree on an extension.

Many Republicans have expressed concern that a $600 weekly benefit, on top of existing state benefits, gives people an incentive to stay unemployed. The White House described the $400 level as an appropriate compromise, and top administration officials including Vice-President Mike Pence on Monday urged governors in a private call to pressure Democratic lawmakers to come to a deal.

But Democrats have dismissed Trumps executive order as a hollow political gesture  not to mention legally questionable  that could ultimately leave millions of Americans without much-needed aid. Several governors said their states simply couldnt afford to chip in a quarter of the cost, even with the relief money previously approved by Congress.

That share would cost California $700 million a week, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Monday. The state has already allocated 75% of the money that came from an earlier congressional package.

There is no money sitting in the piggy bank, Newsom said. It simply does not exist.

As Democrats grumbled that Trumps executive order was unworkable, top administration officials contended that Trump was taking action while House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., were sitting on the sidelines  even though the president has not taken any active role in the negotiations.

Trump also took to Twitter on Monday to ridicule Sen. Ben Sasse, calling him a RINO  a Republican in name only  after the Nebraska Republican called Trumps use of executive orders unconstitutional slop.

White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany, meanwhile, asserted that the orders were entirely within the executive capacity of the president and pointed to statutes she said supports the legal justification to reallocate funding in times of emergency.

Some state officials, both Democrats and Republicans, said Trumps order could prove to be difficult to implement for technical reasons.

In Virginia, secretary of finance Aubrey Layne said that timing of the distribution of funds could be an issue. He noted FEMA often takes several months to reimburse emergency costs due to a hurricane, but have reimbursed personal protective equipment-related costs in several weeks.

Andrew Stettner, senior fellow at The Century Foundation and an expert on unemployment aid, said that it could take several weeks for jobless claimants to see the enhanced benefit given the states difficulties in updating their unemployment systems.

No ones getting a payment from this in August. If theyre lucky, theyll get it in September, he said.

The $44 billion that the Trump administration has set aside for the unemployment aid would run out in five or six weeks, Stettner added.

State unemployment agencies struggled badly this spring and summer under the crush of tens of millions of applications, and in most cases took weeks to implement the extra $600 payment after it was first approved.

For many jobless Americans, the enhanced benefit has been the difference-maker in keeping their heads above water financially.

If I did not have (the $600), I probably would not have been able to make it the past two months, said Rosa Howell-Thornhill, 62, a freelance audio technician from South Orange, New Jersey, who has seen work opportunities dry up.

In Ohio, the benefit might not take effect for weeks as officials sort out guidance from the U.S. Department of Labor for implementing it, said Dan Tierney, a spokesman for Gov. Mike DeWine, a Republican. Tierney said software changes may be required for the states unemployment compensation computer system.

Many states also questioned whether they could afford the additional $100 per week in the face of sharply reduced tax revenue.

McEnany told reporters that the statute requires 25% of the unemployment benefit be provided by states. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin reiterated the 25% requirement in a White House call with governors Monday, but also sought to assure governors that the Trump administration would find a way to cover money that states allocate for unemployment through future legislation.

We realize that some of you want to use those funds for other things, said Mnuchin, according to audio of the call obtained by The Associated Press. And as part of legislation, if you do use those funds for UI, we will agree to make you whole.

In North Carolina, officials questioned whether it was sound policy to use FEMA funds set aside for natural disasters like hurricanes and tornadoes at a moment when forecasters are predicting a busy hurricane season.

States shouldnt be forced to choose which disaster victims to help, said Dory MacMillan, press secretary for Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper.

Democratic governors said Trump was attempting to skate around the difficult work of negotiating  something the president as a candidate touted as a natural skill from his real estate career.

Maine Gov. Janet Mills, a Democrat, said the orders appear to subordinate real relief for unemployed Americans to partisan gamesmanship, making Maine families a pawn in a cruel political game.

Officials in several Republican-leaning states praised Trump for working around Congress to try to help their states workers, but some said they were still trying to figure out if the executive order will be workable.

Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, a Republican, said it would cost an estimated $265 million and would be challenging and would take some time to sort out. The North Dakota Job Service, which handles unemployment claims, said in a statement that it had yet to determine how or when we might be able to implement the actions outlined in the Executive Order and are awaiting further details.

In Georgia, GOP Gov. Brian Kemp praised Trump for taking action amid the congressional gridlock.

But Kemp, a Trump ally, offered no details on whether Georgia will contribute state funds toward the $400 weekly unemployment payment.

Were digging in on that issue, said Kemp, who said his office is in talks with Georgias labour department and budget planning office.

___

Madhani reported from Chicago, and Rugaber reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Mike Catalani in Trenton, New Jersey; Brian Witte in Annapolis, Maryland; Stephen Groves in Sioux Falls, South Dakota; Russ Bynum in Savannah, Georgia; Paul Weber in Austin, Texas; John Hanna in Topeka, Kansas; David Sharp in Portland, Maine; Andrew Welsh-Huggins in Columbus, Ohio; Andrew DeMillo in Little Rock, Arkansas; and Don Thompson in Sacramento, California, contributed to this report.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 9)  Sagada broke its COVID-free streak on Sunday, after one of the frontliners in the municipality was confirmed to have been infected with the virus.

The patient is a 29-year-old male with no history of travel, according to mayor James Pooten Jr.

In an advisory, Pooten said all COVID-19 monitoring hubs located in Pegeo, Payag-eo and in Taccong will be temporarily closed for decontamination on Monday, August 10, from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.

No person will also be allowed entry and exit to and from the municipality for further contact tracing purposes. A COVID-19 monitoring hub will be established in Danom area for the implementation of such, he said.

Nearly 130,000 cases of the disease have been recorded by health officials nationwide as of August 9. Of this number, 2,270 have died, while over 67,000 have recovered.
Six people  including an off-duty Birmingham police officer  were shot at an Ensley motorcycle club.

One person was killed in the shooting. Police said that all five surviving victims - including the officer - have non-life-threatening injuries

The shooting happened shortly before midnight Saturday at #1 Stunnas Motor Sport Club on 18th Street. Police responded to the scene after multiple shots rang out there. Birmingham police Sgt. Rod Mauldin said it wasnt immediately clear whether the gunfire happened inside or outside of the club.

When officers arrived, they found the six wounded victims, all of whom were taken to the hospital. The person who died has not yet been identified. That person died at the hospital.

The off-duty officer, who police also have not yet named, was shot twice, once in the leg and once in the upper body but he is expected to recover.

Mauldin said the officer, as well as the other five victims, were patrons of the club at the time of the shooting. He said investigators dont yet know how many people fired shots. No suspects are in custody.

As for a motive, authorities said the gunfire erupted during an altercation, but the nature of that dispute has not yet been uncovered.

Police have blocked off a two-block wide perimeter surrounding the business. The Alabama Bureau of Investigation has been called to the scene to lead the probe.

The deadly shooting is Birminghams 74th homicide in 2020. Of those, nine have been ruled justifiable and one accidental and therefore are not deemed criminal. In all of Jefferson County, there have been 104 homicides, including the 74 in Birmingham.

Anyone with information is asked to call Birmingham homicide detectives at 205-254-1764 or Crime Stoppers at 205-254-7777.
Umakant said he decided to surrender after facing 'tremendous pressure' and frequent raids at every hideout, as per the police's press release

Kanpur: An accused of the Kanpur ambush during which eight policemen were killed by henchmen of slain gangster Vikas Dubey surrendered before the Chaubepur police on Saturday in a dramatic manner, wearing a confession placard and seeking forgiveness for the crime.

According to a senior officer, Umakant, alias Guddan, was accompanied by his wife, daughter and other family members at the time of his surrender.

He came to the police station wearing a confession placard and sought forgiveness from police, the officer said, adding that members of his family pleaded with them to save his life. He was taken into custody and will be produced before a court, he said.

The UP Special Task Force (STF) and the Kanpur police had been on the lookout for Umakant since the ambush at Kanpur's Bikru village on 3 July. They had raided several of his possible hideouts.

The Kanpur police in a press release on Saturday claimed that his surrender was the result of their alertness and frequent raids that built pressure on him.

Police said Umakant was carrying a cash reward of Rs 50,000 and confessed to the crime.

During questioning, he confessed that he resorted to indiscriminate firing at the police party along with Vikas Dubey and his associates Amar Dubey, Atul Dubey, Prem Kumar, Prabhat Mishra, who were gunned down in separate police encounters, the release said.

Umakant said he felt he was guilty for the brutal killing of policemen and decided to surrender after facing tremendous pressure and frequent raids at every possible hideout, the press release said.

Umakant is one of the nine accused who have either been arrested or surrendered till now. A hunt is on for the other six remaining named accused.

Earlier, several aides of Vikas Dubey, including Daya Shankar Agnihotri, Shyamu Bajpai, Jahan Yadav, Shashikant, Monu and Shivam Dubey were arrested either by the UP STF or the Kanpur Police, while Gopal Saini surrendered before a special court in Kanpur Dehat about 10 days ago.

Those who are still at large are Chotu Shukla, Shiv Tewari, Vishnu Pal Yadav, Ramu Bajpai, Hiru Dubey and Bal Govind.

As many as six prime accused - Vikas Dubey, Prabhat Mishra, Amar Dubey, Bauan Dubey, Prem Kumar Pandey and Atul Dubey - have been gunned down in separate encounters since 3 July.
DALLAS, Ga. - A Georgia high school plans to start the week with all classes shifting online after nine students and staff tested positive for the coronavirus when the school year opened last week with most students attending in-person.

North Paulding High School made headlines soon after students returned to school Aug. 3 when photos posted on social media showed hallways crowded with students, and many of them not wearing masks. The schools principal notified parents Saturday that six students and three staff members had tested positive for the virus, though its unknown if any were infected at school.

Now students will take online classes Monday and Tuesday, Paulding County Schools Superintendent Brian Ott said in a letter to parents Sunday. He said those two days will be used to clean and disinfect the school, and parents will learn Tuesday evening if in-person classes can resume later in the week.

Hopefully we can all agree that the health and safety of our students and staff takes precedence over any other considerations at this time, Ott said in his letter, which was obtained by Atlanta-area news outlets.

Paulding County schools spokesman Jay Dillon did not immediately return phone and text messages Sunday evening from The Associated Press.

In announcing the nine infections among students and staff, North Paudling High School principal Gabe Carmona wrote that each of them had been in the school building sometime in the prior week. But it was unclear whether the school would quarantine other students and staff who may have been exposed. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported it obtained the principals letter from the school district.

Meanwhile, school officials in a nearby metro Atlanta county reported 12 students and two staff members across a dozen schools tested positive for the virus during their first week back at school. The Cherokee County school system reported that more than 250 students with potential exposure had been sent home to quarantine for two weeks.

We have students and staff reporting presumptive, pending and positive COVID-19 tests every day, and this will continue as we operate schools during a pandemic, Cherokee County Schools Superintendent Brian Hightower wrote in a letter to parents Friday.

Cherokee County also drew attention because of online photos. Dozens of students at two of its high schools squeezed together for first-day-of-school senior photos. None wore masks.

Hightower said in his letter that many of the seniors in those online photos wear masks routinely  though the schools dont require them to. He also said the school system was taking extra steps for transparency. In addition to the superintendents letter, the school system posted information about all confirmed infections and quarantines on its website.

Paulding Countys 30,000 students were offered a remote learning option. About 30% of students chose online learning. Cherokee County school officials said 22% of the districts 42,200 students opted to start the year with online classes.

___

Follow AP coverage of the virus outbreak at https://apnews.com/VirusOutbreak and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak
90 Day Fiance stars Tania Maduro and Syngin Colchester recently posed in Instagram photos with Babygirl Lisa Hamme. Hamme is one of the hit TLC franchises most recent villains. The reality star was caught slinging racial slurs on social media, and admitted to calling her husband the n-word in their private time. Now, given Tania Maduros outspoken support for the BLM movement, fans are criticizing her for spending time with Babygirl Lisa.

Babygirl Lisa Hamme admits to calling Usman Umar racial slur

RELATED: 90 Day Fiance Fans Bash Babygirl Lisa For George Floyd Sign

90 Day Fiance star Babygirl Lisa Hamme has not won many fans since her time on the show. In fact, she garnered incredible criticism for how she treated Usman Umar during their time filming together, and for her use of racial slurs.

In fact, Usman Umar came forward during tell-all filming to break the news. During the footage, Umar said, Lisa, last week you called me n*gger which I know is totally inappropriate in America. You called me n*gger, I dont even get angry about it because I am used to how you are behaving.

Hamme was not happy with Umar for bringing it up. She said, If you start this sh*t again. Do not open that can of worms. Do not. Do not start. Let me tell you something. Listen, if you open that can of worms.

During an interview, she later told Domenick Nati, No, that word was used out of context and out of stupidity. My husband accepted my apology, but haters dont and they want to ride it out to no end.

Tania Maduro poses with Babygirl Lisa

The infamous 90 Day Fiance star seems to have found friends among the TLC shows cast, despite her behavior on and off the show. Geoffrey Paschel, another infamous cast member, seems to spend time with Hamme. Paschel currently stands accused of abuse in several relationships.

Hamme recently uploaded a photo of herself hanging out with Tania Maduro and Synging Colchester. She added the photo to her Instagram, and captioned it, Had a fantastic time with @syngin_colchester an @tania.maduro such a lovely couple.

She later uploaded another photo of herself with Geoffrey Paschel and Syngin Colcheste,r seemingly from the same day.

90 Day Fiance stars call out Tania Maduro

Babygirl Lisa Hamme, Tania Maduro, and Syngin Colchester of 90 Day Fiance | lisa_hamme_ via Instagram

90 Day Fiance fans were quick to rip into Tania Maduro for spending time with Babygirl Lisa Hamme. Maduro is an outspoken proponent of anti-racism, and so fans perhaps hold her to a higher standard when it comes to interacting with those who would use racial slurs.

One Redditor wrote, Wait. Tania whos so into social justice is hanging out with a white woman who used the n-word? Make it make sense.

Tania is supposed to be woke, but shes taking a picture with a known racist, pointed out another user.

Others echoed similar sentiments. One fan of the show added, Kind of weird that a girl who seems to be protesting for justice in America is hanging out with an old white woman throws around slurs and the like like it is no ones business when upset.
During the lockdown and social distancing phase in Ho Chi Minh City, monthly retail sales were at 20% growth in May and 5% in June. Accommodation and catering services increased sharply by 80% in May and 42% in June, while retail sales of goods increased only 12% in May and 3% in June.

Average asking rent in the retail segment decreased slightly by 1% QoQ, but was stable by YoY. In order to support tenants affected during the lockdown period, many landlords reduced their rents by upto 30% in April and May. When shoppers emerged back in June, several malls offered a 15% discount or reduced service charge.

In the City central areas, many dining and fashion chains in prime locations were forced to close. Numerous properties in the central parts of the City that depended on foreign tourists, such as Ly Tu Trong and Dong Khoi Street in District 1, have had to temporarily shut operations, or return business space back to owner. Due to strict restrictions on travel between countries, areas such as the densely populated Korean neighborhoods in district 7 have been badly affected. Many affluent Korean people come to Vietnam to work and live. Areas around Tan Phong Ward in Phu My Hung were once ideal retail outlets for residents with high income and a high standard of living.

Ms. Tran Thi Thu Ha, in charge of retail sales at Savills Vietnam, said the average rent in Tan Phong Ward in Phu My Hung is lower than in the center of district 1 or 3. Since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, and the border closure between many countries, many foreign experts have been unable to return to Vietnam to resume work. The pandemic has also tightened consumer spending, and therefore causing a serious decline in sales.

According to Ms. Ha, before the pandemic broke out, occupancy rate in retail real estate was as high as 95%, but now has fallen to about 40%, especially in city areas. Therefore, reducing rent for tenants will be one way to address this shortfall, not only in District 7, but for tenants across the city. However, landlords will have to consider very carefully how much discount to offer and for how long a period they can maintain a lower rental fee.

Although the Covid-19 pandemic has adversely affected many business segments, essential commodities such as necessities for domestic use and health care products have provided hope for growth and further development.

Minh Tuan
The most famous description of the Vice Presidency of the United States is John Nance Garners warning to Lyndon B. Johnson that it wasnt worth a bucket of warm piss.

While his instinctive thoughts were cleaned up for the history books, Garner had already made clear how he felt about the vice presidency. On leaving that office he said, Worst damnfool mistake I ever made was letting myself be elected Vice President of the United States . . . I gave up the second most important job in the Government (Speaker of the House) for one that didnt amount to a hill of beans.

For much of our history, thats how the vice presidency has been regarded by most citizens. Former Vice Presidents Daniel Tompkins, Thomas Hendricks and Garret Hobart arent exactly household names.

However, there are times when the vice presidency means the world. Eight presidents have succeeded to the presidency following the death of a president. One did so upon the incumbents resignation. Two others have assumed the duties of the presidency for a short period under the provisions of the 25th Amendment. The office will always be just a heartbeat away from the leadership of the free world.

This year Joe Bidens selection of a running mate takes on special significance.

Vice presidential running mates havent done much to effect the actual outcomes of presidential elections (LBJ in 1960 might be an exception). But the choice Biden makes will loom very large this year.

First there are the obvious concerns with actuarial issues. Ronald Reagan was the nations oldest President. He left office at age 77. If elected, Joe Biden would be older than that when hes inaugurated. If he finished a full term hed be well into his 80s. Hed be pressing 90 at the end of a second term.

More pointed are other issues related to Mr. Biden. Without delving into his increasingly odd, racially charged rants, which the media would be screaming blue bloody murder over had Donald Trump or any Republican uttered them, there are a string of other disturbing utterances.

This week, Biden lit into a reporter who asked about cognitive tests Biden should have taken. Why the hell would I take a test? Biden yelled. This despite the fact that he claimed previously to have already done so.

The reason he should take such a test, and more extensive ones, is simple: there is ample evidence that Mr. Biden has significant cognitive difficulties.

Four years ago the media made Donald Trumps medical history a significant issue in the campaign, especially focusing on his age. (Incidentally, hes four years younger than Biden) It was a fair issue to raise. Its equally fair to raise the issue with Biden.

Let the American people see whether or not Biden has taken any cognitive tests and if so, what the results were. Lets see the rest of his medical history, too, just as other presidential candidates have been asked to allow.

The physical and mental health of the nations potential chief executive are legitimate factors in any presidential election. They are especially so now.

Joe Bidens gaffe-prone past has been the fodder of late night comics for years. It was all fun and games. His recent difficulties forming coherent thoughts without the benefit of a TelePrompTer and other peoples words take the humor out of it. Were now talking pretty serious stuff.

Biden ought to be selecting the person he believes is best qualified to step into the Oval Office should he be elected and not able to serve his full term.

Sadly hes chosen to eliminate half the population from consideration by promising he will only select a woman. Hes gone beyond that by signaling that hell base his judgment not only on gender, but on race as well.

Undoubtedly there are a lot of Democrat males serving in various offices who wonder why they are considered less qualified simply because of their sex.

Biden has already balked on his selection. Of course hes not required to select a running mate this early, but his campaign certainly signaled that it would be done by now.

The delay behind decision raises some eyebrows, though. Maybe hes concerned that Susan Rice, whos never held elective office, isnt ready for the role or that Benghazi will be the instant association if he selects her. Perhaps its fear that Karen Bass affection for dictator Fidel Castro might further imperil his prospects in Florida. Or it could be that he knows Stacey Abrams is both too leftist and too whacky (she still claims she really won the governorship she actually lost by more votes than the population of Harrisburg) to have national appeal.

Ive said from the beginning of the campaign that Kamala Harris would be on the ticket. Shes left, but not as far as most of the others. Shes been more fully vetted than them, too. Shes a safer pick for a guy whos running a Rose Basement campaign. Perhaps Biden will prove me right.
On Sunday's finale of Bachelor in Paradise, it was revealed that Ciarran Stott broke up with Kiki Morris shortly after convincing her to quit the show before the final rose ceremony.

The couple split within weeks of exiting and a notice on the show revealed Ciarran, 26, not 'spoken to her since' which led to fans to accuse the British export of 'ghosting' the woman he claimed he loved.

During last Monday episode, Brittany Hockley, 32, left Paradise on the request of Timm Hanly, 27 - but has since revealed he completely 'ghosted her' once they returned from Fiji.

Quitters! Timm Hanly (left) and Ciarran Stott (right) both 'ghosted' their love interests after convincing them to quit Bachelor in Paradise

Fans online have noticed that the men - who are best mates and flatmates - operate in a very similar fashion, and it's left some viewers seething.

One person Tweeted: 'So Ciarran and Timm both ghosted the women they were with weeks after they convinced them to leave with them? What a coincidence'.

Another chimed in: 'So both Timm and Ciarran (supposedly grown ass men) made their girls leave to avoid any consequences and then just ghosted them? Cool'.

Gone: On Sunday's finale episode of Bachelor in Paradise, it was revealed that Ciarran broke up with Kiki Morris (left) after convincing her to quit the show before the final rose ceremony

Fleeing: During last Monday episode, Brittany Hockley (left) left Paradise on the request of Timm Hanly, but has since revealed he completely 'ghosted her' once they returned from Fiji

Someone else watching at home wrote: 'Both Timm and Ciarran ghosted women too good for them'.

One more fan Tweeted: 'So both Timm and Ciarran ghosted the women they left with, but they swear they aren't sexist, misogynistic pieces of s**t who view women as property? Man the f**kboi is strong with these two.'

Yet another wrote: 'So Timm and Ciarran both forced their girls to leave and then ghosted them almost immediately'.

Over: A note revealed the pair had split after mere weeks and Ciarran, 26, had not spoken to Kiki, 32, since - leading fans online to accuse him of 'ghosting' her

Just being bros: Fans online have noticed that the men - who are good mates - operate in a very similar fashion, and it's left some seething

Appearing on The Project on Tuesday, Brittany confessed her fling with Timm 'took a downward turn rapidly' after they left the show.

'We had probably a week where it was really nice and normal. And then it just took a downward turn rapidly - deteriorated rapidly,' she admitted.

'And we had a bit of a falling out over Timm's behaviour, and I literally didn't hear from him again.'

Drama: Appearing on The Project on Tuesday, Brittany confessed her fling 'took a downward turn rapidly' after they left the show

Oh dear: 'We had a bit of a falling out over Timm's behaviour, and I literally didn't hear from him again,' she said

Over: Kiki's relationship with Ciarran suffered a similar fate, however she posted her own version of events on Instagram on Sunday night

Kiki's relationship with Ciarran suffered a similar fate, however she posted her own version of events on Instagram on Sunday night.

She wrote: 'Following Paradise, Ciarran moved to Sydney and for the most part of those two months things were really positive. It's unfortunate our relationship didn't work out the way we wanted, and we are no longer together.'

She went on to reveal she had no ill will towards the tattooed hunk, writing: 'I wish him nothing but the best, and hope that he's grown from this experience like I have.'
London: The Australian victim of the devastating explosion in Beirut has been identified as two-year-old Isaac Oehlers.

In a statement, Isaac's family said: "We are heartbroken by the sudden and tragic loss of our beautiful boy following the disaster in Beirut.

"Isaac was two and will be deeply missed by family and friends.

Two-year-old Isaac Oehlers was killed in the blast. Credit:

"The family would like to thank everyone who has offered comfort and support to us, and would like to express our condolences to everyone in Lebanon who is suffering from this devastating tragedy.
Larson said Armstead targeted these women, he relentlessly pursued them, he recruited them, he used them, abused them, assaulted them, according to a transcript. He used every tactic and tool that he could think of to trick, manipulate, coerce and force them into working for him in a manner that is dangerous, degrading and dehumanizing.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 9)  One of the most wanted men in Tawi-Tawi was arrested by authorities early Sunday.

Madjid Sali, the fifth most wanted person in the province, was nabbed by members of the Armed Forces and the Philippine National Police in Barangay Sipangkot, Sitangkai by virtue of a warrant for a murder charge. The warrant was issued by Abdulmoin Pakam, presiding judge of Regional Trial Court Branch 5, 9th Judicial Region, Bongao.

Apart from murder, the Western Mindanao Command said Sali was involved in kidnap for ransom activities, illegal drugs, and gunrunning.

Sali is now under the custody of Sitangkai Municipal Police Station.
A new school year is upon us in metro New Orleans, but not everyone is starting at the same time  or in the same location  due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Heading into the second week of August, two school districts in the area are set to have students return to the classroom for the first time since Gov. John Bel Edwards shuttered them statewide in March.

These districts will join St. Charles Parish schools, who returned to classrooms on Thursday. Superintendent Ken Oertling said about 80% of the 7,500 children enrolled in the district were expected to make the return. The other 20% opted for at-home instruction through the district's eLearning program, which begins Aug. 12.

+6 School's back in session in St. Charles Parish with temperature checks, masks, social distancing Almost five months after schools across the state were shuttered due to the coronavirus pandemic, students in St. Charles Parish returned to c

Jefferson Parish Public School System

Most schools in the Jefferson Parish Public School System will return to the classroom on Wednesday, Aug. 12.

Students up to the fifth grade will attend class in person five days a week, while grades 6-12 will go two days a week.

Students were also given the choice of registering for the school district's 100% online option for the entire school year, Virtual Jefferson. Registration for the program ended on July 22.

Jefferson Parish teachers test positive for coronavirus just days ahead of 1st week back in person A "handful" of Jefferson Parish schoolteachers have tested positive for COVID-19 since returning to their classrooms Monday to prepare for the

Jefferson Parish's schools start date has been a point of contention with many teachers and some school board members in recent weeks.

On Aug. 5, a few hundred teachers gathered outside the school system's headquarters in Harvey to protest the district's reopening plan before a planned school board meeting. Teachers argued restarting on Wednesday is "not safe" and have asked the administration to push back their start date to after Labor Day like other schools in the area have done.

Jefferson school board member Simeon Dickerson, whose primarily Black district includes much of south Kenner and part of the west bank, has joined teachers by urging his colleagues to move back the school's start date.

Jefferson Parish President Cynthia Lee Sheng also voiced support for delaying the start of the district's school year.

Returning to school in metro New Orleans: A coronavirus Q&A for parents Going back to school in fall 2020 in metro New Orleans will be a learning experience for everyone as the state continues its fight against cor

St. Bernard Parish School District

Schools in the St. Bernard Parish School District will return to the classroom on Tuesday, Aug. 11 in a staggered approach depending on the first letter of a student's last name.

While in school, all students third grade and older and adults will be required to wear face coverings.

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

The district is also offering a virtual option for the first nine weeks of the school year for students in grades K-8, and for the first semester for students in high school.

+15 What's a 'pandemic pod?' The new education craze pops up in New Orleans as schools start remotely When New Orleans public school mom Louise Fenton thinks about the end of the school year last spring, the anxiety comes flooding back.

What other school districts are doing

Several school districts in the metro area are not set to start in-person instruction until at least after Labor Day (Sept. 7), including New Orleans Public Schools and the St. Tammany Parish School System.

New Orleans Public Schools will have virtual learning until their return date, with some schools starting their classes on Aug. 3, depending on the charter organization.

The school district's original plan included having pre-K through fourth grade attend class five days per week, with students in grades 5-12 attending classes at least two days per week, or more if space allowed, and have online learning the other days.

NOLA Public Schools offers guidance to parents preparing for 'a school year like no other' Defending his decision to start the school year remotely, NOLA Public Schools Superintendent Henderson Lewis Jr. said in a virtual meeting Wed

St. Tammany schools, however, have taken a different approach, delaying the start of school entirely until after Labor Day. The new school year will now start on Sept. 8, with students attending an orientation on a staggered schedule, divided alphabetically, through Sept. 11.

The first regular day of school for the entire district is Sept. 14. Current plans are to have students in grades pre-K through 5 attend in-person classes every day, while students in grades 6-12 will attend in-person classes two days per week and every other Friday.

The district has also launched a 100% virtual option, the STPPS Virtual School.

If school in New Orleans started today, how many on campus might have coronavirus? See estimates here The month of August would normally signal parents and students to think about finishing up school supply shopping, figuring out class schedule

What Archdiocese of New Orleans schools are doing

Individual schools under the Archdiocese of New Orleans will make decisions for a fall reopening.

Some will have traditional classes and others will offer a hybrid model of traditional and virtual education.
The ships, with a total complement of 600 sailors, are scheduled to arrive in the Gulf by 1 September. The Prime Minister, Mr Hawke, announced Australia's contribution to the United States-led multi-national taskforce after a 30-minute telephone call from the US President, Mr Bush, early yesterday.

Australia is to send two guided missile frigates, HMAS Adelaide and HMAS Darwin, and the replenishment tanker, HMAS Success, to join the international blockade against Iraq in the Persian Gulf.

The primary role of the Royal Australian Navy force will be to help enforce the blockade on Iraq and Kuwait and protect shipping from other Gulf States, but Mr Hawke would not rule out the possibility of Australian involvement in warfare.

The Maritime Commander for Australia, Rear-Admiral Ken Doolan, said yesterday that Australia's navy was prepared to defend itself against attack by Iraqi forces, and would go "in harm's way" if necessary to make sure the blockade of Iraq was successful.

Admiral Doolan said Iraq had a strong airforce and an attack from the air was the most likely. However, a surface attack could not be discounted because Iraq now had the surface craft and weapons systems that were previously part of the Kuwaiti forces.

Sailors on the deck of the Darwin as the ship pulls out. Credit:Steven Siewert

"The most dangerous thing in any area of risk is the uncertainty," he said. "Clearly the forces of Iraq ... are quite substantial and our ships have to be prepared for anything Iraq could put against them should that eventuate."
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Five Extinction Rebellion protesters have been arrested after the eco-warriors poured fake blood over Trafalgar Square to show solidarity with indigenous people dying of Covid-19 in Brazil.

The group - also known as XR - dyed London's iconic fountains bright yellow and red using food dye in their protest to mark International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples.

Protesters lay on the drenched steps pretending to be dead while a banner reading 'indigenous emergency' was held in the background.

Some held signs reading 'genocide = ecocide' and 'indigenous emergency' during the protest - which also featured demonstrators from the Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil (APIB), HS2 Rebellion and the Internationalist Solidarity Network, Metro reports.

They aimed to raise awareness of the number of indigenous people in Brazil - the second worst-hit country in the world - dying from Covid-19.

Extinction Rebellion protesters have doused the steps at Trafalgar Square in fake blood to stand in solidarity with indigenous people dying of Covid-19 in Brazil

The group - also known as XR - also dyed London's iconic fountains bright yellow in their protest to mark International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples

The group used food dye to dye the fountain fluorescent yellow during their protest in Trafalgar Square, London, today

Protesters lay on the drenched steps pretending to be dead while a banner reading 'indigenous emergency' was held in the background

The fountain was also dyed red using food dye. Amazed onlookers watched as the water changed colour around them

Protesters pretended to be dead as they lay on the steps at Trafalgar Square. The protest marked International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples

Demonstrators held a banner reading 'genocide = ecocide' in front of the blood-soaked steps at Trafalgar Square in London

In a statement the Met said: 'Police are aware of a protest in the vicinity of Trafalgar Square on Sunday, 9 August.

'An appropriate policing plan is in place and officers remain in the area.

'Five people have been arrested on suspicion of offences including criminal and have been taken to a central London police station.'

Brazil has upwards of three million coronavirus cases and more than 100,000 deaths - with fears that deprived areas, such as indigenous communities, could see a quicker spread.

Health experts are concerned that coronavirus could wipe out indigenous communities in Brazil all together.

The community's elders are most at risk of dying from the virus, which experts say would cause 'chaos' because elders provide wisdom and social organisation.

To tackle the outbreak, members of some communities are breaking off into smaller groups equipped with hunting supplies to wait out the outbreak in isolation.

The fountains were also dyed red by protesters today. One woman can be seen splashing in the water during the protest

Demonstrators dressed in red dresses and veils ascended the steps at Trafalgar Square as people pretended to be dead

Protesters lay out along the steps in Trafalgar Square as they protested in the blazing sun today as temperatures soared yet again

Federal University of Sao Paulo researcher Dr Sofia Mendonca told BBC News: 'There is an incredible risk of the virus spreading across the native communities and wiping them out.

'Everyone gets sick, and you lose all the old people, their wisdom and social organization. It's chaos.'

Extinction Rebellion have caused chaos across the capital in various protests across the last two years.

Just last month a study found that Extinction Rebellion supporters in last year's protests were overwhelmingly middle class, highly-educated women from the south of England.

The research shows the Extinction Rebellion (XR) activists who brought London to a standstill last year had a much broader and more diverse age profile than previous environmental direct action protests.

Academics at the University of Exeter, Keele University and Aston University discovered that around 64 per cent of protesters at the April demonstration and 56 per cent of protesters at the October demonstration were women.

The team interviewed 303 people and received 232 mailed questionnaires back from protesters. They also attended court hearings for 144 XR activists charged with minor public order offences.

A new study has found that Extinction Rebellion supporters are most likely to be middle-class, highly educated women from the south. The study looked at the demos in London last year

The climate activist group has celebrity supporters including actress Emma Thompson (pictured) and model Lily Cole who was seen visiting hunger strike protesters in December

The study revealed around 85 per cent of those who took part in the action in London last year had a degree, and a third had a postgraduate qualification.

Two thirds identified themselves as middle-class while a high proportion were self-employed, part-time workers or students.

Three-quarters of those who were charged with offences lived below the Severn-Wash line, traditionally separating the north and south of England.

The research also found that XR activists were mostly non-metropolitan. A third of those who appeared in court were from the West Country with hotspots in Stroud, Totnes and Frome.

This contrasted the six per cent who appeared in court and were from Birmingham, Greater Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds, Newcastle, Edinburgh, Bradford, Sheffield, Glasgow, Swansea and Cardiff combined.

Professor Clare Saunders, from the University of Exeter, said: 'Our analysis shows one strength of Extinction Rebellion has been to involve people who are not natural protesters, and perhaps even less so natural law-breakers, but who were already persuaded of the rightness of the climate cause, and frustrated with the inability of both politicians and lifestyle environmentalism to bring about change.

'Mobilising this group enabled Extinction Rebellion to significantly expand the numbers of people willing to engage in environmental direct action, broadening its age profile, and bringing non-violent direct action on climate change into the centre of political life in the UK.'

Extinction Rebellion is a global environmental movement who aim to use non-violent civil disobedience to try and compel government action to tackle climate change.

In April last year, more than 1,000 activists were arrested after protesters occupied four sites across London as well as blocking roads, disrupting a railway line and conducting a protest at Heathrow.

Extinction Rebellion activists glued themselves to a DLR train at Canary Wharf in April last year during the city-wide protests

In October, protesters used a decommissioned fire engine to spray the front of the treasury in London with 1,800 litres of fake blood, holding banners which read 'STOP FUNDING CLIMATE DEATH'.

The group has received celebrity backing since their profile has grown including the likes of actress Emma Thompson and British models Lily Cole and Daisy Lowe.

The study, which was published yesterday and funded by the Centre for the Understanding of Sustainable Prosperity, revealed that XR supporters are also more likely to be new to protesting than other environmental activists, with 10 per cent of those who took part in the April 2019 protest being first-time demonstrators.

The majority of protesters surveyed said they most closely identified with the Green Party at 59.1 per cent while 15.5 per cent said they backed the Labour party.

Researchers say there was almost no support among Extinction Rebellion activists for the Conservative party and very little for the Liberal Democrats.

Professor Brian Doherty, from Keele University, said: 'We found Extinction Rebellion activists are much more likely to vote and be members of political parties than the general population.

'But they are also sceptical about the ability of political parties and government to deliver effective solutions to environmental problems.'

Dr Graeme Hayes, from Aston University, said: 'Protestors said they did not believe in reliance on companies and the market, governments, or lifestyle changes by individuals to solve the climate crisis.

'Almost all said they were protesting to raise awareness of the climate emergency, and to pressure politicians to act.

'This is a potential point of contention for Extinction Rebellion. Its strategy emphasises lobbying the government for action, but its activists do not think the government can deliver.'
Governor Nyesome Wike of Rivers state, who also double as the Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party National Campaign Council for Edo 2020 Governorship Election, on Sunday reacted to a statement issued by Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Friday 7 August, on the Edo House of Assembly crisis.

In the statement, Tinubu called Governor Godwin Obaseki, a dictator and a reminder of Nigerias years of military rule for blocking majority members of the house from performing their duties.

In response to the letter, Wike said he was shocked by the letter released by Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

He said: Tinubu is one man that I have great respect for so when I read the papers, I was taken aback. It is unfortunate that members that were not inaugurated can turn around to illegally impeach people.

What Governor Obaseki did is what any Chief Security officer should do. It is justifiable in order to avoid chaos. The certificate claims about Governor Obaseki by the former APC National Chairman is a non-issue because he is the best candidate for Edo State.

His claim that if APC loses the election they will secure the mandate through the courts is a total confirmation that the Party cannot win the Edo election through the ballot box.

Securing victory through the courts will be null and void as there are still Judges in Nigeria with conscience who cannot dance to the tune of the APC.

Wike also said Osagie Ize-Iyamu, the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the governorship election in Edo State, does not have the backing of President Muhammdu Buhari and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.

According to Wike, the absence of the President and Vice President at the flag-off of the APC Governorship campaign on Saturday was a confirmation that Ize-Iyamu is on his own.
Lafayette College is a step closer to building a 169-bed residence hall that will require moving one house and demolishing 15 additional properties on Eastons College Hill.

The Easton Planning Commission on Wednesday spent hours reviewing the proposal, with debate among members and with college representatives over the timeline for construction.

The commission ended up granting preliminary approval for the project on McCartney Street, between March and Marquis streets and Clinton Terrace. Lafayette will have to come back before the commission for final approval; but the only basis to deny that would be failure to comply with the conditions of preliminary approval, city Solicitor Joel Scheer said.

In additional approvals related to the dorm project, commissioners OKd extending through Sept. 17, 2023, permission for Lafayette to house up to 52 students in temporary dorms atop March Field on the College Hill Campus, and to create a new Portlock Black Cultural Center in the building to be relocated from 517 Clinton Terrace to 41 McCartney St.

The new four-story dorm represents Phase 2 of Lafayettes residence hall expansion, following Phase 1 construction that is wrapping up this month to house 165 students on three floors atop first-floor retail space on McCartney Street north of March Street to High Street. Radnor Property Group is developing Phase 1, on land leased from Lafayette.

Pressed repeatedly, and pointedly by commission member Robert Sun, Lafayette declined to commit to a firm timeframe for Phase 2 construction. Roger Demareski, vice president for finance and administration, kept going back to the uncertainty facing the college  like most facets of American life  due to the continuing coronavirus pandemic.

Even though Lafayette is going with remote learning for the upcoming fall semester, it has seen no significant drop in enrollment and plans to grow from 2,703 students this year by 50 annually to 2,900 by 2027, Demareski said.

The commitment to Phase 2 is there in terms of our expansion, he told the planning commission. We will remain a four-year residential college, and as we grow we need to provide beds for our students.

As for a date to start construction, the college is looking at a three-year timeframe, Demareski said: But my best is that we will have those beds open for the fall of 2023.

Commissioners debated at length tying the demolition plan to a construction timeline, even though the city has no power to require that. Planner Carl Manges noted Lafayette could pull demolition permits and begin demolition immediately.

Commission Chairman Charles Elliott suggested as a condition of approval asking Lafayette to propose a schedule for demolition. The fear is that demolition occurs and construction is then delayed, leaving vacant land at a gateway to College Hill and Lafayettes campus.

Its the uncertainty of the times that I think that really warrants a little more circumspection about this expansion, commission member Bill Carr argued.

Lafayette attorney George Kroculick joined Demareski in pushing back, and Elliotts motion failed once before ultimately gaining approval by a vote of 4-3.

We are planning to move forward, Kroculick said. Its a question of when, and why would we do something so illogical as to tear down buildings, even if we have the right do do so, in the meantime? It doesnt make any sense.

But what youre asking us today to do is tie our hands somewhat. With all due respect, I dont think that is something youre permitted to do under these circumstances.

Demareski asked the commission to consider Lafayettes track record in development as Eastons largest taxpayer and employer.

The assurance is McCartney is the gateway to the college and we are selling a product to students and its a competitive enrollment landscape and its not in our interest either to have vacant land with a fence around it and a large hole, he said.

Elliotts condition is non-binding.

Its just a signal that we want the college to not tear down the buildings without actually intending to put something in its place, without having an actual construction plan, said commission member Jaime Kulick. Its just a signal, its not a requirement.

Lafayette officials declined to comment following Wednesdays meeting on the demolition timeline condition. At this point, the college is reviewing the matter, spokesman Mark Eyerly said.

The Michler House at 517 Clinton Terrace on Easton's College Hill is proposed to be moved across the street to 41 McCartney St. and become the new Portlock Black Cultural Center as part of Lafayette College's residence hall expansion.Kurt Bresswein | For lehighvalleylive.com

As for moving 517 Clinton Terrace, known as the Michler House after 19th century Lafayette alumnus and architect William Michler, that is a condition of a settlement the college reached to resolve a lawsuit that sought to block the construction of Phase 1.

Plans call to move it to a new foundation, add a wraparound porch and other renovations and make it the new Portlock Black Cultural Center. The center now is within the block slated for demolition, and its new home would be next to Hillel House dedicated to Jewish culture.

That said, college trustees have not signed off on committing to the ultimate plan for the new Portlock Black Cultural Center, Demareski acknowledged.

Its our intention to support our Black community and to construct a better, larger Black cultural center, he said. Yes there is uncertainty but that is certainly our intention. And we have committed as our legal settlement to moving 517 across the street.

Lafayette needs to go before the citys zoning hearing board, as well, for special exception approval on the Portlock center use in its new location.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to lehighvalleylive.com.

Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com.
Insurance fraud seems like it might be an easy thing to do. Insurance companies are often so huge, one wonders how they might not even notic...
FALLS CHURCH (dpa-AFX) - Bath Iron Works, a unit of General Dynamics Corp (GD), and the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers Local S6 reached an agreement to end a strike by shipyard workers in Bath, Maine, the company and union said. About 4,300 members of the Local S6 have been on strike since June 22. 'We are pleased to have reached agreement with our union partners and look forward to getting back to the job of building ships for the U.S. Navy,' said Phebe Novakovic, chairman and chief executive officer of General Dynamics. The agreement keeps existing subcontracting language and protects seniority, the union said. The union said that the tentative three-year agreement is being unanimously recommended by the Local S6 negotiating committee. Local S6 members would receive the contract in the mail and vote online and via phone in the coming weeks. 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.
Sushant Singh Rajput Death Anniversary: A Timeline of the of events that have transpired so far

Rhea Chakraborty, family told to appear before probe agency on Monday

India

oi-Deepika S

New Delhi, Aug 09: The Enforcement Directorate has summoned actor Rhea Chakraborty and two of her family members for questioning in connection with the Sushant Singh Rajput case. All three have been directed to appear before the central probe agency on Monday.

In addition to Chakraborty, her brother, Showik Chakraborty, and father, Inderjit Chakraborty, the Enforcement Directorate has also summoned Siddharth Pithani (a friend of Sushant Singh Rajput), who had ignored a summons to appear on Saturday.

Sushant Singh Rajput case: Mumbai police opposes CBI probe in SC

This will be the second time that the agency will question Chakraborty and her father. It will be the third time that her brother will appear.

Defence Ministry bans import of 101 Defence items: PM Modi's Atma Nirbhar Bharat | Oneindia News

On Friday Chakraborty was questioned for more than nine hours. She, her brother, and former manager Shruti Modi were questioned in separate rooms at the agency's office in Mumbai, sources said.

The Enforcement Directorate has filed a money laundering case against Rhea Chakraborty and five others over "suspicious transactions" worth Rs 15 crore.

The case was filed after the agency acted on an FIR filed by Rajput's father with Bihar police, accusing Chakraborty of illegally transferring that amount from his son's bank account.

Sources in the agency said money from Rajput's bank accounts had been transferred to Chakraborty but it was nowhere near the alleged one. Agency sources, however, told news agency PTI that they "want more answers" over alleged mismatch in income, expenditure, and investments.

Sources close to the actor said the transactions were not unusual, particularly for a couple in a relationship that lived together and went on holidays together.

Rajput had also started two companies along with Chakraborty and her family - companies whose "money trail" Bihar police insisted they would follow, when questions were raised over their jurisdiction.

Chakraborty has repeatedly maintained her innocence in this matter; on Saturday she released two photographs - of a water bottle and a note that she said had been written by Rajput - that she said was the "only property" of the late actor that she had.

This morning the Enforcement Directorate said it had also questioned Chakraborty's brother - for 18 hours in an overnight session starting around noon the previous day.

The agency will also question Siddharth Pithani, an IT official who was reportedly out of town during the first summons. According to PTI, Pithani had told some news channels he was present when Sushant Singh Rajput, 34, died by suicide at his Bandra flat on June 14.

At this point, there are two central agencies probing this case - the Enforcement Directorate and the CBI. The CBI case, to be investigated by an elite team dealing with cases like the Vijay Mallya matter, is waiting on the top court's decision on Chakraborty's petition.
OTTAWAWith Gov. Gen. Julie Payette finding herself the focus of intensifying public scrutiny following reports about expensive personal renovations at Rideau Hall and alleged mistreatment of current and former staff, renewed interest has been sparked into the role of the Gov. General in Canada  and what happens if the person holding this office requires discipline or dismissal.

Who has the authority to fire the Gov. General?

The Governor General is appointed by the Queen, on the advice of the prime minister, and, as such, only the Queen could fire her, if it ever came to that. But, there are nuances to the situation.

If the desire existed to see Payette leave her office, it would be more likely that a private conversation between her and the prime minister would lead to a letter of resignation. If she disagreed or refused to leave when asked, the prime minister could call the Queen and request that she be dismissed.

But that would be an option of last resort, says Philippe Lagasse, a Carleton University expert on the Westminster system and the Crown.

You basically have to weigh, from the prime ministers point of view, is it worth the aggravation to have this buzzing around if it continues as a controversy in the coming months? he said.

In an ideal situation, you would want this to be solved in a way that allows both parties to save face, which is something that both groups can agree to mutually without bringing in the palace.

Why is public confidence in the governor general important, especially when theres a minority Parliament?

Technically, the Governor General is the second-highest office in Canada, after the Queen. That makes her one step higher than the prime minister in the hierarchy of Canadas Westminster system of democracy.

The reason for this is because she can be called upon to make several decisions regarding the formation of government. It would be her decision, for example, to prorogue Parliament, ending a parliamentary session, or to dissolve Parliament on the advice of the prime minister, triggering an election.

In a minority situation, which is what we have now, the possibility of a government losing the confidence of the House of Commons is more likely than in a majority, and governor general therefore becomes a key player.

This happened in 2008, when former prime minister Stephen Harper asked then-governor general Michaelle Jean to prorogue Parliament to avoid a non-confidence vote he was expected to lose  a decision that was controversial at the time.

Every decision the governor general might make around prorogations, dissolutions are going to be put under a very strong, critical eye, and if you have somebody whose judgment or standing vis-a-vis the government is suspect in any way, that undermines the underlying order of things ... you would want to avoid to the extent possible, Lagasse said.

Since the Governor General is appointed on the advice of the prime minister, if questions arise about her fitness for office, things can become even more tricky when questions of dissolving parliament come into play, he added.

What you certainly dont want is any perception that this person is worried about their job and therefore will align themselves with whichever political party is more likely to keep them in office, Lagasse said.

There has to be no doubt that shes either in or out, otherwise we dont want there to be the perception that somehow the prime minister can wield the possibility of dismissal to get their way with the Governor General.

How tenable is the current situation with Payette for the Trudeau government?

It cant help but be damaging, you dont want the Governor General to be making news in this way, says Barbara Messamore, a history professor at the University of Fraser Valley.

Past governors general have faced controversy about spending and other issues, but the fact Payette has faced questions about her role in office throughout her three-year tenure to date has had a compiling effect, she said.

The CBC reported last week that hundreds of thousands of dollars have been spent on designs and renovations Rideau Hall, some allegedly at Payettes personal request, for privacy, accessibility and security reasons.

This comes on the heels of another CBC report last month, citing anonymous sources, that Payette had yelled at, belittled and publicly humiliated employees, reducing some to tears or prompting them to quit.

The Privy Council Office, a bureaucratic operation that supports the prime minister and cabinet, said last month it was launching an independent review of the allegations. Payette said she welcomed the probe.

And though she has been in office since 2017, Payette has not lived at Rideau Hall, the official residence of Canadas Governor General, and has faced criticism for taking a lower profile in the job.

(Theres been) a steady drip of allegations and also, from the beginning, she seems to have been an uneasy fit for the role, Messamore says.

Nobody could deny that Madame Payette is a remarkable, accomplished person. But those accomplishments dont necessarily translate. You can be really accomplished in one sphere and just not be an ideal fit for this job.

Lagasse agreed, saying he believes three years of negative headlines are turning up the heat for Trudeau and Payette.

I think theres enough discussion and enough damage being done to the office that I think it would be incumbent upon the (Prime Ministers Office), (Privy Council Office), if they havent already, and I presume they already are ... considering whether or not its wise to have her stay in the position at this point.

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Here are todays top news, analysis and opinion at this hour. Know all about the latest news and other news updates from Hindustan Times.

Conspiracy against Maharashtra: Sanjay Raut on Sushant Singh Rajput case going to CBI

Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut has slammed the Centre for handing over the Sushant Singh Rajput death case to Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). He said that the decision has been taken for political gains and as part of pressure tactics. Read more

Singhs import embargo high sounding jargon: Congs Chidambaram takes a jibe

The defence minister promised a bang and ended with a whimper, senior Congress leader P Chidambaram said on Sunday after Rajnath Singhs announced a ban on the import of 101 items. Read more

Vidya Balan says she was labelled jinxed after her first film was shelved, was replaced in 7-8 projects

Actor Vidya Balan has said that after her debut film was shelved abruptly, she was labelled jinxed and lost out on many of her future projects. Read more

Life Hacks by Charles Assisi: Winning the work-from-home war

As we continue to work from home with no foreseeable end in sight, more people are reporting feeling stressed and stretched. Read more

Such opportunities cannot be wasted: Shahid Afridi, Michael Vaughan react to Pakistans loss to England in 1st Test

The first Test between England and Pakistan was a cliffhanger. There were moments where it looked like Pakistan had the upper hand, then it looked like England were cruising. Read more

Heres a tiny Android-based PC that is as big as Amazon Fire TV Stick

While smartphones can be considered as one of the most powerful palm-sized computers at todays date, the possibilities still remain endless and these could go more powerful and compact in future. T98 Mini PC seems to have been built on the same notion. Read more

I like messy beds: Harsh Goenka shares small joys of life, prompts people to post the same

From smelling the pages of a new book to sleeping an extra hour on a Sunday, people may share various things when theyre asked about the small joys of life or the little things they like. Read more
Hyderabad, Aug 9 : Telugu superstar Mahesh Babu, who turned a year older on Sunday, has received an adorable birthday wish from his wife Namrata Shirodkar.

Namrata posted an intimate moment between the couple -- a picture of Mahesh Babu kissing her.

"True love is how I experience it with you Happy Birthday MB. I love you now and always," Namrata captioned the image.

Makers of Mahesh Babu's upcoming film "Sarkaru Vaari Paata" unveiled the new motion poster of the project on the day. Sharing the link of the poster, Namrata wrote: "Super." Mahesh Babu's eight-year-old daughter Sitara too wished him on social media. Sitara posted a cute video clip on her Instagram account and said that her father's birthday is "one of her favourite days of the year".

"My most favourite day of the year!! Happyyy Birthday Nanna. You're the best dad everrr. I love you so so much@urstrulymahesh," Sitara wrote.

Wishing Mahesh Babu on his 45th birthday, actress Sophie Choudry tweeted: "Need a new pic together (and a new song) but happy bday to this superstar, an absolute gentleman @urstrulyMahesh. Wish you a wonderful and safe year ahead!! All the best for #SarkaruVaariPaata." Actor Adivi Sesh described Mahesh Babu's birthday as a "festival".

"Wishing a heartfelt happy birthday to Superstar @urstrulyMahesh sir! Today's a festival for the millions! "Your encouragement and kind words of grace have meant the world to me and the team. Thank you for the value and faith you have given for my dream film #Major Lots of love sir," Adivi wrote on Twitter.
It's a familiar scene: an adventurous infant takes a tumble before being helped back up by the grown-ups.

But it makes for a rather more arresting sight when the little one is a baby elephant.

The calf fell into a river near a dam after losing its balance and ended up completely submerged in the water before a remarkable rescue effort took place.

The calf fell into a river near a dam after losing its balance and ended up completely submerged in the water before a remarkable rescue effort took place

An elder wrapped its trunk tightly around the babys own at Hapoor Dam near the Addo Elephant Park in the Eastern Cape, South Africa

First, an elder wrapped its trunk tightly around the babys own, before a second elephant jumped in to push the stricken calf to safety.

Photographer Gwen Rea, who captured the heartwarming moment in South Africa, said: It was late afternoon and I was getting ready to leave when I looked up and saw this baby elephant that had slipped into the water.

The area is dry and water levels low, thus the embankment is too high and steep for the babies there. Immediately, another elephant tried to pull him out by his trunk.

A second elephant jumped in to push the stricken calf to safety as the herd gather together to rescue the stricken calf

I was in such a panic and at the same time trying to take photos, while looking for a number to dial the rangers and shouting to people in a nearby car to call the authorities.

'The herd gathered together to help when one jumped into the water. At one stage I saw the baby go right under but the lifesaver got under him and lifted him out while others in the herd assisted.

Mrs Rea, 64, who was at Hapoor Dam near the Addo Elephant Park in the Eastern Cape, added: I cheered and applauded the hero.

I consider myself honoured to have witnessed this.
The 14th edition of Bigg Boss, hosted by Salman Khan, is all set to begin from September.

Its surely one of the most debated shows on Indian television and looks like even Coronavirus couldnt stop it from being made and now, it's set to be aired soon.

Salman, the face of Bigg Boss, looks like he is ready to host the show again, despite saying that he did not want to host it anymore and now, we wonder how this season will turn out given the current scenario in the country.

The first look of Bigg Boss 14 is out, and we can see host Salman in his own farmhouse in the teaser. In the promo, he is seen saying, Lockdown laya sabki life mein speed breaker isliye uga raha hun chawal aur chala raha hun tractor. Par ab season paltega kyuki aa raha hai Bigg Boss 2020 sirf Colors par.

Check out the full promo:

Well, given that we are already stuck in our homes since forever with nowhere to go so, I think we have a fair idea of what it's like to be in the infamous Bigg Boss house ourselves! Have a feeling we might relate to this one a little one more because of the current situation we all are in.

While the official list of contestants is not out yet, there are speculations about who will be entering the house. But before the final list is announced, we have 5 names we desperately wish to see in the house of madness this time:

1. Sima Taparia Aka Sima Aunty

We have already seen her in Indian Matchmaking on Netflix. She is a Mumbai-based matchmaker and owns a marriage bureau called Suitable Rishta.

In every season of Bigg Boss, we have seen lovebirds, so, why not have a matchmaker in the house itself to decide if they are perfect for each other or not?

2. Arnab Goswami

It will be interesting to have Arnab Goswami on board because he will absolutely rip everyone apart with his questions. It will be a sight to watch Arnab and Salman Khan getting into a battle of words.

Arnab has been relentless in his coverage of Sushant Singh Rajput's death and has been demanding justice for the late actor right from the start. It will be interesting to see the 'real' avatar of the man.

3. Carry Minati

This year, CarryMinati started the biggest e-war in the country wherein he took potshots at TikToker Amir Siddiqui in the video named YouTube vs Tik Tok:'The End.

In the viral video, Minati pointed out that TikTok videos dont have any quality. Minati even mocked Siddiquis grammar as he hinted how his education is inadequate.

It will be interesting to see him locked in the house for 2 months because he will get enough material to make his explosive YouTube videos for sure.

4. Kunal Kamra

Roast culture is not something new but this time, it touched new heights. Kunal Kamra was late in joining the YouTube VS TikTok war but hogged the limelight when he took potshots at CarryMinati.

What he didn't expect was that Minati's fans would brutally troll him to no end. I am just wondering what would happen if the two come face to face and would have to stay in the house for two long months. Makes one wonder, right?

5. Sandeep Maheshwari

Given that glorious chaos is bound to unfold in the house, there should be someone to inculcate positivity, and Sandeep Maheshwari is the name that pops up in my head.

He promotes positive and realistic thinking and in the time of adversity, he gives motivational and life-altering seminars. We are sure that people in the house would surely get to learn from Sandeep.

Who do you want to see in the house? Let us know in the comments below.
Right now, NASAs Perseverance rover is flying through space toward a February landing on Mars, and no one is watching closer than Dr. Caleb Fassett of Huntsvilles Marshall Space Flight Center. Fassett wrote the scientific paper almost 20 years ago that gave Perseverance its destination.

Fassetts research found evidence that the crater - since named Jezero Crater - once held a lake and has good odds of holding signs of ancient life on the Red Planet. NASA has bet the $3 billion mission cost that Fassett and the scientists who share his view are right. And NASA upped the ante. For the first time, a rover will try to send samples from the planet back to Earth.

This particular place on Mars was something I had spotted in very low-resolution data in 2003, 2004, Fassett said last week. In that data, it was really clear that there were these valleys in this crater. What Fassett saw in images from the Mars Odyssey spacecraft, which is still orbiting Mars, were signs of sedimentary deposits on one side of the crater and an outlet on the other side. To have an outlet form, you have to fill the whole (crater) up and have it overflow, Fassett said. That basically demands the existence of a lake.

That was exciting when I found it initially, Fassett said. Its gotten cooler since then.

This map shows regions in and around Jezero Crater on Mars, the landing site of NASA's Perseverance rover. The green circle represents the rover's landing ellipse. Jezero held a lake and river delta billions of years ago; scientists want to capture samples of rock in these regions that may contain evidence of ancient microscopic life, which will be returned to Earth by a future mission for extensive study.

In a study led by colleague Bethany Ehlmann, Fassett also was part of a team that discovered carbonate in the crater, a mineral that requires relatively moderate conditions to form. A lot of the carbonates on Earth, the reason they (form) is because of organisms, Fassett said. You can also get them to precipitate inorganically without biology at all, and that may very well be the case with these Mars ones.

Scientists have seen this before. Carbonates were found in a rock sample from a Martian meteorite that hit Earth, Fassett said, and that was one of the things that set off the Mars program re-invigoration in the 1990s, because people were arguing it was biology.

Scientists dont think that now, he said, and Fassett believes finding evidence of life on Mars next year is unlikely. The rover is very capable, he said, but we have a hard time on Earth identifying the signatures of life in 3  billion-year-old rocks. Youve got to be very lucky, and people will argue about it in the literature for decades. So, the idea were going to send a robot that is going to solve this problem I think is actually unlikely.

Thats why NASA is looking at the big step of bringing samples back to Earth. Scientists are skeptical, Fassett said, and if were going to convince scientists, its going to be (with) samples that are returned. I could be wrong. There could be a fossil  I just dont think its very likely.

The plan is that if Perseverance finds interesting samples, they will be gathered and stored in the rover until a Mars Ascent Vehicle arrives later in the 2020s.

his illustration shows a concept of how the NASA Mars Ascent Vehicle, carrying tubes containing rock and soil samples, could be launched from the surface of Mars in one step of the Mars sample return mission.

The return mission will be a partnership with the European Space Agency. It includes a fetch rover to land on Mars and retrieve the samples from Perseverance and then transfer them to a return rocket that will launch them into Mars orbit. Another spacecraft in orbit will collect the samples and return them to Earth.

All of this will be expensive, complicated and take time, but it will be cheaper by billions of dollars, far faster and less complicated than the first flight of humans to the planet. And it could answer the fundamental question of life beyond Earth. We havent found life anywhere else in the Universe except Earth, Fassett said, so the first time were going to have to be very conscious to make a case for it. That would be a paradigm shifting discovery.

Fassetts discovery and the long wait to test it is part of the story of space exploration. One of the things you get used to as you explore other planets is the possibility that your findings are going to be hard to test further, he said. There was no guarantee when I was working on this in 2004, 2005 that wed ever go to this place on Mars. Mars has the land area of all the continents of the Earth put together. So, the odds you just pick one particular spot and thats where youre going to go, you have to get pretty lucky to follow up on your observations to go there.

Dr. Caleb Fassett is a planetary scientist at NASAs Marshall Space Flight Center. Originally from Maryland, Dr. Fassett earned his BS from Williams College in 2002, and MS and PhD from Brown University in 2005 and 2008, respectively.

Its not just patience, he said. Its also luck that allows us to push the envelope on this particular location.

Would he like to go to Mars to see for himself? I think given the chance, I probably would, Fassett said. Im pretty risk averse, so I dont know if Im the guy that would be your first choice as an astronaut. I think the reason we get the people we get is a certain tolerance for well-chosen risk.

I love the fact we can build these robots to be our explorers in the distant part of the universe without us having to be there to breathe and keep fed and come back, hopefully, he said. So, yeah, I hope 50 years from now people are doing space travel more routinely, but Im not personally going to go there.

Probably, he added.
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The parents of three children who were allegedly killed at the hands of a drunk and drug-addled driver have paid a gut-wrenching tribute to the youngest of the victims on what would have been her ninth birthday.

Sienna Abdallah was mowed down alongside her siblings, 13-year-old Antony and 12-year-old Angelina, as well as their 11-year-old cousin Veronique Sakr, 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 Samuel William Davidson - the drunk son of a former NSW detective - who police allegee had drugs in his system at the time.

On Sunday, Sienna's parents Danny and Leila Abdallah, celebrated her first birthday since the devastating crash.

'You are my baby girl and my princess,' a tribute to the birthday girl read.

'You filled our lives and our hearts with love and joy. Today we were celebrating your birthday, but we didn't have the birthday girl among us.

The Abdallah family (pictured) are seen before tragedy struck on February 1, killing three of their six children and their niece

Further footage shows Sienna in her gymnastics outfit (pictured), cheering about attending a competition and fearlessly tumbling on the concrete - as well as plenty of videos singing her favourite songs

The tribute began with a video taken at Sienna's last birthday, as she excitedly blew out the candle of a cake (right) and featured plenty of unseen family photographs

'We love and miss you dearly... Our hearts are broken and we believe that we'll be reunited with you in heaven.'

The post was accompanied by a video slideshow including never-before-seen videos and photos of the aspiring gymnast.

As Ed Sheeran's 'Photograph' played in the background, the tribute began with a video taken at Sienna's last birthday, as she excitedly blew out the candle of a cake.

The video then switches to a clip taken on a boat, as her doting dad asks for a kiss.

Sienna obliges, before turning to the camera and cheekily wiping her mouth and flashing a grin.

The couple have previously recalled how 'cheeky' Sienna was. They referred to her as their 'diva', even at just eight years old.

Further footage shows Sienna in her gymnastics outfit, cheering about attending a competition and fearlessly tumbling on the concrete - as well as plenty of videos singing her favourite songs.

The couple finished the message by describing heaven as 'lucky' to have Sienna.

'I am sure that Antony, Angelina and Veronique are beside you.'

As Ed Sheeran's 'Photograph' played in the background, the tribute began with a photo of Sienna as a toddler (pictured)

Mrs Abdallah told media she 'forgives' Davidson (pictured), despite him allegedly being three times over the legal blood alcohol limit when his Mitsubishi Triton mounted the kerb, killing three of her children

Pictured: Mr and Mrs Abdallah with their three daughters. The eldest (left) and youngest (centre) were both killed in the horror crash

Just six weeks ago, Mr and Mrs Abdallah celebrated their eldest son Antony's 14th birthday.

They made a similar video for his special day, describing the teenager as 'a saint'.

The parents of all the children who were hit were on the scene within minutes, but it was too late.

Mr 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.

The video then switches to a home video taken on a boat, as her doting dad asks for a kiss. Sienna obliges, before turning to the camera and cheekily wiping her mouth and flashing a grin. The couple have previously recalled how 'cheeky' Sienna was. They referred to her as their 'diva', even at just eight years old

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

Leila Abdallah (pictured with her three girls) shared this photograph in the tribute video

The couple have previously recalled how 'cheeky' Sienna was. They referred to her as their 'diva', even at just eight years old

'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.

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.

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

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

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

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.

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

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

Samuel William Davidson (pictured being taken away in handcuffs and shirtless) was charged with 33 offences including manslaughter

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

Police allege the driver had been drinking at home with friends before he got behind the wheel to withdraw cash at a service station.

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.

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.

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 in an interview which aired last month. '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.'

Antony Abdallah was more than just Charbel's cousin. The pair were also the best of friends.

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

A documentary detailing the heartbreak felt by the families involved aired on Channel Seven on Tuesday (pictured, the Abdallah family before tragedy struck)

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

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.'

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 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.'

Mr Abdallah prayed with his son Antony (pictured) just hours before the horror crash in February

Distressed witnesses were seen being comforted at the tragic scene by emergency workers (pictured)

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

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.

'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.

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.

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

Their 11-year-old cousin Veronique Sakr (right, with her mother Bridget and brother Michael) was also killed

'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.

Mrs Abdallah (pictured) frequently returned to the crash scene with her husband in the weeks after the crash
A pair of spectacles belonging to Indian independence leader Mahatma Gandhi will go on sale this month after being left in a local auctioneer's letterbox.

Employees of East Bristol Auctions discovered the glasses in a plain envelope on Monday morning, accompanied by a note saying they belonged to Mr Gandhi.

The glasses were left by a man who inherited them from his ancestor, who was given them in the 1920s when visiting South Africa, where Mr Gandhi lived for more than 20 years.

The spectacles go on sale on August 21 with an estimated price of 10,000-15,000 - but auctioneer Andrew Stowe said he expected them to sell for much more than that.

Mahatma Gandhi / Getty Images

Mr Stowe told the Standard: "This is probably the most high-profile find we've had and we've already had an overwhelming level of interest from potential buyers."

He went on: "It's terrifying in a way, to have responsibility for something that belonged to someone so iconic and beloved."

Asked if he could be completely sure the glasses belonged to Mr Gandhi, he said: "No, it's never totally possible to absolutely prove where something came from.

"But in this case we've carefully been through the story of the gentleman who gave the glasses to us to sell and everything completely checks out."

2015 photo of Mahatma Gandhi's statue in London / Getty Images

The glasses are still in good shape and could even be worn by someone today - although they are quite small, Mr Stowe said.

Mr Gandhi, whose real name was Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, was a leader in the decades-long Indian campaign for independence from British rule in the first half of the twentieth century.

His style of non-violent protest has inspired many other social justice movements around the world. A statue of Mr Gandhi has stood in London's Parliament Square since 2015.
Hong Kong: New sanctions will not benefit US

Secretary for Commerce & Economic Development Edward Yau today said the US Governments latest sanctions on Hong Kong would negatively affect US interests in the city.

Mr Yau made the statement at a media session after attending a radio programme this morning.

He said the US' latest sanctions are unreasonable and barbarous, adding that they would in the long run inflict a wound on US interests in the city.

Looking at the wider interest between Hong Kong and the US, such imposition of unreasonable measures would send a very wrong signal to the US investment in Hong Kong.

Mr Yau pointed out the US would ultimately pay the price and that the sanctions will definitely hurt the relationship between the two sides.

This story has been published on: 2020-08-09. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
According to an April 2020 survey by Active MindsAbout, 80% of college students have experienced a negative impact on their mental health during the pandemic.

Kognito has just released the updated At-Risk Mental Health for Students to help students struggling with their mental health, especially now amid the pandemic.

College students and mental health

The COVID-19 pandemic has heightened mental health challenges among college students. Such problems have already been on the rise before the virus crisis hit. In the last half-decade, the number of students seeking campus counseling has surged 30-40%. Simultaneously, enrollment has increased by only 5%. Now, also, students are grappling with canceled internships, abandoned study-abroad programs, or family illness or deaths from COVID-19. They have a sea of changes in campus life - if they are on campus at all.

This perfect storm of need and the fact that two-thirds of suicidal college students tell a friend first are driving increased interest in online mental health training. Students seek resources that can provide the mental health support they need, either off or on campus.

At-Risk Mental Health for Students

Kognito pioneered this online strategy 10 years ago with At-Risk for University Students. It offers a suite of products that educates faculty, staff, and students about mental health and suicide prevention. It helps improve academic performance, student retention, and campus safety.

At-Risk for students is an avatar-based simulation designed to help students recognize signs of distress in themselves and their peers. It also aids in the practice of effective communication techniques to give peer support. (More than 300,000 students at 300+ institutions have been trained to date.)

Significantly, a recent study at one university showed that students who have participated in Kognito training seek mental health support for themselves at twice the rate as students who have not.

The updated version, At-Risk Mental Health for Students, includes more focus on resiliency skills, a more extensive diversity of students and stressors, self-care checklists, the availability of campus resources beyond counseling centers, and various other enhancements to address evolving needs.
WATERLOO REGION  As the Canadian economy slowly emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic, there is growing concern many of this countrys youngest startup companies may lose access to a vital source of early funding.

Companies often rely on so-called angel investors to fund the earliest stages of their growth, and its a crucial source of investment for businesses that arent yet big enough or have sufficient sales to capture the attention of major investment firms or banks.

With growing global uncertainty over just how quickly the economy will recover from the pandemic, however, and with access to critical U.S. capital largely cut off due to border closures and reductions in travel, there are worries Canadian angel investment may dry up.

Waterloo Regions tech and innovation sector owes much of its success to angel investors, said Iain Klugman, chief executive of local technology hub Communitech.

It is the capital that launches almost every successful company in the history of Waterloo Region, Klugman said, citing local success stories such as OpenText, Vidyard and D2L (formerly Desire2Learn).

It is the capital that launches innovation-based business; almost always the first (investment) round is driven by angels.

Angel groups across Canada are calling on the government to create incentives to get Canadian capital off the sidelines and invested into homegrown companies and talent.

And were not talking huge amounts of money, either. Klugman said many angels invest perhaps $50,000 to $100,000 of their own cash every year into companies  often in exchange for convertible debt or an early ownership stake.

Yet the pandemic and the economic malaise that has accompanied it could stall future investment as angels put a pause on potentially riskier endeavours in favour of safer bets, like real estate.

Klugman fears this funding freeze will come just as the push for entrepreneurship picks up among university and college students graduating into a weak economy, and people recently laid off from work who may look to self-employment as a more viable option.

Its time for the government to put into place some incentives, Klugman said. One option would be an angel tax credit worth up to 50 per cent of the investment, he said.

Jess Joss is worried companies will lose more than just access to early-stage cash if angels stop investing.

Think of these companies as seeds, and the angels are the water and fertilizer, said the chief executive of Equation Angels, an amalgamation of more than 100 angels from Kitchener-Waterloos Golden Triangle Angel Network, Burlingtons Angel One group, and Londons Southwestern Ontario Angels.

These investors provide much-needed cash, but they also bring mentorship and access to their networks, said Joss, who is currently on leave from her position.

Its not just money, but smart money.

Ontarios 13 angel networks are also facing a fight for their survival. These groups help co-ordinate angels and their funding efforts in different regions across the province.

Many operate as not-for-profit agencies, and in March 2019 they lost provincial funding they say was critical for day-to-day operations. Each group received a maximum of $50,000 per year.

They may also soon lose funding made available through the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario, Joss said.

The past decade has seen record levels of investment of more than $1 billion into early-stage companies (including a record-setting $163.9 million from angels last year), according to the National Angel Capital Organization, a group of 45 regional angel investment groups and 40 accelerators or incubators across Canada.

Another potential model of angel investment is the Archangel Network of Funds, a consortium of nine angel investors who pool investor capital across three different portfolios in order to diversify the types of projects they fund.

One of the partners in the network is Amber French, and she said angel investors often run their own business  ranging from HVAC operators to patent lawyers  and some have seen their businesses take a hit during the pandemic, which has taken a toll on their willingness to take on new investment opportunities.

The Archangel Network is a good example of spreading money out and reducing the risk, said French, who is also the managing partner of Catalyst Capital in Kitchener.

The long-term impacts of reduced investment into Canadas earliest startups could be dramatic, Joss said.

If you lose a generation of angels, you lose a generation of entrepreneurs, and then you lose a generation of economic recovery for our country, she said.
The National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS) has described the decision by the Ghana Education Service (GES) to dismiss some West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) candidates over acts of indiscipline and violence, as harsh.



NUGS is also calling for the reconsideration of the decision by the GES.



This follows the GES dismissal of some 14 final-year students identified in various videos that have gone viral on social media inciting and participating in vandalism on various school campuses after sitting their first few WASSCE papers.



Four teachers have also been interdicted in connection with the violence that erupted in the schools.



In a statement announcing the punitive measures, the GES said the sanctions are meant to deter others from such acts of vandalism.



However, in a statement signed by its General Secretary Divine Edem Kwadzodeh and issued by its Secretary for Press, Obed Yaw Osei on Saturday, 8 August 2020, the union condemned the action of the students.



NUGS acknowledges concerns of examination malpractices and other acts of indiscipline by some students in the ongoing WASSCE exams. Such acts contradict the values and principles of the Union; the Union unequivocally condemns any act of indiscipline on our campuses thereof, the statement said.



NUGS further noted that: Such acts of indiscipline have no place in our institutions of training and should not be coming from students who are being trained to be the future leaders of this country.



The statement continued that the union has also taken notice of the reaction of the Ghana Education Service (GES) and appealed to the GES to take cognisance of the times we find ourselves and its already undesirable consequence on students i.e. the COVID-19 pandemic and its psychological effects on students.



That the punitive measure of dismissing the students from the schools and barring them from continuing with the examinations which they have already started is too harsh and should be reconsidered. The Union believes that punitive measures should be meant to reform recalcitrant students, and not to have consequences that may jeopardise their educational future.



NUGS further continued that: the management of the schools and the Ghana Education Service should exact other punitive measures for these students and allow them to complete their studies and examinations.



It reiterated that the Union shall take steps to partner the GES and other relevant stakeholders to embark on a Discipline Campaign to educate and sensitise our high school constituents on the need to uphold the culture and values of discipline and also to forestall future occurrences of such indiscipline.



NUGS also urged all senior high school students to obey their schools rules and regulations, avoid all forms of examination malpractices and observe all the COVID-19 protocols and not to rely on supposed leaked papers; prepare adequately" and they will excel.





Source: NUGS









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The border between Argentina and Brazil had been closed by the coronavirus pandemic for nearly two months when, in early May, an unusual convoy approached the checkpoint in Puerto Iguazu. There were 15 people, all of whom had gone days with little sleep, and six vehicles, including a crane and a large truck.

Behind the truck was a specialized transport box.

Inside the box was an elephant.

The elephants name was Mara. She was around 50 years old, and had spent the last two and a half decades of her life in a dusty zoo enclosure in the Palermo neighborhood of central Buenos Aires. The zoo was once a centerpiece of the citys grand Victorian parks, a symbol of its prestige. There was, as Argentinas vice president observed in 1888, no such thing as a major city that did not have a zoo.
On Saturday, President Trump put his name to four executive actions  three presidential memoranda and one executive order  intended to offer some relief to Americans dealing with the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. The premise of these actions, made explicit in the text of each, was that Congress had failed to act and now the chief executive has to step in. It is a premise fundamentally at odds with the logic of our constitutional order, and it points to a number of dangerous dysfunctions in the American system of government that are now thoroughly bipartisan.

As a matter of substantive policy action, there is less to these four actions than might meet the eye. The first (in ascending order of significance) is an executive order intended to protect Americans facing eviction now that the moratorium on some kinds of evictions that Congress put in place in the CARES Act in March has expired. As a practical matter, the order does more or less nothing, merely instructing several federal officials to look into ways to help renters facing evictions. No new authorities are asserted or exercised.

The second, a presidential memorandum on student-loan relief, extends the deferral of student-loan obligations, allowing borrowers to miss payments without penalties. The administration announced that deferral policy in late March. The CARES Act codified it through the end of September. And the president now says it will continue through the end of the year even if Congress doesnt formally codify a new extension.

The third, a presidential memorandum on aid to the unemployed, purports to fill the gap created by the expiration of the emergency supplemental unemployment-insurance benefits that Congress established in the CARES Act. But since the president cant appropriate new money, what the order actually does is enable states to apply for FEMA grants under the Stafford Act and then use that money to provide additional unemployment benefits. The Stafford Act requires states to share in the spending  essentially putting in a quarter of the amount they spend and getting the other three-quarters from Washington. That means that, under the arrangement laid out in this new memo, states can apply to provide qualified residents with an extra $400 per month in unemployment benefits if they cover $100 of that cost while the federal government covers $300. Given the fiscal pressures they confront, this may be a tall order for many states. And as its written, the memo appears to offer these funds as a new and separate stream of money, not as additional resources for the states existing unemployment-insurance programs, which suggests that actually providing benefits this way could take months to implement.

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Fourth, and most controversial, is a presidential memorandum that suspends payroll-tax payments for some workers through the end of the year. Workers who earn less than $8,000 a month can defer payroll-tax payments from September 1 through December 31. They would then be required to pay those back taxes (albeit without penalties or interest), but the Treasury secretary is instructed to explore avenues, including legislation to have those back taxes forgiven. So the order would let workers not pay these taxes and then dare Congress to make them cough up the money at the end of the year  basically pressuring legislators to enact a payroll-tax cut that neither party in Congress wanted but that the president would like to see.

As real relief, these measures are precarious and weak. But as exertions of executive authority, the latter two memoranda in particular are constitutionally dangerous. That is not to say that a judge would necessarily throw them out; they are substantively weak because they are written to avoid expressly violating any law. And if the Constitution is just a law as well, then there are surely justifications that the administrations lawyers could offer for both memos that might satisfy the federal courts.

But if the Constitution is more than a law, if it establishes a system of government with a particular character, then there could hardly be any question that a presidential action explicitly setting out to change federal policy regarding both spending and taxing, and to do so precisely because Congress has declined to take these steps, violates that character.

The president did not even attempt to deny that he was stepping into Congresss terrain and taking actions that are in essence legislative. As the executive memorandum to provide additional unemployment benefits puts it:

Because many of the relief programs created by the Congress have expired or will shortly expire, my Administration and the Republican leadership in the United States Senate have proposed multiple options to continue to provide needed relief to Americans. But Democratic Members of Congress have twice blocked temporary extensions of supplemental unemployment benefits. Political games that harm American lives are unacceptable, especially during a global pandemic, and therefore I am taking action to provide financial security to Americans.

This is an admission of constitutional impropriety. Maybe there is nothing here that would lead a judge, applying doctrines prudently constructed to limit judicial micromanagement of republican government, to overturn these orders. But there is plenty that should lead Congress and the public to regard the presidents actions as unconstitutional. And there is nothing contradictory, or even particularly mysterious, about those two differing assessments. A judge has a particular role to play in our system of government. But judicial scrutiny is not the only sort of constitutional scrutiny. As University of Virginia political scientist James Ceaser has put it, the Constitution needs to be understood in two separate if related senses:

The first sense  legalistic constitutionalism  understands the Constitution as a set of rules that can decide policies or cases; these rules are of a sort that can offer definitive answers and that could be employed and enforced by courts. The second sense  political constitutionalism  understands the Constitution as a document that fixes certain ends of government activity, delineates a structure and arrangement of powers, and encourages a certain tone to the operation of the institutions. By this understanding, it falls mostly to political actors making political decisions to protect and promote constitutional goals.

We have leaned very heavily in recent years in the direction of a legalistic understanding of the Constitution. But as Ceaser notes, the political understanding is at least as crucial. It is an understanding that should leave us less willing to overlook obvious constitutional improprieties because they can technically be justified by obviously cynical and manipulative lawyerly gimmicks. The president is taking a legislative action. Maybe a judge cant call it that, but a citizen surely can.

This kind of presidential usurpation has actually not been particularly common in the Trump era, when presidential weakness has been more the norm. With some exceptions (such as the emergency spending on a border wall), President Trumps constitutional excesses have mostly been rhetorical. In fact, the tactic employed by the president with these new orders was much more at home in the Obama era. It was evident above all in President Obamas assertion of authority over immigration, with his Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents (DAPA) programs. In both instances, President Obama essentially rewrote immigration law. And although his lawyers argued he was working within the legal bounds of the enforcement discretion afforded the executive branch in executing laws, Obama himself openly acknowledged he was acting in place of Congress. In a speech announcing DAPA to the nation, for instance, Obama said:

And to those members of Congress who question my authority to make our immigration system work better or question the wisdom of me acting where Congress has failed, I have one answer: Pass a bill. I want to work with both parties to pass a more permanent legislative solution. And the day I sign that bill into law, the actions I take will no longer be necessary.

This was precisely the same sort of admission that President Trump made in laying out his payroll-tax relief. Trump could have simply quoted his predecessors famous line: Where Congress wont act, I will. And the method Trump employed was also the same as Obamas: enforcement discretion, through which the president effectively creates a new law by declining to enforce the existing one.

The Obama administration took a similar approach to federal drug laws, announcing in 2013 (without congressional authorization) that it would stop enforcing laws against marijuana in states with a more permissive approach to the drug, thereby effectively creating a new legal regime without the necessary legislative action.

Republicans raised the alarm when Obama took this approach to immigration and drug laws. In fact, after the Obama administration launched the DAPA program in 2014, Senator Ted Cruz raised a specific concern about where it might lead. He said:

For all those who are silent now: What would they think of a Republican president who announced that he was going to ignore the law, or unilaterally change the law? Imagine a future president setting aside environmental laws, or tax laws, or labor laws, or tort laws with which he or she disagreed. That would be wrong  and it is the Obama precedent that is opening the door for future lawlessness.

That is precisely what has now happened, and it is indeed wrong. But so far, most Republicans in Congress seem reticent to say so. As in the Obama years, the presidents party in Congress is all too eager to encourage an executive incursion onto legislative turf.

And thus, one kind of constitutional failure invites another: An absence of the necessary constitutional self-restraint on the part of the presidents is answered with an absence of the necessary constitutional assertiveness on the part of Congress. These are both failings of constitutional virtue.

And they are not the only such failures at the juncture of the two elected branches. They have emerged alongside Congresss eagerness to delegate its power to administrative agencies and the Senates lack of interest in asserting its advice-and-consent powers (as the executive branch fills with acting officers in the Trump era just as it did with recess appointments in the Obama years).

These are challenges that the courts are institutionally ill suited to remedy. They require the other constitutional institutions to take account of their responsibilities, and they require a citizenry keen to insist on the proper functioning of our constitutional order. The tradition of judicial restraint in matters of enforcement discretion does not justify Congresss abdications of constitutional power and responsibility. Quite the opposite, in fact: Where courts cannot prevent a presidents anti-constitutional action, Congresss own responsibility for constitutional preservation becomes all the greater.

President Trumps COVID-relief orders are mostly for show. Their substantive effects are likely to be modest. But their revival of presidential pen-and-phone policymaking threatens to further undermine the foundations of our constitutional government. Debating this controversy strictly in terms of court-centric legalisms will only further lull us into regarding the defense of the constitutional system as someone elses problem. The courts may be unable to push back, but Congress and the people can and should.

 Yuval Levin is director of social, cultural, and constitutional studies at the American Enterprise Institute and the editor of National Affairs. Adam White is a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute and the director of the C. Boyden Gray Center for the Study of the Administrative State at the Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University.

More from National Review
Startling figures reveal Australians are spending more on poker machines now than before the coronavirus pandemic.

Liquor and Gaming NSW data shows punters lost more than $571 million in July, up from $530 million in June, 2019, despite every second machine being switched off due to COVID-19 social distancing restrictions.

Sydney University Gambling Treatment and Research Clinic co-director, Associate Professor Sally Gainsbury told The Daily Telegraph anxiety, boredom and government handouts were all causes for the spike in pokies spending.

New figures show Australians lost more than $571 million on poker machines in June, compared to less than $530 million in June of 2019 despite half the machines being available due to COVID-19 restrictions (man pictured on a poker machine)

'We have more money in our pockets as we are going out less, and some people who were on relatively low incomes have more money in their pockets because of JobSeeker,' she said.

Professor Gainsbury said punters, including problem gamblers, rushed back to licensed venues after they reopened at a limited capacity on June 1.

'We did have people saying: "Great, I have it under control, I dont need to come to treatment" only, when venues reopened, they reverted back to gambling, potentially in a higher way,' she said.

Professor Gainsbury told Daily Mail Australia many people were using poker machines as a way to cope with the stress of the pandemic.

'It is important that venues and staff pay close attention to customers and look for indicators of risk and have conversations to check in regularly,' she said.

'Efforts for social distancing need to be balanced with obligations to ensure customers are gambling at affordable levels.'

Licensed venues in NSW were the first in Australia to switch their poker machines back on after the coronavirus shutdown.

From March 23 to June 1 NSW clubs suffered an 87 per cent decline in monthly revenue, equating to a collective net loss of $212 million each month.

Centre clinical psychologist Dr Christopher Hunt said the 7.9 percent increase in net profit for June seemed to stem from people missing being able to gamble.

'It was almost as if there was this pent-up desire to gamble,' he said.
A working mother's straight-talking email response sent to contacts during COVID-19 has made her the poster child of exhausted parents around the world who are struggling to balance personal and professional responsibilities.



Khara Jabola-Carolus, 33 is the executive director of Hawaii's State Commission on the Status of Women, a government agency that campaigns for gender equality.

She and her husband, Mark Kaniela Saito Ing, are the parents of two young children, an infant and a toddler, who she has been caring for at home since the outbreak of the coronavirus crisis in March.

Drained from juggling motherhood with the demands of a high-powered job, Ms Jabola Carolus crafted a no-nonsense out of office email highlighting the enormous pressure parents have been slapped with since the pandemic began.

'Aloha, due to patriarchy I am behind in emails,' the message, which was shared on Instagram, begins. 'I hope to respond to your message soon but, like many women, I am working full-time while tending to an infant and toddler full-time.'

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Khara Jabola-Carolus (pictured) is the executive director of Hawaii's State Commission on the Status of Women and a mother of two young children

The mother-of-two crafted a blunt out of office response highlighting the pressures that many working moms have faced since the start of the pandemic - and it quickly went viral online

'Aloha, due to patriarchy I am behind in emails,' Ms Jabola-Carolus, pictured with her husband and kids, wrote, before explaining that she is 'tending to an infant and toddler full time'

'According to the Washington Post, the average length of an uninterrupted stretch of work time for parents during COVID-19 was three minutes, 24 seconds.'

In the article Ms Jabola-Carolus is referring to, journalists Suzanne M Edwards and Larry Snyder revealed that they were interrupted an average of 15 times each hour by their children while trying to work from home.

She signed off by requesting anyone with a 'time-sensitive' query to call her between 7.45am and 4.30pm.

While sharing a screenshot of the email on Instagram, Ms Jabola-Carolus captioned it: 'My auto response during COVID. Don't suffer silently. Mothers over money!'

The post immediately resonated with working mothers and quickly went viral, with dozens calling it the 'best auto reply ever' and hailing her as the poster child of working mothers juggling responsibilities during the pandemic.

Her straight-talking email has led many to hail Ms Jabola-Carolus as the poster child of working mothers juggling responsibilities during the pandemic

Ms Jabola-Carolus, pictured with her husband, Mark Kaniela Saito Ing, and one of their kids, has been praised by her fellow working mothers

One said: 'This is totally bad a*s and totally awesome. As the executive director, you are setting the tone of recognizing the burdens of working from home with young children!'

A second thanked Ms Jabola-Carolus for giving her the 'push' she needed to draw boundaries between personal and professional life as the coronavirus crisis continues.

A third declared: 'You are my hero today! The courage to write such an authentic response is something many women can only wish. Thank you for inspiring me & countless mothers.'

Another said the message made her 'cry in relief' to know that other women are feeling under pressure too.
The spiral-bound directory remains nearly unblemished, marked only with slight bends in the corners that come with 30 years of liberal handling.

Its moved with Yolanda Ciccone from vicinage to vicinage, from chamber to chamber, since she became a judge in 1991.

The pages are filled with ancient headshots of judges, offering a snapshot in time of a whos who on the bench. Ciccones photo sits on page 1, along with an introductory blurb. Flip to page 9, and youll see black-and-white images of all the assignment judges in New Jersey  essentially a compilation of white men with gray hair.

It serves as a reminder, the new Middlesex County prosecutor says, of how times have changed, of the progress shes made and how the glass ceiling has shattered.

Today, the assignment judges are all different ages, all different racial backgrounds, as well as a number of women, Ciccone explains in a conference room on the third floor of the Civic Square building in New Brunswick, home to the prosecutors office. Society has evolved so much in the last 30 years.

On June 30, Ciccone became the first woman to hold the position of Middlesex County prosecutor.

Its a validation of all the women that proceeded me and that we can take on a leadership role, she says.

Ciccone, 66, sat down with NJ Advance Media for a wide-ranging interview, addressing everything from fighting crime in the county to the obstacles caused by the coronavirus to what countries she enjoys visiting (hint: her mom was from Genoa).

As law enforcement continues to face scrutiny since the death of George Floyd in May, Ciccone says she is committed to working alongside state Attorney General Gurbir Grewal to implement a revised use-of-force policy in the county. She has no plans to take control of the Edison Police Department  a reoccurring black eye for police mistrust in Middlesex  and spoke pointedly about the actions of Roy Den Hollander, the attorney who authorities say fatally shot a federal judges son in North Brunswick.

Ciccone wasnt even on the job for a month when Den Hollander, a self-described anti-feminist lawyer disguised as a FedEx delivery driver, shot the son of U.S. District Judge Esther Salas and her husband, Mark Anderl, in their Middlesex County home. Anderl survived the shooting, but 20-year-old Daniel Anderl did not.

Authorities have not commented on a motive, but Den Hollander  who was found hours later in New York, dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound  had a case before Salas regarding the Selective Service System. He also criticized her in online screeds for being a woman and a Latina judge.

His misogyny was shocking in todays world, Ciccone says. But it reinforced my belief that violence can come from anywhere. His matter was a matter involving the Selective Service. It wasnt personal to him, and yet it garnered that kind of rage in him.

Though the shooting happened in Middlesex, the investigation was quickly taken over by the FBI. The heinous crime hit home for Ciccone, a judge for three decades.

Theres a thought that judges have the most to fear from people in criminal trials, but theres a lot of vitriol that comes out of very simple types of cases  civil cases or cases involving foreclosure or evictions and even family court matters, she says.

Knowing that Judge Salas had a very varied calendar, I couldnt even speculate where this violence came from.

Yolanda Ciccone listens to arguments during a hearing held in the Somerset County courthouse in April 2014 when she was a Superior Court judge.SL

The perfect person for the job'

Ciccone sits at the end of a long, wooden conference table.

Behind her, a photo hangs on the wall capturing detectives celebrating a major drug bust, posing with seized packages of cocaine and guns. On the opposite side of the room, the headline, Justice for Timmy, blares across the front page of a framed copy of The Star-Ledger. It was printed the day after Michelle Lodzinski was found guilty in 2016 of killing her 5-year-old son, Timothy Wiltsey, in 1991.

Ciccone is imposing and speaks with a composure that comes from decades on the bench.

A Metuchen resident, Ciccone lives with her husband, Michael Guarino, who is an attorney practicing in New York City. Her late parents were from Italy, so Ciccone  who has long, brown hair and an olive complexion  says she feels very much at home when she travels there. She has also enjoyed trips to France and U.S. national parks.

Ciccone graduated from Rutgers Universitys Douglass College and Seton Hall University School of Law. Prior to becoming a judge, she served as an assistant prosecutor in the Middlesex County Prosecutors Office for 10 years, including three years as section chief of the juvenile unit.

Shes very talented, very experienced, says James Nolan, a Woodbridge-based attorney who worked with Ciccone in the prosecutors office in the late 1980s. She was the perfect person for the job. She checked all the boxes  a lot of experience as a prosecutor and a lot of experience as an executive. I dont think Middlesex County could have done any better.

Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin echoed that sentiment.

During her time on the bench, Judge Ciccone established a well-deserved reputation as an outstanding jurist, says Coughlin, D-Middlesex. I am confident Prosecutor Ciccones extraordinary skills and dedication to fairness will serve the residents of Middlesex County well as she assumes her new role.

Ciccone was appointed to the bench by Gov. James Florio in 1991 and was reappointed with tenure in 1998 by Gov. Christine Todd Whitman. Since her initial appointment, she has served in the civil, criminal and family divisions of Superior Court in Middlesex County.

She was the presiding judge of the Middlesex Civil Division before becoming the assignment judge in the court vicinage that includes Somerset, Hunterdon and Warren counties. Ciccone retired from the bench in May.

Its somewhat unusual for a judge to become a prosecutor.

But it is not unprecedented. Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez was a judge in Hudson and Passaic counties before she was nominated as prosecutor in 2015 by Gov. Chris Christie.

Ironically, Suarez was a law clerk for Ciccone in 1997-98 when Ciccone was a judge in Middlesex County. The two have remained friends, Suarez told NJ Advance Media, and Ciccone has been a mentor throughout her career.

She is smart. Shes calm. Shes levelheaded. Shes thoughtful, Suarez says. Ive learned this phrase from her and Ive adhered to it: Dont be in a rush to make mistakes. And those are words she lives by. She doesnt make any rash decisions. She thinks things through. ...

Shes a very considerate, kind-hearted person. Shes very loving. When she needs to be tough, shes tough. And I love that.

Ciccone says her experience overseeing a staff of 300 people in three different courthouses and having to make court rulings prepared her for her new role.

I think it helps with making decisions because you have to make decisions and judgments every day as a judge, she says. Moreover, I spent 15 years as an assignment judge that administrative experience really helps me with making decisions, seeing how our staff can work cooperatively, especially in these completely unprecedented times.

Middlesex County Prosecutor Yolanda Ciccone speaks during an interview in New Brunswick. Patti Sapone | NJ Advance Media

Lights. Camera. Action.

Superior Court in Middlesex County is no stranger to the media circus.

There was Melanie McGuire, dubbed the Suitcase Killer by the tabloids after she murdered her husband, dismembered his body and disposed of his remains in a suitcase tossed from a bridge in 2004.

There was Dharun Ravi, the Rutgers student who pleaded guilty to attempted invasion of privacy for spying on roommate Tyler Clementi, who jumped to his death from the George Washington Bridge after the episode in 2010.

And then there was Lodzinski, who was convicted of killing her son 25 years after his skeletal remains were discovered in a marshy area near the Raritan Center in Edison. The cold case was reopened under the direction of Prosecutor Andrew Carey, Ciccones predecessor.

The case is still in the appeals process and will be heard by the state Supreme Court. Because its pending, Ciccone would not comment on the case, but she did credit Lt. Scott Crocco for his work on it.

Notorious Middlesex County killers have not fared well in court against the prosecutors office. But Ciccones predecessors have been not-so-successful in prosecuting law enforcement officers in the county.

Carteret officer Joseph Reiman, accused of assault in the beating of a local teenager in the borough, was acquitted of all charges in 2019. More recently, a judge dismissed indictments against four Edison police officers who were accused of getting paid for no-show jobs.

Ciccone says she cant comment on the Reiman case because it predates her, but she hinted that the Edison officers may not be in the clear just yet.

The complaints are dismissed, but that doesnt prevent us from going to grand jury when grand jury resumes, she says. So its not done, per se.

No matter what happens, Ciccone declares that media attention wont sway her decision-making.

Every case is the same, whether it could garner a headline or not, she says.

Ciccones rulings have made headlines in the past.

As an assignment judge in 2015, Ciccone ruled that the actions of students who allegedly bullied another child for several years didnt prove negligence on the part of their parents  and therefore, the parents couldnt be held financially liable by two Hunterdon County school districts.

In 2008, she ordered a municipal court judge to retire, resign or be removed after he took the bench while inebriated on two occasions and caused a ruckus at the Bound Brook go-go bar Torpedos in November 2007.

A new job in a pandemic

Gov. Phil Murphy named Ciccone as prosecutor  a nomination quickly approved by the Senate  just as the peak of the coronavirus pandemic was waning in New Jersey.

You cant ignore the impact the crisis has made when you walk into the prosecutors office and youre greeted by a temperature checker and a staff wearing masks. In the courthouse, located just a block away from the Civic Square building, the normally bustling hallways are now empty, as court proceedings have moved online.

The challenge is two-fold for Ciccone. Shes patiently awaiting the return of jury trials, albeit with new social distancing mandates, while working in an office thats at 50% staffing levels.

Its harder for me to get to know everybody because I dont have everyone here in the office, Ciccone says.

Shes worked diligently to meet with each assistant prosecutor, whether its in person or virtually. She just completed visiting all the satellite offices and has plans to meet all 25 police chiefs, as well as the local mayors and business administrators.

Gatherings are not that easy, Ciccone remarks.

Moving forward, Ciccone says, shell need to figure out how to accommodate her staff if schools again resort to all-remote learning, or a staggered school day.

From our support staff all the way up to our assistant prosecutors, how do we support our staff with working virtually and being able to take care of their families? she says.

Ciccone knows the crisis has taken a toll in other ways, including halting some of the simple pleasures in life that help burn off the stress of the job. She misses going to her Pilates studio for workouts, but the pandemic hasnt kept her from another passion: cooking. She says her specialty dish is pasta al pesto.

As life in New Jersey slowly resumes following the near-lockdown in March and April, crime in New Jersey is prevalent, as law enforcement officials closely monitor an uptick in shootings. Middlesex County is not known for its crime, but its not immune to it, either.

Ciccone says crime is fueled by three aspects: drugs, guns and gangs. To create a safer community, she says, those areas cant be approached singularly.

The sale of illicit drugs brings guns, which brings gangs, which brings territory and turf, Ciccone says. So all those three things work interchangeably.

But when it comes to drugs, specifically addiction, more than just arrests are needed to find a solution. The county has a Blue Cares program, which links people who have been saved by the overdose antidote Narcan with the services they need.

So were not only about the retribution. Were really trying to work with people to rehabilitate them, Ciccone says. If we can rehabilitate people, we can help the community, make the community a safer place to be.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.

Alex Napoliello may be reached at anapoliello@njadvancemedia.com.
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Huang Xiaoqin (L), a folk craft master in Jiuzhou, an ancient town in Jingxi City, South China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, teaches her apprentice how to make a silk ball. [CNSPHOTO/Zeng Kaihong]

Huang Xiaoqin of the Zhuang ethnic group, has given a lifetime of service to making xiuqiu (a ball made of strips of silk), a handicraft listed as a national-level intangible cultural heritage.

The 80-year-old woman was dedicated to continuous improvement and innovation of the folk craft-making skills. She has trained more than 1,000 apprentices in Jiuzhou, an ancient town in Jingxi City, South China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, which is now known as the "hometown of silk balls in China."

"I think I could no longer live without xiuqiu," Huang said.

Xiuqiu, originally sewn by Zhuang women, is meant to express affections between young lovers. It often has 12 "petals" that are stitched together to form a flower ball, and its primary colors are mostly red, yellow and green, combined in auspicious and festive patterns such as birds and beasts.

Huang started to learn the embroidery techniques at the age of 6. Given her unremitting efforts, she mastered many embroidery skills.

In 1995, she stood out from a handmade art contest held by the All-China Women's Federation, and won an honorary title of "Chinese Ingenious Woman."

To promote the time-honored technique, Huang and her daughter-in-law once designed a giant silk ball with 30 petals and a diameter of about 1.5 meters for the 10th anniversary of Hong Kong's return to the motherland.

In her later years, the heritage protector paid much attention to the production and inheritance of xiuqiu embroidery. She taught apprentices face-to-face so that the needle tradition could be carried forward and local people could get rid of poverty and become rich.

As of two years ago, half of the 2,300 villagers in Jiuzhou were engaged in the industry of making xiuqiu. The annual output exceeded 500,000, with an output value of nearly a million yuan (US $143,102.46). The products today are exported to the United States, Japan, Australia, South Africa, some countries in Southeast Asia and many other places around the world.

Some xiuqiu handiworks made in Jiuzhou Village, Jingxi City, South China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region [CNSPHOTO/Zeng Kaihong]

(Source: CNSPHOTO/Translated and edited by Women of China)
Authorities in Maine say 61-year-old Robert Rasche of Bellingham was found dead in the Webhannet River on Saturday.

In a news release Sunday after family members were notified, the Maine Marine Patrol identified Rashce, whose body was recovered after a search of more than two hours following a report that an unoccupied 21-foot sailboat was adrift on the river.

Officials said the search began at around 11 a.m. Saturday and involved Marine Patrol Officers and a patrol pilot flying surveillance in the area. The Marine Patrol pilot located Rasches body below Mile Road near Wells Harbor at 2:30 p.m., officials said Sunday. Officers then recovered his body and transported him to the Medical Examiners office.

Wells police and fire departments, Wells Ocean Rescue, the Wells Harbormaster and the U.S. Coast Guard also participated in the search.
The mortal remains of crashed Air India Express flights commander pilot, Captain Deepak Sathe reached Mumbai on Sunday afternoon in a cargo flight. Sathes family members have also arrived in Mumbai.

The body was taken from the cargo terminal to Air India GSD Triangular plot building at around 3.10pm. The family has landed at T2 and is reaching the Air India building, said authorities.

Captain Sathes co-pilot and first officer Captain Akhilesh Kumar was cremated earlier today in his home town of Mathura in the presence of his family and officials of Air India and Air India Express, who paid their respect to the departed soul.

Captain Sathes remains were flown to Mumbai from Cochin International Airport in Kerala

Civil aviation minister Hardeep Puri had yesterday said that both the pilots operating the Air India Express flight that fell 35 ft into a valley after overshooting the runway in wet and rainy conditions at Karipur Airport in Kerala on Friday evening killing 18 people on board, were very experienced.

Also Read: Pilots move may have saved many, say experts

Deepak Vasant Sathe, a former IAF pilot, had 10,000 hours of flying experience on the Boeing 737 aircraft. He had flown 6,662 of these hours as the commander.

Aviation experts believe that casualties in the accident at Kozhikode airport were restricted to 18 because Sathe and Kumar decided to shut down the engines after touching down which was instrumental in ensuring that the aircraft did not catch fire.

A family member disclosed that Sathe had planned to pay a surprise visit to Nagpur to celebrate his mothers 84th birthday on Saturday. He had last met his parents in March and was constantly in touch with them over the phone since then. They had last spoken a day before yesterday.

Also Read: Co-pilot Akhilesh Sharmas wife is expecting a child

Captain Sathe was a former Wing Commander of the IAF and had served at the forces flight-testing establishment. He is said to have survived an air crash in the early 1990s when he was in the Air Force.

Captain Sathes mother Neela and her husband Vasant Sathe, a retired colonel, live in Bharat Nagar locality of Nagpur.
Farmer Wants A Wife contestant Karlana Alexander sensationally quit the show on Sunday, after Harry Robertson confronted her about her interest in a crew member.

And speaking to The Daily Telegraph's Confidential afterwards, the 24-year-old set the record straight on claims she wanted to pursue a production employee.

The brunette explained how she told her co-stars in a group chat about a crew member that was 'really nice' to her when she was upset, and that by the time it reached Harry, it had turned into a bizarre rumour.

No truth: Farmer Wants A Wife star Karlana Alexander (pictured), 24, set the record straight on rumours she was interested in a CREW MEMBER, after quitting the show on Sunday night

'We were just talking about the crew and having girl chat and I happened to say that one of the crew was really nice to me and was there for me when I was a bit upset - that was all,' Karlana told Confidential.

'There was nothing more to it, I didn't even know the crew member's name!'

After her shock exit, Karlana struck up a romance with another farmer who failed to make it on screen, Jack Beaton.

Harmless: The brunette explained to The Daily Telegraph's Confidential how she told her co-stars in a group chat about a crew member that was 'really nice' to her when she was upset. By the time it reached farmer Harry Robertson, it had turned into a bizarre rumour

Despite hitting it off, the pair eventually went their separate ways.

While attending a country ball with the other women and farmers on Sunday's episode, Harry pulled Karlana aside for a private conversation.

'I've heard some things from the other girls. They have told me that you were keen to get back to Sydney to catch up with a crew member and I just wanted to know if it's true or not,' the 29-year-old asked.

Confrontation: While attending the country ball with the other women and farmers on Sunday's episode, farmer Harry (pictured), 29, pulled Karlana aside for a private conversation

A stunned Karlana admitted: 'I'm keen to get back home to be honest... Well maybe I've mentioned there was a crew member that I got along with but I get along with multiple crew members.'

'If you're not in this situation to get to know me and that side of it Did you come here to find a crew member or to find a farmer?' he asked.

Karlana broke down in tears and told Harry she couldn't believe he would question her intentions.

'Are you seriously asking me that?' she said before adding: 'I don't want to be here anymore.'

'Are you seriously asking me that?' Karlana broke down in tears after he asked whether she was interested in pursuing a crew member

Karlana then stormed off and made the decision to quit the show.

'I didn't want to upset anyone and I'm trying my best to make sure no one is upset. I care about you. You surprised me everyday,' Harry said before she left.

Ashleigh Kidner then broke down in tears and said she felt like 'it was all her fault' because she told Harry what Karlana had said.

'The only thing I ever want to be in life is honest. I've had a lot of people not be honest to me so honesty is huge with me,' Ashleigh said.

Farmer Wants A Wife continues Monday at 7.30pm on Channel Seven
Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam speaks during a press conference at the Central Government Complex on July 31, 2020 in Hong Kong. Photo: Anthony Kwan/Getty Images

The US Treasury has taken action against Hong Kong chief executive Carrie Lam and 10 other top officials from the region and mainland China.

The new sanctions represent an escalation of the USs anti-China campaign, and are being used to target those undermining Hong Kongs autonomy.

They also target Hong Kong Police commissioner Chris Tang and his predecessor Stephen Lo; John Lee Ka-chiu, Hong Kongs secretary of security, and Teresa Cheng, the justice secretary.

Hong Kong called the sanctions blatant and barbaric interference in the affairs of the Peoples Republic of China by using the territory as a pawn in the two countries relationship.

Lam's spokesman said she would not be "intimidated."

"Speaking on behalf of her senior colleagues who are being targeted, the Chief Executive Mrs Carrie Lam said that we are discharging an honourable duty to safeguard national security, protecting the life and interests of not only the 7.5 million Hong Kong people but also the 1.4 billion Mainlanders," the statement read.

US secretary of state Mike Pompeo said the moves send a clear message that the Hong Kong authorities actions are unacceptable.

We will not stand by while the people of Hong Kong suffer brutal oppression at the hands of the Chinese Communist Party or its enablers, he tweeted.

Today, the U.S. is designating 11 individuals responsible for the erosion of Hong Kongs autonomy. We will not stand by while the people of Hong Kong suffer brutal oppression at the hands of the Chinese Communist Party or its enablers.  Secretary Pompeo (@SecPompeo) August 7, 2020

The move came hours after US president Donald Trump issued orders banning US companies from having dealings with WeChat and ByteDance. Bytedance owns TikTok, which has become a flashpoint for Trump since it emerged that Microsoft is in talks to buy the video-sharing app.

READ MORE: Microsoft reveals talks to buy TikTok US, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand

Sanctions also come following a move to revoke Hong Kongs special trade relationship with the US. The city no longer has the autonomy it was meant to retain under the one country, two systems model.
A bereaved family member prays for the victims of the US atomic bombing at the Atomic Bomb Hypocentre Park in Nagasaki on Sunday (Kyodo News/AP)

Nagasaki marked the 75th anniversary of the US atomic bombing of the city on Sunday, with the mayor and dwindling survivors urging world leaders to do more to achieve a nuclear weapons ban.

At 11:02am, the moment the B-29 bomber Bockscar dropped a 4.5-ton plutonium bomb dubbed Fat Man, Nagasaki survivors and other participants stood in a minute of silence to honour more than 70,000 people dead.

The August 9, 1945, bombing came three days after the US dropped its first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, the worlds first ever nuclear attack, that killed 140,000. On August 15, Japan surrendered, ending World War II.

At a commemoration in Nagasaki Peace Park  scaled down because of the coronavirus pandemic  Mayor Tomihisa Taue read a peace declaration in which he raised concern that nuclear states had in recent years retreated from disarmament efforts.

Instead, they were upgrading and miniaturising nuclear weapons for easier use, he said.

Expand Close People offer silent prayer for the victims the bombing (Takuto Kaneko/Kyodo News/AP) AP/PA Images / Facebook

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Whatsapp People offer silent prayer for the victims the bombing (Takuto Kaneko/Kyodo News/AP)

Mr Taue singled out the US and Russia for increasing risks by scrapping the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty.

As a result, the threat of nuclear weapons being used is increasingly becoming real, Mr Taue said.

He said the true horror of nuclear weapons has not yet been adequately conveyed to the world at large despite efforts by Japans atomic bombing survivors to ensure Nagasaki is the last place to suffer such an attack.

He also urged Japans government and lawmakers to quickly sign the 2017 Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.

Expand Close The southern Japanese city was flattened by the blast (AP) AP/PA Images / Facebook

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Whatsapp The southern Japanese city was flattened by the blast (AP)

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has repeatedly refused to sign the treaty, saying Japans approach is not to take sides but to serve as a bridge between nuclear and non-nuclear states to encourage dialogue to achieve a total nuclear ban.

Survivors and pacifist groups say Japan is virtually siding with the US and other nuclear states.

Among the nuclear-weapon states and countries under the nuclear umbrella, there have been voices stating that it is too early for such a treaty. That is not so, Mr Taue said.

Nuclear arms reductions are far too late in coming.

On Sunday, Mr Abe repeated Japans position, citing severe national security environment and a wide gap between the two sides on nuclear disarmament.

Expand Close Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe carries the wreath at Nagasaki commemorations (Kyodo News/AP) AP/PA Images / Facebook

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Whatsapp Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe carries the wreath at Nagasaki commemorations (Kyodo News/AP)

While Tokyo renounces its own possession, production or hosting of nuclear weapons, as a US ally Japan hosts 50,000 American troops and is protected by the US nuclear umbrella.

The post-WWII security arrangement complicates the push to have Japan sign the treaty as it beefs up its own military to deal with threats from North Korea and China, among others.

An ageing group of survivors have expressed a growing sense of urgency to tell their stories, in hope of reaching younger generations to continue their effort toward establishing a nuclear-free world.

I'm determined to keep telling my story so that Nagasaki will be the last place on Earth to have suffered an atomic attack Nagasaki survivor Shigemi Fukabori

There is not much time left for us survivors, said Shigemi Fukabori, 89, in a speech at the ceremony. He was a 14-year-old student mobilised to work at a shipyard when Nagasaki was bombed.

Im determined to keep telling my story so that Nagasaki will be the last place on Earth to have suffered an atomic attack.

We dont want anyone else to have to go through this.

Nagasaki bears a responsibility as a witness of catastrophic results the nuclear weapon caused to humanity and environment.

I hope as many people as possible join us, especially the young generations to inherit our baton of peace and keep running.

Many peace events, including survivors talks leading up to the anniversary, were cancelled because of the coronavirus, but some survivors have teamed with students and pacifist groups to speak at online events.
<! Senator Buruji Kashamu >

Buruji Kashamu, until his death had used the last 22 years fighting the plans to extradite him to the United States to face a drug charge filed as Case No. 1:94-cr-00172.

The United States since 1998 had tried to get him to face trial, first by filing two extradition requests against him in the UK. But the moves failed.

The battle continued in Nigeria.

Kashamu, a dual citizen of Nigeria and Benin, was charged in an indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Chicago,Illinois, along with 13 other persons, with conspiracy to import heroin into the United States and distribute it in 1998.

The Jury had agreed that Kashamu was the leader of the drug cartel and he was indicted both in his own name and under what the government believed to be two aliases that he used: Alaji (the principal alias, the government thought) and Kasmal.

But Buruji used the instrumentality of the law and consistent pleading of innocence and mistaken identity to avoid being shipped to the U.S.

P.M.News now reprints the case, which has even been the subject of a movie.

United States of America v. Hayes et al

Illinois Northern District Court, Case No. 1:94-cr-00172

District Judge Charles R. Norgle, Sr, presiding



After lawyers to Buruji Kashamu moved a Motion to quash the arrest warrant issued by Judge Charles R. Norgle in this case, US governments issued a detailed response saying the motion should be denied because principles of res judicata do not apply to extradition proceedings and the government may initiate multiple extradition proceedings against Kashamu in an effort to secure Kashamus appearance in this case.

I. BACKGROUND

In March 1994, defendant Kary Hayes, a passenger arriving at OHare International Airport (OHare) on a flight from Zurich, Switzerland, was arrested after he tried to smuggle into the United States a suitcase containing approximately 14.16 pounds of heroin. Hayes was one of a long line of couriers in a heroin smuggling operation led by Kashamu. Kashamu arranged: (a) the pick up of the heroin by the couriers in Europe and Indonesia; (b) the transfer of the heroin to others once the heroin entered the United States; (c) the payment of the couriers and the people who supervised them; and (d) the carrying by couriers of large sums of cash during the couriers outbound trips from the United States for delivery to him in Europe and elsewhere. The government charged Hayes and other couriers after this initial arrest. Many of these couriers cooperated and provided information about their contacts with Kashamu.



A. The Charges Against Kashamu.

On May 21, 1998, a grand jury charged Kashamu and others in a Second Superseding Indictment with conspiracy to import heroin into the United States in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Section 963. Between July 7, 1998 and January 27, 1999, nine of the fourteen defendants named in the Second Superseding Indictment pled guilty. These nine defendants admitted their participation in the heroin smuggling organization and all acknowledged that Kashamu, the man they called Alaji or God, was the person ultimately in charge of the heroin smuggling organization. Some of these couriers, including defendants Catherine Cleary Wolters and Nicholas Fillmore, Jr., had visited with Kashamu at his residence in Benin in connection with the heroin smuggling organization. One of the couriers, defendant Ellen Wolters, had a romantic relationship with Kashamu. The smuggling trips and trips to visit Kashamu in Benin were documented by, among other things, money transfer orders from Western Union and American Express, flight records, credit card charges, hotel records, and telephone call detail records. The telephone records, for example, reflected calls from the couriers to Kashamus residence in Benin.



B. Kashamus Arrest and the Initiation of Extradition Proceedings.

The government requested the issuance of a provisional arrest warrant against Kashamu based on information that he traveled to London, England on occasion. On December 18, 1998, the Metropolitan Police arrested Kashamu in London, England when he arrived on an inbound flight. Kashamu was found in possession of approximately $230,000 in cash at the time. Kashamu traveled under the name Kashamu and possessed identification documents including a passport from Benin, Carte Nationale DIdentite from the Republique du Benin, and a business card bearing the notation Group Kasmal International, Import-Export-Industrie, Representant Exclusif, Daewoo & Sang Yong Motor. One of the addresses listed for Group Kasmal International on the business card was a location in Cotonou, Benin. Three of the defendants had described to the government prior to Kashamus December 18, 1998 arrest what they understood to be some of the businesses with which they understood Alaji, the leader of the heroin smuggling conspiracy, to be associated. Catherine Wolters, for example, stated that Alaji owned Kasmal Exports in Benin. Fillmore stated that Alaji owned in Benin an import/export company called Kasmal and an automobile dealership called Daewood. Barry J. Blow stated that Alaji lived in Benin and imported rice and was involved in a car dealership in Belgium.

Kashamu was ordered detained following his December 1998 arrest and he was incarcerated in Londons Brixton Prison during the pendency of extradition proceedings based on the governments warrant in the instant case. Kashamus arrest triggered the commencement of the time limit for the governments submission in support of extradition. Extradition proceedings arising from warrants issued in pending federal cases are coordinated through the Department of Justices Office of International Affairs (DOJ OIA). The paperwork in support of the extradition, including the affidavits in support of the extradition, however, is compiled initially at the local level, in this case by the undersigned attorney. The government is required, as a part of the extradition proceedings, to establish identity, i.e., a link between the person arrested and the person charged. The undersigned attorney compiled affidavits from, among others, Catherine Wolters and Fillmore concerning their interaction with Kashamu and their identification of him in a photospread.

Both Catherine Wolters and Fillmore had, prior to Kashamus December 18, 1998 arrest, identified a photograph of Kashamu from a photospread as the person whom they knew to be in charge of the heroin smuggling organization. The case agents referred to the photograph of Kashamu as the surveillance photograph because the agents believed at the time that overseas law enforcement officers had taken the photograph while on surveillance. The government obtained a copy of Kashamus December 18, 1998 arrest photograph and placed it into a photospread The government showed Fillmore this second photospread at some point after Kashamus arrest and before transmitting the extradition paperwork to DOJ OIA. Kashamus arrest photograph appeared in Position 7 of the photospread.

As Fillmore viewed the arrest photospread, Fillmore stated its not jumping out at me and that he knew what Alaji looked like. Fillmore told the agents that the photograph in Position 3 looked like a bad photograph of Alaji and that the photographs in Positions 2,4,6, and 7 did not look like Alaji at all. Fillmore stated that the photograph in Position 5 looked a lot like Alaji but also did not look like him. Fillmore ruled out the photograph in Position 1 and stated that the photograph in Position 5 looked the closest to Alaji.

In February 1999, agents from the United States Customs Service showed another cooperating defendant, Brian Christman, Kashamus arrest photograph. Christman could not make a positive identification of Kashamu, the person whom he also knew as Alaji, from the photograph. The arrest photograph of Kashamu was not a part of a photospread when agents showed the photograph to Christman.

In February 1999, while preparing the extradition paperwork, the undersigned attorney advised the DOJ OIA lawyer assigned to the extradition case that Fillmore had not identified Kashamus arrest photograph in a photospread and had instead indicated that another photograph in the photospread looked more similar to the person whom he knew as Alaji.

The undersigned attorney also explained Christmans inability to positively identify Alaji from the arrest photograph. The undersigned attorney asked the DOJ OIA lawyer whether the government needed to disclose the information about the viewing by Fillmore and Christman of the arrest photograph in the affidavits of Fillmore and Christman attached to the extradition submission. The DOJ OIA lawyer advised against the inclusion of the information because the extradition treaty between the United Kingdom and the United States did not require that such disclosures be made.

C. The First Extradition Proceeding.

In approximately February 1999, the United States, through DOJ OIA, and the Crown Prosecution Service, the representative of the United States in the extradition proceedings, timely submitted the extradition package to the London court. In May 2000, as part of the extradition proceedings, Kashamu submitted documents in which he claimed for the first time that, prior to his December 1998 arrest, he cooperated with law enforcement authorities in Benin, Togo and Nigeria and that he told these authorities that his brother, Adewale Kashamu, was involved in drug trafficking activity. The government had no knowledge of any alleged cooperation by Kashamu or of the existence of any alleged brother before Kashamu made these claims. The undersigned attorney again raised with the DOJ OIA attorney the issue of disclosing the results of the viewing by Fillmore and Christman of the arrest photograph. The DOJ OIA attorney again advised against disclosing the information.

On or about May 28, 1999, Metropolitan Magistrate Timothy Workman committed Kashamu to prison to await extradition to the United States. GEx4. On or about June 11, 1999, Kashamu through counsel sought permission to apply for judicial review to quash the committal order. At some point, during the pendency of this review, the government, through the Crown Prosecution Service disclosed the information about the viewing by Fillmore and Christman of the arrest photograph. On October 6, 2000, the High Court of Justice, Queens Bench Division, ruled that the committal order must, in the circumstances, be quashed by reason of the unfairness of the proceedings resulting from the non-disclosure of crucial evidence [the Fillmore response to the arrest photograph], as accepted by the Government. The Court noted that [i]f they seek to proceed, the Government need to seek a fresh warrant. Id. at 7,  29.

D. The Second Extradition Proceeding.

The government obtained a new warrant against Kashamu and executed it before Kashamu was released from custody. A second extradition proceeding was thereafter initiated before Magistrate Workman, the same judge who had considered the first proceeding. The government submitted additional materials to show that Kashamu, the person in custody, was the same person as Alaji, the leader of the heroin smuggling conspiracy. The government, for example, showed the arrest photospread separately to defendants Catherine Wolters and Ellen Wolters. Both Catherine Wolters and Ellen Wolters identified the photograph in Position 7 (Kashamu) as the person whom they knew as Alaji. The government also separately played for Catherine Wolters and Ellen Wolters a recording of a telephone conversation Fillmore had with Alaji in 1996 after Fillmore began to cooperate with the government. Both Catherine Wolters and Ellen Wolters, as Fillmore had previously, identified the voice on the recording as that of Alaji. The Wolters sisters were in different states when they each viewed the arrest photospread and listened to the recorded conversation. The governments submission included affidavits from Catherine Wolters, Ellen Wolters and Fillmore setting forth these identifications, and an affidavit from Special Agent Daniel

Morro describing the process he employed in showing the arrest photospread and in playing the recorded conversation. The Fillmore affidavit also described Fillmores earlier viewing of the arrest photospread and Fillmores responses. The government also included a copy of the recorded conversation in the submission as well as a transcript of the conversation. On or about November 29, 2000, the DOJ OIA, through the United States Embassy in London, presented these new submissions, as well as the submissions from the first extradition proceeding, to the Crown Prosecution Service for use in Kashamus second extradition proceeding.

On or about December 2, 2000, the undersigned attorney informed one of the Crown Prosecution Service attorneys representing the United States in the second extradition proceeding that the case agents had learned that the photograph referred to as the surveillance photograph of Kashamu had been supplied by a confidential informant. The Crown Prosecution Service relayed this information to Kashamus attorney in the second extradition proceeding.

On March 13, 2001, Magistrate Workman refused to hear and determine Kashamus claim that the institution of the second extradition proceeding amounted to an abuse of process and that the proceeding was oppressive. Magistrate Workman suggested that the abuse of process claim be submitted to the High Court for review to determine the appropriate forum in which such claims should be considered. Kashamu filed an application for habeas corpus and judicial review with the High Court in connection with Magistrate Workmans refusal to hear his abuse of process claims. At some point in 2000, Chicago attorney Thomas Anthony Durkin notified that government that he had been retained as Kashamus United States-based attorney. The High Court combined Kashamus habeas application with that of two other individuals whose extradition was also being sought by the United States.

On November 23, 2001, the High Court ruled that the Magistrates Court, and not the High Court, was the appropriate forum to hear evidence and submissions and making findings of fact as to abuse of process. The High Court returned the case to the Magistrate Court for the resumption of the second extradition proceeding.

The second extradition proceeding before Magistrate Workman focused primarily on two claims raised by Kashamu to challenge his identity: (1) Kashamu was a cooperator with the Nigerian Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA); and (2) Kashamu told the NDLEA, among other things, that his alleged brother, Adewale Adeshina Kashamu, whom Kashamu claimed looked remarkably similar to him, was a drug trafficker. The parties submitted evidence about Kashamu from Nigeria, through various officials including those associated with the Nigerian Drug Enforcement Administration NDLEA), as well as from other West African countries including Benin and Togo. This foreign evidence was at times contradictory.

Throughout the second extradition proceeding, Kashamus counsel levied accusations of misconduct against the governments identification evidence and the responses the government had obtained from foreign officials.



E. The Identification of Kashamus Arrest Photograph by the Wolters Sisters.

On or about October 23, 2001, Akhtar Raja, Kashamus counsel, submitted an affidavit to Magistrate Workman in which he claimed that the additional identification evidence was profoundly tainted because the undersigned attorney had given [to the Wolters sisters] details of the [October 6, 2000] judgment of the first extradition proceeding which referenced the position of Kashamu in the arrest photospread. The undersigned attorney had not disclosed to either Catherine Wolters or Ellen Wolters, or to their respective attorneys, the position of Kashamus photograph in the arrest photospread.

On or about November 16, 2001, the undersigned attorney submitted to the Crown Prosecution Service letters dated November 6, 2001 from Alan A. Dressler, attorney for Catherine Wolters, and from Steven R. Shanin, attorney for Ellen Wolters. Mr. Dressler stated that the claim that he had been given details of the October 6, 2000 judgment was categorically untrue. Id. Mr. Dressler stated that neither he nor his client knew in advance of viewing the photospread the position of Kashamus photograph. Id. Mr. Shanin stated in his letter that to the best of his recollection he never received copies of any of the documents concerning the extradition proceedings and that neither he nor his client had any advance knowledge of the position of Kashamu in the photospread or even if the photospread contained Kashamus photograph. Id. Mr. Shanin further stated that Ellen Wolterss identification of Kashamu was spontaneous, without any hesitation, and without any impropriety whatsoever on the part of any government agent including AUSA MacArthur. Id.



F. The Contradictory Evidence Concerning Kashamus Status as a Cooperator.

The United States government sent an inquiry to Interpol in Benin, Togo and Nigeria about whether Kashamu ever acted as a cooperator with their law enforcement agencies. In April 2000 (received by the undersigned attorney in October 2000), Interpol Benin responded that Kashamu, a well known businessman in Cotonou, collaborated with the police of Benin (BCN-IP Cotonou) within the scope of the fight against drug trafficking from 1993 to 1995.

In July and August 2000, Interpol Togo relayed that Buruji Kashamu had provided service to Togo from 1990 to 1997 in the area of information concerning narcotics traffickers and that the Chiefs of the Immigration Service  and Interpol confirmed that Kashamu provided confidential information concerning his brother the man named Adewale Adeshina Kashamu who also belonged to a drug trafficking network.4 The undersigned attorney forwarded these responses to DOJ OIA and to the Crown Prosecution Service for production to Kashamus counsel.

On or about October 11, 2001, the undersigned attorney received from the United States Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) office in Lagos, Nigeria a telex referring to information received by the DEA from the NDLEA on March 12, 2001. GEx8. On or about November 8, 2001, the undersigned attorney received by facsimile transmission from DEA Special Agent Vincent Fulton, who was stationed in the DEAs Lagos office, a fax transmittal sheet with an attached letter dated March 12, 2001 from the NDLEA. Id.. The NDLEA letter was addressed to The Ambassador of the Embassy of the United States of America and was signed by B. Lafiaji, Chairman of the NDLEA.

The March 12, 2001 letter from Chairman Lafiaji represented that Kashamu had, at no time, been an informant of this Agency [NDLEA] nor has the Agency had cause to reward him for anything. Id. The letter also stated that Alhaji Adewale Adeshina Kashamu, a wanted drug suspect, was already dead by the time Buruji Kashamu was wanted by this Agency in 1994, having died while attempting to run away from Customs investigation for involvement in drugs. Id.

Kashamu presented in the second extradition proceeding a letter dated January 24, 2000 on NDLEA letterhead purportedly signed by O. O. Onovo, Chairman, Chief Executive, NDLEA. The letter stated that [y]our client [Kashamu] has been very helpful to us in the area of fighting crime and we are surprised that he is being incarcerated on wrong accusation of drug trafficking in the UK.

On November 9, 2001, the day after receiving the NDLEA letter Initially, in June 2000, Interpol Togo responded that the man named Buruji Kashama [with the same date of birth as Buruji Kashamu]  is unknown in the Anti-Narcotics Brigade of the National Central BureauInterpol Lome.

Representing that Kashamu was not a cooperator, the undersigned attorney requested by facsimile transmission that DEA Lagos seek a response from the NDLEA about these conflicting letters. Id. On or about November 15, 2001, the undersigned attorney received from Special Agent Fulton a letter on NDLEA letterhead dated November 15, 2001 signed by U. Amali, the Special Assistant to the Chairman and Chief Executive of the NDLEA. Id.. The letter stated that the letter submitted by Kashamu dated January 24, 2000 (as well as a letter dated January 13, 2000) were bogus and their contents absolutely false. Id. The undersigned attorney informed the Crown Prosecution Service of these responses. Kashamu thereafter submitted affidavits which purported to be from Iliya Mshelia, Chief Prosecutor and Deputy Director in the Legal Services Department of the office of the NDLEA Chairman/Chief Executive and Samson Aboki, Director of Public Prosecution of the NDLEA.

The undersigned attorney received these submissions on or about February 4, 2002. Magistrate Workman had scheduled a hearing in the second extradition proceeding on February 7, 2002. The undersigned attorney immediately requested Special Agent Fultons rapid assistance in finding out from the NDLEA, if possible, whether the two new affidavits were valid and whether the purported affiants even existed. GEx8. The next day, on or about February 5, 2002, the undersigned attorney received from Agent Fulton a letter on NDLEA letterhead dated February 5, 2002 from Usman Amali, Chairman/Chief Executive of NDLEA. Id. Chairman Amali stated in the letter that Kashamu has never been an informant or source of this Agency, rather he is a fugitive drug offender on the run from arrest, please. Id. The undersigned attorney forwarded this response to the Crown Prosecution Service.

Magistrate Workmans February 28, 2002 Decision to Allow the Second Extradition Proceeding to Move Forward to the Defense Case. On or about February 28, 2002, at the conclusion of the governments presentation of its case, Magistrate Workman held that, [s]ubject to any further evidence I am asked to consider, I am of the view that these issues [of the identification process] touch upon the fairness of the trial itself and, if there is any abuse of process, it will be for the trial judge to consider whether a fair trial is possible rather than whether it is unfair to try the defendant. For my own part I think these issues are essentially matters of admissibility and credibility rather than an abuse of process. Magistrate Workman concluded that [i]n the light of this decision the court will now have to move to consider the evidence and the sufficiency of the arguments. Id. The proceedings then shifted to Kashamus affirmative presentation of evidence, including witness testimony, and the governments rebuttal of that evidence.

G. Kashamus Affirmative Presentation of Evidence.

On or about May 9, 2002, Magistrate Workman conducted a hearing in Kashamus second extradition proceeding. Before the hearing, Kashamu presented a letter in which NDLEA Chairman Amali purported to represent that Kashamu was not arrested in 1994 and was not on the list of persons wanted for prima facie drug offenses by the Agency, per se. The letter also represented that Kashamus brother had not died in the custody of the Nigerian Customs Service. Kashamus submission revealed that Kashamu had sued the NDLEA because the NDLEA had not, in Kashamus view, retracted the negative information in its letters about him. The undersigned attorney received Kashamus submission on or about May 5, 2002 and immediately thereafter requested that Special Agent Fulton in Lagos find out why there had been such an apparent change in the NDLEAs position on Kashamus status. Id. The request to Agent Fulton contained certain questions to pose to the NDLEA representative. Id.

On May 8, 2002, the day before the hearing, the undersigned attorney received from Agent Fulton a letter on NDLEA letterhead dated May 8, 2002 signed by Usman Amali, Special Assistant to the Chairman/Chief Executive of the NDLEA, which contained answers to the posed questions. Id. The letter stated that [t]he Agency stands firmly by its earlier assertion that Buruji Kashamu has never been a cooperator with NDLEA but that, after being presented with a passport issued in 1990 to Adewale Kashamu, the Agency found it difficult to continue to assert [its] earlier conclusion that Adewale Kashamu died in the custody of the Nigerian Customs Service before the establishment of NDLEA in 1989. Id. The letter confirmed that Kashamus attorneys had threaten[ed] to take legal action against the Agency and the Federal Government of Nigeria if the letters were not retracted. Id. The undersigned attorney forwarded the response to the Crown Prosecution Service.

On or about September 17, 2002, through DOJ OIA, the United States Embassy presented to the Crown Prosecution Service an additional submission for use in the second extradition proceeding. This submission compiled the communications between the undersigned attorney, the DEA agents in Lagos, and the NDLEA responses. The submission also included, among other affidavits, sworn affidavits dated July 29, 2002 from NDLEA Chairman Lafiaji and Special Assistant Amali. Chairman Lafiaji confirmed that his statement in his March 12, 2001 letter that Kashamu remained a wanted suspect in Nigeria was accurate based on information that had been compiled and was known at that time. Special Assistant Amali confirmed the accuracy of the statement in his May 8, 2002 letter that Kashamu had never been a cooperator with NDLEA. Magistrate Workman heard evidence on Kashamus behalf from a number of witnesses.

Two witnesses, who identified themselves as having current or former NDLEA associations, testified that Kashamu was a cooperator and that his brother was wanted by the NDLEA for drug offenses. One of the NDLEA witnesses testified that Kashamu had a brother who looked very similar to him. An official from Interpol in Benin testified that Kashamu had cooperated with the police in giving information about his brother. The Benin official presented two letters purportedly written in 1993 and 1994 by Kashamu about his brother. Magistrate Workman also received evidence from handwriting experts in an effort to determine whether any of the signatures on the NDLEA letters were forgeries. Kashamus expert concluded that the letters were possibly written by Kashamus lawyer. The governments expert was unable to come to a conclusive decision.

H. Magistrate Workmans January 10, 2003 Judgment Dismissing Kashamus Second Extradition Proceeding.

On January 10, 2003, Magistrate Workman issued his final decision in the second extradition proceeding. Magistrate Workman found, among other things, that: (1) Kashamu had a similar-looking brother; (2) Kashamu was an informant for Interpol in Benin and Togo and for the NDLEA in Nigeria; and (3) Kashamus brother was not killed in 1989 by Nigerian Customs officials.

Magistrate Workman then turned to the question of the governments alleged misconduct and whether the United States had abused the extradition process. The judge noted that he found certain government assertions to be untrue, particularly the position that Kashamu was not an informant, but that, despite these findings, the government had not abused the process. Magistrate Workman held as follows:

If the Government was aware of that fact [that Kashamu was an informant] and persisted in putting forward such untruthful evidence, it would plainly be evidence to support an abuse of process submission. However, the evidence emanates from an Agency in Nigeria over which the American Government has no authority. It is then passed to America and then to this country and I cannot be satisfied that it was probable that the Government knew that evidence was false. Although I, and no doubt any trial judge, will be concerned at the lack of care by the United States prosecuting authorities in examining and testing this evidence, I am unable to conclude that the Defence have demonstrated that this was probably done with the knowledge of the United States Government. In those circumstances I do not find there has been an abuse of process. Id. at 8.

Magistrate Workman next addressed in his opinion whether there was a prima facie case for extradition. The judge reiterated his finding that Kashamu had a brother who bore a striking resemblance to him and noted that he was satisfied that the brother was the co-conspirator in the instant case. Id. Magistrate Workman acknowledged that he was mindful that the matter of the credibility of the identification witnesses should essentially remain a matter for a jury. Id.

Magistrate Workman concluded, however, that he was satisfied that the overwhelming evidence here is such that the identification evidence, already tenuous, has now been so undermined as to make it incredible and valueless. In those circumstances there is then no prima facie case against the defendant and I propose to discharge him. Id. at 10. The second extradition proceeding against Kashamu was thereby concluded and Kashamu was released from custody.

II. ARGUMENT

1. The Doctrine of Res Judicata Does Not Apply to Extradition Proceedings.

Kashamu argues that, based on Magistrate Workmans factual finding that Kashamu was not the person who the United States government seeks, the principle of res judicata prevents any the relitigation of the issue of Kashamus identity. Kashamu Motion at 15. Res judicata, however, does not apply as a result of findings made in an extradition proceeding. The doctrine of res judicata provides that a valid, final judgment, when rendered on the merits, is a bar to a subsequent action between the same parties or those in privity with them uponthe same cause of action. See Lawlor v. National Screen Services Corp., 349 U.S. 322. 326 (1955).

Three factors must be present for res judicata to apply: (1) identity of cause of action; (2) identity of the parties or their privies; and (3) a final judgment on the merits. Golden v. Barenborg, 53 F3d 866, 869 (7th Cir. 1995). Kashamu fails to meet the first and third requirements.

The charges in the instant case did give rise to the extradition proceedings against Kashamu but the purpose of the two proceedings, one to determine guilt or innocence and the other to determine extradictability, differs substantially from each other. See Hooker v. Klein, 573 F.2d 1360, 1367 (9th Cir. 1978) (The function of an extraditing court is not to decide the guilt or innocence of the fugitive at law, but rather to determine whether there is competent legal evidence whichwould justify his apprehension and commitment for trial if the crime had been committed in (the forum) state. Id. at 1367, quoting Collins v. Loisel (Loisel I), 259 U.S. 309, 315 (1922).

The third element, the finality of the judgment, also is not present because findings made in the extradition proceedings do not constitute a final judgment on the merits. See DeSilva v. DiLeonard, 181 F.3d 865, 868 (7th Cir. 1999) (Extradition is handled under the civil rules. No jury will sit, no elements of the offense will be adjudicated in a speedy and public trial, the witnesses against them will not confront the accused, jeopardy does not attach (meaning that successive efforts to extradite a person do not constitute double jeopardy.). See also Hooker, 573 F.2d at 1368 (The nature of an extradition proceeding is such that the merits of the fugitives guilt or innocence are not explored. Because of the limited function of an extradition proceeding and the limited participation of the fugitive, the order of the court does not reflect a consideration of all the merits of the case.).

II. The two parties, the United States government and Kashamu, were the same in both proceedings.

Kashamu argues that there have been two final judgments by British courts as to Kashamus identity and that one of them was directly on the merits of the case.6 Kashamu Motion at 8. Neither the High Court nor Magistrate Workman, however, intended their findings to be binding on the trial court in the instant case. The High Court, in its October 6, 2000 decision addressing the non-disclosure of the Fillmore information as to the arrest photograph, contemplated the possibility of an additional extradition proceeding when it noted that the government would need to seek a fresh warrant if it wished to proceed again with extradition.

The High Court, in its November 23, 2001 determination of the appropriate forum to consider Kashamus abuse of process claim, recognized the limited nature of an extradition proceeding: It does not, however, follow that the district judge can be addressed on all the issues which may arise in the course of a summary trial. Extradition proceedings do not, nor does fairness require that they should, involve resolution of trial issues. Self-evidently, extradition contemplates trial in another jurisdiction according to the law there. It is there that questions of admissibility, adequacy of evidence and fairness of the trial itself will be addressed; and if the Secretary of State has concerns in relation to these or other matters, it is open to him to refuse to order a fugitives return.

Similarly, Magistrate Workman, in his January 10, 2003 Judgment, noted that issues touching upon whether a fair trial is possible must be a matter for the trial judge in the event of the defendant being returned.. Magistrate Workman recognized that the issue before him was to determine whether there was a prima facie case to answer and acknowledged being mindful of governments counsel submission that the matter of the credibility of the identification witnessesshould essentially remain a matter for a jury. It makes sense and it is entirely appropriate that Magistrate Judge Workmans identity

III. Kashamu does not specify which decisions constitute the two final judgments on his identity.

The two extradition findings cannot be binding in future proceedings in the instant case. The proof before Magistrate Judge Workman was limited to the issues related to an extradition proceeding. None of the defendants who identified Kashamu in the instant case testified in the extradition proceeding and thus none of them had an opportunity to view Kashamu face to face in court. Magistrate Workman had no opportunity to assess the credibility of the cooperating defendants through their live testimony and instead had to base his credibility findings solely on written submissions. The governments evidence as to Kashamus identity may also change in the future and one judges assessment of the evidence, in the limited context of an extradition proceeding, should not freeze the issue of Kashamus identity for all time.

IV. The Government May Reinstitute Extradition Proceedings Against Kashamu Should Kashamu Be Arrested Again.

Kashamu argues that the arrest warrant should be quashed and the indictment dismissed because, due to the irregularities found by Magistrate Workman to exist in the governments evidence during the extradition proceedings, the government is precluded from instituting an extradition proceeding against Kashamu should he be arrested at some point in the future. Kashamu . The undersigned attorney asked Kashamus current counsel if Kashamu would be willing to appear in a lineup and to be viewed by the cooperating defendants in this case in order to resolve the issue of his identity. Kashamu, through counsel, declined the request.

Kashamu cites cases for the proposition that in criminal cases decisions made before jeopardy attaches, such as the dismissal of an indictment, can bar a subsequent prosecution on res judicata grounds. Kashamu Motion at 6-7. See, e.g., Coffey v. United States, 116 U.S. 436 (1886); United States v. H.E. Koontz Creamery, Inc., 232 F.Supp. 312, 318-19 (D. Md. 1964); United States v. American Honda Motor Co., 273 F.Supp. 810 (ND IL 1967); Commonwealth v. Ellis, 35 N.E. 773 (Mass. 1893);; Commonwealth v. Evans, 101 Mass. 25 (Mass. 1869); Brittain v. Kinnaird, 129 E.R. 789 (1819). But, unlike here, these cases involve the finality of findings made as a matter of law in a criminal case as to another criminal case or in cases in which there is an identity of elements and issues. Extradition is a civil proceeding and any findings made therein do not have the same binding effect in a criminal proceeding. There is, however, no such bar to the governments ability to reinitiate extradition proceedings against Kashamu should he be arrested again.

Courts have consistently upheld the institution of multiple extradition proceedings against the same defendant. See Collins v. Loisel (Loisel II), 262 U.S. 426, 429 (1923) ([A] fugitive from justice may be arrested in extradition proceedings a second time upon a new complaint charging the same crime, where he was discharged by the magistrate on the first complaint or the complaint was withdrawn.). See also DeSilva v. DiLeonard, 181 F.3d 865, 868 (7th Cir. 1999); In re Extradition of McMullen,989 F.2d 603, 612-13 (9th Cir. 1993); Hooker v. Klein, 573 F.2d 1360, 1366 (9th Cir. 1978). In Loisel II, the British government requested that the United States extradite a fugitive. The magistrate judge issued an order of extradition but the order was later discharged by the district court because the British government had abandoned the original prosecution due to irregularities in the proceedings. The British government thereafter made a new request for extradition and filed new supporting affidavits. Id. at 428. The magistrate judge found the second extradition appropriate. The defendant argued on appeal to the Supreme Court that res judicata barred the second proceeding since the second set of affidavits were identical to those in the first proceeding. Id. The Supreme Court rejected the res judicata argument and affirmed the order of extradition in the second proceeding. Id. at 430-31.

Kashamu argues that Loisel II support of multiple extradition proceedings is distinguishable because in Loisel II, since the first extradition proceeding was dismissed, there were no findings made in the first proceeding. Kashamu claims that here, in contrast, Magistrate Workman made a specific finding that Kashamus brother was the co-conspirator with whom the cooperating defendants had contact and that this finding should serve as res judicata in any future extradition proceeding. But Kashamus attempt to limit Loisel IIs holding in this manner has been rejected by at least one other court. In Hooker, the Ninth Circuit considered the question of what effect, if any, the denial of an earlier extradition request on the merits should have on a new request for extradition. 573 F.2d at 1366. The Hooker court, after examining Loisel II, concluded that a finding in an extradition proceeding was neither final nor on the merits and that the principles of res judicata were patently inapplicab[le]. Id. at 1367-68. The court noted that a finding of extraditability signaled the start, not the conclusion of litigation of the fugitives guilt or innocence and that the finding was an interlocutory order, more akin to a preliminary hearing on criminal charges. Id. at 1367.

The court reasoned that a finding of no probable cause in a preliminary hearing did not bar the government from rearresting the defendant on the same charges. Id. The court also found that, because of the limited function of the extradition hearing, the order of the extradition court does not reflect a consideration of all the merits of the case. Id. at 1368. The Hooker court also noted that not barring subsequent extradition proceedings made sense because [i]n many cases the government may be able to obtain additional information tending to establish the necessary probable cause or else make a more persuasive showing on the basis of the same evidence that an order of extradition is appropriate. Id.

The government should not be bound by Magistrate Workmans conclusion that Kashamus brother was the co-conspirator because Kashamus extradition proceeding was a preliminary proceeding and not a proceeding in which the full merits, and the full evidence, were considered.

Magistrate Workman himself recognized that this Court and the jury were the ultimate determiners of the credibility of the witnesses, including on the issue of Kashamus identification as the leader of the heroin smuggling conspiracy, and that his decision was limited to the matter before him. Kashamu is not now entitled to transform Magistrate Workmans factual findingmade in the limited context of an extradition proceeding based on his assessment of the evidence before himinto a binding decision for all future proceedings.

V. The Government Has Proceeded and Will Proceed in Good Faith in Extradition Proceedings Against

Kashamu claims that the warrant be quashed and the indictment against him be dismissed because the government has violated Loisel IIs good faith requirement in its efforts to extradite him. Loisel II, however, does not impose such a requirement and the government, in any event, has not acted in bad faith. In Loisel II, the Supreme Court noted, in addressing whether a fugitive may be arrested a second time in an extradition proceeding, that [p]rotection against unjustifiable vexation and harassment incident to repeated arrests for the same alleged crime must ordinarily be sought, not in constitutional limitations or treaty provisions, but in a high sense of responsibility on the part of the public officials charged with duties in this connection. 262 U.S. at 429-430.

The Hooker court construed Loisel IIs reference to governmental fair-mindedness to require good faith in the pursuit of extradition of a fugitive. The Hooker court stated in pertinent part as follows: While in Loisel II dismissal of the first extradition order arguably was for reasons of procedural defects rather than on the strict merits, there is no indication the Court intended its holding to turn on this distinction. Indeed, the Courts clearly stated preference for government fair-mindedness over judicial constraints as a curb to abusive use of multiple extradition requests indicates that the Court was formulating a broad rule applicable to the entire practice of reinstituting extradition proceedings. Consequently, we construe Loisel II as holding that where the government in good faith determines that extradition is warranted, it is not bared from pursuing multiple extradition requests irrespective of whether earlier requests were denied on the merits or on procedural grounds. 573 F.2d at 1366.

The Hooker court noted that the decisions of lower courts have been in accord with Loisel II in relying on the governments good faith to determine if multiple extradition proceedings are warranted. See, e.g., Ex Parte Shorer, 195 F.334 (E.D. Wis. 1912) (court declared it is the power and duty of the government to renew a request for extradition if it is convinced of the merits of its position); In re Kelly, 26 F.852 ( C. C. Minn. 1886) (court noted it would be a violation of the spirit, if not the letter, of the treaty if there could be no second examination of a fugitive.).

To the extent that the Hooker court is correct that Loisel II imposes a good faith requirement, the government in the instant case has consistently acted in good faith as to Kashamu and will continue to do so should there be future extradition proceedings against him. The government believes in good faith that Kashamu, and not any alleged brother, is the co-conspirator in this case.

Two cooperating defendants, Catherine and Ellen Wolters, independently identified Kashamu, through his arrest photograph, as the person whom they knew as Alaji. The government, to the undersigned attorneys knowledge, has never received any photograph of the alleged brother and has been unable to test the veracity of Kashamus claims about him. The evidence as to Kashamus status as a cooperator is contradictory and there is evidence that at least some of Kashamus documentary submissions were forgeries. Kashamus identity has never been tested by a face-toface viewing by the cooperating defendants and has never been considered in a proceeding freed from a Magistrate Workmans natural skepticism as to the governments evidence engendered through the governments initial non-disclosure of Fillmores viewing of the arrest photograph.

The purported examples of government bad faith cited by Kashamu in his motion do not withstand scrutiny. Kashamu claims that the High Court found the governments alleged Magistrate Workman based his finding that Kashamus brother looked strikingly similar to Kashamu on oral testimony and affidavits submitted on Kashamus behalf. But Kashamu fails to note that the High Court expressly stated, I do not need and would not wish to categorise the conduct of the Government [in not initially disclosing Fillmores non-identification of the Kashamu arrest photograph] as anything other than an error of judgment it is conceded to be. GEx5 at 6,  26. Kashamu also claims that the January 10, 2003 Judgment of Magistrate Workman discussed whether the U.S. government may have manipulated and presented false identification evidence in the second extradition hearing. Kashamu Motion at 4-5. The citation listed by Kashamu, however, is to Magistrate Workmans description of an allegation made by Kashamu and not to any findings or conclusions by the judge himself. Indeed, Magistrate Workman expressly rejected the claim that the government had abused the process through the second extradition proceeding.

Kashamu also claims that, based on evidence he presented, Magistrate Workman could not resolve the issue of whether pressure from U.S. authorities may have led to the creation of inconsistent evidence by the NDLEA. Kashamu Motion at 5. Kashamu fails to note that Magistrate Workman observed in the January 10, 2003 Judgment that evidence presented of Kashamus threatened lawsuit against the NDLEA may have provided a motive for [the NDLEA] writing factually inaccurate letters.

Magistrate Workman, rather than castigating the governments submissions as Kashamu suggests, ultimately concluded that he was unable to resolve whether undue pressure was exerted either by the United States Government or by the defendant. Id. Kashamu also presents in purported support of his bad faith claim information about cooperation he provided to the United States about possible terrorism-related activities. In early 2000, Thomas Durkin, then Kashamus United States attorney, informed the undersigned attorney that Kashamu had information concerning the embassy bombing case.

The undersigned attorney, upon receiving this information, contacted then Assistant United States Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald in the Southern District of New York because Mr. Fitzgerald and his office had handled that case. Mr. Durkin informed the government following the September 11, 2001 attacks that Kashamu had provided information to authorities in London about the attacks. The undersigned attorney, at the request of Kashamus counsel, provided Kashamu a proffer letter dated September 21, 2001 to facilitate Kashamus presentation of information to the government about this matter. Kashamu Motion.

The government thereafter received from Kashamu a document with multiple handwritten pages. It is unclear from Kashamus motion the basis of his bad faith claim in relation to his 2000 and 2001 presentations of information to the government but, in any event, Kashamus purported factual recitation of these events is inaccurate. Kashamu incorrectly states that Mr. Fitzgerald offered him a plea bargain to come to the United States to give evidence in relation to the bombing of the World Trade Center in New York and that he was constrained to reject the written offer of a plea bargain, signed by Dianne MacArthurin exchange for providing information, because he would not plead guilty to an offense for which he claimed innocence. Kashamu Motion at 5. Mr. Fitzgerald did not offer Kashamu a plea bargain and the undersigned attorney never presented Kashamu with a written plea bargain. Kashamu may be confusing the proffer letter (Ex. C4 to Kashamus Motion) with what he calls a written plea bargain. But the proffer letter covered information to be presented by Kashamu and did not in any way discuss the terms of any plea agreement with him.

Kashamu claims that his recent efforts to obtain a visa from Germany constitute further evidence of the United States governments bad faith. Kashamu Motion at 6. The government, however, to the undersigned attorneys knowledge, has never withdrawn its warrant against Kashamu. The charges as to Kashamu remain pending. Any errors by Germany as to Kashamu were not motivated or prompted by ill will from the United States government and Kashamu cannot now fairly construe his correspondence with Germany as evidence of governmental bad faith.

The government will, upon request by the Court, if necessary in connection with this motion, provide the Court with details concerning the information Kashamu presented. The government will also inform the Court of Kashamus information at the appropriate time as a matter in mitigation should Kashamu ever be convicted and thereafter sentenced by this Court.

The government notes that Kashamu communicated with German officials using the name Buruji Kashamu Shodipe. See Exs. D1 and D2 to Kashamus Motion. Kashamu was indicted under the name Buruji Kashamu and the warrant against him was issued in that same name. Any confusion by German officials may have been caused by Kashamus use of the surname Shodipe in his communications with them.

Respectfully submitted,

PATRICK J. FITZGERALD

United States Attorney

By:/ s/ Diane MacArthur

DIANE MacARTHUR

Assistant United States Attorney

219 South Dearborn Street

Chicago, Illinois 60604

(312) 353-5352

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HOLYOKE  Ward 5 Holyoke City Councilor Linda Vacon  not a supporter of Mayor Alex B. Morse by any stretch, even before Fridays revelation that hes been disinvited from college Democratic events over sexual relationships he has had with students  called Saturday for him to resign as mayor.

But other councilors on the 13-member board said that while troubled by the allegations, they need to learn more.

At-large councilor Rebecca Lisi said she donated $75 to the Morse congressional campaign, but didnt publicly endorse him in the race.

I am awaiting the UMass Amherst investigation and review, said Lisi, an early supporter of Morse who endorsed him in his first campaign for mayor in 2011.

Vacon, meanwhile, called Morses alleged behavior unethical.

There should be a broader investigation into his conduct as mayor and chairman of the school committee due to this breach, she said.

Vacon said the city council should call for an outside independent investigation into Morses conduct, considering that allegations go back years at UMass while he has been serving as mayor. Since he has admitted to the conduct while in a position of authority, an abuse of power, I believe he should resign his position as he has lost the public trust, she said.

The universitys student-run newspaper, the Daily Collegian  which first reported on the matter Friday  said Morse, 31, matched with students as young as 18 on dating apps like Tinder and Grindr, and had sexual relationships with students from UMass and other schools in the Five College Consortium. In other cases, he reportedly made some students uncomfortable through contacts made via Instagram.

No specific time frame was given for the incidents, but a letter from the College Democrats of Massachusetts described incidents happening over several years.

The letter said students were troubled by the relationships and communications but felt they couldnt complain because of Morse position politically and as a university lecturer.

Morse has admitted to relationships with college students, saying hes had difficulty navigating life as a young, openly gay public official. He said all of the relationships were consensual, but he now knows he must be more cognizant of the power dynamics at play.

Morse, a candidate for Congress in the Sept. 1 primary against U.S. Rep. Richard Neal, D-Springfield, taught a political science course at UMass between 2014 and fall 2019. Morse reportedly matched with members of the College Democrats of Massachusetts and UMass Amherst Democrats on dating apps, but it is not clear whether any of the sexual relationships involved students he taught.

UMass said Saturday that it wont hire Morse back and is reviewing the matter for possible violations of the federal Title IX laws against sex discrimination.

James M. Leahy, an at large Holyoke city councilor, said the news is only taking away from the positivity of our hometown, and called it a distraction from the beautiful aspects of our community.

Like many, I was disappointed to hear about the Mayors actions and his admittedly using poor judgment, Leahy said. I will reach out to my colleagues on the board to determine if any actions are needed.

He added, Moreover, I would like to see a statement by Mayor Morse and see what findings the University of Massachusetts has found.

Councilor Michael J. Sullivan said the conflict is between Morse and Neal, and he has no intention of getting in the middle of it.

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World Vision-Lebanon director talks impact of Beirut explosion: 'Everything is shattered'

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The blast in Beirut that killed some 150 people and injured over 5,000 has exacerbated preexisting economic conditions and reignited for many the trauma of Lebanons 15-year civil war.

Rami Shamma, field operations director for World Vision-Lebanon, felt the blast in a public place about 30 kilometers from Beirut. He told The Christian Post that it reminded people of the war, but without a political reason to blame.

Part of the port that was destroyed was the same part destroyed in the Lebanese civil war, Shamma said. Everything we see took us back 15 years to what took place ... We dont have bullets in the buildings, but everything is shattered and on the ground. The images were terrifying.

Beirut, a port city crucial to the economy and well-being of the country, saw hundreds of tons of ammonium nitrate become a deadly, powerful force on Tuesday. The cause of the blast was either negligence or "external action, with a missile or a bomb," Lebanese President Michel Aoun said Friday.

The agony is widespread, as the blast acts as only the latest detriment to the country this year, according to Shamma.

Due to the ports destruction, Lebanese people will face a higher cost on goods due to a lack of imports. The Lebanese pound has rapidly decreased in value ($0.0007 USD) and a lack of opportunities in the country already had many in poverty before the blast.

Syrian refugees will be hit the hardest, according to Hans Bederski, World Visions national director in Lebanon.

Everyone living in and around Beirut is affected, says Bederski. The port was the main point of entry for imported goods and supplies. Its destruction will have an immediate impact on cost of living for all people residing in Lebanon. Of course, the most vulnerable, including the refugee population, will get to feel more severely the increases in cost of produce.

Hospitals, already stressed by COVID-19 patients, have been overrun after the blast, according to Shamma. Injured people who go to the hospitals that are already weak experience long wait times. Four hospitals were also heavily damaged from the blast, causing capacity issues.

World Vision is assisting Lebanese people affected by the blast in various ways. Shamma said that basic needs such as food, water and shelter are the primary needs and focus in Lebanon, but emotional healthcare is also provided, which is crucial for Lebanese children.

They have either experienced it or seen it. People are talking about it, yelling about it, crying about it, he said. The trauma is stacked up and thus we support in psychological first aid and guiding parents for children living through this difficult time.

Shamma mentioned a point of positivity though. He said right after the blast, he saw people in the streets with brooms and cleaning supplies, working together to clean up the now-destroyed city. Hospitals were filled with citizens donating blood within minutes of the blast.

Seeing this type of togetherness and hope is why he is able to continue the strenuous work of a humanitarian.

The solidarity that we see ... its so powerful that it brings hope to people who have lost somebody or who have terribly seen their city collapsing and being destroyed, he said.

Anyone can assist the Lebanese people through online donations to World Vision-Lebanon, The Lebanese Red Cross, Save the Children-Lebanon and other organizations.
The outbreak of coronavirus pandemic has driven many businesses to the brim.



However, other businesses have managed to salvage the situation and continue their operations as usual.



With the rapid change in the Ghanaian economy these past few months due to the Covid-19 crisis, many companies have laid-off workers and reduced their services, while others have shut down completely.



Some companies, nonetheless, have inventively adapted to the effects of the pandemic. One of such companies is Itrade Commercial Limited.



Itrade Commercial Limited is a leading provider of vehicle hire-purchase services and car rentals in Ghana.



The CEO, Zubair Mustapha, has assured that despite the economic effects of Covid-19, Itrade Commercial Limited remains committed to its original mission: Serving the ordinary people.



He also revealed that the company has relaxed its payment packages to allow clients to acquire the luxuries they desire, especially in a time like this.



Mr Zubair, however, admonished clients and all Ghanaians to adhere to all the necessary hygiene and social distancing protocols laid out by the government whenever they visit their office.



Sharing a word of advice to entrepreneurs, he noted that although the emergence of the pandemic is a challenge, a business-minded person will only be apt to find innovative ways to keep up with the work.



Itrade Commercial Limited, previously known as Itrade Commercial Enterprise, provides various kinds of services such as hire purchase, car rentals, real estates and other transport services.



The rebranding included a new logo, website, positioning and expanded services which better reflected the quality of services the company provided its clients.



The company was awarded the Emerging Brand of the Year at the NiBS Ghana Innovation Awards in 2019.













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

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LEBANON  March was a rough month for residents and staff of the Edward C. Allworth Veterans' Home.

The first cases of COVID-19 in the mid-valley were confirmed and the first of eight deaths of patients  two of whom had been receiving hospice care associated with the disease  were recorded on March 21.

But thanks to extensive protocols and increasing knowledge about how the disease is spread, there hasnt been a confirmed case of COVID-19 at the 154-bed facility since April 7.

Although the facility is owned by the Oregon Department of Veterans Affairs, it is managed by Westcare Health Care Management Services.

A staff member with some symptoms was tested this week and the results were negative.

Dr. Robin Richardson, Kelly Odegaard, vice president of operations and veterans services for Westcare and Abe Andrade, veterans' home administrator, recently sat down with the Democrat-Herald to talk about events of the last five months and what they have learned.

They all agreed that the learning curve was not only steep, but a swift one as well.

The veterans' home began to initiate COVID-19 protocols as early as late February. Visitors who recently had been in foreign countries were advised to not enter the building.

The first occasion of a resident with respiratory symptoms came on March 5.

We took nasal swabs on March 9, but at that time, we couldnt get him tested unless he was going to be hospitalized, Richardson said. We feared that we might overload the hospital if this spread.

And, Odegaard pointed out, nearly all of the residents are in their 80s and 90s and were not eligible to be placed on a ventilator. He also pointed out that the survival rate of those who were placed on ventilators was less than 5%.

And survivors experience extreme damage to their heart and lungs, Odegaard said.

I remember saying that we could lose one-third of our population, including staff, Richardson said. We certainly have the highest-risk population.

Richardson, who said he has provided medical care to long-term care facilities for more than 40 years, noted that this place is by far the best Ive seen.

Symptomatic COVID-19 cases were confined to two 14-bed houses.

In all there have been 21 cases among residents and 17 among staff members.

The facility was placed on lockdown in March with virtually no outsiders allowed in, except for families when a resident passes away.

No one should die alone, Odegaard said. We believe in compassionate care and we provide family members with proper personal protective equipment and isolate them.

Methods used

Everyone who enters the building must go through a screening, which includes taking their temperature.

Staff members are assigned to specific houses and do not float among other houses.

Congregate activities have ceased unless they can be held outdoors or online.

Weve learned to be creative, Odegaard said. For example, we might have an art class, but residents participate by video in their own room.

Isolation can be especially difficult for veterans, some of whom have been prisoners of war.

Isolation is a form of torture, Odegaard said. Our residents have their own rooms. At our other facilities, they might have a roommate to interact with.

Social Services provides counseling for all residents who might be feeling depressed or lonely.

Richardson pointed out the residents are not prisoners. We cant keep them from leaving, but if they leave the 13-acre campus, we have to make things as safe as possible if they return.

Andrade said the educational process among staff is constant.

The temperatures of all residents and staff members are taken twice a day.

We want to do a good job every single day and that includes staff training and sanitizing equipment, Andrade said. Its all about communication and taking the proper precautions.

During the height of the outbreak, an infection prevention committee met daily. Now it meets three times a week.

Richardson said the key to keeping the infection rate low is the three W's: wear a mask, wash your hands and watch your distance to others.

The facility is well-stocked with personal protective equipment (PPE) and extra staffers are available should employees get sick.

We want to set the bar high for other facilities across the country, Richardson said.

We are the tip of the spear when it comes to best practices, Odegaard said.

Andrade said the community has been extremely supportive of the home and understanding during trying times.

Everyone wants to get back to normal. To have the events like our barbecues, Andrade said.

Odegaard praised Linn County Commissioners Will Tucker, John Lindsey and Roger Nyquist for their support.

Will Tucker drove all over the area finding PPEs for us, Odegaard said. Linn County Public Health has been outstanding, too.

Tucker said Linn County is blessed to have the leadership and skilled staff at the veterans' home. As issues have arisen, they have risen to the issue, and have delivered care for the honored veterans.

Abe and Kelly are giants. They asked for help, they created new processes and procedures. They asked the staff to stretch during a time of infection concerns. They took the best paths forward during a time of uncertainly.

A team effort

Tucker said the entire Lebanon community responded positively to the outbreak, nothing that:

 The Boys and Girls Club worked with the Lebanon School district to open daycare for essential workers.

 Dozens of restaurants delivered food for staff.

 People brought cards and notes, cookies and more for residents and staff.

Something we should remember as we reflect on this time, is that we have some very caring people working at the home, Tucker said. The essential workers are themselves heroes for the role they played in containing the COVID-19 while putting themselves at risk.

Odegaard and Andrade have been sharing the lessons learned and protocols put into place at the veterans' home with other facilities across the country.

The pandemic is also taking a toll financially on the operation.

The average length of stay is from one to two years and about six residents per month pass away. In a year, half of the population will have passed away.

No new residents are being admitted.

In 2019, the veterans' home received the Silver National Quality Award from the American Health Care Association and the National Center for Assisted Living.

It also was named one of the states best nursing homes by US News and World Report for 2018-19.

The factors that make the Edward C. Allworth Veterans" Home unique are also what may cause some issues of isolation for its residents.

The $40 million home opened in 2014 and was filled within two years, well ahead of schedule.

Residents have individual rooms, 14 for each of the 11 housing units totaling more than 133,000 square feet. Each room has 250 square feet and has its own big-screen TV, bed, easy chair and other amenities. Each room has its own shower and bathroomrestroom.

Breakfasts are cooked to order and if a resident wants a ham sandwich at midnight, they get it, just like if they were in a private home setting.

Lunch and dinner menus are prepared in a central kitchen, but if residents dont like whats on the menu that day, they can order something more to their liking.

When the facility opened, Odegaard, who was the facility administrator at the time, said he wanted the staff to shoot for excellence, not just good.

Its a motto that his successor, Andrade, continues to support.

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, residents also were taken on excursions around the community and the state, including visits to the casino in Florence.

The average age of a resident is 85 and all have an acute health care need.

There is an on-site barber shop and beauty salon for residents and spouses, who are eligible to live there as well. Theres also a canteen for snacks and hot or cold refreshments, including milkshakes.

The facility has partnerships with Samaritan Health Services, COMP-Northwest and nearby Pioneer School, as well as local veterans groups.

Linn County made a major push to get approval for the facility in Lebanon. Veterans officials were looking at several other sites, including Roseburg.

But Frank Moore, former Linn County Public Health director, and Ann Steeves, formerly with Samaritan Health Services, with guidance from county administrator Ralph Wyatt, developed an impressive 250-plus page application.

And a partnership including Linn County, Samaritan Health Services and the city of Lebanon, sealed the deal. Linn County residents also showed their commitment by approving a property tax levy of 19 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value to assist with funding.There is one year remaining on that levy.

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A member of the Chaouk crime family has been charged with a string of offences after allegedly breaking Melbourne's strict curfew and ramming a police car before leading officers on a pursuit.

Omar Chaouk, 29, who shot himself in the groin in 2015 while reaching for cigarettes in his pocket, was apprehended in Derrimut, north-west of Melbourne, on Sunday morning.

Police say Omar Chaouk has been charged with 21 offences.

Police allege they had initially found Mr Chaouk asleep at the wheel of his car in Kealba about 12.30am, when he rammed the police vehicle and sped off.

He allegedly got out of the car on Boundary Road in Derrimut, where he was arrested.
Albuquerque police said an investigation into a local medical student accused of possessing child pornography has also led to the arrest of a South Carolina man on suspicion that he abused two young children.

Sergei Von Hoyningen-Huene, 31, a third-year medical student at the University of New Mexico, was charged earlier this month with two counts of sexual exploitation, according to a criminal complaint filed in Metropolitan Court. It wasnt clear Saturday if Von Hoyningen-Huene is in custody. He couldnt be reached for comment.

During the course of that investigation, detectives seized and reviewed several electronic devices, according to court documents.

As part of a review of those devices, investigators found what was described as concerning images and communications between Von Hoyningen-Huene and a man in South Carolina, who has been identified as Sean Bandelier, 42, according to an Albuquerque police news release.

Detectives contacted the Lexington County Sheriffs Office in South Carolina, which launched an investigation. Bandelier has since been arrested on several charges of sexual exploitation of a minor and criminal sexual contact, according to Albuquerque police.

Authorities have also made contact with the alleged victims in the case, according to police.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-09 12:39:05|Editor: huaxia

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WASHINGTON, Aug. 8 (Xinhua) -- President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis Neel Kashkari has called for "a more restrictive lockdown" for up to six weeks to crush the spread of COVID-19, as the "viral fire" continues to "rage out of control."

In a Friday New York Times opinion piece he authored with Michael T. Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, the Fed official argued that the imperative for a more restrictive lockdown is clear because "what we have done so far hasn't worked."

"Some 160,000 people have died, and in recent days, roughly a thousand have died a day. An estimated 30 million Americans are collecting unemployment," Kashkari and Osterholm noted.

As of Saturday night, the United States has reported nearly 5 million confirmed COVID-19 cases, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University. The country hit the 3 million mark on July 8, and then hit 4 million on July 23.

"The next six months could make what we have experienced so far seem like just a warm-up to a greater catastrophe," Kashkari and Osterholm wrote. "With many schools and colleges starting, stores and businesses reopening, and the beginning of the indoor heating season, new case numbers will grow quickly," they said.

Reflecting on the failure of U.S. COVID-19 containment response compared with many nations in Asia and Europe, the authors argued that their country gave up on lockdown efforts to control virus transmission "well before the virus was under control."

Since late April, U.S. states -- many without seeing a significant downward trend in COVID-19 infections -- started to fully or partially reopen their economies. As of late May, all states had already been in some phase of reopening.

Just a few weeks after that, many states, especially those in the south and west, saw an uptick in COVID-19 cases, which then prompted over 20 states to pause or reverse their reopening plans.

Kashkari and Osterholm urged policymakers to commit to a more restrictive lockdown, state by state, for up to six weeks to crush the spread of the virus to less than one new case per 100,000 people per day, whereas the country currently reports 17 new cases per 100,000 people a day.

To successfully drive down the case rate, "we should mandate sheltering in place for everyone but the truly essential workers," they argued.

"By that, we mean people must stay at home and leave only for essential reasons: food shopping and visits to doctors and pharmacies while wearing masks and washing hands frequently," they said, noting that "to be effective, the lockdown has to be as comprehensive and strict as possible."

"If we aren't willing to take this action, millions more cases with many more deaths are likely before a vaccine might be available," Kashkari and Osterholm said.

"In addition, the economic recovery will be much slower, with far more business failures and high unemployment for the next year or two," they said. "The path of the virus will determine the path of the economy. There won't be a robust economic recovery until we get control of the virus."

"There is no trade-off between health and the economy. Both require aggressively getting control of the virus," they added. Enditem
The minister called on Ukrainians to take the disease seriously.

Ukrainian Health Minister Maksym Stepanov says that the number of patients with COVID-19 in Ukraine has been "growing rapidly."

"The number of people with COVID-19 has been growing rapidly. You see that COVID-19 is not going to disappear anywhere, and if we compare the incidence rates that we had at the beginning of June, in the middle of June, and what is happening now, then the growth is almost 2.5 times," he said at a briefing on August 9, according to an UNIAN correspondent.

Read alsoUkraine's Health Ministry: Kyiv, eight regions not ready for lifting COVID-19 curbs

The minister called on Ukrainians to take the disease seriously and abide by the Health Ministry's recommendations.

As UNIAN reported earlier, some 1,199 new COVID-19 cases were confirmed in Ukraine in the past 24 hours as of August 9, 2020. The total number of confirmed cases grew to 80,949.

The following areas are in the lead by number of confirmed cases: Lviv region (10,851), the city of Kyiv (9,498), Rivne region (6,840), Chernivtsi region (6,669), and Zakarpattia (5,765).
However, a lawsuit filed Thursday alleges that about the same day the crown prince made the flat denial, a second Saudi hit squad traveled to Canada. This time, the target was Saad Aljabri, a former top Saudi intelligence official who had worked closely with U.S. officials on counterterrorism in the past. The crown prince apparently wanted to silence him, too. The lawsuit, brought by Mr. Aljabri, contains unproven allegations, but they have eerie parallels to Khashoggis assassination. According to the complaint, the Saudi killers who flew to Toronto belonged to the Tiger Squad, the crown princes personal mercenary group; they carried two bags of forensic tools; and the squad included an instructor in the same criminal evidence department as the executioner who dismembered Khashoggi. The squad members, traveling on tourist visas, were asked by Canadian officers at border control if they knew each other. They lied, saying they did not. On secondary screening, a photograph was discovered of them together and their plot was thwarted, the lawsuit says.
The Ministry of Planning and Investment and Facebook on Friday launched the "Vitality of Vietnam" programme, aiming to promote national image, encourage investment, and develop human resources for businesses

and support community development.

Delegates launch the "Vitality of Vietnam" programme at a ceremony on August 8.  Photo Facebook

The programme aimed to respond to the Prime Minister's recent call for enhancing national spirit in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic as well as promoting economic recovery.

The programme includes a series of meaningful activities comprehensively implemented in a number of fields to support businesses, promote tourism, innovation, and support local communities during and after the pandemic.

Vietnam's politics, economy, and society are characterised by stability. Vietnam has a very favourable geo-economic position with a large population, abundant human resources, and a growing middle-class. Vietnam is also a huge market, and a dynamic economy in one of the most robust regions in the world today. Vietnam is striving to reform and reinvent itself, creating a competitive and enabling environment for investment. This is what we have to offer to our international friends and investors, said Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung at the launching event.

Under the "Proud Vietnam'' project launched by the Minister of Planning and Investment in 2019 and following the successful cooperation between Facebook and the Ministry of Planning and Investment in the "Immense Vietnam" programme on promoting tourism, the "Vitality of Vietnam" programme will continue Facebooks efforts to support businesses and local communities to overcome difficulties and recover during and after COVID.

The programme will be broadcast on the Ministry of Planning and Investment page and Vietnam Facebook page, providing business skills through a series of online workshops as well as strategies for businesses to find and develop national human resources through social media. Under the scope of Proud Vietnam, till the end of 2020, both parties will implement several programmes targeting different groups, including Love Vietnam programme with a series of short films and music videos about autistic children and White sticks Vietnam programme in bid of supporting people with visual impairment.

This cooperation is one of Facebook's key initiatives dedicated to Vietnam, among the activities to celebrate 25 years of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and the United States.

25 years marked a historic milestone in the diplomatic relation between the two countries, which has been strengthened by our relation in trades, investment and strategic cooperation. We highly appreciate the efforts of businesses like Facebook that have contributed to reaffirming and actualising the long-term commitment of the United States in general and US businesses in particular to Vietnam through the contribution and investment in socio-economic development and long-term prosperity, said Chief Executive of the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham Hanoi) Adam Sitkoff.

The event also officially launched the Each citizen is an ambassador campaign to encourage people to be an ambassador in fighting COVID and contributing to economic growth and recovery. People are encouraged to film and submit a 2-to-3-minute video about the values that Vietnamese people have achieved in fighting COVID-19 as well as contributing to economic recovery.

This marks an important milestone in our support to Vietnams small and medium business community and the people of Vietnam during this difficult time. In particular, we intend to collaborate on: bringing training and other assistance to Small and Medium Businesses, promoting innovation, and supporting local communities in Vietnam in line with the MPIs post-COVID-19 economic recovery plans, said Simon Milner, Vice President of Public Policy Asia-Pacific, Facebook.

"Vitality of Vietnam" programme will be premiered at 7pm on August 10 on Facebook Vietnam, the Ministry of Planning and Investment page and Yeah1TV Page.

The official cooperation between Facebook and the Ministry of Planning and Investment realises the goals of the pillar "Facebook for Economy - #fb4Economy" and "Facebook for Community - #fb4Community" under "Facebook for Vietnam" Campaign or #FB4VN - one of Facebook's key initiatives in Vietnam in 2020. These two pillars focus on Facebooks contribution to business communities, especially SMBs, and promote tourism and education post-COVID in Vietnam, as well as highlighting Facebooks efforts to bring people closer together and use technology for good causes. VNS

Facebook, MPI join hands in tourism promotion The Ministry of Planning and Investment and Facebook have jointly launched the "Proud Vietnam" project, including the "Immense Vietnam" music video, which aims to promote the countrys tourism.
A company is in line to save 73m from a post-Brexit trade shake-up, after campaigning to leave the EU and donating money to the Conservatives.

Tate & Lyle Sugars has secured a sweet deal that will also see cane imported from countries with lower employment and environmental standards, Greenpeace alleged, following an investigation.

It looks like the government has granted them their wish, said Sam Lowe, senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform think-tank, on the new arrangements.

But the firm said it was a complete fantasy that it wanted to import cheap, poorly produced sugar, under a shake-up at the end of the year, and defended its lobbying.

Gerald Mason, its senior vice president, told The Observer: Weve never hidden our issues with Europe. Weve been quite transparent about it.

The controversy comes after the government said companies will be able to import 260,000 tonnes of raw sugar cane from anywhere in the world, tariff-free, from January.

However, the only company that currently imports raw sugar cane is Tate & Lyle  one of the few large employers that publicly backed Brexit.

Its name was also carried on the lanyards worn by everyone who attended the 2017 Tory conference, a sponsorship is recorded as an 8,000 donation by the Electoral Commission.

The new tariff-free quota equates to a 72.8m saving, according to analysis by Greenpeaces Unearthed investigations team.

Brexit timeline: How did we get here? Show all 20 1 /20 Brexit timeline: How did we get here? Brexit timeline: How did we get here? Britain votes to leave the European Union - 23 June 2016 A referendum is held on Britain's membership of the European Union. Fifty-two per cent of the country votes in favour of leaving AFP via Getty Brexit timeline: How did we get here? David Cameron resigns - 24 June 2016 David Cameron resigns on the morning of the result after leading the campaign for Britain to remain in the EU Getty Brexit timeline: How did we get here? Theresa May takes the reins - 13 July 2016 Theresa May becomes leader of the Conservative party and prime minister, winning the leadership contest unopposed after Andrea Leadsom drops out Getty Brexit timeline: How did we get here? High Court rules parliament must vote on Brexit - November 2016 - 3 November 2016 The High Court rules that parliament must vote on triggering Article 50, which would begin the Brexit process Brexit timeline: How did we get here? Article 50 triggered - 28 March 2017 The prime minister triggers Article 50 after parliament endorses the result of the referendum Getty Brexit timeline: How did we get here? May calls snap election - 18 April 2018 Seeking a mandate for her Brexit plan, May goes to the country Getty Brexit timeline: How did we get here? May loses majority as Labour makes surprise gain - 8 June 2017 After a disastrous campaign, Theresa May loses her majority in the commons and turns to the DUP for support. Jeremy Corbyn's Labour party makes gains after being predicted to lose heavily AFP/Getty Brexit timeline: How did we get here? Negotiations begin - 19 June 2017 David Davis and Michel Barnier, chief negotiators for the UK and EU respectively, hold a press conference on the first day of Brexit negotiations. Soon after the beginning of negotiations, it becomes clear that the issue of the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic will prove a major sticking point AFP/Getty Brexit timeline: How did we get here? MPs vote that withdrawal deal must be ratified by parliament - 13 December 2017 The government suffers a defeat in parliament over the EU withdrawal agreement, guaranteeing that MPs are given a 'meaningful vote' on the deal Brexit timeline: How did we get here? Boris Johnson resigns as foreign secretary - 11 July 2018 Following a summit at Chequers where the prime minister claimed to have gained cabinet support for her deal, Boris Johnson resigns as foreign secretary along with David Davis, the Brexit secretary Reuters Brexit timeline: How did we get here? Draft withdrawal agreement - 15 November 2018 The draft withdrawal agreement settles Britain's divorce bill, secures the rights of EU citizens living in the UK and vice versa and includes a political declaration commiting both parties to frictionless trade in goods and cooperation on security matters. The deal also includes the backstop, which is anathema to many brexiteers and Dominic Raab and Esther McVey resign from the cabinet in protest Getty Brexit timeline: How did we get here? May resigns - 24 May 2019 After several failed attempts to pass her withdrawal agreement through the commons, Theresa May resigns Reuters Brexit timeline: How did we get here? Johnson takes over - 24 July 2019 Boris Johnson is elected leader of the Conservative party in a landslide victory. He later heads to Buckingham Palace where the Queen invites him to form a government Getty Brexit timeline: How did we get here? Parliament prorogued - 28 August 2019 Boris Johnson prorogues parliament for five weeks in the lead up to the UK's agreed departure date of 31 October. Stephen Morgan MP Brexit timeline: How did we get here? Prorogation ruled unlawful - 24 September 2019 The High Court rules that Johnson's prorogation of parliament is 'unlawful' after a legal challenge brought by businesswoman Gina Miller Getty Brexit timeline: How did we get here? Johnson agrees deal with Varadkar - October Following a summit in Merseyside, Johnson agrees a compromise to the backstop with Irish prime minister Leo Varadkar - making the withdrawal agreement more palatable to Brexiteers Getty Brexit timeline: How did we get here? Final Say march demands second referendum - 19 October 2019 As parliament passes the Letwin amendment requiring the prime minister to request a further delay to Brexit, protesters take to the streets in the final show of force for a Final Say referendum Getty Brexit timeline: How did we get here? Johnson wins 80 seat majority - 12 December 2019 The Conservatives win the December election in a landslide, granting Boris Johnson a large majority to pass through his brexit deal and pursue his domestic agenda Getty Brexit timeline: How did we get here? Withdrawal deal passes parliament - 20 December 2019 The withdrawal agreement passes through the commons with a majority of 124 Getty Brexit timeline: How did we get here? EU parliament backs UK withdrawal deal - 29 January 2020 Members of the European parliament overwhelmingly back the ratification of Britain's departure, clearing the way for Brexit two days later on 31 January. Following the vote, members join hands and sing Auld Lang Syne AFP/Getty

It is being introduced after a long and public lobbying campaign by the company. Greenpeace said Tate & Lyle had held at least 10 meetings with senior ministers over the last three years.

The Brexit fight split the UKs sugar industry, because the companys main rival, British Sugar, makes its product from beets produced by British farmers  and has attacked the changes.

This is a sweet deal for a food giant with close ties to the Conservative Party and easy access to ministers, but its a bitter one for our environmental standards and farmers, said John Sauven, Greenpeaces executive director.

Ditching tariffs on raw cane sugar will boost imports from a handful of countries, all of which use pesticides banned in the UK for being harmful to wildlife and humans.

But Mr Mason said: In Australia and Brazil, which are two countries wed love to buy more from, they have the highest numbers of sugar producers who are certified for the highest ethical environmental standards in the world.

He defended Tate & Lyles links with the Tories, saying: Yes, we have ministers visit the refinery to talk about the issues.

We have Labour Party politicians, we have Lib Dem politicians. Anybody who can help us secure the future of our business in the UK, we will speak to very openly and transparently.

A Department for International Trade spokesperson said: The UK global tariff schedule is tailored to the UK economy and designed to back British businesses, ensuring they compete on fair terms with the rest of the world.
It is unfortunate and sad at the same time to note that the criminal nuisance charge was as a result of him singing a song with the following lyrics Ichavanhorowondo kana tikatenderwa nababa kubvisa Mnangagwa (it will soon be history when we are allowed by God to remove Mnangagwa).
Prime Minister Hassan Diab was appointed to his post in January 2020, succeeding Saad Hariri. Diabs short time in office has been racked with instability from events mostly out of his control, starting with the coronavirus pandemic and the accompanying economic crisis, and culminating in the August 4 explosion in the port of Beirut.

Lebanese Prime Minister Hassan Diab has called for new parliamentary elections, saying they are the only way to take the country out of its current crisis.

We cannot get out of this structural crisis without holding early parliamentary elections, the independent Sunni politician said Saturday in a televised address.

Diab clarified that he would be ready to continue carrying out his duties for the next two months until all of Lebanons political parties can agree on how to proceed.

Commenting on the ongoing probe into the August 4 explosion in Beirut, which has claimed the lives of over 150 people, injured over 5,000 and displaced as many as 300,000 others, Diab promised that the investigation will continue to expand until everyone involved is held accountable. I firmly reiterate that none of those responsible for the Beirut Port tragedy will escape punishment, he stressed.

Diab added that he considers the port explosion to have been the result of years of corruption and mismanagement by his predecessors.

Under Lebanons complex political system, which seeks to maintain a balance between Maronite Christians, Sunni Muslims and Shia Muslims, the prime minister can only be appointed and approved or removed by the president (with that post held by Maronite Christian Michel Aoun) with no consultations required from the countrys parliament. But the prime minister is required to retain the confidence of the majority of parliament.

For new elections to be held, parliament would need to approve them. Dr. Mohammad Marandi, a Tehran-based academic and political analyst, says that if new elections are approved, lawmakers would "also need to approve a new electoral law," meaning elections would actually take place as long as a year from now.

"The opposition would probably lose an election, because they were the dominant force in government for years and bear most of the responsibility for what happened in the port. That is why they have chosen to push for violence on the streets," Marandi said, speaking to Sputnik.

Deadly Protests in Beirut

Diabs remarks Saturday evening amid hours of heavy clashes in the Lebanese capital between riot police and several thousand protesters, with demonstrators demanding the governments resignation over a range of issues, including the explosion at Beiruts port, but also the long-running economic crisis facing the nation, which was intensified earlier this year by coronavirus and a banking collapse, which prompted Lebanon to default on its debt in a historic first.

Protesters stormed the foreign ministry building on Saturday, setting vehicles on fire, and throwing rocks and other projectiles at police, who deployed tear gas as demonstrators sought to enter a fortified area around parliament. Protesters broke into the foreign ministry building, with a group of former army officers proclaiming it the headquarters of the revolution. Demonstrators also reportedly entered other state buildings, including the Banks Association headquarters and the ministry of finance.

At least 55 people have been taken to hospital from the scene of the protests, with the Lebanese Red Cross estimating that over 100 others have been treated on site. Police have confirmed that one officer has been killed in the unrest, with the government deploying reinforcements.

Not What Our Country Needs

Dr. Marwa Osman, a Beirut-based journalist and political commentator, told Sputnik that Diabs resignation couldnt have come at a worse time, pointing out that there are still people buried under the rubble, getting treated in hospital or being buried following the August 4 port blast.

This is not what our country needs at the moment, we rather need calm in order to ease from this disaster and make sure all those responsible get brought to justice, she said.

The statement by the PM I am afraid is at the wrong timing. He should have waited at least until the investigation was over to propose calling for new elections, Osman suggested. Add to that we are still in the midst of a pandemic so that is not a very wise move.

Early elections with the current electoral law will produce nothing new. A new electoral law is needed first, one that is non-sectarian and that includes all of Lebanon under one district. [Anything] other than that is just digging further in more political deadlock, the journalist explained.

Historic Levels of Division

Dr. Alam Saleh, a member of the British Society for Middle Eastern Studies, said the unrest in Beirut is unfortunate, but not unexpected, given national trends and efforts by foreign states to exploit the situation.

The political fragmentation as well as the social division in Lebanon has never been [this] wide. The systematic corruption and economic inefficiency is historical high and people are no longer buying political excuses. The regional developments and instability also spill over conflicts and insecurity inside the country. Regional and international actors have their own interests in Lebanon, and each tries to enhance their interests, neglecting Lebanese demands and wishes. In such a difficult time, the state is not responsive nor transparent and this of course leads to anger and frustrations amongst Lebanese regardless of their sectarian and ideological background, Saleh suggested.

Walid Jumblatt, a veteran politician and leader of Lebanon's Druze Progressive Party, echoed the latter sentiment, telling Sputnik that "the people have risen against the current government, and the political system needs changes. The Lebanese people are tired of the government's inaction, especially that of the current ministries."

(SPUTNIK)
WASHINGTON - It's going to be screen time all the time for kindergartners and graduate students alike. Teachers are threatening strikes. And students are already coming home infected with the coronavirus, which has upended American education.

The 2020-21 school year has dawned, and it's more chaotic than any before it.

Plans are changing so fast that students and parents can hardly keep up. Districts that spent all summer planning hybrid systems, in which children would be in school part of the week, ditched them as coronavirus cases surged. Universities changed their teaching models, their start dates and their rules for housing, all with scant notice.

And many districts and colleges have yet to make final decisions, even now, with the fall term already underway in some of the country.

"Plans are changing right up till the moment that schools open," said Michael Casserly, executive director of Great City Schools, a lobbying group for large districts.

Chicago Public Schools announced last week that, after planning a hybrid system, its classes would begin the year online. Districts across the country have pushed back their opening dates. Last week, the first week of school in Georgia's Cherokee County School District, administrators sent 14 letters to parents, each disclosing new cases of the novel coronavirus, which causes the disease covid-19. They included 13 students ranging from first to 12th grades, and a few teachers. More than 300 students who had been in contact with them were directed to quarantine for 14 days.

"Our parents wanted a choice for their children, and we delivered - it is not perfect, and we all know that, but perfection is not possible in a pandemic," Superintendent Brian Hightower said Friday in a message to the community.

Another Georgia high school, in Paulding County, drew national attention after students posted pictures and video of their peers walking without masks in tightly packed hallways. Now, six students and three staff members there have tested positive for the virus, according to a letter sent to parents over the weekend.

And on Sunday, the superintendent said the school would go online only for Monday and Tuesday and would announce plans beyond that on Tuesday evening.

Last week, Johns Hopkins University changed its mind and said classes would be fully online, discouraging even those who had signed leases from returning to Baltimore. Students at Washington University in St. Louis faced the opposite problem when the school said on July 31 that all dorm rooms would be converted to singles, leaving juniors and seniors scrambling to find housing at the last minute.

In Congress, talks over a pandemic relief package collapsed last week, leaving no clear path to providing schools with funding lawmakers in both major political parties agree is urgently needed.

"We knew how to close schools," said Annette Anderson, an assistant professor of education and deputy director of the Center for Safe and Healthy Schools at Johns Hopkins University. "But we have no idea how to properly reopen schools."

The result of this chaos is uncertainty for students and their parents, with profound ramifications for health, learning, emotional development and economics in schools that open and those that do not.

Of the 20 largest K-12 districts, 17 now plan to begin the year fully remote. The big outlier is New York City, by far the nation's largest district, which plans a hybrid system and so far has withstood intense pressure from teachers and others to reverse course.

On Friday, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, gave the state's 732 school districts the go ahead and open in person if they like, as long as the state's coronavirus infection rates stay low.

Across the country, districts have wildly different plans based on their geography, infection rates and partisanship.

About 4% of rural districts and 21% of suburban districts have announced fully remote plans, compared with 55% of urban systems, according to a study of 477 districts chosen as a representative national sample by the Center on Reinventing Public Education at the University of Washington at Bothell.

Robin Lake, the center's director, also reviewed parent surveys from districts across the country and was struck by how divergent views are.

"Some are saying they are terrified," she said. "Others are saying, 'I think this whole covid thing is a farce.' "

Like so much in America, decisions appear to be falling along partisan lines, with schools in Republicans areas far more likely to open than those in Democratic communities.

Polling shows Republicans are far more likely than Democrats to say going back into school buildings is safe. And an examination of district plans compiled by Education Week suggests that campuses are more likely to be open in conservative communities than in liberal ones.

Ed Week's database includes 153 districts in states won by Hillary Clinton in 2016. Of them, 67% plan fully remote learning this fall.

Of the 307 districts in states won by Donald Trump in 2016, 58% plan to hold fully or partly in-person classes.

Some of the divide may trace to fact that rural areas are more Republican and in some cases have fewer covid-19 cases. But the overall trend worries Daniel Domenech, executive director of AASA, which represents school superintendents.

"It's a very dangerous and explosive situation, and unfortunately people are more inclined to follow their political bent than to do what is safe for their own families and their own children," he said.

Trump and his allies have repeatedly pushed districts to open, noting the importance of in-person education for students' academic and social emotional growth, as well as for parents' ability to work. Some administrators, and the parents they serve, seem to be listening.

In Washington County, Utah, for instance, schools were accommodating the desires of a very conservative community when they opted to open for full-time, in-person school. Classes begin there this week.

"As restrictions lifted, we felt - and the community felt - that would be in the best interest of students to get them back on as normal a schedule as possible," said Steven Dunham, director of communications for the district.

"We are trying to put into place every safety precaution we can," Dunham said. "We are also trying to fulfill the requests of the parents in this community."

The district is requiring students and staff members to wear masks, as ordered by Utah Gov. Gary Herbert, a Republican. But Dunham said "a significant number of parents" have asked the school board to defy the order, something the board has declined to do.

The pressures in more liberal communities often cut the other way, with teachers unions saying it is not safe to reopen campuses.

The American Federation of Teachers passed a resolution endorsing actions including strikes to protest any orders to return to classrooms, and teachers in New York City have threatened to walk out over the issue. The newly installed president of the National Education Association said she, too, supports strikes if needed to get the attention of decision makers.

"Our members are looking at every option that they have in their toolbox to get those in charge to listen to them when they say their schools are not safe," NEA President Becky Pringle said in an interview. In her inaugural speech, she promised financial help to any affiliate that concludes its reopening plan is not safe for teachers.

Pressure to keep schools open has been intense in Texas and Florida, two states where Republican governors ordered them open and then backed off, as infections continued to climb.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said in July that all schools must reopen. Then he said districts could operate remotely for the first three weeks. Then he extended that for several more weeks. Local health departments stepped in to bar some districts from opening. A few days ago, Abbott said the decision was up to local school officials.

John Kuhn, superintendent of the 3,300-student Mineral Wells Independent School District, said he's trying to follow the state's orders.

"But it's not easy," he said. "It keeps changing."

Kuhn said he's decided to open schools for students who want to come, but he is encouraging parents to keep their children home so there will be fewer in the classroom and social distancing will be easier. School starts there next week.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis also ordered all districts to open, then retreated, saying remote learning would be all right where coronavirus rates are highest. On Friday, he made clear that not all districts would receive that dispensation, telling Orlando's News 6 that he was concerned that Hillsborough County, which includes Tampa, plans to use remote education.

"The law requires you to offer certain amount of in-person instruction," DeSantis said, referring to his executive order. "I'm concerned about it."

Angela Skilling, a teacher in Arizona's tiny Hayden Winkelman Unified School District, is terrified of going back. Over the summer, she and two other teachers taught a remote class from the same classroom. One of the teachers died. Seven staff members, out of 60 in the district, contracted covid-19.

"We are not ready to lose another staff member," she told a congressional committee at a hearing on schools last week. "We can recover a child's lost education, but we cannot recover a life."

For colleges and universities, the tumult of campus closures in March gave way to the chaos of planning for reopening under volatile and unprecedented conditions. Some are bringing most of their students back. Others are bringing only certain groups - freshmen, for instance. Still others are telling students it's best to stay away for the fall. Many international students cannot get visas to travel to the United States, and others who are here are dependent on colleges for emergency housing.

No matter where they are living, students are resigned to a course catalog with a heavy dose of online learning. Classes might be fully online or "hybrid," using limited face-to-face contact with faculty members.

Dorm rooms, by default, will become classrooms. Harvard University is inviting freshmen and select others to live on campus, but all of its undergraduate teaching will be conducted online.

Like their K-12 counterparts, many colleges face pressure from their faculties to shift to remote learning. More than 350 faculty members at the University of Iowa signed a petition demanding that all classes be held online. There was similar resistance from faculty members at the Georgia Institute of Technology.

As of last week, nearly 30% of 3,000 institutions planned to teach fully or primarily online, and about 24% were fully or mostly in person, according to an examination by the Chronicle of Higher Education and Davidson College.

The review found that 16% planned a mix of approaches and that 26% had not yet decided.

Much remains in flux. The University of Virginia had announced in June that students would be invited to campus for classes starting Aug. 25. They would live in residence halls under a strict public health regimen that includes assigned sinks and showers. Now U-Va. says that the undergraduate arrival will be delayed due to the surging virus, and that face-to-face teaching will not start until after Labor Day.

Some plans fell apart weeks after they were announced. The University of Southern California in July reversed course on an aggressive reopening, and then last week ratcheted plans back again to almost entirely remote instruction. Georgetown, George Washington and American universities, all in the nation's capital, took similar zigzag paths toward remote openings.

At American, a private university with about 14,000 students, officials had painstakingly pieced together a plan to house about 2,300 students on campus in single dorm rooms and teach through a blend of in-person and online methods. The school calculated the socially distant capacity of classrooms, depending on whether seats were fixed or mobile. It tracked how many faculty members had health concerns and who could teach in person and when. Assembling the course schedule, said AU President Sylvia Burwell, was like solving a Rubik's Cube.

By the end of July, that plan went out the window.

"I'm disappointed," Burwell said. "We're all disappointed."

Burwell, who was health and human services secretary during the Obama administration, said the trajectory of the pandemic now dictates caution. She said she spent weeks gathering facts and enduring many sleepless nights before deciding to shift course. Now she's pledging to make it work.

In California, the leader of the largest public university system in the country saw this moment coming months ago. Timothy White, chancellor of the 482,000-student California State University system, had announced on May 12 that most instruction on its 23 campuses would be remote this fall. It was at the time a shocking statement of higher education's vulnerability to the virus.

Now White says he is glad he staked out a radical position. It gave his faculty ample time to prepare and freedom to innovate. "It allowed a different mind-set," he said. The attitude: "Now, let's get to work and figure out how to do it great."
By PTI

COLOMBO: When two-time president Mahinda Rajapaksa lost Sri Lanka's presidential elections in 2015, many thought the shrewd leader, who crushed the Tamil Tigers in a brutal military campaign, was a spent force.

But five years later, the 74-year-old has returned to power, with his newly-formed Sri Lanka People's Party (SLPP) scripting history by becoming the political party with the shortest life span to gain absolute power in the island nation's political history.

Rajapaksa was sworn in as the prime minister for the fourth time on Sunday by his younger brother and President Gotabaya Rajapaksa at the Rajamaha Viharaya in Kelaniya, an ancient Buddhist shrine that has often been associated with the rise and fall of Sri Lanka.

His party bagged a total of 150 seats with its allies in the 225-member assembly, securing two-thirds majority in Parliament needed to effect key constitutional changes to consolidate the powerful Rajapaksa clan's control on power.

The Rajapaksas want to repeal the 19th Amendment to the Constitution which had curbed the presidential powers.

However, it has not been a smooth sailing for Rajapaksa, a street-fighter politician who entered Parliament when he was just 24, becoming the youngest lawmaker.

After losing the seat in 1977, he focused on his law career until reentering Parliament in 1989.

He served as labour minister (1994-2001) and minister of fisheries and aquatic resources (19972001) under President Chandrika Kumaratunga, who appointed him as prime minister after the general election of April 2004, when the United People's Freedom Alliance won a majority.

He was chosen as the Sri Lanka Freedom Party's presidential nominee in November 2005.

Shortly after his victory in the election, Rajapaksa announced his intention to crush the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), which had established a de facto government in northern Sri Lanka.

Ending the nearly 30-year-long bloody civil war with the LTTE, where all his predecessors had failed, Rajapaksa became a hero and used it to return to power with a thumping win in 2010, leading to political analysts labelling him "a man with a midas touch.

" He had acknowledged a number of times that his crowning moment in his over four-decade political career was the victory against Tamil Tigers.

However, he was accused of condoning sexual violence and extrajudicial killings allegedly by Lankan security forces during the civil war, which ended in May 2009.

He was also accused of approving a crackdown on dissent.

During his presidency from 2005 to 2015, Rajapaksa consolidated his position.

The Constitution was changed to allow him to serve a third term, and his three brothers - Gotabaya, Basil and Chamal - were awarded influential positions, leading to accusations that he was running the country like a family firm.

The Rajapaksa family has dominated Sri Lankan politics for two decades.

His domestic popularity appeared to wane during 2014 because of rising prices and concerns of corruption and abuse of power, and, in an attempt to secure another presidential term before losing support, he again called for an early presidential poll.

But his political gamble backfired and he was defeated by former ally Maithripala Sirisena in the elections in 2015.

During his tenure as president, Rajapaksa concluded several key infrastructure deals with China, raising concerns in India and the West.

Critics say it was due to Rajapaksa that the country has fallen into the "Chinese debt trap".

The strategic Hambantota port, which was funded by a Chinese loan during his regime, was leased to Beijing on a 99-year debt-for-equity swap in 2017 after the country failed to pay off the debt.

In 2015, Parliament restored a constitutional two-term limit on the presidency barring Rajapaksa from contesting again.

In August, Rajapaksa was elected to Parliament.

After their defeat in 2015, the Rajapaksas were battling arrests and corruption cases in court.

There were scores of graft cases filed against them.

Three years later, Rajapaksa was briefly appointed as the prime minister in October, 2018 by then President Sirisena, who sacked Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe in a controversial move that plunged the country into a constitutional crisis.

Rajapaksa resigned on December 15 after the Supreme Court declared that the dissolution of Parliament by Sirisena was "illegal".

Later, Rajapaksa and his supporters in Parliament defected from the ruling party and joined the SLPP, founded by his brother Basil, and he formally became the Leader of the Opposition.

The Easter bombings on April 21, 2019 that killed over 250 people was a turning point in Lankan politics as the then government appeared to have failed to act though it had advance intelligence report of an impending terror attack.

The Rajapaksas lambasted the government of President Sirisena and Prime Minister Wickremesinghe for the failure on the security front.

The SLPP also announced the presidential candidacy of Rajapaksa's younger brother Gotabhaya, who had served as his defence minister in the final years of the civil war against the LTTE.

The brother-duo promised security to Sri Lankans who became worried about Islamic extremism in the Buddhist-majority country.

Gotabhaya won the presidential election in 2019 and appointed Rajapaksa as the prime minister of the caretaker cabinet until the general election.

Rajapaksa visited India in February on his first official visit abroad after being appointed to the office.
Television host, producer and actor Raghu Ram has penned a heartfelt note for his sweet, troubled friend, the late actor Sameer Sharma. Raghu said that Sameer always stood by him during his lows and wished he could have reciprocated.

Sharing a picture with Sameer, Raghu wrote, Goodbye, my sweet, troubled friend. Thank you for being there for me when I needed it ... I wish I could have been there for you too. I will always remember you with love. And with regret. I really hope your pain is finally at an end.

Goodbye, my sweet, troubled friend.

Thank you for being there for me when I needed it ... I wish I could have been there for you too. I will always remember you with love. And with regret. I really hope your pain is finally at an end. pic.twitter.com/thAcOIde5U  Raghu Ram (@tweetfromRaghu) August 8, 2020

Sameer was found dead at his home in Mumbai on Wednesday night. The police suspects it to be a case of death by suicide. The actor was staying on the first floor of Neha CHS building, Ahinsa Marg in Malad (west). On Wednesday, a security guard found him dead and alerted the society members, an officer from the Malad police station said.

George Fernandes, senior inspector from Malad police station, said that a case of accidental death has been registered. The police are investigating the case.

Also see: Rhea Chakraborty shares WhatsApp messages with Sushant Singh Rajput, in which hed called sister manipulative

Sameer starred in a number of popular serials including Kahaani Ghar Ghar Ki, Geet - Hui Sabse Parayee, Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi, Left Right Left and Jyoti. He also acted in films such as Hasee Toh Phasee and Ittefaq. Bollywood celebrities including Sidharth Malhotra, Varun Dhawan, Sonakshi Sinha and Shraddha Kapoor condoled his death.

Actor Avinash Sachdev, who worked with Sameer in Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon?...Ek Baar Phir and Ayushman Bhava, told Hindustan Times that they were friends and stayed in touch throughout the lockdown. He was as frustrated about staying at home as everyone else. I dont think he was under any financial stress, had depression, work related or personal issues. He was a happy-go-lucky person, never took any stress and enjoyed life.

Avinash added that during their last conversation on July 22, they talked about actor Sushant Singh Rajputs death, and Sameer said, Suicide can never be an option. We were supposed to go live on Instagram and talk to people about staying positive. He was writing poems and web series and composing music and had done so much work since 2004. In fact, he took a break from acting and yet returned with good roles on TV. I dont know if he was depressed or not as we never had any such conversation and neither did I ever feel that he was feeling low or had mood swings, he 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

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She flaunted her bikini body on the winter 2020 series of Love Island.

And Demi Jones looked equally fantastic as she left little to the imagination in a black sheer mini dress for a night out in in London on Saturday.

The Love Islander, 21, was joined by stylish Jess and Eve Gale, 20, who also appeared on the show, as they headed to villa pal Mike Boateng's surprise 29th birthday bash.

Revealing: Demi Jones wore a sheer black mini dress with diamante detailing throughout as she headed to Mike Boateng's suprise 29th birthday bash on Saturday in London

The red-haired beauty put on a very busty display and nearly exposed her assets in the risque outfit that was semi-sheer and emphasised her ample cleavage.

The strappy number had black diamantes dotted throughout and featured corset boning around her midriff which provided definition to the barely-there fabric.

Demi's high-waist underwear could be seen peaking through the daring dress, which highlighted her svelte frame.

Yin and Yang: Jess and Eve Gale complimented each other with beige outfit choices, perspex heels, and designer handbags as they also headed to the Love Islander's birthday celebration

She also decided to take her bronzed look to another level with her contoured makeup, blush and tanned legs.

For Demi, there is no such thing as too much glitter, as she paired the sparkling outfit choice with a glittery silver bag and dangling earrings.

Meanwhile glamorous twins Jess and Eve Gale decided to go for the opposite side of the spectrum with their pared-down neutral looks.

Bedazzled: The reality TV contestant, 21, left little to the imagination in the bold outfit choice that she accessorised with a glittery silver clutch bag and dangling silver earrings

Reunited: The Love Island contestant posed for pictures with her Love Island pal Jordan Waobikeze who was wearing tapered stone-coloured trousers a white tee and brown loafers

The identical twins sported almost identical makeup as they opted for a rosy blush and matching plump lipstick.

Jess chose a cream bodysuit that hugged every inch off her stunning curves and drew attention to her eye-popping assets.

Her twin sister chose a pair of white high-waist jeans and paired them with a nude bandeau top that exposed her taut midriff.

Sister act: The identical twins, 20, turned their head to the camera in their skin-tight outfit choices and unusual perspex heeled shoes

Windswept: The blonde beauties switched things up with their hair as Jess tried a crimped beach wave look while her sister kept her tresses in a natural straight do

Love Island do: The Love Islanders (pictured above) including Demi Jones, Jordan Waobikeze, Eva Zapico, Jess Gale and Eve Gale all reunited for a long overdue night out

While their outfits might not have been sheer, they still put their toned physiques on full display by choosing skin-tight options.

The pair also both rocked perspex heels but decided to differentiate with their choice of hairstyle.

Jess crimped her blonde tresses while Eve kept hers naturally straight, letting her locks cascade over her shoulders as the sisters strutted during the outing.

They clutched at their designer Fendi and Louis Vuitton purses as they made their glamorous entrance.

Glowing: Demi looked radiant as she enjoyed a night at Shooshh in Brighton with her friends Amy Simmonds and Hollie Goward to celebrate Amy's birthday on Thursday

Having fun: The beauty could not contain her smiles as she partied the night away with pals

Sippin' pretty: Demi, Amy and Hollie all donned form-fitting dresses which showed off their slim figures

Poser: Demi made sure to work all of her angles as she posed up a storm outside the venue

It's been a week of birthday celebrations for Demi as she celebrated her pal, Amy Simmond's birthday at Shooshh in Brighton this week alongside their other friend, Hollie Goward.

Once more the Love Islander showcased her sensational physique as they partied the night away at the venue on the sea front.

Demi sported a ruched pastel green mini dress and kept her auburn locks in glamorous curls.

Stunning: She flaunted her ample cleavage in a neon yellow dress and toted a stylish Louis Vuitton bag

Time to celebrate: Demi celebrated her friend Amy's birthday alongside their other pal Hollie

Pucker up! The glamorous girls even posed for a snap in the kissing booth during the evening
Vladimir Gasparyan, the former Chief of Police of the Republic of Armenia (RA), will file a lawsuit in connection with the actions of the RFE/RL Armenian Service staff. His lawyer, Tigran Atanesyan, announced about this on his Facebook page.

"The RA citizens constitutional rightsthe rights to the inviolability of the residence, the privacy of private and family lifemust be protected from everyone," Atanesyan added, in particular, on Sunday.

And on Saturday, he had issued a clarification on the incident between Vladimir Gasparyan and an RFE/RL crew, near Gasparyan's mansion on the shore of Lake Sevan.

Earlier, the RFE/RL Armenian Service reported that while preparing a report on illegal private houses and other structures located on the shores of Lake Shana, former Armenian Police Chief Vladimir Gasparyan had obstructed the respective work by the RFE/RL crew.

He, according to this news agency, drove his vehicle in the direction of these journalists, threatening to run over and physically destroy them, as he cursed at them and demanded not to show his mansion.
There can't be many homeowners who didn't visualise sparkling new double-glazed windows or smart solar panels on their roof when Rishi Sunak announced his 2billion Green Homes Grant last month.

With up to 10,000 available for energy efficient home improvements, many people started thinking about how to spend a large cheque from the Chancellor.

But the scheme's details have finally been unveiled on the Government's website  and, as always, the devil is in the small print.

Catch: You can't get a discount on double-glazing unless you are also applying for an improvement on a specific list that includes loft or cavity wall insulation

The scheme is littered with catches. First, all except the poorest homeowners will have to stump up a share of the cost themselves. Rather than covering the total amount, vouchers will be worth around two-thirds of the cost of the improvements.

Second, there is a strict hierarchy of works. For example, you can't get a discount on double-glazing unless you are also applying for an improvement on a specific list that includes loft or cavity wall insulation.

And that's just scratching the surface. Here, we guide you through Rishi's latest boost for homeowners.

What exactly is the Green Homes Grant?

The Government has come up with a scheme to make our homes more energy efficient. It is handing out up to 10,000 per household to install insulation and double-glazing. It says this should cut carbon emissions, save people money, create and protect jobs  and boost the recovery from the coronavirus lockdown.

Broadly speaking, you decide on what needs to be done and the Government will pay the majority of the cost. However, in practice it's not that simple.

What changes can I make?

Get ready to learn all about 'primary' and 'secondary' measures', Under the scheme, the Government has divided energy-efficient home improvements into two categories: primary measures and secondary measures.

Primary measures are either insulation  for example, in a cavity wall, loft, or roof  or low carbon heating, such as ground source heat pumps, or solar thermal systems (or solar panels, in plain English).

Secondary measures, on the other hand, mean draught proofing, double-glazing or triple-glazing (where you are replacing single glazing), secondary glazing, upgrading to energy-efficient doors or heating controls and insulation, such as thermostats and smart heating controls.

Outlay: Solar panels are costly - a whole system can set you back as much as 6,200

Why are there two categories of work?

Here is the crucial point: you are only allowed to claim for one of the secondary measures if you are also installing one of the primary measures in your home.

That means you can't get money off double-glazing unless you're also carrying out insulation or heating works at the same time. And in the case of secondary measures, you are only allowed to claim up to the amount you are claiming for the primary measures.

So if you're claiming 1,000 for your under-floor insulation (primary) you can only claim a maximum of 1,000 for your double-glazing (secondary).

Baffled? You won't be the only one. It's a lot to get your head around. Ultimately, the Government doesn't want to hand out money willy-nilly  it wants to target its 2 billion of help at those who most need it.

The bad news is that the catches keep coming. For example, you are only able to upgrade to energy-efficient doors if you are replacing doors installed before 2002. To add to the confusion, hot water tank insulation is placed under secondary measures rather than under the primary 'insulation' measures.

And if you want to install low-carbon heating (a primary measure) you have to make sure you have  or are getting  adequate insulation too (the other primary measure).

Can I get my loft insulation replaced?

Sadly not. The scheme will not cover replacement insulation, but it will cover 'top ups'  for example, more insulation on top of what you already have.

What about old double-glazing?

This comes under the secondary measures but don't think you can get rid of your tired old existing double-glazing under this scheme; it's only for replacing single glazing.

Hierarchy of works: Primary measures are either insulation  for example, in a cavity wall, loft, or roof  or low carbon heating, such as ground source heat pumps

How much cash will this scheme give me?

For most homeowners, the vouchers will be worth about two-thirds of the cost of the improvements, up to a maximum of 5,000 per household.

In the Government's own example, a homeowner installing cavity wall and floor insulation costing 4,000 would only pay about 1,320, with the Government contributing the remaining 2,680 through the voucher scheme. But those on low incomes or certain benefits should be able to get the whole cost covered, up to that headline-grabbing 10,000.

Those who can apply include all live-in homeowners, including long-leaseholders and shared ownership, landlords of private rented sector domestic properties and park home owners including traveller sites.

For some work, it is likely that permission from the freeholder might be needed, such as shared ownership homes.

However, new-build homes and commercial premises do not qualify.

So who gets the full 10,000?

Beware: The cost soon mounts up Upgrading your home to help save the planet will bring you savings over time, but the initial outlay can be expensive. The cost of replacing external windows and doors is at least 2,500 to 3,000 for a typical three-bedroom semi  and a lot more for period buildings. uPVC double-glazed windows will set you back around 100-200 each and the same again for fitting. Cavity wall insulation is around 725 for a detached house, going down to 475 for a semi-detached and 330 for a flat. The Energy Saving Trust estimates that a typical air source heat pump installation costs around 6,000 to 8,000. A single solar panel can cost around 350-500  while a whole system can set you back as much as 6,200.

To qualify for the full 10,000, you must be receiving at least one income-based or disability benefit, such as universal credit or disability allowance.

However, only owner-occupied homes or park homes will be eligible.

For the full list see this document by the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (PDF).

Even if you are only expected to take a small grant, it may still be worth getting the work done  the Government says you will reap the benefit by lower energy bills.

In their own example above, installing cavity wall and floor insulation could save you more than 200 a year on bills as well as reducing their home's carbon footprint by cutting 700kg of CO2 a year from your home.

How do I know which work I need?

The Government says that advice on exactly what you need to do to make your home more energy efficient will be available from its Simple Energy Advice website.

While the website  which is still in beta testing mode  will contain information about suitable home improvements, there is no requirement to follow its advice and individual homes will not be assessed.

All work must be carried out by approved TrustMark and Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) registered tradespeople and the Government is advising them to apply for accreditation so they can take part.

Homeowners will be given a list of approved local tradespeople who could carry out the work.

How do I apply for the grants?

The exact details of how to apply are yet to be revealed. But it is understood that when the process is launched, you'll need to fill out an online application, get a quote from an approved supplier and have the quote approved.

The scheme is set to go live next month and is likely to last until March.

What help can I get outside England?

Although this particular Green Homes Grant is for England only, there are various other energy efficiency schemes running across all four home nations such as Warmer Homes Scotland, the Nest scheme in Wales and Affordable Warmth Scheme in Northern Ireland.

Check your local council website to find out what schemes are available in your area.

In Scotland, Home Energy Scotland offers free advice on energy savings and helps people find funding for energy efficiency schemes, from interest-free loans, to grants, the Warm Homes Discount and Renewable Heat Incentive.

In Wales, the Nest scheme provides free home energy efficiency improvements for people on low incomes or certain medical conditions.

The Northern Ireland Sustainable Energy Programme provides funding for energy efficiency schemes across Northern Ireland.

What other help is available?

The main scheme for vulnerable and low income households is the Energy Company Obligation (ECO).

This is free or discounted work provided by the big energy companies to help reduce carbon emissions and tackle fuel poverty. You have to meet strict criteria, which typically includes claiming benefits of some kind from the Government.

The scheme is paid for by the Government but delivered by the energy firms themselves, who will factor the discount into the price you are quoted or offer the work free. The scheme is offered across the UK.

For more information, see Simple Energy Advice's website.
WASHINGTON - A congresswoman from Pennsylvania, riled by the experimental use of hydroxychloroquine in a nursing home for veterans in her home district, is among several lawmakers calling on the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to adhere to science when providing recommendations on future covid-19 treatments or vaccines.

Rep. Chrissy Houlahan, D-Pa., sent a letter late last month to the Veterans Health Administration, demanding more information about the use of anti-malarial drugs including hydroxychloroquine at veterans homes and whether the VA was actively involved in the unproven treatment. She cited the beleaguered Southeastern Veterans' Center in the suburbs of Philadelphia, which treated about 30 veterans and their spouses with hydroxychloroquine in April.

"I urge you to learn from this experience to ensure that our veterans, whether they are in the VA's care or in state veterans homes, get the best possible care based on sound science," Houlahan, an Air Force veteran, wrote in the July 28th letter.

The push comes as lawmakers continue to probe patient care at state-run homes for veterans, which receive about $1 billion in federal funding annually.

More than 700 residents in state veterans homes have died of covid-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, according to a Washington Post tally of state data. Homes in Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York have been hit particularly hard, reporting outbreaks of 30 deaths or more in some facilities.

The Southeastern Veterans' Center has reported more than 40 deaths. As residents fell ill, doctors in the home began to administer hydroxychloroquine, touted by President Donald Trump as a possible remedy for covid-19. The treatment has been shown to trigger heart problems and other serious side effects in covid-19 patients, and the Food and Drug Administration revoked an emergency-use authorization issued in late March.

The Post found that the so-called "covid cocktail" at the Southeastern Veterans' Center was administered to 11 residents who had not been tested for covid-19, as well as those with serious underlying health conditions.

The use of the drug outraged some local lawmakers, nurses at the center and the families of residents, who said the medication was given without proper oversight after weeks of breakdowns in infection control protocols at the 238-bed home.

It is unclear whether other state-run homes for veterans administered the drug. Houlahan asked the VA to provide that data; she has not yet received a response.

Teresa Boyd, the assistant undersecretary for health for clinical services at the VA, said at a House hearing last week that the department provided no specific guidance on the treatment. Medications, she said, are frequently used off-label.

Lawmakers at the hearing demanded greater accountability. At the New Jersey Veterans Home at Paramus, about 80 residents and a caregiver have died since the pandemic began. At the Massachusetts Soldiers' Home in Holyoke, an outbreak killed 76 residents and sickened more than 200 patients and staff members. The Government Accountability Office found that the home lacked staff and personal protective equipment and did not enforce social distancing.

"The idea that you had homes anywhere in the country where we didn't do everything possible to protect our veterans is not just heartbreaking, but completely unacceptable," Rep Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., whose district is home to the facility in Paramus, told The Post.

Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., said the VA should increase its presence in state-run homes and "look to the science" when recommending or administering treatments for covid-19.

"We're pushing to ensure VA can monitor and effectively mitigate outbreaks at state veterans homes," Tester, ranking member of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee, said in a statement to The Post. "And I'll be holding VA accountable in ensuring that any treatments for covid-19 are backed by scientific studies proven to work."

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., also said she is pushing for proper care in state-run homes.

"We must protect the health and safety of veterans in State Veterans Homes and other long-term care facilities using accurate science and data, not President Trump's bogus claims about drugs that are unproven to treat COVID-19," Warren said in a statement.

Sens. Tester, Warren, Edward Markey, D-Mass., and Bob Casey, D-Pa., wrote a letter to the VA in May, calling for an investigation into the quality of patient care and the department's oversight of state homes.

In her July letter, Houlahan asked whether the VA plans to provide guidance to state homes about the future use of diagnostics, therapeutics or vaccines, saying the department should learn from its experience with hydroxychloroquine

"I do worry that we're going to repeat that bad process on our most vulnerable veterans," she said. "This population deserves honor and respect and care."
09.08.2020 LISTEN

Ex-president, John Dramani Mahama has received the blessings of the Overlord of the Gonja Kingdom, His Royal Majesty Yagbonwura Tutumba Boresa 1, ahead of the December 7, 2020 elections.

The former president, whilst returning from Bole in the Savannah Region where he registered as a voter presented himself to the Overlord at the Jakpa Palace as a son of the soil, to seek his benison, guidance, and counsel before he commences his campaign tour across the country.

Speaking through his linguist, Alhaji Afuli, Yagbonwura assured the former president that the entire Gonjaland is with him in prayers, adding that, "You will return home in victory".

Whilst recognising the contributions of Ex-president Mahama to the development of Gonjaland,the king prayed for him and wished him well in the journey ahead.

In what hysterically turned out to be a rally, a mammoth crown of enthusiastic party supporters, who danced to the NDC's recomposed "Bobolibobo" thronged the Jakpa Palace to interact with the former president.

There was a roadblock by the excited party supporters who insisted the former president will not be given access road to pass until he addresses them.

Caught by surprise, Mr.Mahama was compelled to make an extemporaneous speech at the center of Damongo town.

He told the charged crowd that the wind of change is blowing everywhere across the country.

According to him, Ghanaians are turning up in their numbers to register, because they can no longer survive another four years of mismanagement and abuse of power under President Nana Addo Danquah Akuffo-Addo.

The 2016 election he noted, was designed by God to go in favor of the NPP so Ghanaians can see the difference between an honest NDC government and a deceitful NPP government.

He disclosed that the so-called sod-cutting for the Damongo Water Supply System by the sitting president a fortnight ago was a mere ploy to deceive the unsuspecting public in an attempt to win votes.

"When we were cutting sod for the Fufulso-Sawla road, you saw a contractor, you saw dozers, you saw a project site; when they were cutting the so-called sod for the water, did you see a contractor? Did you see any equipment? Did you see a site?" the former president quizzed.

The former president admonished constituents not to be swayed by money, but to cast their votes wisely to return him to the presidency and retain Adam Mutawakilu as the MP for Damongo constituency.

"When they bring the money, collect and 'chop', but on December 7, vote for people who can bring real development; Vote for JM and Garlus".
A man was shot by a Jersey City cop Friday evening after he lunged at a group of officers with a knife, authorities said.

Officers were called to 25 Hopkins Avenue shortly after 6 p.m. after they received a report of an intoxicated person fighting in the area, the Hudson County Prosecutors Office said in a statement Saturday afternoon.

Police encountered a man armed with a knife who disregarded their pleas to put it down and continued to ignore their commands even after he was sprayed with pepper spray, the office said.

The man, who was not identified, then lunged at the officers with it and one of them fired their weapon and struck him, Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez said in the statement.

The man was taken to Jersey City Medical Center for treatment but his status was not disclosed by the prosecutors office, which added that the New Jersey Attorney Generals Office was aiding in the investigation of the shooting. An attorney generals office spokesperson could not be reached for comment on the shooting.

The man who was shot was charged with aggravated assault and weapons-related offenses, the office said.

Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a voluntary subscription.

Chris Sheldon may be reached at csheldon@njadvancemedia.com.
Not too long ago, the term San Francisco Democrat was shorthand for out-of-touch liberalism, a lefty fringe that was often on the losing end of the seesaw in its own states politics, which were dominated by Southern Californias conservative Republicans and moderate Democrats.

Now, San Francisco Democrat stands for something elsea governing force that not only dominates the Golden State but has produced some of the defining figures of the Democratic Party. Nancy Pelosi is the most powerful House speaker in a generation. Dianne Feinstein is the doyenne of the Senate. Gavin Newsom, governor of California, is seen as future presidential timber.

And bidding for a spot at the top of that list is Kamala Harris, one of the highest-profile 2020 presidential contenders, and now on the shortlist of potential running mates for Joe Biden.

Longtime California political players say Harris ascendancy, from San Francisco district attorney to California attorney general to U.S. senator to presidential contender, reflects her political acumen and a sense of where the electorate is leaning. That combination of people skills and instincts allowed her to accumulate power in the Bay Area without being forced into the box of San Francisco liberal.

It is also a testament to how much Democratic politics has shifted, both in California and nationally. When Republican icon Ronald Reagan became the last Californian to occupy the White House, he launched his candidacy from the same power base that underlay his governorship: the then-conservative bastion of Orange County, which recoiled from student protests and chafed at the states high property taxes. Harris climb to national prominence, from Berkeley to San Francisco district attorney to California attorney general, was fueled by a different formula, and one thats becoming key to understanding American political power: A combination of social and environmental progressivism, leavened by a commitment to economic growth through innovation.

Story continues

In part, the San Francisco ascendancy is due to a shift in the politics of the largest state, as California has changed from a mixed electorate to deep blue. Local candidates used to struggle to break out of Bay Area politics. No longer. The leap from Bay Area to statewide now is much different than it was 30 years ago, because California has changed, said Rose Kapolczynski, a Democratic strategist who ran the campaigns of former Sen. Barbara Boxer, who hailed from Marin County in the Bay Area. Its become so reliably Democratic in statewide races that your progressive credentials are a benefit, not a drawback.

The dominance of San Francisco politicians in Californiawith its vast media and fundraising resourcesgive them a natural launching pad for national leadership. It helps that the very issues that once defined San Francisco as the lefty fringe of the Democratic Party are now close to the center of the partys national platformand, in some cases, go unchallenged by Republicans.

In 1984, when the Republicans nominated Reagan for a second term, the very words San Francisco Democrat, became a derisive refrain at their convention. In the rough parlance of the times, being a San Francisco Democrat was synonymous with concern for criminal defendants (in the city that was the setting for Reagans favorite film, Dirty Harry), pot use, gay rights, peace protests, cracking down on corporate polluters and a post-hippie culture shockingly, outrageously at odds with the rest of America.

Now, in President Donald Trumps America, gay marriage is so widely accepted that even the Republican president doesnt oppose it, his foreign policy is based around curbing endless wars, both parties agree on reducing mandatory minimum sentences for criminals and marijuana is legal across much of the country. Meanwhile, California has become the envy of many national Democrats for its aggressive fight against climate change, which is supported even by some Golden State Republicans.

The leaders of San Franciscos Democratic Party have adapted themselves to being at the forefront of the national agenda. Newsom, whose career arc has long been intertwined with Harris, was ahead of the national curve in presiding over gay marriages and enforcing emissions curbs as mayor of San Francisco. Newsom is seen in the Bay Area as a business-friendly centrist, and his easy 2018 gubernatorial victory helped prove that, as Kapolczynski put it, 30 years ago, being mayor of San Francisco was not helpful statewide. Now its not a liability.

In ways, Harris has had an easier time avoiding reductionist portrayals than fellow San Francisco politicians like Newsom. While she was reared in deep-blue Berkeleythe college town that is still remembered for being a hotbed of protest in the 1960s and 70sand first won elected office across the bay in San Francisco, it was as district attorney. She was not signing or voting on bills, which in some ways inoculated her from the policy battles that consume San Francisco politicians.

First and foremost is she started out as a prosecutor, and thats not a typical resume for a Bay Area politician to take on to a bigger stage, said Douglas Herman, a California consultant who ran a pro-Harris PAC during her U.S. Senate run. Its antithetical to form.

Kamala Harris, as San Francisco District Attorney, in April 2010.

Thats not to say Harris floated above the fray. A longtime political hand, Brian Brokaw, argued that her background positioned her well for a long career by posing an early test of her toughness.

From a political standpoint, theres a reason so many successful statewide elected officials have come out of the Bay Area, and thats because Bay Area politics is a contact sport, Brokaw said. San Francisco is not California. Most of the population is Democratic and the fights are between the progressives and the moderates, and I say that in quotes. The battles are mostly civil wars, but you have to be able to navigate that sort of dynamic.

Navigating those tumultuous waters isnt just a matter of policy. It also requires forging interpersonal ties, and people who have known and worked with Harris said she had the ability to sustain relationships even in the rough-and-tumble of an insular political culture.

San Francisco is a tough town for a politician, and to make it through San Francisco, you have to have thick skin and the ability to move forward after disagreements, said Shawnda Westly, former executive director of the California Democratic Party, adding she lets bygones be bygones for sure.

At one time, San Franciscos insularity condemned its politicians to a parochial career. Now, however, its very competitiveness has made it a crucial proving ground for Democrats, and a launching pad for political talent, much the way Boston was in the heyday of the Kennedys, Tip O'Neill, Michael Dukakis and John Kerry, and the way it continues to be for leaders like Elizabeth Warren.

And much like Boston, San Francisco has grown vastly wealthier over the decades, adding to its clout.

The transformation of San Francisco politics over the past four decades has paralleled the emergence of neighboring Silicon Valley as the worlds technology hub. Suddenly, a corner of America that was once known for its quixotic causes and willingness to dissent from the mainstream was very much at the vanguard of the 21st century economy. The quaint city by the bay was also the global tech capital, and much of the power and accountability that goes along with global economic leadership took root in San Francisco.

For politicians like Feinstein, Pelosi, Newsom and Harris, the Bay Area served as a goldmine of campaign cash. That made it relatively easy to finance statewide campaigns in the largest and most expensive market in the country, but alsoin the case of Pelosi, especiallyto help spread the wealth among Democrats across the country, helping to attract a national following.

At the same time, longtime observers said, San Francisco Democrats became loath to offend the tech moguls who propelled the local economy, providing a business-friendly counterpoint to their social and environmental liberalism. In the Bay Area of the 21st century, economic growth and social progress could made ahead, arm in arm. Suddenly, San Francisco liberalism didnt seem so quirky anymoreor, for that matter, so liberal anymore.

Harris, in particular, has demonstrated an ability to appeal to liberal voting blocs, both in San Francisco and statewide, without alienating moderate allies or inviting critics to pigeonhole her. That manifested most starkly in her prosecutorial career, when she overcame the opposition of law enforcement groups to win office.

As San Francisco district attorney, she declined to seek the death penalty for a cop killer. In that post and as state attorney general, she enacted some progressive reforms while falling short of the desires of some liberal votersmollifying some of her base without excessively antagonizing the law-and-order forces that tend to be critical to the longevity of elected prosecutors.

Part of the reason she has been so effective is shes realized in order to get big things done you have to find partners. The police unions spent hundreds of thousands if not more than that opposing her when she was running for attorney general, Brokaw said. Then she won, and she recognized in order to get done a lot of the big policy changes she wanted to see through, she wanted to bring some of the people who opposed her in as partners.

That hasnt always worked to Harris benefit. During the presidential primary, she drew ample criticism from liberal voters who distrusted her law enforcement record and her advocacy for an anti-truancy bill that some believed scapegoated some minority parents. Criminal justice reform advocates fault her for not pushing for state legislation to have independent prosecutors investigate police shootingsa position she now supports. They notice that she opposed marijuana legalization before she supported it.

To her critics, that can look like political opportunism. But it has also earned her admiration from those who see has as a prescient political tactician. Republican consultant Tim Rosales recounted then-district attorney Harris opposing a 2008 ballot initiative to reduce criminal penalties. After having played it cool at first, Rosales said, Harris helped provide a lot of credibility in the Bay Area by joining the opposition as it gained momentum. It was the type of savvy move that Rosales said served Harris well in her career.

I think what has been really instructive about her is she has been able to cultivate this broad-based appeal in California thats much greater than just being identified with San Francisco. Thats something that I think was true in 2008, its true now and its been true throughout her political career, Rosales said. She doesnt fit neatly into any one box. ... She has had law enforcement support in the past, she is certainly someone who draws support from the progressive side as wellshes really able to negotiate some of those political silos better than most.

Observers argue Harris shed the Bay Area association long ago as she built out a statewide political network that powered multiple California runs. Shes long had a home in Los Angeles tony Brentwood area. Unlike Pelosi, Brokaw argued, the consummate San Francisco politician for whom the San Francisco liberal broadside has been hammered on her by Republicans for so long thats part of her brand, Harris is not very easily stereotyped into being just one brand of politician.

When she ran for U.S. Senate in 2016, Harris was viewed as the liberal option in a Democrat-on-Democrat general election matchup with Rep. Loretta Sanchez, a self-described moderate from Orange County. But even in a race that lacked a Republican alternative, Harris was able to win in more-conservative counties that otherwise went for Trump.

I think what a lot of people overlook about California is that we are a microcosm of the nation. We have rural areas, we have Trump areas, we have urban, tons of suburban areas, Westly said. Even though shes from San Francisco, she was able to put together a statewide campaign where she took 23 of 25 Trump counties. That says something as to who she is and what shes capable of.

Since winning election to the Senate, and especially since launching her failed presidential run, Harris has become identified with the left. She has become a fiery antagonist of the Trump administration while backing progressive causes like "Medicare for All" and health care for undocumented immigrants. She forcefully argues for prosecuting wayward police officers, including by fortifying the nations use-of-force standard.

But in the end, Kapolczynski, the Democratic strategist, argued, its likely that Harris elevation to the presidential ticket would be more of a tribute to her personal qualitiesloyalty, character, campaigning ability and the resonance of having an African American woman on the ballotthan the positions she took or the cases she prosecuted in her past roles.

Shes leaping over all the barriers that are usually in the way of a liberal Californian running for president, Kapolczynski said. She wont have to defend her progressive record because Bidens agenda will be the subject of debate, not the Harris agenda. Vice presidential nominees are subject to scrutiny of course, but fundamentally its not their agenda and their record thats the subject of debate, so its a perfect pathway.
The Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu ll on Saturday, August 1, 2020, commissioned Greenhouse Farms under the Government of Ghana's 'Youth In Greenhouse Enterprise Project (YuGEP)' in Kumasi.



Speaking to the gathering, the elated King of Ashanti said, "I believe this program from Exim Bank Ghana is timely and will address the unattractiveness of farming, especially to the youth". He added that "It is unfortunate that Ghana imports huge volumes of vegetables each year and I am hopeful that this Greenhouse technology will reverse the trend" `



The Chancellor of KNUST advised the young graduates, beneficiaries of the program to consider the unique opportunity given them to build their future and not be led by money. The revered King urged them to seize the opportunity given them and excel to change the narrative on farming in Ghana.



The Project, which includes constructing 100 Greenhouses across the country, is aimed at reducing vegetable importation, promoting investment in greenhouse vegetable production, as well as to create rural employment for the youth. Ghana Exim Bank is financing the program and being implemented by Agri-Impact Consult, a leading Agribusiness firm Africa. The government of Ghana is targeting to reduce vegetable importation into Ghana, which is estimated at over $150 Million per year.



The Asantehene thanked the Exim Bank Ghana for financing the Project and commended Agri Impact Consult for leading the charge in implementing the program. He highlighted the role technology plays in the world and believes the Greenhouse Technology will boost vegetable production. Otumfuo appreciated the vast potential the Project has for youth job creation, import substitution, and supply of healthy vegetables for Ghanaians. He used the occasion to appeal for more investment into greenhouses and further expansion of the ten greenhouses at KNUST.



Present were Mr. Bright Darko, General Manager, Ghana Exim Bank, Dan Fahene Acquaye, CEO of Agri Impact Limited, Sarfo Abraham, former Advisor to AU, Prof Rita Akosua Dickson, the New Vice-Chancellor of KNUST and Prof Obiri Danso, immediate past Vice-Chancellor

Source: Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









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

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For development of new India, entire nation needs to progress: PM Modi to BJP workers

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New Delhi, Aug 09: Prime Minister Modi on Sunday said that for the development of a new India, the entire nation needs to progress. He also said that the government's work should reach out to the last person at the end of the development ladder.

Addressing Bharatiya Janata Party workers of Andaman and Nicobar Islands via video conferencing, Modi said "for the development of New India, the entire nation needs to progress. The government may function from a specific point, but its work should reach out to everyone and more importantly, to the person at the end of the ladder."

PM Modi launches financing facility under Agriculture Infrastructure Fund

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"Be it a pandemic or any other problem, we all have to work together and stay connected with the people. We have to provide assistance to all," he added.

"India is fortunate that we have various things in different areas which can be developed. In Andaman and Nicobar, we are going to lay emphasis on industries related to sea-food, organic products and coconut-based products," he said.

"Andaman and Nicobar Islands contributed in India's struggle for Independence. It will also play a key role in Aatmanirbhar Bharat and the security and growth of New India," PM Modi further added.

"I'm sure that high-speed broadband connectivity that will be launched tomorrow will help people of Andaman and Nicobar Islands to have a virtual connect with other parts of the country. Everyone will be able to avail the benefits of all kinds of online services, amid pandemic," PM Modi said.
It brings the total to 532 since Thursday - when a record 235 migrants crossed

Some 151 migrants made it to the UK across the English Channel in 24 hours

More than 500 migrants have crossed the English Channel to the UK in just three days, including a toddler today, as it was revealed France is expected to demand 30million to help stem the flow of migrants across the Channel.

Another 151 migrants made the dangerous crossing on Saturday, bringing the total the number to arrive in the UK to 532 since Thursday and 4,000 since the start of this year.

Up to 12 migrants, including a small child, were seen being brought ashore in Dover earlier this morning aboard patrol boat Speedwell.

French authorities are also said to be active in the Channel today.

Groups of migrants were seen being brought ashore in Dover yesterday, just a few hundred metres away from where beachgoers basked in the roasting 33C sunshine.

Individuals wearing blankets and lifejackets were seen arriving in Dover aboard a Border Force boat on Saturday afternoon, while others were reported to have landed on Kent beaches.

The latest landings come as it was revealed France is expected to demand 30million to help stem the flow of migrants across the Channel.

A source today told The Telegraph French officials have asked the UK to pay the staggering figure to help fund more beach patrols.

A mother is reunited with he child as migrants, believed to have been picked up from boats in the Channel, are process by Border Patrol officers

More than 500 migrants have crossed the English Channel to the UK in just three days as the Border Force tackles an unprecedented surge in crossings from France

Another 151 migrants made the dangerous crossing on Saturday, bringing the total the number to 532 since Thursday. Pictured: Migrants are led to shore

They were seen being brought ashore in Dover, just a few hundred metres away from where beachgoers basked in the roasting 33C sunshine

Individuals wearing blankets and lifejackets were seen arriving in Dover aboard a Border Force boat on Saturday afternoon, while others were reported to have landed on Kent beaches. Pictured: A Border Force official carries a migrant child

Home Secretary Priti Patel yesterday appointed a former Royal Marine to the role of 'clandestine Channel threat commander'. Pictured: A Border Force vessel brings in a group of migrants to Dover

As a former Royal Marines Commando who served in Iraq and Kosovo, it is hoped Dan O'Mahoney can stop organised gangs smuggling people across the channel from Calais. Pictured: A Border Force vessel brings a group of migrants into Dover

Ms Patel's Home Office has been accused of having 'lost control' after a new single-day record for migrant crossings was set on Thursday - when a 235 arrived in 17 vessels in one day. Pictured: A Border Force official with a migrant in Dover

Migrants are brought to shore in Dover after a number of small boats were intercepted in the Channel today

Under new plans Royal Navy and Border Force vessels would pick up migrants and take them to Dunkirk, northern France, rather than offering refuge in the UK. Pictured: Migrants wearing face coverings arrive in Dover

Meanwhile, Home Secretary Priti Patel yesterday appointed a former Royal Marine to the role of 'clandestine Channel threat commander'.

As a former Royal Marines Commando who served in Iraq and Kosovo, it is hoped Dan O'Mahoney can stop organised gangs smuggling people across the channel from Calais.

Mr O'Mahoney said: 'This role is vitally important in the fight to end the heinous crime of people smuggling across the Channel.'

Ms Patel's Home Office has been accused of having 'lost control' after a new single-day record for migrant crossings was set on Thursday - when a 235 arrived in 17 vessels in one day.

One refugee charity boss also described the government's handling of the situation as 'increasingly chaotic'.

It comes as the Home Office yesterday also made a formal request for support from the Royal Navy to deal with migrants attempting to cross the English Channel in small boats.

Under new plans Royal Navy and Border Force vessels would pick up migrants and take them to Dunkirk, northern France, rather than offering refuge in the UK.

The idea will be presented to the French government in Paris on Tuesday.

In a statement, the MoD said: 'We are assessing the requirement using the formal Military Aid to the Civilian Authorities process and are working hard to identify how we can most effectively assist.

The latest landings come as it was revealed France is expected to demand 30million to help stem the flow of migrants across the Channel. Pictured: Migrants are bought into Dover

Ms Patel's Home Office has been accused of having 'lost control' after a new single-day record for migrant crossings was set on Thursday - when a 235 arrived in 17 vessels in one day. Pictured: A view showing dinghies being stored at Dover harbour

Individuals wearing blankets and lifejackets were seen arriving in Dover aboard a Border Force boat (pictured) on Saturday afternoon, while others were reported to have landed on Kent beaches

'As ever the MoD will do all it can to support HMG requirements.'

Ms Patel said: 'The number of illegal small boat crossings is appalling.

'We are working to make this route unviable and arresting the criminals facilitating these crossings and making sure they are brought to justice.

'Dan's appointment is vital to cutting this route by bringing together all operational partners in the UK and in France.'

A group of migrants attempting to cross the channel in a dinghy were picked up by the National Gendarmerie and taken back to Calais today

A toddler (pictured) was carried to safety by the Border Force as officials work around the clock amid a sharp rise in the number of people making the treacherous journey

Other images showed a suspected migrant being pushed along in a wheelchair by officials in Dover

Four men, some using shovels as paddles, use a small dinghy to cross the English Channel on August 7

The youngster was carried from a boat containing at least six others. There appeared to be other young children on board

Border Force officers escort a group of men - believed to be migrants - all wearing protective face masks in Dover

Border Force vessel brings a group of people - including children - thought to be migrants into the port city of Dover

Britain has so far paid more than 100million to fund the French response to the migrant crisis.

In 2015, the UK paid 10million towards security reviews and reducing the number of migrants waiting to cross.

Another 17 million was paid in 2016, 36 million in 2017, 45 million in 2018, 3.25 million in 2019 and 2.25 million this year up until March.

It comes as more than 4,000 migrants have already made the crossing to the UK so far this year - more than double the total for 2019.

The recent heatwave and calm seas have encouraged more boats than ever to cross the vast 84km expanse of water.

A wheelchair user, a pregnant woman, unaccompanied children and a newborn baby were among the latest to arrive this week.

Officials are already disagreeing over whether millions more should be paid to help tackle the growing issue.

Tim Loughton MP, the senior Conservative member of the Home Affairs select Committee which monitors immigration for Parliament, told the newspaper: 'It is pretty rich for the French to be demanding yet more money from UK taxpayers to deal with a problem that they have singularly failed to deal with on their own territory.'

Border Force officer escorts a young family thought to be migrants from a Border Force vessel in Doveron Friday

A tiny baby was spotted on Thursday morning arriving in Dover with its family after crossing the Channel in a dinghy - carried in what appears to be a gym bag

Migrants were photographed using shovels to paddle their boats (pictured) and some have used paddling pools instead of proper vessels

Meanwhile, a senior French government official blasted the accusation as a 'fantasy'.

They said: 'The simple fact is that a huge amount of work is successfully being put into stopping these crossings.'

Mr Wallace has agreed to tell advisers to put together a military response that could include using Archer class fast patrol boats off the south coast.

US-made P-8A Poseidon Maritime Patrol Aircraft, drones and helicopters could also spot migrants from the French coast so they can be intercepted by UK vessels.

The plan will be presented by Chris Philp, the Minister for Immigration Compliance, at a meeting with French interior minister Gerald Darmanin.

The group of weary migrants attempted to cross the channel by dinghy. They are pictured being escorted back to France

The National Gendarmerie escorted the migrants back to France after they tried to cross the channel

Pictures yesterday emerged of a toddler being carried to safety by the Border Force from a boat containing at least six others. There appeared to be other young children on board the vessel as it docked in Dover.

Other images showed a migrant being pushed along in a wheelchair by officials in Dover.

On current trends, around 7,500 migrants will cross the Channel by the end of the year, according to an analysis of official figures by Migrationwatch.

This would be nearly four times the 1,892 that entered the UK via the crossing in the whole of 2019, the campaign group projected.

Almost 4,000 migrants have crossed the Channel to the UK so far this year. Pictured: Children are picked up by the Border Force vessel Hunter after being brought into Dover, Kent on small boats crossing the English Channel on Friday

Kent county council has seen more than 500 unaccompanied child migrants, 23 of which came in on Thursday alone.

Council leader Roger Gough told The Times: 'Numbers started picking up last year with young people coming through in lorries. Then with the shutdown and disruption to freight channels, there was much more reliance on boats.

'We do not want a situation when there are adults in a setting with children and young people.

Immigration still too high  poll More than half of Britons think immigration is still too high despite years of Tory promises to bring it down, a study said yesterday. It warned Boris Johnson that if his points-based immigration system allows a wave of mass immigration, then voters will turn against him. The study from the Migration Watch UK think-tank said most recent polling found that 54 per cent think immigration has been too high over the past decade. Only 5 per cent think it has been too low. And more than six in ten said they believe the Government has been mishandling immigration policies. The analysis found that fears over the effects of large-scale immigration became a major concern after Tony Blair opened the doors to millions from both inside and outside the European Union. Worries declined after David Cameron came to power in 2010 promising to cut immigration back to 1990s levels and subsided further after the 2016 Brexit referendum. The report said: 'Most continue to have strong views about a perceived lack of effective immigration control.' Advertisement

Ministers are said to be considering using Australia's 'push back' method - a tactic used to stop illegal migrants arriving from Indonesia - according to sources.

It would involve using the navy to intercept migrant boats in the channel.

But some are concerned that such drastic interventions could lead to drownings - with some questioning whether the move would be legal in the first place.

One source in the Defence Ministry said it was 'completely potty' to get the navy involved, The Times reported.

One group of 14 migrants - including a heavily pregnant woman - managed to land on the Kent coast this morning and came ashore in the village of Kingsdown, near Deal.

Officers were seen taking away possessions in evidence bags as the migrants sat on the pebbles looking tired after completing their journey.

Two other groups reportedly landed at Folkestone and Deal while multiple boats were brought into Dover Marina on what is expected to be another busy day for Border Force officials.

A second extra large customs cutter was drafted in to help deal with people making the treacherous 21-mile journey across the world's busiest shipping route.

The Dover Lifeboat did not return to the marina until shortly before 8pm on Friday after being called out to more migrants in trouble at 4.30pm.

Their first call out was at around 3.30am and the crew were back at sea at 9am today with crossings expected to continue until at least midday.

It comes after more than 130 migrants were picked up in 13 small boats on Friday.

On Thursday, 235 people landed or were brought ashore from boats in the English Channel, a record number for a single day.

In some cases, makeshift flotation devices have been created out of household items.

The fleet of dinghies included a a girl aged around eight, another around 10 as well as at least five large groups of adults in the Kent town

A group of people thought to be migrants were escorted by Border Force staff into Dover

A man was found with empty lemonade bottles strapped to his body just four miles off the French coast in a highly-dangerous bid to swim to Britain.

In another shocking case, a group tried to get to the other side of the channel in a children's paddling pool while some have tried wooden boats or kayaks.

Harrowing images of children wearing lifevests being picked up by the Border Force vessel Hunter after being brought into Dover, Kent, on a small boat emerged this week.

Home Secretary Ms Patel has said the Royal Navy could be called in to prevent boats reaching UK waters, though other senior officials and politicians say that could be impractical and potentially dangerous.

She tweeted: The number of illegal small boat crossings is appalling and unacceptably high.

'The figures are shameful. France and other EU states are safe countries. Genuine refugees should claim asylum there, not risk their lives and break the law by coming to the UK.

Pictured: A swimmer crosses the English Channel as, in the background, a dinghy carrying migrants is escorted by French border police on Friday

'I am working to make this route unviable. This involves: Stopping the boats leaving France in the first place and intercepting boats and returning those attempting to make a crossing.

'This is complex to do and we face serious legislative, legal and operational barriers.'

But Labour former home secretary Jack Straw said any move modelled on Australia's controversial 'push-back' approach could have deadly consequences.

'I don't think that just trying to push these people back is going to work and it will only take one of these dinghies to capsize and everybody to drown, which is perfectly feasible, for their to be a hullabaloo, including in the Conservative Party, and for the policy to have to be reversed, so I wouldn't go down that route,' he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

Border Force chief Tony Smith said extra resources may not solve the problem as the Navy would 'be in the same boat as Border Force in terms of policy. The only powers we have are search and rescue and that is what we have been doing'.

He said that dangerous crossings of the Channel by boat will continue without an agreement with the French to return migrants.

Dover Tory MP Natalie Elphicke said it was 'absolutely essential' to stop the continued migrant crossings and said 'all options need to be on the table' to keep them from arriving from France, including the Navy

He said smugglers are exploiting a 'loophole' in the law of the sea which obliges vessels to rescue people once they enter the waters of their jurisdiction.

'I think it can be overcome by bilateral agreements, we've done that before with the French.

'Once you're on the waterways the law of the sea kicks in and we haven't, without a bilateral agreement on instant returns or joint patrols with the French, which would enable us to safely return them to France to be processed, we're going to see I'm afraid continual numbers of this.

'And we need to find a way of breaking this circle and stopping the pull factor which is fuelling the smuggling supply chains.'

Among Friday's illegal arrivals there was a group of 12 men in their 20s, who were on a small vessel that was intercepted by Border Force officers

Former Royal Navy officer Rear Admiral Chris Parry said 'innovative solutions' like using unemployed passenger liners to re-route migrants are needed.

He said: 'We don't have to take them back to dry land. There's any number of unemployed passenger liners on the south coast at the moment, they could actually be taken there for processing for medical assessment and then onward routing either back to France or to the United Kingdom.

'I think people need to understand that the old ways are just not cutting it at the moment and we need to apply innovative solutions.'

But Mr Smith said: 'Once they are under our jurisdiction we will immediately face asylum claims.

The number who have reached Britain so far this year is now already double the total who arrived in the whole of 2019

'Without that agreement from the French to actually interdict people on the high seas and take them back to France the message is getting back to the migrants and to the smugglers that this is the way in and that does create a huge pull factor.

'We could see something very similar to what we saw in the Mediterranean three or four years ago where the word will get out that all you need to do is get out on to the English Channel, you will be brought into the UK and it's very unlikely you'll be returned.'

MP for Dover Natalie Elphicke said more needs to be done to stop the crossings.

She said: 'Putting an end to the small boats crossings crisis will only happen when migrants and traffickers alike know that they won't succeed in breaking Britain in this way.

'For me that has three parts: firstly making sure that the boats don't leave France in the first place, if they do leave French shores that they're picked up early, and returned immediately to France and if people do break into our country and arrive on our shores that they are turned back to France.'

A border force vessel brought the group into Dover today after 130 people made the perilous crossing on Friday

Asked about speculation that Ms Patel was considering drafting in the Navy, Ms Elphicke said: 'There's some discussion about the Navy, and what I'd say is that as we've gone into this record number of people crossing over this year all options need to be on the table.

'But whoever it is that's involved what we must make sure is that boats are deployed not to bring people into this country but to return them to France and for the French to do more to make sure that those boats don't leave in the first place.'

Ms Elphicke said the UK has an 'incredibly important' role in humanitarian and asylum issues around the world.

She added: 'What I don't agree with is that we should be encouraging or allowing illegal people trafficking that actually preys on some of the most vulnerable people and puts them at risk of their very lives.

'What we've seen here in Kent, here in Dover and Deal, is we've seen an unacceptable situation of small boats actually arriving at the beaches, of people getting off those boats and roaming round the area and that's very, very worrying and concerning for local residents.'

It comes as migrants crossing the Channel were seen using makeshift flotation devices including lemonade bottles to make the dangerous journey.

UK ministers plead with France to get tough on Channel migrants amid warning that 7,500 could cross by Christmas UK ministers have pleaded with France to get tough on migrants crossing the Channel to Britain after figures suggest that 7,500 migrants could cross by Christmas. Almost 4,000 migrants have crossed the Channel to the UK so far this year, according to analysis of Border Force figures. This is thought to be more than double the total for the whole of 2019 where fewer than 2,000 are believed to have arrived in the country. On current trends, around 7,500 migrants will cross the Channel by the end of the year, according to an analysis of official figures by Migrationwatch. This would be nearly four times the 1,892 that entered the UK via the crossing in the whole of 2019, the campaign group projected. Advertisement

Migrants were photographed using shovels to paddle their boats and some have used paddling pools instead of proper vessels.

Clare Moseley of the Care4Calais charity told The Times: 'The people who do not have money, and not everybody can pay people smugglers, are seeing others getting across and are getting more and more desperate that they will be left out.

'They try kayaks, wooden rowing boats. It is terrifying.'

Lucy Moreton, professional officer of the Immigration Service Union, said: 'Prices for crossing have fallen but for some people an average price of around 4,000 per crossing per individual is too much.'

Ms Elphicke's fellow local Tory MP Damian Collins said the number of migrants crossing the Channel is 'shamefully high' and 'unacceptable' for his constituents.

Speaking on Channel 4 News, Mr Collins, who represents Folkestone and Hythe, said: 'It's good to have more observation at sea and more ships that can intervene if there's a problem, but having the Navy there doesn't mean we can suddenly intercept migrants in French territorial waters any more than we would let the French navy conduct operations within ours.'

Mr Collins said: 'It's clearly unacceptable for my constituents and for other people on the south-east coast to think that our borders are open, that anyone can get in a small boat, whoever they are, and make their way to the UK illegally.

'Having the Navy in the Channel is great, but it won't solve the problem unless they can patrol French waters and at the moment there is no agreement that they can.'

The Home Secretary's spokesman said the 'fantastic weather' was behind the surge despite ongoing efforts to prevent them while Immigration Minister Chris Philp said he shares 'the anger and frustration of the public' at the 'appalling number' of crossings.

Mr Philp is to visit France next week to speak with counterparts following a 'constructive' meeting with the country's deputy ambassador earlier this week.

The fleet of dinghies included a girl aged around eight, another about 10, as well as at least five large groups of adults in the Kent town.

The children, some too young to walk, were picked up by the Border Force vessel Hunter and taken into a white tent at the marina at 12.15pm.

Some of the adults - who appeared mainly to be men - carried their possessions in plastic bags before they were processed.

ABUL TAHER: 'Now you pay one fee and they'll keep putting you on a boat till you succeed in getting to Britain', say determined migrants waiting at the new Jungle camp in Calais

Sitting cross-legged outside makeshift shelters, the men pore excitedly over tide charts, trying to plot the most favourable time to cross the English Channel.

The new Jungle camp in Calais, a scrubby field near the main hospital, is a kind of tented waiting room.

So few made it to Britain from the infamous old encampment, which closed in 2016, that it became synonymous with despair.

But this shanty town resonates with hope and anticipation. It is possible to get across, newcomers are told.

More than possible. Large numbers make it every day: all you have to do is wait  and eventually you will be called.

Large numbers of refugees try and make the crossing every day. These days passage to England is going comparatively cheaply  as little as 350 in some cases

These days passage to England is going comparatively cheaply  as little as 350 in some cases.

By far the toughest journey the migrants make is the one to Calais, and every day brings new arrivals, from Syria, Iraq, Sudan and Egypt.

How different to a few years ago when it was the final leg that seemed so hopelessly beyond reach.

UK ministers plead with France to get tough on Channel migrants amid warning that 7,500 could cross by Christmas UK ministers have pleaded with France to get tough on migrants crossing the Channel to Britain after figures suggest that 7,500 migrants could cross by Christmas. Almost 4,000 migrants have crossed the Channel to the UK so far this year, according to analysis of Border Force figures. This is thought to be more than double the total for the whole of 2019 where fewer than 2,000 are believed to have arrived in the country. On current trends, around 7,500 migrants will cross the Channel by the end of the year, according to an analysis of official figures by Migrationwatch. This would be nearly four times the 1,892 that entered the UK via the crossing in the whole of 2019, the campaign group projected. Advertisement

Back then, I watched migrants try, night after night, to jump on to moving trains, a perilous enterprise with a pitifully low success rate.

Now, however, even if a migrant fails the first time and his boat is intercepted, he has only to keep trying until he gets it right.

Though it is far from risk-free, in most cases he  or she  will do so.

Best of all, explains Sajid Ali Khan, 21, from Lahore, Pakistan, you pay only one fee.

Khan was a mechanic in Germany for two years but when his work permit was not renewed, he came to Calais to make his way to Britain where he has friends.

There were 13 of us, from all different countries, including four women with children, he tells me. Barely had the boat travelled a mile across the Channel when the French coastguard appeared. After being returned to France, the migrants were released without arrest.

Normally, when migrants are intercepted they are detained for at least 24 hours and fingerprinted to see which European country they have come from so they can be deported back to that country under the Dublin Agreement.

But Khan says: They just let us go and so I will try again. We paid 2,000 euros [1,800] to the Iranians who say they will put me on a boat as many times as it is needed to get across to England. They are telling the truth because I know others have got across this way.

A concrete path from the Calais hospital roundabout takes you to the new Jungle, its entrance guarded by a Police Nationale van. Everywhere there are charred circles from bonfires, many left by those who are now in England.

Trees with mangled branches torn for firewood dot the camp and yesterday I heard loud singing in Arabic and Farsi, a stark contrast to the subdued tension of the 2016 camp.

Local charities estimate that around 1,500 migrants live in Calais, all of whom are set on making their way to Britain. Others, mainly from Ethiopia, Eritrea and Chad, occupy a disused industrial park on Rue des Garennes, two miles away.

The new Jungle camp in Calais, a scrubby field near the main hospital, is a kind of tented waiting room

Back at the new Jungle, Khan laughs at plans to use the Royal Navy to stop migrants. If they make it harder in one way, we will find another way, he says, sipping coffee and munching on bread supplied by a local charity which provides three meals per day.

Next to him stands Abebe Haile, 34, an Ethiopian from the capital Addis Ababa, who claims to have fled death threats issued because he was an opposition politician.

Immigration still too high  poll More than half of Britons think immigration is still too high despite years of Tory promises to bring it down, a study said yesterday. It warned Boris Johnson that if his points-based immigration system allows a wave of mass immigration, then voters will turn against him. The study from the Migration Watch UK think-tank said most recent polling found that 54 per cent think immigration has been too high over the past decade. Only 5 per cent think it has been too low. And more than six in ten said they believe the Government has been mishandling immigration policies. The analysis found that fears over the effects of large-scale immigration became a major concern after Tony Blair opened the doors to millions from both inside and outside the European Union. Worries declined after David Cameron came to power in 2010 promising to cut immigration back to 1990s levels and subsided further after the 2016 Brexit referendum. The report said: 'Most continue to have strong views about a perceived lack of effective immigration control.' Advertisement

The British Government should welcome us, not refuse us, he says. Ask her [Home Secretary Priti Patel] when she wears clothes, where does the cotton come from? When she drinks coffee, where that comes from?

'Its from Africa. They should respect us. We will keep trying no matter what.

His determination is typical of other at the camp.

According to official figures, more than 3,500 migrants have reached the UK this year from Calais, including a record of 235 in 17 boats last Thursday.

On Friday, 130 arrived aboard 13 boats and more than 2,000 entered the country using this route in June alone  more than four times the known total of 500 for the whole of 2018.

Back in the new Jungle, migrants use trees as clothes lines, draping jeans, T-shirts and even Islamic prayer mats across the branches to dry.

The ground below is littered with food and carrier bags full of rubbish.

Poppy Cleary, a British volunteer working for charity LAuberge des Migrants, rejects the charge that organisations like hers encourage migrants to converge on Calais.

They are leaving their homes because their countries are being bombed. They are refugees. What is wrong with providing some food, shelter and water to drink on such a hot day? she says.

As we walk across the uneven ground, a group of Syrians rise from beneath their tarpaulin and surround me.

Abu Amir, 31, says he is from the war-torn city of Aleppo and has been in Calais for ten months. He was a pharmacist in Syria and believes he will be able to resume that career if he can get to Britain.

The agents can put you on a boat for 350 euros. I have already done it once, but I was caught. I will try again, he says.

He is dismissive when told that it is difficult to become a legal resident in the UK and fulfilling his dream of becoming a pharmacist may prove impossible.

There is nothing here in France, he says. I know there is security and work in Britain.
The huge ammonium nitrate explosion in Beirut's port that devastated much of the city left a crater 43 metres (141 feet) deep, a security official said Sunday.

"The explosion in the port left a crater 43 meters deep" Tuesday, the official told AFP, citing reports by French experts conducting an assessment of the disaster area.
The Taipei 101 skyscraper, China's Taiwan region. /VCG

By Zhou Wenxing

Editor's note: Zhou Wenxing is an adjunct research fellow at Shang Dao Institute for Social Research and a Joint-PhD graduate of Shanghai Jiao Tong University and Harvard University. He writes on topics pertaining to the Taiwan issue and China-U.S. relations. The article reflects the author's opinions, and not necessarily the views of CGTN.

A high-level delegation led by Alex Azar, U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, arrived in Taiwan on August 9 and will meet with the region's leader Tsai Ing-wen and other senior officials during the three-day visit. A move showcasing closer U.S. connections with Taiwan, Azar's travel is another step to provoke China while the Sino-U.S. relations deteriorate. As the pandemic rages on, the move reveals the Trump administration's multiple calculations.

Firstly, it's a substantial step toward the implementation of the Taiwan Travel Act enacted in March 2018. Azar's travel to Taiwan set the new record as the highest-level sitting official to visit the region since 1979 when the U.S. switched its diplomatic recognition to the Chinese mainland. This further undermines the "one China" policy to which the previous U.S. administrations adhered.

Secondly, it suggests the U.S. is helping "independence" in the name of containing the pandemic. U.S. politicians, including the Secretary of State Michael Pompeo, praised Taiwan as "a model of transparency and cooperation in global health during the COVID-19 pandemic" while blaming the Chinese mainland and seeking to hold it accountable for the alleged faults in the pandemic outbreak.

Under the guidance of the Taiwan Allies International Protection and Enhancement Initiative (TAIPEI) Act of 2019, the U.S. offered much support to Taiwan, which encourages the Taiwan authorities to reject the Chinese mainland on the one hand and improves its desire to expand the "international space" on the other.

The third reason behind U.S. decision to dispatch a high-level cabinet secretary to Taiwan is to persuade the island to create an alternative to the World Health Organization (WHO). According to U.S. media reports, the White House is now considering establishing a "WHO 2.0" based on the Joint United National Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), which was created in the mid-1990s because of growing discontent with WHO's handling with AIDS/HIV.

WHO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. /Reuters

The Trump administration's efforts, pushed hard by China hawks like Pompeo, to build a value- and ideology-based united front against China also contribute to this visit. A long-time "offshore rebuke" for the U.S. to discomfit the Chinese mainland, Taiwan turns out to be one of the key allies that the U.S. hopes to incorporate into such front.

Azar's travel to Taiwan pushes U.S.' pro-Taiwan behaviors since 2017 to a new high. The past three years have witnessed seven U.S. arms sales to Taiwan and the enactment of six Taiwan-related laws. Many senior officials from both sides had meetings prior to Azar's, including Taiwan's deputy leader-elect Lai Ching-te's visit in private capacity to Washington, D.C. in February 2020.

Still, Azar's visit merely indicates that the U.S. is only paying lip service to Taiwan. The White House has been quite constrained on the Taiwan issue over the past years, which is largely because that President Trump takes no interest in the issue per se and wants to "make a deal" with China. But the president now faces a disadvantageous situation where the Democratic nominee Joe Biden takes a 15-point lead in the 2020 U.S. presidential election. Making China the scapegoat to divert attention from the administrations mishandling of the pandemic has been one of the crucial strategies to save Trump. In this case, there seems nothing better than playing the Taiwan card.

Azars visit is an attempt to escalate U.S.-China strategic competition by hawkish figures in Trump administration, making the Taiwan Straits a new battlefield as U.S.-China tensions soar. The U.S. and Taiwan ostensibly benefit from this move. But interfering with Chinas domestic politics undoubtedly ramps up U.S. confrontation with China and leaves little space to improve the bilateral ties before the U.S. presidential election. It will only provoke all the Chinese people and make their will to have a national reunification with Taiwan stronger.

Besides, growing U.S. support would incite the Taiwan authorities to adopt a reckless brinkmanship, thus bringing instability to the Taiwan Straits that is already stuck at a political impasse. Taiwan should clearly bear in mind that the island will never be a strategic asset to the U.S. and Taiwans future lies in its unification with the Chinese mainland. As the U.S. risks reigniting the flash point that may draw the Chinese mainland and the U.S. into military confrontation, Taiwan needs to stay vigilant not to be ditched by the U.S. as a chess piece.
A day after 332 stranded Nigerians arrived from the UK, another 327 are expected from the UK on Sunday.

The 327 stranded Nigerians, who were successfully evacuated by the federal government, have departed Gatwick Airport, London, and are expected to arrive at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja.

Sarah Sanda, Special Assistant (Media) to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, disclosed this to journalists on Sunday in Abuja.

Ms Sanda said the returnees departed London at 11.15 a.m. aboard Air Peace airline.

The 327 returnees from the UK departed Gatwick Airport in London to Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport today, Aug. 9, 2020, at 11.15a.m. aboard Air Peace flight No. P47854 operated by Air Europa Fight No AEA855, she said.

Following the COVID-19 pandemic, Nigeria has been evacuating its citizens stranded in other countries.

On Saturday, 323 stranded Nigerians, including six infants, successfully evacuated from the UK, arrived at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport in Lagos.

Another 87 arrived from Sudan while 308 arrived from Ethiopia.

The returnees will undergo testing and quarantine in line with the federal governments COVID-19 guidelines.

(NAN)

LIZ/IKU/IGO
He embraced death as he embraced life

It is a truism that man is known by his manners. By that standard Muhammed Ali Mahbub was a decent man with a warm heart. I do not remember when and what circumstance I first came to know him. My world of activities and his were so different that it was a surprise for us to be so close.





I was a little younger to him also. In his world he had the opportunities to gather vast experience as administrative executive in well-known companies both international and local. He served Phillips Bangladesh, ICDDR,B and other concerns with efficiency and diligence. My world was concerned more with law and public affairs.





Most likely, that we came to know each other through Dr Rashiduzzaman my university teacher and his long time friend. Mr Ali Mahbub's special quality was friendliness for winning people as friends. He was a successful man and satisfied for it but no showing off.





He was a renowned social worker to share his blessings with others who were less fortunate and in need. As a distinguished Rotarian he contributed with open hands for the success of various projects devoted to serve the poor and for their upliftment. His own pet project, as far as I know is the hospital he built in his birth-place Bogura.





To be honest, I do not know much as his long and successful career. He was self-made man. He hardly talked about himself. His favourite pastime was travelling and in particular taking long cruises. We often discussed going for such a cruise together. But it did not happen.





My own impression is nothing made him happier than entertaining his friends with special dishes he himself would prepare. He loved to cook himself the good food items he found delicious on his various tours all over the world. In culinary activities he was a perfectionist. He will bring specially cut meats or salmon fish etc. He will also collect right ingredients to prepare his best-loved dishes. It was not enough for him to prepare delicious food dishes but these must also be served properly. He will ensure that himself. The dishes will be served on a nicely laid table. It was a very special treat to have a dinner in his house. We had many such happy experiences.







He was a man of taste. He lived well and dressed well. To have expensive cars was a passion for him. He was so organised that he did not like to leave anything to chances. One can say he was a control freak and his endeavour was to have full control over his life and work.







He had friends from across the social spectrum. Only thing he did not encourage was partisan political debate as it could become nasty for a nice socials gathering. So he was choosy about guests he would invite. Although he was not apolitical.





Toward the end of his life he showed some interest in politics. He found it not his cup of tea. So he forgot all about joining any political party. He went on serving the country the best he could, by being a social activist.







I noticed him as a loving husband and an affectionate father. The happy family was a remarkable gift to him. This man was lucky in so many ways. His wife Mrs Gul-e-Afroze was the woman behind him and with him as inseparable. She was also a successful careerist. But both were most unassuming unlike many newly rich of the present days. Saju and I were most relaxed and pleased in their company.





Mr Mahbub was always an easy going healthy looking man and meticulously took care of his health. Like a bolt from the blue a dark cloud of misfortune descended on this generous family. The doctors found that he had cancer. Nothing excess was his way. But there is no way of taking precaution against cancer. But when it hits, it hits devastatingly not the victim himself but equally his family and friends for their helplessness to be of no use.







It was a real shock to know he was afflicted with such a vicious health condition. Saju and I went to see him at the hospital in Dhaka. We expected to find them shattered. But nothing like that was visible in them. He was looking controlled but concerned. To buck him up I showed a brave face and said cancer was nowadays treatable and there was nothing to worry too much. He responded by saying with determination that he would fight to the last. I felt better for his determination.





However condition was deteriorating and he again got himself admitted to a hospital. It was heartbreaking to see him leaving us.





At this moment of great crisis for the family we got a card just few days before his death to celebrate his wedding anniversary. Later we found that the arrangement was more a get together of family friends.





Thanks to his wife and children they arranged a small but very somber party at the Hotel InterContinental. We knew it was both a wedding ceremony and a polite way of saying farewell to his friends.







Saju and I were impressed by his will as if like life death was also normal to be embraced. The atmosphere was so surreal. Later we admired his beautiful well-meaning mind behind the idea. Till the last day Mr Mahbub did what he thought right. The wedding anniversary was to be observed. He could not leave his friends without saying goodbye to them.





Mr Mahbub made a touching speech about the blessings of life he was lucky to have and how proud he was of his children.





He thanked his beloved wife for making his life worth living. All in all, he made it clear he was dying a happy and blessed man.





It was such a moving farewell party to remember. I never experienced so cool and calm a man who was face to face with death. He defied the horror of death to touch the face of God.





Mr Mahbub lived and died in style. He made death a human journey and an occasion to recall the blessings of life.



(Mainul Hosein, Chairman, Editorial Board, The New Nation)
By MICHAEL RUBINKAM

A federal lawsuit filed Friday seeks to force Pennsylvania election officials to change the way that voters signatures on mail-in ballots are verified, asserting that tens of thousands of voters are at risk of being disenfranchised in the fall presidential election.

County election officials rely on signature matching to verify mail-in ballots, but do not give voters adequate notice if their ballot was rejected because of a problem with the signature, or a chance to fix it, the lawsuit alleged.

The suit, filed by the League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania, the Urban League of Greater Pittsburgh and two individual voters, seeks to force election officials to give voters the chance to fix ballots that are either missing signatures, or where there's a perceived signature mismatch.

"Each time a county board of elections  comprised of laypersons with no expertise in handwriting analysis  subjectively believes there is a mismatch between the signature accompanying the voter's mail-in ballot and the signature in the voter's file, that ballot is not counted, notwithstanding the many benign factors that can cause signature variation," the suit said.

By contrast, voters at a polling station are given the opportunity to verify their identity in the face of a signature issue and cast a ballot, the suit said.

Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar, whose department is in charge of Pennsylvania elections, and several county election officials were named as defendants. The administration of Gov. Tom Wolf declined to comment on pending litigation.

Similar suits have been filed in New York, New Jersey and North Dakota.

A 2019 state law greatly expanded access to mail-in balloting in Pennsylvania, and nearly 1.5 million voters cast their ballots by mail in the June primary. More than 26,000 of those ballots were rejected, the suit said, including for "signature-related errors or matters of penmanship."

One plaintiff, Amy Cambell, 26, of Philadelphia, said her ballot was rejected because election officials had no signature on file to compare it with. "Her vote simply did not count," the suit said.

Another plaintiff, William Gilligan, 83, of suburban Buck County, said that he's suffered two major strokes and can't reliably sign his name the same way every time.

With the COVID-19 pandemic generating high interest in voting by mail, voters should not be required to risk their health or lives to cast a ballot they can be confident will count, the suit said.

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A west Belfast social club and a Lisburn bowling alley have closed after a customer and staff member tested positive for Covid-19.

The Andersonstown Social Club, known as the PD (Prisoners' Dependants), announced the decision on its Facebook page on Friday evening.

Yesterday afternoon Lisburn Bowl used the same platform to say it was taking similar action after a staff member tested positive.

The PD said in its statement: "Folks, unfortunately one of our regulars has tested positive for Covid-19 and as a precautionary measure we are closing the club from 9pm tonight.

"The club will get a professional deep clean and our staff will now get tested and we hope to reopen very soon. Stay safe."

It posted a video in July of the safety measures it had put in place to allow it to safely reopen.

Explaining the 'new normal', it said: "We have put all social distancing safety measures in place and have erected Perplex screens to enhance safety within the club.

"We have introduced a stew and soup menu at the club. Anyone drinking indoors must purchase from that menu to gain access inside. You must hold on to that receipt to regain entry to the club if you go outside.

"All our staff have received their Covid awareness training, so you are in good hands. Table service only or use our in-house app Ordery."

Lisburn Bowl said in its announcement: "Due to confirmation of a local Covid-19 positive test from a member of staff at Lisburn Bowl, we are taking additional precautionary measures and will close today at noon to enable further deep cleaning to be completed.

"All staff will be tested. Deep cleaning fogging is taking place. We will continue our cleaning regime during normal closure and reopening times.

"We hope to reopen Monday, August 10, at 10am but that may change. Please keep an eye on our social media platforms for up to date information.

"Details of all customers who visited Lisburn Bowl since we reopened will be passed to the contact tracking team and should they feel it necessary to get it touch with you, they will do so.

"We wish our staff member a speedy recovery. We are all thinking of you."

The news came as Queen's University announced masks would be compulsory for staff and students on campus as of tomorrow.

It coincides with face coverings being made mandatory in shops and any enclosed public space from the same date.

The issue of who will enforce new rules on face masks descended into chaos yesterday, with the PSNI saying officers would merely "encourage people to make the right choices" and retailers and staff insisting they were not responsible.

The university said masks would be required in any indoor space where it is not possible to maintain social distancing. The rule will not apply to libraries, the graduate school and some work spaces as the university said social distancing measures had already been taken there.

Spaces where it will apply include communal areas such as lobbies of buildings, social spaces and shared facilities where people tend to gather and it is not possible to maintain social distancing of two metres.

Yesterday it was also revealed that the Co Antrim testing firm Randox had recalled 750,000 kits due to safety concerns.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency asked the company to recall the kits sent out to care homes and individuals. The government said it was a "precautionary measure" and the risk to safety was low.

A spokeswoman for the Department of Health and Social Care said: "We have high safety standards for all coronavirus tests. Following the pausing of Randox kits on July 15, Randox has now recalled all test kits as a precautionary measure."
In this Aug. 6, 2020, file photo, Tannissa Jefferies, a physical education teacher at Saltillo Primary School, helps students arriving on their first day get to their proper hallway as they enter from the carpool line in Saltillo, Miss. As schools reopen around the country, their ability to quickly identify and contain coronavirus outbreaks before they get out of hand is about to be put to the test. (Adam Robison/The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal via AP, File)

Reopening schools is easy. Keeping them open will be the hard part.

As educators prepare to welcome students back to class for the first time in months, schools' ability to quickly identify and contain coronavirus outbreaks before they get out of hand will be put to the test in thousands of districts around the country.

Newly reopened schools in Mississippi, Indiana and Georgia have already reported infections just days into the academic year, triggering virus protocols that include swiftly isolating infected students, tracing their contacts and quarantining people they exposed.

"It doesn't matter if you open schools in July, like we did, or if you open in August, September or October. All schools are going to have to deal with the issue of positive COVID-19 test results," said Lee Childress, superintendent of Corinth School District in Mississippi, where more than 100 students are quarantined at home after being exposed to a handful of infected classmates.

Schools are trying to mitigate the risk of transmission by spreading desks apart, serving meals in the classroom and keeping groups of students together throughout the day. Many schoolsbut not allwill require students and staff to wear masks, which health experts say is critical to cutting down on spread.

In this Aug. 5, 2020, file photo, wearing masks to prevent the spread of COVID19, elementary school students use hand sanitizer before entering school for classes in Godley, Texas. As schools reopen around the country, their ability to quickly identify and contain coronavirus outbreaks before they get out of hand is about to be put to the test. (AP Photo/LM Otero, File)

Administrators say it might be difficult to control the mixing and mingling that happens at every school. Asymptomatic carriers could silently spread the virus to many others. A student might not remember every contact, or be reluctant to tell the truth because that would mean forcing friends into quarantine.

Contact tracing might prove difficult "when you have that many students and they have multiple contacts inside of a building," said Dallas schools chief Michael Hinojosa.

Schools are reopening as new infections run at about 54,000 a day in the U.S. While that's down from a peak of well over 70,000 in the second half of July, cases are rising in nearly 20 states, and deaths are climbing in most of them.

In Indiana, where case numbers and the positivity rate have been rising, a student showed up to class outside Indianapolis before getting the results of a virus test. Greenfield-Central Junior High soon learned he was positive.

In this Aug. 6, 2020, file photo Diane Floyd, a seventh grade math teacher at Guntown Middle School, goes over the daily schedule and bell times with her new students on their first day back to school for the Lee County District in Guntown, Miss. As schools reopen around the country, their ability to quickly identify and contain coronavirus outbreaks before they get out of hand is about to be put to the test. (Adam Robison/The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal via AP, File)

It was the first day of school.

"We felt like we were at a good place to start school and then, through no fault of our own, a kid comes to school who shouldn't have been there," Superintendent Harold Olin said, acknowledging "uncomfortable" conversations with parents whose children then had to be quarantined.

Because it was the school system's first case, Olin himself grabbed a tape measure and headed to the infected student's classroom to figure out who was seated nearby so they could be notified of their potential exposure.

Jason Martin's son, Houston, who attends seventh grade at Greenfield-Central, was among those forced to learn remotely for 14 days.

"Clearly, he's disappointed," Martin said. But the school "responded pretty well from a bonehead parent making a decision to send their kid to school knowing they have a pending COVID test result."

In this Aug. 6, 2020, file photo, Guntown Middle School eighth graders walk the halls to their next class as others wait in their assigned spots against the wall before moving into their next class during the first day back to school for the Lee County District in Guntown, Miss. As schools reopen around the country, their ability to quickly identify and contain coronavirus outbreaks before they get out of hand is about to be put to the test. (Adam Robison/The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal via AP, File)

The question of whether an infected student or staffer should trigger an automatic shutdown has divided school officials.

New York City's public school system, the largest in the U.S., says it will automatically shutter classrooms or buildings for 14 days at a time, depending on the severity and circumstances of an outbreak. In hard-hit Texas, school systems in Houston and Dallas say they will close a building for up to five days if a student or staffer tests positive, to allow for cleaning and to give contact tracers time to do their work.

It's too risky to try to keep a school open while officials figure out who might have been exposed, Hinojosa said.

"Until there's a vaccine, just be prepared to have these rolling shutdowns," he said.

Others administrators say they will try to keep schools open during an outbreak, counting on quick action to keep a lid on it.

In this Aug. 3, 2020, file photo, Rachel Adamus, right, helps her daughter Neva, 5, put on her mask before her first day of kindergarten in Dallas, Ga. As schools reopen around the country, their ability to quickly identify and contain coronavirus outbreaks before they get out of hand is about to be put to the test. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson, File)

In Pennsylvania, the Bethlehem Area School District intends to keep classrooms open if there's a confirmed case. "One closure decision can lead to a potentially crippling and precedent-setting domino effect of closures throughout the school district," the district says on its website.

Dr. Ibukun Akinboyo, a pediatric infectious diseases specialist at Duke University, said even the best plans for reopening and responding to sick students and staff are going to run into trouble if there's a high level of community spread.

"Whatever is happening in the community will likely play out in the schools as well," she said.

In Mississippi, where more than 20% of virus tests have been coming back positive, at least eight students and one staff member in Corinth have tested positive since school resumed last week. District officials used classroom seating charts to determine who needed to be quarantined.

In this Aug. 5, 2020, file photo, wearing masks to prevent the spread of COVID19, elementary school students wait for classes to begin in Godley, Texas. As schools reopen around the country, their ability to quickly identify and contain coronavirus outbreaks before they get out of hand is about to be put to the test. (AP Photo/LM Otero, File)

The tally through Friday: 122 people.

Nurses, administrators and teachers have worked together to identify the infected students' close contactsanyone who was within 6 feet for at least 15 minutes. But at some point, contact tracing ceases to be practical, and a school might have to close, Childress said.

"I think if you have a large number, the process could quickly become unmanageable, and that would be something that we would know when we see it," he said.

Joel Barnes and his wife are rethinking their decision to send their four kids back to Corinth schools after their son was exposed at the high school. They are awaiting the results of his virus test.

"We expected there to be some cases of COVID, but we're honestly surprised that it happened so quickly and has spread to so many so rapidly," said Barnes, who has lung and nerve damage from a car accident and worries about contracting the virus. "Now it's taken off."

In this Aug. 6, 2020, file photo, Audrey Wylie, a speech pathologist, at Saltillo Primary School, puts a bus number sticker on Cruz Antle, a first grader, as he gets off the bus for his first day back to school in Saltillo, Miss. As schools reopen around the country, their ability to quickly identify and contain coronavirus outbreaks before they get out of hand is about to be put to the test. (Adam Robison/The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal via AP, File)

In this Aug. 3, 2020, file photo, Paul Adamus, 7, waits at the bus stop for the first day of school in Dallas, Ga. As schools reopen around the country, their ability to quickly identify and contain coronavirus outbreaks before they get out of hand is about to be put to the test. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson, File)

The couple have pulled two of their children from school in favor of remote lessons.

"In hindsight, we wish we'd gone virtual from the start," he said.

Joseph Allen, who directs a program at the Harvard University School of Public Health focused on healthy buildings, said masking, contact tracing and quarantining are all importantbut so is proper ventilation and air filtration, which Allen said too many districts are ignoring.

Small, inexpensive steps like opening windows, equipping classrooms with box fans and portable air purifiers, and holding classes outside can make a big difference in keeping the virus at bay, even if an infected student or teacher shows up, Allen said.

"We need to get a bit more creative with schools," he said. "If we don't do those upfront things, we're going to have cases."

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

 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
The secret British girlfriend of Jeffrey Epstein married a wealthy Turkish property developer before suddenly disappearing from the New York party scene.

Shelley Anne Lewis  who was revealed by The Mail on Sunday last week to have dated the shamed US financier between 1999 and 2002  tied the knot with Mahir Furtun five years ago, but they divorced in 2017.

Her marriage to Mr Furtun came a few months after Ghislaine Maxwell asked serial paedophile Epstein to encourage Ms Lewis to make public her relationship with him.

I would appreciate it if shelley would come out and say she was your gfriend  I think she was from end [19]99 to 2002, the British socialite wrote in an email that was released last month in a tranche of court documents.

Wed: Shelley Anne Lewis, who was revealed by The Mail on Sunday last week to have dated the shamed US financier between 1999 and 2002, and Mahir Furtun divorced after two years

Ms Lewis, 43, is believed to have met Mr Furtun, 61, on holiday in Turkey. He is president of a property firm thought to have been involved in developments across New York since the mid-1980s.

A month before they married, the couple and Ms Maxwell were among the guests at a party in the city to mark the release of a book by Salman Rushdie in 2015.

After that, Ms Lewis stepped back from the New York party scene, apparently having found spiritualism.

One socialite said: I would see her every couple of weeks at parties and then she just disappeared. I have not seen her for around five years.

Following her divorce, Ms Lewis was photographed wearing a pink tutu and bikini top at the 2017 Burning Man arts and cultural festival in Nevada.

In an interview a few months earlier, she referred to a mentor in New York who was so original in all his thought processes that he couldnt even see the box.

This may have been a reference to Epstein on whose private jets she flew on as many as 55 occasions between 1999 and 2002.

In property records she was registered at an apartment block used by the multi-millionaire in New Yorks Upper East Side between 2000 and 2003.

Ms Lewis did not respond to requests to comment, but there is no suggestion that she was involved with, or aware of, any criminality.

The daughter of Brian Lewis, the founder of the Cash Generator retail empire, Ms Lewis grew up in Cheshire.

After splitting from Epstein, she appears to have studied history of art at the University of Glasgow and psychology at the University of Pennsylvania.

She later ran a publishing firm before becoming a self-styled spiritual entrepreneur.
Kabul: A traditional Afghan council concluded on Sunday with hundreds of delegates agreeing to free 400 Taliban members, paving the way for an early start to negotiations between Afghanistan's warring sides.

The declaration read out in both of Afghanistan's official languages of Pashto and Farsi calls for an immediate start to negotiations and cease fire. The Taliban have said they were ready for talks immediately after their final prisoners were released and that a ceasefire would be one of the first items of negotiations.

A delegate at the Afghan Loya Jirga meeting in Kabul, Afghanistan, which decided to free the Taliban prisoners. Credit:AP

The move looks to bring the United States a little closer to bringing its troops home and ending its longest military engagement.

The decision to free the prisoners does not come as a surprise as delegates were urged by the US at the start of the council, or jirga, on Friday to take this difficult action so negotiations could begin to bring an end to the war.
Naaz Ghani By

Express News Service

With inadequate PPE kits, gruelling work hours and threat of infection, ambulance crew find themselves caught in the epicentre of the coronavirus; Stigma and lack of government support have upended their lives

CHENNAI: In December 2019, when the first few cases of the perilous novel coronavirus were reported in Wuhan, China, most of us still didnt know that it would soon wreak havoc across the world. In the following months, countries began to shut down, borders were sealed and life was interrupted. Meanwhile, India was still bustling, ignorant of the imminent danger, until the evening of March 24 when Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced on national television, From midnight, this country of 1.3 billion will shut down.

For 21 days, forget what going out means. On the same evening, huddled in a cramped room, P Vengat and his colleagues were worriedly watching the news unfold as Tamil Nadu chief minister Edappadi Palaniswami announced that the state, like the rest of India, was going into lockdown. On March 24, when the lockdown was announced, Chennai hardly had a few cases. At the time I didnt realise the threat of this virus, says Vengat, an ambulance pilot from Perambur.

In his 15 years of experience, this was the first time Vengat was petrified to be in this field. Staying calm and focussing on the care to be administered have always been the mainstays in his line of work. Dealing with those on the brink of death, taking care of the injured, witnessing blood spattered on bodies or accident sites  Vengat had seen it all. But little did he expect that a tiny virus would unleash its monstrosity, upending his life overnight. Frontline workers like Vengat were now tasked with dealing with COVID-19 patients. With no information, absence of safety gear, and endless work shifts, ambulance pilots found themselves caught in the epicentre of the coronavirus.

Getting a grasp

While awaiting his COVID-19 duty call, Vengat nervously carried on with ferrying non-corona patients to hospitals. On March 30 at 3 pm, he was assigned his first COVID-19 case. Dressed in a PPE suit, wearing a face mask and surgical gloves, along with an ambulance technician, he reached the patients house. The patient had returned from Mumbai on March 27, he says. After the initial checkup of oxygen level, heart rate and temperature, they suspected that the entire family had been infected. Within the next two weeks, Vengat attended to five COVID-19 positive cases.

Soon the coronavirus hurricane ripped through the entire vulnerable population. Doctors, nurses, paramilitary, police officials, and ambulance drivers were now getting a grasp of what life was like on the front lines. Cheers and jeers, the community faced both, on and off the job. But Thiruvottiyar-based ambulance driver Dinakar M* was unfazed by the threat and the abuses being hurled at Covid warriors. When soldiers fight to keep us safe, they dont think about themselves. Everyone gets a time to act; this is our time, he says, insisting that duty comes first.

As per rules and norms, in a medical crisis, it is the ambulance that is closest to the emergency location. Ambulance drivers do not have the option to reject an assignment. During the lockdown, we would get a call from the dispatch office to attend to an emergency. Depending on how close we were to the patient, they would assign the call to us. Soon, the government allocated special ambulances to tend to COVID-19 patients. Everyone in the 108 (ambulance) network has to do a special ambulance shift of 12 hours between 8 am and 8 pm. Sometimes, if a regular ambulance is stationed closer to the patient, then that vehicle would be assigned the case, explains Dinakar, who has been in this line of work for two years. Nearly two months after the corona crisis hit India, Tiruchy-based ambulance technician Dharam* started attending close to 11 cases every day.

Of those, at least five test positive for corona, he says. Technicians like Dharam ride along with the pilot to check the patients vital signs. In case an anomaly is detected, the patient is rushed to the hospital regardless of him/her being tested or not. Unfortunately, because of the massive case load now, we have been instructed to accept only genuine cases, where the vital signs are abnormal. Otherwise, we ask the patients to consult their doctor and apply for an ambulance through them, he elaborates.

No safety kits

While the nature of the job requires them to be detached from pain, the rising number of cases and deaths due to the virus has sent waves of shock among this community. The worry of dealing with infected patients has crippled their confidence. When Dharam received his first call to attend to two suspected corona patients on May 23, he was given the PPE kit, but there were no instructions on how to use it. The PPE suit is extremely uncomfortable and I was sweating inside. It made me even more scared because one way of contracting the virus was through the exchange of bodily fluids, he says. Seeing the day-to-day horror faced by the ambulance pilots, the Greater Chennai Corporation organised awareness programmes for onground medical staff between March and June.

They were taught to respond to COVID-19 emergency calls, take precautions, and the criticality of wearing PPE suits. But a month into the lockdown, TNIE reported that PPE kits were in short supply; even doctors were being asked to bring their own cloth masks, increasing their risk of being exposed to the virus. The shortage spelt more danger for ambulance pilots who were instructed to use the PPE kits only when it was confirmed that they were dealing with a COVID-19 case. While the special ambulances were given four kits every day, the regular ambulances had to make do with just masks and gloves. By June, Tamil Nadu recorded cases in four digits.

The flattening of the curve was nowhere in sight. Thyagaraya A*, who had joined duty that month in Chennai, was waiting anxiously for a call from his dispatch officer. Soon, he was summoned to ferry five patients, who had shown symptoms. At the time, we were only provided with masks. Watching the patients cough worried me. After this, a group of us demanded that we should be given proper protection because we spend 12 hours daily, attending to suspected corona cases, he shares. Even as the situation became grimmer, ambulance pilots continued with their yeoman service sans PPE kits. In fact, the first systematic survey on the status of personal protective equipment for healthcare workers in India, conducted in June, revealed that almost all components of PPE were found to be either inadequately available or unavailable in most hospitals.

One of the surprising and important findings is the lack of formal training on PPE. Over half had not received any training and a fifth reported that they selftaught themselves. Also, about 88 per cent did not have the knowledge of appropriate PPE recommended for their work setting, said Dr Subhashri B of CommonHealth, one of the three researchers behind the survey. While on the one hand, reports said that the virus had spawned a PPE kit industry in India, the ground reality narrated a different story. As recent as July, the dearth was yet to be fixed. The only respite came for the regular ambulance drivers, who were now given the option of transferring COVID-19 assignments to special ambulances.

Stay far, stay safe

In June, K Pal Kannan, secretary of All India 108 Ambulance Union in Chennai, received a call for a patient who had allegedly suffered a heart attack. A pilot for a regular ambulance allocated for non-corona cases, Kannan rushed the patient to the closest government hospital. An hour later, he passed away. When the postmortem was done, doctors confirmed that the patient was COVIDpositive, he says. Everyone, who had come in contact with the patient, including Kannan, was put under quarantine for 15 days. While he tested negative, he was asked to selfquarantine. I was already staying away from my family to avoid the risk of passing on the infection.

A room and bathroom were arranged for me for the first seven days. I was expected to arrange my bedding and food. There was no support provided for my family during those 15 days, he reveals. Spending days in obscurity, working non-stop shifts, their role in this pandemic is just as important as that of doctors. But this marginalised segment has been left to fend for itself. At first, it seemed like a brave act to attend to people showing symptoms. But, as the situation got worse, we feared for the health of our families, says Thyagaraya, (a father of two), who tested positive in July. By then, he had attended to over 50 COVID- positive patients.

Fearing for the safety of his family, he sent them to his hometown near Tamil Nadu border. I first stayed at a quarantine facility for seven days under intensive care. Then, I quarantined myself in a room with an attached bathroom, provided by the GCC for 15 days, he adds. Thyagaraya was promised an allowance of `9,000, to support himself and his family while being out of work. We get our salaries at the beginning of the month and it depends on the number of assignments. We know the exact amount only after the salary is credited to our accounts. But the GCC transferred only `3,000 to my account during my quarantine period. I was given two barrels of water for my daily needs, and a delivery service was organised for my meals. The amount transferred was not enough to support my family, so I sent them to our hometown; at least my parents would support them, he shares. Despite the assurance, his family didnt receive any assistance, forcing Thyagaraya to make arrangements even as he was under treatment.

No dignity of labour

As the pandemic raged on, the virus not only affected finances but the psyche too. Thyagaraya and his ilk suffered discrimination and stigma from their friends, neighbours and extended family due to their community contact. Even before I contracted the virus, my relatives had begun avoiding me. They were aware of my line of work and feared that I was putting them at risk, too. When they beat vessels for essential workers, I dont think they considered us as one, shares Kannan, with a hint of sorrow in his voice. Its unfair, he says, that despite being the first response team, ambulance pilots and technicians are always considered to be at the bottom of the hierarchy in this field.

Thyagaraya shares a similar sentiment. Being the first to throw themselves at risk, they are labelled as untouchables by society, he says. My children have lost friends because their parents have stopped them from playing together. As an ambulance pilot, I feel I owe something to the general public. It is my duty. Yet, on the other hand, I lose motivation after looking at how they treat me at the end of the day, he opens up. Ten years back, when Dharam had taken up this job, his parents expressed pride, but COVID- 19 has changed it all. The pandemic has made them anxious.They keep telling me to quit my job and look for something else. My family hasnt been ostracised by our neighbours, but some friends and relatives have stopped interacting with us because of my job, he says. It is this worry that is forcing ambulance pilots and technicians to quit at a time when the state continues to record a daily spike in cases, rendering their role as pivotal. Many have been infected, but support and security remain tall promises. So many people are backing out  technicians and drivers. The industry is recruiting people like never before. The CM bought 500 extra ambulances, but what is the use if no one is there to operate them? Dharam asks. With the virus sweeping the country, and the focus on preventing deaths, heres hoping these warriors receive their due  in care and kind.

(*Names changed to protect identity)
Without a vaccine, our best methods for preventing COVID-19 are all behavioural: handwashing, mask wearing, social distancing, isolating.

But when Australian Defence Force personnel knocked on the doors of 3000 people across Melbourne who were meant to be in isolation last week, in about a quarter of cases they werent there.

It's ridiculous. It's unacceptable. And it is dangerous, said Victorian Police Minister Lisa Neville.

Ms Neville is experiencing a harsh truth well known to behavioural scientists: it is very, very difficult to get 6.6 million people to completely change their behaviour.
Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut on Sunday condemned the removal of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj's statue in Belgaum district of Karnataka and said all parties should come together to protest against the incident under the leadership of Maharashtra BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis.

Belgaum (or Belagavi) district of Karnataka, which has a sizable Marathi-speaking population, is the subject of a protracted boundary dispute between Maharashtra and Karnataka.

Talking to reporters, Raut said, "Fadnavis should be taken into confidence over the issue and we all should unite under his leadership to protest against the action of the Belgaum police."

The Shiv Sena-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government had on Saturday shot off a letter to Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa, seeking reinstatement of the statue of the legendary Maratha warrior king.

State minister Eknath Shinde, who is a close aide of Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, had written the letter to Karnataka, where the BJP is in power.

Shinde, the minister in-charge for coordination on Maharashtra-Karnataka border issue, had said that the statue was removed at Mangutti village. He had said that the statue had been installed with the permission of the gram panchayat, but the administration removed it deliberately.

Shiv Sena workers in Maharashtra's Kolhapur district that borders Karnataka had held a series of protests over the issue on Saturday. The Maharashtra-Karnataka boundary dispute is pending before the Supreme Court.

Meanwhile, BJP leader Ashish Shelar alleged that the local Congress MLA was responsible for the removal of the statue. "We condemn the incident of removal of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj's statue. It should be restored with full respect. But will the Shiv Sena protest against the local Congress MLA, who ordered the removal of the statue?" he asked.

Sena shares power with Congress and NCP in Maharashtra.
Covid-19 continues to exact a heavy toll worldwide. In India too, positive cases are rising. However, our effective domestic response has led to a significant improvement in our recovery rate, which is now 68.78%. The case fatality rate at 2.01% remains one of the lowest in the world.

High recovery and low-fatality outcomes can be attributed to proactive measures taken to deal with the outbreak from its early stages. We started screening Covid-19 cases a full 13 days before the first case was detected in India. We implemented full lockdown on the 55th day of the outbreak when we had only around 600 cases. Our public health response has been appreciated by the World Health Organization (WHO). The government took rapid steps to augment health infrastructure. As Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi noted, India now has over 11,000 Covid-19 facilities and 1.1 million isolation beds. We have ramped up testing to over half-a-million tests a day, to be scaled up to a million.

Indias response has not been confined to meeting our domestic requirements. We have been significantly engaged with the international community in providing the leadership that the global situation demanded. As a responsible stakeholder in global health supply chains, we ensured timely access to essential drugs and medical items for over 150 countries, while meeting our own domestic requirements. We reaffirmed our position as the first responder to humanitarian crises in the region by deploying medical teams to help Maldives, Mauritius, Comoros and Kuwait deal with the pandemic. India also dispatched naval assets to the Maldives, Mauritius, Madagascar, Comoros and Seychelles to deliver assistance. This demonstrated our strong commitment to the PMs vision of Security and Growth for All in the Region (SAGAR).

From being a net importer of Covid-19-related medical items, we have emerged as a net exporter. Today, we are manufacturing over 500,000 personal protective equipment (PPE) kits and over 300,000 N-95 masks every day. Our system has shown the necessary adaptability and agility to significantly ramp up production to go beyond our domestic requirements.

The repatriation of Indian nationals stranded abroad and the evacuation of foreigners from India to their home countries have been among the most successful aspects of our response. In the initial days, the ministry of external affairs had promptly set up a Covid cell and a 24x7 control room to assist Indian citizens abroad. The PM had also personally directed our heads of missions to extend all possible assistance to our nationals stranded abroad. Subsequently, the Vande Bharat mission, launched to repatriate our nationals stranded overseas, has been the largest exercise of its kind ever undertaken by the government and has demonstrated our capacity to effectively carry out complex humanitarian missions. Over one million Indians have returned under the Vande Bharat mission so far through flights, across land borders and on naval ships. We have been able to bring home Indian nationals from distant locations, and also facilitated the return of Bhutanese and Nepalese nationals stranded in third countries to their homes on Vande Bharat flights.

Rigorous screening of returnees by our diplomatic missions has ensured that the proportion of positive cases remains extremely small (less than 0.2%). Testing on arrival by the health ministry and state governments has helped detect these cases. The mission just doesnt end with the arrival of our nationals. We are also mapping their skills on arrival to link them with companies for job opportunities.

There has also been no let-up in our diplomatic outreach during the pandemic. We have initiated and been part of several important conversations globally. Our Neighborhood First policy was on full display when the PM hosted a video conference of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) leaders early in the crisis  our first such engagement on Covid-19. He announced a series of measures to deal with the pandemic, including the creation of a Covid-19 emergency fund with a commitment of $10 million from India. We have also called for a better multilateral response to global crises in the future. The PM has, on several occasions, including in the G-20 and Non-aligned Movement virtual summits, proposed the reform of multilateral cooperation by bringing people to the centre of our efforts. Our own initiatives such as the International Solar Alliance and the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure are prime examples of this approach. The decision of the G-20 on debt service suspension for developing countries, which India fully supported, reflects this people-centric approach. At the virtual Global Vaccine Summit, the PM highlighted how Indias contribution to the global response in terms of sharing medicines was guided by our philosophy of Vasudhaiva Kutumbkum. The PM also hosted the first virtual bilateral summit with Australia, which was followed by the India-European Union summit. In addition, the PM has spoken to his counterparts from 61 countries during this period. The external affairs minister has spoken to foreign ministers from 77 countries. We have kept open channels of virtual communication to strengthen partnerships and deal with situations that require diplomatic engagement.

We have been constantly adjusting, adapting and innovating to deal with the changed reality, particularly in our engagement with the world. And in the process, we have been successful in elevating Indias profile as a constructive and dependable actor on the global stage.

Harsh Vardhan Shringla is foreign secretary, Government of India

The views expressed are personal
MINSK  Belarusian security forces violently dispersed protests in Minsk and other cities after early results from the countrys presidential election gave incumbent President Alyaksandr Lukashenka a commanding lead.



Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya, the main opposition candidate who drew tens of thousands of people to her rallies during the campaign, refused to recognize the unofficial result after polls closed in the August 9 vote.



The Belarusian Central Election Commission announced preliminary results on August 10, saying Lukashenka got 80.23 percent of the vote, while Tsikhanouskaya received 9.9 percent.

Thousands of her supporters took to the streets to express their dissatisfaction and were eventually dispersed by police dressed in riot gear who used rubber bullets, water cannons, and tear gas.



The total number of protesters in Minsk was difficult to estimate because they were scattered throughout the city, RFE/RLs Belarus Service said.



In violent scenes posted on Twitter by the independent news outlet Tut.by, police officers were seen beating protesters with truncheons. People can be heard shouting, This is our country! as drivers flashed their car lights and honked their horns.

After breaking up the big crowds, police chased smaller groups of protesters through downtown Minsk for several hours, the Associated Press reported.



In Brest, where law enforcement officers used tear gas and stun grenades, protesters gradually dispersed to a crowd of 200-300 from an estimated total of 5,000, according to Novaya gazeta.

The Minsk-based Vyasna (Spring) human rights group said 126 people were detained across the country, including 55 in Minsk. Vyasna also said two of the detainees were injured. Among the people detained were 16 journalists and 40 observers, it said.



State news agency Belta said early on August 10 that police had taken control of the situation "at unsanctioned mass events," citing the Interior Ministry.

In an appeal read live over the phone on Current Time by her associate, Maryya Kalesnikava, Tsikhanouskaya called on both the security forces and Belarusian citizens to refrain from violence.

"I ask everyone who is now making decisions, and above all the commanders of special forces: Do not use force against civilians," she said.

"I ask the police and the troops to remember that they are part of the people. Once again, I ask the voters: no provocation, no need to give a reason to use violence against you.

"Please stop the violence.... Officers, I know you can do this."

Early on August 10, an Interior Ministry spokeswoman told RFE/RL that the unauthorized rallies were "not over yet," so she could not count the detainees.



What has happened is awful, Tsikhanouskaya told a news conference, saying she did not recognize the results of the exit poll.

"I believe my eyes, and I see that the majority is with us," Tsikhanouskaya said from her headquarters.

Throughout election day, police and soldiers were transported into Minsk, where they cordoned off the city and took positions at strategic sites in anticipation of unrest. Public transportation was also limited in Minsk in an apparent attempt by authorities to prevent protests, and there was almost no access to social-media networks from early in the day.

Internet freedom monitor NetBlocks reported Internet connectivity had been disrupted across the country since early morning. The disruption affected access to the Internet and social-media platforms -- with Facebook, Messenger, YouTube, Instagram, WhatsApp, Telegram, and Viber all experiencing disruptions. Two grassroots election-monitoring websites also were inaccessible.

Earlier in the day, voters formed long lines at polling booths across the Eastern European country and at embassies abroad.

RFE/RL's Belarus Service reported that many people lining up at the polls wore white bracelets signaling support for the opposition. Social-media users also posted pictures of voters wearing white bracelets lining up at Belarusian embassies, including in Moscow, Berlin, and London.

According to an exit poll conducted at 21 Belarusian diplomatic posts, Tsikhanouskaya garnered 81.5 percent of the vote compared to about 6 percent for Lukashenka.

WATCH: Troops Deployed In Belarus As Exit Poll Says President Wins Election By Landslide

Several voters told RFE/RL that they had never taken part in an election in the country before but had turned out to cast a ballot on August 9 because they want and expect change.

Tsikhanouskaya -- who had told her supporters to wear the bracelets as a symbol of "honesty and purity" -- had earlier cast her ballot and demanded election results free of fraud.

"I really want the election to be honest, because if the authorities have nothing to fear, if all the people are for [Lukashenka], then we will agree with [the results]," Tsikhanouskaya said.

Tsikhanouskaya, who has teamed up with two prominent women from the campaigns of rejected presidential candidates, has drawn huge rallies with a simple electoral promise to free all political prisoners and rerun a free and fair election.

"It's a clear sign that people want change. People have woken up. They no longer want to live in fear and humiliation. They want to feel that they are citizens of their country. It's inspiring. I realize there are people behind me, around me, and ahead of me," Tsikhanouskaya said in a recent interview with Current Time, the Russian-language network led by RFE/RL in cooperation with VOA.

Now that the election is over, there is mounting concern that an embattled Lukashenka will follow through on threats to use force on any postelection dissent.

The election follows a campaign marked by the arrest of more than 1,000 opposition supporters, the barring of several potential challengers, claims of a Russian plot to sow instability, and the rise of an unheralded candidate in the form of the 37-year-old Tsikhanouskaya.

Lukashenka said after casting his vote in Minsk that neither he nor the government will allow Belarus to slip into "chaos" or "civil war" after the results of the election are announced.

Lukashenka also said that security officials in the country are considering "various options" over the possibility of unrest over the results.

Four challengers were on the ballot, but attention focused on Tsikhanouskaya, who was a last-minute replacement after husband, Syarhey Tsikhanouski, a popular vlogger who urged Belarusians to squash the "cockroach" Lukashenka with their slippers, was barred from running following his controversial arrest in late May.

The election comes with Lukashenka's popularity apparently waning under a slumping economy and the countrys response to the coronavirus pandemic.

The vote also comes as relations between Belarus and traditional ally Russia have worsened since December 2019 when Lukashenka pulled out at the last moment from plans for deeper integration with Russia under their 1999 Union Treaty. Since then, Moscow has limited energy supplies to Minsk, which is dependent on discounted Russian gas and oil to run its inefficient, largely state-dominated economy.

As in the past when relations with Russia soured, Lukashenka has fostered closer ties with both the United States and Europe in recent years. But that rapprochement could be undermined by a crackdown on the opposition and potential massive electoral fraud.

Lukashenka has suggested those opposed to him are "puppets" controlled by foreign masters bent on bringing instability to the country. In an address to parliament on August 4, he played up fears of a "color revolution" backed by Moscow and hostile powers in the West.

"They've decided to try out new forms of color revolution against us," he said, a term that normally refers to earlier uprisings in Georgia, Ukraine, and Kyrgyzstan. "It won't work."

Belarus announced on July 29 that 33 members of the Russian private military contractor Vagner had been detained near Minsk and accused them of a vague plot to incite "instability" around the vote. Belarusian officials also linked some opposition leaders, including Tsikhanouskaya's husband, of unspecified links with the mercenaries.

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) announced in July that it would not send observers because they had not received a formal invitation. It is the first time the OSCE is not monitoring a nationwide vote in Belarus since 2001.

The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), a Russian-led grouping of former Soviet republics, had observers at the polls. In the past, CIS observers have largely approved votes in Belarus, unlike Western and international observers who have never deemed any election under Lukashenka as free or fair.

Belarus has more than 48,000 of its own monitors but most are from state-run or state-controlled bodies.

But a few dozen independent observers, including 47 from the Belarusian Helsinki Committee, were allowed to monitor polling stations. An opposition initiative called Honest People also fielded vote monitors.

Meanwhile, the Voice platform, which called on voters to send photos of completed ballots for the presidential election, had counted over 1 million registered users who promised to help keep track of the vote. However, with the Internet disrupted it is unclear how the platform functioned.

With reporting by Current Time, RFE/RL's Belarus Service, Tony Wesolowsky, Reuters, and AFP
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Linkedin Dian Septiari (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sun, August 9, 2020

Top ASEAN diplomats reiterated the regions neutrality in a statement on ASEAN Day on Sunday, citing a declaration made during the Cold War and warning that rising geopolitical tensions could bring detrimental ramifications to the region.

While it did not mention the United States or China, the statement appeared to be addressed to the two powers, whose rivalry has become increasingly tense and has had political and economic consequences in Southeast Asia, coinciding with the COVID-19 pandemic.

The ASEAN statement, issued at the request of Indonesia, reaffirmed the importance of upholding the purposes and principles of the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia [TAC], the Zone of Peace, Freedom and Neutrality [ZOPFAN] Declaration and the Declaration of the East Asia Summit on the Principles for Mutually Beneficial Relations".
The centrepiece of this week's Sunday Independent is our coverage of John Hume's vast and unparalleled contribution to achieving a lasting peace in Ireland. Naturally, every media outlet in the country has marked Hume's passing last Monday in his native Derry but readers will find a different dimension to the coverage in this newspaper, beyond the tributes to his single-minded pursuit of peace and the examination of his legacy. I'm referring, of course, to the barrage of hostile coverage Hume was subjected to in the Sunday Independent in the second half of 1993 and into the following year - a time when he was in discussions with the Sinn Fein leader, Gerry Adams, about a cessation of IRA violence and terror.

It was a different Ireland in 1993  and a different Sunday Independent. In a riveting piece this week, Liam Collins takes us back to that time, when editor Aengus Fanning was driven by a desire to get his newspaper talked about  and read. More than anyone, Eamon Dunphy ticked both of those boxes. More on him later.

I was living in London at the time and have little memory of that coverage, but over three days last week, I trawled through the Sunday Independent archive and read everything published on the Hume-Adams talks in 1993, when the analysis was at its most trenchant.

At the same time, I was reading and listening to the countless tributes paid to Hume as he was being laid to rest. The juxtaposition of the two was sometimes breathtaking.

Read More

Week after week, Humes initiative was on the receiving end of intense scrutiny  as the newspaper would have defended it at the time. Others saw it differently, describing what was published as poisonous  persistent and vicious attacks, as one friend of Humes put it.

The man hailed by Bill Clinton as Irelands Martin Luther King was accused of being behind a shabby charade in the name of peace. It was speculated that his decision to sit down with Adams would prove to be a miscalculation of historic proportions.

Such analysis has not aged well, to put it mildly, but the same could be said of countless newspaper articles written in the moment, at a time of uncertainty. And, let us not forget, this was a time when innocent people were still being murdered and maimed by terrorist organisations like the IRA.

Journalism might be the first rough draft of history, but reporters and columnists writing in the moment are not historians and the newspaper that got everything right has yet to come off a printing press.

It can be easy to forget that the idea of peace in Northern Ireland was once almost impossible to conceive, let alone deliver.

It was this weekend 27 years ago  August 8, 1993  when suspicion bordering on hostility gave way to what can be fairly described as an all-out attack on Hume mounted by the papers biggest star writer of the day, Dunphy, in an incendiary back-page piece.

Much more followed over the following months, with a string of opinion writers joining in and attacking the Hume-Adams talks. An editorial defended the coverage in the strongest terms: Dissent from Mr Humes fallible political judgment by Sunday Independent columnists should be seen for what it is  as part of a healthy democratic debate on a major issue.

To say there was a debate would be a stretch. For months, the only regular dissenting voice was that of the eminent historian Dr Ronan Fanning. When the SDLPs Mark Durkan sought a right of reply to Dunphys August 8 column, it was refused. That was wrong. Some of what was written was offensively over the top  for example Dunphy referring to Hume as the political bomber flying over unionist heads trying to kill them.

A cartoon drawing of Hume which appeared with that column  and with at least two subsequent pieces  became a source of controversy. In later years, it was wrongly described as depicting blood dripping from John Humes hands. There was no dripping blood, but Humes right hand was dark, in stark contrast to his left. It was, in my view, ambiguous  and wide open to the interpretation that Humes hand was stained by blood.

The coverage is characterised by Humes friend Michael Lillis this week as false and wanton vitriol, which gushed Sunday after Sunday and caused Hume immense distress.

The paper was absolutely entitled to subject Hume-Adams to plenty of scrutiny, at a time when the IRA instilled fear in decent Irish people  but to refuse a platform to a senior SDLP figure who took serious issue with what was being written was an indefensible decision.

Over seven pages this week, I hope we have recognised the scale of Humes contribution. The coverage includes heavy criticism of the Sunday Independents approach in 1993-94. In the interests of balance and fairness, there is also a defence of it, mounted by two of the journalists who were in the thick of it back then. Part of their argument is that the criticism was motivated by concerns that the Hume-Adams process would effectively legitimise the IRA.

My fear was not that there would be peace, but that the IRA would pocket each concession and then turn violence on and off strategically in order to extract more, writes Eilis OHanlon.

Hume, ultimately, was vindicated. Whatever argument there was, he won it. He is widely regarded now as the man who did more than anyone alive or dead to deliver peace in Ireland.

For that, we are all in his debt.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Sunday said COVID-19 stimulus negotiations remained at a standstill over Democratic lawmakers consistent push for almost $1 trillion in aid to state and local governments whose budgets have been battered during the pandemic.

Anytime they have a new proposal, Im willing to listen, Mnuchin told Fox News Chris Wallace on Fox News Sunday.

Mnuchin said the Trump administration agrees with Democrats on a number of provisions included in both Democratic- and Republican-led stimulus proposals. But the GOP plan released earlier this month by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell had a $1 trillion price tag compared to the $3 trillion package advanced by Democrats, and talks last week between administration officials and Democratic leaders showed little evidence that compromise was coming any time soon.

We both want to send more checks to the American workers, Mnuchin said. We want to send more (Payroll Protection Program loans) to those hardest hit businesses. Weve said lets pass legislation on the things we agree on and knock these off one at a time. And theyve refused to do that until they get their $1 trillion for the states.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Sunday called on Republicans to come back to the negotiating table, meet us halfway and work toward a compromise that will truly help American workers and families.

President Trumps meager executive actions do little for working families. Republicans must come back to the negotiating table, meet us halfway and work toward a compromise that will truly help American workers and families. #FamiliesFirst #FoxNewsSunday pic.twitter.com/vAvoLnKIoa  Nancy Pelosi (@SpeakerPelosi) August 9, 2020

Mnuchin argued that there is still about $150 billion available to states through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act approved by Congress and signed by President Donald Trump in late March. Most of the states, Mnuchin said, havent even used half of the money.

The governors are saying, We need more money for education, we need help, and the president said, Well give it to you, but not a trillion dollars, Mnuchin told Wallace.

With talks stalled and a weekly $600 unemployment bonus expired last week, Trump recently bypassed Congress by issuing executive orders that could provide a $400 weekly enhancement to unemployment benefits, calling on states to cover a quarter of the costs. He also called for deferring payroll taxes and federal student loan payments, and continuing a federal freeze on evictions.

But Democrats and Republicans alike have criticized Trumps orders, calling them unconstitutional and arguing they wont be effective because Congress, not the president, has authority over appropriations.

Pelosi told Wallace on Sunday that Trumps actions were meager, weak and unconstitutional.

Pelosi and other Democrats, including the Massachusetts delegation, have repeatedly urged Republicans to agree to provide state, local and tribal governments more funding. Public employee layoffs exceed 1.5 million as states, towns and cities have seen unprecedented budget shortfalls. Pelosi said Sunday that if Trump wants states to cover 25% of his proposed enhancement to unemployment insurance, they simply dont have the money.

They have expenses from the coronavirus, they have lost revenue from shelter-in-place and the fact that people are not being able to go out and spend money and inject demand into the economy as they would normally, she said.

Related Content:
By Rod Nickel and Hallie Gu

WINNIPEG, Manitoba/BEIJING (Reuters) - Canadian canola prices have soared to the highest in nearly two years, despite a diplomatic dispute between Ottawa and Beijing, as exporters find roundabout ways to reach top oilseed buyer China.

Chinese authorities have since March 2019 blocked canola shipments by two Canadian exporters, an action they took after Canadian police detained a Huawei Technologies executive in late 2018 on a United States warrant.

The dispute however, has not spoiled China's appetite for canola, which is mainly processed into vegetable oil. While China is buying less from Canada directly, it has bought canola oil instead from Europe and the United Arab Emirates, with some of that oil made from Canadian canola, traders said.

ICE canola futures <RSc1> on Tuesday hit the highest nearby price since October 2018. Prices of China's rapeseed oil, another name for canola oil, have also rallied, partly because of limited Canadian supply.

"Profits are extravagant. Anyone who has the resources to import (canola oil) will definitely buy," said a manager with a China-based canola importer.

"It is like gold oil now."

Canadian canola exports to China fell 45% year over year during the 11-month period through June, however total canola exports have jumped 9%, helped by a tripling of sales to France and double the shipments to the UAE.

Canada is the world's biggest canola producer, and the yellow-flowering plant earned farmers C$8.6 billion ($6.42 billion) last year, the most of any crop.

China meanwhile boosted canola oil imports from Europe, Russia and Australia, with some of that oil made from Canadian canola, said another China-based trader.

The price rally left farmer Mary-Jane Duncan-Eger, who grows canola near Regina, Saskatchewan, "super-mystified," considering that Canada is heading for a bumper crop.

To lock in high prices, she pre-sold 50% of her anticipated harvest, up from the 30% she usually pre-sells at this time of year.

Story continues

"I'm pretty happy. As long as someone is buying it, I don't care who."

Global canola oil demand has prompted Canadian crushers - who include Archer Daniels Midland Co <ADM.N> and Bunge Ltd <BG.N> - to process canola at a brisk pace, said Brian Comeault, commodity risk manager with Cargill Ltd's [CARGIL.UL] Canadian marketing service MarketSense.

GRAPHIC: China edible oils prices - https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/ce/rlgpdnerxpo/Edible%20Oils-Aug%202020.jpg

Exporters are also selling more seed to the UAE, where crushers produce oil to sell to China, he said.

Bad crop weather and insect attacks in Europe have also lifted prices.

Rapeseed production in the European Union and Britain is expected near the 13-year low seen in 2019.

This has led European importers to scour other countries for supplies, especially those with weaker currencies that make purchases more profitable, consultancy Strategie Grains said in a report.

"Canadian canola has the biggest edge," it said. "Competition among importing countries will probably be fierce over the coming months."

GRAPHIC: Canadian canola exports - https://graphics.reuters.com/CANADA-CANOLA/ygdpzdajjpw/

GRAPHIC: China rapeseed oil futures prices - https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/ce/jbyprkdzqve/Rapeseed%20prices-Aug%202020.jpg

(Reporting by Rod Nickel in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Hallie Gu in Beijing, Gus Trompiz in Paris and Michael Hogan in Hamburg; Editing by Marguerita Choy)
By Hamid Shalizi, Hameed Farzad and Abdul Qadir Sediqi

KABUL (Reuters) - The Afghan government agreed on Sunday to release 400 "hard-core" Taliban prisoners, paving the way for peace talks aimed at ending almost two decades of war.

The insurgent group welcomed the move and said it was ready to begin talks within 10 days of the release.

Under election-year pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump for a deal allowing him to bring home American troops, the country's grand assembly, or Loya Jirga, on Sunday approved the release.

The Taliban militant had demanded the release of the 400, the last batch among 5,000 prisoners to be freed, as a condition to join peace talks.

"In order to remove an obstacle, allow the start of the peace process and an end of bloodshed, the Loya Jirga approves the release of 400 Taliban," the assembly said in a resolution.

Minutes later, President Ashraf Ghani announced, "Today, I will sign the release order of these 400 prisoners."

Last week Ghani invited the grand assembly, some 3,200 community leaders and politicians, to Kabul to advise the government on whether the prisoners should be freed.

Among the 400 are Taliban members accused of major attacks against civilians and foreigners, including a 2017 truck bombing near the German embassy in Kabul that killed more than 150 people - the deadliest attack in the 19-year insurgency.

Taliban and official sources have told Reuters the group includes members of the militant Haqqani network, which has ties to the Taliban.

With the release, the Afghan government will fulfil its pledge to release 5,000 Taliban prisoners.

Talks between the government and the Taliban will start in Doha this week, Western diplomats said. Ghani appealed to the hardline Islamist group to pledge to a complete ceasefire ahead of talks.

But while the Taliban agreed to start talks within 10 days of the release, it did not commit to an immediate ceasefire.

Story continues

"Ceasefire is and will be an important part of the talks, which will be decided during talks (not before)," Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen told Reuters on the phone from Doha, where the group's political office is based.

Sunday's government decision capped more than five months of fitful talks after Washington and the Taliban agreed on the release of the Taliban prisoners as a condition for the talks with Kabul.

BLOODY ATTACKS

Deliberation over the release of last batch of Taliban prisoners had triggered outrage among civilians and rights groups.

It has also proved wrenching for the families of the more than 100,000 Afghan civilians thought to have been killed or injured in the past decade, more than 10,000 last year alone.

The Loya Jirga had urged the government to seek forgiveness from the families of those killed in attacks carried out by the Taliban prisoners being released, important under many interpretations of Islamic law.

U.S. officials had encouraged the Loya Jirga in recent days to support the prisoners' release despite the drawbacks in order to get the peace process moving.

Neighbouring Pakistan, seen as key to helping pave the way to talks, welcomed Sunday's decision.

"We hope that with implementation of this step relating to the prisoners release, as envisaged in the U.S.-Taliban Peace Agreement, the Intra-Afghan Negotiations will commence at the earliest," Pakistan's foreign office said in a statement.

Ahead of the Loya Jirga, Human Rights Watch cautioned that many of the prisoners had been jailed under "overly broad terrorism laws that provide for indefinite preventive detention".

With the Nov. 3 presidential election looming, Trump is eager to fulfil a major campaign promise to end America's longest war.

The drawdown will bring the number of U.S. troops to "a number less than 5,000" by the end of November, Defense Secretary Mark Esper said in an interview broadcast on Saturday, down from current levels of around 8,600.

(Reporting by Hamid Shalizi, Hameed Farzad and Abdul Qadir Sediqi in Kabul; Additional reporting by Alexander Cornwell in Dubai and Charlotte Greenfield in Islamabad; Writing by Gibran Peshimam and Rupam Jain; Editing by William Mallard and Frances Kerry)
KABUL An Afghan grand assembly, known as the Loya Jirga, on Sunday approved the release of 400 hard-core" Taliban prisoners, a decision endorsed by President Ashraf Ghani, paving the way for peace talks between the government and the insurgents aimed at ending a 19-year war.

Following is a chronology of U.S. involvement and major developments in Afghanistan over the past 19 years. The Afghan war has killed more than 2,300A U.S. service members and wounded more than 20,000, while more than 100,000 Afghan civilians are estimated to have died. [L4N2FB02T]

Sept. 11, 2001 - U.S. involvement in Afghanistan is triggered by the twin suicide attacks on the United States plotted in Afghanistan by al Qaeda militant leader Osama bin Laden, a Saudi who was there under Taliban protection.

Oct 7, 2001 - U.S. forces begin air campaign with strikes on Taliban al Qaeda forces. Small numbers of U.S. special forces and CIA agents soon slip into Afghanistan to help direct the bombing campaign and organise Afghan opposition forces.

Nov. 13, 2001 - U.S.-backed Northern Alliance forces enter Kabul as the Taliban withdraw south. Within a month, Taliban leaders have fled from southern Afghanistan into neighbouring Pakistan.

December 2001 - U.S. forces bomb the Tora Bora cave complex in eastern Afghanistan where bin Laden is hiding, but he slips over the border into Pakistan and disappears.

Dec. 22, 2001 - Hamid Karzai, an ethnic Pashtun opponent of the Taliban, is sworn in as interim leader.

May 2, 2003 - U.S. officials declare an end to major combat operations in Afghanistan. President George W. Bush turns the U.S. focus to preparing for the invasion of Iraq. This allows the Taliban to gradually return, at first in the south and east.

Feb. 17, 2009 - Barack Obama, in his first major military decision as president, orders 17,000 more combat troops to Afghanistan to tackle an intensifying insurgency. The 17,000 reinforce 38,000 U.S. troops and 32,000 from some 40 NATO allies and other nations already in Afghanistan.

Aug. 20, 2009 - Second Afghan presidential election. Karzai retains power after a dispute with his main rival, Abdullah Abdullah, fuelled by allegations of major election fraud.

May 1, 2011 - Bin Laden is killed in a raid by U.S. forces in Abbottabad, Pakistan.

2011 - The number of U.S. forces in Afghanistan peaks at about 100,000 as part of a surge that involves intensified CIA drone attacks on Taliban and other militants in Pakistan.

December 2011 - U.S. officials say U.S. diplomats have held about half a dozen secret meetings with Afghan Taliban contacts over 10 months, mostly in Germany and Qatar.

Dec. 28, 2014 - The U.S. combat mission is officially concluded after the withdrawal of most combat troops and a transition to an Afghan-led" war. Nearly 10,000 U.S. troops remain, though, with a focus on training Afghan forces and counter-terrorism.

Sep. 4, 2018 a Afghan-born U.S. diplomat Zalmay Khalilzad is appointed U.S. special representative to seek negotiations with the Taliban.

Feb. 29, 2020 - After months of on-off talks, the United States signs a troop withdrawal agreement in Doha with the Taliban. The deal includes a 14-month timeline for the withdrawal of all U.S. and NATO troops from Afghanistan as well as guarantees from the Taliban that it will prevent militant groups including al-Qaeda from using Afghan soil to threaten the security of the United States and its allies.

April 9, 2020 - After initially resisting releasing prisoners demanded by the Taliban on security grounds, the Afghan government releases around 100 of the 5,000 demanded by the insurgent group. Over the following months it continues to release prisoners, but the process stalls at the final 400, who are accused to some of Afghanistans greatest crimes.

Aug. 9, 2020 - President Ashraf Ghani agrees to release the final 400 prisoners after consulting with the Loya Jirga, paving the way to peace negotiations with the Taliban in the Qatari capital, Doha.

Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor
By PTI

LUCKNOW: The condition of Samajwadi Party (SP) patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav is improving, Medanta Hospital director Rakesh Kapoor said on Sunday.

Yadav was admitted to the hospital on Friday, following an infection in the urinary tract.

He was tested for COVID-19 and the results were negative.

"His condition is improving. He is responding to the treatment," Kapoor told PTI.

The hospital director had earlier said the 80-year-old SP leader also underwent ultrasound, blood and urine tests.

SP spokesperson Rajendra Chaudhary had said on Saturday that party chief Akhilesh Yadav and his wife Dimple Yadav had gone to the hospital on Friday night to enquire about the condition of the party patriarch.
Two government ministers resign as world leaders pledge hundreds of millions of dollars at emergency donor conference.

International leaders joined a virtual donor conference led by France and the United Nations in the aftermath of the devastating explosion at the Beirut port, pledging nearly $300m in humanitarian assistance that will be directly delivered to the Lebanese population.

The event came as angry protesters took to the streets of the Lebanese capital for a second consecutive day on Sunday, clashing with security forces who fired tear gas to disperse them.

Lebanons Information Minister Manal Abdel Samad announced her resignation, saying Prime Minister Hassan Diabs government failed to live up to the aspirations of the people. Shortly after, Environment Minister Damianos Kattar also resigned from his post.

At least 158 people were killed in Tuesdays explosion and more than 6,000 others were wounded.

Here are the latest updates:

Sunday, August 9

20:37 GMT  IMF chief renews call for reforms

Kristalina Georgieva, the head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), warned Lebanon again it would not get any loans from the institution unless it reformed its government.

Current and future generations of Lebanese must not be saddled with more debts than they can ever repay, she said during the pledging conference.

That is why she said the IMF requires debt sustainability as a condition for lending, adding that the financial system must be solvent, too.

19:32 GMT  Environment minister steps down

Environment Minister Damianos Kattar said in a statement he was stepping down, becoming the second minister to quit over the explosion.

In light of the enormous catastrophe  I have decided to hand in my resignation from government, Kattar said, adding he had lost hope in a sterile regime that botched several opportunities.

19:21 GMT  Will explosion cause a humanitarian disaster?

Lebanon was in a dire state even before the enormous explosion which wrecked much of Beirut.

The government is bankrupt, the currency is almost worthless and millions of Lebanese are jobless. The explosion made things worse by destroying the main port for a nation heavily reliant on food imports.

Some 300,000 people made homeless in Beirut have received little help from the government. Lebanon is also home to 1.5 million Syrian refugees.

How will aid organisations deal with the challenge?

Find out more here or watch Inside Story below.





18:14 GMT  Aid summit raises $300m to be given directly to people

A host of nations have pledged nearly $300m in humanitarian assistance to Lebanon at a conference aimed at rallying international support for the crisis-hit country.

The sums will be routed through the UN, international organisations and NGOs, rather than the Lebanese government  in line with the demands of large swaths of the Lebanese public who fear the funds would be lost to corruption.

Read more here.





16:07 GMT  Demonstrators hurl stones at police in second day of protests

Protesters hurled rocks at security forces blocking a road near Lebanons parliament in a second day of protests against the government.

Reuters news agency reported that hundreds were converging on a main square where thousands of Lebanese protested on Saturday against a political elite they blame for the countrys economic and political woes.

We want to destroy and kill the government. They gave us no jobs nor rights, said Nissan Ghrawi, a 19-year old unemployed demonstrator.

On Saturday, more than 700 protesters were wounded in clashes with riot police who used tear gas and live bullets in a bid to disperse crowds.

15:56 GMT  Trump calls for Lebanon to hold transparent investigation into blast

US President Donald Trump called for Lebanon to conduct a full and transparent investigation into the huge explosion that hit Beirut, and expressed his support for protests demanding reform in the country.

Trump urged the Government of Lebanon to conduct a full and transparent investigation, in which the United States stands ready to assist, according to the White House, after he participated in a virtual donor conference.

The President called for calm in Lebanon and acknowledged the legitimate calls of peaceful protesters for transparency, reform, and accountability, the White House added.

15:46 GMT  Michel Moawad becomes latest MP to resign from parliament

MP Michel Moawad is the latest to resign from the Lebanese parliament, bringing the total number of parliamentarians who stepped down after the deadly blast to seven.

Enough is enough  I represent the entire Lebanese nation according to the constitution, and this means that I represent the martyrs and the wounded who fell in the Beirut port massacre and those who are still missing, Moawad said in a series of tweets.

Ive listened to your tears and to your pain  You [the people] are the source of authority, he wrote.

                             Michel Moawad (@michelmoawad) August 9, 2020

15:15 GMT  EU latest funding is to  help address immediate needs

The latest funding by the European Commission to Lebanon was to help address the immediate needs of those affected by the deadly explosion in Beirut on 4 August, said a commission statement.

As needs rise we are providing humanitarian support to hundreds of thousands of the most vulnerable people, commissioner for Crisis Management Janez Lenarcic said in the statement.

Commission President Ursula von der Leyen put up 33m euros funding in a phone call on Thursday with the Lebanese President Michel Aoun. The EU had earlier pledged 33m euros in aid to Lebanon.

The new funding will be channelled to UN agencies and NGOs and will be strictly monitored, the statement added.

14:57 GMT  Pledges made at international donor conference

Here are a list of countries that have pledged to provide Lebanon with financial aid at the donor summit co-hosted by France and UN.

 Qatar, pledged $50m

 France, pledged 50m euros ($58.9m)

 Germany, pledged $20m

 Kuwait, pledged $41m

 European Commission, pledged 63m euros ($74.2m)

 Cyprus, pledged 5m euros ($5.89m)

14:33 GMT  Lebanese army says hope of finding more survivors is fading

The Lebanese army said that hope was fading of finding more survivors from Tuesdays catastrophic explosion at the port of Beirut.

After three days of search and rescue operations we can say we have finished the first phase, which involved the possibility of finding survivors, Colonel Roger Khoury told a press conference.

As technicians working on the ground, we can say we have fading hopes of finding survivors, added Khoury, who heads a team of military technicians operating at the blast site.

The health ministry said 21 people were still missing following the explosion, killing at least 158 people and injuring about 6,000.

Hello, this is Farah Najjar taking over from my colleague Arwa Ibrahim.

12:20 GMT  Macron tells Lebanon donor conference: We must act quickly

World powers owe the Lebanese people support after a massive blast devastated the countrys capital, French President Emmanuel Macron said.

We must act quickly and efficiently so that this aid goes directly to where it is needed, Macron said in opening remarks to a UN-backed donor conference he was hosting by video link. Lebanons future is at stake.

The president said the offer of assistance included support for an impartial, credible and independent inquiry into the August 4 port explosion.

The explosion gutted entire neighbourhoods, leaving 250,000 people homeless, razing businesses and destroying critical grain supplies.

Rebuilding Beirut will likely run into the billions of dollars. Economists forecast the blast could wipe up to 25 percent off of the countrys GDP.





12:06 GMT  Lebanese in Chile send thoughts, donate to Beirut

In Chile, members of the Lebanese Union in Chile lit candles, for Lebanon in a show of virtual solidarity.

We watched in desperation, I think that is the word, when we saw the strength of the pictures. In my head I tried to imagine what are the consequences that the explosion left behind, says Nissrin Esber, president of the union.

The explosion that rocked Beirut last week has had far-reaching ripples, including in the countrys large diaspora communities.

There are estimated to be at least 90,000 Chileans claiming Lebanese descent.





11:37 GMT  Ex-Lebanon premier denies knowledge of Beirut shipment

Former Lebanese premier Tammam Salam has denied receiving correspondence or information about the arrival of a hazardous chemical materials shipment in Beirut, which caused the deadly blast in the capital on Tuesday.

In a statement, Salams media office said reports alleging that he was aware of the arrival of a ship carrying chemical materials to Beirut were false and bare of truth.

Earlier, media reports suggested that a Lebanese court had ordered the ship to unload its cargo at the Beirut port when Salam was the prime minister.

He held the post between February 2014 to December 2016.

10:56 GMT  Lebanese president condemns calls for international probe into blast

Lebanons President Michel Aoun said that demands for an international investigation into Tuesdays deadly blast at the port of Beirut aimed at wasting time.

The judiciary should be swift to confirm who is a criminal and who is innocent [with regards to the blast], said Aoun in a statement released by his office and shared over Twitter.

10:29 GMT  Sixth lawmaker resigns from Lebanons parliament

Independent member of parliament Nehmat Freim has stepped down, making her the sixth lawmaker to quit a position in parliament since Tuesdays deadly blast.

09:50 GMT  Furious Lebanese vow new protests over deadly mega-blast

Lebanese protesters enraged by official negligence blamed for Beiruts enormous and deadly explosion vowed to rally again after a night of street clashes in which they stormed several ministries.

Prepare the gallows because our anger doesnt end in one day, warned one message circulating on social media in response to Tuesdays earthquake-strength blast of a huge pile of industrial chemicals.

08:42 GMT  Lebanons information minister steps down in first govt resignation over blast

Lebanon information minister Manal Abdel Samad announced her resignation, saying Prime Minister Hassan Diabs government failed to live up to the aspirations of the Lebanese people.

I want to apologise to the Lebanese people, whose aspirations we were unable to fulfil due to the difficulty of the challenges facing us, she said in a short statement from the ministry.

Abdel Samad said she had tried in Diabs government to address the demands of an unprecedented uprising that rocked the country last October, but change remained far.

Abdel Samad added the government did not live up to her aspirations and she was resigning out of respect for those killed, injured and missing after the massive Beirut explosion earlier this week, and in response to the peoples demand for change.

Abdel Samad is the second minister to resign from Diabs government in one week, after Foreign Minister Nassif Hitti resigned on Monday.

Lebanons former Information Minister Manal Abdel Samad at the presidential palace in Baabda [File: Dalati Nohra/Reuters]

08:01 GMT  Lebanons Maronite patriarch says government must quit as it cannot change

Lebanons Christian Maronite Patriarch Bechara Boutros al-Rai called on the cabinet to resign as it cannot change the way it governs the country and help it to recover from Tuesdays catastrophic explosion.

07:23 GMT  Beirut port blast crater 43 metres deep, says security official

The huge ammonium nitrate explosion in Beiruts port that devastated much of the city left a crater 43 metres (141 feet) deep, a security official said.

The explosion in the port left a crater 43 meters deep on Tuesday, the official told AFP, citing reports by French experts conducting an assessment of the disaster area.





06:41 GMT  German aid and relief supplies arrive in Beirut

About 43 tonnes of relief supplies from the German Red Cross arrived in Beirut overnight, the German ambassador to Lebanon said over Twitter.

The aid, received by the Lebanese Red Cross, included medicine, first aid and protective equipment.

05:55 GMT  Frances Macron to host donor conference for blast-stricken Lebanon

French President Emmanuel Macron will host US President Donald Trump and other political leaders for a UN-endorsed donors conference by video to raise emergency relief for Lebanon following this weeks massive explosion in Beirut.

Trump will participate in the video-link conference.

A Macron aide declined on Saturday to set a target for the conference. Emergency aid was needed for reconstruction, food aid, medical equipment and schools and hospitals, the official said.

Representatives of Britain, the European Union, China, Russia, Egypt and Jordan are expected to join the conference, hosted by Macron from his summer retreat on the French Riviera.

Israel and Iran will not take part, the Elysee Palace official said.









05:15 GMT  Independent candidates face uphill battle in Lebanon elections

Early elections have been one of the oppositions demands but there are concerns the sectarian based political system and electoral law wont give independent candidates a chance  it will be a long battle for change #Lebanon https://t.co/wnqdboTKnB  Zeina Khodr (@ZeinakhodrAljaz) August 9, 2020

Independent candidates face an uphill battle in Lebanons parliamentary elections, which Prime Minister Hassan Diab announced on Saturday.

Al Jazeera correspondent Zeina Khodr said that there are concerns that the sectarian-based political system in the country, as well as its electoral law wont give independent candidates a chance.

It will be a long battle for change in Lebanon, she wrote on social media on Sunday.

03:24 GMT  South Korea extends $1m emergency aid to Lebanon

South Korea has announced that it is extending a $1m emergency aid package to Lebanon, following the devastating blast that killed more than 100 people and displaced hundreds of thousands of people in Beirut.

Even before the disaster struck on Tuesday, Lebanon has already been facing a severe economic slump made worse by the coronavirus outbreak.

02:30 GMT  As many as 10,000 protesters hit Beiruts Martyrs Square

As many as 10,000 protesters had gathered in Beiruts Martyrs Square on Saturday, some throwing stones at police, according to reports and social media posts.

Police fired tear gas when some protesters tried to break through the barrier blocking a street leading to parliament, a Reuters journalist said.

Police confirmed shots and rubber bullets had been fired. It was not immediately clear who fired the shots. Riot police shot dozens of tear gas canisters at protesters, who hit back with firecrackers and stones.

https://twitter.com/dalalmawad/status/1292191514827915265?ref_src=twsrc^tfw

00:10 GMT  Lebanese authorities accused of excessive use of force

At least 14 journalists and other media workers have been attacked while covering the latest protests in Lebanon, according to a journalist for the independent news website, The Public Source.

Authorities have been accused of using excessive force against the protesters, who were demonstrating against government inaction following the deadly blast in Beirut on Tuesday.

Excessive use of force 

Attacking monitors  Repeating same mistakes over & over #Beirut #LebanonProtests https://t.co/CLAQQ7nux1  Rawya Rageh (@RawyaRageh) August 8, 2020

Saturday, August 8

23:35 GMT  Hundreds injured during demonstrations in Beirut

More than 728 people have been wounded following protests in the Lebanese capital, Beirut, in response to the deadly blast that killed at least 158 people on Tuesday.

Protesters have been demanding action from the government amid the economic crisis the country is facing even before the disaster struck.

18:59 GMT  Lebanese army expelling protesters from foreign ministry

The Lebanese army drove out a group of protesters who had taken over the foreign ministry building in central Beirut hours earlier.

The demonstrators, led by retired army officers, had stormed the building and declared it the headquarters of the revolution, but they were expelled three hours later when large army reinforcements muscled in.

18:38 GMT  US says it supports right of Lebanese to peaceful protest, urges political reforms

The US government supports Lebanese demonstrators right to peaceful protest and urges all involved to refrain from violence, the US Embassy in Beirut said.

The embassy also said in a tweet that the Lebanese people deserve to have leaders who listen to them and change course to respond to popular demands for transparency and accountability.

1/2 The Lebanese people have suffered too much and deserve to have leaders who listen to them and change course to respond to popular demands for transparency and accountability.  U.S. Embassy Beirut (@usembassybeirut) August 8, 2020

18:13 GMT  Army and protesters clash near Beiruts main highway

Army soldiers and protesters clashed by Beiruts main ring road near the city centre amid continuing anti-government rallies, an Al Jazeera reporter said.

The army attacked protesters with sticks, beating a large number of them, while demonstrators responded by throwing rocks at the troops.

Take off the suit and come stand with us, then you can wear it again with honour, a protester said as a number of them confronted a line of soldiers.

Tell us what you get from being with them? We really dont understand it, why are you doing this to us?

Riot police used excessive amounts of tear gas in a bid to disperse protesters trying to break through a barrier leading to the parliament building [Tamara Saade/Al Jazeera]

16:57 GMT  Latest Lebanese Red Cross figures from protest site

 At least 238 protesters have been wounded in central Beirut;

 63 protesters have been transported to nearby hospitals;

 175 others have been treated at the scene of the protests.

16:38 GMT  Protesters storm Association of Banks HQ, energy ministry

A group of protesters have stormed Lebanons Association of Banks, as well as the Lebanese energy ministry as part of their attempt to take over the countrys ministries.

ABL head Salim Sfeir and CB Governor Riad Salameh two keys figures in the collapse of the Lebanese pound and economy. Protesters stormed the Association of Banks, "." Banks shut down after the #BeirutExplosions when people needed their withheld cash the most.#_ pic.twitter.com/oxs9vYN8hC  Lara Bitar (@LaraJBitar) August 8, 2020

16:18 GMT  Policeman killed in clashes with demonstrators in Beirut, police says

A Lebanese policeman was killed in clashes with demonstrators in central Beirut, a police spokesman said.

The protests against the ruling political establishment have also left more than 100 people injured and dozens hospitalised.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-09 22:04:04|Editor: huaxia

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BEIRUT, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) -- Lebanese President Michel Aoun announced on Sunday that rebuilding Beirut requires a lot of efforts and resources, the National News Agency reported.

"We have great needs at the moment and we must meet them quickly before the winter as citizens will suffer a lot without shelters during the cold weather," Aoun said during the virtual International Support Conference for Beirut and the Lebanese People.

"The earthquake struck us while we are in the midst of economic and financial crisis, in addition to the existence of over 1 million refugees in Lebanon and the repercussions of COVID-19. Dealing with all these is way beyond the capacity of Lebanon," Aoun noted.

The Lebanese president also thanked all that have sent donations to Lebanon.

Representatives from Britain, Qatar, the United States, the EU, China, the World Bank and others attended the virtual donor conference. Enditem
Illustrative photo (Source: NKA)



AMRO's chief economist Hoe Ee Khor said that ASEANs economic growth could drop from 4.6 percent to minus 2.6 percent due to the impacts of the pandemic.



For ASEAN and its Plus Three partners of China, Japan and the Republic of Korea, the average growth could drop from 4.8 percent last year to 0 percent this year, he added.



Many countries are slipping into recession, depending on their economic structures and how successful they were in containing COVID-19, he said.



However, even with the most successful countries like Thailand, he continued, a negative growth of 7.8 percent is expected because its economy depends on tourism and services, which were hit very badly.



He noted that if ASEAN+3 quickly controlled the outbreak, they could grow by as much as 6 percent next year.



The Thai cabinet recently approved the Finance Ministry's proposal to borrow 1.5 billion USD from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to stimulate and rehabilitate the economy.



The borrowing scheme is part of the government's plan to issue a royal decree to borrow 1 trillion baht (32 billion USD) to revive the virus-hit economy./.
US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, warned the world on Saturday against a prospective Chinese entry in the Middle East via Iran, opined that the combination of Iran's terror with Chinese aggression can be fatal for the region's stability with compounded risk and unchecked authoritarianism causing further human rights abuses in an already brutalised part of the world.

US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo on Saturday (local time) said that Chinas entry into Iran will destabilise the Middle East.

Chinas entry into Iran will destabilise the Middle East. Iran remains the worlds largest state sponsor of terror, and to have access to weapons systems and commerce and money flowing from the Chinese Communist Party only compounds that risk for that region, said Pompeo.

He said that the tide is turning as the like-minded countries are coming together to counter Chinas aggression.

Also read: Beirut explosion: Protestors storm govt ministries, demand regime change

Also read: Mauritius declares environmental emergency as oil spill crisis worsens

The tide is turning. All across the world, the threat from the Chinese Communist Party is becoming clearer and clearer, and nations that are like-minded are beginning to come together to rebalance, to push back against this, to protect our freedom and democracy, Pompeo added.

Also read: Trump cracks down on Chinese apps, signs order to ban Tiktok, WeChat in 45 days
WASHINGTON House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Sunday the threats of interference in the U.S. presidential election from Russia and China are not equal, pointing to a more serious risk with Moscows efforts to boost President Donald Trumps reelection bid.

Theyre not equivalent, said Pelosi, D-Calif. Russia is actively 24/7 interfering in our election. They did so in 2016, and they are doing so now. She urged intelligence agencies to put more information out there on the specific nature of the threats.

An intelligence report last week said Russia was already using a range of measures to undercut Trumps Democratic challenger, Joe Biden, and promote Trump with misinformation on social media. The statement Friday by William Evanina, director of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center, also said China does not want Trump to win a second term and has accelerated its criticism of the White House, and that Iran is also hoping Trump will lose.

Pelosi said trying to equate China and Russia on the threat of foreign election interference doesnt tell the story.

The Chinese, they said, prefer Biden we dont know that, but thats what theyre saying, but theyre not really getting involved in the presidential election, she said.

Trumps national security adviser, Robert OBrien, said Sunday that the U.S. is taking any threat to U.S. elections seriously. He said that China has engaged in cyberattacks and phishing with respect to our election infrastructure.

Were not going to put up with it, he said. Were going to take every action necessary to keep folks out, whether its China or Russia or Iran or Cuba or Venezuela or others.

Pelosi and other congressional Democrats have expressed concern that intelligence agencies have been withholding from the public specific intelligence information about the threat of foreign interference in American politics.

The facts are chilling, Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., wrote in an op-ed published Friday evening in The Washington Post. I believe the American public needs and deserves to know them. The information should be declassified immediately.

Pelosi spoke on CNNs State of the Union" and Fox News Sunday"and OBrien appeared on CBS Face the Nation.

Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor
MONTREAL - Quebec added five more deaths linked to COVID-19 today, along with 126 new infections in the province.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 8/8/2020 (528 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Dr. Horacio Arruda, Quebec's director of public health, addresses a news conference in Montreal, on Friday, Aug. 7, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson

MONTREAL - Quebec added five more deaths linked to COVID-19 today, along with 126 new infections in the province.

The province's Health Department reports the number of cases linked to the novel coronavirus stands at 60,367 along with 5,692 deaths.

Of the deaths reported today, authorities say one occurred before July 31.

The number of patients in intensive care increased by four to 23.

The province says 155 people are hospitalized, an increase of three patients.

The province performed 17,973 tests on Thursday, the last day for which testing results are available.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 8, 2020.
India on Sunday dismissed the controversy over the birthplace of Gautam Buddha, saying External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar's remarks on him was about "our shared Buddhist heritage" and there's "no doubt" that the founder of Buddhism was born in Nepal's Lumbini.

During a webinar on Saturday, Jaishankar mentioned about India's moral leadership and how Buddha and Mahatma Gandhi's teachings are still relevant.

However, the Nepalese media quoted him as saying that Buddha was an Indian.

In New Delhi, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Anurag Srivastava on Sunday said the minister's remarks on Saturday at an event "referred to our shared Buddhist heritage."

"There is no doubt that Gautam Buddha was born in Lumbini, which is in Nepal," Srivastava said.

Earlier, Nepalese Foreign Ministry raised objection over Jaishankar's remark quoted in the Nepalese media, saying "it is a well-established and undeniable fact proven by historical evidence that Buddha was born in Lumbini, Nepal."

The official spokesperson of the Nepal Foreign Ministry said that Lumbini, the birthplace of Buddha and the fountain of Buddhism, is one of the UNESCO world heritage sites.

During his visit to Nepal in 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself, addressing Nepal's Parliament said, "Nepal is the country where the apostle of peace in the world, Buddha, was born, recalled the Nepalese Foreign Ministry.

"Buddhism spread from Nepal to other parts of the world in the subsequent period and the matter remains beyond doubt and controversy."

Former prime minister and senior leader of the ruling Communist Party of Nepal Madhav Kumar Nepal said the alleged statement made by Jaishankar that Buddha was a great Indian is "baseless and objectionable".

Nepal's former foreign secretary Madhuraman Acharya tweeted: "If the enlightenment and preaching in India is to be used to claim that Buddha was an Indian, then most of the Rishis munis like Vyas, Valmiki and Patanjali who India claims to be their own are Nepalis because they medidated, wrote treatises and achieved moksha in Nepal!"

If the enlightenment and preaching in India is to be used to claim that Buddha was an Indian, then most of the Rishis munis like Vyas, Valmiki and Patanjali who India claims to be their own are Nepalis because they medidated, wrote treatises and achieved moksha in Nepal! https://t.co/rp2kVFFOb5  Madhu Raman Acharya (@MadhuRamanACH) August 9, 2020

Similarly, Nepali Congress spokesperson Bishwa Prakash Sharma also said, "Lord Buddha was born in Nepal."

(With PTI inputs)
New Delhi :

The Supreme Court on Wednesday asked the Centre to place before it a copy of the report of a Parliamentary standing committee suggesting amendments to the Lokpal law and wanted to know about the changes required to make the anti-graft ombudsman functional.

Besides replacing leader of opposition (LoP) with the leader of the largest oppoisition party of Lok Sabha in the selection panel for Lokpal, tell us what are the areas where you (Centre) need to make changes (in the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act), a bench headed by Chief Justice T S Thakur said.

The bench, also comprising Justices D Y Chandrachud and L Nageswar Rao, asked Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for the Centre, to file a copy of the report of the parliamentary panel on changes suggested in the statute and fixed the PIL filed by NGO Common Cause for further hearing on December 14.

At the outset, Rohatgi said he had conveyed the views of the court to the highest authority that it cannot go on like this and assured the bench that the process would be expeditied.

He said besides substituting LoP with the leader of the largest opposition party in Lok Sabha in the law, there was the need to bring more changes.

Senior advocate Shanti Bhushan and lawyer Prashant Bhushan, appearing for the NGO, said the Lokpal law has been passed after a long struggle and the government is doing nothing to make it funcitonal.

Here is a law which was enacted three years ago after a long battle. It is the duty of the government and the court to ensure that the law is enforced, Shanti Bhushan said.

The Attorney General opposed the contention that the leader of largest opposition party in Lok Sabha can be regarded as LoP with regard to the Lokpal Act.

As per the provision, the largest opposition party has to have 10 per cent of total number of MPs in Lok Sabha to claim the post of LoP and. The amendment to this effect has been pending with Parliament, he said.

Earlier, the court had pulled up the Centre over delay in appointment of Lokpal, saying it should not allow the law to become a dead letter.

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Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-09 16:02:09|Editor: huaxia

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HANOI, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) -- Dozens of students, with their faces covered under medical masks, lined up here at the entrance of Thach Ban High School in Long Bien District in the Vietnamese capital city of Hanoi, waiting to get body temperature checked on Saturday afternoon.

From above their heads, the speakers repeatedly reminded them of keeping a distance from each other. Meanwhile, a team of young volunteers continuously provided the students with hand sanitizers.

Nguyen Thanh Dat, 18, from Long Bien District, was one of some 500 students gathering at the school to complete the procedures for the important national exam starting Sunday morning.

The annual High School Graduation Exam, the result of which is also used for college admission in Vietnam, was registered by some 900,000 high school seniors in the country this year and takes place on Sunday and Monday after being postponed for a month and a half due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"I am not too worried about the infection risk. Our area is still quite safe," Dat told Xinhua. He felt comfortable because his exam venue is near his home which just takes some five minutes to walk to.

While he found the annual exam different in some ways from those in previous years, especially when talking about the distance.

"We have been guided to ensure distance in the testing room, while not talking to each other," Dat told Xinhua, noting that the number of candidates per room is only 24.

After seeing no COVID-19 cases in the community in over three months, Vietnam has reported a number of new infections domestically since late July, many of which were found in or related to its central city of Da Nang. Following the complicated epidemic development, more than 26,000 students being quarantined or living in lockdown areas, mainly in Da Nang, central Quang Nam province and central highlands Dak Lak province, will sit for the national exam later, according to the country's Ministry of Education and Training.

Having reported six new community cases since late July, Hanoi has put many places where the patients live and work at, as well as the surrounding areas, under lockdown. On Saturday, the city replaced an exam center by a back-up one after identifying contacts between some teachers and a newly confirmed COVID-19 case.

"I think the organizers are doing their best to help us feel secured. What we need to focus on (is) the exam, and just the exam," Dat said confidently.

In the past few weeks, provinces and cities nationwide have speeding preparation ahead of the important event, with COVID-19 prevention and control work being a highlight.

Disinfection has been carefully conducted, with body temperature checkpoints placed at test sites. Facilities and equipment including handwashing places, hand sanitizer, body temperature measuring devices, masks, extra examination rooms, medical rooms and medicines are also made available at each venue.

According to Hanoi Department of Education and Training, the capital city has some 79,300 contestants this year. A total of 3,326 official testing rooms have been set up at 143 exam centers, together with 286 spare rooms for quarantine where candidates are sent to if they have symptoms such as fever, cough and shortness of breath.

The municipal organizers have also requested parents of candidates not to gather at the entrance of the exam centers, specifying that they should drop their children at least 50 meters away from the place and quickly leave the area.

While in the central province of Nghe An, more than 150,000 masks have been prepared to give to some 31,200 contestants at the entrance of test sites.

Exam organizers across the country have also rushed to filter contestants and invigilators who had contact with COVID-19 patients or linked to the recent outbreaks so as to have suitable measures.

Nguyen Tar My, 18, a 12-grader in central Thua Thien, Hue province, felt reassured despite the complex development of the outbreak in neighboring city of Da Nang, which caused lockdown in some areas of her city.

"Teachers and local authorities have frequently updated us with disease prevention guidelines. My parents are making great efforts to help me keep healthy and be in the best conditions," My told Xinhua, noting that she will prepare personal bottled water, hand sanitizer and wear masks to protect herself and other people.

According to the Department of Education and Training of Thua Thien - Hue, My and nearly 12,600 other contestants in the province will take the exam at 554 testing rooms in 35 centers. They will be placed far from each other in well-ventilated rooms in order to ensure a safe distance.

For a long time, the High School Graduation Exam has been regarded as a seminal event in Vietnam, with success or failure having far-reaching impacts. The exam not only awards a high-school certificate but also determines admissions to universities and colleges. The higher the test score, the more highly-regarded the institution will be.

Taking place amid the COVID-19 pandemic, this year's exam has, to a certain extent, shaken the future study plans of many 12-graders.

My, the female contestant from Hue, said that she would try her best to get into the city's medical university. "I used to have no dream, but I have been inspired. Being a doctor that can save lives will be very great," she said with pleasure.

The contestant positively viewed that, the COVID-19 pandemic, is actually reshaping the market's labor demand, which encourages application for such majors as medical, technology and e-commerce.

While Dat, the student from Hanoi, hoped to be admitted to a military institution this autumn, not only for the free tuition fee, monthly allowances and secured job after graduation, but also because of what he has learned during the epidemic.

"Looking at the silent sacrifice of soldiers fighting COVID-19, I think I would be very proud to become one of them," the 18-year-old said with a bright smile.

"The exam this year is more challenging with complex developments of the COVID-19 pandemic. But since it is too important to my future and my family's, I must end up with a good result," he said. Enditem
In a major push for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Make in India initiative, Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday (August 9) announced that the Ministry of Defence was set to embrace the "Atma Nirbhar Bharat" initiative and would introduce import embargo on 101 weapon systems beyond given timeline to realise the goal of indigenisation of defence products.

"The embargo on imports is planned to be progressively implemented between 2020 to 2024. Our aim is to apprise the Indian defence industry about the anticipated requirements of the Armed Forces so that they are better prepared to realise the goal of indigenisation," tweeted Singh.

The embargo on imports is planned to be progressively implemented between 2020 to 2024. Our aim is to apprise the Indian defence industry about the anticipated requirements of the Armed Forces so that they are better prepared to realise the goal of indigenisation.  Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) August 9, 2020

The list of 101 embargoed items comprises of not just simple parts but also some high tech weapon systems like artillery guns, assault rifles, corvettes, sonar systems, transport aircraft, LCHs, radars and many other items to fulfil needs of our Defence Services, said Defence Minister Singh.

"All necessary steps would be taken to ensure that timelines for production of equipment as per the Negative Import List are met, which will include a co-ordinated mechanism for hand holding of the industry by the Defence Services," he added.

All necessary steps would be taken to ensure that timelines for production of equipment as per the Negative Import List are met, which will include a co-ordinated mechanism for hand holding of the industry by the Defence Services.  Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) August 9, 2020

Singh noted that Defence Ministry has prepared the list after several rounds of consultations with all stakeholders, including the Armed Forces, public and private industry to assess current and future capabilities of the Indian industry for manufacturing various ammunition and equipment within India.

"Almost 260 schemes of such items were contracted by the Tri-Services at an approximate cost of Rs 3.5 lakh crore between April 2015 and August 2020. It is estimated that contracts worth almost Rs 4 lakh crore will be placed upon the domestic industry within the next 6 to 7 years," he tweeted.

Almost 260 schemes of such items were contracted by the Tri-Services at an approximate cost of Rs 3.5 lakh crore between April 2015 and August 2020. It is estimated that contracts worth almost Rs 4 lakh crore will be placed upon the domestic industry within the next 6 to 7 years.  Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) August 9, 2020

"Of these, items worth almost Rs 1,30,000 crore each are anticipated for the Army and the Air Force while items worth almost Rs 1,40,000 crore are anticipated by the Navy over the same period," Singh said in another tweet.

Of these, items worth almost Rs 1,30,000 crore each are anticipated for the Army and the Air Force while items worth almost Rs 1,40,000 crore are anticipated by the Navy over the same period. #AtmanirbharBharat  Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) August 9, 2020

India is second biggest arms importer and it is at 23rd rank on arms exporters list. In February 2020, PM Modi had set USD 5 billion defense export target in next 5 years and India is eyeing Rs 1.75 lakh crore turnover in defense manufacturing by 2025.
Time's up for using spreadsheets to manage stakeholders at the New Zealand Commerce Commission. It has issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) for a customer relationship management (CRM) tool to replace its current system of disparate documentation.

"The Commission currently holds stakeholder contact details and information in a series of spreadsheets managed by different teams throughout the branches (business groups). A central 'key' stakeholder spreadsheet is held by the Communications team for stakeholder events and other high-level organisation wide communications," the RFP notes.

This has created a number of issues for the Commission, such as there being no single source of truth, inconsistent and out of date information, risk of duplication and conflicted information, and reputational issues "from the Commission appearing disjointed as contact information is out of date and there is no central database of interactions to refer to."

Commission regulates utilities, dairy, airports

As an independent Crown entity, the Commission is responsible for enforcing laws relating to competition, fair trading, and consumer credit contracts. It also has specific regulatory oversight into the electricity lines, gas pipelines, telecommunications, dairy and airport sectors. It has three branches  competition and consumer, regulation, and organisation performance.

The Commission doesn't have an IT department, instead it has an Information Services team, which comprises three teams: a technical services team which has six staff comprised of helpdesk and system engineers; a knowledge and Information team that has four staff who manage its records, library and research; and a business solutions team of seven who provide application support and manage the information systems projects for the Commission.

According to the RFP document, a stakeholder management tool would be expected to support between 220 and 300 users, but as to how many stakeholders there are, that isn't as clear-cut.

"The Commission engages with a wide range of stakeholders across our work, some are ongoing relationships while others are one off engagements based on a particular topic. It is difficult to put an exact number on it, but a recent survey sent to stakeholders had almost 1,000 recipients," a spokesperson told Computerworld New Zealand.

Data collection to comply with Privacy Act

The information about stakeholders and their interactions with the Commission that are likely to be contained in the management tool - as outlined in the RFP - are extensive, but all data collected will need to comply with the new Privacy Act that comes in effect in December. Here are just some of the requirements one section "Stakeholder information":

Import stakeholder records from other sources (e.g. excel files)

Capture the engagement approach or plan - strategy for different stakeholder levels

Create stakeholders from Streamline/ServiceNow entity records

Record the structure of an organisation (departments, business units, individuals, etc.)

Set optional alternative contacts

Flag individuals that should not be contacted for an organisation

Scan in business cards

Add an organisational stakeholder plan/strategy

Flag a stakeholder as a strategic priority for the Commission

Create other relationship / interaction links between stakeholders

Set tiers for stakeholders that indicate importance/influence/impact/other factors as needed

Add structured and unstructured tags to stakeholders

Among the benefits sought by upgrading to a new stakeholder management system are reporting and data analysis. Computerworld New Zealand asked if the Commission will be signing up to the Government's new Algorithm Charter. This commits signatories to being mindful about how algorithms are used. Specifically, they are expected to strike the right balance between privacy and transparency, prevent unintended bias, and reflect the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi.

"The Commission only became aware of the charter on 4 August 2020. Information about the charter will be referred to our senior leadership team to consider whether the Commission will sign up," said the spokesperson.

In early August the Commission released two reviews into a security incident in October 2019 caused by the theft of computer equipment. In response, Commission Chair Anna Rawlings noted the Commission is "embarking on a broad ranging information management and security programme, to help ensure that those we interact with can continue to have confidence in our ability to protect confidential and commercially sensitive information provided to us."
Interior Ministry spokeswoman Olga Chemodanova said that police efforts to restore order were continuing overnight, but wouldnt say how many people were detained. On Monday morning, Belarus Investigative Committee opened a criminal probe into mass riots and violence toward police officers. What has happened is awful, Tsikhanouskaya told reporters Sunday. Police block the road to protect against demonstrators after the Belarusian presidential election in Minsk late on Sunday. Credit:AP An AP journalist was beaten by police and treated at a hospital. At Minsks Hospital No. 10, an AP reporter saw a dozen ambulances delivering protesters with fragmentation wounds and cuts from stun grenades and other injuries.

It was a peaceful protest, we werent using force, said 23-year-old protester Pavel Konoplyanik, who was accompanying his friend who had a plastic grenade fragment stuck in his neck. No one will believe in the official results of the vote, they have stolen our victory. Konoplyanik, whose legs were also cut by fragments of police grenades, said he didnt want to leave the country but feared that he might have no other choice. Protesters provide first aid to a wounded man during clashes with police after the presidential election in Minsk early on Monday. Credit:AP Two prominent opposition challengers were denied places on the ballot, but Tsikhanouskaya, the wife of a jailed opposition blogger, managed to unite opposition groups and draw tens of thousands to her campaign rallies, tapping growing anger over a stagnant economy and fatigue with Lukashenkos autocratic rule. Lukashenko was defiant as he voted earlier in the day, warning that the opposition would meet a tough response.

If you provoke, you will get the same answer, he said. Do you want to try to overthrow the government, break something, wound, offend, and expect me or someone to kneel in front of you and kiss them and the sand onto which you wandered? This will not happen. Loading Three journalists from the independent Russian TV station Dozhd were detained and deported after interviewing an opposition figure. The Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, whose assessments of elections are widely regarded as authoritative, was not invited to send observers. Tsikhanouskaya had crisscrossed the country, tapping into public frustration with a worsening economy and Lukashenkos swaggering response to the pandemic.

Belarus, population 9.5 million, has reported more than 68,500 coronavirus cases and 580 deaths but critics have accused authorities of manipulating the figures to downplay the death toll. Lukashenko has dismissed the virus as psychosis and declined to apply measures to stop its spread, saying a lockdown would have doomed the already weak economy. He announced last month that he had been infected but had no symptoms and recovered quickly, allegedly thanks to playing sports. He also recommended vodka for the virus. Yet for some voters, Lukashenkos long, hard line rule was a plus. He is an experienced politician, not a housewife who appeared out of nowhere and muddied the waters, retiree Igor Rozhov said. We need a strong hand that will not allow riots. Al Jazeera's Step Vaessen, reporting from Minsk, said the capital was "a city filled with anger and frustration" and described "hectic scenes" that "Minsk hasn't witnessed before".

"They're very defiant but also very scared because riot police are out in force. They are detaining people right in front of us so people are spreading around trying to get away from police," Vaessen said. Lukashenko, 65, a former Soviet collective farm boss, faced unprecedented protests against his rule before the vote, after opposition groups united behind Tsikhanouskaya, 37, when other contenders were either jailed or kept off the ballot. The stay-at-home mother, who ran after her husband Sergei, a political blogger, was detained and barred from the race, drew huge crowds at rallies nationwide. For the opposition, "the main thing is to accept defeat", Central Election Commission Chairwoman Lidia Yermoshina said of the preliminary results on state TV.

Turnout was 84 per cent, the Tass news service reported, citing the commission, which is due to publish official results on Monday. The result compares to 83 per cent won by Lukashenko in 2015 elections. Opposition activists have complained that high levels of early voting recorded ahead of polling day was an indicator of ballot fraud. The European Platform for Democratic Elections reported that observers had been restricted and detained during early voting. Some observers reported at least one polling place counted more voters than had walked in from the street.

Three other candidates were also on the ballot in the nation of 9.4 million, located between Russia and the NATO states of Poland, Lithuania and Latvia. Portraying himself as a guarantor of stability but criticised by the West as dictatorial, Lukashenko says the opposition protesters are in cahoots with foreign backers to destabilise the country. "Lukashenko a priori made it clear that he intends to retain his power at any cost. The question remains what the price will be," said political analyst Alexander Klaskovsky. Wedded to a Soviet-style economic model, Lukashenko has struggled to raise incomes and living standards in recent years. He also faced anger over his handling of the coronavirus pandemic, which he dismissed as a "psychosis" while suggesting drinking vodka and playing ice hockey as remedies. Tikhanouskaya's rallies have drawn some of the biggest crowds since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, and on Sunday she arrived at a polling station with hundreds of supporters chanting her name.
Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani has agreed to release 400 Taliban prisoners after an Afghan grand assembly, known as the Loya Jirga, passed a resolution to approve the move.

The resolution recommending the release of the prisoners was passed on Sunday at the end of a three-day Loya Jirga, a traditional Afghan meeting of tribal elders and other stakeholders held to decide on momentous issues.

In order to remove the hurdles for the start of peace talks, stopping bloodshed, and for the good of the public, the jirga approves the release of 400 prisoners as demanded by the Taliban, Jirga member Atefa Tayeb announced.

Following the announcement, President Ghani said: Today, I will sign the release order of these 400 prisoners.

The prisoners fate was a crucial hurdle in launching peace talks between the two sides. The Afghan government has released almost all the Taliban prisoners on the list, but authorities have baulked at freeing the final 400.

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According to an official list seen by AFP news agency, many of the inmates are accused of serious offences, with more than 150 of them on death row.

The list also includes a group of 44 fighters of particular concern to the United States and other countries for their role in high-profile attacks.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Friday pushed for the release of the detainees while recognising the decision would be unpopular.

On Sunday, delegates at the Loya Jirga said they wanted international guarantees that the Taliban would not return to the battlefield.

The prisoner-release was the only hurdle that has now been removed. The agreement was that once the 5,000 Taliban members are released, the ceasefire will be discussed in the intra-Afghan talks, Mushtaq Rahim, a founding member of Afghanistan Affairs Unit, an Afghan think-tank, told Al Jazeera.

We are all set for the intra-Afghan talks to discuss future outlook of the Afghan political setup, agree on giving up the violence and engage in the political progress.

Intra-Afghan peace talks

No date has been set, but negotiations between Kabuls political leadership and the Taliban are expected to begin next week and will most likely be held in Qatar, where the Taliban maintains a political office.

The Afghan negotiations were laid out in a deal signed by the US and the Taliban in February. At the time of its signing, it was touted as Afghanistans best chance at ending decades of war.

The deal called for the government to free 5,000 prisoners and for the Taliban to free 1,000 government and military personnel in its custody as a goodwill gesture ahead of the start of negotiations.

Thousands from across Afghanistan attend the Loya Jirga to discuss the 400 Taliban prisoners and the future of peace talks [Andalou]

Washingtons peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad spent more than a year and a half negotiating the deal with the Taliban to provide for the withdrawal of American soldiers after nearly 19 years in Afghanistan.

The withdrawal began earlier this year, but roughly 8,600 US soldiers remain in Afghanistan, and their return will depend on the Taliban honouring its commitment to fight against other armed groups and ensure Afghanistan is not again used to attack the US or its allies.

In an interview broadcast on Saturday, Defense Secretary Mark Esper said the US plans to cut its troop levels in Afghanistan to a number less than 5,000 by the end of November.
By PTI

PESHAWAR: Unidentified gunmen shot dead a Shia caretaker of an imambargah in northwest Pakistan ahead of the Islamic month of Muharram, police said.

Police said unknown armed assailants opened fire on Syed Mukhtar Hussain Shah (52) when he was returning home after from the market, leaving him critically injured and fled away.

He was shifted to hospital where he scummed to his injuries.

Shah was the caretaker of Imambargah Chah Roshan Shah Malana.

The Counter-Terrorism Department police registered a case in connection with Shah's killing.

No group has claimed responsibility for the killing.

Muharram is the first month of the Islamic calendar.

Islam is the state religion of Pakistan.

The majority of Muslims in the country are Sunni.
WA, August 9 -the Forest and Farm Facility (FFF) has institute policies to support Forest and Farm Producers Organizations (FFPOs) to be primary agents of climate change to improve livelihood conditions of the people in their communities of operation.

As part of FFF Ghana Strategy, FFPOs are to develop their advocacy capacity and agendas through the formation of FFPOs consortiums and the organization of round tables at the grassroots, zonal and national to engage in cross-sectorial policy processes and ensure that FFPOs in Ghana are mobilized, gain a strong voice and have the needed capacity to influence policy to promote climate change.

This came out on Thursday during the 1st Quarter of 2020-2021Roundtable Meeting of the Savanna Zone at WA in the Upper West Region to discuss on policy opportunities for the FFOs in mitigating climate change.

Mr Philip Ayamba Programmes Coordinator for Zuuri Organic Farmers Association (ZOFA) member of the FFPOs in a presentation noted that the FFF Phase II project was launched in Ghana in November 2018. The goal of the programme is to support FFPOs to be primary change agents of climate-resilient landscapes and improved livelihoods.

Mr Ayamba mentioned that the Zuuri Organic Farmers Association (ZOVFA) is the Apex producer organization co-coordinating the activities of the FFPOs in the Savanna Zone and about six FFPOs including the Kassena-Nankana Baobab Cooperative Union (KANBAOCU), Community Action in Development and research( CADER), and Tuna Women Development Programme (TUWODER), Tele-Bere, were participating.

He indicated that, as part of the steps to initiate the support, ZOVFA in collaboration with the other Producer Organizations (POs) organize the 1st Quarter meeting of the Savanna Zone Consortium of FFPOs with the aim to set out agreed structures, strategy and operations for an effective and efficient functioning of the consortium in promoting climate change for quality farm produce among other things.

Mr Ayamba pointed out that the FFF was also focused at building the capacity of FFPOs in promoting climate change and ensure the environment was protected against global warming.

Mr Mark Akparibo from Tele-Bere member of the FFPOs in a presentation stated that the FFF was committed at assisting FFPOs to develop methods that could aid them in land preparation and access to water without necessarily causing global warming among other activities that would not affect the climate of the environment.

He indicated that based on the policies of the FFF on climate change, the FFPOs would ensure to protect the environment through the planting of trees and protecting the soil among other things.

Mr Akparibo assured the FFPOs commitment to follow the FFF support to be able to protect the climate in order to promote food security to ensure quality livelihood of the people in their respective communities.
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The Ministry of Defence (MoD) will introduce import embargo on 101 items to boost indigenisation of defence production in the country. Announcing the same on Twitter on Sunday, August 9, Defence Minister Rajnath said, "The Ministry of Defence is now ready for a big push to #AtmanirbharBharat initiative. MoD will introduce import embargo on 101 items beyond given timeline to boost indigenisation of defence production."

The Ministry of Defence is now ready for a big push to #AtmanirbharBharat initiative. MoD will introduce import embargo on 101 items beyond given timeline to boost indigenisation of defence production. Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) August 9, 2020

Artillery guns, light combat helicopters, assault rifles, corvettes, radars, armoured fighting vehicles (AFV), transport aircraft are among the 101 Defence items that will not be imported from now on. All of these will be indigenously manufactured in the country to boost self-reliance.

The defence minister said that the AFVs on the list have the "indicative import embargo date of December 2021, of which the Army is expected to contract almost 200 at an approximate cost of over Rs 5,000 crore."

Singh highlighted that the embargo on "imports is planned to be progressively implemented between 2020 to 2024" adding that "our aim is to apprise the Indian defence industry about the anticipated requirements of the Armed Forces so that they are better prepared to realise the goal of indigenisation.

Also Read: Rafale in India: Rajnath Singh welcomes Rafales jets, says India can deter any threat now

Singh further tweeted that the embargo on import of the weapon systems is a "big step towards self-reliance in defence" adding that the decision will offer a "great opportunity to the Indian defence industry to manufacture the items in the negative list by using their own design and development capabilities or adopting the technologies designed and developed by DRDO to meet the requirements of the armed forces."

The defence ministry prepared the list after several rounds of consultations with all stakeholders, comprising the armed forces, public and private industry players "to assess current and future capabilities of the Indian industry for manufacturing various ammunition and equipment within India."

The minister also informed that "almost 260 schemes of such items were contracted by the Tri-Services at an approximate cost of Rs 3.5 lakh crore between April 2015 and August 2020". He stated that the around Rs 4 lakh crore worth of contracts are estimated to be placed upon the domestic industry within the next 6 to 7 years.

Also Read: IAF's rapid asset deployment in Ladakh sent strong message to 'adversaries': Rajnath Singh

"Of these, items worth almost Rs 1,30,000 crore each are anticipated for the Army and Air Force, while items worth almost Rs 1,40,000 crore are anticipated by the Navy over the same period," Singh enunciated in a series of tweets he posted on his official (Twitter) handle.

The minister underlined that the government will take all necessary steps to ensure that "timelines for production of equipment as per the negative import list are met." Singh also pointed out that the Department of Military Affairs (DMA) will identify more such equipment for import embargo "in consultation with all stakeholders."

He stated that the defence ministry has also "bifurcated the capital procurement budget for 2020-21 between domestic and foreign capital procurement routes" adding that the ministry has created a separate budget "with an outlay of nearly Rs 52,000 crore for domestic capital procurement in the current financial year".
If youve never noticed how white the fitness industry is, youve probably never had to be aware of your race.

As a non-black person of colour, I am constantly aware of the space I take up as a group exercise trainer. There really arent many people who look like me in the industry and its clear that within fitness  as with so many industries  exists a culture of whiteness that needs to be addressed.

After the death of George Floyd on 25 May, a long-overdue conversation about race opened up around the world. Institutions like the police force, universities and the government came under fire for their failure to reckon with structural racism. It also forced many of us to think about what equality looks like in the industries and communities we belong to.

Scrolling through the websites of gyms in London  the most diverse city in the country, with the smallest population of White British people in the UK (44.9 per cent compared to 87.2 per cent in the rest of the country), its clear that almost all fitness spaces that offer up information about their teams are made up of around 80 per cent white people  hardly reflective of the capitals population.

While an underwhelming number of both black and non-black people of colour in an industry like fitness might not seem as serious as that of, perhaps, the police force, a lack of diversity in fitness is a problem.

Recent statistics from Sport England reveal that Black and Asian (excluding Chinese) adults were the least active ethnic groups. It would be a misinterpretation to suggest that this is because Black, Indigenous and people of colour (BIPOC) have less of a desire to exercise, explains Dr Anamik Saha, Co-Convenor of MA Race, Media and Social Justice at Goldsmiths University, and author of Race and the Cultural Industries. The overwhelming whiteness of these spaces makes them feel exclusionary. It appears that the lack of racial visibility in the fitness industry is having an unfairly negative impact on BIPOC communities.

A culture of whiteness

This discrepancy might not be noticeable if you are white, but if youre not its impossible to ignore. Race can directly impact interactions with clients, explains London trainer Keris Ellington-Brown, who says she has often been at the receiving end of microaggressions. I find that a lot of clients will offer both myself and my black colleagues unsolicited advice about the class. I am very passionate when I teach but this has, in the past, been called preachy, aggressive and intimidating. I do wonder if they would say similar things to someone who is white.

Black Lives Matter: London protests Show all 25 1 /25 Black Lives Matter: London protests Black Lives Matter: London protests Actor John Boyega speaks in Hyde Park at a Black Lives Matter protest. Demonstrations broke out across the US and world after the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis at the hands of a white police officer Rex Black Lives Matter: London protests Getty Black Lives Matter: London protests Getty Black Lives Matter: London protests Reuters Black Lives Matter: London protests AP Black Lives Matter: London protests AP Black Lives Matter: London protests AP Black Lives Matter: London protests Rex Black Lives Matter: London protests AFP via Getty Black Lives Matter: London protests EPA Black Lives Matter: London protests EPA Black Lives Matter: London protests AP Black Lives Matter: London protests EPA Black Lives Matter: London protests AFP via Getty Black Lives Matter: London protests AP Black Lives Matter: London protests EPA Black Lives Matter: London protests EPA Black Lives Matter: London protests EPA Black Lives Matter: London protests EPA Black Lives Matter: London protests AP Black Lives Matter: London protests EPA Black Lives Matter: London protests AP Black Lives Matter: London protests AFP via Getty Images Black Lives Matter: London protests Getty Images Black Lives Matter: London protests PA

Despite having 15 years of experience, fitness blogger Elle Linton has had slower progress in her career as a fitness influencer than some of her white peers. She believes unconscious bias is the main reason for this. I think work needs to be done within the industry to unlearn bias and actively seek to increase diversity, she tells me. In social media, where numbers matter so much, its hard to get the same platform size when brands dont use BIPOC influencers. I try not to focus too much on race, but being a black woman is not something I can ignore.

Many businesses deflect accusations of racism by claiming colour blindness, which manifests most commonly as I dont see colour. The issue with this is that, in order to dismantle the racist structures in place, we very much need to see colour and the disparities that exist between white people and BIPOC.

The fitness industry uses diversity as a promotional tool without actually addressing the very real instances of racism within their spaces Dr Anamik Saha

Dr Adrienne Milner, Senior Lecturer in Public Health at Brunel University London explains: White people have been taught that colour blindness is ideal but pretending not to see colour erases historical and persistent racism against BIPOC. Furthermore, colour blind racist ideology impedes racial progress and does not provide a framework for understanding nor addressing racism.

Without real inclusivity, BIPOC will continue to be left out of these spaces or enter them only to experience unconscious bias or overt racial prejudice. The fitness industry purports to place mental health at the forefront, but whose mental health, exactly, is being looked after? And when the racism that pervades our industry can present itself so subtly, how do we go about fighting it?

Diversity vs inclusivity

It might not be difficult to seek out BIPOC trainers these days, with most London studios able to boast at least one or two people of colour amongst their team members, but without the inclusivity to back the diversity, the industry risks falling into the trap of tokenising those trainers.

The idea of being tokenised as a BIPOC is common, says Nike trainer Courtney Fearon. There are things like quite clearly being included in a project to fill a quota. On one hand I am pleased for the inclusion to share the experience or for visual representation, but on the other theres a moment when its really obvious Im there to tick a box. I often feel like once that box has been ticked theres no more room for me despite eligibility.

 'I am sorry' Meghan Markle gives passionate speech to pupils of her former high school following George Floyd death

When it comes to seeing BIPOC represented at more senior levels in fitness, this is where we clearly start to stumble. There is a notable lack of black-owned gyms in London. Afolabi Akinola, one of the directors at Elite Evolution in Hackney, explains how his race has impacted his business. There have been a lot of barriers to our success because were black. We have had our lease removed on different occasions and been mistreated. I truly believe that if we were white that wouldnt have happened, and we would have been treated with more respect.

If BIPOC were better represented at a decision-making level, then we might expect to see a positive trickle-down effect that results in more ethnic groups engaging in exercise. Research published by BMC Public Health looking into the barriers to physical activity amongst black and minority ethnic groups in the UK found that BME individuals had different understandings of physical activity influenced by migration history, experiences and cultural and health beliefs. It is not so farfetched, then, to suggest that the Eurocentricity of fitness is leading to a feeling of disempowerment for BIPOC.

A wider impact

Dr Saha explains that the industry needs to be proactive in encouraging greater participation from BIPOC. The onus needs to be on the industry addressing the social and cultural dynamics in leisure spaces that exclude racial and ethnic minorities. Only then will the fitness industry engage diversity in a genuinely meaningful way.

Rachel Tran, co-founder of Food & Lycra, a trio of fitness influencers who have inclusivity at the heart of their values, agrees. The reality is, if we dont see people who look like us in these spaces, we wont feel like we belong there  how do you think this will affect the younger generation?

The reality is, if we dont see people who look like us in these spaces, we wont feel like we belong there Rachel Tran

Lorraine Russell and Donna Noble, who launched Noire Fitfest this year, wanted to carve out a space in the fitness industry for Black fitness professionals. The lack of representation for BIPOC in the fitness industry could be the reason why just 56 per cent of black people are achieving the British Medical Examiners recommended amount of weekly fitness compared to 62 per cent of the population, Donna says. Through Noire Fitfest, we hope that the Black community will be able to access the health benefits of fitness.

Data released by Public Health England showed that BAME groups had between a 10 and 50 per cent higher risk of death from COVID-19 compared to White British people, so it is clear that fitness  and the strong, healthy immune system it can bring  is more important for BIPOC people now than ever. As gyms across the country gradually open their doors once again, will they do so having learnt from the activism of the last two months? As trainers we often tell our clients to get uncomfortable. Its exactly that sentiment that should take us through this next stage of anti-racism.
Beaumont ISD, which has nearly 30% Hispanic enrollment, has had only a handful of Spanish-speaking staffers fielding calls from hundreds of parents in the community struggling to register their students online for the new school year.

That language barrier, paired with a lack of computer savvy, an overall breakdown in communication and a glitchy application, has made registering students nearly impossible for many families.

As of Thursday, only 55% of the districts expected enrolled students had registered; 70% of those registered have optd for online courses.

With less than two weeks before the first day of virtual classes, parents are concerened about what this means for their children.

Nabia Martinez, who caught the coronavirus earlier this summer, said she has called officials across the board, from her childs teacher to the administration help numbers that have been set up to assist parents with the process, to no avail.

A bilingual Enterprise reporter spoke to Martinez for this story, with the translations appearing below.

If it takes to the last minute to do this and register, I am just not going to take him  I just dont know what to do, Martinez said, referring to her 7-year-old son, Valentin Reyes.

I am really just terrified that one of my children might get (the coronavirus) and the other one might not, or they both get it and they are hit hard by it. That is honestly my biggest fear.

The breakdown in communication cited by Martinez and other families contacted by The Enterprise is being bridged by BISD teachers, community leaders and students as the district processes the hundreds of help tickets submitted in recent days.

I called the school, I called the district, I used all the numbers and nothing gets resolved, Martinez said.

BISD board president Thomas Sigee said he has seen the problems unfold in recent days.

Ive been reading about the problems on Facebook, he said. We do need to address it, not next week, not next month; we need to get on it as soon as we possibly can.

Sigee said the district has bilingual staff they can utilize.

That is something that we definitely could look at, he said.

We have quite a few bilingual people within the district, and I think that is something we need to look at  getting bilingual support to those parents.

Some parents have had luck, Sigee said, reaching out directly to their campuses Public Education Information Management System clerks who have been able to help them register.

Martinez eventually was able to get her eldest son, Alvaro Reyes, registered with the help of 13-year-old Uriel Perez, who has been helping families register in his free time after spending hours on his own application.

Perezs mom, Veronica Hernandez, said she asked him for help after several parents reached out to her. The Enterprise also spoke to her in Spanish.

Right now I have been just feeling so helpless because there are parents reaching out to me saying I barely know how to use a computer, how am I going to do this?

Then my son offered to help, Hernandez said. My son is going to be in the eighth grade. I asked him if he could help, and he said, Of course I can, mom.

Hernandez said her son initially felt helpless, too, trying to help a half dozen families.

He was unable to reach anyone at the administrative offices. After several failed attempts, he eventually reached a staffer at Charlton-Pollard Elementary School who helped walk him through the process.

Jesus Abrego, the director of the office of Hispanic Ministry for the Beaumont Catholic Diocese, is a leader in the community who has spoken to the BISD before about its lack of communication.

Related: Hispanic parents voice concerns about language barrier in BISD

I really dont know what they are doing, Abrego told The Enterprise. Thats why I called the administrators.

I dont want to bother Dr. Allen because I am assuming she is consumed with meetings in Austin and whatnot, but the communication in Spanish from the administrators is not clear in my opinion.

Abrego, who helped facilitate a town hall earlier this year to address communication problems between BISD and the Hispanic community, said he has been directing families to Alberto Iglesias, a community liaison for the districts ESL department.

I know that he is going to answer in Spanish. The other (contacts) that the district gave  people call me afterwards and say well, I called, and they say Im sorry, we dont speak Spanish, Abrego said. He added that it was unfair for one person to be responsible for more than 20% of the districts student population.

Iglesias was unable to be reached for comment.

Related: BISDs bilingual outreach night draws parents, district leaders, Mexican Consulate reps

District spokesperson Hannah LeTulle said in a statement the district has a translation tool on the registration application, and that bilingual staffers have been available to help.

The Google Translate feature is a fundamental feature of the districts website, allowing information to be quickly and easily translated in over 50 different languages, LeTulle said.

We do understand this feature has its limitations and that the needs of our families may be more complex than can be addressed on a webpage. Therefore, the district has several bilingual staff members available to assist our parents as well.

Meagan Mejia, a board member and the chair of Voter Engagement for the Hispanic Proactive Coalition, also has been helping parents and attempting to reach the district. She said those tools arent enough.

The problem with that is that many of our Spanish-speaking parents are not computer savvy, Mejia said.

I have been assisting by going to parents homes, while using social distancing and masks, and registering the children. She added that shes helped parents register their children via Zoom and conference calls.

Mejia said she has tried and failed to get in touch with anyone from the district in recent weeks.

They have one Spanish-speaking gentleman working for the district to reach out to parents to assist. Unfortunately he doesn't have access to the majority of what is needed.

Martinez said she was able to get somebody on the phone, but never heard back after explaining her problems more than a week ago.

In addition to a lack of computer skills, Mejia said the wording of the application is confusing to many bilingual parents.

They are told to hold, call back or they will get a call back  which never happens, she said.

Mejia and Abrego have received a growing number of calls asking for assistance as the second deadline approaches.

I am not able to assist most, because they need a password and username reset, she said.

I do put them in touch or call on three-way and leave a message for them. But we have not had any luck with call backs.

As BISD begins to distribute electronic devices, some families that lack connectivity are becoming frantic.

The children now may not have a Chromebook nor MiFi because of the fact they were not registered for school on time by no fault of their own, Meijia said.

BISD has extended the registration deadline to Aug. 17, the first day of virtual classes.

Martinez said while the language barrier is an obstacle, it is not the sole reason for the widespread lack of registration.

I initially thought it was the language barrier, but I also have heard of people who are (not) bilingual having the same problems, she said. So I dont know what the problem is at this point.

Other parents reported issues ranging from incorrect information and problems resetting passwords to the site crashing or being unavailable.

Combined, the issues led to less than half of enrolled students being registered by the original Monday deadline.

The issue also underscores a breakdown of communication that longtime community leader Roberto Flores and other community leaders said could be solved by having Hispanic representation on the board of trustees.

Related: BISD urged to appoint Latino trustee

Previous flaps between the district and the community led to the expansion of a Hispanic Advisory Committee.

Related: BISD forms Hispanic Advisory Committee

While glitches were present early on, according to the district, they were quickly resolved.

We had one system challenge at the very beginning of registration, district Superintendent Shannon Allen said during a Facebook Live appearance with a local church. Once that system was corrected, all parents have been able to get in.

The problems now, Allen said, stem from parents needing to reset passwords. Some parents were still experiencing problems as of Friday.

Flores said the problems in the application process foreshadow the possibility of problems with the online schooling in the coming year, particularly for the Hispanic community.

It is great to be online and have the equipment. But if you dont know how to operate the equipment, what good is it? Flores asked.

There are going to be some families that have children that have no knowledge of how to operate that. It really concerns me.

isaac.windes@hearstnp.com

twitter.com/isaacdwindes
A Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) worker was attacked in Jammu and Kashmirs Budgam. He has been shifted to Shri Maharaja Hari Singh (SMHS) hospital.

The police said that Abdul Hamid Najar was on morning walk when unidentified gunmen fired at him near Ompora.

Thirty eight-year-old Najar (who belongs to the Other Backward Class) was the district president of the BJP.

This is the third attack on a BJP leader or worker in last five days. Earlier, a sarpanch was killed in South Kashmirs Qazigund area on Thursday.

The sarpanch, Sajjad Ahmad, was attacked outside his residence, the police said. He was rushed to the hospital where authorities declared him brought dead.

Another sarpanch Arif Ahmad Shah was also critically injured in the attack by terrorists in the same district.

After these attacks, three BJP workers had announced their dissociation with the party.

We have resigned from the BJP. I am an unlettered person and earn my living as a labourer. I had joined BJP a few months back. I thought it is better to focus on my living and feed my family happily without any tension, said Wani, a baker by profession.

Two other panchayat members - one of them affiliated with the Congress - had resigned after the attack.

Last month, former BJP district president Waseem Bari, his father and brother were killed inside their shop after militants fired on them from close range. Bari had a 10-member police security and all of them were suspended and arrested because they were not with him when he was attacked.
Mi 10 Ultra could be the most powerful Xiaomi phone so far with 120x digital zoom and Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 Plus processor. Here is what we know about the phone so far.

Xiaomi is working on a new premium smartphone that could very well be its best offering so far. Dubbed as Mi 10 Ultra, the smartphone is scheduled to officially launch on August 11. The phone will be initially available in China. Its likely to be available in other markets very soon.

Ahead of the release, Xiaomis Mi 10 Ultra has made multiple unofficial appearances on the web. This includes leaked cases as well as banner images. According to the company co-founder Lei Jun, Mi 10 Ultra will mark Xiaomis 10th anniversary in the smartphone space. He also posted a photo of a retail box of the phone, which will be available in China as Mi 10 Supreme Commemorative Edition.

According to reports, Xiaomis Mi 10 Ultra will come in at least two versions sporting a ceramic back and a transparent back. The ceramic edition will be available with 8GB of RAM and 256GB storage and 12GB of RAM and 256GB storage. The transparent back model will have 12+256GB as the base model and another 16GB+512GB option.

GSMarena reports the phone will offer better camera features than the Mi 10 Pro, which is Xiaomi's current flagship smartphone. The upcoming Mi 10 Ultra will have 120x digital zoom, up from Mi 10 Pros 100x.

ALSO READ: Xiaomi to build new MIUI without pre-installed banned apps

Mi 10 Ultra is said to come with a full HD+ AMOLED display with 120Hz refresh rate. The phone will run on Qualcomms most powerful Snapdragon 865+ processor coupled with up to 16GB of RAM and up to 512GB built-in storage.

Another highlight of the phone is going to be the battery. It is said to have a large 4,500mAh battery with up to 120W fast charging. It will also support 55W fast wireless charging.

Based on the specs leaked so far, Mi 10 Ultra is going to be a big upgrade over the Mi 10. Available online for 49,999, Mi 10 comes with a 108-megapixel camera, 6.67-inch full HD+ AMOLED display, Snapdragon 865 SoC, and a 4,780mAh battery with 30W fast charging support. Mi 10 Pro has a similar set of specifications except for a better camera configuration.
Vineet Upadhyay By

Express News Service

DEHRADUN: Captain Deepak Sathe who sacrificed his life in the crash landing of an airplane in Kerala last week is recalled by his teachers as diligent and hardworking, while student peers in Dehradun call him an exceptional human being.

Dr SC Byala, principal of the institution where he was schooled said, "He was known as silent, hard-working and attentive student. He finished the task at hand in time."

Sathe studied in Dehradun school for 10 years as his father Vasant Damodar Sathe was posted as a Captain in the Indian Military Academy in the foothill town.

ALSO READ: Captain Deepak Sathe returned to flying after surviving air crash in 1990s

However, his father was transferred from Dehradun a year later but was back in the city in the year 1970.

The former Indian Air Force pilot secured the third position in his class 10 in the year 1975.

Later, after completing his class 11 education, he had to move to another city with his father and brother who studied with him in the same school in Dehradun.

Air Marshal (Retd) DS Rawat, his senior in Air Force Academy, Hyderabad who now resides in Dehradun recalling him said, "He was exceptional.and passed out from the National Defence Academy with gold medal and 'Sword of Honour'."

Sathe's first posting was in the famous 17 squadron (Golden Arrows), in which Rafaels have been inducted by the IAF.

"He was an exceptional pilot, a good human being and a compassionate man. This accident has taken away him from us. This loss is irreparable," added Rawat.

A former Wing Commander of the IAF, he flew MiG-21 fighter aircraft with the 17 Squadron (Golden Arrows) in Ambala. He had even survived an air crash in the 1990s in which he suffered multiple injuries to his skull and was hospitalized for around six months.

Declared as not fit for flying, he cleared flying tests and started his flying career again.
Former national security adviser Michael Flynn exits a vehicle as he arrives for his sentencing hearing at U.S. District Court in Washington on Dec. 18, 2018. (Jonathan Ernst/Reuters)

Appeals Court to Either Reassign Flynn Case or Restrict Judge, Lawyers Say

The case of former Trump adviser Michael Flynn may be reassigned to a different judge, or the current judge will be restricted in how he can proceed, several lawyers have predicted based on recent developments in the case.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit will hear the case on Aug. 11.

Flynns lawyers consider the current district judge, Emmet Sullivan, to be biased against Flynn, mainly because Sullivan has refused to accept the Department of Justices (DOJ) decision in May to drop the case, which has been stuck in the court process since.

Flynn, a retired three-star Army general, pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI in 2017, but later moved to withdraw the plea, saying he was misled and pressured into it.

The DOJ moved to dismiss the case after a review highlighted documents indicating that the FBI didnt have a proper investigative purpose to interview Flynn and may have done so only to elicit false statements from him.

A three-judge panel of the appeals court ordered Sullivan to accept the case dismissal in June, after which he appealed for a rehearing before the full court of 11 judges (en banc).

The court granted the hearing, but on Aug. 5, ordered the parties to be prepared to address at oral argument the effect, if any of a law that tells judges to recuse themselves if their impartiality might reasonably be questioned and also when they become a party to the proceeding.

Option 1: Sullivan Goes

They are going to conclude that by petitioning for rehearing en banc, Judge Sullivan has, practically if not officially, made himself a party to the district court proceedings, and as such the very appearance of bias means he cannot continue overseeing the case, appellate attorney John Reeves, former assistant Missouri attorney general, predicted in an email.

Former federal prosecutor Andrew McCarthy agreed.

It is incumbent on him to recuse himself, he said in an Aug. 8 National Review op-ed. If he cant bring himself to do thata failure that would further demonstrate a lack of judicial detachmentthe D.C. Circuit should disqualify him. Either way, the case should be reassigned to a new judge, who should promptly grant the Justice Departments motion to dismiss.

The court wont formally order the new judge to accept the case dismissal, Reeves said, but will informally remind the new judge about the law limiting the courts ability to question the prosecutions motives for seeking dismissal, especially when it is unopposed.

The new judge should only take a week or two to familiarize himself or herself with the case file.

This doesnt mean, however, that Flynn will be treated more favorably. Of the 14 D.C. district judges, 10 were appointed by Democratic presidents, an approximate indicator of their leanings.

Option 2: Sullivan Stays

While the court would be within its rights to reassign the case, its more likely the appeals court will allow Sullivan to stay, but will impose restrictions on him, said Mark Chenoweth, executive director and general counsel at the New Civil Liberties Alliance, a nonprofit that litigates against administrative state overreach.

Flynn originally sought the appeals courts intervention because Sullivan indicated he would allow third parties to weigh in on the dismissal.

Sullivan then appointed former federal Judge John Gleeson as an amicus curiae (friend of the court), tasking him to develop arguments against the case dismissal. He then ordered a hearing on the matter.

Just days before his appointment, Gleeson had co-authored an op-ed arguing for Sullivans launching a full, adversarial inquiry into the dismissal and possibly denying it and sentencing Flynn.

The appeals courts three-judge panel, in a split 21 decision, granted Flynns mandamus petition.

Because the Constitution leaves charging decisions to the executive, a hearing on dismissal motion is only appropriate in some rare cases, which Flynns is plainly not and cannot be used as an occasion to superintend the prosecutions charging decisions, stated the opinion, authored by Judge Neomi Rao, a Trump appointee.

In vacating the decision, the appeals court signaled that the majority of the judges werent convinced.

It ordered that the parties should be prepared to address whether there are no other adequate means to attain the relief desired.

It is possible the en banc court thinks that Judge Sullivan should have been allowed to proceed with a hearing on the motion to dismiss charges, while surely still cutting back on the outsized role amici were slated to play in that district court hearing, Chenoweth said in an email.

If so, the court could say that any error in Judge Sullivans ultimate ruling on the motion to dismiss charges would be correctable on appeal.

Seven of the 11 active judges were appointed by Democrat presidents. In addition, one Trump appointee, Judge Gregory Katsas, recused himself from the case.

The process with Flynn, former head of the Defense Intelligence Agency during the Obama administration and former national security adviser to President Donald Trump, has been marked by dozens of lies, contradictions, and unusual occurrences.

In June, documents were released indicating that in early 2017, both then-President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden were personally involved in the case.

The evidence shows that Obama discussed the case with the director of the FBI and a top Justice Department official in January 2017, a day after investigators at the FBI intended to dismiss the case but were held off by higher-ups.

Ivan Pentchoukov contributed to this report.
By Associated Press

BERLIN: Masks during class, masks only in the halls, no masks at all. Distance when possible, no distance within same-grade groups, no distance at all.

As Germany's 16 states start sending millions of children back to school in the middle of the global coronavirus pandemic, the country's famous sense of "Ordnung" has given way to uncertainty, with a hodgepodge of regional regulations that officials acknowledge may or may not work.

"There can't, and never will be 100% certainty," said Torsten Kuehne, the official in charge of schools in Pankow, Berlin's most populous district where 45,000 students go back to school Monday. "We are trying to minimize the risk as much as possible."

Germany has won plaudits for managing to slow the spread of the coronavirus quickly, efficiently and early, but the opening of schools is proving a new challenge as the country struggles to balance the concerns of anxious parents and children, skeptical scientists, worried teachers and overtaxed administrators.

With U.S. President Donald Trump pushing for American schools to reopen in person and on time even as the country nears 5 million confirmed coronavirus cases, and other countries moving ahead with plans to resume classes despite rising infections, many eyes are on the real-life experiment offered in Germany to see what works and what doesn't.

The U.N. said this week that as many as 100 countries have yet to announce a date for schools to reopen, and Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned of a possible "generational catastrophe" in education. He urged that restarting school be made a "top priority" once countries have the coronavirus under control.

Germany has seen some 217,000 confirmed cases and 9,200 deaths, and brought down a peak of some 6,000 new daily infections in March to the low hundreds. Numbers have been creeping back up, however, and topped the 1,000 per day mark in recent days for the first time in about three months.

Israel attempted a full reopening in May, at a time when the coronavirus was widely thought to have been beaten in the country, only to suffer new outbreaks that led to schools being shut down again and a surge in the spread of the virus nationwide. In South Africa, four grade levels were restarted in June but then closed back down when the country's virus cases surged.

As Berlin prepares to send its nearly half-million students back to school on Monday, many fear something similar could happen.

"The concerns are enormous, because the schools are hotspots," said Doreen Siebernik, who heads the Berlin branch of the GEW teachers' union. "I know that there are pupils coming to school who have contact with hundreds, with thousands of people every day."

Berlin's plan includes requiring students - and teachers - to wear masks in hallways, but not during instruction or in the playground. Sports, music and drama will be allowed, but with restrictions, like requiring choir members to keep at least 2 meters from one another.

Berlin's minister for education Sandra Scheeres said "it's not possible in a school" to always keep students 1.5 meters (5 feet) from one another, but that the distance should be kept if feasible. Students are to be kept in "cohorts"  groups that should not mix  so that if there is an outbreak, only those affected would need to be quarantined.

The state government recommends those groups don't mingle outside school either, but it was not clear how that could be enforced.

"There are conflicting priorities, health protection on the one hand , which is very important to us, and on the other hand that we want to ensure the right to education of every single child," Scheeres said.

A Berlin Institute of Technology study on coronavirus transmission concluded that classrooms should be ventilated for a full 15 minutes every half hour. Scheeres' current plan calls for windows to be opened following each 45 minute class.

Dr. Isabella Eckerle, head of the emerging viruses research group at the University of Geneva, said there was still a lot to learn about how children are affected by the coronavirus and transmit it, but that it was clear from school openings in other countries they could spark wider outbreaks.

"If we go back to the normal school day now clinging to wishful thinking that children do not play a role in the pandemic, that will come back to haunt us," she said. "Instead of ideologically charged discussions, we need pragmatic concepts to get us through the winter."

In a sharply-worded open letter to Scheeres and the city's mayor, Marco Fechner, a father of two and parent representative in the Pankow district, noted that many classroom windows don't open, and that the government has stricter mask rules for supermarkets and its own offices than schools.

He urged the administration to focus more resources to permit some learning from home, so that class sizes and contact could be kept to a minimum.

"This decision is absolutely incomprehensible to me as a father, and I fear for the health of my children and our relatives," Fechner wrote.

Similar concerns are playing out elsewhere, like in Scotland where schools also are due to reopen on Tuesday. There is uncertainty about whether measures to increase hand washing and social distancing  with limited mixing between classroom groups but no mandatory masks  will work.

Berlin's back-to-school guidelines are middle-of-the-road among German states.

The first students to return, in the northeastern state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, had no mask requirement but the "cohort" principle was in place and the education minister said mask regulations were in the works. In a worrisome sign, two schools were temporarily closed Friday after new cases of coronavirus were detected.

Students over age 10 who returned to school in Hamburg on Thursday were required to wear masks, but could take them off once seated in classrooms.

In Germany's most populous state, North Rhine-Westphalia, 2.5 million students face the country's strictest measures as they return on Wednesday, including a mask requirement while in class.

Federal Health Minister Jens Spahn said Germany's staggered returns and different approaches will help determine what works and what doesn't.

Meantime, schools and districts have been improvising their own solutions to conform with voluminous government guidelines.

In Berlin's Pankow, Kuehne has been talking with school lunch suppliers all summer to work out a plan to serve meals at staggered times, and in classrooms, to avoid large groups in the cafeteria.

"I wouldn't say I'm worried, but I see the very, very big challenges ahead of us as school authorities, schools and parents," he said.
09.08.2020 LISTEN

Ancient Greek fabulist, Aesop bequeathed posterity the story of a charcoal-burner. A charcoal-burner carried on his business in his own house. One day he met a friend who was a fuller [a person who makes cloth].

The charcoal-burner encouraged him to come and live with him because living together would lessen the burden of their housekeeping expenses. The fuller replied to the charcoal-burner, The arrangement is impossible as far as I am concerned, for whatever I should whiten, you would immediately blacken again with your charcoal.

The Electoral Commission has justified the compilation of the new voters register insisting the 16.6 million voters captured in the new register so far is a fair count of voters in the country (Source: MODERNGHANA.COM, August 7, 2020).

The source stated further that Potentially, without the compilation of a new voters register, the Commission was on track to have almost 19 million people registered, and another 800,000 denied the right to vote. With the compilation of this register, those on the duplicates and exceptions lists from 2012 have had the opportunity to register, Dr. Asare noted. I am not vaunting of a repository of wisdom to construct the niches of partisan politics in Ghana, even so, Bossman Asares justification lacks clarity and logic!

Is it not risible for someone with a Ph.D. in political science would be easily swayed into the anchor of political susurrus and sophistry? Bossman and his boss asserted the old register was bloated without any empirical evidence. The EC leaders stated that the old voters register would have captured about 19 million people. The first thing Dr. Asare and Jean Mensah should have done was to look at the total number of voters in the old register, and statistically calculate the G*power sample estimate of the total voter population and conduct research about the possible dead voters. Without any reference, Bossman Asare hoodwinked Ghanaians that international standard for voter population and general population ratio hover between 50% to 55% and the voters captured in the just ended registration exercise represents 53%. I suggest to you [Bossman Asare and Jean Mensah] that if EC had championed the cause of deleting dead voters, the-so-called international standard voter population general population ratio would not be a far cry from accomplishment. As noted in the Aesops fable, the new register will be bloated again if EC fails to remove dead people. To wit, a whitened cloth will be blackened still!

With relatively little effort, 16.6 million voters captured in the new voters book is ample testimony of the resounding victory for those of us convinced that there was no scintilla of evidence to suggest that the old voter register was bloated. Intransigent Jean Mensah and Bossman Asare (Ph.D.), went ahead to spend $150 million of taxpayers money to replicate a voters register. We are all stunned by the high school boys ignoble faux pas against the president of the Republic, Nana Akufo-Addo. It tells us how high school teachers are suffering. This money could be an incentive package for teachers, nurses, lecturers, and doctors. It could be a stimulus package for citizens furloughed from their jobs due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We could have used it to cushion pensioners!

Dear Dr. Asare, could you explain the reduction in the Ashanti Region? After preventing the so-called Togolese from registering, is there any significant difference between the old register and the new register in the volta region [Volta plus Oti regions]? Vicious allegations will not inure to our benefit as a country? When it comes to politics Ghana always has money to waste!

Again Aesop told us a fable of a dog crossing a bridge over a stream with a piece of flesh in his mouth. The dog saw his own shadow in the water and took it for that of another dog with a piece of meat bigger than his own in size. He immediately let go of his own, and fiercely attacked the other dog to get his larger piece from him. The dog, therefore, lost both slices of meat because the meet he attempted to grasp was his own shadow! NPP has scored own goal with the new register with the reduction in the Ashanti region only if not illegally transferred to NDC strongholds to win more seats.

A reduction in the Ashanti region was supposed to be a source of consternation to NPP, yet, Wontumi resolved to pop champagne? NPP has been accusing the volta region of registering Togolese, but the new register reveals the Ashanti region was rather bloated! As a country, we must learn to argue with evidence rather than acrimony! Certitude is not the test of certainty. We have been cocksure of many things that were not so.  Oliver Wendell Holmes. This new register is much ado about nothing! EC Bosses could have attained the same number if they had removed dead people from the register.

By Nana Yaw Osei, Minnesota, USA, [email protected]
Freak show

STEVE KAPLER

WATERLOO  A guy was once asked what hed be if he wasnt a Democrat. Id be ashamed! the man shot back. In my old neighborhood, Democrats were Gods people. We fought for individual freedom, not face diaper mandates. My first vote went for Jimmy Carter. My party has since morphed into The Jerry Springer Show.

Todays Democrats promote social division. Indeed, Biden openly limited his choice for VP based on gender and color. We used to call that discrimination. They publicly support Black Lives Matter, nationwide lock-downs, oppose school choice, and seek to kill the Second Amendment.

Democratic cities are looted while their mayors tie police hands, effectively winking approval to Marxist mobs. Democrats once defended unborn life. Today, they use weasel words like choice and womens health in place of abortion. Its like saying: I put my dog down. Weasel words merely sugar-coat the deadly reality.

Shamefully, my UAW leadership endorsed Biden, who as vice president watched China steal American jobs as well as trade and military secrets. Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice ...

Comedian George Carlin once said that when youre born in America, you get front row seats to a freak show. Hows the view?

C

ancel culture

JAMES THIELEN

WATERLOO  The recent initiatives of the City Council suggest they are no longer in tune with nor tending to matters of importance to the citizens of Waterloo.

Until the council finds it appropriate to deal with the pertinent problems of the community, such as real estate taxes, roads, public safety, I suggest they be defunded!

The mask mandate is but an attempt by Mr. Grieder and Morrissey to push their progressive agenda. The CDC, WHO, and many retail establishments have already dealt with the issue of masks. The unenforceable mandate of the council was a waste of time and redundant action. The grab for 90 seconds of fame is an obvious attempt of the progressives on the council to tell people how to think and suggest the residents of Waterloo are not smart enough to deal with the pandemic at hand.

The consideration of changing tables is a city issue how? The structure of baby tables, placement, and weight limits, I presume, is handled by other administrative agencies and should not constitute an issue of importance to the city council. Another waste of time and money.

Any discussion of changing the symbol of the Waterloo police or worse yet, a consideration to defund the police, is absurd and should be met with public outcry. The cancel culture needs to get over itself. Time for the residents to demand the mayor and council attend to matters of true importance to the community.

Gods plague

MARCELLA GRUVER

WATERLOO  Why do we have coronavirus? Why isnt the coronavirus losing its impact? Possible reasons are: We fail to obey the CDC pandemic health guidelines to wear masks. We blame God. James 1:17 tells us that Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming from the heavenly Father. Only good comes from God, and Satan is the source of evil. We as a nation support the two evil sins of abortion and homosexuality via three U.S. Supreme Court decisions. The one true Jehovah God specifically identifies these as sin in Jeremiah 1:4-5; Exodus 20:13 and Romans 1:18-32. The disobedience of Christians and Jews  II Chronicles 7:14 states: If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

God will heal our land of the coronavirus if we obey him by humbling ourselves, praying, seeking his face and turning from our wicked ways. God always honors his word.

Case in point: II Samuel 24:1-22 says Davids confession of sin stopped the plague on Israel.

Whose life?

THOMAS MENUEY

EVANSDALE  I see that there are a lot of letters concerning masks, with the concern of the value of life. Which got me to thinking, do they have the same concerns over the loss of unborn child that has been aborted? Planned Parenthood on average does 920 abortions a day, which comes to 312,000 a year. So how many have died from COVID-19 in the U.S.? Lets face it, youre not concerned about anyones life but your own.

Take a knee

TOM HOAG

CEDAR FALLS  For the treatment of Indians, take a knee; for the treatment of women, take a knee; for the treatment of the environment, take a knee; for the treatment of the mentally ill, take a knee; for treatment of the unborn, take a knee; for abused children, take a knee; for gun control, take a knee; for inadequate health care, take a knee; for treatment of gays, take a knee; for abuse of animals, take a knee; for lack of morals/ethics, take a knee; for inadequate pensions, take a knee; for lack of civility, take a knee; for opioid abuse, take a knee; for declining privacy, take a knee, etc.

Get the picture? If sports players are allowed by their employers to disrespectfully take a knee during the anthem in support of some special interest, why not accept any special interest group doing the same in the name of free speech? At what point does the meaning of our national flag and anthem become a triviality? Where is patriotism hiding? Why arent our veterans groups railing against such behavior? Are the sports gods that powerful? Maybe we should all take a knee and pray for sanity.

Be sure to vote

CHERIE DARGAN

President, League of Women Voters of Black Hawk-Bremer Counties

CEDAR FALLS  If you are a registered voter and live in Black Hawk County, you should have received your absentee ballot for the Nov. 3 election. Fill it out and return it. The county auditors office will send out the ballots starting Oct. 5. They encourage everyone to vote by mail this fall: Its safe, secure, and smart. Dont worry  vote!

If you did not receive an absentee ballot request form, check your voter registration status. Have you moved since the last election, changed your name, or changed political parties? If so, you need to update your voter registration.

Google am I registered to vote in Iowa? and it will take you to an online form. Type in your name and zip code, and it will search for you. Use your legal name (Matthew, not Matt).

Find a registration form here, http://www.co.black-hawk.ia.us/207/Voter-Registration

Find the absentee ballot request form at the Secretary of States website. https://sos.iowa.gov/elections/pdf/absenteeballotapp.pdf.

Then, print it out, fill it out, and mail your request to: Black Hawk County Elections Office, 316 East 5th, Waterloo IA 50703

Remember, your vote is your voice!

Signs, signs

CRAIG COHEA

Driving around town Ive noticed more and more colorful signs espousing certain political and ideological ideas. It made me think that I should come up with my own.

God is Love (John 3:16).

All lives matter (Romans 3:23, Romans 5:8 & Psalm 139: 13-14).

Science is not all-knowing and is often interpreted for desired results. (Proverbs 3: 5 & 7).

Im not perfect, forgive me. (John 8:7-11).

My thoughts are not your thoughts, and Im OK with that. Are you? Lets discuss our differences rationally and not yell them emotionally. (Proverbs 22:10-13)

Ive not walked in your shoes and youve not walked in mine. We all have our crosses to bear. Lets help each other carry them no matter our color, creed, country of origin or political views.

Our country and world continue to rely more on our own knowledge and reject the way, the truth and the life our lord and savior Jesus Christ offers. As we further distance ourselves from God, expect more of the calamities 2020 has brought us. Our creator much prefers mercy over judgment. Our degree of devotion to him will determine which we receive in this life.

Greatest put-on

LARRY VAN OORT

CEDAR FALLS  One of the most powerful language tools is irony, commonly defined as indirection: saying one thing but meaning something typically the opposite. Example: saying Its a fine day, isnt it? during a thunderous rain storm. As listeners or readers, we get it because we mentally analyze the indirection thus connecting with the speaker/writer. Long ago Democrats/liberals, progressives/socialists/communists violated ironys promise of indirect connections. They created the put-on: irony which deceitfully disconnects from reality followed by misdirecting connections creating unreality. How?

They falsely promise since Engels/Marx that they will tear down and then rebuild world/governments/countries as a communal paradise where everyone is equal ... except it never happens. Ask Black Americans. Since Democrat Lyndon Johnson dispassionately promised Blacks their 1964 Great Society, Black families and fates have decayed despite spending around $10 trillion. See Democratic-controlled Portland/Chicago/Philadelphia, etc., their hijacking of BLM  only Democrat-endorsed destruction/chaos/thuggery/disgust. Americans will never connect with paradise through false promises ... because Democrats, et. al cant make truth out of their lie  unreality. Oligarchical leaders (Obama/Biden) stealthfully usurp power by perpetuating their equality/paradise put-on like fellow oligarchs in China, Russia, Venezuela, Cuba. Everyday, hardworking, civil Democrats: Is the greatest put-on ever worrying you? Its time.

Radical ideas

HERMAN LENZ

SUMNER  Why dont I hear the political candidates making an issue of free choice (birth control) and the fact that Republicans will force women to carry pregnancies that came from rape or incest?

I am old, and I have never before heard of derecho. Has anyone ever wondered if all this human activity is causing climate change?

Irrigation in western states, cement and black top highways and sidewalks, steel and asphalt rooftops, row crop farming, and every kind of human pollution you can imagine. The radical religious extremists deny any of the above is causing climate change because they dont want to admit that birth control is necessary.

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A Canadian brewery has apologized for naming one of its beers after the Maori term for "pubic hair", and not "feather" as it had intended, CBC reported.

Hell's Basement Brewery in Alberta province launched its Huruhuru (The Feather) New Zealand pale ale two years ago, using the Maori term they believed meant feather to reflect its light citrus taste for a summer brew.

But earlier this week Maori former TV personality Te Hamua Nikora posted a Facebook video to explain "huruhuru" was more commonly used in Te Reo Maori to refer to pubic hair, and said it would have been prudent and respectful to have consulted an expert on the language.

Brewery founder Mike Patriquin said they did not intend to offend anyone.

"We acknowledge that we did not consider the commonplace use of the term huruhuru as a reference to pubic hair, and that consultation with a Maori representative would have been a better reference than online dictionaries," he said in a statement to CBC.

"We wish to make especially clear that it was not our intent to infringe upon, appropriate, or offend the Maori culture or people in any way; to those who feel disrespected, we apologize."

Patriquin said the brewery intended to rename the offending brew.

Nikora has also called out a leather shop in the New Zealand capital Wellington, which was also named Huruhuru.
Officials will gather this month to dedicate the new, $86 million Omaha VA ambulatory clinic. The event will present an occasion for celebration on two important counts.

Above all, our area can salute the sound design of the new, 157,000-square-feet facility and the care it will provide Nebraska veterans.

In addition, Omahans can appreciate how the public-partnership approach that Omaha has pioneered for so many successful local projects is being lauded as a national model for other VA projects where practical.

The original cost estimate for the Omaha VA project was $120 million. But significant savings in cost and construction time came within reach once Heritage Services, which has spearheaded a range of public-private civic partnerships in Omaha, stepped forward to participate.

Local philanthropic contributions for the project totaled $30 million, and a private-sector design review method reduced the construction timeline by almost four and a half months, a Government Accountability Office report found.

In the end, the total cost dropped to $86 million, more than 28% below the original estimate.
The Kwara State Government has received a N100 million grant from the World Bank to assist the state to strengthen its management of the coronavirus pandemic.

The spokesperson for the states Technical Committee on COVID-19, Rafiu Ajakaye, said in a statement in Ilorin on Saturday that the grant was sourced through the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).

He said that the grant was part of the ongoing World Bank-assisted Regional Disease Surveillance System Enhancement (REDISSE) project.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that REDISE is coordinated by the NCDC to bridge funding gaps at the state level for the implementation of the COVID-19 response and incidence action plan.

Mr Ajakaye said that Kwara was one of the first few states in the country to receive the fund after it was certified fit for the financial support on account of its COVID-19 efforts.

The REDISSE project is to implement critical and time-sensitive priority activities related to the pandemic.

The COVID-19 Response Fund for states will cover the priority activities in areas such as training, workshops, meetings, seminar, procurement of goods, services, operating costs and consultancy services.

The statement added that the funds were meant for activities in the approved Incident Action Plan.

Kwara State is one of the few states that have met the criteria laid down by the NCDC and World Bank. This has triggered the disbursement of N100 million to the state.

(NAN)
 Flash

The Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of China's State Council on Saturday strongly condemned the so-called U.S. sanctions against heads of Chinese central government agencies responsible for Hong Kong affairs and officials of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR).

"No threat or intimidation will shake our determination to safeguard national security," the office said in a statement.

The introduction of the so-called sanction list by the U.S. side is a stark bullying behavior and constitutes a blatant violation of international law and basic norms governing international relations, said the statement, calling such move "rude, unreasonable and brazen."

Facts have proven that the U.S. side is a disruptor, a spoiler and a destroyer of the practice of "one country, two systems" and Hong Kong's prosperity and stability, said the statement, adding that China is rock-firm in fully and accurately implementing "one country, two systems," "Hong Kong people governing Hong Kong" and a high degree of autonomy for the region.

It said that China will not allow any external forces, including the United States, to use Hong Kong to carry out infiltration or subversion activities against China.

"Any threat or intimidation from the U.S. side is doomed to fail," said the statement.




Moscow, Aug 10 : A Russian Su-27 fighter jet was scrambled over the Black Sea on Sunday to intercept a US Navy radio-technical reconnaissance aircraft, the Russian Defence Ministry said.

"On August 9, Russian airspace control systems detected an air target approaching the Russian state border over the neutral waters of the Black Sea," the ministry's Zvezda broadcasting service said, Xinhua reported.

The crew of the Su-27 fighter jet identified the aerial objects as US Navy EP-3E Aries radio reconnaissance aircraft, it added.

"After the US reconnaissance planes turned away from the Russian state border, the Russian fighter safely returned to the airfield," Zvezda said, adding that no violation of the Russian state border was allowed.

The Russian aircraft proceeded in strict compliance with international airspace rules, it said.
Toy Story star Tony Hale, who voices Forky in Toy Story 4 and its Disney+ spinoff series, Forky Asks a Question, has revealed that he wants to return as the fan-favourite utensil for a fifth Toy Story movie.

Speaking to Yahoo Movies UK, Hale said, Here's the deal, if Pixar ever calls you always just say yes. Those decisions are for other people to make, but I'm always more than willing to be around that environment again because it was so inspiring. I love it.

Its not the first time a fifth Toy Story film has been discussed. In 2019, just before the release of Toy Story 4  touted to be the final movie in the franchise at the time  Tim Allen, voice of Buzz Lightyear, said, Once you've gotten to four, you're passed that trilogy [point], so I don't see any reason why they wouldn't do it, certainly. If you ask me, I'd say do five."

Actor Tony Hale attends the premiere for "Toy Story 4" in Los Angeles, California, U.S., June 11, 2019. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni

Tony Hale went on to reveal that hed jump at the chance to make a second season of animated spinoff series Forky Asks A Question on Disney+.

And hes already thought about questions for Forky to ask in future instalments of the series: Why do people talk so loud on their cell phones? or, Why do people eat with their mouths open? he tells us, Those would be the questions I'd like Forky to ask.

Read more: Do you know Pixar better than Tony Hale?

Aside from Toy Story 5 and Forky Asks A Question, we put it to Hale, which other Pixar movie would he like to see Forky crossover with? His answer is a concept made for pure slapstick gold - in space: I could see a little crossover between Forky and WALL-E, he tells us.

'Forky Asks a Question: What is Time?'. (Credit: Disney+)

WALL-E has that wide-eyed-ness, and I can just see him and Forky walking around in space. Forky's got questions on earth - he's going to have a lot of questions in space! Let's put that pair together, the actor adds.

Hale was speaking to help launch Pixar Fest. As if we ever needed an excuse to watch back to back Pixar movies, the new at-home film festival, launches this weekend on Disney+, with an epic line up of our favourite Pixar movies.

Story continues

Editors note: In the video, Tony Hale incorrectly states there are new Pixar films launching on Disney+ every day for Pixar Fest. See the full Pixar line up on Disney+ UK here.

Running from 9 August - 6 September, the film season will feature weekly Sunday watchalongs on social media of Pixar classics, starting with Toy Story on 9 August, as well as Pixar quizzes hosted by Edith Bowman. The event is supporting charity MediCinema, with hospital patients in hospitals able to join the watchalongs on bedside screens at the same time.

A close up of Forky in his own Toy Story 4 character poster. (Disney/Pixar)

Hit play on the interview video now to watch the Forky actor reveal his full Forky and WALL-E crossover idea, everything he knows about Toy Story 5, and the unexpected way early Forky character concepts actually drew heavily on Hales Arrested Development character, Buster Bluth.

Pixar Fest will run from 9 August - 6 September in support of charity MediCinema, with an epic collection of Pixar titles on Disney+, weekly watchalongs and new product releases. For more information, visit Pixars Facebook page @PixarUK
An average of six children were sexually abused every day in Northern Ireland last year, new figures reveal.

Figures from the PSNI obtained by NSPCC Northern Ireland reveal that in the last year, there were 2,082 recorded offences against children under 18 years of age  up 37% in the five years since 2014 and 2015.

Across the UK, there were 73,518 recorded offences including rape, online grooming and sexual assault against children in the UK in 2019/20, up 57% in the five years since 2014/15.

The charity said the figures on child sexual abuse show the need for the Government to deal with the hidden harms of the pandemic and ensure support for children who have experienced sexual abuse is embedded in recovery planning.

The NSPCC have called for a cross-departmental strategic framework to support a collaborative response to child sexual abuse in Northern Ireland as recommended by the Criminal Justice Inspection (CJI).

The NSPCC said the needs of children and young people should be at the centre of how authorities respond to child sexual abuse.

NSPCC chief executive Peter Wanless said: The crisis of child sexual abuse is not going away and behind these figures are thousands of children and young people who have reported crimes that can have a devastating impact on their lives.

Urgent action is needed to prevent abuse and to ensure children are supported to recover when they bravely speak out.

We need concerted leadership from governments across the UK to implement strategies on tackling child sexual abuse that put the experiences and needs of children at their heart and are effective in preventing abuse and helping young people recover.

The call comes as an NSPCC report found contacts from young people to Childline about sexual abuse in the family tripled during lockdown.

The report published on Monday, The Impact Of The Coronavirus Pandemic On Child Welfare:Sexual Abuse, shows there were an average of 23 contacts to Childline per week about child sexual abuse in the home, up threefold since March 23 when lockdown was enforced.

Some children told Childline that sexual abuse had become more frequent during lockdown, as they were spending more time with their abuser.

One 17-year-old girl said: It started during lockdown, about seven weeks ago.

Dad touched me and got me to touch him.

Today he came into my room and removed his trousers and asked me to do something to him and I did it.

I dont want to live here anymore.

I feel I should tell social services about how abusive dad is, but I dont feel ready to tell them about the sexual abuse part.

A third of counselling sessions were about abuse in the family that happened over a year ago, with many children talking about it for the first time.

Detective Chief Inspector David McBurney from PSNIs Public Protection Branch said: The sexual abuse of children is an issue which we take very seriously. Child protection is a priority for us and we work with a range of other agencies to help keep children and young people safe.

It is important that children know that they can speak to someone who they trust if anyone causes them worry and I would advise parents and guardians to reassure their children that they do not have to deal with any concerns on their own.

We will continue to work to bring offenders before the courts and anyone with any information in relation to the sexual abuse of children should contact police on 101 or 999 in an emergency.

Anyone concerned about a child can contact the NSPCC Helpline for advice on 0808 800 5000.

Adult victims of non-recent sexual abuse can also get in touch for support.

Childline is available for young people on 0800 1111 or at childline.org.uk
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HDFC Securities' research report on Dabur

Daburs 1QFY21 was broadly in line with a beat in domestic revenue. Consolidated revenue/EBITDA was down by 13/9% YoY (in-line) with domestic revenue/volume decline of 7/10% YoY (HSIE -13%). In domestic, HPC and Food portfolio saw 15% and 34% YoY decline while Healthcare recorded a strong 29% YoY growth (Honey and Chywanprash up by 69% and 7x YoY). Market share gain (across portfolio), rural growth (+1% YoY) and strong demand for healthcare products were the key highlights of the result. Performance in oral care (+1% YoY) was better than Colgate (-4%YoY), and the company gained market share in toothpaste. Juices remained under pressure as OOH consumption impacted LUPs. Ecommerce saw strong growth and revenue mix jumped to 5.6% (1.5% earlier). The international business saw a 22% YoY decline with massive impact in MENA and Egypt. Bangladesh clocked 14% cc growth (healthy growth for Marico too). Margins saw improvement aided by (1) lower consumer offers, (2) price increases and (3) heightened focus on cost rationalization. We expect a gradual recovery, aided by a healthy pick-up in rural and healthcare portfolio.

Outlook

We maintain our EPS for FY21/FY22/FY23. We value Dabur at 42x P/E on Jun-22E EPS and derive a target price of Rs 433. Maintain REDUCE.

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Disclaimer: The views and investment tips expressed by investment experts/broking houses/rating agencies on moneycontrol.com are their own, and not that of the website or its management. Moneycontrol.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.

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Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut took on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Maharashtra on the silence over the removal of Shivaji statue in Mangutti village of Karnatakas Belgaum district. Raut said that conspiracy by the BJP government in Karnataka to remove the statue in the night is condemnable.

The Sena leader challenged the states Leader of Opposition Devendra Fadnavis to lead an agitation to Belgaum over the district and promised support from the Shiv Sena. Raut said that days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid respects to the Maratha warrior king during the bhoomi pujan of Ram temple, the same partys government conspired in the dark of the night to remove the statue.

The manner in which the Karnataka Police removed the statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj is condemnable. Nobody from Maharashtras Opposition party is ready to talk on it. Prime minister Narendra Modi paid respects to Chhatrapati Shivaji during the foundation laying ceremony of Ram temple in Ayodhya. The same partys government in Karnataka removed the statue in the night by switching off the lights. Maharashtra government should take serious note of this incident. Without indulging in politics, the Opposition party in the state should be taken in confidence. If needed, we are ready to go to Belgaum and agitate under the leadership of the Opposition leader. Ask him, if he is ready, Raut told reporters in Mumbai.

Belgaum district of Karnataka, which has a sizeable Marathi-speaking population, is the subject of a protracted boundary dispute between the two states.

On Saturday, Sena leader and Maharashtra minister Eknath Shinde demanded that the Karnataka government reinstate the Shivaji statue.

In a letter to Karnataka chief minister BS Yediyurappa, Shinde, who is coordinator minister for border areas along Karnataka, claimed that a life-size statue of the warrior king was removed at Mangutti village by the police and district authorities. The statue had been installed with the permission of the gram panchayat, but the administration removed it deliberately, the minister claimed, demanding action against the officials.
Rolling into contention late, Wheely Twicky landed at the finish first to narrowly win in the $7,200 fourth preliminary for the Prospect Series Three-Year-Old Filly Trot on Saturday (Aug. 8) at Kawartha Downs.

Royal Peach set the pace through opening fractions of :28.3 and :57.1 with Muscles Aplenty sitting second and Wheely Twicky third. Muscles Aplenty pounced on the pacesetter moving to three-quarters in 1:26.4 and managed to take the lead moving into the stretch. Yet Wheely Twicky tracked the late leaders move and gathered momentum in the stretch to lunge by and win by a head in 1:58. Just T rallied from last for third.

Co-owned by trainer Corrie German and Brenda German, Wheely Twicky won her first race from five starts, earning $5,212. Mario Baillargeon drove the $20.70 winner.

To view Saturday's harness racing results, click on the following link: Saturday Results - Kawartha Downs.
African mediators in Libya as NATO hits tanks

The regime of Libya\'s Moamer Kadhafi has accepted an African Union peace plan designed to the end the current conflict, South African President Jacob Zuma said from Tripoli, as air strikes took out 26 loyalist tanks.

Libyan female army officers attend the welcoming ceremony for the African Union delegation at Tripoli\'s airport.

A high-ranking African Union delegation arrived in Libya earlier to try to broker a truce between Moamer Kadhafi and rebels seeking to oust him, with NATO warplanes still in action against regime forces in the stricken port city of Misrata and Ajdabiya in the east.

Kadhafi\'s delegation accepted the AU\'s proposals, added Zuma, who was set to leave Libya Sunday though other members of the AU delegation would be staying in Tripoli overnight before travelling west to rebel-held Benghazi, 1,000 kilometres (600 miles) east of Tripoli.

"We also in this communique are making a call on NATO to cease the bombings to allow and to give a ceasefire a chance," Zuma stressed.

So far, the leaders of the uprising have rejected any ceasefire plan which involves leaving either Kadhafi or his sons in power.

In addition to Zuma, the AU delegation includes three other African leaders: Mali\'s Amadou Toumani Toure, Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz of Mauritania and Congo\'s Denis Sassou Nguesso.

The African mediators were welcomed to Tripoli by Kadhafi supporters holding the veteran Libyan leader\'s picture and waving the green flags of his regime.

They joined the embattled Kadhafi for a photocall outside the Bedouin tent in his Bab al-Aziziya compound before being driven by minibus to greet a crowd of his supporters and then leaving for an undisclosed destination.

The opposition has already said it rejects any ceasefire that would mean Kadhafi or his sons stay in power.

Earlier, the AU mediators reiterated their appeal for "an immediate end to all hostilities" and proposed a transition period to adopt reforms in the insurrection-hit country.

Britain\'s former premier Tony Blair earlier Sunday told CNN Kadhafi should not be underestimated.

"Whatever people say about being delusional and so forth, he\'s kept that grip there for 40 years," Blair said on the channel\'s "State of the Union" programme.

In Brussels, NATO said it had hit at least 26 regime tanks near Misrata and Ajdabiya.

After destroying 14 tanks around Misrata early in the day, warplanes struck more tanks and anti-aircraft guns in the late afternoon, a NATO official said on condition of anonymity.

Near Ajdabiya, alliance aircraft blasted 11 tanks in the morning and struck one more tank and three military vehicles in the evening.

The alliance had already taken out 15 tanks near Misrata on Friday and Saturday.

"The pressure continues as NATO strikes go on day and night," the official said.

Earlier, the NATO operation\'s commander Lieutenant General Charles Bouchard said: "The situation in Ajdabiya, and Misrata in particular, is desperate for those Libyans who are being brutally shelled by the regime.

"To help protect these civilians we continue to strike these forces hard..." he said in a statement.

"We are hitting the regime logistics facilities as well as their heavy weapons because we know Kadhafi is finding it hard to sustain his attacks on civilians."

In Geneva, the international Red Cross expressed concern about several thousand foreign migrants stranded in Misrata.

The group was found living under tarpaulins and shelters by an International Committee of the Red Cross team that entered the city by sea for a day to evaluate medical conditions and aid needs, an ICRC spokeswoman said.

Elsewhere on the battlefield, rebels said on Sunday they had captured 15 Algerian mercenaries and killed another three during fierce fighting in Ajdabiya the previous day.

Medics also said at least 12 rebels were killed in and around Ajdabiya over the weekend.

Officials at Benghazi\'s Jala hospital said it had received nine "martyrs" from the fighting and 14 wounded, and a doctor at Al-Hawwara hospital said it had received three dead and three wounded.

A doctor at Misrata hospital gave AFP the same death toll for Saturday, saying they included civilians, while putting the number of wounded at 25.

The doctor said the hospital had received three bodies on Sunday, two rebels and a civilian, adding it was possible there could be more fatalities at other medical facilities.

Western strikes against regime forces began on March 19 under a UN mandate to protect the population after Kadhafi unleashed his security forces to quell pro-democracy protests.

NATO took control of the operation on March 31.

Libyan rebels have criticised NATO in recent days, accusing the alliance of failing to protect the people of Misrata.

But NATO says it is picking up the pace of air strikes.

Loud explosions rocked Ajdabiya for a second day on Sunday, as rebels advanced cautiously after suffering a major reverse at the hands of loyalists.

Rebel spokesman Shamsiddin Abdulmolah told AFP in Benghazi that 18 men they captured near Ajdabiya were not carrying identification, but "they said they were Algerian and they had Algerian accents."

"They were claiming to be selling hashish... and they had hashish with them. This is the whole crazy thing about it," he said.

He also said several Algerian ID cards and passports were found in a nearby building in Ajdabiya.

In Algiers, foreign ministry spokesman Amar Belani categorically denied Algerian involvement "in this alleged mercenary operation."

An Associated Press photographer, 35-year-old Indian Altaf Qadri, who was reported missing near Ajdabiya, was located unharmed, AP said on Sunday.
The University of Cape Coast (UCC) has inducted a new Vice Chancellor and a Registrar into office with a call on the university to bring innovative programmes and policies to meet emerging challenges in the educational sector.



The new Vice Chancellor, Prof. Johnson Nyarko Boampong took over from Prof. Joseph Ghartey Ampiah while Mr Jeff Teye Onyame assumed office as the new Registrar after taking over from the immediate past Registrar, John Kofi Nyan.



With the investiture, Prof. Boampong and Mr Onyame become the 12th Vice Chancellor and 13th Registrar to lead the University of Cape Coast respectively.



The Chancellor of UCC, Dr Sir Sam Jonah, who made the call, explained that, with the emergence of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and its effect, tertiary educational institutions would have no option but to adjust to the changing trends.



International student enrollment, he said, had witnessed a downward trend for some time now and said, tertiary educational institutions would have to rise to the occasion.



Dr Jonah commended the immediate past Vice Chancellor for an outstanding work during his tenure.



He said Prof. Ampiah before exiting the office of the Vice Chancellor demonstrated his commitment to the development and expansion of human capital within the institution.



The new team, he said, was to carry out the unfinished work of the former administration in promoting the expansion of the institution.



Dr Jonah urged the new Vice Chancellor and his administration not to fall into the trap of denigrating the work of the previous administration since that would not help in the development of the university.



The new Vice Chancellor of UCC, Prof. Boampong, in his address, called for support from all stakeholders towards fulfilling the mission and vision of the founding fathers.



He paid tribute to past leaders of the institution who he noted, laid a solid foundation for the growth of the university, saying, I am pleased to be part of people who will be building on the foundation laid by my predecessors.



He stated that, his vision was to work towards transforming UCC into an entrepreneurial university and explained that, the university was capable of doing so.



There is an emerging trend and a global systemic shift towards the concept of Entrepreneurial Universities. The concept of Entrepreneurial Universities within the higher education landscape is therefore not new he said.



He further said: But what makes this emerging concept significant and appealing to me, particularly within these uncertain times, is how the COVID-19 pandemic has called to question existing paradigms, and, is attempting to redirect our focus to novel ways of doing things.



Prof. Boampong said that, his administration would be more committed to resource academic and non-academic staff as well as students, to undertake relevant research and then demand from them enhanced productivity, and ensure translations of research findings to solve problems that confront Ghana and the rest of mankind.



In his address, the Minister of State in-charge of Tertiary Education, in his message, Prof. Kwesi Yankah, stated the need for tertiary institutions in the country to put in place strategies needed to address the challenges within the education sector.



He stated that, the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic had brought to the fore, the need to have the right content of education, right human resources and the right leadership to navigate the challenges of the time.



Prof. Yankah indicated that, one critical thing needed was astute leadership to steer institutions from the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic.



The Central Regional Minister, Kwamena Duncan, for his part, urged the management of UCC to put in place proactive measures to ensure peace and security on campus.



The immediate past Vice Chancellor, Prof. Joseph Ghartey Ampiah, in his address, expressed appreciation to staff and students for believing in him and said, he learnt a lot during his stay in office.



He indicated that, with support from management and staff, he was able to chart a path for the university, saying, With your support, I was able to achieve much during the past four years.

Source: The Ghanaian Times









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

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Did you give no thought to how damaging it could be to the president and his re-election bid to level with the American people and let us know once again what a serious threat we face? Are you not aware that when one serves at the pleasure of this president, they have an obligation to say and do only what will reflect favorably upon him, that it is your duty to be like Trump sycophant and adoring partner in crime Mike Pence: to begin every statement about the virus by telling us what a great leader Trump is and what a magnificent job he is doing to protect us from the invisible enemy, a job he is uniquely qualified to handle?

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The 65-year-old leader is almost certain to win a sixth consecutive term in polls marked by crackdown on opposition.

Belarus is voting in an election pitting President Alexander Lukashenko against a former teacher who emerged from obscurity to lead the biggest challenge in years against the man once dubbed Europes last dictator.

As he cast his ballot in the election, Lukashenko on Sunday said he would make sure there is no civil-war-like

situation in Belarus, calling the situation stable. I guarantee it, he said.

Lukashenko, 65, is almost certain to win a sixth consecutive term, but could face a new wave of protests amid anger over his handling of the coronavirus pandemic, the economy, and his human rights record.

A former Soviet collective farm manager, Lukashenko has ruled the country of 9.5 million since 1994.

Crackdown on opposition

An ongoing crackdown on the opposition could hurt Lukashenkos attempts to mend fences with the West, amid fraying ties with traditional ally Russia, which has tried to press Belarus into a closer economic and political union.

He faces a surprise rival in Svetlana Tikhanouskaya, a 37-year-old former English teacher who entered the race after her husband, an anti-government blogger who intended to run, was jailed.

I really want the election to be honest, because if the authorities have nothing to fear, if all the people are for Alexander Grigoryevich [Lukashenko], then we will agree with that, Tikhanovskaya said as she cast her ballot in the capital, Minsk.

Her rallies have drawn some of the biggest crowds since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. Human rights groups say more than 1,300 people have been detained in a widening crackdown.

Authorities barred her husband, popular blogger Sergei Tikhanovsky, from running and then jailed him.

Tikhanovskayas campaign office on Sunday said one of her key allies, Veronika Tsepkalo, had left the country for Russia out of concern for her safety.

Tsepkalo, whose ex-diplomat husband Valery Tsepkalo was barred from standing in the election, had backed Tikhanovskaya in the campaign and her husband had already fled to Moscow fearing arrest.





Foreign observers have not judged an election to be free and fair in Belarus for a quarter of a century.

Despite an election commission ban on the opposition holding an alternative vote count, Tikhanouskaya urged her supporters to monitor polling stations.

We are in the majority, and we dont need blood on the city streets, she said on Saturday. Lets defend our right to choose together.

Portraying himself as a guarantor of stability, Lukashenko says the opposition protesters are in cahoots with foreign backers, including a group of 33 suspected Russian mercenaries detained in July and accused of plotting acts of terrorism.

Analysts said their detention could be used as a pretext for a sharper crackdown after the vote.

Lukashenko [had] made it clear that he intends to retain his power at any cost. The question remains what the price will be, said political analyst Alexander Klaskovsky.
Niagara Region will look at the issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion concerning the Niagara Regional Police (NRP) Thursday.

The meeting is a continuation of a special session on the same subject on July 23 but was adjourned before it reached its conclusion.

The meeting ran out of time because councils regular meeting was set to begin at 6:30 p.m. the same night.

The meeting on equity and inclusion heard from more than a half dozen residents, who detailed their experiences and interactions with police.

Thursdays meeting has just two delegations scheduled. One speaker, Herman Omilgoituk of Welland, had technical difficulties and didnt get a chance to speak. The meeting is being held remotely.

The only officials in the council chamber are Regional Chair Jim Bradley and some senior Regional staff. At the first meeting, they were joined by Niagara Regional Police Chief Bryan MacCulloch, and members of the police board, including Port Colborne Mayor Bill Steele and provincial appointee Tara McKendrick, who is also an executive director with the Canadian Mental Health Association.

Saleh Waziruddin of the Niagara Region Anti-Racism Association spoke at the first one and has new information.

The issue of systematic racism has been a point of contention.

MacCulloch has said his senior leadership team is committed to undertaking a review of all NRP policies for systemic racism.

We know systemic racism can manifest itself in policies and procedures that may be neutral, but in reality can disadvantage marginalized members in society, MacCulloch said in an interview after the meeting. Thats our commitment to the public and our community. We will undertake that review.

For some, the pledge doesnt go far enough.

Waziruddin said that while MacCulloch has acknowledged that systemic racism existed in the institution of policing, he stopped short of acknowledging it exists in the NRP.

Waziruddin said the stubborn refusal to admit to something very basic is messaging that denies the NRP has any connection to the need for police reforms elsewhere.

St. Catharines Mayor Walter Sendzik has given the council a notice of motion for the meeting.

His motion, which he reiterated is only a starting point, is open for amendments, and has nine parts, some of which the chief answered in detail at the beginning of the meeting.

The motion includes a request about establishing an independent, third-party process to review interactions between the NRP and Niagara residents and an analysis of the implications of what a zero percent budget increase. It also requests an actionable plan for mental health calls in line with guidance and recommendations from the Canadian Mental Health Association.
Theres truth to the narrative that federal officers departure from downtown Portland protests has changed the demonstrations taking place nightly. The crowds of thousands that collected in front of the federal courthouse have dwindled. In the days following the federal retreat, protests remained relatively peaceful as individuals efforts to start fires or provoke a police response were shut down by others in the crowd.

Unfortunately, thats only part of the story.

The protests  and those intent on conflict  have now shifted east. Although the crowds are thinner than earlier weeks', destructive actions by some protesters are now going unchecked by others, which in turn has provoked overly forceful responses from police. Most notably, last Wednesday, protesters descended on the police precinct in East Portland where officers were inside. A small group of protesters spray painted over surveillance cameras, rammed the entrance with wood planks, repeatedly hammered the glass door and pulled plywood off the windows. They erected a barricade in front of the door and set a fire in a garbage can that tipped onto the ground, spreading flames in front of the entrance by the time officers extinguished it. It was as if the protesters, who are calling for the abolition of police, were trying to carry that out by physically dismantling the precinct one piece at a time.

Setting a fire outside the barricaded entrance of an occupied building is not protest. Its criminal. Those who believe in peaceful protest would do well to heed Mayor Ted Wheelers call to simply steer clear of these kinds of actions. At the same time, police should know by now that the opposition only grows more entrenched each time they resort to tear gas or cause injury to protesters. Unfortunately, it is also hard to see the pathway out of this endless and exhausting cycle.

Without a doubt, there are any number of problems that need to be addressed in Portland Police, from improved training on de-escalating situations to eradicating bias in police stops, arrests and use of force. Portlanders have shown their strong support for revamping the police bureau in sustained peaceful rallies after the Minneapolis police killing of George Floyd. Those gatherings illustrated the power of mass expression.

Our leaders are responding: Portland City Council pulled funding for three controversial police teams and is evaluating other aspects of the bureau; state legislators quickly passed several bills last month designed to improve police accountability and Portland Police Chief Chuck Lovell has repeatedly expressed the bureaus commitment to change and has been talking with community members about what that could look like. All of these reflect our communitys collective recognition and commitment to rebuilding systems in which Black lives truly matter.

But Julys homicides  the highest single-month total in three decades  the spike in shootings and the calls from Portlanders seeking police assistance every single day attest to the fact that Portland needs a police force. The sooner the city can turn its attention from the nightly drama of policing protests to assessing what our police bureau should be, the sooner we remake a system that Portlanders, regardless of race or background, can trust and rely on.

While many support the call to reimagine police, the call to abolish has limited fans. The proposals offered in the sweeping Reimagine Oregon blueprint created by several Black-led organizations and activists call for specific, targeted changes to curb police power and increase accountability  not for getting rid of police altogether. These proposals, which include banning some tactics used to police protests and expanding disclosure of police discipline to the public, offer significant ways to address some of the entrenched problems in policing.

And certainly, family members of recent victims dont want police to go away. As The Oregonian/OregonLives Maxine Bernstein wrote, several gathered last week to urge police to address the spate of violence, some of which they identified as gang-related, that has escalated in the past month. While support was mixed for the now-disbanded police unit that focused on gangs and had responded to all shootings, the overall message was clear: City leaders need to set aside political posturing and placating and focus on keeping our community safe, said Joe McFerrin, president and chief executive officer of Portland Opportunities Industrialization Center.

They cant commit their full attention, however, if destructive actions continue to draw officers, energy and resources away.

-The Oregonian/OregonLive Editorial Board

Subscribe to our free weekly Oregon Opinion newsletter. Email:


Defence minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday said that India is now ready for the big push to the atma nirbhar or self-dependent initiative announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The Ministry of Defence is now ready for a big push to #AtmanirbharBharat initiative. MoD will introduce import embargo on 101 items beyond given timeline to boost indigenisation of defence production, Singh announced on Twitter.

Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi has given a clarion call for a self-reliant India based on the five pillars, i.e., Economy, Infrastructure, System, Demography & Demand and announced a special economic package for Self-Reliant India named Atamnirbhar Bharat, he further said in the deries of tweets.

The defence minister said that taking cue from PM Modis evocation, the defence ministry has prepared a list of 101 items for which there would be an embargo on the import beyond the timeline indicated against them. This is a big step towards self-reliance in defence, he said on Twitter.

This decision will offer a great opportunity to the Indian defence industry to manufacture the items in the negative list by using their own design and development capabilities or adopting the technologies designed & developed by DRDO to meet the requirements of the Armed Forces, said Singh.

The defence minister said that the list of 101 items has been prepared by the defence minister after several rounds of consultations with all stakeholders, including the armed forces, public and private industry.

Almost 260 schemes of such items were contracted by the Tri-Services at an approximate cost of Rs 3.5 lakh crore between April 2015 and August 2020. It is estimated that contracts worth almost Rs 4 lakh crore will be placed upon the domestic industry within the next 6 to 7 years, Singh tweeted.

The list of 101 embargoed items comprises of not just simple parts but also some high technology weapon systems like artillery guns, assault rifles, corvettes, sonar systems, transport aircrafts, LCHs, radars and many other items to fulfil the needs of our Defence Services, his tweet further said.

Singh said that the embargo on imports is planned to be progressively implemented between 2020 to 2024. Our aim is to apprise the Indian defence industry about the anticipated requirements of the Armed Forces so that they are better prepared to realise the goal of indigenisation.
Princess Diana and Prince Charles had a rocky relationship. The two were introduced when Diana was only 16, and though they ended up marrying, neither was ever in love. Diana recalled in her recordings with biographer Andrew Morton that she and Charles never had a stable relationship  and they didnt even speak the day after the wedding.

Princess Diana and Prince Charles | Jayne Fincher/Princess Diana Archive/Getty Images

Prince Charles was in a rush to find a wife

When Charles returned from serving in the British Navy, he was hoping to reconnect with his true love, Camilla Parker Bowles. However, Camilla had already wed, leaving Charles getting older and no closer to being married. At that time in the royal family, it was a bad look that the future king still had not found a wife, and Charles knew that if he wanted to be taken seriously, he had to take that next step.

Charles and Diana had met when she was 16 after he briefly dated her older sister. They reconnected when she was 19, and though there was an initial attraction, the two didnt give the relationship nearly enough time to blossom. Charles proposed after 12 dates, and Diana once remarked that she laughed in shock when he popped the question.

Charles and Diana didnt speak for nearly a month after their engagement

Once Charles proposed, nothing much changed in the couples relationship. Diana told biographer Andrew Morton that she left for Australia with her mother two days after the engagement  and never heard from her fiance. I pined for him but he never rang me up, she told Morton, as published in her biography Diana: Her True Story In Her Own Words. Diana also said that whenever she called him, he was out and never rang me back.

Diana and Charles didnt have a strong relationship. | Tim Graham Photo Library/Getty Images

RELATED: Princess Diana and Prince Charles in Forgotten Photos From Their Marriage

The two had breakfast the day after their wedding  in silence

Their engagement wasnt the only time there was deafening silence between them. The day after the wedding, Charles and Diana had breakfast together and once again did not speak. Sat next to him at the wedding breakfast, which was a lunch, Diana said in her recordings. Neither of us spoke to each other  we were so shattered. I was exhausted at the whole thing.

Diana had wanted to call off the wedding the day before, and there have since been reports that Charles did, too. However, both were too far into it to back out, so they went through with it despite the sinking feeling of knowing they were not in love.

Princess Diana and Prince Charles at their wedding | Terry Fincher/Princess Diana Archive/Getty Images

RELATED: Prince Charles and Princess Diana Both Wanted to Call Off the Wedding  So Why Did They Get Married?

Diana reportedly did not want a divorce

Years after the wedding, once Charles affair with Camilla came out, he and Diana separated. Ultimately, though, the princess did not want a divorce. She reportedly hoped that she and Charles could live civilly and raise their children despite their differences.

Diana outwardly spoke about Charles, which angered the queen, who later requested that the couple divorce; they consented.
(Natural News) Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani on Thursday highlighted the connection of convicted terrorist Susan Rosenberg to Black Lives Matters fundraising arm and warned Americans that the organizers behind the group are killers who hate white people.

(Article by Chris Menahan republished from InformationLiberation.com)

WATCH:

Partial Transcript:

GIULIANI: Just go read the two or three backup documents for Black Lives Matter. Black people get salaries for the rest of their lives. Nobody else. Its a very, very strange society they want to set up. And so far, they havent said a single word, even when the terrible violence is taking place by antifa or by Black Lives Matter, both of whom are domestic terrorist groups without any doubt. Do you know who knows that best? African-Americans. Ive actually had them tell me, why arent they classified as a terrorist group? Is it just because they are Black and nobody can say it? Two of the people instrumental with them were big shots in the Weather Underground. Theyre convicted terrorists. One of them had 58 years in jail, and Bill Clinton let her out in 16. And shes raising their money, Susan Rosenberg. When she was sentenced, she said I only regret that I wasnt able to kill the cops that arrested him.

BRIAN KILMEADE: Right. GIULIANI: Thats whos running them. Stop the nonsense. Stop the nonsense. These are killers, and these are people who hate white people. There people who hate white men in particular, and they want to do away with a mother/father family. They dont think fathers are necessary. This is what were talking about. Not the bull that you get on silly telly. AINSLEY EARHARDT: Its important to point out too, Rudy, that theres a difference in the slogan Black lives matter and the group that is yelling fry them like bacon. Totally different. Thank you so much for joining us. GIULIANI: 100%, Ainsley. Thats a very, very important point that has to be made over and over again. Thank you for making it.

As Giuliani noted, former Weather Underground member and convicted terrorist Susan Rosenberg had her 58-year prison sentence commuted by Bill Clinton in 2001. She sat on the board of directors of Thousand Currents, which is a fundraising arm for Black Lives Matter.

Stanford professor Doug McAdam said he attended the last above-ground meeting of the Weather Underground where everyone was sitting in a room together and the question that was debated was, Was it or was it not the duty of every good revolutionary to kill all newborn white babies?'

At that point it seemed like a relevant framing of an issue, the logic being, Hey look, through no fault of their own these white kids were going to grow up to be part of an oppressive racial establishment internationally, and so really your duty is to kill newborn white babies,' McAdam said. I remember one guy kind of tentatively and apologetically suggesting that that seemed like it may be contradictory to the larger humanitarian aims of the movement, and being kind of booed down.

WATCH:

Guilianis claim the BLM organization want do away with the nuclear family comes straight from their official website, which said in the past:

We are committed to disrupting the Western-prescribed nuclear family structure requirement by supporting each other as extended families and villages that collectively care for one another, and especially our children to the degree that mothers, parents and children are comfortable.

Black folks overwhelmingly voted in favor of banning gay marriage in California in 2008 but BLM is run by two self-described queer lesbians who say on their official website their goal is to foster a queer?affirming network with the intention of freeing ourselves from the tight grip of heteronormative thinking.

A new Gallup poll found 81 percent of black Americans want police to spend the same amount of or more time in their area.

While Black Americans support reform, the overwhelming majority of us (81%) want the same or more police presence in our communities. Abolishing or defunding police is a bad idea. https://t.co/IQIdLG4fVA  DJJordanVA (@DJJordanVA) August 6, 2020

As Giuliani said, the organizers behind the BLM moment dont give a damn about helping black people, theyre just using black people as pawns to push their radical anti-white agenda.

Read more at: InformationLiberation.com
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Report Description

A recent market intelligence report that is published by Data Insights Partner on the global Synthetic Meat market makes an offering of in-depth analysis of segments and sub-segments in the regional and international Synthetic Meat market. The research also emphasizes on the impact of restraints, drivers, and macro indicators on the regional and global Synthetic Meat market over the short as well as long period of time. A detailed presentation of forecast, trends, and dollar values of global Synthetic Meat market is offered. In accordance with the report, the global Synthetic Meat market is projected to expand at a CAGR of 15% over the period of forecast.

Market Insight, Drivers, Restraints& Opportunity of the Market:

Synthetic or cultured meat is developed painlessly harvesting the muscle cells from a living chicken, goat, cow or other animals (which we usually eat). The scientists then nourish the cells so that the cells can proliferate to generate muscle tissue which is the key component of the meat which we usually eat. The global Synthetic Meat market is primarily driven by the increasing population and emerging demands of meat across worldwide. According to the WHO, the annual meat production was estimated to stand over 200 Million tonnes in 1997-1999 to over 350 Million tonnes by 2030. Undoubtedly, there is very firm relationship between the increasing income level and growing demands of animal protein as staple foods. In addition, food safety, and awareness of health benefits would likely to propel the global synthetic meat market during the forecast period. Conversely, the growth of the global Synthetic Meat market would likely to restrain by less awareness about the use of synthetic meat and stringent food regulatory landscape across several countries. However, new product development and strategic alliance may provide the global Synthetic Meat market an opportunity propel during the forecast period. Recently, the researchers at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences have developed rabbit and cow cells on gelatin scaffold which duplicates the texture and other features of normal meat- the research may enlighten a new window of the discussion related to fulfilling the daily demands of meat without animal slaughtering.

Request for Report Sample: https://datainsightspartner.com/request-for-sample?ref=140

Segment Covered:

This market intelligence report on the global Synthetic Meat market encompasses market segments based on source, end-user and country.

In terms of product, the global Synthetic Meat market is segregated into

Poultry

Beef

Pork

Duck

Seafood

By end-user, the global market is also classified into,

Hot dogs

Burgers

Meatballs

Sausages

Nuggets

Others

By country/region, the global Synthetic Meat market has been divided into

North America (the U.S., Canada),

Latin America (Brazil, Mexico, Argentina and other countries),

Europe (Germany, France, the U.K., Spain, Italy, Russia, and other countries),

Asia Pacific (India, Japan, China, Australia and New Zealand and other countries),

Middle East and Africa (GCC, South Africa, Israel and Other countries).

Profiling of Market Players:

This business intelligence report offers profiling of reputed companies that are operating in the market. Companies such as

Memphis Meats

Just, Inc.

Finless Foods Inc.

Balletic Foods

Teem

Future Meat Technologies Ltd.

Mission Barns

Lab Farm Foods

Cubiq Foods

Others players have been profiled into detail so as to offer a glimpse of the market leaders. Moreover, parameters such as Synthetic Meat related investment & spending and developments by major players of the market are tracked in this global report.

Report Highlights:

In-depth analysis of the micro and macro indicators, market trends, and forecasts of demand is offered by this business intelligence report. Furthermore, the report offers a vivid picture of the factors that are steering and restraining the growth of this market across all geographical segments. In addition to that, IGR-Growth Matrix analysis is also provided in the report so as to share insight of the investment areas that new or existing market players can take into consideration. Various analytical tools such as DRO analysis, Porter's five forces analysis has been used in this report to present a clear picture of the market. The study focuses on the present market trends and provides market forecast from the year 2017-2027. Emerging trends that would shape the market demand in the years to come have been highlighted in this report. A competitive analysis in each of the geographical segments gives an insight into market share of the global players.

Get Request for Table of Contents: https://datainsightspartner.com/report/synthetic-meat-market/140#content

Salient Features:

 This study offers comprehensive yet detailed analysis of the Synthetic Meat market, size of the market (US$ Mn), and Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR (%)) for the period of forecast: 2019  2027, taking into account 2018 as the base year

 It explains upcoming revenue opportunities across various market segments and attractive matrix of investment proposition for the said market

 This market intelligence report also offers pivotal insights about various market opportunities, restraints, drivers, launch of new products, competitive market strategies of leading market players, emerging market trends, and regional outlook

 Profiling of key market players in the world Synthetic Meat market is done by taking into account various parameters such as company strategies, distribution strategies, product portfolio, financial performance, key developments, geographical presence, and company overview

 Leading market players covered this report comprise names such as Memphis Meats, Just, Inc. , Finless Foods Inc., Balletic Foods, Teem, Future Meat Technologies Ltd. , Mission Barns , Lab Farm Foods, Cubiq Foods, and among others

 The data of this report would allow management authorities and marketers of companies alike to take informed decision when it comes to launch of products, government initiatives, marketing tactics and expansion, and technical up gradation

 The world market for Synthetic Meat caters to the needs of various stakeholders pertaining to this industry, namely suppliers, manufacturers, investors, and distributors for Synthetic Meat market. The research also caters to the rising needs of consulting and research firms, financial analysts, and new market entrants

 Research methodologies that have been adopted for the purpose of this study have been clearly elaborated so as to facilitate better understanding of the reports

 Reports have been made based on the guidelines as mandated by General Data Protection Regulation

 Ample number of examples and case studies have been taken into consideration before coming to a conclusion

Reasons to buy:

v Identify opportunities and plan strategies by having a strong understanding of the investment opportunities in the Synthetic Meat market

v Identification of key factors driving investment opportunities in the Synthetic Meat market

v Facilitate decision-making based on strong historic and forecast data

v Position yourself to gain the maximum advantage of the industrys growth potential

v Develop strategies based on the latest regulatory events

v Identify key partners and business development avenues

v Respond to your competitors business structure, strategy and prospects

v Identify key strengths and weaknesses of important market participants

Full View of Report Description: https://datainsightspartner.com/report/synthetic-meat-market/140
A controversial Chinese surveillance company has pulled plans for a UK base, The Mail on Sunday can reveal.

SenseTime  which is accused of enabling the Chinese Communist Party's campaign of persecution against Uighur Muslims and has been banned by President Trump  is understood to have been in talks to expand into Europe and use the UK as its regional headquarters.

However, sources said the plans have been pulled amid increasing scrutiny of Chinese companies in Western nations.

SenseTime, worth nearly 6billion, is the world's most valuable artificial intelligence start-up. Its technology is used in facial recognition and driverless cars.

SenseTime's technology is used in facial recognition and driverless cars

It processes data captured by China's 170million CCTV cameras and other systems used by the nation's police such as smart glasses.

However, the company has come under fire since it was claimed that its technology was being used to track and control minority ethnic groups in China's Xinjiang province.

Washington blacklisted SenseTime and seven other Chinese AI companies last October, claiming they were complicit in suppressing Muslim minority groups.

The US Department of Commerce said at the time: 'These entities have been implicated in human rights violations and abuses in the implementation of China's campaign of repression, mass arbitrary detention, and high-technology surveillance against Uighurs, Kazakhs and other members of Muslim minority groups in [Xinjiang].'

SenseTime denies being involved in racial profiling.

Other firms added to the list include Hikvision, whose CCTV systems are used by councils across Britain.

News of its UK plans follows the row over Chinese-owned viral video app TikTok, which is considering setting up a London headquarters despite a potential ban in the US.

The Mail on Sunday reported last month that TikTok's plans had been put on hold as it sought clarity on the US situation. American IT heavyweight Microsoft is in talks to buy some or all of the company from its Beijing-based parent ByteDance  a move which would help it avoid a ban.

SenseTime is accused of enabling the Chinese Communist Party's campaign of persecution against Uighur Muslims, Kazakhs and other Muslim minority groups in Xinjiang province

Microsoft and ByteDance have until September 15 to strike a deal, otherwise TikTok will be banned in the US after Trump signed an executive order that would prevent firms from doing business with TikTok.

Hong Kong-based SenseTime's investors include Japanese investment giant SoftBank, which owns Cambridge-based tech company Arm, and Chinese online shopping firm Alibaba.

SenseTime was founded in 2014 by Tang Xiao'ou, a professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, and computer scientist Xu Li. Last month, it was reported that the firm was raising 1.15billion in a private funding round and eyeing a stock market float in China.

The White House ban has made an overseas listing difficult, if not impossible, because large institutional investors and investment banks are likely to avoid doing business with banned Chinese firms, reports said.

The Beijing government has said it wants China to become the global leader in AI by 2025.

British Ministers are increasingly taking a hard line against China and its authoritarian regime. Last month, Boris Johnson performed a U-turn and barred Chinese telecoms firm Huawei from operating large parts of Britain's 5G network amid concerns that it could pass data to the Chinese state.

Critics say China's intelligence laws compel internet companies such as TikTok and Huawei to provide data to the government if it demands it.

Graham Stuart, a Minister at the Department for International Trade, met representatives from SenseTime last June to discuss the use of artificial intelligence at universities. The outcome of the discussions is unclear, but Stuart is understood to be a vocal critic of China over its treatment of Uighur Muslims.

SenseTime declined to comment on its UK plans, but added: 'SenseTime was not, and never will be, involved in the so-called racial profiling.

'We're deeply disappointed with the US accusation. We believe it reflects a misunderstanding of our company and will work with all relevant authorities to fully understand and resolve the situation.

'We are a young company working in a rapidly changing and dynamic area of technology. We are dedicated to engaging with our global stakeholders to ensure that they understand our vision and the responsible way we apply AI technology.'
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-09 22:44:52|Editor: huaxia

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WASHINGTON, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) -- A 5.1-magnitude earthquake on Sunday morning struck about 2 miles (3 km) from the town of Sparta in the southern U.S. state of North Carolina, according to the preliminary report from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).

There are no immediate reports of injuries, but there is some minor damage in the town of about 1,800 people, Sparta Mayor Wes Brinegar told CNN.

The quake took place at about 8:07 a.m. ET (1207 GMT) at a depth of about 5.7 miles, which is considered a shallow quake. The epicenter is in Alleghany County, said the USGS.

"It felt like a big locomotive going by and a big wave coming underneath the bed," said Brinegar, who was awakened by the quake. "A big wave coming to lift you."

The earthquake was also felt as far away as in South Carolina and Georgia, according to a CNN report, adding that the USGS received reports from more than 300 miles away in Atlanta, a major city in Georgia. Enditem
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will present a new outline for a self-reliant India in his address to the nation from the ramparts of the Red Fort on August 15, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said on Sunday.





Speaking at an event, Singh also referred to the defence ministry's decision to ban import of 101 military weapons and platforms and said "big and tough" decisions are being taken in sync with the prime minister's vision for a self reliant India.

Modi first mentioned about his vision for an 'Atmanirbhar Bharat' (self-reliant India) in his address to the nation on May 12 while announcing a Rs 20 lakh-crore stimulus package to boost the economy hit by the coronavirus pandemic. Since then, various ministries and departments have announced a series of measures.

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi will present before the nation some new outline for a self-reliant India in his address from the ramparts of the Red Fort on the Independence Day," the defence minister said.

He was speaking at an online event organised to pay tributes to revolutionary freedom fighter Udham Singh.

Singh said that the coronavirus pandemic has shown that a country may not be able to effectively protect its sovereignty if it is not self-reliant.



"Our government will not allow any harm to India's self respect and sovereignty at any cost," he said.



Singh said big weapons systems will now be produced in India and the country will look for their export to make it a hub for defence manufacturing.

"Along with promoting Make in India in the defence sector, we are becoming vocal for local by taking big and tough decisions," he said.

In a major push to promote the domestic defence industry, Singh on Sunday morning announced restrictions on import of 101 weapons and military platforms including light combat helicopters, transport aircraft, conventional submarines and cruise missiles by 2024.

"The defence ministry is also moving ahead in realising the dream of self reliance in defence manufacturing. We are minimising dependence on foreign equipment for our defence requirement. At the same time, we are extending all support to the domestic defence industry," he said.

Singh said the defence ministry has set a target of a turnover of USD 25 billion (Rs 1.75 lakh crore) in defence manufacturing in the next five years including an aim to export USD 5 billion (Rs 35,000 crore) worth of military hardware.

"We will take the country to new heights," he said, adding Rs 52,000 crore worth of military equipment will be procured from domestic defence companies in the current fiscal.

Talking about the government's strong resolve to overcome difficult situations, the defence minister said that there was a shortage of ventilators and PPE kits in India when the coronavirus pandemic hit the country, but within a month-and-half, the country became self-reliant in meeting their demands.

The defence minister said various departments and ministries of the government are working tirelessly to implement Modi's initiative for a self-reliant India and that it is an attempt to give a fresh dimension to Mahatma Gandhi's push for 'Swadeshi'.

Paying glowing tributes to Udham Singh, the defence minister said he sent a message that India has never recognised violence but those inflicting torture on the country were not spared.

Udham Singh was hanged in 1940 for killing Michael O'Dwyer who had ordered the Jallianwala Bagh massacre.
Zoom Satellite Presentation

ARRL instructor and AMSAT-NA Ambassador Clint Bradford, K6LCS, will be presenting his "Working Amateur Satellites With Your HT session at the Saturday, August 15, 2020 meeting of the Team Radio GA in southeast Georgia. The session will begin at 9AM Georgia time.

Team Radio GA (TRGA) is a growing ARES / EmComm group, whose region covers the ARRLs District 8 in Georgia. Led by Jerome Erickson KK1JE, TRGA was featured in the July, 2020 issue of the ARRL Georgia Sections newsletter, Georgia on My Mind.

The groups Jerome has organized focus on digital and emergency communications. Refreshingly, Jerome told the newsletter editor, I believe that the privilege to operate on the many frequencies we are granted we should make an effort to give back to our communities through radio communications.

TRGAs expanding Web site is  http://trga.us/

Clint K6LCS has made it his mission in his amateur radio life to show hams that they really can work a few FM voice satellites with equipment they probably already own. To that end, he has given his presentation more than 100 times to audiences who genuinely desire to expand their ham experience - to clubs, conventions, and hamfests in North America and Canada.

An attendee of Clints session at the club a couple years ago wrote:

"K6LCS gave a fantastic presentation on amateur satellites.

It was most informative and entertaining. Clint's passion for the subject was evident, and I would imagine that the club members individually and or in a group will be eager to try satellite contacts in the near future.

We will be using Zoom Video Communications to conduct our session, Clint advises. I would much rather be in a room, LIVE, with my audience, but its cheaper with Zoom than air fare to Savannah's International Airport  

Clint always welcomes questions before his presentations. Leave him a voicemail at (909) 999-SATS or send email to: k6lcs@...Clints satellite support site - www.work-sat.com

If you are in the southeast region of TRGA, you will be notified of the sessions Zoom meeting ID on TRGA's Web site. If you are not in the

region and would like to attend, please send email to k6lcs@...

for the meeting ID.
Bruno Tonioli is set to make a comeback to Strictly Come Dancing later this year after ditching the show amid the coronavirus pandemic, according to reports.

The 64-year-old judge would usually jet between London and Los Angeles to sit on the panel for both the long-running UK show as well as its US counterpart Dancing With The Stars.

But due to the global coronavirus pandemic impacting travel restrictions it was reported that the Italian choreographer had favoured the US version when forced to pick just one of the shows.

It is thought that BBC bosses are still keen to get Bruno to the UK and hope that he could make a comeback for the Strictly final later this year.

Potential: Bruno Tonioli is set to make a comeback to Strictly Come Dancing later this year after ditching the show amid the coronavirus pandemic, according to reports

A source told The Daily Star: 'Everyone at Strictly was devastated when they found out Bruno was going to pull out of this year's series.

'Travel restrictions in place because of coronavirus meant he couldn't fly back and forth to do both shows this year, so he picked Dancing With The Stars. But Strictly's producers were still keen for him to make an appearance if it was possible.'

The source added: 'Dancing With The Stars usually ends a few weeks before Strictly's final. So the plan is for Bruno to jet back to the UK as soon as he's finished with his commitments in the US.

'There will be enough time for him to do two weeks in quarantine if needed. And then he will be free to make his big comeback on Strictly.'

MailOnline has contacted Bruno's representatives for comment.

Busy schedule: The 64-year-old judge would usually jet between London and Los Angeles to sit on the panel for both the long-running UK show as well as its US counterpart Dancing With The Stars

The news comes after fellow Strictly judge Craig Revel Horwood, who has appeared on the show alongside Bruno since 2004, said he was confident the choreographer will make a 'triumphant return' in 2021.

He said: 'They might throw guest judges in for fun. Then when everything's back to normal, Bruno can make his triumphant return!'

In recent weeks, various big-name stars have been mentioned as a possible replacement for Bruno including Cheryl.

Decisions: But due to the global coronavirus pandemic impacting travel restrictions it was reported that the Italian choreographer had favoured the US version when forced to pick just one of the shows

But Craig said he doubted whether the 37-year-old pop star would appear on the upcoming series, saying: 'Lovely girl, but I don't think it will happen.'

This year's Strictly is set to start in October instead of the usual start in August and will be several weeks shorter than normal.

Last week it was reported that BBC bosses have scrapped plans for celebrities and professional dancers to isolate together.

In a last minute change of plan, the couples will instead be in a 'bubble' system and there will be regular testing ahead of the live shows, The Sun reports.

However, the dancers are still said to be isolating together this month so that they can pre-record group routines.

A TV source told the publication: 'The idea of holing sexy dancers up with celebrities made it impossible to sign anybody up.'

It comes after Strictly Come Dancing bosses denied celebrities such as Michelle Keegan and Jessie J declined to be on the show this year because of the 'low' 60,000 appearance fee.

Speaking exclusively to MailOnline on Wednesday, a Strictly source has contested reports that several celebrities had turned them down and said only those who have signed onto the show were offered a fee.

The source explained: 'Everyone we have offered a fee to this year have been confirmed as part of the line up, so nobody has declined appearing in the show after we've begun negotiations.'
Beijing warns US President Trump that the visit threatens peace and stability in the region.

The United States health secretary has just arrived in Taiwan for a visit that has angered China.

Alex Azars three-day trip is being hailed as an opportunity to strengthen cooperation in combating COVID-19.

But Beijing has warned President Donald Trump that the visit threatens peace and stability in the region.

It is the highest-level visit to the island by an American diplomat in more than 40 years.

Al Jazeeras Sarah Clarke reports.
Bhopal Aug 10 : Ganesh Utsav, Janmashtmi and other festivals will not be celebrated publicly in Madhya Pradesh in view of the Covid-19 pandemic, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan announced through a video conference on Sunday.

Moharram will also be observed in the confines of the homes, said Chouhan Ganesh idols will not be installed at public places and processions during Janmashtmi and Moharram will not be allowed. Chouhan requested the citizens to celebrate or observe these festivals at their homes.

Gathering of more than five people at a time at places of worship will not be permitted. The Independence Day will also be celebrated on a smaller scale this year.

Chouhan said that home isolation should be promoted among asymptomatic corona patients, who voluntarily wish to remain at home with suitable arrangements for regular treatment and monitoring. Currently, 42 people have been placed under home isolation in Bhopal.

Chouhan has said that the recovery rate is continuously increasing and the fatality rate is declining in the state, which is a good sign. The recovery rate has reached 74.1 per cent and the fatality rate has come down to 2.52 per cent in the state.

During the review of Singruali district, Chouhan ordered mandatory health screening of people moving in and out through the state borders. Twenty fresh cases were found in Singrauli district on Sunday.

Indore with 145 new cases topped Sunday's list, followed by Bhopal (131), Jabalpur (63), Khargone (44), Gwalior (26) and Morena (24).

Jabalpur district with a positivity rate of 9.35 per cent is worrying the government.

The Additional Chief Secretary (Health), Mohammad Suleman, said that 734 new patients have been found in the state, while 719 patients went back home after recovery and 16 have succumbed to the disease. The number of active patients in the state is 8,715.
In this article WSM

WMT

TGT

In the days following the death of George Floyd, Brooklyn-based entrepreneur Aurora James was skeptical of the deluge of corporate support for the Black community. "As a Black woman, and also as a business owner, I was reading it, but I wasn't necessarily feeling it to be true," said James, who runs Brother Vellies, a company that sources handmade shoes and accessories from artisans around the world. She wanted to create a metric for companies that would show how they were following through on their statements of support. In a handwritten note posted to her personal Instagram page, James made a simple ask to retailers: Commit to having 15% of suppliers be Black-owned businesses. "So many of your businesses are built on Black spending power," she said. "So many of your stores are set up in Black communities. So many of your posts seen on Black feeds. This is the least you can do for us. We represent 15% of the population and we need to represent 15% of your shelf space." James called out large retailers by name, including Whole Foods, Target, Walmart, and Sephora. With a commitment, from these companies, she wrote, "Small businesses can turn into bigger ones. Dreams can turn into realities. Real investment will start happening in black businesses which can subsequently be paid forward into our black communities." The message went viral, garnering over 34,000 likes on Instagram. Within a week, she registered the 15 Percent Pledge as a government-recognized non-profit. "I posted it on a Saturday, we had a website launched by the following Monday, and were a 501(c)3 by Wednesday," said James. The 15 Percent Pledge saw a blitz of media coverage from the New York Times to CNN to Vogue. It quickly caught the attention of some major retailers, which are now doing what James had hoped: They are laying out concrete goals that are measurable. And industry watchers expect these decisions will be good for business by potentially opening doors to successful new products and by bringing in new customers.

Taking the pledge

On June 10, Sephora was the first to take the pledge. "When Aurora called for Sephora to join this Pledge, we recognized the opportunity to take meaningful action," Artemis Patrick, the cosmetics retailer's executive vice president and global chief merchandising officer, wrote in an email to CNBC. "We quickly began discussions about how we could make this happen from an operational perspective." Committing to the 15 Percent Pledge consists of three steps. First, a company must take stock of the percentage of shelf space and contracts given to Black-owned businesses and suppliers. Then, it needs to take ownership of its findings, rooting out blind spots and biases and how those have led to the disparities. The third step is to take action. "I had a wonderful, honest discussion with Aurora, and we talked at length about the best way to go about this to ensure we are not just rushing to meet a deadline, but laying the groundwork for long-term success," said Patrick. Rent the Runway, a fashion rental company, was the next major retailer to take the pledge. It detailed steps it would take to achieve the goal, including increasing the representation of Black designers on its platforms from 1.5% to 5% within a year. It also promised to diversify models, stylists, production crews and other aspects of its business, and pledged $1 million to support Black designers. "Aurora's work with the 15 Percent Pledge is vitally important  and so long overdue for our industry," Rent the Runway CEO and co-founder Jenn Hymann wrote in an email to CNBC. "We're collectively reckoning with the fact that for far too long, fashion has co-opted the style, inspiration and ideas of Black culture without ensuring that the people behind the work are properly compensated." Furniture retailer West Elm followed. The Williams-Sonoma unit released a statement pledging to increase the company's design collaborations with Black designers and artists to 15%, the share of Black businesses within its West Elm LOCAL branch to 15%, and Black employees within its corporate work force to a minimum of 15%.

Executing the pledge

Part of what makes the 15 Percent Pledge attractive is its simplicity. Execution, however, is not easy. "These are huge national retailers, so they're not going to be able to commit to the pledge overnight," said James. "Nor would we want them to."

Aurora James Photo: Grace Miller

Based on her conversations with companies so far, James estimates that on average Black-owned businesses make up 0.5% to 2% of their product offerings. The work needed for retailers to reach the 15% target could take years. "It can be done, it's just over what time frame," said Morningstar equity analyst Jaime Katz, who added that onboarding a new vendor could take between six to nine months. "There will be a time lag between making the pledge and getting inventory on the books." The next challenge will be ensuring that the products can scale. Central to the 15 Percent Pledge's goal is support for small business. James said she hopes that her organization will help large retailers set up the structure that will help these brands thrive. "Maybe it starts off as local and then grows to national, and they're going to be able to scale with you in a way that's also sustainable for business," said James. "My hope is that if these companies are actually onboarded in the right way at these major retailers, that we'll also be able to see them grow and thrive because they're just great products too."

Impact of the Pledge
Watertown, NY (13601)

Today

Snow showers in the morning will give way to a mixture of rain and snow in the afternoon. Some sleet may mix in. High 37F. Winds SSW at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of precip 70%..

Tonight

Cloudy skies. A few flurries or snow showers possible. Low 3F. Winds WNW at 15 to 25 mph.
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Linkedin (Agence France-Presse) Courmayeur, Italy  Sun, August 9, 2020 17:03 527 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a4066c9af78 2 Environment Italy,resort,glacier,Mont-Blanc,France,mountain,tourism,climate Free

The threat that a massive chunk of glacier loosened by soaring temperatures could collapse near an alpine resort on the Italian side of the Mont Blanc mountain range has slightly eased, a local mayor said Saturday.

Security measures around the danger area were being "gradually relaxed", local officials said.

Climate change has been increasingly melting the world's glaciers, creating a new danger for the town of Courmayeur, a resort community in Italy's Aosta Valley region, near the French border.

The town was put on high alert on Wednesday as a block of ice estimated at about 500,000 cubic meters -- the size of the Milan cathedral, one official said -- from the Planpincieux glacier risked falling and threatening homes.

A "red zone" at the base of the slope was also evacuated, with 20 residents and around 55 holidaymakers moved from the area.

Earlier Courmayeur mayor Stefano Miserocchi said Saturday that things were looking up.

"We are in a phase of slight improvement, the situation is a little better," he told AFP.

"However we have not yet returned to the situation before the closure," of the road to Val Ferret, a small valley normally busy with tourists at this time of year, he added.

An alternative one-way road was being made accessible from Saturday for those living in Val Ferret who wish to travel down and out of the area and for those with reservations elsewhere in the area.

Some locals were dismissive of the closure, lamenting that it further affected a tourism season already hit by coronavirus measures.

However Mayor Miserocchi said it was "urgent and vital" to move people directly in the path of a potential ice fall, as more scorching temperatures are forecast over the coming days.

Ludovic Ravanel, a researcher at the University of Savoie Mont Blanc who studies glaciers and rockfalls in the Alps, defended the decision to evacuate the area.

"We cannot leave people under the threat of such an avalanche of ice," he told AFP.

Read also: Italian valley still in 'red zone' as Mont Blanc glacier threatens collapse

Global warming link 'obvious'

Aosta Valley natural risk management director Valerio Segor said the situation was "especially delicate" because the heat "upsets the water level between the ice and the rock, and in turn the stability of the glacier."

He said the problem was "that not enough water can escape, it stays under the glacier like a bubble and risks lifting it up" -- which could tip its most fragile section to tumble into the valley, Segor told AFP earlier in the week.

But Miserocchi said Saturday that "the circulation of water under the glacier has resumed... it was this point that worried us a lot".

During a helicopter flypast, an AFP reporter saw a gaping chasm on the lower part of the Planpincieux, from which two cascades of water flowed towards the valley, as it hung from the mountainside like a gigantic block of grey polystyrene.

Researcher Ravanel said that Planpincieux's "link with global warming is obvious".

"A particularly strong glacial retreat over the past three decades, combined with increasingly frequent heatwaves, explains the current situation," he said.

There are more than 4,000 glaciers -- vast, ancient reserves of ice -- dotted throughout the Alps, providing seasonal water to millions and forming some of Europe's most stunning landscapes. But they are under severe threat from climate change.

In September and October last year, the Planpincieux glacier also threatened a partial collapse, after which extra surveillance measures were put in place.

A study last year by Swiss scientists found that Alpine glaciers could shrink between 65 and 90 percent this century, depending on how effectively the world can curb greenhouse gas emissions.
One of the more remarkable developments since this year's General Election has been the lack of meaningful analysis within Fine Gael of that party's dismal performance last February - its second worst ever - and the virtual silence since then on the leadership of Leo Varadkar, who gives every outward appearance that he still regards himself to be Taoiseach.

No Emmanuel Macron is he, however, having failed preposterously, where the French leader spectacularly succeeded in seeing off the challenge from his country's brand of populism.

The question is, how did this happen to Fine Gael? The answer is multi-faceted, but to some extent is bound up in the great Irish public's complicated relationship with nationalism, naively stoked up by Varadkar himself.

In the election, Fine Gael won just 35 seats on 20.86pc of the vote - a loss of 15 seats and 5pc vote-share down. In any other party, the head of the leader would be demanded, but not in Fine Gael where Varadkar still seems to live a charmed existence.

You have to go back to the 2002 election when Fine Gael lost 23 seats and won just 31 to find a worst result. That was the election Nora Owen was caught unaware as electronic voting machines spouted out the results, which led then Fine Gael leader, Michael Noonan to resign on the spot - or as Charlie McCreevy, then finance minister put it, when the people, perversely, voted out the opposition.

At least Noonan had the good grace to resign. Since then, Leo Varadkar has demanded, and received, an aide-de-camp, and his deputy, Simon Coveney, the retention of a State car and driver. What does it take for Fine Gael to realise a little humility might be in order?

It is all a long way from the heyday of Enda Kenny's leadership in 2011 when Fine Gael won 76 seats on 36.1pc of the vote and stormed to "power" as Michael Ring, the Mayo TD, loudly proclaimed to have smelled in advance.

It would not have been difficult to do so. Fine Gael victory was in the air long since, for that was the election Fianna Fail imploded, giving ridicule to McCreevy's hubris a mere decade or so earlier.

But still, it's some fall - isn't it - from 76 seats in 2011 to 35 another decade later, putting beyond doubt that if ever a political party has squandered the opportunity of a lifetime to supplant its rivals of a century as the natural party of government, then it is Fine Gael.

That issue of humility is one which has always bedevilled Fine Gael when it comes to why the great Irish public has never fallen for the party, no matter how it tries.

But it is not an issue I intend to dwell on here other than to say the perceived lack of humility was undoubtedly again at the heart of Fine Gael's failure in the election earlier this year.

Indeed, Fine Gael should have Fianna Fail well and truly buried by now, more than a decade on from the great crash in 2008, but its failure to do so to date stems from its inability to properly connect with the Irish public, their concerns, ambitions, joys, shortcomings, foibles and glorious failures.

In its own analysis, according to reports, Fine Gael blamed a series of gaffes and whatnot for its poor election, which entirely misses the point.

Varadkar himself is reported to have discussed his timing of the poll, before getting closer to, but still missing, the nub of the matter when he said he should have maximised on Fine Gael's "Brexit successes" at earlier stages.

It is widely agreed that few if any voters raised Brexit on the doorstep, meaning that Fine Gael's entire election strategy - to maximise on its "successes" on this issue - was set up to backfire.

That said, I still believe Brexit was the most critical influence on the election outcome, and here is why:

Although aware that the Fine Gael-led minority government was failing badly on the issues of the day - housing, health and others - Fianna Fail continued to prop up that administration for one reason only: Brexit.

Had Micheal Martin pulled the plug earlier, a year or 18 months before, then Fianna Fail could possibly have benefited. As it happened, he didn't, believing confidence-and-supply to be the responsible thing to do.

As a result, the great Irish public confirmed in their own minds that Fianna Fail and Fine Gael were one and the same, both separately and jointly responsible for the failures of the last government.

But to better understand the remarkable success of Sinn Fein in the last election, we need to delve a little deeper: here I turn, again, to Brexit, and specifically the rhetoric of Leo Varadkar up to, during and after Europe's negotiations with the UK.

This is best summed up in his statement directed at Northern nationalists in December 2017: "You will never again be left behind by an Irish government"

It is my view that Varadkar's regular anti-English, DUP-critical, statements during the Brexit process at a deeper, unintended level allowed middle-aged and older people, who still vividly recall the Provisional IRA campaign, to feel it OK to vote for Sinn Fein for the first time, giving that party an over-and-above boon which even it did not expect.

Not that Varadkar will ever acknowledge this, nor Fine Gael challenge him on it, now that he has emerged Tanaiste first, Fine Gael leader second and Government minister by a distant third (and still Taoiseach in his own head, of course). Or as a friend put it last week: "What's Leo minister for again?" It's a telling question.

So he would be well advised: get on with the day job, Mr Varadkar, and stop playing politics with people's heads, for they will soon tire of the endless parlour games you play and ultimately will give credit to the man or woman who is seen to have rolled up their sleeves and got the job done at this most arduous time.
Information Minister Manal Abdel Samad attends a news conference, at the presidential palace in Baabda, Lebanon Feb. 25. REUTERS-Yonhap



Lebanon's information minister resigned on Sunday as the country grapples with the aftermath of the devastating blast that ripped through the capital and raised public anger to new levels.



The resignation comes as public anger is mounting against the ruling elite, blamed for the chronic mismanagement and corruption that is believed to be behind the explosion in a Beirut Port warehouse.



Hundreds of tons of highly explosive material was stored in the waterfront hangar, and a blast sent a shock wave that killed at least 160 people, wounded nearly 6,000 and defaced the coastline of Beirut _ destroying hundreds of buildings.



Manal Abdel-Samad said in her resignation letter that change remained ''elusive'' and she regrets failing to fulfill the aspirations of the Lebanese people.



''Given the magnitude of the catastrophe caused by the Beirut earthquake that shook the nation and hurt our hearts and minds, and in respect for the martyrs, and the pains of the wounded, missing and displaced, and in response to the public will for change, I resign from the government,'' she wrote.



The disaster fueled angry demonstrations Saturday where protesters set up gallows and nooses in central Beirut and held mock hanging sessions of cut-out cardboard images of top Lebanese officials.



Demonstrators held signs that read ''resign or hang.'' The protests quickly turned violent when the demonstrators pelted stones at the security forces, who responded with heavy volleys of tear gas and rubber bullets. One police officer was killed and dozens of people were hurt in confrontations that lasted for hours.





A Lebanese flag set by citizens flies in front the site of Tuesday's explosion that hit the seaport of Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday. AP-Yonhap
Lebanese protesters stormed government ministries in Beirut and trashed the offices of the Association of Lebanese Banks on Saturday as shots rang out in increasingly angry demonstrations over this weeks devastating explosion.

The protesters said their politicians should resign and be punished for negligence they say led to Tuesdayas blast, the biggest ever to hit Beirut, thatA killed 158 people and injured more than 6,000, compounding months of political and economic meltdown.

A policeman was killed during the clashes, a spokesman said. A policeman at the scene said the officer died when he fell into an elevator shaft in a nearby building after being chased by protesters.

The Red Cross said it had treated 117 people for injuries on the scene while another 55 were taken to hospital. Policemen wounded by stones were treated by ambulance workers. A fire broke out in central Martyrs Square.

Dozens of protesters broke into the foreign ministry where they burnt a portrait of President Michel Aoun, representative for many of a political class that has ruled Lebanon for decades and that they say is to blame for its current mess.

We are staying here. We call on the Lebanese people to occupy all the ministries," a demonstrator said by megaphone.

About 10,000 people gathered in Martyrs Square, some throwing stones. Police fired tear gas when some protesters tried to break through the barrier blocking a street leading to parliament, a Reuters journalist said.

Police confirmed shots and rubber bullets had been fired. It was not immediately clear who fired the shots. Riot police shot dozens of teargas canisters at protesters, who hit back with firecrackers and stones.

TV footage showed protesters also breaking into the energy and economy ministries. They chanted the people want the fall of the regime", reprising a popular chant from the Arab Spring uprisings of 2011. They held posters saying Leave, you are all killers".

The U.S. Embassy in Beirut said the U.S. government supported the demonstrators right to peaceful protest and urged all involved to refrain from violence.

The embassy also said in a tweet that the Lebanese people deserved leaders who listen to them and change course to respond to popular demands for transparency and accountability".

Prime Minister Hassan Diab said the only way out was early parliamentary elections. The protests were the biggest since OctoberA when thousands of people took to the streets in protest against corruption, bad governance and mismanagement.

aYou have no conscience, you have no morality. Go home! Leave! Resign, Enough is enough,a shoutedA one of theA protesters. aWhat else do you want? You brought us poverty, death and destruction,a said another.

Soldiers in vehicles mounted with machine guns patrolled the area. Ambulances rushed to the scene. Really the army is here? Are you here to shoot us? Join us and we can fight the government together," a woman yelled.

Tuesdays blast was the biggest in Beiruts history. Twenty-one people were still reported as missing from the explosion, which gutted entire neighbourhoods.

The government has promised to hold those responsible to account. But few Lebanese are convinced. Some set up nooses on wooden frames as a symbolic warning to Lebanese leaders. Resign or hang," said oneA banner at the demonstration.

The prime minister and presidency have said 2,750 tonnes of highly explosive ammonium nitrate, which is used in making fertilisers and bombs, had been stored for six years without safety measures at the port warehouse.

ECONOMIC MELTDOWN

The explosion hit a city still scarred by civil war and reeling from an economic meltdown and a surge in coronavirus infections.

For many, it was a dreadful reminder of the 1975-1990 civil war that tore the nation apart and destroyed swathes of Beirut, much of which had since been rebuilt.

Some residents, struggling to clean up shattered homes, complain the government has let them down again. We have no trust in our government," said university student Celine Dibo as she scrubbed blood off the walls of her shattered apartment building. I wish the United Nations would take over Lebanon."

Many people denounced their leaders, saying none of them visited the site of the blast to comfort them or assess the damage while French President Emmanuel Macron flew from ParisA and went straight to the scene to pay his tribute.

Macron, who visited Beirut on Thursday, promised aid to rebuild the city would not fall into corrupt hands". He will host a donor conference for Lebanon via video link on Sunday, his office said. U.S. President Donald Trump said that he will join.

We dont want any government to help us," said unemployed protester Mahmoud Rifai. The money will just go into the pockets of our leaders."

Aoun said on Friday an investigation would examine whether the blast was caused by a bomb or other external interference. He said the investigation would also weigh if it was due to negligence or an accident. Twenty people had been detained so far, he added.

A A A

WE CANT AFFORD TO REBUILD

Officials have said the blast could have caused losses amounting to $15 billion. That is a bill that Lebanon cannot pay after already defaulting on a mountain of debt - exceeding 150% of economic output - and with talks stalled on an IMF lifeline.

For ordinary Lebanese, the scale of destruction is overwhelming. Marita Abou Jawda was handing out bread and cheese to victims of the blast.

Macron offered to help and our government has not done anything. It has always been like that," she said. After Macron visited I played the French national anthem all day in my car."
Union boss Len McCluskey is gearing up for strike action against British Airways over thousands of job cuts.

More than 6,000 BA employees have applied for voluntary redundancy so far, with thousands more braced for enforced job losses as BA battles what it has described as the worst crisis in its history.

In a letter sent last week to members of the Unite union, McCluskey said: 'It is for that reason that I have today instructed my teams to make preparations for industrial action. If BA think this ends when they either dismiss or force new terms on our members, then they do not know me or our union.'

More than 6,000 BA employees have applied for voluntary redundancy so far

Unite and the GMB union have called for BA to drop its 'fire and rehire' proposals which will reduce the pay and conditions of thousands of cabin crew, engineers and maintenance staff.

On Friday, BA began sending letters to staff to inform them of their fate in the plans to cut more than 10,000 jobs, including voluntary measures.

Employees will either be made redundant, keep their job but on lower pay, or remain on the same contract.

Pilots' union Balpa reached a deal that mitigated job losses late last month. An industry insider said: 'McCluskey's mistake has been to treat the consultation process as a dispute  not as a crisis for the airline.'

A BA spokesman said: 'We are having to make difficult decisions.'
Whitehall's coronavirus finger-pointing has thrust Matt Hancock into the firing line for failing to scrutinise his own department's early handling of the pandemic.

The Health Secretary is accused of chairing Cobra meetings which did not effectively drill down into the crisis response.

Government sources said the committee did not 'challenge' the Department of Health's Covid-19 preparations when its own Secretary of State was at the helm.

Friends of Mr Hancock have pushed back at these accusations, but the Sunday Telegraph reports that plans have already been sketched out for an independent minister to chair the committee in the future.

The Health Secretary is accused of chairing Cobra meetings which did not effectively drill down into the crisis response

The shake-up will see a cabinet member who bears no responsibility for executing the decisions take control of Cobra, according to the newspaper.

Such figures could include Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove or Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab.

Whitehall's most senior decision-makers are summoned to Cobra meetings in times of emergency to coordinate out an inter-departmental response.

Current Cabinet Office guidance says a 'lead government department will be made responsible for the overall management of the government response.

'In the most serious circumstances, this could involve the activation of COBR to facilitate rapid coordination and collective decision-making.'

It goes on: 'The Prime Minister, Home Secretary or another senior Minister will normally chair key meetings involving Ministers and officials from relevant departments, as appropriate.'

Boris Johnson delegated planning to Mr Hancock and asked him to chair Cobra

Yet when China was grappling with its outbreak in Wuhan and the UK was bracing for infection to hit its shores, Boris Johnson delegated planning to Mr Hancock and asked him to chair Cobra.

A government figure told the Telegraph these meetings did not 'challenge' the Health Department's response.

But another source came to the Health Secretary's defence and told the newspaper: 'To say that Matt went in and said 'here is my view what I have decided and here's what we are going to do' would not be a fair reflection of those meetings.'

Mr Johnson has said there will be an inquiry into the government's handling of the crisis, which in its early stages was criticised for failing to procure enough PPE and going into lockdown too slow, among other elements.

But a government spokesperson has said 'there are no plans to change the arrangements' for who chairs Cobra.

However, as the UK emerges from lockdown, it is expected the finger-pointing in government will intensify.

A senior official told Politico: 'Obviously the blame game has been going on almost as long as the virus and has been gathering force.

'As the epidemic wanes, the blame game is going to get more intense. I think the civil service is absolutely expecting that.'




An investigation which revealed a litany of incompetence and wrongdoing in the emergency construction of a fence between SA and Zimbabwe has recommended disciplinary action against 14 government officials.





Public works and infrastructure minister Patricia de Lille said senior officials in her department had allegedly committed a range of acts of misconduct during the procurement and construction of the 37km Beitbridge border fence.





This was one of the findings of an investigation commissioned by De Lille after media reports about the inadequacy of the fence.





De Lille released an executive summary of the report on Saturday and said the full document would be sent to law enforcement agencies, regulatory bodies and parliament.





She said the department would pursue disciplinary, criminal, civil and systemic consequence management processes against those suspected of wrongdoing.





In addition, the fence would be investigated in terms of the presidential proclamation mandating the Special Investigating Unit to investigate Covid-19 related projects and bring the matter before the SIU tribunal.





De Lille said the investigation has not found any evidence of impropriety on my part and has also not found any evidence to suggest that I benefited personally from this project in any way whatsoever.





She pledged to ensure that any official who has been found guilty of any wrongdoing will be dealt in the appropriate manner and will be held accountable.





According to the executive summary of the investigation report:





It uncovered allegations of procurement irregularities and fraud committed by departmental officials and service providers; It uncovered allegations of procurement irregularities and fraud committed by departmental officials and service providers;





As a result of the irregular application of the emergency procurement process the fence cost R40.4m. At all times, the cost of the project communicated to me was in the region of R37.1m, said De Lille. It was only much later that officials informed me of the additional cost of just over R3.2m for the principal agent for professional services and project management; As a result of the irregular application of the emergency procurement process the fence cost R40.4m. At all times, the cost of the project communicated to me was in the region of R37.1m, said De Lille. It was only much later that officials informed me of the additional cost of just over R3.2m for the principal agent for professional services and project management;





Advance payments of R21.8m to the contractor and R1.8m to the principal agent within days of their respective appointments were irregular as no material had been delivered and construction had not begun; Advance payments of R21.8m to the contractor and R1.8m to the principal agent within days of their respective appointments were irregular as no material had been delivered and construction had not begun;





A professional assessment of quantities, drawings and specifications showed they were not aligned; A professional assessment of quantities, drawings and specifications showed they were not aligned;





The cost of the fence was ostensibly calculated based on 2016 prices but ended up costing R14.3m more; and The cost of the fence was ostensibly calculated based on 2016 prices but ended up costing R14.3m more; and





Poor design and construction compromised the effectiveness of the fence as a deterrent for crossing the South African border with Zimbabwe. It was only 1.8m high instead of the specified 2.2m, and barbed wire coils were stretched beyond their effective limit.





De Lille said on Saturday: I am mindful that many questions have been raised and that the public has been waiting for the release of the outcome of this investigation.





Investigations of this nature have to be done thoroughly and due process has to be followed, which can become time-consuming.





The public has a right to be updated on the progress in order to provide the necessary assurances that I am committed to clean governance and getting to the bottom of this matter.





De Lille said she requested an investigation by the auditor-general on April 20, and five days later asked the public works anti-corruption unit to investigate as well, assisted by SIU members seconded to the department.





Before the investigation formally commenced, I requested the departments chief financial officer and deputy director-general for construction to place a moratorium on all further payments for this project, until further notice, to mitigate any further financial risk to the department, she said.





She received the draft report of the internal investigation in June and sent it to the auditor-general and the SIU. Amendments were made in July as a result of the feedback received.




Trump said the employee portion of the payroll tax would be deferred from Aug. 1 through the end of the year, and he raised the possibility of making it permanent, though experts said he lacked that authority. The temporary deferral would not directly aid unemployed workers, who do not pay the tax when they are jobless. Employees would need to repay the federal government eventually without an act of Congress.
As Dennis Prager has noted, Judaism is a religion of distinctions. I would suggest the same could well be said of Christianity or, for that matter, the United States as a nation. These distinctions have served us well over time, but they are now rapidly being eviscerated in favor of the new One True God, Tolerance.

Mr. Prager listed five key distinctions, which I will list here. If we are honest, we will have to admit that all five are under attack and weakened. In two or three of these cases, I would argue that the definitions of the terms that comprise these binary concepts and entities, and/or the way we recognize them, have been reversed. The primary distinctions are between: A) God and man. B) Good and evil. C) Man and woman. D) Holy and profane. E) Life and death. I will address them in that order.

God used to be feared and worshipped, considered omnipotent and ever-present. Humans were to be humble and reverential, as well as appreciative of their blessings. The Lords name wasnt to be taken in vain, and Sundays were for rest, contemplation and worship. Today, many openly scoff at the idea of some guy in the sky, while they worship certain Hollywood stars and athletes. G*d D**n and Jesus Christ are used almost as often as the word the in movies, television shows and some popular music. Progressive politicians and bureaucrats deliberately dispense with God so that they can replace Him with government, i.e. themselves. Send your tithes to us, they say, And we will bless you and keep you. Especially keep you.

Good and evil are also now reversed. In fact, bad means good, to many folks. Thats one bad ass car, is a high compliment. Exercising judgment and expecting excellence or even decency is now badas in bad. Christianity is mocked, Jews are attacked, the Ten Commandments have been removed from public spaces, but membership in The Church of Satan and The Satanic Temple is growing by leaps and bounds. Rioters burn and loot our cities with impunity, cheered on by certain government officials. In some states, petty theft is being completely excused while calling a transgendered person by their biologically correct pronoun is considered a crime. There is a growing movement in academia to characterize competence, civil behavior and punctuality as damning relics of a white, patriarchal hegemony.

The distinction between man and woman has been all but obliterated, as has the very concept of binary sexes. Tragically, this has damagedand is threatening to destroy-- one of the greatest joys of human existence. It also demeans how humans come to be and attempts to negate the Book of Genesis, which does not say, male and femaleand pangender, nanogender and at least threescore other genders He created them.

As with good and evil, we have essentially flipped what is considered holy and what is considered profane. It is now considered profane to state that marriage should be between one man and one woman or that only women can give birth. The concept of Love is Love, regardless of the sex/gender, age, species, or number of beings involved, is now considered holy by progressives. As is belief in man-caused climate change. And unfettered abortion.

Life is so undervalued that assisted suicide laws are popping up around the country, as are laws allowing abortion of a baby up to the moment of birthand until just a little while after. Many believe it is immoral to put a single terrorist or mass-murderer to death but are super stoked about the slaughter of tens of millions of innocent babies world-wide every year in the guise of womens choice.

God and man, good and evil and holy and profane are, obviously, closely related. As are man and woman and life and death. But, in truth, all of these are now part and parcel of two distinct worldviews. Thats right, binary outlooks. One recognizes the idolatry of man, evil, the profane, gender irrelevance, and death as the primary virtues to be enshrined and worshipped. The other considers God, good, the holy, complimentary sexes, and life as sacred.

The former belief system has destroyed every single society in which it has taken hold. The latter ushered in The Enlightenment, the United States of America, and unparalleled prosperity.

Is one better than the other? Who among us will dare to make that distinction?

Image credit: Gage Skidmore, via Flickr // CC BY-SA 2.0
10% of Android users of the HSE's Covid-19 tracker app have since deleted it, the Irish Examiner has learned.

That's a blow to the HSE, which said 1.56m people have downloaded the app since it launched, 600,000 short of its 2.2m target. 86,000 Android users have deleted the application since its launch, the HSE confirmed.

Android phones, which represent roughly 40% of Ireland's smartphone market, have been used to download the Covid-19 tracker app 780,000 times, so roughly 11% of those have since uninstalled it.

The HSE does not have figures for the number of Apple users who have deleted the app.

It is a further headache for the HSE, which has, in recent days, been inundated with Android users claiming the app has drained battery life and caused devices to overheat.

The HSE, responding to people on social media, said it is working with Google to "identify and fix the issue".

When asked what proportion of users are opening the app daily, a spokesperson said such data is not captured, in order to protect the privacy of the people using this app.

This appears at odds with the apps own data-protection impact assessment, which states its measured metrics include the number of people that open the app at least once a day, to provide early warning of lowering active use.

Meanwhile, 129 people out of 137 who have been informed by the app that they have been in close contact with a confirmed case of the virus, up to July 30, have reacted to that notification, the HSE said.

It said 206 close-contact alerts have been sent by the app, to date, on foot of 82 people who have tested positive for Covid-19.
A public safety advocate has resigned from the Expert Advisory Group (EAG) on Covid-19 in frustration at the failure to intercept the latest wave of Covid-19 cases.

Damien Nee told the Sunday Independent the "final straw" came when he sought to raise his concerns with the group about the rise in cases in meat plants and Direct Provision centres last week.

The EAG, an influential advisory body on Covid-19, had cancelled meetings for last week and this week to allow members take a holiday.

Read More

In a resignation letter he submitted to the EAG this weekend, Mr Nee wrote: "The final straw has been skipping two meetings at possibly the most critical time in the evolution of the coronavirus situation in Ireland. It is like making a statement that the EAG feels it has no contribution to make to this issue."

Confirming his resignation, Mr Nee said he believed the advisory groups to the Government needed to take more proactive action in the fight to eliminate the coronavirus.

He called on Health Minister Stephen Donnelly to review the roles of all advisory bodies.

"In Clara, Offaly, last Sunday, over 5,000 attended an outdoor market. Events like this are a potential hotbed of spread. How can tracing work in that type of environment? Where are the policy documents dealing with events like this?" he said.

"If this virus is to be controlled in Ireland, there must be rapid proactive reactions to evolving situations.

"We know the seriousness of the impending storm. Let's strive to protect our health care staff and ensure the refrigerated trucks are not required.

"I would like the three-county lockdown to be used as a case study for sending a box of 50 medical face masks to every household in Laois, Kildare and Offaly."

Mr Nee went on to explain his reasons for this stating: "I believe this would pay a huge dividend by helping to reduce the spread of infection."

He stressed he wished the members of the EAG well.

The EAG advises the National Public Health Advisory Team (Nphet), which in turn advises the Government on Covid-19. It is chaired by Cillian de Gascun, the director of the National Virus Reference Laboratory, and is made up of leading doctors, scientists and health officials.

Mr Nee, a businessman from Laois, was invited on to the EAG to represent the interests of the public by the Health Service Executive. He is member of St James's Hospital patient representative group, and serves on the National Screening Service committee.

He is the first member of the EAG to resign.

In a letter circulated to members this weekend, Mr Nee said he was resigning because he felt that "every available proactive action has not been actively explored".

"It has been known that meat plants are a source of infection and questionable labour practices. Failure to ruthlessly monitor, test and trace meat plant employees has resulted in this dreadful situation in Laois, Kildare and Offaly."

He also claimed the "further failure to quarantine the residents and staff of the Direct Provision centres has exacerbated this".

The failure to have a "visible compliance process" left the "nation unnecessarily vulnerable", he said.

"The people of Laois, Offaly and Kildare deserve better proactive preventative measures."

Mr Nee also criticised the messaging on masks in his final letter to his former EAG colleagues: "The EAG has not had the impact on the public that it is capable of having, at a time when strong unambiguous direction and imperatives must be given.

"A member of the Dail Covid-19 Committee in a recent radio interview expressed a degree of uncertainty about the scientific case for mask wearing based on a discussion with an EAG member. Is this the position of the EAG? Mixed and ambiguous messaging must not happen."

A staunch advocate for face masks from the outset, Mr Nee told the Sunday Independent that he was also frustrated with the delay in introducing a policy of universal mask wearing to control the coronavirus in contrast with countries such as New Zealand and Taiwan. The advisory group's policy changed when the World Health Organisation changed its advice in June to say that medical-grade masks should worn by people over 60.

Mr Nee's resignation comes as gardai have urged those living in Kildare, Laois and Offaly to avoid making unnecessary journeys.

The plea came after the new restrictions come into force in the midlands counties aimed at stemming the spread of coronavirus.

Officers are set to be highly visible, manning checkpoints and will be a permanent presence on relevant motorways and associated off-ramps.

Deputy Commissioner John Twomey urged those living in the three counties to stay at home and avoid unnecessary journeys.

"This operation is designed to support the restrictions that are being implemented locally in these three counties in an effort to stop the spread of Covid-19," he said.

"It is vital that we continue to work to minimise the risk to ourselves, our families and our local communities. We would appeal to all those living in these counties to stay and home and not undertake unnecessary journeys in an effort to reduce the spread of Covid-19."

Meanwhile, Labour senator Mark Wall has urged the public in Laois, Offaly and Kildare to pay heed to the new measures.

"I know these measures will be difficult... but we must follow them in order to suppress the spread of the virus," he said.
NEW DELHI: Congress Rajya Sabha MP Akhilesh Prasad Singh extended his support to the central government's proposed Population Control Bill. The Congress leader stated that he will support Prime Minister Narendra Modi when he brings a law to control the population growth.

"We will extend support to it. India has not been able to develop as much as it should have due to population," Singh said. "This is the demand of the country. All political parties should stand united by forming a common opinion on it. I hope that the Congress party will support the bill when it comes in the Parliament," he said.

He, however, hit out at the Centre, saying that the focus of this government has been more on issues like Ram Temple and abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir.

Speaking on PM Modi's 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat' initiative, he said the country is self-reliant yet as just a few days back, fighter Rafale jets from France came to India to join the Indian fleet of aircraft. "Since India attained independence, all governments have spoken of being self-sufficient."

"As far as farmers are concerned, this government has not done anything for them. Even the Minimum Support Price (MSP) has not been made available to farmers. What is the need for the declaration of 1 lakh crore when farmers are not getting benefitted by the scheme," he said.
Representative image

Serum Institute of India (SII)'s latest tie up with 'Gavi, The Vaccine Alliance' and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to manufacture and deliver up to 100 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines for India and other low and middle-income countries, is expected to become a template for more such deals in coming months. This would lead to more affordable COVID-19 vaccine.

As part of the deal, Serum Institute has set a price ceiling of $3 (around Rs 225) per dose, made available to up to 92 countries included those under Gavis COVAX Advance Market Commitment (AMC).

Read: Serum Institute ties up with Gates Foundation, Gavi for 10 crore COVID-19 vaccine doses at Rs 225 each in India

SII will produce vaccine candidates of AstraZeneca and Novavax, if they are successful in attaining full licensure and World Health Organization (WHO) pre-qualification.

Gates Foundation, through its Strategic Investment Fund, will provide at-risk funding of $150 million to Gavi, which will be used to support SII for manufacturing the potential vaccine candidates. The funding will help Serum with much needed capital. The company is currently manufacturing vaccines at-risk.

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

Serum's deal with Gavi provides encouragement for other Indian vaccine makers, who can commit capacities at much lower risks. So far, Indian vaccine makers' work on COVID-19 is through their own resources which is limited.

The Centre is yet to make any pre-purchase commitments. It did provide small funding to support early stage research through Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC). However, this funding is not sufficient to carry out advanced-stage clinical trials and create manufacturing capacities.

Click here for Moneycontrols full coverage of the novel coronavirus pandemic

Pooling risk

According to Gavi, the current best-case estimate is that no more than a few hundred million doses will be available by December 2020 in the current environment, scaling to a cumulative two billion doses by the end of 2021.

Through COVAX, the plan is to vaccinate the vulnerable 20 percent of the population of every country that participates, regardless of income level by 2021-end.

COVAX is co-led by Gavi, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and WHO, working in partnership with vaccine manufacturers from developed and developing countries.

Experts also says that it is difficult to predict which vaccine will be successful, as vast majority of vaccines in early development fail.

The probability of success for a vaccine in early-stage development is less than 20 percent prior to phase-II clinical trials.

"This means that the best chance of success for any country is to diversify and access a broad portfolio of vaccine candidates. This increases thechances of success and allows the vaccines that are successful to be shared. Such an approach would enable every country to gain access to

a much broader array of vaccines than they would otherwise have through multiple bilateral agreements with individual manufacturers," Gavi said.

"Pooling risks not only means a greater chance at shared rewards through access to successful vaccine candidates, it also means lower prices as competition in a non-pooled risks scenario leads to a disorderly market with price gouging as individual buyers seek to outbid each other for limited resources," it added.

Funds needed

The Gavi COVAX AMC is currently seeking at least $2 billion in initial seed funding to meet at least part of the cost needed to procure vaccine doses. Last week, the Gavi Board approved the final list of 92 countries that will be supported by the AMC.

The AMC has so far raised close to $600 million -- way short of its target $2 billion. It is time for governments and philanthropists to jump in.
Accra, August 7, 2020: The co-signing ceremony for the Exchange of Notes for two separate grant aids from Japan, totaling 350,000,000 Japanese Yen (approximately 3.3 million US Dollars) was held on Thursday, August 6, 2020, in Accra, Ghana.

The Exchange of Notes between Ambassador Genevieve A. Kennedy, Ambassador Extraordinary, and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Liberia to the Republic of Ghana and Ambassador Tsutomu Himeno, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan to the Republic of Liberia was the culmination of the grant assistance in food and medical supply approved by the cabinet of Japan on July 17, 2020, for Liberia.

In his opening remarks, Ambassador Himeno said that the grant assistances showcases the strong Japan-Liberia friendship and partnership and expressed the wish of the people and the Government of Japan that this assistance will make a valuable contribution to complementing the efforts of the people and the Government of Liberia in fighting the Covid-19 pandemic and food insecurity.

In response, Ambassador Kennedy conveyed on behalf of President George Manneh Weah and the Government and people of Liberia heartfelt gratitude and appreciation to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and the Government and people of Japan for the essential grant aids to Liberia. Ambassador Kennedy further recounted the strong development partnership that has existed between Liberia and Japan since the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries in 1961 and is reflected in the implementation of several development-related projects encompassing infrastructural and health development, including the construction of the Liberia-Japanese Friendship Maternity Hospital at the John F. Kennedy Medical Centre and the reconstruction and expansion of the Somalia Drive Road (now referred to as the Japan Freeway).

Additionally, Liberias Ambassador to Ghana cited Japans provision of specialised vocations as well as the Monbusho programme that enable Liberians to study at various Japanese colleges and universities as examples of Japans sustained development-related partnership with Liberia. Ambassador Kennedy noted that she was one of the beneficiaries of the academic programme of the Japanese Government to provide scholarships to Liberians to seek post-graduate studies and through the Monbusho programme had studied in Osaka and Niigata obtaining a masters degree.

Ambassador Kennedy further noted that the co-signing of these Notes illustrates the esteem and warm feelings between the two countries and hope that the economic and technical cooperation between the two countries will be further deepened based on mutual respect and mutual benefit.

Ambassador Kennedy, who reiterated President Weahs commitment to further the economic and infrastructural development of Liberia, emphasised the Presidents appreciation of Japans support to Liberia which was conveyed last August in Yokohama when President Weah and Prime Minister Abe had a bilateral tete-a-tete during the TICAD Summit.

The two separate grant aids, as part of Japans Economic and Social Development Programme in response to the global challenge of the COVID-19 pandemic, are for medical supplies, valued at 100,000,000 Japanese Yen (Approximately $950,000 United States Dollars), and food aid assistance which is valued at 250,000,000 Japanese Yen (approximately$ 2.35 million United States Dollars).
As of Monday afternoon, more than 60% of Ridgefield has electricity restored, showers are available at the Recreation Center, charging and WiFi stations are open at St. Stephens North Hall, and Eversource is estimating that 99% of the towns 10,000-plus customers will have power back by Tuesday night at 11:59 p.m.

Currently Main Street, the fire house, post office, CVS corridor and Ballard Green have been restored, First Selectman Rudy Marconi said last night in a phone call to Ridgefield homes.

We still have 45 percent of the town without power. Police, fire and town personnel have been touring the town to make sure all damage is reported, Marconi said, adding that the town continues to pressure Eversource to get more crews working to restore power in town.

Shortly after noon today (Aug. 10), Eversource was reporting that 3,944 of its 10,989 Ridgefield electricity customers  nearly 36 percent  were still affected by outages caused by Tropical Storm Isaias sweep through town on Tuesday. Thats down from 77 percent of Ridgefielders who were without power last Wednesday morning.

In his recorded call Sunday night, Marconi said showers would be available at the Parks and Recreation Center (off Danbury Road) from 5 to 9:30 p.m. tonight.

Unless you have a death wish, please keep generators out of the garage and away from the house, Marconi added in the call.

The town is continuing to get calls concerning generators improperly set up and used, he said, urging generator owners to follow manufacturers instructions.

Consider all downed wires live, Marconi added. Dial 911 for all emergencies.

The town has set up a special hot-line for storm related questions at 203-431-2718  operative from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. An additional hot-line will be open from 1:30 to 5 p.m. on Monday, at 203-431-2350. Due to call volume, we ask for your patience, said Gerri Lewis, public information officer with the town office of Emergency Management.

Charging. WiFi

Lewis spread the word Sunday afternoon that St. Stephens Episcopal Church  the stone church on Main Street across from the intersection of Governor Street  will be offering charging and WiFi on Monday and Tuesday.

St. Stephens is pleased to offer complimentary charging and WiFi in North Hall, for anyone whos been affected by Tropical Storm Isaias. There are 11 one-hour time slots each day, beginning on the hour and half hour from 9 to 2. You should see 11 for each of the two days, said a release from the Office of Emergency Management.

St. Stephens said: Please choose a 60-minute time slot on Monday and/or Tuesday, and bring a power strip or extension cord, and any chargers you may need. We have tables set up in North Hall, one per person, each a safe distance apart. North Hall is the white building on our campus closest to Deborah Anns.

One person per ticket, please, the churchs release said. Face Masks are required at all times. (This will not be an opportunity for video conferencing, unfortunately.) Seats are more than 6 feet apart, and entering the space will be timed.

Click on the link below to reserve charging time in North Hall:

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/power-and-wifi-at-st-stephens-tickets-116307814805

2,300 utility crews

Eversource line and tree crews continue working around-the-clock to repair the extensive damage caused during Tropical Storm Isaias while adhering to strict COVID-19 pandemic safety protocols. said company spokesman Mitch Gross on Sunday. With the support of utility workers from across the country and Canada, more than 2,300 line, tree and support crews are now on the ground as the energy company continues its urgent effort to restore the remaining 138,000 customers in Connecticut without power.

We know how frustrated our customers who still dont have power are, and we have thousands of utility workers repairing the extensive damage across the state today who are relentless in their determination to restore power for all customers, said Eversource President of Regional Electric Operations Craig Hallstrom. We hear our customers and community leaders, and we will not rest until this massive restoration effort is complete.

Eversource said it was providing accommodations for the thousands of out-of-state crews, and had secured more than 6,500 beds for crews, while serving more than 30,000 meals daily to the workers trying to restore power to customers.
At least 50 CISF personnel, officials from Kerala police, staff of the Airport Authority of India, fire fighters, airline crew and 20-30 civilians joined the rescue operation that lasted close to three hours and successfully pulled out all 190 passengers and crew members from Boeing 737 aircraft that crashed while landing at the Karipur airport in Kozhikode, Kerala on Friday evening.

The aircraft was being operated by Air India Express, from Dubai to Kozhikode as a repatriation flight under the governments Vande Bharat Mission to bring back Indians stranded abroad amidst the pandemic

Deputy commandant, Kishor Kumar AV, the chief airport security officer (CASO) at Karipur airport, who led the rescue operation, said they were informed by their assistant sub inspector Ajeet Singh about the crash who was present at the site. Our control room then informed all the agencies concerned including the local police, Airports Authority of India (AAI), firefighters, National disaster Response Force (NDRF) and ambulance, Kumar said.

Also read: Pilots move may have saved many, say experts

He said it was the CISF control room that informed the Air Traffic Control, which was searching for the plane, that the plane has crashed.

As first respondents the CISF personnel started pulling out people from the debris to take them to safe distance. One of the major challenges was visibility. It was dark and the area had been put on red alert due to heavy rain. Aslo, a lot of fuel had spilled out from the plane which could have caught fire or even cause an explosion. Despite the risk our men continued the rescue and did not step back even once, the CASO said.

However, soon the firefighters, airline staff and AAI officials arrived at the spot with emergency lights and other equipment. The cutters and other equipment were used to cut cables and metallic body of the aircraft and make way for the rescue teams to enter the aircraft and pull out passengers safely, he said.

Kumar said, apart from the agencies, because locals had gathered on the main road, right adjacent to the perimeter wall of the airport where the plane had crashed, 20-30 civilians also voluntarily joined the rescue team.

Describing the crash site, Kumar said, when they reached they could hear the passengers and children crying in pain. Most of them were stuck between the seats and had their legs and lower body critically injured. Many had even fallen unconscious. There was a lot of luggage in the aircraft. All were pulled out with the help of medical professionals and were immediately sent to hospitals, he said.

Kumar said most challenging was to bring out the two pilots. They were both found in unconscious state. Because of the impact of the crash, cockpit cabin got separated from the rest of the aircraft and had rammed the perimeter wall of the airport. The speed of the plane must have been very high because the cockpit cabin got stuck into the wall. Luckily, we found a JCB machine on the main road across the wall. It was used to demolish a portion of the wall. The firefighters and medical staff then used equipment to cut open the body of the aircraft to pull out the two pilots. Their rescue alone took close to an hour. Their bodies were badly damaged. Both of them were rushed to the hospital without any delay, the officer said.

Also read| Conditions were not conducive for landing: Civil aviation expert

The CASO said once all the passengers were safely taken to hospitals, they started preserving the luggage. Because many people on flight were returning after years, they had a lot of luggage full of valuable like jewelry, electronics and cash. CISF along with the local police preserved the luggage of the passengers which will be returned to them in due time. The process continued till early hours of Saturday,  he said.

On Saturday, CISF director general, Rakesh Ranjan also acknowledged CISFs respond towards the incident and announced DGs commendation for their officers prompt and outstanding efforts.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-09 21:40:52|Editor: huaxia

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TEHRAN, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) -- The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Iran reached 326,712 on Sunday, with an increase of 2,020 in the past 24 hours, according to the latest official figure.

Sima Sadat Lari, spokeswoman of the Ministry of Health and Medical Education, said during her daily briefing that out of the overnight new cases were 961 in hospital.

Meanwhile, 163 COVID-19 patients died in the last 24 hours, taking the total death toll to 18,427, she added.

A total of 284,371 people have recovered from the virus, while 4,022 remain in critical condition, Lari noted.

As of Sunday, 2,686,498 lab tests for COVID-19 have been carried out in Iran.

A total of 15 Iranian provinces are currently at high risk, while 11 others on alert, the spokeswoman said.

Iran announced its first cases of COVID-19 on Feb. 19.

Iran and China have offered mutual help in combating the COVID-19 pandemic.

In mid-February, at the early stage of the coronavirus outbreak in China, Iran lit up the Tehran Azadi (Liberty) Tower to show its solidarity with China, and donated 3 million masks to China.

In return, China has delivered several shipments of medical supplies to Iran. On Feb. 29, a five-member Chinese medical team visited Iran for a month-long mission to help Iran fight the pandemic. Enditem
Christian Horner has already indicated last weekend that the matter of copying Racing Point should be fully investigated after the team only received a penalty for violating the sporting regulations. Many teams disagree with that decision and are going back to the stewards to challenge the decision. However, Red Bull Racing does not deal with it.

Helmut Marko does express his feelings. "As a lawyer, it is very difficult to understand that you will be punished for something you have done, but that you will then be allowed to use the same parts in the three races that follow. It's weird that there's only one penalty for it in the end," Marko explained to Sky Sports.

Red Bull not on appeal

The advisor of Red Bull indicates that he would rather expect a penalty for each time the team drives with the illegal parts. "It's completely unbalanced now and not very well thought out". For the Styrian Grand Prix, Racing Point has received a penalty, but not for the races in Hungary and Silverstone.

Still, Marko thinks it's not up to Red Bull to protest against the penalty. What is important is that teams appeal against the penalty and with Ferrari, McLaren, Williams and Renault there are four teams that are going to challenge the penalty. "We are not here because there are already enough teams that have revised the penalty and of course Renault has already protested", Marko concludes.
He's previously joked about sleeping on the couch while his mother-in-law Cheryl was staying over to help look after his newborn baby.

And it was a case of deja vu for Today host Karl Stefanovic, 45, on Sunday, after he was kicked out of bed again - this time by his own daughter Harper.

Karl, who welcomed Harper with wife Jasmine Yarbrough, 36, in May, posted a photo of his adorable daughter lying in bed next to a sleepy-looking Jasmine.

'I get out of bed for one minute': Karl Stefanovic, 45, shared this adorable photo of his newborn daughter Harper May 'stealing his side of the bed' while lying next to his wife Jasmine Yarbrough, 36, on Sunday

'I get out of bed for one minute. One little minute and my side is gone,' he jokingly captioned the sweet post.

In the photo, Harper is seen wearing a cute orange-and-pink onesie, while makeup-free Jasmine wears a grey T-shirt.

Jasmine and Today host Karl welcomed their daughter Harper on May 1.

Crowded house! In May, the Today host joked about sleeping on the couch while his mother-in-law Cheryl (left) was staying over to help look after his newborn baby

She was born at Sydney's North Shore Private Hospital.

In a statement to the Today show at the time, Karl said: 'Harper and Jasmine are doing well and dad had a great night's sleep.'

He added: 'I am in awe. Harper is absolutely perfect.'

Growing family: Jasmine and Today host Karl (pictured) welcomed their daughter Harper on May 1. She was born at Sydney's North Shore Private Hospital

The happy news was also announced on Weekend Today on Saturday May 2, by Karl's colleague and close friend, Richard Wilkins.

Richard confirmed that Harper weighed 2.9kg at the time of her birth and was born the day prior, just after midday.

Karl met Jasmine in late 2016, five months after his split from his wife of 21 years, Cassandra Thorburn.

The new couple wed in a lavish ceremony at the One&Only Palmilla resort in San Jose del Cabo, Mexico, in December 2018.

Karl is already a father to three children shared with Cassandra: son Jackson, 20, daughter Ava, 14, and son River, 12.
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Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-09 17:27:18|Editor: huaxia

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Photo taken on July 1, 2020 shows the Victoria Harbour in Hong Kong, China. (Xinhua/Lo Ping Fai)

Hong Kong affairs are China's internal affairs and foreign interference will never be allowed. Under "one country, two systems," Hong Kong's advantages will certainly continue to remain and Hong Kong will make great progress in the process of joining the national development.

HONG KONG, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) -- Senior officials of China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government opposed and condemned on Sunday the so-called U.S. sanctions against heads of Chinese government agencies responsible for Hong Kong affairs and officials of the HKSAR.

Chief Secretary for Administration of the HKSAR government Matthew Cheung said in his blog on Sunday that the HKSAR government will not be intimidated and will fully support the central government in taking countermeasures.

Hong Kong affairs are China's internal affairs and foreign interference will never be allowed, Cheung said.

Cheung condemned the United States for disclosing the personal information of related officials, which not only infringed upon privacy and threatened personal safety but also violated international laws and basic norms governing international relations.

Financial Secretary of the HKSAR government Paul Chan said in an online article that the so-called sanctions exposed the hegemonic and bullying mindset of the United States and stressed that there is no room for compromise in safeguarding national security.

After suffering from prolonged violence and separatism last year, Hong Kong was able to stabilize quickly in recent months thanks to the national security law enacted by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, Chan said.

However, while claiming to respect human rights, democracy and freedom, the United States imposed the so-called sanctions on the pretext of the law and doxxed related officials by publishing their personal information, including identity numbers and addresses.

Chan dismissed concerns about the so-called sanctions and said with the solid support of the country, Hong Kong will be stronger and more competitive.

Under "one country, two systems," Hong Kong's advantages will certainly continue to remain and Hong Kong will make great progress in the process of joining the national development, Chan said.

Cheung, the chief secretary for administration, said Hong Kong's unique advantages are not a gift from western countries and the so-called sanctions will not contain Hong Kong's long-term prosperity.

As long as the COVID-19 epidemic is controlled, Hong Kong's society and economy will return normal and Hong Kong's future will still be full of opportunities, Cheung said.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper says the United States is planning to cut back its troop levels in Afghanistan to "a number less than 5,000" by the end of November.

Esper made the remark in an interview with Fox News that was broadcast on August 8. His remarks add detail to troop reduction plans that U.S. President Donald Trump announced earlier in the week.

The United States currently has about 8,600 troops in Afghanistan. Trump said in an interview released on August 3 by Axios that the United States planned to lower that number to about 4,000.

Based on reporting by Reuters, Fox News, and Axios
A meat processing plant in Co Kildare has announced it will remain closed for two weeks amid a spike of cases in the county (Niall Carson/PA)

A meat processing plant in Co Kildare is to remain closed for two weeks.

OBriens Fine Foods at Timahoe halted production last week after dozens of workers tested positive for coronavirus.

It was announced on Friday night that Kildare, along with counties Laois and Offaly, will face further lockdown restrictions for the next fortnight following a spate of cases.

Health Minister Stephen Donnelly has said he believes meat plants affected by the outbreak should not reopen on Monday.

We wish to thank our team, the community of Timahoe, our customers and suppliers for their support and understanding. This sudden spike is difficult to comprehend for all of us O'Brien's Fine Foods

He told RTE it is his personal view that it would be inappropriate for these factories to operate while other people are asked to restrict their movements.

In a statement on Sunday morning, OBriens Fine Foods said it wished to reaffirm that in line with public health guidance, normal operations at its Timahoe plant will not resume for the 14-day incubation period.

It stopped production on Wednesday night after a number of workers tested positive.

The statement said: In consultation with the HSE, our warehousing facility and minimal related operations will function at significantly reduced capacity levels to manage perishable goods.

In line with public health guidance, in addition to testing undertaken to date, a further programme of employee testing will be conducted on days seven and 14 (as necessary). Only those employees who test negative and meet public health guidelines in full will return to work. All staff will continue to be paid in full.

The #COVID19 data in Ireland over the past few days is concerning. But there are many things each of us can do to halt the spread of this disease and protect ourselves our families and our friends 1/3  Dr Ronan Glynn (@ronan_glynn) August 1, 2020

Some 87 workers had tested positive for the virus by Friday.

The company said: In all cases, the level of asymptomatic infectivity appears to be very high.

Those who have tested positive have been advised to isolate as per the official guidance. Full risk assessment and contract tracing procedures is continuing. All close contacts of those affected are being notified, advised to self-isolate and to contact their GP.

We wish to thank our team, the community of Timahoe, our customers and suppliers for their support and understanding. This sudden spike is difficult to comprehend for all of us.

One further death with Covid-19 in Ireland and 174 new cases were reported by the Department of Health on Saturday.

Of the latest cases, the majority (110) are located in Kildare, followed by Dublin (seven), Cork (seven), Offaly (seven) and Meath (six).

If you have any #COVID19 symptoms, you should behave as if you have the virus and self-isolate for 14 days. Contact your GP or GP out-of-hours by phone who will assess you and arrange a free test if necessary. Learn more about symptoms here: https://t.co/JNOM6HFftn

#StaySafe pic.twitter.com/A1hkUnzr6e  HSE Ireland (@HSELive) August 8, 2020

Acting chief medical officer Dr Ronan Glynn described Saturdays figures as high, but not unexpected, with further testing under way.

We are expecting significant numbers of cases to be reported over the coming days, he added.

Professor Philip Nolan, chair of the Irish Epidemiological Modelling Advisory Group, described the 14-day incidence per 100,000 population in Kildare, Laois and Offaly as worryingly high.

He said: While the national incidence stands at 16.3 per 100,000, in Kildare it stands at 130.3, in Laois it is 69.7 and in Offaly it is 89.8.
The Tolu area, Apapa

A 50-year-old old teacher, Uzor Anthony, has been apprehended by the police for allegedly defiling a six-year-old girl he was teaching at her parents home in the Olodi Apapa area of Lagos, The PUNCH reports.

Anthony reportedly committed the crime while he was teaching the girl identified as Bimpe (not real name) when her parents were not around.

It was learnt that the victim narrated what happened to her mother when she returned home and the case was reported at the Tolu Police Station.

A police source disclosed to Sunday PUNCH that the suspect denied having sex with Bimpe who consistently said she was defiled.

She was said to have been taken to a general hospital for medical examination and treatment while Anthony was arrested.

The source said, Anthony was a home teacher of the girl and he had been teaching her for some time now. He had become close to the family and they trusted him so well. On July 11, around 5pm, he went to teach the girl at home but her parents were not around.

In the course of the lesson, he molested the girl and warned her not to tell anyone. The girl, however, revealed what happened to her mother the following day. The girl was taken to the hospital and it was confirmed that her hymen had been tampered with. The suspect has been arrested.

It was gathered that the case had been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department, Yaba, for further investigation.

The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, SP Bala Elkana, who confirmed the alleged defilement, stated that a police team from Tolu Division responded swiftly to arrest the suspect.

He said, On July 12, the mother of the girl went to the police station and reported that the previous day, around 5pm, one Uzor Anthony, who is 50-year-old and home teacher of her six-year-old daughter had canal knowledge of the girl inside her room.

The victim was taken to the hospital for examination and treatment and the scene of crime was visited. The suspect had been arrested and would be charged accordingly.
A convicted drug dealer who survived a recent gun attack has been warned that he is a dead man walking unless he comes up with 400,000.

North Lucas suffered bullet wounds to the shoulder and leg after being ambushed near his home on the Ballycreely Road in Comber, Co Down.

The murder bid in March largely passed under the news radar because it occurred just days before lockdown at a time when the media was dominated by concerns over the spread of coronavirus.

But with restrictions now being eased, Lucas has once again been warned by his would-be killers that he has to pay them 400,000.

The 52-year-old, who was released from prison weeks before the attempt on his life, has been accused of stealing cash and cannabis from a crime gang based in Ballynahinch.

"North Lucas was shot as a warning to repay the money and the drugs that he stole," a source explained to Sunday Life.

"He could easily have been killed. If the gunmen have to go back again, he will not get another chance.

"Now that lockdown has been lifted, North has been told that he has to find the money. He had a few months of grace, but that time is now up."

Lucas was struck with two bullets in the shoulder and leg after driving his car into the yard of his rural home. His masked attacker was hiding in a hedge at the property, awaiting his return.

Sunday Life understands that he stood over Lucas as he lay helpless on the ground and threatened to put a third round in his head before escaping.

The PSNI said the investigation into the shooting remained live and that it was treating the incident as an attempted murder.

Before being released from Maghaberry Prison at the beginning of the year, Lucas was warned that he owed 400,000, but he laughed off the threats - an attitude which almost cost him his life.

The drug dealer had been running a cannabis farm for a Co Down crime boss which was busted by cops in January 2017, resulting in the loss of 170,000 worth of the drug.



Expand Close Cannabis farm North Lucas was running on the Ballymagowan Road, Comber. / Facebook

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Whatsapp Cannabis farm North Lucas was running on the Ballymagowan Road, Comber.

Prior to this around 230,000 was stolen from the boot of a car parked outside the same property near the Ballymagowan Road on the outskirts of Comber.

Lucas was blamed for both the theft and the police raid and was told he had to repay 400,000.

In June 2018 he was jailed for two years for running the cannabis factory, alongside Christopher Cameron (29), who had an address in the Ardoyne area of north Belfast. His former partner Sylvia Todd was caged for nine months. All three pleaded guilty to cultivating cannabis and possessing cannabis with intent to supply.

Police who raided the premises found a sophisticated growing operation that included electric fans, temperature controls set on timers, irrigation, ventilation and extractor systems.

Lucas claimed armed and masked men had threatened him into managing the operation, ordering him to water the plants under duress.

But this was dismissed by Judge Piers Grant as a "ready-made concocted story" and a "far-fetched account of events".

"This was a pre-planned and sophisticated set-up. There is very little evidence of duress," the judge said.

In 2014 Lucas had an 18-month prison sentence for perverting the course of justice, in relation to the murder of Philip Strickland two years earlier, suspended for two years.



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Millionaire Comber farmer Jimmy Seales was sentenced to life imprisonment for the shotgun killing, which prosecutors alleged was sparked by an earlier serious assault on him by Strickland.
(CNN)  Brazil's Supreme Court on Wednesday handed a partial victory to the nation's embattled indigenous communities, who are struggling against an insidious new enemy: the Covid-19 virus.

The court affirmed an earlier court decision that required the federal government to implement safety measures to contain the spread of the coronavirus, which has swept through the many remote communities with deadly effect.

"It was a great victory," said Dinaman Tuxa, executive-coordinator of APIB, an indigenous group that brought the lawsuit against the government along with six political parties, describing the ruling as a historic reparation for injustices against indigenous people even before the pandemic.

"If it wasn't for [the court], this demand would be still in the drawers of the Executive and the Legislative," he said.

But the indigenous groups' main demand was rejected: A deadline for all outsiders  including miners, developers and the military https://edition.cnn.com/2020/08/08/americas/brazil-supreme-court-indigenous-ruling-intl/index.html to leave their lands.

Hard-hit communities

Brazil's indigenous communities have been hammered by Covid-19. By early August, more than 22,000 indigenous people had been diagnosed with the coronavirus, and least 631 had died from it, according to APIB. But due to limited testing, the real toll could be higher.

In a tragic coincidence, a prominent indigenous leader Chief Aritana Yawalapiti of the Upper Xingu territory died of the virus on the day of the ruling, according to his nephew Kaiulu Yawalapiti. "My heart is in pieces, bleeding," Yawalapiti told CNN.

The chief, 71, was admitted to ICU on July 22 after suffering from severe breathing problems. His son, Tapi Yawalapiti, told CNN that same day that the Upper Xingu lacked medical supplies, testing kits, and medical assistance to fight the Covid-19 pandemic.

"Covid-19 spreads very fast, the whole community is sick, children, the young, the elderly. We are being neglected by the Brazilian government, they are not helping us enough and it seems that they want to decimate us," he said.

Dinaman Tuxa of APIB said Yawalapiti's death meant much more than the loss of a singular life. "Those elderly are the keepers of knowledge, languages, traditions, festivities, rituals," he said. "We are losing much more than people, we are losing our culture, our nation."

Some 800,000 indigenous people live in villages throughout Brazil. As the pandemic has spread, many of the communities have echoed Yawalapiti's complaint about government neglect.

As the coronavirus spread through Brazil this year, the country's health ministry and local governments did install indigenous wards in hospitals throughout the Amazon. In conjunction with the defense ministry, they also sent medical equipment, supplies and personnel to military hospitals in remote areas such as Sao Gabriel da Cachoeira, Tabatinga, and Javari Valley.

But some key initiatives to protect indigenous Braziliana have been stymied at the very highest levels of government.

On July 8, President Jair Bolsonaro vetoed parts of an emergency bill that would have assured access to drinking water, free distribution of hygiene products and the distribution of cleaning and disinfection materials to indigenous communities, citing the cost. He also vetoed a proposal ensuring mandatory emergency funds for indigenous people's healthcare and has argued that legislating mandatory expenditures does not "account for the respective budgetary and financial impact, which would be unconstitutional."

The vetoes fit into a larger pattern for the pro-business, right-wing leader, who has a historically antagonistic relationship with indigenous Brazilians. Many rights activists have protested the increase of illegal mining and logging on their lands which followed Bolsonaro's rise to power.

The judge who wrote the July 8 ruling that was affirmed Wednesday by the Supreme Court cited Bolsonaro's remarks in his decision. "It is also worth noting that there has been a large government resistance to the realization of rights indigenous peoples' rights," Justice Luis Roberto Barroso wrote, citing media reports quoting Bolsonaro's support for development, including "indigenous reserves make the Amazon unfeasible."

Indigenous people in Brazil often live in communities which are far from hospitals, in areas which often lack basic infrastructure. Those who move to towns or cities can end up in precarious living conditions with few public services, increasing their vulnerability to health issues.

A study conducted in May and June reported that indigenous people are five times more likely to contract the coronavirus compared with the country's white population.

The study by Pelotas Federal University found that indigenous Brazilian's vulnerability remains higher than that of white Brazilians, even within the same socioeconomic status and with the same number of residents in the home.

"The interpretation of these analyses suggests that indigenous subjects were at substantially higher risk than other ethnic groups," the study said.

Overall, Brazil is second only to the United States in terms of coronavirus cases, according to the Johns Hopkins University tracker. As of Saturday morning, it had reported nearly 3 million cases with fatalities inching toward 100,000 people.

No deadline for outsiders

The new safety measures mandated by the Supreme Court include the protection of isolated and recently contacted communities, the establishment of a crisis committee involving indigenous groups and the supply of health assistance to territories that were not yet recognized by the government.

In response, Brazil's Ministry for Women, Family and Human Rights has told CNN that it's already complying with the Supreme Court decision by creating a working group on July 22 to develop a plan to combat Covid-19.

But the court's reluctance to set a timeline for the departure of outsiders was a setback for the litigants.

Amid the pandemic, health risks to the indigenous communities have been exacerbated by the presence of outsiders, according to their leaders.

APIB sought the removal of outsiders from territories of Yanomami, Karipuna, Uru-Eu- Wau-Wau, Kayapo, Arariboia Indigenous Lands, Munduruku and Trincheira Bacaja. "Those 7 territories are suffering life-threatening situations," said Eloy Terena, legal advisor to APIB.

"It is estimated that more than 20,000 illegal miners are currently inside the Yanomami land," said Dario Kopenawa, a leader with the Hutukara association, which represents the community in the Amazonian territory, home to 27,000 people and known for its rich gold deposits.

That number was disputed by Brazil Vice President Hamilton Mourao, who is leading the government's campaign to combat illegal mining and logging and who said, via Twitter, the number was closer to 3,500 illegal miners.

More recently, military missions to distribute medical supplies have alarmed indigenous leaders, who say aid should come through the health ministry, which already has outposts in indigenous lands and where health workers understand indigenous concerns.

"We are very upset with the way it was done," Junior Hekurari, President of the District Council of Indigenous Health (Condisi) Yanomami e Ye'kuanajust told CNN.

The first military mission to the Yanomani, between June 29 and July 5, involved nearly 50 people onboard, including over 20 medical staff and 18 journalists. "They were supposed to only bring supplies and medicines, not a full committee with dozens of people," Hekurasi said.

The Defense Ministry said that all the personnel on the mission  aimed at providing medical assistance and supplies  had been tested for Covid-19.

Two other military missions  to different indigenous communities  took place in the past few weeks, and the Army said it followed protocols by ensuring everybody taking part had quarantined for 14 days before taking part.

On Wednesday, the Supreme Court's majority said that while the presence of outsiders was illegal, it refused to set a deadline. Instead, it ordered Brazil's government to establish an "action protocol" for their departure.

"This shows the strength of the agribusiness, the miners and the politicians," said APIB's Terena. "We were very concerned, because if the Supreme Court didn't want to confront those people, who would then?"

The justices however did acknowledge the fragility of the indigenous lands. Their decision highlighted that Brazil's indigenous people  for historical, cultural, and social reasons  are more vulnerable to infectious diseases, with a mortality rate higher than the national average.

One of the justices, Luiz Fux, went further, noting it wasn't an overstatement to describe the situation as genocide.

"To talk about an ongoing genocide means that the indigenous people are dying, and the Brazilian state cannot continue to pretend that it is not seeing this tragedy."

This story was first published on CNN.com, "Brazil's top court backs special protection for indigenous communities, but won't set timeline for exit of outsiders."
The best analysis I have found so far on the August 4 explosions in the port of Beirut is set forth in David Wurmsers August 7 column Lebanon: What happened? Also useful is this backgrounder disseminated by the Shurat HaDin/Israel Law Center. I thought readers might find it of interest. With Shurat HaDins kind permission, I am posting it below:

As the Lebanese people struggle to recover from the catastrophic deaths and destruction wrought by the Beirut explosion, more questions than answers continue to arise. The official story, that in 2013, Lebanese port officials impounded a Moldovan flagged ship bound for Mozambique, laden with explosive chemicals, does not address other facts which have emerged and must be investigated:

1. Sections of the Beirut port are under the control of the Hezbollah terrorist organization. Israeli officials have long complained that the Beirut port  the Hezbollah Port  was being utilized by the terrorists to smuggle contraband and weapons into Lebanon. As UN Ambassador Danny Danon recently stated: Israel discovered that Iran and its Quds Force have been exploiting civilian maritime channels, and specifically the Port of Beirut.

2. Hezbollah has a long history of illegally acquiring and stockpiling ammonium nitrate in civilian areas. In 2015, Britains MI5 and Metro Police carried out a raid on a secret Hezbollah warehouse in London that contained 3 tons of ammonium nitrate. The British government shamefully covered-up the raid in order not to damage relations with Iran shortly after signing the dangerous Nuclear Deal. It is believed Hezbollah was planning on using the chemicals for an attack in the UK. Click here.

3. The same year, police in Cyprus discovered a Hezbollah warehouse storing 8.3 tons of ammonium nitrate. A Hezbollah operative was arrested and charged with planning a terror attack. A state prosecutor said Lebanese-Canadian Hussein Bassam Abdallah admitted that Hezbollah aimed to mount terrorist attacks against Israeli interests in Cyprus using the ammonium nitrate that he had been ordered to guard at the Larnaca home of another official of the Iranian-backed group. Click here.

4. Israeli intelligence gave German police information, earlier this year, of the location of a Hezbollah stockpile of ammonium nitrate in southern Germany. The fact that the Iranian terror group was warehousing the explosives on German soil helped to push Berlin to outlaw all wings of the Hezbollah organization. Mossad reportedly gave Germany information about warehouses in the south of the country where Hezbollah stashed hundreds of kilograms of ammonium nitrate, a material used to make explosives. Click here.

5. Hezbollah has a long history and deliberate strategy of stockpiling rockets, weapons and explosives in civilian areas. Hezbollah intentionally utilizes civilian neighborhoods including the basements of schools, mosques, residential buildings and hospitals as missile depots. The terrorists understand that the Israeli air force would be hindered in responding to rockets launched from civilian centers during the next war with Lebanon. And if Israel does attack the launchers and kills civilians, Hezbollah is counting on the UN, the Europeans and the ICC to immediately accuse Israel of war crimes. Hezbollah calls it this Human Shield program. Click here.

6. In 2016, Hezbollahs chief terrorist Hassan Nasrallah had threatened to fire rockets at an ammonia storage facility in Haifa. He vowed that the explosion would be like a nuclear bomb striking Israel. He repeated this threat on several occasions causing Israeli officials to remove the storage tanks. Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah threatened in the past to destroy Israel by causing a massive explosion in the port of Haifa using ammonia tanks that he said would be like a nuclear explosion. In addition Hezbollah allegedly sought to acquire ammonium nitrate via Syria since 2009 and tried to infiltrate the agriculture ministry in Lebanon to do so, according to leaked diplomatic cables. Click here.

7. On Valentines Day in 2005, a team of Hezbollah terrorists murdered then Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri with a powerful bomb in Beirut. 21 people were killed in the massive explosion. Hariri was a strong opponent of the Hezbollah group and the regime of Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad that was attempting to control Lebanon. Four Hezbollah assassins are being tried in absentia by a UN court for the murder. Ironically, after 15 years of stalling, the UNs Special Tribunal for Lebanon, hearing the Hariri case will deliver its decision on Friday. Its believed the Special Tribunal will declare Hezbollah as responsible for the bombing attack. Click here.

Hezbollahs long involvement in attempting to procure and stockpile ammonium nitrate perpetuates the growing suspicions that the Iranian terrorist organization, which rules Lebanon, was directly involved in the warehousing of the chemicals at the Beirut port. When the Lebanese population will finish dealing with the devastation and mourning its dead and wounded the finger-pointing at Hezbollahs role in the tragedy will begin in earnest. The Special Tribunal for Lebanon whose verdict in the Hariri assassination trial will further emphasize Hezbollahs guilt. Hezbollah and its Iranian masters, the key source of Middle East instability, must be driven out of Lebanon.

Copyright  2020 Shurat HaDin. All rights reserved.
The Oba of Benin, Oba Ewuare 11, on Saturday shocked the All Progressives Congress (APC) when he hosted the partys campaign delegates at the palace. The royal father had earlier hosted the delegates of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to a colourful reception at the palace which was widely celebrated across the country. The PDP visit to the palace seemingly intimidated the APC leaders who, perhaps, were scared of uncertainty of similar courtesy on their visit.

To the surprise of the APC leaders in the partys delegation to the Palace of the Oba of Benin on Saturday led by Governor Mai Mala Buni of Yobe State, Oba Ewuare II maintained his neutrality, assuring the APC delegation that the palace is non-partisan, adding the he is father of all.

According to the royal father: The Palace remains non-partisan because of the laid down rules of our ancestors; we must be fathers to all.

We see every candidate as our child, and we pray for everybody. It is wiser to leave the fate of the election to God.

I have never been for or against any candidate but when the people have chosen via the election, we will pray for him to succeed in office.

The royal father condemned recent events in the state, urging leaders and members of the various political parties to be peaceful in their campaign for the governorship election in the state.

Oba Ewuare reiterated his advocacy for prayers for peaceful governorship election in Edo State.

There is nothing as powerful as prayers.

As you go about your campaign, go about it peacefully and without bitterness, the Oba said.

Leader of the APC delegation, Governor Buni of Yobe State, Chairman, APC National Caretaker Committee, explained that the APC leaders were at the palace to present the partys candidate for the governorship election in the state for the blessings of the royal father.
A backyard slaughterhouse operating on the outskirts of Melbourne has sparked fears of cruel practices and potential COVID-19 outbreaks after undercover footage surfaced of sheep being butchered inside a garage.

In part of the footage, four people and animals, including rats and kittens, can be seen coming and going from the makeshift slaughterhouse floor as one sheep appears to take more than five minutes to die, thrashing its tethered legs as it lay on its back in a metal cradle without first being stunned.

Video footage of the Koo Wee Rup property taken last week.

The animal's head hangs over a plastic bucket, then the carcass is hung from the ceiling and butchered as a young child runs past.

The property at Koo Wee Rup, 63 kilometres south-east of Melbourne, was the subject of complaints to the agricultural department in July last year but animal welfare advocates say it has continued to operate.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Following a SiLive.com/Staten Island Advance story last week about Westerleigh resident Lori Ann OConnors lost antique engagement ring that went missing after her morning walks through the neighborhood, residents from across the borough began searching for the family heirloom.

From area residents who searched the community and friends who donated money to St. Anthony (the saint is said to be helpful finding lost items), to a local Good Samaritan who retraced her morning walks with a metal detector, everyone pitched in to help find the missing ring.
Various items litter the floor of the 4 Brothers Store after an earthquake shook in Sparta, N.C., on Aug. 9, 2020. (Michael Hull via AP)

5.1 Magnitude Earthquake Hits North Carolina, Felt in Surrounding States

A 5.1 magnitude earthquake shook parts of North Carolina and several other states in the southeastern United States on Aug. 9, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).

The National Weather Service, citing the USGS, wrote that the 5.1 magnitude earthquake near Sparta, NC, this morning is the second strongest earthquake to occur in NC since 1900.

It added, The strongest was a 5.2 magntitude [sic] earthquake near Skyland, NC, in February 1916.

A map of the area where a 5.1 magnitude earthquake shook parts of North Carolina and Georgia on Aug. 9, 2020. (USGS)

The USGSs website suggested that a number of people in several states reported feeling the quake.

Since at least 1776, people living inland in North and South Carolina, and in adjacent parts of Georgia and Tennessee, have felt small earthquakes and suffered damage from infrequent larger ones. The largest earthquake in the area (magnitude 5.1) occurred in 1916, said the USGS.

If you felt the 5.1 Sparta, NC earthquake then be sure to submit a Did You Feel It report. Keep up to date on any changes at: https://t.co/VDWMntMTno pic.twitter.com/p1H4lEtgae  USGS (@USGS) August 9, 2020

It wasnt immediately known if there were any injuries or damage.

Later, the USGS wrote that there is a chance that an aftershock will hit the region in the next week or so. A quake with a 3.0 magnitude or greater has a 57 percent chance of occurring, while a quake of 5.0 magnitude or greater has just a 5 percent chance of happening, the seismic agency said.

On Twitter, locals reported that they had felt the temblor.

Yes, I felt it in Henderson County and already filled out the site survey. The focal mechanism shows NE-SW shortening, one wrote.

Yes , I was on my porch and felt it very strongly. My whole house was shaking. I have never felt anything like that before.I live in Lincolnton. N.C.  JLWislookingforchange (@JLWislookingfo1) August 9, 2020

Another said: Felt significant shaking here in #Charlotte, near Carowinds. I was awake; it woke my husband. Probably the strongest #earthquake Ive felt, this being my 4th one (2 in Charlotte & 2 in Lancaster PA). Wonder if well feel aftershocks, since this was the 2nd to hit Sparta in 24hrs.

One wrote, Felt it in Huntersville, NC. Light/weak shaking. Like a large truck going by the house.

Another added: Yes, I was on my porch and felt it very strongly. My whole house was shaking. I have never felt anything like that before . I live in Lincolnton. N.C.
KC artists meet to discuss Black Lives Matter murals KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Kansas City area artists met on Saturday to discuss plans for the six Black Lives Matter murals that will be painted throughout Kansas City, Missouri. On Thursday, Kansas City, Missouri, City Council adopted a resolution to collaborate with KC Art on the Block for the murals.

Politics offers help for a community that has endured months without the exhibits and gatherings that power sales and opportunities for the creative-class . . . Checkit:
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-09 15:28:08|Editor: huaxia

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URUMQI, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) -- With just the press of a button, Zhu Qiaoling, an 82-year-old resident in Urumqi, capital of northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, can get all her daily necessities delivered without ever leaving the comfort of her home.

With a customized calling device, 16 elderly residents who live alone at the Hami West Road community in the city are taken good care of by local community workers and volunteers.

"The device offers a variety of functions such as contacting community workers to arrange deliveries and calling the police. They only need to press a button," said Zhang Chunhua, a volunteer. Zhang also helps the elderly dispose of their household garbage and delivers daily necessities regularly.

By Saturday, Xinjiang had 625 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 123 asymptomatic cases, the majority in Urumqi, and 18,882 people were still under medical observation. The epidemic has forced roughly 4 million residents in the city to reduce their outdoor activities and has greatly disrupted everyday life, with the elderly suffering more than most.

"I'm in poor health and my son and daughter aren't around," said Zhu. "I'm old and can't use a smartphone. If anything were to happen to me, I have no way of contacting them."

A total of 165 volunteers, together with community workers, are responsible for delivering daily necessities and performing other jobs to meet the basic needs of the residents in the community.

"During the epidemic, the elderly cannot go out to buy medicine and food like before," said Chen Qiang, a community worker. "They also need psychological care."

Working with the Xinjiang branch of China Telecom, one of the country's largest telecom operators, the community installed the calling devices for elderly residents on Aug. 2 with community workers and volunteers on call 24 hours a day.

"The devices have improved our work efficiency, and we plan to install them for the disabled, pregnant women and other groups in need," Chen said.

Zhou Guoshi, deputy director of the city's civil affairs bureau, said Urumqi has been stepping up efforts to assist the elderly, disabled children and other groups in need through measures including temporary subsidies.

"The civil affairs department has granted more than 12 million yuan (about 1.7 million U.S. dollars) of subsidies for the elderly in the third quarter of this year," Zhou said.

"I don't feel lonely anymore because so many people are helping me with the device," Zhu said. Enditem
Lumacuity LED and Lumablue LED announce new antibacterial LED lighting, Lumablue.

LumaBlue LED lighting helps protect restaurants, grocery stores, salons, gyms, manufacturing facilities, homes and more against bacteria, mold, mildew and fungi growth.

Lumacuity LED has announced the the newest line of LED lights and fixtures.The line is called LumaBlue and is a series of blue light LED technology units. The latest offering is a 120-watt portable unit uniquely designed to meet the cleanliness and disinfectant needs of hair salons, gyms, retail and other commercial and residential markets. LumaBlue was recently featured in DBusines magazine.

LumaBlue is centered on maintaining the highest degree of safety and cleanliness, and now were proud to be able to present it to the masses in an easy-to-use format, said Len Smith, President, Lumacuity LED.

Serving a wide variety of markets

LumaBlues new 120-watt system can be used as a hanging anti-germicidal lamp or as a floor-based tripod that can easily be maneuvered throughout a facility. Each unit disinfects approximately 25 x 25 area over a three-hour period. They can be used as long as needed, but three hours is usually sufficient. Theyre ideal solutions for disinfecting a variety of markets:



Restaurants

Delis/Bakeries

Grocery stores

Fitness centers and gyms

Medical and dental facilities

Nursing homes

Hair salons

Schools

Manufacturing facilities

Meat processing plants

Residential

LumaBlue began as a resource for first responders and healthcare frontline workers, many of whom are commonly exposed to harmful bacteria such as MRSA/Staph, Strep, Salmonella, mold, Listeria and more. A study from Children's Hospital Los Angeles suggests MRSA can survive on some nonporous surfaces up to eight weeks following contamination and skin transmission takes only three seconds.

Even after traditional cleaning methods, dangerous bacteria have been shown to linger throughout the nooks and crannies of many firehouses, EMS vehicles, hospitalseven on oxygen tanks and brake pedals, said Smith.

Product Availability

All LumaBlue productsincluding the new portable 120W unit are currently available for purchase at http://www.LumaBlueled.com.

LumaBlue is driven by customer feedback with a strong commitment to deliver the latest products in one convenient installation. All LumaBlue productsincluding the new portable 120W unit are available for immediate purchase at http://www.lumablueled.com

Founded in 2013, Lumacuity LED services manufacturing facilities, warehouses, restaurants, schools, consumer goods and retail businesses with LED lighting design, product and installation. Lumcuity has developed strategies and partnerships with several of the top electrical firms and is recognized by DTE Energy as a Preferred Trade Ally and can arrange financing through Michigan Saves.

For more info, visit http://www.Lumablueled.com

Contact: Mike Fossano

Email: mfossano@premiercg.com
Three arrested for drug trafficking in Carlisle County
(Corrects North Korean official's position, paragraph 6)

SEOUL, Aug 8 (Reuters) - At least 21 people have died after 46 days of heavy rains in South Korea, with the country's longest monsoon in seven years causing more flooding, landslides and evacuations on Saturday.

More than 3,000 people had been evacuated as of 6 a.m. local time on Saturday (2100 GMT Friday), according to Ministry of the Interior and Safety data, as rains battered the southern part of the Korean peninsula. Eleven people are missing.

About 100 metres (109.36 yards) of levee collapsed at the Seomjin River in the southern edge of the peninsula on Saturday and flooded the area, an official at the South Jeolla province said, with about 1,900 people evacuated in the province including about 500 from around the river.

The country's forestry agency has raised landslide warnings to its highest level in every region except the holiday island of Jeju.

Five homes were buried in a landslide on Friday from a mountain behind a village in Gokseong, South Jeolla province, killing five people. Three people have been rescued.

In neighbouring North Korea, state media KCNA reported that Pak Pong Ju, vice-chairman of the state's highest decision-making commission, inspected flood damage to submerged fields and crops in southwest regions of the country. (Reporting by Joyce Lee; Editing by Himani Sarkar)
According to a Tweet released by Navy Lookout, on August 8, 2020, ex-HMS Clyde River-Class offshore patrol vessel of the British Navy has been sold by BAE Systems Maritime to Bahrain. Now re-named BNS Al-Zubarah and handed over to Bahraini Navy at a ceremony in Portsmouth on August 7, 2020.

According to a Tweet released by Navy Lookout, on August 8, 2020, ex-HMS Clyde River-Class offshore patrol vessel of the British Navy has been sold by BAE Systems Maritime to Bahrain. Now re-named BNS Al-Zubarah and handed over to Bahraini Navy at a ceremony in Portsmouth on August 7, 2020.

Follow Navy Recognition on Google News at this link

Ex-HMS Clyde River-Class offshore patrol vessel of British Navy, now BNS Al-Zubarah of Bahrain Navy. (Picture source NavyLookout)

The HMS Clyde is a decommissioned offshore patrol vessel and is the tenth ship in the British Royal Navy to bear the name. She was launched on 14 June 2006 in Portsmouth Naval Base by VT Group shipbuilders in Portsmouth, England, and is the fourth vessel of the River class, with a displacement of 2,000 tones and a 30 mm Oerlikon KCB gun in place of the 20 mm gun fitted to Tyne River-class ships.

In February 2005, the Ministry of Defense placed an order with VT for the charter of a fourth modified River-class offshore patrol vessel. This fourth ship, Clyde, was constructed at Portsmouth Dockyard and replaced the two Castle-class patrol vessels for duties around the South Atlantic and the Falkland Islands.

The HMS Clyde has length 81.5 m (267 ft 5 in) hull, a top speed of 21 kn (39 km/h), a 30 mm cannon, two miniguns, and mountings for five general-purpose machine guns. Clyde's elongated hull permits a 20-meter strengthened flight deck able to accommodate a Merlin-sized helicopter.

The ship has a full load displacement between 1,850 and 2,000 tones. She is powered by two Ruston 12RK 270 engines developing 4,125 kW (5,532 hp) at 1,000 rpm.
By Sukanya Roy, TwoCircles.net

Assam: Earlier this week, protests by local Muslim communities of Jamugurihat in Sonitpur district of Assam against forced eviction turned into a violent clash between locals and BJP MLA of Sootea constituency, Padma Hazarikas men.

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As per the locals, the BJA MLAs men were trying to intimidate the locals into evicting them. When the locals raised questions about their rehabilitation and compensation, one of the men slapped a local. When Hazarika arrived at the spot with the police, he was carrying a gun, threatened people and reportedly assaulted a local woman. The police arrested two local boys. The assaulted woman have registered an FIR against Hazarika.

Locals accuse BJP MLAs men of plundering the livestock of the residents and fleeing.

In the recent past, a number of eviction drives have been carried out in areas housing Assamese Muslim populations. There has been growing pressure from the majority indigenous community, who elected a BJP state government in the hope of having their jati-mati-bheti (community-land-roots) promise fulfilled, to remove illegal encroachers from the state, people they suspect have infiltrated from Bangladesh.

Only last month, farming was facilitated and a gau-shala inaugurated in Chokighat, by Assam CM Sarbananda Sonowal. The groundwork of driving away illegal encroachers from these 700 bighas of land was done by Padma Hazarika.

Chokighat and Jamugurihat are two among eleven villages along the Jiabhorali river, which flows through the Sonitpur district. Over the past 20 to 30 years, people of Nagaon, Rangapara, Tezpur, and other areas have settled in these chars (riverine islands) as their erstwhile lands were eroded by the river, and they became homeless. Some of the land was owned by the government and some belonged to landowners. The displaced people bought the land with whatever assets they had managed to save.

For the past year, ongoing construction of a four-lane highway through this area has raised the estimated value of the land to about 1 crore rupees.

Eyeing this prospect for profit-making, Padma Hazarika has been forcibly evicting people who live within a 600-metre stretch of land next to the highway. The plots recovered through eviction may be sold off at competitive market rates by the government for building residences, industries of all sizes, petrol pumps and so on. This hasty integration of the river islands with the mainland has ruined the livelihoods of local communities who are intricately connected with the riverine ecosystem. They are engaged in fishing and farming paddy, jute and vegetables.

Kazi Alam, a long-time resident of Bihagaon, told TwoCircles.net that, Houses in Gotaimari and Balipukhuri have broken down. A mosque has also been torn down by Hazarikas men in Gotaimari. I have lived here since 1917, even my grandfather and father were born here. We have our documents, pay our taxes and bills. How are we suddenly illegal Bangladeshis? The previous governments have made schools and roads for us, given us electricity. What will we do if we are displaced?

In Assam, there are around 2251 river islands with a population of around 30 lakhs. Most of these people belong to the East Bengal-origin Assamese Muslim community, whose forefathers were brought to Assam from Bangladesh, during the British colonial rule. Ashraful Hussain, a social activist belonging from this community, says, The East Bengal-origin Assamese Muslims or the Miya people occupy the lowest strata of society. The term Miya has been historically weaponized by indigenous, mostly Hindu Assamese people, as an abuse denoting the descendants of East Bengal Muslims.

Hussain alleges, In all the places where eviction has taken place, the strategy of BJP has been to term the Miya community as illegal Bangladeshis and drive us out of our homes. We have had to face repeated brutality at the hands of police and the majority community based on these false accusations.

Azizur Rahman, president of All Assam Minority Student Union (AAMSU) told TwoCircles.net, I challenge Padma Hazarika to show me one person amongst them who is a Bangladeshi or illegal immigrant. All of them shifted to Sonitpur at a time when their lands were lost, and have been living here with documents ever since. He has to take responsibility for his baseless accusations.

It is important to note the connections between the New Land Policy adopted by the Assam government in 2019, and the onslaught of these evictions in Muslim dominated areas. The Land Policy states that preference while allotting land will be given to those who have been displaced due to floods, erosion, or other natural calamities. The reality seems contrary to the promise on paper. Under the Encroachment and Eviction section, it specifies that appropriate measures will be taken to evict encroachers on government land and reserved land. It conveniently ignores that people decided to settle in these areas as no timely facilities of rehabilitation were offered to them by the government.

There are two aspects of these eviction attacks which must be comprehended: its effect, and its method of implementation. Without adequate resettlement and compensation, the displaced people will be stripped of their conventional means of livelihood, and their social unity will be affected.

Abdul Kalam, 57 year-old resident of Balipukhuri said, The Jiabhorali river is ancient, and so is the history of people living around it. We have built our modest homes and lives here through struggle. From floods to lack of roads, we have seen it all. We have fought against the furies of nature and man and cannot imagine living a life away from the river.

We are people of the roots, not illegal immigrants. They break our houses but give us no land, or money, he adds.

Concerning its implementation, the method of justifying any extent of impunity and oppression against the targets of eviction, the encroachers, has been to falsely frame them as outsiders who have failed the arbitrary litmus test of an aggrandized, illusory nationalism.

The historical reality of Assamese Muslims has been a chain of alienations. First, they have been ridiculed for their Miya identity and been portrayed as un-Assamese. Now Bangladeshi seems to be the irredeemable nail in the coffin, shaping their already strained image as un-Indian. This is a tag that sticks and instantly encourages hateful mobilisation amongst religious bigots on a much larger level.

In response to injustices that have impoverished the lives of the Miya community, a cultural movement was started by Hafiz Ahmed in 2016, in the form of Miya poetry.

Ashraful, who is also a self-proclaimed Miya poet, says, Whenever people see a lungi, they are quick to call him a Bangladeshi, a doubtful citizen. So I have started a protest on social media where I too take on the label of doubtful citizen and encourage all other such people to come forth. We discuss issues of citizenship and nationalism. We also share our own poetry. This exchange stands as a deliberate act of confronting social bias, by claiming an identity that has been persecuted and forcefully rendered disputed. He chimes in, Sometimes, we post photos of ourselves wearing a lungi too.

[Note: Actual names have been changed due to the unwillingness of local residents to disclose their real identities.]
The month began with Google launching its much-awaited Pixel 4a smartphone after three months of delay owing to the pandemic. It was followed by Xiaomi introducing its Redmi 9 Prime smartphone in India.

The month of August has been particularly eventful in the world of smartphones. The month began with Google launching its much-awaited Pixel 4a smartphone after three months of delay owing to the pandemic. It was followed by Xiaomi introducing its Redmi 9 Prime smartphone in India. Shortly after that, Samsung hosted its Galaxy Unpacked 2020 event wherein it launched its next-generation Galaxy devices.

So here are the top smartphone launched this month:

Xiaomi Redmi 9 Prime

The Redmi 9 Prime comes with a 6.53-inch full HD+ display with Corning Gorilla Glass layered on top. It is powered by MediaTeks Helio G80 chipset that is coupled with 4GB of RAM and up to 128GB of storage space. It comes with a quad rear camera setup with 13MP + 8MP + 2MP + 5MP sensors. Theres an 8MP camera in the front. It packs a 5,020mAh battery with support for up to 18W fast charging. It comes at a starting price of 9,999 in India.

Google Pixel 4a

The Google Pixel 4a comes with a 5.8-inch FHD+ resolution OLED screen. It is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 730G SoC that is coupled with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage space. It has a 12.2-megapixel rear camera and an 8-megapixel front camera. It is backed by a 3140mAh battery.

Samsung Galaxy Note20

The Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra comes with a 6.9-inch Dynamic AMOLED Quad HD+ curved display with a 120Hz refresh rate. It is powered by Qualcomms Snapdragon 865+ chipset that is coupled with up to 12GB of RAM and 512GB of storage space. It has a triple rear camera setup at the back with 108MP + 12MP + 12MP camera setup at the back. On the front, it has a 10MP punch-hole camera with dual-pixel autofocus. It is backed by a 4,500mAh battery. The Galaxy Note20 Ultra 5G costs 1,04,999 in India.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2 features a 6.2-inch sAMOLED cover display. It has a 7.6-inch sAMOLED display with 120Hz refresh rate on the inside. It is powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon 865+ SoC that is coupled with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of internal storage. On the camera front, it has a 64MP + 12MP + 12MP sensors at the back . It sports dual 10MP cameras for selfies. The Galaxy Z Fold 2 has a total battery capacity of 4,500mAh.
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sun, August 9, 2020 17:33 527 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a4066c9ba9a 1 Health sleep,sleeping,insomnia,health,self-care,pandemic,coronavirus Free

Its a widely known fact that getting the right quantity and quality of sleep is important for your health. It reduces stress, inflammation and the risk of depression, and it helps the body repair itself, improves cognitive function and helps ward off illness.

Sleep is particularly important during the COVID-19 pandemic, but many people are struggling to get enough of it.

A report by Express Scripts found that the use of anti-insomnia, anti-anxiety and antidepressant medication spiked between February and March, peaking in mid-March, when the World Health Orgainzation declared COVID-19 a pandemic.

Here is a list of tips compiled from Health.com to help you sleep better.

1. Go to sleep and get up at the same time every day

Brandon Peters-Matthews, a doctor who specializes in sleep, has said that having a regular sleeping and waking schedule helps maintain a consistent sleep routine.

The schedule should leave 8 hours a night for sleep. This is the sleep requirement for most adults. The typical sleep needs for those between the ages of 13 and 18 is 10 hours nightly, while the sleep needs of babies from four to 12 months old can be up to 16 hours a night, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics.

2. Get sunlight when you wake up

How you start and end your day affects the quality of your sleep as well.

Peters-Matthews has said that getting 15 to 30 minutes of sunlight after waking up and going to bed feeling sleepy will help.

3. Pay attention to how your daily habits influence your wakefulness

Avoiding naps and being aware of how much caffeine and alcohol you consume can help you get a better nights sleep.

Read also: How to take care of your skin in quarantine

4. Move your body

Regular exercise helps with managing stress and promoting sleep, according to neurology and pediatrics professor Beth Marlow.

Try moving every hour and engage in regular exercise  outside if you can, said Marlow.

5. Limit news consumption

Although being up to date on current events is important, it can also cause anxiety that may disturb your sleep.

Marlow recommended that you avoid social media and news outlets before bed or turn off your screen entirely.

6. Take care of yourself

A number of potential stressors have emerged during the pandemic, such as not being able to go to the office, go to the gym or spend time with friends. But its still possible to care for yourself and take some me time to decompress.

Try to cultivate ways to reduce stress, and reach out to others for support, said Peters-Matthews. If insomnia persists, consider cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBTI). (wng)
London :

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange on Wednesday released a statement given to prosecutors in which he asserts he did not commit any crimes when he had sex with a woman in Sweden six years ago.

He says he did not have intercourse with a woman while she was asleep. That allegation is at the heart of an ongoing Swedish investigation into a possible rape.

Swedish prosecutors have not charged Assange with any crime. Swedish officials say they are waiting for a written report from Ecuadorean prosecutors who interviewed Assange last month before deciding whether to charge Assange. The interview took place at the Ecuadorean Embassy in London, where Assange sought refuge more than four years ago.

Ann Oberg, a spokeswoman with the Swedish prosecutors office, said prosecutors will not provide further information on the case.

We are waiting for the transcript of the interview, she said.

It will be up to Swedish prosecutors to decide whether to move the case forward or drop it without charging Assange.

The case has been complicated by Assanges fear that if he goes to Sweden, he faces extradition to the United States to answer possible criminal charges related to WikiLeaks role in the release of classified documents.

It is not clear if he faces a secret grand jury indictment in the United States.

His lawyer, Jennifer Robinson, told The Associated Press on Wednesday that Assange plans to remain inside the Ecuadorean Embassy - even if the Swedish prosecutors announce he will not be charged - until there are assurances he will not face charges in the United States.

She said the statement made public today was read to Ecuadorean officials when Assange was questioned, in the presence of Swedish prosecutors, at the embassy in mid-November.

In the statement, Assange described his sexual relations with the woman in question as consensual. He says the two had consensual sex several times and that he is certain she was not asleep at the time in question.

I was also certain she expressly consented to unprotected sex before such intercourse started, he said.

Under Swedish law, having sex with a woman who is asleep can be considered rape, so the questions of whether the woman was asleep, and whether she agreed to having sex without a condom, are vital.

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UP elections 2022: BJP likely to give 30 seats to allies

Uttarakhand polls: Expelled from State Cabinet, BJP; Harak Singh Rawat likely to join Congress today

BJP worker injured in terrorist attack at J&K

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

Srinagar, Aug 09: Militants on Sunday shot at and injured a BJP worker in Budgam district of Jammu and Kashmir, police said.

A police official said militants fired upon Abdul Hamid Najar, a resident of Mohiendpora area of Budgam in central Kashmir this morning, leaving him injured.

Manoj Sinha takes charge as LG of Jammu and Kashmir

He said Najar is a BJP worker.

Defence Ministry bans import of 101 Defence items: PM Modi's Atma Nirbhar Bharat | Oneindia News

Najar was shifted to a hospital and further details on his condition were awaited, the official added.

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Story first published: Sunday, August 9, 2020, 9:08 [IST]
Lebanons political elite faced pressure from all sides Sunday after a deadly explosion blamed on officials negligence, with the first cabinet resignation over the affair and re-energised protesters vowing more action.

As hopes faded of finding any survivors of Tuesdays blast, social media was flooded with angry posts after a night that saw protesters briefly take over ministries in central Beirut.

A picture went viral on social media showing the citys devastated port, with a low wall in the foreground bearing the spray-painted message: My government did this.

While it is not known what started the fire that set off a huge stockpile of ammonium nitrate, protesters say the disaster could not have happened without the corruption and incompetence that have come to define Lebanons ruling class.

Those who died paid the price of a state that doesnt care about anything except power and money, said protester Tamara, 23, whose friend was killed in the blast.

The explosion devastated Beirut and took the lives of at least 158 people. The Lebanese army said Sunday that hopes had dwindled of finding anyone alive.

We can say we have fading hopes of finding survivors, Colonel Roger Khoury, who heads a team of military technicians at the blast site, told journalists.

The catastrophe has revived the mass anti-government protests that had for months demanded the wholesale removal of Lebanons political elite, until coronavirus lockdown measures brought an uneasy calm.

On Sunday afternoon, hundreds gathered again in and around Martyrs Square, a short walk from the epicentre of the blast.

Clashes broke out with security forces who fired tear gas to disperse crowds.

 Tear gas, rubber bullets 

Demonstrators had briefly taken over several government ministries the previous night, while security forces scuffled with larger crowds of protesters converging on the capitals main protest camp.

Human Rights Watchs Lebanon researcher Aya Majzoub said some security forces had responded by indiscriminately firing tear gas and rubber bullets.

Instead of deploying the army to help residents clear rubble from their homes, businesses, and communities, the Lebanese authorities chose to deploy them and other security forces against protesters, she said.

The violence injured 65 people, according to the Lebanese Red Cross. Security forces also made 20 arrests, according to a group of lawyers supporting the protests.

The August 4 explosion came with Lebanon already reeling from an economic crisis that has seen its currency collapse, plunging swathes of its population into poverty.

On Sunday, French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris oversaw a UN-backed virtual donors conference to raise aid for the cash-strapped country.

The world must respond quickly and effectively to the disaster, Macron warned, urging international cooperation to ensure that neither violence nor chaos prevails.

In a joint statement issued after the conference, donors pledged the assistance would be directly delivered to the Lebanese population.

New aid pledges were made while the embattled government of Prime Minister Hassan Diab took another hit Sunday with the resignation of information minister Manal Abdel Samad.

Several lawmakers also quit and local media reported Diab was mulling announcing the governments resignation.

The revelation that Lebanese state officials had long tolerated a ticking time-bomb in the heart of the capital has served as shocking proof to many Lebanese of the rot at the core of the state apparatus.

 Transparent investigation 

The blast wounded a staggering 6,000 people, many bloodied by flying glass as the shockwave tore through the city and left a 43-metre (141 foot) deep crater at Beiruts port.

US President Donald Trump on Sunday called for Lebanon to conduct a full and transparent investigation into the explosion, but many have called for an international enquiry.

Diab said Saturday he would propose early elections to break the impasse that is plunging Lebanon ever deeper into political and economic crisis.

The head of Lebanons Maronite church patriarch Beshara Rai joined the chorus of people pressing Diabs entire cabinet to step down over a blast he said could be described as a crime against humanity.

The disaster has revived anger at a ruling class seen as living in luxury while millions endure job losses, deepening poverty, power blackouts and garbage mountains piling up in the streets.

Politics in multi-confessional Lebanon is dominated by former warlords from the 1975-1990 civil war who years ago exchanged their military fatigues for suits, or by their offspring and nephews.

While there are Sunni Muslim, Christian and myriad other groups, the most powerful is the Shiite Hezbollah movement.
Malaysian actress Michelle Yeoh took two COVID-19 tests following her arrival in Australia to film for Marvel's Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.

Last month, the 'jetlagged' 58-year-old moaned on Instagram about having to 'deal with' the coronavirus test after landing Down Under.

The Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon star then shared a photo of herself grimacing in discomfort as she underwent a second test - before delightedly announcing her 'clean bill of health' a few days later.

Safety: Malaysian actress Michelle Yeoh underwent two COVID-19 tests following her arrival in Australia to film for Marvel's Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings [Pictured October 2019 in New York]

Michelle is set to resume filming for Marvel's first Asian based superhero film in Sydney's west after production was halted due to the coronavirus pandemic.

However, like everyone entering the country, the Crazy Rich Asians star underwent a two-week quarantine and COVID testing upon her arrival from France.

Michelle documented her uncomfortable second testing for the killer virus on Instagram, with a photo of herself being swabbed up the nose by a health professional.

Precaution: Last month, the 'jetlagged' 58-year-old moaned on Instagram about having to 'deal with the CV [coronavirus] test' upon her arrival Down Under

'So wimpy!' The Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon star then shared a snap of herself grimacing in pain as she underwent a second test

'2nd test, sorry so wimpy!! Then has fab dinner to calm nerves... 4 more days,' she said in the caption.

Like promised, four days later, the former Miss Malaysia announced she was COVID-free.

'Yay good morning! Clean bill of health to get out of quarantine... but promise to stay masked, and safe for myself and all,' she informed her followers.

'I promise to stay masked!' Michelle delightedly announced her 'clean bill of health' a few days later

Marvel's Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings had started filming in Australia at the start of the year, but production was suspended in February due to COVID-19 fears.

But things are now back on track, with aerial photos taken last week showing a purpose-built 'Chinese village' that will serve as a backdrop for the superhero film.

The blockbuster will no doubt provide a boost to Australia's ailing film industry, which was brought to its knees as the COVID-19 pandemic took hold earlier this year.

According to the Sydney Morning Herald, the production will generate an estimated $150million for the Australian economy, as well as 4,700 new jobs.

Starring Simu Liu as Marvel's first Asian superhero, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings will tell the tale of Shang-Chi, a martial arts master who was raised inside a reclusive Chinese compound.

After leaving the compound as an adult, Shang-Chi must reckon with harsh realities of the outside world, including a terrorist organisation called Ten Rings.

Ten Rings' evil leader, The Mandarin, will be played by Tony Leung, while Awkwafina and Ronny Chieng have also been cast in undisclosed roles.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-09 14:32:31|Editor: huaxia

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Leader of Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna party Mahinda Rajapaksa attends a ceremony at Kelaniya Temple on the outskirts of Sri Lanka's capital Colombo, Aug. 9, 2020. Mahinda Rajapaksa took his oath as the nation's new prime minister on Sunday after his party secured a landslide victory in the recently concluded parliamentary election. (Photo by Gayan Sameera/Xinhua)

COLOMBO, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) -- Leader of Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna party Mahinda Rajapaksa took his oath as the nation's new prime minister on Sunday after his party secured a landslide victory in the recently concluded parliamentary election.

Rajapaksa took oaths during a grand ceremony at Kelaniya Temple, a Buddhist temple on the outskirts of Sri Lanka's capital Colombo in the presence of the diplomatic community and legislators from the ruling and opposition parties.

Rajapaksa was sworn in as the prime minister of the country for the 4th time.

Rajapaksa's party won 145 seats in the Aug. 5 election which was held to elect new legislators in a 225-member parliament.

His new cabinet will take oaths later this week.

According to the Elections Commission, the parliamentary election held last Wednesday was one of the most peaceful held in Sri Lankan history with a 71 percent voter turnout.

The election was held under strict health guidelines due to COVID-19 pandemic which has infected over 2,800 people in the country.

According to Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the new parliament will convene on Aug. 20.
In a widely-shared Friday Twitter thread, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center Associate Professor Trevor Bedford speculated that a significantly higher degree of population immunity may be helping Texas, Florida and Arizona  all states which saw increases in coronavirus cases, test positivity and hospitalizations in June and July  control the pandemic.

"I (and others) have argued that the main thing curbing these epidemics have been societal responses, but I believe there is also a role for population immunity in controlling these epidemics," he wrote. "If we take the simplest model of population immunity, we expect Rt will equal R0  fraction of the population susceptible. This is where the usual 'herd immunity threshold' comes in. If we assume R0 of 2.5 then we need 60% of the population immune to bring R0 down to 1."

R0 is the base reproduction number of the virus, or the number of cases that will occur in a completely susceptible population as a result of one infected individual. Rt is the effective reproduction number, which is a real-time estimate that will change as population immunity increases.

Using Florida as an example, Bedford cites data scientist Youyang Gu's COVID model, which projects that 21% of Floridians have been infected with COVID-19 at some point. Gu's model, featured in The New York Times and FiveThirtyEight's model surveys, has been one of the more accurate models as it relates to death projections.

"Assuming a large majority of infections leave enough immunity to be protected (which I believe to be the case, though correlates of protection are still being worked out), population immunity of 20% will have real impact if societal behavior has already reduced Rt to ~1.2," Bedford wrote, citing new social controls such as mask mandates and bar closures in hot spot states that have reduced the base reduction number.

"I've been thinking of this as: to get to R0 of 1.0 with no immunity we need avoid 60% of transmission events," he continued. "However, if 20% of the population is immune, then we need to avoid 50% of transmission events. Or, with 20% population immunity, we can behave as though Rt is 1.25 and still get an epidemic that no longer propagates."

California has not had as severe an outbreak as Florida, Texas and Arizona when comparing per capita numbers, and Gu's model projects that 12.1% of Californians have had the virus at some point, with an upper range estimate of 18.5% and a lower range estimate of 7.3%. If 12.3% of Californians have already been infected, that means the state has been underreporting cases by a factor of approximately 8.5, which is somewhat inline with a CDC estimate that cases nationally were underreported by a factor of 10 from March through May. As testing becomes more widespread, the factor of underreporting will decrease.

For reference, the Gu model projects that 21.7% of Arizonans and 17.6% of Texans have had the virus.

Bedford was later met with skepticism as to whether the percentage of actual infections in Florida is as high as 20%, to which he wrote, "My use of 20% total infected in Florida is not the point I was trying to make. I think it could easily be 10% of Florida infected at present. The point being even 10% population immunity starts to make a difference when behavioral Rt is ~1.2."

Of course, the obvious downside to increasing population immunity means more death  especially if vulnerable groups are not sufficiently protected  and Arizona, Florida, Texas and California have all recorded sharp increases in the number of deaths per day over the past two months. In total, upwards of 16,000 people have died in those four states alone since the start of July.

"The costs for this immunity have been substantial and are continuing to accrue," Bedford wrote. "We need a vaccine to achieve population immunity in a fashion that doesn't kill people."

Eric Ting is an SFGATE reporter. Email: eric.ting@sfgate.com | Twitter:@_ericting
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Linkedin Paul Ricard (Agence France-Presse) Paris, France  Sun, August 9, 2020 07:08 528 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a4066c88ead 2 Science & Tech Science,antibody,immunity,virus,health,pandemic Free

Could the ghosts of your previous colds help protect you from COVID-19, even if you have never been infected by the new coronavirus spreading across the planet?

Scientists are investigating a poorly-understood immune mechanism in the body that they hope could help efforts to curb the pandemic.

At the moment, people who think they have had the virus might get a serological test to check for antibodies.

These proteins help fight off infection and may prevent them from getting the disease again in the future -- but there are signs that with COVID-19 they could fade away within weeks.

This leaves the other instrument in the body's toolkit -- T lymphocytes -- a type of white blood cell responsible for the second part of the immune response.

With little yet known about how they operate against COVID-19, scientists are racing to fill in the gaps in our knowledge.

One hypothesis is that these T cells might help give people a level of cross-immunity protection from COVID-19 because they "remember" previous infections by other viruses in the same family, four of which cause common colds.

"The immune system is complex," said Andreas Thiel, who co-authored a study that looked at the presence of T cells able to react to the new coronavirus, both among those with confirmed infections and healthy people.

The research, published last week in the journal Nature, found that at least a third of adults that had never had COVID-19 have these T cells.

"These most likely originate from previous infections with endemic coronaviruses," Thiel, a professor at Berlin-Brandenburg Center for Regenerative Therapies, told AFP.

But he cautioned that much more research was needed to find out whether their presence would necessarily mean immunity.

Read also: Adult vaccination: What is it and when to get it?

Virus family

The research followed a study by a team in Singapore published in Nature earlier in July that reached a similar conclusion.

Another study from the United States, published Tuesday in the journal Science, found a number of T cells that reacted both to the new virus, SARS-CoV-2, as well as to the coronaviruses that cause colds.

"This could help explain why some people show milder symptoms of disease while others get severely sick," said co-author Daniela Weiskopf, of La Jolla Institute for Immunology, in a statement.

This study builds on research, published in the journal Cell in May by the same team, which detected these SARS-CoV-2 reacting T cells in 40 to 60 percent of people who had never had COVID-19.

Read also: Indonesia to start phase III clinical trials of Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine on Tuesday

Lasting immunity?

The vaccines currently in development for the new coronavirus seek to trigger both types of immune response.

Previously attention, however, has largely focused on the immunity conferred by antibodies.

"But we must not think that nothing else exists," Yonathan Freund, professor of emergency medicine at the Paris Pitie-Salpetriere hospital, told AFP.

Studies have shown that the level of antibodies for patients who have had COVID-19 drops rapidly, perhaps within a few weeks.

"That could mean two things: One, which would be catastrophic, is that immunity to COVID does not last," said Freund, adding that he doubts this is the case.

The second possibility, he said, is that potential immunity exists but "cannot be detected" by the serology tests for antibodies.

That would mean our calculations on the percentage of the population who are potentially immune to the coronavirus, which are based on the detection of antibodies, could be underestimated across the world.

A recent study at Sweden's Karolinska University Hospital showed that many people with mild or asymptomatic COVID-19 demonstrated a T cell immune response to the virus, even if their antibody test was negative.

But Freund stressed that discussions around T cells were mostly just "hypotheses" for now.

And scientists are keen to emphasize that thorough, large-scale research is needed before there would be any implications for tackling the pandemic.

"Pet theories (are) fine in academic debates, but dangerous when advising for policy," Devi Sridhar, a professor of global public health at the University of Edinburgh, said on Twitter this week.

She added that if there was clear evidence of wider public immunity or that the virus was weakening she would be "delighted".

"That is what we are all hoping for. But have to plan & prepare according to current evidence & observational studies from around the world," she said.

Topics : Science antibody immunity virus health pandemic
OTTAWA - The federal Liberal government has handed over thousands of pages of documents related to the WE controversy to a House of Commons committee, which lawyers are now vetting for personal information and cabinet secrets.

The finance committee demanded the documents last month as it probes whether Prime Minister Justin Trudeaus relationship with WE Charity influenced the governments ill-fated decision to have the organization run a federal student-volunteer program.

Committee members are hoping the documents will shed light on the discussions that led to the decision to have WE run the Canada Student Services Grant, before the deal was cancelled amid controversy in early July.

People are asking a lot of questions, NDP finance critic Peter Julian said in an interview. Theres been a lot of contradictions in testimony. So the documents should be revealing a lot more of what the real answers are.

Yet while the Liberals turned more than 5,000 pages over to the committee ahead of Saturdays deadline, it wasnt clear when they would be released to members as committee lawyers go through them to prevent the release of protected information.

We dont know, Conservative finance critic Pierre Poilievre said during a news conference on Sunday when asked when committee members would get the documents. We have asked. They have not given us the timeline.

Committee chairman Wayne Easter, a Liberal MP, predicted the documents would be released in the coming days to members as additional lawyers from the public service have been brought in to help review them for cabinet secrets and other information.

Even after the documents are released, however, there will could be disagreements about why certain information was withheld.

While Poilievre and Julian suggested they were keeping the door open to challenging any redactions, Easter said the vetting was being conducted by the professional public service  and noted the tradition of Parliament respecting cabinet confidence.

Usually prepared for ministers to aid government deliberations and decision-making, documents marked as cabinet confidences hold closely guarded political secrets and are legally protected from unauthorized release.

Trudeau has previously faced pressure to waive cabinet confidence when it came to allegations he tried to pressure then-justice minister Jody Wilson-Raybould on a deferred prosecution agreement with Quebec engineering firm SNC-Lavalin.

We respect the integrity of the public service, Easter said when asked about the lawyers redacting cabinet confidences in the WE documents. Thats why there is no political involvement in the redacting of these documents. Thats why the law clerk is involved.

The Liberals have been embroiled in controversy since it was revealed on June 25 that WE had been selected to run the Canada Student Services Grant, which promised up to $5,000 toward the education costs of students who volunteered during COVID-19.

The sole-sourced agreement with WE was to pay one of its foundations up to $43.5 million to administer a grant program designed to encourage students to sign up for volunteer work related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Trudeau and Finance Minister Bill Morneau have since apologized for not recusing themselves from cabinets discussions about the agreement before it was awarded to WE given their respective families ties to the Toronto-based charity.

Trudeau has spoken at six WE Day events since becoming prime minister, while his mother and brother have been paid almost $300,000 and reimbursed about $200,000 in expenses for appearing at WE events. Trudeaus wife has also had expenses covered.

Morneau, meanwhile, acknowledged last month that he repaid WE about $41,000 in sponsored travel for him and his family to view the charitys humanitarian projects in Ecuador and Kenya in 2017.

Yet the government has insisted that the decision was based on a recommendation from the non-partisan public service following its conclusion that WE was the only organization capable of running the grant program.

Opposition critics, meanwhile, are also training their sights on an agreement between a Crown corporation and a company employing the husband of Trudeaus chief of staff, Katie Telford.

The agreement between the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. and MCAP, where Telfords husband Rob Silver is an executive vice-president, involves the administering of a rent-assistance program for small businesses affected by COVID-19.

The Prime Ministers Office has said Telford established clear ethical walls between herself and MCAP in January, even before COVID-19 shook the countrys economy and led to the creation of the Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance program.

But Poilievre questioned why the government didnt simply ask the Canada Revenue Agency to run the rent-assistance program given it is already managing the federal wage subsidy for businesses struggling during the pandemic.

CMHC, which is strangely running this program, exists for the sole purpose of providing affordable housing. Not commercial real estate, Poilievre said.

Now, of course, the easy way to deliver this program would have been through CRA. CRA already had a program stood up to deliver a wage subsidy.

Audrey-Anne Coulombe, a spokeswoman for CMHC, said in a statement Sunday that the federal housing agency had decided to go with an outside sub-administrator because it does not have the internal capacity to stand up the program in short order.

Coulombe said CMHC sought bids from two financial institutions and chose MCAP because its proposal was stronger and cost less. She said Silver was not involved in contract negotiations or the delivery of services.

Easter expressed concern about the committee getting distracted by opposition fishing efforts and not focusing on its main task of preparing for next years federal budget and overseeing COVID-19 spending.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 9, 2020.

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It reflects on the civilizational power of Lord Rama in this ancient land that independent India's five Prime Ministers involved themselves in the affairs of his birthplace at Ayodhya. Nehru, Rajiv Gandhi, P.V. Narasimha Rao, Narendra Modi and, tangentially, V.P. Singh in between.

India's first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, learnt his early lessons about the limits to his power when the Rama idols "mysteriously" appeared on the night of December 22, 1949 at the spot where the Lord was supposed to have been born and UP Chief Minister, Govind Ballabh Pant, refused to have the idols removed despite Nehru's insistence. Secularism was a fine concept but not at the cost of Hindu faith. In the different approaches to Ayodhya are embedded serious divergences within the Congress on the centrality of Hinduism in national life. Not only was Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya, President of the Congress for a record four terms, but he was also a founder of the Hindu Mahasabha. One may quibble on proportions, but there is Hindu Mahasabha in the Congress DNA just as there is the RSS in the BJP.

Nehru was a proud "Pandit" but there was a clear mismatch between his elitist tolerance of Hinduism and the all-pervasive Hindu faith in the make-up of most of his colleagues. It turns out, in retrospect, that Nehru's secularism was a huge gamble. It would be thrilling if the secular experiment succeeded to a point where my brother Shanney could revisit relatives in Karachi and regale friends in JNU with the observation which became a classic in the 70s: "Nice place", he said returning from Pakistan, "but too full of Muslims." Today, this gregarious raconteur finds himself fixed in the pitying gaze of relatives from across the border. I called him in Lucknow on August 5, the day of the Shilanyas. He didn't say much. It is instructive that the top-down secularism of Nehru and Mustafa Kemal Pasha Ataturk faced eclipse within weeks of each other.

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra must be commended for having endorsed the beginning of a Ram temple, but in doing so she may have slighted her father's memory. Rajiv Gandhi may not have been present at Ram's birthplace for the first bricklaying ceremony on November 9, 1989, but a foundation stone was laid, at the behest of Rajiv Gandhi's government under official supervision of the District Magistrate of Faizabad, Ram Sharan Srivastava, a more harassed officer I shall never see. Since I was seated next to him, I could virtually peep into the pit where the brick was to be laid, under instructions from Rajiv Gandhi, his cousin Arun Nehru and UP Chief Minister Narayan Dutt Tewari. It was an underhand, duplicitous operation, totally violative of the Allahabad High Court order which prohibited any construction on "disputed" land. In a show of force, Ashok Singhal of the VHP, the Hindu body leading the agitation for a temple, threatened "rivers of blood": he would lay the foundation stone on exactly the spot which the temple plan dictated, namely the "disputed" land. Clandestinely, the VHP was allowed to have its say. But Srivastava was to put out a press note that the brick was laid a 100 feet away from the disputed site.

Rajiv was fighting for his life against his once favoured Finance Minister, V.P. Singh's rebellion, in the 1989 General Elections. He struck a desperate deal with the VHP. The VHP was to press the BJP to pull back its horses in a seat at Faizabad and three in Kerala. The VHP will claim that it had done the Shilanyas where it wanted, in the first place. This double cross too was part of the secret deal. With all these machinations, Rajiv lost the General Elections.

Pranab Mukherjee in his memoirs, The Turbulent Years, has confirmed a gem of a story. A week before the Shilanyas, Rajiv escorted by Home Minister Buta Singh, visited Godman Devrahwa Baba who had a delightful way of blessing his devotees. He dangled his legs from a thatched roof and thumped on the head those he chose to bless, in this case the renaissance Prime Minister of India, eager to know if he should allow the Shilanyas. The Baba, networked in the interstellar spaces, transmitted his message: "Bachcha, ho jane do" (child, let it happen).

The soft saffron that Rajiv adopted by way of electoral tactics came to him from two sources: Indira Gandhi donned this shade during the 1982 Jammu election, this being her gut response to the Khalistan movement. Two years later, the unprecedented majority with which Rajiv Gandhi came to power after Indira Gandhi's assassination by her Sikh bodyguards in 1984 was not attributed to a sympathy wave but a massive Hindu consolidation against "minority" communalism.

This conventional wisdom among Congress senior leaders caused him to open the temple locks in May 1986. Since then the Congress is wasting away, wearing soft saffron, selling its family heirlooms, even as the BJP acquires a shade of saffron as hard as was on show at the Shilanyas in Ayodhya.

Since it is accepted by everybody except perhaps Randeep Surjewala that the Congress is now beyond redemption, the best the Gandhi siblings can do is to recover as a priceless memento that brick which was laid in their father's name in Ayodhya to start a temple for Lord Rama.

(Saeed Naqvi is a senior commentator on political and diplomatic issues. The views expressed are personal. He can be reached on saeednaqvi@hotmail.com)
By PTI

BENGALURU: A red alert has been sounded in seven districts of rain-ravaged Karnataka where one more death was reported on Sunday, taking the toll to 13.

According to the Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre, there would be heavy rain for the next 24 hours in coastal areas, in the northern and in the interior parts of the south.

The red alert has been issued in Dakshina Kannada, Udupi, Uttara Kannada, Chikkamagaluru, Hassan, Kodagu and Shivamogga as they would get heavy rainfall.

As on Sunday, Cauvery and Krishna rivers were flowing above the danger mark, and the sluice gates of the dams were opened.

Due to the release of water, many regions in the low- lying areas were inundated.

In the Cauvery basin, Krishnaraja Sagar Dam, Harangi, Hemavathi, and Kabini Dams were almost full.

In view of the swollen Cauvery river, the Mandya district administration put barricades near the Sri Nimishamba Temple near Ganjam in Srirangapatna Taluk to ensure the safety of public in general and pilgrims and tourists in particular.

"The public is not allowed to venture into the Cauvery River as a precautionary measure," read a statement issued by the office of the Deputy Commissioner of Mandya District Dr M V Venkatesh.

In Kodagu, the situation remained grim due to a heavy downpour and incidents of landslides were reported.

Congress state president D K Shivakumar, on a two-day tour of Kodagu from Saturday, visited many relief camps and spoke to the people there.

Also, he inspected a few places which suffered severe damages due to landslides.

Later, Shivakumar issued a statement saying the district has been suffering rain-related damages and all political parties should come to the aid of the people.

In Belagavi, reports emerged that a youth got swept away in the rain.

In Mysuru, the Hebbal lake was overflowing.

Eighty relief camps have been set up to house 1,600 people as 278 houses have been fully damaged and 2,140 partially damaged, according to the disaster Monitoring Centre.

A total of 23 animals have perished in the rains which destroyed 31,541 hectares of crops while inundating 35,000 hectares of horticultural crops.

The State government has released Rs 50 crore as an initial amount to carry out relief and rehabilitation work.
A huge python terrified teachers and students when it tried to hide in a school building after killing birds on the roof.

The three-metre-long serpent shocked pupils when it was seen coiling on the edge of a school window in Nakhon Nayok, central Thailand, on August 8.

Teacher Chatchai Suwan said the snake was so big that it could have killed any of the students if it had reached down and bit them.

A teacher was concerned the python would harm the students. Source: Viral Press/Australscope

"I called the rescue team immediately for help because I was afraid that the snake would harm someone, the teacher said.

Chatchai added that the snake might have been looking for food in the building and found its next meal from the birds on the roof.

Reptile rescuers rushed to the school with protective gear and snake catching rods after receiving the call from the teacher.

The aggressive snake tried to escape into the pool in front of the building when the catchers pulled it down.

The snake stood still under the dirty pool water before it emerged again 30 minutes later.

The python weighed a whopping 30kg. Source: Viral Press/Australscope

Volunteers spotted the reptile's head, then used a colander to take it out of the lagoon while terrified teachers and students watched.

The python, weighing around 30 kilograms, was put into a sack to release in the wild later.

I'm relieved that the snake has been taken away. This is the first time we've had such a big one in the building, the teacher said.

Australscope

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BRISBANEQueensland residents trying to come home from New South Wales, Victoria or the ACT (Australian Capital Territory) must now arrive by air and pay at least $2,800 (US$1,984) for their two-week stay in hotel quarantine.

The tough new rules follow Premier Annastacia Palaszczuks decision to close off the border to guard against community transmission of coronavirus.

Those who fail to comply with the border rules could face an on-the-spot fine of $1,334, a court-imposed penalty of up to $13,345 or six months imprisonment.

The closure came into force at 1 a.m. on Aug. 8 causing havoc at border crossings, with many cars waiting hours only to be turned around.

Queensland Police Services Chief Superintendent Mark Wheeler said 142 people  including 18 Queenslanders  were refused entry into the state after the border closed at 1 a.m. on Aug. 8.

Its unfortunate but this is all about stopping COVID-19 coming into Queensland, he said.

Despite not having anywhere near the number of active cases as Victoria, Queensland has declared NSW and ACT virus hotspots.

Victoria hasnt improved as we hoped and I wont wait for NSW to get any worse, Palaszczuk said earlier in the week.

Meanwhile, a planned mass sit-in on Brisbanes Story Bridge was postponed at the 11th hour.

Health Minister Steven Miles had warned people to stay away from the protest amid fears it could spark a wave of local infections, and described organisers as selfish.

In a statement posted online, Refugee Action Collective Queensland said the language police had used in recent days was deeply concerning.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked BJP workers to take the development story of Andaman and Nicobar islands under the NDA rule to people and advised them to ensure that governments developmental schemes reach every person in their territory. The Prime Minister also listed a host of initiatives taken to aid business and tourism in the archipelago.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was interacting with BJP workers of Andaman and Nicobar Islands through a video conference in the presence of BJP president JP Nadda on Sunday.

The meeting comes a day before inauguration of the submarine optical Fibre cable connecting Chennai and Port Blair on August 10. The submarine cable, which will also connect Port Blair to Swaraj Dweep (Havelock), Little Andaman, Car Nicobar, Kamorta, Great Nicobar, Long Island, and Rangat of the Island group, is expected to transform life in the remote Island including defence, business and tourism sectors.

The internet connectivity in Andman and Nicobar will go through a sea change after the inauguration of the facility on Monday. This will facilitate online education, tourism and business in the island, the PM said.

Highlights: Prime Minister Narendra Modi launches financing facility under Agriculture Infrastructure Fund

It is expected to deliver faster and more reliable mobile and landline telecom services at par with other parts of the country. PM Modi had laid the foundation stone for this project on December 30, 2018 at Port Blair.

The internet services in the island have not been reliable and 4G mobile services were disrupted due to limited bandwidth provided via satellite. A government statement said that the enhanced telecom and broadband connectivity will boost tourism and employment generation in the islands, give an impetus to the economy and raise standards of living while facilitating delivery of e-Governance services such as telemedicine and tele-education.

An estimated 2,300 km of submarine optical fibre cable (OFC) has been laid at an expenditure of about 1,224 crore and the project has been completed well within deadline.

During the interaction, party workers described to the Prime Minister how they provided food and medical aid to people stuck in the island during the lockdown. Modi lauded their efforts in serving distressed people in the island during the coronavirus pandemic.

PM Modi had interacted with party workers of Rajasthan and Bihar via video conferencing as part of partys Seva Hi Sangathan programme last month.

You have taken the spirit of Seva hi Sangthan to nook and cranny of the island to every poor persons house and have passed in this exercise with flying colours, PM Modi told the workers in Andaman and Nicobar.

Total number of coronavirus patients in Andaman and Nicobar Islands has reached 1,222 on Saturday. The Union Territory has 778 active cases, while 425 have been cured of the disease so far. 19 patients have died in the archipelago.

Speaking about other development initiatives in the region, the Prime Minister said that 12 islands of Andaman and Nicobar have been chosen for the expansion of high impact projects and people will soon be able to access the islands through seaplanes. He added that the expansion work of the Port Blair airport was a work in progress.
As the world faced months of restrictions on social gatherings and celebrations, the demand for champagne hit historic lows.

French producers of the pricey specialty wine estimate they have already lost $2 billion in sales this year.

Champagne is named for the eastern area of France where it comes from. The drink is traditionally served at celebratory events or enjoyed at parties or while eating out.

Thibaut Le Mailloux is a member of the Champagne Committee, a group representing about 16,000 champagne producers. We are experiencing a crisis that we evaluate to be even worse than the Great Depression of 1929, he told The Associated Press.

The group said it expects about 100 million bottles of champagne to be left unsold by the end of the year.

In an effort to reduce the surplus, the committee has launched emergency production limits. Like oil-producing nations, the committee sets rules for the size of each years harvest. This aims to prevent too much production and large price drops.

The committee is expected to set a strict limit at a meeting scheduled for August 18. The limit will likely lead to record supplies of grapes being destroyed or sold off at greatly reduced prices. The expected limit could especially be difficult for smaller producers to deal with.

We are to destroy (the grapes) and we pay for them to be destroyed, said Anselme Selosse, of Jacques Selosse Champagnes.

Selosse told The Associated Press he also sees it as an insult to nature that the areas famous grapes might even be used to produce alcohol for hand sanitizer. Such production happened in other wine-producing areas after demand for sanitizer has risen during the virus crisis.

Paul-Francois Vranken, founder of producer Vranken-Pommery Monopole, called the current situation a catastrophe. He noted that the champagne business had lived through every single war. But with past crises, there was a way out. Now, Vranken sees no way out unless we find a vaccine.

Major producers such as Vranken-Pommery predict the crisis could last for years.

Vranken says he thinks there needs to be a change in how companies market champagne to succeed in the new normal. A drop in celebrations and group events moving forward will lead to continued reductions in champagne sales.

Vranken said marketing campaigns should center more on champagnes quality as a naturally, often organically produced drink from a historic area of France. Even if the bars and the nightclubs are closed for five years, we dont plan on missing out on customers, he added.

Selosse, who produces many natural champagnes with no added sugar, also hopes the coronavirus crisis will lead to changes in marketing. He is also calling for more cooperative efforts in production, such as communal wine presses to help smaller producers share costs.

Im Bryan Lynn.

The Associate Press reported this story. Bryan Lynn adapted the report for VOA Learning English. Hai Do 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

evaluate  v. to consider or study something carefully

sanitizer  n. a liquid that kills germs

organic  adj. grown from the earth and not using artificial chemicals

customer  n. a buyer of goods or services
Infrared cameras have captured rare footage of Chinese mountain cats in Qilian Mountain National Park in northwest China's Qinghai Province, the park administration said.

The cameras recorded five Chinese mountain cats, including a female and four cubs, which appeared to be having fun and playing on scrubland at an altitude of around 3,000 meters.

Also known as the Chinese desert cat, the wild cat is under second-class national protection.

A total of 65 infrared cameras were set up by a Chinese mountain cat investigation team from mid-May to mid-June this year to monitor the species. Researchers retrieved 45 memory cards that recorded the videos of the species and other wildlife in late July.

The survey, launched in November last year, was co-conducted by Peking University and the Qinghai section of the national park.

"For a long time, the species was rarely spotted due to its secretive nature and small population," said Liu Yanlin, who is in charge of the team.

According to Liu, it is rare for one female Chinese mountain cat to successfully raise four cubs at once, indicating that the food chain in the Qinghai section of the park is complete, the food for animals at the top of the food chain is sufficient, and the reproduction rate of the felines is relatively high.

Qilian Mountain National Park, one of China's pilot national parks, covers 50,200 square km, including 34,400 square km in Gansu Province and 15,800 square km in Qinghai.
Khartoum, Sudan  Ibrahim Arbab had no option but to flee.

Having heard of a mass killing in a nearby village, the 34-year-old and his family late last month sought shelter in el-Geneina, the capital of Sudans West Darfur state. Thousands of others did the same.

The Janjaweed will definitely come after you, Arbab said, referring to the feared militias who have long been accused of committing atrocities in Darfur, in the west of Sudan.

At least 60 people were killed  mostly unarmed civilians from the Black African Masalit tribe  when some 500 armed men attacked Masteri village, according to the United Nations, the latest in a string of attacks that have left several villages burned and markets looted.

Locals blamed the Janjaweed, nomadic Arab militias which were extensively armed by Sudans former President Omar al-Bashir after mostly non-Arab rebels took up arms in 2003 accusing the central government in the capital, Khartoum, of political and economic marginalisation.

The aftermath of the attack in the village of Masteri in West Darfur state [Mustafa Younes/AP Photo]

One of those killed in the July 25 attack was Arbabs brother-in-law, 44-year-old Yousef Adam, who used to work as a cattle trader after becoming displaced in recent years due to the conflict.

He was sitting inside his house, when the Janjaweed came in and asked him if he had a gun, Arbab said in a telephone interview. They searched his house before shooting him on his chest with two bullets and one on his head  in front of my sister.

At el-Geneina, the pain is too much for the displaced survivors and relatives of victims.

The local county is now full of widows and bereaved, said Arbab. I just cant stay with them, its heartbreaking seeing them, they refuse to eat or drink.

Buthaina Ali, who, like Arbab, hails from the village of Nguoro, fled with her mother and grandmother after the attack in Masteri.

We know when they attack one village nearby, they will come to us as well, so we left everything behind and came here, said the 25-year-old.





Al-Bashir has been jailed in Khartoum since his military overthrow last year following months-long protests against his 30-year rule. The former president is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for alleged war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity in the Darfur conflict, which has killed some 300,000 people and displaced millions. The war has slowed down in recent years but is yet to end despite a ceasefire, with warring factions negotiating a peace deal with Sudans transitional government that came to power last year.

The Sudan Sovereign Council, which is tasked with leading Sudan to elections in 2022, has made ending Sudans multiple conflicts one of its main priorities. According to the delegation negotiating with the armed groups, al-Bashir could appear before ICC prosecutors, although it is still not clear how this could happen.

25996-200325175358452

In Darfur, al-Bashirs removal from office in April 2019 raised hopes among civilians that the violence would ease in the region  but these proved short-lived.

Incidents of killing, rape and burning down of villages by militias have continued over the past 15 months, with hundreds of people killed and thousands forced to flee to Chad and other parts of Sudan.

Following last weeks mass killing, Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok promised to send troops to the region to protect citizens and the farming citizens while officials described the incident as a tribal conflict.

People of Darfur  you are all relatives and one family  We call you people of Darfur, dont let the criminals to take the chance, said Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, deputy head of the sovereign council and head of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a paramilitary unit that was established by al-Bashir in 2013 from the remnants of the Janjaweed.

Dagalo, widely known as Hemeti, went on to accuse unspecified internal parties, whom he accused of compromising the peace-making efforts with the rebels of Darfur, as well as of South Kordofan and Blue Nile states.





Meanwhile, a joint United Nations-African Union peacekeeping mission to Darfur is expected to stop operations by the end of the year and be replaced by a political mission with no peacekeeping powers focused on supporting the transitional government in its efforts to pave the way for civilian rule.

But the prospect has left many Darfuris fearing that they will be left without protection.

The attack on Masteri was the second major violent incident in West Darfur against the Masalit community since December 2019, when thousands were forced to flee an outbreak of violence, including assaults on displacement camps.

However, Abdulrahman Eissa, a lawyer and member of the el-Geneina-based Darfur Bar Association, said: None of the main criminals have been arrested or held into account in both of the incidents.

Activists in Darfur have accused high-ranking RSF officers of being behind both attacks. The RSF has not addressed the allegations but promised to hold the perpetrators to account.

Residents gather for a mass funeral after the attack on Masteri [Mustafa Younes/AP Photo]

Meanwhile, many have expressed frustration at the pattern of promoting tribal reconciliation in the wake of such attacks, arguing that the perpetrators are being protected by such talks instead of facing justice.

The governments encouragement of these types of tribal reconciliation is a form of escaping from the punishment, said el-Sadig Ali Hassan, the acting head of Darfur Bar Association. The perpetrators are getting protection by these kind of conferences of reconciliation and they can go and commit more crimes, he added.

In recent weeks, civilians have staged more than 10 sit-ins across Darfur, demanding protection from the militias and to be able to farm the land that was taken from them in the early years of the war.

But some of them have come under attack, including last month in Fata Borno, in North Darfur state, when armed groups killed at least 12 people and wounded 14 others.

Dozens of members of these so-called resistance committees, which were instrumental in last years protests against al-Bashir, have also been arbitrarily arrested, according to the Darfur Bar Association, with some reportedly subjected to torture.





Separately, the Al-Khatim Adlan Center for Enlightenment says 72 men, including eight teenagers aged between 15 and 18, have been arrested in Darfur by the RSF in recent months while trying to cross the border to Chad to seek work opportunities.

The NGO promoting human rights says many of them have been transferred to Omdurman, the twin city of Khartoum, without being able to see their families or lawyers.

Because of the conflict, many of [the people of Darfur] have lost their land and the only way to make a living is by working as traders between Sudan and the neighbouring countries, said the NGOs Abu-Hurira Ahmed, who managed to visit some of the detainees. But even for doing that, they face huge challenges for it.

The UN has warned the escalating violence and the subsequent declaration of a 24-hour curfew is hampering humanitarian operations in parts of West Darfur, with access to nutrition, water and sanitation, health and other critical services compromised.

Across Sudan, the UN says almost 10 million people are now facing food shortages due to conflict, rising prices and the coronavirus pandemic, with many of these people being in the countrys conflict-hit areas.

Back in el-Geneina, Arbab said the displaced people are left without any assistance.

I have been displaced four times since the beginning of the war, said the father of two.

And we dont know whats next.
In a massive crackdown on #RevolutionNow protesters across Nigeria on Wednesday, security operatives arrested some protesters. Among them were Agba Jalingo and Olawale Bakare, who had in the past years been held against court orders. The SSS later released some of the detained protesters.

But presidential spokesperson, Femi Adesina, justified the clampdown, calling the protest mere childs play and an irritation and describing the protesters as a sprinkle of people trying to be funny.

Prior to the protests, another presidential aide, Garba Shehu, had said the plan was ill-advised.

Some Nigerians charged back at Mr Adesina, saying he was insensitive to the yearnings of Nigerians. There is life after 2023, a commentator wrote on Twitter.

On the heel of the controversy around the sovereignty clause in the Chinese Railway loan to Nigeria, transportation minister, Rotimi Ameachi, said the clause was only an assurance to allow China sue in case Nigeria defaults in repayment, not to cede the nations sovereignty to the Asian creditor.

Also, to douse the tension over the suspicions around quest for Chinese loans, the Debt Management Office (DMO) also said Chinese loans constitute only 3.9 per cent of Nigerias public debt stock.

Meanwhile, social rights group, SERAP, asked President Muhammadu Buhari to publish the details of loans taken by the country since he assumed office in 2015.

In a matter of days, after the Edo State deputy speaker was impeached for declaring support to Osagie Ize-Iyamu, the APC governorship candidate who later received public backing of President Muhammadu Buhari, 17 lawmakers believed to be loyal to Mr Ize-Iyamus political godfather, Adams Oshiomhole, controversially impeached the speaker, Francis Okiye. Victor Edoror was sworn in as the new speaker.

A national leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu, accused Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, of fuelling the crisis in the state assembly. He likened the governor to a dictator who has no regard for the rule of law.

In his reaction, a former vice-president and PDP presidential candidate in 2019, Atiku Abubakar, said the political development in Edo is a threat to constitutional order. The U.S. also expressed worries. The electoral umpire INEC also threatened to cancel both Ondo and Edo polls in the event of electoral violence.

To ensure transparency, the electoral umpire, INEC, said it would publish results from polling units during both governorship elections in Edo and Ondo in real time.

In respect of the corruption scandal rocking the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), a Senate report said the agency paid scholarship grants to its top officials. It also alleged that the NDDC paid officials N85.6m to attend UK graduation ceremony during lockdown.

From its end, the NDDC also asked Delta North senator, Peter Nwaoboshi, who had been accused of fraud by the interim management of the NDDC to refund N2.5 billion to its coffers. The senator responded by calling the management of the agency a bunch of confused men.

Following the attack on his convoy about a fortnight ago, Borno State governor, Babagana Zulum, and the Defence Headquarters traded words. Mr Zulum alleged that soldiers, not Boko Haram, were behind the attack but the DHQ denied this, saying it is the other way round.

Meanwhile, citing concerns of terrorism and kidnapping, the United States warned its citizens not to travel to Yobe, Borno, Adamawa, Kano, Kaduna and others.

During a crucial meeting between President Buhari, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, and the service chiefs, the president said the service chiefs are doing their best, but charged them to do more. Many have called for the resignation of the military chiefs.

Ebonyi State Governor, David Umahi, supported the presidents refusal to fire them, saying the service chiefs need not be sacked amid the worsening security situation in the country. Rather, he said, the chiefs need more funding.

The presidency also denied the claim that repentant Boko members had been absorbed into the Nigerian military.

This newspaper also reported how Amotekun, a local security outfit launched by state governments in south-west, raided and arrested illegal miners in Osun. Suspects included different nationals caught with weaponry and charms.

Other news

In other news, Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, added his voice to the calls that the 2023 presidency be zoned to the south, a position that was recently opposed by President Buharis nephew, Mamman Daura.

Meanwhile, EFCC re-arraigned a former attorney-general, Mohammed Adoke, for alleged money laundering. The Court of Appeal, in another development, dismissed the no-case submission by Farouk Lawan, a former lawmaker accused of taking a $3 million bribe.

On Saturday, a former Ogun senator, Buruji Kashamu, died of COVID-19. The ex-fugitive was buried on Sunday with some ruing his death, others mourning him and a former president, Olusegun Obasanjo, saying Mr Kashamu escaped extradition but not death.

Before his death, Mr Kashamu was wanted in the United States of America (USA) for alleged drug offences. He consistently denied any wrongdoing.

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Statement from BISD:

Earlier today Beaumont ISD received notice that a West Brook student attending band practice tested positive for COVID-19. The student last participated on August 3, 2020 and all students that were present at practice with the student identified as positive for COVID-19 have received individual notices of potential exposure.

In accordance with UIL guidelines, Beaumont ISD has implemented rigorous health screening, social distancing, and sanitization practices for all band practices. As such, CDC guidance provides that the risk of students contracting COVID-19 from the infected student is low. Nevertheless, in order to safeguard the health and of our students, summer band practice will be suspended until August 18, 2020, in an abundance of caution. The limited areas accessed by the student diagnosed with COVID-19 are currently closed for deep cleaning.

While all students are permitted to participate in summer band practices, participation in summer band practice is strictly voluntary and the health and safety of our students and community is our top priority. We appreciate your cooperation as we work through these challenges and continue to support our Beaumont ISD community.
By July 1945, we were inured to the horrors of war by the terrible logic underpinning escalating violence. We had experienced the all-too-easy decisions to fire-bomb Dresden and Tokyo. We knew about death camps in Eastern Europe. We also knew about the Bataan Death March and about the ferocity with which the Japanese would defend their homeland when more than 100,000 people, soldiers and civilians, died in the defense of Okinawa. In the intervening decades, we have been there when more, ever more, civilian lives are cast into the pit of collateral damage because we wave a flag that symbolizes an elusive greater good. That sickly logic didnt die at the end of World War II; presidential candidate Barry Goldwater declared, Extremism in defense of liberty is no vice in 1964. Nevertheless, we were all shocked into closing the door on World War II by the lethality of a single bomb drop.

But the door to war as a means of exerting political will remains open. It was this second door that President Obama went to Hanoi and Hiroshima to address. Many of us are beginning to assess Mr. Obamas legacy. We even wonder what he might have done with a third term. In doing so, we often hear blowback concerning the line in Syrian sand which he later chose not to cross. He chose the more peaceful path in the face of powerful voices within his own administration (Chuck Hagel and John Kerry), and in the face of his political opponents demagoguery. Haunted by the war in Iraq and a disintegrating Libya, and wary of mission creep, Obama was always deeply ambivalent on the subject of Bashar al-Assad's removal. But, if we look back and ask who, precisely, would have been our reliable allies, and what exactly would a victory in the Syrian mosh pit look like, it would appear that discretion was indeed the better part of valor. Too many of us forget the courage it takes to say no to war. I suspect its for the same reason we seem to value decisiveness in our leaders over a deep, cautious wisdom.
Lawyer Tweneboa Kodua, host of UTV's 'Adekye Nsroma' has joined the host of Ghanaians who are strongly condemning students who engaged in riots and hurled insults at President Akufo-Addo after the ongoing WASSCE didn't go their way.



Speaking in an interview on Peace FM's 'The Platform' programme, Lawyer T.K said when an investigation is conducted, "you will realise that none of these students is coming from a home of a politician or a renowned person and this is a reflection of what is happening in our society . . . I want these students to ensure that they are not used to do any dirty job . . . we have all been students before and those who engage in such acts don't end up well; it's not a curse, it's a natural order."











Politicians' role



I.K Gyasi an educationist can hardly find words to describe the action of the students.



"I'm sad that these students could do such act; insult a President . . . if you couldn't write the exam why blame the President?"



He is of the view that politicians also have a role to play.



"The way these politicians insult President Akufo-Addo, Mahama, these kids are learning . . . " he added.





Source: Peacefmonline.com









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

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Canadian and Chinese flags taken prior to a meeting with Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and China's President Xi Jinping at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, China, on Dec. 5, 2017. (Fred Dufour / POOL /AFP via Getty Images)

Sitting on the Fence Is No Longer an Option With China

Commentary

Australia is currently receiving threats from communist China for the Aussies audacity in daring to stand up to the Chinese regimes usual bully tactics on the South China Sea issue.

Australia agrees with the United States, and other democratic allies, that those vitally important sea lanes are not the property of China, but international waters available to all the nations of the world for transit purposes. Communist China insists otherwise.

In the last few years, communist China has been aggressively pursuing a belligerent policy of attempting to make the international waters its private pond. Artificial islands that function as giant, stationary aircraft carriers have been constructed in disputed waters. Ships from smaller countries have been harassed by an increasingly powerful Chinese navy.

In tandem with United States, Australia has boldly pushed back against communist Chinas blatant aggression in the South China Sea. Australias official position is this: Australia rejects Chinas claims to historic rights or maritime rights and interests as established in the long course of historical practice in the South China Sea. For that, it has earned communist Chinas enmity.

In one famous exchange, a senior Chinese official told Australia that it was gum stuck to the bottom of Chinas shoe. (Whether gum was actually the word that first came to the Chinese officials mind, or whether a more earthy word was originally used, is known only to that official.)

Access to the South China Sea lanes is of fundamental importance to world commerce. If communist China succeeds in its goal of choking off half the worlds trade, close-by nations such as Japan and Vietnam will suffer great economic damage, but everyone will be the poorer for it. The South China Sea issue is only one of the urgent international issues that communist Chinas aggressive policies are forcing on the world.

So where is Canada in this profoundly important struggle?

Canadian Fence-Sitting

Canada is exactly where it has been on all of the important contentious issues with an increasingly belligerent communist Chinasitting on the fence, and hoping not to be noticed.

Despite having two Canadian citizens held captive by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) for Canadas Justice Departments principled stance in the Meng Wanzhou extradition case, Canada has adopted an incredibly weak and submissive posture in relation to communist China. Its a great embarrassment to Canadians who believe that our country stands for something.

After all, this is the same communist China thats currently confining over 1 million Muslim Uighurs against their will in re-education camps (read, concentration camps), actively persecuting peaceful Falun Gong practitioners and other minorities, and denying their own people even the basic freedoms. But Ottawa is silent on these CCP abuses.

Whats going on?

At a 2013 event, Justin Trudeau, before becoming prime minister, was asked which nation he admired most. Heres what he said:

Theres a level of admiration I actually have for China, he gushed. Their basic dictatorship is allowing them to turn their economy around on a dime.

Before him, his father, Pierre Trudeau, although having seen how Maos policies were responsible for the deaths of between 40 million and 70 million people, still idolized him. In fact, Pierre Trudeau called that megalomaniacal murderer one of the great men of the century.

When Trudeau Sr. returned to China to visit the soon-to-die Mao in 1973, he flattered Mao and openly expressed his admiration for him. He did the same with the tyrant Fidel Castro (so much so that a frail Fidel insisted on attending Pierre Trudeaus funeral in 2000).

The cabinet ministers serving with the current prime minister have not been firm on China.

Who can forget how former Foreign Affairs Minister Stephane Dion failed to criticize even the most basic of the CCPs flagrant human rights abuses?

Theres also the impact of highly placed businesspeople and former politicians placing their personal financial interests ahead of their duty to their country.

The result is what we see now, that despite Beijing having taken our citizens as hostages, Canada cringes and supplicates instead of firmly standing up to the communist bullies.

And we should not try to sugar-coat the issue of the Two Michaels as being anything but what it isinternational terrorism. The capture and detention of foreign nationals in order to exert pressure on another nation is international terrorism, pure and simple. That is what communist China is guilty of.

Any attempt to downplay the seriousness of communist Chinas rogue behavior is unacceptable weakness. Canada should be screaming bloody murder, and demanding that the United Nations condemn communist Chinas blatant disregard for the normal rules of international behavior. Instead, Canada is embarrassingly silent.

What do the Australians think of Canadas weakness?

The sad fact is that Canadas government is not standing up to communist China at all. Quite the opposite, an emboldened CCP repeatedly humiliates Canada. The fact that former cabinet ministersand even a former prime ministerhave suggested that Canada simply give in to communist Chinas thuggery and do a prisoner exchangethe two Michaels for Meng Wanzhouis shameful.

Changing Opinions

Meanwhile, the world is changing. Where communist China was once regarded as an economic competitorbut basically a friendly forceopinions are now changing. Chinas delay and duplicity with the coronavirusconverting what should have been a controllable local epidemic into a full-blown pandemic catastrophehas changed minds.

And instead of contrition and international cooperation, communist China has followed up this skullduggery with blatant land grabs and other mischief. The CCP has shown itself for what it has always beena true threatand the rest of the world has noticed. Canada will simply not be allowed to dodge and weave on its China policy for much longer. We must pick a side.

But is there an alternative for the worlds democracies to continuing on with business as usual with a predatory communist China that has shown that it has no intention of playing by the rules? Can the Western and Eastern democracies stand up to an increasingly assertive nation of 1.4 billion energetic and ambitious people? Is Chinese hegemony inevitable? Is Canada doomed to wear a paper bag over its head forever?

Guess what? There is indeed another nation of 1.4 billion equally energetic and ambitious people in the eastern world that are in every way the equal of China. And that nation is a democracya flawed democracy to be surebut a democratic nation of highly motivated, intelligent people. It is fully capable of accomplishing every bit as much as China has accomplished. That nation is India. Like every giant nationreally, a sub-continentIndia has its problems. Butlike the ChineseIndians value education, hard work, and strong families. Indias potential is enormous. And India, too, is fed up with being bullied by communist China. We should work very closely with India.

Building an Alliance

Strengthening ties with India is not the only viable option for ending our dependence on an increasingly unreasonable communist China. An alliance with India can include many other powerful democracies; for example, with a Japan that is emerging from a long sleep. Its potential power is undeniable. Taiwan, Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, Philippines, and the other tigers are waiting with powerful engines idling.

Then theres brave Australia, and the smaller but capable New Zealand. So far, its the United States, Australia, India, and Japan that are taking the lead in confronting communist China aggression. This alliance will grow, as evidence of communist Chinas true intentions becomes apparent. Watch for steps, like the banning of Chinese apps such as TikTok, and the repatriation from China of pharmaceuticals. These are preliminary steps only in what promises to be a long and necessary battle.

The nations standing up to communist China are democracies that value individual freedoms and the dignity of the individualthe exact opposite of Xi Jinpings Orwellian dictatorship, where survival of the brutal CCP is what its all about. A committed alliance of like-minded free democracies can not only stand up to the CCP bully, but also make it internationally unimportant.

The first step is making sure that the CCP-controlled Huawei and its freedom-sucking 5GCCP stylenever sees the light of day. The United States, Australia, and Britain have already done that. Canada and the more timid democracies must follow.

Perhaps the democracies most important card in this stacked deck is Taiwan. Taiwan represents to mainland Chinese citizens everything that they could bebut are not. Taiwan is a well-administered, functioning democracy. The fact that its citizens are not only free, but also far more prosperous than are the citizens of mainland China, is proof of how a free democracy is vastly superior to a communist tyranny that exists solely for the benefit of a despotic communist oligarchythe CCP. The CCP knows this, and as a result hates everything Taiwan stands foreverything they are not. The West must stand firmly with Taiwan, even if it means using military force.

And what about noble Hong Kong? Theres no way of immediately coming to the aid of the democratic Hong Kongers. However, although the free people of Hong Kong must temporarily knuckle under to the CCP and its goons, they will be ready to rise up when the time is right. The democracies must support those brave people, using every means at our disposal.

Picking a Side

The recently concluded Sino-Iran deal makes the task of picking a side all the more urgent. In a ground-shaking move, China and Iran have concluded a deal that could not only guarantee the Iranian theocracys survival, but also its ability to achieve its dream of arming itself with nuclear weapons. By signing this deal, communist China might be anticipating the decoupling with the democracies that is already well underway.

How this devils deal occured between a brutal atheist communist China and a theocratic and murderous Iran is anyones guess. The fact that an Islamic country is willing to sell its soul to a communist China that imprisons and forcibly indoctrinates fellow Muslim Uighurs speaks volumes. How will the United States react, what does this mean for the Sunni Middle Eastern nations and Israel, and will there be more mysterious explosions at Iranian nuclear facilities?

There are many important questions raised by this Sino-Iran deal, and time will tell how it will change an already volatile and complicated equation. But it will probably speed up the process of nations deciding which side they want to be on. Canada must side with the United States, Japan, Australia, and the democracies.

The fact is that we can do without communist China. We can decouple and let China return to its past, as a slowly decaying Middle Kingdomunder the thumb of the new high-techbut totally Western-dependent-CCP emperors. Bidding farewell to cheap Chinese goods is a small price to pay to preserve our freedoms.

But the Eastern democracies want the chance to get out from under communist Chinas thumb and live up to their potential; Europe needs to get on board as well. All of the democracies that are now fence sitting must stand up to an increasingly belligerent and unreasonable communist China. Thats the alliance Canada should be in.

But will Canada join the democracies? Is Canada up to the task? With our weak leadershipa leadership that appears to have more in common with the CCP one-party vision than it does with our democratic alliesare we capable of growing a spine?

Australia has shown us the way. And sitting on the fence is no longer an option.

Brian Giesbrecht is a retired judge and a senior fellow with the Frontier Centre for Public Policy.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
Colorado Politics senior political reporter

Joey Bunch is the senior correspondent and deputy managing editor of Colorado Politics. His 32-year career includes the last 16 in Colorado. He was part of the Denver Post team that won the Pulitzer Prize in 2013 and he is a two-time finalist.
Many companies particularly small businesses in the midst of the pandemic are feeling the strain of government regulations, observing and adopting new working conditions.

Although this period is challenging, it is critical for small business owners and entrepreneurs to analyse and take advantage of opportunities to redesign their value proposition to suit the current market demand, diversify the products or services they offer to customers, and develop new market offerings through research and develop new revenue models and streams of income.



It is possible for brick and mortar businesses to become great online businesses by adjusting their marketing and sales strategies.



One of my product-based businesses clients in the food industry is offering clients a video course on cooking great meals at home without giving away their secret recipes of the course.



Others are offering training on various social media platforms on soap making, ice making and preparing sobolo (hibiscus tea). A lot of small businesses are moving towards digital platforms and digital marketing is playing a crucial role in this critical period by increasing awareness and reaching the right kind of audience as well as generating trust among customers by creating user-friendly interfaces and strategies.



Entrepreneurs have a lot of business growth opportunities with digital marketing by showcasing their unique products and services to potential customers. Some digital marketing opportunities available to small businesses include:



Accessible to a larger market and customers

Most small business are able to grow their revenue and profitability when they increase their customer base and there are several ways of reaching customers through digital marketing from websites to video marketing and social media.



It especially helps to attract mobile customers, which is a huge and rapidly growing market. Customers on digital platforms have no boundaries and there are no restrictions on how much you like to expand your business. SMEs having strong online presence can boost sales and reach audiences more efficiently.



Having a well-designed website will allow potential customers all over the world to easily browse your products and services especially outside office hours and it will help by projecting the business brand and bringing in businesses as well.



Measuring your marketing performance

It is difficult tracking customers who view your adverts in a traditional marketing setting and their profile compared to a banner advert on Facebook, Instagram or Google.



Digital marketing gives you the ability to monitor the performance of your marketing campaigns and review the effectiveness of your current strategy and make adjustment accordingly by accessing timely data through tools such as Google Analytics.



Small business owners using these strategies will gain valuable insights into their digital campaign and enable them respond quickly, adapting and refining their strategy in line with their customers requirements.



Adopting a new business model

Small business owners need to assess the impact on their business model when crisis such as the coronavirus pandemic hits their businesses.



Key factors to be considered include customer segments, value propositions, partnerships, resources, customer relationship, cost and revenue. Growing in this pandemic will require changing or readjusting your business model and adopting digital platforms is the key to every business success.



Digital marketing offers SMEs the platform to explain to customers why they should choose their business and why their products and services will meet their taste and preferences.



For example, from personal contact meetings to online meetings, shop to web shop, YouTube videos instead of in-person demonstration and advice.



Low digital cost

It is quite interesting how traditional marketing is on the back-burner for a while now because many SMEs dont have the budgets available to benefit from services such as TV and billboard adverts which affects their competitiveness in the market.



Small business owners should note that Traditional marketing can be part of their marketing strategy but it cannot be the only marketing strategy they can rely on especially when digital marketing is comparatively economical in reaching potential clients and customers.



Small Business owners adopting digital marketing strategies can target users who are actively looking for their products and services online and save both money and time.

Source: Graphiconline.com









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

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Eskridge and several employees are working on cases.

State senators refer constituents and citizens simply call. Some are angry and most are frustrated.

I have had some cases, say moms with kids with disabilities and no money, and theyre just desperate, Eskridge said.

Ways figures shed be homeless with her two kids if she didnt have financial help from family.

And that cant last forever.

She wants a job  and shes applying for work every week  but she also wants the benefits she is eligible for, or to find out why she isnt.

After my first week of furlough from the Journal Star in mid-April, I filed for unemployment. That check arrived promptly, but I never received the check from my second furloughed week at the end of the month.
Another minister in Shivraj Singh Chouhans cabinet tested positive for coronavirus on Sunday, as per Medical Education minister Vishvas Sarangs message through his social media post.

With another minister testing positive Chouhans cabinet has seen five ministers being infected with the disease since July 22.

Vishvas Sarangs message reads, My second Covid-19 test report has come back positive. I am under home isolation since the first test report came negative. My request to you all is whoever came in contact with me should go for a Covid-19 test.

Chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan who is home quarantined after recovery from the disease, his ministerial colleagues, senior BJP leader and Rajya Sabha member Jyotiraditya Scindia and several BJP and Congress leaders wished the minister speedy recovery in their messages.

The first of the ministers who tested positive for Covid-19 made it public on July 22 night, the day when he had attended the state cabinet meeting. The minister along with chief minister, state BJP president VD Sharma and state BJP general secretary (organisation) had gone to Lucknow on July 21 to attend the funeral of then governor of MP Lalji Tandon. As happened later, all the four including the CM and the state president were infected by the disease one after another.

The number of deaths of Covid-19 patients in Madhya Pradesh so far since the outbreak of the pandemic has come close to 1000. The death toll rose to 996 with the death of as many as 19 Covid-19 patients reported in the past 24 hours from across the state, as per the health departments bulletin released on Sunday night.

As per the bulletin, the tally of Covid-19 patients in the state rose to 39,025 with 868 new Covid-19 patients reported in the past 24 hours across the state. So far, 29,020 patients have recovered from the disease and been discharged from hospitals while the number of active cases as on Sunday night stood at 9009.

As far as Covid-19 tests are concerned 17,020 tests were conducted on Sunday and the positivity rate was 5.1%.

CM TO DONATE PLASMA

The CM has announced that he would donate his plasma for plasma therapy of Covid-19 patients, as per a communique.

He also underlined the need for treatment audit along with the death audit with respect to Covid-19 patients.
WILLOUGHBY HILLS, Ohio -- Willoughby Hills police K9 Mya is expected to make a full recovery after a suspected drunken driver crashed into the back of the police K9 car she was sitting in, police say.

The crash happened just before midnight Saturday on Interstate 90 near Bishop Road, Willoughby Hills police Chief Christopher Collins said.

The driver of the Malibu that crashed into the K9 car, a 56-year-old Bedford man and two passengers, a 35-year-old Bedford man and a 55-year-old Euclid man, were taken to local hospitals for treatment, Collins said.

Their current condition were not immediately available. Alcohol appears to be a factor in the crash, Collins said.

Officers were investigating a disabled car on the side of the highway when the Malibu driver did not yield to the emergency vehicle on scene and crashed into a K9 car, police said.

The K9 officer was out of the car at the time of the crash and uninjured, but Mya was in the car, Collins said.

Mya was taken and treated at the MedVet Emergency Clinic in Mentor. She is recovering at home and officers are keeping an eye on her, Collins said.

The crash remains under investigation and no charges have been filed as of Sunday afternoon.

Read more crime stories on cleveland.com:

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Sudhir Suryawanshi By

Express News Service

MUMBAI: The Shiv Sena raised question over the Centres decision to hand over the probe of the Sushant Singh Rajput suicide case to the CBI, saying it was a violation of federal structure, encroachment on state rights and a conspiracy against Maharashtra.

Party leader Sanjay Raut wrote that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah had no trust and faith over the same federal agency when the Godhra case was handed to it.

It is wrong to see the unfortunate suicide of the actor from a political angle, Raut said in his weekly column 'Rokhthok' in the party mouthpiece 'Saamana'. Rajput, 34, was found hanging at his apartment in suburban Bandra on June 14.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) recently took over the probe in the case, based on a Patna police FIR related to alleged criminal conspiracy and abetment to suicide against Rajput's girlfriend and actor Rhea Chakraborty.

What happened in these few years that the CBI has got the glory to probe the cases in a fair manner? It has time and again proved that CBI, ED and other central agencies were manipulated by the central ruling parties for their vested interests. In Sushant Singh Rajput case also, it was scripted that the case will be handed over the CBI and so the Bihar police registered an FIR without having jurisdiction to probe the case in Mumbai, Raut said.

The way the case was taken from the Mumbai police, it is nothing but the insult of Mumbai police and raising doubts over their calibre, he said.

In fact, Mumbai Police cracked high-profile cases ranging from Sheena Bora to the 26 /11 terrorist attack.

"If one wants to indulge in politicisation and pressure tactics, anything can happen in our country. It looks like the script of Sushant's case was already written. Whatever has happened behind the curtains is a conspiracy against Maharashtra," Raut said.

When it is decided to politicise an incident,one cannot say to what extent it can be done and "this is what is happening in the unfortunate suicide of Rajput," he said.

READ| Sushant death row: Verbal duel between actor's father, Mumbai Police in SC over CBI probe

Raut said the Bihar government alleged involvement of top political, film and business personalities and it claimed Mumbai Police will not investigate the case properly.

"That government demands CBI probe which is accepted in 24 hours. Attorney General Tushar Mehta tells the Supreme Court that the Centre has decided to hand over the probe to the CBI," Raut said, claiming this was a "direct attack on a state's autonomy".

Describing Mumbai Police as the "best investigating agency in the world" and a professional force, he said, "It investigated the Sheena Bora murder case where some top names were involved and sent all to jail.

The Mumbai Police probed the 26/11 terror attack which resulted in the hanging of the accused Ajmal Kasab," the Rajya Sabha member said.

The Centre's "interference" in Rajput's case was an insult of the Mumbai Police, he claimed, adding the CBI may be a central agency, but it "wasn't independent and impartial".

"Even Narendra Modi and Amit Shah had earlier questioned the Enforcement Directorate and the CBI. They had said the Godhra riots case shouldn't be handed over to the CBI because it was a political weapon in the hands of those ruling at the Centre. If the same view is aired now, what's wrong in that," the executive editor of 'Saamana' said.

"Prima facie, Sushant Singh Rajput's case is that of suicide. There is no basis for repeated allegations that he had been murdered," he said.

Raut alleged that since the BJP cannot topple the Uddhav Thackeray government (comprising the Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress) in Maharashtra, it has decided to "malign it and with the help of news channels.

"(NCP chief) Sharad Pawar called me when he saw a news channel anchor referring to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray in first person.

'The chief minister is not an individual but an institute. What is the government doing'?" he said quoting Pawar.

Raut claimed that Bihar Director General of Police Gupteshwar Pandey giving interview to a channel against Maharashtra was "violation of police discipline".

Pandey wanted to contest the Assembly elections from Buxar (in Bihar) in 2009, but his plan was aborted after the BJP candidate from there threatened to contest against as an independent, Raut further claimed.

"It is laughable that Pandey should question the professionalism of Mumbai Police. It is being said Pandey can now fight the Bihar polls from Shahpur seat," he said. Raut said the Mumbai Police should have registered a 'zero FIR' and continued with the probe in Rajput's case.

But Rajput's family had no complaints and left Mumbai for Patna (some days after his death).

"The BJP politicised the incident and created a sensation" by linking a young minister in the Maharashtra cabinet to the case.

Two English news channels started challenging the chief minister and confused the police, he said.

The Mumbai Police should have started media briefing, considering the case is becoming high profile, and should have declared that if any minister or politician name crops up, his statement will be recorded, Raut opined.

He said a party at the house of actor Dino Morea before Rajput's death was being linked to the case.

"Morea and others are friends of (state cabinet minister) Aaditya Thackeray and if that friendship is the cause of targetting the latter, it is wrong," he added.

Raut claimed Rajput did not share good relations with his father.

"His father's second marriage was not acceptable to him (Rajput). Let the facts come out how many times Rajput visited his family in Patna. Why did (Rajput's former girlfriend) Anita Lokhande split from Rajput and this should be part of the probe. It is wrong to see the unfortunate suicide from a political angle," he said.

Raut lamented that Rajput's former manager Disha Salian, who allegedly committed suicide a week before the actor's death, was also being maligned.

Rajput's father K K Singh on July 25 lodged a complaint with the Bihar police against Chakraborty, her parents, brother, her former manager Shruti Modi and one Samuel Miranda, whom Chakraborty had employed as the manager in Rajput's house.

(With PTI Inputs)

Based on the complaint, the Bihar police registered an FIR against the accused persons and booked them under various sections of the Indian Penal Code including abetment to suicide, criminal conspiracy, cheating and wrongful confinement.
Sam Edem

Like the drama that played out when the current acting managing director (MD) of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) slumped at a house of representatives hearing, events at the commission 12 years ago also looked like a scripted Nollywood movie.

But it was indeed a true story.

In 2008, Sam Edem, then NDDC chairman, allegedly spent N1 billion on black magic popularly known as juju  to help him secure government contracts.

Edem was alleged to have diverted the money from government coffers to hire a sorcerer for rituals to aid his success in the contracts.

He was said to be pursuing the contracts from the Akwa Ibom state government at the time.

In addition to the N1 billion, the former NDDC boss also allegedly burnt N270 million in a ritual after which he rubbed the ash on his body.

The ritual, said to have taken place at a midnight ceremony in a Port Harcourt cemetery, was to help secure his position (at NDDC) and attract more patronage from the authorities.

According to the police, Perebakowe Ogah, the sorcerer who was reportedly contracted by Edem, said he was given money to cast a spell that would kill Timi Alaibe, Edems rival at the NDDC.

The police had said Ogah also confessed to performing the ritual at the Port Harcourt cemetery.

Although Edem denied the allegations, Umaru Musa YarAdua, president at the time, suspended him from office and ordered a full scale investigation into the allegations.

The police later arraigned him in court and said they believed that this is money from the Nigerian government, money that should have been used to develop the Niger Delta.

Twelve years down the line, allegations bordering on corruption and mismanagement of public funds are still rocking the NDDC.

Both chambers of the national assembly are currently probing the alleged mismanagement of N81 billion by the interim management committee (IMC) of the commission led by Kemebradikumo Pondei, NDDC acting managing director.



***

Source: TheCable
(Natural News) ACTION BULLETIN TO ALL PATRIOTS, CHRISTIANS AND PRO-HUMAN PLAYERS:

Urgent actions items derived from multiple high-level sources, all of whom are sounding the alarm like never before:

 Prepare for all-out war against the Luciferians who are waging a desperate spiritual war against humanity. They are about to be exposed. Vatican takedown. Demons will discard human disguises and stop trying to pretend. Prepare to steel your courage against what you are about to witness.

 Prepare to support the removal of all treasonous governors and mayors who are about to be exposed as colluding with anti-Christian communist China to take down the United States of America. (Most Democrat governors and mayors are also Satan worshipers.) Federal arrests of the traitors are coming. Your public support will be urgently needed.

 Prepare to be psychically shocked by the revelations soon to come about Democrats running child kidnapping, trafficking and pedophile rings as fundraisers for the DNC and Democrat candidates. The DNC will be disbanded in the aftermath of these revelations. Top-level Democrats are all child rapists and predatory pedophiles, including Bill Clinton and nearly all left-wing Hollywood stars. Open borders Democrats protect border child smuggling routes to provide fresh meat for top Democrat donors. It is they who literally keep children in cages. (Democrats always accuse Trump of doing the things that they are doing themselves.)

 Prepare for desperate, last-ditch false flag attacks by enemies of America that now realize they have been out-flanked. The lockdowns are working against them, however, because there are very few crowds they can target. This is why the recent GOP convention was cancelled. Now the most likely target is a Democrat-organized event where they allow their own supporters to be attacked in a staged false flag operation. They will mass murder their own supporters if they think they can twist the narrative to blame Trump supporters. CNN cameras will be ready to interview crisis actor survivors who cry and bleed on camera in a last-ditch attempt at emotional manipulation of the country.

 Prepare for a ramping up of Big Tech censorship, media lies and controlled disinformation campaigns as the final battle for America is being waged on all fronts. Soon, Big Tech will outright censor President Trumps channels, and Trump-supporting websites will be intentionally disrupted through DNS takedown attacks. All CEOs of Google, YouTube, Twitter, Vimeo, Pinterest, Facebook and Apple are treasonous criminals and must be arrested and prosecuted for treason / collusion with China.

 Prepare for the mass medical raping of humanity with unsafe, untested coronavirus vaccines which are being fast-tracked into approval, requiring NO evidence that they work, based on pandemic regulations that allow untested vaccines to be approved as long as no other therapeutics exist, which is why the entire Big Pharma establishment has conspired to cover up the truth about hydroxychloroquine. If the drug were widely shown to be an effective treatment, this would disallow emergency approval of unsafe vaccines. This explains the insane level of attacks against hydroxy.

 Prepare for China-trained narco-terrorists to be activated and to launch operations across the border, into the United States. UN occupation remains a strong possibility. Ready your high-caliber weapons to aid in Americas defense against invading enemy forces. Understand that the narcos have armored up all their vehicles. Nothing smaller than 338 LM rounds or 50 caliber rounds will penetrate.

Actual Mexican narco tanks that are ready to roll into the United States, backed by communist China and UN troops:

Aim your .50-caliber rifles at engine blocks, tires and windows. You can still acquire .50-caliber rounds at reasonable prices, even as smaller calibers are sold out. Check Palmetto and others. Double check the sight-in for your Barrett.

Prepare yourself for extreme disruptions and collapsing supply lines

It is now URGENT for all patriots and Christians to stock up:

 Firearms and ammunition

 Food and medicine

 Water filters

 Communications gear (two-way radios)

 Physical gold and silver, or land and other assets that survive a currency reset

See GlobalReset.news for complete preparedness instructions (free downloads).

The point of this preparedness is to keep you out of the FEMA camps so that you can still function and fight. Once you go into a FEMA camp, you will be funneled into either: 1) Slave labor for the corporations, or 2) Mass executions.

Hear my urgent warning, Times Up! which explains some of whats coming.

ACTION ITEM: Download the full, free 9-hour audio book The Global Reset Survival Guide which lists all resources youll need. Instant download of all audio files (mp3) and printable transcription and reference document (pdf) at:

GlobalReset.news

Permission granted to share all files, post on torrents, copy to thumb drives and hand to friends, etc. This is our final battle for humanity. Those who dismiss whats coming will be destroyed by it.

We will soon distribute a public IP address where you can find this website even if the DNS systems are taken down.
Hyderabad: Congress MP A. Revanth Reddy on Sunday demanded

Telangana chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao to immediately take up

construction of Narayanpet-Kodangal Lift Irrigation Scheme.

In an open letter to the chief minister, Revanth Reddy he asked why the state government has abandoned the scheme, which is intended to irrigate 1.07 lakh acres.

The MP said the scheme was sanctioned when Telangana was part of the undivided state of Andhra Pradesh. In fact Rs 133 crore was sanctioned for the scheme then.

He pointed out that the Palamuru-Ranga Reddy Lift Irrigation Project will not benefit the Narayanpet and Kodangal areas.

Revanth Reddy alleged that the chief minister is indirectly supporting the Andhra Pradesh government in completing its projects on the Krishna river.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-09 23:34:42|Editor: huaxia

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BAGHDAD, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) -- Iraqi Deputy Minister of Health Hazim al-Jumaili said on Sunday that Iraq has yet to reach the peak of COVID-19 infections, as the total nationwide infections have climbed to 150,115.

"Iraq has not yet reached the peak of infections, while the daily coronavirus infections are still registering large numbers (sometimes) exceeding 3,000, and this indicates that the citizens are not abiding by the instructions of the Health Ministry and the High Committee for Health and National Safety," al-Jumaili told the official Iraqi News Agency (INA).

He said the Higher Committee for Health of National Safety, headed by Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi, will hold a meeting at the end of the week to discuss the health restrictions during the upcoming month of Muharram, according to INA.

Muharram is one of the most important months for Muslims and marks the start of the Islamic New Year.

The Iraqi Health Ministry reported 2,726 new COVID-19 cases on Sunday, bringing the total nationwide infections to 150,115.

It also reported 82 fatalities during the day, raising the death toll to 5,392, while 2,271 more patients recovered, bringing the total number of recoveries to 107,775.

The new cases were recorded after 18,003 testing kits were used across the country during the day, and a total of 1,145,386 tests have been carried out since the outbreak of the disease.

On Saturday, the Higher Committee decided to extend the partial curfew to Aug. 15, while the full curfew continues on every Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

The committee also decided to permit only 25 percent of employees to work in government institutions.

Since the outbreak of the novel coronavirus, Iraq has been taking measures to contain the pandemic.

China has been helping Iraq fight the COVID-19 pandemic.

From March 7 to April 26, a Chinese team of seven medical experts spent 50 days in Iraq to help contain the disease, during which they helped build a PCR lab and install an advanced CT scanner in Baghdad.

Since March 7, China has also sent three batches of medical aid to Iraq. Enditem
South Africa: Parliament pays tribute to women

As the country commemorates Womens Day, Parliaments Presiding Officers have paid tribute to South African women.

Today we honour all women who fought for the freedom and democracy we have today and those who continue to fight for a just, equal and humane world, said Presiding Officers led by Speaker of the National Assembly Thandi Modise and Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces Amos Masondo.

This as South Africa today commemorates the 64th anniversary of Womens Day.

It was on this historic day, 64-years ago when 20 000 women across all races came together and waged one of the most courageous and boldest challenges against the ruthless apartheid regime over its unjust pass laws, said the Presiding officers on Sunday.

This year, the country is commemorating Womens Day under testing and difficult conditions brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, including its attendant severe socioeconomic problems.

The economic impact, particularly on women, is expected to be profound, as unemployment amongst women continues to be higher compared to men.

This month of women serves as a reminder to intensify the battle for gender equality, economic emancipation and social justice to ensure a truly just and equal society fought by the fearless women freedom fighters of 1956.

Parliament also spoke out against gender-based violence and femicide.

As we mark this day, our focus must be a multi-pronged programme to attend to the needs of survivors of gender-based violence, while also dealing with perpetrators of such violence effectively, said the Presiding officers. SAnews.gov.za

This story has been published on: 2020-08-09. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
While mainstream media organizations continue to worry about foreign meddling in our last election and the next one, we should take a look at how they themselves are meddling.

Without letting any of the media off the hook, the ViacomCBS behemoth deserves special consideration. The threat from its meddling in the upcoming presidential election is a case study of a multi-headed media organization's direct practice of attempting to defeat one candidate and help boost and cover for the other. Anything Russia did in the last election, or any of the last 20 elections, pales in comparison.

These days, the company is known as ViacomCBS. Its corporate structure and ownership have morphed through the years, starting nearly 100 years ago with the formation of CBS. Viacom came along in 1970 as the syndication division of CBS. It soon split off as a separate company and then later merged with CBS in 1995, and in 2006, Viacom and CBS split up. CBS Corp. and Viacom Inc. merged again one year ago this week, forming a $28-billion company.

In this current iteration, ViacomCBS includes CBS, CBS News, Showtime, Comedy Central, Paramount Pictures, BET, CMT, MTV, Nickelodeon, The Movie Channel, and the Smithsonian Channel, to name just a few of its assets  and one more: the book publisher Simon & Schuster. So, what's the problem? This company is making its purpose the defeat of President Donald Trump this November, and it is ruthless and relentless in that pursuit.

In some ways, it's nothing new. Back in 2004, CBS News attempted to defeat George W. Bush's run for re-election against John Kerry. It had a second 60 Minutes program at the time, hosted by Dan Rather, and it manufactured a story full of lies, fake documents, and dishonestly edited interviews to make it appear as though Bush had used political influence to get in the Texas Air National Guard and avoid going to Vietnam. A disgraced Dan Rather ended up having to give up his position as anchor of the CBS Evening News and leaving the network, along with his producers. He sued CBS and Viacom for $70 million, and after several years, the case was thrown out. He tried unsuccessfully to get it reinstated. In 2015, a movie ironically called Truth attempted to rehabilitate Rather and his producer, Mary Mapes. But even with Robert Redford playing Rather, the movie bombed, grossing just $2.5 million in the U.S.

Now a similar situation is taking place. CBS Studios purchased the rights to the memoir, A Higher Loyalty, of disgraced former FBI director James Comey. It produced a series, and Showtime, the cable TV network that mainly carries movies and documentaries, will air it. Comey played a key role in the attempted coup against President Trump and in the exoneration of Hillary Clinton, where clearly the fix was in. The Showtime two-part series is called The Comey Rule.

In late June, the miniseries was finally given an air date, in late November, after the election. But the writer/director, Billy Ray, complained, saying, "We all were hoping to get this story in front of the American people months before the coming election." Comey added, "I don't understand why CBS would sit on a movie about important current events, and I hope the American people get the chance to see it soon." Showtime quickly changed course and scheduled it for September 27 and 28, with the first presidential debate scheduled for September 29.

And casting? Comey will be played by Jeff Daniels, straight off his Broadway role as Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird. He is thought of as this generation's Gary Cooper. Trump will be played by Brendan Gleeson. In this trailer, it could be Alec Baldwin doing his ludicrous caricature of Trump. Daniels said he had wanted the movie to be ready for airing "so he would be part of the national conversation ahead of the election."

Showtime describes the series as "an immersive, behind-the-headlines account of the historically turbulent events surrounding the 2016 presidential election and its aftermath, which divided a nation. It's not a biopic, but is instead the story of two powerful figures, Comey and Trump, whose strikingly different personalities, ethics and loyalties put them on a collision course."

Since the obvious purpose is to lionize Comey and trash Trump, and it's not a "biopic," it will obviously ignore or distort Comey's corrupt and unethical behavior. He participated in the lies to the FISA court to enable the FBI to spy on the Trump campaign. He released classified material in order to get a special counsel appointed to investigate Trump for conspiring and coordinating with Russia to defeat Hillary Clinton, when he knew that wasn't true. And when he testified before Congress about the origins of the Trump-Russia investigation, he replied, "I don't know," "I can't remember," or "I don't recall" at least 236 times.

There is much more to dislike about Comey. The Epoch Times did an outstanding takedown of him called "Five Explosive Facts about James Comey," including how he and his good friend Robert Mueller engaged in suspect deals worth, in one case, $1 billion. If we still have equal justice under the law, then Comey will be indicted by John Durham, the U.S. attorney looking into the origins of the Russia-collusion hoax, before the Showtime propaganda airs.

Breitbart adds that in 2010, Comey's last year with Lockheed Martin as the company's general counsel, he earned $6.1 million in compensation. Lockheed Martin became a Clinton Global Initiative member and "won 17 approvals for private contracts from the Hillary Clinton State Department."

There are many more examples of how ViacomCBS has partnered with the Democrats to attack President Trump and conservatives in general while going to great lengths to give glowing coverage to Democrats. CBS's The Late Show with Stephen Colbert is a vicious nightly hit job on the Trump family and conservatives in general, drained of all humor. Colbert is also an executive producer of Showtime's Our Cartoon President, which is more of the same but allows him to create his own dialogue for the characters. CBS had a show for years, leading up to the 2016 election, called Madam Secretary, meant to humanize Hillary Clinton and help get her elected. It was canceled once the network decided she wasn't likely to run again. And there are many more scripted shows, like The Good Wife, from the same perspective. In contrast, ViacomCBS has no shows that I am aware of meant to put Trump in a good light or even a neutral light.

The president of CBS News throughout the last five years of the Obama administration was David Rhodes, brother of Ben Rhodes, Obama's deputy national security adviser. Those types of relations between Democrat presidents and mainstream news media anchors and executives are common.

And finally, Simon & Schuster, another head of the hydra that is ViacomCBS. This year alone, it has published the John Bolton book attacking Trump; the Mary Trump book attacking Trump; and, still to come, You're Fired: The Perfect Guide to Defeating Donald Trump by Paul Begala. The company does, however, also publish some pro-Trump and other books by conservatives such as Sean Hannity, Jim DeMint, John Solomon, and Horace Cooper (How Trump Is Making Black America Great Again). The difference is that none of these authors will be invited as guests on any of the mainstream media, except for maybe a rare exception.

ViacomCBS's dishonest reporting and agenda-driven productions are distributed and amplified across social media without question, on sites like Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter. Yet at the same time, content that doesn't fit the left-leaning narrative is consistently censored and flagged by these platforms as "misleading" and "misinformation." ViacomCBS is protected by the First Amendment, as we all are supposed to be, but there should be no misunderstanding of what is happening. The people running that company have a political agenda and multi-billion-dollar platforms from which to promote it, which they do with great enthusiasm.

Roger Aronoff is the executive director and editor of the CCNS. He has produced and directed numerous documentaries and a weekly PBS public affairs show.
As the US surpasses a grim milestone of more than five million coronavirus cases and 162,430 deaths, five former directors of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have explained where the government went wrong.

The directors - Drs Richard Besser, Julie Gerberding, Tom Frieden, Jeffrey Koplan and David Satcher - were largely in agreement about the missteps, which centered around one key theme: leadership.

In an interview with ABC News, emphasized how damaging it was to have political and public health leaders delivering mixed messages about the size of the threat the virus posed, in many cases downplaying its magnitude.

The doctors, who served under both Democrat and Republican presidents from 1993 to 2009, also lamented about how little preparation was made in the years ahead of COVID-19's emergence, despite many warnings that a new pandemic could be on the way.

But the group shared hope that the crisis is temporary, and there are ways that it can be stunted sooner than currently projected if the nation's leaders can get their act together.

Five former directors of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention spoke about where they think the US government went wrong with its coronavirus response in an interview with ABC News. Pictured is Dr Tom Frieden, who served as director from 2009 to 2017

The other four former directors who participated in the interview were (clockwise from top left): Dr Julie Gerberding, Dr Richard Besser, Dr David Satcher and Dr Jeffrey Koplan

Mistake 1: Politicians sending mixed messages about the virus instead of letting science - namely, the CDC - lead the way

'This is the first public health response where the ground rules weren't set up that we would be driven by the best available public health science,' Dr Besser, who served as acting director of the CDC in 2009 under President Barack Obama, said in the ABC News interview published Thursday.

'When you have political leaders and public health leaders coming at this with very different messaging, [and] when you don't see the political leadership supporting public health science, you lose trust.'

Besser highlighted the fact that mixed messages caused people to question whether the government's actions in response to the pandemic were rooted in science, or politically-motivated.

'That leads to an undermining of the efforts to control something that is truly controllable,' he said.

Besser and three of the other former CDC heads - Frieden, Koplan and Satcher - took aim specifically at President Donald Trump's leadership in a July 14 Washington Post op-ed entitled: 'We ran the CDC. No president ever politicized its science the way Trump has.'

In the article they decried the Trump administration's 'extraordinary' undermining of CDC guidelines regarding the reopening of schools, charging that the White House is trying to alter those guidelines for political reasons.

They wrote that 'sound science' from thousands of experts at the CDC 'is being challenged with partisan potshots, sowing confusion and mistrust at a time when the American people need leadership, expertise and clarity'.

Besser and three of the other former CDC heads - Frieden, Koplan and Satcher - took aim specifically at President Donald Trump's leadership in a July 14 Washington Post op-ed entitled: 'We ran the CDC. No president ever politicized its science the way Trump has'

Medical workers are seen wheeling COVID-19 victims out of the Wyckoff Heights Medical Center in Brooklyn on April 5

Mistake 2: Leaders 'sugarcoating' the severity of the pandemic

The former CDC directors pointed to Trump's repeated claims that the virus is 'under control' and 'will disappear' as a key problem in the government's response.

'Every one of those falsehoods drives away our opportunity to improve our mitigation efforts and it causes confusion in everyone's mind,' Koplan, who directed the CDC from 1998 to 2002 under Presidents Bill Clinton and George Bush, told ABC News.

Koplan added that the truth should be paramount even if certain information paints a bad picture and could be upsetting.

'Once you lose that edge, then you're behind not just the virus - you're behind the public opinion and people's behavior,' he added.

As of Sunday afternoon, the US has recorded at least 5,000,603 coronavirus cases and 162,430 deaths - more cases and deaths per capita than anywhere else in the world.

Infection and fatality rates are currently on the rise in at least 25 states, threatening to bring another round of widespread shutdowns.

Besser noted that communication about the virus worsened after the CDC was told that it could no longer do it's briefings.

He suggested that the briefings may have been shut down in response to an unflattering prediction from the CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases Director Nancy Messonnier, who said in a February 26 press briefing that anticipated closures could cause 'severe disruptions to everyday life'.

'By engaging the public every day, the public would be able to understand what is CDC learning, what is the public health community, globally, learning,' Besser said. 'And you can go along that journey so that it's not left standing out there that there's no worry here, because information very quickly started to come in that this would be a threat.

'As soon as CDC states that, CDC was sidelined. It was no longer allowed to do the briefings.'

'So, a point in time taken out of context can look very strange, but if there'd been an ongoing dialogue and conversation with our public health leaders, it would [have been] part of that journey.'

Besser noted that communication about the virus worsened after the CDC was told that it could no longer do its daily public briefings. Pictured: Director of the Center for the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases Dr Nancy Messonnier speaks about the public health response to the outbreak at a briefing on January 28

Mistake 3: Poor planning for an eventual outbreak before the coronavirus emerged

The former directors opined that the federal government did little to prepare for a pandemic before the coronavirus was even detected - noting that they each saw a different health crisis during their time at the CDC.

'If you look at the tenure of the CDC directors that are participating in this conversation, each one of us has presided over some kind of important public health outbreak, whether it was AIDS or anthrax or SARS or Avian influenza or Ebola,' Gerberding, who served as director 2002 to 2009 under President George W Bush, told ABC News.

'We've all gone through the cycle of the crisis: The reactive investment, the incredible focus and attention for a short period of time.

'And then the absence of the sustained budget and support for really strengthening our public health system at the state local level, engaging with our health systems and getting the countermeasures and the equipment we need into our national stockpile to truly be prepared.'

Frieden, who served from 2009 to 2017 under President Obama, added: 'We have to be proactive. We have to build in peacetime so that we're more prepared when we're fighting a war against a virus or other microbe.'

Testing sites around the country are being overwhelmed with people seeking COVID-19 tests over the past couple weeks. The surge in demand is putting a dire strain on laboratories that may take more than a week to return results. Pictured: Cars line up outside a testing site at HEB Park in Edinburg, Texas, on July 8

What's next?

In addition to explaining the problems that plagued the coronavirus response in the past six months, the former CDC directors offered insights on what individuals can do going forward to slow the spread of the virus.

'Right now, one person a minute is getting killed by this virus in the US, and we need to focus on what the virus is doing and what we as a community are doing to stop it,' Frieden said.

'Because all of us can do things to make it less severe, whether that's wearing a mask, washing our hands, watching our distance or supporting public health so that they can box in virus and protect the most vulnerable.

'There's a lot we can do. Progress is in our hands, but when it's undermined, it makes it very difficult to make progress.'

Satcher, who served as CDC director from 1993 to 1998 under President Clinton, cautioned that the pandemic 'is going to be with us for a long time'.

'So the question becomes: When are we going to get on top of it? When people take seriously the challenge,' he said.

Both Frieden and Satcher pointed out that the eventual arrival of a vaccine will help the problem, but can't be relied on as the sole solution.

'It's not a magic thing,' Frieden said. 'We still have 100,000 deaths a year from measles, and the vaccine against measles is one of the best we have. So a vaccine is, by all means, the single most important thing we could have to fight COVID.'
Union Home Minister Amit Shah has expressed his gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for launching the Rs 1 lakh crore 'Agriculture Infrastructure Fund' approved by the cabinet and for transferring Rs 17,000 crore to the accounts of 8.5 crore farmers under 'PM-Kisan' for the development of agriculture sector and rural areas.

In a series of tweets, Shah said that Agriculture Infrastructure Fund will accelerate the creation of many infrastructure projects such as cold storage, collection centers, processing units so that our hardworking farmers can get the true value for their produce. This will generate new employment opportunities and will also strengthen the rural economy, he said.

He further stated that "agriculture is the foundation of the Indian economy and the Modi government has been striving to strengthen it for the last six years".

Amit Shah emphasised that "many unprecedented steps have been taken for doubling the income of farmers and for the development of the agriculture sector". The Union Home Minister added "I am confident that due to the untiring efforts of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Indian agriculture will become world class in the times to come".

Earlier today, PM Modi launched a new central sector scheme of financing facility under the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund of Rs 1 lakh crore. The scheme will support farmers, PACS, FPOs, agri-entrepreneurs, etc. in building community farming assets and post-harvest agriculture infrastructure. These assets will enable farmers to get greater value for their produce as they will be able to store and sell at higher prices, reduce wastage, and increase processing and value addition.

The Agriculture Infrastructure Fund is a medium - long term debt financing facility for investment in viable projects for post-harvest management infrastructure and community farming assets through interest subvention and credit guarantee. The duration of the scheme will be from FY20 to FY29 (10 years). Under the scheme, Rs 1 Lakh crore will be provided by banks and financial institutions as loans with interest subvention of 3 per cent per annum and credit guarantee coverage under CGTMSE scheme for loans up to Rs 2 crore.

At the same event, the Prime Minister also released the 6th installment under the PM-KISAN scheme of Rs 17,000 Crore to nearly 8.5 crore farmers. The cash benefit was transferred directly to their Aadhaar verified bank accounts with the press of a button. With this transfer, the scheme has provided over Rs 90,000 crore in the hands of more than 10 crore farmers since its launch on December 1, 2018.

Also Read: PM Modi launches Rs 1 lakh crore financing facility under agri-infra fund

Also Read: Amit Shah tests negative for coronavirus, tweets Manoj Tiwari
If it were real life, Collingwood and Melbourne would have played footy at the MCG yesterday afternoon.

Instead of a handful of walkers and a man doing tricks on his bike, the 'G concourse for Round 21 would have been filled with colour, banter and the smells of expensive cheap things in fryers.

A lone rollerskater at a mostly abandoned St Kilda beach on Saturday. Credit:Luis Ascui

The familiar footy ingredients were still around, like the Coodabeen Champions on ABC radio for the morning ride in. The weather  a homely 14 degrees with light showers and grey skies. Haydn Bunton was still in perpetual stride outside gate six and Don Bradman was raising his bat at gate five.

But the familiar was so unfamiliar in Melbourne's first weekend of the most severe civic restrictions in its history, it was just, well, "bizarre," says 28-year-old James, out on his hour-long yard time and "drawn to the MCG".
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New photos have been released of a two headed tortoise that could be the oldest of its kind as it turns 23 next month.

The Greek tortoise, called Janus, was born in the Museum of Natural History in Geneva, Switzerland on September 3rd 1997.

It has become one of the main attractions to the museum because Janus is also the museum's mascot.

Animals that are born with two heads normally die at a young age. The stunning photos show the two headed tortoise getting a bath and eating.

The Greek tortoise, called Janus, was born in the Museum of Natural History in Geneva, Switzerland on September 3rd 1997. Janus is seen bathing in the shallow water

The tortoise has become one of the main attractions to the museum because Janus is also the museum's mascot. Janus is seen going under the tap

The two headed tortoise could be the oldest of its kind as it turns 23 next month. Janus is seen being picked up
Mcebo Dlamini is known throughout South Africa as one of the leaders of the #FeesMustFall demonstrations. The protests were carried out after the government proposed an increase in tertiary education fees in 2015. He has always been an advocate for free education in Mzansi.

Image: facebook.com, @mcebofreedom.dlamini

Source: UGC

The former SRC president at Wits University has been in several controversies that include claims of being a Sisulu and declaring his love for Adolf Hitler. Mcebo Dlamini EFF support has also been visible over the years although he is a member of the ANC party. Below is Mcebo Dlamini biography in detail.

Profile summary

Full name: Mcebo Freedom Nkunzikaybaleki Dlamini

Mcebo Freedom Nkunzikaybaleki Dlamini Date of birth: 17th December 1986

17th December 1986 Mcebo Dlamini age: 33

33 Gender: Male

Male Nationality: Swazi

Swazi Occupation: Politician, activist

Politician, activist Mcebo Dlamini Twitter: @Mcebo_F_Dlamini

@Mcebo_F_Dlamini Mcebo Dlamini Facebook: @mcebofreedom.dlamini

Mcebo Dlamini personal life and education

The activist was born on 17th December 1986 in Mbabane, Swaziland. After being charged and found guilty for contravening the Immigration Act, he said that his mother is the late Witness Nkosingiphile Dlamini from KwaZulu-Natal.

His paternity remains controversial because he still claims to be a Sisulu even after admitting he was not in a 2014 interview with Wits Vuvuzela. He also claims he was raised by his aunt, Sichenge Nomkhosi, and her husband, Ntshintshabantu Dlamini, in Swaziland.

For Mcebo Dlamini education, he was admitted to study law at the University of Witwatersrand in 2012 after getting a student visa. The Gauteng Province sponsored his university fees. Mcebo Dlamini graduation from Wits may not be beneficial because his criminal record cannot allow him to pursue law as a career.

Image: facebook.com, @mcebofreedom.dlamini

Source: UGC

Mcebo Dlamini controversies

The young man has been involved in a number of controversies.

1. Sisulu roots claims

One of them is when he lied that he comes from the Sisulu lineage while a student at the University of Witwatersrand. He made people believe that Walter Sisulu was his grandfather and he used to call himself Mcebo Olyate Sisulu. At first, he claimed his father was Maxwell Sisulu when doing an interview with VowFM in 2013.

A year later, in an interview with Wits Vuvuzela, he said his father was the Late Zwelakhe, Maxwell Susulus brother, thus raising questions. Mcebo claimed he is the lovechild of Zwelakhe and a Swazi princess and he was born in Mozambique then raised in Tanzania. Max refuted the claims saying his family does not know any Mcebo. He later confirmed to journalists that he is not a Sisulu.

He again claimed he is the son of the late Zwelakhe Sisulu in his court papers after he was arrested and charged.

READ ALSO: Khusela Diko bio: age, husband, wedding, education, profile, contact number

2. Mcebo Dlamini 'love' for Adolf Hitler

He publicly declared his love and support for Adolf Hitler, who had ordered the killing of millions of Jews. He said the reason is that Hitler only killed white people and not the blacks the way other leaders do.

After an increased outcry from the Jews in South Africa, he said the Jews are now doing the same thing Hitler did to Palestinians. He also claimed he supports the BDS movement, which like the South African anti-apartheid movement, was meant to put an end to Israels oppression of the Palestinians.

He was also suspended from being the President of the University of Witwatersrand Students Representative Council in 2015 because of racist remarks, supporting Hitler, and misconduct.

3. Mcebo Dlamini degrees

Dlaminis Facebook profile showed that he was holding two other degrees in Nuclear Physics and the other in Actuarial Science apart from the one he was pursuing at Wits. In an interview with Wits Vuvuzela, he said the University of Pretoria personally recruited him to study Nuclear Physics and that it was a secret. These false Mcebo Dlamini qualifications did not change his supporters minds as he was later voted in as the SRC president at Wits University.

READ ALSO: Strive Masiyiwa age, children, wife, church, businesses, house, private jet, net worth

Image: facebook.com, @mcebofreedom.dlamini

Source: UGC

Mcebo Dlamini arrest and sentence

In 2016, Mcebo was arrested and charged with public violence, assaulting a police officer during the FeesMustFall protests, damage to property, theft, staying in the country illegally, and violating a court order. He was later sentenced at a Johannesburg Magistrates Court on 9th March 2020 on two of the six accounts after pleading guilty. Mcebo Dlamini sentence included two years, wholly suspended for five years, for public violence on 4th October 2016 while still a student at the University of Witwatersrand. This means that he can only be imprisoned if the court finds him guilty of similar charges in the next five years.

The second sentence was imprisonment for six months, wholly suspended for five years, for staying in South Africa unlawfully. Mcebo Dlamini citizenship is Swazi, but he says he will prove his South African citizenship because his mother was South African. He claims he failed to meet the Immigration law after the death of his mother in 2018.

READ ALSO: Andrew Mlangeni bio: 5 things to know about the last Rivonia Trialist

Mcebo Dlamini articles

Despite the controversies surrounding him, he has not stopped speaking his mind. In 2020 Mcebo Dlamini latest news, he continues to air his views through article writing. His articles are occasionally published by CityPress News24, Mail&Guardian, among other media outlets. He focuses on politics, the economy, oppression, social classes, liberalism, education, among other topics. You can also get an update of Mcebo Dlamini quotes as well as articles from his Facebook page.

Despite the lies that were made believable and the controversies surrounding Mcebo Dlamini, he still has a large pool of supporters that feel the system is being unfair, especially to black consciousness.

READ ALSO: ANC deeply embarrassed over numerous Covid-19 corruption allegations

Briefly.co.za reported in August the statement issued by ANC Secretary-General, Ace Magashule, after holding a national executive committee. He said the ANC party is outraged and embarrassed by corruption allegations facing some of its officials and members, who have unlawfully benefited from the suffering caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Magashule said the ANC is ashamed of all the Covid-19 corruption allegations. The party vowed to fight corruption using preventive measures and punishment. The secretary-general pointed out that criminal activity is far from ANC values.

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Emmerson Mnangagwa age, children, wife, education, ZANU-PF, net worth

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Source: Briefly News
A cross-border university in memory of the late SDLP leader and Nobel Laureate John Hume has been proposed.

The 83-year-old, feted across the world as a peace maker, died last week following a long battle with illness.

Fine Gael TD Colm Burke has suggested the creation of a John Hume memorial university with campuses on both sides of the Irish border in Londonderry and Donegal.

The establishment of a university in memory of John Hume would be a fitting tribute to him given his dedication to creating a brighter future of the young people of this island, he said.

There is also great potential for a cross-border university incorporating the existing colleges of higher education in the region into the structures of the university.

These could include the Magee campus of the Ulster University, the Institutes of Technology in Letterkenny & Sligo, and the North West Regional College in Northern Ireland. The educational, social and economic benefits of a full university in the North West of Ireland are compelling.

Creation of a John Hume Memorial University would be a fitting tribute  Burke - Fine Gael https://t.co/9UWJEWrloJ  Colm Burke TD (@ColmBurkeTD) August 9, 2020

Mr Burke said such a university could attract significant funding from across the world, such was the esteem Mr Hume was held in not only in the United States but also in the European Union.

An Institute of Conflict Resolution and Peace Studies could be a major element in the new university, which over time could make a major contribution to solving complex political conflicts around the world, he said.

During his life Mr Hume had campaigned for a university in Derry.

The city is currently home to the Magee campus of the Ulster University.

Mr Burke added: It would be a fitting memorial to John Humes life and his contribution to this island if the Irish Government, the Northern Ireland Executive and the British Government agreed to the establishment of a full university in Derry, serving the North and North West of Ireland.

A university based in Derry named after John Hume would a fitting memorial to a man who made an historic contribution to peace and to Irish history.
New Delhi: Amid a spike in the number of coronavirus COVID-19 cases in the national capital, Delhi's Health Minister Satyendar Jain on Sunday said the rise in the caseload was due to "patients from outside getting tested here".

"There have been reports that coronavirus cases are increasing in the national capital. People are coming from out of Delhi, places like Ghaziabad, Noida, Faridabad, and are getting tested in Delhi. The number increases because of their testing. There is otherwise a decline in cases here," Jain told reporters.

Jain further said that there is an increase in hospital admissions which is also due to the patients coming from outside Delhi.

The national capital reported a spike of 1,300 new coronavirus infections along with 13 COVID-19 deaths in the last 24 hours. Delhi's COVID-19 tally by Sunday (August 9, 2020) evening has increased to 1,45,427, of which, 10,729 are active cases while 4,111 have succumbed to the virus.

While on Saturday, the number of active cases on Saturday rose to 10,667 with 1,404 new COVID-19 cases and 16 deaths, according to the Delhi government's health bulletin. While 1,130 people recovered from the infection on Saturday, there are 10,668 active cases. The death toll rose to 4,098, Jain told reporters.

Earlier in the day, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal inaugurated a new Delhi Government Hospital at Ambedkar Nagar. It has 200 COVID-19 beds that will also have oxygen facilities. The capacity will be increased to 600 beds in the near future.
Hazleton, PA (18201)

Today

More clouds than sun. High 39F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Cloudy with periods of snow after midnight. Low around 25F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of snow 70%. Snow accumulations less than one inch.
Kyrgyzstan's Republican Headquarters for Combating COVID-19 provided information on new lethal cases from COVID-19, including community - acquired pneumonia, Trend reports via Kabar.

Thus, 8 more virus-related deaths were registered throughout the country in the past day.

A total of 1,468 deaths from novel coronavirus were recorded in Kyrgyzstan since the outbreak of virus.

Total number of infections has climbed to 39,919, including 31,833 recoveries.
Activist and photojournalist Matt Herron, who captured poignant moments of the civil rights era in the South including the 1965 voting rights march from Selma to Montgomery, Ala., died Friday in a glider crash in Lake County, police said.

Herron, a San Rafael resident, was a longtime political and social activist and photographer whose spirit of adventure took him all over the world.

He embarked on a year-and-a-half sailing voyage to Africa with his family, got in the way of whalers trying to harpoon their prey, and was chased by police during the civil rights struggle of the 1960s. In July 2014, a then 82-year-old Herron spent a week gliding over the Nevada desert with his son.

Its how he would spend his last moments Friday.

Herron was piloting an LAK-17B FES Mini Glider, which took off from Lampson Field near Lakeport at about 2 p.m. en route to Mendocino County, the Lake County Sheriffs Office said.

At about 5:40 p.m., the Sheriffs Office received a report from the Williams Soaring Center, some 60 miles east of Lakeport, saying the aircraft was overdue.

The Soaring Center used GPS to track Herrons glider to an area off Matthews Road in Lakeport, authorities said. There, deputies found the crashed glider and Herron, who died at the scene.

In a 2014 interview with The Chronicle, Herron detailed his familys move from Philadelphia to Mississippi in the summer of 1963, when he was thrown into the thick of the civil rights movement, catapulting his photojournalism career and intensifying his activism for social justice.

The family made a pit stop in Birmingham, Ala., in their Volkswagen bus on a Sunday morning, Herron recalled. Church bells were ringing.

We had a lot of dirty clothes, so we went to a laundromat, but the sign on the door said whites only, Herron told The Chronicle. We were not going to wash our clothes there. The church bells were still ringing, so we went to the 16th Street Baptist Church. We were warmly welcomed.

Months later, the Klan bombed that church and four little girls were killed in the same bathroom my daughter had used while there. That was our introduction to the South.

Herron was known for capturing the 54-mile voting rights march from Selma to the state capital of Montgomery, which he described as the most intense moments of his career, according to the Marin Independent Journal. His photos of the historic march, which shed light on the struggles of Black voters, were published all over the world and exhibited at the San Francisco Main Library in February.

Herron photographed the likes of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., James Meredith and Rep. John Lewis, who died last month. Herron won the World Press Photo Contest in 1965 for his picture of a Mississippi highway patrolman attacking a 5-year-old child.

In 2014, Herron published Mississippi Eyes, a book about documentary photographers who captured the civil rights movement in the Deep South.

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.

One of our photographers was nearly killed by a sheriffs posse in Selma, Herron told The Chronicle. It was frightening. I would strap on cameras like armor. I had three Nikons  two on my chest and one at my side. I was a different person when the cameras were on.

Herron was drawn to daily life in the South and showcasing locals who didnt make it into history books.

Those folks were really the backbone of the civil rights movement, he told The Chronicle. The real work was done in rural areas by small groups of indigenous people aided by young Black and white militants who came from Black and white colleges in the North to develop a rural resistance to segregation. They were the soul of the movement.

The Federal Aviation Association and the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the crash, the Sheriffs Office said.

Herron is survived by his wife, Jeannine, and two children.

Tatiana Sanchez is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: tatiana.sanchez@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @TatianaYSanchez
A man who admitted to being so drunk he could not recall telling a female garda to f*** off, calling her a f****** b**** in the process, has been convicted and fined by Judge Seamus Hughes.

Peter Kicina, 7 Tarmon Harbour, Tarmonbarry, Roscommon, pleaded guilty to using threatening language and abusive behaviour at Park Road, Longford on July 15 2020.

Sgt Paddy McGirl, prosecuting, said gardai had been called to deal with a separate incident when the 33-year-old started hurling abuse at them.

He described Mr Kicinia as being extremely intoxicated when he approached the officers.

He told gardai to f*** off and was told to leave the vicinity, he said, before calling a female garda a f****** b****.

Sgt McGirl said despite Mr Kicinia being consequently arrested, he continued to be abusive, f-ing and blinding at gardai.

Mr Kicinia, who opted to to represent himself was asked initially if he was acceptive over his alleged culpability in the incident.

I really dont know because I was so drunk, he said.

The court was told Mr Kicinia had not come to garda attention before and was a man with an otherwise unblemished record.

It was also revealed the accused was Slovakian by birth and had been resident in Ireland for the past 15 years.

Judge Hughes fined Mr Kicinia 250 and gave him three months to pay.

In doing so, he warned him: You wouldnt want to be carrying on like that.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-09 17:27:29|Editor: huaxia

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Photo taken on July 23, 2020 shows the White House in Washington D.C., the United States. (Xinhua/Liu Jie)

- "This U.S. administration is openly, explicitly, and proudly protectionist"

- It unscrupulously puts any competitor or challenger into the crosshairs for punishment

- Those trust-breaking actions are doomed to boomerang

by Xinhua writer Zhang Xin

BEIJING, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) -- Citing so-called national security concerns, Washington announced Thursday an upcoming ban on dealings with the Chinese owners of popular apps TikTok and WeChat, while on the same day, it reimposed a 10-percent tariff on Canadian aluminum exports into the United States.

It has become increasingly clear that each time Washington abused the national security pretext to attack foreign industries or companies, it actually reveals the government's indulgence in protectionism, hegemonism and bullyism, which is akin to "modern piracy," as a German official has said.

Whenever it seeks to contain China's increasing tech influence or defend the U.S. industry from competition, the present U.S. administration has cited national security concerns without concrete evidence, unscrupulously putting any competitor or challenger into the crosshairs for punishment like a fine, ban or sanction.

Photo taken on March 16, 2020 shows the White House Visitor Center in Washington D.C., the United States. (Xinhua/Liu Jie)

In most cases, the so-called U.S. national security concerns are ordinary economic or trade disputes which can be reasonably solved through bilateral or multilateral negotiations. However, Washington is now obsessed with flexing its muscles, regardless of hurting partnerships or violating market principles and international norms.

From China and Japan in Asia, Germany in Europe, to Brazil and Argentina in Latin America, a bunch of U.S. trade partners have suffered from tariff sanctions or unfair agreements skewed towards some short-term American interests.

A group of Washington politicians have time and again proved that the spirit of free enterprise and fair competition they claim to espouse is no more than a lie.

The international community won't be fooled by the pirate-like bullyism under the guise of national security. Even the U.S. allies have protested against the brazen tricks.

Canadian Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland called the U.S. tariff decision on national security grounds "unnecessary, unwarranted and entirely unacceptable." "That is a ludicrous notion," she said.

U.S. dollar banknotes and an image of White House are arranged for a photograph in Washington D.C., the United States, on Aug. 20, 2019. (Xinhua/Liu Jie)

As a matter of fact, U.S. allies, including Canada and European countries, have become jittery over the recent U.S. protectionism.

In May 2019, when Washington lifted tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum, Freeland said, "The reality is that this U.S. administration is openly, explicitly, and proudly protectionist," reminding the domestic industry to remain vigilant about the neighboring super power.

In October 2019, when Washington slapped 7.5 billion U.S. dollars in tariffs on EU cheeses, olives, and whiskey, as well as planes, helicopters and aircraft parts under the pretext of national security, the Europeans said it was protectionism and broke global trade rules.

The repeated use of national security by the United States to cover its "modern piracy" not only diminishes its credibility in the eyes of other countries, including its allies, but also hampers its own interests.

"These tariffs will raise costs for American manufacturers, are opposed by most U.S. aluminum producers, and will draw retaliation against U.S. exports -- just as they did before," Myron Brilliant, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's executive vice president, said in a statement.

Meanwhile, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said that "Canada will impose countermeasures that will include dollar-for-dollar retaliatory tariffs."



The logo of TikTok is displayed on the screen of a smartphone on a computer screen background in Arlington, Virginia, the United States, Aug. 3, 2020. (Xinhua/Liu Jie)

ByteDance, TikTok's parent company, said Friday in a statement that Washington's ban on the popular app has started a dangerous precedent violating the freedom of expression and the open-market principle, and it will "pursue all remedies available ... if not by the Administration, then by the U.S. courts."

Decision-makers in Washington must realize that indulging in pirate-like bullyism will only distance the country from international norms and partners, deteriorate its business environment and keep away foreign investment. At long last, these trust-breaking actions are doomed to boomerang. 
By PTI

NEW DELHI: A timely alert by an Ireland-based Facebook staffer to Delhi police saved the life of a 27-year-old man, who was under financial stress because of the coronavirus lockdown and showing "suicidal activity" on the social media platform, officials said Sunday.

The man had been posting videos on Facebook that apparently showed him preparing to end his life and this raised a red flag on the social media giant's network.

Facebook feared that any direct contact with the man could drive him to expedite his suicide plans, officials said.

So a company official contacted Delhi Deputy Commissioner of Police (Cyber) Anyesh Roy as the phone number used for the Facebook account was registered in the national capital.

The Facebook staffer shared the details of the "suicidal activity" with Roy on his email just before 8 pm Saturday, and what began then was a race against time to save the man.

The phone number was traced to a woman in east Delhi, the DCP said.

Roy reached out to Deputy Commissioner of Police (East) Jasmeet Singh and they immediately sent a police team to the address but found the woman completely fine.

The case then took a wild turn when the woman told the officials the Facebook account was used by her husband who had left for Mumbai two weeks ago after a fight with her.

She also said the man was working as a cook in a small hotel in Mumbai, police said.

The woman had her husband's phone number but did not know his address.

DCP Roy got in touch with his counterpart in Mumbai, DCP (Cyber) Rashmi Karandikar, but the man's phone number was found "unreachable".

Karandikar said she received a phone call from Roy around 11pm Saturday, more than three hours after the matter first came to light in Delhi.

"Our biggest challenge was to trace him and our priority was to reach him quickly because we were told he had put out at least four videos of himself preparing to end his life by hanging. Until 12.30 am, we were struck," Karandikar told PTI over phone from Mumbai.

The Mumbai police then asked the man's mother to videocall him on WhatsApp, so that they would be able to trace his location, but the call got disconnected after a single ring.

"The man then contacted his mother through another number and that's how we traced his location.

For an hour, one of my officers kept him engaged on phone call and tried to convince him to not take any an extreme step," the senior Mumbai police officer said.

By 1.30 am, a police team reached his address and counselled him.

The man told Mumbai police that he was under severe financial distress for a few months because of lockdown and had fought with his wife.

He said he was worried how would he be able to raise his recently born child and decided to end his life, the officer said.
Aria Noosha, 25, said he was driving by the house just after midnight when he saw the banner ablaze. Noosha said he ran toward the fire and put it out moments before it spread to the trees.
>>> Vietnam confirms 21 more COVID-19 cases



>>> Hanoi begins RT-PCR testing for 75,000 people returning from Da Nang

According to the latest report from the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control, Vietnam reported two more COVID-19 cases on Sunday morning (Aug 9), taking the national count to 812.

Of the new patients, one is in Hanoi and the other, in the northern province of Bac Giang. Both are close contacts to previously confirmed COVID-19 patients.

Among the total 812 patients since the first case was detected in January, 317 were imported.

The number of new cases related to the current outbreak in the central coastal city of Da Nang since July 25 is 355.

As many as 395 or 48.6% of the total patients have made a full recovery, and there have been 10 COVID-19 related deaths.

Among the patients undergoing treatment in health facilities across the country, 40 have tested negative for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, of which 30 have tested negative at least twice.

Currently, 178,695 people who had close contact with COVID-19 patients or who entered Vietnam from pandemic-hit regions are being quarantined nationwide.

* On August 8, Acting Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long said that his ministry is supporting Hanoi in providing PCR tests for close contacts of COVID-19 patients in the capital city, as well as returnees from Da Nang and those coming from COVID-19-hit areas.

Long has assigned the nations four leading medical units, including Bach Mai Hospital, the National Paediatric Hospital, the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases and the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology, to conduct PCR testing on more than 70,000 Hanoians in the above-mentioned groups.

Long emphasised the Ministry of Healths determination to keep the capital city safe against the spread of the pandemic, saying the centrally-run hospitals would provide the maximum level of support to Hanoi and that the ministry would soon appoint experts to assist the city.

He also urged Hanoi to properly prepare all facilities and equipment, adding that local hospitals should carry out tests on suspected case during medical examination, as well as provide COVID-19 tests for critically ill patients and health workers in places at risk of infection.

The acting health minister on the same day decided to establish five mobile teams to inspect COVID-19 epidemic prevention and control in localities.

* In order to shorten the time and increase the capacity of COVID-19 testing, the Ministry of Health has issued "Temporary Guidance on the pooling of samples for SARS-CoV-2 testing", to be applied in medical facilities nationwide, with an aim of pooling patient samples for testing in order to reduce the need for biologicals, chemicals and consumables used for testing and save time as well as ensure the quality of testing in accordance with the prevailing disease situation.

The guidance enables the epidemiological surveillance and diagnostic testing of COVID-19 in one or more population groups based on the evaluation of the epidemiology and associated risk factors.

* On August 8, Politburo member and Minister of Public Security General To Lam issued a directive urging the public security force to strengthen its COVID-19 fight, while closely coordinating with functional forces in applying necessary and urgent measures to cope with the pandemics spread.

* On Saturday afternoon, a 38 member delegation of medical staff from the northern province of Phu Tho arrived in Tam Ky City in Quang Nam to support the central province in its fight against COVID-19. On the occasion, Phu Tho presented Quang Nam with 2,000 pieces of personal protective equipment.

A medical team from Phu Tho arrived in Quang Nam Province on August 8 to support the four local hospitals in their COVID-19 fight. (Photo: NDO/Tan Nguyen)



On the same day, ten doctors and nurses from Binh Dinh Province also arrived to help Quang Nam in its COVID-19 testing at the request of the Ministry of Health.

Binh Dinh on Saturday also sent more experts to Da Nang. Two days earlier, 25 doctors and nurses from the province departed for Da Nang to support the city in its COVID- 19 fight, after receiving the call from Chairman of the Da Nang People's Committee Huynh Duc Tho.

* The GeneXpert method, which detects DNA sequences specific for tuberculosis (TB) with very high specificity and sensitivity in the Vietnamese TB prevention network since 2012, has been licensed by the Ministry of Health as a new method for COVID-19 confirmatory detection.

According to Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Viet Nhung, Director of National Lung Hospital, the test is also rRT-PCR but it is better as the system operates completely automatically and results are available within 35-45 minutes.

It is expected that on August 15, the National Lung Hospital will import 16,000 tests from Sweden to use for the GeneXpert system. After that, the hospital will give priority to hot spots such as Da Nang, Quang Nam, Thanh Hoa, Dak Lak, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City to carry out COVID-19 tests. Other localities will also be trained to perform this test.

Currently, Vietnam has about 200 GeneXpert testing machines, with 28 laboratories meeting the biosafety standards required by the manufacturers.
By Rod Nickel and Hallie Gu

WINNIPEG, Manitoba/BEIJING, Aug 9 (Reuters) - Canadian canola prices have soared to the highest in nearly two years, despite a diplomatic dispute between Ottawa and Beijing, as exporters find roundabout ways to reach top oilseed buyer China.

Chinese authorities have since March 2019 blocked canola shipments by two Canadian exporters, an action they took after Canadian police detained a Huawei Technologies executive in late 2018 on a United States warrant.

The dispute however, has not spoiled China's appetite for canola, which is mainly processed into vegetable oil. While China is buying less from Canada directly, it has bought canola oil instead from Europe and the United Arab Emirates, with some of that oil made from Canadian canola, traders said.

ICE canola futures on Tuesday hit the highest nearby price since October 2018. Prices of China's rapeseed oil, another name for canola oil, have also rallied, partly because of limited Canadian supply.

"Profits are extravagant. Anyone who has the resources to import (canola oil) will definitely buy," said a manager with a China-based canola importer.

"It is like gold oil now."

Canadian canola exports to China fell 45% year over year during the 11-month period through June, however total canola exports have jumped 9%, helped by a tripling of sales to France and double the shipments to the UAE.

Canada is the world's biggest canola producer, and the yellow-flowering plant earned farmers C$8.6 billion ($6.42 billion) last year, the most of any crop.

China meanwhile boosted canola oil imports from Europe, Russia and Australia, with some of that oil made from Canadian canola, said another China-based trader.

The price rally left farmer Mary-Jane Duncan-Eger, who grows canola near Regina, Saskatchewan, "super-mystified," considering that Canada is heading for a bumper crop.

To lock in high prices, she pre-sold 50% of her anticipated harvest, up from the 30% she usually pre-sells at this time of year.

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"I'm pretty happy. As long as someone is buying it, I don't care who."

Global canola oil demand has prompted Canadian crushers - who include Archer Daniels Midland Co and Bunge Ltd - to process canola at a brisk pace, said Brian Comeault, commodity risk manager with Cargill Ltd's Canadian marketing service MarketSense.

Exporters are also selling more seed to the UAE, where crushers produce oil to sell to China, he said.

Bad crop weather and insect attacks in Europe have also lifted prices.

Rapeseed production in the European Union and Britain is expected near the 13-year low seen in 2019.

This has led European importers to scour other countries for supplies, especially those with weaker currencies that make purchases more profitable, consultancy Strategie Grains said in a report.

"Canadian canola has the biggest edge," it said. "Competition among importing countries will probably be fierce over the coming months." ($1 = 1.3387 Canadian dollars)

(Reporting by Rod Nickel in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Hallie Gu in Beijing, Gus Trompiz in Paris and Michael Hogan in Hamburg Editing by Marguerita Choy)
Vijayawada, Aug 9 (UNI) Seven Coronavirus patients were killed and three others seriously injured when a fire broke out in a COVID-19 Care Centre that located in Swarna Palace hotel located in Eluru road in the heart of the city on Sunday.

District Collector Md Imtiaz told the media seven Coronavirus patients were killed. Some other patients who were recused were shifted a private hospital where there were undergoing treatment and the condition of three of the said to be very critical.

Official sources said that a corporate hospital took the hotel on hire basis and set up COVID-19 Care Centre in the hotel. About 30 Coronavirus patients were undergoing treatment in the hotel while 10 hospital staffers were working at the time of the mishap.

Commissioner of police B Srinivasulu told media electrical short circuit was suspected to be the reach for the fire accident. He said that two panic-stricken persons jumped from the first floor. However, they escaped with injuries. The CP said that an electrical short circuit was the reason for flames erupting in the hotel. The flames were put out within 25 minutes, he said.

Official sources said that flames erupted in the first floor of the hotel and spread to the ground floor also. Thick smoke engulfed the two blocks within minutes. Since the hotel has only one exit the patients could not escape from their rooms. The NDRP and fire prevention personal used a ladder rescue the patients. Five fire tenders pressed into service to put out flames.

Suffocation due to thick smoke was suspected to be the reason for the death of patients, official sources. Minister for Endowment Vellampalliu Srinivas visited the hotel and enquired about the condition of patients with the officials.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy announced Rs 50 lakh ex-gratia to the bereaved families.

A statement from the Chief Ministers office said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi telephoned the Chief Minister.

UNI DP RHK1001
The writer is a keen observer of the goings-on in the backrooms of power.

It was a sad and quiet exit for Amar Singh who for most of his life remained boisterous and flamboyant

Amars political journey began in Kolkata with Subrata Mukherjee and against Somen Mitra who died recently

Uma attends temple service

The Ram Janmabhoomi temple bhoomipujan at Ayodhya was a grand affair where everything went as per plan. But behind the scenes was disquiet within both the BJP and the Congress.

Uma Bharti, a key figure during 1980s-1990s Ram Janmabhoomi movement, first said she would stay away and then landed up on the banks of river Saryu.

Uma was reportedly miffed that she was not formally invited at the first instance. The firebrand sanyasin has not been keeping well so the Covid-19 scare is said to have also played on her mind while initially declining to be there.

In the Congress, the leftist lobby worked hard to oppose Ram Janmabhoomi temple inauguration but pressure from party MPs worked. Rahul Gandhi took a nuanced position while Priyanka Gandhi, Amarinder Singh and Kamal Nath took a pro-temple stand.

Nath organised Hanuman Chaalisa at his Bhopal residence and posted a picture of him in a saffron robe on twitter. Not to be left behind, Mani Shankar Aiyar wrote a newspaper article professing Congress faith in secularism.

Pilot intractable

There are so signs of truce in the Rajasthan Congress. The Ashok Gehlot government has dropped its charges, but rebel Sachin Pilot is reportedly still insisting upon the removal of Gehlot as chief minister.

Peacemakers want Rahul, Sonia and Priyanka Gandhi to draft either Gehlot or Pilot into the AICC secretariat but both are unwilling. Rahul, who is set to return as AICC chief, is in particular opposed to the idea of jettisoning Gehlot as a pre-condition.

A quiet departure

It was a sad and quiet exit for Amar Singh who for most of his life remained boisterous and flamboyant. Defence minister Rajnath Singh, Jyotiraditya Scindia and Jayaprada were prominent persons who paid their respects at Singhs Chhattarpur farmhouse in Delhi minutes before his mortal remains were consigned to flames.

Amars political journey began in Kolkata with Subrata Mukherjee and against Somen Mitra who died recently. During a Kolkata corporation election, the Amar-Somen animosity turned so intense that Amar had to flee Kolkata.

He could only return to the city after giving an undertaking that he would not indulge in Kolkatas municipal politics. The initial setback in politics made Amar turn to the Birla and Bhartia households that gave him a big foothold in Delhi.

Celluloid patriotism

Have you heard of a Patriotic Film Festival? Well, everything is possible in New India. The National Film Development Corporation (NFDC) is organising an online patriotic film festival as part of the Independence Day Celebrations 2020 by the Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.

Shyam Benegals 1996 Gandhi Se Mahatma Tak, Bimal Roys 1944 acclaimed Bengali film Udayer Pathey, Mani Ratnams Tamil hit Roja (1992) and Rajkumar Santoshis 2002 drama, The Legend of Bhagat Singh are some of the acclaimed films which can be watched on www.cinemasofindia.com

Just good neighbours

Love in the time of Covid: Nanavati Hospital, Mumbai has been insisting that megastar Amitabh Bachchan is not a shareholder in Radiant Life Care, the private company that manages the hospital.

However, an interesting development has come to light. Abhay Soi, the promoter and managing director of Radiant, and the Bachchans are soon going to be neighbours.

Both families reportedly have bought apartments in the Uber luxury development Three Sixty West at Worli, which will be serviced by the Ritz Carlton Hotel chain. In the spirit of friendship and loving neighbourliness, we expect many more lyrical tweets in praise of the hospital from you know who.
HEIDELBERG  Marilyn Farquhar is frustrated that an investigation has been prolonged into her brothers shooting death by the RCMP while he suffered a mental-health crisis.

A decision was expected Thursday from the Independent Investigations Office, the civilian oversight agency in British Columbia thats similar to Ontarios Special Investigations Unit which looks into incidents involving police officers.

Kitchener-born Barry Shantz died on Jan. 13 in Lytton, B.C., after the woman he was living with called for help because he seemed suicidal and had a gun. A six-hour standoff with the RCMP ended with Shantz, 63, being fatally shot.

Heidelbergs Farquhar filed a complaint with the Independent Investigations Office, which now says it needs to investigate further and a decision is expected in early September.

Seven months have already passed since her brother was killed on his front porch, and Farquhar cant get any details about the police response while the investigation is underway.

That whole time I dont know what happened to my brother, Farquhar said. They havent given me anything meaningful yet to prove to me my brothers death was justified and now theyve just added on a time delay.

Reportedly, the RCMP response included about 30 officers, a helicopter and a canine unit.

I know what the media has figured out and the people that were there, Farquhar said.

She questions why the extra month is needed, and if the delay is legitimate or just window dressing because of public attention on the case. She wants to think the delay means theres a glimmer of hope that theyre taking this seriously, but so far the process doesnt seem fair or transparent to her.

Farquhar also filed a complaint with the Civilian Review and Complaints Commission for the RCMP, an independent agency created by Parliament to ensure public complaints made about the conduct of RCMP officers are examined fairly and impartially.

She has more hope that investigation may bring about change in how officers deal with someone like her brother who is suicidal, rather than using lethal force when someone is in distress.

The RCMP are paid by us to protect us. Not shoot us.
People enjoy the hot weather at Bournemouth beach in Dorset on Sunday. (Getty)

Scores of beachgoers camped overnight to secure good spots in Dorset as thousands of Britons descended on the coast on Sunday.

Baking hot temperatures of 30C and over for many parts of England saw sunseekers battling for space on a number of beaches on the south coast.

Officials in Dorset urged people to avoid Lulworth and Durdle Door due to large numbers already in the coastal areas.

Police were forced to close roads to manage traffic as drivers slept in their cars on Saturday night near Bournemouth beach to secure a seafront space for Sunday.

Scores of people swimming at Bournemouth beach. (Getty)

Thanet District Council said Ramsgate Main Sands beach in Kent was "extremely busy", with high tide likely to make social distancing difficult.

Drivers waited for hours to get into Camber Sands in East Sussex with some beachgoers reporting queues of up to two miles in length.

Blackpool Police also reported its beaches being busy and it had a "larger than usual" number of children going missing.

In Norfolk, police recovered a body from the water at Bawsey Pits near King's Lynn following reports of a man getting into difficulty in the water.

On Saturday, HM Coastguard dealt with 340 incidents across the whole of the UK - the highest number of call-outs in a single day for well over four years.

Please avoid Lulworth and #DurdleDoor as it is very busy. We are about to close roads in that area to help manage the traffic.@VisitDorset @dorsetpolice #EnjoySummerSafely @LulworthEstate  Dorset Council UK (@DorsetCouncilUK) August 9, 2020

The Coastguard co-ordinated search and rescue responses to a wide range of incidents, including people being cut off by the tide and children swept out to sea on inflatables.

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In total, the service rescued 146 people and assisted a further 371.

The mercury is forecast to reach 35C on Sunday - with Kent, Sussex and parts of London being the most likely to see the highest temperatures, according to Met Office forecaster Craig Snell.

Southern and central England will enjoy temperatures in the high 20Cs on Sunday, while cloud and breezes in some places may result in milder weather in the high teens.

People make their way down towards Bournemouth beach. (Getty)

Mr Snell said: "There is some contrast. For some of us the heatwave will continue on Sunday and beyond."

Saturday's top temperature was 34.5C - which was recorded at Frittenden in Kent, Wiggonholt in West Sussex, and Herstmonceux in East Sussex, the Met Office said.

Friday saw the hottest August day in 17 years, with the mercury hitting 36.4C at Heathrow and Kew Gardens.

Yahoo News UK has contacted Dorset Police and Dorset Council for comment.
JACKSON COUNTY, MI  Its certainly not the summer of 69, but the spirit of Michigans Woodstock is alive and well outside the small town of Jonesville.

The original Goose Lake Music Festival began 50 years ago on Aug. 7, 1970 in a field along the shores of Goose Lake in eastern Jackson County.

Headlined by bands like Jethro Tull, Chicago and Bob Seger, it drew roughly 200,000 members of the youth counterculture from all over the country to Leoni Township.

On Saturday, a number of cover bands performed during this years Goose Lake Jamboree.

While the coronavirus pandemic kept some performers from coming, 32 bands will take the stage over the five-day festival that concludes Sunday, Aug. 9, according to Steve Basnaw, one of the events organizers.

RELATED: Goose Lake Music Festivals 50th anniversary celebrates Michigans Woodstock

This jamboree, held on the same date as the original on Friday, Aug. 7, took place on the 280-acre Wildwood Acres Campgrounds, 14508 Goose Lake Road.

In 1970, the site was known as the wrong Goose Lake because many looking for the original venue site at Greenwood Acres ended up there instead.

The campgrounds sit on the edge of a different Goose Lake than the one in Leoni Township. This one is along a popular site for kayakers to launch on the Kalamazoo River.

The cash-only admission fee is $15 - the same as the original festival in 1970.

Attendees are encouraged to wear masks and maintain social distance between groups, and also have the option of remaining in their cars to watch performances on the main stage.

Basnaw and three other festival organizers worked to build several tall Scarecrows - straw figures up to 35 feet tall with names like Butch and Biker Bob. They were set out along the Kalamazoo River in order to advertise for the event.

Colorful psychedelic drawings adorned the decorative walls of both stages, which were made from recycled pallets and straw net.

Rows of vendors selling psychedelic clothing, new-age accessories and glassware lined the entrance to the event.

Basnaw acknowledged that this years festival fell short of last years on sponsorships, but was ecstatic that the event had filled every camping spot at Wildwood Campgrounds.

I think this is the medicine for people, he said.

Sure, we can go home and be depressed and think about all the things were missing, but why not come out here and enjoy what we have, because we dont know how long well have it?

More from MLive:

What theyre saying nationally about the MAC canceling fall sports, including football for 2020

Funeral procession honors Michigan state trooper killed in car crash

Michigan coronvirus recoveries now approaching 64,000
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It was a regular afternoon in May for Denise Woodard. Her daughter raced past in the background while she attended Zoom meetings from her Jersey City apartment in the black leggings and T-shirt combo that had been her uniform even before coronavirus. But when she went to check her email, the founder of Partake Foods experienced something new: hundreds of new messages, all from retailers and companies interested in selling her vegan, allergy-friendly, gluten-free cookies.

Before the pandemic, Woodards company Partake Foods was already set to launch nationwide with Target and hit 2,700 stores by the end of 2020. But after the murder of George Floyd by Minnesota police officers, Woodard and other Black business owners suddenly found themselves receiving more attention, the kind of interest from companies they had only dreamed of working with, as Black Lives Matter protests began in cities across the globe. After being featured in multiple articles as a Black business to support, Woodard says Partake has taken off.

Theyve just gone up and up and up. Weve continued to have record months, Woodard says, adding that shes been working from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. to get through incoming emails. All of that extra love that has come our way because of this, were trying to pay it forward and support the Black community even more.

Between May 25 and July 10, Yelp reported over 2,500,000 searches for Black-owned businesses a 7,043% increase from the same time period last year. On The New York Times bestseller list, Black authors swept the board and titles addressing racism filled the top 10. In the past month alone, marketing agencies like C+R Research have received a huge spike in requests for educational presentations about the Black community and Black consumers.

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Our most recent webinar with Black consumers broke attendance records from our client ranks, more than tripling sign-ups compared to webinars we have done on other topics, Ashleigh Williams, a researcher for the agency, told Fortune. Brands are finally starting to realize the importance of investing in understanding Black people and other minorities with them.

Williams has received all kinds of questions, from Should we refer to them as Black or African American? and Is it the right time to focus on the Black community? to what she calls the more complex and committed: What should we do to fuel change?

A surge in interest

The food industry in particular has seen a surge in interestboth as a result of consumers staying home to cookand also looking to connect with authentic Black-owned brands, that often have developed a strong identity and story that is closely tied to heritage and culture.

We could see it immediately after George Floyd was murdered and people started curating these Black owned-lists, Woodard says. There were some accounts and retailers where weve been reaching out literally for years with no response who are now very interested in onboarding our products.

Partake Foods sales in the month of June were bigger than its entire e-commerce business for 2019, Woodard says. Shes thankful for the recognition and interestbut theres guilt and anger too. While the flood of interest pushes her business close to capacity, Woodard has also been receiving more and more requests to speak on panels about race. On top of taking care of her five-year-old daughter and coping with her own reaction to the trauma of police brutality, Woodard is exhausted.

Why werent these people reaching out to me before? I feel bad when I cant get back to everyone or when I cant say yes to all the things, but Ive been trying to work on saying no more and owning my time, Woodard says.

A Dozen Cousins founder Ibraheem Basir.

Ibraheem Basir, who grew up in Brooklyns Fort Greene, is another entrepreneur who has tapped into the burgeoning demand for authentic flavors. Months after launching his ready-to-eat bean company in 2018, A Dozen Cousins, Basir won a NEXTY award for best new pantry product from the biggest trade show in the industry, Natural Products Expo West. Around a crowded dinner table he actually has a couple dozen cousins  Basir grew up with the flavors of the Caribbean, Latin America and the deep south. The proof is in the beans: consumers loved those flavors too, and A Dozen Cousins is the No. 1 seller in their category on Amazon.

People are so used to eating global food, but for some reason in the supermarket, the industry hasnt made that same connection. When quarantine sent families scrambling to stock up on food, A Dozen Cousins saw explosive growth in March and April, with another jump in June. While they are happy to lean into the moment, founders like Basir do wonder if this moment is will grow into something bigger or if investors will continue overlooking Black companies. In 2016, a study reported that all startups raised on average $1.14 million during their first funding round. Black startups only averaged $42,000. When the study looked at only Black women, the median raised was $0.

Hoping for change

As an alumnus of the University of Pennsylvanias Wharton School of Business and former marketing manager for General Mills, Basir had a vast network to lean on. But for Black business owners without those advantages, Basir says the challenge of attracting mainstream investors still remains. One 2011 study of the relationships between startups and VCs found that investors are more willing to invest in the startups that their peers are familiar with. When 81 percent of VC funds have no Black investors, Black founders who did not build their network by attending top MBA programs or working for big-name companies find themselves left out of the kind of networks crucial to receiving funding.

We all understand that a lot of times people do things for marketing purposes, Basir says. Im much more excited to hear people speak about a long-standing commitment that either theyve already had or one that theyre willing to commit to over an extended period.

Eniac Ventures founder Nihal Mehta took to Twitter in May to offer free appointments to Black founders. Dear black founder, as an entrepreneur and VC its my responsibility to mentor and invest in you, he wrote. Bridging wealth inequity is one way we can help address our structural racism. In less than 12 hours, his investment firm had booked over a hundred 15-minute meetings.

Other larger firms have rolled out similar intiatives. In May, PayPal announced a $530 million plan to invest in Black-owned businesses with short and longterm goals, $500 million of which the company says it will invest directly into Black startups. The company committed to matching employee donations and $10 for every volunteer hour, up to $500,000. Internally, Paypal committed $15 million to support recruiting and advancement for employees of color. JPMorgan Chase committed to hiring 4,000 Black college graduates by 2024 and announced a $5 million investment to its Advancing Black Pathways program to provide resources and support for Black businesses.

Malika and Jamila Augustin founded Caribbean subscription box and grocery service Callaloo Box.

And while BLCK VC launched well ahead of the current moment, in 2018, their mission is still the same: Turn 200 black investors into 400 black investors by 2024. Founded by Storm Ventures Frederik Groce and New Enterprise Associates Sydney Syke, BLCK VC aims to close the investment gap by developing a community to support Black venture investors. If a firm is looking to hire more diverse investors, BLCK VC has suggestions ready.

Malika and Jamila Augustin dont have investors yet, but the explosion of interest is enough to keep business going for the two sisters who founded Caribbean subscription box and grocery service Callaloo Box. When the sisters moved to New York from Trinidad they couldnt find the Trinidadian brands they grew up with, even in the city. Visiting home became an opportunity to not only see loved ones, but to bring back bottles of ketchupsweeter and less tart than the American versionto feel at home. Though the business had been successful since launching in 2017, it suddenly exploded during the pandemic. As summer began, they found themselves featured in Cosmopolitan. Their orders tripled. They struggled to keep their shipping time, previously two days, to under a week.

We could have been around forever and probably would have never gotten mentioned in many of those publications, Jamila said. There are so many people in our market that were now reaching because of it.

More coronavirus coverage from Fortune :

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com
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Were all coming to terms with the new normal. Trying to understand where our boundaries lie when it comes to traveling, dining out and visiting family has been difficult, especially during warm-weather months when all we want to do is get outside. But there are so many ways to social distance while still enjoying a little of what summer has to offer, whether its taking off on a classic American road trip or dining at some of the poshest places in town. There are plenty of Michelin-starred restaurants across the U.S. that offer the best dining with all the social distancing you and your posse could possibly require.

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The French Laundry-Yountville, CA

Arguably one of the most well-known names on this list with three Michelin stars, Thomas Kellers The French Laundry has reimagined their fine-dining restaurant outdoors. With an outside dining room, open-air courtyard and private indoor dining room, there are plenty of ways for you to book an evening at this iconic eaterywhether youre in a small group or looking for an intimate night for twoand still maintain a safe social distance. Their seasonal menu currently offers delectable favorites like their Ossetra Caviar, a summer melon salad, Moulard duck foie gras, sweet butter Nova Scotia lobster and Japanese Wagyu.

Alinea

AlineaChicago, IL

To still allow diners the best of what Chef Achatz creates in Alineas kitchen, the restaurant offers two new ways for guests to enjoy their three-Michelin star meals. AIR, Alinea in Residence, is a rooftop dining experience in the West Loop, just across from Next. Its the best of social distancing and enjoying the summer air. If you prefer the safety of your home they also offer Alinea To Go, a selection of single meals created from regional classics to six-course tasting menus, all of which can be picked up curbside and enjoyed from your couch. Either way, youll be enjoying Chefs molecular gastronomy with a global twist in a newand spaciousway.

The Inn at Little Washington

The Inn at Little WashingtonWashington, VA

Here, theres no outdoor dining or take-out to be seen, but The Inn at Little Washington has always been a little socially distant. About an hour and a half outside the DC area, near the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia in a town of fewer than 200 people sits this three-Michelin star restaurant. Self-taught chef Patrick OConnell pioneered the farm-to-table movement and over the last 42 years has been cooking up some of the best food in America in this little corner of Virginia. Reservations are hard to come by, but those who manage a table will enjoy tasting menus with favorites like tuna and foie gras confit in a black truffle vinaigrette, fennel-dusted Pacific halibut, chanterelle meatloaf with potato puree and jalapeno ketchup, and grapefruit sorbet with Campari and tarragon.

Quince

QuinceSan Francisco, CA

Trying to maintain a restaurant and keep it open during a pandemic is difficult, but its made a little easier when your farm-to-table restaurant has a spacious, open-air farm to relocate too. While Quinces city location in Jackson Square is currently closed, Michael and Lindsay Tusk decided to temporarily relocate their three-Michelin star restaurant to Marin County, about an hour north of the city. Quince at the Farm offers lunch Friday through Sunday at two outdoor locationsFresh Run Farm, their organic coastal farm in Bolinas, and McEvoy Ranch in the hills of Petaluma. Here you can take in the pastoral scenery while indulging in some of the freshest food with a Northern Italian flair.

Blue Hill at Stone Barns

Blue Hill at Stone BarnsTarrytown, NY

Chef Dan Barber has a lot to celebrate with Blue Hill NYC and Blue Hill at Stone Barns nabbing two Michelin stars in its first year of eligibility. But with the pandemic Blue Hill New York has temporarily closed while the Pocantico Hills location can stay open with outdoor picnics that take place rain or shine. Just 30 miles outside of the city, Blue Hill at Stone Barns highlights the abundance of the Hudson Valley with ingredients fresh from the surrounding fields and pasture, as well as other local farms. There are no menus at the Stone Barns picnics, instead, guests will enjoy the multi-course feast that draws on the best and freshest offerings from the fields.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 9)  Heads up, examinees! The Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) has postponed select licensure examinations scheduled for October and November due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The PRC announced on Sunday that it will reset the conduct of examinations in 2021 due to the "increasing number of COVID-19 cases that resulted to fear and anxiety to the health and safety of all concerned."

The agency said a total of 13 scheduled October board exams have so far been postponed, along with the November 2020 Customs Brokers and Agriculturists Licensure Examinations.

Here is the full list of affected examinations:

October 2020

 Chemical Engineers Licensure Examination (October 2, 3, & 4, 2020)

 Naval Architects and Marine Engineers Licensure Examination (October 6, 7, & 8, 2020)

 Metallurgical Engineers Licensure Examination (October 6, 7, & 8, 2020)

 Certified Public Accountants Licensure Examination (October 10, 11, & 17, 2020)

 Licensure Examination for Optometrists (written) (October 13, 14, & 15, 2020)

 Licensure Examination for Optometrists (practical) (October 18, 19, 20, & 21, 2020)

 Special Certification Examination in Ocular Pharmacology (October 13, 2020)

 Chemists Licensure Examination (October 20 & 21, 2020)

 Chemical Technicians Licensure Examination (October 22, 2020)

 Electronic Engineers Licensure Examination (October 24 & 25, 2020)

 Electronic Technicians Licensure Examination (October 26, 2020)

 Geodetic Engineers Licensure Examination (October 28 & 29, 2020)

 Fisheries Technologists Licensure Examination (October 28 & 29, 2020)

November 2020

 Customs Brokers Licensure Examination (November 4 & 5, 2020)

 Agriculturists Licensure Examination (November 10, 11, & 12, 2020)

The PRC advised its examinees to check its website and social media accounts for updates.

Inquiries and concerns may be sent to the Licensure Division at licensure.office@prc.gov.ph and licensure.division@prc.gov.ph.
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Victoria has recorded a record 17 deaths from coronavirus and 394 new cases of COVID-19 on Sunday.

Premier Daniel Andrews said 174 of the cases were those with no known close contact who was already infected - describing the mystery infections as the state's 'biggest challenge'.

'They're the ones that are incredibly challenging from a containment point of view, and that's what's made fundamentally necessary these really very challenging settings,' he said.

The daily infection total dropped below 400 cases after 450 infections on Friday and 466 on Saturday, a marked decrease from the state's record of 725 cases on Wednesday.

The new deaths - ten of which were linked to the aged care sector - include two men in their 50s, four men in their 70s, four women and two men in their 80s and two women and three men in their 90s.

Victoria and Australia's previous deadliest day during the pandemic had been on Wednesday when 15 deaths were recorded.

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A man is detained after refusing to move on during an anti-lockdown protest in Melbourne on Sunday. Victoria has recorded 394 new cases of COVID-19 on Sunday

COVID-19 has now claimed 210 lives in Victoria since the pandemic began. The national death toll stands at 295.

Mr Andrews on Sunday also announced the state was setting aside another $250,000 - on top of the $350,000 promised in June- to provide free counselling for health workers on the front line of the COVID-19 crisis.

The Victorian premier and Mental Health Minister Martin Foley revealed the measures as part of $59.7million in additional funding for the state's mental health sector.

'This is a very challenging set of circumstances and particularly for those nurses and personal care workers who have gone into aged care settings in fundamental crisis,' Mr Andrews said.

'You cant unsee what youve seen.'

Police check permits in front of Flinders Street Station on Saturday. The declining number of cases indicates the effectiveness of the stage three lockdown across Victoria - raised to stage four in Melbourne - in curbing the spread of the virus

Mr Andrews responded to claims he was a 'tyrant' because of the ongoing stage-four lockdown by the founder of a lawn-mowing business.

Jim Penman of Jim's Mowing had argued there had been no cases where someone working in a garden on their own had led to an infection.

The under-fire premier argued that if every person argued they were 'low risk and should get a pass' then Melbourne and Victoria might as well be under the same relaxed restrictions as they were in July and June.

'That will just mean that we have zero chance, like no chance whatsoever, of driving these numbers down,' he said.

The rise to 7,854 active cases in Victoria comes as the state's police force battles to enforce Melbourne's unprecedented stage-four lockdown - having issued 268 fines for restriction breaches in the past 24 hours.

One case involved a man who said he was helping a friend move a television from Doncaster East to Dandenong in Melbourne's east and was planning to stop for a burger at a fast food outlet.

Another was a man found with four male friends who were visiting him in his bungalow in Mount Alexander, which is subject to stage three restrictions.

Police said the reason he gave for breaching the rules on home gathering - which ban all visits in Melbourne unless they are to deliver care or urgent and essential services - was they wanted to 'watch the footy'.

Only two people turned up to a 'freedom rally' to protest the lockdown in Melbourne, despite up to 400 people being expected to kick off the illegal protest on the steps of Parliament on Sunday.

Pictured: A masked police officer speaks to a woman and point to a mobile phone outside the Melbourne parliament on Sunday

Footage shows a masked protester yelling for residents to stand together against mandatory vaccinations.

Earlier on Sunday, Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk revealed her state had recorded no new cases of the virus.

University of Queensland virologist Professor Ian Mackay had warned this weekend was vital for the Sunshine State in suppressing the spread of COVID-19.

'It is a critical weekend it is possible people may have been incubating illnesses during the week and thought I will hold off to get tested until the weekend,' he said.

'We need to put as much time behind us as we can to be absolutely sure that there are not little clusters out there that have been percolating or incubating and about to flare up.'

Victoria reported 466 new coronavirus cases on Saturday. Pictured: Victoria's second wave of coronavirus infections

A group of four police officers check a masked pedestrian's permit on Flinders Street during the 8pm to 5am curfew in Melbourne on Saturday

In New South Wales, 10 people were diagnosed with COVID-19 in the 24 hours to 8pm.

One was from a returned international traveller, seven were close contacts of known cases and two were 'mystery cases' with no link made yet to known infections.

A COVID-19-positive healthcare worker was infectious on shift at Hornsby Hospitals emergency department on Sydney's upper-north shore, while another was a student at the Tangara School for Girls in the city's north-west.

All students and staff at the school have been told to get tested and self-isolate until August 21 - remaining so even if a negative result is returned.

Australian finance minister Mathias Cormann meanwhile said on Sunday morning he now supported Western Australia's border closure - having initially criticised state governments imposing unnecessary harm 'for no or very little public health upside'.

Mr Andrews said Victoria was providing $59.7million in additional funding for the state's mental health sector amid the unpredecented crisis

'Given whats been happening in Victoria and where the country is at, we support the current state border arrangements, including here in Western Australia,' he told ABC's Insiders.

On Saturday Mr Andrews announced 466 new cases as the state's COVID-19 death toll climbed to 193, with the national tally rising to 278.

Mr Andrews warned Victoria is not likely to see a steep decline in coronavirus infections for 'a little while' amid strict stage four lockdown.

Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton said the state was seeing a 'stabilisation' of cases with daily number around the 400 and 500 mark each day.

A general view of Federation Square during a 8pm-5am curfew in Melbourne. Victoria's second coronavirus wave is stabilising, daily infection totals appear to show

'That is not good enough but it's a positive that we have averted an exponential increase through the last couple of weeks,' he said.

Professor Sutton said the introduction of stage three restrictions in early July had prevented about 20,000 cases developing.

'But we can't have 500 cases every single day and the associated morbidity, hospitalisation, intensive care requirements and debts associated with that number every day,' he said.

'Stage four restrictions will make a difference but we won't see them for another week or more.'

The tough stay-at-home restrictions, which include an 8pm-5am curfew for metropolitan Melbourne, have been in place for almost a week.

Police patrol Bourke Street during a 8pm-5am curfew in Melbourne's CBD on Saturday night as the city's stage-four lockdown prepares to enter its second week

Signage for stage four lockdown restrictions, implemented to curb the spread of the coronavirus disease, is seen in Melbourne

There are also fears Victorians could be left without medicine, alcohol and school supplies after major businesses were closed by the state's stage four lockdown.

Australia Post was told it could keep open 200 outlets facing closure but the business is struggling to operate with just two thirds of its staff.

Chief executive Christine Holgate said there could be long delays as demand for deliveries soars amid Melbourne's strict Stage 4 lockdown.

She said that demand in coronavirus-stricken suburbs was already up 200 per cent and orders from Chemist Warehouse, Dan Murphy's and Office Works were under pressure.

Protective services officers speak to a woman at the Southern Cross Station in central Melbourne on Friday

A worker wearing a face mask and protective clothing attends to members of the public at a pop-up COVID-19 testing clinic

Ms Holgate said Australia Post was responsible for deliveries for 200,000 online businesses and had a team of 21,000 people in Victoria.

'All the major medical distribution centres are based in Victoria. API, Sigma - they supply pharmacies right across the country,' Ms Holgate told the Australian Financial Review.

New South Wales reported nine new coronavirus infections on Saturday.

Of those cases, two were international travellers in hotel quarantine, four were locally acquired and three have no known source.

There are fears NSW is preparing for a second outbreak of infections with nine cases identified over the past week not linked to known clusters.
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Former President John Dramani Mahama has reiterated his commitment to pay assembly members salary when voted into power.

The former president believes that, assembly members play a major role in the governance system yet do not get any reward for their work.

On July 27, 2020 while outdooring his running mate, John Mahama promised to pay assembly members monthly salary.

The former Presidents promise was, however, downplayed by the local government minister, Hajia Alima Mahama saying it was not possible for Mahama to execute that promise.

But addressing the king of Dagbon, Yaa Naa Abukari Mahama II and his subjects at the Gbewaa palace in Yendi, Mr Mahama insisted it was possible and only need the mandate to ensure it happened.

He said, he intends to reduce the size of a future NDC government and channel the monies into rewarding assembly members.

When this government took over, they ballooned the size of central government, 125 ministers. I intend to cut down the size and use it to pay our hardworking assembly members, we can pay them, its possible, Mahama said.

Mahama also reechoed that, the next NDC government under his leadership would adopt a free healthcare plan that will grant all Ghanaians access to primary healthcare in the country.

The health care services he said would cover CHPS compounds, Polyclinics, Clinics as well as District hospitals.

He lamented how many Ghanaians especially the vulnerable struggle to renew their health insurance due to poverty.

On infrastructure, Mahama noted that, the best way to give long lasting solutions to Ghanas problems is infrastructural development and not putting cash in peoples pockets.

If someone gives you money today, by tomorrow it will finish. But if you build that hospital, the school it will be there for generations, so governance is common sense and not rocket science, he said.

---starrfmonline
The fire at the Campbellfield address started about 4.30am on Sunday, Fire Rescue Victoria said in a statement.

More than 60 firefighters have contained a fire at a factory in Melbourne's north that startled nearby residents, with loud bangs heard coming from the site.

The blaze has since been contained by fire crews and has been brought under control.

Smoke from the fire has been billowing into the air and is being blown towards nearby homes by winds to the south-west.

Craigieburn resident Kaz Abdulrahman said the crackling sounds and explosions caused by the fire were enough to wake most of the area, followed by almost 45 minutes of continuous sirens as fire trucks rushed to the scene of the blaze.

"I woke up about four-thirty and it sounded like something was going off," he said.

"It was a phenomenal amount of smoke, I've never seen anything give off that much smoke," he said.
It's August, and America's parents are the prowl. They're posting personals ads online and having awkward Zoom dates with near-strangers. They're scouring message boards for potential matches and asking friends and family members if they know anyone who might be available, interested and - this is the hardest one - compatible.

There's nothing thrilling or romantic about it. This is about the kids, and the challenge of surviving this nuclear winter of a school year. Quaran-teams, double bubbles, pandemic pods, micro-schools - whatever you want to call them, young families are seeking some friends for the end of the world as they knew it.

Desperation? Palpable. Hurt feelings? Inevitable.

"It feels like speed dating/Match.com but with much more high stakes," says Elizabeth Morin Burns, a D.C. mother of a 6-year-old son and 3-year-old daughter. "And it's emotionally taxing. The timelines are starting to catch up. It's like, 'I need to find my partner. I need to find my soul mate, fast, and figure out how we're going to manage it.' "

When schools first shuttered in March, the move was presented as a short pause to suppress the spread of the novel coronavirus. The closure continued through the end of the school year; families muddled through. Now, as the virus has eluded containment and worsened in many states, parents are waking up to the idea that they will be more or less on their own for another six to nine months. Improvising won't cut it any longer. It's time to Figure Something Out.

Burns, who works for the Navy, is spending her days mentally rotating through the array of potential survival tactics she and her husband could pursue. Move to Florida to be close to family? Take a leave of absence from her job? Come up with the money to pay for private school?

Forming a team with nearby families in the same situation seemed like the best solution, so Burns set up a Facebook page for Capitol Hill parents looking to create pods. But so far, the process has proven more frustrating than fruitful.

She posted a notice that she was looking for parents of other rising first-graders who might want to form some sort of cohort. Burns connected with five other families who seemed like good potential matches - until they started talking or texting. Some were uncomfortable with the fact that Burns and her husband occasionally have to work outside the home. Others were looking to spend exorbitant amounts on private tutors.

Online daters can at least lay out some basic specifications: desired age range, religious preferences. But the quest for perfect pod partners is more chaotic.

"It's so overwhelming," Burns says. "I just feel like I'm trapped on my laptop all day trying to hunt some kind of unicorn solution."

She, like almost every parent interviewed for this story, acknowledged how lucky her family is to have options - and expressed concern about how their choices could affect less privileged children and kids with special needs, an issue that has caused contentious debate in parenting circles.

Randi Braun, an executive coach who works primarily with women - moms seem to be doing the vast majority of online diplomacy around pandemic school planning, based on the posts showing up on parenting message boards and Facebook pages - says the search for solutions is "all-consuming" for most of her clients.

"That's the thing keeping parents up right now: thinking about not just Plan A, but Plan B and Plan C," she says. "We used to talk about the mental load before the pandemic. This is next level."

Braun has two kids under 4. Her family has spent much of the summer in Long Island with her parents, discussing their strategy for the fall, when they'll return to D.C. They have decided to send both kids to the preschool they had originally signed up for, even though she knows it will probably face interruptions or closure if positive coronavirus cases pop up. And by choosing that option, they are cutting themselves off from in-person visits with the grandparents, out of concern for their health.

"When we say goodbye here, it's goodbye for a really long time," she says. And once that happens, Braun is counting on a village of people she has never met to be their pandemic companions: the families of her kids' upcoming classmates.

"That's going to be our orbit for the foreseeable future until there's a vaccine," she says. "I feel like I'm taking a trust fall into this idea of community."

Ebony Scott is doing her own trust fall with a woman whom she has never met in person. Scott, a single mom outside of Chicago who works for a nonprofit, connected through a local Facebook page with another woman looking for a pod. They live in the same town, and both have boys going into the third grade, though at different elementary schools. In their first conversation, conducted via video chat last week, the moms delved headlong into intimate details about their home lives, their kids' personalities and learning styles and their priorities for the year - which, for Scott, meant making sure the curriculum includes lessons on social justice and racial inequity.

"I don't know this woman. I'm telling her, 'We are a Black family. You are a White family. When it comes time for Black history, we are going to really talk about things,' " Scott says.

The women's desires meshed well enough to move forward with a plan to have their sons become a cohort of two and hope they happen to like each other - at least well enough to coexist. "We're not shopping for best friends," Scott says. "We're looking for kids who are going to be compatible in a learning environment."

Julia and Greg McLawsen of Bellevue, Wash., have so far struck out in their search for compatibility. Their son, Kai, is the type of kid who woke up early on school days, excited to learn and see friends. "Weekends were crushing for him," says Julia, a forensic psychologist.

The McLawsens can't imagine Kai, who is supposed to be entering kindergarten, going many more months without structured social interaction. But finding a pod has proved difficult. Because Julia sometimes has to go out for work, some prospective families considered the McLawsens to be undesirable bubble buddies. ("It cast a pall on our entire family," she says.) Others had different philosophies around learning or how often to be together. And, though they have yet to find a willing cohort, they've begun to worry about how fragile a pod setup could be.

"In addition to the matchmaking problem, one thing we're worried about is having a single point of failure," says Greg, an attorney. "If you have one person teaching the pod and they get sick or get sick of us or get a better offer, the whole thing crumbles."

"And that pulls the rug out of the stability we're seeking," Julia adds.

So, even as they continue searching for potential matches, the McLawsens, who also have a 20-month-old daughter, are pursuing alternatives, including the possibility of relocating to Vancouver or even Thailand, where rates of coronavirus infections have been kept low. The couple has gone as far as putting down a deposit at a Montessori school in Chiang Mai, though moving there would mean Julia would have to stop working.

They're trying to remain flexible, but they know they need to make a decision soon. "If we're going to Vancouver, we need to walk out the door in two weeks," Greg says. "If we're going to Thailand, we need to get visas going."

"The logistics are formidable and overwhelming," Julia says. "And the logistics for keeping our son home for a whole academic year are even worse."

Finding pandemic pod-mates may be the first challenge for parents, but Jennifer Henry can attest that it won't be the last. As an educational consultant with several years of home-schooling experience under her belt, Henry is steps ahead of most parents. When it became apparent that schools couldn't safely open in their Dallas suburb, several friends and relatives asked Henry to set up a pod.

Her son, Jackson, 9, named a few boys he would like to learn with, and they ended up with a four-family pod that includes one of Jackson's previous classmates, a cousin and a family friend. Then came questions of how they would operate. Henry's husband, Jeffrey, wanted the boys to be together in person every day, but that wouldn't work for the other families, so they compromised on meeting once a week, with virtual learning the four other days.

Next came touchy conversations around socializing outside of the pod, how they'll evaluate and pay teachers and what each family would do if schools reopen. One family is adamant that if schools do reopen, they'll send their son back, which could leave the rest of the pod in the lurch, and potentially on the hook for a greater portion of teachers' salaries.

"You're in each other's personal business," Henry says. "You're sharing responsibility for each other's kids. I feel like it's some sort of polygamist community. It's a level of forced intimacy."

For several weeks, the parents have been meeting online for post-bedtime strategy sessions. And every time they reach consensus on one issue, it seems like another one pops up. (They just plotted out the school calendar, but now there are concerns about how to address learning differences.)

Think building a plane in midair is difficult? Try creating a miniature school in a month. And doing it by committee - one made up of deeply impassioned parents.

As many hurdles as they've faced, Henry still believes the pod offers an opportunity to "outsmart the oppression" by developing a curriculum that more deeply reflects African American history and experiences than public elementary schools typically offer. She's also hoping to recruit volunteer teachers to help form similar pods for underserved children that could take place in churches and other community spaces around Dallas.

Emily Oster, an economist at Brown University and the author of two books on parenting, argues against pandemic pods in general because of the likelihood that they'll exacerbate inequalities. And because they're social minefields: "It's fraught on a bunch of dimensions," she says. "Like, 'Oh, can I be in your pod?' 'No, we already have our pod.' The opportunity to shun people is so great."

If parents do attempt to form some kind of micro-school, Oster says, they should put their expectations in writing. "This is not a set of relationships we're used to navigating," she says. A contract, even if it's nonbinding, gives parents "something to refer back to later. And the bigger thing is that it reveals potential sources of conflicts you weren't thinking about."

Robin Watkins isn't looking for anything nearly so formal. She just wants some buddies. Her parents came to visit just after she gave birth to her second child at the end of February. Then the world froze, and her parents hunkered down in D.C. with Watkins, her husband, their toddler and their newborn. Because of her parents' advanced ages, the family has kept to themselves - exclusively.

"It just turns out that even with my best friends, we're not exactly aligned around the choices we're making around risk to covid."

Watkins sent a note to a local mom mailing list with the subject line: "ISO family to form bubble."

"This is certainly the oddest email I've ever written," she wrote. She included sections labeled "About us" ("local beer lovers, Nationals fans, and Jeopardy! Nerds") and "About you" ("Also social distancing, ideally have kids around the same age and interested in a socially distant meetup to find out if we are a good fit for a bubble.") Half a dozen women responded, and Watkins chatted with each of them online. They were all nearby and had kids of similar ages. Alas, none seemed like a perfect match.

The sticking point? Social distancing. Some had in-home child care, which meant their bubbles were already exponentially expanded in a way that feels too risky to Watkins and her family.

Oh well. "I put it out there into the world, and if nothing comes of it, we'll be OK," Watkins says. "It's what we've been doing."

What they've been doing. What they'll keep doing.

What else can you do?
A bowl of medicinal marijuana is displayed in a booth at The International Cannabis and Hemp Expo April 18, 2010 at the Cow Palace in Daly City, California.

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

A man who was facing life in prison for a small marijuana charge is set to be released.

Derek Harris, a military veteran, was arrested in 2008 for selling an officer under $30 of marijuana, CNN reported.

Harris' lawyer, Cormac Boyle, said the DA's office agreed that his client "received ineffective assistance at sentencing and was entitled to a lesser sentence," CNN reported.

Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

A man who was given a life sentence for selling under $30 of weed to an officer is set to be released.

CNN reported on Saturday that military veteran Derek Harris was originally sentenced to 15 years in prison, but in 2012, he was resentenced to life under the Habitual Offender Law.

Harris' attorney, Cormac Boyle, told CNN that Louisiana prosecutors agreed to his release after his hearing last month. He was resentenced to time served after nine years in prison.

Boyle said the DA's office agreed that Harris "received ineffective assistance at sentencing and was entitled to a lesser sentence," CNN reported. The Louisiana Supreme Court concurred with Harris' argument that he received "ineffective assistance of counsel at sentencing on post-conviction review."

According to the report, Harris's struggle with drug abuse developed after his return home from Operation Desert Storm.

CNN reported that Louisiana Supreme Court Justice John Weimer wrote in his opinion that Harris' "prior offenses were nonviolent and related to his untreated dependency on drugs," and that the trial judge said Harris was "not a drug kingpin."

Boyle told CNN that he's actively working on his client's release and that Harris is looking forward to reconciling with his family in Kentucky.

Read the original article on Insider
By Estelle Shirbon

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's armed forces have been asked to help deal with boats carrying migrants across the Channel from France, the Defence Ministry said on Saturday after a spate of arrivals on the southern English coast.

Taking advantage of a spell of hot weather and calm sea conditions, hundreds of people including children and pregnant women have made the dangerous 33-km (21-mile) crossing in recent days, many in overloaded rubber dinghies and other small vessels.

The Defence Ministry said it had received a formal request from the Home Office, or interior ministry, to assist the UK Border Force with its operations in the Dover Straits.

"We are assessing the requirements ... and are working hard to identify how we can most effectively assist," the defence ministry said in a statement.

A Home Office spokeswoman declined to comment.

More than 200 people arrived on the English coast on Thursday, followed by some 130 on Friday, and media reported more arrivals on Saturday as the hot weather persisted.

A junior Home Office minister in charge of immigration compliance, Chris Philp, called the rise in arrivals "shameful" and sought to put pressure on France ahead of a meeting with his French counterpart in Paris next week.

"The French need to stop these illegal migrants from getting in the water in the first place," he said in an opinion column published in Saturday's Daily Telegraph newspaper, adding that Britain would seek to return to France those who made it across.

France's interior ministry said surveillance teams on the northern coast were intercepting migrants daily and it had mobilised extra resources. It said five times as many migrant boats had been caught between January and July compared with the same period in 2019.

"This is a joint problem ... which needs a joint operational response," a spokesman said.

The Sunday Telegraph newspaper reported that France will ask Britain to pay 30 million pounds ($39.12 million) to police the English Channel and that the UK has not yet made a decision on whether it should accept that demand.

Story continues

"NOT A CRISIS"

Uncontrolled arrivals of asylum seekers and migrants from Africa, the Middle East and Asia have long been a source of tension between European countries struggling to find an effective joint response.

Britain left the European Union in January and a transition period during which most EU rules and accords are still in force will come to an end on Dec. 31, which could further complicate cooperation with EU member France.

Immigration has been an especially polarising issue in Britain since the Brexit referendum in 2016 because "taking back control" of immigration and border policy was presented as one of the key advantages by pro-Brexit campaigners.

Home Secretary Priti Patel, an enthusiastic Brexiteer, made the link in a tweet on Friday about the Channel crossings: "I know that when the British people say they want to take back control of our borders, this is exactly what they mean."

Critics such as groups campaigning for the rights of immigrants and refugees accuse the government of stoking some voters' xenophobic fears by magnifying the issue.

"Britain is better than this. The arrival of small numbers of people by boat is not a crisis," said Stephen Hale, chief executive of Refugee Action, urging the government to focus on the coronavirus pandemic and resulting economic crisis.

The numbers crossing the Channel are tiny compared with the flows of people who try and reach EU countries such as Malta, Greece, Italy and Spain every year by crossing the Mediterranean from north Africa or Turkey, thousands of them dying on the way.

(Additional reporting by Richard Lough in Paris, Bhargav Acharya and Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru; editing by Jonathan Oatis)
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-09 19:33:43|Editor: huaxia

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KUWAIT CITY, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) -- Kuwait on Sunday reported 514 new COVID-19 cases and four more deaths, raising the tally of infections to 71,713 and the death toll to 478, the Health Ministry said in a statement.

Currently, 7,716 patients are receiving treatment, including 115 in ICU, the statement added.

The ministry also announced the recovery of 713 more patients, raising the total recoveries in the country to 63,519.

Kuwait started the third-phase plan of restoring normal life on July 28. During this phase, labor capacity will increase to no more than 50 percent and visits to social care homes will be allowed.

Kuwait and China have been supporting each other and cooperating closely in combating the COVID-19 pandemic.

Kuwait donated medical supplies worth 3 million U.S. dollars to China at the early stage of the COVID-19 outbreak.

On April 27, a team of Chinese medical experts visited Kuwait to assist the Gulf country's anti-coronavirus fight, through sharing their experience and expertise in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of COVID-19. Enditem
International donors have pledged a total of 252.7 million euro (228.39 million) in emergency aid during a conference for Lebanon.

Sundays donor teleconference was hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron.

International leaders, government officials and international organisations participated, including US President Donald Trump. Donors promised to provide emergency aid  focusing on medicine and hospitals, schools, food and housing.

The rebuilding needs of Lebanon are immense, but so is the question of how to ensure the millions of dollars promised in international aid is not diverted in a country notorious for missing money, invisible infrastructure projects and its refusal to open the books.

More than 30 participants at the conference also pledged help for a credible and independent investigation into the Beirut explosion.

They also said that support for the countrys recovery will need to come with reforms demanded by protesters.

We stand by the people of #Lebanon.



We pledged an additional 30 million in immediate support for Lebanon at the donor conference for Beirut and the Lebanese people.

This humanitarian funding comes on top of the 33 million already announced.



 MUSAR Poland State Fire Service  European Commission  (@EU_Commission) August 9, 2020

They issued a joint statement saying: In these horrendous times, Lebanon is not alone.

The conference was aimed at mobilising aid from Europe, the US and regional states to provide medicine, care, food, and housing.

The European Commission has pledged an additional 30 million euros (27 million) .

Expand Close Rescue teams search for missing people near the site of the blast (Hassan Ammar/AP) / Facebook

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The Commission said in a statement it came on top of 33 million euros (30 million) in emergency aid previously announced.

The new EU funding will be channelled to UN agencies, NGOs and international organisations and be strictly monitored, the statement said.

European Council president Charles Michel called during the conference for an independent and credible inquiry into the cause of the explosion and said that the European Union and its member states stand ready to assist.

During the conference Saudi Arabias foreign minister also called for a transparent and independent investigation into the blast.

I called on the Lebanese political authorities to work together, overcome their differences and drive reforms for the good of the people.



I reiterate the promise I made yesterday to the people in #Beirut:



You are not alone.



Europe is ready to act.



And you can count on us.  Charles Michel (@eucopresident) August 9, 2020

The Foreign Ministrys Twitter account later quoted him as saying the kingdom offered its condolences and had sent 290 tons of aid to Lebanon.

And the head of the International Monetary Fund warned Lebanon that it will not get loans unless it reforms its government.

Kristalina Georgieva said: Current and future generations of Lebanese must not be saddled with more debts than they can ever repay.

She said the IMF requires debt sustainability as a condition for lending and added that the financial system must be solvent as well.
As scientists search for signs of life on planets outside our solar system, astronomers using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope have detected Earth's own brand of sunscreen, ozone, in our atmosphere by taking advantage of a total lunar eclipse.

This method simulates how astronomers and astrobiology researchers will search for evidence of life beyond Earth by observing potential "biosignatures" on exoplanets.

"One of NASA's major goals is to identify planets that could support life," Allison Youngblood of the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics at the University of Colorado Boulder said in a NASA statement.

"But how would we know a habitable or an uninhabited planet if we saw one? What would they look like with the techniques that astronomers have at their disposal for characterising the atmospheres of exoplanets?

"That's why it's important to develop models of Earth's spectrum as a template for categorising atmospheres on extrasolar planets," she explained.

For the study, Hubble did not look at Earth directly. Instead, the astronomers used the Moon as a mirror to reflect sunlight, which had passed through Earth's atmosphere, and then reflected back towards Hubble.

Using a space telescope for eclipse observations reproduces the conditions under which future telescopes would measure atmospheres of transiting exoplanets.

These atmospheres may contain chemicals of interest to astrobiology, the study of and search for life.

Though numerous ground-based observations of this kind have been done previously, this is the first time a total lunar eclipse was captured at ultraviolet wavelengths and from a space telescope.

Hubble detected the strong spectral fingerprint of ozone, which absorbs some of the sunlight.

Ozone is important to life because it is the source of the protective shield in the Earth's atmosphere.

On Earth, photosynthesis over billions of years is responsible for our planet's high oxygen levels and thick ozone layer.

That's one reason why scientists think ozone or oxygen could be a sign of life on another planet, and refer to them as biosignatures.

"Finding ozone is significant because it is a photochemical byproduct of molecular oxygen, which is itself a byproduct of life," Youngblood said.

Hubble recorded ozone absorbing some of the Sun's ultraviolet radiation that passed through the edge of Earth's atmosphere during a lunar eclipse that occurred on January 20 to 21, 2019, according to the study published online in The Astronomical Journal.
Egyptians living in 124 countries worldwide can vote in elections for the new upper house of parliament on Sunday and Monday, with polls at home opening Tuesday

Elections for Egypt's Senate kicked off Sunday with polling stations opening their doors for Egyptians living abroad, two days before polls open at home.

Egyptians living in as many as 124 countries worldwide can participate in the two-day voting for the upper chamber of parliament, Lasheen Ibrahim, head of the National Elections Authority (NEA), said.

Egyptians living in these countries can participate by sending their ballots by mail to 140 Egyptian diplomatic missions. Those allowed to vote are the ones who registered their names online with the NEA between 25 and 31 July, the electoral commissioner said.

The NEA said Egyptians living in Australia and New Zealand have almost finished voting. "Diplomatic missions there received mail votes, after which the process of counting will begin, the NEA said.

Voting for expats will run until 9pm on Monday. Voting for Egyptians at home, meanwhile, will be held Tuesday and Wednesday.

The Senate election comes after a two-week campaigning period that finished Saturday.

A total of 787 candidates are competing for seats in the 300-seat chamber after appeals filed by rejected candidates were settled by courts last week, Ibrahim said.

Two-thirds of the members will be elected via the individual candidacy and the closed party list systems, and the rest will be appointed by the president.

Only 100 of the total number of candidates will compete for the party list seats, with the remainder running for individual seats, said Ibrahim.

Ibrahim urged citizens in a TV interview Saturday to actively participate in the Senate elections.

"This is a national duty and I warn that those who opt to boycott the polls will be fined in line with the law on the exercise of political rights," said Ibrahim.

The law states that boycotters of a general poll can be fined an amount between LE300 and LE500.

Ibrahim said home voters will be required to wear face masks and that polling stations throughout Egypt will be sanitised, calling on voters to observe social distancing to help limit the spread of coronavirus.

Each of the 17,000 polling stations throughout Egypt will have a ballot box for the party list seats and another for individual seats, with one judge supervising each station, said Ibrahim.

Mohamed Fayek, head of the National Council for Human Rights, said eligible voters should be keen to participate in the first-ever elections for Egypt's Senate, the newly constituted upper house of parliament.

"The council will participate in monitoring the poll and we hope that eligible voters will actively participate in the election," said Fayek, adding that The two-day voting for Egyptians abroad will give an early signal on how voting at home will go, in terms of turn out."

The interior ministry said it has taken all the necessary measures to secure polling stations, beefing up security deployments around polling locations and on roads leading to them.

The health ministry said Sunday it would provide around 2,800 ambulances and around 7,000 medical staff across polling locations.

The polls are expected to be swept by the Mostaqbal Watan (the Future of Homeland) party that fielded the largest number of candidates. A National Unified List led by Mostaqbal Watan will seek 100 seats allocated to party lists uncontested. The Mostaqbal Watan has 59 candidates on this list.

The Senate law stipulates that if a party list runs unopposed, it is required to win at least five per cent of the vote in order to be declared the winner. If it fails to meet the threshold, new elections will be held.

Competition will be only confined to the 100 individual seats up for grabs of which 95 will be contested by Mostaqbal Watan candidates.

The Senate's term lasts for five years.

The results of the first round of voting will be announced 19 August.

A second round of voting is slated for 8-9 September, with the results to be announced 16 September.

Senate polls will be followed by elections for the House of Representatives, the lower house of the Egyptian parliament.

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Enrollment at the university is projected to crater this year, down as much as 20 percent, after record-high enrollments in recent years. Community colleges are certain to have lower enrollment, too, though it's unclear how significant those figures will be.

The money will help to shore up those institutions, too; not only will they be hit with lower enrollment, but the state is preparing to gouge budgets because of significant revenue declines.

The payments are perhaps the most significant stimulus effort from the state to date, which has shelled out money to small businesses in particular. It's certainly the most direct injection of cash to a segment of the state's population.

There's ample evidence that the state's workers -- and their families -- have been economically rocked by the pandemic. UW polling shows a majority of Wyomingites have either lost the jobs or hours, or they're related to someone who has.

Money had previously been distributed directly to the university and colleges to help them offset costs associated with reopening in the midst of a pandemic. Millions were shelled out to the institutions as they require masks, retool and reopen buildings, beef up technological offerings and increase testing.

This plan will help sustain and even grow Wyomings talented workforce, critical to the economic future we need after the current financial difficulties, UW President Ed Seidel said in a statement.  ... Postsecondary certificate and degree attainment is one of the most critical factors that will assist in the robust and timely economic recovery of Wyoming after the COVID-19 health emergency is over or adequately mitigated.

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South Africa: Condolences for Prince Mandla Zulu

President Cyril Ramaphosa has expressed sadness at the passing of Prince Mandla Zulu, brother of His Majesty King Goodwill Zwelithini and a royal prince of the eYibindini Royal House of King Solomon.

My heart goes out to His Majesty King Goodwill Zwelithini and the royal household at the passing of an outstanding leader and community builder at such a youthful age; a passing that compounds the grief already experienced by the royal family in recent weeks, said President Ramaphosa on Friday.

The royal prince, who was also a national executive member of the Inkatha Freedom Party, passed away on Wednesday, 5 August 2020, at the age of 45.

The Presidents thoughts and prayers are with His Majesty King Goodwill Zwelithini, the royal household and the people of KwaZulu-Natal.

The President offerers his sincere condolences to the royal household, mindful that His Majesty King Goodwill Zwelithini has in recent weeks suffered the passing of three other senior members of the royal family.

On behalf of government and the nation at large, I offer His Majesty my sincerest condolences in this trying hour. May the soul of Prince Mandla Zulu rest in peace, said President Ramaphosa. SAnews.gov.za

This story has been published on: 2020-08-09. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Borivli police registered a complaint against seven people for allegedly submitting fake documents and fraudulently obtaining vehicle loans to the tune of 1.18 crore from Canara Bank.

Akshata Walanju, 53, manager of Canara Banks Borivli (West) branch, lodged a complaint against seven employees of a car dealership firm. The accused named in the complaint are Raghunath Rane, Ganesh Ubhare, Rahil Khan, Avidh Gharat, Z Madraswala, Shahi Alam and Vishal Tiwari.

Walanju, in her statement, said that Rane, an agent of the car dealership firm, approached her in December 2018 saying his company wants to sell a Mitsubishi Pajero to a customer named Avidh Gharat and wanted the bank to sanction a 30-lakh car loan for the same.

After the banks circle office gave a go-ahead, Walanju verified the documents and processed the loan file, following which 29.60 lakh was transferred to the bank account of the car dealership firm. However, Rane failed to submit the registration number of the vehicle to the bank. On being asked about the same, he told the bank the buyer was waiting for the desired registration number which was leading to the delay.

Later, Rane and Ganesh Ubhare, CEO of the firm, approached the bank to apply for vehicles loans for three more customers, namely Z Madraswala, Shahi Alam and Vishal Tiwari.

After due verification of their documents, loans of 29.34 lakh, 29.55 lakh and 29.55 lakh were sanctioned for the three customers and the amounts were transferred to the firm.

All four customers paid monthly installations for first three months but later defaulted in payment while the car dealer firm failed to deposit vehicle documents to the bank, the FIR states.

Upon re-verification of the credentials on the documents submitted by the customers, some discrepancies were found and some turned out to be fakes. The bank then checked transaction details and found that the accused diverted the funds from the companys account to their personal accounts and used it for other purposes, said an officer from Borivli police station.

When the bank got in touch with the customers and the car dealership, the complainant was told the customers cancelled the deal as they didnt like the cars. They also assured her that they would sell the vehicles and repay the bank.

However, after the accused failed to repay the four loans to the tune of 1.18crore, the complainant approached the police.

The police have booked the accused under sections 120B (criminal conspiracy), 420 (cheating), 465 (forgery), 467 (forgery of document purported to be a valuable security) and 471 (using forged document as genuine) of the Indian Penal Code. No arrest has been made as of yet.
The governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the Jomoro Constituency of the Western Region has commended the Assembly Member of Ezinlibo Electoral Area, Hon. Assembly Member for the area, Emmanuel Assuah-Chie popularly known as Emmansco for supporting the Party's voters' registration agents.

According to the leadership of the party, this is the first time an Assembly Member who is also a member of the party has done such a gesture.

The Assembly Member had so far spent GHC2,800 on all the agents engaged in the registration exercise in all the six (6) registration centers at Ezinlibo Electoral Area.

The gesture is to support and motivate the agents to work tirelessly for the party in the area to maintain political power come December 7 presidential and parliamentary elections.

Commending the Assembly Member's effort, the polling station chairman for Ezinlibo-Alluku, Mr. Ndaka Amoako described the gesture as an unprecedented in the history of the party in the area since 1992.

"Since 1992 that we started voters' registration exercise in this country, no sitting Assembly Member who is an NPP member have supported us and this is first time this current Assembly Member has supported us with such amount", he disclosed.

He, therefore, took the opportunity to hail the Assembly Member for the kind gesture and asked God to bless him abundantly.

"In fact, he has done well because we were not expecting him to do such a wonderful thing. We are very happy".

He said when they received the support they quickly informed the entire NPP members in the area and the Constituency Executives and "they are thanking him for supporting us, they said what he has done is a sign of unity in the party".

"All the party members at Ezinlibo here were informed and witnessed it and we also informed the Constituency Executives and they are all happy for the support", he added.

Chairman Ndaka Amoaka was optimistic that the NPP would win massively at Ezinlibo in the December 7 polls as they did in 2016.

He also applauded the Akufo-Addo-led government for developing the area than any government.

"If you look at how things are happening, and the projects the Akufo-Addo government has done at Ezinlibo here, we will win massively again as we did in 2016".

He touted the construction of the Forward Operating Base in the area and school feeding programme in the area to help school children.

President Akufo-Addo on December 16, 2019, cut sod for the construction of the Forward Operating Base in the area (Ezinlibo) to accommodate one hundred and fifty military personnel to protect the country's oil and gas.

The 200-million dollar project is currently being constructed by Messrs Amandi and Vuluxx and it will include a breakwater and a jetty with double lane tarred road, berthing facilities.

"This government is constructing a Naval Base here and some youth have been employed to work with the Contractors, this government has brought School Feeding Programme here and the government has distributed free school uniforms for our children so in fact, this government is doing well and we will continue to support the government to succeed", he emphasized.

Speaking to benevolent Assembly Member, Hon. Emmanuel Assuah-Chie said he did the gesture to support his party members to be motivated to be vigilant at the six registration centers.

"I did this gesture to support the NPP agents who have been engaged in the voter's registration exercise because as an NPP member and someone who is an entrepreneur to allow my Constituency Executives to bear the cost of the registration exercise and I didn't support Ezinlibo NPP members alone but I went to Bonyere Community to support the NPP agents there with GHC500", he stated.

He, therefore, pledged to continue to do his best to support the NPP party in the area to be attractive.

"I will continue to do my best to support my NPP party in this area and other places and to be attractive, and I wish others will also emulate from me to support the party", he said.

He revealed, "So far I have spent GHC2,800 and my main objective is to support the party to maintain power".

Hon. Assuah-Chie commended the Akufo-Addo-led government for helping the Ezinlibo Electoral Area to benefit from the national cake.

"We the people of Ezinlibo Electoral Area are benefiting from the national cake, the construction of the Forward Operating Base (FOB) is creating jobs for the unemployed youth who are mainly fishermen and this project is the heart of Jomoro and it will support the country's economy".

He ended his speech by calling on the NPP members in the area to be united and rally behind the Akufo-Addo-led government to retain political power come December 7, 2020 polls.

The 38-day nationwide voters' registration exercise which commenced on Tuesday, June 30, 2020, was ended on Thursday, August 6, 2020, at 6pm.

So far, the Electoral Commission of Ghana has registered over 65,000 eligible voters in the Jomoro Constituency ahead of the December 7 presidential and parliamentary elections.
Will Waldron

The push to remove the statues of Confederate icons is understandable. The Civil War was arguably the worst time in American history so it is wrong to honor those who betrayed the country we love. Likewise, World War II was a terrible time brought on by Hitler who was arguably the worst leader in modern history. Who would support a monument to Hitler?

While we should not pay tribute to the atrocities of the past, neither should we hide them. There are evil and weak-minded people who interpret things to fit their personal biases who need to understand how this has led to past disasters. Those who forget the past are doomed to relive it.
New Delhi [India], Aug 9 (ANI): Three hundred fifty Delhi Police personnel who will be part of guard of honour at the Red Fort on August 15 have been quarantined at police colony in Delhi Cantonment in the view of COVID-19 pandemic, Special Commissioner of Police (Armed Police) Robin Hibu said.



The guard of honour will be inspected by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 15. The Independence Day celebrations at Red Fort will be graced by other dignitaries as well.

This time India will witness a completely different Independence Day function at Red Fort in the national capital, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Only 20 per cent VVIPs or other participants will be able to witness the live speech of Prime Minister Narendra Modi compared to previous years.

Till last year, thousands people used to attend the function to witness the speech of the Prime Minister.

Reportedly, over 2,500 Delhi police personnel have been infected with the virus so far and a majority of them have already recovered and resumed their duties.

Delhi Police Commissioner SN Shrivastava said that all necessary security arrangements have been made for Independence Day and public cooperation has also been sought in this regard.

"Necessary security arrangements have been made for Independence Day. Arrangements have also been made in view of the threat from aerial objects like drones and microlight aircraft. We have sought public cooperation so that no place is used to launch any terror attack," Shrivastava told ANI. (ANI)


Major Bill White, from Stockton, California, who served in World War II, has become the oldest surviving U.S. Corps Marine veteran after he ringed in his 105th birthday.

According to CBS Sacramento, when asked how he felt on his big day, July 31, the centenarian replied with glee, Feels just as good as it did at 104.

Amid the restriction put in place due to the ongoing CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, commonly known as the novel coronavirus, pandemic, his family or friends werent able to visit him at his Stockton Assisted Living Facility. However, they didnt let that stop them from getting creative and coming up with a unique way to celebrate Major Bills big birthday.

Family, friends, and strangers made his day a one to remember by giving him a drive-by salute as he sat outside the care facility donned in his military uniform with balloons and U.S. flags as the backdrop.

Alluding to this remarkable celebration, Major Bills daughter, Mary Huston, said: Its very heartwarming and very [sic] and it just does get to you that there are so many people that love him and appreciate him for his service.

The young-spirited veteran had served with the Marine Corps for a period of 30 years. He was in Shanghai before WWII and the Japanese invasion and all that. Iwo Jima got hit  blown up with a grenade. Recovered from that, communications director at the Oaks at Inglewood Tony Walker said. Just an amazing guy.

Major Bill had also received a Purple Heart for surviving the Battle of Iwo Jima in 1945, which killed nearly 7,000 U.S. Marines and more than 20,000 Japanese fighters, according to KTXL.

The fact that I even survived is something. There werent too many of us, Major Bill had said earlier this year.

Many from Stockton would recognize this positive veteran after he stole hearts with his heartwarming plea in February this year requesting people to send him cards for Valentines Day as he wanted to expand his collection of memories. The veteran vowed to save every one of them like Ive been saving little things that have come up until right now and theyll be a personal part of my history.

In what came to be known as Operation Valentine, the loving veteran received more than 500,000 cards along with gifts from around the world. Major Bill even got a personal note from NASA and President Trump.

At 105, Major Bill enjoys dining with friends in Stockton, staying active, and scrapbooking, which is apparently one of his favorite hobbies.

As for the secret to his longevity, the former Marine credits his reading habit to keep his mind sharp in an interview with CBS Sacramento.

While touching 105 is certainly an incredible feat, Major Bill is already looking forward to celebrating his next birthday.

Right now Im trying for 106, he said. One at a time.

We would love to hear your stories! You can share them with us at emg.inspired@epochtimes.nyc
Democrats Say They Are Willing to Meet Halfway on Stimulus Package With White House

White House officials and top Democrats on Sunday sparred in respective televised interviews, with some Democrats saying they are still willing to meet halfway on a new stimulus measure.

It came after President Donald Trump issued executive orders to provide $400-per-week in unemployment benefits, suspend evictions, and suspend student loan payments in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Last week, talks stalled between the White House and the Democratic negotiatorsHouse Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.).

Pelosi told CNN that there is of course  room for compromise on the $600-per-week unemployment benefits that Democrats had sought to keep. It depends on what else is in the bill, she added.

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), meanwhile, told Meet the Press on Sunday that Democrats in the Senate are ready to meet the White House and the Republicans halfway.

We were at $3.4 trillion in the bill that Nancy Pelosi and the House Democrats passed twelve weeks ago, Durbin, the current Senate minority whip, told the news outlet, referring to the House Democrat-passed HEROES Act. He added that now weve come down to the range of two trillion.

Senate Republicans have proposed $1 trillion in their HEALS Act, which omitted $1 trillion for state and local government funding.

Schumer, meanwhile, said that the executive orders that were authorized by Trump are unworkable, weak, and narrow.

That is why I am calling on President Trump and the GOP to meet Democrats in the middle  like we have done in the prior bills  and come up with an agreement that will actually help us get through this crisis, he told reporters.

Trump on Saturday signed the four executive actions, including the supplemental unemployment aid. Those who were unemployed were receiving $600-per-week in federal aid until the program expired at the end of last month.

Trump also deferred the payroll tax until Sept. 1 to Dec. 31, 2020, for employees making less than $100,000 per year. The payroll tax funds Medicare and Social Security, and employees will have to pay the federal government back.

Durbin remarked in the interview that there will be some challenges to some of Trumps executive orders in court.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said at the White House on Sunday that Democrats need to make the next move.

I think weve been very clear that they need to come back with a compromise on the state and local from their trillion dollars, and the unemployment benefits, and if so well respond. I think the majority of the other issues, weve reached a compromise on, Mnuchin added.
"But there is no doubt this will be an interesting earnings season in terms of what is actually reported. We are in unprecedented times undoubtedly," Hogg says. But investors will be wary of how companies interpret the COVID-19 disruptions and ACY Securities chief analyst Alistair Schultz says a clear narrative could be key to a companys success. A lot of the results are going to suck, but it could be down to how the leadership presents a plan that separates the companies that get hit hard from the companies that do well. And not every company is a COVID loser, there will be a bevy of companies that just happened to be offering the right products and services at the right time. Think supermarkets, iron ore miners and ventilator manufacturers. Financials

The banking sector has been at the epicentre of the dividend issue from the onset of the pandemic. The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) was quick off the blocks with its guidance, initially urging banks to scrap planned dividend payments to shareholders before softening its tone last month. Banks and insurers have been advised to limit payouts to a maximum of 50 per cent of profits and Commonwealth Banks results on Wednesday will show how the industry will respond to APRAs guidance. Brokers are divided on just how conservative CBAs board will be. Bell Potter analyst TS Lim, for instance, is forecasting a final CBA dividend of 20, down from $2.31 last year. JP Morgans Andrew Triggs has pencilled in a higher payout of 85 a share. Westpac, National Australia Bank and ANZ Bank will also provide quarterly trading updates this month and commentary on dividends will be firmly on the radar of investors. Retail All eyes will be on COVID costs as the retailers line up to report their earnings this month, with investors keen to know just how much companies spent maintaining social distancing in stores and shipping more orders online than ever before. The ongoing effects of JobKeeper on the overall sector will be closely watched by investors.

The likes of JB Hi-Fi, Harvey Norman and Super Retail Group have all reported impressive sales numbers during the lockdown, however little has been said about the state of their bottom lines. Meanwhile, supermarket majors Coles and Woolworths will be buoyed by sustained panic buying and Wesfarmers numbers could be a mixed bag, with Bunnings and Officeworks outperforming Kmart and Target. JB Hi-Fi has been forced to close its doors in Melbourne. Like many retailers, its sales were surprisingly strong after stimulus and early superannuation payments started flowing. Credit:Bloomberg Loading The greatest damage will be worn by the discretionary and fashion retail space. Myer, Premier Investments and Lovisa are likely to post weaker sales and profits. Conversely, the online-only stores look set to inject a dose of positivity on the back of double-digit sales growth across most major retailers and the likes of Kogan and Temple & Webster more than doubling their market capitalisation in recent months. Healthcare

The pandemic has been a mixed blessing for the healthcare sector. Some stocks have benefited while others have been hit hard as the virus forced them to press pause on their day-to-day sales and operations. Sector heavyweight CSLs earnings will be closely watched, as will the numbers coming out from hearing implant maker Cochlear. The respective results of both companies will reveal the rigours of the pandemic on their core businesses and the road ahead. Blood plasma giant CSLs earnings will show whether COVID-19 has had a long-term impact on the cost and volumes of plasma donations in its main market, the US. Further details on CSL's vaccine project with the University of Queensland will also be keenly sought. Meanwhile, Cochlears numbers will show how it has weathered the storm given elective surgery shutdowns have disrupted implant sales. Last year it paid a final dividend of $1.75 but is expected to cancel the August dividend this year. Elsewhere, high testing rates for COVID-19 could more than offset earnings weakness for stocks such as Sonic Healthcare. Technology

The local technology sector has enjoyed the biggest growth this year and players big and small are likely to be fairly upbeat when it comes to outlook. Reporting season seems almost meaningless for the volatile buy now, pay later sector because a series of capital raisings by Afterpay, Sezzle and Splitit has already shed much light on the performance numbers that otherwise would have waited for the full-year results. But as fellow fintech Flexigroup has shown, there is still a lot of bad news potentially lurking in the statements. Loading Flexigroup factored in a $31 million credit loss provision after looking ahead at the tide of unemployment that will hit the economy over the coming year. And as Citi says of Afterpay (up 695 per cent since March 23): We are cautious on the outlook for consumer discretionary spend and bad debts when fiscal stimulus measures end." Meanwhile, logistics software maker Wisetech has not been on the same rollercoaster as the other tech stocks but all eyes will be on founder and CEO Richard White's explanation of how the reduced earnout liabilities - which will add more than $100 million to the bottom line for the year ended - does not represent a black mark against its acquisition strategy. Circuit board designer Altium has already revealed an unaudited 10 per cent rise in revenue but will have to tell shareholders how much its bottom line has been battered by COVID-19. Appen and Xero have financial years ending March 31 and will not be reporting this month.

Mining The mining sector has emerged as a rare bright spot with solid prices for the country's top commodity exports expected to help companies avoid steep earnings declines. Central to this has been the ebullient iron ore prices, fuelled by resilient demand from China and supply disruptions in Brazil. With spot price above $US100 a tonne BHP, Rio Tinto and Fortescue are all in rude health. The country's gold miners, too, have enjoyed a strong run lately, with the yellow metal proving to be one of this year's best-performing assets as investors seek out safe havens. Gold prices are up almost 20 per cent since the crisis began and this month passed $US1800 an ounce for the first time since 2011, boosting the profits of miners such as Newcrest. Concerns about wider markets and the global economy are expectedto continue supporting the gold price, while the price of copper has been boosted by virus impacts on South American mines. BHP produces both gold and iron ore, which are at record high prices. However, there are fears about the long-term impact of the coronavirus on demand for industrial metals. The outlook for some commodities like coal and copper are emerging as softer than many in the market had been expecting.

Energy Compared to the miners, Australia's oil and gas sector finds itself facing some tough questions. Lockdown restrictions have seen demand for petrol, diesel, jet fuel and gas plummet and the price shock looks set to reverberate for years to come. In the past month alone, Woodside wrote $6.3 billion off the value of its assets, Origin $1.2 billion and Santos $1.1 billion. Oil Search slashed $500 million and axed a third of its workforce. UBS predicts earnings per share in the energy sector to fall 44.4 per cent largely due to the collapse in prices. No one could have predicted that in 2020 airlines and oil producers would be smashed by a sudden shutdown in global air travel. Qantas has grounded some of its fleet at Avalon Airport in Victoria. Credit:Jason South For the top two power utilities - AGL and Origin - earnings in their energy markets divisions will be impacted by slumping demand as offices, small businesses and factories temporarily shut down. They also face tumbling power prices due to an influx of cheap renewable energy entering the grid. Rising economic hardship coupled with huge increases in working-from-home power usage also raises the prospect of a surge in bad and doubtful debts from customers unable to pay their bills. Telecommunications

The telecommunications sector has been fairly resilient but market leader Telstra's numbers will be under the microscope. The pandemic has slowed down Telstra's "T22" restructure program and with the rollout of the National Broadband Network now largely complete, the telco's boss Andrew Penn's commentary on the results will signpost an interesting 12 months ahead for the industry. It will be a much more dire earnings season for the media industry, which has drastically cut costs and in some cases renegotiated with lenders to adapt to significant decline in advertising revenue. REITs Finally, investors will be hoping the office and retail property sectors' post-pandemic future will become clearer as sector heavyweights reveal their results. Many of the main landlords have already warned the market of asset value write-downs but it will be comments on the outlook that will sway sentiment. Retail landlords have been the hardest hit with close to 90 per cent of tenants being forced to close due to the pandemic. Some of those tenants are unlikely to open their doors again. Malls have survived thanks to supermarkets and food, but they also have a heavy reliance on cinemas, beauty salons and fitness centres, which are closed or struggling. Westfield mall owner Scentre Group and its rival Vicinity have already flagged hefty hits to the value of their respective portfolios.
Jharkhand on Saturday reported the highest ever single-day spike in Covid-19 cases and fatalities after 1,084 people were found infected with coronavirus and 14 patients died in different hospitals across the state.

As many as 40 security personnel deployed at chief minister Hemant Sorens residence, 73 inmates of Ranchis Birsa Munda Central Jail (BMCJ) and 41 police personnel in Giridih district were among the 1,084 new patients detected on Saturday.

The state, however, also witnessed the highest ever single-day recoveries after 888 patients were cured and discharged in the last 24 hours.

With these new cases, the states total count touched 17,626 including 9,067 active cases, 8,391 recovered cases and 168 deaths.

According to the health departments bulletin released on August 8 night, Ranchi topped the list after detecting a maximum of 412 cases, the highest ever single-day spike of any district. Besides, Giridih reported the second highest number of cases adding 286 patients.

Of the 14 deaths reported on Saturday, seven occurred in East Singhbhums Jamshedpur, four in Dhanbad and one each in Ranchi, Godda and Koderma districts.

With the addition of 412 new Covid-19 cases, Ranchi has so far reported 3,563 cases including 2,074 active cases, 1,460 recoveries and 29 deaths.

The 40 people in the chief ministers residence are security guards. They came in contact with two cooks, who had tested positive earlier, said state health departments principal secretary Nitin Kulkarni.

He added, People still are not following the preventive measures like using masks and maintaining social distancing in their true sense leading to a spike in cases. Police personnel living in barracks get easily infected due to ignorance of social distancing norms.

On August 4, chief minister Hemant Soren along with his family members and staff had undergone the Covid-19 test after 19 people associated with his office and residence including some cooks and security guards were found infected.

However, test reports of the CM and his family members returned negative. A day later, another 22 staff of the CMs residence were found infected with the disease.

This is the second time in less than a month that the CM had undergone the Covid-19 test and was found negative. Earlier in July, the chief minister had placed himself in home quarantine after coming in contact with a minister and his partys legislator who was found infected with the virus.

According to the health departments bulletin of August 8, the pandemics seven days growth rate stood at 5.24% and diseases doubling period was 13.57 days. The recovery rate was 47.65% and mortality rate was 0.91%.
The prime minister, launching the fund through a video-conference Sunday, said it would create post-harvest infrastructure in villages and generate jobs

New Delhi: Asserting that the government's agri-reforms are focused on empowering small farmers, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday launched a financing facility of Rs 1 lakh crore under the Agri-Infra Fund that will help create post-harvest infrastructure in villages and generate jobs.

He also said that the country does not face problems in farm production but in post-harvest losses and therefore efforts are being made to strengthen post-harvest infrastructure facilities and ensure better income for farmers.

Modi launched the fund through a video conference on the auspicious occasion of Balram Jayanthi, a day when farmers worship plow. Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar and farmers from some states also participated in the video conference.

"On this auspicious occasion, a special fund of Rs 1 lakh crore has been launched to create agriculture-related infrastructure facilities in the country.

"This will help in creating better storage facilities and modern cold storage chains in villages. Many employment opportunities will get created in villages," Modi said after the launch.

The Prime Minister reiterated that India has a huge opportunity to invest in post-harvest management solutions like warehousing, cold chain, and food processing, and build a global presence in areas such as organic and fortified foods.

He also mentioned that this scheme provides a good opportunity for start-ups in agriculture to avail the benefits and scale their operations, thereby creating an ecosystem that reaches farmers in every corner of the country.

Modi also interacted with farmers from Karnataka, Gujarat, and Madhya Pradesh who are among the initial beneficiaries of the credit facility under this new fund through Primary Agricultural Credit Societies for creating post-harvest facilities.

Under the Agri-Infra Fund, about Rs 1 lakh crore will be sanctioned under the financing facility in partnership with multiple lending institutions as loans to Primary Agri Credit Societies (PACS), farmer groups, Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs), agri-entrepreneurs, start-ups, and agri-tech players.

Already, 11 of the 12 public sector banks have signed initial agreements with the Agriculture Ministry.

Under the fund, about three percent interest subvention and credit guarantee of up to Rs 2 crore will be provided to the beneficiaries to increase the viability of the projects.

Loans will be disbursed in four years starting with a sanction of Rs 10,000 crore in the current year and Rs 30,000 crore each in the next three financial years.
The effectiveness of online classes has also become a sensitive issue for school managements caught between government instructions and parental expectations.

Vaishnavi Bhardwajs school is her grandmothers puja room. And her classroom is her grandmothers smartphone. From Monday to Friday, nine-year-old Vaishnavi is ready for school by 9 am.

Her mother Rashi makes sure that the Class four student at a private school in East Delhi has all the required text books and notebooks ready in time for her morning class prayer, signalling the beginning of her school day.

Schools in the National Capital began their new new academic session on 1 July with technology-driven classes over the internet and on television. Private school students like Vaishnavi, every morning wear their uniforms, pack their bags, reach class on time and start with their "good morning madam" followed by marking of attendance.

All on Zoom, or on Google Classroom.

Vaishnavi and her ilk, however, are among the fortunate few. Tens of thousands of other students in the city have yet to get that being in the classroom feeling. Most of them are tenuously connected to their teachers, homework and assignments, via phone call or a YouTube link, meant more as an aid to parents to home school their children.

On 17 July, the Ministry of Human Resources Development asked the Delhi government, and other state governments, to get feedback from parents on when schools should open and what they expected from schools. State governments were expected to revert by 20 July, an impossibly short deadline for realistic feedback collection from parents battling work from home and slow lockdown exits.

On 19 July, a parents association from Delhi urged Union HRD minister Ramesh Pokhriyal not to reopen schools for the academic year 2020-21 or until children have been vaccinated against the coronavirus. Sources in the ministry say states have asked for more time to get feedback from schools and parents.

States, in turn, are awaiting the MHAs next guidelines on unlocking. But one source remarked that this entire academic session may include only online education, online examination and online evaluation.

Meanwhile, the Delhi Parents Association appears to be smitten by the whole idea of taking online teaching, learning, evaluation and online admission to the next level.

Self-motivation has gone up among students as children are excited with the technology interface, said a freelance consultant with a chain of private-aided schools in the capital, on condition of anonymity. True, some parents who were not plugged into technology and actively involved with the teachers were reluctant, but most of them have worked their way through this and are now convinced that online classes are the best in the given circumstances.

In fact, how effectively the online classes are being executed and absorbed has become a sensitive issue for school managements who find themselves caught between government instructions and parental expectations, even as they have to learn to teach in a different way.

Asked if they had any short duration workshops to train teachers on delivering lessons in a digital format, this consultant answered in the negative. Some teachers said they were capable of it, some said they were helped by their adult children. At least in our schools, where students are middle class and the aspirational upper sections of the poor who want English-medium education, there has been no decision on training teachers. Yet, they are managing pretty well.

Delhi government's stance

Deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, who holds the education portfolio, is deeply involved with all aspects of school education in the National Capital Territory. He has even authored a book titled Shiksha: My Experiments as an Education Minister.

Among the early innovations he introduced in government schools are the now famous happiness classes as well as the lesser known Entrepreneurship Mindset Curriculum (Delhi has 1,030 government schools, 1,700 MCD schools, 68 NDMC schools, 46 Kendriya Vidyalayas, six schools run by the Delhi Cantonment Board, two Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas, about 259 aided schools and 2,812 public schools).

Online learning may not be a solution, but it is a necessity today, Sisodia told a batch of 50 government school principals on 20 July, as they began their Principal Training Programme being conducted by the IIM, Ahmedabad. I urge all school principals to fully commit to it.

Sisodia has often said that the biggest problem with online education was its potential to create a digital divide between those who have access to technology and those who dont. He describes the Delhi governments remote teaching-learning plan as learning with a human feel.

The Union Ministry of HRD has, in fact, classified households by available digital infrastructure into six different levels. And the Delhi

government has clubbed students from kindergarten to Class 8 into one cohort, classes 9 and 10 in a second cohort and classes 11 and 12 in a third cohort.

Worksheets based on daily syllabus aimed at promoting reading, writing, understanding, basic numeracy and happiness among the children are WhatsApped by teachers to students of classes KG to 8. Those in classes 9 and 10 receive worksheets with subject-related content.

For classes 11 and 12, live online classes are conducted for up to two hours a day in a dozen subjects. The education department has also asked principals to ensure that teachers maintain a constantly updated WhatsApp group of parents and students.

For good measure, they have been directed to maintain telephone numbers of those who do not have a smartphone, and these parents are asked to collect the worksheets for the entire week. Government school principals have been directed to report on the completion of the weekly syllabus set for different classes.

Nuances missing

That is the government design. But talk to the teachers and one of the most scathing criticisms is about the way online education has been being conceptualised. It was simply transferring face-to-face classroom sessions to online platforms such as Zoom or Google classroom, they said. There was little training or planning among teachers and school administrations and of course, little preparation in advance.

It is worrisome that there is no thought being given to whether the online medium could be seen as an opportunity to prepare more creative, interactive content tailored to online teaching, said a senior government school teacher., on condition of anonymity.

According to her, classes have now been reduced to mere one way delivery, with little or no personal contact, no way of gauging whos getting it and whos not. The advantage of using multimedia is not there. There is also no mechanism in the present system of knowing what students feel, whether their needs are being met, how many are losing interest, she said.

When you talk to parents and children, it is apparent that each school is doing the best it can, in whatever manner it can. My daughter attends her classes on Zoom, said the mother of a student in one of the Springdales schools. There is no classroom feel to it. The teacher does not teach really, simply gives assignments and tells them what to do. Sometimes she sends a YouTube link where the teacher is generally solving problems. This is really for the parents; using it, I have to teach my daughter. Also, they do not repeat the syllabus they have covered.

Unequal access

In schools where the children are not from well-off backgrounds, Sisodias fears of a digital divide are coming true. An alumni association of one such school wanted to chip in and provide a limited number of laptops, at least for teachers. According to a member, the kind of laptops they wanted were simply not available in the numbers needed.

Rani Kumari. whose daughter and son are studying in a government school in east Delhi was close to tears when she spoke about how difficult it was for her to manage their WhatsApp lessons. There is one phone between three of us. And when I am not educated, how can I help with my childrens home work? she asked.

Ranis daughter is in Class 6. Her son is in Class 4. She pays Rs 700 a month for a lady in her neighbourhood to help with homework.

And she is not convinced that their education is headed in the right direction.

A senior teacher in a School of ExcellencePratibha Vikas Vidyalaya  pointed out that all students in classes 11 and 12 in these schools were given tablets in February. But that hardly solved the problem or bridged the digital divide. In one case, the family had simply traded the tablet shortly after receiving it, perceiving it to be useless.

In another instance, a girl said she had to give her tablet to her brothers son who went to a private school and was having online classes at the same time; never mind that she was in Class 11 while the other child was in Class 1. Clearly, and not surprisingly, the gender issue remains at play.

New initiatives

Incidentally, the Delhi School Teachers Forum (DSTF) uploads lessons and tests students on what was taught the previous week, using their blog and Google forms. The blog also uploads links to all the online classes of the Delhi governments education department, for students from KG to Class 12.

Multiple choice questions (MCQs) are based on these lessons. The MCQ test, however, requires students to be signed in, put in their name and roll number as per the school record, name of the school (which drops down) and the name of their teacher.

In a random check on 21 July, a test conducted on 20 July revealed the following: There were 10 MCQs on history. The blog said the DSTF would share the results with the students on Sunday. The link for Business Study tests redirects students to an identical Google form- based MCQ test, created by the Commerce Teachers Forum, Delhi.

According to the blog, 856 students gave a political science test based on classes conducted on 16 July, and over 180 got eight out of 10 points. More than 150 got nine out of 10, and more than 150 got a perfect 10. Their names, the name of their school, and those of their teachers are displayed on the site. All The students tried their best. Some students performance is very good and DSTF congratulates them and their teachers. KEEP IT UP, the post states.

Going by the number of students taking these tests, the blog is growing in popularity, though it is too soon to estimate whether it can be a substitute for face-to-face classes and written tests.

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has, as a one-time measure, reduced the syllabus for the new academic year by up to 30 percent in about 190 subjects. To ensure uniformity and standardisation in the teaching and testing of the new reduced curriculum without compromising on the quality and learning level of students, the board organised a virtual orientation programme for principals and teachers on 17 July.

According to a member of the Indian Principals Network, 16 points were emphasised. These included the need to face challenges with positivity and spread positivity, said an IPN member. The programme also emphasised the important role of parents and that focus is not only on content but on learning outcomes and to extensively use the E-pathshala and Diksha apps where academic books and video content is available.

The Education Directorate of the Government of Delhi has also launched a blog targeting primary teachers and students across the 449 Sarvodaya Vidyalayas. It is being used additionally to put out online teaching. The blog uploads week-wise worksheets in various subjects and there are separate blogs for teachers of English and math.

All these efforts are inevitably facing teething problems given that it is still very early in the day. The over 32 television channels that have been roped into filling the learning and teaching needs have hardly received any eyeballs, while those who have seen it found them insipid.

The government will soon have to address the issue of how a majority of the device and connectivity challenged students of government schools can overcome these hurdles.
(Alliance News) - UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has spoken of "a moral duty" to get all children back in class amid indications he would force pubs, restaurants and shops to close ahead of schools in the event of severe coronavirus flare-ups.

Johnson is understood to favour only closing schools as the last resort after scientific advisers warned more restrictions may be needed to reopen classrooms in England next month.

Children's commissioner for England Anne Longfield had said the reopening of schools "should be prioritised", insisting they must be first to reopen and last to close during any reintroduction of restrictions.

But Schools Minister Nick Gibb said this week that the government cannot "decree" that classroom education would be prioritised, instead saying decisions would be made by local health chiefs.

However, a No 10 source said on Saturday that Johnson's expectation is that schools would be the last sector to close, with firms being shut first in the event of severe local lockdowns.

"The PM has been clear that businesses including shops, pubs and restaurants should be forced to close first, with schools remaining open for as long as possible," the source said.

Johnson, writing in the Mail on Sunday, said it is the "national priority" to get all pupils back into classrooms in September after months without in-person education.

"This pandemic isn't over, and the last thing any of us can afford to do is become complacent," he wrote.

"But now that we know enough to reopen schools to all pupils safely, we have a moral duty to do so."

He warned of the "spiralling economic costs" of parents and carers being unable to work, adding: "Keeping our schools closed a moment longer than absolutely necessary is socially intolerable, economically unsustainable and morally indefensible."

And this was echoed by Wellcome Trust director Jeremy Farrar who wrote in The Observer: "As we head into autumn we will be forced to make tough choices in order to keep transmission down while restarting the economy, increasing employment and protecting public health.

"There are no easy answers, but one thing is clear: reopening schools must be the priority."

The prime minister was also keen to stress the potential damage to children's health if they do not return and that the virus presents only a very low threat of making them seriously ill, amid concerns parents may not feel comfortable sending them back during the pandemic.

The Downing Street source said: "The PM has stressed that the harm done to children's education prospects by not attending school as well as to their mental health is far more damaging than the low risk posed, which schools will be carefully managing, and that those from disadvantaged backgrounds are suffering the most."

Chris Whitty, the chief medical officer for England, has warned the nation has "probably reached near the limit or the limits" of what can be done to reopen society safely.

And Neil Ferguson, whose modelling led to the decision to impose the lockdown, suggested ministers would need to "row back on the relaxation of restrictions" to allow a full-time return to schools while keeping the virus under control.

On Wednesday, Gibb said a "more nuanced response" would be taken when asked about Longfield's call for schools to be prioritised, as she criticised ministers for treating children "as an afterthought" during the crisis.

He told the BBC all children would be returning next month including in areas hit by local lockdowns, which currently includes Preston, Greater Manchester, Leicester and parts of east Lancashire and West Yorkshire.

"But you can't decree this for every single case and it will depend on the circumstances of a local increase in the infection rate, and that is why it is being led by the director of public health in localities. But we want all children back in school," he added.

Saturday's developments came as experts suggested pubs, with their typically poor ventilation, noise necessitating loud voices, and social environments, could carry a greater transmission risk than planes.

"It is a perfect storm aided and abetted by alcohol the enabler," one the scientists, Bharat Pankhania, a senior clinical lecturer at the University of Exeter, told the PA news agency.

Mixing in pubs and homes was blamed for a rise in Covid-19 cases in Preston, the latest area to have restrictions reimposed.

By Sam Blewett, PA Political Correspondent

source: PA

Copyright 2020 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
China has given the internet traffic blocking capabilities a big update and is now using more modern interception technology. This will further strengthen what is known as the The Great Firewall of China as it continues to censor and block content, websites and apps from access by users within China. The update to the censoring tools is believed to be more potent in restricting HTTPS traffic that uses new technologies like TLS 1.3 and ESNI (Encrypted Server Name Indication). This comes as a part of a new joint report published this week by iYouPort, University of Maryland, and the Great Firewall Report. These three organizations have been tracking Chinese censorship on the internet.

We confirm that the Great Firewall (GFW) of China has recently begun blocking ESNIone of the foundational features of TLS 1.3 and HTTPS. We empirically demonstrate what triggers this censorship and how long residual censorship lasts, say the authors of the report. The Transport Layer Security (TLS) standard is the basis of secure HTTPS, or Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure protocol, which allows users to see who they are communicating with, but no intermediary can snoop in on the information being transmitted. This communication also includes the Server Name Indication (SNI), which Chinese censors will use to detect and block content, websites and apps.

TLS 1.3 introduced Encrypted SNI (ESNI) that, put simply, encrypts the SNI so that intermediaries cannot view it. ESNI has the potential to complicate nation-states abilities to censor HTTPS content; rather than be able to block only connections to specific websites, ESNI would require censors to block all TLS connections to specific servers. We do confirm that this is now happening in China! reveals the report.

Researchers say that the blocking can be triggered bidirectionally, which means a connection from outside China can be blocked by the firewall, as would a connection from a user in China to a destination outside the firewall. There is however a way, researchers say, to circumvent the new-found powers of the firewall. This can be deployed by the client or the server. Geneva (Genetic Evasion) is a genetic algorithm developed by those of us at the University of Maryland that automatically discovers new censorship evasion strategies. Geneva manipulates packet streamsinjecting, altering, fragmenting, and dropping packetsin a manner that bypasses censorship without impacting the original underlying connection, say the researchers. However, they do warn that this tool is a research prototype and does not provide any encryption, protection, data privacy and is not optimized for speed.
Health Minister Jenny Mikakos has acknowledged mistakes were made while Victorian authorities tried to bring coronavirus cases under control, saying she was "deeply sorry" if her efforts had not been enough.

In an extraordinary late-night tweet, Ms Mikakos urged people to let an independent inquiry investigate failings in government-run hotel quarantine that led to community outbreaks, saying she would "let the cards fall where they may".

Health Minister Jenny Mikakos in Parliament on Tuesday. Credit:Jason South

The admission followed a tumultuous week for the minister, in which she was branded "arrogant" by the opposition after refusing to answer questions put to her in Parliament.

Problems with the hotel quarantine operation are believed to have been responsible for the initial outbreak that led to the second surge in coronavirus cases.
This article will reflect on the compensation paid to Jordan Kaplan who has served as CEO of Douglas Emmett, Inc. (NYSE:DEI) since 2005. This analysis will also evaluate the appropriateness of CEO compensation when taking into account the earnings and shareholder returns of the company.

View our latest analysis for Douglas Emmett

How Does Total Compensation For Jordan Kaplan Compare With Other Companies In The Industry?

According to our data, Douglas Emmett, Inc. has a market capitalization of US$5.9b, and paid its CEO total annual compensation worth US$9.4m over the year to December 2019. That's a modest increase of 8.0% on the prior year. While we always look at total compensation first, our analysis shows that the salary component is less, at US$1.0m.

On comparing similar companies from the same industry with market caps ranging from US$4.0b to US$12b, we found that the median CEO total compensation was US$6.0m. Accordingly, our analysis reveals that Douglas Emmett, Inc. pays Jordan Kaplan north of the industry median. Furthermore, Jordan Kaplan directly owns US$79m worth of shares in the company, implying that they are deeply invested in the company's success.

Component 2019 2018 Proportion (2019) Salary US$1.0m US$1.0m 11% Other US$8.4m US$7.7m 89% Total Compensation US$9.4m US$8.7m 100%

Talking in terms of the industry, salary represented approximately 15% of total compensation out of all the companies we analyzed, while other remuneration made up 85% of the pie. In Douglas Emmett's case, non-salary compensation represents a greater slice of total remuneration, in comparison to the broader industry. If total compensation is slanted towards non-salary benefits, it indicates that CEO pay is linked to company performance.

A Look at Douglas Emmett, Inc.'s Growth Numbers

Over the past three years, Douglas Emmett, Inc. has seen its earnings per share (EPS) grow by 47% per year. It achieved revenue growth of 3.6% over the last year.

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Overall this is a positive result for shareholders, showing that the company has improved in recent years. 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 Douglas Emmett, Inc. Been A Good Investment?

Given the total shareholder loss of 16% over three years, many shareholders in Douglas Emmett, Inc. are probably rather dissatisfied, to say the least. So shareholders would probably want the company to be lessto generous with CEO compensation.

To Conclude...

As we noted earlier, Douglas Emmett pays its CEO higher than the norm for similar-sized companies belonging to the same industry. However, the earnings per share growth is certainly impressive, but it's disappointing to see negative shareholder returns over the same period. Considering overall performance, we can't say Jordan is underpaid, in fact compensation is definitely on the higher side.

CEO pay is simply one of the many factors that need to be considered while examining business performance. We identified 4 warning signs for Douglas Emmett (2 shouldn't be ignored!) 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.
Carlos Osorio

The article on the Legislatures approval of a bill that would ban toxic PFAS chemicals in food packaging mentions several of the PFAS-related environmental disasters in New York from Hoosick Falls water contamination to the incineration of PFAS foam in Cohoes. Readers should know that exposure to PFAS suppresses the immune systems capacity to make antibodies, potentially undermining the bodys ability to fight COVID-19 as well as other infectious diseases. Further, PFAS exposure is linked to several health conditions llike diabetes and kidney disease that are known to contribute to increased severity of COVID-19 infection. We must stop allowing toxic PFAS to leach into our food from packaging, especially since there are safer alternative materials. Gov. Andrew Cuomo should sign this urgent public health measure without delay.

Eve Gartner
While Alex Trebek has been known for decades as the suit-and-tie-wearing, academically exacting host of Jeopardy!, he hasnt always been.

The 80-year-old shared in his memoir, The Answer Is about his school days in Canada, with self-described behavior so trying, he was eventually asked not to return.

Find out the lengths the future television personality went to in order to get back into his schools good graces.

Alex Trebek | Ethan Miller/Getty Images

Trebeks parents got married because his mother was expecting him

As a young man, Trebek wrote in his memoir, he became privy to the fact that his parents had married because his mother learned she was expecting the future quiz show host. But there was most certainly love between the pair.

RELATED: Jeopardy! Aired Alex Trebeks First Episode From 1984 and Fans Still Dont Know What to Make Of It

I think [his mothers] taking up with Dad mightve been a way to rebel a little, Trebek wrote, and to try to get herself out of the house and out on her own. And Dad was happy because he had found a family. They cared deeply for each other.

They had to get married because Mom got pregnant, he said. My mother went through thirty-six hours of labor before delivering me. She lived to be 95 and reminded me of this many times.

Alex Trebek was asked not to return to school because of his antics

Trebeks parents relationship began to deteriorate, and they separated, causing him to act up in school. Unfortunately, it almost cost him his education.

I mentioned earlier that my parents cared deeply for each other, but they were ill-suited, Trebek admitted. Dad was a smoker and a heavy drinker. Mom was a teetotaler, and she was brighter than he was. Divorce was almost unheard of in our community, but they separated, which caused me no end of grief.

RELATED: Jeopardy!: Alex Trebek on His 1 Career Regret

A father of three today, Trebek, as many children do in moments of family strife, blamed himself.

Somehow I thought it was my fault because they had been forced to marry he recalled. I began acting out, and that didnt serve me well at the University of Ottawa prep school. I was unruly, so unruly they were going to throw me out.

Alex Trebekbegging?

His school didnt throw him out but they told Trebek with finality that he was not welcome back.

At first, he wrote, his younger self was just fine with the situation. His unhappiness with the circumstances at home had seemingly affected his demeanor at school as well. As far as he was concerned, it was good riddance to be done with that school.

Then the realization swept over him that he had thrown something valuable away.

[T]hat summer, he wrote, I started thinking, Jeez, this is not good. So my dad and I went to Ottawaand basically on bended knee we begged the principal to be allowed to come backHe said hed take a chance on me, and I never gave him cause to regret that decision.

RELATED: Alex Trebeks Wife, Jean, Opened Up About the Moment She Suspected Her Husband Was Not Well
A closed sign in Deja 42 front window in Philadelphia with other stores reflected in the window on May 29. Read more

For seven years, Maxine Sheaffer owned an art studio in Philadelphias Manayunk section, where aspiring painters went for lessons and workshops. Her studio, Art on Main, was a gathering place to explore creativity, said Sheaffer, 39, who ran the business with her husband and a part-time worker.

Sheaffers studio closed in mid-March after Gov. Tom Wolf ordered the temporary shutdown of businesses deemed nonessential, as the wildfire-like spread of COVID-19 made gatherings dangerous. Sheaffer lost her customers and couldnt earn enough on art commissions to pay bills. She made the hard choice in May to close Art on Main forever.

Its been very difficult, Sheaffer said. All you can do is be hopeful that in the future this isnt going to continue.

Sheaffers studio is among thousands of small shops, salons, studios, and eateries that couldnt survive the pandemic. In the Philadelphia region, at least 252 businesses have permanently closed between March 1 and July 10, according to Yelp, the business listing and review website. That tally is almost certainly an undercount, as it includes only businesses that reported their closures on Yelp.

More small businesses are expected to go under after weathering the first five months of the pandemic, experts said. Operating a small business is challenging enough in good times, but now they are navigating government restrictions, cautious consumers, and widespread remote work that has slashed downtown foot traffic, experts said.

 READ MORE: What happens to neighborhood appeal if the coronavirus closes small businesses for good?

The widespread loss of so many small businesses is not only a concern for individual owners but will also slow a broader recovery, said Joel Naroff, president of Naroff Economics, a consulting firm in Bucks County. That will contribute to the problems of trying to get the economy growing at a fast pace because that will raise the unemployment rate.

Small businesses collectively employ almost half of all private-sector workers nationwide and make up 44% of economic output, according to the Small Business Administration. As of 2017, a vast majority of businesses in the Philadelphia region qualified as small, with 99.7% employing fewer than 500 people, while 53.7 percent employed fewer than five people, according to the Economy League of Greater Philadelphia.

Jennifer Kinka saw her staff shrink from 21 employees to seven after she closed two of the three storefronts of the Nesting House, a retail business she launched in 2010 to offer cloth diapers, wooden toys and other sustainable childcare items to new parents. Though the business has an online presence, most sales are made in-store and foot traffic was suddenly a fraction of what it was before the pandemic, she said. Kinka made the tough choice to shut down her South and West Philly locations in mid-May, leaving only a Mount Airy shop.

I woke up sick to my stomach when I realized I was going to have to pull these out of the communities, she said. There were many, many people who relied on them, but our hands were tied.

 READ MORE: Coronavirus is forcing small businesses to close for good: Theres nothing we can do

Its impossible to get a definitive count of local businesses that shut down during the pandemic. Representatives for state and city government agencies, chambers of commerce and local trade associations said no agency or group keeps such tallies.

And any count of failed businesses will likely miss those operated solely by owners. Consultants, independent contractors, and solopreneurs  who run shops by themselves  are often not included as small businesses since they dont have employees, said Maura Shenker, director of Temples Small Business Development Center. Plus, there is an informal economy of businesses that operate without a license, such as those that run out of their owners homes, she said.

Still, some firms have tried to quantify the damage. When counting temporary closures, there were 2,053 businesses in the Philadelphia metropolitan region that were still shut down as of July 10, Yelp said. Yelp declined to share the total number of Philadelphia-area businesses in its database.

The number of small businesses open in the Philadelphia metro area retreated 15% between January and July 24, according to data from the San Francisco software company Womply, which was published by Opportunity Insights, a Harvard-backed research group.

Womply has tracked transactions for just under 9,000 firms in the Philadelphia region, and counts businesses as closed if they have not seen a debit or credit card transaction for at least three straight days. The 15% decline amounts to about 1,350 Philadelphia-area businesses that are still closed since January.

The leisure and hospitality industry was hit harder, with the number of open businesses in that sector down nearly 21%. Education and health services businesses fell 33% since January.

Retail and restaurants have fared the worst during the pandemic, according to Yelps national data. Between March 1 and June 15, more than 27,600 retail stores have temporarily or permanently closed, followed by nearly 24,000 restaurants. About 20% of all closures were retail businesses, and 35% of those are permanent, Yelp said.

Small businesses face the added challenge of having fewer resources than large corporations. Small businesses often carry enough cash to last a month and dont have as much access to credit or loans as larger firms, Temples Shenker said.

Government grants and loans  such as the federal Paycheck Protection Program  have kept many small businesses afloat. More than five million PPP loans totaling more than $521 billion have been approved as of July 31, according to the SBA. But once that money runs out, more small businesses will close, said Naroff, the Bucks County economist.

 READ MORE: Minority-owned small businesses were largely shut out of Pa.s first coronavirus loan program

Not everyone has the same access to these lifeline loans, some advocates said. Jennifer Rodriguez, president of the Greater Philadelphia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, has worked with businesses that have struggled with applying for loans or grants, and have had trouble transitioning to virtual platforms. Rodriguez notes that low- and moderate-income communities dont pivot to technology and online purchasing at the same rate as more affluent communities do. That means their business models still have a strong need for in-person interaction.

She worries about the impact the pandemic will have on the local hospitality industry, too. The Latino is the backbone of that industry, with both workers and owners, she said. For our community, it would be really, really devastating to see those businesses not make it.

Yelps national data show the biggest spikes of permanent closures occurred in March, followed by May and June. That suggests businesses that were already struggling closed right away, then businesses that tried to hold on were forced to close in recent months, Yelp said in a recent report.

Shelley Marine and Karen Cooke are affectionately known by their customers as the Shiva Ladies. They own In Time of Need, a two-person business that helps plan shivas, funerals and memorial services in the Philadelphia region.

Marine said they used to get two or three calls a week pre-pandemic, but their phones stopped ringing once restrictions were placed on large gatherings. Theyve been out of work since March 11.

In Time of Need has been in business since 2010, but Marine isnt sure how much longer it can last. What upsets Marine the most is not potentially losing the business, but the inability to help the community.

This is everyones time of need, and we cant do anything about it, she said.
Nearly 100,000 children tested positive for COVID-19 in the last two weeks of July, just weeks ahead of schools reopening in some states amid the pandemic.

In total 97,000 children tested positive for the novel coronavirus from July 16 to July 30, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Today there are more than five million cases of COVID-19 in the country and over 162,000 deaths. Out of those infections more than 338,000 were children.

Dr. Tina Hartert of Vanderbilt University says increased testing of children will be the key to determining their role in transmitting the virus  data more important than ever as some school districts return to in-person class this month.

Shes leading a government-funded study where DIY testing kits were sent to some 2,000 families.

'The kits are shipped to the families, they are taught how to collect these samples, and then the samples are sent back by the families to a central repository,' she said in an interview with CBS News.

Dr. Tina Hartert of Vanderbilt University says increased testing of children will be the key to determining their role in transmitting the virus, data that is increasingly important as nearly 100,000 children tested positive for COVID-19 in just the last two weeks of July

In total 97,000 children tested positive for the novel coronavirus from July 16 to July 30, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics, just weeks ahead of schools reopening for the new year

Protests have unfolded in school districts across the country, some rallying for in-person classes to recommence, others pleading for remote learning

The two largest school districts in California  Los Angeles and San Diego  which runs a combined K-12 student population of 720,000 decided to start the school year via remote learning due to rising coronavirus hospitalizations and rising infection rates in the state.

New York, on the other hand will be open this fall, as mayor Bill De Blasio pledged officials 'have worked incessantly to get this right'.

On Friday the mayor assured officials looked at examples of returning to in-person school 'from all around the world' to assure kids would be safe.

De Blasio said parents had until Friday night to register students for in-person instruction, remote learning or a hybrid system.

While the virus was initially said to hit children less severely than adults, more than 25 children died from the coronavirus in July alone.

Now teachers and school districts grapple with how to educate students while maintaining social distancing, protecting students, and themselves.

In Niles, Michigan Superintendent Dan Applegate believes having Plexiglas in the classroom will help students, especially those who need extra attention, be able to participate in class without a mask.

In Niles, Michigan Superintendent Dan Applegate believes having Plexiglas in the classroom will help students, especially those who need extra attention, be able to participate in class without a mask

In Georgia, where school has already started, a photo of a hallway packed with students not wearing masks at North Paulding High School went viral last week as it reopened for classes

In Indianas Lawrence Township school buses will be cleaned with hospital-grade disinfectant spray for students to ride safely

In Indianas Lawrence Township school buses will be cleaned with hospital-grade disinfectant spray.

In Georgia, where school has already started, a photo of a hallway packed with students not wearing masks at North Paulding High School went viral last week as it reopened for classes.

Six students and three staffers have since reported testing positive for the virus after school opened.

Colleges are also buckling down on new ways to reopen campus while assuring the safety of students, including banning keg parties, long roadtrips and guests from outside campus.

Administrators have spelled out the rules for coronavirus behaviour in pledges and compacts for faculty and students to abide by.

Those pledges state that failure to wear masks, practice social distancing, and avoid mass gatherings could bring serious consequences, even getting kicked out of school.

At Tulane University in New Orleans students have already received a warning from school officials that parties and gatherings of more than 15 people arent allowed.

Colleges are also buckling down on new ways to reopen campus while assuring the safety of students, including banning keg parties, long roadtrips and guests from outside campus. At Tulane University in New Orleans students have already received a warning from school officials that parties and gatherings of more than 15 people arent allowed

Ohio State Universitys 'Together As Buckeyes Pledge' states students will conduct daily health checks

'I think that the majority of students are going to be really respectful and wear their masks, social distance, keep gatherings small,' incoming Tulane senior Sanjali De Silva said to ABC News.

'But I fear that there will be a distinct group of students that will decide not to do that. And itll be a big bummer,' she added.

Over the summer after a large gathering was thrown Dean of Students Erica Woodley sent out an email to students warning of punishment for those who flout the rules.

'Do not host parties or gatherings with more than 15 people, including the host. If you do, you will face suspension or expulsion from the university,' Woodley wrote in all caps.

'Do you really want to be the reason that Tulane and New Orleans have to shut down again?' she added.

The University of Texas at Austin banned on and off campus parties.

Amherst College in Massachusetts banned students from traveling off campus except for certain meetings like medical appointments and family emergencies.

Outbreaks have already been a problem in some campuses including University of Southern California, the University of Washington and the University of Mississippi.

An outbreak of cases linked to fraternity parties led the University of California at Berkeley to start fall semester fully remotely.

'After weeks of developing a very elaborate plan for a hybrid model in the fall it was just too risky to teach face-to-face,' Chancellor Carol Christ said.

Yales pledge includes a commitment for students to remain in Connecticut during the fall semester through November 21 and promise not to invide non-Yale affiliated individuals to the campus without permission.

Ohio State Universitys 'Together As Buckeyes Pledge' states students will conduct daily health checks.

Cornell University students must agree to not organize or attend events.

University of Pennsylvania students are warned that alcohol and drugs are not an excuse for risky COVID-19 related behavior.
Rounds of rain and severe thunderstorms will target the Plains and Midwest to the East Coast for the coming week, bringing the threat for flooding and locally damaging winds, but also the hope for a diminishing drought.

The same system that produced severe weather across the Upper Midwest on Sunday will sink southeastward on Monday, bringing with it heavy rainfall.

Downpours are expected to stretch from the Great Lakes into the central Plains. Some of the rain and thunderstorms that occurred Sunday night will continue to linger into the daytime on Monday, while others pop up during the afternoon hours and continue to push east and south through the night.

"A few thunderstorms that develop in this zone, from eastern Kansas on northeastward into Indiana will have the potential to turn severe," said AccuWeather Storm Warning Meteorologist Brian Knopick.

Other than lightning dangers and the threat for flash flooding, the most widespread severe weather threat with these thunderstorms is likely to be isolated damaging wind gusts.

The location with the best chance of having those damaging winds extends from eastern Kansas and Iowa to Illinois.

A derecho may be developing across central Iowa during the midday hours on Monday," according to AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Alex Sosnowski.

"Whether or not this fits the official criteria for a derecho is a wait-and-see scenario. Communities from central and eastern Iowa to west-central Illinois are in the path of fast-moving severe thunderstorms that contain high winds and torrential rainfall," Sosnowski said.

For a derecho, there must be nearly continuous damaging winds along a path of 250 to 400 miles, depending on the discretion of the area's local National Weather Service office.

People in the path of the storms could be hit with widespread power outages, fallen trees and property damage through Monday afternoon.

"Should the storms survive, people farther to the east in east-central Illinois and central and southern Indiana could be at risk for violent weather during Monday evening," Sosnowski added.

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Additionally, cities like Kansas City, Chicago and Detroit could all be hit by a dose of heavy rain and thunderstorms that could lead to localized flash flooding issues, especially in low lying and poor-drainage areas.

The St. Louis area will be particularly susceptible to flooding following heavy rain Saturday night. A drenching 3.8 inches of rainfall fell before 8 a.m. CDT Sunday morning, and more rain could fall Monday and Monday night.

This area in particular will be at a higher risk for flooding issues Monday and throughout the week.

CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP

The St. Louis region, as well as parts of Kansas, Illinois and Oklahoma will be hit a second time on Tuesday as downpours continue. However, farther north, the wet weather will shift east into the Ohio Valley and eastern Great Lakes.

Similar to Monday, the greatest risk will be heavy downpours that can cause flash flooding. Any location that receives some rain, even if only briefly, is also likely to see a dip in temperatures from the summertime heat.

Several days of downpours will target the same areas over and over again Wednesday and through the end of the week, but will bring relief to some others.

"A slight downtick in the humidity will move into the southern Great Lakes for Wednesday through Friday. Cities such as Chicago and Detroit will be relatively comfortable with some sun and lower humidity levels as shower and thunderstorm chances come to an end," said AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Dan Pydynowski.

Meanwhile, downpours could strike almost anywhere between the Northeast and the mid-Mississippi River Valley down to the Gulf Coast into Friday.

The unsettled weather will once again have residents checking the sky before going forward with outdoor plans.

"People who may be planning a late afternoon or evening jog or walk in the park with their dog may have to dodge these daily thunderstorms," added Pydynowski.

After at least a round or two of rain in much of this area, flooding will be a growing concern for anywhere that was deluged with rain earlier in the week.

In addition to the rain and thunderstorms, high humidity levels will keep things uncomfortable across the Ohio and Tennessee valleys and eastward into much of the mid-Atlantic as well.

Pockets of drought conditions scattered across the Ohio and Tennessee valleys may begin to shrink in these rounds of wet weather, assuming that all of the rain does not dump on the region in just a few hours.

Rain is likely to also affect parts of the Northeast that are currently dealing with a more dominate drought.

Areas in the most extreme drought, across parts of New England, may receive a couple of showers through the end of the week, but will miss out on most of the rain. While any rain will help some, just a few tenths of an inch of rain is likely not enough to reverse the drought in those regions.

A front moving in from the Plains late in the week might finally be what dislodges the wet pattern out of the East. However, drier conditions look to wait until at least late this weekend.

Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
Bhopal, Aug 9 : Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat resumed his outreach with the party cadre post-lockdown with a meeting of select parivar office- bearers from the Malwa and Central Madhya Pradesh regions on Sunday.

He asked the Sangh leaders to focus on rural education which has suffered due to the pandemic as also the environment and water supply.

Earlier reports suggested the meeting was to be held over two days. RSS insiders, however, clarified that Sangh chief's visit was for two days but the interaction was scheduled only for a day.

Bhagwat is apparently making up for lack of direct contact with party cadre as no 'Shakhas' (morning meetings) are being held during the lockdown and direct communication with the Sangh functionaries has been minimal. His tours have resumed to send out a positive message to the cadre.

Sunday's meeting was with just a few functionaries of the region in which physical distancing and all other safeguards were taken. The meeting ended by 7 p.m.

More interactive sessions are likely to be held to study how the BJP can capitalise on the momentum gained on the Ram temple construction at Ayodhya. Madhya Pradesh has by-elections lined up for 27 assembly seats and the Sangh activists are expected to be mobilised for them.

The resignation of 25 Congress members, most of whom have joined the BJP, have caused the by-elections. Two seats had fallen vacant due to the death of incumbent MLAs.

Bhagwat, who arrived here on Saturday late night, will leave for Nagpur on Monday.

He is expected to hold discussions with the top functionaries of Mahakoshal (in MP) and Chhattisgarh parts of Sangh's Central region at Raipur later this month, according to Parivar insiders.

The RSS chief is understood to have taken stock of the welfare activities undertaken by the outfit members during corona times.

This is the second visit of the Sangh chief to Bhopal in 20 days. He had held meetings to discuss the elections and construction of Ram temple during the earlier visit.

Ahead of the ground-breaking ceremony of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, Bhagwat had chaired a meeting of a few top functionaries of the Sangh for four days to turn the Ram Temple foundation stonelaying function into a grand event.

It had also discussed the China-India stand-off and other issues facing the country amidst the Covid-19 crisis. That meeting, in which office-bearers took part virtually from Nagpur and Delhi, had also advocated for strengthening the Swadeshi movement to counter Chinese expansionism.
ANSONIA  Putting more Black, Hispanic and female police officers on the beat, providing a more diverse curriculum for students and celebrating Black History month year-round are some of the things Ansonia leaders are working on to ensure the city is reflective of its population.

A panel of community leaders, including Police Chief Andrew Cota, Superintendent of Schools Joseph DiBacco, local pastor Niki Harvel, NAACP Valley Chapter Vice President Breon Sanders and Maliqa Mosley-Williams, a 2020 graduate of Ansonia High School, joined forces this week for a virtual community conversation on race, equity, justice and compassion.

The 90-minute conversation, held by the Valley MLK Committee, drew about 40 people who joined via Zoom.

Team Inc. President and CEO David Morgan served as moderator.

Tonight is not a one-time event. ... We are here to listen to our Valley youth and to learn what their concerns and solutions for the future are, said Morgan.

The panelists fielded questions, which were emailed prior to the event, as well as some which came from live viewers.

Many inquired about what the police and the public schools are doing to ensure there is minority representation on their rosters, and in daily lessons for students.

Were always looking to make our department more diverse, Cota said, adding theres not much turnover, but there are two new hires in the pipeline, one of them a minority.

Cota said the force currently is comprised of 5 percent Black officers, 5 percent Hispanic and 12 percent female  all of them white.

Cota encouraged anyone interested in pursuing a career in law enforcement, especially those from minority communities, to speak to him and the officers.

DiBacco said the district has invested $40,000 to do a curriculum audit to evaluate whats being taught, look for holes and gaps, and evaluate how more culture can be incorporated.

DiBacco is proud that Ansonia has an MLK community service requirement which all seniors must complete in order to graduate. He said the district has the highest percentage of minority employees onboard over the last decade, and is poised to hire a Black social worker.

Our staff should be representative of our school population and the community, DiBacco said.

Sanders, who also is unit director for Ansonias branch of the Boys & Girls Club, responded to a question about why February  the shortest month of the year  is the only month dedicated to Black History.

America suffers from systemic racism, said Sanders. We deserve more than just February to celebrate, and we should be teaching our children throughout the year. ... More than just about MLK but about John Lewis, Rosa Parks, Black inventors and others who fought for freedom.

DiBacco said, If we can make Black history just our history, thats something we need to work on.

Cota said the department is working to improve community relations, and holds Coffee with a Cop events, visits the schools regularly, holds shopping sprees for families in need and gets it officers into the neighborhoods to shoot hoops with kids and develop a rapport with folks to show cops in positive roles.

I talk to our officers every day and make sure theyre treating everyone with compassion, fairly and with respect, Cota said.

Sanders and Mosley-Williams encouraged people to join the NAACP to continue to promote racial equity, not just when its in the headlines, but every day.

Dont put Black Lives Matter on your shirt if you dont understand it, Sanders said. Were not saying white lives dont matter, but right now our house is on fire, the Black community is on fire, so help us put out that fire.

jean.sos@snet.net
A group of Newfoundland dairy farmers say they're missing one final piece of the puzzle to go forward with their plans to build a processing plant on the island to turn milk into butter and other products, but are hoping it falls into place soon.

The Real Dairy Company of Newfoundland  a co-op-style organization of 13 of the province's milk producers along with an Irish dairy company  is looking to build its plant in Deer Lake's industrial park, which members say could handle all the excess milk produced on the island.

"Our vision, first of all, is to provide stability for our dairy industry, by having a home to process all on-island production," said Brent Chaffey, who runs New World Dairy in St. David's and has been among those working for years on the project.

"We need to do more. We can do more."

Milk has long been a bright spot in the province's agriculture scene, as one of only a handful of products that are made in enough quantities within Newfoundland and Labrador to satisfy the province's needs. There might even be too much of it, as  barring a few tiny companies  none of the leftover milk is turned other dairy products, and about 16.5 million litres of excess milk is shipped each year to the mainland to be processed.

That's always been a risky endeavour, with the short shelf life of unprocessed fluid milk meaning any slight travel delay creates waste, as Chaffey knows all too well: in 2015 he lost $100,000 worth of milk after thick ice prevented Marine Atlantic from making crossings.

"We always knew that we were vulnerable," he said.

"Anything that would affect that service, that ferry service, also affects our ability to move milk."

Lindsay Bird/CBC

Butter's business case

One major hurdle behind the scenes has been the business plan for the project. Secondary processing has come and gone from Newfoundland before, most recently with the St. John's Scotsburn ice cream plant closing in 2016, citing cost pressures. Central Dairies at one time also had its hand in secondary processing, and a yogurt facility in Stephenville, which Chaffey part-owned, burned down in 2006, never to be rebuilt.

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Part of what's different about the new processing plant, according to Chaffey, is its all-Newfoundland and Labrador ownership system, plus the expertise of Ireland's Glenstall Foods, who were sourced by a consultant through an intensive search.

Sales of fluid milk have been slipping for years, even prior to the pandemic causing demand to plummet, creating a glut that mainland processors managed by turning into other products, said Chaffey. He also said evolving consumer habits show people are more frequently choosing dairy products other than milk, and he and his team want to capitalize on that.

The business plan starts with butter and skim milk powder, a product found in baking mixes and other industrial uses, but it doesn't end there.

"We want to find ways to get creative, and bring some value-added products in there. Products that would be of more commercial interest, in yogurts and cream cheeses and other products," he said.

Cash crunch

The processing plant doesn't come cheap. It has a $25-million price tag, of which Chaffey said $17 million has been secured so far, including last week's promise from the provincial government to chip in $5 million.

"Their financial support is reflective of the encouragement that they've placed at our feet throughout this process. The province has been humongously supportive of this project," he said.

The remaining $8 million is a dealbreaker to seeing the project succeed. Chaffey hopes the federal government will step in. Talks between the farmers and the feds are in their final stages, he said, adding $8 million is not too much to ask compared with what other agriculture projects elsewhere in Canada receive.

"There's a couple of small policy issues that have to be ironed out, and those are being worked out as we speak. We're not over the finish line, as it relates to the federal participation, but we expect it shouldn't be too much longer," he said.

While Chaffey couldn't guess when his group might get an answer, if the cash does come through, he estimates it will take 18 to 24 months to get the plant up and running.

The company estimates the plant would employ eight to 10 people.

Read more from CBC Newfoundland and Labrador
Michelle Obama said this week that she was experiencing low-grade depression and seemed to suggest that it was because of a combination of quarantine, racial unrest and the Trump administrations response to the pandemic.

In the second episode of her new podcast, which was released Wednesday, Obama, the former first lady, told Washington Post columnist Michele Norris that she has had low points recently.

There have been periods throughout this quarantine where I just have felt too low, Obama said, adding that her sleep was off. You know, Ive gone through those emotional highs and lows that I think everybody feels, where you just dont feel yourself.

I know that I am dealing with some form of low-grade depression, she added. Not just because of the quarantine, but because of the racial strife, and just seeing this administration, watching the hypocrisy of it, day in and day out, is dispiriting.

She suggested that her depression was related to the ongoing protests and racial unrest around the United States since the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody in May.

I have to say, that waking up to the news, waking up to how this administration has or has not responded, waking up to yet another story of a Black man or a Black person somehow being dehumanized or hurt or killed, or falsely accused of something, it is exhausting, she said. It has led to a weight that I havent felt in my life  in, in a while.

Obama said she had benefited from keeping a routine, including exercise, getting fresh air and having a regular dinner time.

The psychological effects of the pandemic are not yet fully clear. But the World Health Organization warned in May of a massive increase in mental health conditions in the coming months, fueled by anxiety and isolation as well as by the fear of contagion and the deaths of relatives and friends.

A survey conducted in June by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that more than 30% of adults in the United States were reporting symptoms consistent with anxiety or depression since the coronavirus pandemic began.

Depression is an illness that affects more than 264 million people worldwide, according to the WHO. Dr. Timothy Sullivan, the psychiatry and behavioral sciences chair at Staten Island University Hospital, described it as a complicated mental state.

Depending on how its defined, anyone, particularly at a time like this, could be experiencing some of the symptoms, Sullivan said, including trouble sleeping and low energy.

Depression is a result of individual biological risk factors coupled with influences in the environment, Sullivan said. When someone experiences a loss, we know that it can make them sad, he said, citing one example. But if that loss also causes them to change fundamental routines that are important to their health, thats going to create an additional risk factor.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, he said, weve learned that when people experience significant disruptions in their daily routines, those disruptions can predispose people to depression.

Asked how the news could affect a persons mood or battle with depression, Sullivan said: I think the main risk with news events is that people tend to ruminate about them. We know that when people ruminate, it increases feelings of helplessness and, in some cases, hopelessness, and that mental state does worsen mood and increases risk of depression.

Sullivan said that if you think you may be experiencing symptoms of depression, you should review your daily routines and try to establish healthy patterns, including managing sleep, eating at regular times of the day, exercising and having meaningful social interactions early in the morning, if possible.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
MOSCOW, Aug. 8 (Xinhua) -- U.S. efforts to clamp down on popular short video-sharing app TikTok are an "egregious" example of unfair economic competition for U.S. dominance in the international information space, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said Saturday.

"The actions of the U.S. authorities run counter to the basic principles of a free market economy and violate rules of the World Trade Organization," Zakharova said in a commentary posted on the foreign ministry's website.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday issued an executive order banning any U.S. transactions with Chinese tech firm ByteDance, owner of TikTok, starting 45 days from then.

Washington has also threatened to ban TikTok's business in the United States if it is not sold to a U.S. company before Sept. 15.

These restrictions have violated a wide range of Washington's international obligations to ensure the free and wide distribution of information, the free choice of its sources, and to encourage cooperation in this area, Zakharova said.

She said that Moscow is calling on Washington to reconsider its methods to preserve the monopoly of U.S. IT giants in international social networks and ensure they meet generally accepted values and international legal norms.

"We hope that specialized international structures and human rights organizations will react appropriately and give an impartial assessment of these actions," she added.
Police on Sunday said they arrested two men allegedly involved in several serious cases, including murder, attempt to murder, extortion and smuggling of illegal firearms, in the national capital region (NCR). Three pistols and 10 cartridges were recovered from them, they said.

One of them, identified as 36-year-old Rishi Raj alias Lambu, had been extorting jewellers and property dealers in areas of southwest Delhi such as Najafgarh and Bindapur and would demand protection money, said senior police officers.

His associates, on his direction, would fire at shops and make extortion demands. His gang had committed three back-to-back firing and extortion attempts at two prominent jewellery showrooms in Najafgarh and a property dealers office in Bindapur on June 23. Two persons involved in the firing incidents were later arrested after a brief shootout on July 1, said deputy commissioner of police (Dwarka) Anto Alphonse.

DCP Alphonse said that Raj was wanted in a case registered under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA). A reward of 1 lakh was announced on Rajs arrest, said the DCP, adding that the other arrested man, 10-year-old Love Kumar Tomar was wanted by the Uttar Pradesh Police in a murder case and was previously involved in eight crimes.

In December last year, the DCP said, Tomars friend Nishu was allegedly murdered by his step-mother and her brother over some dispute at their village in Uttar Pradeshs Baraut . Tomar decided to take revenge and, within a fortnight, he and his associates went to the village and opened fire at the duo, killing the woman and injuring her brother.

While his associates were arrested by the UP Police, Tomar had been evading his arrest since then. He is a close associate of Raj and supplies illegal firearms and ammunition to him, DCP Alphonse said.

Officials said that Raj and Tomar were arrested on Saturday morning after they received a tip. Rajs interrogation, an officer said, revealed that he was first arrested in 2004 in a theft case.

In 2019 while lodged in Bhondsi jail, Raj came in contact with gangster Naresh Shetty and they planned to extort jewellers and property dealers in Najafgarh and adjoining areas. After Raj came out of jail early this year, Shetty arranged his key associates for him and execute the extortions.

The associates of Shetty and Raj fired at the showrooms to terrorise the owners. They used to throw paper slips containing names of the gang leaders and demanded 1 core or 50 lakh as protection money, said an officer from the team that arrested Raj and Tomar.
Petrol and diesel prices remained unchanged across metros on Sunday. State oil marketing companies have not changed petrol prices since June 29. Petrol prices remained unchanged at Rs 80.43 per litre in Delhi and Rs 87.19 per litre in Mumbai.

Chennai and Kolkata, petrol was sold at an unchanged price of Rs 83.63 and Rs 82.10 per litre, respectively. Similarly, the price of diesel in Chennai and Kolkata was unchanged at Rs 78.86 and Rs 77.06 per litre, respectively.

On the other hand, diesel is priced at Rs 73.56 per litre in Delhi and Rs 80.11 per litre in Mumbai. Except for Delhi, diesel prices across all metros have remained unchanged since July 26.

This is because the Delhi government recently cut diesel prices by Rs 8.36 per litre after rolling back the VAT (Value added Tax) hike.

Earlier, the Delhi government increased VAT on diesel from 16.75 per cent to 30 per cent.

The May 5 VAT hike translated into the steepest ever price increase of Rs 7.10 per litre for diesel. Until July 29, diesel rates in the national capital surged to Rs 81.94 per litre.

Check latest and revised petrol prices today

Price of petrol in Delhi today, August 9- Rs 80.43/litre

Price of petrol in Mumbai today, August 9-Rs 87.19/litre

Price of petrol in Chennai today, August 9-Rs 83.63/litre

Price of petrol in Kolkata today, August 9-Rs 82.10/litre

Price of petrol in Hyderabad today, August 9-Rs 83.49/litre

Price of petrol in Bengaluru today, August 9-Rs 83.04/litre

Price of petrol in Gurgaon today, August 9- Rs 78.64/litre

Price of petrol in Noida today, August 9-Rs 81.08/litre

Check latest and revised diesel prices today

Price of diesel in Delhi today, August 9- Rs 73.56/litre

Price of diesel in Mumbai today, August 9- Rs 80.11/litre

Price of diesel in Chennai today, August 9-Rs 78.86/litre

Price of diesel in Kolkata today, August 9- Rs 77.06/litre

Price of diesel in Hyderabad today, August 9- Rs 80.17/litre

Price of diesel in Bengaluru today, August 9-Rs 77.88/litre

Price of diesel in Gurgaon today, August 9- Rs 74.03/litre

Price of diesel in Noida today, August 9- Rs 73.87/litre

Price of diesel in Ghaziabad today, August 9- Rs 73.71/litre

How to check petrol and diesel prices?

One can check petrol and diesel prices via SMS. For example, if you are at an HPCL pump you can send an SMS to HPPRICE DEALER CODE and send it to 9222201122. For Indian Oil Corporation or IOC send SMS to Type: RSP DEALER CODE and send it to 9224992249.

Fuel prices can also be checked by visiting the websites of oil companies. Indian Oil, the country's largest retailer, revises fuel prices every day at 6 am in the morning.

Also read: Petrol, diesel prices today: Fuel prices remain unchanged; check latest rates across metros

Also read: Petrol, diesel price today: Fuel rates unchanged today; check latest price
An 11-year-old Yorkshire terrier named Bear, in South Dakota, has truly lived up to the title mans best friend.

While hiking with their dog in late July, married couple Devin and Alex Diede walked right into the path of a pygmy rattlesnake crossing the Centennial Trail near Sheridan Lake in the Black Hills mountains. As the snake didnt use its rattle to warn of an attack, they were caught completely off guard.

Thankfully, Bear performed admirably, protecting his humans from the dangerous reptile.

Aware of the danger, the dog rushed in between his owners and the striking snake. Alex would have stepped on the snake and [it wouldve] bit her if Bear had not been there to take the bite, Devin told KEVN.

(Illustration  Konstantin Gushcha/Shutterstock)

It all happened so quickly that the Diedes werent even sure if he had been struck. He didnt he didnt yip or bark, Devin Diede explained, revealing just how stalwart their little dog was.

After the encounter, they were unable to locate a wound and could only guess that he had been bitten by the fact that he was having trouble walking.

Rushing back 2 miles to the trailhead, carrying Bear all the way, they managed to get him to an emergency animal clinic in Rapid City, about 30 miles away.

After being looked at by a veterinarian, it was determined that he suffered a wound on his chest. Fortunately, only one of the pygmy rattlesnakes fangs had broken his skin. The vet took him and immediately started a blood transfusion, said Devan.

(Illustration  Courtenay Harding/Shutterstock)

They had to leave Bear at the clinic overnight to make sure he wasnt suffering any adverse effects from the bite he had sustained. But the senior dog proved to be a lot tougher than his age might suggest.

By the time the Diedes came back to check on him, they found that Bear had made a quick and impressive recovery, and they were able to bring him home after just 24 hours. Hes doing surprisingly well, explained Devin. Hes walking around just fine and as happy as could be.

He added, Hes a tough little guy and most definitely a hero.

This is hardly the first time a Yorkie has saved an owner from a snakebite. In 2017, a 10-year-old Yorkshire terrier named Spike in South Africa sacrificed his own life to save his owner from a deadly cobra that had gotten into the yard.

Owner Louise Grobler told Metro, I was so close to the snake, I think if Spike didnt jump up and grab it by its neck, it could have bitten me as well. The fierce Yorkie caught the cobra in its jaws before it could harm Grobler and managed to tear it to pieces.

What Grobler didnt know was that Spike had sustained a fatal bite in the process. Not more than half an hour later, Spike tragically passed away. Grobler had other dogs who were bigger and younger than Spike, which made his act even more significant.

Spike was also very protective of me, the owner said, but never did I imagine that my little dog could save my life.

We would love to hear your stories! You can share them with us at emg.inspired@epochtimes.nyc
At each phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, Canadians were told that the safest way of life was to shelter in place, but what happens when that shelter is snatched away?

Thousands of families with eviction filings are anxiously queued up in Canadian courts; their cases began being processed this past week. Thousands more families are at risk of eviction, and living in fear that that day is coming quickly.

If staying home is the best way for communities to stave off the worst of the pandemic, then keeping people in their homes is an essential aspect of our nationally co-ordinated public health response to this global health crisis.

This is paramount for the health, mental health, education and economic outcomes for the individuals and families at risk of losing their homes.

For fear of COVID-19 infection, home has taken on a new meaning in 2020. Home is the very last constant in a sea of rapid changes over the course of the last few months.

For many Canadians, their home is the only thing left to hold on to, and the only thing holding what is left of life together. Taking that away during this crisis is akin to ripping the life jacket off a persons back the very moment they face the deadly undercurrent below the surface of the water.

In this time when there is so little certainty, when the challenges are compounding and the solutions are dwindling, we need to see the roof and four walls of a secure home as the life preserver that it is.

This is what is required if dignity for human life is indeed at the centre of our governing principles.

During the pandemic there are fewer avenues to alleviate financial pressures, or find alternative housing options. As unprecedented numbers of families are living on the edge of homelessness, our shelter systems are not equipped to respond safely.

If political leaders dont act swiftly, the novel coronavirus pandemic will result in an eviction epidemic of proportions Canada has never seen before.

Grace is needed.

Landlord and tenant tribunals must be postponed, eviction bans extended using emergency powers, and emergency funding distributed to close rent gaps.

It is vital that, as moratoriums are lifted, there are economic supports available, and rights are known by tenants and protected.

Many landlords are using the fear people are feeling to squeeze families who are already in impossible situations. Further, following the passing of Bill 184 by Premier Doug Fords Progressive Conservative government in Ontario, some landlords are manipulating tenants into signing unattainable payment plans that forfeit tenant rights to proceedings ahead of an eviction.

All three levels of government should take leadership and work together instead of playing this game of political hot potato, passing off and avoiding responsibility for the most immediate effects of this crisis.

As short-term impacts are considered, response plans cant ignore the long-term negative impacts.

In 2019, the federal Liberal government passed the National Housing Strategy Act, which speaks to the principles of long-term planning toward equitable housing outcomes. This was the result of decades of advocacy from grassroots organizations across the country calling for a dramatic change to our approach. Housing instability was a national emergency, even before COVID-19 catalyzed this unprecedented wave of evictions.

Over the coming years, any funding allocated to public initiatives related to housing needs to be increased greatly so as to build mixed-income communities across the country that are ready to catch families and see that they thrive on the other side of the pandemic. Provinces and municipalities can change their antiquated zoning laws that were designed to prevent affordable housing from being built.

Between family losses, job losses and dreams deferred, these last few months have brought on enough grief for a lifetime. Forcing people to uproot their lives when that rooting is the last thing holding these families together is as cruel as it is unnecessary.

For some, insecure housing during a pandemic is a theoretical debate, but for others, it means waking up each morning to a living nightmare.

If there is anything that can be done to alter this trajectory, now is the time to do it.
Bangladeshi blogger and secular activist Asaduzzaman Noor, accused of defaming Islam, has claimed that his family at Amtali Upzila of Barguna district (around 320 km south of Dhaka) is being harassed by the government for posting a Facebook video criticising alleged appropriation of a Buddhist temple.

Noor, better known by his nom de plume Asad Noor, has been in hiding  in Bangladesh and abroad  for past several years after receiving death threats from Islamist groups for defending a Buddhist monk, and 10 Minute School, a pro-LGBTQ platform. He has been charged under the Digital Security Act, 2018, for defaming Islam  an offence punishable with a jail term of up to 10 years.

When the law was implemented, Amnesty International described it as a serious threat to freedom of expression in Bangladesh.

Bloggers, social media activists, and LGBTQ rights campaigners have been repeatedly attacked in Bangladesh since 2013, when some of them organised protests demanding death penalty for those convicted of committing atrocities in the 1971 war against Pakistan.

The protests began on February 5, 2013, after a war crimes tribunal set up by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasinas government sentenced Abdul Qader Mollah, a senior leader of the opposition party Jamaat-e-Islami, to life in prison for his collaboration with the Pakistani army in 1971.

In his history of the war, The Colonel Who Would Not Repent, journalist Salil Tripathi writes: The charges against him (Mollah) were formidable. He was alleged to have killed 344 civilians as part of the Al-Badr militia, which worked closely with the Pakistani army

The Butcher of Mirpur, as Mollah was called, was being escorted to the police van after getting the life imprisonment verdict, when he turned towards his supporters and TV cameras gathered outside the courtroom, grinned, and flashed the V for victory sign with his fingers.

On February 15, 2013, at the height of the Shahbagh protests, which demanded death penalty for Mollah, blogger and activist Ahmed Rajib Haider, who used the nom de plume Thaba Baba, was murdered. Since then, at least seven bloggers have been murdered and two more injured in coordinated attacks, allegedly by an al Qaeda affiliate.

According to some reports, at least 30 secular activists have been killed in Bangladesh in waves of violence since then.

The attention of the international media was drawn to these atrocities after writer and Bangladesh-origin US citizen Avijit Roy was hacked to death by machete-wielding assassins at a book fair in Dhaka on February 26, 2015.

As the government failed to prevent these killings, several bloggers were forced to escape Bangladesh, and now live in exile in Europe or the US.

In London last summer, I asked exiled Bangladeshi writer  and Avijit Roys widow  Rafida Bonya Ahmed: What influence do you think your writing and activism has on the politics in Bangladesh? She promptly replied: None.

Sheikh Hasinas Awami League had recently won landslide victory to the national parliament in the midst of accusations of rigging and voter suppression.

Noor, however, does not agree with this. Of course, there is an influence, he told me on a call from an undisclosed location. Why else is the government trying to suppress our voices?

He pointed to the thousands of likes and comments on his Facebook videos and said: It is difficult for people  especially those from minority religions  to oppose the government or the Islamists in Bangladesh. However, many of them interact with me online.

Bangladesh  which was founded as a secular country in 1971  has accepted Islam as a state religion, while assuring minorities the freedom to practice their faiths. In reality, however, minority religions are often under attack in the country.

Noor added that while the bloggers, like Roy and Ahmed, had managed to create a secular and democratic space online with their rational arguments, the audience for dissent might have shifted to a different medium, like videos, now.

After he posted his most recent video on July 13, supporting the Buddhist monk, a protest by Islamists was held on July 17 in Chittagong demanding that Noor and the monk be hanged. The next day, several members of his family were picked up by the police in plainclothes, alleged Noor.

My parents and my sisters have nothing to do with me, he said. In a video he shared with me, his father can be seen telling him  in Bengali  to desist from anti-religious and anti-national activities.

Several international organisations such as Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and International Federation of Journalists have appealed to the Bangladesh government demanding that his family not be harassed. London-headquartered Humanists International has also called upon the Bangladesh government to drop all charges against Noor, which it describes as spurious and in breach of his right of freedom of expression.

Amnesty International has also called upon the Bangladeshi government to stop harassing families of Noor and other writers who have fled abroad fearing attacks at home.

Harassment of writers and dissidents is not uncommon in Bangladesh, which ranks 151 among 180 nations in RSFs 2020 World Press Freedom Index. In its report, RSF said: Bangladeshi journalists have been among the leading collateral victims of the tougher methods adopted by the ruling Awami League and its leader, Sheikh Hasina, the countrys prime minister since 2009. The campaign leading up to her re-election in late 2018 was accompanied by a disturbing increase in press freedom violations.

Noor has experienced trouble at home since he began exploring the online space. I took active part in the Shahbag Movement in 2013, he said. After Avijit Roy was killed in 2015, my writing and videos became more frequent.

On December 25, 2017, he was arrested as he was flying out of Dhaka, while trying to board a Kathmandu-bound flight. He was accused of blasphemous writings under the controversial Article 57 of Information and Communication Technology Act and spent several months in jail before being released on bail in August 2018.

There were several protests against him as well as threats from radical Islamist groups. Noor was arrested again on September 11, 2018 and accused of peddling drugs. He was released in the first week of January 2019. However, his passport has been impounded by the government.

He was arrested again, this time in India, in May last year. Married to actor Beas Basu, he was in Kolkata, but without papers. He was finally released after six months and has been in hiding ever since.

The prosecution and persecution Asad Noor has faced is sadly part of a pattern now in Bangladesh, said Tripathi, chair, Writers in Prison Committee at PEN International. Nothing he has said or done can be considered as threatening anyone or inciting hatred or violence towards anyone. And yet, in spite of a constitution that guarantees free speech, in spite of an outward commitment to plurality and secular values, and in spite of the tragic history of violence against bloggers, rationalists, free thinkers, and those who uphold the rights of minorities  be they religious or sexual minorities  the government has done little to protect Asads freedoms or to restrain those who seek to harm him.

He added: The fact that the government itself has used the dreadful Digital Security Act to target him makes Asads situation only worse. Asad deserves freedom and protection from intimidation, precisely the values on which Bangladesh was founded.

Zobaen Sondhi, editor and founder of Nobojug, corroborated. There is no freedom for writers in Bangladesh, he said. If we had freedom, I wouldnt have to live in a foreign country.

Sondhi, who introduced me to Noor, has lived in exile in Berlin since 2015. He added: Bangladesh is hell now.
Some investors rely on dividends for growing their wealth, and if you're one of those dividend sleuths, you might be intrigued to know that Reinsurance Group of America, Incorporated (NYSE:RGA) is about to go ex-dividend in just 3 days. You can purchase shares before the 13th of August in order to receive the dividend, which the company will pay on the 1st of September.

Reinsurance Group of America's upcoming dividend is US$0.70 a share, following on from the last 12 months, when the company distributed a total of US$2.80 per share to shareholders. Last year's total dividend payments show that Reinsurance Group of America has a trailing yield of 3.0% on the current share price of $91.97. Dividends are an important source of income to many shareholders, but the health of the business is crucial to maintaining those dividends. So we need to investigate whether Reinsurance Group of America can afford its dividend, and if the dividend could grow.

Check out our latest analysis for Reinsurance Group of America

Dividends are typically paid from company earnings. If a company pays more in dividends than it earned in profit, then the dividend could be unsustainable. That's why it's good to see Reinsurance Group of America paying out a modest 29% of its earnings.

When a company paid out less in dividends than it earned in profit, this generally suggests its dividend is affordable. The lower the % of its profit that it pays out, the greater the margin of safety for the dividend if the business enters a downturn.

Click here to see the company's payout ratio, plus analyst estimates of its future dividends.

Have Earnings And Dividends Been Growing?

Companies that aren't growing their earnings can still be valuable, but it is even more important to assess the sustainability of the dividend if it looks like the company will struggle to grow. If earnings decline and the company is forced to cut its dividend, investors could watch the value of their investment go up in smoke. It's not encouraging to see that Reinsurance Group of America's earnings are effectively flat over the past five years. We'd take that over an earnings decline any day, but in the long run, the best dividend stocks all grow their earnings per share.

Story continues

Many investors will assess a company's dividend performance by evaluating how much the dividend payments have changed over time. In the past 10 years, Reinsurance Group of America has increased its dividend at approximately 23% a year on average.

To Sum It Up

From a dividend perspective, should investors buy or avoid Reinsurance Group of America? Reinsurance Group of America's earnings per share are basically flat over the past five years, although it has the cushion of a low payout ratio, which would suggest a cut to the dividend is relatively unlikely. We're unconvinced on the company's merits, and think there might be better opportunities out there.

So if you want to do more digging on Reinsurance Group of America, you'll find it worthwhile knowing the risks that this stock faces. For example - Reinsurance Group of America has 3 warning signs we think you should be aware of.

We wouldn't recommend just buying the first dividend stock you see, though. Here's a list of interesting dividend stocks with a greater than 2% yield and an upcoming dividend.

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.
It is no exaggeration to say that there is now no guaranteed safe place in Trinidad and Tobago.

We have moved from the stage of being prisoners in our homes behind metal bars to being afraid to enjoy the beautiful outdoors and even to sleep, for fear that if crime comes knocking we may have no recourse but to cower and beg for our lives. The society is being overpowered by the force of the criminal will with insufficient resources to resist and break that power.
Mukesh Ranjan By

Express News Service

RANCHI: In a heart-wrenching incident, a newborn baby-boy, buried underneath a graveyard was recovered alive in Chandloso village, around 60 kilometres from capital Ranchi.

The baby was recovered after a woman heard him crying while she had gone to fetch a bundle of grass on Saturday evening.

The lady raised an alarm upon hearing the child's cry and dug him out with the help of villagers. According to police, the baby boy, who was hardly two hours old when recovered, is fit and fine.

A lady, who had gone to the local Masna Sthal (Graveyard meant for burying dead bodies of tribal people) at Chandlaso village under Kuru Block to fetch a bundle of grass for feeding her goats heard a baby crying near the graves. When she tried to find out the crying of the baby, she found a baby boy buried inside the ground, said Officer in Charge of Kuru Police Station Anil Oraon.

The newborn, just a few hours old, was buried in such a way with its face outside the ground, that it could breathe easily, he added.

One of the families in the village kept the child with them for the night and finally, it was handed over to the local childline, which will get the child treated, said Oraon. Meanwhile, police are trying to find out the parents of the child so that further action could be taken in this regard, he added.
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NEW HAVEN  A city man prosecutors described as the boss of a large-scale drug trafficking operation is expected to be sentenced Monday in federal court for his role in selling base cocaine and oxycodone in the Hill neighborhood.

Jermayne Butler, 39, previously pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute 28 grams or more of cocaine in August 2019, according to court records. He was arrested in February 2018 and charged along with 18 alleged co-conspirators.

In a sentencing memorandum, U.S. Attorney John S. Durham and Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick F. Caruso asked the court to impose a sentence of 10 years and 1 month in prison, to 12 years and 7 months in prison, saying that Butlers conduct was serious, and the harm occasioned by it was grave, and lasting.

Butler was arrested after an investigation, beginning in June 2017, revealed he was obtaining bulk quantities of crack, which he was distributing through a network of established and trusted street-level redistributors, Durham and Caruso said.

As part of the investigation, cooperating sources purchased approximately 63 grams of crack cocaine from Butler over seven occasions, prosecutors said. Investigators also wiretapped five cell phones as part of the inquiry, records show.

The other co-defendants have all been convicted, prosecutors said, with Butlers alleged second-in-command receiving a sentence of 7 years and 8 months in prison

A sentence of less than 10 years and 1 month, prosecutors said, would not promote respect for the law, and, in the Governments estimation, cannot be justified given the facts, circumstances, and relative culpabilities of the conspirators present in this case.

Jermayne Butler was the boss. Prior to his arrest in this case, he headed a large-scale, profitable, drug-trafficking organization, which distributed substantial amounts of cocaine base in and around New Haven, Connecticut, the government memo says. Butlers offense, in other words, was serious, and the harm occasioned by it was grave, and lasting.

Butler is a lifelong drug trafficker who committed the instant offense while on parole for a narcotics offense, the government memo says.

The prosecutors also noted all told, Butler has six prior convictions and that, in his plea agreement, he stipulated to his leadership role in the drug organization.

But in their sentencing memorandum, First Assistant Federal Defender Kelly Barrett and attorney Andrew P. Giering argued that Butler should receive a sentence of up to five years in prison, with four years of supervised release to follow.

Butler, the defense attorneys argue, should not be considered a traditional boss of a drug trafficking enterprise.

Rather, they said, the alleged co-conspirators watched Jermaynes phone when he was gone to take orders so as not to lose customers to other drug dealers between August 2017 and Feb. 6, 2018, when he was arrested. He gave no orders and committed no violence, they said in the memo.

Driven by a gambling addiction, he did not maintain the typical economic trappings of a drug dealer and was left with nothing to show from his dealing.

He spent any profits on gambling, and was a leader with no trappings of financial success. He did not participate in a lockstep hierarchical drug organization, but rather sold drugs with a loosely associated group of childhood friends, a notably disorganized drug distribution organization, Barrett and Giering said in the memo.

Barrett and Giering traced Butlers actions to his childhood growing up in the then Church Street South housing project, as well as his addiction to gambling.

Butler was exposed to trauma at an early age, walking by crime scenes with blood and chalk outlines depicting the bodies of murder victims on the concrete while playing with children, his attorneys said in the memo.

He began smoking marijuana regularly and drinking alcohol at 13, suffered two traumatic brain injuries in his youth, and his father also was injured in an accident, the memo says.

The trauma and pain of Butlers childhood, along with a predisposition to addictive behavior, set him on this path, his attorneys said.

The science of addiction helps contextualize and clarify Jermaynes trajectory. His journey from childhood trauma to alcoholism to drug abuse to gambling disorder is in no way abnormal, Barrett and Giering said. In fact, Jermaynes story is consistent with a wealth of literature regarding the prevailing and lasting effects of trauma.

Butler has since complied with treatment imposed as part of past drug sentences, remained abstinent from gambling for two years, and found a job working for a food service until he was laid off during the coronavirus pandemic, according to the attorneys. He was described by his partner, also in the memo, as always being a loving, supportive, encouraging and phenomenal partner to myself and father to our children.

Jermayne has accepted responsibility for his actions and written the Court to express deep remorse for selling drugs and to accept full responsibility for the damage that he caused the community. The record of his personal history, and the social history of the (Church Street South housing project) and Hill South recounted above, confirms that Jermayne is not speaking in platitudes when he writes, that is the only way that I knew, said his attorneys.

They argue that a 5-year sentence and subsequent period of supervised release would protect Butlers efforts to battle his gambling addiction and appropriately safeguard the public.

Jermayne has engaged in no new criminal conduct, and has secured legitimate employment. Jermayne prioritizes and supports his family. He understands the value of being a productive, law-abiding, and hard-working member of society, and his personal and professional successes motivate him to continue on the right path. A lengthy sentence of incarceration will derail Jermaynes rehabilitation, and could put him at an increased risk of relapse and thus, recidivism, Barrett and Giering said.

At sentencing, the Court has an opportunity to recognize Jermaynes extraordinary rehabilitation, while balancing the interests of the community and need for public safety, because his rehabilitation and treatment have been the best measure possible to protect the community and to deter future criminal conduct, the defense attorneys wrote.

william.lambert@hearstmediact.com
Cllr Des Guckian has called for traffic lights to be installed at the junction between Main Street Mohill and the Ballinamore and Dromod roads noting that the sight lines are very poor and a motorist (coming from Dromod) has to edge out on to Main St to see if there is oncoming traffic from either side.

A report from the roads office noted that the issues with sight lines at this location was due to t he parking bays on the Main Street of Mohill.

Cllr Guckian was told that, in order to improve these sight lines, the Council would have to remove four car parking spaces from Main Street - two from each side of the junction.

Traffic lights would be insufficient at this location due to traffic volumes. We have no record of any major incidents at this location, added district engineer, Darragh O'Boyle.

Cllr Guckian said the response from the Council is extremely disappointing adding this junction is very, very blind.

I have to crawl out when I am coming in (from Dromod) to that junction and what if someone is coming out at speed? This situation cannot last without some serious incident happening, he warned.

Cllr Guckian said he was asking the engineers at Leitrim County Council to come up with a workable plan to alleviate the problems caused by this dangerous junction.

I think lights would form a part of the solution even though you're rejecting that, he told Mr O'Boyle.

Or, he suggested, a convex mirror could be put in place at the junction to help with sight lines.

Just to leave this junction as it is, is not a runner, added Cllr Guckian.

If you do nothing and a serious accident occurrs it will come down on Leitrim County Council and their failure to act, he warned.

His call for action was backed by Cllr Sean McGowan who said that the view of motorists entering the junction from Dromod was particularly bad when looking up towards the Catholic Church.

However Cllr McGowan said he felt that lights would lock up the traffic flow in Mohill.

Cllr McGowan said that any plans to remove parking in the town to improve sight lines at this junction would not be welcomed by local businesses.

District engineer, Darragh O'Boyle said the Council have looked at the figures for traffic volumes using this junction and said these were insufficient to warrant the installation of lights.

It is a delicate balance of traffic and parking, he acknowledged adding that the Council could look to install double yellow lines to the right and left of the Dromod Road on Main Street.

However this will involve the removal of two parking spaces to the left and the right of this junction, he added.

Cllr Thomas Mulligan said that local businesses would have to be consulted before any parking spaces could be removed from Main Street.

Cllr Enda Stenson said that he felt that any proposals should be considered and not put in place immediately.

I don't think the situation is as serious as my two colleagues (Cllrs Guckian and McGowan) say, he said.

Cllr Guckian however insisted that the engineers in the Council revisit the site and reconsider the installation of traffic lights.

No resolution to the issue was achieved at the meeting and the matter will be the subject of further discussion.
Governor Bello Matawalle has called on the Emir of Kano, Aminu Bayero, to use his office in fostering unity and cohesion of the North.

Mr Matawalle made the call when the emir paid him a courtesy visit in the presence of all the traditional rulers of the state at the Government House, Gusau, on Sunday.

The governor said the North today is in dire need of leaders who will reunite its people and serve as a rallying point politically, socially and culturally.

Your Royal Highness, the North today is in dire need of leaders who can serve as a rallying point for all its peoples politically, socially and culturally as obtained in the past, Mr Matawalle observed.

The governor attributed lack of cohesion in the North to the growing disrespect to traditional institutions. He recalled that in the past, people revered traditional institutions which is a contributing factor to cohesion and peace.

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I enjoin you and your respected colleagues in the North to institute machinery for working out how to regain our past glory. I assure you on my part, I will use my position to reach out to my colleagues in ensuring that a road map to the rejuvenation of our past glory is done and followed to the latter, Mr Matawalle assured the Emir.

Earlier, the visiting monarch told the governor that he was in Zamfara State to reach out to his traditional friends especially at this time when he is blessed with the throne of his forefathers.

The emir commended Mr Matawalle for returning peace to the erstwhile troubled Zamfara State and assured that his emirate will continue to pray for the peace of Zamfara people and the country at large.
SYRACUSE, NY -A 24-year-old man has been charged with a felony after Syracuse police said he struck a woman with his vehicle, and then fled the scene.

Justin McGann has been charged with leaving the scene of a collision involving a death, police said he fled the scene, and abandoned his vehicle.

Police said Paris Bitting, 33, was struck by McGanns vehicle around 1:40 a.m. in the 1400 block of West Genesee Street in Syracuse. McGanns unoccupied vehicle was later discovered at the corner of Erie Boulevard West and West Genesee Street.

Bitting was rushed to Upstate University Hospital, but was later pronounced dead at the hospital.

Syracuse officers subsequently found McGann and arrested him.

The investigation is continuing.
How Climate Alarmism Hijacked Environmentalism: Michael Shellenberger

For years, experts have predicted impending catastrophe from climate change. Thirty-one years ago, a senior U.N. environmental official told The Associated Press that governments had only a 10-year window to reverse global warming before it went beyond human control.

Like many others, Michael Shellenberger feared climate change was an existential threat to human civilization. He has devoted three decades of his life to environmental activism and improving the lives of people in poor or developing nations. At age 16, he threw a fundraiser for Rainforest Action Network. Hes fought to protect redwood trees in California, traveled to the Congo to study the impact of wood fuel use on gorillas, sought better working conditions for factory workers in Asia, and pushed the U.S. government to fund renewable energy.

Now, he believes the climate movement is radical, alarmist, and causing anxiety and depression, especially among young people. One in five British children say theyve had nightmares about it, according to a large national survey earlier this year.

Although global temperatures are rising and humans are a major contributor, that doesnt mean the world is ending, Shellenberger argues in his new book, Apocalypse Never: Why Environmental Alarmism Hurts Us All.

Contrary to what media headlines would suggest, climate change hasnt made natural disasters worse. Fires, for instance, have declined 25 percent around the world from 1998 to 2015. And in California and Australia, where fires have increased, the biggest contributing factors have been humans allowing wood fuel to build up and constructing homes near forestsnot climate change.

Claims of crop failure are similarly exaggerated, in his view. Humans already grow enough food for 10 billion people, and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) predict crop yields will continue increasing.

Global sea levels are rising, but Shellenberger believes humans can adapt in the decades to come. The Netherlands managed to become a wealthy nation while adapting to having one-third of its landmass below sea level. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change estimates sea levels could rise 2.7 feet by 2100; some areas of the Netherlands are as low as 20 feet below sea level.

To Shellenberger, climate alarmism is creating more problems than it solves. Its excluding viable solutions such as nuclear energy, preventing desperately needed development in impoverished nations, and diverting attention away from serious environmental problems, such as overfishing.

Wind and Solar Arent the Future

In 2003, Shellenberger co-founded a New Apollo project, a predecessor to the Green New Deal, to direct taxpayer money to renewable energy.

What I didnt realizeand I think most people dont realizeis just how much land it would require, Shellenberger said in an interview with The Epoch Times American Thought Leaders program.

It takes about 300 to 400 times more land on average for a wind farm or solar farm to generate the same amount of electricity as a nuclear power plant or a natural gas plant, Shellenberger said.

As Shellenberger writes in Apocalypse Never: If the United States were to try to generate all of the energy it uses with renewables, 25 percent to 50 percent of all land in the United States would be required. By contrast, todays energy system requires just 0.5 percent of land in the United States.

Solar and wind are fundamentally inefficient and costly ways to produce energy. They are unreliable, thus requiring 100 percent backup, and energy-dilute, thus requiring extensive land, transmission lines, and mining, he writes.

Wind farms are also devastating to endangered species of birds, bats, and insects, especially when the wind farms are located on their migratory paths. Wind turbines especially threaten large, endangered species such as hawks, eagles, owls, and condors.

Shellenberger told The Epoch Times, I always joke, theres nobody thats more alienated from the natural world than environmentalists.

If carbon emissions will have the catastrophic consequences that activists claim, it doesnt make sense to rule out the most obvious solutionnuclear. In 2017, Sweden was already generating 95 percent of its total electricity from sources that dont emit carbon, mostly nuclear and hydroelectric power, Shellenberger said.

In contrast, Germany will have spent $580 billion by 2025 to make the switch to renewables, according to Bloomberg. But only 34 percent of Germanys electricity is generated from wind and solar.

Following the highly publicized nuclear power plant disasters in Chernobyl and Fukushima, many fear nuclear power and potential radiation, but these fears are largely misplaced, in Shellenbergers view.

According to the United Nations, only 50 deaths can be directly attributable to Chernobyl. Five thousand cases of thyroid cancer are linked to radiation from the disaster, but thyroid cancer is highly treatable, with a death rate of 0.5 percent.

In Fukushima, radiation levels were so low, that there have been no known deaths from radiation exposure, Shellenberger noted.

Nuclear has a very small known death toll. Meanwhile, air pollution causes an estimated 7 million people to die worldwide every year, according to the World Health Organization.

As for nuclear waste, nuclear produces little waste relative to other forms of energy. It produces 200 to 300 times less waste than solar energy. And the wastenamely the used nuclear fuel rodsare safely contained, whereas the waste that comes from coal, natural gas, and solar panels go into the environment.

For Shellenberger, energy sources sit on a spectrum, from low to high density. So we go from wood and dung to coal and hydroelectric plants to petroleum to natural gas to uranium, he said.

The higher the energy density the more efficient the source is, the less harm it does to the environment, and the less carbon it emits. I can cook a pot of beans with a lump of wood; I might be able to heat my house for 24 hours with a lump of coal; and with a lump of uranium, I can power my entire high-energy life, he said.

If the people who are proposing to ban fracking were similarly proposing to build a lot of nuclear power plants, that might be an interesting idea. Mostly, though, theyre not.

Shellenberger said the United States should follow in the footsteps of other nations rich in natural gas, such as Russia and the United Arab Emirates. You build nuclear power plants to replace the natural gas youre burning for electricity at home. And then you export your natural gas abroad, he said. This boosts Americas exports and also helps countries make the shift from coal to natural gas, a win for the environment.

Crippled Development

Many rich countries today, as a result of the climate movement, are no longer seeking to eradicate poverty, but instead trying to make poverty sustainable, according to Shellenberger.

From the 1950s to the 1980s, the World Bank and other international development banks would finance the infrastructure of economic development in poor countries, which is mostly roads, hydroelectric dams, flood control, electric grids, sewage systems, Shellenberger said.

After apocalyptic environmentalists exercised their influence over the World Bank, the World Bank now doesnt fund development, it funds charitable activities. So instead of funding modern agriculture with irrigation, tractors, fertilizer, it now funds agroecology and other things to basically keep people on the farm.

Yet, development is also precisely what helps nations deal with the adverse effects of climate change.

And the World Bank now focuses money on solar and wind instead of hydroelectricity, natural gas, and nuclear. The European Investment Bank has announced it would stop funding fossil fuel projects by 2020.

Shellenberger argues in his book: It is hypocritical and unethical to demand that poor nations follow a more expensive and thus slower path to prosperity than the West followed.

As we have seen, there is no energy leapfrogging.  There is no rich low-energy nation just as there is no poor high-energy one.

Failures to finance development also threatens national security in America and Europe, Shellenberger said. If the West isnt going to finance the roads and power plants and stadiums and all the things of development in Africa and Asia and Latin America, its being financed by China, he said. And Chinas not interested in freedom and democracy.

Overshadowed Environmental Problems

There are serious environmental problems that we dont pay enough attention to because were so wrapped up in our own personal apocalyptic drama, Shellenberger said.

Animal populations are declining not because of climate change, but because of tropical deforestation. People in developing countries still rely on charcoal and biomass for fuel. The solution is to help people get access to liquefied petroleum gas and cheap electricity, he argued.

Besides shrinking habitats, one of the biggest threats to wild animals is just that we still eat a lot of them, he said. Overfishing endangers wild fish species as well as the whales and sea animals that rely on them to survive.

Many environmental groupsbecause they have this romanticization of nature and harmonizing with naturehave actually condemned farmed fishing. Farmed fish is how we save wild fish.

And while media reporting has highlighted how sea animals, especially sea turtles, are ingesting potentially deadly plastic waste, its also true that sunlight breaks down most plastic on the oceans surface.

The best way to minimize plastic waste in the ocean isnt banning plastic straws and plastic bags but to help poor or developing countries build a strong waste collection and management system, Shellenberger argues. One study found that five countries in AsiaChina, Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, and Sri Lankacontribute half of the worlds mismanaged plastic waste.

To Shellenberger, the modern-day climate movement is driven by a secular quasi-religion. People should distrust what they hear about what saving the environment requires because so many of the people that are telling you things are in the grip of a religion, rather than paying attention to what the science says.

American Thought Leaders is an Epoch Times show available on Facebook, YouTube, and the Epoch Times website.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.

Jan Jekielek Senior Editor Follow Jan Jekielek is a senior editor with The Epoch Times and host of the show, "American Thought Leaders." Jans career has spanned academia, media, and international human rights work. In 2009 he joined The Epoch Times full time and has served in a variety of roles, including as website chief editor. He is the producer of the award-winning Holocaust documentary film "Finding Manny."
The Embassy of Vietnam in Switzerland has hosted a ceremony to mark the 53rd founding anniversary of ASEAN and presided over the first meeting of the ASEAN Committee in Bern (ACB) in its capacity as the chair of the committee.

Vietnamese Ambassador Le Linh Lan (in red, left) addresses the event (Photo: VNA)

In her opening remarks, Vietnamese Ambassador Le Linh Lan said over the past five decades after it was founded, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has become a widely-recognised regional organisation that plays an important role in promoting peace, stability and prosperity in Southeast Asia.

The ambassador also recalled milestones in Vietnams admission to and membership of ASEAN over the last 25 years, noting in the face of COVID-19 wreaking havoc in the region and the world, Vietnam, as ASEAN Chair 2020, has promptly shifted the focus of the blocs cooperation to fighting the pandemic and actively developed a master plan for ASEANs post-pandemic recovery.

During the ACB's meeting, the ambassadors of ASEAN member states discussed the current situation of the disease and its impacts on relations between ASEAN and Switzerland.

They emphasised that the ACB should further promote ASEANs image in Switzerland, prioritise holding political and economic activities and promotion of cooperation with Switzerland in healthcare, and foster exchange of policies with local universities and research institutions./.VNA
The income was revealed as part of the organisations annual report which was approved this weekend and highlights its work in 24 countries during the previous year, spanning areas such as emergency aid, health and education.

Concern Chair John Treacy paid tribute to the organisations network of supporters and volunteers: All of them are contributing to the mission of Concern, an expansive team keeping the flame of compassion alive across Ireland and further afield.

The organisation said it provided aid to 28.6 million people last year  an increase of 4.4 million on 2018.

Concern Chief Executive Dominic MacSorley said the number of people requiring the organisations support was continuing to rise: The number of people Concern is helping is rising, because the number of people in need is increasing, driven over the last 18 months by conflict, climate change and the Covid-19 pandemic.

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He said the pandemic had tested the organisations ability to respond to the crisis, saying the continuation of its work was enabled by the generosity of the public and the flexibility shown by key donors such as Irish Aid.

Other work the organisation has reported in its annual report includes:
Bengaluru: Karnataka health minister Sriramulu has become the latest politician to be infected by Covid-19.

He has checked in to the government-run Bowring Hospital on Sunday evening.

Sriramulu revealed on Twitter he tested positive for the coronavirus on Sunday. He explained that he had had fever on Sunday morning and so got himself tested for coronavirus.

The minister said his extensive travels to all the 30 districts in Karnataka may have exposed him to the virus.

Chief minister B S Yediyurappa and leader of the opposition Siddaramaiah are also in quarantine due to coronavirus infection.
One in five doctors and nurses has limited and in some cases no access to face masks, raising serious safety concerns as the number of health workers infected with COVID-19 continues to climb.

Peak organisations representing doctors and nurses surveyed their members and found 20 per cent have limited access to personal protective equipment including surgical masks.

Royal Australasian College of Physicians president Professor John Wilson says "its not good enough that one in five has limited access to surgical masks". Credit:Eddie Jim

The findings come as the number of active infections in Victorian health workers jumped to nearly 1000 at the weekend, bringing the total number infected since the start of the pandemic to 1725.

The Royal Australasian College of Physicians, which represents 16,000 doctors and 6000 trainees in specialties including respiratory medicine, infectious diseases, geriatrics and public health, said it had "serious concerns for the safety of our members on the front line".
Several thousand protesters gathered in central Beirut on Saturday to vent their anger at a political elite they blame for a deadly explosion that turned the city into a disaster zone.

The large crowd of demonstrators, some of them holding nooses, called for revenge as a large deployment of security forces tried to contain some groups seeking to advance towards Parliament.

Police used tear gas against groups of demonstrators hurling rocks and sticks on the fringes of the main gathering, which was relatively peaceful despite high tensions since the blast on Tuesday.

Among the main hashtags used on social media to rally protesters was #?????_??????? (prepare the gallows), and demonstrators had set up mock gallows on the main square on Friday.

The health ministry said at least 158 people died in Tuesdays explosion, an estimated 6,000 were wounded, and at least 21 were missing.
The White Sox designated righty Drew Anderson for assignment, as per a team announcement. Jose Ruiz, another right-hander, has been called up from the alternate training site to take Andersons roster spot.

Anderson signed a minor league deal with Chicago during the offseason and only had his contract selected prior to Saturdays game. Unfortunately for Anderson, his 2020 debut was a nightmare  two home runs and six total earned runs allowed over 1 1/3 innings against the Indians. It will make for a pretty ignominious White Sox tenure if Anderson is claimed or released, though he could also simply be outrighted back to the minor league camp if he passes through the DFA period. The 26-year-old appeared in parts of the 2017-19 seasons with the Phillies, posting a 7.71 ERA over 21 innings.

Ruiz has had a similarly brief three-year tenure in the majors, though 40 of his 45 1/3 career innings from 2017-19 came last season with the White Sox. Ruiz posted a 5.63 ERA, 1.46 K/BB rate, and 7.9 K/9 over those 40 frames. Pitching exclusively as a reliever over 135 career minor league innings with the Padres and White Sox, the hard-throwing Ruiz has a 3.67 ERA, 10.1 K/9, and 2.48 K/BB rate.
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Linkedin Greg Roumeliotis and Kanishka Singh (Reuters)  Sun, August 9, 2020 13:07 528 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a4066c92b61 2 Science & Tech Twitter,TikTok,China,Bytedance,united-states,social-media,Microsoft,Donald-Trump Free

Twitter Inc has approached TikTok's Chinese owner ByteDance to express interest in acquiring the US operations of the video-sharing app, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters, as experts raised doubts over Twitter's ability to put together financing for a potential deal.

It is far from certain that Twitter would be able to outbid Microsoft Corp and complete such a transformative deal in the 45 days that US President Donald Trump has given ByteDance to agree to a sale, the sources said on Saturday.

The news of Twitter and TikTok being in preliminary talks and Microsoft still being seen as the front-runner in bidding for the app's US operations was reported earlier by the Wall Street Journal.

Twitter has a market capitalization of close to $30 billion, almost as much as the valuation of TikTok's assets to be divested, and would need to raise additional capital to fund the deal, according to the sources.

"Twitter will have a hard time putting together enough financing to acquire even the U.S. operations of TikTok. It doesn't have enough borrowing capacity", said Erik Gordon, a professor at the University of Michigan.

"If it (Twitter) tries to put together an investor group, the terms will be tough. Twitter's own shareholders might prefer that management focus on its existing business", he added.

One of Twitter's shareholders, private equity firm Silver Lake, is interested in helping fund a potential deal, one of the sources added.

Read also: Instagram adds video clips in challenge to TikTok

Twitter has also privately made a case that its bid would face less regulatory scrutiny than Microsoft's, and will not face any pressure from China given that it is not active in that country, the sources said.

TikTok, ByteDance and Twitter declined to comment.

TikTok has come under fire from US lawmakers over national security concerns surrounding data collection.

Earlier this week, Trump unveiled bans on US transactions with the China-based owners of messaging app WeChat and TikTok, escalating tensions between the two countries.

Trump said this week he would support Microsoft's efforts to buy TikTok's US operations if the US government got a "substantial portion" of the proceeds. He nevertheless said he will ban the popular app on Sept. 15.

Microsoft said on Sunday it was aiming to conclude negotiations for a deal by mid-September
A veteran sergeant at San Quentin died Sunday morning after a weeks-long battle with COVID-19, marking the first employee to be felled by an outbreak that has ravaged Californias oldest state prison.

Sgt. Gilbert Bobby Polanco was 55.

Polanco was first hired in July 1987 as a correctional officer and retired from a disability in May 2005, according to prison officials. He was reinstated in January 2011 as a correctional sergeant, a job he held until his death.

Our hearts are broken as we awaken to the news of the passing of our beloved Sergeant, colleague, and friend, acting San Quentin Warden Ron Broomfield said in a statement. Sgt. Gilbert Polanco demonstrated unwavering commitment and bravery as a peace officer working the frontline every day during this devastating pandemic.

A Facebook post from CCPOA San Quentin, the correctional officers union, said union officials have requested the chief deputy warden activate peer support.

If you are religious or spiritual please pray for the family, immediate and professionally, the post stated. COVID-19 is not a hoax. Dont politicize it. Dont let Gils life be in vain.

Polanco was one of the 261 employees at San Quentin to test positive for the coronavirus, which causes COVID-19. The outbreak has additionally infected more than 2,100 incarcerated people at San Quentin  about two-thirds of the entire population  taking the lives of 24.

The virus has killed nine prison staff members and 53 prisoners at the states 35 institutions. At San Quentin, there are still 157 incarcerated people and 174 employees battling active cases.

California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Secretary Ralph Diaz said Polanco was an example of the best of the department.

His dedication to public service will not be forgotten, Diaz said in a statement. On behalf of a grateful department we extend our prayers of comfort and condolences to the Polanco family during these difficult times.

Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts.

As coronavirus outbreaks erupted at prisons across the state this spring, San Quentin had emerged as something of a success story. Despite the facilitys aging structure and open-facing cells, the prison had beat back the virus for all of April and May, counting no cases among its incarcerated population.

But that streak of good fortune was derailed in early June, after a mistake from prison officials that would soon prove fatal. In an attempt to spare vulnerable prisoners from a fast-moving outbreak at California Institution for Men in Chino, 121 men were bused from the Southern California facility to San Quentin.

But prison officials did not test the transferred men immediately before they were sent north, and then intermingled them with San Quentins population in the South Block. Within weeks, the virus had overrun the entire campus, including the prisons infamous Death Row.

Prison officials would later admit that 25 of the Chino men tested positive immediately upon arrival at San Quentin.

Megan Cassidy is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: megan.cassidy@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @meganrcassidy
LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESSWIRE / August 9, 2020 / Compare-autoinsurance.org (https://compare-autoinsurance.org/) has launched a new blog post that explains what is a car insurance lapse and how they can avoid these situations.

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Drivers who are having a coverage lapse should follow the next steps:

Drivers that discovered they have a coverage lapse should contact their insurers immediately . In most cases, the driver has forgotten to pay the insurance. Nevertheless, the insurance provider will apply some rules and negotiate to reinstate coverage, even though the driver had no intention to not pay the premiums.

Drivers that are having just a few days of coverage lapse can be easily reinstated to the same insurance carriers after they have paid their premiums.

Drivers with long coverage lapses have different negotiations with their insurers. It depends on the insurance provider and some factors regarding the driver, if the insurance policy is to be reinstated or not. Drivers that have been with the same insurer for a long period of time and they are good drivers, have a higher chance or reinstating their policies on the same insurer. However, there are many drivers that need to look for a different insurance provider.

There are different reinstatement procedures among insurance companies. Usually, the insurers will simply renew the previous policy. In some cases, the insurance company will impose the driver to apply for a new and costlier insurance policy. Also, these insurers will require the driver to provide an electronic payment method from where automatic monthly withdrawals can be done.

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With the aim of boosting local weapons production, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday morning declared an embargo on 101 defence items which, he said, will now be produced locally. In addition to putting these items on a 'negative list', Singh said that "contracts worth almost Rs 4 lakh crore will be placed upon the domestic industry within the next 6 to 7 years".

"The Ministry of Defence is now ready for a big push to #AtmanirbharBharat initiative," Singh tweeted at 10 in the morning. This initiative, he noted in subsequent tweets, will come as a "great opportunity to the Indian defence industry... by using their own design and development capabilities or adopting the technologies designed and developed by DRDO to meet requirements of the armed forces".

Announcing an estimated order of Rs 4 lakh crore for the local defence industry in the coming six to seven years, Singh said, "Of these, items worth almost Rs 1,30,000 crore each are anticipated for the Army and the Air Force while items worth almost Rs 1,40,000 crore are anticipated by the Navy."

The push to manufacture defence items locally has been on the government's agenda for many years now, given that India was consistently up there among the biggest arms importers in the world. Through initiatives like Make in India in the defence sector, India's defence sector has been slowly moving towards exporting some of the locally designed and manufactured hardware to other countries within the Indian subcontinent and beyond.

Between 2016-17 and 2018-19, India's defence exports went up by nearly 700 per cent. Over the past few years, in fact, India has begun export defence products to 42 countries, including the US, Australia, Finland, France, Germany, Israel, South Africa and Sweden, from whom it has been buying military hardware.

The defence minister said the list of the 101 items included "not just simple parts but also some high technology weapon systems like artillery guns, assault rifles, corvettes [small warship], sonar systems, transport aircrafts, LCHs [Light Combat Helicopters], radars and many other items to fulfill the needs of our Defence Services."

He said that the list also included wheeled Armoured Fighting Vehicles (AFVs), "with indicative import embargo date of December 2021, of which the Army is expected to contract almost 200 at an approximate cost of over Rs 5,000 crore."
Montreal, CA (H4T1V6)

Today

Snow during the morning will become lighter during the afternoon. Some sleet may mix in. High -3C. Winds ENE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of snow 100%. Snow accumulating 3 to 5 inches..

Tonight

Snow showers before midnight. Becoming partly cloudy later. Low -17C. Winds W at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of snow 50%.
She was recently forced to apologise to Jedward after joking about their music while criticising Wiley's anti-Semitic rant.

But Rachel Riley put the drama aside as she stepped out for a family outing in London on Saturday.

The Countdown presenter, 34, nailed summer chic in a pink mini dress which boasted short sleeves and a frilled hem.

Fashionista: Rachel Riley nailed summer chic as she donned a pink mini dress as she stepped out for a family outing in London on Saturday

Chic: The Countdown presenter, 34, wore her bleach blonde locks pulled back in a messy bun and affectionately cradled her seven-month-old daughter Maven in a leopard-print baby sling

She finished the look with a black over-the-shoulder bag, beige sandals and a pair of statement sunglasses.

Rachel wore her bleach blonde locks pulled back in a messy bun and affectionately cradled her seven-month-old daughter Maven in a leopard-print baby sling.

The TV personality was joined by both of her parents, partner Pasha Kovalev and Pasha's mum as the extended family took a trip to buy watermelon.

Shopping spree: The TV personality was joined by partner Pasha Kovalev as the family went to buy watermelon

Together: The couple were joined by Pasha's mum as well as both Rachel's parents during the outing

The outing comes after Rachel apologised to Jedward after joking about their music while criticising Wiley's anti-Semitic rant

The outing comes after Rachel apologised to Jedward after joking about their music while criticising Wiley's anti-Semitic rant.

Rachel, who is Jewish, said the Grime star could have ended his career by performing with the Irish twins instead of making his vile remarks.

But the former X Factor stars hit back at her comments, saying she should not have targeted them.

Feud: Rachel, who is Jewish, said the Grime star could have ended his career by performing with the Irish twins instead of making his vile remarks

She wrote: 'He could have just done a duet with Jedward if he was that keen to end his career.

'An unprompted, still going, public antisemitic breakdown is a bizarre route to go down.'

But Jedward replied: 'You are a patron for a Center for Countering Digital Hate? And yet here you are spreading Hate!! As anti bullying ambassadors we don't approve of this!'

Hitting back: Jedward accused the Countdown presenter of 'spreading hate' by joking about their music careers

Rachel promptly apologised and deleted her original tweet.

She then replied to the duo: 'Genuinely didn't mean any offence to you, was just a joke and you were the least grime people I could think of.'

She also tweeted the statement: 'Apologies to Jedward, totally flippant joke about them not being particularly grime and no offence intended. Good meme below though, they're nice boys and I didn't think of the cumulative impact of jokes.'

Standing down: Rachel promptly deleted her initial joke about the twins after they criticised the Countdown star

Wiley, 41, had made a series of tweets, saying: 'Jewish people you are not the reason I am wiley but I am the reason a lot of you have made money so shut up lol.'

Other Tweets included: 'If you work for a company owned by 2 Jewish men and you challenge the Jewish community in anyway of course you will get fired.'

He made multiple shocking comments, including calling Jewish people 'too touchy,' and saying Israel 'is not yours.'

He even challenged those who said they'd report him: 'Get me arrested let me see what the charge is you cowards.'

Vile remarks: Wiley, 41, had made a series of tweets, saying: 'Jewish people you are not the reason I am wiley but I am the reason a lot of you have made money so shut up lol'

Shocking: Wiley made a series of outlandish claims on his twitter feed last week which resulted in him being banned from the site for seven days

Wiley has been given a seven-day ban from Twitter over a series of anti-Semitic tweets which are being reviewed by police - as a campaign calls on Instagram to shut down his account to prevent a 'further outpouring of anti-Jewish venom'.

The musician was given an hours-long ban after tweeting a stream of comments on Friday evening, but was back online by Saturday morning.

However, after he resumed tweeting, he was given a seven-day ban from the social media platform.

He also posted a series of videos discussing the ban to his Instagram account. In one he said 'crawl out from under your little rocks and defend your Jewish privilege'.

While the video of Wiley telling Jewish people to 'crawl out from under your little rocks' has been removed, a post showing a snip of a tweet of a conspiracy theory about Jews funding and creating the KKK remains.

Wiley is said to have been dropped by his management company over the tweets, but he claimed that he cut ties with them.

When questioned on Wiley's comments by MailOnline, the Metropolitan Police referred to a statement on the LBTowerHamlets Twitter feed which says, 'the relevant material is being assessed'.
The Pune headquartered Serum Institute of India (SII) which is the worlds largest vaccine manufacturer by volume, will provide its vaccine at under US$3 per dose for patients in India and also to 93 other countries under the new collaboration of the company with Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Under this new agreement, the Gates Foundation through its strategic investment fund, will provide at-risk funding of US$150 million to Gavi, which will be used to support the SII to manufacture the potential vaccine candidates. As per the current valuation of Indian currency, the vaccine would be available for Rs 225 per dose.

SII will produce up to 100 million Covid-19 vaccine doses for India and low- and middle-income countries as early as 2021. The vaccines will be priced at maximum US$ 3 per dose and made available to 92 countries included in Gavis COVAX Advance Market Commitment (AMC). The collaboration will provide upfront capital to SII to help them increase manufacturing capacity now so that, once a vaccine, or vaccines, gains regulatory approval and the World Health Organization (WHO) prequalification, doses can be produced at scale for distribution as early as the first half of 2021.

The funding will support at-risk manufacturing by SII for candidate vaccines from AstraZeneca and Novavax, which will be available for procurement if they are successful in attaining full licensure and WHO prequalification.

In an attempt to make our fight against Covid-19 stronger and all-embracing; SII has partnered with Gavi and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to advance the manufacturing and delivery of up to 100 million doses of future Covid vaccines for India and low and middle income countries in 2021, said Adar Poonawalla, CEO of Serum Institute of India in a statement issued to the press.

Dr Balram Bhargava, director-general of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), said, India has demonstrated consistent capability in delivering on low-cost and high-quality medical research, while also maintaining technical and scientific rigour. The ICMR is deeply supportive of our cutting edge vaccine research and manufacturing prowess, of which SII is one prominent example. This partnership signifies yet another step in Indias efforts to bolster the fight against this global pandemic.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, via its strategic investment fund will provide at-risk funding of US$150 million to Gavi, which will be used to support the Serum Institute of India to manufacture potential vaccine candidates, and for future procurement of vaccines for low- and middle-income countries via Gavis COVAX AMC.
Having made his name in real estate, it is oddly appropriate that President Donald Trumps reelection efforts have steered him into a new version of panic peddling.

Panic peddling or blockbusting describes the now-illegal practice of persuading property owners to sell cheaply out of fear that people of another race, ethnicity or income group are going to move in and bring down property values. Then the unscrupulous peddler sells the same property for a higher price, most likely to a member of the feared minority group, and reaps the profits.

Trump isnt selling property this time. Hes selling himself.

I am happy to inform all of the people living their Suburban Lifestyle Dream that you will no longer be bothered or financially hurt by having low income housing built in your neighborhood he boasted in a tweet Wednesday during a visit to West Texas.

Your housing prices will go up based on the market, and crime will go down. I have rescinded the Obama-Biden AFFH Rule. Enjoy!

Right. Have a ball. He was referring to his scrapping of a government program Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing initiated by his old foe President Barack Obama that tries to reduce racial and economic segregation in suburban areas. In other tweets, Trump has warned that his likely Democratic opponent Joe Biden will destroy your neighborhood and your American Dream.

Well, as some folks used to say, There goes the neighborhood.

I was covering issues of housing discrimination and unscrupulous real estate agents back in the early 1970s when young Donald Trump, his father, Fred, and their Trump Management company were being sued by the Justice Department for discriminating against Black applicants for their apartments. The Trumps settled the case two years later after trying unsuccessfully to countersue the Justice Department.

Perhaps a sense of payback helped move Donald Trump to dump the AFFH rule that Obama put in place. The rule requires housing agencies and communities that receive federal housing and development funds to report steps they are taking to promote residential desegregation under the 1968 Fair Housing Act, a cause for which Martin Luther King Jr. marched in Chicago.

Will Trumps new panic pitch work? Curiosity drove me to call Alexander Polikoff, lead counsel since the late 1960s on the landmark Gautreaux public housing case. That long-running case led to the first Section 8 federal housing vouchers that help low-income, elderly and the disabled afford decent housing in the private market.

Yet, despite the past successes of Section 8, Polikoff, who has co-authored a concise new book titled A Brief History of the Subordination of African Americans in the U.S., told me in a phone interview with regret that he thinks Trumps panic-peddling ploy may just work.

The three-word phrase that raises more alarm in headlines than any other, he told me, is low-income housing.

Sure, countless studies may show that low-income Section 8 rentals do not necessarily lead to crime, more poverty or lowered property values. But some people will never be convinced, he said. NIMBY (not in my back yard) is still strong.

Still, Polikoff agreed with me that public attitudes have changed a lot since the 1960s  fortunately for the better.

For example, in 1973 the General Social Survey and The Washington Post found that 64 percent of white Americans said they would vote for a law allowing homeowners to discriminate in selling their house. In 2014, that portion shrunk to only 28 percent while 70 percent thought such discrimination should be legally barred.

Sure, Trumps panic pitch may be music to a lot of peoples ears. But he also embarrasses a lot of people, including many in his own party. Having rejected advice to reach out and expand his political base, he has chosen instead to dig deeper into his base and speak primarily to people who already agree with him.

Meanwhile, countless others care more about what gives him less comfort: the coronavirus pandemic and the countrys recent economic collapse. I dont think his approach is a winning one. But thats why we have elections.

Page is a columnist for the Miami Herald. Leonard Pitts is on vacation. Email Page at cpage@chicagotribune.com.
At last the world is waking up to the horrors inflicted by the Chinese Communist party upon the people it has colonised. In the past few days alone, we have seen pictures of chained and blindfolded Uighurs being forced on to trains to take them to concentration camps.

US customs officers have seized a ship containing 13 tons of human hair taken from the camps, where inmates are forcibly shaved.

And we have been shocked by the forced abortions and sterilisations of Uighur women revealed in such chilling detail in the Mail on Sunday two weekends ago.

Those who thought never again after the abominations of Hitlers Germany are seeing history repeated. Then it was Jews. Now it is the Muslims of north-western China. And for even longer it has been the Buddhists of Tibet.

A video posted on Twitter and believed to depict blindfolded and shackled detainees from Chinas Uighur minority

For what the world is now seeing in Xinjiang has already been happening, largely unseen, in the remote mountain kingdom.

Violently and illegally occupied by China since 1959, Tibet is the second least-free country in the world, according to the US-based Freedom House. Only Syria fares worse. Even North Korea is regarded as more free.

The world has failed to face down Chinese tyranny in Tibet; now we can see the consequences in Xianjiang. Today, Tibetans have no basic rights and are treated as second-class citizens in their own country. It is like an apartheid state.

China is determined to crush the Tibetans unique, deeply religious culture and what resistance remains is focused on Buddhism and allegiance to the Dalai Lama, their spiritual leader.

At 85, he is a living link not just to millennia of continuous Buddhist faith, but to a time when, proud and isolated, Tibet was independent.

The Dalai Lama had been enthroned at the age of four in 1940, while much of the world was engulfed in war. The ancient ceremony took place in a specially constructed tented city just outside the capital, Lhasa.

Born in a farmers cottage in eastern Tibet, the boy had been identified as the reincarnation of the 13th Dalai Lama through his ability to identify key possessions.

Without prompting, he had said: My teeth are in there, pointing to a small case which did indeed hold a set of the 13ths Dalai Lamas dentures.

The boy, Lhamo Thondup, was conveyed to and from the joyous ceremony on a palanquin, a covered sedan chair, carried by noblemen dressed in green satin robes and round red-tasselled hats. He was given a golden wheel and a conch, representing respectively spiritual and temporal power, and sat passively through proceedings which lasted hours.

Today the Dalai Lama lives in exile in India, where he has been since the Chinese invasion of 1959. The Dalai Lama has been a consistent advocate of peace and non-violence, but the Beijing government calls him a terrorist and accuses him of espionage activities.

Today the Dalai Lama (pictured) lives in exile in India, where he has been since the Chinese invasion of 1959

Ordinary Tibetans have been imprisoned and tortured merely for having pictures of him, or for celebrating his birthday. Buddhism is central to the Tibetan way of life, but under the Communist regime, just as mosques are being flattened in Xinjiang, so in Tibet thousands of monasteries and nunneries were, and are being, destroyed. Some were even contemptuously turned into pig sties.

Those that remain are run by two-dimensional Chinese apparatchiks who insist monks and nuns must now prostrate themselves to images of Xi Jinping and other leading party functionaries rather than to religious icons.

The atheist Beijing regime has even entered the realm of the metaphysical, decreeing  absurdly - that nobody can reincarnate without their permission.

The point of this, of course, is to enable them to anoint their own Dalai Lama when the incumbent dies, and so remove the focal point round which Tibetans congregate.

The Chinese have already kidnapped the second most powerful religious figure, the Panchen Lama, who normally plays a role in determining the identity of the reincarnated Dalai Lama.

At the age of six, he was whisked away, making him the worlds youngest political prisoner. If he is still alive today  and nobody has seen him since his disappearance  he will be over 30.

Instead, the Chinese have installed what the Tibetans call the Panchen Zuma, or fake Panchen.

Any expression of religious belief can now be regarded as a criminal offence in Tibet.

A Tibetan man was recently arrested because he was asking people to recite prayers to ward off the coronavirus.

Meanwhile, in eastern Tibet, the authorities have ordered monks to remove all the prayer flags that traditionally hang from houses, mountains and monasteries, ostensibly as part of an environmental clean-up.

Nor is Beijings iron fist limited to religious matters. Tibetans are imprisoned and horrifically tortured for promoting the use of the Tibetan language, participating in Tibetan cultural traditions or contacting people, including family members, outside the country.

Xi Jinping, the butcher of Beijing, wants everyone within Chinas borders and occupied territories to behave like Han Chinese. Under the new sinister ethnic unity policy introduced in January, no variation is to be tolerated.

Faced with this hopeless situation, Tibetans in desperation began setting fire to themselves while shouting pro-Tibet sentiments. Some 150 have died a terrible death this way.

The Chinese then prevent the victims from having a traditional Tibetan funeral and punish the remaining family members.

The Chinese word for Tibetans is man-tze, meaning barbarian.

It is a word much more appropriately applied to the psychopaths who run China. The 1948 United Nations Genocide Convention defines genocide as acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group, as such. That is what is happening in Tibet. Yet by and large, the world has shrugged its shoulders. Insidious Chinese communist influence has been allowed to take root and grow like an invasive species.

Here in Britain we are content to welcome record numbers of Chinese students to our universities, which is fine. But the pressure and intimidation that comes from Beijing is not.

Professor Dibyesh Amand, an expert on Tibet and China at the University of Westminster, told me: The efforts made by Chinese Embassy officials to maintain disciplining influence over Chinese students is an open secret among many of us in the university sector.

Our universities host Trojan Horse Confucius Institutes which peddle propaganda, including telling outright lies about the history of Tibet and the position of Taiwan.

Universities are even complying with internet restrictions demanded by the Chinese government. Their students will search in vain for the three Ts  Tibet, Taiwan and Tiananmen Square. It is shameful.Why does the Chinese regime behave in this extreme way? Tibet is important to China  as the source of many natural resources, as a convenient place to dump nuclear waste and as the military frontier with India. This year China has embarked on the construction of a chain of border defence villages.

I believe the aggression stems, too, from an arrogance that all other races are inferior to the Han Chinese. Their word for their own country means middle heaven.

THEN there is a deep-seated insecurity that they cannot command the genuine respect of their populations but have to coerce it through violence and intimidation.

Yet there are hopeful signs that the world is beginning to realise that China must be stopped.

In the United States, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has rightly said: If the free world doesnt change communist China, communist China will surely change us.

Chen Quanguo, the architect of mass human rights violations in Tibet, has been barred from entering America and had his assets there frozen. In Britain we are at last beginning to follow suit. Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab was right to name undesirable Russians and Saudis barred from our shores under our own version of Americas Magnitsky Act. Mr Raab must now extend the ban to the Chinese officials implicated in human rights abuses in Tibet, Xinjiang and Hong Kong.

Tory MP Tim Loughton has introduced a Bill in the Commons to mirror the US Reciprocal Access to Tibet Act. The Government should adopt it and make it law.

This country has an important role to play. Uniquely we were in Tibet while it was independent. In 1904 the Lhasa Convention was signed between Britain and Tibet, followed by the Simla Convention of 1914.

Until the Chinese invasion, Tibet had its own government, its own foreign policy, its own currency, its own stamps. No amount of history rewriting by the Chinese regime can change the historical facts. We know this. We were there. We saw it.

In 1940, Hugh Richardson, representing the British government, was the only westerner present at the enthronement of the Dalai Lama. China was nowhere to be seen.

Xi Jinping and his thuggish henchmen must be brought before the International Criminal Court and made to answer for their actions.

It is time for Britain to speak out.
At least 26 officers were injured at Distillery Street as workers removed material from a bonfire pyre for the anniversary of internment without trial.

PSNI Superintendent Melanie Jones said officers came under sustained attack by a large crowd of youths throwing petrol bombs, masonry and other missiles towards them.

She said: At this point we can confirm that at least 26 officers have sustained injuries and are currently receiving treatment.

Footage from evidence-gathering cameras will be reviewed and all efforts will be made to identify those involved in the completely unacceptable violence we have seen here today.

People who choose to engage in criminal and anti-social behaviour must understand it is unacceptable and must stop. People have a right to live in peace and to feel safe in their communities.

Northern Irish Justice Minister Naomi Long and the Police Federation have criticised the attacks on officers.

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The Police Federation tweeted: It is disgraceful that officers going about their work and serving communities should be targeted like this. 26 officers were injured in sustained petrol bomb & masonry attacks  a terrible tally. Our thoughts are with them and other colleagues.

Ms Long responded: Absolutely disgraceful conduct. Officers should not face this kind of violence as they try to keep people safe. Residents are sick of this nonsense every year  they want peace and quiet I hope that no-one was seriously injured and that they all make a full and speedy recovery.

Previous years have seen bonfires lit in Belfast to mark the anniversary of internment without trial on August 9th, 1971. This controversial policy saw thousands of mostly nationalists detained.

Last year a standoff developed between young people and police in the New Lodge area of north Belfast.

This weekend, police moved into a number of areas of Belfast to facilitate workers removing wood gathered for bonfires, while community talks prevented other pyres being built.
In a televised speech, prime minister Hassan Diab called on all political parties to put their disagreements aside and work together.

He said he is ready to stay in the post for two months to allow for politicians to work together on implementing structural reforms.

Thousands of people poured into Beiruts main square on Saturday, where they set up symbolic nooses to hang politicians whose corruption and negligence they blame for Tuesdays explosion at the Port of Beirut.

A group of protesters including retired army officers stormed the Foreign Ministry, saying it would be the headquarters for a revolution and called on the current government to resign.

Retired army officer Sami Ramah read a statement on the buildings steps after dozens of protesters pushed their way into the building. This authority must step down, he said.

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The huge blast was caused by thousands of tons of ammonium nitrate improperly stored at the port for more than six years, apparently set off by a fire.

It was the biggest in Lebanons history and caused an estimated 7.6 billion-11.5 billion worth of damage, according to Beiruts governor. It also left hundreds of thousands of people homeless.

The protest Saturday was the first significant demonstration since the explosion and organisers planned to hold a symbolic funeral for the dead.

As the protest got under way however, small groups of young men began throwing stones at security forces.

Near parliament, riot police fired tear gas at protesters who hurled stones and tried to jump over barriers that closed the road leading to the parliament buildings.

The protesters later set fire to a lorry that was fortifying barriers on a road leading to parliament.

The gathering at Martyrs Square and outside the parliament building and government headquarters came amid popular anger against Lebanons political leadership.

The countrys ruling class, made up mostly of former civil war-era leaders, is blamed for widespread corruption, incompetence and mismanagement that contributed to Tuesdays explosion.

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The army issued a statement reminding the protesters to act peacefully and abstain from closing roads or attacking public or private property.

Police also issued a statement after the protests began urging people to act in a civilised way far away from violence.

The protest came as senior officials from the Middle East and Europe arrived in Lebanon in a show of solidarity with the tiny country that is still in shock suffered after the blast.

Lebanon is mired in its worst economic and financial crisis in decades making it difficult for many people who had their properties damaged to fix them.

In a show of anger, the president of the Christian opposition Kataeb party said its three legislators have decided to resign from parliament over this weeks disaster.

Sami Gemayel called on every honourable member of parliament to resign and work for the birth of a new Lebanon.

A senior Kataeb party official was killed in the blast, which claimed at least 154 lives, wounded more than 5,000 people and laid waste to the countrys largest port and nearby areas.

Also killed were 43 Syrians, the countrys embassy in Beirut said. Lebanon is home to some one million Syrian refugees.

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The Dutch foreign ministry said Saturday that Hedwig Waltmans-Molier, the wife of the Netherlands ambassador to Lebanon, had also died of injuries sustained in the blast.

Documents that surfaced after the blast showed that for years officials had been repeatedly warned that the presence of 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate at the port posed a grave danger, but no one acted to remove it.

Officials have been blaming one another since the explosion and 19 people have been detained including the ports chief, head of Lebanons customs department and his predecessor.

We will support Lebanon through all available means, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, the secretary-general of the 22-member Arab League told reporters after meeting President Michel Aoun on Saturday.

Mr Aboul Gheit said he would take part in a donors conference for Lebanon in France on Sunday and convey Lebanons demands to the international community.

Later on Saturday the president of the European Council, Charles Michel, arrived in Beirut for a brief visit.

Turkeys vice president and the countrys foreign minister arrived Saturday and met Mr Aoun, saying that Ankara was ready to help rebuild Beiruts port and evacuate some of the wounded from Lebanon to Turkey for treatment.

At the site of the blast in Beiruts port, workers were still searching for dozens of missing people. Bulldozers were also seen removing debris near the giant grain silos that are still partly standing.

International aid has been flowing to Lebanon for days and several field hospitals have been set up around Beirut to help treat the wounded.

The ammonium nitrate, a chemical used in fertilisers and explosives, originated from a cargo ship called MV Rhosus that had been travelling from Georgia to Mozambique in 2013.

It made an unscheduled detour to Beirut as the Russian shipowner was struggling with debts and hoped to earn some extra cash in Lebanon. Unable to pay port fees and reportedly leaking, the ship was impounded.

In 2014, the material was moved from the ship and placed in a warehouse at the port where it stayed until the explosion.
The Osun Police Command has dismissed Inspector Ago Egharevbe for allegedly brutalising a 20-year-old fashion designer, Ayomide Taiwo, leading to his death.

The News of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the incident, which happened on Wednesday at Obokun, led to the victim been hospitalised and later died on Sunday.

The commands spokesperson, Opalola Yemisi, in a statement on Sunday in Osogbo, explained that Mr Egharevbe, attached to Obokun Divisional Police Station, was arrested after the incident.

Ms Yemisi said the inspector had been tried in orderly room and that the Commissioner of Police, Undie Adie, had recommended his dismissal to the Inspector General of Police.

She said the commissioner of police would not condone any act of indiscipline, brutality, unprofessional behaviour from any member of the force under his command.

The Osun State Police Command wishes to state that the officer, Inspector Ago Egharepbe, who brutalised a civilian in Ibokun has been tried and dismissed from the force.

The Commissioner of Police, Undie Adie, has recommended his dismissal to the Inspector General of Police and he has been dismissed.

He will be charged to court on Monday for murder.

CP Adie and the entire Osun Police Command commiserate with the family and friends of Ayomide Taiwo on the death of their loved one as we promised to ensure justice is served, Opalola said.

Confirming the death, Popoola Adebayo, the boss of the deceased, said Ayomide died on Sunday as he had remained unconscious since the attack five days ago.

Earlier, the brother of the deceased, Oladimeji Wasiu, said that the incident happened when he and his late brother were returning on a motorcycle to Osogbo from Iragbiji, their home town, where they went for the Eid-el-Kabir celebration.

Wasiu said when they got to Ilahun village, along Ibokun road at about 3:30 p.m., they met police officers at a check point who ordered their bike to stop.

He said one the officers became aggrieved when he asked Ayomide to pay N50, but he delayed in paying.

Wasiu said when the officer found out that Ayomide had huge sum of money with him, he became furious and hit him with the butt of the gun, which forced both of them to fall down and Ayomide became unconscious.

READ ALSO:

While we were coming from home, at Iragbiji after Sallah, we met four police officers on our way.

One of the police officers stopped us and requested for money, when my brother brought out money to give him, he saw that he had a huge amount in his pocket, this angered him and he hit him with the butt of his gun on his head.

And immediately, we fell down from the motorcycle while the remaining three officers ran away, he said. (NAN)
New Delhi:

The Twitter handles of Rahul Gandhi and the Congress which were recently hacked were operated from five countries including the US, Delhi Police on Wednesday said.

The Economic Offences Wing (EOW), which is probing the matter, received a reply around three-four days ago from Twitter headquarters on the Internet Protocol (IP) addresses used by the hackers to send derogatory tweets from these accounts, a senior police officer said.

We have got to know that the IP addresses from where the accounts were accessed dont fall under our jurisdiction. The Twitter handle logs show both the accounts were operated from five countries - Sweden, Romania, the US, Canada and Thailand.

We will write to the Internet service providers of these countries to share details of users with us and that is how the investigation will proceed, the officer said.

Analysis of the data shows that the accounts were accessed from these countries on November 30 from 9.15 PM to 9.30 PM and from 10:30 AM on December 1, the officer added.

In case, police do not get the necessary details, they might have to initiate the process of sending Letters Rogatory to competent courts in these countries for assistance, sources said.

According to the officer, police are yet to get log details of the Congress website from the partys server.

Police had lodged two FIRs in connection with the hacking of the two Twitter accounts, the party website and the email accounts of Congress and Rahul on December 1 following two complaints from Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala to the EOW.

Rahuls Twitter account was hacked on November 30 and some remarks full of expletives were posted.

On December 1, his email account was also hacked, the party had claimed. Two cases under section 66 of IT Act were registered, police had said.

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Only a handful of San Francisco Fire Department members tested positive for COVID-19 antibodies in a recent UCSF study, even though nearly half of those surveyed said they had probably or definitely been around people infected by the virus.

Just three of 1,223 people who were tested had antibodies for the virus, according to a summary of the results made public by UCSF. The study tested two-thirds of the departments employees, and featured people in every job category, including firefighters and paramedics.

Researchers believe it is among the first COVID-19 antibody studies of emergency responders who do not work in a hospital, according to UCSFs Dr. Robert Harrison, who directed the study. Harrison said the low positive tests are likely a reflection of the powerful public health action the Bay Area took when it shut down in March, combined with the Fire Departments pandemic work practices, including the use of N95 respirator masks.

I was surprised at how low it was, Harrison said. However, after I was surprised, I was pleased to see how I think a combination of strong public health leadership (and) sheltering in place combined with both Fire Department management and frontline firefighter adherence to good PPE can work in protecting front line workers.

Harrison also cautioned that the study team collected its data at the end of June, which would have included some but not all of the rise in COVID-19 cases that the Bay Area has experienced since Memorial Day.

Spokespeople for the Fire Department could not be reached for comment Saturday. But in a virtual town hall with employees Friday, Dr. Jennifer Brokaw, the departments physician, said employees have adhered well to face covering and surface washing procedures. She expressed optimism that the apparently low infection rates would continue even when the annual influenza season returns this year.

Were doing a really good job, Brokaw said.

Of the study participants, 48% said they had probably come into contact with COVID-19 patients or were certain they had done so. Some of them had only been around someone with the virus once or twice but others had repeated exposure, according to the study summary.

Blood samples from the study were tested at the UCSF Clinical Lab, and any positives were confirmed using additional tests that search for signs of the spike-shaped protein that the virus uses to infect human cells, said Harrison of UCSF. The additional testing ruled out some false positives, and the false negative rate is extremely small, he said.

We can be very confident that the negatives that we have are true negatives, Harrison said. He also said that antibodies are believed to last at least a few months, so testing in June would pick up cases that date back to March, when the virus spread triggered a lockdown.

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.

He also warned that researchers still dont know if the three people who tested positive for the antibodies are now immune from the virus  or, if they are, how long that immunity will last.

Nobody, including the positives, should relax and deviate from the existing recommendations for masks and PPE and social distancing and disinfection, all the things that they have in place, Harrison said.

Other antibody tests among first responders are being conducted in San Jose, Ventura County, New York, Detroit and Rhode Island.

J.D. Morris is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jd.morris@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @thejdmorris
Gurugram, Aug 10 : The Gurugram police have arrested 30 youngsters including eight girls for drinking publicly on Gurugram-Faridabad expressway and also violating the Covid-19 pandemic precautions.

The party, organised on Saturday night by one Harsh Gosain, a resident of Sector 46 in Gurugram, was arrested from the spot.

The alleged person failed to produce a valid license required for the liquor party. Local police also seized three cartons of beer and one carton of Indian made foreign liquor from the spot.

K.K. Rao, Police Commissioner of Gurugram said that the officials of Gwal Pahari received information with regards to the liquor party was organised in the Off-Road adventure zone in Baliawas.

"Subsequently, we have constituted a team led by Karan Goyal, ACP of DLF to conduct a raid. The team, without delay at any time, reached the place. Around 30 youths were consuming liquor in open space. When the police team approached them, they tried to flee from the spot. The police team including women staff managed to nab them," Rao said.

"At a time of the pandemic, organising liquor party in a public place is an offence as chances of Corona spread is very high. It would not only threaten them but also to others. Its organiser is booked under relevant sections of the excise act, pandemic act, and disaster management act. The alleged youths are let off after strong warning," Rao added.
Three days of heavy monsoon rains triggering flash floods killed at least 50 people in various parts of Pakistan, as troops with boats rushed to a flood-affected district in the countrys southern Sindh province Sunday to evacuate people to safer places.

Every year, many cities in Pakistan struggle to cope with the annual monsoon deluge, drawing criticism about poor planning. The monsoon season runs from July through September, during which swelling rivers cause damage to crops and infrastructure.

According to Pakistans National Disaster Management Authority, 19 people were killed in rain-related incidents in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, 12 in southern Sindh province, 8 in Punjab province and 10 in the countrys scenic northern Gilgit Baltistan region in the past three days.

Rains also partially damaged about 100 homes and caused a breach in a flooded main canal, inundating villages in Sindh province. In a statement, the military said troops used boats to rescue stranded people and move them to safety. It said a medical camp was also established and food was being provided to the rescued people.

Heavy rains also lashed many districts in southwestern Baluchistan province, damaging homes. According to local media reports, at least eight people were killed in Baluchistan because of rains and flash flooding.

Heavy rainfall began last week and continued Sunday, flooding streets even in the eastern city of Lahore. It especially disrupted normal life last week in Karachi, the provincial capital of Sindh province and Pakistans commercial hub, where sewage flooded most of the streets, prompting Prime Minister Imran Khan to order the army to assist authorities in handling the situation.

According to the Meteorological Department, heavy rains are expected to continue next week.

In Pakistan and neighboring India, deadly floods occur regularly during the monsoon season.
GREENSBORO  Authorities are investigating a death at a motel, according to a news release from Greensboro police.

At 7:31 p.m. Saturday, officers responded to the Budget Motel at 512 Farragut Street in reference a person laying on the ground. CPR was performed on the unresponsive person, who died from unknown injuries, according to the release.

No information regarding a suspect(s) was available and police are still investigating the incident.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Greensboro/Guilford Crime Stoppers at 336-373-1000. Citizens can also download the mobile P3tips app for Apple or Android phones to submit a mobile tip, or go to P3tips.com to submit a web tip. All tips to Crime Stoppers are anonymous.
Communication can be key to protecting the states environment, according to a state regulator.

We touch about every industry and business in some way for this state, said Texas Commission on Environmental Quality Commissioner Emily Lindley, participating in the weekly Oilfield Strong webinar presented by OTA Compression/OTA Environmental and the Permian Basin Petroleum Association.

Id love for us to not be that big, she said. We have a robust stakeholder involvement process, whether its rulemaking or the permitting process. I encourage you, one, to dive into who we are, what we do, and if you have any questions on how to get engaged on topics, contact the agency. We need to be talking to the regulated community and hearing from you. We cant do this job unless we know how its affecting the community.

The Midland native said she has never operated a well or drilled horizontally, so any proposed rules may be off the mark in some ways. Were not in the real world, having to be out there in the field. So, if theres something we arent getting right, we dont know that unless you tell us.

That will be particularly important in the coming months as the commission ponders some rules that could impact the industry, she said.

Lindley said she wants to hear from people in the industry to ensure the rulemaking is being done correctly.

Id like to get things as right as possible the first time around, she said.

Flaring and venting are big issues in the Permian, she said. Referring to the commissions enforcement report, she said the Midland region stood out significantly with more emissions events reported by far than even the Houston region with its ship channel and refining and petrochemical plants.

You dont want these numbers next year; we dont want these numbers next year, she said, adding that the number of incidents this year appear to be down.

We called the four companies with the highest number of events and said, We need to work together, she said. We are encouraged by the (mitigation) activities and even more so by the investments companies have made to improve their operations and reduce emissions events. They took this seriously and worked to eliminate events.

The commission conducted two flyovers in March to check for emissions and identified potential problem areas. Fourteen companies responded to requests for additional information, and one site was issued a violation notice, she said.

When we reach out to you, its very helpful to us and to you if youre responsive. For all emissions events, we sent out questionnaires, so please return those questionnaires and our follow-up phone calls as we try to find out more about whats gong on at the site. We need to know whats going on and what youre doing to get into compliance. You may need help from the TCEQ  you may need a permit, which can be done online. You may need some sort of documentation from us to operate.

She said the commission isnt the only entity doing flyovers. Others, such as the Environmental Defense Fund, are also doing flyovers to check for emissions. She said the EDF sent the commission a ton of data in April and again in July from flyovers done in February and March. In that data, which addressed 62 sites, 31 were identified as possibly having some issues and nine received visits from outside investigator, Lindley said. All videos from the EDFs flyovers are posted on the groups Permian Map website.

The commission is also planning to deploy mobile monitoring to survey for hydrogen sulfide and other sulfide compounds this fall. That mobile monitoring is done to determine where to set up stationary monitors, and Lindley said three are planned for Midland-Odessa to monitor for H2S. Construction for one in west Odessa is underway, as is one in Goldsmith. The commission is evaluating two potential sites in Midland for a monitor, both on city of Midland property, she said.

The commission is also preparing for the next session of the Texas Legislature, which will get underway in January. Lindley said the commission has a list of 10 budget requests, and top of the list is $1 million to improve entry-level pay.

We have a hard time retaining investigators, she said. They are brought in at low entry-level salaries; we train them, get them geared up and then they leave for greener pastures, which is understandable. The amount of work they do, the level of expertise they have is appealing to other companies. We lose them and that makes it difficult for us to consistently have the enforcement we want. Its beneficial to you if we retain investigators  you know them, they know you, its a level of consistency. We want the Legislature to help us and give us a little more money. Were not seeking more bodies; we just want money to bump up the entry level pay so were more competitive and we can retain investigators.

She is also seeking funds to replace the commissions optical gas imaging cameras.

We dont know what the session will look like. We dont know if well get money for anything. But they cant say no if you dont ask, she said.
British holidaymakers are gambling on trips to Greece instead of Spain, despite an increase in coronavirus cases in the country - as fears grow of a second spike in France.

The government changed travel advice required people who return from Spain to England to quarantine for two weeks, devastating tourists looking forward to their summer holiday.

But Brits desperate for a foreign break have set their sights on destinations in Greece, such as Crete, Corfu and Santorini, as reported by The Sunday Telegraph.

Previously the most sought after destinations on Skyscanner, a flight booking website, were Ibiza, Barcelona and Malaga, but they have now dropped out of the top 10, as illustrated by the table below.

It comes as France could be the next destination to face coronavirus curbs, after the country confirmed 2,288 new cases and 12 deaths on Friday.

People swim near a pier in the island of Corfu as the island welcomes its first tourists after months of closure due to the spread of the pandemic

A normally packed beach in Somorrostro is quiet compared to normal after a huge drop in tourism after quarantine rules changed for Brits

Lockdown-weary sunseekers angling for a summer break in France are seeking clarity after claims the country is 'highly likely' to be added to the 14-day quarantine list following a dramatic rise in infections.

Meanwhile, Boris Johnson has is under mounting pressure to compensate people who were caught abroad when the quarantine rules changed, as reported by The Observer.

Shadow home secretary Nick Thomas-Symonds, said: 'Following the mass confusion around the decision on Spain, there should now be plans in place to support people coming home where there is no guarantee their employers will allow them 14 days of work flexibility.'

Only 10 enforcement orders have been issued to people who have broken quarantine rules after arriving in the UK. It has prompted concerns the system is not currently being enforced correctly.

Frances O'Grady, the TUC general secretary, told the Observer: 'No one should suffer financially for following official advice to quarantine. It's not holidaymakers' fault if guidance changes. Wherever possible, employers should do the right thing and pay quarantined workers their full pay, but we also need the government to step up.'

Jon Thorne, an expert at Skyscanner, said government changes to the quarantine list directly impacted on consumer behaviour.

Tourists sunbathe at Palmanova Beach on the Island of Mallorca in late July

He said: 'The significant drop in searches and bookings to Spain from the UK on Skyscanner last week was a direct reaction to the current restrictions in the UK and uncertainty around travel to and from holiday favourites there.

'Over the last few months, we have seen a direct correlation in search and booking data following changes in guidance.'

Paris makes face masks mandatory in busy outdoor areas including strolls along the Seine and browsing outdoor markets as Covid cases spike in French capital Parisians and holidaymakers must wear face masks in busy outdoor areas, after authorities in the French capital imposed new measures to curb a rise in coronavirus cases. Face masks will be compulsory for those aged 11 and over 'in certain very crowded zones' in Paris from Monday morning, a police statement said on August 8. This includes the banks of the River Seine, open-air markets and more than 100 streets in the French capital. But tourist sites, including the Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triomphe and Champs-Elysees boulevard, were not listed. The decision was widely expected after a formal request earlier in the week by mayor Anne Hidalgo. Authorities said in a statement on Saturday that the rate of positive coronavirus tests was 2.4% in the greater Paris area, compared to a national average of 1.6%. It has been compulsory to wear a face mask in closed public spaces, such as shops and banks, since July 21. Paris joins a growing list of cities ordering people to wear masks in busy zones outdoors, including Toulouse, Lille and Biarritz. Advertisement

Greece has seen a relatively low number of Covid-19 cases in comparison with other European countries.

But it did record 121 new cases on Tuesday, which is its highest number since April 22, but still significantly below spikes in France and Spain.

Appearing on Sky News on Saturday, Rishi Sunak, the Chancellor, warned holidaymakers there was 'always the risk of disruption to travel plans'.

Martyn James, a consumer rights expert at Resolver, warned that anyone booking a holiday overseas at the moment was taking a risk.

He added: 'Any holiday outside of this country booked at the moment carries a risk that you won't be able to go or that you will have to quarantine on the way back. People going into it should be aware by now.

'I am advising people to get it in writing that you will be able to move your hotel booking before you go. There is a chance that you won't get any of your money back.'

Italy and Turkey are also proving popular destinations for Brits keen to travel to areas with lower levels of coronavirus infections.

It comes as Portugal may soon be included in the quarantine-free travel list, if coronavirus cases in the country continue to drop.

The holiday destination favourite could be added to the 'safe-list' in weeks meaning British tourists would exempt from the 14-day isolation on their return.

Portugal was excluded from the list of countries that are exempt from quarantine that was published by the UK Government in July.

The list has since been updated but Portugal has continued to be left off the list of 'travel corridors' amid fears at its level of coronavirus infections.

The decision promoted anger from Portuguese officials at the time as Portugal relies heavily on tourism.

Portugal's Ministry of State and Foreign Affairs said: 'It is a decision that is neither substantiated nor supported by the facts.'

A Whitehall source told The Sun: 'Portugal has made a lot of progress but the process of for dropping quarantine is far more gradual, where we monitor progress in weeks rather than days.'

This will likely delay the green-light being given for another two weeks.
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, third right, wears a protective face mask to help curb the spread of the coronavirus, attend on the last day of an Afghan Loya Jirga or traditional council, in Kabul, Afghanistan, Sunday, Aug. 9, 2020. (AP Photo)

Afghanistan to Release 400 Hard-Core Taliban in Bid for Peace

KABUL, AfghanistanA traditional Afghan council concluded Sunday with hundreds of delegates agreeing to free 400 Taliban members, paving the way for an early start to negotiations between Afghanistans warring sides.

The declaration calls for an immediate start to negotiations and a cease-fire. The move looks to bring the United States a little closer to bringing home its troops and ending its longest military engagement.

No date has been set for the release, but negotiations between Kabuls political leadership and the Taliban are expected to begin as early as next week, and will most likely be held in the Mideast state of Qatar, where the Taliban maintain a political office.

These Afghan negotiations were laid out in a peace deal signed by the United States and the Taliban in February. At the time of its signing it was touted as Afghanistans best chance at ending decades of war.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani holds up the resolution on the last day of an Afghan Loya Jirga or traditional council, in Kabul, Afghanistan, Sunday, Aug. 9, 2020.(AP Photo)

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani praised delegates for their decision and urged the Taliban to stop fighting.

Taliban political spokesman Suhail Shaheen said the decision was a good step, a positive step. He said negotiations could start within one week of their prisoners being freed.

As for a cease-fire, Shaheen said the Taliban were committed to the deal it struck with the United States, and according to that deal the cease-fire will be one of the items to be discussed during the intra-Afghan negotiations.

Later Sunday afternoon, an explosive devise hidden in a cart killed two people in Kabul. The spokesman for the capitals police, Firdus Faramarz, said policemen were trying to remove the device when it exploded. Five police were injured.

A recent spike in violence in Afghanistan has been mostly attributed to an affiliate of the ISIS terrorist group, whom the Taliban are fighting, as are the Afghan government and U.S. forces. Previously, a U.S. Defense Department official who spoke anonymously because of the sensitivity of the subject said Washington considered ISIS its biggest threat in Afghanistan, and wanted a deal that would recruit the Taliban in a coordinated fight against it.

The councils decision to free the Taliban prisoners did not come as a surprise, as delegates were urged by the United States at the start of the council, or jirga, on Friday to take this difficult action so negotiations could begin to bring an end to the war.

The U.S.-Taliban deal in February called for the government to free 5,000 prisoners and for the Taliban to free 1,000 government and military personnel in its custody as a goodwill gesture ahead of the start of negotiations.

Kabul balked at the release, but eventually freed all but the last 400. President Ghani said he was not authorized to free these because of the seriousness of their crimes, and asked for the council to decide instead. He did not detail what the 400 were accused of.

This photo shows the venue where the Loya Jirga will be held, in Kabul, Afghanistan, Sunday, Aug. 9, 2020. (Rahmat Gul/AP Photo)

Delegates were therefore given the stark choice of either freeing the prisoners or seeing a war that has killed tens of thousands continue. The delegates said they wanted international guarantees that the Taliban would not return to the battlefield.

Washingtons peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad spent more than a year and a half negotiating the deal with the Taliban to provide for the withdrawal of American soldiers after more than 19 years in Afghanistan.

The withdrawal began earlier this year, but roughly 8,600 U.S. soldiers remain in Afghanistan. Their return will depend on the Taliban honoring its commitment to fight against other terrorist groups and ensure Afghanistan is not again used to attack America or its allies.

U.S. Defense Secretary Mike Esper on Saturday said Washington will bring home another 3,600 soldiers by November, leaving less than 5,000 in Afghanistan.

We think that we can do all the core missions, first and foremost being ensured the United States is not threatened by terrorists coming out of Afghanistan. We can do those at a lower level, Esper told the Fox News Channels Justice with Judge Jeanine program.

The withdrawal of U.S. and NATO troops is not dependent on the success of negotiations between Kabuls political leadership and the Taliban. But U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has made it clear that Washington wants a negotiated end to the conflict, including a cease-fire.

An attack against a military compound on Saturday killed seven military personnel and injured another 16, and served as a reminder that Afghanistans war wont be over easily. No one took responsibility for the attack, but both the Taliban and Islamic State affiliate are active in the area.

By Rahim Faize and Kathy Gannon
ST. CLAIR COUNTY, MI - A Belleville man has died after his jet ski and a boat collided over the weekend in Lake St. Clair.

First responders were called out shortly after 7 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 8 to the area of Lake St. Clair near the mouth of Big Muscamoot Bay for a boat versus jet ski crash.

The operator and lone occupant of the jet ski -- a 30-year-old man -- was transported to River District Hospital in East China Township where he was later pronounced deceased.

The mans name has not yet been released.

No additional injuries were reported by police.

The owner of the boat initially fled the scene but was later located by Macomb County Sheriffs Office patrol boats near Metro Beach.

Members of the U.S. Coast Guard, Tri-Hospital EMS, and Clay Township Fire Department provided assistance with the incident.

The cause of the crash remains under investigation.

More on MLive:

Michigan State Police seek help to find missing 78-year-old man

Genesee Township sees rash of drug overdoses, including 2 deaths

Police investigate early morning homicide in Saginaw
Daniel Dvoress has won Event #48: $1,500 MILLIONAIRE MAKER on GGPoker for a massive score of $1,489,289! The Canadian high roller, one of the most accomplished players without WSOP gold with over $15M in winnings on his Hendon Mob, defeated a 6,299-player field to capture his maiden bracelet.

Caio "Ez4ENCE" De Almeida of Brazil finished runner-up, making himself a millionaire in the process as well with $1,072,428. Russia's Anatoly "Mr_Deer" Filatov completed the podium and received $772,251 for finishing third.

For some of the elite, crossing their name off the infamous "best player without a bracelet" short list might mean getting a monkey off their back. However, it wasn't the case for Dvoress  a fixture in high rollers across the globe  as he hasn't put himself into that spot to begin with, instead shying away from the limelight in Sin City. In an extensive feature with PokerNews leading up to the delayed MILLIONAIRE MAKER final table  the event was paused for six days to accommodate for livestreaming on Saturday  Dvoress touched on never having traveled to Las Vegas to compete in the WSOP.

Check out the PokerNews feature on Daniel Dvoress

"I'm likely missing out on some EV, especially with the Main Event, but have been enjoying taking previous summers off and focusing on things outside poker," he said, also citing an unfavorable tax treaty between the US and Canada as a reason. "Between other live events and the usually packed online schedule right before the summer with SCOOP and everything surrounding it, I'm usually pretty burned out by the summer and welcome the time to focus on health, fitness, and doing things outdoors."

But in 2020, the world is different. With COVID-19 turning the tournament calendar on its head, the online WSOP on GGPoker suddenly provided a unique opportunity for Dvoress to capture a prize that wasn't on his radar to begin with. And while he generally stays away from short-term poker goals where variance rears its head all too often, the fact was he had a rare chance to add to an already splendid resume.

"While a bracelet wouldn't be the difference between success and failure, it would be a way to leave my mark in the WSOP forever," Dvoress said. Leave a mark he did, as his victory was nothing short of dominant. He maintained the chip lead start to finish and eliminated his final five opponents single-handedly  and in record fashion  to end the tournament in style.

2020 WSOP Online Event #48: $1,500 MILLIONAIRE MAKER Final Table Results

Place Player Country Prize 1 Daniel Dvoress Canada $1,489,289 2 Caio "Ez4ENCE" De Almeida Brazil $1,072,428 3 Anatoly "Mr_Deer" Filatov Russia $772,251 4 Michael "MrFabulous" Nugent Canada $556,095 5 Alejandro "pepealas" Caridad Argentina $400,412 6 Neville "NevSlater" Endo Costa Brazil $288,356 7 Ronny Kaiser Switzerland $207,644 8 Tomasz "SushiJanushi" Cybulski Poland $149,523 9 Aneris "TaiwanNumba1" Adomkevicius Lithuania $107,671

The final hand

Short Stacks Looking to Ladder

As a textbook example of how ICM affects final tables, the players competed into very shallow waters right off the bat with five out of nine stacks starting off below the 10 big blind mark. With each jump being worth at least $40,000, laddering up was on many a player's mind, which resulted in plays like Ronny Kaiser folding his blinds to leave himself half a big blind. Dvoress, meanwhile, put his chip lead to work, relentlessly flinging his chips around to put the pressure on the other finalists.

The blinds even moved up after the first hand, making it one of the shallowest final tables in recent memory. One of the shorties had to budge soon and it would be Aneris "TaiwanNumba1" Adomkevicius to break first, followed by Tomasz "SushiJanushi" Cybulski before Ronny Kaiser's short stack adventure would end. All three players busted out holding three or fewer big blinds.

While not being involved in the eliminations up to that point, Dvoress was active in every other hand, picking up tons of blinds and antes with his ubiquitous shoves to never see his chip lead come under threat at any stage. He'd go on to eliminate the remaining players starting with Neville "NevSlater" Endo Costa, who also had just three big blinds in his final hand.

Anatoly "Mr_Deer" Filatov finished in 3rd place ($772,251)

Dvoress Finishes It in Style

If there was a time at the final table where Dvoress' lead was slightly challenged, it would be after the hand where Caio "Ez4ENCE" De Almeida doubled through the chip leader. Not to be denied, Dvoress won the next four hands uncontested to distance himself from De Almeida and the others again.

After the break, the Canadian separated himself even further when Caridad would fall with queen-jack against his eights in the biggest pot of the tournament up until that point. Within mere minutes, the tournament was over as Dvoress also eliminated Nugent and Filatov in short order, before making quick work of De Almeida in two hands.

In the final hand, the Brazilian's crumbs went in with king-eight. Dvoress looked him up with the king-queen and held up to make good on his opportunity. Due to the massive prize pool of nearly $9 million, De Almeida also became a poker millionaire for his second-place finish.
Asia Pacific, which accounts for a third of the global migrant workforce, is likely to face remittance losses of USD 31.4-54.3 billion due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) said in a report. The governments need to come up with policy measures to reduce the economic and social fallout arising out of it, the ADB said.

Job losses stemming from COVID-19 are hurting households around the world, but for Asia and the Pacific's 91 million migrant workers - a third of the global migrant workforce - the impacts will be particularly severe, the ADB said in August 2020 brief on 'COVID-19 Impact on International Migration, Remittances, and Recipient Households in Developing Asia.

"ADB economists estimate that the region faces remittance losses ranging from USD 31.4 billion to USD 54.3 billion. To reduce the economic and social impacts, policy responses are proposed in areas such as social protection, immigration, labour, and health," it said.

In 2019, six of the 10 largest remittance recipients globally were from this region-India, China, the Philippines, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Vietnam, the Manila-headquartered multi-lateral funding agency said. The countries likely to face more severe effects from the pandemic-induced decline in remittance inflows are the ones where remittance shares to gross domestic product (GDP) and per capita remittances are high.

These include Tonga, Samoa, and other Pacific countries, with remittances relative to the size of their economies and populations very high. Central Asian countries such as Georgia, the Kyrgyz Republic, and Tajikistan, sending a large number of seasonal and long-term migrants mainly to the Russian Federation and Europe, will also be hard-hit, along with some of the major migrant origin countries such as Nepal and the Philippines, it added.

Remittances to Asia and the Pacific, amounting to USD 315 billion in 2019, are an important and stable source of income for families back home and help strengthen external financing - alongside foreign direct investment and tourism recipients - in many developing economies, said the report penned by four ADB economists. They boost general consumption as well as investment and help sustain government debts by contributing to the foreign currency revenue base, said the economists.

Jobs and worker welfare are severely affected by the pandemic globally but some sectors are hurt more than others such as retail and wholesale trade, hospitality and recreation, manufacturing, and accommodation and food service sectors. These are the sectors largely in non-essential services with frequent face-to-face interactions and the migrant and informal workers are among those facing the most severe impacts, as they often do not have regular contracts nor strong bargaining power, said the report.

"Migrant workers are more vulnerable from layoffs once prolonged lockdowns and production breaks drive companies out of business. Also, uncertainty looms about the timing of full recovery, even as lockdowns are lifted, with concerns about persistent weak demand in some economic sectors.

"The wide-scale economic cost of the COVID-19 pandemic is expected to reach between USD 5.8 trillion and USD 8.8 trillion globally, equivalent to 6.4 per cent to 9.7 per cent of global GDP, reflecting the spread of the pandemic to Europe, the United States, and other major economies," said the report. The ADB said that employment in host economies of Asian migrants is contracting significantly.

"The remittance flows to developing Asia is to plunge amid the pandemic as during the first months 2020, remittances began to contract in major migrant source countriesWhile some migrant workers may feel altruistic and send more money to their families in extremely difficult situations, prevailing weak economic forecasts are pointing toward declining remittances." However, relative increase in remittance inflows is observed in June in selected countries which can be attributed to lifting of lockdowns in destinations that allowed migrants to remit over the counter and introduction of policy measures that incentivise transfer by reducing restrictions and transaction fees, the ADB said.

Citing a study of 10 migrant sending countries in Asia, the ADB said remittance dependent households are at risk of falling into poverty, as it is estimated that a 1 percentage increase in the share to GDP to remittances inflow from overseas is associated with a reduction in poverty gap by 22.6 per cent and poverty severity by 16 per cent. A study based on microdata from selected economies in South Asia and Southeast Asia suggests that a 10 per cent increase in remittance inflows leads to a 34 per cent rise in real GDP per capita, it said.

Recommending policy actions to the host and source countries, ADB economists said governments of host countries of migrants need to ensure that migrant workers have access to social protection, including employment-related support and social assistance, as well as health services. They should support employers to help retain and hire laid-off workers, including migrant workers.

Such effort contributes to the smooth recovery of the economy by ensuring workforce availability and the reduction of contagion risks, said the report. Among others, the host and source countries should continue to recognise remittance service providers as one of the essential businesses to allow migrants and families to transact without disruption as remittance money is a lifeline for many poor and vulnerable families left behind.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, Aug. 9

By Nargiz Sadikhova - Trend:

The value of trade turnover between Kazakhstan and Poland amounted to $321.8 million over first five months of 2020, compared to $337.3 million during the same period of 2019, Trend reports with reference to Kazakhstans Statistics Committee.

The share of Poland in total value of Kazakhstans trade turnover stood at less than 0.9 percent during the reporting period compared to 0.9 percent during the same period of 2019, indicating it was flat-year-on-year.

Kazakhstans export to Poland amounted to $198.1 million over the period from January through May 2020, compared to $206.1 million during the same period of 2019.

Polands share in total volume of Kazakhstans export amounted to less than 0.9 percent during the reporting period of 2020 compared to 0.9 percent during the same period of 2019, indicating it was also flat-year-on-year.

In turn, Kazakhstans imports from Poland amounted to nearly $123.7 million over the reporting period, compared to $131.1 million during the same period of 2019.

Polands share in total volume of Kazakhstans import amounted to 1 percent during the reporting period of 2020 compared to 0.9 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 in 2019).

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Follow the author on twitter: @nargiz_sadikh
The sometimes literal nature of automated translation programs has tripped up plenty of tourists -- or in the case of Mexico, its entire tourism board.

Operators of the Visitmexico.com website were left red-faced on Friday when the English version of the tourism information portal suddenly sprouted a series of comic or literal translations.

Confusion escalated to the point where Mexicos government issued an apology. By Saturday, Visitmexico.com was itself on holiday, showing a picturesque image of a street in Mexico and a giant banner that reads New website coming soon.

State names such as Guerrero and Hidalgo were rendered on the website as Warrior and Noble -- proper English translations for Spanish 101, but not what would appear on a map or when doing a hotel search.

ALSO READ: Grim Reaper spotted in Puerto Morelos, Mexico; asks people to stay home

As well as the curious but technically accurate translations, other mistakes werent so literal.

The popular Yucatan resort town of Tulum was rendered as Jumpsuit, while the town of Aculco appeared as I Blame, and the city of Ciudad Madero became Log, according to the Associated Press.

It only took a couple of hours for Warrior and Jumpsuit to trend on Twitter. Some users offered the Mexican government free help with translations, while others asked what the direct translation of the Mexican presidents last name, Lopez Obrador, would be. More bitter commentators demanded the resignation of Miguel Torruco, the official in charge of Mexicos tourism department.

The blunders come at a time when the Covid-19 pandemic is already making tourism difficult for many areas of Mexico. The country has the third most deaths in the world after the U.S. and Brazil, with a total of 469,407 cases and 51,311 deaths, according to information from the Health Ministry Friday night.

The U.S. State Department on Thursday issued a do not travel advisory for Mexico due to Covid-19, and also urged increased caution due to high rates of crime and kidnapping.

(This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.)

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New Delhi, Aug 10 : The unit of Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) is celebrating first half of August as Swaraj Pakhwada to honour the uncelebrated heroes. They challenged the colonial rule of the East India Company in India's freedom struggle.

In this series, the student wing is publishing an article every day on the unsung heroes whose courage did not find a respectable place in the history of India's freedom movement, especially who come from a marginalised section or tribal areas.

In this series, the ABVP published an article on Sunday, August 9, about a tribal leader, Veer Gundadhur, who led the tribals of Bastar to join the fight for freedom in 1910. The day also marked as International Tribal Day.

"In 1910, the tribals of Bastar started their battle against Britishers. Leading the tribals, Veer Gundadhur brought the Britishers almost on the verge of a defeat. It was because of Veer Gundadhur, that a feeling of self-confidence and strength was developed and a constant fight was presented against the Britishers," said Shivam Chaurasia, president of JNU's ABVP unit.

The programme started on August 1, will be concluded on August 15. The ABVP said that the motive of the event is to shed light on the contribution of many unsung freedom fighters belonging to the marginalised and tribal community, whose struggles never made to the conventional history of the freedom movement.

Valmiki Study Circle, an academic thinktank of the university, having the focus on academia related to the marginalised section of the society, is publishing the articles are written by JNU students and getting featured at Chhatrashakti web portal, a mouthpiece of the ABVP.

The student body also said that reference to these articles are taken from folk songs. The names of people, places etc. in these songs prove the historicity of the events, claimed Chaurasia.

So far, the student wing has published articles on Kanaklata Barua, Tararani Srivastava, Shyamji Krishna Varma, Kerala Varma Pazhassi Raja, Virangana Jalakari B, Gajulu Lakshminarasu Chetty, Mahabiri Devi, Sonaram Sangma and Veer Gundadhur.

"To break this unfortunate ignorance that has left many freedom fighters 'unsung', we have decided to that this year, instead of for celebrating one day as 'independence day', we shall celebrate the first half of August (fortnight) as 'Swaraj Pakhwara'. With this program we aspire to start a discourse about those unsung heroes, who fought for the motherland in different parts and corners of the country but never received their due recognition," said Govind Sangi, Secretary of ABVP-JNU.

Meanwhile, Chaurasia also said that the history and academia of the freedom movement are dominated by a selected few only.

"Freedom struggle was like a 'Yagya' in which people contributed in whichever way they possibly could have. It is, however, unfortunate that we pay our tributes to only a few of them. In academic discourses, articles, syllabuses, and even in the powerhouses of the political system, only some chosen and politically painted 'few' get the space of discussion. Sometimes, it is the ideological politics that is responsible for this unfortunate fate, and sometimes lack information." However, we aim to change that discourse and make it more expansive and inclusive, Chaurasia added.
SANTA FE  The plan was to elope in April in New York City, where my fiancee, Julie Trolle, lived.

When the coronavirus hit, I canceled my flight from El Paso, where I was covering immigration. Julie, a doctoral candidate in biology at New York University, walked to her lab each day passing rows of refrigerator trucks.

We are fortunate. We dont have underlying health conditions. Our jobs are secure and allow remote work. But as countries closed borders, we feared increasingly that we could be separated.

Julie is Danish. I am American.

On March 14, Denmark closed its borders to foreigners, including boyfriends like me. In July, the White House threatened to expel certain student visa-holders from the United States. Headlines from both continents made us check fine print to see if wed be prevented from living in the same country.

The global shutdown followed a century-long expansion of travel and intercultural exchange that had shaped our families lives.

Julie was born in Hong Kong, where her Chinese mother and Danish father lived until she was 7. She mostly grew up in Denmark, and left as a teenager to go to boarding school in New Mexico.

My Italian grandfather, a widower, met his second wife online in the 1960s. They were both Spanish-speaking phone operators; Giuseppe connected calls in Rome, Ruth in Manhattan. By 1967, my 12-year-old father was brought over and started to learn English and stickball.

In 2016, globalization also brought Julie and me together, also in Manhattan.

We met in a bar at an alumni happy hour. She attended the United World College of the American West, in my hometown of Las Vegas, New Mexico. I went to another branch of the same school  in Hong Kong.

New York City brought us together, but it couldnt marry us. In May, after the pandemic hit, I scheduled another trip, heartened by the announcement of Project Cupid, in which the city promised to marry couples remotely via video chat. But launch was just an appointment signup, and the appointments went fast. I didnt hear back until a few weeks later when a kind, overwhelmed clerk called to apologize. I was already back in El Paso.

Last month, we tried again  this time in New Mexico, where I had been assigned to cover education and where my family lives.

I rented a Mustang convertible and picked Julie up at the airport. Driving through the pine forests of the high desert we heard about the love is essential movement.

As we were sorting out our own marriage that would ensure Julie could stay in the U.S., and I would be able to enter Denmark, couples around the world were successfully lobbying for essential status. Denmark had carved out an exception for foreign partners, even the unmarried. A few days after Julie landed, the Trump administration abandoned its proposal to revoke visas for students who werent attending in-person classes.

I studied geography for six years. In textbooks, migration is often simplified as the tension between push factors like civil war or boredom, and pull factors like good schools or job opportunities.

Love is probably the most underrated.

The coronavirus has killed over 150,000 people in my country and more than 600 in Julies. In April, Ruth died in a care facility from COVID-19 complications. Because of the virus, our family couldnt be by her side.

But the virus has not stopped love.

On July 23, Julie and I were married in my mothers backyard with two witnesses, my best man-slash-photographer and our minister: my AP colleague Russell Contreras. Shortly after, Julie returned to New York.

Now, every night, Julie and I chat via video, watch our favorite shows together and play video games. We are together enough for now. Julie is chatting on the phone with her parents across an ocean. And I am with my last living grandparent, a 89-year-old Minnesotan, on Zoom calls and in emails.

Things could be better. But from where we stand, love is winning.

Virus Diary, an occasional feature, showcases the coronavirus pandemic through the eyes of AP journalists around the world. Cedar Attanasio is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative.
Larry Kudlow speaking to Jake Tapper on Sunday: (CNN)

Donald Trumps top economic adviser seemed to have a difficult time explaining the specific details behind the presidents latest executive orders, which were aimed at providing coronavirus relief measures after negotiations stalled in Washington.

The executive orders would cut additional government unemployment benefits provided during the pandemic from $600 to $400, and offer a payroll tax holiday for millions of Americans, which Mr Trump said he would make permanent if reelected in November.

But none of that was entirely clear when Larry Kudlow, the White Houses director of the National Economic Council, spoke to CNNs Dana Bash on Sunday morning.

Mr Kudlow asserted the presidents orders on unemployment benefits would actually provide $800 to Americans who lost work due to the pandemic  even though Mr Trumps measures would offer just half of that amount.

He went on to claim Americans would receive as much as $1,200 under the new measures when asked when the first relief checks would be received, saying: I dont want to be as specific as you might hold me to it, as you should, but I think its going to be in a couple of weeks, and I think its going to come to about $1,200 per person  thats a huge wage increase.

Larry Kudlow seems to be very confused about how much money unemployed people would actually receive under Trump's proposal pic.twitter.com/KampXT6N7I  Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) August 9, 2020

The economic advisers answer did not provide a specific timeline, or include the fact that the federal government will only pay $400 while requiring states to pay 25 percent. Moreover, it is not possible for someone on unemployment benefits to earn a wage increase as they are not working and have no wages to begin with.

You keep saying $1,200 per person, are you talking about in addition to the unemployment that theyre already getting? Ms Bash asked Mr Kudlow.

Story continues

No, thats the payroll  no, Im sorry, I beg your pardon, the $1,200 will come from the payroll tax deferral, on top of this  yeah, Im sorry, Mr Kudlow responded.

He then once again asserted that unemployment benefits would amount to $800 bucks, leaving the anchor appearing confused.

$800 or $400? she asked.

No, it should be four  it should be $800, Mr Kudlow said. If the states step up, were prepared to match, that should come out $400 federal, $400 states.

Ms Bash then moved on from the issue, telling Mr Kudlow: Okay, well move on because I think this is not what the president said and its a bit confusing, and I think the fact that its not entirely known is very telling.
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By PTI

INDORE: Four undertrial prisoners escaped the sub-jail in Indore district of Madhya Pradesh on Sunday by scaling the 17-foot wall, but were captured by staffers and villagers after a chase, officials said.

They reached the top of the wall by climbing on the shoulders of each other in Depalpur area, located some 40 kms away from here, said sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) Pratul Sinha.

While they were trying to get away after climbing down the wall other side, residents of quarters of jail staffers and some villagers raised an alarm.

The four were captured by jail warders with the help of villagers, Sinha added.

Before climbing the wall, the four had tried to snatch keys from a member of the jail staff, he said.

Dipalpur Sub Divisional Officer of Police (SDOP) Sanjay Chaturvedi said a case has been filed against the undertrials, identified as Vikas, Sanjay, Devkaran and Vinod.

The four, aged between 20 and 25 years, are facing the trial for allegedly kidnapping and killing a businessman in Manpur area in March, he added.
Union Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal has tested positive for the highly infectious Coronavirus. In July end, a video went viral where Meghwal was seen saying that a particular brand of papad could develop antibodies against Coronavirus in the human body.

Union Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal has tested positive for the highly infectious Coronavirus. The minister has been admitted to AIIMS Delhi for his treatment. Arjun Ram was found positive in the swab test report, in his first test report he was marked negative for Covid-19. Many other union ministers have tested positive for Covid-19 as well including Home Minister Amit Shah.

Arjun Ram Meghwal is a member of Parliament from Bikaner. The BJP MP is the junior minister for heavy industries and parliamentary affairs. He said that after developing symptoms of COVID-19 he had undergone testing and he was found positive in the second report. He further said that on the advice of doctors, he got admitted to AIIMS and he has requested all those who came in contact with him to take care of their health.

In July end, a video went viral where Meghwal was seen saying that a particular brand of papad could develop antibodies against Coronavirus in the human body. People trolled him for saying so over social media. Now, he has himself tested positive for Coronavirus.

Also read: 11 dead and 30 injured as fire breaks out at Covid-19 facility in Vijayawada

Also read: PM Modi to virtually launch Rs. 1 lakh crore financing facility for farmers today

Kailash Chaudhary has also tested positive for Coronavirus. Hes a Member of Parliament from Rajasthan and union minister. Union Home Minister Amit Shah has reportedly tested negative for coronavirus, he will undergo another test for coronavirus.

Also read: Indias Covid-19 tally crosses 21 lakh mark with 64k new cases; recovery rate now at 68.32%
EAST GREENBUSH, N.Y.  Karen Curran recently announced her resignation from the East Greenbush Central School District Board of Education, concluding 13 years of service.

Its really with a heavy heart that Ive decided to resign my position as a school board member due to some personal and medical issues, Curran said during a recent meeting.

It really has been an amazing journey and been an honor and privilege for me to serve the East Greenbush Central School District in the manner in which I have over the past 13 years. I want to thank everybody whos been involved, allowing me to serve our community in this capacity, Curran noted.

I really am proud and thankful that Ive been able to be a part of this amazing journey over the past 13 years, she continued.

I have a genuine respect for everyone involved in public education and our system and know how dedicated everybody in East Greenbush really is to provide the best quality education to our students, Curran added.

Since Curran joined the Board of Education in 2007, East Greenbush has steadily improved its position in the Capital Region, offering new and innovative programs all while maintaining fiscal responsibility during challenging times for public education.

I want to thank Karen for her many years of board service, Michael Buono, Board of Education President remarked.

Her dedication to the district and its students has been exemplary. My board colleagues and I will miss her guidance, wisdom and historical perspective, Buono added.

The Board of Education is seeking volunteers interested in filling Currans position. The person who is selected by the Board will serve until the next regular election on May 18, 2021.

Interested volunteers should submit a letter of interest and resume to the District Clerks office at East Greenbush Central School District, 29 Englewood Ave., East Greenbush, NY 12061 by Monday, Aug. 10. For more information call 518-207-2535.

To be eligible, a candidate must be:

age 18 or older

a resident of the East Greenbush Central School District for a continuous and uninterrupted period of at least one year

a United States citizen

able to read and write

The candidate chosen to fill the vacancy has the option of running for one of four available seats in the 2021 election  three with terms July 1, 2021, to June 30, 2024, and one with a term of May 19, 2021, to June 30, 2022, (the remainder of Currans unexpired term).

The candidates with the three highest vote totals would be appointed to full three-year terms. The candidate with the fourth-highest vote total would fill the remainder of Currans term and be seated on the Board immediately following the election.

The Board of Education is a team of nine volunteers elected by school district voters to establish policy and set direction for the administration. They hold public meetings twice monthly.
 Flash

The European Union (EU) starts on Saturday to allow travelers from eleven non-EU countries to enter its external border, after removing Morocco from its latest "safe list".

According to the COVID-19 situation monitored by the World Health Organization, as of Saturday Morocco reported 30,662 cases, with 1,018 new infections. A total of 461 people have died due to the virus in the country, 12 of them being newly confirmed.

Reviewing the latest epidemiological situation and containment measures around the world, the Council of the EU updated late Friday the list of countries for which temporary restrictions on travel into the EU should be lifted.

The latest safe list only consists of 11 countries, the least since the bloc began to issue recommendations on June 30.

Starting from Saturday, the Council of the EU asked the EU member states to gradually lift the travel restrictions for residents of Australia, Canada, Georgia, Japan, New Zealand, Rwanda, South Korea, Thailand, Tunisia, Uruguay. It also recommended that residents of China be allowed to travel to the EU, subject to confirmation of reciprocity.

The Council of the EU used to update the list every two weeks, but the previous update took place only a week ago on July 30. It said it will assess the epidemiological conditions constantly and "if the situation in a listed third country worsens quickly, rapid decision-making should be applied."

The recommendations are not legally binding, and the EU member states have the authority to make their final decisions.




Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-10 04:55:40|Editor: huaxia

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by Julia PierrepontIII, Huang Heng

LOS ANGELES, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) -- While most shopping malls, restaurants and other retailers are struggling to stay afloat amid the COVID-19 crisis that has shuttered many businesses, some found a new way to adapt to this challenging time: going outdoor.

South Coast Plaza (SCP), one of the most famous luxury shopping destinations in Southern California, kicked off this weekend a collection of elegantly-designed, open-air luxury suites, dubbed The Pavilion, erected in their parking structure, which provide a safe and private one-on-one, in-person buying experience for high-end shoppers.

Up to 100 of 250 high-end boutiques in the biggest shopping mall in the West Coast are participating in this new and safer approach to reopening.

"We wanted to give our guests a way to shop in person safely from our boutiques that had to temporarily close to comply with Governor Newsom's order. We already offer curbside pickup with more than 100 participating boutiques," Debra Gunn Downing, executive director of marketing and spokeswoman for South Coast Plaza, told Xinhua on Friday.

According to the guidance issued by the state government of California, counties on the County Monitoring List must close indoor operations for many business sectors, including shopping malls, hair salons, barbershops, nail salons, gyms and fitness centers like yoga and dance studios, among others.

As of Sunday, there are 38 counties on the list, including every county in Southern California such as Los Angeles and Orange County where the SCP is located.

However, those sectors can remain open if they move operations outdoors.

The San Diego City Council unanimously passed measures last Tuesday extending the permits of local businesses to operate outdoors to help them survive the economic downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Under the new regulation, the waiving of permitting requirements to allow restaurants and retail stores to conduct business on private parking lots, adjacent sidewalks and on-street parking areas was extended from 45 days to 10 months and 15 days.

In Santa Barbara, a coastal city renowned for the Mediterranean-style white stucco buildings with red-tile roofs in downtown, the city council voted unanimously late May to make about a mile of State Street, a main commercial artery, into a pedestrian promenade.

It allowed restaurants and bars to add seats and tables on the sidewalk, in the street and in parking lots and this move brought relief to many local restaurants, bars and shops which are suffering months-long pandemic and restrictions threatening to drive them out of business.

Then nail salons, a museum and even Yoga classes in the city, 150 kilometers north of Los Angeles downtown, went outdoor.

According to a report of local KEYT 3 news channel, at least three Yoga studios began their outdoor classes last month, and all of them ordered a speaker and mic to add to the outdoor experience.

"CorePower is all about community and there's no community if our doors are closed," CorePower co-owner Brandon Cox told KEYT 3. "We knew that we were allowed to do yoga outdoors."

Teachers and students get their temperatures taken before entering studio. Anyone with a fever will be kindly asked to leave, the report said, adding attendees must wear masks until they are seated or standing on their designated mat space.

Downing from the SCP also said the mall reopened certain areas for shopping, after taking advice from public health officials and top industrial hygienists, with "higher than ever standards for cleanliness" that include a state-of-the-art air treatment system, implementing social distancing practices, improving cleaning protocols, and disinfecting surfaces frequently throughout the center.

"Our ongoing commitment to your health and safety is unwavering," said the SCP spokeswoman.

There are also 30 restaurants of all kinds at the plaza and many of the outdoor venues have reopened their terraces and patios.

Those restaurateurs are adapting to the COVID-19 crisis together, some by helping each other keep their businesses open, Downing told Xinhua. In one instance, Chef Ross Pangilinan of Terrace by Mix Mix lent his open-air space to Chef James Hamamori of Hamamori Sushi to enable him to keep his business open.

In San Diego, about 200 permits allowing restaurants and retailers to open sidewalk cafes have been granted so far, the local The San Diego Union-Tribune newspaper reported.

"Everything we can do to allow our small businesses to survive this pandemic, we should be doing," said Councilwoman Barbara Bry. Enditem
The civil liability of an airline for the causing of death or injury to passengers has been established by international treaty and entrenched in law by judicial interpretation.





by Dr. Ruwantissa Abeyratne

Writing from Montreal





Sometimes bad luck hits you like in an ancient Greek tragedy, and it's not your own making. When you have a plane crash, it's not your fault.

Werner Herzog





If black boxes survive air crashes - why don't they make the whole plane out of that stuff?

George Carlin





On Friday the 7th of August, Air India Flight IX-1344 operated by a Boeing 737 aircraft from Dubai to India in adverse weather conditions, skidded on landing at Kozhikode International Airport and crashed into a valley 35 feet down. The fall broke the aircraft in two, killing at least 18 persons including the two pilots on board, and wounding several other passengers. The flight was operated by the airline to ferry Indian nationals working in Dubai who were stranded due to the Covid-19 restrictions and flew in what is called a bubble  an air corridor created for the specific purpose by the Indian government. Kozhikode airport, situated in the southern Indian state of Kerala, is a tabletop airport, meaning that the end of the runway has a drop instead of a continuation of flat land like most airports are.









Two main issues surface from a legal standpoint: how will those wounded, and the dependents of the deceased be compensated; and would the conduct of the airline be a factor for consideration in the award of compensation.





Before embarking on a discussion of these two points, it is relevant to consider the comment of an expert: The Times of India has reported that Captain Ranganathan, who had earlier voiced concerns about the Kozhikode airport runway, had opined that the regulator  Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) - should not allow landing of flights during monsoons on runway 10 - the particular runway on which the aircraft landed. This brings to bear the issue of State liability. Article 28 of the Convention on International Civil Aviation (Chicago Convention) - which is the multilateral treaty governing international civil aviation - reposes responsibility on the State to provide meteorological, air navigation services , radio and related services to incoming and outgoing aircraft in its territory. When this provision is linked to the statement of Captain Ranganathan, one sees at least an implicit responsibility and a duty of care that devolves on DGCA to ensure the safety of aircraft within its territory.





That aside, it is noteworthy that both the United Arab Emirates  the departure State of the flight  and India  the arrival State  have ratified the Montreal Convention of 1999, which means that compensation for death or injury will be governed by the relevant provisions of the treaty. The Montreal Convention prescribes that the carrier (in this case Air India) is liable for damage sustained in case of death or bodily injury of a passenger upon condition only that the accident which caused the death or injury took place on board the aircraft or in the course of any of the operations of embarking or disembarking. The same provision goes on to provide that the carrier is liable for damage sustained in case of destruction or loss of, or of damage to, checked baggage upon condition only that the event which caused the destruction, loss or damage took place on board the aircraft or during any period within which the checked baggage was in the charge of the carrier. However, the carrier is not liable if and to the extent that the damage resulted from the inherent defect, quality or vice of the baggage. In the case of unchecked baggage, including personal items, the carrier is liable if the damage resulted from its fault or that of its servants or agents.





the Montreal Convention imposes a presumption of liability of the carrier based on strict liability for death or injury with in the first instance up to 100,000 Special Drawing Rights (SDR) - a basket of currencies established by the International Monetary Fund to address the fluctuation of currency values. Therefore, even before the issue of fault can be discussed, the carrier is liable to compensate plaintiffs up to 100,000 SDRs.





If this limit were to be exceeded the plaintiff would have to prove wilful misconduct on the part of the carrier but this could be obviated by the carrier if it proves that the damage in question was not due to the negligence or other wrongful act or omission of the carrier or its servants or agents, or such damage was solely due to the negligence or other wrongful act or omission of a third party. There is also a provision in the treaty which stipulates that in the case of aircraft accidents resulting in death or injury of passengers, the carrier is liable, if required by its national law, to make advance payments without delay to a natural person or persons who are entitled to claim compensation in order to meet the immediate economic needs of such persons. Such payments are not presumptive of the carriers liability and could be offset against any subsequent compensatory amounts paid by the carrier.





Another provision in the Montreal Convention is on jurisdiction which, in addition to an action being possibly instituted in the usual four jurisdictions: the territory of one of the contracting parties that the flight involved, either before the court of the domicile of the carrier; its principle place of business or where the carrier has a place of business through which the contract was made or the court where the destination of the flight was to be, an action could also be instituted in the place of domicile or permanent residence of the passenger. Another feature of the Montreal Convention calls for the carrier to obtain adequate insurance. The State into which the carrier operates the flight is entitled to require the carrier to provide evidence to the fact of existence of adequate coverage.





The civil liability of an airline for the causing of death or injury to passengers has been established by international treaty and entrenched in law by judicial interpretation. The courts have attempted to balance the interest of both the airline and the passenger as indeed has been the perceived intention of the Montreal Convention. The predominant feature of this area of civil liability is that air transport in terms of the commercial transportation of passengers is incontrovertibly the mode of transport that involves the highest levels of technology. Therefore, courts may find difficulty in ascertaining negligence, wilful misconduct and the overall liability of the airline in the face of complex technical arguments and defence. However, this reason alone should not justify obviating the tortious element that has so carefully been entrenched in the legal structure of private air carrier liability.





Dr. Abeyratne, a former senior legal counsel at the International Civil Aviation Organization, now practices aviation consultancy in Montreal. He is the author of several books on aviation law and policy, among which the most recent are Legal Priorities in Air Transport and Aviation in the Digital Age. Additionally, he teaches aviation law and policy at McGill University.




<! Another cross section of people >

By Jethro Ibileke

Chairman of the APC Interim Management Committee and Governor of Yobe State, Mallam Mai Bala Buni on Saturday charged supporters of the party in Edo State to shun violence during campaigns and during the September 19 governorship election.

Addressing party leaders and supporters at the University of Benin Sports Centre, venue for the flag-off of the partys campaign in the state, he assured that the party would retake Edo State.

Buni said the rally was simply to announce that the APC would retake the state, without violence.

We are here to take back our mandate and take back our state. We are here to win, not to fight. We must ensure every vote counts.

Last four years you voted for APC and now we want you to vote for APC and claim our state. You should not be involved in violence during the campaign and election, because victory is ours. You should ensure that you go out and vote for APC, and your votes will count, he said.

Buni, who presented the party flag to the partys governorship candidate, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, said that the President and national leader of the party, Muhammadu Buhari, formally endorsed the candidate last Friday, by presenting him with the same flag.

Earlier in his speech, the Chairman of the APC National Campaign Council and Governor of Kano State, Abdullahi Ganduje, congratulated the states campaign council of the party for its unit to unit, hamlet to hamlet and village to village campaigns.

Ganduje noted that with the crowd present at the campaign flag-off, APC would win the September 19, governorship election.

He added that with the simple agenda of the partys candidate, victory was already assured.

Also speaking, former governor of the state and immediate past national chairman of the party, Adams Oshiomhole, said Ize-Iyamu is coming to re-engineer the development of the state.

He said, When Ize-Iyamu becomes the governor, he would bring back governments property privatised by governor Godwin Obaseki, especially the Edo Central Hospital, for both the rich and the poor..

In his speech, Pastor Ize-Iyamu who appreciated the Governors of Kaduna, Jigawa, Ogun, Ondo, Kebbi, Niger as well as Lagos and Kogi, who were represented by their deputies, members of the national assembly and ministers for their support, said APC would win the September election in all of the 18 LGAs in the state.

He said: In this election, we will not only win but win the 18 LGAs. Never again will we have a governor that is an ingrate, or a governor who will not develop our state or empower our youths.

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Hong Kongs privacy chief criticized the US Treasury Department for doxxing Chief Executive Carrie Lam and other officials by releasing their personal information as part of its sanctions on them. The disclosure of the data of the persons concerned by the US Department of the Treasury is obviously excessive and unnecessary, Acting Privacy Commissioner Tony Lam said in a statement, adding that using or reproducing the addresses, passport numbers and other data could be a crime. It amounts to doxxing. The US said Friday it is placing ...

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Pamelas lover could help save the British. He was Averell Harriman, a tough-minded American millionaire businessman chosen by president Franklin D. Roosevelt as special envoy to Britain. His liaison with Pamela brought him into Winstons close circle, exactly what the PM and Britain needed.

It seems astonishing behaviour in a father. But Winston had important matters on his mind. If the powerful US didnt soon enter the war, he was convinced Germany would win. There were already plans to shift the royal family north and then to Canada. The crown jewels were buried below Windsor Castle, with the most precious secreted in a biscuit tin.

The British prime minister not only didnt warn his son, according to author Christopher Ogden in his biography of Pamela, Life of the Party, he asked Randolph to look after Pamelas new lover when the lover visited Egypt in June.

He was also keeping a secret from his son. Randolph Churchill was serving as an intelligence officer in the Middle East. Back in London, Randolphs 21-year-old wife Pamela Digby Churchill was having an affair. If Winston Churchill didnt know for sure, though others close to him certainly did, he definitely knew his daughter-in-law, the mother of his baby grandson, was spending a lot of time with another man. So was Winston.

In the first half of 1941, British prime minister Winston Churchill was keeping more than his leaders share of secrets. He was up to his ears in military planning as Europe fell to Hitlers Third Reich and Britains cities faced bombing thunderstorms. He was desperate to get the United States into the war and he still had his critics.

Then it was revealed he was nursing a bloody great secret himself. He had become physically dependent on the anti-anxiety drug Clonazepam. Peterson has many enemies because of his conservative stance on issues like identity politics. Several delighted online in the revelation. I couldnt see much reason for joy.

YouTube videos and articles about Peterson, whose book has sold more than two million copies, have headings like, Jordan Petersons Secret to Overcome Chaos Within Yourself.

Thats not a bad exclamation in a story about secrets. In his international self-help bestseller, 12 Rules for Life, Canadian psychology professor Jordan Peterson put as Rule 8: Tell the truth  or, at least, dont lie. He wrote of the nirvana we might achieve: Truth reduces the terrible complexity of a man to the simplicity of his word.

But he was still a son, the only son. The other secret about Randolph, now well known, is that his mother, Clementine, disliked him. Dear God.

Randolph was no prize husband, nor a faithful one. He drank too much, spent too much and gambled what was left. It had never been a good marriage and ended in divorce in December 1945. Histories and memoirs about the period, and Pamelas affair  one of several she had with Americans  tend to dispatch Randolph and his feelings in a few sentences.

We know what happened next. The Japanese bombed Americas Pacific fleet at Pearl Harbour in December 1941, Churchill danced in glee around his Chequers dining-room, and Roosevelt, already influenced by Harriman and key pro-British Americans, could finally overrule his countrys isolationists and go to war. But what about Randolph and Pamela?

I was also watching the BBC dramatisation of the 1963 Profumo-Keeler political imbroglio that involved the then British secretary of state for war, two pretty young women and a Russian spy.

While I was researching this story, the secrets of Labor Party powerbrokers and alleged branch-stacking efforts in Victoria erupted. The Australian ran what it claimed were private texts from federal Labor MP Anthony Byrne that said he wanted a mans head cut off after which he would piss on his corpse, and hoped Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews would die politically.

Without ever articulating it, society has made a judgment call. If your secret hurts no one but yourself  and, of course, the people who care about you and dont want to see you suffer  we will, unless weve had a compassion bypass, be more likely to commiserate than jeer. But if your secrets benefit you at a cost to others, or give you power over people, or allow you to trick, humiliate or abuse them, we will feel very differently.

But did anyone feel sorry for movie mogul Harvey Weinstein when his secret finally leaked that he was a serial sexual harasser and rapist? He had got away with it for years, kept aloft on a tsunami of Hollywood success and seeming riches. He could make peoples careers and unbreak them, as actor Ashley Judd attested. A New York judge sentenced him to 23 years in jail and he faces more charges in California.

If your secret hurts no one but yourself we will, unless weve had a compassion bypass, be more likely to commiserate than jeer.

In May this year, former AFL player and coach Dean Laidley was publicly humiliated after an arrest for stalking . Police officers shared photos that leaked into the social media maw showing the sportsman dressed in a wig and womens clothing. Laidleys case will be heard later this year, but I dont know anyone who wasnt dismayed by the online photographs and sympathetic to him.

As The New Republic commented, A drug problem is neither a dragon to be slain nor a sin to be ashamed of. Its a mundane health problem to be treated scientifically 

Michael Slepian is a psychologist and associate professor at Columbia Business School who has specialised in the study of secrets for the past 10 years. He stumbled into this area as a researcher in his early 20s, struck by a metaphor people used when they referred to their secrets as a burden.

It should be reassuring for the average person to know that no matter what their secrets, somewhere in the world there will probably be a politician with far worse.

In one truly horrible scene, John Profumo (played by Ben Miles) stands stalwart before the House of Commons and tells his fellows, and watching wife in her pearls and sapphires, that he had not committed any impropriety with the then 19-year-old Christine Keeler.

Sometimes we cop someone elses secret. Julia Robson, a Melbourne private investigator, will present a dossier to a partner, husband or wife that reveals yes, their other half has, in spite of all denials, been secretly cheating. It can lead to separation or confrontation but, says Robson, more often than youd think, they decide to do nothing. Its enough for them just to no longer feel crazy. They can trust themselves again.

The most often shared secret is that weve told a lie; the least shared is that weve had thoughts about having a relationship with someone other than our partner. Slepian has built a website ( keepingsecrets.org ) where people can take a test on their own secrets and see how they compare with others. The results will help Slepians own research into secrecy.

Secrets are often self-protective. Weve done something that doesnt match our standards for ourselves and/or those set by our society or community. We keep it secret so we dont lose the regard of others. One interviewee confesses to Slepian, A secret is basically something you dont want to admit to other people, and sometimes not to yourself. As for what we keep secret, its the entire range of human behaviour. Use your imagination.

But however much most of us dont like having them, secrets seem as natural a part of the human condition as breathing. Ninety-seven per cent of us will have at least one big secret at any given time, Slepian discovered, and the average person has 13 secrets. Five will have never been divulged to anyone. Women confide their secrets more than men, Slepian says, and I think what that reflects is essentially just mens discomfort with opening up ... Its not considered masculine.

The field is new and huge, but studies conducted so far by Slepian and his colleagues around the world indicate what we must instinctively suspect: secrets can hurt our health, relationships and sense of wellbeing and produce depression and anxiety.

A secret is basically something you dont want to admit to other people, and sometimes not to yourself.

Why do people speak this way? he wondered. He and colleagues put together tests exploring peoples motivation to engage in physical activity. Astonishingly, those who were preoccupied with an important secret did estimate a hill was steeper or a target further away. Their secrets did make them feel weighed down. Slepian knew he wanted to go further.

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Surprisingly, its not the hiding of our secrets that takes the toll on us. Slepian says, People often dont ask [us], so its not the rare moment we have to hide a secret that matters, but the many moments it comes to our own mind  Theres no end to how much you might have to think about it if youre not getting help with it.

Nor is the heaviness of a secret determined by its size; its how often our mind wanders to it, and whether it makes us feel guilty or ashamed. These two emotions seem like synonyms, Slepian says, but guilt is, I did something wrong. Shame is, Im a bad person. Thats very different and really hard.

Guilt is the right emotion. We can make amends. Shame makes us feel helpless and powerless and is very much related to how often you think of your secrets.

Katie Greenaway, a senior lecturer in social psychology at the University of Melbourne who collaborates with Slepian, suggests when a secret causes guilt, you can apologise or come clean. For secrets where things cant be changed, Other strategies might be needed, like acceptance or reappraising the situation.

Some secrets hardly matter except to their keeper. Some grow with time. When my attractive mother met my equally attractive father, she was more than 2500 kilometres from home, and thus from anyone who knew the basic details of her life. She was free to concoct a little. Guilelessly, flirtatiously, she nevertheless chose to change the one thing that would ride on her back all her life, her age. Instead of being a few years older than my father, she became one year younger.

Her sisters, safely away in another city, still had to be roped into the deception. Did she ever imagine when she first falsely stated her age what that secret would cost her and those around her? I cant say because I didnt find out until after she died. By then, even as I agonised for my mother for those years of pretence, I knew what it had done to our own occasionally fraught relationship.

In my late 20s, for instance, my then husband and I moved to London, where we worked for seven years. Every time we travelled, whether it was to Amsterdam, Rome or the French coast, Id find views, hotels or places I knew my parents, especially my mother, would love. Id ask them to visit but they never did. It seemed incomprehensible, given they had the money and the time. Even now I can remember the hurt line that ran straight to my heart.

Power and secrecy are highly interrelated but, in the end, the secrets control you.

After my mothers death, I found out why. It was to do with the date on her birth certificate and the complications of applying for a passport. She had instructed my sister to tell me only after she had gone.

A caution: dont keep secrets until the end. It leaves behind too many what-ifs. The husband of a good friend kept his lung cancer a secret until three weeks before he died. A doctor, he had decided to protect her and enjoy their time together. But she didnt get a say. Slepian says, Romantic partners expect to have access to that knowledge. When someone decides to hide something that affects people close to them, what theyre also saying  however understandable their reasons  is that preserving the secret is somehow more important than the person in front of them.

One reformed secret-keeper tells me, Power and secrecy are highly interrelated but, in the end, the secrets control you. Theyre like pearls, they just layer and layer.

The website postsecret.com asks people to submit secrets on a postcard which it then posts. All humanitys aches are there. One confides: My dad was in prison for six years and I never sent him a letter. He sent me 214. Another: One of the only times Ive ever seen my dad cry was when I caught him cheating on my mom.

But some people seem to thrive on keeping others in the dark. American aviation hero Charles Lindbergh had three families apart from his legal one and seven secret children, all in Europe. Revered New Yorker editor William Shawn not only had a long-time hidden partner, the writer Lillian Ross, Ross had an adopted son. The trio would eat dinner together; then Shawn would go home to his wife. American architect Louis Kahn, creator of some of the most beautiful buildings ever imagined, had children with his wife and two different lovers.

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In an unsettling 2013 research paper, The Cheaters High: The Unexpected Affective Benefits of Unethical Behaviour, psychologists identify a sub-group who get off on deceiving people or doing things that are normally prohibited, especially when they tell themselves there are no real victims. Apart from any tangible gains, cheating makes them feel good, in control. Confidence trickster Frank Abagnale, on whose life the 2002 Leonardo DiCaprio film Catch Me If You Can is based, described it as being heady with happiness.

Winston Churchill suspected his sons wife was having an affair but didnt warn him. President Trump is the self-deceiver-in-chief, according to British psychologist Celia Moore. New York socialite Ann Woodward took her own life when her secret was about to be exposed. Credit:Getty Images

SO WHY ARE YOU IN HERE TRYING TO THROW IT ALL AWAY OVER THIS BULLSHIT?



The Assistant, RELEASED 2019

In October, 1975, wealthy New York socialite Ann Woodward took her own life days before a piece of roman-a-clef fiction by Truman Capote appeared in Esquire magazine. It was thought she had seen an advance copy. La Cote Basque, 1965, an excerpt from the novel Capote was writing, picked through the true life secrets of Manhattans social princesses which he had absorbed over gossipy lunches with them.

Woodward is thinly disguised as Ann Hopkins, a social-climbing, unfaithful ex-showgirl whod entrapped the son of an old-money, blue-blood family. She had then shot him at their Long Island estate because he wanted to end their marriage. She had got away, Capote wrote, with pretending shed thought he was a prowler because his parents preferred that to scandal.

Capotes story also revealed that the elegant socialite Slim Keith had been discarded by her British baron husband, and exposed a humiliating fling between CBS head Bill Paley, the husband of Capotes beautiful friend, Babe Paley, and the New York governors porcine wife who looked as if she wore tweed brassieres.

As soon as it was published, Capotes princesses exiled him. Capote protested: What did they expect? Im a writer! But he went downhill fast, into a mire of drink and drugs. He wouldnt be the first person to expose the secrets of the powerful and pay. Perhaps what Capote found so confounding was that everyone he knew also knew these stories and now hed put them in his work in progress. So what?

It was a fatal misreading. Films, television dramas and novels thrive on the hero or heroine who tackles a flawed or corrupt person, organisation or government and, like Liam Neeson in Taken or Jamie Foxx in Django Unchained, kicks ass relentlessly and wins. In reality, messing with the secrets of the rich and influential is terrifying.

The more powerful the person or institution, the more dangerous it is, the more enablers there are. Its what allows a Harvey Weinstein or a sex offender like Jeffrey Epstein to thrive, and for institutional sex abuse and corporate misdoing to be shamefully widespread. In sickening cases, we still look away. We enable, even collaborate. We pretend we dont know whats going on while victims have shocking secrets forced upon them and are disbelieved, rubbished and/or punished.

The Assistant, written and directed by Australian Kitty Green, is an unnerving, day-in-the-life movie about a Harvey Weinstein-style office. Its star Julia Garner, who plays Jane, the assistant, described its dynamics, telling British online newspaper The Independent, This girl is fairly new in the business. She probably just got out of school and shes struggling with whats right and whats wrong, but she still wants to keep her job. For people who maybe have worked in an abusive environment and they are like, I said something! Im like, No, you didnt. You wanted to keep your job. Its about that. Its not about Weinstein.

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Director Green didnt focus on what happened inside the powerful mans office once the pretty actor was taken there. It was about, she told interviewers, What do people know who are leading women into that room?  So its more about the machinery or system surrounding that predator.

Wharton Business School professor Maurice E. Schweitzer, an author on the Cheaters high paper, tells me that secrets inside offices or cliques also create power groups. People like being in an exclusive group. Secrets separate people into groups. Not everybody can join in. Such secrets can also reflect acceptable norms. Or whats acceptable to that group.

Randolph Churchill arrived back in London on leave in 1942 and quickly discovered his wifes affair with Harriman. He was convinced his parents had known and, as Lynne Olson records in Citizens of London, about Americans in wartime Britain, Pamela believed so, too. It created a rift that never healed, said one family friend. Some think the PM, who loved his son dearly, knew and didnt know; that in his aristocratic circles no one asked what happened in private.

It turns out our brains can be smart indeed at letting us do what we want.

WELL, IT WAS A FALSE REPORT  I WAS THERE FOR A TINY, LITTLE SHORT PERIOD OF TIME. AND IT WAS MUCH MORE FOR AN INSPECTION 

US President Donald Trump explains away his rush to the White House bunker during the George Floyd protests.

Celia Moore was sitting in a London bus a few years ago when she started mulling over paying her nanny tax. Its a sizeable whack, so many Britons rort the system. Moore, a professor of organisational behaviour at Londons Imperial College Business School, was fascinated to observe her cognitive processes as they invented ways she could morally justify not paying the tax in full. If she fudged on hours, she could give more money to the nanny; her nanny was Brazilian so would be back home before she could benefit from taxes paid by her employer 

Moore, a lively, dark-haired woman who has been teaching MBA students about ethics, leadership and moral agency for 15 years, was riveted by her mental gymnastics. There are certain human motivations that seem quite universal and one of them is for self-enhancement, she says. We want everyone to believe we are fantastic. That applies especially to ourselves. We want other people to think that, but we really do need to believe it ourselves.

She did, of course, keep paying the tax, but its an area that fascinates her: our in-built capacity for self-deception. The secrets we hold tightest are the ones we keep from ourselves. We will fight as fiercely as a Clint Eastwood vigilante to keep that knowledge hidden so far away from us that the only people who can see it are  well, almost everybody around us.

As CNNs Chris Cillizza commented on Trumps reframing of events in the Floyd protests, This is a man who has been telling himself a story of his life  one in which he is always the toughest, the smartest and the winner-est  for well, his entire adult life. Moore says, Trump is the self-deceiver-in-chief right now, and doing it in front of the globe.

Cognitive psychologists have pondered the question of how people can not know something when, simultaneously, they do: Moore terms it motivated forgetting  That we just conveniently dont think about the ways in which our actions dont fit with the version of ourselves that we like to have in our heads.

You can see how fear plays into the need to lie, the need to keep secrets, the need to self-deceive.

Moore knows someone who tried online dating for the first time and met her husband. Now that woman tells everyone, including guests at the wedding, that they met randomly in the Starbucks queue, even though neither of them drink coffee  and wasnt that serendipitous!

But, says a mystified Moore, I saw her on the morning of her date and she told me where she was going.

Moores somewhat depressing research reveals three ways we self-deceive. The first she calls motivated attention: we direct our attention towards evidence that justifies our choices and ignores the rest. We will concentrate on the one thing that tells us, health-wise, love-wise, morality-wise, what we want to hear.

A second, motivated construal, lets us view actions through a different framework. We know what weve done or are doing in secret is wrong but we minimise our responsibility and exploit any ambiguities that will let us off the hook.

The third trick is motivated recall, which allows us to rewrite history in our heads altogether, like the Starbucks romantic. (I asked Moore what the groom did during her wedding speech; he stayed quiet.)

Moore says a lot of her work focuses on moral disengagement: how people make their actions acceptable. People will use words as a smokescreen. US president Bill Clinton told the news cameras in January 1998: I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky. Moore says, He very specifically chose words that could be consistent with the truth but that presented a version of himself publicly  and to himself  that could be more easily integrated into his self-conception. Profumo did the same thing.

Fear, says Moore, is the most dysfunctional motivator of our behaviour. You can see how fear plays into the need to lie, the need to keep secrets, the need to self-deceive. Were afraid of whats going to happen if they get revealed  either to others or to ourselves. We fear the reduction of positive regard.

It takes a lot of maturity to be able to acknowledge our imperfections and our true weaknesses or areas that we should focus on for growth, and to live in a way that does not require self-deception. The people most susceptible [to self-deception] are those with fragile self-esteem.

What we keep secret changes. Over dinner, a friend, some years older than me, told me something that had once haunted her. The next day, she had to tell me again. I realised why I had forgotten; her secret was now so unexceptional.

She had become pregnant when abortions were illegal in New Zealand, but had procured a termination. Weeks later, she was sitting in court as a reporter, and the female doctor who had treated her appeared in the dock.

There are pluses for confiding in at least one other person. It can give us perspective, let us feel supported.

I can still remember her, swathed in blue cashmere. I quickly left in case she recognised me. It was only at a lunch with friends, 10 years afterwards, that the heaviness lifted. Every woman at the table had been through a similar experience.

There are pluses for confiding in at least one other person. It can give us perspective, let us feel supported and less alone to ruminate. One man who kept two huge secrets for years  his alcoholism; an affair  tells me: Its really hard work, a huge drain on your energy and emotion. Your secrets become the centre of your life.

In one paper, Slepian and co-author Brock Bastian argue that when we keep misdeeds secret, we can retreat to self-punishment to appease our own sense of justice. It might involve denying ourselves pleasure or seeking out painful experiences.

Confessing a secret misdeed, they write,  may  bring an end to the feeling one still deserves punishment. Slepian also warns that theres a distinction between secrecy and being secretive: If your solution to problems is to just keep secrets, we know that is a very maladaptive coping strategy.

Confiding, Slepian says, can improve our wellbeing, though he and Greenaway stress people can have good reasons for keeping a secret, and many are benign. Greenaway says, Its more if you were to reveal your secrets, what would be the best conditions.

Our confidants are usually family or close friends but we have an endearing tendency to share secrets with strangers. We may seek out therapists and doctors but we also talk to people on planes, in waiting rooms. In her new book, Friendship: The Evolution, Biology and Extraordinary Power of Lifes Fundamental Bond, Lydia Denworth quotes Harvard University sociologist Mario Luis Small, who says simply, Peoples true pool of confidants is everyone they run into.

When Small analysed a survey of 2000 adults, he found more than half the time, people often confided even deeply personal things to people they werent that close to. The randomness doesnt bother him: The people who are really in trouble are  the people who are literally not running into anybody on a regular basis.

But we must choose carefully. However corrosive secret-keeping can be, it is far worse, Slepian warns, to confide in the wrong person.

Secrets can be a huge drain on your energy. They can become the centre of your life. Credit:Getty Images

THE PEOPLE THAT HAVE MADE ME FEEL THE WORST WERE ALWAYS MY BEST FRIENDS."



Law & Order: SVU, SERIES 5, EPISODE 17

In 2009, Michael Cox, then British boss of UK Wines of Chile, took it into his head to commission a survey of how long women can keep a secret. To female outrage, the study of 3000 women purported to show it was for less than two days: 47 hours and 15 minutes.

Forty per cent of the women aged between 18 and 65 confessed they couldnt keep any secret to themselves, no matter how personal or confidential. (The slender link with Chilean wines was that women were reportedly more loose-lipped after drinking.)

It was hardly a solid study but there have been other similar, commercially funded surveys capitalising on the image of women as unreliable gossips. Greenaway speculates its more about base-rate: women share more, hence may have more opportunities for lapses. Nevertheless, the stakes are high. Slepian and colleagues write: Confiding is not only a type of disclosure. It is also a request for help and confidentiality.

Do men make safer confidants? Slepian doesnt know; the research hasnt been done, although hes keen to explore. Meanwhile, I have to observe that while every woman I know has benefited hugely from sharing secrets with a close female friend, each also knows the brutalising shock of betrayal or having their secrets used for another womans advantage. Few men will say the same of their sex. Base-rate or not, something needs scrutiny.

Men, often maligned for their perceived emotional limitations, can make excellent listeners, Ive found. It goes in; it stays there. They can also see things in a way we women, so close to the emotional action, often dont or cant. When I finally told a man, a close confidant for decades, about a shatteringly tasteless phone call Id received from a woman Id trusted as an intimate, I was instantly cheered to hear his cut-through assessment of what shed done and why. But he added bemusedly, I dont know why women say these things to each other.

Well, I dont know why, either, but author Deborah Tannen can provide clues. Tannen, a linguistics professor at Washingtons Georgetown University, has written several bestselling books about men and women, beginning with You Just Dont Understand in 1990. Her 2017 book, Youre The Only One I Can Tell: Inside the Language of Womens Friendships, is acute on the subject of secrets.

For it, Tannen interviewed 80 women from different world cultures. She says, For many women and girls, talk is the glue that holds a relationship together. For boys and men, your best friend is the one you do everything with; for girls and women, your best friend is the one you tell everything to

One interviewee told Tannen, When I tell a friend something personal, its like saying, Heres a little piece of me. This means I like you.  Tannen comments, But what will she do with that piece of you? The wonderful thing is a feeling that youre not alone in the world . but that does give them some power over you.

Over the phone, Tannen tells me she hadnt wanted that books title. It idealises womens friendship, she says. I wanted to call it Why Didnt You Tell Me? But I think the publishers wanted to appeal to women buying a gift for friends.

In it, Tannen notes: Several women said they prefer men as friends because guys wont repeat their secrets. I dont think this is because men are inherently more trustworthy, but because secrets dont have the currency in boys and mens friendships that they have in girls and womens: men have nothing to gain by repeating secrets.

She says, For girls, and later women, being close to a popular girl or a mutual friend confers status. And closeness can be demonstrated to others by showing you know someones secrets.

There are intriguing studies in this trip-wire territory. In 2011, Canadian psychology professor Tracy Vaillancourt published a paper that received international coverage. She and a colleague had conducted tests that revealed, they determined, that women had an innate instinct to behave with hostility towards women they regarded as sexier than themselves. It resonated with women everywhere, she tells me from the University of Ottawa, where she is the Canada Research Chair in School-Based Mental Health and Violence Prevention.

The study had recorded women in a laboratory reacting to the same young woman dressed in two different outfits. When she entered in mousy clothing, the women didnt notice her, but when she wore more revealing clothes, with her long hair loose, they became mean girls, rolling their eyes and mocking her afterwards.

Vaillancourt published a 2013 analysis that argued women use this indirect aggression as a highly effective tactic in what she calls intrasexual competition strategy:  the aggressor can also make it appear as if there was no intention to hurt at all. Vaillancourt, whose research is ongoing, says now, The competitiveness is pervasive. Women across the world speak about this.

This is where confidences suffer. The trading of secrets and betrayal of confidants are core examples of indirect aggression, Vaillancourt says. Her study attracted criticism. One Forbes writer was indignant: I know that women are often competitive, rude and aggressive to other women, wrote Meghan Casserly, but to me, adding credibility to these stereotypes  gives artillery to our detractors 

The feminist website Jezebel cited experts questioning the findings. Vaillancourt was amused: How do we change something if we wont acknowledge it?  When they attack me, they tend to use the same indirect aggression Im writing about. You can attack the science but you dont have to be mean about it.

What Im left wondering is: how do we choose a good confidant? Schweitzer says his research with colleagues produced a simple equation: certain people are more prone to feeling guilt. And these people will be more trustworthy, Schweitzer tells me. They worry about letting people down, so they work harder to avoid anything that will make them feel guilty. They dont like missing deadlines, making mistakes, spilling red wine on the hosts white carpet. They go out of their way to avoid being put in those situations. They will choose white wine, he says with a laugh.

In one Wharton podcast, Schweitzer explains that while trustworthiness is hard to judge  were taken in by a baby face or charisma  its far easier to assess if someone is guilt-prone. And those people tend to be really conscientious in ways that then fulfil peoples trust.

Something odd happened as I wrote this story: I became addicted to Friends. Id hardly watched it but now my subconscious pushed me towards Monica, Chandler, Joey, Phoebe, Ross and Rachel. Friends deals with almost all the situations addressed above, but with humour.

The characters secrets and self-deceptions are outed. Transgressors  they all transgress  are shamed. Fragility, fickleness and folly are mined for laughs. Then the characters try to do better. For me, wading in the murk of human secrecy, it was light relief.

But maybe the very existence of secrets proves that most of us, like the characters in Friends, do know we should and can behave better. Celia Moore quotes American social psychologist Anthony Greenwald, that humans have a deep-seated need to see themselves in a positive light, to be the hero of our own narratives when we have been anything but.

She says as a psychologist (rather than as an anthropologist), she doesnt know why, except it is so and we agree its a very good thing. Society benefits when people are moral, she says. But she adds the kicker, Individuals benefit when they arent.

Which, unfortunately, is the fastest way to understand why humans invented secrecy in the first place.

Lifeline: 13 11 14

To read more from Good Weekend magazine, visit our page at The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and Brisbane Times.
Jeremy Menesses, 17, was stabbed in London's West End on Saturday. (PA)

A 17-year-old stabbed to death in Londons West End at the weekend has been named.

Jeremy Menesses, who lived in south London, was taken to hospital after suffering a stab wound during an assault on Market Place at the junction with Oxford Street at 5.38pm on Saturday.

But despite efforts of medics, the teen was pronounced dead at 7.33pm. A post-mortem examination will be held in due course.

The Met Police said three men, all aged 18 and from south London, were later arrested on suspicion of murder after going to a south London hospital with superficial stab injuries.

They have since left hospital and are now in custody. Two have also been arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender.

Three men have been arrested in connection with the assault, which happened in London's West End on Saturday. (PA)

Detective Chief Inspector Katherine Goodwin said: This attack took place following a fight between a number of males in broad daylight and was witnessed by a large number of horrified onlookers.

We have spoken to a number of people already but need anyone who has information, video or images to speak to us and tell us what they know.

Your assistance could prove vital as we investigate this terrible incident.

Read more: Met Police officer dismissed after 'liking Facebook group linked to far-right organisation Britain First

Superintendent Rob Shepherd added: Residents and visitors will see an increased police presence in the area following this shocking incident.

We are doing everything we can to support our specialist crime colleagues as they continue their investigation and urge anyone with information to approach officers on the street if they have information that they would like to share with us, or call 101.
The U.S. national security adviser, Robert O'Brien on Sunday suggested Chinese-linked actors may have targeted U.S. election infrastructure ahead of the November presidential contest.

"China, like Russia, like Iran, have engaged in cyberattacks and phishing and that sort of thing with respect to our election infrastructure, with respect to websites, and that sort of thing. We're aware of it. And we're taking steps to counter it. Whether it's China, or Russia, or Iran, we're not going to put up with it."

He said hackers had targeted U.S. government websites, but did not specify what damage the cyberattacks had done, if any.

O'Brien suggested the U.S. election faced an array of malicious actors, including Russia, China and Iran.

His comments on CBS New's Face the Nation come in the wake of a U.S. counterintelligence assessment that China preferred President Donald Trump lose his bid for re-election.

"The Chinese don't want the president re-elected. He's been tougher on China than any president in history."

That assessment, from director William Evanina of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center, last week said that while Beijing preferred Trump lose, Russia was actively using a range of measures to "denigrate" the Democratic candidate, Joe Biden.

U.S. intelligence concluded that Russia interfered in 2016 to swing the election toward Trump, by stealing and leaking e-mails damaging to Democrat Hillary Clinton, and by spreading misinformation on social media.

Russia denies interfering in American politics.

Trump has long downplayed and denied Russian efforts to help him win, and contradicted even the most recent assessment from his own administration.

"I think that the last person Russia wants to see in office is Donald Trump. I don't care what anybody says."

Evanina said this time it appeared pro-Russian actors were trying to push unsubstantiated claims that Biden was tied to corruption in Ukraine.

Asked what the U.S. was doing to counter the latest Russian meddling, O'Brien said no administration had been tougher on Moscow, but appeared to suggest there was little more the U.S. could do.
17-DAY WAIT

Celeste Kelly waited 17 days from the time she was swabbed to receive the results of her COVID-19 test.

Kelly promptly sought testing for the coronavirus after a friend undergoing major surgery asked Kelly to be by her side. The surgery, scheduled promptly, was six days away.

I immediately logged on and scheduled a COVID test with a CVS Minute Clinic in the Short Pump area. I was able to get a test that dayit was a half hour away but I was able to get it the same-day, Kelly, 26, said in an interview. She was tested on July 15. She was told she would have results in hand within six to 10 days.

Given that Kelly was young, healthy and without symptoms, her sample was likely among those ranked in the lowest priority category, according to state and federal guidelines, which clinics and national labs say they are largely following.

Fifteen days later, staff at the clinic where Kelly was tested could not share any information about her results, or how much longer she would need to wait.




Korea's environment ministry said Sunday that it will revamp a subsidy scheme for electric vehicles (EVs), with the current proposal centering on excluding high-priced EVs from the subsidy recipients.







The country's fat subsidies for EVs have been a major contributor to the popularity of eco-friendly cars.







The overhaul under review includes the exclusion of high-priced EVs, a category that includes vehicles produced by Tesla Motors, from the list of beneficiaries, according to the ministry.







The ministry plans to complete the overhaul plan for EV subsidies by October. (Yonhap)


(Natural News) Twitter censored a video clip of President Trumps recent interview on Fox & Friends alleging that the clip spread misinformation about the Wuhan coronavirus  yet has consistently failed to stop misinformation spread by Chinese government officials on the platform.

(Article by Lucas Nolan republished from Breitbart.com)

Breitbart News recently reported that social media sites Facebook and Twitter removed a clip of President Trump appearing on the Fox News show Fox & Friends in which he claimed that children have heightened immunity to the Wuhan coronavirus. The Trump campaign has stated that it stands by the claim, but both Facebook and Twitter have taken issue with the Presidents statement.

However, despite censoring President Trumps comments on the Wuhan coronavirus, Twitter has not applied the same standards to other governments and heads of state. In particular, the site has refused to remove posts from Chinese government officials spreading conspiracy theories suggesting that the Wuhan coronavirus actually originated in the United States. In some instances, Twitter added a flag to tweets from official Chinese accounts inviting readers to get the facts on COVID-19, which falls far short of the outright censorship exercised against Trump.

In March of this year, Breitbart News reported that Twitter refused to crack down on misinformation from Chinese officials, with the Daily Beast reporting:

Coronavirus disinformation spread by senior Chinese government officials does not violate Twitters terms of service, a spokesperson for the company told The Daily Beast on Monday. The spokesperson pointed to language on its website, which gives wide latitude to statements from government officials. Presently, the company says, direct interactions with fellow public figures, comments on political issues of the day, or foreign policy saber-rattling on economic or military issues are generally not in violation of the Twitter Rules.

Breitbart News reported in May that according to a study of data collected by the Hamilton 2.0 dashboard of the Alliance for Securing Democracy, a tool aggregating accounts connected to the Chinese government, a Chinese disinformation campaign related to the pandemic had been ramped up across social media.

On May 8, the spokesperson for Chinas Foreign Affairs Ministry posted a tweet that has been liked more than 4,000 times which reads: The #US keeps calling for transparency & investigation. Why not open up Fort Detrick & other bio-labs for international review? Why not invite #WHO & intl experts to the US to look into #COVI19 source & response?

The military houses and studies infectious diseases at the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases at Fort Detrick, Maryland.

The #US keeps calling for transparency & investigation. Why not open up Fort Detrick & other bio-labs for international review? Why not invite #WHO & int'l experts to the US to look into #COVID19 source & response?  Hua Chunying  (@SpokespersonCHN) May 8, 2020

On March 12, Zhao Lijian, the spokesman and deputy director of the Foreign Ministrys Information Department, who has been one of Chinas most prolific officials on Twitter, tweeted: It might be the US army who brought the epidemic to Wuhan.

A day later, Zhao tweeted that there was Further evidence that the virus originated in the US.

This article is very much important to each and every one of us. Please read and retweet it. COVID-19: Further Evidence that the Virus Originated in the US. https://t.co/LPanIo40MR  Lijian Zhao  (@zlj517) March 13, 2020

On April 30, the official state-run news agency Xinhua posted a two-minute video titled Once Upon a Virus which mocked the United States response to the Wuhan coronavirus and praised Chinas efforts. This has since been retweeted almost 26,000 times an liked 50,000 times.

China: We discovered a new virus.

America: So what? China: It's Dangerous

America: It's only a Flu China: Wear a Mask

America: Don't wear a Mask

 pic.twitter.com/Qxugv8z73J  China Xinhua News (@XHNews) April 30, 2020

In another tweet, Chinas Ministry of Foreign Affairs tweeted: In our fight against #COVID19, the Chinese government has always been open, transparent & responsible. We always speak the truth with facts. Its crystal clear which country has been doing everything possible to ensure peoples life & health & promote anti-pandemic cooperation.

In our fight against #COVID19, the Chinese government has always been open, transparent & responsible. We always speak the truth with facts. Its crystal clear which country has been doing everything possible to ensure peoples life & health & promote anti-pandemic cooperation. pic.twitter.com/jGXXVbElPL  Spokesperson (@MFA_China) May 21, 2020

Still, Twitter has repeatedly refused to censor Chinese government-backed tweets spreading misinformation about the pandemic. In some cases, Twitter has added a tag providing more information about the Wuhan coronavirus but is happy to remove a clip of the President of the United States discussing the virus on national news.

Read more at: Breitbart.com
Megan Blake Irwin and Skeet Ulrich have fuelled rumours they have split after just three months of dating.

The Australian model, 29, and the Riverdale star, 50, have unfollowed each other on social media - suggesting that they have gone their separate ways.

The pair have also removed photos of one another from their respective Instagram platforms.

Over? Skeet Ulrich, 50, and Megan Blake Irwin, 29, [pictured] have fuelled rumours they have split after only three months of dating

Despite professing her love to the Scream actor only weeks earlier, Megan added to the break-up speculation by uploading a cryptic post on Sunday which read: 'Be with people who are good for your soul.'

Daily Mail Australia has contacted representatives for Skeet and Megan for comment.

Just last month, Megan gushed about her boyfriend, Skeet, as she rang in her 29th birthday.

Unfollowed: The Riverdale star and the Australian model have unfollowed each other on social media [pictured] and also removed photos of one another from their respective Instagram platforms - suggesting that they have gone their separate ways

Are you trying to say something? Megan added to the break-up speculation by uploading a cryptic post on Sunday which read: 'Be with people who are good for your soul'

Posting an Instagram photo of the two of them together in bed, the blonde beauty wrote: 'I know it is my birthday but today I celebrate you Skeet.

'You are the light in my life, you make me the happiest human in this world,' she continued.

'I can't imagine my life without you. I finally found a person that makes me feel safe and that I want to wake up to everyday. I will always protect you too.

'I can't imagine my life without you': Just weeks ago, Megan praised Skeet on Instagram as she rang in her 29th birthday

'The way you care for me is above and beyond! I love you (thank you so much for everything you do for me, you're (sic) arts and crafts are the best of best).'

Megan previously defended the couple's 22-year age gap on Instagram, telling a follower that there is 'nothing wrong or weird' about their romance.

'I'm 28 and my boyfriend is 50. There is NOTHING wrong or weird about this AT ALL,' Megan hit back at critic in June.

'If anyone has a problem or has anything to think or say about that than please unfollow us both and go on about your OWN lives,' she added.

Megan has previously been romantically linked to reality star Scott Disick, $2 billion sugar heir David Mimran, Australian publisher Oscar Martin, artist manager Ashley Wilson and Miami-based socialite Nicolo Knows.

'Unfollow us if you have a problem': Megan was also fiercely protective of her relationship with the American actor as she addressed their age difference in June
Russia is set to register world's first coronavirus vaccine on August 12. The inoculation has been developed jointly by the Gamaleya Research Institute and the Russian Defence Ministry.

However, the clinical trial data and other documents of Russia's COVID-19 vaccine are currently under expert review. The decision on registration will be made based on its results, according to the Russian health ministry.

"The documents that are needed to register the vaccine developed by the Gamaleya Research Institute of the Health Ministry, including clinical trial data, are under expert review. The decision on registration will be made based on the results of the review," the ministry said.

Russia's Deputy Health Minister Oleg Gridnev told state news agency, Sputnik news that the Phase-3 clinical trial of the COVID-19 vaccine was underway. He also said that senior citizens and medical professionals will be the first to get vaccinated.

The clinical trial of the Russian coronavirus vaccine is undergoing at two institutions: the Burdenko Main Military Clinical Hospital and the Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University. The clinical trials of the vaccine began on June 18 and included 38 volunteers. All of the participants developed immunity. The first group was discharged on July 15, and the secondon July 20.

How Russia's coronavirus vaccine will work?

Alexander Gintsburg, director of the Gamaleya National Research Centre, said the vaccine used inanimate particles created on the basis of adenovirus. He added that the vaccine would cause no harm to a person's health.

Russia's technology is a vector vaccine based on the DNA of a SARS-CoV-2 type adenovirus, a common cold virus. A team of Russian scientists has embedded genetic material from the coronavirus into the harmless carrier virus to deliver small parts of the pathogen into the human body and stimulate an immune response, as per Sputnik news.

According to him, COVID-19 particles can cause maximum discomfort, because when a foreign antigen is injected, the immune system of the individual being vaccinated receives a powerful boost. Some people naturally have a fever under these circumstances.

During clinical trials of the drug, the temperature of the volunteers rose to 37- 38 degrees Celsius. Gintsburg said such a "side-effect" could be tackled by intaking paracetamol.

Meanwhile, the World Health Organisation has urged Russia to follow established guidelines for producing safe and effective vaccines. Besides, US' top infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci has also sounded a note of caution, saying: "I do hope that the Chinese and the Russians are testing a vaccine before they are administering the vaccine to anyone because claims of having a vaccine ready to distribute before you do testing I think is problematic at best".

Also read: Russia to register world's first COVID-19 vaccine next week; mass vaccination to kick off in October

Also read: Coronavirus vaccine: Serum Institute to start trials in Aug; Russia prepares two candidates for production by Nov
Heres why youre not going to be dinner: Asked if there were any shark myths he wanted to bust, Alexopoulos said one myth is people think all sharks are dangerous or have the potential to be dangerous, and thats not true (some sharks are downright un-shark-like).

Another myth is sharks are so bloodthirsty that, if one is in the vicinity, it will try to attack you.

Thats very, very much not the case, Alexopoulos said. We are just really not on their menu, and we are kind of an odd thing for them to come across. We are typically not what they want to eat.

Alexopoulos said only a handful of people, at most, are killed annually by sharks. He said the odds are astronomical of being killed by a shark, and theres a better chance you will, for instance, be struck by lightning.

There are even stats that say you are more likely to be killed by a falling coconut, he said. I havent researched that, but thats what I have heard. People have got to realize when they are in the ocean, there are sharks all around them. If they wanted to attack, they would have been attacked by now.

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According to State media of North Korea, Kim Jong Un has ordered to distribute aid to the border city of Kaesong, the area which was locked down last month to curb the spread of contagious coronavirus. In the month of July, North Korean authorities invoked a state of emergency in the city to a maximum level saying that they had discovered the countrys first suspected coronavirus case. A report by state media KCNA says a train carrying goods arrived in the totally blocked city of Kaesong on August 7. They also added the Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un has made sure that emergency measures imposed for supplying food and medicines right after the city of Kaesong was totally blocked and, he saw to it that lots of rice and subsidy were sent to the city.

Read: Kim Visits North Korea Flood Zone, Orders Shelter, Food Aid

Pyongyang said last month a defector, who had left for South Korea three years ago returned to North Korea through illegal ways. Later the man showed symptoms of coronavirus and he was put under strict quarantine. But yet North Korea has not confirmed whether he is positive or negative for the infection. If confirmed, it would be the first officially recognized case of COVID-19 in North Korea.

Read: Days Of Torrential Rain In South Korea Leave At Least 30 Dead

Kim's visit to the flooded zone

Kim Jong Un visited parts of southern North Korea where days of torrential rains have flooded hundreds of houses and vast areas of agricultural land, state media reported Friday. The Korean Central News Agency said Kim inspected a town in North Hwanghae province where a water levee gave way due to the heavy rains and rainstorms.It said the levee break left more than 730 single-floored houses and 600-odd hectares of rice field inundated and 179 housing blocks destroyed in Unpha County. KCNA said no human casualties have been reported.

(Image credit: AP)

Read: North Korea Raises Fear Of COVID-19 Outbreak Amid Escalating Virus Response

Read: North Korea Vows To Redeploy Military In Demilitarized Zones, Rejects South's Peace Offer
Black Portland residents feel like their voices aren't being heard in the city's chaotic and often violent protests against racial injustice.

Some feel the overwhelmingly white crowds of protesters - and particularly those committing vandalism - are co-opting the Black Lives Matter movement. Others welcome white demonstrators because with their larger numbers they can draw attention to the city's racial inequity in ways that Black demonstrators alone can't.

The city's Black Lives Matter protests rocketed into the national consciousness in mid-July, when President Donald Trump sent agents from the US Department of Homeland Security to protect a federal courthouse that had increasingly become a target of protesters.

Teressa Raiford, head of Don't Shoot Portland and a former mayoral candidate, expressed her frustration by pointing out that there were 'disgusting people' 'with guns and tasers that are attacking people that are showing up to protests.'

Some black people in Portland feel that overwhelmingly white crowds of protesters (pictured) - and particularly those committing vandalism - are co-opting the Black Lives Matter movement

The city's Black Lives Matter protests rocketed into the national consciousness in mid-July, when President Donald Trump sent agents from the US Department of Homeland Security to protect a federal courthouse. Portland cops are pictured dispersing a crowd of protesters

Teressa Raiford, head of Don't Shoot Portland and a former mayoral candidate, expressed her frustration by pointing out that there were 'disgusting people' 'with guns and tasers that are attacking people that are showing up to protests'

Primarily, there is a persistent worry that a critical opportunity for achieving racial justice in Portland's tiny black community could be lost.

Many cite competing voices and the harsh glare of a national spotlight, which has reduced the situation to a culture war when the reality is much more complex.

'It happens so much that the things that we care about get hijacked and get put on the back burner. And that just gets put into a big barrel with everything else,' said Neil Anderson, a black business owner. 'We all want the same thing. But so often we get drowned out.'

Some in Portland's black community believe deeply that there can't be a Black Lives Matter movement without defunding the police. Others say a recent vote to cut a specialized gun violence reduction unit is behind a sharp spike in shootings that's devastated their community.

The action galvanized the city and united demonstrators, but it also exposed a simmering tension between black demonstrators and their white allies, as well as disagreements among black residents themselves about the way forward.

The Wall of Moms, a group of mostly white women and self-described parents, gathered nightly to form a human chain between protesters and federal agents. Within two weeks, the group had imploded, with some black community leaders accusing its leadership of trying to monetize their movement. The group reformed under black leadership and a new name.

Demetria Hester, a black woman who leads the new Moms United for Black Lives, said the departure of federal agents and the dissolution of the Wall of Moms has refocused the protests.

'These are the moms who actually want to ... make our reparations happen. Make this revolution happen,' she said.

Seneca Cayson, who helped lead peaceful gatherings in downtown Portland, has mixed feelings. He feels white protesters who commit vandalism and taunt law enforcement are distracting from his message, but he also recognizes they are drawing attention to racial injustice in a way he could never do.

'What the white people have is something that we don't, and that's rights,' said Cayson, as he prepared to lead another peaceful rally with several other black men. 'We are fighting alongside them to ... be equal.'

A woman walks past a business damaged during protests in North Portland, a historically Black neighborhood in Oregon. Seneca Cayson, who helped lead peaceful gatherings in downtown said white protesters who commit vandalism distracting from his message

The Portland Police Bureau, with its newly appointed black police chief, is for many black residents just as polarizing as the protests.

For many, part of breaking down racial barriers means defunding the police entirely. The city population is less than 6 per cent black but people of color were disproportionately stopped by the gun violence reduction team. An analysis of police use of force published last month found that in 2019, officers were much more likely to use force against black people - and particularly young black men - than other groups despite overall trends towards less use of force.

'It is the entire culture of the Portland Police Bureau that is fundamentally unmanageable and must change,' said Jo Ann Hardesty, the city's first black councilwoman and an activist who has pressed for police reform for 30 years. 'Thirty years is a long time to be asking for the exact same reforms. The difference now is there are tens of thousands of Portlanders who want the exact same thing.'

The Portland Police Bureau, with its newly appointed black police chief, is for many black residents just as polarizing as the protests. Pictured are Portland cops walking through Portland's Laurelhurst neighborhood on Saturday

In June, the City Council cut nearly $16 million from the Police Bureau budget. The cuts shuttered programs like the gun violence reduction unit, a youth services program and ended the presence of school resource officers in three school districts.

In July, the city experienced a sharp rise in gun violence that has overwhelmingly hurt black people. There were 99 shootings -- more than triple the amount from the previous July - and the city has tallied 366 non-suicide shootings this year compared to 388 in all of 2019. Roughly two-thirds of the victims in July were black, said police Sgt. Derrick Foxworth.

Kimberly Dixon, who lost her son to gun violence in 2013, said the dissolution of the gun violence reduction team has hurt the black community. Mayor Ted Wheeler said he is working on a solution that will be made public soon.

Mayor Ted Wheeler speaks to Black Lives Matter protesters in Portland earlier this month. Wheeler said he is working on a solution after the city experienced a sharp rise in gun violence that has overwhelmingly hurt black people

'You took away the expertise that was there, the relationships that were there,' Dixon said. 'That connectivity is important, historical context is important. When you disbanded it, did you rebuild? ... This is the carnage that is left in the community.'

Some black residents, however, say they can't imagine racial justice in their city without doing away with the police. Vandalism, and even violence, during protests to elevate black grievances after hundreds of years of oppression is appropriate, they say.

Raiford, the head of Don't Shoot Portland and former mayoral candidate, said people who are questioning the legitimacy of protest through so-called 'direct action' against police are on 'the wrong side of history.'

'There are people that are hellbent on protecting the status quo and the system as the way it is even if the outcomes don't serve us,' she said.

'The politicizing of black people is not only vicious, it's violent and we're not being heard.'

However, Raiford added, 'When we talk about anarchy ... you know that we have stolen people that were brought to stolen land where they were used as slaves. And I think people are realizing that - including white people.'
TRENTON  The white tents have come to signify something in the capital city  another lost life.

Cops put up the tent Sunday to keep the body of a young man from the public view as two teenagers were gunned down in an early-morning shooting.

At least one vehicle windshield was shattered by gunfire as shell casings littered the 300 block of Centre Street, which was the center of a sprawling crime scene.

According to police sources, the double homicide happened around 7:30 a.m.

The Mercer County Prosecutors Office identified the victims as William Irrizarry and Julius Vargas, both 18. Irrizarry was 15 days out from his 19th birthday.

The killings marked the 23rd and 24th homicides in the capital city this year, keeping Trenton on pace for an ignominious benchmark.

City and county officials met following the Sunday morning homicides and announced theyre deploying more officers  they didnt say how many  to crime hotspots throughout Trenton.

Every homicide is one too many, Mayor Reed Gusciora, who didnt return multiple phone calls seeking comment, said in a statement. While Trenton is just one of several cities struggling with violent crime as COVID-19 erodes economic opportunity across the country, were not content to be just another statistic.

Officers from the county prosecutors and sheriffs offices will supplement Trenton officers, the mayors office said.

In addition, TPD Director Sheilah Coley asked New Jersey State Police to step up patrols of the capital city.

Coley hopes to double the number of TPD police recruits by adding another police academy session this year. The next class starts Sept. 14.

While officials hope that a $4.5 million State Police real-time crime center, set for completion in the next year, helps reduce the gunplay, community activists have been sounding the alarm for months that Trenton could face record-shattering bloodshed in 2020.

The previous record for murders was 37, set in 2013.

Under pressure to solve the gunplay, Coley  replicating a move made by former city police bosses  disbanded the highly controversial street crimes unit, shifting those officers over to patrol.

Critics have suggested getting rid of the unit hasnt worked in the past and drew a link between the dissolution of the specialized group and a rise in violent crime.

Coley said this week that city cops are hard up to prevent the killings in the capital city, at least 11 which involved personal disputes.

The motive for Sundays double slaying was still unknown.

We are doing everything we can with the resources we have, Coley said at Thursdays council meeting.

Coley has said her department made 2,284 arrests this year and identified 47 main players involved with 90 percent of the crime in the city.

Cops arrested more than a dozen notorious scofflaws, she said, but another 34 people were released from incarceration because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Gusciora said in a text message Sunday morning that he was headed out to the scene.

He did not provide additional information on the slayings, saying everything was under investigation.

It was an obvious answer to what has become an all-too-familiar scene in Trenton this year.

The carnage has gotten so bad that council president Kathy McBride sponsored an ordinance earlier this year calling for city officials to ensure the bodies of those slain are covered from public view.

She said many residents, including children, were traumatized after seeing the lifeless body of Dontae Barnes, 37, sprawled out on Oakland Street in June.

Barnes, who had just been released from prison, was the 15th murder of the year, a heinous snuffing out of life in which the killers allegedly continued shooting the victim while he lay lifeless on the ground.

McBride petitioned the Mercer County Prosecutors to buy white tents to shield murder victims bodies from public view.

She said the victims deserved decency as the community attempts to protect kids from the harsh realities on the capital city streets.

Trenton Police has struggled to control the surging violence in 2020, after two straight years with fewer than 20 murders.

A day after Barnes was killed, a 12-year-old girl had to have 12 inches of her intestines removed during emergency surgery after she was wounded in a triple shooting while playing at Roberto Clemente Park.

The assailant was reportedly targeting a group of people gambling in a nearby alleyway when the little girl got caught in the crossfire, hearkening back to when then-7-year-old Tajahnique Lee, riding her bike through the Wilson-Haverstick housing project, was struck in the face by a stray bullet in March 2006.

Coley called on the community to help crack down on the gun-toters.

If two young girls cant galvanize this community, then we have no hope and nothing else will, she said at the June 3 news conference. We can still take this city back.

Some have criticized Coleys efforts and responses to the piling-up bodies.

Community activist Darren Freedom Green said he disagreed with the police directors assessment that the police are essentially powerless to prevent the vendetta killings.

You gotta have a comprehensive plan, he said. Its almost like we sitting, waiting and watching. Weve got to get in these communities. This stuff isnt random; its strategic. [The factions[ are internally at war.

He stressed that police need to be in the neighborhoods more building relationships with residents who are instrumental in providing information to help solve the homicides.

Green floated the idea of having block captains who help cops keep watch over the neighborhoods.

We have to identify [the killers] and work with the director and the police to shut them down. Nobody wants to live like this. Nobody wants to wake up at 8 a.m. and see another murder outside their door, he said.

Somebody knows who did it and somebody knows why. This isnt Philadelphia. This isnt New York. Its 7.5 square miles. Its too small to be this dysfunctional. I am not blaming anyone, but I am challenging everyone that we need to do better.

Later in the day, two cars were stuck and another person underwent emergency surgery after getting shot four times in the abdomen in a separate shooting, sources said.

At least seven shots were fired, but no one injured, in a third shooting on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.
The Vice President of Nigeria, Yemi Osinbajo, has criticised the habit of Nigerian elites influencing the appointment of judges.

He disclosed that the major reason for such interest is to get favour, warning that if we leave it to the system that is going on at the moment; we are clearly headed in the wrong direction because interest whether private, political or group influences how judges are appointed.

The vice president, a professor of law and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, said this on Saturday at a webinar themed Selection and appointment of judges: Lessons for Nigeria.

The programme was organised by Justice Research Institute (JRI) and monitored by TheCable Newspaper.

Many Nigerian judges have been accused of corruption and miscarriage of justice due to alleged pressure from authorities and vested interests.

The acts, and others, make many Nigerians doubt the integrity of the nations judicial system.

Speaking on Saturday, Mr Osinbajo was quoted as saying: We have elites and when I speak of elites, I speak of the Nigerian elites both political, religious, commercial/business etc. Everyone wants to get ahead, we want to own things, we want to control things and we want to own the judges too.

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He maintained that while the elites show interest in the appointment of judges, they also pressure the government into considering their version of federal character.

So the federal character is no longer necessarily seen as choosing the best from a particular zone or a particular state; it is the interest in that state or that zone who want to further their own purposes that would want to come together to ensure that the person who is appointed is not necessarily the best, but he is the one that is most suited to their own purposes.

Mr Osinbajo criticised this act saying it is the problem that we have because elites want everything to work in their favour.

He spoke on the need for a clear separation of powers and said the best judicial officers should be appointed at all levels without interference.

If we leave it to the system that is going on at the moment; we are clearly headed in the wrong direction because interest whether the private, political or group influences how judges are appointed, he said. We must agree to an objective process to rigorously examine, test and interview all of those who want to come forward as judges.
Water is released from the Xiaolangdi Reservoir Dam on the Yellow River in Luoyang, China, on July 19, 2020. (STR/AFP via Getty Images)

Heavy Rain Hits Chinas Yellow River Basin, Bringing Floods to Large Swaths of Country

After severe flooding in the Yangtze River drainage area in July, heavy rain has now hit another major waterway in China, the Yellow River.

A 646-year-old building in Xian city, located in western China and midstream of the Yellow River, partially collapsed on Aug. 8, injuring at least four people.

Floodwaters inundated cities and villages in Shaanxi, Shanxi, and Henan provinces, also located midstream of the Yellow River. At the same time, authorities discharged floodwaters from downstream to rural areas of Shandong Province on the eastern coast.

Chinas Ministry of Emergency Management (MEM) announced on Aug. 9 that the rivers upper stream region and northeastern China would experience heavy rainstorms from Aug. 9 to Aug. 11.

The countrys southwestern regions of Sichuan, Yunnan, Guizhou, and Tibet also were forecasted to have heavy rain in the coming days, the MEM warned.

Flooding in Three Major Rivers

Chinas minister of water resources E Jingping hosted a seminar in Beijing on Aug. 8, in which he and deputy minister Ye Jianchun assessed the flood situation.

Local governments should act in advance to discharge water from rivers and lakes [to rural areas], E told officials from Anhui, Jiangsu, and Shandong provinces at the seminar, according to a government press release. In the coming weeks, we must  preserve the capability of reservoirs to accommodate possible floodwaters.

The currently flooded region is the Yellow River drainage area, E said.

He didnt provide details about the flooding, but said the northwestern areas of Shaanxi and Shanxi provinces were facing mudslides in the mountain areas.

Though flooding had subsided on the Yangtze River, water levels at the mid and downstream regions of the river were still higher than the alert level, E said, meaning there are risks of embankment breaches.

Also, the water levels of lakes and rivers in the Huai River drainage area were much higher than the alert level. The region is set to have heavy rain and storms in the next three days.

Yellow River

A broadcasting website operated by Chinas MEM reported on Aug. 9 that flooding in Luonan county, Shaanxi, killed at least four people, with 11 missing. Heavy rain on Aug. 6 led to authorities cutting off electricity, communication, and roads. Thousands were forced to relocate.

In Xian city, the capital of Shaanxi, 10 meters of the city wall of Qin Palace, a kings residence built during the Ming Dynasty, collapsed in the heavy rain on Aug. 8. The wall was built in 1374 and is located in the city center.

Shaanxi local media reported that bricks and mud that fell from the wall blocked the nearby road, injuring four passersby, and damaging three sedans and a bus.

On Aug. 7, a building with more than 30 stories collapsed in Xianyang city, Shaanxi. Emergency workers used rubber boats to ferry flood victims to the hospital.

Though officials and state-run media gave little information about the flooding, locals posted on social media that floods also inundated cities and villages in Shaanxi and nearby Gansu Province.

Downstream of the Yellow River, the local government discharged floodwaters from Dongping Lake in Shandong Province to rural areas on Aug. 6, according to Chinas Ministry of Water Resources.

Authorities warned that stronger floods could arrive at the Yellow River soon, which would affect Gansu, Ningxia, Shaanxi, Shanxi, Henan, and Shandong.
Two lucky aquaphiles adrift on Lake Ontario were rescued after being spotted by a man on the beach Saturday.

Hamilton polices marine unit posted about the early evening rescue  and called for water safety  in a Twitter thread Sunday.

Two people were drifting more than 800 metres off Van Wagners Beach in Lake Ontario in an inflatable tube.

The pair, neither wearing life-jackets, having safety equipment or the ability to call for help, were being blown further out into the lake, police said on Twitter.

The pair was lucky a man on the beach saw them and called 911, police said.

The marine unit rescued the duo just before 9 p.m.

A man from Thunder Bay and a woman from Etobicoke were charged under the Canada Shipping Act with operating a pleasure craft without a life-jacket.

Fines under the Act start at $240, police said.

This is the third floatie-related rescue reported by The Spec this summer.

In mid-July a family was rescued after floating into the Hamilton Harbour shipping canal on a giant pink flamingo.

Days later, two women were rescued three kilometres from Van Wagners Beach on an inflatable.

Police urge caution to beachgoers about the potential danger of using inflatables that are meant for pools and small bodies of water in Lake Ontario.

If using these items on the beaches of the Great Lakes, you must consider the wind direction as even light winds can take you out quickly, police said.

Police added that securing floaties to shore is recommended.
Two members of Lebanon's government have quit over a deadly blast that unleashed public rage against the country's ruling class, with protesters and police fighting running battles in the capital for a second day.

As hopes faded of finding any survivors of Tuesday's explosion, information minister Manal Abdel Samad and environment minister Damianos Kattar both announced their resignations Sunday, in a further hit to the embattled government of Prime Minister Hassan Diab.

Calling the explosion an "enormous catastrophe", Kattar said he had lost hope in a "sterile regime that botched several opportunities".

Several MPs also quit and local media reported Diab was mulling announcing the entire government's resignation, a day after protesters briefly occupied and ransacked government ministries.

Hundreds gathered again in and around Martyrs' Square, a short walk from the port where the devastating explosion occurred, killing at least 158 people and injuring a staggering 6,000, many bloodied by flying glass.

"Those who died paid the price of a state that doesn't care about anything except power and money," said protester Tamara, 23, whose friend Rawan, 20, was killed in the blast.

"It's not enough that ministers resign," said her friend Michel.

"Those who put the explosives there must be held accountable. We want an international tribunal to tell us who killed (Rawan)."

Police later fired tear gas in an attempt to disperse protesters who hurled stones and let off fireworks near a street leading to parliament, AFP correspondents said.

Many wore helmets and gas masks, some wielded makeshift shields and others rushed to pick up smouldering tear gas shells and threw them back towards police.

- 'My government did this' -

While it is not known what started the fire that set off a huge stockpile of ammonium nitrate, protesters say the disaster could not have happened without the corruption and incompetence that have come to define Lebanon's ruling class.

Story continues

A picture went viral online showing the city's devastated port, with a low wall in the foreground bearing the spray-painted message: "My government did this."

The disaster has revived anger at a ruling class seen as living in luxury while millions endure job losses, deepening poverty, power blackouts and garbage mountains piling up in the streets.

The Lebanese army had "fading hopes" of finding any more survivors, Colonel Roger Khoury told reporters Sunday.

Human Rights Watch's Lebanon researcher Aya Majzoub said some security forces had indiscriminately fired tear gas and rubber bullets at protesters.

"Instead of deploying the army to help residents clear rubble from their homes, businesses, and communities, the Lebanese authorities chose to deploy them and other security forces against protesters."

Saturday's violence injured 65 people, the Lebanese Red Cross reported, while lawyers supporting protesters said security forces made 20 arrests.

The August 4 explosion came as Lebanon was already reeling from an economic crisis that has seen its currency collapse, plunging swathes of its population into poverty, and struggling with a spike in coronavirus cases.

- Aid and investigation -

On Sunday, French President Emmanuel Macron oversaw a UN-backed virtual donor conference that pledged 250 million euros ($294 million) in aid for the cash-strapped country, where some 300,000 people were rendered homeless by the disaster.

In a joint statement, donors pledged the assistance would be "directly delivered to the Lebanese population" under the supervision of the UN.

The UN said about $117 million would be needed over the next three months for health services, emergency shelter, food distribution and programmes to prevent the further spread of COVID-19, among other interventions.

The donors also offered support for an "impartial, credible and independent inquiry" into the disaster -- something Lebanese President Michel Aoun has dismissed, saying it would only "dilute the truth".

US President Donald Trump urged Lebanese authorities "to conduct a full and transparent investigation, in which the United States stands ready to assist".

The revelation that Lebanese state officials had long tolerated a ticking time-bomb in the heart of the capital has served as shocking proof to many Lebanese of the rot at the core of the state apparatus.

Diab said Saturday he would propose early elections to break the impasse that is plunging Lebanon ever deeper into political and economic crisis.

Parliament speaker Nabih Berri called a meeting of the legislature on Thursday "to question the government on the crime that struck the capital", state media said.

While there are Sunni Muslim, Christian and myriad other groups, the most powerful is the Shiite Hezbollah movement.

tgg-ho/par/hkb/rma/mtp
While several groups of protesters gathered peacefully across the city on Saturday night, a small group of about 20 people lit a fire inside the police union building in North Portland.

The action drew police to declare a riot and advance on the crowd using impact munitions and physical force, a pattern thats unfolded on several recent nights in which a small group provoke police by damaging property and throwing objects at officers.

Mayor Ted Wheeler is expected to address the situation this week, though its unclear how. In a press conference last week, the mayor vowed that he would hold the small group committing criminal activities accountable.

The nightly gatherings aimed at police buildings on the citys east side typically draw a few hundred people each night, compared to thousands who sometimes turn out downtown.

That was true on Saturday night, too, though with a smaller group. About 100 people gathered for the nightly rally at the Justice Center to hear from speakers who discussed constitutional rights and encouraged people to keep attending the gatherings.

We already know that the most noble thing you can do is stand up for the rights of others, one person told the crowd. Were not down here to get hit by rubber bullets, tear gas. Were down here because it is our duty under the Constitution to be here.

Saturday nights strife: Saturday began peacefully on the citys east side with speakers at Peninsula Park denouncing systemic racism and calling for reform. The group later marched to the police union building on North Lombard around 10:30 p.m.

Demetria Hester, who leads Mothers United for Black Lives Matter, rallied the crowd and helped lead the march west on Albina Avenue, then north on Denver Avenue. As people marched, leaders shouted, Whose lives matter? Several hundred marchers responded, Black lives matter!

After they arrived, a few people moved a dumpster to the middle of the street, tipped it over and set its cardboard contents on fire. A few others tagged the boarded-up union building with graffiti or pounded on the plywood.

Around 11 p.m., about 20 people turned their focus to buildings front door while others stood to block their actions from view. Videos on social media showed some people had punched a hole in the plywood and door. A fire was burning cardboard and wood on the floor near the door. One fire truck crew arrived at the building to put out the fire, according to the countys emergency response map.

The night marked the second time someone set a fire inside the union building, which has turned into a regular site of demonstrations against police violence and systemic racism that began in late May.

The Saturday night standoff moved through North Portland as several other fires were set and extinguished until the group eventually retreated around 1:20 a.m.

Police action: Police confirmed on Twitter that they declared the gathering a riot after the fire was set because it was terribly dangerous. Around 11:30 p.m., police ordered people to leave or risk the use of force. Dozens of police and state troopers arrived at 11:40 p.m., forcing the crowd to move. Minutes later, police announced the gathering a riot.

Police used pepper spray and shot some less-lethal impact munitions toward protesters. They also closed streets surrounding the union building, citing an emergency clause in city code as they had on Thursday outside the East Precinct in Southeast Portland.

At one point, an officer shoved a protester into a vehicle. Protesters also threw objects toward officers.

Arrests: Nine arrests were made overnight. Among them was ACLU observer Kathleen Mahoney, who was one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit that resulted in arrest protections for journalists and legal observers.

Read more

Portland police sergeant says protest violence directed at him is lowest point in 18-year career

Protest medics in Portland not spared from force, targeting by police

Portland officials warn non-violent demonstrators to avoid protests that veer toward destruction

Burns, bloody wounds, broken bones: Injuries mount at Portland protests
After beginning his career as an accountant in Florida, DeJoy returned north in 1983, when he was about 26, to take over the small Long Island trucking company started by his father. With just five trucks and 10 employees, it was close to bankruptcy.

DeJoy turned it around, and took it in a new direction.

New Breed Logistics specialized in moving goods from one place to another. DeJoy has said his first big break came in 1992 when he signed on the U.S. Postal Service as a customer. Others clients included companies like Boeing and Verizon.

If you have a Verizon cellphone, I shipped it to you, DeJoy once told an interviewer.

DeJoy moved New Breed from New York to High Point in 1993. By the time he sold it to Connecticut-based XPO Logistics in 2014, the company had nearly 7,000 employees. DeJoy stayed on as CEO of XPOs supply-chain business for a year. Then he served on the companys board until 2018.

McElveen-Hunter calls him the master of the universe in regards to logistics.

Like New Breed, XPO has been a major postal contractor. In 2017, XPO did business worth more than $57 million with the agency.
A recent spike in violence in Afghanistan has been mostly attributed to the Islamic State affiliate, whom the Taliban are fighting, as are the Afghan government and U.S. forces. Previously, a U.S. Defense Department official who spoke anonymously because of the sensitivity of the subject said Washington considered IS its biggest threat in Afghanistan, and wanted a deal that would recruit the Taliban in a coordinated fight against it.
Sushant Singh Rajputs case has now been taken over by the Central Bureau of Investigation after Centre accepted Bihar government's request for a CBI probe. The central agency has started the process of registration of the case while taking the help of Bihar and Mumbai police respectively. The actor was found dead in his Bandra residence in Mumbai on June 14, 2020.



It must be recollected that the late actors father KK Singh had filed an FIR against Rhea Chakraborty in Patna. The actress, in turn, had approached the Supreme Court with a plea to transfer the probe to Mumbai. While the court is due to hear the plea on August 11, Sushants father has now filed a counter-affidavit against Rheas plea.



According to a report by ANI, KK Singh had filed counter-affidavit reasoning that the case has already been taken over by the CBI and therefore Rheas plea has no standing ground anymore. The news agency tweeted, #SushantSinghRajput's father, KK Singh, files counter affidavit before Supreme Court stating the investigation in the FIR has already been transferred to CBI and thus Rhea Chakraborty's plea seeking transfer of probe to Mumbai stands infructuous.

For the unversed, Sushants dad lodged an FIR while naming Rhea along with five others for exploiting Sushant and siphoning off money from his bank accounts. As a result, the Jalebi actress along with her brother and Sushants ex-manager were recently summoned by the Enforcement Directorate and the questioning went on for over eight hours.

ALSO READ: Sushant Singh Rajput's Death Case: Rhea Chakraborty Has Nothing To Hide, Says Her Lawyer

ALSO READ: Sushant's Death Case: DIG Gagandeep Gambhir And Manoj Shashidhar To Supervise CBI Probe Team

Worried about your mental well-being or of someone you know? Help is just a call away. Reach out to the nearest mental health specialist at COOJ Mental Health Foundation (COOJ)- 0832-2252525, Parivarthan- +91 7676 602 602, Connecting Trust- +91 992 200 1122/+91-992 200 4305 or Sahai- 080-25497777/ SAHAIHELPLINE@GMAIL.COM
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U.S. efforts to clamp down on popular short video-sharing app TikTok are an "egregious" example of unfair economic competition for U.S. dominance in the international information space, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said Saturday.

"The actions of the U.S. authorities run counter to the basic principles of a free market economy and violate rules of the World Trade Organization," Zakharova said in a commentary posted on the foreign ministry's website.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday issued an executive order banning any U.S. transactions with Chinese tech firm ByteDance, owner of TikTok, starting 45 days from then.

Washington has also threatened to ban TikTok's business in the United States if it is not sold to a U.S. company before Sept. 15.

These restrictions have violated a wide range of Washington's international obligations to ensure the free and wide distribution of information, the free choice of its sources, and to encourage cooperation in this area, Zakharova said.

She said that Moscow is calling on Washington to reconsider its methods to preserve the monopoly of U.S. IT giants in international social networks and ensure they meet generally accepted values and international legal norms.

"We hope that specialized international structures and human rights organizations will react appropriately and give an impartial assessment of these actions," she added.




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NIAMEY, Niger (AP)  Unidentified gunmen killed six French aid workers and two Nigerien guides who were visiting a wildlife park east of Nigers capital early Sunday, authorities from both countries said.

French President Emmanuel Macron expressed his condolences and support for the victims' families in a statement.

Macron had a phone call with Niger President Mahamadou Issoufou on Sunday evening and both heads of state stressed that all means are and will be used to clarify the circumstances of the deadly attack, the statement said.

Macron and Issoufou are determined to continue the fight against terrorist groups in Africa's Sahel region.

The attack took place in Koure, where Niger has a giraffe reserve, Oumarou Moussa, the adviser to Niger's interior minister, told The Associated Press. The area is a protected national park that contains dense vegetation and tall trees about 70 kilometers (45 miles) southeast of the capital. Hundreds of people visit each year to see its distinctive giraffes.

The park is in the Tillaberi region, where jihadists linked to Islamic State killed four U.S. soldiers and five Nigeriens in 2017.

The French government has warned citizens against traveling outside of the capital of Niamey as militants linked to Boko Haram, Islamic State and al-Qaida still carry out attacks across the vast West African nation. Niger borders several countries including Mali, Burkina Faso, Chad, Nigeria and Libya.

Violence by groups linked to IS and al-Qaida is on the rise in the Sahel region. France has deployed 5,100 soldiers to help fight the growing insurgency there, and a local Sahel force made up of soldiers from Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, Chad and Mauritania has also been fighting the extremists.

Macron will hold a defense council on Tuesday focusing on the situation in Niger.
Dan Loy remembers when cattle feeders first began using ethanol co-products in their rations.

Corn gluten came first, in the 1980s, and it was used for many years or sold to Europe since there was no tariff on it like there was on corn, says Loy, Extension beef specialist at Iowa State University and director of the Iowa Beef Center.

We first started seeding dry distillers in the early 1990s, and folks would purchase it out of Minnesota because we didnt have the plants here. But once they started building ethanol plants, distillers became even more popular.

We had to learn how to use corn again, he says.

As states sought to lessen the impact of COVID-19, people started to stay home, resulting in less travel and less gasoline and ethanol use. Plants slowed or ceased production by as much as 50%, decreasing the availability of the co-products.

A study published in June by University of Nebraska ag economist Elliott Dennis and undergraduate research assistant Daniel Gertner illustrated the impact on the livestock industry.

Decreased ethanol production decreased the availability of distillers grains, they said. Once again, since prices reflect scarcity, distillers grains prices rose. However, these effects were not the same across location and type of distillers grains.

According to the report, there was a 71% decrease in profit margins from November 2019 to May 2020, with a 34% decrease in ethanol production in Nebraska.

With domestic ethanol production reaching its lowest level in over a decade, supplies of distillers grains  the most common co-product of corn ethanol  also substantially decreased, Dennis and Gertner said. Consequently, many livestock producers have been left without access to an important component of their feed rations. Even in areas where distillers grains remained in production, their reduced availability temporarily spiked co-product prices while corn prices fell.

As packing plants slowed or stopped production due to COVID-19 spread through the workforce, both cattle and hog producers looked to change rations to allow animals to maintain weight, rather than to put on pounds. This also impacted distillers demand.

The resulting combination of market forces pulled distillers grains prices in opposite directions, Dennis and Gertner said. Reduced supply pushed prices upward, while demand attrition pulled prices back down.

As ethanol plants increase production and get closer to pre-pandemic capacity, Loy says distillers and other co-products should become more available and more affordable.

It comes down to price of distillers relative to the price of corn, he says. We have a lot of old crop corn that is available. A lot has happened in the last five months, and producers have adjusted and made it work.

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An Iranian health official on Sunday warned that the Health Ministry's protocols are not likely to prevent the spread of the coronavirus during the upcoming Shiite religious ceremonies and warned about a third wave of the pandemic in autumn.

Dr. Minoo Mohraz, the Head of the Iranian Center for HIV/AIDS and a pioneer AIDS specialist, said masks cannot prevent the spread of the virus during the mourning ceremonies of Muharram. "Mourners will sweat. Wet masks are useless," she said and added, "Muharram mourning ceremonies are not regular gatherings. It will be impossible to keep a safe distance between people in these ceremonies," she said.

During the annual ceremonies that fall in September this year, millions across the country take to the streets for mass processions to mourn the anniversary of the death of the third Shiite Imam in 680 AD. Many of the ceremonies take place inside mosques, shrines and other closed spaces.

The Health Ministry on Sunday announced a series of protocols for the ceremonies this year. The protocols ban processions and only allow the ceremonies to be held for a maximum of two hours in open spaces where a safe two-meter distance can be kept between participants. Wearing masks will be compulsory during the ceremonies.

Many health experts, however, have warned that the Health Ministry does not have the means to enforce its protocols and controlling massive crowds of mourners is almost impossible.

However, President Hassan Rouhani insists that completely banning the ceremonies is not possible. Speaking at a meeting of the National Coronavirus Taskforce on Sunday he reiterated that the government cannot impose strict coronavirus restrictions because it will put stress on people and make them depressed.

Defending the coronavirus policies of his administration, Rouhani said they can neither completely shut down economic, educational, cultural and social activities, nor allow them to continue as if nothing had happened. "We need to choose a middle path and traverse along it," he said.

Iran has recently been struck with a second wave of the epidemic which increased the daily deaths from around 50 in April to over 200 in July. There are still more than 2,000 new cases every day but the death rate has somehow dropped.
The police in Ogun State have arrested a cleric, Ebenezer Ajigbotoluwa, for allegedly raping and impregnating two underage sisters and defrauding their mother of two million naira.

The police introduced Mr Ajigbotoluwa as a prophet and the general overseer of Church of Lord, Olomore in Abeokuta, the state capital.

The police spokesperson in the state, Abimbola Oyeyemi, on Sunday, said the suspect was arrested following a report by the mother of the victims (name withheld) at Lafenwa police station.

The complainant said her ordeal began in 2018 after she was taken to Mr Ajigbotoluwas church for spiritual healing from an ailment.

The police said the pastor asked the woman to relocate her entire family of six to the church premises to avoid being afflicted with the same sickness, adding that the prophet soon started having sex with the patients 16-year-old and 13-year-old daughters, unknown to their mother.

Mr Oyeyemi said after Mr Ajigbotoluwa impregnated the two minors, he procured abortion for them at a private clinic. He said the prophet also collected N2 million from the family for spiritual cleansing.

Upon the report, the DPO Lafenwa division CSP Muraina Ayilara, led his men to the church but the place has been deserted. The CP then directed that the suspect be hunted for and brought to book. In compliance with the CP,s directive, the DPO and his men embarked on intelligence and technical-based investigation, and their efforts paid off when the prophet was arrested on the 6th of August 2020 at about 5 a.m, the police spokesperson said

He said on interrogation, the suspect confirmed most of the allegations levelled against him and that it was the reason he ran away when he heard that the police were looking for him.

The police said assorted charms were also recovered from Mr Ajigbotoluwas home.

Mr Oyeyemi said the commissioner of police, Edward Ajogun, has ordered the suspect to be transferred to the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department for discreet investigation.

Mr Ajogun also warned those hiding under the umbrella of religion to perpetrate evil to desist from it or meet their Waterloo. He also appealed to members of the public to beware of criminals masquerading as men of God.
As per a recent report, Pakistan's Foreign Minister, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, requested the Organisation of Islamic Countries, especially Saudi Arabia, to intervene on Kashmir and take stock of the conflict-ridden region post-Article 370 but got spurned by collective reluctance. It is also being said that PM Imran Khan then attributed this diplomatic failure to 'lack of unity' in the OIC.

Pakistans dream of uniting with Muslim countries against India over Kashmir issue fell flat with the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) refusing to interfere into the matter.

Dawn reported that Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi respectfully told the OIC to convene a Council of Foreign Ministers over the Kashmir issue, or else Pakistan would call a meeting of the Islamic countries that are ready to stand with us on Kashmir.

He stated that as Pakistan pulled out of the Kuala Lumpur summit after Saudi Arabias request, it now expects Riyadh to show leadership on this issue. Pakistan has been pushing for the foreign ministers meeting of the OIC since India abrogated Article 370, which gave special status to the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir. New Delhi has told the international community that its decision on revoking Kashmirs status is an internal matter, a stance supported by several countries.

Also read: Chinas entry into Iran will destabilise Middle East: Mike Pompeo

Also read: Beirut explosion: Protestors storm govt ministries, demand regime change

In an earlier report published by Dawn, a Pakistan diplomatic source confirmed that Saudi Arabia had shown reluctance to accept Islamabads request for an immediate meeting of OIC foreign ministers on Kashmir.

After failing to get a desired response from the OIC members, Prime Minister Imran Khan said, The reason is that we have no voice and there is a total division amongst (us). We cannot even come together as a whole on the OIC meeting on Kashmir.

Though Pakistan reportedly made attempts to push its narrative of raising the issue of rising Islamophobia in India in its agenda, Maldives, an ally of India, thwarted the move on May 22 and said, Isolated statements by motivated people and disinformation campaigns on social media should not be construed as representative of the feelings of 1.3 billion.

Maldives Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Thilmeeza Hussain, said that alleging Islamophobia in the context of India would be factually incorrect.

It would be detrimental to the religious harmony in the South Asian region. Islam has existed in India for centuries and it is the second-largest religion in India, with 14.2 per cent of the countrys population, she said.

Also read: US issues revised Covid advisory on travel to India, China
Hillary Clinton has joked that New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd 'had too much pot brownie' after Dowd wrote that the Democrats had not had a male/female combination for the president and vice president in 36 years.

Dowd's article, published on Saturday in the NYT, mused over Joe Biden's potential running mate. Biden has promised to choose a woman, and he is due to announce his decision imminently.

California Senator Kamala Harris, former National Security Adviser Susan Rice, and the governor of Michigan, Gretchen Whitmer, are all believed to be in the running, among others.

'It's hard to fathom, but it has been 36 years since a man chose to put a woman on the Democratic ticket with him, writes @MaureenDowd,' the newspaper tweeted from the @nytopinion account.

Clinton, who chose a man - Senator Tim Kaine - as her running mate during her 2016 bid for the White House, was quick to respond.

Hillary Clinton, who had a man as her running mate in 2016, took issue with Dowd's column

Dowd's column was published Saturday, amid speculation about Biden's vice presidential pick

Clinton tweeted that Dowd 'had too much pot brownie' when writing about running mates

'Either @timkaine and I had a very vivid shared hallucination four years ago or Maureen had too much pot brownie before writing her column again,' she tweeted.

In 2014 Dowd wrote a series of articles about recreational cannabis, including a feature about smoking marijuana with country music legend Willie Nelson.

Dowd, 68, won a Pulitzer Prize in 1999 for her columns detailing the Monica Lewinsky affair.

Dowd in 2014 wrote about using marijuana

Dowd's column centered around Geraldine Ferraro, who in 1984 was the first female vice presidential candidate for a major American political party.

Ferraro and Walter Mondale, the Democratic candidates, lost in a landslide to former president Ronald Reagan.

Supporters of Dowd noted that she wrote about a man choosing a woman as vice president - which would, of course, not apply to Clinton.

A correction note acknowledging the error was placed at the end of Dowd's column.

'An earlier version of this column incorrectly stated the history of the Democratic ticket,' it reads.

'It has been 36 years since a man chose a woman to run as his vice-president on the Democratic ticket, not 36 years since a man and a woman ran together on a Democratic Party ticket.'
India takes pride in having largest vaccination programme in the world: PM Modi

From 2014 to 2021: A look at Narendra Modi's Independence Day Turban tradition

Independence Day: Special COVID-19 restrictions for Armed Forces; Cops quarantined

India

oi-Deepika S

New Delhi, Aug 09: In view of the Covid-19 pandemic, over 350 Delhi Police personnel who will be part of the guard of honour at Red Fort on Independence Day have been quarantined as a precautionary measure, officials said on Sunday.

These personnel of the force of all ranks from a constable to Deputy Commissioner of Police have been quarantined at a newly built police colony in Delhi Cantonment, they said.

Ahead of this Independence Day, recalling Quit India movement on its 78th anniversary

Special Commissioner of Police (Armed Police) Robin Hibu, who is in charge of the arrangements, said the 350 personnel are doing well and none of them has any COVID-19 symptoms.

But they have been quarantined as a precautionary measure to ensure theirs as well as everyone else's safety, he said.

Coronavirus: Biggest single day spike of 64,399 cases in 24 hours, tally over 21 Lakh |Oneindia News

"All personnel who are currently in quarantine at the police colony here for over a week now have been provided with all facilities and are strictly following social distancing norms.

"After their parade rehearsals, they immediately sanitise themselves. All precautions are being taken," another senior police officer said.

He said that usually least 40 police personnel are ferried in a vehicle to parade rehearsals.

But this year, owing to Covid-19, only 20 personnel are being ferried in a sanitised vehicle with strict adherence to social distancing norms, the official said.

More than 2,500 Delhi police personnel have been infected with Covid-19 so far. A majority of them already recovered and resumed their duties, according to the police.

Fourteen Delhi police personnel have died due to the viral infection.
Greenpeace said Sunday there needs to be "redress" for the community affected by a major oil spill from a grounded ship in Mauritius.

"Those who are part of the transaction to ship this oil need to compensate the community and deal with the biodiversity damage", Greenpeace Africa senior climate and energy campaign manager Happy Khambule told AP.

"The transaction, whatever it was between the cargo ship company, between the people who are the sellers and the buyers need to come into the forefront, be held accountable for the fact that the transaction has led to this kind of thing", he added.

Mauritius residents on Saturday stuffed stuffed fabric sacks with sugar cane leaves to create makeshifts barrier to stop the spilled ship fuel from reaching the shore.

The spillage has endangered wildlife in further peril and the Mauritius government has declared an environmental emergency.
Over the past 53 years, ASEAN's foreign relations have been expanded towards deeper and more practical orientations, helping to ensure peace, security, stability, cooperation and development

for member countries as well as the whole region, and enhancing the groupings position in the world, said Phan The Thang, Deputy Head of Information and Data Unit under the ASEAN-Korea Centre.

(Source: thcasean.org)

In an interview with the Vietnam News Agencys correspondent in Seoul, the Republic of Korea (RoK), Thang said that the relationship between ASEAN and partners has been carried out through a diversity of cooperation frameworks, including the ASEAN Plus One (a dialogue partner), ASEAN Plus Three (China, Japan and the RoK), East Asia Summit (EAS), ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) and ASEAN Defence Ministers Meeting Plus (ADMM ).

So far, the association has set up partnerships with 16 countries, many of which have become the groupings strategic partners, including the US, China, the EU, Russia, Japan, India, the RoK, Australia and New Zealand, he noted.

Many cooperation programmes and plans have been implemented in various areas such as politics-security, economy, socio-culture, he said, adding that the number of countries showing their interest to form a partnership with the association has risen in recent years.

ASEAN has also expanded and deepened relations with international organisations, including the United Nations and the Pacific Alliance. So far, 93 countries have sent their ambassadors to ASEAN.

According to Thang, as an initiative of ASEAN to promote trade among member countries and between the association and six major partners, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) has been under negotiations since 2013. After six years of negotiations, 15 member countries, with nearly one-third of the world's population and about one-third of the global GDP, are striving to sign the deal in 2020.

These positive outcomes showed the support of partners for ASEANs central role in the shaping regional architecture as well as the ASEAN Community building, while showing their commitments in engaging in regional mechanisms led by ASEAN, Thang said.

He commented that the outstanding development in ASEANs foreign relations has helped the groupings economy thrive. Currently, ASEAN is the fifth biggest economy in the world with GDP of over 3.1 trillion USD in 2019, and the third biggest market with a population of over 654 million.

With the forecast growth of more than 5 percent per year, ASEAN is expected to surpass Japan to become the fourth largest economy in the world in 2025, said Thang.

However, Thang also pointed out challenges facing the association, including the fourth Industrial Revolution, trade tensions among world powers, and imbalanced trade as well as climate change, environmental crisis and population aging.

Regarding ASEAN-RoK relations, Thang held that the partnership is thriving in various fields. The two sides set up their dialogue relations in 1989 and upgraded their ties to a strategic partnership in 2010. Two-way trade rose 20 times and people-to-people exchange increased 100 times, he noted.

Currently, the RoK is the fifth trade partner and investor of ASEAN, while ASEAN is the second biggest trade partner and the third investment destination of the RoK. ASEAN is also the most popular tourist destination of Korean travelers, while the RoK attracted a large number of labourers, students and tourists from ASEAN.

Korean President Moon Jae-in has initiated and promoted the New Southern Policy to deepen ties with ASEAN, while Korean leaders voiced support for ASEANs central role in the region and actively engaged in ASEAN-led cooperation mechanisms.

Thang held that ASEAN has countered many challenges in both security and economy. The COVID-19 pandemic has posed adverse impacts to the socio-economic situation in ASEAN member countries as well as cooperation and exchange among the members and between ASEAN and partners, he noted, stressing the need for the enhancement of the groupings self-reliance for economic recovery.

In terms of security, the association has also faced many complications, including tensions in the East Sea, the Korean Peninsula and the Middle East, he said.

The official underlined the need for ASEAN and the RoK as well as other partners to improve their capacity to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic, minimising its impacts and promoting recovery and sustainable growth, and continuing efforts to finalise the RCEP as schedule.

Noting that ASEAN and the RoK are enjoying fruitful coordination in many fields, Thang held that the cooperation is crucial for economic development in ASEAN member countries, while helping to maintain an environment of peace, security and stability in the region, including security, safety and freedom of aviation and navigation in the East Sea. On the other hand, ASEAN is also working closely with the RoK to promote peace and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula, Thang added./.VNA
Seizing the power of his podium and his pen, President Donald Trump on August 9 moved to bypass the nation's elected lawmakers as he claimed the authority to defer payroll taxes and extend an expired unemployment benefit after negotiations with Congress on a new coronavirus rescue package collapsed.

At his private country club in Bedminster, New Jersey, Trump signed four executive orders to act where Congress hasn't, contending Washington's gridlock had compelled him to act as the pandemic undermined the country's economy and imperiled his November reelection hopes.

Perhaps most crucially, Trump moved to continue paying a supplemental federal unemployment benefit for millions of Americans out of work during the outbreak. Congress allowed those payments to lapse on August 1, and negotiations to extend them have been mired in partisan gridlock, with the White House and Democrats miles apart.

Follow our LIVE blog for the latest updates of the novel coronavirus pandemic

Trump largely stayed on the sidelines during the administration's negotiations with congressional leaders, leaving the talks on his side to chief of staff Mark Meadows and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin.

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

Trump's embrace of executive actions to sidestep Congress runs in sharp contrast to his criticism of former President Barack Obama's use of executive orders on a more limited basis. And the president's step-back from talks with Congress breaks with his self-assured negotiating skills.

Now, Trump, who has not spoken with Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi since last year, sought to play the role of election-year savior, with the USD 400 weekly assistance, as well as a deferral of payroll tax and federal student loan payments and the continuation of a freeze on some evictions during the crisis.

It's USD 400 a week, and we're doing it without the Democrats, Trump said, asking states to cover 25 per cent of the cost. It was not immediately clear where the federal portion would come from  though the president suggested he was looking to use unspent funds from previous coronavirus relief bills  and Trump said it would be up to states to determine how much, if any of it to fund.

The president said at his club on Friday night that if Democrats continue to hold this critical relief hostage I will act under my authority as president to get Americans the relief they need. Democrats had said they would lower their spending demands from USD 3.4 trillion to USD 2 trillion but said the White House needed to increase their offer. Republicans have proposed a USD 1 trillion plan.

White House aides have watched the talks break down with apprehension, fearful that failure to close a deal could further damage an economic recovery already showing signs of slowing down. Friday's jobs report, though it beat expectations, was smaller than the past two months, in part because a resurgence of the virus has led to states rolling back their reopenings.

The president's team believes the economy needs to stabilize and show signs of growth for him to have any chance at winning reelection. Aides were hoping to frame the expected executive orders signings as a sign that Trump was taking action in a time of crisis.

But it also would reinforce the view that the president, who took office declaring he was a dealmaker, was unable to steer the process to an agreement.

Also read: Trump signs coronavirus relief orders after talks with Congress break down

Trump said the orders will take care of pretty much this entire situation, as we know it. But they are far smaller in scope than congressional legislation, and even aides acknowledged they didn't meet the needs of all that was required.

This is not a perfect answer  we'll be the first ones to say that, Meadows said Friday as talks broke down. But it is all that we can do and all the president can do within the confines of his executive power, and we're going to encourage him to do it. Trump said the employer portion of the payroll tax would be deferred from Aug. 1 through the end of the year, though the move would not directly aid unemployed workers, who do not pay the tax when they are jobless, and faces bipartisan opposition on Capitol Hill.

If I win, I may extend and terminate, Trump said, repeating a longtime goal but remaining silent on how he'd fund the Medicare and Social Security benefits that the 7 per cent tax on employee income covers. Employers also pay 7.65 per cent of their payrolls into the funds.

Both the House and Senate have left Washington, with members sent home on instructions to be ready to return for a vote on an agreement. With no deal in sight, their absence raised the possibility of a prolonged stalemate that stretches well into August and even September.

Often an impasse in Washington is of little consequence for the public  but not so this time. It would mean more hardship for millions of people who are losing enhanced jobless benefits and further damage for an economy pummeled by the still-raging coronavirus.

Friday's negotiations at the Capitol added up to only a disappointing meeting, said Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York.

He said the White House had rejected an offer by Pelosi, D-Calif., to curb Democratic demands by about $1 trillion. Schumer urged the White House to negotiate with Democrats and meet us in the middle. Don't say it's your way or no way.

That Capitol Hill session followed a combative meeting Thursday evening that for the first time cast real doubt on the ability of the Trump administration and Democrats to come together on a fifth COVID-19 response bill.
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People walk around the Historic District in Savannah, Georgia, amid the novel coronavirus pandemic on 25 April 2020: (2020 Getty Images)

A seven-year-old boy from Georgia with no underlying health conditions became the youngest person in the state to die from coronavirus, a day after president Donald Trump said children are almost immune from the disease.

The Georgia Department of Public Health announced on Thursday that the seven-year-old from Savannah, Georgia, had died after suffering a seizure in response to the virus, but did not release the date of the unnamed childs death.

In a statement to Fox5 in Atlanta, Dr Lawton Davis, director of the Coastal Health Department, said that every Covid-19 death we report is tragic, but to lose someone so young is especially heart-breaking.

He added: We know that older individuals and those with underlying conditions are at higher risk of complications, but this is a disease everyone should take seriously.

A six-year-old girl from Tennessee and a six-year-old boy from Nebraska also died from coronavirus this week. The previous youngest person to die in Georgia from Covid-19 was a 17-year-old, according to Fox News.

The childs death came a day after president Trump falsely claimed that children are almost immune to the disease when he called in and spoke to the hosts of Fox & Friends.

Mr Trump said on Wednesday morning that schools should be open. If you look at children  I would almost say definitely  they are almost immune from this disease.

He added: Theyve got stronger, hard to believe, I dont know how you feel about it, but theyve got much stronger immune systems than we do somehow for this. And they dont have a problem, they just dont have a problem.

After the president posted a clip of the comments on his Facebook page, it was taken down by the social media site, who said it contained false claims.

In a statement on Wednesday evening, Facebook spokesperson Andy Stone said: This video includes false claims that a group of people is immune from Covid-19 which is a violation of our policies around harmful Covid misinformation.

Story continues

Courtney Parella, a spokesperson for the Trump campaign, responded to Facebooks claims and said that the president was stating a fact that children are less susceptible to the coronavirus.

She added: Another day, another display of Silicon Valleys flagrant bias against this president, where the rules are only enforced in one direction. Social media companies are not the arbiters of truth.

The post was also taken down from both Twitter and Youtube, for breaching their coronavirus misinformation rules.

A study from The American Academy of Pediatrics earlier in the year found that children are less susceptible to the symptoms of the disease, and some school districts in the US have reopened after a period of closure due to the coronavirus pandemic.

However, more than 116 teachers and students in a Mississippi school district were instructed to self-isolate on Thursday, due to an outbreak of coronavirus less than two weeks after they reopened.

According to a tracking project hosted by Johns Hopkins University, in the US as a whole, some 4.8 million people have tested positive for coronavirus. The death toll has reached at least 160,111.

Read more

More than 100 Mississippi children and teachers in quarantine
Courtenay memorial unveiled

The memorial to the late Senator L. T. Courtenay, erected by the citizens of Sydney, was unveiled at the Roman Catholic Cemetery, Rookwood, by the Lord Mayor of Sydney (Alderman A. Howie), on Saturday, in the presence of a large crowd. Sir Samuel Waldor (chairman of the citizens' committee), said that no man ever worked harder for his country than the late Senator Courtenay. The Lord Mayor was among several other speakers.

Parramatta school

A proposal to modernise certain portions of the Girls' Industrial School at Parramatta is now under consideration. It is estimated that it would cost about 15,000 to make the improvements considered necessary by the Child Welfare Department. The question of constructing a pottery kiln and a swimming baths in the school grounds is now being examined by experts. Parramatta Industrial School is the main institution for delinquent girls.

Farm for prisoners
Elyse Knowles and her boyfriend Josh Barker have put their South Melbourne rental pad back on the market.

The couple, who were crowned winners of The Block in 2017, have listed their unrenovated investment property for $600 a week.

According to CoreLogic records, the rental's weekly cost has dropped significantly from its previous price range of $650-$690 - presumably a result of Victoria's spiralling COVID-19 crisis.

Property power couple: Elyse Knowles and her boyfriend Josh Barker [pictured] have put their South Melbourne rental pad back on the market

The two-bedroom terrace was purchased by the property power couple for $1.42 million back in 2018.

Listed with real estate agents, Belle Property South Melbourne, the home is described as 'immediately impressive with its high ceiling and wide hallway' and 'perfect for an easy and low-maintenance lifestyle.'

The property was put back on the rental market by Elyse and Josh just days before Victoria's stage four lockdown restrictions were imposed.

Up for rent: The couple, who were crowned winners of The Block in 2017, have listed their unrenovated investment property [pictured] for $600 a week

Price drop: According to CoreLogic records, the rental's weekly cost has dropped significantly from its previous price range of $650-$690 - presumably a result of Victoria's spiralling COVID-19 crisis

Prospective tenants are currently unable to book private inspections to see the property.

Meanwhile, the lovebirds, who launched their own construction company J & E Projects earlier this year, recently moved into a $2.3million beach house in Byron Bay.

After purchasing the property on February 27, the pair have been living in the idyllic 1960s built estate while fixing it up.

Dream home: The lovebirds purchased a $2.3million beach house in Byron Bay [pictured] in February, and have been living there while fixing it up

Australian model Elyse has previously gushed over her dream of living a more sustainable and positive life in Byron Bay, after leaving Melbourne in 2019.

'Everyone always smiles and always says hello. That was one of the first things I noticed living [in Byron],' she told Daily Mail Australia in September 2019.

'The community is more environmentally conscious. It is conversations that people have every single day talking about the ocean and the marine life.

The model moved to the New South Wales coastal town early last year with boyfriend Josh. They were renting until they recently found their forever home.
Li Zhanshu, chairman of the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, presides over the first plenary meeting of the 21st session of the 13th NPC Standing Committee at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, Aug. 8, 2020. (Xinhua/Zhang Ling)

BEIJING, Aug. 8 (Xinhua) -- The Standing Committee of the 13th National People's Congress (NPC), China's top legislature, started its 21st session Saturday to review multiple draft laws and revisions.

Li Zhanshu, chairman of the NPC Standing Committee, presided over the first plenary meeting of the session. A total of 164 members of the NPC Standing Committee attended the meeting.

Lawmakers heard the deliberation reports of draft laws on urban maintenance and construction tax and on deed tax. The NPC Constitution and Law Committee suggested the two drafts be reviewed and passed at the session.

Lawmakers also heard explanations on a draft revision to the law on the prevention of juvenile delinquency. Also on the lawmakers' table was a draft revision to the animal epidemic prevention law, which further tightens regulations on markets trading live poultry and livestock.

The draft amendment to the copyright law also returned to the legislature for the second reading. The draft further improves the definition and genre of copyright works as mentioned in this law.

Lawmakers also deliberated the draft amendments to the NPC organic law and the NPC procedural rules, as well as the draft amendments to the national flag law and the national emblem law.

The State Council submitted a bill to the session, asking the NPC Standing Committee to make a decision for the sixth Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region to continue operation. Lawmakers heard explanations of the bill.

A draft decision on authorizing the State Council to start a pilot program in the nine mainland cities of the Greater Bay Area was submitted to the session. The program will enable Hong Kong legal practitioners and Macao practicing lawyers to acquire mainland's legal practice qualifications and go into practice in the cities.

Other documents presented to the lawmakers included a report on the implementation of the national economic and social development plan, and a report on the implementation of this year's budget.
PM Modi would be launching a special financing facility for farmers worth Rs. 1 lakh crore under the agricultural Infrastructure Fund today at 11 am via video conferencing; he is also to release Rs. 17,000 crore for direct cash transfer to 8.5 crore farmers under the sixth installment of the PM-KISAN scheme.

Wishing citizens on the occasion of Balaram Jayanti, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday informed that he will virtually launch the financing facility of Rs 1 lakh crore under the Agricultural Infrastructure Fund.

He will also release the sixth installment of funds under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojna (PM-KISAN) scheme.

Wishing countrymen especially farmers on the occasion of Balaram Jayanti, Hal Chhath and Dau janmotsav. On this special day at 11 am, through video conferencing, I will introduce a funding facility of Rs 1 lakh crore under the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund, Modi tweeted.

  ,     -    , ,           11                    https://t.co/3q3tPWk0a4  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 9, 2020

In this programme, the sixth installment of the assistance amount under PM-Kisan scheme will also be released. Rs 17,000 crores will be transferred to the accounts of 8.5 crore farmers. The scheme is proving to be of great help to farmers during the COVID-19 epidemic, he said in another tweet.

Also read: After getting landing clearance, plane missed approach runway: Kozhikode crash prelim report

Also read: India-China standoff: Major General-level talks conclude at Daulat Beg Oldi

The event will be witnessed by lakhs of farmers, cooperatives and citizens across the country. Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Narendra Singh Tomar will also be present on the occasion.

The fund would bring about the creation of post-harvest management infrastructures and community farming assets such as cold storage, collection centres and processing units. These assets will enable farmers to get greater value for their produce, as they will be able to store and sell at higher prices, reduce wastage and increase processing and value addition. Rs 1 lakh crore will be sanctioned under the financing facility in partnership with multiple lending institutions, read a release by the Prime Ministers Office (PMO).

The beneficiaries of the scheme will include farmers, PACS, Marketing Cooperative Societies, FPOs, SHGs, Joint Liability Groups (JLG), Multipurpose Cooperative Societies, agri-entrepreneurs, startups, and central/state agency or local body sponsored public-private Partnership Projects, it said.

PM-KISAN scheme, which was launched in December 2018, had provided a direct cash benefit of over Rs 75,000 crores to more than 9.9 crore farmers and enabled them to fulfil their agricultural requirements and support their families.

The rollout and implementation of the PM-KISAN scheme have happened at an unparalleled pace, with funds being directly transferred into the Aadhaar authenticated beneficiaries bank account to prevent leakage and increase convenience for farmers. The scheme has also been instrumental in supporting farmers during the COVID-19 pandemic, through the release of nearly Rs 22,000 crores to aid the farmers during the lockdown period, the release said.

Also read: USA based IT firm The Boston Group to setup a Center at Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh
Amid Germany troop pullout, Pompeo seeks friendly faces to east US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who is heading to Poland as part of a growing relationship, is welcomed on a February 2019 visit by Foreign Minister Jacek Czaputowicz

As President Donald Trump orders US troops out of Germany and faces a tough re-election battle, his top diplomat, Mike Pompeo, is heading to friendly climes in Central and Eastern Europe.

Pompeo on Tuesday opens a five-day trip that will terminate in close ally Poland, which is eager to welcome some of the US troops leaving Germany to guard against historic adversary Russia.

He will also travel to the Czech Republic, Slovenia and Austria where he is expected to press his campaign for nations to shun Huawei, the Chinese telecom giant considered a threat by Washington as it takes a lead in fifth-generation internet.

In Slovenia, where he will be the first US secretary of state to visit since 2001, Pompeo will on Thursday sign an agreement on 5G, officials said without previewing details.

Pompeo's trip comes weeks after the Pentagon said the United States would bring home some 6,400 military personnel from Germany and shift nearly 5,600 more to other NATO allies including Italy and Belgium.

Trump has a tense relationship with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who declined his invitation for a Group of Seven summit in Washington in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic, and accuses Europe's largest economy of unfair trading practices.

"What is most significant about this trip is the places the secretary is not going to," said Ian Lesser, the Brussels-based vice president of the German Marshall Fund of the United States.

"If the secretary was going to address the core issues in transatlantic relations at the moment, he would be making stops in Brussels, Paris and Berlin."

Lesser said that the troop repositioning out of Germany was unlikely to be a major issue for US voters.

"What does have some political resonance is how a senior American official is received when he or she goes to Europe," he said.

"This is a low-risk visit from the point of view of the administration," he said. "They want to give an impression of foreign policy success."

Story continues

- 'One of our closest allies' -

Pompeo last month visited Britain and Denmark and also traveled last year to Poland, where President Andrzej Duda has formed close relations with Trump.

Trump invited Duda to the White House days before Poland's election in June, in which Duda won a narrow victory after a polarizing campaign in which he attacked LGBT rights.

Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak has said that the United States will deploy at least 1,000 additional troops to Poland.

"I think it's fair to say Poland is one of our closest and strongest allies. We enjoy unprecedented levels of bilateral relations," Phil Reeker, the top State Department official for Europe, told reporters.

He pointed out that Poland is one of the few NATO nations to meet a goal of spending two percent of GDP on defense -- unlike Germany, in a running sore point for the Trump administration.

Reeker said that Pompeo will also raise energy independence from Russia.

Pompeo last month opened the way for sanctions over the Nord Stream 2 pipeline being built from Russia to Germany.

Poland adamantly opposes the project, fearing it strengthens Russia's influence over Europe, while an Austrian company is among the participants.

The tour will be heavy on historical symbolism. In the Czech Republic, Pompeo will head to Pilsen to mark western Bohemia's 1945 liberation by US troops under George Patton.

But at least one of Pompeo's meetings may be tense. Czech President Milos Zeman is known for his outspoken remarks including support of Russia and China.

Reeker said Pompeo would have a "short discussion" with Zeman during what he called a courtesy call.

sct/jh
Serious clashes have broken out between police and protesters in Belarus following a declared 80.23 per cent victory for long-time president Alexander Lukashenko in Sundays elections.

In Minsk, which saw the worst violence, water cannon, stun grenades and rounds of rubber bullets were deployed against protesters. In two instances, a police van drove into crowds. At least four people ended up in intensive care, with one man reportedly in critical condition.

In other cities across the country, officers reportedly laid down arms and crossed to the side of protesters.

The unity opposition candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, who claimed victory in the face of the scarcely credible 9.9 per cent assigned to her by the official preliminary results, called on police and army officers to stop the violence. I want to ask them to remember that they are part of the nation too, she said.

Hours before voting ended, Belarus had all but declared a state of emergency. Footage of soldiers and military equipment entering the capital was widely shared by locals.

By 6pm local time (3pm GMT), most of the capitals central squares and government buildings had been cordoned off. Transport systems were shut down. Roads in and out of the capital were also closed.

The regimes obvious nervousness extended to widespread efforts to control the internet. Major disruptions to mobile networks were reported from the morning, with connections practically grinding to a halt at around 10pm local time. Proxy servers, used widely in these parts to get around censorship, became unreliable.

Journalists and other independent observers appeared to be a target. At around 2pm local time, three reporters from the Russian liberal outlet TV Dozhd were handcuffed, held to the ground, and arrested. Just before midnight, AP photographer Mstyslav Chernov was admitted to hospital with suspected concussion after being beaten by riot police while in their custody.

Sundays events came at the end of an unexpectedly panicked campaign for Belaruss longtime leader  one that saw opposition candidates jailed, protesters snatched from the streets, the president claim a scarcely believable Russian-backed plot, and where the opposition candidate was forced into hiding on the eve of voting.

Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, 37, was never supposed to mount a serious challenge, only entering the race after President Lukashenko jailed her husband, and presidential hopeful, Sergei Tikhanovsky. Famously dismissive of women in politics, Mr Lukashenko seemed to believe the housewife and former translator didnt have a chance.

But her invigorating, earnest campaign surprised Belarus and it wrong-footed Mr Lukashenko.

Opposition supporters stay in front of law enforcement officers blocking a street in Minsk (Reuters) (via REUTERS)

Few expected Ms Tikhanovskaya to reach an agreement with the campaign teams of other banned opposition candidates  but she managed to do so in just 15 minutes. Few believed she could lead a clear campaign  but she did so with simple promises to deliver fresh elections, walk back authoritarian changes to the constitution, and free political prisoners.

Flanked by Veronika Tsepkalo, the wife of Valery Tsepkalo, another barred candidate, and Maria Kolesnikova, campaign manager for jailed Viktor Barbariko, Ms Tikhanovskayas opposition campaign took on unmistakably feminist, modern slant. It also brought over 200,000 people to the streets in support  an astonishing achievement in Belarus, a police state of just 9 million people, and where dissent often leads to jail.

Underestimating Ms Tikhanovskaya was not the only mistake the usually clever and adroit Mr Lukashenko made in the run-up to the elections. His electoral rating was hit hard by a perceived cavalier approach to the Covid-19 epidemic: he claimed the virus was avoidable with vodka, trips to the sauna and work in the potato fields. His management of the countrys increasingly desperate economic position  and its rapidly unwinding model of Soviet planning with Russian subsidies  also provoked much anger.

Given the fact independent polling is illegal in Belarus, it was never entirely clear quite how vulnerable Europes last dictator actually became to Ms Tikhanovskayas challenge.

But results from a handful of more reliable Minsk polling stations appeared to support the opposition claim that Ms Tikhanovskaya had, in fact, won  and convincingly.



Unprecedented numbers of voters appeared to answer Ms Tikhanovskayas call to turn out late on Sunday  and the logic this would make falsifications more difficult. But Lidia Yermoshina, a key Lukashenko ally and chief vote counter as the head of Belarus's election committee, described the huge queues as provocations by the opposition. In an earlier interview on state TV, she described the opposition as a totalitarian sect.

Independent exit polls conducted outside polling stations in foreign embassies also painted a starkly contrasting picture to the official figures. According to these surveys, Mr Lukashenko received just 6.25 per cent, compared to Ms Tikhanovskaya with 79.69 per cent.

Ahead of the end of voting, Mr Lukashenko dismissed his rivals as being unworthy of repression. But he also seemed to make ominous warnings for those intending to protest.

All our structures and special services are ready and waiting, he said. There is no reason for our country to be plunged into chaos or civil war. I guarantee you that.
A Maryland man accused of killing a 63-year-old last month had earlier secured release from jail by raising concerns about the coronavirus, court records show.

The man, Justin Andrew Wilson, 26, of Germantown, Md., was arrested and charged in the death of Egidio Ienzi on July 28, according to Montgomery County police. Ienzi was fatally stabbed in his Germantown home on July 23, police said.

Wilson was arrested after a member of Ienzi's family identified him as the man caught fleeing the scene on neighbors' home surveillance video. He is now in police custody.

This is the second time this year that Wilson has found himself behind bars. Earlier this year, he pleaded guilty in Montgomery County Circuit Court to a charge of theft of less than $25,000. He also was charged with credit card and identity theft.

Wilson was placed in custody while awaiting sentencing, according to online court records. But in April, he filed an emergency motion for release "due to immediate threat posed by covid-19 pandemic," according to court records. That motion was granted at an April 30 hearing, according to records. An unsecured bond of $5,000 was set, and the sentencing hearing was postponed until November.

So Wilson walked free for about three months, until he was accused of stabbing Ienzi to death.

His case marks the second time in recent weeks that a Washington-area inmate, released because of coronavirus concerns, has been accused of committing another crime. In Virginia, Alexandria police said this month that a rape suspect released from jail over fear of the virus went on to kill the woman who had accused him.

The virus has swept through United States' jails, which - as confined spaces - do not easily lend themselves to social distancing and other health and safety measures. In response, civil liberties advocates have argued that inmates should be released in large numbers to avoid their possible infection and death.

On the day of Ienzi's death, a family member who had been sleeping in an upstairs bedroom awoke in the late morning to loud noises and the sound of Ienzi screaming. She headed downstairs and saw Ienzi struggling with an unknown man who was wielding a knife.

The man with the knife fled the scene. The relative ran back upstairs, called 911 and was able to give a description of Ienzi's attacker to police who arrived on the scene about 11:34 a.m.

Ienzi, who had been stabbed multiple times, was transported to a hospital, where he died of his wounds. Another family member, after reviewing neighbors' surveillance footage, identified the man running away from the home as Wilson. The relative said that he knew Wilson, and that Wilson had visited Ienzi's home three or four weeks before the killing.

After that visit, Ienzi's relative said, he noticed many silver coins missing from the home.
South Korean auto major Kia Motors, which had planned to bring one new product every six months in India, expects slight delays in future model launches in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, according to a senior company official.

The company, which will launch its compact SUV Sonet -- its third model in India --next month, however, believes in the mid and long term potential of the country despite the temporary blip at present, and its overall plans remain unchanged. Kia Motors India also expects to do better this year with its third model to be available although the auto ...
On Friday, the World Health Organisation (WHO) Regional Office for Africa located in Brazzaville, Congo, said over one million COVID-19 cases had been confirmed on the continent.

Despite crossing the grim milestone, Africa is the least affected region so far, accounting for only about five per cent of global cases.

Nearly 20 million infections have been reported in over 200 countries and six continents across the globe.

When the novel COVID-19 began spreading around the world, there were dire warnings about what would happen when it hit African countries.

An earlier UN estimate predicted up to 3.3 million deaths in Africa, if no interventions were put in place.

Yet, the worlds poorest continent is the last region to cross a million threshold of infections.

The African Centre for Disease Control (ACDC) said Sunday that the continent has reported 1,022,084 cases and 22, 491 deaths, about five times lower than the over five million infections and more than 165,000 deaths in the U.S. alone.

Significantly, a third of all infected persons  705,016  in the continent of over a billion have recovered and have been discharged after treatment.

Economic Downturn

But while Africa is faring better compared to other regions, concerns have shifted from the daily rise of infections to the economic downturn, plummeting oil and commodity prices and an imploding tourism sector occasioned by the restrictions put in place to contain the disease.

The virus has spread to all 54 countries in Africa, stretching already fragile healthcare systems and crippling economies.

The pandemic has triggered the continents first recession in 25 years, according to the World Bank.

Thousands of workers have been rendered redundant with several businesses closing up.

About 20 million jobs are at risk in Africa due to the impact of the contagion, according to an African Union (AU) study.

Sub-Saharan Africas biggest oil producers, Nigeria and Angola, alone could lose $65 billion in income, the report indicated.

In a bid to salvage their economies, several African countries have continued to ease lockdown measures, despite rising levels of infection and a general lack of testing capacity across the region.

Health experts believe official data almost certainly under-reports both infections and deaths, particularly in countries with limited testing capacity.

PREMIUM TIMES enumerates how some African countries are faring amid the fight against COVID-19.

South Africa

Five months after confirming its index case in an Italian traveler, South Africa has become the epicentre of the disease in Africa.

With more than half of the infections in the continent, South Africa is among the top five hardest hit countries in the world with 553, 188 infections.

The country has however managed to limit fatalities to a little over 10,000, the lowest death toll among the hardest-hit nations.

South Africa on map

After a strict nine-week lockdown, the country started reopening businesses and worship centres even though the contagion is showing no signs of slowing down.

Public schools reopened in June but many were forced to close again after 775 schools reported viral cases.

President Cyril Ramaphosa in late July announced closure of most public schools for a month and extended the 2020 school year into 2021.

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South Africa has conducted the most tests in Africa with more than 3.2 million of the countrys over 59 million population screened.

Egypt

Egypt, which reported Africas first COVID-19 outbreak, is the second most impacted country in the continent.

More than 95,000 confirmed infections have been documented and nearly 5, 000 deaths.

Egypt on map

Egypt has lifted its night-time curfew and allowed the opening of restaurants, cafes, cinemas and theatres at a capacity of 25 per cent. But smoking shisha pipes, popular in Egyptian cafes, remains prohibited. Mosques and churches, meanwhile, can open for daily prayers but not mass services.

Egypt has tested about 135,000 of its over 100 million population.

Nigeria

Nigeria is the third hardest hit African nation. Confirmed coronavirus infections in the country surpassed 46,000 after 453 cases, one of the lowest in the last eight days, was reported on Saturday.

Despite concerns the virus is spreading largely undetected because of a lack of testing, government buildings have opened, as have places of worship, and travel is now permitted between states.

While the authorities are gradually reopening schools, pubs and parks remain closed.

There has been a troubling uptick in mystery cases that health experts believe could upset plans of a full opening of public activities across the country.

Coronavirus Chart

According to the NCDC, COVID-19 situation report for the month of August, over 70 per cent (31,237) of confirmed cases are from unknown sources that contact tracers could not tie back to likely community sources  such as spouses, co-workers, or neighbours.

But the country has had to reopen the economy as authorities seek to balance health needs with the economic needs of the populace.

Nigeria, Africas most populous country, has tested over 300,000 of its over 200 million population. More than 900 deaths have been recorded.

Ghana

Ghana is fourth on the list of highest number of infections in Africa.

Ghana has the highest testing rates in Africa after South Africa.

Almost 410,000 of Ghanas over 31 million population have been tested.

The West African nation was one of the first in the continent to start reopening businesses and social activities.

Ghana on map

President Nana Akufo-Addo had in mid-June directed resumption of schools.

The reopening process was hit by a brickwall after over 300 staff and students in public schools got infected.

Nonetheless, President Akufo-Addo in his 14th address to the nation declared a further easing of Covid-19 restrictions imposed by the government, stating that life cant be permanently put on hold as the country seeks to restore some normalcy in order to revive its economy.

Algeria

Algeria is the fifth most affected country in the continent. The North African country had been relaxing anti-coronavirus measures since early June, but faced with a resurgence of infections, the government decided to extend a partial lockdown in some provinces, including the capital Algiers.

Authorities said the increase was due to the population relaxing and not respecting preventive measures.

As of Sunday afternoon, over 34,000 cases leading to more than 1,200 deaths have been recorded in Algeria.

Algeria on map

Algerias main virus hotspots are the provinces of Setif, Algiers and nearby Blida, which was also the epicenter early in the countrys outbreak.

East Africa

The East Africa region has recorded lower number of infections than elsewhere on the continent.

Kenya has removed restrictions on travel but retained a nationwide night-time curfew.

Churches and mosques are reopening there but with restrictions on capacity, while the reopening of schools has been delayed to 2021.

In Uganda, schools and religious centres are still closed while in Tanzania, schools are open and most social activities permitted. The country never implemented a harsh lockdown and its political leaders have consistently sought to downplay the virus.
A university worker accused of murdering his brother during a heated row over pillowcases has been cleared.

Prosecutors alleged 56-year-old Mark Oliver fatally stabbed his younger brother Andrew twice and inflicted three knife wounds during a struggle at their home in Gosport, Hampshire.

Footage recorded in the aftermath of the stabbing can now be seen for the first time, having been released by the Crown Prosecution Service following the verdict.

Their mother, Jean Oliver, told police her sons had a misunderstanding about who the freshly-washed 'Egyptian cotton' pillowcases belonged to in what was described in court as a 'trivial argument'.

Mark Oliver, 56, has been cleared of murder after prosecutors alleged her fatally stabbed his younger brother Andrew, 53, twice and inflicted three knife wounds during a struggle at their home in Gosport, Hampshire

Andrew, a 53-year-old scaffolder and father-of-two, was unable to recover from the wounds he received on February 1 this year at their home.

On Friday, following a 10-day trial at Winchester Crown Court, Hampshire, Mark was cleared of murder by jurors after nine hours and 16 minutes of deliberation.

The footage, filmed by a police officer's body-worn camera, shows Mark with blood on his face as he is quizzed by officers.

Footage recorded in the aftermath of the stabbing can now be seen for the first time, having been released by the Crown Prosecution Service following the verdict

Mark denied murder, arguing he acted in self-defence after Andrew attacked him and picked up a knife to warn him off.

He said: 'I wanted to scare Andrew off. I wanted to snap him out of it and bring him back.'

Mrs Oliver, 86, who lived with her sons, told officers after the incident: 'Mark has got his sheets and Andy has got his sheets and things.

'I know it sounds b****y stupid, but Andy has been missing some sheets.

Their mother, Jean Oliver, told police her sons had a misunderstanding about who the freshly-washed 'Egyptian cotton' pillowcases belonged to

'I just washed them this morning so I said to him "are these yours?" and he said "yes".

'He took them and Mark thought they were his and Andy thought they were his.'

She added: 'It was bloody pillowcases, not sheets.'

Amanda Westcumb, Jean's daughter and Mark and Andrew's sister, was emotional as she told police 'they are not like this'.

She said: 'It's unbelievable. Whatever has happened, it's the consequence of a stupid argument. They are never like this.

'Not in my wildest imagination can I imagine this happening.'
Several districts in the Omaha metro area have hired long-term subs in advance of the school year, anticipating that they will need to replace teachers who end up sick or stuck at home waiting to return from quarantine. But its clear that a single positive case can impact multiple people around that person, even if those people dont eventually get the disease.

Keeping teachers teaching will depend on them adhering to masking, social distancing and other health protocols not only in school but outside school as well, officials said.

Beth Van Roy, a fifth grade teacher at Parkview Heights Elementary School in La Vista, said shes been taking extra precautions to protect herself and her two small children ever since schools shut down across the state last March.

For example, she said she doesnt walk into Target or Walmart but does pickup instead.

I havent been out to dinner or had a drink with a friend since March, Van Roy said. Putting my own children and the students that I work with first is the priority at this point, not really to have a social life.

Students are scheduled to return to Papillion-La Vista on Tuesday.
- The US issued a level 3 health alert to its citizens, advising them to avoid non-essential travels to Kenya

- The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) noted the Kenyan government had eased COVID-19 restrictions

- The CDC further said it would be difficult for its infected citizens to access medical care due to limited resources

- This is in spite of the US being COVID-19 epicentre with than five million infections and 160,000 deaths

The United States and the current epicentre of COVID-19 has issued a high-risk travel advisory to its citizens warning them against visiting Kenya over surging cases of COVID-19.

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) asked its people to "reconsider travel" to the country because the Kenyan administration had eased various COVID-19 restrictions making it an unsafe destination for its citizens.

READ ALSO: Kenya is safe and ready for tourists - Uhuru

US Embassy premises in Nairobi. The American government asked its people to avoid non-essential travels to the country. Photo: US Embassy, Nairobi.

Source: UGC

READ ALSO: President Uhuru's lookalike says he doesn't know his father

In a statement, CDC issued a Level 3 health Health Travel notice which meant all non-essential travels to Kenya were to be avoided.

"Reconsider travel to Kenya due to COVID-19. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued a Level 3 Travel Health Notice for Kenya due to COVID-19," the statement read in part.

"Travelers at increased risk for severe illness from COVID-19 should consider postponing all travel, including essential travel, to Kenya, it warned.

READ ALSO: Uhuru excites crowd after stopping to chat during surprise evening tour in the CBD

The alert was due to various restrictions had been lifted in the country by President Uhuru. Photo: State House.

Source: Facebook

The US government noted it would be difficult for infected persons to access medical care due to limited resources in Kenya

The CDC thus advised travels to Kenya should only be on the basis of humanitarian aid work, medical reasons, or family emergencies.

People with underlying conditions were asked to cancel all trips to the country including essential travel.

READ ALSO: COVID-19: Record 1,062 patients recover from disease as 599 others test positive

Ironically, the US coronavirus cases surpassed the five million mark on Saturday, August 8, with over 160,000 deaths.

This came barely a week after the government reviewed the list of countries from which passenger flights and travellers will be allowed into Kenya owing to surging coronavirus cases.

As a result, flights from the US, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Netherlands, Qatar, United Arabs Emirates and Italy which had initially been blacklisted were allowed to resume operations in Kenya.

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

I was rejected by my father three times- Tony Cruize | Tuko TV.

Source: TUKO.co.ke
Chinese Man Wrongfully Convicted, Spent Nearly 27 Years in Prison

In 1993, Zhang Yu-Huan who was living in Zhangjia Village, Nanchang City, Jiangxi Province, was sentenced to a suspended death sentence after being accused of killing his neighbors two children. Zhang Yu-Huan had been in prison for nearly 27 years during which he had been seeking redress of grievances. Finally, he received a verdict of not guilty, but he is already 53 years old and his family has been torn apart.

In Jiangxi Province, Zhang Yu-Huans Intentional Murder case aroused community attention. Zhang Yu-Huan was tortured by the police and forced to plead guilty. He was put in prison for nearly 27 years during which he constantly appealed. Finally, he was successful.
Representative image

The Commerce Ministry has recommended imposition of provisional countervailing duty (CVD) on certain steel products from Indonesia to guard domestic manufacturers from subsidised imports.

The ministry's investigation arm Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) in its preliminary findings has recommended the duty after concluding in its probe that 'Flat Products of Stainless Steel' have been exported to India from Indonesia at subsidised prices.

The domestic industry has suffered material injury due to subsidisation of the product and therefore it is necessary to recommend imposition of provisional countervailing duty on these imports, the DGTR has said in a notification.

It said that the directorate is of the view that imposition of provisional countervailing duty is required to offset subsidisation and injury, pending completion of the investigation.

"The authority recommends imposition of provisional countervailing duty on the imports...originating in or exported from the subject country (Indonesia)," it said.

The duties recommended are 22.31 per cent, 22.65 per cent and 24.83 per cent on different producers of Indonesia.

The finance ministry will take the final call to impose these duties.

In October last year, the directorate initiated the probe into an alleged subsidised export of certain steel products by Indonesia, following complaints by domestic industry.

The petitioners had alleged that the producers/exporters of certain steel products in Indonesia have benefited from the actionable subsidies provided at various levels by the Indonesian government.

Indian Stainless Steel Development Association (ISSDA), Jindal Stainless, Jindal Stainless (Hisar) and Jindal Stainless Steel had filed an application on behalf of domestic industry before the directorate, alleging subsidisation of these products by Indonesia.

They had requested for initiation of an anti-subsidy investigation for levy of countervailing duties on imports of the goods.

Under the global trade rules of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), a member country is allowed to impose anti-subsidy to countervailing duty if a product is subsidised by the government of its trading partner.

These duties are trade remedies to protect domestic industry. Subsidy on a product makes it competitive in price terms in other markets.

Countries provide this to boost their exports. India and Indonesia are members of the WTO. Indonesia is a major trading partner of India.

The bilateral trade between the countries declined to $19.18 billion in 2019-20 from $21.12 billion in 2018-19. Trade balance is in the favour of Indonesia.
The Block is about to enter its sixteenth season.

And now the five new couples set to compete on the 2020 season of the beloved renovation show have finally been unveiled.

The latest series will take viewers on a five decade time warp, as period homes from the 1910s, '20s, '30s, '40s and '50s are transformed by the contestants.

The Block 2020 contestants revealed! Meet the couples set to embark on a 'five-decade time warp' in the Melbourne suburb of Brighton. Pictured: Host Scott Cam

The new season will shoot in the heart of Brighton  one of the most sought after locales in Melbourne.

The new crop of handy pairs will include the shows first father and daughter duo, a teacher, an electrification and a plumber.

Harry, 57, and Natasha 'Tash' Pavlou, 32

The first-ever father and daughter renovation duo, who hail from Melbourne, are proud of their Greek heritage and have a fiery side - but always get the job done.

They also have plenty of experience. Harry, an IT Manager, has renovated homes with and without his daughter, a social media project manager, before.

'We renovated a smaller Californian bungalow, the front and a back extension, but that was about thirty years ago,' Harry told Nine.

'The second house that I live in now, we finished six years ago, put on a second storey, and I thought that came up really well.'

Harry, 57, and Tash, 32: The first-ever father and daughter renovation duo, who hail from Melbourne, are proud of their Greek heritage and have a fiery side

Sarah, 27, and George, 33

Sarah and George, a couple from Western Sydney, are self-proclaimed 'mad dogs' who proudly come from Greek and Italian heritage.

George is an electrician while Sarah is a teacher, and the couple have plenty of experience, having renovated two homes together before.

That includes an investment property that was trashed by tenants and needed to be rebuilt inside.

The pair - who are hoping to start their own family as soon as they can - are described as 'nothing like the show has seen before'.

Sarah, 27, and George, 33: The couple from Western Sydney are self-proclaimed 'mad dogs' and are described as 'nothing like the show has seen before'

Daniel, 35, and Jade, 34

Daniel and Jade are farmers from South Australia who have applied to be on the show four times.

The married Aussie battlers are the proud parents of three children - Lincoln, nine, Hayden, seven, and Isla, six.

They applied for the show for their daughter Isla, who has a rare chromosome disorder.

The couple hope to raise enough money to help with her treatment, as well as raise funds to cover their close to one million dollar debt, incurred in part after bushfires ravaged their farm.

Daniel, 35, and Jade, 34: Daniel and Jade are farmers from South Australia who have applied to be on the show four times

Luke, 35, and Jasmine, 36

Married with two young kids, Luke, a chippy, and Jasmine, a teacher, have plenty of renovation experience thanks to their kids.

They couple who hail from Perth, Western Australia are currently renovating their home as they raise their two kids, Lola, four and one-year-old Sonny.

'We moved into our house, I fell pregnant straight away, and then we renovated our big bathroom while I was in the early days of being pregnant with our second child,' Jasmine told Nine.

'It's pretty much been baby, renovations, baby, toddler, and renovations.'

Luke, 35, and Jasmine, 36: Married with two young kids, Luke, a chippy, and Jasmine, a teacher, have plenty of renovation experience thanks to their kids

Jimmy, 33, and Tam, 31

Jimmy, a plumber and Tam, a bar manager, both from Brisbane, are on the show in the hopes of building a better life for their four-year-old daughter, Frankie.

Currently renting a home and working endless hours, the pair hope to use their winnings to buy a home of their own.

'We are doing this for Frankie. We want to try and win to set our family up,' Jimmy told Nine.

While Jimmy has lots of experience on work sites, and has renovated a caravan, Tam cannot tell one tool apart from another.

The Block returns to Channel Nine on Sunday, August 23
BRANFORD  Power restoration efforts continued in town Saturday, as 1,425 utility company customers remained without power.

Officials said several critical infrastructure facilities are now back online and some major roads have been reopened. Cooling stations remain available throughout town, and all town beaches are open.

Residents who notice that their neighbors have power, but they do not, are urged to call Eversource to let them know.

We understand residents frustration with the continued delay in restoration; please be assured that we are continuing to put pressure on Eversource regarding restoration efforts, officials said.

Residents are reminded not to go around or through areas marked off by yellow tape or barriers. Downed electric wires should always be treated as live wires and should never be touched.

CVS at Short Beach Road remains closed. Residents who normally get their prescriptions there are urged to call CVS in East Haven at 203-468-6594.

Crews have started collecting curbside tree debris. They will continue picking up and chipping tree limbs that are less than 8 feet long and 8 inches in diameter.

Small debris, less than 3 feet long, can be put in trash bags, brown bags or left loose in containers. These should be put out with the weekly garbage. The collection contractor will pick up three bags, barrels or bundles each week.

As power restoration continues, some town department phone lines are still down. Residents trying to get in touch with officials are encouraged to leave voicemails that will be returned as soon as possible.

Joe Trapasso Community House, 46 Church St., will remain open as a cooling center for Branford residents from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday. Ring the doorbell at the back entrance to be let inside. All visitor are required to follow COVID-19 safety protocols. There are also charging stations available.

Branford Fire Headquarters, Indian Neck Fire Station, Stony Creek Fire House, Short Beach Fire House and Town Hall have outdoor charging stations available.
CLEVELAND, Ohio  The news that Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine had tested positive, then negative, for COVID-19 added to the confusion surrounding testing for the virus.

Like, are false positives from antigen tests inflating Ohio coronavirus case numbers? If you test positive multiple times, do you count as multiple cases?

Dewine tested positive on an antigen test required to meet President Donald Trump Thursday. The test delivers fast results by testing for the presence of antigens in the body, but is a relatively unproven technology and is viewed as less accurate.

Related: Coronavirus confusion. Why mistakes are more likely with Ohio Gov. DeWines first test

DeWines second coronavirus test was a polymerase chain reaction, or PCR, a more sensitive test that detects genetic material from the coronavirus.

Regardless of how you explain it, DeWines conflicting test results dredged up myths and misinformation about how cases are counted and the accuracy of various kinds of COVID-19 tests.

Heres what experts have to say:

MYTH: Rapid antigen tests are as accurate as other kinds of COVID-19 tests.

REALITY: Antigen tests are fast and fairly accurate, but are not as accurate as the PCR test, Dr. Peter Mohler, chief science officer, Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, said during DeWines Friday press conference.

The PCR test is the most accurate, Mohler said. But it cannot determine if a person had COVID-19 two weeks ago, or will have it two weeks in the future, he said.

The question of how early an infection can be detected is still being studied, Mohler said.

Positive PCR test results are used for the statistics collected by the Ohio Department of Health, DeWine said.

Rapid antigen tests offered by walk-in clinics are not as accurate as the PCR test, said Lorain County Public Health commissioner David Covell.

MYTH: False positives from antigen tests are ratcheting up the case numbers in Ohio.

REALITY: Antigen tests are only included in the probable case count if they meet another criteria in addition to being positive, such as having symptoms or evidence the person was exposed to someone else with COVID-19, the ODH said in a statement.

Antigen tests are not reported in ODHs daily testing number by the state.

PCR tests are included in the daily confirmed case counts if they are positive, ODH said.

MYTH: People who test positive for COVID-19 develop immunity and cant get the illness again.

REALITY: The question of whether people who recover from the illness develop immunity still hasnt been answered, Covell said.

Other viruses convey immunity, so the same might be true with COVID-19. We dont have proof of that yet, Covell said.

People with mild cases of COVID-19 may not have long-lasting immunity to it, according to a study from the University of California at Los Angeles. Levels of antibodies against coronavirus dropped dramatically over the first three months of infection in 34 people who had mild cases, the study said.

As a point of comparison, COVID-19 vaccines under development will deliver four times more antibodies than occur naturally in a body thats fought off a coronavirus infection, Covell said.

MYTH: If you get tested on your own and it comes back positive, then later your workplace asks you to get tested and it is positive too, you are counted as two COVID-19 cases in Ohio statistics.

REALITY: ODH flags the two tests and counts them as one, Covell said. Cases are not double- or triple-counted.

MYTH: Children dont need to be tested.

REALITY: Testing should be based on clinical findings assessed by a qualified health care provider, not rather than determined by age, said Dr. Gary Procop, vice chair of the Pathology Education, Pathology & Laboratory Medicine Institute at the Cleveland Clinic.

Providers should be aware of ways in which children may present with disease that is different from adults, Procop said in an email.

MYTH: People who die from another cause, but test positive for COVID-19 posthumously, are counted as a COVID-19 death.

REALITY: Untrue, Covell said.

Lets say a person is injured in a car accident, and is tested for COVID-19 at the hospital so that health workers are aware of the patients status. If the patient tests positive, and later dies, the death is not counted as a COVID-19 case.

MYTH: The case count goes up because more people are being tested.

REALITY: Increased testing is not the only reason why the case count can rise, Covell said. Young people becoming less careful about social distancing and contracting the illness also are a contributing factor.

The rise in COVID-19 cases can be attributed to increased testing and community spread. Its a combination of both, Covell said.
A hotel being used as a coronavirus disease (Covid-19) facility in Andhra Pradeshs Vijayawada city where a fire killed 10 patients violated safety standards, a senior fire department official said on Sunday.

The fire was reported from Swarna Palace, being used as a care centre for Covid-19 patients by Ramesh Hospitals, early on Sunday.

The alarm bell didnt ring at the time of the accident and there was a delay in opening the back door, Jairam Naik, the fire safety director, said. Investigation has been initiated and there will be action on hotel management after it, Naik added.

An electric short circuit is said to have caused the fire, according to officials. Staff noticed flames from the first floor at around 5am and it spread to the third to fifth floors quickly. Patients were on the third, fourth and fifth floors of the hotel. There were about 30 patients of the coronavirus disease and 10 medical personnel at the time of the accident.

YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, Andhra Pradeshs chief minister, said he spoke with Prime Minister Narendra Modi after the accident. We are ensuring that things are under control. An ex gratia of Rs 50 lakh has been announced to the families of the deceased. My thoughts & prayers are with the bereaved families & the injured, he added.

The Prime Minister had also condoled the deaths. Anguished by the fire at a Covid Centre in Vijayawada. My thoughts are with those who have lost their loved ones. I pray that the injured recover as soon as possible. Discussed the prevailing situation with AP CM @ysjagan Ji and assured all possible support, he had tweeted.

Jagan Reddy has also directed officials to take up rescue measures and admit the injured to nearby hospitals. He also instructed officials to conduct an inquiry into the accident.

Rescuers brought 17 Covid-19 patients to safely using ladders even as two staff members, including a security guard, jumped from the second and third floors of the hotel after the fire.

On Thursday, eight people were killed in a fire in the intensive care unit (ICU) of a private Covid-19 designated hospital in Gujarats Ahmedabad.
A six-nation bloc of Gulf Arab nations torn apart by internal strife endorsed on Sunday an extension of a United Nations arms embargo on Iran, just two months before it is set to expire.

The Gulf Cooperation Council said it sent a letter to the UN Security Council backing an extension of an arms embargo thats kept Iran from purchasing foreign-made weapons like fighter jets, tanks and warships.

The GCC  comprised of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates  alleged Iran had not ceased or desisted from armed interventions in neighboring countries, directly and through organizations and movements armed and trained by Iran.

A Saudi-led coalition continues to battle Yemens Houthi rebels, whom the UN, the US and armament experts have accused of receiving arms from Iran. Tehran denies arming the Houthis, even as Iranian armaments and components have repeatedly turned up in Yemen.

As such, it is inappropriate to lift the restrictions on conventional weapons movement to and from Iran until it abandons its destabilizing activities in the region and ceases to provide weapons to terrorist and sectarian organizations, the GCC said.

Irans mission to the UN did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the GCC statement.

The UN banned Iran from buying major foreign weapon systems in 2010 amid tensions over its nuclear program. That blocked Iran from replacing its aging equipment, much of which had been purchased by the shah before the 1979 Islamic Revolution. An earlier embargo targeted Iranian arms exports.

Irans 2015 nuclear deal saw the UN agree to sunset the arms embargo this October. President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew America from the deal in 2018, part of a maximum pressure campaign thats hurt Irans already-ailing economy and led to a series of escalating incidents in the Mideast.

That the GCC offered a unified statement on Iran comes as it remains torn by the ongoing Qatar crisis, which saw Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the Emirates cut diplomatic ties and launch a boycott of the nation beginning in 2017. Kuwait has sought to mediate the crisis, though its 91-year-old emir now is hospitalized in the U.S. suffering from an undisclosed ailment.

Amid the crisis, Qatar has had warmer ties with Iran and used its airspace while sharing a vast offshore oil and gas field with Tehran. The small nation is home to the massive Al-Udeid Air Base, home to the forward headquarters of the U.S. militarys Central Command. Oman, which saw its long-serving sultan die earlier this year, long has had close ties to Iran and has served as an interlocutor between Tehran and the West.

Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the Emirates long have viewed Iran far more suspiciously, accusing it of stirring up dissent among Shiite populations in the region.

The unified GCC statement comes after recent visits by outgoing US special representative for Iran Brian Hook amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Now, though, "it's just time for me to move on," he said, noting that his daughter will be a freshman in college. He added that he and his wife are "empty-nesters" and would like to travel after the pandemic.

"The business is doing well, but it's a work-intensive industry, and I'm going to be 50," the Town of Tonawanda native said. "I'm at that stage in my life."

Kempf said he was "just kind of getting a little burned out the last couple of years," but really started "mulling it over" during the pandemic.

"I couldn't quite give people enough hours to make it worth their while, at least at this point, so that was tough," he said.

He also wants to finish his degree in psychology and media studies, "get into social work and volunteer a little bit, perhaps at a food bank."

"I thought it would be a good time to finish up school," he said. "I'm young enough that I could make a career change at this point, but another 10 years, I'm not sure if I could do that."
Dr. Michael Mina thinks theres a simple way to beat back COVID-19: fast, cheap tests, taken at home every day or two.

Right now, tests are designed for medical purposes. They identify whether someone with symptoms has COVID-19 or not. But they miss  according to Minas estimate  97% of people when they are most infectious.

COVID-19, we now know, is most contagious in the first few days  just before a person shows symptoms and in the few days after symptoms start, if they ever do. Waiting until someone has symptoms before scheduling them for a test, means they wont know they were contagious until they arent.

In recent weeks, Mina, an infectious disease epidemiologist at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, has been lobbying heavily for fast, cheap, at-home tests, hoping to get the federal government to fund their development and remove barriers to their approval. Hes spoken with senators, foreign leaders, and company executives, who share this idea, but is increasingly frustrated by the administrations inaction.

Dr. Michael Mina

On Friday, he laid out his vision to reporters on a group Zoom call. What follows is an edited version of what he said.

Whats the difference between current COVID-19 tests and what youre envisioning?

The tests that are being deployed now are like deluxe espresso machines. These are tests that require instrumentation. Therell be a big, big startup cost to get it going and each individual test will be expensive. They will have a difficult time getting the scale to where it needs to be to make an impact on a population level. What I really want is the instant coffee version. I want a $1 thing versus a $20 thing.

How can tests be used to stop transmission of COVID-19?

The way to do that is to use cheap tests that are highly accurate to detect somebody at the moment theyre transmitting. People can act on it, because theyre getting immediate results. I want them to take them every single day or every other day.

Story continues

More: 'Totally unacceptable': Testing delays force labs to prioritize COVID tests for some, not others

How could they act on it?

If we can get a test that everyone wakes up  just like they put in their contact lenses they take a test. And if it turns positive, they stay home. And they take a test the next day and they stay home until the test turns negative, or for a set number of days, maybe 7 days.

That alone, if everyones doing it, or even just a majority of people are doing it, it will stop the vast majority of transmission and it will cause these outbreaks to disappear in a matter of weeks. We dont have to wait for a vaccine.

You think it would make that much of a difference?

We could reduce maybe by 90-95% transmission in this country in the next few weeks if everyone could have one of these tests tomorrow. Of course, thats not at the moment possible, but it could be if the federal government were treating this with the same urgency that theyre treating a vaccine, which may or may not even work.

What do you think the government should be doing?

(The government should) put $1 billion into really pushing the technology for $1 paper strip tests that can be printed in the millions, which they can be, and get a package of 50 in every Americans hands over the next month  or not even every American  it could just be Texas, Arizona and Florida right now, because those are the states that are seeding infections to other states.

Why dont these tests exist already?

Were allowing red tape and this archaic view  we have so defunded and under-appreciated public health in this country for so many years that we literally dont have a recognition of the fact that there could be a test whose main goal is public health and not clinical medicine. Everything is wrapped up in insurance reimbursements and FDA regulations as diagnostics. It takes a whole rethinking of what a test that somebody might use looks like and how its defined.

So, this is a regulatory problem?

Im usually not against regulation, but its just gotten so extreme here, and its truly been hindering every step of the way our ability to test our way out of this virus since February. The current landscape is bottlenecking these companies that could have a cheap test today into producing a more expensive espresso machine, because they cant actually legally use the instant coffee.

Until the regulatory landscape changes, these companies have no reason to try to bring (a fast, cheap, at-home test) to market. So, a lot of them are just kind of sitting on it. Or theyre trying to spend more time and more money to better and better optimize tests, which might take months. My fear is that what will come out of it at the end of those months is a test that does meet FDA approval, but thats too expensive and too complicated to scale and use for everyone.

How do you answer people who criticize cheap tests as being less precise or reliable than the current tests?

A lot of people are wasting time trying to figure out how to get instant coffee to be as good as espresso. Theyre different things.

Do you have any financial stake in any of the companies making these tests?

I have no financial ties or any other connection to any of these companies. Im truly just basing this on science.

And you really think this is the best hope for getting a handle on the pandemic?

We dont have a vaccine tomorrow. We dont have anything but shutting down the economy and keeping schools closed. This can work. This is a tool that tomorrow could start to go into production and within a few weeks time could start to change the whole course of outbreaks in major cities in America and in so doing, make all of the United States safer.

Contact Karen Weintraub at kweintraub@usatoday.com

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 tests: Cheap, at-home tests will stop pandemic, Harvard doc says
Presidential Candidate for the largest opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), John Dramani Mahama has described the Speaker of Parliament, Rev Prof Aaron Mike Ocquaye as the most oppressive leader in Parliament in the 4th Republic.



According to the former President, Rt Speaker Mike Ocquaye has been suppressing the Minority in Parliament from having a fruitful debate on the floor of Parliament, going against the spirit of divergent view which enriches the practice of democracy.



Addressing a gathering from Keta Krachi in the Oti Region, former President John Dramani Mahama bemoaned the worrying trend of suppression under the Akufo-Addo government where people are not allowed to freely speak their mind to authority without being attacked.



He added that the previous Speakers of Parliament have helped in the course of democratic dispensation where every Member of Parliament gets the equal opportunity to speak on the floor of Parliament without being oppressed.



To him, the 7th Parliament under the 4th Republic has suffered oppression from the current Speaker, Rev Prof Aaron Mike Ocquaye who has introduced intimidation and tyranny in the Parliamentary proceedings.



Former President John Dramani Mahama, however, recalled how fruitful and effective Parliament used to be from 1996 when he was a Member of Parliament; thus, they were allowed to express themselves while discussing issues of national interest, but he cannot speak the same under Prof Aaron Mike Ocquaye.



I have been a Member of Parliament before; from 1996, we all have been having a fruitful debate and everyone can speak their minds but we now have a Speaker of Parliament who is being oppressive. He does not allow the Minority to speak freely and I have received a report from the Minority complaining about the tyrannical behaviour of the Speaker. In the era of Peter Ala Adjetey, Parliament used to be effective and we all enjoyed Parliament but not today, he bemoaned.

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.

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As Alabama schools reopen, medical experts say its a matter of when, not if, before students and staff bring COVID-19 into schools.

The first handful of systems just began to reopen last week. Already, five students at Saraland High School were sent home for a 14-day isolation after coming in contact with someone who had the virus on the first day of school.

There have been outbreaks and closures as students returned to school in Tennessee, Mississippi and Georgia.

In Alabama, every school that opens for students must have a plan in place to isolate students or staff showing symptoms and also to track down who the student or staff may have come into close contact with while at school.

Those duties, according to the Alabama Department of Public Health, fall to the school nurse.

Thats on top of regular school nurse duties in a given day.

But theres a problem: not every school has one. That worries Alabamas head school nurse.

The number of nurses that weve got is good, and were happy to have those, the states head of school nursing Jennifer Ventress told AL.com. But every school needs a school nurse, full time, every day.

Calling this an unprecedented year, Ventress said, Weve never in Alabama dealt with anything like this since weve had school nurses.

Alabama Department of Public Health Director Scott Harris talked probability and numbers during a training session for school personnel this week, acknowledging up front, We are going to have cases in our schools and theres no question about that.

Alabama's current COVID-positive testing rate of 15% to 16% doesn't mean that percentage of school children will be positive, Harris said, but children have it, for sure.

Even if you have one or two percent of your kids who are positive, Harris added, when youre looking at three-quarters of a million K through 12 kids in Alabama, there are going to be thousands of kids who are going to be positive on the first day of school.

"As frightening as that may sound, I think that's just a fact that we're dealing with right now in Alabama and every other aspect of our lives as well."

During the training session and in the ADPH "toolkit," the school nurse was described as the point person in a school. But without a school nurse, it's unclear who would take on that role.

Where are Alabamas school nurses?

A look at personnel data from October 2019, the most recent data available, showed 1,403 nursesregistered nurses and practical nursesare employed in Alabamas school districts. While there are approximately 1,360 schools, it might look like every school has at least one nurse, but that isnt the case.

State personnel reports show differences in how districts report the employment of school nurses, with some reporting all nurses at the district level and others showing exactly which schools have a nurse assigned.

That list shows 652 schools of the 1,361 on the list have a full-time nurse assigned, and 81 schools split a nurse with some other school in their district.

The other 628 schools do not have any nurse assigned, but in many cases, there were enough nurses at the district level so that each school could have a nurse.

Further complicating the analysis, there are about 100 nurses dedicated to caring for one or more medically-fragile students, as in students who need constant medical care while at school. Those nurses cannot take care of any other students or perform any other duties other than caring for the child to which they are assigned.

So the numbers just dont tell the whole story. Its very misleading, Ventress said. The number of nurses we have as a whole looks big, but its not comparable when you have to staff based on how sick your students are.

State education officials say that 300 more nurses are needed to have a nurse at every school. The Alabama Association of School Nurses also says that 300 nurses are needed. But that estimate is hard to prove.

And there is no list of which Alabama schools dont have nurses.

AL.com dove deeper, analyzing the reported numbers to see where more nurses might be needed.

The analysis isnt perfect, because we dont know exactly which schools where districts only report nurses at the district level actually have nurses or how many nurses are assigned to care for medically fragile students, but its one way to get a look at where the need is.

According to AL.coms analysis, 57 of Alabamas 138 school districts lack the current staffing to have at least one nurse at every school. Further, even when considering how many nurses could be assigned to each school within each district, in 132 schools, there just arent enough nurses to go around.

What follows is a map of where the need is greatest, as in which school districts have schools that do not already have enough nurses to place a full-time nurse in every school.

Remember, because we dont know which schools have nurses assigned to care for medically-fragile students, the analysis could miss some schools that dont actually have an available nurse.

If you are unable to see the map, click here.

State education officials have asked repeatedly to increase state funding for nurses, to no avail.

A request for $61 million for state funding for school nurses for the current school year was all but ignored by Gov. Kay Ivey in her budget request in 2019, and only $1 million was added atop the $32 million the previous year.

Education officials requested $7 million more for school nurses for the upcoming school year, but again Ivey only carried forward a $1 million increase over the current year's funding.

According to information from the state department of education, school districts statewide will spend $54.7 million for the nurses that are currently in place.

All school districts receive state funding for at least one nurse, plus an additional amount based on the number of students in the district. This means school nurses have to cover more than one school in some cases.

In districts that have enough nurses to cover each school, local dollars are being used. In districts with little local tax base, that means no extra funding for nurses.

Of the $54.7 million spent statewide, the state funds 943 school nurses at $37.5 million or 68% of the total. Another 98 nurses are funded with federal funding, accounting for 6% of the total. Local tax dollars pay 362 nurses for $13.9 million, or 25% of the total. The department did not provide a school by school breakdown.

At the district level, its all about the local tax support when it comes to how many school nurses there are.

For example, Hoover City Schools, which employs 25 school nurses to cover their 17 schools, received $496,000 in state funding, but spent $1.2 million in salaries for those nurses.

Can federal coronavirus relief money help?

Gov. Kay Ivey recently released $70 million in federal coronavirus relief funding that can be used to hire school nurses, but only through the end of the year.

That funding came after state lawmakers butted heads with state education officials in July over a plan the senators said would have added 300 nurses to schools. Education officials said they agree with hiring more nurses, but federal coronavirus relief funding can only fund nurses through Dec. 31, the deadline for spending those federal funds and that wouldnt help for the entire school year.

In the end, Iveys plan will provide health and wellness grants to be available to each district based on a combination of student enrollment and other risk factors. All districts will receive at least $200,000 in base funding.

Related: Reopening Alabamas K-12 schools: Here are the plans

School districts are still working out the details of how theyll spend that grant money, but at least one school district, Mobile County, told parents theyd use the money to ensure a school nurse was stationed at each school during the school day.

Some have questioned whether enough nurses could be found to fill the need in time for the start of school. Ventress said there is a shortage of nurses who will work at schools. While a school nurses daily schedule looks different than a hospital-based nurse--no weekends and some time away from school in the summer--the pay is lower.

Some school districts are using the health and wellness grants to hire nurses and health aides, Ventress said, but what happens after the money runs out on Dec. 31 is worrisome.

Ventress said she hopes when state lawmakers meet next, that theyll allocate enough state funding for every school to have a school nurse.

While the year will be challenging, Ventress is confident in the states school nurses.

We have great leadership with our lead nurses, and they will make good nursing judgement calls. They will protect their students and they will provide the best quality of care they are able to.

AL.com is keeping a list of start dates and what options are for students in school districts across the state at this link.

For all of AL.coms back to school coverage, click here.
Australian rapper 'Big Kash' has undergone surgery after being shot in his car after enjoying dinner with a friend.

Emergency services were called to an Warwick Farm apartment complex, in Sydney's west, just before 9pm on Saturday evening following reports of a shooting.

Police were told the ex-Hells Angels bikie, 33, was driving away from the Lachlan Street building when shots were fired into the vehicle.

He later shared a photo on Instagram of him in bed at Liverpool hospital hospital where he underwent surgery for a gunshot wound to his arm.

Big Kash suffered a gunshot wound to his arm and was taken to Liverpool Hospital at 9.05pm to undergo surgery.

His 22-year-old female passenger was not injured in the incident.

The rapper later shared a photo of himself in hospital on Instagram to let his 35,000 followers know he was doing okay.

Laying on a bed cabled to a machine, he can be seen smiling for the camera as his blood soaked hand makes a rude gesture in front of his eyes.

Big Kash made a splash in the rap scene with his notorious mixtape 'K.O.A' (Kash On Delivery), released in 2016.

Officers have established a crime scene at the unit complex and an investigation has been launched into the circumstances surrounding the shooting.
You hear the jingle first.

It blares from a speaker on the front of a box-shaped truck, painted white and blue, with distinctive logos and lighting all around, including a guy in a blue sport coat, white shirt, red bow tie and a swirling custard-shaped hair doo.
Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC) founded by late Dr Fasehun on Sunday, described the death of two prominent Yoruba sons: Senator Ayo Fasanmi and Senator Buruji Kashamu in quick succession as a monumental loss to the ethnic nationality.

The president of the organisation, Aare Prince Osibote, in a statement issued in Lagos, said that OPC was particularly pained because of the vacuum likely to be created by their sudden exit, "having been stabilizers, bridge- builders in Yoruba land and the country at large."

Osibote noted the immense contributions of both distinguished sons of Yoruba to the political, socio-economic growth, development and progress of the country which have been widely acknowledged through tributes to them. According to the OPC president, while Fasanmi remained the moderator in the political space till the twilight of his sojourn on earth, Senator Buruji raised the bar in the service to humanity committing huge resources in alleviating poverty and empowerment of millions of households.

Aare Osibote remarked that Senator Fasanmi was resolute in his advocacy for workable federation, good governance and better Nigeria while Senator Kashamu was unshaken in his philanthropy and philosophy of empowerment of the critical mass of the Nigerian population. "Though they had their individual weaknesses like every other human, Senator Fasanmi and Senator Kashamu succeeded in creating a niche for themselves as quintessential leader and philanthropist.

"Accordingly, we charge other sons and daughters of the Yoruba race with immense means to emulate those lofty virtues of the duo that brought succour and smiles to the faces of the less privileged in Yoruba land. "We urge their respective families to rejoice and take solace in the indisputable fact that the two departed souls imparted on the lives of the common man through political, economic and financial empowerment.

"The most useful lessons from their lives especially for the Yoruba race is that we should at all times be concerned and preoccupied with what we can do for the people to improve their condition and welfare and not amassing wealth to asphyxiate the silent majority of the citizenry."
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday launched a Rs 1 lakh crore agriculture infrastructure fund to boost investment in the farm sector, especially in cold storages, warehousing and markets for farmers.

The scheme was first announced by finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman as part of a Rs 20 lakh crore economic stimulus and relief package in the wake of the coronavirus disease pandemic.

Modi also transferred the sixth instalment of the cash payment for farmers under the PM-KISAN scheme, making the announcement via video conferencing. Under the sixth instalment, Rs 17,000 crore has been deposited into the bank accounts of 85 million farmers.

According to the guidelines for the agriculture infrastructure fund, all loans up to Rs 2 crore will be disbursed with a 3% interest subsidy. The loans will be disbursed in the next four years with a sanction of Rs 10,000 crore in 2020-21 and Rs 30,000 crore in the next three years.

The agriculture infrastructure fund will provide better warehousing and cold storage facilities for farmers and is a step towards doubling of farm income, Modi said. The fund will also create new jobs as investments will flow into food processing and post-harvest facilities in rural India.

The fund was launched with Rs 1,128 crore of new loans given to over 2,200 cooperative societies.

Under the infrastructure fund, banks and financial institutions will provide up to Rs1 lakh crore in loans to cooperative societies, farmer producer companies, self-help groups, entrepreneurs, startups, and infrastructure providers.

Through videoconferencing, Modi interacted with farmers from Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, and Gujarat. He urged farmers to stop the indiscriminate use of chemical fertilisers like urea to improve soil health.

The Prime Minister had an engaging discussion with the representatives of these societies to understand their current operations and how they plan to utilise the loan. The societies informed the Prime Minister about their plans to build godowns, set up grading and sorting units which will help member-farmers secure a higher price for their produce, an official statement said.

Releasing the latest instalment of PM-Kusan, Modi said: No middlemen or commission, it went straight to farmers. I am satisfied because the objective of the scheme is being fulfilled.

The PM-KISAN scheme, launched on December 1, 2018, has already provided a direct cash benefit of over Rs. 75,000 crore to more than 99 million farmer families.Under the scheme, income support of Rs 6,000 per year is provided to farmer families across the country in three equal instalments of Rs 2,000 every four months.

The Agriculture Infrastructure Fund is a medium- to long-term debt financing facility for investment in viable projects for post-harvest management infrastructure and community farming assets through interest subsidy and credit guarantee.

Indian agriculture has always depended more on subsidies than investments. The new fund will help correct that. It is important that the fund is managed in a way that farmers are able to achieve scale and connect with markets efficiently, said Ananth Kumar of the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University.
The Experts Plot Another Shutdown

Commentary

The spring economic shutdown to slow the spread of COVID-19 almost destroyed us. But the United States is resilient, and the country is slowlyif sometimes shakilygetting back on its feet. Millions have returned to work and the unemployment rate is ticking back down. The stock market has regained much of its lost value. It isnt a straight road back, to be sure, but there seems good cause for optimism.

But not everyone is cheering.

Because COVID-19 cases have also increased as the country opened, as we knew they would, some of the nations health care and other experts want to shut us back down again. And this time, they want to impose a harder, and perhaps longer, societal lockdown.

Obamacare architect, bioethicist Ezekiel Emanuel is the most influential voice urging a return to the bad old days of April. We shouldnt be surprised. Back when the country was closed for business, Emanuelwho, its worth noting, is now Joe Bidens lead COVID-19 health care adviserurged that the country be kept in that artificially induced coma for 18 months, the time it was expected then for a COVID-19 vaccine to be found. Thankfully, President Donald Trump paid no heed.

Now, Emanuel is back, again calling for a shutdown as the lead signatory of an open letter to Decision Makers signed by some 150 other experts in health care. From the letter:

Non-essential businesses should be closed. Restaurant service should be limited to take-out. People should stay home, going out only to get food and medicine or to exercise and get fresh air. Masks should be mandatory in all situations, indoors and outdoors, where we interact with others.

You should bar non-essential interstate travel.  If you dont take these actions, the consequences will be measured in widespread suffering and death.

Bar most interstate travel? Thats never been done in our history; not during the Civil War, the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemicwhich was much worse than COVID-19 because it primarily killed the youngor during periodic polio epidemics.

Media Campaign

Emanuel and his fellow letter signers arent alone. Infectious disease expert Dr. Michael T. Osterholm of the University of Minnesota, along with the head of the Minnesota Federal Bank and former Obama administration member Neel Kashkari, have launched a joint media campaign to convince America to return into societal hibernation.

Their most recent call for panicked self-destruction came in the form of a New York Times op-ed, in which they write:

To successfully drive down our case rate to less than one per 100,000 people per day, we should mandate sheltering in place for everyone but the truly essential workers. By that, we mean people must stay at home and leave only for essential reasons: food shopping and visits to doctors and pharmacies while wearing masks and washing hands frequently.

Didnt we already do that at great economic cost to tens of millions of Americansbut not, it is worth noting, the technocratic and chattering classes? According to Oserhgolm and Kashkari, the former lockdown failed because it wasnt nearly harsh enough:

According to the Economic Policy Institute, 39 percent of workers in the United States are in essential categories. The problem with the March-to-May lockdown was that it was not uniformly stringent across the country. For example, Minnesota deemed 78 percent of its workers essential. To be effective, the lockdown has to be as comprehensive and strict as possible.

Funny, Sweden didnt impose a hard lock down. Its economy certainly took a hit, but not as bad as many EU countries. And while its mortality rate has been worse than some of its European neighbors that did shut down, its also better than others.

Besides, weve been told that universal masking holds the key! One study found that 80 percent mask compliance would do more to stop the spread than another lockdown.

Oh, pshaw, write Osterholm and Kashkari:

Some have claimed that the widespread use of masks is enough to control the pandemic, but let us face reality: Gov. Gavin Newsom of California issued a public masking mandate on June 18, a day when 3,700 cases were reported in the state. On July 25, the seven-day daily case average was 10,231. We support the wearing of masks by all Americans, but masking mandates and soft limitations on indoor crowds in places such as bars and restaurants are not enough to control this pandemic.

Good grief, our nations experts need to get their stories straight.

Second Great Depression

Snark aside, consider the consequences of reimposing another Draconian lockdown: The country would plummet into a second Great Depression (just in time for the election) that could take a decade or more to overcome. Millions of restaurants and shops would be shuttered, never to reopen. Life savings would be lost. The real estate market would plummet. We would add many trillions more to the national debt than we are already are incurring now, as half the country would become totally dependent on government checks. Millions of children would be kept out of school, forever stunting their education.

The predictable results: increased suicides, increased opioid deaths, increased domestic violence, increased political divisions, and increased loss of trust in our political institutions. In short, another lockdown would cause a cultural catastrophe.

No, no, the authors write. Totally shutting down will be better for the economy. If we dont shut down, they write, the path of the virus will determine the path of the economy. There wont be a robust economic recovery until we get control of the virus.

I find this abject terror among our technocratic class very odd. The Wuhan virus isnt smallpox, after all. Most people who contract the infection experience relatively mild symptoms and fully recover.

Yes, of course, it can also be a wicked, and sometimes unpredictable disease. But we know who are most acutely in danger of serious illness and death (people like me), and we can take strong steps to protect them. Surely, we can accomplish that important public health goal without destroying the country to save it.

Which leads us to the one intractable problem that Emanuel, Osterholm, Kashkari, and their ilk fail to consider. If the government did again order a total lockdown, I believe that millions of Americans would simply refuse to obey. Indeed, it would take tyrannical measures of the kind imposed by China on its imprisoned peopleperhaps even soldiers in the streetsto effectively impose house arrest on us all.

I cannot imagine that happening. Trump and most governors would surely never go along. But if they did, it would tear the country apart.

Award-winning author Wesley J. Smith is the chairman of the Discovery Institutes Center on Human Exceptionalism and author of Culture of Death: The Age of Do Harm Medicine.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
Bay of Plenty

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Grant to us, Lord, we pray,

the spirit to think and do always those things that are right,

that we, who cannot exist without you,

may by you be enabled to live according to your will;

through Jesus Christ our Lord,

who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,

one God,

for ever and ever.

Amen.
The Kannapolis City Schools system is beginning a program of recruiting volunteers to help cope with the challenges it faces. Officials have set up a steering committee and are working to support school principals in recruiting the help their specific school needs.

So far, school principals have identified a need for help setting up socially-distanced classrooms, distributing technology devices and providing necessary supplies such as water bottles and school supplies. District-wide needs, including connectivity and childcare for KCS families, also exist. A couple of organizations, including the YMCA and Bethel Baptist Church, are working to help families with childcare, but more help is needed.

Those willing to pitch in on any of these projects should be prepared to respect the schools' need to know who is coming to help, when they are coming and be sure that the volunteers are aware they must follow all health and safety protocols. Volunteers will not come into contact with students.

The next time you or someone you know picks up food from the school, or hugs a kid who got some of the food, please remember to thank the dedicated front-line workers whose work makes it possible.

As you speak through your mask, tell them you owe them a hug you regret you cannot deliver.

Francis Koster, Ed.D., did his graduate work with a focus on threats to the basic life-support systems of air, water, food and fuel. He spent the majority of his career in one of the nations largest pediatric health care systems.
Boston

Brace yourself for what's expected to be the first U.S. presidential election conducted mostly by mail. It could be messy.

Amid the coronavirus pandemic, voting by mail in a contactless and socially distant way seems like a no-brainer. States have made the option widely available  only 10 now require voters to provide an excuse beyond fear of COVID-19 when requesting a ballot by mail  and three in four Americans are expected to embrace the option for the Nov. 3 presidential election, up from one in four in the 2018 contest.

But running a vote-by-mail election is surprisingly complicated, and there's a lot of room for things to go wrong. Validating and counting a deluge of posted ballots in an open and accountable way presents a major challenge, one that only about a half dozen states are fully prepared for.

It doesn't help that President Donald Trump has waged a vigorous offensive against the idea via a barrage of baseless tweets alleging the imminence of massive voting fraud. Turmoil in the U.S. Postal Service has only heightened concerns surrounding the ability of the nation's myriad election systems to manage a presidential vote.

Oregon, Colorado and Washington have held successful all-mail elections for years and others including Florida and California expanded capacity long before the pandemic. Nearly everywhere else, the technical and logistical challenges loom large for budget-squeezed election officials with limited experience.

Chaotic events during this year's primaries did not instill confidence. Untold thousands of absentee ballot requests went unfulfilled, and tens of thousands of mailed ballots were rejected for multiple reasons including arriving too late to be counted.

"The system is buckling under the weight of the dramatic surge and demand for absentee mail ballots," said Wendy Weiser, director of the democracy program at the Brennan Center for Justice. "It hasn't been built to withstand that high of a volume."

Among the major concerns:

Although Congress has sent $400 million to help states deal with pandemic-related pressures on election systems, it's well short of the estimated $2 billion experts say officials need to be ready for November.

Not all states are equal when it comes to letting voters fix mistakes that lead to rejection of their ballots, such as failure to sign the mail-in envelope. In a New Jersey special election in May, a whopping 10 percent of mailed ballots were rejected.

The rapid introduction of new technologies and processes in state voting systems heightens the risk of foreign interference and insider tampering. That's true even if simple human error or local maneuvering for political advantage are more likely threats.

The slower count of mailed ballots could clash with voter expectations of a clear Election Night winner. Election officials have already warned voters that it could take days after the polls close to count all the votes.

Voting by mail is much less forgiving than the in-person method, where a voter's identity is verified on the spot and any difficulties can be handled by poll workers.

To ensure success, all the pieces of mail-in balloting systems have to be in place well before Election Day. "The more complicated we make the ballot-casting process, the more stuff is going to go wrong," said Wisconsin activist Karen McKim.

Mail reliability

Will the U.S. Postal Service be up to processing and delivering an election-eve flood of tens of millions of ballots? Under a major Trump donor named postmaster general in June, cost-cutting plans are already triggering delays in ordinary mail. A surge of mailed ballots could put the system under extraordinary strain.

"The pipeline that moves mail between voters and election officials is very leaky," Charles Stewart III, a political scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, wrote in a 2010 study. In a July update, Stewart estimated that 4 percent of mail ballots were lost through this process in the 2016 election.

States including Wisconsin are now scrambling to add USPS "intelligent mail" bar codes to their systems so ballots can be tracked through the mail. In some states, voters who don't trust the mail can use drop boxes instead. But boxes have been vandalized and poorly secured. Some Republicans say they invite fraud. The Trump campaign is suing Pennsylvania over plans to use them in November.

Ballots rejected

Once a completed ballot arrives at a local election office, the voter's eligibility and identity must be verified. Sometimes, missing signatures or unsealed or damaged envelopes can gum up the process.

In Jefferson County, Kentucky, the state's largest, 3,848 absentee ballots were rejected in the June primary due to lack of a voter signature. That was out of roughly 180,000 absentee ballots cast. Not all states give voters a quick and easy way to fix these problems.

Veteran vote-by-mail states send out periodic mailers to verify voter addresses and get updated signatures. They also have built "ballot-curing" measures into existing systems in case voter signatures don't match what's on record or ballot envelopes arrive damaged or missing required information. The complexity of signature matching is a major issue. Many election offices register voter signatures from a variety of sources  for instance, those scribbled with styluses on cramped touchscreens at motor vehicle departments. The result: A matching process prone to human error.

"It's terrible, but it's the best option we have," said Jennifer Morrell, a former elections official in Colorado and Utah. Rigorous training and bipartisan teams reviewing signatures can help mitigate some of the concerns, but people's signatures change over time and physical ledgers capturing these changes are an endangered species.

But the bigger risk is that first-time and minority voters will have their signatures rejected, studies show.

University of Florida political scientist Daniel Smith found that Black and Latino voters and those younger than 30 in the state were at least twice as likely as older and white voters to have ballots rejected over signature mismatches.

Counting, custody

It took nearly two weeks for Philadelphia to count 140,000 mailed ballots after the June 2 primary. In New York City, it took six weeks after the June 23 primary to tally absentee ballots in one congressional primary where a dispute over ballots lacking postmarks ended up in federal court.

Ensuring a trustworthy chain of ballot custody and bipartisan oversight contributes to those delays. And sometimes insider fraud does happen.

Which is why election officials including Neal Kelley, the registrar in Orange County, California, urge transparency measures for ballot counting.

Eighty percent of the county's residents voted absentee in this year's primary, up from 60% in 2018.

Kelley said it took time to get all the pieces in place  he's developed homegrown ballot-tracking  to handle such capacity and instill voter confidence.

"It took us four years," he said.
Pope Francis urged international solidarity with Lebanon Sunday, in the wake of the explosion that devastated the capital Beirut and as France hosts an international donors conference to aid reconstruction efforts.

He also called on church leaders in Lebanon to lead by example.

"Last Tuesday's catastrophe calls on all of us, starting with the Lebanese people, to work together for the common good of this beloved country," he said.

The church in Lebanon should stay close to the people in their hour of need, with "solidarity and compassion", he said, speaking after weekly prayers in Saint Peter's Square.

"I also renew my appeal for generous help from the international community.

Pope Francis was speaking as French President Emmanuel Macron hosts a UN-backed virtual conference to drum up aid for Lebanon after the massive Beirut port blast.

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TikTok might be taking legal action against the White House over the ban of its service, and it might do it soon. According to an NPR source, the company plans to file a lawsuit against the Trump administration as early as August 11, contending the executive order to ban "transactions" with TikTok's parent company ByteDance unconstitutional. TikTok argues it violated its due process right to respond, and that the national security rationale used for justifying the order is "pure speculation and conjecture."

According to the unnamed source, the White House didn't have investigators contact the company ahead of an enforcement action, as is the standard process with companies. And so, TikTok's team reportedly believes it's a breach of procedure. The social media company hasn't commented yet on the possibility of an impending lawsuit. Still, it has acknowledged beliefs that the order was issued "without any due process" and "no substantiation" regarding the security allegations.

Source: Engadget
"I need to be able to look myself in the mirror every day," was how Rep. Terra Costa Howard, D-Glen Ellyn, explained to me recently why she decided to call for House Speaker Michael Madigan's resignation.

"More importantly," the freshman suburban Democrat said, "I had to look at my daughters and remind them what it means to do what's right."

Costa Howard said she didn't take a poll before making her decision. "My data collection is what I hear when I talk to people, the emails I receive, the comments that are on my Facebook pages. That speaks volumes," she said. "I live in a community where I am out publicly all the time, so I talk to people all the time." And they have all been giving her an earful about Madigan.

"There are people who are unhappy that I stepped out on this," she said when pressed. And some of those folks run labor unions. "We have labor unions who are upset. They're disappointed that I would say anything," but she quickly pointed to her own pro-labor voting record. "I'm not really sure how much more I can say about where I stand about unions. It's incredible to me that anybody would question those values."

She did, however, vote against the minimum wage hike, which was a major union priority last year  although Madigan himself has blocked or watered down several such pay increase proposals in the past.

Costa Howard also talked about a confrontation at a recent weekend event with a "buddy" who is also a "high-ranking labor person."

"It got really ugly," she said. "And the beauty of it was everybody around me went after him about it."

"What I found to be so ironic was him having this whole conversation about power and, you know, keeping the working person" in power. "And I looked at him and I'm like, the only reason anybody has power is if somebody gave it to them. When you take that away, who are they? The emperor has no clothes in that situation and people need to wake up and see that."

That's what I've been telling the "mushrooms" for years: You're the ones who have all the power. Without you, Madigan has no majority. And no majority means no power. The entire caucus has revolved for decades around getting Madigan's most vulnerable members reelected, whether they agreed with those decisions or not. Vote your conscience and then make him go out and reelect you, not the other way around. They never listened.

While Costa Howard was quick to say she didn't want to "make it sound like it's all organized labor," she did claim that she knows colleagues who "received calls from 'certain groups' to say, 'Stand down, don't expect us to financially support you if you (call on Madigan to resign).' And I find that really troubling."

And what about her colleagues? "Do I have colleagues who are upset because they may feel I put them on a hot seat? Well, I can't control other peoples' districts, I can only control myself and what's best for me and my district and what the people of the state of Illinois are looking for with leaders."

Costa Howard said she will not vote for Madigan if he runs again for House Speaker. But she said she won't reject any money spent on her behalf by the state party he controls.

"I am the Democratic candidate for the 48th district. So, saying I'm not supposed to be supported by the Democratic Party is not fair. It's my party, I represent the party and when individuals make contributions to the Democratic Party they expect it to be used on Democratic candidates, which I am one of."

She did say, though, that she would refuse direct cash contributions from Speaker Madigan's personal campaign committee.

And what about objections made by some of her colleagues that she and others have no plan for what happens after Madigan steps down? What should happen?

"Exactly what happened in the Senate," when Senate President John Cullerton abruptly retired last year, she said. "There is a caucus, a conversation about who should step up to be speaker. They were able to do it in the Senate."

Terra Costa Howard is genuinely liked by many of her colleagues and she hasn't been a showboat who instinctively sought refuge with the knee-jerk anti-Madigan's of the world. It's going to be fascinating to see what happens to her in the coming weeks and months.

Rich Miller also publishes Capitol Fax, a daily political newsletter, and CapitolFax.com.

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Vijayawada, Aug 9 : At least three persons were killed on Sunday in a fire that broke out at a hotel turned Covid-19 care centre here, officials said.

Fire tenders rushed to the spot managed to bring the blaze under control.

The fire broke out in the ground and first floors of the building. Inmates of the Covid-19 care centre began screaming and shouting following emanation of thick smoke.

A few panicked persons jumped from the first floor of the building.

City commissioner of police Srinivasa Rao said that the condition of two persons is serious. Around 40 people, including 30 Covid-19 patients, were said to be in the centre when the mishap occurred. The rescued patients have been shifted to other covid care centres nearby.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy expressed anguish at the mishap and ordered an inquiry into the incident.
Despite initially mounting a strong resistance to the process to compile a new voters register, former President and flagbearer of the opposition NDC, John Dramani Mahama, has admitted that the exercise has been successful.



I think the exercise met our expectations [Over 16 million registrants] is within the range that one would have expected, the National Democratic Congress presidential candidate said Sunday, August 9, 2020, in an interview.



The Facebook Live interview in Kete Krachi in the Krachi West District of the Oti Region is part of activities on his tour of the Region.



Explaining why himself and NDC put up a resistance against the Electoral Commissions decision to compile a new electoral roll for the December elections, he said usually before a new register is compiled, it is preceded by a national population census which gives an accurate date of the target population.



However, this did not happen this time around because of the COVID-19 pandemic.



Initially we had strong objections to compiling a new register. We believe that we could use the old register because by ages of registers it [the old register] was still relatively young and because we had not done the population census, we said that why dont we use this one and if we do the population census we will have an accurate data and then we could go ahead and do it, he explained in the interview hosted by XYZ TV and Woezor TV.



The EC revealed that biometric data of 16,663,669 Ghanaians have been captured in the just ended compilation exercise of a new voters register.



These were the figures provided by the commission as those recorded as at August 6, 2020, ahead of the December 7 polls.



According to the Deputy Chairman of Corporate Services at the EC, Dr Bossman Asare, the nationwide provisional figures since its last briefing have seen the top four regions maintain their positions.



Speaking at the eighth edition of the Let the Citizen Know series on Friday, August 7, Dr Asare said; As at 6th August 2020, the Commission had registered a total of 16,663,669 nationwide. Since the last briefing, the four top regions have maintained their positions. The Greater Accra region has especially lost some grounds in percentage terms from 21.34 % to 20.8% of the total registered. The Ashanti region also reduced marginally by 0.1% to its current 17.9%.



According to John Mahama, despite the high turnout, the new register has largely succeeded in taking out the names of dead people that existed in the old register.









Source: ghanaweb.com









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CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A 26-year-old man is dead and a 29-year-old man is hospitalized after a shooting in a Cleveland shopping plaza parking lot Saturday afternoon.

Police have arrested a 22-year-old who suffered several gunshot wounds and is confined at Cleveland Clinic Fairview Hospital, Cleveland police Sgt. Jennifer Ciaccia said.

The shooting happened about 2:45 p.m. at the parking lot on Buckeye Road, near East 113th Street in the citys Woodland Hills neighborhood, Ciaccia said.

Police responded to the parking lot after receiving a call about shots being fired.

Officers found the 26-year-old man being treated by paramedics. He was taken to University Hospitals where he was pronounced dead a short time later, Ciaccia said.

The 29-year-old man ran up to officers and told them he was shot. He also was taken to University Hospitals and is confined, Ciaccia said.

Investigators learned the man who died was in an argument with the arrested man when shots were fired.

A second shooting happened, believed to be related, in the area of East 116th Street where the suspected shooter was taken into custody.

The investigation is ongoing.

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7-month-old boy dies after being attacked by family pit bull in Akron, police say

Peaceful protester pepper sprayed during Cleveland protests comes forward, is preparing lawsuit
Daniel Andrews government had one main job, more or less. It was up to the Victorian community to manage social-distancing and self-isolation. But as soon as it became clear the vast majority of Australias coronavirus cases were coming from overseas arrivals, the need to create an inviolable hotel quarantine system was laid totally bare. That was on his government.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews, palming off the tough questions. Credit:AP

All states had to rush their quarantine set-up, and the process was messy, involving much human distress and some very bad hotel food.

It has become increasingly clear, despite Premier Andrews attempts to deflect questions, that his government bungled this in Victoria with the appointment of private security contractors to manage the hotel quarantine inmates.

Media reports this week said many of the guards couldnt cope with the stress and hostility of the pent-up people. They lacked the professionalism and discipline the armed forces or the police brought to quarantine enforcement in other states.
Apple and the iPhone line, in particular, has never had an easy relationship with the Chinese market. Constantly thwarted by local regulations and many legal and political circumstances. Hence, the equal ports shocking and perfectly justifiable nature of the fact that iPhones still lack official support for Chinas BeiDou navigation system.

According to a new report from industry insiders, that might finally change with the introduction of the iPhone 12 family. On Wednesday, BeiDou spokesperson and director of the China Satellite Navigation Office, Ran Chengqi, mentioned in an interview that : Apple will use the BeiDou navigation system sooner or later.

More importantly, that vague hint was later backed-up by familiar sources, claiming that Apple is currently in the process of debugging iPhone 12 series performance and compatibility. Apparently, one of the tests being conducted is verifying proper BeiDou support.

The lack of such support has actually been one of the biggest and longest-standing complaints among Chines iPhone users. Currently. Even the best iPhone 11 Pro Max only a GPS receiver, plus A-GPS, with GLONASS, GALILEO and QZSS support.

The BeiDou system covers over 200 countries, with more than 100 million users and 200 million daily sessions. BeiDou-capable devices and especially smartphones have long been the norm on the local market and across most of the Asia-Pacific region, where the BeiDou system has the best performance. BeiDou-capable products are also already being exported and used in over 120 countries and regions around the world. The lack of support has been a major handicap for Apple and its resolve will offer substantial benefits to a large portion of its user base. In light of that, it will be interesting to see whether Cupertino makes a big announcement once BeiDou is hopefully fully implemented, or will simply slip that in, without much fanfare in the official iPhone 12 specs sheets.

Source (in Chinese)
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-09 15:09:04|Editor: huaxia

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People observe a moment of silence during the memorial ceremony of the 75th anniversary of the U.S. atomic bombing at the Peace Park in Nagasaki, Japan, Aug. 9, 2020. Nagasaki City in Japan commemorated the 75th anniversary of the U.S. atomic bombing on Sunday, with about 500 people and representatives from some 70 countries and regions attending the annual memorial ceremony. (Nagasaki City/Handout via Xinhua)

TOKYO, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) -- Nagasaki City in Japan commemorated the 75th anniversary of the U.S. atomic bombing on Sunday, with about 500 people and representatives from some 70 countries and regions attending the annual memorial ceremony.

The ceremony was held at the Peace Park and the number of participants this year was roughly one-tenth of the usual number to avoid crowding as COVID-19 continues to spread across the country. Meanwhile, there were no seats for the public to prevent further infections.

At 11:02 a.m. local time, a moment's silence was observed by those attending the ceremony as this was the time when a U.S. B-29 bomber dropped a plutonium-core atomic bomb, nicknamed "Fat Man," on Aug. 9, 1945, killing around 74,000 people in Nagasaki by the end of that year.

The atomic bombing of Nagasaki follows one dropped on Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945, with both bombings a means of accelerating the end of World War II and forcing Japan to surrender without a land invasion that would have claimed many more lives as experts attest.

Tomihisa Taue, the city's mayor, urged the central government to immediately sign a UN treaty banning nuclear weapons at the ceremony.

"If, as with the novel coronavirus which we did not fear until it began spreading among our immediate surroundings, humanity does not become aware of the threat of nuclear weapons until they are used again, we will find ourselves in an irrevocable predicament," he added.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, for his part, avoided mentioning the UN treaty, saying the horror of nuclear devastation experienced by Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the human suffering that resulted from it must never be repeated.

A message from UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was conveyed in the ceremony. "The international community must return to the understanding that a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought."

"We must continue to uphold the norm against nuclear testing. And we must protect and further strengthen the international nuclear disarmament regime," he said.

While Japan inwardly looks at the tragedies it had experienced at the end of World War II, historians and political minds of the international community have encouraged Japan to come to see themselves not as merely victims of the atomic bombings but also as the perpetrators who led to these tragic incidents to happen in the first place.

Japan brutally occupied many parts of Asia before and during World War II, causing untold suffering and death to hundreds of thousands of innocent victims.

Undoubtedly, the events that took place in Hiroshima and Nagasaki were tragic, but there were numerous more heinous incidents carried out by the Japanese army, that until this day, have received far less coverage in educational textbooks, or in globally televised memorial services.
Peel Regional Police have arrested a man who was involved in a carjacking and kidnapping of a mother and three-year-old girl in Mississauga.

At around 7:30 p.m., Friday, police confronted three suspects in a taxi, regarding a stolen car investigation, at Novo Star Drive and Mavis Road.

Police said there was a struggle, one officer received minor injuries, one suspect was arrested and the other two suspects fled.

At around 8 p.m., the mother and her three-year-old daughter were getting into their car near Haines Artist Way and Elliott Parliament St.when the two suspects stole their car, police said.

The mother was able to grab her daughter from the back seat. The victims were not injured.

Keerat Sehra, 19, of Brampton, is charged with robbery, assaulting a police officer and failure to comply with a release order. The other two suspects remain outstanding.

The victims car is a 2018 black BMW with an Ontario license plate BVLR298. Police are asking anyone with information to call 905-453-2121, Ext. 3410, or to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.

David Venn is a breaking news reporter, working out of the Stars radio room in Toronto. Follow him on Twitter: @davidvenn_

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by Pierre Balanian

Violent, anti-Hezbollah groups demonstrated in Place des canons and then seized and sacked the Foreign Ministry. Important and sensitive documents were burnt. Papers were also destroyed at the Environment and Economy ministries. A member of the security service is killed. Prime Minister Hassan Diab calls for early parliamentary elections, echoed by the Maronite patriarch who also wants an international inquiry.

Beirut (AsiaNews)  No respite for Beirut. Despite popular wisdom and young people seeking calm to continue rescue operations, posting messages on WhatsApp chats, some dark hands working in the shadows managed to fill the Place des Canons (Martyrs Square) not with peaceful and cheerful protesters, but with violent and destructive people.

This time the "protesters" did not represent every religious or social group, ordinary people, the poor; instead, they came from the ideologically anti-Shia, anti-Hezbollah, anti-Iran, anti-China and anti-Russia half of the country.

Breaking a taboo, for the first time they hung in effigy two dummies representing Hassan Nasrallah, secretary general of Hezbollah, and Nabih Berry, speaker of of the Lebanese Parliament of the past three decades and one of the countrys unchallenged leaders.

Although the new government came into office only recently, after months of protests, and has not yet had time to do much, except for its excellent fight against COVID-19, protesters chanted Government, resign!, We want Beirut disarmed!, No to Hezbollah's weapons.

In fact, all of these demands are clearly partisan political demands, not slogans for social justice and against corruption and hunger.

During clashes between rioters and police, a member of the security forces fell to his death in an elevator shaft in a Beirut hotel because of the protesters.

The violent crowd, made up mainly of young people, also targeted three private lorries provided by the Civil Protection authorities to clear debris and rubble, setting them on fire.

The rioters, gathered around former General Sami Rammah, seized the Foreign Ministry, setting it on fire. The building might have contained evidence useful to determine who was responsible for the explosions. The fire burnt large quantities of other sensitive documents as well.

The Economy and Environment Ministries were also occupied, but not set on fire; however, here too, documents were thrown in the air and onto the streets. Such documents could contain evidence of corruption going as far back as 1992, whose principals the government of Prime Minister Hassan Diab sought to punish.

Many people believe corrupt people are behind the riots, trying to get rid of the evidence of their guilt amid the ongoing chaos in order to ensure their impunity.

Amid the unrest, talk is growing of dividing Lebanon into ethno-religious cantons, an old idea from the time of the civil war (1975-1990) that never went away.

In addition to the death of the member of the security forces, hundreds of people were also injured. Eventually, the military was able to clear the ministries, but damage was done.

Whilst the violent groups gathered in central Beirut, Prime Minister Hassan Diab gave a live televised speech. "The time is not for political controversies, he said. We are the government that came from the will of the people, following the protests. Give me two more months.

"The country is experiencing a tragedy that goes beyond its capabilities," he added. I promise the Lebanese that I shall find and punish those responsible, whoever they are; they will not be above the law."

Diab said that tomorrow he will ask his cabinet to hold early parliamentary elections. Maronite Patriarch Bechara al-Rahi also called for the government to resign and hold early elections, along with an international inquiry into last Tuesdays explosions.

Shia leaders have however rejected the last request, calling it a form of neo-colonialism, a desire to put the country under international tutelage.
On August 9 one of the senior members of United States President Donald Trump administration, Health Secretary Alex Azar will land in Taiwan for high-level talks. In his three day visit to the island nation, the Health secretary will meet the President of Taiwan, Tsai Ing-wen. Amid tensions between two world powers China and the United States, Azars visit is seen as a jolt for China. This trip from the Washington side is seen as an opportunity to learn from Taiwan, its fight against the novel coronavirus, and to celebrate its progressive values. According to media reports health and human service department said this trip is meant to learn from Taiwan its success over the coronavirus and testament to the shared beliefs that open and democratic societies are best to provide to fight with disease threats like coronavirus.

Read: TikTok Warns Of Legal Action Against US Over Trump's Executive Order

Besides meeting President of Taiwan, Tsai Ing-wen, Azar will also meet his counterpart Shih-Chung and Foreign Minister Joseph Wu. Furthermore, Health Secretary Alex Azar will also meet coronavirus experts and give a speech to public health students as well as alumni of a training program with the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.

Read: Trump Wants A Cut For US From Any Microsoft-TikTok Purchase In Unprecedented Demand

China Irked

On August 5, China said a visit by a top US cabinet member to Taiwan was endangering peace and stability in the region. A statement by United states de facto embassy in Taipei said US health secretary Alex Azar would lead a delegation to the self-ruled island of Taiwan, which Beijing claims it as part of China. According to media reports Wang Wenbin, a spokesman of Chinas Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said China strongly opposes official exchanges between the United States of America and Taiwan. He also added we urge the USA to abide by the one-China principle and to avoid seriously endangering Sino-US relations and to keep peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.

(Image Credit-AP)

Read: China Says Top US Cabinet Member's Visit To Taiwan 'endangering Peace And Stability'

Read: Hong Kong Says It Will Support China's Retaliatory Measures Against US Sanctions
Twitter Inc has approached TikTok's Chinese owner ByteDance to express interest in acquiring the United States operations of the video-sharing app, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters, as experts raised doubts over Twitter's ability to put together financing for a potential deal.

It is far from certain that Twitter would be able to outbid Microsoft Corp and complete such a transformative deal in the 45 days that U.S. President Donald Trump has given ByteDance to agree to a sale, the sources said on Saturday.

The news of Twitter and TikTok being in preliminary talks and Microsoft still being seen as the front-runner in bidding for the app's U.S. operations was reported earlier by the Wall Street Journal.

Twitter has a market capitalization of close to $30 billion (23 billion pounds), almost as much as the valuation of TikTok's assets to be divested, and would need to raise additional capital to fund the deal, according to the sources.

"Twitter will have a hard time putting together enough financing to acquire even the U.S. operations of TikTok. It doesn't have enough borrowing capacity", said Erik Gordon, a professor at the University of Michigan.

"If it (Twitter) tries to put together an investor group, the terms will be tough. Twitter's own shareholders might prefer that management focus on its existing business", he added.

One of Twitter's shareholders, private equity firm Silver Lake, is interested in helping fund a potential deal, one of the sources added.

Twitter has also privately made a case that its bid would face less regulatory scrutiny than Microsoft's, and will not face any pressure from China given that it is not active in that country, the sources said.

TikTok, ByteDance and Twitter declined to comment.

TikTok has come under fire from U.S. lawmakers over national security concerns surrounding data collection.

Earlier this week, Trump unveiled bans on U.S. transactions with the China-based owners of messaging app WeChat and TikTok, escalating tensions between the two countries.

Trump said this week he would support Microsoft's efforts to buy TikTok's U.S. operations if the U.S. government got a "substantial portion" of the proceeds. He nevertheless said he will ban the popular app on Sept. 15.

Microsoft said on Sunday it was aiming to conclude negotiations for a deal by mid-September.
In crafting legislation and policy positions to benefit all New Mexicans, we depend upon industry lobbyists to provide honest and useful information about the industries they represent. For decades, the New Mexico Oil and Gas Association (NMOGA) has been a leader among trade associations in our state, earning a solid reputation from both sides of the aisle for helping us understand the intricacies of the challenges and opportunities in the industry. Over the years, its advocacy has helped to deliver record-breaking revenue for New Mexico that goes directly to funding our public schools and infrastructure while at the same time achieving the right balance of regulation in order to protect the environment and grow our economy.

However, under Executive Director Ryan Flynn, NMOGA has devolved into a highly charged political organization that seems more interested in creating political power for a handful of the wealthiest players in the industry at the expense of the front-line workers and locally owned firms who have fueled New Mexicos economy. Specifically, Flynn has recently been making false statements about the status of the industry and distorting the policy positions and actual votes on key legislation by our elected officials that impacts the industrys future in New Mexico. This disingenuous behavior hurts our working relationship and cannot be tolerated.

First, Flynn has been painting a very rosy picture about the projected recovery of the oil and gas industry in our state. While we all want to believe that global oil production will quickly rebound to pre-pandemic levels, thus positively affecting New Mexicos current fiscal condition, Flynns statements contradict reality. Meanwhile, New Mexicos Republican legislators have been tirelessly fighting for greater fiscal responsibility to avoid the state having to dig into our reserves. Flynns false portrayal of the industry plays right into the hands of Democrats who want to keep spending as if nothing catastrophic has happened.

Secondly, and more egregious, Flynn has taken NMOGA into a place where it does not belong  the race for the 2nd Congressional District between Democrat incumbent Rep. Xochitl Torres Small and Republican challenger former State Representative Yvette Herrell.

In response to Herrells recent announcement that former Congressman Harry Teague, a lifelong Democrat and oilman from Hobbs, has endorsed her for Congress, Flynn immediately put out a statement from NMOGA praising Torres Small, saying she has stood up to those in her party who want to completely ban fracking.

In fact, Torres Small did the exact opposite, when just this past February, she joined with the radicals in Congress like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and voted for a fracking ban. Not only does Flynns statement embarrass NMOGA, its timing uncovers Flynns premeditated poor decision to use the association as a political weapon. Getting NMOGA involved in this race is not only unethical, but also potentially illegal and risks permanent damage to the associations reputation.

Flynn should be well aware of Torres Smalls anti-fracking position because one week after her vote, Claire Chase, a past chair of NMOGA, who lost to Herrell for the GOP nomination, sent a campaign fundraising email titled Xochitl Sold Us Out, which admonished her for voting to give future presidents the power to ban fracking unilaterally and bankrupt our state. Incidentally, Chase has since endorsed Herrell and donated to her campaign.

So, what is Flynns motive? We arent exactly sure, but this pattern of lies has effectively destroyed any trust we had in him to be a fair advocate for NMOGA. While we cannot dictate to NMOGA who should be running its organization, we would suggest the association consider putting a person in its leadership who does not spread misinformation and puts personal political preferences ahead of the interests of the oil and gas industry and the workers it supports.

NMOGA can repair its reputation as a reliable arbiter of factual information, but the choice is up to its board.
A Home Ministry official said when a test will be done, everyone will be informed. He also asked everyone not to speculate on the home minister's health

New Delhi: Union Home Minister Amit Shah has not undergone any fresh COVID-19 test, an official said on Sunday, a clarification which came after BJP's Delhi MP Manoj Tiwari tweeted on the test.

Shah is recuperating at a hospital in Gurgaon after testing positive for coronavirus last week.

A Home Ministry official said when a test will be done, everyone will be informed. He also asked everyone not to speculate on the home minister's health.

Soon, Tiwari also deleted his tweet that stated Shah has tested negative for coronavirus.

On 2 August, Shah, 55, had announced on his Twitter handle that he has tested positive for coronavirus and is getting admitted to a hospital following the advice of doctors.
The Italian tradition of the shipyard Cranchi is celebrating this year its one hundred fiftieth anniversary and is thus one of the oldest shipyards in the modern boat building. Still, the 1870, opened operation owned by the founding family. In the meantime, the fifth Generation is at the helm. The current offer includes 15 models. The range starts with a trailerable Eight-Meter-beginner's booting and ends at the more than 25-Meter-long luxury yacht Settantotto, which is celebrated in January on the trade fair in Dusseldorf, the world premiere.

With the T36 Crossover is a special litter for the boat builders from Piantedo in the vicinity of the Lago di Como. The fuselage of a glider was combined with the bodywork in the Trawler-style. The a sporty driving behaviour, a lot of space in the Salon and excellent protection from the weather promises to be equally. The latter appreciate the Skipper of the frolic in the Northern European coalfields. The boat can also be used in the transition times of use and otherwise fairly short season renew. The customers in Germany, the importer Enjoy Yachting from Seelze near Hanover, Germany, is represented with its own dealer network, regional care since 2017. The Basis of the Crossover boat, the hull of the Z35 is. Lovers flotterer lines can be accessed with the same driving behavior, so on this model. The constructions of the T36 Crossover have been newly developed.

The precious grace at the end of the test boat is Packed with Extras. The first Option in the Form of the push-button retractable electric Gangway, we use the same to Enter the Yacht. Here Teakbelage waiting for us on the swim platform and the cockpit floor, an extra cost of electric grill comes into view. The Cockpit furniture with sink and Teak chopping Board belongs to standard equipment, as is the stern shower on the passage to the Cockpit.

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In the Cockpit L-shaped Seating group is located, optionally with a solid Teak table top. By means of the hand rails, well-protected side decks lead to the bow. For the entire anchor device with 15 kg Bruce anchor, 50 metres of chain and electric winch Cranchi requires, in contrast to some competitors, no extra charge, but for upholstery as well as a shower.

While the bodies are held in the trawler-style awaits the guests in the Salon is by no means a rustic fishermen's ambience, but with modern yacht furniture with a high comfort of living. The heart of the interior of the passageway, to port is a Seating group in a U shape with folding table is. To starboard is a galley with a refrigerator, a work area, twin hob and sink, as well as head installed at a height of storage space is available. When not in use, the kitchen disappears behind a cover. Directly in front of the control stand. The backrest of the driver's seat can be folded forward, which extends the shelf again. Two hatches in the roof for the ventilation available. Large Windows much light to let in. Blinds cost extra, which is also true for the combined heating and air conditioning for cabins and Cockpit.

At the front end of the deck house, there is a decline to the sleeping chambers leads. The basic version with three cabins and a wet-cell velvet electric toilet and separate shower is for a 12-Meter Yacht considerably. A layout with two cabins and two bathrooms is offered as an Alternative. In the stately MT a 1,92  1.52 m large double berth is mounted. Midships there is an owner's cabin with a ceiling height of 2.07 meters in the entrance area, the deck-over of 1.90  1.80 m large area is significantly reduced. In the smaller third cabin with a standing height of almost 1,90 meters, two floor are installed beds.

Updated Date: 09 August 2020, 15:19
This article will be updated throughout the week with coronavirus case counts and other need-to-know information about the pandemic in San Antonio.

COVID-19 update: Thirteen more people have died of COVID-19 in Bexar County, a tally that includes lives lost over the last month and that brings the death toll since the start of the pandemic to 445, the Metropolitan Health District reported Sunday.

Early childhood education: The pandemic has exposed the vulnerability of the nations early childhood education system, which already operated on razor-thin margins. The virus only served to further erode a network that doesnt just provide working parents with a safe place to put their children during the day.

August 8

COVID-19 update: Bexar County has 232 new cases of novel coronavirus, Metro Health reported Saturday, increasing the total to 42,531 in the six months since the pandemic took hold in San Antonio. There were 10 deaths reported over several days time, moving the total death count in Bexar County from COVID-19 to 432. Hospital numbers continued to improve, however; there were 743 people with the virus in San Antonio hospitals, down from 770 Friday. Thats five straight days of fewer people with the disease hospitalized.

August 7

COVID-19 update: Nirenberg said there were fewer people with the virus in San Antonio hospitals, 770 on Friday, down from 801 Thursday. And there were fewer in intensive care, too, 339 down from 345 Thursday, and 231 on ventilators, down from 238 Thursday. Bexar County saw 360 new cases of novel coronavirus Friday and 16 more deaths, but Mayor Nirenberg said some of the deaths date back to July 14.

S.A. school guidance: Only children with special needs, those who are deemed at-risk and students without resources to conduct their studies at home should go into schools and in extremely limited capacities as districts start their fall semester this month amid the coronavirus pandemic, according to guidance issued Friday by Dr. Junda Woo, medical director of the San Antonio Metropolitan Health District.

August 6

COVID-19 update: The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Bexar County continues to rise at a moderate rate, with Mayor Ron Nirenberg reporting 325 new cases Thursday. So far, 41,939 people have tested positive for the virus. The number of deaths soared to 406, after 12 new deaths were reported Thursday, including four residents of the Landing at Stone Oaks senior living facility who died over the last two weeks.

COVID-19 in the classroom: A recent study from researchers at the University of Texas at Austin highlights the COVID-19 risks as schools reopen. The researchers estimated the likelihood of a person carrying the virus showing up to school on the first day of class. At a school in Bexar County with 1,000 people, at least 15 students or staff would be expected to show up infected with the virus.

Texas Bars: The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission has decided to give properties that were classified as bars but that also serve food the chance to reclassify the business as a restaurant. The decision will allow many to reopen their dining rooms after being forced to close them again June 26 by Gov. Gregg Abbott.

Gov. warns of massive health emergency: Gov. Greg Abbott on Thursday urged Texans to get flu vaccines early and take action to protect themselves to avoid overburdening already-strained Texas hospitals dealing with the pandemic.

With a flu season that could be prolific, if that leads to greater hospitalizations, coupled with the hospitalizations theyre seeing for COVID-19, you could easily see how hospitals in this region as well as across Texas will be completely overrun with an inability for hospitals to take care of the medical needs of everybody in the entire region, Abbott said in an appearance at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas.

Infant cases double in area county: Nueces County has reported that their infant cases of COVID-19 has nearly doubled since mid-July, public health officials said. Since the start of the pandemic to the second week of July, Nueces County recorded 85 cases of COVID-19 in infants below the age of 2. From mid-July the county said they have seen the number jump to 167 positive cases.

August 5th

Town hall sheds light on school year ahead: The city of San Antonio is creating zones based on health data that decide when and how students go back to school: red being the worst, yellow and green.

We know realistically as educators, a lot of these things are going to be difficult to enforce, Natalie Clifford, an educator and the high school director of the Harlandale Education Association said during the city's town hall on school reopenings.

Hundreds of new cases reported: Mayor Ron Nirenberg reported 14 more deaths from COVID-19 on Wednesday. But new cases in San Antonio continued to hover in a relatively low range, with 340 new infections reported  a hopeful trend also reflected in fewer hospitalizations.
Healthcare staff collect swab samples for COVID-19 testing from migrant workers in Singapore. (PHOTO: Then Chih Wey/Xinhua/via Getty Images)

SINGAPORE  The Ministry of Health (MOH) has confirmed 132 new COVID-19 cases as of Saturday (8 August) noon, bringing Singapores total to 54,929.

Of the cases, one is a Singaporean, six were imported and the remaining 125 were foreign workers residing in a few standalone blocks in the dormitories that serve as quarantine facilities.

The 60-year-old Singaporean woman had been identified as a contact of a previously confirmed case, and had been placed on quarantine earlier. She was tested during quarantine to determine her status.

Overall, the number of new cases in the community has decreased, from an average of three cases per day in the week before, to an average of two per day in the past week. The number of unlinked cases in the community has remained stable at an average of one case per day in the past 14 days.

Amongst the 6 imported cases, one is a work pass holder and two are work permit holders (cases 54960, 54971 and 54972) who are currently employed in Singapore. They arrived in Singapore from India and Indonesia on 27 July. The remaining three cases (cases 54952, 54961 and 54970) are dependants pass holders who arrived from India on 27 July and the US on 26 July.

All of them had been placed on 14-day Stay-Home Notice (SHN) upon arrival in Singapore, and were serving their SHN at dedicated facilities.

The Inter-agency Taskforce has completed the testing of all workers in the dormitories on Friday, except for a few standalone blocks in the dormitories that serve as quarantine facilities. The workers in these quarantine facilities will be tested when their isolation ends, and the authorities expect the case counts to remain high in the coming days, before tapering down thereafter.

There was a new cluster recorded at a dormitory at 35 Kian Teck Way with 25 cases.

Over 48,500 discharged; none in ICU

With 271 more patients discharged from hospitals or community isolation facilities on Friday, 48,583 cases  some 88 per cent of the tally  have fully recovered from the infection.

Story continues

Most of the 145 hospitalised cases are stable or improving, while none is in critical condition in the intensive care unit.

A total of 6,174 patients with mild symptoms or are clinically well but still test positive are isolated and cared for at community facilities.

Apart from 27 patients who have died from COVID-19 complications, 15 others who tested positive for the virus were determined to have died from unrelated causes, including three whose deaths were attributed to a heart attack and another four, whose deaths were attributed to coronary heart disease.

Only cases where the attending doctor or pathologist attributes the primary or underlying cause of death as due to COVID-19 infection will be added to the COVID-19 death count, said the MOH in previous press releases, adding that the method of assessment is consistent with international practices for classifying deaths.

Stay in the know on-the-go: Join Yahoo Singapore's Telegram channel at http://t.me/YahooSingapore

Other Singapore stories:

COVID-19: Guidelines for 7th lunar month activities issued, getai and auctioning prohibited

Para bowler Eric Foo earns two honours at Singapore Disability Sports Awards

Ng Teng Fong GH unveils bio-aerosol containment units for COVID-19, other critically ill patients

COVID-19: Three charged for leaving residences despite being given MCs, SHN
She was accused of editing her social media snaps earlier this week.

But that hasn't stopped Lauren Goodger from defiantly posting selfies to her Instagram account, as she served up her signature pout while wearing a bikini on the beach on Sunday.

The former TOWIE star, 33, let her ample cleavage bask in the scorching British sunshine as she spent a day away from Essex in a bid to 'escape from everything'.

Bronzed beauty: Lauren Goodger delivered the ultimate pout and displayed her ample cleavage as she enjoyed a getaway to the beach on Sunday

She was bronzed to perfection as she posed on the coastline wearing a simple black bikini top.

Lauren left little to the imagination as she showcased her curvy figure and puckered her lips for a selfie.

Her highlighted brown tresses were swept effortlessly to the side and her makeup mirrored a neutral and warm toned palette.

Too glam to give a damn: The former TOWIE star, 33, sported her brunette locks in a natural wave and opted for a bronzed makeup look as she said she needed to 'escape everything'

Lauren wore a pair of statement '60s inspired tinted shades to protect herself from the glaring British rays.

She delicately placed her hand under her chin for the poised yet sultry Instagram snap.

The reality star captioned the image: 'I followed my heart and it led me too the beach.... days like this where I can escape from everything.

'Nothing I more love that the sound of the Sea, sand and the sun #LeaveMeB #clearhead #comingback #recharged.'

Hot water: Lauren has come under fire recently after fans called her out for Photoshopping her images on social media, specifically one of her posing in a white bikini (pictured above)

Lauren came under fire this week after she was accused of enhancing her social media images with photo editing tools.

On Wednesday, she hit back at 'vile, nasty, evil' trolls in a lengthy rant.

The former TOWIE star vowed to be even more 'successful, sexy and confident' than ever after her followers criticised her for enhancing her appearance in a white bikini.

Bounce back: The former TOWIE star hit back at fans who criticised her and defiantly said she will be more 'successful, sexy and confident' than ever before

In a lengthy rant, Lauren wrote: 'Please look at every other celebs page comments who are posting pics of them with @boombod and please look at mine!

'Same brand and same pics! This is why I never take ANYTHING seriously what my "hating" followers say. They just want any excuse to hate and make vile, nasty, evil comments.'

Lauren has defended other celebrities such as Kylie Jenner- who was called out for a Photoshop blunder- and she has accused fans of fuelling hate out of jealousy.

She said: 'This is why I never take ANYTHING seriously what my "hating" followers say. They just want any excuse to hate and make vile, nasty, evil comments.'

She added: 'Some people that follow me are just pure jealousy. It's actually disgusting. Someone said I should never be allowed children and I'm mentally deranged.

'I have PTs "professionals" (my a**e)! using their own profile by slagging me off and putting clown emojis over my face.

'It's any excuse to try and bring me down! But it's so wrong. How dare you. But one thing about me is I will never let you win!

'You will never bully me to try and make your ugly selves feel better...'
Curtis Pritchard did not cheat on Maura Higgins with Amber Pierson who he was recently spotted sharing a kiss with, a friend of the former couple has said.

The Love Islander, 24, was pictured putting on a cosy display with dancer Amber, 21, with a source close to Maura saying the couple's outing was 'a kick in the teeth'.

However, a friend close to Curtis and Maura told MailOnline the cheating claims are a 'smear campaign' by Maura to serve as a 'diversion' from rumours that circulated about her relationship with her Dancing On Ice partner Alexander Demetriou.

Claims: Curtis Pritchard, 24, did not cheat on Maura Higgins, 29, with Amber Pierson, 21, who he was recently spotted sharing a kiss with, friends of the former couple has said

The insider said: 'The claims earlier this year that Curtis was with Amber whilst still with Maura were simply a tactical diversion by her to take the heat off the rumours circulating about the close relationship she had with her dance partner Alex'.

Alexander and his wife Carlotta Edwards split earlier this year, with Alex admitting she grew 'jealous' of his close bond with Maura, saying he 'didn't want to lead her on' anymore.

A friend of Curtis and Maura insisted that there was 'no overlap' between him seeing Amber and the reports that Maura and Alex had grown close during their time on the show.

They told MailOnline: 'Maura and Alex both swore nothing was going on, yet Alex split from his wife soon after the show finished in suspicious circumstances which got everyone taking'.

Hurt: Curtis was pictured putting on a cosy display with dancer Amber, 21, with a source close to Maura saying the couple's outing was 'a kick in the teeth'

'We all know the truth that there was no overlap of him beginning to see Amber. They toured together without any form of spark, it was only afterwards that this occurred'.

'Any suggestion otherwise is just a smear campaign by Maura to cause harm to Curtis and cause him further upset and hurt.

'The truth will all come out in time, but we all back Curtis and support his version of events. Those in glass houses shouldn't throw bricks!'

It comes after a source close to Maura admitted that the images of Curtis with Amber, released on Friday, were 'a kick in the teeth' and believes she 'should have trusted her gut' following claims about their relationship in the past.

Rumours: A source said the cheating claims are a 'smear campaign' by Maura to serve as a 'diversion' from rumours that circulated about her relationship with her Dancing On Ice partner Alexander Demetriou (Maura and Alex pictured in February)

Maura and Curtis called it quits in March just eight months after leaving the Love Island villa, with sources claiming at the time the Irish reality star felt pressured to maintain the romance to boost their profile, which the dancer strongly denies.

MainOnline has contacted representatives for Maura for comment.

A source close to Maura said: 'This is a massive kick in the teeth to Maura as she did have her suspicions and believes now she should have trusted her gut feeling at the time.

'However Maura is in a really great place right now, focusing on herself and her career.'

Denied: Amber (pictured centre right) and Curtis (pictured centre) branded claims of their alleged affair as 'complete lies' despite their recent park rendezvous

What's going on? Amid the reports Maura also took to Twitter to share a cryptic tweet about 'the truth coming out'

Mere hours after Curtis was pictured kissing Amber, Maura also took to Twitter on Saturday to cryptically write: 'The truth always comes out in the end.'

Professional dancer Curtis previously hit back at claims he had cheated on his ex-girlfriend Maura, with Amber, who also called the speculation a 'complete lie.'

However it appears the pair have got close in recent months as they were spotted kissing as they walked through a park in images obtained by The Sun.

Curtis packed on the PDA as he wrapped his arm around Amber and leaned in for a kiss. Amber is also a professional dancer and a model based in London.

Rumbled: The dancing couple have been spotted out together on multiple occasions including a romantic double date with Curtis' brother AJ, 25, and his girlfriend Abbie Quinnen

An insider told the publication: 'It's game over for Curtis and Amber pretending they are just pals. Their ''friends'' line fooled no one.'

Curtis is said to have taken Amber out on a double date on Tuesday, where they enjoyed dinner with his brother AJ, 25, and his girlfriend Abbie Quinnen.

Curtis and Maura's relationship was rumoured to be on the rocks in March after speculation surfaced that he was getting overly friendly with the blonde beauty.

Maura had reportedly confronted him after she noticed him getting too close for comfort with his dancer 'friend.'

The red flags went up for Maura when she was alerted to an anonymous tweet, saying that Curtis was spotted 'hugging and kissing' the blonde.

Former flame: Curtis and Maura's relationship was rumoured to be on the rocks in March after speculation surfaced that he was getting overly friendly with Amber (pictured 2019)

Following the speculation, Amber dismissed claims she'd had a fling with Curtis behind Maura's back calling them 'complete lies,' but branded the Love Island hunk 'a lovely and talented guy'.

Taking to Instagram, she wrote: 'I didn't want to speak out about this, but I feel I have to as I have been receiving a few abusive messages recently regarding what's been in the papers.

'To be very clear, Curtis and I have never been together. We are simply friends and dancer partners! There are 13 dancers going on tour, and I am one of them.

'The 'cheating' allegations this week are out of the blue and complete lies.

'I wanted no part in this but what I will say is Curtis is genuinely a lovely and talented guy, who doesn't deserve any of this. Hope that's set the record straight and we can move on. Amber x.'

History: Curtis and Maura found love towards the end of the 2019 ITV series and continued to date for eight months after their exit before their relationship came to end in 2020

Curtis and Maura found love towards the end of the 2019 ITV series and continued to date for eight months after their exit before their relationship came to end in 2020.

It was claimed at the time the couple rowed over her friendship with her Dancing On Ice partner Alexander.

The Sun reported that Alex's friendly relationship with Maura caused arguments with his Dancing On Ice skater wife Carlotta.

Carlotta and Alex have since announced the break down of their marriage, but Maura has always insisted she is just friends with the professional skater.
New Delhi, Aug 9 : In the aftermath of the Air India Express plane crash that killed 18 people, Union Civil Aviation minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Sunday said the Vande Bharat Mission (VBM) for evacuating stranded Indians across the globe amid the pandemic will continue with the "same undaunted spirit".

In a series of tweets, he paid tribute to the people who lost their lives in the tragedy and also applauded the "solidarity and brotherhood" shown by the people of Kozhikode who took personal risks in providing immediate relief and help to the victims. Their immediate support helped in averting a greater tragedy, he added.

"Deeply pained at the loss of lives on Flight IX-1344 operating under Vande Bharat, a mission which has otherwise been incident-free & facilitated repatriation of more than 973K stranded citizens through various modes," Puri said in a tweet.

He also hailed the "undaunted spirit" of the aviation professionals and people of Kerala as despite the accident, operations from the airport recommenced with two Air India Express flights landing on Saturday morning.

"VBM will continue with the same undaunted spirit. We will continue to bring back our stranded citizens from wherever in the world they are. I join the people of the state & every Indian in paying tribute to the 18 people who lost their lives in this air tragedy," he said in another tweet.

On Friday night Air India Express AXB1344, a B-737 aircraft, with 190 people onboard, landed on runway 10 of the Kozhikode airport amid visibility of 2,000 metres in heavy rain, but overshot and nosedived into the valley and broke into two pieces.

As per flight data tracker, the Flight Radar 24, the IX1344/AXB 1344 Air India Express flight manoeuvred a descent to the runway and reached as low as 1,975 feet, 16 minutes before it skidded. The last few minutes were extremely crucial in reading the adverse conditions that the pilots and the plane were facing.

After this abortive attempt, the plane gained an altitude again to circle and come back after reaching an altitude of 7,200 feet. The plane skidded off the runway in heavy rain in its second attempt at landing. The last reading for the plane was at an altitude of 925 feet and a speed of 174 knots.

Puri said that due to the weather conditions, the pilot could not land the first time, so he did a turnaround and tried to approach it from a different direction.




This order, published on Saturday in El Peruano official gazette, aims to adopt extraordinary measures in economic and financial matters in order to expand and guarantee operations at temporary care and isolation centers for COVID-19 patients called La Videnita (Piura region) and Cerro Juli (Arequipa region).





In addition, it guarantees the provision of personal protective equipment, medicines and the implementation of optimization investments aimed at facing the emergency caused by the spread of COVID-19.





Similarly, it (the decree) approves the transfer of S/11,783,880 (around US$3.318 million) to the Ministry of Labor and Employment Promotion to finance operations at the above-mentioned temporary care and isolation centers.

It also authorizes regional governments to make financial transfers to the National Center for Supply of Strategic Health Resources (Cenares) the logistics entity of the Ministry of Health (Minsa) from their institutional budgetary resources.





(END) RGP/RGP/RMB





The Executive Branch has approved Urgency Decree 093-2020 , which is an extension of a previous mandate that introduces measures to expand the number of institutions providing health services and strengthen the health response within the framework of the state of emergency decreed to contain the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.Published: 8/9/2020
Trump admin. to provide $35M in DOJ housing assistance for human trafficking survivors

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The Department of Justice will be providing over $35 million in grants to victims of human trafficking. The federal funds will be used to provide safe housing.

In an announcement Tuesday at a White House event, presidential adviser and daughter of the president Ivanka Trump and Attorney General Bill Barr explained the necessity of the grants.

Barr said that in addition to supporting groups that assist and house trafficking victims, the Justice Department would do everything they could to fight the "evil scourge" of human trafficking, including investigating, prosecuting, and punishing the traffickers.

In her remarks, Ivanka Trump said the event was a chance to hear the stories of victims and celebrate the administration's and anti-trafficking groups' ongoing work fighting trafficking.

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, combating human trafficking in the U.S. and abroad is critical work, the first daughter explained, according to the White House.

DOJs grant recipients are on the frontlines of this fight, ensuring that survivors across our country are afforded safe and stable housing and empowered with the support and resources they need to rebuild their lives.

The money allotted for the grants is coming from the Office for Victims of Crime within the Justice Department's Office of Justice Programs and will be shared by 73 organizations in 33 states in order to provide anywhere from six months to two years of transitional or short-term housing assistance, including paying rent, utilities and other related expenses. The DOJ funds can be used for finding long-term housing and acquiring employment and occupational training.

Among the 73 organizations sharing the grants are Camillus House Inc. in Miami, Alternatives for Girls in Detroit, and the Jordan Community Resource Center in Shaker Heights, Ohio.

The announcement of the grants comes as the latest step of the administration amid ongoing efforts to combat the scourge.

Earlier this year, the Justice Department seized and shut down CityXGuide, which was considered the successor to Backpage.com, which was shut down in 2018. The owner of CityXGuide, Wilham Martono, was indicted in June on multiple charges, including promotion of prostitution, reckless disregard of sex trafficking, and interstate racketeering conspiracy.

Martono reportedly gained more than $21 million from several websites promoting prostitution and sex trafficking after registering the domain names for the sites the day after authorities seized Backpage.com, a site that was long known for the facilitation of prostitution and trafficking, including the exploitation of minors.
09.08.2020 LISTEN

The General Secretary of a developments oriented youth group based in the Ashanti Regional capital, Kumasi, known as Kumasi Youth Association (KuYA) has passionately appealed to Philanthropists in Ghana and the world at large to kindly consider health facilities in the rural areas when donating Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs) in the fight against COVID-19 pandemic

Mr Kwabena Frimpong made this passionate appeal on Boss FM's Friday morning show hosted by the indefatigable legendary Wofa Kofi Appiah where he is a regular panel member to discuss Kumasi (Asantaman) development and issues of national interest.

The dynamic and vociferous young man said " Wofa, I will appeal to all Philanthropists donating PPEs to kindly consider those facilities in rural communities because the over-concentration of donations to facilities in our bigger cities is becoming one too many to the neglect of health Centers and CHPS compound in the hinterland. We need to make an equal or equitable distribution of the PPEs we are donating as the lives of the rural folks also matter", he cried.

"All Staff of these health facilities are also prone to the disease and seriously need PPEs to protect themselves from contracting the virus, thereby enabling them to take good care of our family and friends in the rural communities. Wofa, everyone hails from a village or rural area so let's consider them because they are also suffering in acquiring PPEs" Mr Frimpong further added.

He revealed that "most health workers in our rural health facilities use nose mask made from cloth and wash them daily for reuse. These nose masks have not yet received any scientific approval to protect them from the deadly Covid-19 pandemic. Even though, Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association (GRNMA) has earlier warned all its members not to use the nose masks made with cloth but they have no other option than to use them due to non-availability of N95 or approved nose masks and other PPEs."

Mr. Frimpong, therefore, believes that inadequate PPEs at the rural areas health centers could possibly put the lives of those health workers at a high risk of contracting the virus in the course of saving lives. If the lives in the city matters then respectfully that of the rural folks cannot be looked down upon.
Elin Signe Askvik has always been connected to the sea: Her first job was on a cargo carrier, then came Arctic exploration and finally a decade of salvaging wrecks in pirate-infested waters. A personal favorite: a 2013 expedition, financed by Amazons Jeff Bezos, to recover Apollo 11s F-1 rocket engine, which had been jettisoned into the sea 44 years earlier. Skippering REV Ocean, the worlds largest yacht, will be a sea change. But Askvik will be using familiar technology to scan and map the oceans down to 20,000 feet, in a bid to save them.

Norway is known for its explorers. Did you grow up around boats?

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I grew up by a fjord named Osterfjorden north of Bergen Norways west coast. My Dad owned a small bulk carrier that he made a living from, and my brother and I spent all the time we could onboard during our youth. Dad taught us the value of working and not just dreaming. A good balance.

Did you attend a marine academy in Norway?

I went to maritime school on the west coast of Norway, focusing the first year on fisheries. Then I transferred to the standard merchant maritime school. I chose the second school because it was a year shorter than the alternative. That meant I could go to sea sooner.

Can you talk a little bit about your experience at Swire Seabed AS and your ultra-deepwater marine work?

In Swire Seabed, we made history by not only exploring, but also working at ultra-deepwater, down to 20,000 feet. Swire started as a one-person company with a passion for shipwrecks and salvaging of cargo. Over the years, we gained a reputation for deep-water work. In the latter years, years we had a close cooperation with Ocean Infinity, which specializes in both unmanned surface vehicles and autonomous underwater vehicle operations.

Story continues

You specialized in remote underwater vehicles. Was that for oil or natural gas exploration or salvaging?

It was all kinds of work, including commercial oil, gas and mineral industry. We even recovered the Apollo 11 F-1 engine. Still, as we developed a certain track record in both searching for lost vessels and more so salvaging cargo, we did quite a few of these kinds of projects. Thats where I found my passion for sub-sea exploration in general, and archaeology/wrecks in particular.

Theres some controversy about some of these recoveries on historic wrecks, correct?

History is a treasure in itself, and what is at the bottom of the sea should be documented first of all, but also recovered before it deteriorates. Its great diving in to sub-sea museums at thousands of feet, but not everybody can do that. Respecting history can also be about making it available to the world before its gone. We also took part in searches where not only the vessel was missing, but also its crew. That may sound distressing, but I found it rewarding. We potentially helped find answers for people who had lost loved ones at sea. That was the greatest honor of the job.

All that is very different from being captain of the worlds largest superyacht.

The earlier years made me aware of the changing state of the oceans and why Im at REV Ocean. I saw the bottom of the Mediterranean last year, some 6,500 feet below the surface. There was not a fish in sight, but an enormous amount of garbage. The coast of Africa, the middle of the Indian Ocean, everywhere its the same. The results of the stress we put on the ocean is downright scary. We still dont understand the ultimate consequences.

Im assuming your duties will include underwater exploration?

My background fits for doing sub-sea exploration in undiscovered areas, and gain knowledge about what we dont know. To gain understanding that can be shared with the world. We can ultimately contribute to the solutions to challenges of the blue environment and humanity face. Grand words, but we need to be grand to get the attention the ocean needs.

What kinds of vehicles will you have?

We will have a range of sensors on the mothership, basically to do a health check on the oceans. We will also have an advanced system for research trawling and coring equipment for samples. An ROV to inspect, and take samples. The autonomous underwater vehicle to survey larger areas. We will also have a manned submarine to see the magic of the undersea worldfor research and joy. Its a mesmerizing place.

What do you like most about the job?

The fact that I get to take part in something that matters for the future, something that can make a difference for the ocean, for the environment, and thereby for human beings  not just for the economy or one company. That excites me. Its like owner Kjell Inge Rkke has said: He wants to give back to the ocean that he has made a living from. I can identify with that philosophy.

What are you most hopeful about?

By asking the questions, we are on our way to finding answers. Answers that will increase the global understanding for the oceans state and our impact on it. I honestly believe that understanding is what will start the real change thats needed. Locally and globally.

Are there any planned missions that youre excited about?

Before starting in REV Ocean, one of the things I found really interesting was that any researcher can get the chance to come onboard the vessel and use all our equipment for free for research they think is important. No big money needed  just curiosity, enthusiasm, and a purpose. I look forward to meeting all those dedicated, compassionate researchers. And then sharing this with the world. Every mission will be a good one.

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Fears are growing that any decision to take Portugal off the Governments quarantine list will come too late for most families summer holidays.

At present, all travellers to Portugal have to self-isolate for 14 days on return, following restrictions imposed when coronavirus cases began to surge.

The number of cases has recently started to fall, leading to hopes the restrictions would soon be lifted.

Beachgoers crowd Praia da Duquesa, a favorite spot for tourists, on a hot Sunday afternoon during the COVID-19 Coronavirus pandemic in Cascais, Portugal

A woman wears a protective mask as she walks on the promenade in Praia da Duquesa, in Cascais, Portugal

Locals and tourists sit at outside tables of a restaurant as local and foreign tourism slowly picks up

But it is understood that Government officials will want to ensure the fall is sustained before they end the quarantine requirement.

A possible decision comes as Jersey increased restriction on France  which could soon be added to Britains quarantine list  this weekend.

An announcement on Portugal is unlikely to be made this week and could even be delayed until the final week of August  only days before schools return.

Paul Charles, of PC Agency, which advises hotels and airlines, said: Portugal could be removed from the list but it is not looking like it will be until the end of August.

My understanding is that it would need a sustained reduction in the number of cases for them to do so.

This kills the summer season for Portugal, and there is no doubt that 2020 has been the worst season it has had.

At present, all travellers to Portugal have to self-isolate for 14 days on return, following restrictions imposed when coronavirus cases began to surge.

Paddle boarders enjoy the beach as coronavirus cases in Portugal start to fall sparking hopes that the country will be taken off the UK's quarantine list

A Government source said: The process for dropping quarantine is far more gradual than it is for imposing it, so an announcement is not going to come soon.

But things do seem to be heading in the right direction in Portugal.

The Portuguese government has expressed regret at the UKs decision to continue to exclude it from the list of countries that are exempt from quarantine.

It is a decision that is neither substantiated nor supported by the facts, Portugals ministry of state and foreign affairs said last month.

Tourism is a major industry in Portugal and is popular with British holidaymakers, with almost three million UK visitors a year.

Mr Charles warned travellers to France and Malta that quarantine requirements may be imposed at the end of this week, if Covid cases continue to rise there.

If France continues to see cases rise at the current rate, the Government will need to add France to the quarantine list, he said.

France has four days to show it is keeping a lid on its numbers. Malta is also being watched quite closely.

Fears about Germany and Croatia being added to the list have dissipated following falls in the number of cases there.

This is a crucial week for countries to show that they are keeping a lid on this, said Mr Charles.
President Donald Trumps signature campaign to build a border wall from the Gulf Coast to the Pacific has added only 5 miles of new walls along the U.S.-Mexico border.

Since he took office in 2017, the administration has set aside $15 billion for 738 miles of walls and fencing on the 2,000-mile border, with the money coming from Homeland Security, the Defense Department and the Treasury Forfeiture Fund.

The federal government has completed 260 miles of replacement and secondary walls, but only 5 new miles of the 30-foot high steel bollard fencing where none existed before, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection data obtained by the Express-News.

Bob Owen/Staff photographer

At least 3 miles of the new barrier are in the Rio Grande Valley, near Roma. The administration also has completed 24 miles of new secondary fencing  a double barrier  and replaced 236 miles of outdated or dilapidated fencing.

Overall, the administration has allocated funding for 400 miles of replacement walls, 57 miles of new secondary fencing and 281 miles of new primary walls.

(Trump) is trying to say hes kept his campaign promise, but hes not saying what hes actually doing, which is just replacement sometimes of a double fence, said U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo.

ADRIANA ZEHBRAUSKAS, STR / NYT

Trump promised to build the wall and make Mexico pay for it in his 2016 campaign. A key feature in his efforts to limit immigration, the wall has proceeded slowly under congressional budget constraints and several lawsuits that sought to block construction.

The administration sidestepped Congress last year and diverted more than $6 billion from the military budget and more than $600 million from the Treasury Forfeiture Fund to speed up wall construction. The government said it would divert an additional $3.8 billion this year from the Defense Department.

Opponents sued to block the spending, but the Supreme Court ruled last week the administration can use the reprogrammed funding to continue building barriers in New Mexico, Arizona and California while a legal battle over the funds plays out in court.

Despite the administrations efforts to build quickly, private land ownership and flood-control concerns along the Rio Grande  governed by international boundary laws  also have slowed the progress. Most of the property targeted in Texas is in private hands. If the landowner refuses to sell, the government must survey the land before condemning it, requiring officials to file two lawsuits  to survey and to take the land.

Bob Owen /Staff photographer

But the government has been building walls and moving with more urgency on contracts in recent months in advance of the November election.

More Information Border wall progress The administration has set aside $15 billion since 2017 for 738 miles of border walls and fencing. It has completed 265 miles of the projects. Replacement walls built: 220 miles of primary fencing; 16 miles of secondary fencing New walls built: 5 miles of new primary fencing; 24 miles of secondary fencing Source: Customs and Border Protection See More Collapse

A rational person would tell you after COVID-19 certain things would stop, and we thought the wall construction was going to stop  But instead theyre pushing harder, Cuellar said. Are they trying to move faster? Yes they are.

Acting CBP Commissioner Mark Morgan said last week the agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are actually moving faster than ever on border wall construction.

Were putting more wall system in place every single day than we have before. Were now up to 265 miles ... if I checked right now, weve added a mile or two since I put this down in my talking points, Morgan.

The government this week awarded Fisher Sand and Gravel $289.5 million to build 17 miles of border wall in Laredo  all on private land.

They dont even own the land Yet they are awarding hundreds of millions of valuable taxpayer dollars to contractors to come into our community and destroy something thats irreplaceable. And thats offensive, said Tricia Cortez, executive director of the nonprofit Rio Grande International Study Center.

The company has long lobbied publicly for wall contracts and last year built a 3-mile-long steel wall on the banks of the Rio Grande near Mission to promote its design.

The wall  paid for in part by Trump supporters through the conservative nonprofit We Build the Walls crowd-sourcing campaign  is yards from river, just south of where the federal government has plans to build its own border wall.

It was just a billboard thrown up to advertise their services to the administration, said Marianna Wright, executive director of the National Butterfly Center, adjacent to the private wall. And based upon this project, they have been awarded now multiple government contracts totaling over $2 billion.

Erosion caused by a tropical storm that flooded the Rio Grande recently undermined parts of the wall, which the butterfly center had tried to block in court.

In addition to the Laredo contract, the company was awarded a $1.3 billion deal in May for 42 miles of fencing in Arizona  the largest border wall contract awarded by Homeland Security.

Contracts awarded to outspoken Trump supporters have drawn scrutiny.

There are questions about whether its done correctly, Cuellar said of the bidding process. But the problem is, they wont give us this information (about the contracts).

An internal government watchdog report last month found that CBP didnt sufficiently analyze the best methods for securing the border, instead relying on outdated border solutions.

CBP has not fully demonstrated that it possesses the capability to potentially spend billions of dollars to execute a large-scale acquisition to secure the southern border, reads the report.

It also found that CBP didnt properly analyze the locations that would be best suited for a wall.

On ExpressNews.com: The private border wall even the feds dont want

We think its a lot of political theatrics and these are just sort of PR moves that theyre making right now to make you think this is unstoppable, and this is a done deal, Cortez, the Laredo resident, said. I think we can see right through a lot of that nonsense and were not buying it.

Armed with City Council approval, residents in Laredo will be painting a defund the wall street mural outside the federal courthouse in the coming weeks.

Silvia Foster-Frau covers immigration news in the San Antonio, Bexar County and South Texas area. To read more from Silvia, become a subscriber. sfosterfrau@express-news.net | Twitter: @SilviaElenaFF
The people of Derry have somewhat of a reputation for being whingers.

Natives of Northern Ireland's second city, of which I am one, are often accused, mostly by people from Belfast, of having a chip on our shoulders.

They say all we do is moan.

We say we have a lot to moan about.

Belfast gets everything, we argue, and we get nothing.

Ah, give over, they say.

It was against this background of so-called 'Derry whinging' that John Hume first emerged into the world of politics.

The year was 1965 and the decision had been taken by Northern Ireland's unionist-controlled government to locate the second campus of the University of Ulster in the unionist town of Coleraine instead of nationalist Derry. It was a decision which sparked great anger in Derry and led to a huge cavalcade from the city to the Stormont government building.

At the head of the cavalcade was John Hume who, although still only in his 20s, had already been heavily involved in community activism through his work in setting up Derry's first credit union.

The university protest ultimately failed, but the flame of political passion had been ignited within Hume and would never be extinguished.

Fast forward almost 30 years to August 31, 1994. The day the IRA announced a ceasefire, a historic development which was the outworking of the talks process between John Hume and Gerry Adams.

On that day, I was only a few weeks into my journalistic career as a junior reporter with the Derry Journal. It was a day when Hume was in great demand by the world's media. However, they were made to wait as he walked into the Journal office to speak first to his local paper.

It showed the importance of the people of Derry to him. The city was always at the heart of his political work. Harking back to the 1965 university controversy, Hume felt that Derry often got a raw deal and constantly fought its corner.

There is no better example of this than the story of how Seagate Technology came to open a plant in the city. Hume was in California in the early 1990s and was told that the world-renowned computer company was looking to establish an operation in Ireland.

He organised a meeting with a senior Seagate executive in a pub and convinced him to come and take a look at Derry. Within two years, Seagate had opened a plant in Derry and, today, it is the city's biggest employer with a workforce of around 1,400 people.

One man who was standing outside St Eugene's Cathedral on Wednesday at the former SDLP leader's funeral said he had been working at Seagate for the last 25 years. A secure job, he said, which had allowed him to put his two sons through university.

He had come to St Eugene's to show his appreciation to Hume for making this possible. This is just one of many stories of how the people of Derry benefited from Hume's work. In a small way, some of them got a chance to repay him in recent years.

After he retired from the political frontline, Hume would often be seen walking on his own around the city. It was an open secret in Derry that his health was slowly being impacted by dementia. I know of many stories of people stopping him to ensure he was OK and then taking him home if he was in a confused state.

While John's illness was a deeply private and undoubtedly difficult experience for the Hume family, it was as if the people of Derry were also helping to care for him.

The last time I was in his presence was a couple of years ago when his wife Pat kindly invited me to their home to speak about a BBC programme I was involved in.

It was clear that, by then, dementia had its full grip on John.

During our chat, Pat casually flicked through a box of documents to see if there was anything of interest.

From the box she pulled out the original letter that Father Alec Reid had sent John in 1986, asking him to meet with Gerry Adams in secret to talk peace.

I was amazed to get to hold and read this letter. It struck me that this historic document should have been framed and on display in a museum.

Instead, it was sitting in a box of memories in the Hume household. That was typical of John and Pat. It was never about them; it was always about working for the greater good.

Ciaran O'Neill is editor of the Derry News
Days after the Ram Mandir bhumi pujan, Nepal Prime Minister KP Oli has once again repeated his claim that Lord Ram was born in Nepal. As per reports he has instructed local leaders to commence the construction of a temple in Ayodhyapuri which is located in Nepal's Chitwan District in Bagmati Pradesh of southern Nepal. Claiming that Lord Ram was born in the Madi municipality area of Chitwan, Oli has asked a delegation from the Madi municipality to formulate a master plan for the Ram Mandir. He also told the delegation to build idols of Ram, Laxman and Sita.

READ | Shiv Sena fires 'Is he secular' question at Owaisi, backs PM Modi's visit to Ayodhya

A local news portal quoted Chair of Madi Municipality Shivahari Subedi and said that KP Oli has claimed that he has all the evidence that proves that Lord Ram was born in Nepals Ayodhyapui. The report added that Nepal PM believes that the area from Ayodhyapuri of Chitwan to Balmiki Ashram in Thori, Parsa, was Lord Rams birthplace.

READ | Shiv Sena force-fits political spin in Sushant death probe; fires low jibe at Bihar Police

Nepal PM KP Oli's previous remarks

Nepal Prime Minister KP Oli had stoked controversy back in June when he made this bizarre and shocking claim for the first time. He said that 'real Ayodhya' - the birthplace of Hindu God Ram is in Nepal and not in India. He was quoted by Nepali media saying that Lord Ram is Nepali and India has encroached upon the cultural heritage of Nepal by setting up a 'fake Ayodhya', Nepal's media reported.

Addressing the media on the occasion of Bhanu Jayanti, KP Oli claimed that Lord Rama's kingdom Ayodhya is located west of Birgunj in Nepal, India has created the disputed Ayodhya. He argued that 'real Ayodhya' is in Thori. "Ayodhya is a village west of Birgunj," he claimed. Giving an equally bizarre explanation, Oli was quoted by Nepali media saying why would Lord Ram travel as far as Janakpur to marry Sita had Ayodhya been in India. He said that in that period there was no telephone or mobile phone, "so both Lord Ram and Sita would have married nearby if the place claimed by India is real Ayodhya," he added. His claims were soundly panned in India.

READ | 'Sharad Pawar called and complained about Arnab Goswami,' claims Sena on Sushant coverage

READ | Rhea Chakraborty's brother Showik leaves ED office after 18-hour marathon grilling
Former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad on Saturday said he was not offering apologies for the impact of his contentious remarks on the Kashmir at UN General assembly though he was sorry that it impacted Malaysian palm oil export to India.

I offer no apology for what I had said though I am sorry that it had affected our palm oil export to India. I dont know if that is a high price to pay for speaking out against such injustices, he said in a tweet.

What transpired since my contentious speech at the UN General Assembly in September last year only served to prove that what I had said were mild and to a certain degree, restrained, he added.

In September 2019, Mahathir Mohamad, who was then the Prime Minister, raised the Kashmir issue during his speech at the UN General Assembly.

India had rejected the references saying it is an integral and inalienable part of India.

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In the olden days, before a global pandemic, a Canada-U.S. trade war would set off all-points alarms all over the federal government.

But unlike a pandemic, Donald Trumps bully gambit with tariffs is something Justin Trudeaus government has handled before  over and over, again and again.

You could say that Trudeau and his team havent been this frustrated with Trump since the last time he tried to turn a pandemic into a trade war  which was in April, a scant few months ago.

Stay tuned as well for more. The presidential order at the heart of Aprils dispute  revolving around America-first policies on pandemic relief  expires on Monday, Aug. 10, which means that Canada may need once again to remind Trump, very soon, about how to treat friends of the U.S.

Here we go again, could well be the title of a book on how Canada has learned to handle Trump. Sure, pandemics may have second waves, but Trumps trade tiffs are starting to resemble the enduring regularity of tides.

So the reaction to Trumps announcement of aluminum tariffs on Thursday followed what has unfortunately developed into a much-repeated drill here in Canada: measured but firm remarks from Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland; populist outrage from Ontario Premier Doug Ford and diplomatic silence from Trudeau himself. Whats worked before may well work again; theres something to be said for practice.

It is remarkable that Canada has developed a predictable routine to respond to an unpredictable U.S. president, treating his countrys closest neighbour as a convenient prop for re-election and distraction  in this case, distraction from the wildly mismanaged pandemic south of the border.

Back in April, well recall, Trump set tempers flaring in Canada when he unrolled an America-first policy for the production of pandemic-related supplies in the U.S., which would have forbidden exports of items such as masks and personal protective equipment (PPE) to Canada.

The outrage in Canada was immediate  Ford and other premiers thundered at their COVID-announcement podiums about how the U.S. was betraying its friend in Canada and ignoring all that it gets from this country in trade and historic goodwill.

It sounded, in fact, a lot like what Ford was saying on Friday about the new aluminum tariffs.

Who does this in times like this? Ford said, articulating what other no-nonsense Canadians would be saying about this Trump move. Who tries to go after your closest ally, your closest trading partner, your number one customer in the entire world? Who would do this? Well President Trump did this. And I encourage the deputy prime minister to put retaliatory tariffs on as many goods as possible.

Freeland, who had talked with her good friend Ford that very morning, did just that an hour later  or more correctly, announced that retaliation was pending.

Again, its a routine developed through several rounds now with Trump: let the provinces speak up, as angrily as they please, while Ottawa pursues solutions through quiet and more diplomatic channels and buys some time for cooler heads to prevail at the White House.

I will continue to work closely with the provincial and territorial leaders, business owners and unions, Freeland told reporters. Id like to thank them for their solid defence of Canadian national interests. We did defend them the last time that the United States introduced trade actions. And we will defend them now as well. Canadas response to these unwarranted tariffs will be swift and strong.

Trump, Canada has learned from bitter experience, is someone who turns every foreign relationship into a trade spat, so it helps that Freeland is a former trade minister, who helped negotiate the new NAFTA arrangement that only came into effect in July.

Here Canada will go again, responding to Trump as it did when he slapped steel and aluminum tariffs on this country in June of 2018, prompting a detailed, dollar-by-dollar retaliation from Canada, aimed at political swing regions of the U.S.

In the face of these new tariffs, Canada will also be fanning out across the States, to persuade Americans that bad trade relations with this country are counterproductive, just as it did during other tariff and Nafta-related flare-ups.

I am confident, as we were last time around, that ultimately common sense will prevail. I just hope that happens sooner rather than later, Freeland said.

So many unprecedented things have happened to Canada-U.S. relations since the pandemic broke out  a closed border being chief among them. A trade tantrum from Trump, regrettably, isnt new or original, even in this uncharted territory.

We do know this: If Canadas response this time doesnt work, its not for lack of practice.

Susan Delacourt is an Ottawa-based columnist covering national politics for the Star. Reach her via email: sdelacourt@thestar.ca or follow her on Twitter: @susandelacourt

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Here are the top stories this Sunday evening:

Ashok Gehlot Tells MLAs To 'stand With The Truth'

Five days ahead of reconvening Rajasthan Assembly, CM Ashok Gehlot, on Sunday, wrote to his MLAs appealing them to save democracy by listening to the people's voices. In a three-page letter, Gehlot says that MLAs belonging to any party must stick democratic principles, assuring his government will take care of all constituents be it from BJP, Congress etc. Hoping that his MLAs will stand for the truth, he said one must remember the poll promises made. Gehlot's softened stance towards rebel MLAs including Sachin Pilot, hints at a possible reconciliation between the two warring camps.

Read full stories here -

Kozhikode Plane Crash: Ex-IAF Officer Captain DV Sathe's Mortal Remains Brought To Mumbai

On Sunday, the mortal remains of Wing Commander (retd) Captain Deepak Sathe, the captain of the Air India aircraft which crashed in Kozhikode were brought to the Air India building in Mumbai. His wife and other family members along with his colleagues have gathered here to pay their tributes. As per sources, the mortal remains of the retired Wing Commander shall be kept in the Bhabha Hospital for two days. The final rites shall be conducted after his elder son returns from the US.

Read full story here -

Idukki Landslides Claim 16 More Lives

Continuing its wrath in Kerala, the landslide in Idukki claimed 16 more lives on Sunday as the total death toll due to the natural calamity rose to 42. Idukki District Information Office has released the list of 42 persons who were deceased in Rajamala landslide. 2 NDRF teams consisting of 57 people each, a full unit of Fire and Rescue team. a 50-member team that received special training, 24-member team from Kottayam, and 27-member team from Thiruvananthapuram have been deployed for the search operations.

Read full stories here -

Ben Stokes To Miss Remaining Tests Against Pakistan

England's stellar all-rounder Ben Stokes is set to miss the remainder of the Test series against Pakistan due to family reasons. Stokes, who has been instrumental in England's squad, had a dim-lit performance in the first Test at Manchester. The all-rounder will leave the United Kingdom later this week and travel to New Zealand.

Read full story here -

Sushant Singh Wrote Sweetest Note For 'Sona Chidiya'

Sushant Singh Rajputs sisters have been fighting for justice for the late actor in the last few days. Being the youngest of five siblings, the strong bond they shared was evident in the manner a little Sushant was pampered, revealed in a throwback photo on Raksha Bandhan. Known for his love for literature, the Chhichhore star used to write letters for his sisters too.

Calling her his Sona Chidiya from Sonchiriya (golden bird, one of his last films), Sushant termed his sister the 'keeper of my mother's light', his 'ravishing sister', the 'pauses in my betweens', and more.

Read full stories here -
Prime Minister Modi on Sunday said that for the development of a new India, the entire nation needs to progress. He also said that the governments work should reach out to the last person at the end of the development ladder. The PM said this while addressing Bharatiya Janata Party workers of Andaman and Nicobar Islands via video conferencing.

The PMs interaction came a day before he will inaugurate the submarine Optical Fibre Cable (OFC) connecting Chennai and Port Blair via video conferencing. The submarine cable will also connect Port Blair to Swaraj Dweep (Havelock), Little Andaman, Car Nicobar, Kamorta, Great Nicobar, Long Island, and Rangat.

Talking about the submarine OFC, the PM said that the islands will not face in getting virtually connected to outside world once the work on the project is complete.

Here are the highlights of the PMs address to the party workers:

- India is fortunate that we have various things in different areas which can be developed. In Andaman and Nicobar, we are going to lay emphasis on industries related to sea-food, organic products and coconut-based products

- Andaman and Nicobar Islands contributed in Indias struggle for Independence. It will also play a key role in Aatmanirbhar Bharat and the security and growth of New India

- Im sure that high-speed broadband connectivity that will be launched tomorrow will help people of Andaman & Nicobar Islands to have a virtual connect with other parts of the country. Everyone will be able to avail the benefits of all kinds of online services, amid pandemic

- For the development of New India, the entire nation needs to progress. The government may function from a specific point, but its work should reach out to every one and more importantly, to the person at the end of the ladder

- Be it a pandemic or any other problem, we all have to work together and stay connected with the people. We have to provide assistance to all.
National Rifle Assn. Executive Vice President and CEO Wayne LaPierre speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference in February. (Jose Luis Magana / Associated Press )

New York state Atty. Gen. Letitia James has pointed a loaded gun at the National Rifle Assn., accusing its leaders of fraud and self-dealing. Does she have enough firepower for a big kill?

Yes and no.

James 164-page civil complaint is chock-full of allegations of brazen and embarrassing corruption. It devotes 17 pages alone to the conduct of the organizations controversial frontman, Executive Vice President and Chief Executive Wayne LaPierre. According to lawsuit, LaPierre treated the NRA, and the membership fees of its 5 million members, as a personal piggy bank, tapping the nonprofit to fund an extravagant, luxurious lifestyle.

Among the claims in the complaint: LaPierre charged the NRA for private jet travel not only for himself, but also for his wife (a volunteer with the NRA) and extended family. He has argued that the private jet is necessary for his security, but the lawsuit alleges that more than $1 million went for trips when LaPierre wasnt even a passenger.

Theres much much more: Allegations of personal expense reimbursements to the tune of $1 million in four years; of several million dollars in annual expenses for LaPierres personal and home security; of goodies, including an African safari and the use of a 107-foot yacht, provided by NRA vendors; and of a secret poison pill contract, not disclosed to the NRAs board, designed to pay LaPierre millions for life, even after he had left the organization.

The complaint includes similar if slightly less lurid allegations against three other members of NRA leadership.

Enough is enough, James thundered at the news conference justifying her call for the organizations dissolution. She has a reputation for ambition, even scalp hunting  during her 2018 campaign, she promised to investigate the New York-chartered NRA, calling it a terrorist organization. It is surely no coincidence that the lawsuit was filed fewer than 100 days before the 2020 presidential election, but the meticulously detailed complaint looks solid, and it was signed by section chief James Sheehan, a well-respected career federal and state prosecutor.

Story continues

Even if James and company can prove most or all of the allegations, is it enough to kill the NRA?

At the least, the lawsuit is likely to bring down LaPierre, and to force the organization to disavow him along with his conduct. One of the most polarizing figures in America, LaPierre has made himself into the face of 2nd Amendment extremism, reflexively parrying every effort at gun reform and doing it with self-righteous arrogance. James's complaint seeks to have him removed for cause and required to make good on his illegal compensation, with interest. The facts as presented could also lay the groundwork for federal criminal tax violations and possibly state criminal fraud charges as well.

Whatever LaPierre's defense, he would find it difficult to escape serious damage in the fight, and the NRA could easily be decapitated. The organization, however, may well survive.

Dissolution is an extreme penalty, and there appear to be very few instances where courts have upheld such a punishment. To succeed, James must prove root-and-branch, systemic corruption of such duration that it puts the organization beyond salvation.

Comparisons have been made to the dissolution of the Donald J. Trump Foundation in 2019, another New York "charity" hauled into state court for illegal, self-dealing behavior. But the two cases aren't the same. President Trump voluntarily walked away from his moribund nonprofit. The NRA wont walk away.

Moreover, if the court orders the dissolution of the NRA in New York, where it has operated for nearly 150 years, there is little to stop it from reincorporating elsewhere. (The NRA attorney who let the organization continue to be chartered in New York all these years is presumably in hot water.) Trump, whose 2016 campaign benefitted from millions in NRA support, already tweeted his advice: Move to Texas and lead a ... beautiful life.

The lawsuit is also certain to be a fundraising bonanza for the organization, which immediately called it a baseless, premeditated attack on our organization and the Second Amendment freedoms it fights to defend . We will confront it and prevail.

In the end, the NRA will almost certainly settle. Beset by infighting and defections in recent years, in part over whistleblower charges related to LaPierres extravagances, it will think better of airing its dirty laundry in court or putting its fate into the hands of a Manhattan jury.

James will be happy to settle too, as long as she can declare a victory. For that, she will insist on LaPierres scalp, in addition to structural reform in the organization, such as the creation of a vigorous whistleblowing program.

Given LaPierre and the NRAs outsized success at determining gun policy in this nation, dethroning the CEO and heaping the organization with humiliation and penalties would represent no small achievements on James part. As the organization emerges from New York's assault, it might see the wisdom of less obnoxious leadership and a modicum of flexibility. That's a direct hit, even if it isnt fatal.

@HarryLitman




Many of Britain's coronavirus wards are standing empty as new figures have today revealed that the number of people in hospital and dying from Covid-19 has plummeted by 99 per cent since the height of the pandemic.

Coronavirus death figures in hospitals have plummeted from 866 people a day at the height on April 10 of the pandemic to five last Thursday.

The number of people in hospital with Covid-19 has also plummeted by 96 per cent since the peak of the coronavirus pandemic, according to official data.

Under pressure hospital staff were treating more than 17,000 patients a day for coronavirus in England at the height of the pandemic in mid-April.

But as of August 6, official NHS England data shows staff were treating 700 Covid-19 patients.

It comes as it has been revealed some hospitals did not have a single coronavirus patient on their wards last week, with one top doctor suggesting that Britain is 'almost reaching herd immunity', according to The Sunday Times.

Under pressure hospital staff were treating more than 17,000 patients a day for coronavirus in England at the height of the pandemic in mid-April. Pictured: Nurses care for a patient in an intensive care ward

One doctor also described the downturn as 'huge' and said he did not expect a future increase in hospital admissions.

Doctor Ron Daniels, an intensive care consultant in Birmingham, told the Times: 'I think that's highly unlikely, because the pubs have been open for over a month, people have been interacting heavily during that time and the natural history of the disease is that and you are going to end up in hospital you are pretty much in hospital within 15 days of contracting it.

He also suggested the downturn could be due to the most vulnerable in the UK having contracted the virus in 'March and April' and that the virus may have become 'less virulent'.

It comes as preliminary figures today reveal a further ten people who tested positive for Covid-19 have died in Britain.

The latest figures - which only cover deaths in hospital - bring the UK's total death toll during the pandemic to 46,576.

However as of August 6, official NHS England data shows staff were treating 700 Covid-19 patients. Pictured: Clinical staff wear Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)

Coronavirus death figures in hospitals have also plummeted, from 866 people a day at the height on April 10 of the pandemic to five last Thursday. Pictured: A nurse at an intensive care unit wears PPE

The numbers are likely to be higher when figures for deaths across all settings - including in care homes and the wider community - are revealed.

Both Scotland and Wales reported no further deaths.

Figures released on Sunday are usually smaller due to a delay in processing over the weekend.

Scotland has reported 48 new cases today, while Wales has reported a further 26.

England has not released its case figures yet.

Northern Ireland stopped reporting its data on the virus at weekends so the daily figures for positive cases are for Britain only.

The figures came as a landmark coronavirus study found the risk of transmission in classrooms is minimal, ratcheting up pressure on the Education Secretary to fully reopen schools in September.

Boris Johnson is understood to have warned that Gavin Williamson's 'head will be on the chopping block' if pupils are not back in lessons next month.

The Prime Minister has declared resuming classes a 'national priority' and is planning an advertising blitz to urge anxious parents to send their child back to school.

His campaign was yesterday bolstered by encouraging scientific evidence which found a low threat of catching infection in schools.

Boris Johnson (pictured left) is understood to have warned that Gavin Williamson's (pictured right) 'head will be on the chopping block' if pupils are not back in lessons next month

Government Sage adviser Professor Russell Viner outlined the forthcoming Public Health England study and stressed that reopening schools was 'imperative'.

'A new study that has been done in UK schools confirms there is very little evidence that the virus is transmitted in schools,' he told the Sunday Times.

30 thousand cancelled hip ops across the UK Tens of thousands are waiting in agony for operations cancelled because of the Covid crisis, figures reveal. Some 30,000 waiting for hip and knee operations have had them cancelled. A further 40,000 are waiting on eye surgery for cataracts and nearly 10,000 for hernia repairs. The numbers are compared with those two months before lockdown and were obtained by Commons health committee Tory Paul Bristow. The NHS cancelled many elective operations to concentrate on the pandemic as it was feared it could overwhelm the health service. In January, 42,738 cataract operations took place, but just 148 in April at the height of the crisis. Hip and knee replacements fell from 39,944 to 7,275 while hernia repairs went down from 10,452 to 787. Advertisement

'This is some of the largest data you will find on schools anywhere. Britain has done very well in terms of thinking of collecting data in schools.'

Labour, the unions, and the Children's Commissioner have all today voiced support for the principle of schools reopening in September.

But thorny issues such as routine testing and the wearing of masks remain - which were both today slapped down by the schools minister.

Prof Viner, also president of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, said keeping schools shut would take a further toll on both young people's academic attainment and mental health.

Mr Johnson outlined similar concerns in an article for today's Mail on Sunday where he heralded the resuming of lessons a 'moral duty' and 'crucial' for pupils' 'welfare, their health and for their future.'

He wrote: 'The education of our children is crucial for their welfare, their health and for their future. That is why it is a national priority to get all pupils back into school in September.

'The message I have given to Ministers and civil servants is this: we can do it  and we will do it. Social justice demands it.'

He spoke of the 'uplifting sight as millions of parents rose to the challenge of educating their children' amid the added pressures of lockdown, but said that had to end.

The PHE study, which tested more than 20,000 pupils and 100 teachers, is hoped to allay the concerns of wary teacher unions, which thwarted ministers' initial attempts to resume classes for fears of staff catching the virus.
Want to manufacture BrahMos so that no country has audacity to cast evil eye on us: Rajnath Singh

IAF chopper crash: Rajnath Singh likely to be apprised of probe team's findings in next couple of days

In push for Atmanirbhar Bharat, 101 military items to be banned for import

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, Aug 09: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh today said that the Ministry of Defence will introduce an import embargo on 101 items beyond the given timeline to boost indigenisation of defence production.

He also said that the MoD is ready for a big push towards the Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative.

Vasundhara Raje meets Rajnath Singh amid Rajasthan political crisis

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given a clarion call for a self-reliant India based on the 5 pillars Economy, Infrastructure, System, Demography and Demand and announced a special economic package for Self-Reliant India named 'Atamnirbhar, Singh also said.

The list of 101 embargoed items comprises of not just simple parts but also some high tech weapon systems like artillery guns, assault rifles, corvettes, sonar systems, transport aircraft, LCHs, radars and many other items to fulfil needs of our Defence Services, Singh also said.

Defence Ministry bans import of 101 Defence items: PM Modi's Atma Nirbhar Bharat | Oneindia News

This decision will offer a great opportunity to the Indian defence industry to manufacture the items in the negative list by using their own design and development capabilities or adopting the technologies designed and developed by DRDO to meet the requirements of the Armed Forces.

The list is prepared by MoD after several rounds of consultations with all stakeholders, including the Armed Forces, public & private industry to assess current and future capabilities of the Indian industry for manufacturing various ammunition and equipment within India.

Almost 260 schemes of such items were contracted by the Tri-Services at an approximate cost of Rs 3.5 lakh crore between April 2015 and August 2020. It is estimated that contracts worth almost Rs 4 lakh crore will be placed upon the domestic industry within the next 6 to 7 years.

Of these, items worth almost Rs 1,30,000 crore each are anticipated for the Army and the Air Force while items worth almost Rs 1,40,000 crore are anticipated by the Navy over the same period.

The list also includes, wheeled Armoured Fighting Vehicles (AFVs) with indicative import embargo date of December 2021, of which the Army is expected to contract almost 200 at an approximate cost of over Rs 5,000 crore.

Sushant Singh Rajput case: Mumbai police opposes CBI probe in SC

The embargo on imports is planned to be progressively implemented between 2020 to 2024. Our aim is to apprise the Indian defence industry about the anticipated requirements of the Armed Forces so that they are better prepared to realise the goal of indigenisation.

All necessary steps would be taken to ensure that timelines for production of equipment as per the Negative Import List are met, which will include a co-ordinated mechanism for hand holding of the industry by the Defence Services.

More such equipment for import embargo would be identified progressively by the DMA in consultation with all stakeholders. A due note of this will also be made in the DAP to ensure that no item in the negative list is processed for import in the future.

MoD has also bifurcated the capital procurement budget for 2020-21 between domestic and foreign capital procurement routes. A separate budget head has been created with an outlay of nearly Rs 52,000 crore for domestic capital procurement in the current financial year, Rajnath Singh also said.
LOS ANGELES  Radhika Kumar goes to work every morning hoping to save lives. As a contact tracer for Los Angeles County, her job, at least on paper, entails phoning people who have tested positive for the coronavirus, along with others they may have exposed, and providing them with guidance on how to isolate so as not to infect others. If that sounds easy, it is not.

To convince people to cooperate, she has to get them to trust her. She has to convince them that they might be infected, even if they have no symptoms. Oh yes, shell say, Ive been hearing that a lot. She has to let people curse at her and hang up, then she has to call them back the very next day. And if she wants them to heed her advice, she has to listen, really listen, to how scared they are that if they stay home from their jobs, they might not be able to feed their families.

Sometimes it can really get to you, said Ms. Kumar. The other day I had one young lady, and she was screaming on the phone, You dont understand  I have three kids. I have to go to work. She went on. I kept calling back and calling back. Im very relentless like that. I thought about it all night  what am I going to do? I called her again first thing in the morning, and I was so relieved when she picked up.
Police beat protesters as exit poll gives President Lukashenko 79.7 percent, with rival Tikhanovskaya at 6.8 percent.

Police in Belarus have cracked down on opposition protesters after an official exit poll put President Alexander Lukashenko on course to win a sixth term.

The exit poll for state television on Sunday gave Lukashenko 79.7 percent of Sundays vote, with his main challenger, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, coming second with 6.8 percent. A political newcomer, Tikhanovskaya mounted an historic challenge to Lukashenko and drew big crowds in campaign rallies around the country.

Preliminary results are not expected until Monday.

Lukashenko, who has been in power since 1994, had pledged to crush any protests but thousands of protesters took to the streets of the capital, Minsk, shortly after the exit poll was broadcast. The opposition had said it expected the results to be rigged.

Late on Sunday, the atmosphere in the city was tense as riot police faced off with opposition protesters, beating some with truncheons and using flash-bang grenades to try to disperse them.

Al Jazeeras Step Vaessen, reporting from Minsk, said the capital was a city filled with anger and frustration and described hectic scenes that Minsk hasnt witnessed before.

The streets and squares are full of people who are all very angry, calling the election a huge fraud, added Vaessen.

Theyre very defiant but also very scared because riot police are out in force. They are detaining people right in front of us, so people are spreading around trying to get away from police.

Police presence in Minsk was heavy throughout the day, and in the evening, police set up checkpoints on the citys perimeter to check residence permits, apparently worried that protesters would come from other cities.

There were reports of a police vehicle driving into a crowd of protesters, while ambulances were seen picking up demonstrators who were lying on the streets.

There were reports of injuries and dozens of people arrested, though the interior ministry denied any wounded.

News reports also said police fired tear gas at protesters in the city of Brest.





Majority is with us

Late on Sunday, Tikhanovskaya, 37, said she did not trust the poll results showing an overwhelming victory for Lukashenko.

I believe my eyes, and I see that the majority is with us, she told a news conference. We have already won, because we have overcome our fear, our apathy and our indifference.

Tikhanovskaya, an English teacher by training and stay-at-home mother, mounted a surprise opposition campaign against Lukashenko after her husband, a popular blogger, was jailed and barred from running.

Tens of thousands of supporters attended her rallies, and many voters wore the oppositions trademark white bracelets at polling stations on Sunday. I want honest elections, she said outside a polling station in Minsk.

Earlier on Sunday, Tikhanovskayas campaign office said one of her key allies, Veronika Tsepkalo, had left for Russia out of concern for her safety.

Tsepkalos ex-diplomat husband Valery Tsepkalo was barred from standing. Maria Kolesnikova, campaign chief of ex-banker Viktor Babaryko, was also dropped from the polls and was jailed on Saturday but later released.

Protests after exit poll results

Sporadic protests erupted in major cities, including Minsk, after polling stations closed on Sunday evening with long lines of potential voters still waiting to cast their votes.

A video posted by independent news outlet Tut.by showed several police officers beating a small group of protesters before a crowd of civilians intervened.

Witnesses said scuffles broke out with police using stun grenades, the AFP news agency reported.

In Russias capital, Moscow, hundreds of Lukashenko opponents gathered outside the Belarusian embassy for a spontaneous protest in which the crowd chanted: Get out!

It is unbearable to have him in power for so many years. The man should understand himself that he must just leave, said Yuri Kanifatov in Moscow, who voted against Lukashenko.

Political observers had predicted Lukashenko would rig the vote in the absence of international observers. He won more than 83 percent in previous polls in 2015.

There can be no recognition of such an election result, Tikhanovskayas spokeswoman Anna Krasulina told the DPA news agency.
Majority Leader Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu on Friday announced a further extension of the date for the House to adjourn sine die, and appealed to colleague Members of Parliament (MPs) to endure two more sitting days to complete outstanding business before adjournment.



Right Honourable Speaker, having regard to the tall order of outstanding business earlier alluded to, Hon Members are entreated to endure just two more suiting days in order to dispose of all the important business pending before the House, the Leader said.



Originally, the House was scheduled to adjourn sine die on August 3, 2020, but the date of adjournment was rescheduled to August 10, 2020.



The date is now rescheduled again to August 14, 2020, as announced by the Majority Leader on the floor of Parliament in Osu-Accra, in the Business Statement for the Thirteen Week Ending, Friday, August 14, 2020, but expected adjournment can earlier subject to completion of business.



The House is expected to adjourn sine die on Friday, 14th August 2020. Let me add that, if the House is able to finish the listed programmes ahead of Friday, 14th August 2020, the House shall adjourn before then, Mr Kyei-Mensah Bonsu added.



The Majority Leader recalled having intimated to the House when announcing the rescheduling of the original date that many critical businesses were still pending and might not be completed by the said Monday, 10th August 2020, and yet required parliamentary approval before adjournment sine die.



Such businesses, he said, included; the Development Finance Institutions Bill, 2020, University of Skills Training and Entrepreneurial Development Bill, 2020 and Security and Intelligence Agencies Bill, 2020, and several agreements already presented to the House.



The House is also expected to consider the Receivables-backed Trade Finance Facility for the purchase of cocoa beans for the 2020/21 crops season. According to the Majority Leader, when there came the recommendation to the Business Committee to adjourn on August 14, the Minority Members indicated that the House should endeavour to complete the outstanding business and adjourn on Wednesday, 12th August 2020.



The Majority Leader underscored the need to work on critical legislation before the House goes on recess because at the time it would come back from recess, the nation would be in the heat of 2020 electioneering campaign. He gave thumbs-up to colleague members for exerting themselves in the tenure of the Seventh Parliament of the Fourth Republic, with the scrutiny of legislation that led to the passage of bills as the Companies Bill and Corporate Insolvency Bill, which he described as monumental.



There was work on some legislations since 1998, the Majority Leader said. Well not just keep members here for nothing, the Majority Leader, who is also Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and MP for Suame Constituency said, and appealed to members to remain in the chamber when the House gets to the Consideration Stage of proposed laws.



How many people are in the House, when it comes to the Consideration Stage? he asked, and responded, the usual people who helped me in fashioning out the bills.

Source: Graphiconline.com









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The local police have arrested three female members of a gang, who used to rob men on the National Highway-44 near Ladhowal after luring them with sex.

The accused would lure men with offers of sex and take them to obscure bushes along the roadside.

There, other gang members would threaten the men of implicating them in a sexual assault case and make off with their valuables and other belongings, said inspector Gopal Krishan, SHO, Salem Tabri police station.

On Saturday, following multiple complaints of such robberies, police laid a trap and arrested the three women while they were on the prowl for their next victim.

As many as six stolen mobile phones and Rs 1,500 in cash was recovered from them.

The women are aged between 30 and 35 years and separated. They have confessed that they were active on the highway for the past 20 days. Before this, they targeted commuters on the Ludhiana-Delhi road, the SHO added.

Amandeep is facing trial in three more criminal cases. A hunt is on to nab the other gang members, he added.

A case under Sections 379 (theft) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code has been registered against the accused at the Salem Tabri police station.
BBC Radio 1xtra presenter Sideman has announced he is quitting the corporation over a news report which contained a racist term.

He said the broadcast was an error of judgment, adding it feels like a slap in the face to our community.

More than 18,000 people have complained to the BBC over the broadcast, which saw social affairs correspondent Fiona Lamdin repeat a racial slur allegedly used in a suspected racially-motivated attack in Bristol.

In a video posted on Instagram, Sideman, real name David Whitely, said: This is an error in judgment where I cant just smile with you through the process and act like everything is OK.

Im happy working with organisations until we all get it right, but this feels like more than getting it wrong.

The action and the defence of the action feels like a slap in the face to our community.

He added he is quitting the BBC, effective immediately.

With no apology I just dont feel comfortable being aligned with the organisation, Sideman said.

He said he has enjoyed his time at the BBC and has had great opportunities, but added: Money and opportunity doesnt outweigh the dissatisfaction that I feel with this situation.

This is wild to me, especially in the current social climate, and I cant make any sense of it no matter how much I think about it, so I think it is time that I left.

The story ran on the BBC News Channel and local news programme Points West on July 29, but the broadcaster stopped running the report which featured the offensive language later that day.

A BBC spokesman said: The BBC set out the context of the news report about the shocking attack on an NHS worker in Bristol.

As we have said, the word is highly offensive and we completely accept and understand why people have been upset by its use.

Expand Close The BBC has received more than 18,600 complaints over the broadcast (Ian West/PA) PA / Facebook

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Whatsapp The BBC has received more than 18,600 complaints over the broadcast (Ian West/PA)

The decision to use the word was not taken lightly and without considerable detailed thought: we were aware that it would cause offence.

But, in this specific context we felt the need to explain, and report, not just the injuries but, given their alleged extreme nature, the words alleged to have been used  a position which, as we have said, was supported by the family and the victim.

On Thursday, the BBC said it had received 18,656 complaints over the incident.

A spokesman for Radio 1xrta said: Sideman is an incredibly talented DJ. Obviously we are disappointed that he has taken this decision.

We absolutely wish him well for the future. The door is always open for future projects.
Bengaluru, Aug 9 : Karnataka government is mulling creation of a Kannada language test on the lines of TOEFL for people interested in studying or working in the state, an official said on Sunday.

"The process is on and we are yet to announce it officially. It will take another two or three months to come out of the system," said Kannada Development Authority (KDA) chairman T. S. Nagabharana to IANS.

He said the exam will be like TOEFL but will not be made mandatory, adhering to the Constitution without affecting any other language.

"We will not make it mandatory, we will make it discretionary. We will implement this within the Constitution and without disturbing any other language," he added.

According to Nagarbharana, any person can take the test as per their requirement highlighting there is need for an individual to possess Kannada knowledge.

"In education and work, there is a lot of need for this (Kannada). Lot of people are unable to get into medical and engineering colleges because of this reason," opined Nagabharana.

He said the proposed language exam will fill the void of a proper Kannada certifying authority which can cater to the needs of Kannadigas and others as well who may be living outside the state and the country.

"Some of the Kannadigas are from outside, from America, Dubai. They are also Kannadigas, but they are not able to get their medical seats. So how to solve that problem," he added.

Nagabharana said a Kannada test at the level of seventh or 10th standard would be of much help, enabling students to aim for engineering or medical seats reserved for Kannadigas by passing this exam.

Commenting on the eventuality of somebody going to the court over a proposal like this, the chairman said he doesn't see any problem.

"Even if it goes to the court, we will try to see that it does not come under a ban by court. We will not make it mandatory, we will make it discretionary," he pointed out.

He said that there would not be any issue as the new education policy brought out by the Central government also lays emphasis on mother tongue.
Britain has recorded more than 1,000 new coronavirus infections in a day for the first time since late June. Government statistics say 1,062 new cases of Covid-19 were reported in the 24 hours until 9 a,m. Sunday.

The last time the number was over 1,000 was on June 26. Britain has seen a gradual rise in coronavirus infections since it began lifting lockdown restrictions in mid-June. The government has put the next stage of reopening, which had been due to take effect August 1, on hold for at least two weeks. The number of patients hospitalised with the virus continues to ...
Vijayawada: Andhra Pradesh Home Minister Mekathoti Sucharita, Health Minister Alla Kali Krishna Srinivas and other ministers visited the site where a broke out at a hotel being used as a COVID-19 facility in Vijayawada on Sunday morning.

Ministers Velampalli Srinivas, Rajya Sabha MP Mopidevi Venkata Ramana, Transport Minister Perni Venkatramaiah also visited the accident spot.

Health Minister, Alla Kali Krishna Srinivas said, "This is a very unfortunate incident. The Chief Minister has ordered to take appropriate measures, he has ordered the ministers to visit the spot."

"There were 43 people in the hotel, of whom 30 were COVID patients. 10 of them have lost their lives while remaining 20 have been shifted. They are safe and stable. We will review the situation at the collector's office. Later we will give more details," Srinivas added.

Later in the day, the number of those killed in the fire at the hotel has risen to 11.

Meanwhile, the Andhra Pradesh government announced 50 lakh ex-gratia each to the families of those who lost their lives in the incident.

According to Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister's Office (CMO), Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy also ordered a probe into the accident and directed authorities to take steps to ensure better medical services to the victims of the accident.

"The hotel was taken on lease and run by Ramesh Hospitals, a private hospital where COVID-19 patients were being treated. 40 patients and 10 medical staff were at the hotel at the time of the incident. Officials were directed to launch immediate rescue measures," said Mekathoti Sucharitha, Andhra Pradesh Home Minister.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi also condoled the loss of the lives in the fire mishap and spoke to Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy over the phone and enquired about the accident.

The mishap took place in hotel Swarna Palace which was taken on lease and run by a private hospital for COVID patients.

This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.

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JERUSALEM - The Israeli military said late Sunday that it struck a Hamas target in the northern Gaza Strip in response to the continued launches of explosives-laden balloons from the Palestinian territory into Israel.

In a brief statement, the army said an aircraft struck a Hamas observation post in northern Gaza.

There were no immediate reports of injuries on either side.

Israel and Hamas have fought three wars and numerous smaller flareups since the Islamic militant group seized control of Gaza in 2007.

The enemies have largely observed an unofficial truce in recent months. Israel holds Hamas responsible for all fire out of the coastal enclave.

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Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-10 00:04:11|Editor: huaxia

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HONG KONG, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) -- The Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) said Sunday that the recent so-called U.S. sanctions against some Chinese officials will eventually become the laughingstock of the world.

The hegemonic acts of the United States have drawn widespread, strong condemnation in Hong Kong and have been regarded as bullying and unreasonable by the mainstream public opinion, a spokesperson of the liaison office said in a statement, stressing that the Chinese people will not be intimidated and the so-called sanctions are nothing but a joke.

Officials of central government agencies responsible for Hong Kong affairs and of the HKSAR exercise governance in Hong Kong according to the Constitution and the Basic Law, and they are staunch defenders of Hong Kong's overall interests and residents' well-being, the spokesperson said.

It is truth-distorting and absurd for the United States to claim that the recent actions taken by China fundamentally undermine Hong Kong's autonomy and democratic process, the spokesperson said.

The U.S. side, in league with Hong Kong's opposition camp, challenged "one country, two systems" and the red line of national security in Hong Kong, plunging Hong Kong into prolonged disturbances, the spokesperson said, calling them the real destroyer of Hong Kong's democracy, freedom and high degree of autonomy.

The U.S. politicians who tried to use Hong Kong to make trouble for China and stop China from further developing are doomed to fail, the spokesperson said, adding that those colluding with foreign forces will eventually pay the price.

The United States, always declaring that it upholds democracy and freedom and respects human rights and privacy, recently imposed unreasonable restrictions over and cracked down upon Chinese telecom businesses on the pretext of "data security of U.S. citizens," and even intended to take away the assets of a Chinese tech firm by force and trickery, the spokesperson said.

When interfering in Hong Kong affairs this time, the U.S. government showed its hypocrisy and blatantly disclosed home addresses and personal information of Chinese officials on the U.S. Treasury Department website, the spokesperson said.

Such despicable acts infringing upon privacy have crossed the line politically and morally and only reveal its bullying and double standards more clearly to the world, the spokesperson said, adding the United States will have its moral bankruptcy at a faster pace. Enditem
Union Minister Rajnath Singh on August 9 said the Defence Ministry is introducing an import embargo on 101 military items beyond the given timeline to boost indigenisation of defence production. This, Singh said, was in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's call for Atmanirbhar Bharat.

This embargo on imports would be progressively implemented between 2020 and 2024.

Singh claimed the decision will offer a great opportunity to the Indian defence industry to manufacture these items by using their own design and development capabilities or by adopting the technologies designed and developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) to meet the requirements of the armed forces.

The embargo list comprises not only simple parts, but also some high-technology weapon systems like artillery guns, assault rifles, corvettes, sonar systems, transport aircraft, Light Combat Helicopters (LCHs) and radars, among others.

Here's the full list of military items facing import ban and the indicative year of their embargo:

S. No. Name of platform/weapon/system/equipment Indicative year - Import embargo 1. 120mm Fin Stabilised Armour Piercing Discarding Sabot (FSAPDS) Mark II Ammunition Dec-20 2. 7.62x51 Sniper Rifle Dec-20 3. Tracked Self Propelled (SP) Gun (155mm x 52 Cal) Dec-20 4. Towed Artillery Gun (155mm x 52 Cal) Dec-20 5. Short Range Surface to Air Missiles (Land variant) Dec-20 6. Shipborne Cruise Missiles Dec-20 7. Multi Barrel Rocket Launcher (MBRL) (Pinaka Variant) Dec-20 8. Simulators Presenting Smart Ranges And Multi-Function Targets Dec-20 9. Battalion Support Weapons Simulators Dec-20 10. Container-based Simulators for Live Fire Training Dec-20 11. Tailor-made Simulators for Counter Insurgency (CI)/Counter Terrorism (CT) based Training Dec-20 12. Force-on-force Live Tactical Simulators / Infantry Weapon Dec-20 13. Tank Simulators (driving, as well as, crew gunnery) Dec-20 14. 155mm/39 Cal Ultra-Light Howitzer Dec-20 15. Successor of Flycatcher & Upgraded Super Fledermaus (USFM) / Air Defence Fire Control Radar (ADFCR) Dec-20 16. Component Level Repair Facility for Tank T-90 Dec-20 17. Shipborne Close in Weapon System Dec-20 18. Bullet Proof Jackets Dec-20 19. Ballistic Helmets Dec-20 20. Missile Destroyers Dec-20 21. Multi-Purpose Vessel Dec-20 22. Offshore Patrol Vessel Dec-20 23. Next Generation Missile Vessels Dec-20 24. Anti-Submarine Warfare Shallow Water Crafts Dec-20 25. Water Jet Fast Attack Craft Dec-20 26. Ammunition Barges Dec-20 27. 50ton Bollard - Pull Tugs Dec-20 28. Survey Vessels Dec-20 29. Floating Dock Dec-20 30. Diving Support Vessels Dec-20 31. Pollution Control Vessels Dec-20 32. Anti-Submarine Rocket Launchers Dec-20 33. Shipborne Medium Range Gun Dec-20 34. Torpedo Tube Launcher for Light Weight Torpedoes Dec-20 35. Magneto - Rheological Anti Vibration Mounts Dec-20 36. All variants of Depth Charges Dec-20 37. Shipborne Sonar System for Large Ships Dec-20 38. Hull Mounted Submarine Sonar Dec-20 39. Short Range Maritime Reconnaissance Aircraft Dec-20 40. Anti-Submarine Rocket Dec-20 41. Chaff Rockets Dec-20 42. Chaff Rocket Launcher Dec-20 43. Integrated Ships Bridge System Dec-20 44. Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) MK I A - Enhanced Indigenised Content Dec-20 45. Light Combat Helicopters Dec-20 46. General Purpose Pre Fragmentation Bombs between 250-500 Kg Dec-20 47. Radar Warning Receiver (RWR) for Transport Aircraft Dec-20 48. Ground Based Mobile ELINT System Dec-20 49. Transport Aircraft (Light) Dec-20 50. GSAT-6 Satellite Terminals Dec-20 51. Aerial Delivery Systems for Transport Aircraft Dec-20 52. Digital Tropo Scatter/LOS Communication System Dec-20 53. Low Level Transportable Radar Dec-20 54. High Power Radar (HPR) Dec-20 55. CBRN Detection & Monitoring System Dec-20 56. CBRN Decontamination & Protection System Dec-20 57. Parachute Tactical Assault (PTA)- G2 Dec-20 58. Dragunov Upgrade System Dec-20 59. PKMG Upgrade System Dec-20 60. Simulators for A Vehicles / B Vehicles Dec-20 61. Simulators for Towed and Self Propelled Guns of Air Defence Dec-20 62. Simulators for Correction of Fire by Observers Dec-20 63. Military trucks of 4x4 and above variants: 12x12, 10x10, 8x8, 6x6 Dec-20 64. Fixed Wing Mini UAVs Dec-20 65. 500 Ton Self Propelled Water Barges Dec-20 66. Software Defined Radio (TAC) for IN Dec-20 67. Next Generation Maritime Mobile Coastal Battery (Long Range) Dec-20 68. Advance Landing Ground Communication Terminals (ALGCTs)for AGLs Dec-20 69. Field Artillery Tractor (FAT) 6X6 for Medium Guns Dec-20

S. No. Name of platform/weapon/system/equipment Indicative year - Import embargo 70 Wheeled Armoured Fighting Vehicle (AFV) Dec-21 71 Light Machine Gun Dec-21 72 125 mm Fin Stabilised Armour Piercing Discarding Sabot (FSAPDS) New Generation Ammunition Dec-21 73 Assault Rifle 7.62 x 39mm Dec-21 74 30 mm Ammunition for Infantry Fighting Systems Dec-21 75 Mine Fragmentation Dec-21 76 Mine Anti-tank Dec-21 77 Mine Anti-Personnel Blast Dec-21 78 Multipurpose Grenade Dec-21 79 Inertial Navigation System for Ship Application Dec-21 80 Conventional Submarines Dec-21

S. No. Name of platform/weapon/system/equipment Indicative year - Import embargo 81 40mm UBGL (Under Barrel Grenade Launcher) Dec-22 82 Lightweight Rocket Launcher Dec-22 83 155 mm Artillery Ammunition Dec-22 84 EW Systems Dec-22 85 Material Handling Crane 2.5 to 7.5 Tons (Vehicle Mounted) Dec-23 86 GRAD BM Rocket Dec-23 87 30MM HEI/HET Dec-23 88 ASTRA-MK I Beyond Visual Range Air to Air Missile (BVR AAM) Dec-23 89 EW Suit for MI-17 V5 Dec-23 90 Communication Satellite GSAT-7C Dec-23 91 Satellite GSAT 7R Dec-23 92 Basic Trainer Aircraft (BTA) Dec-23 93 Expendable Aerial Targets Dec-24 94 Small Jet Engines with 120kgf thrust Dec-24 95 Light Low Level Terrain Radar (LLLWR) Dec-24 96 Close in Weapon System (Land based) Dec-24 97 23 mm ZU Ammunitions Dec-24 98 30mm VOG 17 Dec-24 99 Electronic Fuses for Artillery Ammunitions Dec-24 100 Bi- Modular Charge System (BMCS ) Dec-24 101 Long Range  Land Attack Cruise Missile Dec-25

Source: Ministry of Defence, India
A 30-year-old Kenosha Police officer was recovering Sunday after he was shot through the abdomen while in pursuit of a suspect in an alleged vehicle break-in in the 4600 block of Sheridan Road early Saturday, authorities said.

The condition of the officer, who has two years of service with the department, was not immediately known.

Hes out of surgery, Sgt. Leo Viola said.

The officer, who was not identified, was transported with a gunshot wound to a local hospital, according to a police department media release. The injury was not believed to be life threatening, according to the release.

The officer had responded to the area to investigate a vehicle entry complaint at around 4:30 a.m. when he located a person matching a description that was provided by a complainant, according to the release.

As the officer attempted to investigate, the suspect produced a firearm and shot the officer. The officer returned fire, but it was not known whether the suspect was injured. Police said the suspect fled the scene. According to initial police radio traffic, the officer was reported down at 50th Street and 13th Avenue. No detailed description of the suspect was available.

Law enforcement officers from the Kenosha County Sheriffs Department, Pleasant Prairie Police Department and Wisconsin State Patrol also responded to the scene of the shooting, along with a K9 unit which searched the area. The suspect, however, remains at large.

Police requested the assistance of the Wisconsin Department of Justice, Division of Criminal Investigation. The investigation has since been turned over to state police officials, who could not be reached for comment Sunday.

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Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday said that the Covid-19 situation in the national capital is under control and deaths due to the disease have reduced.

The Covid situation is under control in Delhi, all parameters are good, recovery rate improving and positivity ratio and deaths have reduced, he was quoted as saying by news agency PTI following the inauguration of a 200-bed hospital in Ambedkar Nagar.

The CM said that the beds at the hospital will be used for the treatment of Covid-19 patients. At the same time, he expressed the hope that they would remain unoccupied.

I hope these 200 beds remain unoccupied... we never get to a situation where we have to use these beds.

However, if the situation turns bad again, his government is fully prepared to deal with it, Kejrriwal added.

Delhis health minister Satyendar Jain corroborated the chief ministers statement on the Covid-19 situation in the city and refuted reports that the number of coronavirus infections are on the rise.

He said that the reason for positive cases showing an increase is because many people from outside Delhi were getting tested here.

There are reports that Covid-19 cases are increasing in Delhi. The reason for this is that many people from outside Delhi are getting their tests done here. Hence, counting of positive cases is rising here. Otherwise, the trend of Covid-19 cases in Delhi is decreasing, Jain told news agency ANI on Sunday.

Delhis total count of Covid-19 cases now stands at 1,44,127. On Saturday, 1,404 new infections 16 deaths and 1,130 recoveries were reported. Overall, there are now 10,667 active cases and the death toll stands at 4.098.

(With inputs from agencies)
Organised crime syndicates are using online companies such as Airtasker to traffic drugs and stolen goods around the country, with federal police making busts in Melbourne and Sydney involving on-demand courier services.

Criminal groups are also taking advantage of the coronavirus crisis to advertise "working from home" opportunities online, using innocent people to unwittingly move their stolen goods.

The AFP has made drug busts in Melbourne and Sydney involving the use of online couriers. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

The Australian Federal Police will allege two innocent Airtasker couriers were used to transport a parcel containing almost 10 kilograms of party drug MDMA in Melbourne earlier this year.

In another case, a drug syndicate was last year busted in Sydney using the online platform Zoom2U to help move 55 kilograms of cocaine concealed within industrial machinery.
Twenty nine new Covid-19 cases, all linked to Da Nang City, raised Vietnam's total count to 841 and active cases to 435, the Health Ministry confirmed Sunday evening.

Patients numbered 813 to 831, aged 7 to 85, are Da Nang residents. Among them, eight had direct contact with people later confirmed as Covid-19 patients, three were patients at the Da Nang Hospital, three were those taking care of patients at the same hospital, and one a medic.

Patients 832 and 833, aged 29 and 37, are from Quang Tri Province, a neighbor of Da Nang. They had direct contact with a 28-year old man in the same province who later became "patient 750".

Patients 834 to 841, aged 11-70, are from nearby Quang Nam Province, who had returned from Da Nang or had direct contract with those returning from Da Nang.

With two recorded in the morning, Sunday's tally of new Covid-19 cases reached 31. Among 847 confirmed cases nationwide, 435 are active, and 11 have died. The latest death was that of a 55-year old woman in Da Nang, the country's outbreak epicenter.

Over 178,000 people are isolated nationwide - 27,000 in quarantine facilities, 5,000 in hospitals and the rest at home.

The Covid-19 pandemic has claimed 722,000 lives globally so far.
DMK MP Kanimozhi (PTI)

The official Twitter handle of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) tweeted an apology to Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) leader MK Kanimozhi, moments after she alleged that a security official had questioned her nationality for not knowing Hindi.



The CISF has ordered an Enquiry into the matter. It is not the policy of CISF to insist upon any particular language.

 CISF (@CISFHQrs) August 9, 2020



Warm greetings from @CISFHQrs. We sincerely acknowledge your unpleasant experience. Kindly DM journey details; name of airport, location, date, and time of the incident for appropriate action in the matter.

 CISF (@CISFHQrs) August 9, 2020



Today at the airport a CISF officer asked me if I am an Indian when I asked her to speak to me in tamil or English as I did not know Hindi. I would like to know from when being indian is equal to knowing Hindi.#hindiimposition

 Kanimozhi () (@KanimozhiDMK) August 9, 2020

CISF tweeted on August 9: It is not the policy of the CISF to insist upon any particular language, and informed that they have ordered an inquiry into the matter.They had earlier sought details of the Tuticorin MPs journey, including the name of airport, location, date, and time of the incident.Kanimozhi had taken to Twitter on August 9 to express her displeasure over the incident. Detailing her harassment at Chennai airport, she had said: Today at the airport a CISF officer asked me if I am an Indian when I asked her to speak to me in Tamil or English as I did not know Hindi. I would like to know from when being Indian is equal to knowing Hindi?Imposition of Hindi has remained a raging political debate and Congress leader Karti Chidambaram used the opportunity to rake the issue once again.
Lucknow: A team of Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (STF) gunned down a dreaded shooter, said to be a close aide of mafia don turned politician Mukhtar Ansari, alongwith an accomplice in Lucknow on Sunday morning.

"The encounter of the criminal carrying a reward of Rs 50,000 on his head took place around 4.20 am on Sunday in Sarojini Nagar police station area of Lucknow. He sustained injuries in the encounter, and later succumbed to his injuries during treatment," the STF said in a statement.

STF IG Amitabh Yash said shooter Rakesh Pandey was gunned down in retaliatory firing. The STF team was trying to arrest him he went to an area falling in Sarojini Nagar police station limits to meet one of his accomplices. Police recovered two pistols, ammunition and two mobile phones from the spot.

Pandey was allegedly involved in the killing of Krishnanand Rai, BJP MLA from Mohammadabad Assembly constituency in Uttar Pradesh, on November 29, 2005.

"The cavalcade of BJP MLA Krishnanand Rai was fired upon by criminals equipped with AK-47, and more than 400 rounds of bullets were fired. Seven people including Krishnanand Rai died. Pandey was involved in this incident," the STF confirmed.

There are around 12 cases registered against Pandey in different districts of Uttar Pradesh.
WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump on Saturday attempted to bypass Congress and make dramatic changes to tax and spending policy, signing executive actions that challenge the boundaries of power that separate the White House and Capitol Hill.

At an event in Bedminster, N.J., Trump said the actions would provide economic relief to millions of Americans by deferring taxes and, he said, providing temporary unemployment benefits. The measures would attempt to wrest away some of Congress's most fundamental, constitutionally mandated powers - tax and spending policy. Trump acknowledged that some of the actions could be challenged in court, but he indicated he would persevere.

Trump bemoaned how Democrats had refused to accept his demands during recent negotiations but attempted to brush it aside, saying four measures he signed Saturday "will take care of pretty much this entire situation."

But there were instant questions about whether Trump's actions were as ironclad as he made them out to be. A leading national expert on unemployment benefits said that one of the actions would not increase federal unemployment benefits at all. The expert said it would instead create a program that could take "months" to set up. And Trump's directive to halt evictions primarily calls for federal agencies to "consider" whether they should be stopped.

Trump also incorrectly referred to his measures as "bills." Congress writes and votes on bills, not the White House. The documents Trump signed on Saturday were a combination of memorandums and an executive order.

The White House and Democrats have clashed for weeks on what to do about the $600 enhanced weekly unemployment benefit that expired at the end of July.

One of the measures Trump signed Saturday aims to provide $400 in weekly unemployment aid for millions of Americans. Trump said 25 percent of this money would be paid by states, many of which are already dealing with major budget shortfalls. The federal contribution would be redirected from disaster relief money at the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Those funds are not likely to last more than two months, and Trump would not say when the benefits would kick in.

Another document signed by Trump on Saturday attempts to defer payroll tax payments from September through December for people who earn less than $100,000. The impact of this measure could depend on whether companies decide to comply, as they could be responsible for withdrawing large amounts of money from their employees' paychecks in a few months when the taxes are due.

The president said that if he wins reelection, he would seek to extend the deferral and somehow "terminate" the amount owed. He also dared presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden to try to recoup the money if he is elected in November. The payroll tax funds Social Security and Medicare benefits, and it's unclear where those programs will get funding if the taxes are deferred.

Two other actions are related to eviction protections and student loan relief. The plan related to housing makes suggestions to federal agencies but does not halt evictions nationally. The measure on student loans aims to extend the relief granted by Congress in March through the end of the year.

As the economy deteriorated in March because of the pandemic, Congress passed the $2 trillion Cares Act. That law provided $600 in enhanced weekly unemployment benefits through July, and it protected millions of people from eviction during the same time frame. The White House and Democrats had spent the past two weeks working on a deal to extend those provisions, but talks collapsed Friday.

Trump had tried to insist that Congress include a payroll tax cut as part of the talks, but Democrats and Republicans rejected the idea. Trump has sought repeatedly to cut payroll taxes, even before the novel coronavirus hit, and on Saturday he took his first unilateral action related to the tax, attempting to defer collection.

Trump's unilateral actions, if carried out, would provide only limited relief. The White House on Saturday authorized taking about $50 billion from the FEMA fund to pay for unemployment benefits, but that money will only last for about five weeks before expiring, according to Democratic congressional aides and unemployment experts. Then the White House would probably have to ask Congress for more money.

"These policy announcements provide little real help to families," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Senate Democratic Leader Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., said in a statement following the executive actions. "Instead of passing a bill, now President Trump is cutting families' unemployment benefits and pushing states further into budget crises, forcing them to make devastating cuts to life-or-death services." They pointed out that Trump's housing plan "provides no assistance to help pay the rent."

Trump's action on unemployment does not send additional money to the existing unemployment program but instead creates a program for "lost wages" that states will have to set up from scratch, said Michele Evermore, an unemployment expert at the National Employment Law Project. It could take months for such an effort to get off the ground, Evermore said, and states have already been overwhelmed in trying to manage the unemployment insurance programs.

Trump also signed an executive order stating that it was U.S. policy to minimize evictions and foreclosures. The order does not reinstate the federal eviction moratorium that expired last month or fund the billions in assistance that Democrats have said is necessary to help people who are behind on their rent.

Instead, the order calls on the Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to "consider" whether it was necessary to temporarily halt evictions. The Treasury Department and Department of Housing and Urban Development "shall identify" federal funds to provide temporary assistance to renters and homeowners "who, as a result of the financial hardships caused by COVID-19, are struggling to meet their monthly rental or mortgage obligations," the order says.

"The President cannot create new money with an executive order. These EOs simply show the limitations of the President's legal authority," said Jack Smalligan, a former official at the Office of Management and Budget and now a senior policy fellow at the Urban Institute, a Washington think tank.

Senior members of Trump's administration cast doubt on the feasibility of these maneuvers during the past week. On the topic of extending unemployment benefits, Larry Kudlow, the director of the White House National Economic Council, said on Monday: "I don't think that can be done administratively. I think that requires an act of Congress."

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who mostly stayed out of the recent negotiations between the White House and Democrats, praised Trump's move.

"Struggling Americans need action now," he said in a statement. "Since Democrats have sabotaged backroom talks with absurd demands that would not help working people, I support President Trump exploring his options to get unemployed benefits and other relief to the people who need them the most."

Democrats, however, attacked Trump's actions.

"This scheme is a classic Trump con: play acting at leadership while robbing families of the support they need," Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., wrote on Twitter. "This 'plan' fails to reinstate supercharged unemployment, and would throw already overburdened state programs into chaos, making it harder to get benefits out the door."

Democrats on Friday signaled they were still holding out hopes that talks with the White House could be revived.

Some experts have said the president has no legal basis to unilaterally extend unemployment benefits. The president on Saturday told reporters: "We have a lot of money that was unspent," referring to the Cares Act.

House Democrats in May passed a $3.4 trillion bill that they wanted to serve as the next economic relief measure, but it was rejected by the White House and Senate Republicans as too costly. Congressional Democrats in recent days had tried to seek a compromise, saying they were willing to cut $1 trillion, but that the White House's negotiators rebuffed that.

As the president acknowledged at his news conference, the executive orders leave unaddressed multiple critical needs. Bipartisan support had grown on Capitol Hill to provide hundreds of billions in additional funds to help schools safely reopen; for a second round of $1,200 stimulus payments; and a replenishing of funds for the Paycheck Protection Program, among other issues. Trump accused Democrats of blocking these programs from being funded, but he may face political blowback for failing to secure those initiatives in an election year.

Trump signed the orders two weeks after key parts of the Cares Act expired. The law passed in March with bipartisan support, but the White House and Democrats were unable to reach agreement on legislation to deal with expiring provisions.

The Cares Act provided enhanced weekly unemployment benefits of $600 through July, as well as temporary eviction protections, which also expired in July.

Some experts have expressed confusion over the legality of a plan to unilaterally extend federal unemployment benefits. White House officials have studied using leftover money approved by Congress for use by FEMA. But it is unclear whether the administration can repurpose those funds for unemployment benefits without violating the Antideficiency Act, a federal budgeting law.

The executive orders also amount to at least a partial about-face from Trump's promises as a presidential candidate, when he panned executive orders. "We don't want to continue to watch people signing executive orders because that was not what the Constitution and the brilliant designers of this incredible document had in mind," Trump said in March 2016. "We need people that can make deals."

The Heroes Act passed by House Democrats in May would have extended the enhanced $600 unemployment benefit through January, but the White House and Senate Republicans sought to change the formula for these benefits so that - in many cases - the weekly payment came to about $200 a week. Republicans eventually changed their offer and told Democrats they would agree to about $400 a week in benefits. But those talks collapsed in part because of a broader disagreement about aid to struggling states.

The unemployment rate in February was 3.5 percent, near historic lows, but it jumped to more than 14 percent in April when large parts of the country shut down because of the pandemic. The unemployment rate in July was 10.2 percent, but more than 30 million Americans are still collecting jobless aid and many parts of the economy remain dislocated.

The White House and Congress approved roughly $3 trillion in emergency spending and tax cuts earlier this year in response to the coronavirus pandemic, but many Republicans have signaled in recent weeks that they are not comfortable with more spending.

The White House and Senate Republicans didn't act for several months after the House Democrats passed their bill. Then, a few weeks ago, the White House and some Senate Republicans finally made their counteroffer - a $1 trillion measure that would offer another round of stimulus checks, more money for small businesses, schools, and a lower level of enhanced unemployment aid, among other things.

Pelosi said last week Democrats had offered to lower their offer by $1 trillion, but Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said a $2 trillion package was still too large.

In attempting to redirect congressionally approved spending and changing tax policy, the limits of Trump's powers could come under more scrutiny. That could be challenged if Congress objects strenuously enough or someone finds a way for the judiciary to get involved. Trump cites statutory authority in most of the actions, and some of his new actions appear to be only instructions to his Cabinet secretaries and department heads to look for ways to address certain problems. Others involve more questionable actions such as the suspension of tax payments and transfers of money Congress has appropriated for another use.

- - -

The Washington Post's Robert Barnes contributed to this report.
That will help keeping some of the political stuff at a distance, Poortman said. Donors will have to be on top of this. The issue of procurement is always where lots of corruption takes place ... it needs to be done quickly, and there is always the temptation to not follow the rules and go ahead and do something where a lot of people are going to make a lot of money.
Pret a Manger is set to slash the working hours of its staff by around 20 per cent, blaming the move on a reduced footfall.

The sandwich shop has been using Rishi Sunak's furlough scheme to maintain its workforce during the coronavirus lockdown.

However, despite Prime Minister Boris Johnson's drive to get people back to work, only a third of office workers in Britain have done so, according to a survey conducted by US investment bank Morgan Stanley in mid-July, the Sunday Times reports.

Sandwich shop giant Pret a Manger will ask its staff to reduce their working hours by around 20 per cent in a bid to save jobs following the coronavirus lockdown

Pret a Manger has been using Rishi Sunak's furlough scheme to maintain its workforce during the coronavirus lockdown but has seen an 80 per cent drop in business compared to pre-pandemic levels

Pret told the paper: 'Our priority is to do everything we can to save jobs.'

The company pointed out that the significantly lower footfall their stores have seen has forced them to reconsider working hours for their staff.

Their view is that cutting hours will reduce the number of staff that will have to be let go.

Pret bosses have already warned that 30 of its 410 stores may have to close meaning 1,000 employees would also lose their jobs.

Pret a Manger has seen an 80 per cent drop in business from pre-pandemic levels, with their London Victoria store making only 1,000 in daily sales, compared to 6,000 before the pandemic.

Some 9.6 million jobs had been covered by the coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (JRS) up to August 2, Government figures show - an increase of 100,000 on the previous week

The Office for National Statistics is expected to publish figures next week showing the economy contracted by 20 per cent in the second quarter.

The news comes after government figures showed that the cost of furloughing millions of British workers rose by 2billion in the last week of July.

Some 9.6 million jobs had been covered by the coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (JRS) up to August 2, Government figures show. This was an increase of 100,000 on the previous week.

The cumulative cost of the scheme rose from 31.7billion on July 26 to 33.8billion last Sunday, an increase of 2.1billion.

However, HM Revenue and Customs said it does not currently have data on how many jobs are currently furloughed.

This makes it hard to determine how many people have gone back to work amid Boris Johnson's call for offices and other workplaces to reopen to stimulate the economy.
Three-tenths of a mile.

Thats how far the Harless family is from reliable broadband in northern Roanoke County.

Comcast runs, I think, the first 10 or 15 houses down the road, Bobby Harless said. And then after that, its nothing.

Harless lives near Hanging Rock, one of the pockets in Roanoke County where portions of residents report poor broadband access. Harless counts himself lucky to have access through provider All Points Broadband, but its expensive and slow, he said.

Were really on the very edge of getting service, he said.

His family has made due since March, when the COVID-19 pandemic suddenly meant both Harless, a software engineer, and his wife, Courtney, a Roanoke County teacher, had to work from home. Their daughter was a kindergartner at Masons Cove Elementary, and they had to rely on paper packets because their internet was too slow to handle the schools online learning platform.

But now with school starting later this month  and Courtney Harless needing to provide virtual instruction to students  the family is concerned their internet will not be up to the tasks at hand.

Reliable high-speed broadband is a problem that persists across Virginia, from the southwestern mountains to the Middle Peninsula. Nearly 1 in 3 residents of rural Virginia do not have access to high-speed internet, defined by the Federal Communications Commission as at least 25 megabits per second download and 3 megabits per second upload, according to a 2019 Commonwealth Connect report on Gov. Ralph Northams universal broadband initiative. Tens of thousands of urban residents dont have high-speed broadband, either, largely due to affordability.

The issue has been exacerbated and forced into the spotlight during the pandemic, and it has caused special concern among educators. Schools transitioned to a haphazard combination of online learning and paper packets when classrooms closed in March. Many localities and regions have broadband authorities to expand access, and Northam has made it a priority. But those are long-term solutions, expensive and time-consuming. Students need access now. School officials have spent the summer puzzling out not only how to reopen schools for the 202021 school year, but how to reach students who will engage in virtual instruction, a key part of most divisions back-to-school plans.

Theres often an expectation that the schools should provide the internet access, but were not capable of providing broadband access to a population, said Halifax County Public Schools Superintendent Mark Lineburg, who estimates 45% of the divisions nearly 5,000 students dont have reliable access.

Innovation on the go

Bristol Virginia Public Schools Superintendent Keith Perrigan leads the Coalition of Small and Rural Schools of Virginia, a group of nearly 80 of the states 132 divisions that first banded together in 2017 to advocate for issues of mutual concern, such as teacher retention and enrollment loss.

Broadband is now at the top of that list.

I dont know that theres an immediate solution, Perrigan said. I do think that this will start a conversation that will cause long-range things to happen, but Ive yet to hear a good short-term solution for how communities are going to do this.

Bristol Virginia Public Schools acquired hot spots for students and worked with local internet providers to provide high-speed access to the 100 students in need, Perrigan said, which is about 5% of Bristols student body.

Just because you have internet in a community [doesnt] mean that its sufficient for remote learning, he said.

In lieu of permanent solutions, coalition member Louisa County Public Schools got creative. When students there go back to school Thursday, building trades and technology students will begin work on 10 solar hot spot units designed to provide community access points.

The school division already has deployed 22 Wireless on Wheels units throughout the county since April, and another 10 will boost the divisions ability to provide high-speed access as classes start. The rural school division, located in the center of the state, has approximately 5,000 students, about half of whom dont have reliable access, Superintendent Doug Straley estimated.

Its not the cure-all. But it certainly is a great solution for a community that doesnt have a lot of options, Straley said. It wont be a situation where [students] cant do [virtual] because they dont have internet.

The innovation is a product of division Director of Technology David Childress and Director of CTE-STEAM and Innovation Kenneth Bouwens.

Theyve built two versions: cellular and satellite, the latter of which provides connectivity to the parts of the county without cell service, Childress said. The mobile units are positioned throughout the community in places like shopping center parking lots. Students can download their work and take it home to do offline. When the fall semester starts, the school division plans to provide transportation to the units, Straley said.

The idea has become so popular that Childress has fielded requests from other school divisions that want to build their own. A website, wow.lcps.k12.va.us, provides a how-to guide and list of parts, which total less than $3,000.

Cumberland County Public Schools is taking a similar approach: Superintendent Chip Jones said they plan to equip buses with hot spots from the public library and take them throughout the county, located between Richmond and Lynchburg. Already, hot spots have been placed in churches and community locations.

Other school divisions are still working to come up with solutions, like Southside Virginias Halifax County, which begins school Sept. 8.

Halifax Virtual Academy is gonna be dynamic, and its gonna be really, really good, Lineburg said of the divisions virtual component. But its just not as clean as saying, Were getting hot spots to folks across the county, because even with hot spots, we still wouldnt have internet access for some.

Hot spots have been installed in every school building, and the division will equip every student with a Chromebook so they can download materials at school without needing to connect at home. The division also may use other ideas as it finalizes its plans, and Lineburg pledged to find whatever method it takes to educate students.

The one thing I know that we have is we have great teachers, and our teachers will pull this off, Lineburg said. And thats really the key to it.

Broadbands ripple effects

Middlesex County Public Schools Superintendent Pete Gretz worries the divide between the haves and the have nots is becoming more delineated without a broadband expansion solution, which the Middlesex Broadband Authority is working on.

As broadband becomes more of not just an expectation but just a common avenue of delivering essential services to people ... its becoming more of a problem, he said.

A long, thin, rural county on the Middle Peninsula bounded by the Rappahannock and Piankatank rivers and Chesapeake Bay, Middlesex County has a small population of approximately 10,500 residents. The waterfront location draws a wealthy demographic of retirees and vacationers, Gretz said. But the interior of the county tells a different story; over half of the 1,200 students qualify for free/reduced lunch, according to Virginia Department of Education data.

Over 30% of families in the school system dont have access to the internet, a combination of location and affordability, Gretz said. U.S. Route 17 and Virginia State Route 33 run the length of Middlesex County, splitting it in half. Theres not much incentive for internet providers to run service down the side roads that form offshoots from the highway unless families are willing to pay thousands for service to be installed, Gretz said.

He also worries about the indirect effects from a lack of broadband when it comes to making this a desirable place for people to move so that we can continue to grow and continue to sustain ourselves.

The county largely relies on property taxes for revenue. Its infrastructure cant support large-scale economic development; there are Middlesex residents at the eastern tip of the county who dont have clean water, Gretz said.

As younger families contemplate a move to Middlesex, Gretz thinks a lack of broadband might be a deal-breaker. That could lower property values, which would affect the countys main source of revenue  and potentially, the divisions budget.

Broadband is becoming more and more an essential part of ensuring that revenue is stable, he said.

For the upcoming school year, Gretz plans to create Wireless on Wheels units with funding from Charlottesville-based Sun Tribe Solar, which runs renewable energy for Middlesex County Public Schools. The division also is awaiting delivery of LTE-enabled Chromebooks for the upcoming school year, which will essentially act as built-in hot spots using cellular networks.

In the spring, students relied on standalone hot spots, although Gretz noted parts of the county dont have cell service.

So theres really no alternative other than bringing the service physically under the ground to them, or erecting a new tower or something, Gretz said.

Looking toward the future

That problem is one Harless and his neighbors face in Roanoke County. Though Harless has access  albeit only 15 megabits for $80 per month  others rely on their phone as a hot spot, if they can.

Harless previously inquired with Comcast about getting the company to bridge the .3-mile gap to his house. They could do it  for $30,000, he said. He could split the bill with nearby neighbors, but that would still shake out to thousands per household.

Its just too much. People dont want to pay that, Harless said.

The county or somebody has to fund [broadband expansion], or the state has to fund this in order to get it done, and it just hasnt happened, he added.

Jones, from Cumberland County, said the ultimate goal is to ensure all students receive a quality education no matter their location.

When you dont have the internet and everything that you need to enhance it and make it the best it can be, it almost sometimes can make people lose trust in you, he said.

The exact number of Virginians without reliable broadband access is unknown. There are estimates, like the figures provided in Northams 2019 report, but service maps are widely seen as misleading because the FCC until this year allowed internet service providers to list a census block as fully covered if at least one address used service.

Localities with broadband authorities have completed their own surveys to provide a more accurate picture; Roanoke County, for example, estimates 20% of residents are unserved and 13% are underserved, meaning they have internet access but not download speeds equivalent to broadband. The county recently solicited requests for proposals to expand broadband in rural areas, and contributed $133,000 of its Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act funds toward the purchase of 685 hot spots for students, which cost approximately $575,300 with a two-year service agreement.

Though schools are shouldering the burden to provide short-term solutions to students, educators are looking for providers and government to expand access long term.

National Rural Education Association Executive Director Allen Pratt said broadband should be a utility.

I dont think districts should be in the business of being broadband or internet providers, Pratt said.

The government is gonna have to really open the door to allow this fix to happen and not really be a Band-Aid fix, Pratt said.

I just think its a matter of setting the politics aside and doing whats best for rural communities, said Perrigan, Bristols superintendent.

Though the question of internet accessibility is prevalent in rural America, where both location and cost pose a problem, families in urban areas are also without reliable internet.

Roanoke City Public Schools works with Coxs Connect2Compete program, which allows families who arent current Cox customers, who participate in a government subsidy program and who have at least one child in school to pay a reduced price of $9.95 per month. Comcast also has a similar program, called Internet Essentials.

Cox Public Affairs Manager Sarah Buck said the company has expanded the programs criteria to help as many families as possible. Since March, Cox has seen a more than 300% increase in Connect2Compete connections in some parts of the state, according to Margaret-Hunter Wade, Coxs public relations director for Virginia. Through Sept. 30, households will receive their first two months free.

We have been working day in and day out, it seems, for the past several weeks just to think of creative solutions to help these families get connected and not have to worry about one more thing, especially how theyre going to pay for their bills, Buck said.

Roanoke City Public Schools spokesman Justin McLeod said the school system plans to offer financial assistance for families, and hot spots will also be available. The city plans to allocate $1.18 million of its CARES Act funds to youth and education, which include internet access.

Hot spotting solutions

On a recent Friday afternoon in the fluorescent-lit gym of Fort Lewis Elementary School in Roanoke County, staff handed out laptops and a handful of hot spots as students trickled through the line.

The unique thing about these hot spots is that the cell phone carrier can be swapped out, Director of Information Technology Jeff Terry explained. U.S. Cellular, for example, provides better service than other carriers in the Masons Cove area in northwest Roanoke County. For extreme cases, the division has acquired a handful of cell extenders to provide a signal boost, Terry said.

Hot spot service for families who qualify for free and reduced lunch, which make up 70% of the 685 who need internet access, will be paid for by the school division.

Even the hot spots that were doing doesnt answer the question for everybody because some people are still so remote, Superintendent Ken Nicely acknowledged.

The division also partnered with the county to place cable modems in the Bent Mountain and Catawba community centers to serve two areas notorious for poor service. Schools also have flash drives to load content offline.

The digital divide also extends to device access, and Roanoke Countys hallmark program is its one-to-one laptop program, which is in its 18th year, according to Terry. It started with high school students, later expanded to middle school, and this school year will serve elementary-aged students because of the divisions partially-virtual reopening plan.

I think our ultimate goal, this year especially, is to have that laptop work exactly as it would here [at school], Terry said, to make virtual learning work smoothly.

Brunswick County Public Schools, in Southside Virginia, is about to experience a one-to-one device program for the first time. When Superintendent Kristy Somerville-Midgette arrived to Brunswick County in 2018, there were about 22 students for every laptop. She set in motion a goal of one laptop for every student, a vision shell see out this fall.

Little did she know then how perfect her timing would be.

My technology director and I  literally, it was a week before [schools closed]  we were sitting talking, and I said, OK, were going to be at a one-to-one, well have the technology, now what? 

Brunswick County Public Schools serves 1,500 students, and a majority of students qualify for free/reduced lunch. Internet access was a crucial piece of the reopening puzzle, but because the county is so small and remote, with few places of business, there arent many places to put devices like the solar-powered wireless on wheels.

Hot spots are Brunswick Countys answer, which the county is funding through a portion of its CARES Act funds. A semester of service shakes out to be about $235,000, and the county provided $300,000, Somerville-Midgette said. Families who have picked up devices have expressed thanks to the school system, she said.

But CARES funding wont last forever. She worries about small, rural communities like Brunswick getting left behind if access stays limited.

I dont think everything can be left to the locality, she said. We dont have the funding or the resources to make it happen.

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President Donald Trump signed an executive order and issued three memorandums Saturday, including one that will provide an additional $400 per week in unemployment benefits to millions of out-of-work Americans following the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.

But theres a catch: Its unclear whether Trump has the authority to extend enhanced unemployment benefits by executive action while side-stepping Congress. It lowers the weekly bonus to $400 from the extra $600 that expired in late July, with states being asked to cover 25% of the costs. That means the federal government will provide $300 a week. And it could take months for states to implement.

Americans face a drop in their unemployment benefits at a time when coronavirus cases are spiking again and more states are pausing their reopenings, trends that threaten to derail the nation's economic recovery when millions are already out of work.

More: Trump signs executive actions enacting $400 unemployment benefit, payroll tax cut after coronavirus stimulus talks stall

What we know: Trump extends unemployment benefits through executive action but cuts aid to $400 per week

Executive actions face possible legal challenges

Trump directed the use of funds from FEMAs Disaster Relief Fund, which would be capped at $44 billion, creating confusion among unemployment experts. The move could potentially bypass approval from Congress, some lawyers say, but it also leaves the door open to other challenges.

This could create issues with the Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, which includes a program that provides assistance to people who dont qualify for traditional unemployment, according to Michele Evermore, a senior policy analyst at the National Employment Law Project, a think tank that advocates for labor and employment legislation.

This is an administrative nightmare, Evermore says. States are going to have to set up a new program aside from regular unemployment insurance. It could take months for states to implement this.

Story continues

FEMA said it will provide funding to states and territories that request and apply for assistance.

States and territories will distribute the funds through their regular unemployment insurance system, a FEMA spokesperson said in a statement Sunday.

To be sure, states cant use their current unemployment insurance infrastructure to pay a benefit that isnt authorized by Congress, says Evermore. The language in the memorandum says that these benefits must be paid in conjunction with the state's unemployment insurance system, which means that states will have to set up a new way to add these payments to existing benefits, she added.

Can he allocate disaster relief funds to pay for something that looks like an unemployment insurance benefit? Its unclear, says Evermore.

States may pay for their portion of the benefits by using money provided to them under a coronavirus-relief package passed this year, the executive action says.

How will the funds be distributed?

It also brings into question how the funds will be dispersed.

Its such a gamble. No one has ever seen anything like this, says Indivar Dutta-Gupta, co-executive director at the Georgetown Center on Poverty & Inequality. You cant pay unemployment benefits under the Stafford Act unless a person isnt eligible for any other jobless benefits. Theyre running into legal problems.

That could create more headaches for states. They might not be able to use the unemployment system to pay out the funds since it could be illegal under the Stafford Act, according to Dutta-Gupta. State unemployment offices would either have to create a new system to disperse the funds, or other government entities might be called on to assist, including the tax system or human services agencies, he says.

They cant call it an unemployment benefit under the Stafford Act, but it starts looking and smelling and sounding a lot like an unemployment benefit real quickly," says Dutta-Gupta. "And even more so if its administered by the same unemployment agencies. They probably cant do that if they want it to be upheld.

Some Americans might not qualify

Trumps measure would allow states to provide up to $400-per-week in expanded benefits, 75% of which would come from the federal government's disaster relief fund. States would have to pay the remaining 25% of the cost. That means the federal contribution will provide only $300, while states will be expected to fund the extra $100, experts say.

An unemployment recipient would have to collect at least $100 in weekly benefits to get the additional funds, according to Evermore, making it unclear how many unemployed Americans would actually receive the full $400 benefit.

The $300 would partially restore the $600 unemployment benefit that ended in late July. Democrats wanted to extend the full $600 benefit, but Republicans balked, arguing it was a disincentive for some Americans to return to work because they would receive more in unemployment than they earned on the job. Republicans wanted to bring the benefit down to $200. Trump's decision to order $400 in benefits splits the difference.

State governments across the country have to race to catch up with escalating demand for unemployment assistance. Many lacked the technology to deal with the massive wave of layoffs and furloughs, experts say, creating issues for their computer systems.

States with the most unstable systems also tend to be in the South, and those with the highest populations of Black and Latino workers, according to Evermore.

The extra aid could last just weeks

More than 25 million people had received the $600 weekly bonus. With the enhanced unemployment aid capped at $44 billion from FEMAs Disaster Relief Fund, Andrew Stettner, senior fellow at The Century Foundation, estimates that the additional aid will last just over a month, or about $10 billion per week, if the same number of people receive the bonus and if every state participates.

It's a difficult proposition for states to implement in a short period of time," says Stettner. "States had already struggled to get unemployment money in the hands of out-of-work Americans. This will disappoint workers. They think theyll get that $400 next week, but theyre not.

Evermore of the National Employment Law Project agrees.

This is just a false promise to the American people, and a way to dodge responsibility for the breakdown in negotiations in Congress, says Evermore.

'Insulin or groceries': How reduced unemployment affects struggling Americans from California to Mississippi

President Donald Trump smiles as he is about to sign four executive actions during a news conference at the Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, N.J., Saturday, Aug. 8, 2020. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

Executive actions could prompt a court fight

The funds from the Stafford Act are discretionary in character, says Jonathan Turley, a law professor at George Washington University. But they were designed primarily for natural disasters from hurricanes to droughts to fires, he added.

There is no question that this is a circumvention of Congress, which raises obvious concerns over the separation of powers, says Turley.

President Barack Obama, for instance, announced a similar circumvention when Congress refused to approve changes to immigration and health care laws, Turley explained. The Trump administration has prevailed on other discretionary fights including the funding of a border wall.

Congress has approved billions of dollars under vague conditions, Turley added, but the latest executive action on expanded jobless benefits has created confusion over a potential cost-sharing program that binds states to pay a quarter of the costs.

'I'm too old to find a new career': More than half of Americans fear job losses

There is a difference between discretionary funding and discretionary legislating, says Turley. The Constitution is designed to force compromise. However, that only works if the two branches have no alternative but to seek a compromise. President Trump is claiming that much of this money is unspent funds previously approved by Congress. That would be an issue for the courts.

Contributing: David Jackson and Michael Collins, USA TODAY.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Unemployment benefits: Will Trump's executive orders be challenged?
Liam Collins remembers a newsroom where provocative columnists took a hardline position on the most popular politician in Ireland

Aengus Fanning came striding down the newsroom of the Sunday Independent with a thunderous look on his face. Leaning over the desk, he hissed through gritted teeth: "Why did you give Eamon's copy [column] to the lawyer?"

He didn't have to say 'Dunphy': there was only one Eamon that mattered in those tension-filled months in the late summer and autumn of 1993, when the Sunday Independent was dominated by a bare-knuckle campaign attacking John Hume's dialogue with the hated and feared figure of Gerry Adams.

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In those hot and heavy times, the views published in the paper Fanning edited were a national talking point. Twenty-seven years later, in the week that Hume died, they were still a source of considerable controversy - and opprobrium.

In the edition of August 8, 1993, Dunphy dissected what he described as the "cant" of John Hume, the most popular politician in Ireland.

Expand Close In the edition of August 8, 1993, Eamon Dunphy dissected what he described as the cant of John Hume in a column that featured an illustration that some thought showed Hume with a bloodied hand. It was not blood, says artist Wendy Shea. Photo: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile / Facebook

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Whatsapp In the edition of August 8, 1993, Eamon Dunphy dissected what he described as the cant of John Hume in a column that featured an illustration that some thought showed Hume with a bloodied hand. It was not blood, says artist Wendy Shea. Photo: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile

"Dangerous cant, designed to fool us and the watching world as to the real nationalist agenda which is to force the unionists by political means to submit to our demands," he wrote.

"This is the present policy of our government Mr John Hume being the principal international enforcer, licensed to speak to the world on our behalf, the political bomber flying over unionist heads trying to kill them. Hume has stated with commendable clarity, which for him is unusual, that if Britain and the unionists don't do business with him, they will have to deal with the IRA, with physical rather than political force."

He may not have meant it literally, but the piece was incendiary. What were later described as "vicious" and "personal" attacks on the leader of the SDLP pitted the paper and its formidable phalanx of columnists, including Professor John A Murphy, Shane Ross, Eilis O'Hanlon and others, against what Dunphy often contemptuously referred to as 'Official Ireland'.

"The Sunday Independent's persistent and vicious attacks on John Hume were a serious mistake, an absolute disgrace and damaged the reputation of Irish journalism," said the influential former diplomat Sean Donlon in a letter to The Irish Times in 2015.

"Who can forget the scalding attacks in the Sunday Independent in 1993 when half a dozen articles attacked John Hume, culminating in a nasty cartoon which depicted blood dripping from John's hands?" wrote Belfast SDLP councillor Tim Attwood in the same edition.

Anne Harris, who succeeded her late husband Aengus Fanning as editor of the paper, responded with a letter the following day: "The Sunday Independent never published a cartoon depicting blood dripping from John Hume's hands."

It wasn't the first time - or the last - that the same cartoon was cited in evidence against this newspaper.

In a 2008 interview with Jason O'Toole in Hot Press, Fanning looked back at that time and said: "We were traduced and misrepresented and lies were told. For example, there was supposed to be a cartoon of John Hume in which he was depicted with blood on his hands. That went into legend. There was no such cartoon. A couple of years later, I said to him, 'John, there was no such cartoon'. And John said, 'Well, I didn't see it either, but somebody told me about it'."

While there was no dripping blood, there are those who remain adamant that the dark shading on Hume's right hand in that illustration first used with Dunphy's column of August 8 represented a bloodied hand.

While the criticism of John Hume was frequently fierce, it was never stated in any of the coverage that he had "blood on his hands".

The artist who produced the illustration, Wendy Shea, said last week that there was no intention on her part to give that impression. "It was not blood," she insisted. "I am humiliated and horrified that anyone could think that. I admired John Hume, I copied it from a photograph and I would never in a fit have done anything to harm John Hume, because I admired him."

I was a staff journalist with the Sunday Independent at that time and I cannot remember a single complaint about that drawing then - and the same illustration was used prominently on two further occasions in 1993. The outrage came subsequently.

********

It should be remembered that Hume's dialogue with Adams was going on against the background of IRA outrages at home and abroad, including the Warrington bomb, where the IRA killed Jonathan Ball (3) and Tim Parry (12) outside McDonald's on a Saturday afternoon the previous February.

Now Hume, the acknowledged high priest of peace, had entered into some form of discussions with Adams - president of Sinn Fein and a man widely regarded as a director of terrorism, and the personification of the 'ballot box in one hand and the Armalite in the other' strategy articulated by his publicity enforcer, Danny Morrison.

It was a time when spindoctors waited at the news-stands in O'Connell Street at 9pm on a Saturday night when the paper hit the streets to see what Dunphy, Terry Keane, Gene Kerrigan and other contributors such as Colm Toibin, Anthony Clare and Tony Cronin were saying, so they could report back to their masters.

While some columnists, particularly Dunphy, could well be described as intemperate and provocative, Hume was by no means the only one in their sights at the time. A polemic on the Tanaiste, Dick Spring, earlier that year concluded: "He is a disgrace to the country and, to borrow a phrase from Brendan Behan, 'a boll***s of the highest order'."

Other subjects for scorn included Mary Robinson, Michael D Higgins, Charles Haughey, Albert Reynolds and others pillars of society outside the political sphere.

Looking back on almost 30 years with the Sunday Independent, I can best describe those days as being part of a cult. We were all in it together and everyone seemed against us. There was no room for half-hearted opinions or mundane commentary: selling newspapers was a priority and the Sunday Independent was very successful at doing that.

The newspaper radiated a kind of mystique, its columnists lunching with influential people in Chapter One or drinking Champagne with the 'movers and shakers' in the Shelbourne Hotel on a Friday night. The secrets of the inner circles of Dublin society were weekly fodder for the Keane Edge, topped off with 'Sweetie', the provocative codename known to refer to Charlie Haughey, who had not long been deposed as Taoiseach and leader of Fianna Fail.

The reality was that the paper was put together by a small group of very hard-working people in a fairly seedy office on the third floor of Independent House, a Dickensian warren on Middle Abbey Street with a giant printing works in the basement which sent a shudder through the building when it began the laborious process of printing the paper at around 7pm on a Saturday.

Although I knew Dunphy from social events and late-night dens like George's Bistro and Joy's, he and the other 'stars' of the paper rarely appeared in the office. The alchemy of what appeared on a Sunday morning was tightly controlled by Fanning and his two deputies, Anne Harris and Willie Kealy. The political direction of the paper was not a matter for general discussion.

During the week, newspaper cuttings, tapes of radio interviews and other material was assembled and delivered on Friday to Dunphy, a creature of the night then living in a mews house on Heytesbury Lane. Provided with this ammunition, he would sometimes labour through the night and his column for the back page was delivered to the office on Saturday morning by taxi.

"Since I brought Eamon Dunphy back to the Sunday Independent in April 1986, I have to say that, at his best, he produced superb dissenting journalism, that I encouraged and defended him, and that some of his work was a landmark in Irish journalism," said Fanning in a confidential memo to the board of Independent News and Media (INM, owner of the Sunday Independent) in 2003.

It was this "dissenting journalism" - not least the newspaper's coverage of Hume-Adams - that is still vivid today. And Dunphy was by no means alone in his crusades, for when the Sunday Independent decided to tackle an issue, the kitchen sink was thrown at it.

"If you look at the treatment of, for example, John Hume by the Sunday Independent during the early stage of the peace talks in Northern Ireland, it was an absolute disgrace," said Denis O'Brien, the billionaire businessman who later ousted the O'Reilly family in a bitter and hugely expensive battle for INM.

In Matt Cooper's 2015 book, The Maximalist: The Rise and Fall of Tony O'Reilly (2015), O'Brien added: "Here was a man who had devoted his life to the pursuance of peace on the island and he was vilified. It took a huge toll on his health. There were many others who were subjected to poisonous attacks."

********

John Hume was different from any other target of 'Official Ireland'. He was beloved of the Irish people, regarded as a prophet rather than a politician. He had given his life to the cause of peace and stood up for non-violent protest representing the majority of Irish people who were appalled at what was being done in their name at home and abroad by the bombers and death squads of the IRA.

But that, in essence, was the problem. Why was he secretly talking to Adams, the leader of what the Sunday Independent insisted on calling 'Sinn Fein/IRA'?

Speaking for the Protestant community, Shane Ross wrote: "Mr Adams's friends can now terrify them physically, while Mr Hume's friends can intimidate them politically The language of Mr Hume is now the language of Mr Adams."

But Hume was a formidable opponent. He had a 'hotline' to influential figures in Dublin, London and Washington, not to mention a long-standing friendship with O'Reilly.

If the doors of the political, business, social and media establishment were open to his initiatives in the summer of 1993, there was cold comfort from the Sunday Independent.

"John Hume has seduced many with his unctuous rhetoric and disingenuous proposals for peace," Dunphy wrote, again on August 8.

"The mark of his failure as a politician is that while orchestrating the nationalist consensus, he has alienated and rendered abject the Protestant people he and we must make our peace with in the end."

Mark Durkan, chairman of the SDLP, later to become Hume's successor as MP and leader of the SDLP, tried to hit back. He submitted a right-of-reply article castigating the role of what he called the 'Indo Unionists' at the paper and describing Dunphy as "a bitter, ranting poisonous pen columnist with an unbridled hatred of John Hume".

He further alleged that the vilification of Hume was effectively setting up the leaders of the SDLP as targets for assassination.

Even though Durkan's contribution was as intemperate as Dunphy's, I and a senior executive of the paper argued it should be used as a counterbalance to the hostile coverage. But Fanning said no - he wouldn't talk to Durkan or appease him in any way. Instead, Hume's background manoeuvring became part of the narrative.

"Hume has been making representations to this newspaper at editorial and proprietorial level in an attempt to influence what we write. It is a covert attempt at censorship," wrote Dunphy.

"Having failed, Hume's SDLP colleague Seamus Mallon and his party's general secretary Mark Durkan went public on Morning Ireland and in the newspapers to claim that Dr [Conor Cruise] O'Brien, Professor Murphy and I were inciting Protestant terrorists to commit acts of violence against them," added Dunphy.

John A Murphy, Emeritus Professor of History at University College Cork, whose opposition to Hume-Adams was reasoned and acknowledged Hume's enormous influence, wrote that "quite independently of one and other" a number of Sunday Independent columnists "have made a sustained, critical and sometimes pungent analysis of John Hume and the SDLP's political strategies".

Most weeks, one contributor stood alone: Professor Ronan Fanning (no relation to Aengus). A friend of Hume's, he defended the Hume-Adams initiative - and was soon criticised by Dunphy for doing so.

The respected journalist and author Ed Moloney has also added to the myth-making with a piece he wrote in 2015, when the issue became current in media circles once again, after Anne Harris wrote a piece in defence of Tony O'Reilly in The Irish Times.

Referring back to 1993, Moloney wrote: "Hardly a weekend passed for at least a month or two without the paper publishing a series of violent and often offensive articles targeting Hume for his naivete, misplaced ambition, stupidity, gullibility and credulity for entertaining the notion that Adams and the IRA could be talked out of violence."

Moloney accused Eoghan Harris of "leading the charge", adding: "Some weekends the Sunday Indo could have wallpapered the average Irish living room with diatribes against Hume."

All fine, perhaps, except for this: Harris did not write for the Sunday Independent at the time, he was a columnist with the Sunday Times.

In that Hot Press interview, Aengus Fanning teased out his thought process as an editor, which those who worked with him at the time can verify as his style.

"I was driven mainly - and I have to admit this - by my desire to have well-written, intelligent, challenging copy in the paper... Now, it happened to coincide with my own general view as well. One of the strengths at the time was the support of the proprietor, Tony O'Reilly, who was absolutely steadfast when all sorts of efforts were being made - on both sides of the Atlantic and Irish Sea - for him to intervene and change things. He was absolutely rock solid. And that was not an easy thing for a man in his position."

Publishing stories, pictures and comment that would "sell papers" was Fanning's mantra. He had an obsession with sales, believing it was the only measurement of success in the newspaper business. But his editorship was also marked, from the very beginning, by an abhorrence of violence, which may or may not have stemmed from growing up in Tralee, the son of a Northern Irish Presbyterian mother.

Fanning did not quibble when Jason O'Toole, in Hot Press, suggested some of the coverage of Hume was "vicious" and "personal", but he added: "I'm not saying it was wrong - it was the way he [Dunphy] chose to do it. He felt very strongly about it at the time. We were all concerned about entering into negotiations with the IRA and also the idea that we must have peace at any price.

"Eamon did that in his own unique and individual style. He was one of our top contributors at the time and I stand behind him in what he said. Even though I was broadly critical of the talks with the IRA, I mightn't have agreed with him to that extent but it's not really the job of an editor to censor his contributors, as far as it is at all possible. It's an old-fashioned idea of liberalism, one that, strangely, many journalists appear not to understand."

*********

If the paper was under pressure to recant, it didn't show in the October 3 issue, which had seven pages of news and comment under the heading 'Hume on a Tightrope', at a time when the SDLP leader was about to depart on a two-week trade mission to the United States.

"In supping with the devil John Hume has been using too short a spoon... I believe he is driven on by a passionate desire to bring peace in our time... But then so was Neville Chamberlain," wrote Conor Cruise O'Brien.

"Some would see it a black malign scenario involving the political transformation of Gerry Adams and implosion of John Hume with devastating consequences for constitutional nationalism," wrote the Progressive Democrat TD Michael McDowell.

In his spot on the back page, Dunphy wrote: "In plain English, the proposition Hume laid at our door before bolting to the US last weekend was that the Irish government engage in dialogue with the IRA while they continue to wage their terrorist campaign against the Protestant community in the North."

But the blanket criticism was now tempered by two prominent articles on the same page, one by Ronan Fanning and the other by Richard Kearney. Both put the case for Hume-Adams. "The mockers are in full cry this weekend. They have reason to hope that the history of John Hume's leadership has turned into rubbish and that his renown - and with that renown the future of the Hume-Adams talks - have fallen and will fail," wrote Ronan Fanning in a defence of the process.

In that private memo to the board in 2003, Fanning described Dunphy's writing as "responsible for much of the criticism directed against the Sunday Independent", but he added: "The irony is that much of the controversy helped to sell the paper. An exception, I believe, was the autumn of 1993 when Eamon's outspoken attacks on John Hume cost us sales. In fairness, we should also remind ourselves that a lot of the criticism over the years is no more than media begrudgery."

Hume's death last week brought with it a reminder that the episode remains, for some, an open sore.

Paying tribute to Hume, former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern reflected on the 1990s' controversy, but added: "A story many people might not know is that years later Aengus Fanning, the late editor, rang me because he wanted to make up with John. I arranged so that the three of us could meet in Fagan's [pub, in Drumcondra]. It turned into a great day of conversation. Everything was made up, not so much with an apology but with friendly chats."

Before that encounter, in March 2001, Fanning interviewed Hume in Derry, the pair happily posing for a photograph together. There was no mention in the article of Hume-Adams or that tumultuous period in modern Irish history.

In a 1996 interview with Joe Jackson, Dunphy described his columns as "so self-righteous ... monotonous ... predictable". Dunphy, who had also made his peace with Hume, added: "None of this means I am taking back - or ashamed of - what I did in the Sunday Independent. I am not."

A quarter of a century later, Sinn Fein has supplanted the SDLP in Northern Ireland, as several of the commentators in the Sunday Independent predicted.

But the peace process that the Hume-Adams dialogue launched did lead, with the help and dedication of others, to the Good Friday Agreement. Hume - and the many who hailed his achievements last week - will have seen the eclipse of the party he once led as a price worth paying for a lasting peace.
The logo of Toyota is seen on the front of a car. Photo by Shutterstock/otomobil.

Toyota Vietnam is recalling over 2,700 Vios and Corolla sedans for airbag faults that can cause severe damage to users in the event of a crash.

The recall covers 2,568 Toyota Vios cars assembled in Vietnam between September 2007 and December 2008, and 145 imported Toyota Corolla cars produced between January 2004 and April 2005, according to a statement submitted by the automaker to the Vietnam Register.

The inflator canister in these vehicles can be penetrated by humidity. In some crashes, the activation of the airbag can break the inflator into pieces. These pieces can be pushed through the inflated airbag, causing serious damage to users, Toyota Vietnam said.

Customers can bring their vehicles for a free replacement of the faulty parts at Toyota dealers. The replacement should take up to 1.5 hours. The recall will run until August 2022.

In 2018, Toyota Vietnam recalled more than 11,300 cars with similar airbag faults.
By Express News Service

CHENNAI: A day after the Indian Medical Association (IMA) shot off a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi with a list of doctors who succumbed to Covid-19 across the country, the Tamil Nadu unit of the IMA differed with the parent organisations death count.

The list sent by the IMA to PM Modi stated that as many as 43 doctors in Tamil Nadu had died due to the viral infection. President of Tamil Nadu branch of the IMA, Dr N Raja, said, We have documents to say that only 22 doctors from Tamil Nadu have died of Covid- 19 and the national IMA list is being verified. We submitted the documents for 22 deaths to the government and we are working on the remaining.

Speaking to Express, Dr Rajan Sharma, the national president of IMA, said the purpose of releasing the data was not to find a fault with the governments.

It was released to express our concern on doctors losing their lives to Covid and also to get claims for the deceased doctors families. If the State government or State IMA has an issue with the data, let them verify the data for themselves. Only Tamil Nadu has objected to the data when other States have accepted it.

Meanwhile, the State reported 5,994 new Covid-19 cases and 119 deaths, including that of an 11-year-old boy, taking the tally to 2,96,901 and the toll to 4,927 on Sunday. Chennai recorded fewer than 1,000 cases for the third consecutive day with 989 people testing positive for the infection.

The State tested a whopping 70,186 samples and 68,179 people, taking the total number of samples tested to 32,25,805 and people tested to 31,09,708. Two transgender persons were among the new cases on the day. According to the bulletin issued by the Directorate of Public Health, Chennais neighbouring districts Chengalpattu recorded 397 cases, Kancheepuram 393 and Tiruvallur 396 cases.

Among the 119 deaths reported on Sunday, 16 didnt have comorbidities. As per the bulletin, people who died without comorbidities were admitted to hospital at least with three days of fever and breathing difficulty. Viral pneumonia was a common cause behind most of these deaths. An 11-year-old boy from Virudhunagar who was admitted in Government Rajaji Hospital, Madurai, on August 3 was among the victims. The patient died on August 7 due to Covid 19 and Acute T Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia, the bulletin said.
(Newser)  President Trump's call this week with a GOP megadonor took an unexpected turn and left officials scrambling to undo the damage, Politico reports. Sheldon Adelsonthe Las Vegas mogul who, along with his wife, has already poured $10 million into a pro-Trump super PACcalled the president to discuss the pandemic relief bill and was reprimanded for not giving more. The New York Times calls it a "tense call," while Politico reports that several GOP officials were "alarmed" by Trump's attack. The officials tried easing tensions with Adelson, but associates of the 87-year-old casino magnate say it's unclear whether he'll keep backing Trump.

story continues below

Meanwhile, with the election less than three months away, groups supporting Joe Biden are outspending their pro-Trump rivals nearly 3-to-1. "We are getting clobbered," says Dan Eberhart, a GOP contributor who points to an "enthusiasm gap among super PAC donors." Other Republicans say Trump has little interest in cold-calling, grooming, glad-handing, and other activities associated with super PAC fundraising. As for Adelson, Business Insider reports that he's worth nearly $30 billion and was expected to donate between $100 million and $200 million to Trump's 2020 campaign. His earlier support earned him the moniker "Trump's Patron-in-Chief." (Trump gave him something special in 2018.)
An Afghan grand assembly of elders, known as the Loya Jirga, on Sunday passed a resolution to release 400 Taliban prisoners, and President Ashraf Ghani said he will sign the order, effectively removing one of the most important barriers to peace talks between the government and the Taliban, who have been in conflict for decades.

The United States and the Taliban had previously agreed the latter would enter talks with the Afghan government if it released 5,000 prisoners, most of whom have already been freed. But Kabul was hesitant to release the final 400, many of whom are accused of serious offenses, with more than 150 of them on death row. The Loya Jirga said they wanted guarantees the Taliban would not return to the battlefield during negotiations, and Ghani said "the choice is in the Taliban's hands ... the Taliban should show today they don't fear a nationwide cease-fire."

Some civilians and human rights group are wary of the move, but negotiations between the factions are expected to begin next week in Qatar. Read more at Al Jazeera and BBC.

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Possibly caused by onions, a salmonella outbreak is increasing in prevalence and has been transmitted to 640 people from 43 states.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, at least 85 have been admitted to the hospital. No fatalities have been reported.

The CDC has identified the probable cause of the multistate outbreak of infections as red onions.

Federal and state health authorities are probing into the salmonella newport outbreak, reported "Detroit Free Press."

According to the CDC and the United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA), the aforementioned red onions that are the likely source of the outbreak were said to be from Thomson International Inc.

The CDC advised, "If you can't tell where your onions are from, don't eat them. Throw them away," reported ABC 13.

The outbreak has prevailed to sandwiches, salads, and other products manufactured by a multi-state supermarket chain and a health food company in Texas.

Consumers were requested not to eat onions from Thomson International Inc. The advisory extends to white, red, yellow, and sweet onions, reported MSN.

The 43 states include Pennsylvania, Delaware, and New Jersey.

The CDC told restaurants last Friday, "If you don't know where your onions are from, don't eat, serve, or sell them or any food prepared with them."

"Other companies have also issued recalls of foods, like chicken salads, made with recalled onions," the public health institute added.

According to the FDA in a statement on Friday, Thomson will recollect all varieties of onions that possibly came in contact with probable contaminated red onions due to the risk of cross-contamination.

Also Read: Salmonella Contamination Leads To Recall Of Select Barkworthies Dog Treats

To mitigate the salmonella outbreak, major grocery chains, including Walmart, Giant Eagle, Kroger, and Publix have advised consumers against consuming food that could contain such onions.

Numerous companies including Taylor Farms and Giant Eagle have recalled onions and food made with such onions including chicken salad, fajita stir-fry, macaroni salad, pizza, and diced raw onions.

The public is advised to check their homes for such recalled products and throw away contaminated food, the CDC stated.

Thomson International Inc. is a Bakersfield, California, produce supplier. All types of onions from the company are grown and harvested in an identical manner. All products are indicated here.

According to the recall notice, the onions were disseminated to wholesalers, retail stores, and restaurants in all 50 states and Canada.

The recorded tally of confirmed cases and hospitalizations reflects an additional 244 cases and 26 hospitalizations in 10 new states.

The FDA is currently investigating the source company.

Upon exposure to the bacteria, salmonella infection symptoms include diarrhea, stomach cramps. and fever from six days to six hours. People under age 5 and over the age of 65 and individuals with ailing immune systems are more susceptible to experience serious illness.

Upon grocery shopping or ordering from a restaurant, the CDC stated that people should check with the said establishments to ensure that they are selling or not serving recalled onions from Thomson International, Inc.

The CDC advised to contain the salmonella outbreak, "If they don't know where their onions are from, don't buy the product."

Related Article: Nutriom Recalls Dried Egg Products Due to Possible Salmonella Contamination

@ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Karnataka Health Minister B Sriramulu on Sunday said he has tested positive for coronavirus and has been hospitalised here.

"Following fever, I got myself tested and found to be infected by coronavirus," Sriramulu tweeted on Sunday.

He has been admitted to the Government Bowring hospital in the city for treatment.

The Minister said he is praying to God to heal him soon so that he can get back to public work at the earliest.

Sriramulu is the fifth minister in Karnataka to have tested positive for coronavirus.

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

Prior to him, Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa, Forest Minister Anand Singh, Tourism Minister C T Ravi, B C Patil were found infected by the virus. Besides him, leader of opposition Siddaramaiah too tested COVID-19 positive.

Yediyurappa and Siddaramaiah are undergoing treatment in a private hospital, where their condition is said to be stable.

Follow our full coverage of the coronavirus pandemic here
Photographer Evan Doherty: 'All I ever think about is my next meal'

The photographer reveals his abiding love for roast dinners and Redbreast whiskey and how he's always thinking about his next meal.

What was your favourite childhood meal?

My mother used to cook amazing food, but I always loved a quick pasta with cheese, bacon and lots of butter.

What's the meal you will always remember?

Usually with my best friend Dzenan in Trocadero on St Andrew's Street in Dublin. Over the last 10 years, we have made some great memories there.

What was your defining food experience?

We never really ate out much as a family when I was younger. It wasn't until my mid 20s that I had a real foodie experience. When I moved into my studio on George's Street, I started dining out in the city, trying sushi, Thai, French, Mexican and real Italian food for the first time.

What's the first dish you ever cooked?

I'd say pasta, with cheese and bacon. A cheap and cheerful classic. I worked as a chef for Irish Ferries for three years; that's when I learned how to cook properly.

What is your comfort food?

I love cooking roast dinners, such as a tasty leg or shoulder of lamb. Being able to pick away at it all day... delicious!

What is your hangover cure?

A Thai panang curry with prawns.

What do you drink?

I'm a big red wine drinker. I love a Rioja or a Tempranillo. I love my whiskey too; I always have a nice bottle of Redbreast in the drinks cabinet.

What's your sweet treat?

It has to be my mam's pavlova. Family members kill each other for seconds at Christmas!

If you could only eat three things for the rest of your life, what would they be?

Probably eggs, beef, and a meaty white fish.

What is the most appetising smell in the world?

I really love the smell of rosemary and garlic when I'm slow-cooking lamb.

How important is food to you?

Very! All I ever think about is my next meal. Even when I go to bed, I'm looking forward to breakfast!

You can go anywhere and have anything to eat with any one person. Where, what and who?

Probably a barbeque at my best friend's house on the beach in Laytown, Co Meath. Beautiful views of the sea, great food and great company.

What's your favourite restaurant in Ireland?

I love Taste at Rustic on George's Street in Dublin. I am blown away every time I go there. Rosa Madre in Temple Bar is also one of the best. But Trocadero always has a special place in my heart.

And abroad?

I'm big into seafood, so I love going to Croatia and having grilled fish and some wine. I was in some great restaurants in New York in December last year - Mission Chinese Food on East Broadway really stood out.

What's your perfect family meal?

My mam making a whole spread of food, with various meat choices, salads and a number of desserts. Good wine, some beer and all the kids running around.

Evan Doherty is an ambassador for Huawei
Vu made his statement while attending a ministerial-level open online debate of the UN Security Council on the linkages between terrorism and transnational organised crime held on August 6.

At the debate, Vu shared the common concerns on the impact of terrorism and organised crime on the peace, security, and sustainable development of UN member countries, particularly given the complex developments of COVID-19.

The diplomat noted the member countries hold the top responsibility in the fight against these forces, adding that their responses should respect the UN Charter, international law, and involved nations independence and national sovereignty, while following the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy and other related resolutions of the UN General Assembly and Security Council.

He said in such a process, the UN can play an active role in building an overall approach to tackle the root causes of the problem like poverty, inequality, and unemployment.

Vu highlight a need for increased international and regional cooperation, particularly in curbing terrorism financing and recruitment, while supporting the engagement of UN anti-terrorism agencies and regional organisations in the fight.

He called on the international community to increase assistance for countries, particularly developing ones, in information exchange, anti-terrorism capacity improvement, and relevant legal development.

Vu informed participants that Vietnam has made efforts in completing its legal, economic, and financial systems to mitigate the risk of terrorism financing, prevent international organised crime, and carry out its missions in line with international standards.

ASEAN, meanwhile, always considers the terrorism fight a top priority in intra-bloc collaborations, the diplomat stated.
As Mauritius declared an environmental emergency on Saturday following a ship that ran aground two weeks ago, France dispatched aircraft and technical advisers from neighbouring Reunion. Ecologists fear the oil spill may worsen and turn out to be potentially catastrophic for the island nation.

Rough seas have hampered efforts to stop fuel leaking from the bulk carrier MV Wakashio, which ran aground two weeks ago, and is polluting pristine waters in an ecologically critical marine area off the southeast coast.

"A state of environmental emergency has been declared," Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth posted on his Twitter account late Friday.

The tanker, belonging to a Japanese company, was carrying 3,800 tonnes of fuel when it struck a reef at Pointe d'Esny, an internationally-listed conservation site near the turquoise waters of the Blue Bay marine park.

The environment ministry announced this week that oil had begun seeping from the hull, as volunteers rushed to the coast to prepare for the worst.

Ecologists fear the ship could further break up, causing an even greater leak and inflict potentially catastrophic damage on the island nation's coastline, which forms the backbone of Mauritius' economy.

Poor weather hampers salvage efforts

Leaking oil has already damaged the coral reefs, lagoons and white-sand shores upon which Mauritius has built its reputation as a green tourism destination. Aerial images showed the scale of the damage, with huge stretches of azure sea stained black by the spill.

A spokesman at Mitsui OSK Lines, which operates the vessel, said fuel was being airlifted by helicopter from the stricken bulker to shore but poor weather was complicating matters.

"We tried to place a containment boom near the ship but it's not working well due to high waves," the spokesman told the French AFP news agency in Tokyo on Saturday. Some of the fuel was in separate tanks and may not be at risk of leaking, he added.

Story continues

Urgent appeal for help from France

Prime Minister Jugnauth, after touring the disaster site, expressed fears the crisis could worsen with bad weather forecast over the weekend. He made an urgent appeal for help.

"The sinking of the Wakashio represents a danger for Mauritius. Our country does not have the skills and expertise to refloat stranded ships, so I have requested the help of France" and its president, Emmanuel Macron.

In a statement issued Saturday, the French embassy in Mauritius said a military aircraft from the nearby French Indian Ocean island of Reunion would make two trips to the disaster area with pollution control equipment. Two experts would also be aboard, the statement added.

Twenty crew members were evacuated safely from the ship when it ran aground on 25 July.
Folks are actually terrified of what a full count of Latinos can mean. But were not going anywhere. This is our country. We are American as everyone else. This fight doesnt keep me up at night, it wakes me up every morning, she said. I want to make sure that I can take that political potential and turn it into political will.
 Flash

At least eight people have been killed and 14 others injured following a suicide bombing in the Somali capital on Saturday, a medical charity has confirmed.

Abdikadir Abdirrahman, director of Aamin Ambulance, said the injured have been rushed to the hospital after a suicide bomber rammed a vehicle loaded with explosives into a military base in Mogadishu's Wardhigley district.

Police spokesperson Dhame Sadik Adan confirmed that the terrorists had targeted a military base, resulting in unknown casualties.

"There was a huge blast in Wardhigley district and there are casualties which I have not established now. We will provide more information later," Adan told Xinhua.

The number of casualties is expected to rise as counting continues.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, though the al-Qaida allied terrorist group al-Shabab, which has been fighting to overthrow the Western-backed government, has staged such attacks in the past.

Government forces have in recent days intensified operations in the southern regions against al-Shabab extremists, who have been hiding in rural areas and conducting ambushes and planting landmines.

The Somali military, backed by the African Union Mission in Somalia, forced al-Shabab extremists out of the capital Mogadishu in August 2011. However, the militants still hold swathes of rural areas in southern and central Somalia, staging attacks in the city and elsewhere.
The Ministry of Health, in collaboration with its partners, launched a national healthcare waste management policy and technical guidelines document in Accra on Friday.



The two documents contain the policy framework on the safe management of healthcare waste along the value chain in both private and public facilities to protect health workers, patients, the public, waste managers and scavengers from infections.



The policy was fine-tuned to enable it to respond better to international best practices in the management of healthcare waste to prevent adverse public health and environmental impact.



Policy



The policy and guidelines were realised through the collaborative efforts of the Ministries of Health; Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, and Local Government and Rural Development, with financial and technical support from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the World Health Organisation (WHO).



The policy contains measures in the management of healthcare waste and includes waste minimisation, waste generation, waste segregation and packaging; internal and external storage of waste, and waste collection and transportation.



It also demands that waste, including contaminated non-hazardous refuse, is segregated from non-hazardous and infectious waste from source.

In addition to the above, recyclable waste should be separated from non-recyclable ones, while the identity of chemicals and waste must be clearly marked on all containers.



Findings



A Deputy Minister of Health, Ms Tina Mensah, said the WHO and other international stakeholders had established that 15 per cent of all waste generated in health facilities composed of hazardous materials that might be infectious, toxic or radioactive.



She said it had become even more imperative to safely dispose of healthcare waste at this time of the COVID-19 pandemic and the increase in the use of personal protective equipment (PPE) and other safety materials.



COVID-19



The Minister of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, Professor Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng, also said the COVID-19 pandemic had highlighted the need to focus on managing healthcare waste as it could become a conduit for the spread of the virus and other infections.



He recommended that all health facilities must have basic liquid waste treatment facilities to prevent hazardous liquids from the environment.



Assurance



In a speech read on his behalf, the Director-General of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), Dr Patrick Kuma-Aboagye, gave an assurance that as the implementing agency, the GHS would ensure the implementation of the policy to safeguard lives.



He, however, called on other stakeholders to come on board since the implementation of the policy was a collective responsibility.

Source: Graphic.com.gh









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 145-year-old southern Alberta church went up in flames three years ago, and now its restoration has ripped open old wounds of residential schools  illustrating two opposing paths in a time of reconciliation.

The people behind the restoration of the McDougall Memorial United Church hope it can be a symbol of communities that were once united and a starting point for conversations about the future.

McDougall Church was built on land adjacent to the Stoney Nakoda First Nation community of Morley  roughly halfway between Calgary and Banff  by missionary George McDougall and his son, John, in 1875.

A second church opened in the heart of Morley years later, followed by a residential school in 1926.

While the McDougall Church was not directly part of the residential school system, its symbolism as a Christian church blurs that distinction for some who live nearby.

Vincent Bonnay/Radio-Canada

McDougall's great, great, great-granddaughter says she knows the restoration is not without critics, but she hopes something positive can arise from the ashes.

"I feel energy for the future. Working together and coming forward to understanding our histories: the McDougalls and the Stoney Nakoda Nation," Brenda McQueen told CBC News.

"Listening to each other's stories and making a better future for the next generations by understanding what happened in the past and being able to learn from that, so that we can move forward."

McDougall family

McQueen is the president of the McDougall Stoney Mission Society, the driving force behind the project.

"I am very proud of what we have done with the restoration, but I am even more excited about what we are going to be doing next."

That's an interpretive walk named Through the Eyes of the Stoneys.

"It's going to be an opportunity for the elders and the youth to have that talk with us, so we can all share stories and understand the history," McQueen said.

Vincent Bonnay/Radio-Canada

But one Stoney elder is very much against bringing any of the churches back.

Story continues

"A lot of abuses took place there," Tina Fox said regarding the Morley Residential School.

"Students have been physically abused, spiritually abused, sexually abused and mentally abused. We were called stupid Indians, dirty little Indians. 'You will never amount to anything,' and things like that. When we came out of school, we had no sense of self-esteem. We felt worthless, unworthy. It's a reminder of bad things that happened to us as residential school students."

Glenbow Archives

Fox acknowledges that while many people at Morley share her view, others are supportive of the project.

In fact, it's not the only divide. For example, Fox and her son disagree on the issue of removing historic monuments that honour people like Canada's first prime minister, John A. Macdonald, who mistreated Indigenous people.

Her son says leave them up so people can learn. Fox says bring them down, unless they tell the full story.

The Stoney Nakoda Nation administration opposes reconstruction, even appealing to the provincial government to withdraw the site's historic status.

The province approved the project in February of last year, recognizing that though there are many views on a complex issue like this, the building still has historic value.
Gandhinagar, Aug 9 : Gujarat's COVID-19 tally breached the 70,000 mark on Sunday as 1,078 fresh cases were reported, while 25 more deaths took the toll to 2,654, health officials said.

The state''s total number of cases was at 71,064 following the detection of fresh infections.

As many as 1,311 patients were discharged on Sunday, taking the total number of recoveries to 54,138.

Surat, the new Covd hotspot registering 20.59 per cent of Sunday's positive cases, saw 222 cases, while Ahmedabad saw 153 cases coming up.

Vadodara once again after Saturday, saw its daily spike climbing to 110.

Vadodara was followed by Rajkot 95, Jamnagar 63, Panchmahals 47, Bhavnagar and Amreli with 35 each, Bharuch 28, Junagadh and Gandhinagar with 27 each, Kutch 25, Valsad 21, Dahod and Surendranagar with 18 each, Kheda, Mahesana and Patan with 11 each, Botad, Sabarkantha and Narmada with 10 each, Mahisagar, Banaskantha and Morbi with 9 each, Porbandar and Tapi with 7 each, Anand and Devbhumi Dwarka with 5 each, Navsari 3, Aravalli and Dang with 2 each and Chhota Udepur with one positive case.

The total number of Covid deaths in Ahmedabad has reached 1,638. Besides, 505 people have died in Surat, 100 in Vadodara, 46 in Gandhinagar, 45 deaths in Rajkot, 30 deaths in Patan, 26 deaths in Bhavnagar, 24 in Aravalli, 23 in Mahesana, 17 in Panchmahals, 16 in Banaskantha, 15 in Kheda, 14 in Anand and 11 in Bharuch.

The death toll rate of Ahmedabad which used to be around 81 per cent of the total toll during the peak in June gradually got lower. On Sunday, it came down to 61.71 per cent. Gujarat's mortality rate has come down under 4 to 3.73 per cent, but is still one of the highest in the country.

Till now the health authorities have conducted nearly 10 lakh tests, 9,87,630 RT-PCR tests in Gujarat. Out of a total RT-PCR tests carried out in the 9,16,566, have been found negative.

There are 14,272 active cases, out of which the condition of 14,199 is stable, whereas 73 critical patients are still on ventilator.

Currently, there are nearly 4.9 lakh people quarantined in the state at 4,88,222, where 4,86,610 are home quarantined and 1,612 in government facilities.
Nokia is working on a new 32-inch smart TV. It could also be the companys cheapest smart TV in India so far.

Nokia is working on two more new smart TVs for the Indian market. These two upcoming smart TVs will come in 32-inch and 50-inch screen sizes.

Ahead of the official launch, the two smart TVs have been spotted on the BIS certification website, reports Nokiapowerusers. Sporting model number 32TAHDN, the 32-inch Nokia smart TV will have full HD resolution. The report points out that this will also be Nokias first full HD smart TV in India. The 50-inch model with model number 50TAUHDN will have UHD resolution.

According to the report, Nokias 32-inch smart TV would be priced around 21,999. The 50-inch model could cost 36,999.

The next premium Nokia smart TV will reportedly come with Intelligent Dimming, DTS TruSurround, Dolby Audio, and JBL speakers. These features are also available on Nokias other smart TVs in India.

ALSO READ: Flipkart teases the launch of a Nokia device that can turn your TV smart

It is worth noting that Flipkart exclusively offers Nokia-branded smart TVs in India. In June this year, Flipkart launched a 43-inch smart TV in India for 31,999.

The smart TV runs a CA53 quad-core processor paired with Mali 450 GPU. It also features 2.25GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage. On the software front, the Nokia 43-inch TV has Android 9.0. The smart TV also comes with Chromecast built-in.

The first Nokia-branded TV launched in India in December last year. Priced at 41,999, it has a 55-inch UHD display with 24W built-in speakers, sound by JBL, and 2.25GB RAM and 16GB ROM.
It looks like Ashtead Group plc (LON:AHT) is about to go ex-dividend in the next three days. You will need to purchase shares before the 13th of August to receive the dividend, which will be paid on the 11th of September.

Ashtead Group's next dividend payment will be UK0.34 per share. Last year, in total, the company distributed UK0.41 to shareholders. Calculating the last year's worth of payments shows that Ashtead Group has a trailing yield of 1.6% on the current share price of 26.14494. Dividends are an important source of income to many shareholders, but the health of the business is crucial to maintaining those dividends. So we need to check whether the dividend payments are covered, and if earnings are growing.

View our latest analysis for Ashtead Group

If a company pays out more in dividends than it earned, then the dividend might become unsustainable - hardly an ideal situation. Ashtead Group paid out a comfortable 25% of its profit last year. That said, even highly profitable companies sometimes might not generate enough cash to pay the dividend, which is why we should always check if the dividend is covered by cash flow. Luckily it paid out just 24% of its free cash flow last year.

It's encouraging to see that the dividend is covered by both profit and cash flow. This generally suggests the dividend is sustainable, as long as earnings don't drop precipitously.

Click here to see the company's payout ratio, plus analyst estimates of its future dividends.

Have Earnings And Dividends Been Growing?

Businesses with strong growth prospects usually make the best dividend payers, because it's easier to grow dividends when earnings per share are improving. Investors love dividends, so if earnings fall and the dividend is reduced, expect a stock to be sold off heavily at the same time. That's why it's comforting to see Ashtead Group's earnings have been skyrocketing, up 22% per annum for the past five years. Earnings per share have been growing very quickly, and the company is paying out a relatively low percentage of its profit and cash flow. This is a very favourable combination that can often lead to the dividend multiplying over the long term, if earnings grow and the company pays out a higher percentage of its earnings.

Story continues

Another key way to measure a company's dividend prospects is by measuring its historical rate of dividend growth. Ashtead Group has delivered an average of 30% per year annual increase in its dividend, based on the past 10 years of dividend payments. It's great to see earnings per share growing rapidly over several years, and dividends per share growing right along with it.

The Bottom Line

Is Ashtead Group an attractive dividend stock, or better left on the shelf? We love that Ashtead Group is growing earnings per share while simultaneously paying out a low percentage of both its earnings and cash flow. These characteristics suggest the company is reinvesting in growing its business, while the conservative payout ratio also implies a reduced risk of the dividend being cut in the future. There's a lot to like about Ashtead Group, and we would prioritise taking a closer look at it.

So while Ashtead Group looks good from a dividend perspective, it's always worthwhile being up to date with the risks involved in this stock. Every company has risks, and we've spotted 1 warning sign for Ashtead Group you should know about.

A common investment mistake is buying the first interesting stock you see. Here you can find a list of promising dividend stocks with a greater than 2% yield and an upcoming dividend.

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.
PG-13 | 2h 30min | Biography, Drama, History | 16 November 2012 (USA)

Our nation currently and unfortunately suffers from even deeper skepticism toward government than ever before, which is why its inspirational to go back and have a look at Lincoln, Steven Spielbergs wonderful biopic.

As Spielberg mentioned in the production notes, In this day and age when so many people have lost faith in the idea of governance, its a story that shows that you can achieve miraculous, beautiful things through the democratic system.

President Abraham Lincoln (Daniel Day-Lewis) in a scene from the dramatic biopic Lincoln, about the 16th U.S. presidents Civil War efforts and the fighting in his cabinet regarding the emancipation of slaves. (David James/DreamWorks II Distribution Co., LLC.)

The Script of Lincoln

Published in 2005, Doris Kearns Goodwins 944-page mega-bestseller, Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln, provided just the ingredients that Spielberg had been hoping to find in order to tell a Lincoln story. Out of that massive tome, he and writing superstar Tony Kushner settled on telling the story of the 16th presidents passing of the 13th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution: the abolition of slavery.

The 16th U.S. president (Daniel Day-Lewis) meets with Civil War soldiers in the biopic Lincoln. (David James/DreamWorks II Distribution Co., LLC.)

This particular slice of Honest Abes life distills his essence. It provides insight into his family life, emotional life, and political genius. Its packed with suspense, drama, and crisis. Can Lincoln end slaveryand hold the Union togetherbefore the South surrenders?

Dead Rebel and Union soldiers in a battlefield scene from Lincoln. (David James/DreamWorks II Distribution Co., LLC.)

To the Manor Born

Similar to Ben Kingsley being born to play Gandhi, Daniel Day-Lewis was born to play Abraham Lincoln. Day-Lewis simply is him. The hair and makeup is brilliant, and Day-Lewis utterly inhabits the 6-foot-4-inch gangling ranginess and faltering walk.

The 16th U.S. president (played by Daniel Day-Lewis) relaxes in the White House in a scene from the dramatic biopic Lincoln. (David James/DreamWorks II Distribution Co., LLC.)

Despite the somber weightiness of those ancient sepia-toned historical images, Americas 16th POTUS is brought to life as an avuncular, prolifically jokey raconteur, and although one assumes a man of that size and historical gravitas to be a basso profundo, Day-Lewis nails the presidents real voice, which was apparently surprisingly tenor. (Its a sort of Mike Tyson moment.) And then you immediately acclimatize and have the odd, slightly eerie sensation of feeling in your bones that this was the definitive voice, and here it is, speaking to you out of the distant past. In a split second, one moves from Oh, theres Daniel playing Abraham to a wholesale suspension of disbeliefwe witness Lincoln. Movie magic indeed.

The 16th U.S. president, Abraham Lincoln (Daniel Day-Lewis) in the biopic Lincoln. (David James/DreamWorks II Distribution Co., LLC.)

Sally Field, if not heavily supervised, will normally suck all the air out of a room, but not here. As Mary Todd Lincoln, she grounds the great mans wife in believability, while leaving lingering questions as to the validity of the classic phrase Behind every great man, theres a great woman. As per this great Lincoln, theres a woman, in any case.

Sally Fields as Mary Todd Lincoln in the biopic Lincoln. (David James/DreamWorks II Distribution Co., LLC.)

And while Lincoln is not quite on par with Spielbergs magnum opus, Schindlers List, its close. Part of Spielbergs artistry lies in the creation of atmosphere, and a heartwarming Americana is strongly palpable throughout.

John Williamss cello-laden score and the chiaroscuro dark browns, blacks, muted blues, and hazy grays evoke deep American nostalgia as surely as do the words Antietam, Fort Sumter, Ticonderoga, William Tecumseh Sherman, Gettysburg, Confederacy, and Martha Washington.

The 16th U.S. president, Abraham Lincoln (Daniel Day-Lewis) ponders a speech in the biopic Lincoln. (David James/DreamWorks II Distribution Co., LLC.)

It takes a minute to downshift to a time where things moved slower, people memorized political speeches, quoted Euclid, and savored sophisticated insults. Tommy Lee Jones as Thaddeus Stevens has a great line: Slavery is the only insult to natural law, you fatuous nincompoop.

Thaddeus Stevens (Tommy Lee Jones) in Lincoln. (David James/DreamWorks II Distribution Co., LLC.)

Pick Your Battles

In the aftermath of Lincoln, one feels like one has come to know the man. One feels the warmth, love of humanity, and the high moral stature on display in his attempts to change history and save people. In one of the movies most powerful scenes, President Lincoln rides out on horseback to witness Civil War battlefield carnage. He is stunned and at a loss for words.

The 16th U.S. president (Daniel Day-Lewis) rides out to survey the war in the biopic Lincoln. (David James/DreamWorks II Distribution Co., LLC.)

There should be an amendment to the Constitution that all American presidents be required to get astride a horse and personally go see the carnage of their wars. Lincoln illustrates the weightiness of the decisions a U.S. president must carry.

U.S. Civil War aftermath in the biopic Lincoln. (David James/DreamWorks II Distribution Co., LLC.)

For Lincoln-like times, may the high moral stature, humor, and courage on display in Lincoln shine the light of hope on the path of all future American leaders.

President Abraham Lincoln (Daniel Day-Lewis) reads to his son in Lincoln. (David James/DreamWorks II Distribution Co., LLC.)

Lincoln

Director: Steven Spielberg

Cast: Daniel Day-Lewis, Sally Field, David Strathairn, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, James Spader, Hal Holbrook, Tommy Lee Jones

Running Time: 2 hours, 30 minutes

Rating: PG-13

Release Date: Nov. 16, 2012

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Mark Jackson is the senior film critic for The Epoch Times. Mark has 20 years experience as a professional New York actor, a classical theater training, a BA in philosophy, and recently narrated the Epoch Times audiobook, How the Specter of Communism is Ruling Our World: https://www.thespecterofcommunism.com/en/audiobook/

Rotten Tomatoes author page: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/critic/mark-jackson/movies
09.08.2020 LISTEN

I heard them sing late one evening  between midnight and 1 a.m. I faintly recalled having heard their awe-inspiring song before -- long, long ago, when I was growing up at Asiakwa in the Eastern Region.

The sound they made was so haunting that our elders used to claim that this particular bird was an abonsam noma  literally, "the devils bird."

Since these birds usually came to sing their dirge in the errie hours of the night, people who believed that witchcraft and its associated metaphysical feats usually occur during the night, naturally called them abonsamnoma. Who can blame them?

Indeed, whenever the abonsam noma made noise at night, the elders became very nervous the next morning. They fully expected to hear reports that someone had died during the night. Even if it was only onve in a thousand days that the singing of the birds and death coincided, you would find it extremely difficult to convince our elders that the two events were not connected.

Anyway, when I heard the birds sing late one night recently in Accra, I shivered. I thought that such birds only thrived in the green forest? What were they doing on the coast? Then I remembered -- many birds do migrate to places where they are not expected to be. Hadn't I heard, in England, birds like the thrush and the nightingale whose melodious tones immediately took me back to the Abuakwas forest birds, especially, opori3 and kctcpcri3?

I forgot about the birds. But they came back  this time, during the day. Their cries were shorter and not as haunting as it was at night-time. This is probably explained by the fact that unlike the night cries, there was now no monopolisation of my attention, as the world was awake and kicking. And, of course, my half-dreaming mind of the midnight hour was not the same object as lay inside my skull at a time when traffic noises and the cacophony of construction machinery were making me loathe city life.

The unexpected appearance of the birds in the daytime gave me the hope that I might actually get to see what they were like one day. I had strained my eyes to catch a glimpse of them during their night call, but they had fashed away, leaving blurred traces of greyness and a faint tinge of pink behind for my eyes to puzzle over. Nothing as lucky as that happened for about a week. Then, one mid-afternoon, I heard their cries getting nearer and nearer and  next thing, they were flying right over my roof, yelling: quah-quah-quah-quah-quah-quah!" Wow!

They were going very fast, but I managed to catch sight of their colour and confirm it as grey-whitish-pink.

Were they kestrels? Goshawks? Kites? Sparrow hawks? Hawks? Or curlews? What about that supreme creature that disputes the title king of the skies with the eagle, the Peregrine falcon?

I associate falcons, of course, with the Middle East (where they are widely used for sport.) But the rendition of their cries that I saw on Youtubewarned me not to dismiss the possibility that they could perhaps be migratoryPeregrine falcons.

I later read that Peregrine falcons can be found in every continent of the world, excluding Antarctica! That means my birds could be falcons! Indeed, some sub-species are resident, while others are migratory. That opened up every possibility very wide indeed.

On fact, according to ornithologists, "most of the sub-Saharan Africa population of falcon is resident." In Ghana, I suspect they might belong to the large group of birds of prey which we call akorcma or csansa. In southern Africa, falcons are generally localised in Namibia, northern and eastern Botswana, Zimbabwe, western Mozambique and South Africa. They generally favour riverine, mountainous or coastal environments, especially with high cliffs that are used for roosting and hunting. Dam walls, quarries and the tall buildings of city centres can also fulfil this purpose.

Their colours range from dark blue (most common) through to yellow (least common). Ah? I seem to have lost out in the colour stakes, no?!

Most of the southern African population (the sub-species falco peregrinus minor) is resident and sedentary. However the migrant falco peregrinus calidus may also be present in the region in the period from October-March, and can often be found in more open habitats than its resident counterpart. West African falcons are hardly mentioned by the ornithologists I have consulted so far.

The falcon eats mainly birds, supplemented with bats and flying insects, catching all of its prey aerially. It does most of its hunting in the vicinity of a cliff or another tall structure, either hunting from a perch near the top, or from high up in the air so that it can single out an individual. Once it has done so, it dives almost vertically and, due to its spectacularly aerodynamic shape, can attain speeds of over 300km/hr! (almost 200 m.p.h.)

The falcon strikes its prey with its talons at this speed, killing it instantly. If it misses, it may give pursuit for over two kilometres before giving up. It sometimes flies close to the cliff face to flush out birds and then chase them, and it may even rob the nests of cliff-nesting birds. On the whole, about a quarter of its hunts are successful.

I do wish the books about birds made it easy to identify them. Most of those I have consulted only have Latin (scientific) names, or English names for the birds. As I have written before, this infuriates me! When am I going to read the work of a zoologist or ornithologist who is curious enough to write about, say, the reason why the apatupr3, for instance, is so named by the Akans?

When we were kids, we made up our own rationalisations of such bird names. We came up with the idea that the apatupr3 lives so close to the homes of humans (it nests on neem trees and other domestic foliage) that it has learnt that we love to catch and eat it. So when it sees a human being near it, it pretends to be injured and lies down feigning the imminent seizure of its body by rigor mortis! (It also obviously knows that we don't eat birds that we find are already dead!). This play-acting of the apatupr3 distracts the attention of the would-be human killer and the hunter gives up any hope of taking the bird. That half a second of distraction is all that the bird needs to fly vertically away and leave its hunter confounded!

One bird we used to pity was the ateibia. Its song was so melancholy that we interpreted it to be a weeping song that said:

Onipa ko a

Cb3faa me mma yi,

Cy3 cbarima na cnny3 cbaa,

S3 cy3 cbaa de aa

Anka onim s3nea awoc te3!

Kwaakyereba ei,

Me nsono mu o!....

(Whoever came and stole my children

Can only be a man

Not a woman.

For if it were a woman,

She would know what it is like

To give birth to children!

I lament the work of my poor weomb! )

Isnt that rather charming in an oronical sort of way? I mean, we as kids learnt to feel what birds must feel when human beings visit all manner of brutalities on them, did we?

In that case, why did we not take our fellow--feeling beyond mere words to the ACTION of refraining from harming birds and other animals? Whi did birds taste so good to us when we grilled them on our mothers' fire?

Were we not so murderous, who knows but that the Peregrine falcons and other really wild birds would come, perch, and sing to me, instead of flying high and very fast past me -- as if I were Covid-19 itself!
By David Gaffen

(Reuters) - The world's five largest oil companies collectively cut the value of their assets by nearly $50 billion in the second quarter, and slashed production rates as the coronavirus pandemic caused a drastic fall in fuel prices and demand.

The dramatic reductions in asset valuations and decline in output show the depth of the pain in the second quarter. Fuel demand at one point was down by more than 30% worldwide, and still remains below pre-pandemic levels.

Several executives said they took massive writedowns because they expect demand to remain impaired for several more quarters as people travel less and use less fuel due to the ongoing global pandemic that has killed more than 700,000 people.

(Graphic: Output falls at oil giants - https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/ce/qzjvqwgnrvx/Majors%201%20aug%2020.PNG)

Of those five companies, only Exxon Mobil <XOM.N> did not book sizeable impairments. But an ongoing re-evaluation of its plans could lead to a "significant portion" of its assets being impaired, it reported, and signal the elimination of 20% or 4.4 billion barrels of its oil and gas reserves.

By contrast, BP <BP.L> took a $17 billion hit. It said it plans to re-center its spending in coming years around renewables and less on oil and natural gas.

Weak demand means oil producers must revisit business plans, said Lee Maginniss, managing director at consultants Alarez & Marsal. He said the goal should be to pump only what generates cash in excess of overhead costs.

"It's low-cost production mode through the end of 2021 for sure, and to 2022 to the extent there are new development plans being contemplated," Maginniss said.

London-based BP has previously said it plans to cut its overall output by roughly 1 million barrels of oil equivalent (boepd) by the end of 2030 from its current 3.6 million boepd.

(Graphic: Oil majors take massive asset hit - https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/ce/jznvnkgzdpl/Majors%202%20aug%2020.PNG)

Story continues

Of the five, Exxon is the largest producer, with daily output of 3.64 million boepd, but its production dropped 408,000 boepd between the first and second quarters. The five majors, which include Chevron Corp <CVX.N>, Royal Dutch Shell <RDSa.L> and Total SA <TOTF.PA>, also cut capital expenditures by a combined $25 billion between the quarters.

Crude output worldwide dropped sharply after the market crashed in April. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, led by Saudi Arabia, along with allies including Russia, agreed to cut output by nearly 10 million barrels a day to balance out supply and demand in the market.

(Graphic: Companies put away their wallets - https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/ce/yzdvxnwarvx/Majors%203%20aug%2020.PNG)

(Reporting by David Gaffen and Gary McWilliams in Houston; Editing by Daniel Wallis)
PM CARES Fund: No curb on use of PM's name, photo, image of flag, emblem, PMO tells HC

Proposal to change rules for central deputation of IAS officers affects states' administration: Mamata to PM

Young India is showing the way: PM Modi on Covid vaccination

PM Modi condoles loss of lives in fire incident at Vijaywada COVID facility

India

pti-Madhuri Adnal

New Delhi, Aug 09: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has expressed anguish at the death of patients in a fire incident at a COVID facility in Andhra Pradesh's Vijaywada on Sunday.

He said he discussed the incident with state chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy and assured all possible help.

Lessons from Swachhta Mission important in fighting coronavirus: PM Modi

Home Minister Amit Shah wrote,''Deeply anguished by news of tragic fire accident at a COVID19 facility in Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh. Centre assures all possible support to state govt. Condolences with affected families in this time of grief. Praying for speedy recovery of those injured.''

Defence Ministry bans import of 101 Defence items: PM Modi's Atma Nirbhar Bharat | Oneindia News

Seven COVID-19 patients were killed in the incident at a hotel converted into a treatment facility at Vijayawada.

"Anguished by the fire at a Covid centre in Vijayawada. My thoughts are with those who have lost their loved ones. I pray that the injured recover as soon as possible," the prime minister tweeted.

"Discussed the prevailing situation with AP CM @ysjagan Ji and assured all possible support," he said.
For colleges and universities, the tumult of campus closures in March gave way to the chaos of planning for reopening under volatile and unprecedented conditions. Some are bringing back most of their students. Others are bringing only certain groups  freshmen, for instance. Still others are telling students its best to stay away for the fall. Many international students cannot get visas to travel to the United States, and others who are here are dependent on colleges for emergency housing.
The Find More campaign has been launched across the world, with global OPPO Explorers including British actor Eddie Redmayne. The actor's deep devotion to the performing art and courage to explore more echoes with OPPO's relentless pursuit of the perfect synergy of innovation. For the UAE, OPPO wanted to work with local talent who embodied the essence of the campaign, who constantly create new possibilities for themselves and strive to achieve more.

Ivan Wu, UAE Country Manager commented, "The MENA region is a market full of opportunities for people who dare to dream, explore and view things from a new perspective, The Find More campaign brings this ethos to life through three of the region's most prolific content creators. We believe the campaign truly embodies what OPPO stands for as a brand, so it was important for us that the campaign reflected the local talent of the UAE. We equipped our explorers with the best OPPO technology so we could inspire them to create beautiful content and we're excited to reveal their experiences."

Through the UAE campaign, viewers will uncover why exploration opens endless doors for creative possibility for Nayla Al Khaja, how EMKWAN is always stepping out of his comfort zone and exploring with tech and how Jumanah Jolie uses OPPO to capture things from a different perspective.

The full campaign will be available for all explorers to enjoy soon.

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.

SOURCE OPPO
A finger of suspicion has been pointed at the worlds most expensive painting - because the hands are too childish to have been painted by Leonardo da Vinci.

Salvator Mundi sold for $450 million (342 million) in 2017 but art expert Jacques Franck believes it is a workshop Leonardo created by two of the artists assistants.

The French historian argues that the fingers of Christs right hand which are held in the sign of the cross lack Da Vincis usual anatomical precision.

When the index and the middle finger are raised fully, one cannot bend the other fingers inside the palm extensively as observed in the Salvator Mundis blessing hand, he said. It is therefore an unlikely movement.

Salvator Mundi, above, sold for $450 million (342 million) in 2017 but art expert Jacques Franck believes it is a workshop Leonardo created by two of the artists assistants (file photo)

Salvator Mundi was painted by famous Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci - who is pictured here in a portrait by Lattanzio Querena (1768-1853)

In an essay for the journal ArtWatch UK, Mr Franck also claims that too much of the fingernail on the hand is shown - something that Da Vinci would have known - and says it is unlikely the artist would have painted the oddly long and thin nose, the mechanical hair ringlets, the flat orb and the over-shadowy neck.

He believes that two artists called Salai and Baltraffio, who worked alongside Da Vinci, are the true painters of the piece which has been described as the male Mona Lisa.

The painting was sold at Christies in New York, reportedly to Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman who is rumoured to have it on display on his superyacht.

The auctioneers and other experts insist the painting is a genuine Da Vinci work, but Michael Daley, the Director of ArtWatch UK, said: Nobody was as anatomically sophisticated as Leonardo. The problems with the hands, which cant have been painted by Leonardo are just one of the great untalked about things of this painting.

When you discover one thing that is wrong with a painting it tends to be that you discover everything is wrong with a painting.

Visit: www.artwatch.org.uk
A severe weather warning has been issued for large parts of coastal NSW  including metropolitan Sydney  as heavy rain and wild winds lash the state, forcing some South Coast communities to evacuate.

On Sunday night the Bureau of Meteorology warned of damaging winds gusting up to 90km/h along coastal areas between the Hunter and the Illawarra overnight stretching into Monday.

Blackheath in the Blue Mountains scored a dusting of snow on Sunday. Credit:Nick Moir

Heavy rain will continue north towards the Mid North Coast on Monday.

Damaging surf conditions are also expected with large waves exceeding five metres to batter the coastline, with a warning the swell could lead to significant beach erosion along parts of the Sydney metropolitan, Illawarra, Central Coast and South Coast regions.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 9) A national directive on the wearing of face shields in public has yet to be imposed, but the government will respect the private sectors move to implement such policy for their respective establishments, a top official said Sunday.

Sa private sector may mga establishments diyan na mag-rerequire ng face shield. Irerespeto natin yan kasi voluntary naman kung papasok ka sa isang establishment, Interior Secretary Eduardo Ano told CNN Philippines.

[Translation: In the private sector, there will be establishments that will require face shields. We will respect that, because its voluntary anyway for people to enter an establishment.]

Government officials have previously said face shields are highly encouraged to be worn in public as additional protection since the coronavirus is spread through respiratory droplets.

Currently, the policy is only set in the transport sector, as public transport passengers will be required to wear the protective gear on top of regular masks starting August 15.

The Interior chief stressed that the three minimum health standards  wearing of face masks, observing physical distancing, and regular washing of hands remain the mandatory protocols for now.

Kung gusto mong pumasok doon mall, nag-require sila, magdala ka ng face shield. But yung mandatory, yung tatlo na sinasabi natin, Ano said.

[Translation: If you want to enter say a mall, and they required it, then bring a face shield. But the mandatory are those three protocols weve been saying.]

To date, coronavirus infections in the country have reached over 126,000 with the Health Department reporting 4,226 new infections on Saturday.
Our community is hurting. COVID-19 has devastated workers, families and businesses in Lake County. Without immediate action from Congress, people will lose the federal support keeping them from financial disaster.

When the shutdown began, Lake Area United Way experienced a 1,800% increase in traffic to our online resource directory, www.resourceroundup.com. The top searches for help were (and are) rent/mortgage, utilities and food assistance.

Working families struggling before the pandemic are facing new crises. Forty percent of new clients to the Food Bank of Northwest Indiana had never visited a pantry. Fourteen thousand hospitality workers in Lake County were furloughed. They endured weeks without pay, waiting for unemployment benefits.

Since March, Lake Area United Way has invested more than $1 million from our NWI COVID-19 Community Economic Relief Fund to help residents with rent, utilities, food and child care. We earmarked $250,000 specifically to help out-of-work hospitality workers.

The CARES Act infused Lake County with an additional $325,000 in federal Emergency Food and Shelter Funding, but its not enough. The persistent, growing demand for services strains our network of service providers.
The total figure of emergency aid pledged or that can be mobilised quickly includes 30 million euros from France

World donors on Sunday pledged more than 250 million euros to aid Lebanon after massive explosions devastated the capital Beirut last week, France said.

The total figure of "emergency aid pledged or that can be mobilised quickly" amounts to 252.7 million euros $298 millon), including 30 million euros from France, President Emmanuel Macron's office said.

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Brett Halcro, 36, was allegedly knocked off his hire bike and bashed, before a teenager ran in and 'sliced' his face seven times and plunged a knife into his eye

The family of a cyclist who was blinded, left comatose and 'permanently disfigured' after he was allegedly attacked by a gang of private schoolboys have released a harrowing photograph of his recovery.

Brett Halcro, 36, was allegedly set upon in Pyrmont by nine teenagers from some of Sydney's most elite private schools last Friday night while he was riding his bike home about 10pm.

The alleged assault was described as 'sadistic' and may have come after a teenage girl falsely claimed Mr Halcro had sexually assaulted her, a court heard last week.

A new picture taken in Mr Halcro's hospital ward at the Royal Prince Alfred show him hooked up to various machines to assist in his recovery.

After more than a week in a coma, doctors have finally reduced Mr Halcro's sedation and he is breathing on his own.

'He has also begun moving his head and body and shows brief responses to verbal cues,' one of Mr Halcro's cousins, who is currently living on the Gold Coast, explained.

'Brett's facial injuries (including those to his right eye) are significant, but the surgeons have done a fantastic job and he is healing well.'

Doctors are still examining his injuries, particularly those on his jaw, arms and hands.

The family released the photograph to 'put you in the room with him' after a GoFundMe page set up for his recovery raised more than $58,000 in four days.

The money raised will go directly to his treatment - both physical and psychological - after the horrifying alleged assault.

'[He is left] blind, permanently disfigured and facing a lifetime of trauma... rehabilitation will be extensive.'

A new picture taken in Mr Halcro's hospital ward at the Royal Prince Alfred show him hooked up to various machines to assist in his recovery

Nine teenagers have been arrested for allegedly attacking a 36-year-old man at Pyrmont, in Sydney, about 11pm last Friday night

All the teenagers allegedly involved are aged between 15 and 18. They were renting an Airbnb in the city on the night of the alleged attack and saw Mr Halcro ride past the apartment on his bike.

One of the teenagers allegedly asked the girl: 'Is that the one who raped you?'

She allegedly replied 'yeah, that's the one' and a group rushed downstairs to confront him.

It is believed the attack may have been a case of mistaken identity. Police have described Mr Halcro as an 'innocent victim'.

Daily Mail Australia revealed on Saturday Mr Halcro landed himself in court recently after he stole a sausage roll and protein drink before punching a shopkeeper who tried to make him pay for the products.

Court documents state Mr Halcro drunk half a bottle of vodka before walking into a City Convenience store on the corner of Elizabeth and Liverpool Streets about 4.15pm on May 9.

Once inside the shop he put a sausage roll and chocolate protein drink in his right trouser pocket and left without paying for the goods, which were worth $8.90.

The 'kind and genuine person', who was visiting Sydney from Melbourne, was allegedly knocked off his hire bike and bashed before a teenager ran in and 'sliced' his face seven times and plunged a knife into his eye

After the shopkeeper followed the father-of-one out of the store and confronted him Mr Halcro hit him in the shoulder with his fist.

He was eventually corralled back into the store and placed under citizens arrest.

The court documents revealed Mr Halcro has an alcohol dependence for which he was taking medication.

Mr Halcro pleaded guilty to common assault and shoplifting and was put on on a nine-month conditional release order in June.

The 'kind and genuine person', who was visiting Sydney from Melbourne, was allegedly knocked off his hire bike and bashed before a teenager ran in and 'sliced' his face seven times and plunged a knife into his eye.

A family member, who wished to remain unnamed, described Mr Halcro as 'meek' and 'completely shy'.

The relative said he was struggling to come to terms with the boys allegedly gloating and laughing about the attack via text messages.

In the texts, one of the 15-year-old boys allegedly bragged to his friend in horrific detail about how the man was left blinded after being stabbed in the eye.

A 15-year-old (above) who was allegedly part of a gang that stabbed and kicked Brett Halcro, 36, leaving him blinded and in a coma, has had his actions slammed as 'vile' by a magistrate

'It's incredibly difficult to fathom how humanity is capable of that in the first place,' he told The Daily Telegraph.

'Our family is just trying to focus on the recovery.'

In Surry Hills Children's Court on Wednesday, a long-time magistrate gasped and looked away in disgust after seeing photographs of Mr Halcro's horrific injuries.

A 15-year-old - who cannot be identified - is the latest teenager to so far be charged over the brutal attack.

He was refused bail, even after his mother pledged to quit her job to ensure he remained in home detention.

Magistrate Jeffrey Hogg turned away after photos of the injuries suffered by Mr Halcro were tendered in court by the prosecution.

Magistrate Hogg said it was concerning that someone so young needed to undergo drug and alcohol counselling, but was more worried about the lack of remorse that the group allegedly displayed in the hours afterwards.

'What occurred on the social media platform after the event is distinctly counter-indicative of remorse,' Magistrate Hogg said.

The father of the 15-year-old leaves Surry Hills Children's Court after his son was refused bail. The boy's mother offered to quit her job to ensure the boy remained in home detention, but a magistrate said the allegations were so severe he could not release him

So far nine teenagers have been arrested over the disturbing attack in which Brett Halcro was allegedly knocked off his bike and set upon by a gang, before being stomped on and stabbed in the eye

'It's a vile and horrific crime. The injuries are extraordinarily severe and life changing.

'There is a strong prosecution case and it is a matter, should the offenses be proved, that a custodial sentence is in my estimation inevitable.'

In submissions to the court, police prosecutor Kai Jiang described the alleged attack as 'sadistic'.

The teenager's lawyer Veronica Love had earlier told the court that he had strong ties to the community and had suffered mental health issues.

Ms Love also told the court it could not yet be known whether the teenager knew a member of his group was carrying a knife when they allegedly attacked the 36-year-old.

But the youngster was remanded in custody to reappear in court on September 29.

The court also heard details about the series of messages sent in the moments after the alleged crime.

The young man allegedly claimed seeing the attack unfold made him laugh.

Ms Love added that with the likelihood the matters will be heard in adult courts due to the serious nature of the allegations, it was likely the teenager would remain in juvenile detention until at least next year if refused bail.

The shocking allegations were revealed as two teenagers faced Surry Hills Children's Court on Tuesday over the assault, with police prosecutor Peter Mort calling it a 'sickening' attack and 'violence of the highest order', and flagging that they would likely be dealt with in an adult court

The youths are due to reappear before Surry Hills Children's Court (pictured) on September 29

'I ask Your Honour to consider the length of time this young person is likely to spend in custody considering the seriousness and the likelihood that will not be resolved in this court,' she said.

'The young person is Year 10 at High School and he has in the past had some mental health issues.

'This young person has never come before a court before and has never had any court alternatives. He has no history of violence.'

'I stomped on him and gutted his head he got knocked out after I bottled him on the head,' the youngster allegedly wrote in one text message.

'I put the shattered bottle in his stomach and then jetted (a co-accused) slit his face like 15 times and stabbed him in the eye.'

It is believed the alleged attacker was then asked by his friend if he knew the man.

'Nah mate. Ahahahaha he was in the wrong place at the wrong time,' he allegedly replied.

'He (a co-accused) stuck it in his eye. Put it in deeper and swivelled the knife around. So funny.'

It is understood the alleged attack may have been sparked by a girl who were among the group claiming they had been 'raped' or 'groped' by the victim, but NSW Police have said the man was an 'innocent victim' (police at crime scene, pictured)

A 15-year-old allegedly sent these shocking text messages to a mate in the hours after he and his gang of friends allegedly bashed and stabbed their victim, leaving him blind in one eye and in a coma. He allegedly detailed the incident in depth and claimed that seeing the attack was 'so funny'

Some other texts allegedly sent by a teenager are so graphic Daily Mail Australia has chosen not to publish them.

A magistrate called them the worst thing she has read in all her time working in law.

So far only two of those charged have been granted bail, with the rest remanded in custody until later this year.

In refusing to grant one of them bail on Tuesday, Magistrate Mary Ryan described the allegations as among the worst she had overseen.

'Bail must be refused and with good reason, that I will detail so the community know why I am refusing bail for a 15-year-old with no previous criminal history,' she said.

'The facts before me and the actions taken by these young persons are abhorrent. It is reading that offends the normal notions of what a civil society is.

'There is an indication of his thoughts in the form of text messages (he allegedly sent) that are so concerning, that it is just something I've not read as facts from an adult who has carried out an offence - let alone a young 15-year-old.

'As an adult, as a mother, as a grandmother, it is very upsetting that this young person has allegedly behaved in this manner and reported back to his friends about his behaviour.'

Police will rely on witness accounts, CCTV and mobile phone footage, and text messages sent by the alleged offenders as part of their case

Magistrate Mary Ryan told Surry Hills Children's Court that in all her years working in the legal system she 'has never read anything so abhorrent' as the details of the alleged attack (police are pictured at the scene of the attack)

The alleged messages, combined with CCTV and mobile phone footage, and the accounts of eyewitnesses, are set to form a major part of the prosecution case.

Some of the youngsters were arrested at their school this week.

Police prosecutor Peter Mort detailed allegations that as other youths fled, a 15-year-old remained behind stomping on the victim's head while a 16-year-old allegedly plunged s knife into him.

'We have evidence from a mobile phone, from a witness from a balcony nearby that we allege captures the incident,' Mr Mort said.

'We have direct evidence from a witness, being what they saw and heard. They were in the proximity and they heard the words: ''They're going to stab him'.

'We allege this young person is seen stomping on the head of the victim while he is on the ground. The victim was unable to protect himself.

'We will allege a number of people from that group fled while he continued to stomp on the victim, and another co-accused joined.

'A co-offender (allegedly) slashed the face of this male whilst he was on the ground.'

The alleged attackers and some friends had rented an Airbnb in the city for the night and CCTV footage from the apartment will be used in evidence

A 15-year-old boy was refused bail over the alleged attack, while his 16-year-old co-accused was allowed to go home under strict conditions (police pictured at crime scene)
Investigators on August 8 recovered the Digital Flight Data Recorder and Cockpit Voice Recorder, also called the black box, from the ill-fated Boeing 737 that could provide vital clues in the crash of the Air India Express (AIE) flight in heavy rain here as the toll rose to 18 with a passenger succumbing to injuries.

The AIE flight (IX-1344) from Dubai with 190 people on board including a 6-member crew overshot the table-top runway on night of August 7, while landing at the international airport in Karipur, about 30 km from here, in neighbouring Malappuram district and fell into a valley 35 feet below and broke into two portions.

Of the 149 people who are injured and are in various hospitals, 23 of them are in critical condition while another 23 have been discharged after initial medical assistance, an official said.

"Digital Flight Data Recorder (DFDR) and Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) of the ill-fated aircraft have been retrieved. AAIB (Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau) is conducting investigations," Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri tweeted, as fresh questions were raised on the safety parameters of the runway.

An official of aviation regulator DGCA said the DFDR and the CVR will be taken to Delhi for further investigations by the AAIB.

The CVR keeps a recording of all the conversations that takes place in a plane's cockpit and along with DFDR that has a record of flight data such as airspeed, altitude and fuel flow can help in finding out the cause of the crash, the official said.

The aircraft's pilot Captain Deepak Vasant Sathe, 58, and co-pilot Captain Akhilesh Kumar, 32, were among the dead.

Puri, who rushed to Kozhikode, told reporters that Sathe, a former Wing Commander of the Indian Air Force (IAF), was one of the most experienced commanders with more than 10,000 flying hours and had landed aircraft 27 times at the Karipur airport including this year. Kumar had a total flying experience of 1,723 hours.

All the four cabin crew on board are safe, an official said.

The flight was part of the Centre's 'Vande Bharat' Mission to bring back Indians stranded abroad in the coronavirus pandemic.

As investigators carried out the probe, an AAI spokesperson said runway 28 was in use and in the first landing attempt the pilot could not sight the runway and requested for runway 10.

The pilot then steered the plane to runway 10 and came from the other side, according to an AAI official.

Citing information from the Air Traffic Controller (ATC), the spokesperson said the aircraft touched down near taxiway 'C', which is approximately 1,000 metres from the beginning of runway 10. The total length of the runway is 2,700 metres.

The spokesperson also said that it was raining over the airfield and reported visibility at the time of landing was 2,000 metres.

Aviation safety expert Captain Ranganathan, who had earlier flagged concerns about Kozhikode airport runway, said the DGCA should not allow landing of flights during monsoon on runway 10 at the aerodrome.

"Death due to an accident is something which happens when you don't know but when you knew the danger existed and you were warned about it and you took no action and an accident takes place, then it is definitely murder," Ranganathan told PTI.

In 2011, he had warned that flights landing on runway 10 in tailwind conditions in rain at the Kozhikode airport endanger the lives of people onboard those flights.

AAI Chairman Arvind Singh said "corrective action" will be taken after receiving the probe report.

While the toll was put at 17 on Friday, it rose to 18 with the death of one more person, Malappuram District Collector K Gopalakrishnan said.

According to the official list released by him, four of the deceased were children -- three girls and a one-year old boy -- and seven men and an equal number of women. Two girls were aged two and the other was five.

"Currently, 149 people are in various hospitals of Malappuram and Kozhikode, out of which 23 are in critical condition. Earlier, 23 were discharged after being provided initial medical assistance," Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said.

Vijaymohan, who escaped with minor injuries and is recovering in a private hospital, said he thought it was a nightmare, unsure whether he was dreaming it all or living through it.

"I thought it was a nightmare. I could see heaps of twisted metal spread around when I opened my eyes after the initial shock of the impact, said Vijayamohan, a resident of nearby Malaparamba.

His wife Jameema is admitted in the ICU. The couple had gone to Dubai in December to join their son but got held up due to the COVID-19 induced lockdown.

Minister Puri announced Rs 10 lakh interim relief for the kin of each of the deceased, Rs 2 lakh for the seriously injured and Rs 50,000 for those who suffered minor injuries.

The Kerala government said Rs 10 lakh each would be given as compensation to the families of the deceased. The medical expenses of those under treatment will be borne by the government, Vijayan told reporters.

The chief minister along with state Governor Arif Mohammad Khan visited the injured at the Kozhikode Medical College hospital.

Amid the tragedy, coroanvirus scare too surfaced with samples of a passenger who died in the mishap testing positive for the pathogen while state Health Minister K K Shailaja asked all those engaged in rescue operations to go on self-quarantine and get themselves tested.

Vijayan, who held a high-level meeting here in which Governor Khan also participated, told reporters that all the crash victims would be tested for COVID-19. "So far, only one victim has tested positive for coronavirus," he said.

Puri, responding to queries from reporters on the cause of the accident, appealed to the media not to speculate as all the data required for the probe will be in the black box, and the cause of the contributing factors for the mishap will be revealed through the enquiry.

Earlier, Puri along with his ministerial colleague V Muraleedharan visited the accident site.

Muraleedharan, Minister of State for External Affairs, arrived here this morning from New Delhi on the directive of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and was briefed by officials of Air India and AAI, which operates the Karipur airport.

The airline also said three relief flights had been arranged to assist passengers and their family members affected in the accident that also brought back memories of the crash of Air India Express flight IX 812 on May 22, 2010 at Mangaluru International Airport.

The flight from Dubai had overshot the runway and plunged down the cliff into a wooded valley, killing 158 people.

As top officials rushed here for investigations, it emerged the aviation regulator had issued a show-cause notice to the director of the Kozhikode airport on July 11 last year after it found "various critical safety lapses".

The DCGA had pointed to cracks on the runway, water stagnation and excessive rubber deposits among other lapses in its show-cause notice, an official said.

It had conducted the inspection after an Air India Express flight coming from Dammam in Saudi Arabia had a "tail strike" while landing at the airport here on July 2 last year, the official said.

Minister Puri said Kozhikode airport operator had addressed issues like rubber deposits, water stagnation, cracks routinely red flagged by the DGCA.

Air India also tweeted that its Chairman and Managing Director Rajiv Bansal, and Air India Express Chief Executive Officer K Shyam Sundar and others "rushed" to the accident site here "to take stock of the situation and are being briefed by experts".
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-09 22:13:29|Editor: huaxia

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WASHINGTON, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) -- One person was killed and at least 20 people injured following a shooting in southeastern Washington D.C. on early Sunday morning, authorities said.

Shots were fired around 1 a.m. eastern time (0500 GMT) on Sunday in a residential neighborhood in the U.S. capital, local police said.

At least nine people were taken to nearby hospitals after the shooting, according to CNN's affiliate radio WTOP-FM. Enditem
LINCOLN  Outside of the Legislature, Ernie Chambers feeds squirrels in his yard, shovels snow for neighbors and lives a simple life.

A North Omaha native, he was born July 10, 1937, as one of seven children of Malcolm and Lillian Chambers. His father was a minister who worked at the Armour Packing Co. His mother cleaned houses. They set high standards for their children, and Chambers grew up going to church, where he developed a strong sense of right and wrong.

He graduated from Omaha Technical High School in 1955, where he was an indifferent student. But he was an honors student at Creighton University, where he earned a bachelors degree in 1959, and at Creighton law school, which he attended in the 1960s. He completed his law degree in 1979.

Even in high school, he said, people turned to him for help because he was not afraid to talk back to white people. By 1961, his outspokenness and his views on race caught the attention of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which began a decade-long investigation of him.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-10 03:12:20|Editor: huaxia

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Video: U.S. COVID-19 case count rose to 5,000,603, with the national death toll reaching 162,441 as of 9:36 a.m. local time (1336 GMT) on Aug. 9, 2020, according to the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University. (Xinhua)

"Instead of passing a bill, now President Trump is cutting families' unemployment benefits and pushing states further into budget crises, forcing them to make devastating cuts to life-or-death services," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer say in a joint statement.



WASHINGTON, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) -- Less than 90 days from the U.S. presidential election, the country's COVID-19 cases surpassed 5 million on Sunday while public opinions remain sharply divided over the government's response to the pandemic.

The number of U.S. confirmed COVID-19 cases rose to 5,017,150, with the national death toll reaching 162,635 as of 12:34 p.m. local time, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.

The hardest-hit U.S. state of California reported 555,797 cases, followed by Florida with 532,806 cases, Texas with 497,915 cases and New York with 420,860 cases, the data showed. Other states with over 180,000 cases included Georgia, Illinois, Arizona and New Jersey.

A screenshot taken from C-Span's live broadcast shows U.S. President Donald Trump signing a series of executive orders to extend certain COVID-19 economic relief in New Jersey, the United States, on Aug. 8, 2020. (Xinhua)



RELIEF BILL DEADLOCK

The grim milestone came as White House officials and Democratic lawmakers remained deadlocked over a new relief bill. President Donald Trump signed four actions on Saturday, trying to move around Congress and assert executive power.

One of the actions would extend extra unemployment benefits through the end of the year at a reduced level of 400 U.S. dollars per week, instead of the 600 dollars approved by Congress in late March, which expired at the end of July.

Trump said the reduced level of extra benefits would give people "a great incentive" to go back to work. The new order also demands that states cover 25 percent of the 400-dollar weekly benefits.

"Instead of passing a bill, now President Trump is cutting families' unemployment benefits and pushing states further into budget crises, forcing them to make devastating cuts to life-or-death services," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a joint statement.

The chart publicized on Aug. 6, 2020 by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington shows that there will be 295,011 COVID-19 deaths in the United States by Dec. 1, 2020, based on current projection scenario. (Xinhua)

TOUGHER SITUATION AHEAD

An influential model from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington has projected there will be 295,011 COVID-19 deaths by Dec. 1 in the United States.

The country's actual number of COVID-19 cases may be 6 to 24 times higher than reported, according to a recent study by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

With the virus still spreading, the Trump administration has continued to push schools to reopen in the fall. School reopening is seen as a crucial step to restarting the country's economy for his reelection campaign.

In a Friday opinion piece on The New York Times (NYT), President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis Neel Kashkari and Michael T. Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, urged policymakers to commit to a more restrictive lockdown, state by state, for up to six weeks to crush the spread of the virus to less than one new case per 100,000 people a day, whereas the country currently reports 17 new cases per 100,000 people a day.

Photo taken on Aug. 8, 2020 shows the Washington Monument during sunset in Washington, D.C., the United States. (Xinhua/Liu Jie)

WIDENING POLITICAL DIFFERENCE

According to a new ABC News/Ipsos poll of 730 adults on July 29-30, only 34 percent of Americans said they approved the president's handling of the novel coronavirus pandemic.

"It's no mystery how America got here," the NYT editorial board said in an opinion on Saturday.

The Trump administration's response to the pandemic has been "disjointed and often contradictory, indifferent to science, suffused with politics and eager to hand off responsibility to state leaders. Among the states, the response has also been wildly uneven," it said.

The pandemic has also intensified political and ideological differences in U.S. society. Liberal media argued that the public should stay indoors and children should stay home from school until there is a vaccine. In contrast, conservative media contended that people should take proper safety precautions, but life should go on as usual.

Conservatives voiced their belief that left-leaning media put irrational emphasis on the number of cases, which critics said had stirred panic and led to poor government decisions, while liberals said conservative media had not taken the deadly virus seriously enough and this could endanger peoples' lives.

The divide was even larger between Republicans who described themselves as being conservative and Democrats who described themselves as liberals, according to a report from the Pew Research Center. 
BAKU, Azerbaijan, Aug. 9

Trend:

If the transition to economy digitalization in Azerbaijan continues, the state will be able to implement a mechanism to support entrepreneurs, Azerbaijani Deputy Minister of Economy Rovshan Najaf said, Trend reports.

A trend in providing long distance services by using digital platforms was observed recently, noted Najaf.

"If the transition to the digital economy continues, this will have a positive impact on the long-term employability of entrepreneurs. For its part, the government will also provide support to entrepreneurs in the development of digital infrastructure," the deputy minister said.
Our country wasnt prepared for the COVID-19 crisis andby all indicationswe are not prepared for the recovery either.

Even as the fight to contain the virus continues, policymakers must start the process of promoting a recovery that prioritizes sustainability, resilience, and equity. Instead, we are seeing efforts to return to the same old business-as-usual in Pennsylvania.

In this case, business-as-usual means allocating hundreds of millions of dollars in taxpayer subsidies to the fossil fuel industry with the hopes that will lead to economic recovery across the Commonwealth. Unfortunately, weve been down this path many times before, and this strategy still hasnt bought or secured a sustainable future for our communities.

Its not surprising that the industry has gone to national and state policymakers for handouts. The oil and gas industry received billions in subsidies through the CARES Act as well as preferential royalty relief from the Department of Interior, and our failing fracked gas companies received another lifeline when the Federal Reserve loosened rules on using federal stimulus loans to pay off debt.

On top of the federal money, the industry will also get more handouts from Pennsylvania.

Gov. Wolf and our legislature recently agreed on a package of nearly $700 million in tax breaks for petrochemical plants on top of the huge subsidies already given to the Shell cracker plant. There were claims this was about bringing jobs to the state and aiding recovery, but that argument is disingenuous.

If these subsidies are actually a good deal to bring jobs and business here, why are petrochemical companies the only ones eligible? The gas industry may benefit from a lack of competition, but the taxpayers certainly dont.

Recovery must be a top priority, but for too many of our elected officials and policymakers, progress is synonymous with pollution. We need to break that cycle and have a real and sustainable recoveryparticularly with regard to the increasing threat from climate change.

To help illuminate the path forward, and to support real and meaningful progress for Pennsylvania communities, PennFuture developed a detailed policy roadmap highlighting better options.

In the energy sector in particular, we looked at the three main sources of carbon pollutionelectric generation, transportation, and end-usesand presented strategies for each that can spur the growth of new jobs, new industries, and our economy while keeping our communities clean and healthy.

In some cases, such as with energy efficiency measures, we have plenty of highly cost-effective investments available, but lack of access to capital and competing priorities limit what actually gets installed. A focused program of investments in that area would not only lower emissions, it would do so at no net cost to consumers.

Renewable energy is another sector that is leading the nation in job growth and will be a cornerstone of our electricity supply in the future, but Pennsylvania is lagging behind. Some key policy changes in this area could drive private investment and return huge public health and environmental benefits.

Finally, we are seeing a boom in clean transportation and our automakers are planning for a future where electric vehicles fill many of the roles gas and diesel fill today. That brings the promise of less dependence on foreign fuels as well as growth in jobs here at home, but getting to that point will require improvements to our infrastructure. Fortunately that very same infrastructure development means jobs toowe just need to begin the process.

If there is one lesson to learn from the PennFuture report, its that there is no shortage of economically beneficial and environmentally-consequential steps we could act on today to move us forward. These proposals wont immediately end our dependence on fossil fuels, but will drive more investment, create more jobs, and help make Pennsylvania a clean energy leader.

Regardless, there is no excuse for our policymakers to rely on old, inefficient and failed strategies for economic recovery. We will not revitalize our economy by subsidizing polluters and fossil fuels. We cannot slash public sector jobs or further cut the budgets for state agencies.

Its clear that clean and renewable energy is the path forward, and we know that any stimulus or recovery measures enacted in Pennsylvania must incorporate principles of sustainability and efficiency.

Lets hope our elected officials and policymakers are listening.

Rob Altenburg is the director of the PennFuture Energy Center.
WILLIAMSPORT  Add Middleburg to the places activist Gene Stilp has sued because he was charged for burning flags.

Unlike earlier suits in U.S. Middle District Court against Harrisburg and Lewisburg, the one filed Friday claims the Middleburg ordinance violates the equal protection clause of the constitution.

It is Stilps contention the ordinance is unconstitutional because it permits burnings by organizations dedicated to the public good but not him.

The Middle Paxton Twp. residents suits against Harrisburg and Lewisburg claim their ordinances are discriminatory but he does not seek damages under the equal protection clause.

Stilp alleges in all the complaints his right of free speech has been violated by being charged like he was after burning flags in Middleburg on July 9.

He twice burned flags in Williamsport in violation of its burn ordinance, the most recent being at a Rally for Justice event last Sunday, but he has not been charged.

Stilp, who describes himself as a prominent political activist in Pennsylvania, notifies officials in advance he plans to burn flags and proceeds to do so in a trash can despite being told it is illegal.

He explains he burns Confederate, Nazi and other flags to publicly protest political corruption, racial injustice and President Trump.

Stilp, in this three suits, seeks a court order declaring the respective burn ordinances unconstitutional, an injunction to prevent them from being enforced against him, unspecified damages and payment of his legal fees.

The charge against him in Harrisburg was thrown out after a district judge concluded the citys health and safety ordinance is so broad it could squelch political free speech.

His position on burn ordinances has changed since 2017 when he was charged by Buffalo Valley Regional police after he burned a flag near the Union County Courthouse in Lewisburg.

He called it a citation of honor and went into the courthouse and paid the $100 fine plus $84 in costs.

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New Delhi: The Centre is considering bringing in a law to protect the land rights of the people of Jammu and Kashmir. As per reports, the new law is expected to be enacted in Parliament.

A bill to this effect will be introduced in Parliament as there is no legislature in the newly created Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir because no election was held since the bifurcation of the erstwhile state.

The fears of Jammu and Kashmir domicile people about the settlement of outsiders in the union territory arose after the government abrogated Article 370 on August 5, 2019, which ended the exclusive rights of locals over lands or immovable property and jobs.

"Land rights for the locals in Jammu and Kashmir are coming up. Work is on for enacting a new law that will allay all fears of the people of Jammu and Kashmir," an official privy to the development said told PTI. "Once the legislation is passed by Parliament, the fear of losing rights over land will be over in Jammu and Kashmir," he added.

After the abrogation of Article 370 and 35A, there was a fear among the Jammu and Kashmir domicile people about people from other states settling in the state-union territory. The central government the government on August 5, 2019, abrogated Article 370 which ended the exclusive rights of the locals over lands or immovable property and jobs. The government also bifurcated the state into two union territories  Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.

Earlier, in the order issued on March 31, the Home Ministry had reserved jobs for domicile residents only in Group D and non-entry gazetted government posts. This meant that people from any part of the country could apply for jobs in the higher categories.

Under the new definition of domicile for Jammu and Kashmir, a person residing there for at least 15 years will be eligible to be a permanent resident of the union territory.

The government notification also extended domicile rights to central government employees who have served in Jammu and Kashmir for 10 years and also to their children. Before August 5, 2019, the Jammu and Kashmir assembly was constitutionally empowered to define a resident of the erstwhile state. These defined residents alone were eligible to apply for jobs or own immovable property.

However, the Home Ministry amended a 2010 legislation- the Jammu and Kashmir Civil Services (Decentralisation and Recruitment Act on March 31 by substituting the term 'permanent residents' with 'domiciles of Jammu and Kashmir'.
With about 250 pounds (113 kilograms) of plastic in the average car, the auto industry is doing its part to fill the world's trash heaps [source: CCC]. When that average car outlives its usefulness, all that fossil-fuel-based plastic ends up in one of two places: either recycled into other plastic parts, releasing tons of carbon dioxide in the process, or spending anywhere from a few hundred to a few thousand years in the average landfill, where it proceeds to take up space and leach harmful chemicals into the air, soil and water supply.

If only our plastic floor mats were made from corn starch instead of fossil fuels. If only we were in the market for a new kind of hybrid.

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Named and known for their combined power sources, upcoming hybrid car models are not just running green; they are made green. Going beyond increased gas mileage and high-tech perks like color-coded driving-efficiency alerts, carmakers are moving into the realm of eco-friendly building resources like bioplastics, also known as eco-plastic.

Eco-plastics come in a few different forms: recycled traditional plastic, which doesn't behave any differently in a landfill but has the benefit of not bringing any new petroleum-based plastic into world; synthetic eco-plastics, which are made of engineered materials and should degrade faster and cleaner in a landfill; and bioplastics, which are made from plants instead of petroleum and should also behave differently in a landfill.

The automobile eco-plastic currently in production is bioplastic, and it's a lot like the regular stuff that currently makes up most car interiors -- it looks the same, feels the same and stands up to the same stressors. The difference is in how it acts after we're done with the car. Plant-based eco-plastic, usually made from corn, sugar or cellulose derivatives, not only degrades faster than the plastic made from fossil-fuel derivatives, but it's also made from sustainable rather than finite resources and has a smaller carbon footprint because the plants that comprise it consume CO 2 as they grow.

In this article, we'll find out what hybrid cars are doing with eco-plastic and see what the future holds for this green trend.

We'll start by looking at perhaps the most famous hybrid car in the world: the Toyota Prius. In plastic as in power, Prius is leading the way.
Firemen rescued 18 Covid-19 patients caught in the early morning blaze in a Vijayawada hotel in Andhra Pradesh on Sunday and saving them from certain death, said officials.

About 31 coronavirus patients were caught in the fire at hotel Swarna Palace, being used as a Covid-19 care centre by the well known Ramesh Hospitals, apart from six medical personnel and six hotel staff at the time of the incident.

The fire service personnel, who were the first to reach the site, were able to rescue 18 patients by evacuating them through the windows, using ladders. It was a difficult exercise given the single staircase.

All the rescued persons were rushed to Ramesh Hospital, where they were declared out of danger. Three others have been moved to a different hotel at Labbipet.

Ten other patients, however, could not be saved and died due to suffocation from the fire, officials said.

According to state health minister Alla Kali Krishna Prasad, the blaze started at around 4.45 am on the ground floor of the hotel before spreading to the first and second floors. Preliminary investigations suggest a short-circuit in the electric wiring caused the fire.

Also Read: 10 Covid-19 patients killed as hotel turned care centre catches fire in Andhra Pradesh

Flames engulfed the hotel building and thick plumes of smoke billowed in the entire building, leaving the patients suffocated. Some of the medical personnel and hotel staff managed to escape through the exit on the ground floor while four of them jumped off the first and second floors. A security guard, Krishna Reddy, suffered injuries after falling on the ground.

Many of the patients, who were fast asleep, woke up to scenes of commotion and fire and smoke filled surroundings.

I did not know in which direction I was moving. I managed to open the window panes and come out shouting for help. I picked up courage and informed the police, a young patient Pavan Sai said in a video message.

Vijayawada city police commissioner B Srinivasulu said the control room had received a call at around 5.15 am about the fire breaking out in the hotel. The minister, however, said the fire station, which is situated less than a kilometre away from the hotel, received the first call at 5.09 and within five minutes, the fire tenders arrived at the hotel.

The fire was brought under control within a couple of hours, the minister said. After putting out the fire, the firemen and personnel of the National Disaster Response Force brought out the bodies of 10 patients, most of whom died of suffocation. The bodies were shifted to the Vijayawada government hospital for post-mortem.

Also Read: PM Modi anguished by fire at hotel being used as Covid-19 facility in Vijayawada

Following a formal complaint from Vijayawada Central tehsildar (block revenue official), the Governorpet police registered criminal cases against the managements of Ramesh Hospital and Swarna Palace Hotel under Sections 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) and 308 read with 34 (acts amounting to culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of the Indian Penal Code.

The deceased were identified as: Kosaraju Suvarnalath (42) of Nidabrolu village of Ponnur block in Guntur district; Dokku Siva Brahmaiah (59) of Machilipatnam in Krishna district; Potluri Purnachandra Rao, Kodali of Krishna district; Sunkara Babu Rao (80), Indira Nagar, Vijayawada; Majji Gopi (54), Machilipatnam; G Venkata Jaya Lakshmi (52) of Kandukuru in Prakasam district; Venkata Narasimha Pavan Kumar (40) of Kandukuru in Prakasam; Sabbili Ratna Abraham (48), Rajakumari (40), both from Jaggayyapet; and Maddali Raghu (40) of Moghulraja Puram, Vijayawada.

The tehsildar said Ramesh Hospital had entered an MoU with Swarna Palace Hotel to operate a Covid-19 facility on paid basis. It appears that the management of the hotel and Ramesh Hospital had known that there were electrical defects in the lodge (hotel), and as rectification of defects involved a huge amount, they avoided repairing it. Knowing the fact that if the defects were not rectified, there is a possibility of an accident, they opened the Covid care centre, the official said.

The health minister said a committee involving the director of health and Arogya Sri director and other officials was formed to give a detailed report on the accident within 48 hours.

Preliminary report says the hospital and the hotel management are at fault. We asked for a detailed report so that stringent action can be initiated against those responsible, the minister said.
The Trump administration sent agents to Portland against the wishes of state and local authorities, who said the agents presence only intensified the situation.

Some people were upset because the agents wore jackets identifying them only as police without an agency designation, and there were accusations that a few citizens were taken off the streets and hauled away in unmarked vehicles. All of those individuals were subsequently released.

Wolf complained that local officials refused to cooperate with the federal agents and tried to limit their activities. The agents have since been withdrawn.

Earlier, on the Senate floor, Inhofe also defended the deployment of the federal agents and, more broadly, law enforcement in general.

Dismissing wild claims and accusations that the agents had attacked peaceful demonstrators, Inhofe said they had instead subdued violent rioters attempting to destroy the courthouse.

In Oregon, politicians are clamoring to defend the terrorists who are trying to destroy law and order. On the other side, our president is trying to defend it, Inhofe said.
The international community on Sunday pledged timely and sufficient aid, well-coordinated under the leadership of the United Nations (UN), to assist the Lebanese people hit by the massive explosions at the Beirut port five days ago, Trend reports citing Xinhua.

After a UN-backed virtual conference, hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron, representatives from Britain, Qatar, the United States, the European Union, China, the World Bank and others issued a joint statement pledging solidarity with and support to the Lebanese people.

"The participants agreed that their assistance should be timely, sufficient and consistent with the needs of the Lebanese people, well-coordinated under the leadership of the United Nations, and directly delivered to the Lebanese population, with utmost efficiency and transparency," said the statement.

To help Lebanon overcome the tragedy and recover better, "we will need all hands on deck," UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed told the conference.

"I give my pledge that the United Nations is committed to helping the people of Lebanon in every way we can," she said.

Mohammed called for a focus on support to four priority sectors, health, food, the rehabilitation of buildings and the rehabilitation of schools.

Lebanese President Michel Aoun told the conference that rebuilding Beirut requires a lot of efforts and resources.

"The earthquake struck us while we are in the midst of economic and financial crisis, in addition to the existence of over 1 million refugees in Lebanon and the repercussions of COVID-19. Dealing with all these is way beyond the capacity of Lebanon," Aoun noted.

The total figure of "emergency aid pledged or that can be mobilized quickly" amounts over 252 million euros (297.08 million U.S. dollars), said the French presidency.

"We are sending a clear message: we, the global community, Lebanon's closest friends and partners, will not let the Lebanese people down," Macron tweeted.
One terrorist was killed and two others were seriously injured as an infiltration bid along the Line of Control (LoC) in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir was foiled, the Army said on Sunday.

The infiltration bid was scuttled in Krishna Ghati sector on Friday when the alert troops noticed a group of terrorists attempting to sneak into this side from across the LoC and immediately engaged them, Jammu-based PRO (defence) Lt Col Devender Anand said.

He said the gunfight resulted in on-the-spot killing of one terrorist and serious injuries to two others.

"Subsequent search in the area showed that the dead body of the terrorist had been dragged away from the incident site. However, one AK 47 rifle, two AK 47 magazines and some eatables were recovered from the site," the spokesman said.

He said Pakistan markings on the eatables and a few other items clearly indicated the complicity of Pakistan in sponsoring terror activities in J&K.

"Security forces are maintaining a robust counter-infiltration grid along the LoC to foil any nefarious designs by Pakistan," Lt Col Anand said.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-09 17:54:44|Editor: huaxia

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NUR-SULTAN, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) -- Kazakhstan has postponed the national population census to October 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the press office of the Ministry of National Economy announced on Saturday.

Kazakhstan is scheduled to conduct a national population census next October using a combination of an online survey, home visits and inspections.

The government budget has allocated 8.2 billion tenge (19 million U.S. dollars) for the census, with a total of 32,500 staff participating in it.

Kazakhstan conducts a national census about every 10 years. The last census took place in 2009, when its population stood at 16 million.

As of 2020, statistics showed that Kazakhstan's population has topped 18.7 million, making it the second most populous country in Central Asia after Uzbekistan. Enditem
First published in The Sydney Morning Herald on August 12, 1979

Getting rich quickly

Problems of teenage star

"Puberty is a most awkward age," said Teri Shields, watching her daughter Brooke across the restaurant table. "I would rather go through the menopause than what Brooke's going through."

But whatever Brooke's going through, it's currently earning her more than $300,000 for each movie she makes, and up to $2,000 an hour for modelling work.
Eight people including six French tourists and their local guide and driver were killed by gunmen on Sunday in Niger's Koure region, home to the last herd of West African giraffes, officials said.

"There are eight dead: two Nigeriens including a guide and a driver, while the other six are French," Tidjani Ibrahim Katiella, the governor of the southwest Tillaberi Region, told AFP.

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Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal said he will sit on a dharna outside Congress president Sonia Gandhis residence here on August 11 to protest against the partys involvement in production and pedalling of spurious liquor that killed more than 100 people in Punjab.

The SAD chief said he will demand for the resignation of Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh over the incident and will push for a statement on the issue from top central leaders of the Congress party.

On Friday, the Punjab Chief Minister had said that perpetrators of the hooch tragedy would not be spared at any cost and properties of those responsible would be confiscated.

Singh, who visited Tarn Taran to share his sympathies with the bereaved families hailing from the district, said that perpetrators of the heinous crime would not be spared at any cost and severest of severe action would be taken against them.

The CM said that in order to ensure that culprits get exemplary punishment special prosecution teams would be deputed to vigorously pursue these cases adding that the properties of those responsible for this unpardonable act be confiscated.

The perpetrators of this heinous crime deserve no leniency since it is a man-made tragedy, he said.

According to an official release, the Chief Minister also enhanced compensation to the families of victims of hooch tragedy from existing Rs 2 lakh to Rs 5 lakh. The death toll in the hooch tragedy has risen to 121. Singh pointed out that investigations are already underway and Director General of Police (DGP) Dinkar Gupta has been directed to expedite them.
Doing the laundry is one of those mundane tasks that should be uneventful, but with the risk of shrinkage, tangled clothing and unwanted items left in pockets, things can easily go very wrong.

From New York to Russia, these unfortunate people have suffered real headaches over the chore, thanks to faulty washing machines, bad luck or wrong settings.

The funniest were collated in an online gallery by Bored Panda, including a woman from Bruges, Belgium, who gasped in horror when all her white clothes emerged pink because of a stray crayon.

Meanwhile, in Russia, another was devastated when their anti-stress pillow exploded in the machine, covering it in tiny polyester balls

Don't fancy cleaning that up! In Russia, someone learned the hard way never to put an anti-stress pillow full of polyester balls in the wash

All tied up! A man believed to be from the US was shocked to find all his shirts had formed a knot while in the machine

In Britain, this person showed what happened to her woolen sweater by wearing it as a balaclava

That's where they went! In the US, a couple finally solved the mystery of the disappearing socks after their machine ate dozens of pairs away

All hell broke loose in this laundrette after a washing machine likely overheated and caught fire

In the US, a boyfriend was horrified to find he had accidentally washed his girlfriend's phone with the laundry

In Los Angeles, one mother had a bad surprise when she realised she had left a pink crayola in her laundry load

In Baltimore, a mother was horrified to find out how her children let their laundry hang using clips

One mother from Texas made the most of a bad situation and gave her tween daughter's sweater to her toddler

From glamour to grunge! A newscaster from Florida learned why you should always respect cleaning instructions on labels

In New York, a bewildered man explained this six socks had been washed together, but that only one of them shrunk

In France, a woman's thick gloves were reduced to the size of her lipstick and barely fitted her two fingers

A man believed to be from the US found out that his washing machine had broken while he was away at work

A mother from Bruges was horrified when all her white towels, and a t-shirt were turned pink by a washing machine accident

A US based man who had not done some laundry in a while recounted how a loo roll fell in his machine and ruined his clothes

In the US, a woman learned why you should never put gloves in the wash, especially ones made of nubuck

A woman from Arizona saw exactly what happens when someone pops a pillow full of feathers in the washing machine

In the US, a man told the story of how a beloved yellow sweater shrank so much he gave it to his petite girlfriend

In New York, a dog owner was quick to see the silver-lining to shrinking his sweater and gave it to his cute dog
An exciting new entrant in the world of digital-payment apps, KhaaliJeb has something special for one of the largest consumer groups in the country  students and youth, below the age of 29.

Brands, which have aligned themselves with a youthful image are always seeking new ways to increase customer engagement, and students are always on the hunt for good discounts. Bridging the gap between the two has been KhaaliJebs area of expertise since 2018.

With a name that literally translated into "empty pocket", the venture stemmed from a classic tale of a group of college friends from IIIT Allahabad who decided to take the risk of stepping away from mundane job hunting and decided to go after something they believed in, instead.

The idea took root one night in 2015, when Prakash Kumar, one of the founding members while travelling in a rented Ola cab, witnessed their automated paying system, Ola Money. Inspiration struck and upon returning to college, Kumar shared his idea to create an app for penniless students with Aman Verma, Wilson Birua and Sudhansu Gaur, who joined in as co-founders.

The idea was further fine-tuned once again upon a landmark visit to a local KFC outlet. In October of 2016 the friends noticed a box in a KFC outlet which read, Drop your business card for exciting discounts. As students, always on the hunt to save a buck, he asked the cashier why corporates were given discounts based on cards and students werent based on IDs.

The dispassionate cashiers simple reply was that they should perhaps make the suggestion to the company instead. The interaction made the students realise the potential business opportunity that lay before them.

Speaking to News18, Prakash said, We decided to build a vast community of students and youth and helped brands market to them. They created a UPI-PSP (Unified Payments Interface- Payment Service Provider) app which had Kotak Mahindra Bank roped in as their sponsor bank and made it attractive using a distinct "discount program".

The distinction of the program is that it is specially oriented toward the youth. We present payments and banking products in a way young people would find fun to use, said Aman.

He further added, It is live pan India with a few youth-centric brands offering exclusive discounts to young Indians below 29. We are adding new brands every other day. We have on-boarded 350+ Restaurants & Salons in Bangalore, who are offering exclusive Discounts on KhaaliJeb.

People below the age of 29 have to first register for the Discount Program Membership by uploading their ID. Aided with a one-minute and one-time verification programme, users are good to go in availing the discounts offered.

The app has launched a B2B (Business-to-business) product Verify by KhaaliJeb that helps brands in identifying their student customers & running discount campaigns for them. It is API/SDK (Application Program Interface-Software Development Kit)-based that can be integrated easily, within minutes in a brands app or website.

The team looks forward to planning more features, targeted at the youth, to launch in the next six months including building a digital savings account, managing, tracking and settling expenses using UPI and building a goal based savings product.

Still in the early phases of their journey, making a space for themselves in the competitive world of e-payment has been fraught with many challenges for KhaaliJeb.

Key amongst them is to earn the trust of the customers.

As co-founder Sudhanshu put it, big names like Google, Paytm, PhonePe, AmazonPay can incite customer trust easily. They are also backed by significant financial prowess and technical know-how, but the awareness created amongst consumers by big payment platforms does help new players to some extent.

However, even if a payment platform provides value and the user experience is top notch, downloads are still hard to come by without well researched and properly implemented go-to-market strategies.

The challenges a newbie often faces are finding product market fit, coming up with solid go-to-market strategies, building trust factors amongst consumers, acquiring new customers, bootstrapping, raising funds etc, said Sudanshu.

As a newbie to any market, everything is a challenge in itself. That part of what makes the journey exciting and fun, claimed the team of four.

Bootstrapping has been yet another challenge for KhaaliJeb.

Even in the smallest of requirements the first thought we have is: Do we have the funds for that? Things got delayed due to lack of funds. We didnt have the luxury to chase growth because we couldnt spend much on customer acquisition. We couldnt expand the team, added Sudanshu.

All these impediments only turned out to make them shameless to ask for help.

Tech giants and startups have helped us go out of their policies with free credits for the needed resources. We became ethical hackers, security researchers at times to arrange funds. We went to the streets on numerous occasions talking to students, youth, and early corporates, telling them about the app. Despite numerous challenges, we cant deny theres a fun element in bootstrapping that has kept us motivated to keep going, recalled the team.

Currently having more than 37,000 users and 15+ partner apps including Gaana, Storytel, Cult.Fit, Testbook, Utter etc, the app is targeting to have more than 400 brands on-board their discount programme.

Fathoming the wishes of the youth and students, who are constantly on the hunt for discounts, as well as setting foot into the UPI market at its nascent stage, KhaaliJeb is all about going everywhere with an empty wallet (Khaali Jeb).
The factors to be considered while buying value stocks is to determine a) the business model is not broken, and b) Corporate governance practices are healthy. Else most of the value stocks may turn into value traps, Santosh Singh, Head of Research, Motilal Oswal Asset Management Company, said in an interview with Moneycontrols Kshitij Anand.

Edited excerpt:

Q) July has been an impressive month for investors with both Sensex, and Nifty climbing above crucial resistance levels. We saw mild profit booking towards the close of July, but would momentum change for the month of August?

A) The markets have been a function of a) Liquidity and b) Data on Economy and CoVID cases. Markets went up sharply in July as liquidity was high and June economic data from GST collection to auto sales were showing sharp turnaround.

Liquidity remains high and retail participation has been growing as of now as well. However, data would not be linear. We have seen some real recovery in demand in the months of June and July and part of which could have been due to pent-up demand in the market.

However, August would determine if real demand is coming in the market or not. This can create volatility in the short-run.

We do not look at these short-term trends so much and we believe that from a 2-5 year perspective, the current pandemic provides an opportunity to the government to come up with reforms that can drive the markets up significantly.

Q) We have seen some massive outperformance from the IT pack. Most of the stocks have hit fresh record/52-week highs the July. What is fuelling the rally, and what should investors do? Accumulate or wait for a dip. Which are the stocks that are looking attractive?

A) Cant talk about specific stocks; however, the pandemic has made sure that IT stocks are now at the forefront. IT sector would be a key beneficiary of digitisation.

This would remain a key sector for some time, however areas of IT services that can outperform would differ.

Q) India awaits the inclusion of Rafale jets in the Indian Air Force, similarly for portfolio, are there are but any Rafale stocks/sectors which investors could include in the portfolio to safeguard from volatility?

A) Pandemic as well as the current geopolitical environment has compelled the government to come up with reforms that can help India to become self-sufficient in some of the critical sectors.

The government has come up with some policy reforms in these sectors. Key beneficiary being Chemicals, Pharma, and any stock related to Electronic manufacturing.

Q) 2020 gave an opportunity to investors to build their portfolio at a reasonable price. And many new-age investors seized the opportunity. Early trends indicate that so-called Robinhood investors are buying quality stocks. Which are the factors that one should take care while undergoing value investing?

A) The biggest factors to be considered of while buying value stocks is to determine a) the business model is not broken and b) Corporate governance practice. Else most of the value stocks may turn into value traps.

Q) We are also heading towards the Independence Day as well. Sticking to the theme, how can investors attain financial freedom especially at the time when there is lot of uncertainty, and equity markets have rallied without any meaningful change in fundamentals?

A) In my view the basics of investing remain the same i.e. buy the right stock and stay with it for a long time period. It is very difficult to time the market and hence if one wants to attain financial freedom one should stay in the stocks for the long term.

Although some of the quality stocks would have run ahead of their fundamentals and hence can show some volatility in the near term, they would be the key beneficiary of any revival in the economy.

Q) What is your view on the recent results which have come out from India Inc. for the June quarter? They have not been as bad or the commentary from the management seems comforting. Or, was the Street discounting the worst before?

A) Expectations from most of the companies were very low in the current quarter given the lockdown and hence I would not give too much weightage to the results.

However, the commentary seems good, the next couple of months are critical to assess the sustainability of demand. Also in a revival Zero to 70-80% is the easier part, the harder part is to climb from there.

Q) People say that history never repeats but rhymes. Leaders of the past might not lead the future. So which according to you could lead the rally on D-Street?

A) In my view, this pandemic has shown the importance of manufacturing and digital. Manufacturing for jobs and owning a significant part of the supply chain and digital for connectivity.

I would expect some parts of the manufacturing sectors like Pharma, chemicals to lead other than IT. Also, for a developing economy like India banking is the lifeblood and hence it has to lead the revival.

Q) PM Modis assurance to the financial sectors was a positive sign. What is your call on the financials? Do you think that investors could contra bet on this sector as the worst seems to be factored in?

A) As I highlighted earlier banking would remain key for Indias revival, however the next three to four quarters would be uncertain for this sector from an asset quality point of view. With most of the banks either raising money or in the process of raising money, I do not expect a Balance Sheet risk. Also, one area in financials that would be a beneficiary of the pandemic is Insurance. Hence these two sectors can be good bets

Q) What are you factoring in from the RBI for the rest of the year? More easing?

A) RBI may remain accommodative in the next six to twelve months, given the economic revival is still very uncertain.

Q) Maruti Suzuki posted a loss for the first time since IPO. What is your call on the auto space? Which sectors according to you can turn out to be a dark horse?

A) As I said earlier I would not worry about June quarter numbers, I would believe that personal mobility has become important due to CoVID and hence this sector may benefit.

Both PVs and well as two-wheelers may gain from this theme as not a lot of people would prefer shared transport if they can afford personal transport. Autos may turn out to be a dark horse

: The views and investment tips expressed by investment experts on Moneycontrol.com are their own and not that of the website or its management. Moneycontrol.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.
The billboards loom over Highway 101 from San Francisco to San Jose. Emblazoned with Canadas red maple leaf emblem, they pose provocative questions: What if my visa gets canceled? What if I lose my job and health insurance?

The point, said Iain Klugman, CEO of Canadas Communitech, which sponsored the ad campaign, is to let Silicon Valleys skilled workers from overseas know theres a welcoming alternative for them north of the border. At a time when President Trump has clamped down on H-1B visas  in June he froze them and other types of work visas until year-end  Canada is stressing that its doors are open to international workers.

The billboards direct people to Canadian tech job listings on the website of Communitech, a nonprofit public-private partnership that promotes the tech industry, somewhat akin to the Silicon Valley Leadership Group.

The campaign, which runs July 27 through Aug. 31, stemmed from Trumps recent freeze, as well as his administrations years of increasing immigration restrictions, which already made it harder to get, renew or transfer H-1B visas. The president says his actions are necessary to preserve jobs for Americans.

Were keying off the suspension of the H-1B visa ... and the uncertainty of people losing their H-1B visas, Klugman said. Were saying, If America doesnt want you, we want you. There are a lot of jobs here. We would love for you to come here.

Increasingly, U.S. tech companies and workers are hearing that message. Companies are establishing or expanding Canadian offices, often as a way to hire overseas talent, while workers from countries such as India, China and the Philippines are emigrating there.

For companies looking to hire, Canada makes sense for several reasons. Its policies make it relatively easy for skilled international workers to get visas. Its tech salaries average far less than those in the Bay Area. Its nearby location means workers there are in close time zones for collaboration and, pre-pandemic, could easily hop flights here for in-person meetings.

The widespread work-from-home culture spawned by the pandemic may make hiring workers in Canada even more appealing, Klugman said. We now live in a world where proximity is optional, he said. That opens a whole bunch of options for recruiting.

More Information 'Brain gain' in North America - more tech talent heads north Rank City Tech talent labor pool 5-year growth 5-year change, by percentage Average tech wage 1 S.F. Bay Area 379,670 88,840 30.5 $136,060 2 Toronto 250,000 66,900 36.5 $64,065 7 Vancouver 84,900 27,500 47.9 $61,760 9 Montreal 141,600 22,900 19.3 $60,741 Source: CBRE 2020 Tech Talent Analyzer See More Collapse

Tech migration to Canada has been accelerating throughout Trumps tenure. Toronto and Vancouver had the second and third largest brain gain of tech talent of North American cities last year, outpaced only by the Bay Area (defined as the San Francisco and San Jose metropolitan areas), according to a report called 2020 Tech Talent Analyzer from real estate services company CBRE.

Toronto added more tech talent to its labor pool over the past five years than anywhere else in North America except the Bay Area, the report said. Toronto added 66,900 tech workers  more than New York, Atlanta, Seattle or Denver. Vancouver was seventh and Montreal was ninth.

Major U.S. tech companies have long had offices in Canada, as they do in other countries. But theyre now looking at big expansions. Google, for instance, which has about 1,500 employees in Canada, expects to grow that to 5,000 by 2022, according to a February announcement.

Small companies are also setting up satellite offices in Canada.

Brian Feulner / Special to The Chronicle

Palo Altos Gatik, a 3-year-old startup working on self-driving delivery vans, tried to hire H-1B visa holders who were working at other local companies. While theres a process for them to transfer between employers and keep their visas, it took three to six months, sometimes longer  which frankly is a lifetime for an early-stage company, said CEO and co-founder Gautam Narang.

Thats when we decided to expand outside the U.S. to Canada, Narang said. The company set up an office in Toronto in January 2019. Now it has 20 workers there, and 15 in Palo Alto.

Canadian immigration for highly skilled workers is quite different from the U.S., Narang said. Canada is very welcoming and open to having workers (such as) computer scientists, AI specialists, roboticists. Its policies are very favorable and the process (of getting a visa) is streamlined.

If Gatik tried to hire other overseas candidates, there was a good chance that they simply would not get accepted. This year, before the presidents freeze, more than 200,000 people applied for 85,000 slots in the annual lottery. Under the Trump administration, denial rates have risen for new H-1B visas, continuing visas and company-transfer visas.

While Gatik hires Americans too, of course, the highly skilled engineers it seeks with deep expertise in machine learning are very difficult to come by, Narang said. I dont want to restrict the pool even further.

In 2017, Canada created a program called Global Skills Strategy to fast-track visas for skilled workers. Those with job offers in Canada can get visas in two weeks compared to a multi-month process in the U.S. with the possibility of losing the lottery, or being rejected on other grounds.

Canada is wise to do that, said Peter Leroe-Munoz, senior vice president of technology and innovation policy for the Silicon Valley Leadership Group. Brain power is a fundamental resource that innovation requires. Unfortunately theyre getting that brain power at our expense.

The Global Skills program resulted in more than 1,100 companies in Canada hiring more than 40,000 skilled immigrants in its first two years as well as an influx of foreign investment by U.S. companies setting up shop in Canada.

Its the first time in my career as a serial entrepreneur when Ive seen talent flow from south to north as opposed to fighting tooth and nail to keep our talent here, said Yung Wu, CEO of MaRS Discovery District, a Toronto nonprofit to help tech founders grow their companies.

Canada also takes advantage of a hole in U.S. immigration policy. America, where more than half of big tech tech companies were started by immigrants or children of immigrants, does not have a visa for startup founders. The Trump administration axed the International Entrepreneur Rule, an Obama administration program that gave up to five years in the U.S. to founders of rapidly growing startups. H-1B rules make it hard for startup companies to hire their own founders.

Canadas Start-Up Visa program eases the path for people working for startups that have VC or angel funding.

In the digital economy, you hire where the talent is, Aaron Levie, CEO and co-founder of Box, wrote in a June tweet. When you restrict immigration, the jobs still get created, just somewhere else. And later down the road, when those individuals create the next Google, it wont be here.

Air Quality Tracker Check levels down to the neighborhood Ratings for the Bay Area and California, updated every 10 minutes

Over the past two years, Peter Rekai, an immigration attorney in Canada, has heard almost weekly from U.S companies worried that their international employees wont get their visas renewed and seeking to transfer them to an office in Canada.

Tech employers in California and other places are saying, Im having so much trouble trying to get workers here, Ill open an office in Canada, he said.

Two-year-old San Jose startup Sibros, which makes connected vehicle software, didnt actually want to hire in Canada, but felt forced into it because some promising job candidates from overseas could not qualify for U.S. visas.

We would have preferred that they all be in San Jose, said CEO and co-founder Hemant Sikaria. We really want everyone to be in the same location.

It now has four people working from their homes in Vancouver and Waterloo on top of almost 40 in San Jose. We pay them a lot less, but they still have a better livelihood than if were living here, Sikaria said.

Sikaria also started off on an H-1B visa, but now is a U.S. citizen.

Getting the visa was a fairly complex process with a lot of paperwork, a lot of steps, a lot of stress, he said. Ive always wondered why the country doesnt want to have more tech immigrants with masters degrees and Ph.D.s. Im a good example of a person whos helped create more jobs (here); the majority for U.S. citizens.

If America tightens up even further on H-1Bs, we would expand more north of the U.S., he said.

Gatik, the Palo Alto startup, also sees its Canadian operations as the ultimate backup plan. Narang and his two co-founders, who are all Indian citizens, also are in the U.S. on H-1B visas and all are applying for Canadian permanent residency.

And several of Gatiks Palo Alto workers are here on H-1B visas.

Having a Canadian presence gives our team peace of mind, if things dont work out in the U.S., they will always have a really good option there, Narang said.

Carolyn Said is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: csaid@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @csaid
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Linkedin Moch. Fiqih Prawira Adjie (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sun, August 9, 2020 19:12 527 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a4066ca2e15 1 City rape,Sexual-assault,RUU-PKS,anti-sexual-violence-bill,South-Tangerang,Banten,rape-survivor,rape-case,rape-victim Free

A rape survivor from South Tangerang, Banten, has shared her experience on Instagram, expressing her frustration that the police investigation into the case has stalled.

In a post that has since gone viral, Amy Fitria wrote about how she was attacked by a man in her home on Aug. 13 last year. She also posted pictures of CCTV footage allegedly showing the perpetrator.

[] it was around 9:30 a.m. Someone seemingly had purposely woken me from my sleep, and I saw a tall silhouette leaving my room," she wrote, adding that she mistook the man for someone she knew because she had only just woken up.

When she followed him to her dressing room, she realized that she had never seen him before. She said the man beat her with what she believed was a piece of metal until she was almost unconscious and raped her.

"I saw he was holding a knife and I was pleading him not to kill me, he told me to stay quiet and proceeded to sexually assault me," she wrote.

She said the man then left the room and she sought help from her neighbors as soon as she was sure that the man had left her house, when she also noticed that her phone was missing. On the same day, she was taken to a hospital for a physical examination for a police report that she filed shortly after.

She said the perpetrator had contacted her through text messages to apologize as well as threaten her. In the Instagram post, she also showed several screenshots of texts and nude photographs that the the alleged perpetrator sent to her .

She identified the perpetrator as a man who lives near the Permata Bintaro housing complex in South Tangerang.

"I would not have [shared this post] if the police had taken action, but by law, I do not have enough evidence to put this [expletive] in jail, so all I can do is expose him," she wrote.

Uli Pangaribuan of the Legal Aid Foundation of the Indonesian Women's Association for Justice's Jakarta office said Amy had contacted the foundation for legal assistance.

Uli told The Jakarta Post on Saturday that neither she nor Amy had received any documentation from the South Tangerang Police regarding the case, making it harder for them to follow up. She said Amy had received no updates from the police since she filed the report.

However, South Tangerang Police criminal investigation head Adj. Comr. Muharam Wibisono said his unit had been investigating the case since the survivor filed the report last year and that the police had identified a suspect and were currently working to arrest them.

"The process took a long time because we had to identify the perpetrator," Muharam told the Post on Saturday.

Muharam went on to say the police would also investigate the man that Amy identified in her post to see whether he was the same person as the one the police had identified as a possible suspect. "Hopefully, we can [finish the case] soon," he continued.

In light of the case, Indonesian Legal Aid Institute (YLBHI) chair Asfinawati said sluggish police handling of sexual violence cases and a lack of victim protection was a common occurrence in cases that she had handled.

She said the sexual violence bill (RUU PKS), which was recently removed from this years priority legislation list by the House of Representatives, would, among other things, reduce the amount of bureaucracy and administrative requirements for sexual assault cases.

"It can also ensure law enforcers' obligation to be quick [in handling the case] and to always keep the survivor and their family updated, she told the Post.

Amy has since posted a message of thanks for the support she received from social media users for her initial post.

Thank you for your support and your prayers especially women who have experienced the same thing, she wrote on her Instagram story. Dont be afraid to speak up so that there will be no future victims.
Rights groups in Zimbabwe have denounced the High Court denying bail to journalist Hopewell Chin'ono, who is facing charges of stoking violence in advance of planned anti-government protests.

Security forces thwarted the July 31 protests against corruption and poverty, arresting Chinono and an opposition leader. South Africa is sending envoys to Zimbabwe to investigate reports of escalating rights abuses, which the government denies.

Supporters of Chinono fear his continued detention is a way for authorities to silence critical reporting against corruption.

Its a clear indication that Zimbabwean authorities are not prepared to have journalists who will expose government corruption and speaking truth to power," Robert Shivambu, Amnesty Internationals spokesman in Southern Africa told VOA.

"The government of Zimbabwe should stop intimidating journalists like Hopewell Chin'ono and allow them to be able to do their job to expose corruption because this is good for the country, in fact, so that law enforcement agencies can be able to follow up what journalists like Hopewell are reporting - not criminalizing for exposing that.

Zimbabwes High Court Thursday afternoon ruled against Chinonos appeal for bail.

Hes been detained for three weeks on charges of stoking violence ahead of a planned protest last week that security forces stopped before it could begin.

Chinono is an outspoken critic of corruption, which the protest was to be against  along with the governments handling of Zimbabwes imploding economy.

Speaking to reporters after Chinono was denied bail, Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights Beatrice Mtetwa said it was clear that authorities want to silence critical voices.

I think everybody knows what happens in Zimbabwe: those who say they are fighting for corruption are walking in the streets with their corrupt loot in the pocket and those saying you should be seen to be fighting corruption are getting more and more persecuted," she said.

Opposition politician Jacob Ngarivhume was arrested on the same charges as Chinono and also remains in prison.

Meanwhile, Zimbabwe authorities have released a wanted list of activists, and more than a dozen have gone into hiding.

Government spokesman Nick Mangwana rejected the idea that authorities are targeting activists or journalists.

There is a journalist who happens to be an activist, whose actions may cross the boundaries of the law. They are not immune from prosecution, if they do that," he said. "If they incite and there is a law against incitement, the fact that they are a journalist does not give them immunity from that prosecution. Thats the difference. So, every other journalist who goes doing their business there is no problem. There is even no problem being an activist itself. But within the contest of breaking the law, the law will take its course.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, the current chairperson of the Africa Union, has appointed special envoys to Zimbabwe to investigate the accusations.

Head of Human Rights Watch in Southern Africa Dewa Mavhinga says more is needed.

We are calling for the Southern African Development Community and the African Union to urgently speak out on the abuses in Zimbabwe and urge President Mnangagwa to end repression and to promote human rights respect. Human rights in Zimbabwe should be guaranteed and should be respected," Mavhinga said.

Critics accuse Zimbabwe President Emmerson Mnangagwa of ruling the country with an iron fist, much like former President Robert Mugabe.

After Mugabe was removed in a 2017 coup, Mnangagwa vowed Zimbabwe would no longer be the dictatorship of his predecessor.
Dhaka, Aug 9 : Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has said a correct decision by her mother -- Bangamata Fazilatunnesa Mujib, at a crucial period changed the country's political history.

Addressing a programme marking the celebration of the 90th birth anniversary of Fazilatunnesa Mujib, the Prime Minister said her mother had taken the right decision by turning down the proposal of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's release on parole for holding a roundtable discussion in West Pakistan while her life was at risk.

Fazilatunnesa Mujib was born on August 8, 1930, at Tungipara village in Gopalganj. She was brutally killed by the assassins of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on August 15, 1975.

"That correct and timely decision had forced the Pakistani military dictator Ayub Khan to withdraw the 'Agartala Conspiracy' case and changed the course of the political history of Bangladesh as well," Hasina said on Saturday.

"The most desirable thing regarding my mother's contributions to the political arena was that my mother had taken correct decisions at the crucial period. Many of the top leaders had failed, to approach the right decision at that time, unfortunately," she said.

Hasina, the elder daughter of Fazilatunnesa Mujib joined the programme organised by the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs, from her official residence Ganabhaban.

Speaking at the programme as the chief guest, she recalled that the Pakistani military dictators had tried to include Bangamata's name in the Agartala Conspiracy Case for which Pakistani intelligence agencies interrogated her Bangamata several times.

Mentioning that Bangamata had great efficiency in building up struggle and movement, Hasina said her moother had a huge role in waging massive movements in favour of the 6-Point-Demand and against the Agartala Conspiracy Case as she knew how to create public opinion.

On the occasion, the premier also distributed Tk 26 lakh; 2,000 tk each, among 1,300 distressed women thorough the electronic medium as per the enrolment of the beneficiaries provided by deputy commissioners of 64 districts.

"My mother set an example for others in terms of sacrifice as nothing can be bigger than sacrificing oneself going beyond personal desires and demands," Sheikh Hasina added.

In this connection, the prime minister called upon the womenfolk to nourish the ideals of Begum Fazilatunnesa Mujib in their lives to make a family, an organisation and the country as beautiful ones.

She reminisced that Bangamata even saved every single penny which she got from her father's assets and handed overall for the party to fight to free the motherland from Pakistan.

"Alongside looking after the family affairs, Bangamata helped the families of the detained and ailing leaders," the Prime Minister said.

"Bangamata even denied surviving... and told the killers 'you had assassinated my husband, I don't want to survive'... and she was killed," said Hasina.
Activists call for prisoner release at a news conference by Gov. Gavin Newsom in San Quentin, Calif. It's been unclear which California prison inmates are being chosen for release and how, prompting ire among some victims' families. (Eric Risberg / Associated Press)

Terebea Williams was 22 when she shot her boyfriend, drove 750 miles with him bleeding in the trunk of his own car and then dragged him into a Northern California motel, tied him to a chair and left him to die.

Convicted of murder, carjacking and kidnapping, Williams went on to earn a college degree during her 19 years in prison, where she also mentored younger inmates and was lauded by administrators for her exceptional conduct while incarcerated.

The contrasting portraits of Williams as stone-cold killer and rehabilitated model prisoner highlight the difficulties in a plan to release thousands of California inmates to curb the spread of COVID-19, which has killed at least 52 of those incarcerated and sickened more than 8,700 others.

This spring, the state expedited the release of 3,500 inmates because of the coronavirus, and in July it freed 2,345 others early. Thousands more are eligible for release, including at least 6,500 deemed to be at high risk because of medical conditions that make them especially vulnerable to COVID-19.

Although Gov. Gavin Newsom and corrections officials have focused on freeing nonviolent offenders, they also are letting out people who, like Williams, have committed violent crimes but have serious medical conditions.

Williams, 44, walked out of a women's prison in Chowchilla, Calif., on July 29, lopping decades off her 84-years-to-life sentence for killing Kevin John Ruska Jr., who died of infection from a gunshot wound to the gut.



Some prisoners' rights advocates say Williams exemplifies the type of inmate who should be released  one who has already served a lengthy sentence, poses a low risk of reoffending and is particularly vulnerable to the coronavirus. Some are also pushing to expand the criteria for early releases to include similar types of inmates now serving life without parole for murder.

Terebea Williams, 44, was given an emergency COVID-19 release from prison on July 29. She was serving an 84-years-to-life sentence for murder. (California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation)

But in Williams case and others, officials have drawn the ire of prosecutors, victims rights advocates and family members amid questions about which and how many inmates are being released  and whether it is being done with enough transparency to protect the public.

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"The governor of California, Terebeas public defender and the politicians of California have used COVID to allow this cold, calculated, lying, unremorseful murderer out of jail 65 years early, without giving the victim, Johnny, a voice," said Ruskas cousin, Karri Phillips.

Whether violent felons should be paroled has long been debated, but the matter has become more urgent because of the coronavirus and the troubled and chaotic way some nonviolent offenders have been set free. The process for determining who gets out and why is unclear, and some victims families say they have been blindsided by decisions.

Some inmates and their lawyers also say they have been kept in the dark about the selection process.

Brian Pomerantz, a defense attorney who represents a San Quentin inmate at high risk medically and within months of parole eligibility, petitioned a federal court on July 10 for an early release. But a month later, Pomerantz said, he still had heard nothing from the court or corrections officials on the fate of Anthony Waldrip, who has served 20 years of a 25-years-to-life sentence for being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Waldrip, now 54, did not own the gun and was moving it from a play area where an 8-year-old boy was showing it to his sister when police spotted him with the weapon, Pomerantz said, calling it a victimless crime.

To the best of my knowledge, no one has even considered him for early release, he said. If the state is not releasing the least dangerous, the soonest eligible, the most medically vulnerable, or those without victims, what criteria are being utilized?

The states release numbers are fluid and subject to parole regulations and the decisions of officials at the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Some inmates are being freed on parole through regular channels, while others must meet such criteria as being within six or 12 months of the end of their sentences, depending on the prison.

Despite recent releases, many prisons remain at or over capacity, making it difficult to stop coronavirus from spreading. More releases are needed, said medical experts, to control the crisis and alleviate the risk that ill inmates will need hospitalizations in surrounding communities where healthcare systems are already stressed.

In a statement, corrections officials said that the 6,500 inmates identified as medically high-risk for COVID-19 were only "eligible for consideration" for release and would be evaluated "based upon public safety and public health considerations."

"We take these decisions very seriously and continue to work with our law enforcement, public health, and community-based partners to address their concerns and work through this public health emergency together," it said.

Advocates for compassionate releases argue that most of those being considered are older and unlikely to commit new violent crimes. They say that only people who have shown they are rehabilitated, often after decades behind bars, are eligible  and the releases ultimately are in line with reforms that have rolled back overly harsh sentences handed out decades ago in a tough-on-crime, three-strikes era.

The safest person to be let back into our communities is a lifer, a lifer who has worked on himself, who has been to [Alcoholics Anonymous] for 20 years, who has done victim impact classes, who has unpacked childhood trauma, said Karen McDaniel, founder of Place4Grace, which provides rides home to those recently released and advocates for prison reform.

I any day would rather have a van full of lifers than a van full of guys who have just done a year, she said.

Newsom, like Gov. Jerry Brown before him, has committed to reforming the criminal justice system with an eye toward lowering incarceration rates and prioritizing rehabilitation.

But the specter of a violent offender committing another heinous crime after release is every politicians nightmare. Many recall the case of Willie Horton, a Massachusetts prisoner who committed a rape while out on an inmate furlough program, a much-publicized crime that helped doom then-Gov. Michael Dukakis presidential hopes in 1988.

We still have an issue of should we only release violent or nonviolent offenders, and that is a political issue we shouldnt be talking about when it comes to human lives, said Michael Mendoza, who was sentenced to adult prison at age 15 for participating in a gang murder.

Mendoza, now executive director of the advocacy group #cut50, served 17 years before overhauls targeting youthful offenders made him eligible for parole in 2014.

He and others say studies have shown that those who have served long sentences already, whether their crimes were violent or not, are the least likely to reoffend  at a rate less than 5%, and for some demographics as low as 1%. And when they do reoffend, it often is for nonviolent crimes, such as drug possession or theft.

Some advocates contend that the pool of vulnerable inmates prioritized for early release should be expanded to include those with mental illness. Psychiatric services have been sharply cut back in many prisons dealing with outbreaks, they say, and suicides are a continuing problem.

Michael Bien, a lawyer involved in a long-running federal lawsuit over prison medical care, says many inmates with mental health needs face a mix of physical and psychological danger that should be taken into account.

Its like people locked in a closet in the middle of a fire, Bien said. We have to get them out of there.

Condemned inmates are not eligible for COVID-19 emergency release, while those serving life sentences without possibility of parole can be freed only if the governor grants clemency. California has more than 5,000 people who are serving life sentences without the possibility of parole, including about 200 women  the largest such population in the country, according to advocates.

Others are also seeking clemency during the pandemic.

At 71, Ameenah Rasul has been in the California Institution for Women since 1979, when she was convicted of first-degree murder and second-degree murder in two separate cases that occurred five years apart, both involving men who were shot in the head, according to media reports. Rasul's advocates said her crimes stemmed from being in an abusive relationship.

Rasul said she dreamed about simple things like scrambling her own eggs or crossing the street. She is seeking clemency for medical reasons, including requiring a walker for mobility.

I have tried my best to better myself during the past 41 years by obtaining three associates degrees, completing countless self-help groups and have obtained great insight into my life as well as my crime, she said in an email.

The opportunity to regain my freedom would mean that I would not be doomed to die in prison, but instead spend the last years of my life breathing the sweet air of freedom, she added. I would have a chance to regain my dignity.

While Rasul awaits word on her clemency bid, prosecutors in Yolo County denounced the states decision to release Williams and another inmate convicted of unrelated violent crimes, with little advance notice and almost no explanation.

At her trial in 2001, Williams told jurors that her boyfriend had threatened and stalked her, and that she killed him in self-defense.

A psychotherapist testifying on her behalf said she suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder from multiple past rapes and abuse beginning when she was 11, but the court ruled the evidence of past trauma was not relevant and did not allow the jury to hear it, according to court records.

The jury took little time to find her guilty.

"Everyone assumed she would never see freedom again," Yolo County Assistant Chief Deputy Dist. Atty. Melinda Aiello told The Times a week after Williams walked out of prison.

"While Corrections told us they were releasing her just a few days before, there is no transparency, and we have no other explanation for her release," Aiello said. "There is no reason for failing to listen to the family of a victim who suffered truly horrifically."

Corrections officials said Williams was released for medical reasons but would not provide details about her condition. Yolo County Public Defender Tracie Olson confirmed Williams had a serious medical condition and said her office had been working since 2018 to have Williams set free.

Olson said Williams was the exact type of person that should be released early" and that she believed Williams would have been freed under reforms for youthful offenders or a commutation presented to Newsom if the medical release had not happened.

She did all the work you would want anyone to do, said Olson.

In late July, the state also freed Santiago Cruz, 65, who was serving a 125-year sentence on his conviction for criminal threats in 1997 under California's three-strikes law.

Santiago Cruz, 65, was released in late July. He had been serving a 125-year-to-life sentence on his conviction for criminal threats under California's three-strikes law. (California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation)

Cruz repeatedly harassed his ex-wife, stalked her boyfriend and tossed a Molotov cocktail at their home as they slept, Aiello said. He also phoned the 18-year-old daughter of the new boyfriend and "threatened to rape her while her father watched, kill her and then kill her father," Aiello said.

Olson said Cruz was disabled and would have been eligible for parole in 2021.

Aiello said Yolo prosecutors had to scramble to find Cruz's victims and warn them about his release. As in Williams' case, Aiello said, the state provided no explanation.

Cruz's ex-wife says she feels she "is now the one in prison," according to a statement provided to the Yolo County District Attorney.

"A dangerous person is being released into society again," Aiello said, "and it's not fair to her."
12,000 crew members still on cruise ships in US waters months after COVID-19 pandemic shut cruising down
A cluster of novel coronavirus cases has emerged at the Georgia high school that drew national attention last week after students posted pictures and videos of their peers walking without mask in tightly packed hallways, according to a letter sent to parents over the weekend.

Six students and three staff members at North Paulding High School have reported testing positive for the virus, Principal Gabe Carmona wrote in the letter, which was first reported by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He said the infected people were in school "for at least some time" last week.

Superintendent Brian Otott later announced that the school will close Monday and Tuesday, and revert to virtual learning while the building is cleaned. The district will announce Tuesday evening whether in-person instruction will resume the next day, Otott wrote to parents Sunday in a second letter, shared by a WSB-TV reporter.

Otott added that anyone who has tested positive, as well as close contacts of people who have the virus, must quarantine for 14 days before returning to school.

The infections validate concerns in Georgia and nationwide that crowded conditions in the nation's K-12 schools could facilitate virus transmission as the new academic year begins. Young people develop severe infections at far lower rates than adults, but experts warn that they could be vectors for infecting more-vulnerable populations, such as older relatives in the same household.

Carmona said custodial workers were cleaning and disinfecting the school building daily - a practice that offers only marginal protections against the virus, which primarily spreads through person-to-person contact, not from contaminated surfaces.

"The health and well-being of our staff and students remains our highest priority," Carmona said, "and we are continuing to adjust and improve our protocols for in-person instruction to make our school the safest possible learning environment."

A representative for the Paulding County School District did not immediately respond to a request for comment Sunday.

The school of more than 2,000 in Dallas, Ga., was thrown into the national spotlight last week when students posted images on social media showing seas of students milling through the halls between classes.

The school district suspended two students who shared the images, prompting another wave of negative attention from critics who said administrators were silencing them. Administrators reversed the suspensions on Friday following the backlash.

Lynne Watters, the mother of one of the students, said her daughter would be able to return to school Monday with her disciplinary record unblemished. "The principal just said that they were very sorry for any negative attention that this has brought upon her," Watters said in a text message, "and that in the future they would like for her to come to the administration with any safety concerns she has."

Officials have continually sought to downplay concerns generated by images of the crowded corridors.

On Wednesday, Otott, the superintendent, told parents in a letter that while the photo "does not look good," the conditions were permissible under the Georgia Department of Education's health recommendations.

The superintendent also misleadingly cited a state health department document listing the different ways people can become infected with the coronavirus. He claimed that exposure occurs after "Being within 6 feet of a sick person with COVID-19 for about 15 minutes" but omitted other factors such as being coughed on that can cause the virus to spread faster and more directly.

- - -

The Washington Post's Marisa Iati and Lateshia Beachum contributed to this report.
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French President Emmanuel Macron speaks during a donor teleconference with other world leaders concerning the situation in Lebanon following the Beirut blast, in Fort de Bregancon in Bormes-les-Mimosas, France, on Aug. 9, 2020. (Christophe Simon/Pool via Reuters)

Donors Pledge Nearly $300 Million in Emergency Aid for Lebanon After Blast

FORT BREGANCON, FranceAn emergency donor conference on Sunday for blast-stricken Lebanon raised pledges worth nearly 253 million euros ($298 million) for immediate humanitarian relief, the French presidency said.

Those commitments would not be conditional on political or institutional reform, President Emmanuel Macrons office said. There were also pledges made for longer-term support that would depend on changes brought in by the authorities, the Elysee Palace said.

World powers promised not to fail the Lebanese people as the capital, Beirut, recovers from the massive explosion that killed 158 people and destroyed swathes of the city last Tuesday. Lebanon was already mired in political and financial crisis before the blast.

The scene of an explosion in Beirut on Aug. 4, 2020. (Anwar Amro/AFP via Getty Images)

Foreign countries demanded transparency over how the aid is used, wary of writing blank cheques to a government viewed by its own people as deeply corrupt. Some are concerned about the influence of Iran through the Shiite group Hezbollah.

The assistance should be timely, sufficient and consistent with the needs of the Lebanese people  and directly delivered to the Lebanese population, with utmost efficiency and transparency, the final communique stated.

Macron, who visited Beirut on Thursday, hosted the conference by video-link and in his opening remarks urged participating nations to put aside their differences and support the Lebanese people.

The international response should be coordinated by the United Nations in Lebanon, he added.

The offer of assistance included support for an impartial, credible and independent inquiry into the blast. Public anger over the explosion has prompted some Lebanese to call for a revolt to topple their political leaders.

Our role is to be by their side, Macron said from his summer retreat on the French Riviera.

A Lebanese army helicopter throw water at the scene where an explosion hit the seaport of Beirut, Lebanon on Aug. 5, 2020. (Hussein Malla/AP Photo)

Reforms

President Donald Trump told the conference the United States was ready to continue providing aid to help the Lebanese, the White House said.

The President called for calm in Lebanon and acknowledged the legitimate calls of peaceful protesters for transparency, reform and accountability, a White House statement said.

The explosion gutted entire neighborhoods, leaving 250,000 people homeless, razing businesses and destroying critical grain supplies.

Rebuilding Beirut will likely run into the billions of dollars. Economists forecast the blast could wipe up to 25 percent off of the countrys GDP.

Up to Sundays conference there had been an array of offers of immediate humanitarian support such as rescue teams and medical supplies.

In a sign of the mistrust between Beirut and donors before the blast, debt default talks between the Lebanese government and International Monetary Fund had stalled in the absence of reforms.

The communique said Lebanons partners were ready to support the countrys longer-term economic recovery if leaders committed fully to the changes expected by the Lebanese.

Many Lebanese say the blast, blamed on a huge store of ammonium nitrate, highlighted the negligence of a corrupt political elite. Protesters stormed government ministries in Beirut on Saturday and demonstrations erupted again on Sunday.

Anti-government protesters clash with riot police officers during a protest against the political elites and the government after this weeks deadly explosion at Beirut port, on Aug. 8, 2020. (Hassan Ammar/AP Photo)

By Yiming Woo
Senior Congress leader from Kerala Shashi Tharoor has said that the party needs to find a new full-term president to counter the perception that it is rudderless.

He also said that it is unfair to be expecting Sonia Gandhi to carry interim chiefs burden indefinitely.

Congress needs to expedite process of finding full-term president to arrest perception of being rudderless and adrift, Tharoor said on Sunday.

His comments come just ahead of Sonia Gandhi completing one year as interim chief on August 10.

I certainly believe we should be clear about our leadership going forward. I welcomed Sonia jis appointment as interim president last year, but I do believe its unfair to her to expect her to carry this burden indefinitely, Tharoor told news agency PTI.

Tharoor also said that he certainly thinks Rahul Gandhi has the mettle, capability and aptitude to once again lead the party, but if he does not wish to do so then the party must take action to elect a new chief.

A section of the Congress has started demanding that Rahul Gandhi should return to the post he gave up in May 2019, owning responsibility for the partys rout in the general elections.

The demands came in three meetings - the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting on June 23; at Sonia Gandhis deliberations with the partys Lok Sabha members on July 11; and during her interaction with the partys Rajya Sabha MPs on July 30.

One Congress leader said on condition of anonymity that he sees it as the responsibility of Rahul Gandhi to assuage the concerns of both veterans and members of the young brigade because there is visible unease between the two groups over the leadership issue and their future in the party.

His reference is to the long-simmering conflict between the partys old guard and its younger members - which came to fore most recently during Sonia Gandhis meeting with Rajya Sabha MPs.

While Sonia Gandhi is not keen to continue in the post, Rahul Gandhi has not shown any inclination to take up the responsibility.

Tharoor said that Rahul Gandhi has done a remarkable job in holding the present government accountable for its actions and failures.

Through his activities during this lockdown, whether it has been on the issue of the COVID-19 virus or Chinese transgressions, Rahul Gandhi has without a question and almost single-handedly done a remarkable job in holding the present government accountable for its actions and failures, the Lok Sabha MP from Thiruvananthapuram said.

Experts have said the clamour for Gandhis ascendancy to Congress president once again highlights the fact that the party does not want to take the tougher route of holding elections and finding a new leader from outside the Nehru-Gandhi family.
ALTON  City authorities have filed suit in circuit court asking for permission to demolish a home at 645 E. Fifth St., which, officials said is a danger to public health and safety.

Named in the suit are Gary Legore and Alice Legore, of Hazelwood, Missouri. The suit claims they are the owners of record, but the house is vacant, and the owners have not responded to official notices.
The tragedy is that Clinton, a candidate whose authenticity was always being questioned, was at her authentic best when she was talking about how faith influenced her life and moved her toward more progressive political views, particularly on civil rights. The one time she truly let loose her inner preacher was during the South Carolina primary, when she was inspired by her many visits to Black churches
Boris Johnson

The country has a moral duty to reopen schools next month, Boris Johnson said, as it emerged that there is "little evidence" of virus transmission in them.

Ensuring that all children return to school next month is now the "country's top priority", the prime minister said, because of the greater risk to them from the shutdown than coronavirus.

He stressed the urgency of getting all children in England back into class next month and after telling officials that schools will be the last to close if a nationwide lockdown is reimposed.

The coronavirus pandemic resulted in schools closing on March 20, ahead of many businesses. They will have been closed for more than five months by the start of the new academic year next month.

Mr Johnson is planning to visit a school on Monday to see first-hand how schools are preparing for all children to return and the "Covid-secure" measures they have in place.

The remarks came after unions suggested they could tell heads to keep schools shut if they did not consider them to be safe for teachers and students from the threat of coronavirus.

Last week Anne Longfield, the Children's Commissioner, told ministers that pubs and shops should be shut to reopen schools if a trade-off needs to be made because of a rise in coronavirus infections.

In meetings last week, according to Downing Street, the Prime Minister "stressed that the harm done to childrens education prospects by not attending school as well as to their mental health is far more damaging than the low risk posed" by the virus.

He told officials that there can be no excuses for children not returning to school this September and tasked ministers and government departments to continue working around the clock to ensure all children are able to smoothly return next month.

Ministers said the focus on getting children back to school suggests that No 10 is prioritising it ahead of getting office workers back to work.

Story continues

A Downing St spokesman said: "The Prime Minister confirmed that childrens education must be the countrys top priority over the coming months and that in the event of a local lockdown, his expectation would be that schools would be the absolute last sector to be asked to close - and unprecedented steps would be taken to avoid this happening anywhere in the country.

"In the event of a more severe local lockdown where strong measures are needed in an entire town or city, the PM has been clear that businesses including shops, pubs and restaurants should be forced to close first, with schools remaining open for as long as possible."

The Government fears the recovery will stall unless people start going back to their workplaces in greater numbers but the comments will fuel the idea the focus now is on getting schools back before office workers.

A No 10 source said: Teachers and schools across the country have made heroic efforts throughout this pandemic to keep schools open for those who have needed to attend and to provide excellent teaching online for those who have stayed at home, but nothing compares to the education children receive when they are physically at school.

The Prime Minister has repeatedly stressed the importance of all children returning to school next month and recognises how hard schools across the country are preparing throughout the summer so that schools are safe to return to and all children can get the education they need.
The Kohl's at 84th and O streets suffered a similar decline, seeing its sales fall 35% during the same time frame, from $5.93 million in 2019 to $3.84 million this year.

Both stores reported higher sales in January and February this year, which means percentage losses during the March-June period are even higher.

Gateway Mall, one of more than two dozen U.S. malls owned by Starwood Capital Partners, did not include financial information in its request. But an attorney representing the mall told the County Board that its net income fell by $1 million, or 25%, in the first half of the year compared with a year earlier.

Gateway, which reopened in early May after closing for more than a month, has also been hit hard by store closings. Lane Bryant and Justice are both in the process of closing their doors. Just a few months before the pandemic hit, the mall also lost Forever 21.

Another industry that's been hit hard is the hotel business.

Embassy Suites at 10th and P streets set an expectation in its 2020 budget that it would fill 77% of its rooms at an average rate of $144. Through the first six months of the year, it's filled 36% of its rooms at an average rate of $130.
Care and Feeding is Slates parenting advice column. Have a question for Care and Feeding? Submit it here or post it in the Slate Parenting Facebook group.

Click here to read Open Book, a Slate series about the new school year.

Dear Care and Feeding,

I know youve covered setting boundaries with family/friends in reference to the virus before, but I need some additional assistance. Im overdue to have my first baby any minute now, and am having a hard time coping with all the requests to meet him. Everyone seems to think they are doing an excellent job quarantining, but Ive noticed some unintentional dishonesty from loved ones. For example, a friend said, You should come by. We work from home and get groceries delivered so we havent seen anyone in two months. But when I did come by, I heard this: Oh yeah, my sister made this amazing chili when we went over last weekend! Situations like these (I havent actually gone near other people since this experience, but this sort of discrepancy comes up in conversation with others if I listen long enough) have rattled me. Now I am simultaneously mournful about the possibility of my baby not seeing anyone but his parents, uncle, and grandma until some mythical future time, and paralyzed by the thought that I cant trust my people (and desperate to know how to express this without being cruel).

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Complicating matters is that my two closest friends are eager to meet him and it feels wrong to hurt them via exclusion. One has a husband who works in NYC, so I feel strongly that this represents too big a riskbut Im having a hard time dealing with the pain I know this is causing her, especially because she feels just as strongly that there isnt a big risk (though shes being graciously respectful of my wishes, and not pushing). My other closest friend is in the medical field! I know that allowing her to hold my baby is not the safest thing to do, but its unthinkable to imagine her NOT. She is more aware of the risks and more careful than anyone I know (but still, she works in a hospitalthough she hasnt seen COVID-19 patients in months, as she specializes in surgery). I am uncomfortable having a different standard for different people, but it seems ridiculous to not let her be with my baby! Sigh. This is so hard. My partner, by the way, is on board with whatever I decide.

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Blinded by Love?

Dear BbL,

Yes, weve been over this territory (a lot), but theres no end to the permutations of our worries and decision-making about exposure to the virus. And there is apparently no end to the variations in our beliefs about whats safe and what isnt for usnot just variation from one person to another, but within ourselves. We are all making such calculations, all the time.

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Youre blinded by love for sure, but what seems to be making you (extra) anxious is that youre realizing that either you love some of your people more than others (and thus twist yourself into contortions about how safe that extra-loved person must be)and you feel guilty about itor that logic has very little to do with decision-making as this pandemic stretches on and you try to figure out how to limit exposure, particularly for your babys sake. (Probably both are true.)

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Ive said it before, but its worth saying again: We are all just doing the best we can (you know, except for the contemptible assholes who refuse to wear masks or keep their distance in public places). Unless one is prepared to be completely isolated for the foreseeable future, exceptions are made. We twist ourselves into contortions to make them. Everyone makes different ones.

I have a friend who wont consider going to a restaurant even with outdoor seating (just like me), but she felt comfortable getting a haircut (unlike me). I have a friend who sends her 3-year-old to occasional day care in a household in which the parent not running the day care is a nurse, and many of the children being cared for are the children of other health care workersbut shes not comfortable with social-distanced outdoor gatherings  unless they take place on her own block. Me, I dont go anywhere anymore, with cases going up where I live (and I will be doing all my teaching and advising virtually come fall, although my university is offering face-to-face classes), but I am still comfortable having people I love over to my backyard for a drink, or stopping to chat with neighbors when Im out walking my dog. I dont allow anyone in my houseexcept for that one time I did, and that other time I did, because I needed help I couldnt get otherwise. None of this really makes sense.

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But it explains your friends who dont go anywhere except when they do. And your reluctance to let your (I guess) second-best friend meet your baby because her husband works in NYC (where cases have dropped)  and your sense that it would be ridiculous not to let your very best friend, who works in medicine, do so.

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My feeling about all of this is that you do get to have different standards for different people. You get to choose, whether your choices are logical or not (and bear in mind that the fewer contacts overall, the safer, so you are lowering yourand your infantsrisk by keeping contact down to as few people as you can). Decide who you feel OK about based on whatever metric feels right to you. And when it comes to telling the people you love that they cant visit, use this age-old trickblaming yourself: I know I may be being irrational/I know I am probably being overprotective, and I feel terrible about this, but its what I have to right now. Im so sorry. Dont tell people you love that you dont trust them. Dont call them out on their own illogic. Just Say No.

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Tell them all that as soon as youre sure its safe, youll be thrilled to have them meet the baby in person (and until then, rely on video calls). Oh, and for those people you decide are the exceptions, like your friend who works in a hospital? Make a no-social-media-posts (no photos on Instagram, no Im so happy I got to meet my dear friends baby! tweet) rule. Its the least they can do in gratitude for your letting yourself be blinded by love.

 If you missed Fridays Care and Feeding column, read it here.

 Discuss this column in the Slate Parenting Facebook group!

Dear Care and Feeding,

My 17-year-old son is set to start his senior year of high school next month. His school is offering in-person and online options. Some of the advanced math and AP classes he wants to take are not being offered via the online option, so hes opting to attend in-person classes. My husband is very concerned about this. He fears our son will contract COVID and bring it home to us. Neither of us is in a high-risk category; were just average middle-aged people, but of course its true, you never know how we might be impacted if one of us got sick. My husband supports our son attending in-person classes, but doesnt want him in the house once school starts. He would like to rent an apartment for him, ideally one he could share with a few school friends. I get where hes coming from, but I think this is a bit extreme, and frankly unrealistic (and I cant imagine we could find any other parents who would be willing to let their kids participate in this type of living arrangement). Besides, I dont want our son moving out of the house, even temporarily. Hell be going off to college somewhere a year from now, and I have no desire to empty the nest any earlier than necessary.

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We have the option to sort of sequester him in our basement. There is a guest room down there with a full bathroom, kitchenette, and TV room. He could live down there for as long as in-person classes take place, wearing a mask when in the main part of the house and having meals with us outside when the weather allows. My son and I both feel this is a reasonable compromise, but my husband wont let go of the apartment idea. Please tell him this is not the brilliant solution he thinks it is.

Husband Wont Let Go of Nutty Idea

Dear HWLGoNI,

You know that thing I said in response to Blinded by Love? About how we all use our own metrics, make our not entirely logical decisions, and are just doing our best to cope? All of that is true. But there has got to be a limit when it comes to how we treat our own kids. While I sympathize with your husbands anxiety (I sympathize with all anxiety, about all things, always), this really is a nutty idea. And setting your teenager up in an apartment with other teenagers (as you say, assuming any other parents were on board, which I too doubt)? They are the least likely people in the world to carefully observe social distancing because they cant help it. They dont have a lot of impulse control at that agetheir brains arent fully developed yetand the possibility that theyll let their guard down is very, very high. This all puts your son at greater risk than his going to school does. If you hadnt already thought of an excellent solution to this problemif there were no solution to the problemI would be less emphatic than I am about to be: You absolutely should overrule your husband.

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But rather than just putting your foot down, Im hoping you can get him to talk this all through with you (and if not with you, than with someone else). We are all traumatized by whats happening, I thinkbut some of us are managing the trauma more easily than others. Im concerned about your husbands rejecting your reasonable proposal: It suggests that his anxiety may be a bigger problem than he recognizes. Making (what he is convinced are) his needs the most importantthe only importantconsideration seems to me a worrisome sign. My guess is that he could use some help dealing with this. So make it clear that his idea is unworkable, yesbut make sure you show him some compassion too.

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Dear Care and Feeding,

My 17-year-old is in the process of choosing a major and college. She is a gifted student, and since childhood she has wanted to be a pediatrician. There are multiple direct-degree programs in our state. Recently she told me she has decided to pursue physical therapy instead, after hearing about the long and arduous path of a career in medicine. She is very adamant about it.

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I believe that part of her still wants to be a physician, that she is scared to apply to a direct-degree program in medicine because of a fear of failure, and I believe that she should pursue her original plan. If she pursues physical therapy instead of medicine, I believe she will come to regret her decision. How do I convince her that a direct B.A./M.D. program is worth looking into?

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Of course, Im also worried that if she takes my advice and fails, she will blame me. But while I love her and will support whatever choice she makes, it seems to me that since her father and I are paying fully for her education, we should have a say in what she studies. I dont want to give her an ultimatum but I dont know what else to do.

Concerned Parent

Dear CP,

I have no way of knowing, of course, whether youre right and deep down your daughter still wants to be a doctor but fears she cant cut it (I have no way of knowing why you believe this, either). But I can tell you this much, as a college professor who has spent an inordinate amount of time over the past 30+ years talking to distraught students whose parents have insisted they major in what their parents believe is the right major for them and prepare for careers their parents have chosen for themand declare that because theyre paying, they have the right to have a say in this: It is a very, very bad idea to insist that she pursue medicine. Shes young, yes, but her college education is hers, not yours. As is her life and the path through it she ultimately chooses to pursue.

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Colleges and universities that ask students to choose a major before theyve even started their education (and my own is one) do so because its easier for the institution on an administrative, bureaucratic levelnot because its pedagogically (or psychologically!) sound. (Im not unsympathetic to the administrative burden of the 6,000 entering freshmen my university has to contend with each year, but I dont kid myself that dividing them into manageable categories in this way is for the kids sake.) If she has to declare a major before shes taken a single course, she can pick something, obviouslybut she (and you) need to be prepared for that to change. More than once, even. Theres a reason that many excellent colleges wont let students declare a major until after their sophomore year.

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In any case, a B.A./M.D. program is one that is only for students who are utterly certain about their career goal. And I have news for you: Most kids your daughters age (yes, even those who have talked about a particular dream job since childhood) are not that certain. And while she may change her mind and decide she is interested in medicine after all once shes been through a year or two of college, its not your job to make that decision for her now. I understand that you are prepared in advance to be frustrated by this if it happens, but you cannot protect yourself against future frustration by taking control of decisions that arent yours to make. Im willing to go out on a limb here and venture that shes talking about physical therapy at least in part as a way to placate you (and perhaps she doesnt even realize this; perhaps shes internalized the message youve been giving her that she has to decide now about the rest of her life). Let her go to school and figure out what shes interested in, what shes good at, what she wants to devote most of her time and attention to. Stay out of it.

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And I would take this one step further. I would tell her that you dont want her to rush into any decisions about her future, and that you plan to stay out of her decision-making process altogether; that youre there for her if she wants a sounding board, but that youd like her to get a good education and figure things out from there. That would be really good parenting of a college-bound young person.

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Dear Care and Feeding,

I work for a large international company, in a job that takes me all over the world. I dont live in any one place for longer than two years; I am set up in very comfortable living situations wherever I am. My partners job allows him to work anywhere as long as he has his laptop. Thus we dont plan on settling down in one particular place until we retire.

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Were in Japan right now. As soon as its safe to travel, I will be sent elsewhere (although probably not back in the USA for several years). Being stuck inside these last months, weve started thinking about the future. Im 30, and my mother and aunts all experienced fertility issues and early menopause, so if were going to have kidswhich we both wantwe should probably start trying soon. But we dont know if it would be fair to raise them the way we live. On the one hand, theyd get to learn multiple languages and ways of life; on the other hand, theyd have to always be the new kid and might have a hard time keeping in touch with friends. What do you think: Is constantly moving around the world any way to raise kids?

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International Family?

Dear IF,

There are a lot of ways to raise kids. This is one of them.

And honestly, no matter how you raise your children, theres always an upside and downside. Or many upsides, many downsides. (Just like pretty much everything we do in our lives.) Your children wont know any other way to live than the one they were born into, which will have many advantages they wont even recognize as having been advantages until they are grown up, looking back. (The disadvantages will be facts of their lives like any other.) Love them and be open-hearted, open-minded, generous, respectful, and engaged with them. Teach them kindness and respect for others and good judgment and everything else theyll need to thrive wherever they are in the world. Encourage their curiosity. Thats whats really fair.

Michelle

More Advice From Slate

My boyfriend and I are trying to have kids. The topic of changing poopy diapers came up, and he was adamant that he would not do it. He said that since he mows our lawn, I can change everything that isnt pee. He was laughing, but I dont believe hes joking at all. Can you settle this for us?
A line of thunderstorms is moving across portions of Missouri and Illinois this morning.

Flash Flood Watches are in effect as some spots could see as much as 2 to 4 inches of rain with due to thunderstorms.

Another round of storms is expected to follow a cold front across Minnesota, South Dakota and Nebraska as it moves through the region this afternoon and evening.

Storms are expected to continue through the overnight hours as they spread into parts of Wisconsin by sunrise on Monday.

PHOTO: Another round of storms is expected to follow a cold front across Minnesota, South Dakota and Nebraska as it moves through the region this afternoon and evening. (ABC News)

Some storms could be strong to severe, with large hail and damaging winds in excess of 60 mph being the main threats. The tornado threat remains low at this time.

A heat advisory is in place across portions of southeastern Nebraska, southwestern Iowa, eastern Oklahoma and northwest Arkansas as heat index values are forecast to be in the 100s across much of the Southern Plains to the Mississippi Valley.

PHOTO: A heat advisory is in place across portions of southeastern Nebraska, southwestern Iowa, eastern Oklahoma and northwest Arkansas as heat index values are forecast to be in the 100s across much of the Southern Plains to the Mississippi Valley. (ABC News)

After a brief trend of below average temperatures in the mid-Atlantic and the Northeast, temperatures are forecast to return to the 90s plus for major metros like Boston, New York, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C.

Elsewhere, a tropical wave is located a few hundred miles south-southwest of the Cabo Verde Islands and has a 20% chance of development in the next 48 hours.

Slow development is possible over the next few days while the cluster of showers and thunderstorms moves westward across the tropical eastern Atlantic.

An extremely active Atlantic hurricane season is expected this year as a number of factors were taken into consideration.

PHOTO: An extremely active Atlantic hurricane season is expected this year as a number of factors were taken into consideration. (ABC News)

First, there is a very active west African monsoon meaning that the waves, or disturbances, that move west off the coast of Africa expected to be more capable of becoming better organized as they move into the Atlantic Ocean.

Second, tropical cyclones thrive in environments where the wind is calmer and does not change as much with height. This is called vertical wind shear.

In the month of July, the average wind shear in the Atlantic was observed as the second lowest on record since 2005 meaning potentially a more favorable environment for tropical systems to thrive if the trend continues.

Story continues

Very warm water temperatures help sustain tropical cyclones and the warmer the water, the more fuel it has to thrive on.

The odds of an El Nino to develop -- cooler Atlantic water temperatures -- this summer into the fall are extremely low.

Summertime storms roll through upper Midwest, August heat is on across Plains originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
Sanjay Dutt has been admitted to Mumbai's Lilavati hospital after he complained of breathlessness. The actor has been hospitalised for regular check-up though, his sister Priya Dutt said on Saturday. Sanjay Dutt also tested COVID-19 negative but has been kept under observation in a non-COVID ward at the hospital.

The 61-year old actor was taken to Lilavati Hospital on Saturday evening, where he was also tested for COVID-19. If there is an improvement in his condition then Sanjay Dutt will be discharged from the hospital on Monday.

He is currently living in Mumbai alone, while his wife Manyata Dutt and two children are stuck abroad because of the COVID-19 lockdown.

Also Read: COVID-19 hotel fire: 7 people killed in fire at coronavirus facility in Andhra Pradesh's Vijayawada

"He was admitted to Lilavati Hospital around 4.30-5 pm for regular check-up as he was feeling a little breathless. They did a COVID-19 test and the result was negative," Priya told PTI. She added that Sanjay might be discharged on Monday.

"We have kept him in the hospital so that he gets all of his tests done. He has gone for a full check-up. I think he will come home on Monday," Priya said. A hospital official said the actor is "absolutely fine."

"His antigen test for COVID-19 is negative. He is absolutely fine and being treated for mild breathlessness," the official said.

Sanjay is the eldest child of late actors Sunil Dutt and Nargis. He has two sisters -- Priya Dutt and Namrata Dutt.

Also Read: Actor Abhishek Bachchan tests COVID-19 negative, gets discharged from hospital

He is married to Manyata Dutt with whom he has two children, a son and a daughter. He also has daughter Trishala Dutt from his first marriage to Richa Sharma. She died of brain tumour in 1996.

On the work front, Sanjay is currently awaiting the release of "Sadak 2" and Ajay Devgn-starrer "Bhuj: The Pride of India", which will premiere on Disney+Hotstar.

He will also star in the second instalment of "KGF" and alongside Ranbir Kapoor in "Shamshera."

In 2019, the actor was featured in three movies -- Ashutosh Gowarikar's period drama "Panipat," Karan Johar-produced "Kalank" and political drama "Prassthanam."
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All issues such as excessive rubber deposits, water stagnation and cracks that were red-flagged by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) were "addressed and rectified" by the Kozhikode airport operator, said Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on August 8.

The statement came after news reports said that aviation regulator DGCA had issued a show-cause notice to the director of the Kozhikode airport on July 11 last year after it found "various critical safety lapses" in different places, including the runway and the apron.

"It is indeed a fact that several issues were routinely red-flagged by DGCA, and were addressed by the (Kozhikode) airport operator. These pertain to excessive rubber deposits, water stagnation, cracks and other routine issues," Puri tweeted a day after a plane crash in Kozhikode that claimed 18 lives.

The point is that raising such concerns is the normal work of the DGCA, he noted.

"The DGCA also strictly ensures that these are complied with and rectified under all circumstances. This was done by the airport operator," the minister added.

Puri said an inquiry has been ordered into the plane crash and its findings will be made public.

"I will encourage all to exercise patience and refrain from making speculative observations bordering on the irresponsible. Again to emphasize, all the issues were addressed and rectified," the minister said.

The Air India Express flight from Dubai with 190 people on board overshot the runway at the airport in Kerala at 7.40 pm on Friday in rainy conditions and went down 35 feet into a slope before breaking up into two, killing at least 18 people.

The minister said some of his "colleagues in the political system" have raised queries regarding the accident without ascertaining facts.

For example, he put out a screenshot of a tweet by Thiruvananthapuram MP Shahi Tharoor, who alleged that warnings had been given about dangers of landing in heavy rain at Kozhikode airport and the Airports Authority of India knew an accident was waiting to happen.

"I would advise all those who are looking for a few columns of media space that we should wait for the outcome of the statutory inquiry and then visit the issue with facts. Instant civil aviation safety expertise by self-styled experts should better be avoided," Puri stressed.

The minister also posted a screenshot of a tweet by Ludhiana MP of Congress, Ravneet Singh Bittu, who alleged that "despite several red flags and 2015 ban on wide-body aircraft's landing at Kozhikode airport, Hardeep Singh Puri removed the ban in July 2019 leading to such a fatal crash and loss of lives".

Puri tweeted that the aircraft involved in the accident on Friday evening was a B-737-800, which is not a wide-body aircraft. B-737-800 is a narrow-body aircraft.

Also read: Aviation Minister HS Puri expresses anguish over Kozhikode accident

"AAI strengthened the runway and thereafter necessary permissions were issued in 2018 to operate wide-body aircraft. Consequently, certain carriers started operating some flights with wide-body aircraft to Kozhikode Airport," he said.

Puri reached Kozhikode Saturday afternoon. He went to the accident site, before visiting Kozhikode Medical College, where senior doctors briefed him and Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan about the condition of the injured people admitted for treatment.

"Senior doctors briefed us on the status of various people admitted for treatment. 149 people have been admitted to various hospitals. 23 have been discharged while 3 are critically injured (sic)," he said in a tweet.

Saturday evening, the aviation minister said, he discussed with senior officials like Aviation Secretary PS Kharola, AAI Chairman Arvind Singh and DGCA chief Arun Kumar to "the situation arising due to the accident in Kozhikode".

"Digital Flight Data Recorder (DFDR) and Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) of the ill-fated aircraft have been retrieved. AAIB is conducting investigations," Puri said in another tweet.

A DGCA official said the two devices -- DFDR and CVR -- were with the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau and would be sent to Delhi for further investigation.

"My heart goes out to the families & friends of the 18 people who lost their lives in the air accident involving @FlyWithIX Flight IX-1344 in Kozhikode last evening & offer my heartfelt condolences (sic)," Puri tweeted earlier in the day.
Chelsea Houska is expanding her family  the Teen Mom star announced baby no. 4 on Instagram on August 5, as she and husband Cole DeBoer were in the midst of updating fans on their new home construction. On August 7, Houska and her family revealed that her fourth will be a little girl  but when is the reality star due?

Chelsea Houska and Cole DeBoer in 2016 | Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC/Getty Images

Chelsea Houska has two kids with Cole DeBoer

When Houska first graced our television screens on 16 and Pregnant, she was a teenager who was dealing with the fallout of having a boyfriend who didnt support her. Houska and her ex, Adam Lind, had what some might call a toxic relationship, with Lind often not offering support to Houska during her pregnancy and beyond. Houska shares her oldest child, Aubree, with Lind, though DeBoer has become a father figure in Aubrees life.

Deboer and Houska met at a gas station in South Dakota back in 2014, and they moved in together in 2015. That same year, DeBoer proposed, and they wed in 2016. The two welcomed their first child together, son Watson, in January 2017, and their second child, daughter Layne, in 2018.

RELATED: The Sweet Way Cole DeBoer Helps Teen Mom 2s Chelsea Houska Deal With Her Anxiety

Baby no. 4 is due sometime in January

Houska surprised fans in August when she announced the two were adding to the DeBoer family. In the midst of building a new home, Houska posted a photo of her familys names written out on part of the wooden frame of the home. One More DeBoer! Coming early 2021, Houska wrote.

Though Houska didnt give a specific due date, she did hint that the baby would be born early next year. And based on the couples gender reveal photos, which Houska said were taken a few weeks ago, the baby is likely due just after the new year in early January. Gender reveals typically happen between 18 and 21 weeks, and if the photos were taken two weeks prior, that would put Houskas due date sometime in the first week of January.

DeBoer has taken Aubree in like his own daughter

DeBoer and Houska might only have two kids together, but Houskas oldest child, Aubree, has become another daughter to DeBoer. He connected with Aubree instantly, and he even hoped Houskas ex would relinquish custody of Aubree so he could adopt her.

DeBoer attended Aubrees father-daughter dance with her back in 2016, solidifying that he wanted to be a father figure in her life. Now, Deboer even cries when he and Houska drop Aubree off at her first day of school each year.

Fans are thrilled at the news of the couples pregnancy

Houska and DeBoer have been fan favorites for a while now among Teen Mom viewers, and many were thrilled to learn the couple is welcoming another child. Houskas post was filled with congratulations. We need a baby bump pic soon!!! one user wrote. Houska posted a bump pic on August 6.

Though many were excited for Houska and DeBoer, some werent as excited to see the two welcoming another child. Super cute but please stop making [babies], one user wrote. Others suggested Houska was only having more kids for television, but fans were quick to defend her decision to grow her family.
South Africa: Saluting strong women: A profile of Minister Naledi Pandor

Stern, strong women, with an aversion to any form of childhood nonsense, have raised many good men and women, often in times of great difficulties, with the hope that their children will make a difference in an ever-evolving world.

Our parents played a very important role, especially our mother. Our father was very active in politics, in the struggle and so our mother was the one who was at home, International Relations and Cooperation Minister Naledi Pandor tells SAnews.

While raised by both parents, activists Joe and Fikile Matthews, Minister Pandor specifically remembers the role her mother played, in her obtaining her education despite living in exile.

I remember that London can be a very cold place, but I remember that even in winter, she would walk us to school to make sure we go into the school gates and go to class, she recalls.

Her mother she remembers, was very determined that she get her education in whichever country the family found itself in at the time.

She was very determined that we would be educated and wherever we landed - be it Botswana, Lesotho [or] Zambia. She insisted that education was the most important thing and of course our dad when he was there, would support her in that regard, she said.

Pandor did not disappoint her parents and went to obtain several qualifications, including a Masters degree in Education from the University of London.

Befittingly in April 2019 while serving as Minister of Higher Education and Training, Pandor obtained her PhD in Education from the University of Pretoria.

While she has no immediate plans of going back to the lecture room, she is a firm advocate of continuous learning.

Well I dont know about studying again. I hope to continue being a student by reading and learning as much as I can.

But as to going back in the classroom and having young people wonder why Im there Im not too sure. I remember the looks I got when I started the PhD, she says as she pauses for a hearty laugh.

Dr Pandor, who continues to have a keen interest in education and linguistics, believes the future of education and a lot of life activity is closely associated with information technology.

She said the use of virtual means of education and communication is going to become increasingly important.

I think we are going to see many more online courses, some of our universities and colleges were not able to continue offering students teaching programmes because of the inadequacy of their IT capabilities.

I believe that once we are all freed of this current COVID-19 crisis, youre going to see much more attention towards online learning.

With the world continuing to evolve and being more inclusive of women in various fields, South Africa has also been striving to have more women voices heard.

With the country today celebrating Womens Day under lockdown, government has made advances in achieving gender transformation, which includes legal protection, increased access to basic services such as water, electricity, housing, and free health-care to the poor.

One of the most significant has been the advancement of women representation and gender equality across the state machinery.

Representation of women Ministers in Cabinet increased from 11% in April 1994 to 50% following the April 2019 National Elections.

However, the notion of the first woman to do this or the other, continues to have a bearing on life today.

This is despite the fact that following the 2019 elections, 46.1% of women held seats in Parliament, up from the 11% seen in the first democratic elections in 1994.

There has been a great deal of progress made particularly in democratic South Africa and we should celebrate that, however, theres still a great deal to be done. The level of inequality that we have, not just in our country but worldwide, means theres a great deal of work to be done to ensure gender equality, she said in an interview with SAnews.

As fate would have it, Pandor was the first woman to become chairperson of the National Council of Provinces back in 1999.

I think that this thing of first woman, first black, almost suggests that youre in that position because of gender or colour and it denies recognition of the talent that those individuals have, the skills and the experience that theyve built up over a long time, said the Minister.

She cautioned that while it is good to celebrate the achievements of women, one should be weary of falling into the trap of diminishing womens achievements.

So we should be careful when we celebrate that we dont diminish the capabilities of the individuals that are appointed. I think we have talent but we have been denied the opportunity. It is not that we did not have talented people before; it is just that they were not allowed into the room. Now they are, and we are beginning to see what is possible.

She also points out that there are still areas of resistance that require attention.

In March 2019, Cabinet adopted a Gender-Responsive Planning, Budgeting, Monitoring, Evaluation and Auditing Framework to ensure the mainstreaming of gender priorities.

In addition to obtaining their education, the Minister has urged young women to forge healthy friendships as part of their toolbox to reaching their dreams.

Friends are important, the circle you build are important and dont give up on education, its absolutely the greatest empowerment that you would have, she said.

Families also form an integral part of one achieving their dreams she said.

Being in international relations, Ive learned that being in contact with other people helps to stop your prejudices and the perspectives you have on others which are often uninformed perspectives. So widen your circle as that stops you from being threatened by the presence of others, said the Minister.

Pandor who first became a Member of Parliament in democratic South Africa in 1994, has held various Ministerial positions.

Asked about which has been her favourite portfolio, Pandor refers to education as the love of her life.

She has however also discovered that science and technology is her other love.

I believe that we as Africa should do much more than we are doing now to invest in science, research and innovation. I believe theres a future for that. Through education, I think that we have so many talented young people and what I loved in [the Department of] Education was meeting that talent and in [the Department of] Science and Technology, I saw how education and science can help to advance a nation, she said.

Pandor who has served as Minister of the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (Dirco) for over a year now, reflected on her current work, which has allowed her to know the different political and developmental thinking around the world.

There still continues to be many divides in our world. We havent yet arrived at a common humane philosophy and I have been somewhat appalled by the level of division between the wealthy nations and the poor nations. I think we need to build a stronger basis of collaboration for development because we cant have so many people left behind, she said.

The Minister has also been pleased to see that the African Union (AU) is beginning to position itself as a significant continental body.

I hope we as South Africa will continue to give support to the AU. I believe it is the institution that will help Africa to advance its development goals.

Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, Pandor has continued to hold virtual meetings with other Ministers of International Relations around the world where experiences with the pandemic, are shared.

So we are spending over 80% of our day in front of a computer having virtual exchanges. We remain very active internationally but it is virtual so weve all learned to utilise ICT to a very good effect.

With COVID-19 having disrupted daily life forcing the world to adapt to a new normal, Pandor like many around the country has had to adjust to life with the wearing of a cloth facemask when heading out in public.

Well you have to be more careful. I dont like wearing masks but I have to because I have to protect myself and the people around me. I suppose it also makes you much more nervous plus you dont have much human interaction and Im a hugger by nature, she smiles.

The new normal has also posed challenges for the field of diplomacy.

Diplomacy is also about friendships, so we shake hands and we hug. Its been quite terrible because if you meet colleagues you want to rush forward but then you remember that oops you cant do that! Instead of that welcoming look, people look horrified [as if to say] dont touch me!

The pandemic, she says, has made people more nervous about interacting with others.

COVID-19 lockdown regulations have resulted in many South Africans not seeing their loved ones.

Of course we dont see our children because of no family visits. But since we are the ones who are putting the restrictions in place, I think we have an important role in ensuring that we observe all the restrictions as a an example to the rest of our community, says the mother of two sons and two daughters.

With citizens forced to move most of their lives onto digital platforms to get groceries or to conduct meetings with their work colleagues among others, Pandor admits to having had to sharpen her technological skills.

Ive had to learn how to use virtual means. I constantly forget to unmute as I talk away, and it has been a very good learning experience. Im a better user of technology because of COVID-19,she giggles.

We live in a constantly changing world where women struggle with developing self-confidence due to the surrounding environments they may find themselves in, such as abusive relationships and gender-based violence (GBV) and femicide.

As the country today commemorates the 64th anniversary of the 1956 womens protest march to the Union Buildings, government has taken steps to address the upsurge of violence against women and children.

Cabinet has recently approved a collection of laws in response to President Cyril Ramaphosas September 2019 commitment to address the scourge of gender-based violence (GBV) and femicide.

These include the approval for submission to Parliament of the Domestic Violence Amendment Bill, which strengthens application of the Domestic Violence Act.

Among others, the amendments enhances penalties and recognises repeat or serial offenders with regards to sentencing.

While the country wages war against GBV and femicide, Pandor also spoke about the importance of empowering women in the economy.

One of the lessons we have noted during the COVID-19 pandemic and in particular as a result of the restrictions and lockdowns that governments put in place, is that women continue to be in vulnerable economic situations. We have to attend to the empowerment, economically of women. We have to ensure that they have access to financial support for their businesses.

She said women, as the bedrock of society, must be supported in their business ventures so that they can run businesses that earn them and their families decent livelihoods.

We need to empower women to play their full role in society, she said.

Pandor also paid homage to women health workers who find themselves at the forefront of the COVID-19 pandemic.

I must say that it has been women as health workers, and as members of the family who have saved many lives during this crisis and we salute those women, particularly our health workers for the incredible role that theyve played.

Asked about what she wishes her younger self knew today, Pandor said she would have taken better care of her health.

That she should not become fat, that is my one regret in life. Ive not watched my weight properly. I was a very slim young person and I think I let myself go. Not that Im prejudiced against people my size, but I dont think its a good thing to allow yourself to become that and its my fault, not anybody elses. I tell my daughters all the time to keep their shape, she says as she laughs.

In her spare time, the Minister who refers to herself as just Naledi, the daughter of Joe and Fikile Matthews, a teacher by profession and as someone who is hard-working and loves to learn and is a patriot -loves reading and listening to music.

Music of the 80s and 90s as well as reggae get her feet tapping.

From time to time, on a Sunday morning, when Im in the kitchen on my own, I have particular radio stations I listen to and I like to jive along as I work and nobody must come in, she says of her ritual.

In all likelihood, Pandor who devours thrillers in her spare time, is tapping her foot to some of her favourite tunes in her kitchen this Sunday morning, as we celebrate Womens Day. SAnews.gov.za

This story has been published on: 2020-08-09. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Today the 8th of August, 2020 marks the 70th anniversary of the formation of the Northern Elements Peoples Union (NEPU), the first and only political party in the history of Nigeria, formed solely not only to fight oppression and exploitation of the common man the Talakawa by the ruling class in Northern Nigeria, but also for the unity, freedom and independence of our motherland, Nigeria.

It is in the cause of championing that commitment to liberate the oppressed and promote unity of the people of Nigeria that NEPU entered into alliance with National Council of Nigeria and Camerouns (NCNC), led by the doyen of Nigerian nationalism and first president of Nigeria, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe GCON during colonial era and the First Republic political activism in the history of our country.

The ultimate objective of the NEPU/NCNC alliance was for the two parties to eventually merge into a formidable party that will belong to all Nigerians regardless of their ethnic, sectional or religious background just as the VISION and MISSION of the founders of the National Party of Nigeria, NPN, during the Second Republic.

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It was the fear of that eventuality that made the British colonial rulers of Nigeria at that time to incite traditional institutions and reactionary elements in northern Nigeria to subject NEPU and its members to unprecedented harassment, wide spread intimidation of arrests, imprisonment and persecution with the sole aim of scaring the educated elements in northern Nigeria to distance themselves from coming out to support the struggle of the party during colonial era and the politics of the First Republic.

That situation led to the paucity of intellectuals among the leading cadres of the party in large numbers. The situation also led to the stagnation of progress of the NEPU in its its struggle for the emancipation of the downtrodden in the North thereby hampered the efforts of forging national unity and success of progressive politics in our national development efforts. The outcome was the perpetuation of ignorance and lack of enlightenment in the area which constitutes serious draw back of Nigerias march to progress and national development.

But in spite of that, all hopes were not lost as the emergence of NEPU engineered the sprouting of many opposition parties in the north at that time resulting in the emergence of political parties opposed to colonial rule such as Borno Youth Movement (BYM), Ibira Progressive Union (IPU), Middle Belt Peoples Party (MBPP), Ilorin Talaka Parapo (ITP), Katagum Peoples Party (KPP) Habe Tribal Union (HTU) and many others during the period under reference. The formation of which resulted in widening the scope of revolt against colonial and feudal domination in northern Nigeria and enhanced the resilience of the peoples resolve to liberate themselves from domination and exploitation.

Another achievement associated with the emergence of NEPU was the political awareness among the downtrodden masses of northern Nigeria otherwise known as the talakawa. All the subsequent political developments in northern Nigeria such as the emergence of United Middle Belt Congress (UMBC), Great Nigerian Peoples Party (GNPP) Peoples Redemtion Party, PRP and others, were born out of the sacrifices the militants in the NEPU promoted and endured.

As one of the remaining leaders of the NEPU still alive I salute the uncommon courage and fortitude displayed by the political activists in Northern Nigeria in fighting the combined forces of British colonialism and imperialism in collaboration with indigenous reactionary forces in the region in particular and the country in general both fallen and those still alive.

All the political progress made in promoting national unity in Nigeria drew inspiration from the example of collaborative efforts of the NEPU/NCNC alliance and other patriots.

May the souls of the departed comrades of the struggle for the emancipation of the talakawas who paved the way for the political awareness and national liberation in the Nigerias political development.

I also wish those of us who are still alive to rededicate our resolve to safeguard the unity, freedom and well being of Nigerian nation and its people.

Long live the struggle for the emancipation of the common man in Nigeria and for our National unity, peace and prosperity.

S.A. Tanko Yakasai OFR

Former National Publicity Secretary of the Party

8th August,2020
Chinese Consulate in New York Shredded a Large Quantity of Documents

On July 21, shortly after the United States ordered Chinese consulate in Houston to close, smoke was observed in an outdoor courtyard area inside the consulate building. Videos shared by a resident who lives in the neighborhood show several open bins with flames coming out of them.

Police and firefighters arrived in response to reports of a fire but were not allowed to enter the Chinese Consulate.

Two weeks later, a similar incident was caught on video by NTDs cameraman on Aug. 6. In front of the Chinese Consulate in New York, two USA Shred trucks kept shredding documents for two hours. A couple of Chinese employees and a security guard were overseeing the shredding.
Fifty years.

Its the amount of time the American Indian Graduate Center has been in existence.

During its journey, the Albuquerque-based nonprofit has helped 16,000 students from over 500 tribes across the United States by providing scholarships. The funds range from $250 to $30,000 annually.

As of 2019, the American Indian Graduate Center has contributed to over 2,000 law degrees, 1,700 postgraduate degrees, and 450 medical degrees for Native students.

The center also offers support through campus resources and other services.

On July 28, American Indian Graduate Center learned of a $20 million donation from MacKenzie Scott  formerly MacKenzie Bezos.

The philanthropist has donated $1.7 billion to 116 organizations throughout the United States.

(I have) a conviction that people who have experience with inequities are the ones best equipped to design solutions, Scott says in a statement.

The $20 million donation is unrestricted, which gives ample opportunities to the center.

This gift is truly transformative, says Angelique Albert, AIGC executive director. Receiving the call, it took me back. I wasnt expecting a gift this large. It was so surreal. What do you say at a time when we are all struggling. A gift this size, will not only allow us to grow the number of scholars, we will get to envision new programs and services.

An annual operating budget for the center is about $20 million.

Albert says with the donation being unrestricted, theres the opportunity to dream big with growth and finding more systemic ways to help the students.

The donation is also the largest gift the center has received from an individual.

(Scott) is looking to the leadership of nonprofits because we are the closest to the issues and offer the most effective way for the students, Albert says. What that means is that shes empowering us to do what we feel is best.

Albert says Scotts philanthropic vision is to address the racial inequities and pervasive social issues.

This in turn will help better access to higher education and improving student success rates.

Education is the tool to empower communities, Albert says. The students move back to their communities after getting educated. This leads to some of the systemic changes.

Albert says the historic relationship between Native Americans and educational systems in the United States is traumatic and oppressive.

The first interactions many Native societies had with Western education was through the forced placement of Native children into residential boarding schools that operated under the directive, Kill the Indian, Save the Man. The last of the schools in this violent system was closed as recently as 1973.

Albert points out that the resilience of Native culture has allowed Native people to survive that trauma and understand the importance of education in todays world, knowing that it is a vital key to individual success and tool for community empowerment.

Were not just providing scholarships, were breaking cycles of oppression with the power of education, Albert says. Im proud to lead an organization that is built to create the next generation of Native American leaders. By empowering our students with everything they need to succeed in higher education, we hope to provide better opportunities for generations to come.

AIGC was also gearing up to celebrate its 50th anniversary this year before the pandemic hit.

It will be scheduled at a later time, Albert says.

Once the pandemic started, we started an emergency fund for students to have access to technology, she says. Some of the students started initiatives that reached out to the elders. This gift goes a long way to bridge the many inequities.
Angola, IN (46703)

Today

Overcast. Morning high of 36F with temps falling to near 20. Winds WNW at 10 to 20 mph..

Tonight

Cloudy early with partial clearing expected late. Low 13F. Winds NNW at 10 to 20 mph.
A 17-year-old who died after being stabbed in 'broad daylight' on London's Oxford Street has been named by police.

Jeremy Menesses, from South London, was rushed to a hospital in central London with a stab injury following a fight between a number of men on Saturday evening.

Police partially closed Oxford Street after emergency services responded to the scene just after 5:30pm to reports of an assault on Market Place at the junction with Oxford Street.

Despite the efforts of the emergency services, Mr Menesses was later pronounced dead at 7:33 pm.

The teenager's next of kin have been informed by the police, who confirmed that a post-mortem examination would be carried out in due course.

Following the attack, three men, all aged 18, were later arrested after arriving to a south London hospital with stab injuries. They have since left hospital and are now in custody.

Jeremy Menesses, from South London, died after he was stabbed on London's Oxford Street on Saturday evening

Pictured: Forensic teams carry out investigations after the attack on Saturday evening

Shoppers watched on in horror as the police and ambulance service rushed to the teen's aid. Pictured: Police at the scene today

A police cordon is put up on Market Place, off Oxford Street on Saturday, after the teenager was stabbed

Police confirmed a man had been stabbed, after a person was seen to be lying on the ground on Saturday

All three men have been arrested on suspicion of murder and two of them have also been arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender.

Yesterday, onlookers watched in horror as the police and ambulance service rushed to the teenager's aid.

Some Twitter users took to social media to say they saw him being chased by another person with a machete.

The famous shopping street was closed to traffic at the junction of Great Portland Street.

Following the incident, Detective Chief Inspector Katherine Goodwin said: 'This attack took place following a fight between a number of males in broad daylight and was witnessed by a large number of horrified onlookers.

'We have spoken to a number of people already but need anyone who has information, video or images to speak to us and tell us what they know. Your assistance could prove vital as we investigate this terrible incident.'

Police and the London Ambulance Service attended the scene on Market Street where the 17-year-old was stabbed

Emergency services responded to the scene just after 5:30pm to reports of an assault on Market Place at the junction with Oxford Street

Three arrests have been made following the incident and the street was closed to traffic at the junction of Great Portland Street

The 17-year-old suffering from a stab injury was taken by the London Ambulance Service to a central London hospital

Meanwhile Superintendent Rob Shepherd, from the Central West BCU, said: 'Residents and visitors will see an increased police presence in the area following this shocking incident.

'We are doing everything we can to support our Specialist Crime colleagues as they continue their investigation and urge anyone with information to approach officers on the street if they have information that they would like to share with us, or call 101.'

A London Ambulance Service spokesperson said: 'We dispatched two ambulance crews, an incident response officer and a medic in a car to the scene. We also dispatched a London's Air Ambulance trauma team.

'We treated a person at the scene and took them to a major trauma centre.'

Anyone with information is asked to call police via 101 quoting reference Cad 6404/08Aug.
A 23-year-old Rhodes man was recently sentenced to prison for two counts of criminal sexual conduct against a 13-year-old girl who told authorities she was raped in Bentley Township in Gladwin County.

Brandon John Roper pleaded no contest to CSC second degree and CSC assault with intent to penetrate. Roper was sentenced by Gladwins 55th Circuit Court Judge Roy Mienk to 71 months to 12 years and eight months on the first count and 38 months to 10 years on the second charge. He was originally charged with first degree rape. He was arrested in February on the charge.

Gladwin County Sheriff deputies were contacted in August 2019 in connection with a sexual assault case. The case was turned over to Michigan State Police for further investigation. According to the MSP incident report, the assault reportedly occurred in July of 2019. The girls parents said their daughter was camping and was supposed to join them at their cabin with two family friends which included Roper.

The night before joining her parents, the teen told police that she awoke to Roper on top of her and taking off her clothes. When she tried to push him away, Roper reportedly put his hand on her mouth and around her throat. He then had sex with the teen while continuing to slap and choke her.

A witness walked in on Roper on top of the girl, yelled at him and then left the room. She said the pair was fully clothed and didnt think anything happened. Another witness, who is a family friend who watches their animals when they are away and tends to their medical marijuana farm, also confirmed seeing the pair in bed together. The second witness told the victims father that he saw Roper and the teen in bed together, per the incident report.

When the second witness confronted Roper, the witness reported that Roper was a ball of tears in confessing to what he did.

A forensic examination also confirmed penetration, according to MSP.

The teen told investigators there were incidents of Roper kissing her and touching her private areas.

The victim told authorities that Roper told her not to say anything to anyone because he could get in a lot of trouble. The teen said she told someone because if she didnt, the sexual encounters would continue. She further said Roper should go to jail because he was older than her.
AFL superstar turned commentator Luke Hodge has revealed why he holds his microphone like he's 'having a cup of tea'.

The triple-premiership winning Hawks captain explained how a series of gruesome injuries caused his right pinky finger to be 'fused' straight.

Hodge was covering the Brisbane Lions and Western Bulldogs game on Saturday night when attention turned toward his 'posh' pinky finger, which was sticking out while he held the microphone.

Former Hawthorne captain Luke Hodge (pictured) revealed that a series of gruesome injuries has left his right pinky finger 'fused' straight

Hodge (pictured with his wife Lauren Hodge) said surgeries to repair his damaged finger tendons means he can't fully close his 'posh' right pinky finger anymore

'I'm trying to close it. I can't. I had an operation to start with about 10 years ago and then had another one a little bit further down the finger. It was like it was fused,' he said.

'Jordan Lewis kicked a ball to me at the end, it flicked it and ruptured the tendon. I did that four times.

'Now that's what you get. It is like when I'm having a cup of tea, I look real posh.'

Hodge said his injured finger had always been a point of discussion among friends and AFL fans.

'I do get a lot of feedback saying why don't you just swap hands, but it's just not natural,' he said.

Hodge joined the Seven commentary team when he retired as a player at the end of the 2019 AFL season.

He played 305 games for Hawthorn and 41 games for Brisbane before hanging up his boots.
Under the theme Lets walk anytime, anywhere, the Health Promotion Department (HPD) in Sharjah has launched the seventh edition of the Health & Tourism campaign which takes place from August 5 to 30.

The Health & Tourism Campaign is the world's first virtual campaign that brings together health and tourism. Through a host of health and tourist programs and events, the campaign aims to raise awareness of citizens and residents about the daily health practices and to promote wonderful tourist attractions and landscapes in Sharjah.

This was stated during a virtual press conference attended by Iman Rashid Saif, HPD Director; Majid Al Suwaidi, Director of Local Promotion Department, Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority (SCTDA) strategic partner; Engineer Fathi Afaneh, CEO of Fast Building Contracting platinum partner; Abdullah Al Dah, CEO of Al Shaab Village silver partner; Dr. Adel Saeed Sajwani, family medicine specialist, MoHAP, as well as representatives from the Sharjah Broadcasting Authority, " media partner", and a number of media personnel and volunteers.

Iman Rashid Saif said: This years edition is held in different circumstances, especially with the gradual resumption of businesses and activities following the Covid-19 pandemic. This gives greater importance to the campaign which is specifically meant to stimulate and educate community members on the significance of walking and exercising and how to adopt walking as a healthy lifestyle to boost immunity against infectious disease.

Thanking sponsors, partners, media outlets, and volunteers for their support, the HPD Director pointed out that the event is focusing on enhancing Sharjahs position by encouraging people to adopt healthy lifestyles and behaviors during their sightseeing tours in the emirate.

For his part, Majid Al Suwaidi said: As a strategic partner, we are keen to help spread healthy behaviors in tourist sites and reinforce Sharjahs status as a distinctive tourist, heritage, and family destination.

Abdullah Al Dah hailed the efforts of the Health Promotion Department in organising the campaign, pointing out that the participation of Al Zajil Fairs Management, represented by Al Shaab Village, reflects the importance of the integration with the governmental sector in all events and activities relevant to social responsibility.

In turn, Engineer Fathi Afaneh shed light on the importance of the Health & Tourism Campaign in terms of boosting the physical and mental health of individuals by raising their awareness about healthy behaviours and motivating them to walk during their tourist tours.

The press conference also included an introductory film on the achievements of the campaign since its launch in 2014, while Dr. Adel Sajwani, family physician in the Ministry of Health and Prevention, gave an educational lecture on the benefits of walking, its importance in maintaining a healthy weight, improving physical fitness and preventing from chronic diseases.

This years campaign aims primarily to show the importance of walking since inactivity makes the human subject to cancer, heart, and stroke diseases by 30 per cent, while practicing walking would help curb mortality causes by 50 per cent, let alone that walking fits all the individuals and does not require to be physically fit. - TradeArabia News Service
Corn in the dirt

Corn prices tumbled to new contract lows this week, trading down to $3.20 per bushel. Values are dropping as the crop looks increasingly healthy and is poised to produce over 180 bushels per acre, a new record yield.

As the crop size grows, demand is falling behind, especially from ethanol producers. Nearly 40% of U.S. corn is converted into ethanol fuel, but automotive demand has been weak all year due to the coronavirus shutdowns. This led to a glut of ethanol, leaving ethanol producer demand lower than pre-pandemic levels.

Worse yet, despite massive buys from China last week, U.S. corn exports are more than 10% below last years sales, a sign that this years large crop is not finding willing buyers even at these low prices.

Race for gold & silver

Investors continued chasing precious metals higher this week, pushing gold and silver to new highs. Silver neared $30 per ounce on Friday, while gold pushed over $2,060, an all-time high.

The two metals are outpacing nearly all other investments, especially silver, which rose by 50% in less than a month.

Fears that hyperinflation could accompany paper currency devaluations caused by our new burgeoning federal debt are diverting a portion of safe-haven money from stocks, bonds, and money funds which were favored until COVID-19 transformed our economy. Friday morning brought a large downward correction in silver as many cashed in huge profits and hoped for a chance to re-buy at less frothy prices.

Robust coffee demand

Coffee prices perked higher this week, nearing the highest level of the year.

The rally is being led by the robusta variety of coffee, which is most commonly used in instant coffees. Robusta beans are grown primarily in Brazil and Vietnam; both countries are projecting smaller crops this year. Demand for robusta beans has been rising as consumers worldwide are staying home, brewing cheaper coffee blends, rather than buying high-priced drinks in cafes.

As robusta prices rise, they pull the higher-quality arabica beans along as well, as the price gap between the varieties narrows. December arabica coffee futures traded for $1.15 per pound on Friday.

Opinions are solely the writers. Walt & Alex Breitinger are commodity futures brokers with Paragon Investments in Silver Lake, KS. They can be reached at (800) 411-3888 or www.paragoninvestments.com. This is not a solicitation of any order to buy or sell any market.

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Fianna Fail Oireachtas Members Barry Cowen TD, James Lawless TD and Senator Fiona OLoughlin have called for emergency Government support to be provided to businesses in the three counties under a second wave of stringent public health measures.

Whilst recognising the imperative of public health and the need for unpopular actions in response to the virus, the loss to businesses and communities across our counties must be recognised and mitigated, they stated.

Between lost stock, lost revenue and the lost opportunity now of the staycation season, these businesses must be supported with a tailored package from Government to help survive this and restart again when it passes.

Having done all that was asked of them, the people of those counties are now suffering again, and we believe Government must show solidarity with them in the form of meaningful supports.

Its imperative an early commitment to support financially and otherwise the businesses, industries and people of Laois, Offaly and Kildare is made by Government.

The decision to restrict activities was and is of course a difficult one but the right one in the interests of public health.

Unfortunately, some of our political opponents are being opportunistic and causing unnecessary divisions in our population claiming the actions to be incorrect ones and the result of Governments poor policing of meat processing plants etc.

Those claims need to be counteracted. HSE protocols are being adhered to and will be strengthened if necessary, within meat processing plants.

An indication of the Governments gratitude, appreciation and leadership of our communities is warranted during this trying time.

We have made contact with the Taoiseach, the Minister for Health, Minister for Agriculture, and Minister for Public Expenditure. Minister McGrath has informed us this matter will be discussed during the COVID-19 Cabinet sub-committee on Tuesday.

We look forward to engaging with our Government colleagues on the details of such a support package,.
Manoj Sinha has taken over as Lieutenant-Governor (L-G) of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K). His appointment is seen by many as being in keeping with the element of surprise that marks decisions taken by the current government. Has Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi taken a huge risk by delegating this responsibility to Sinha? Is Sinha up to the task of dealing with this very challenging responsibility?

The future can often be deciphered by looking into the past. Sinha is known as a person who has learnt the art of surviving in politics. In 1980, he contested and lost the Banaras Hindu University Students Union election. He tried again over the next two years and succeeded in 1982. Similarly, even though he lost a few Lok Sabha elections, he is a three-time former Member of Parliament (MP). The PM made him minister of state for railways in 2014 and later gave him independent charge of the ministry of communications. He did reasonably well in both portfolios. Modi was satisfied with his hard work, honesty and dedication. When Modi spoke at a public meeting in Ghazipur (Uttar Pradesh) during the 2019 elections, in a somewhat unexpected gesture, he asked the audience to first applaud Sinha.

Despite this, he lost the Lok Sabha elections in 2019. There were indications that the Ghazipur parliamentary constituency was no longer a safe seat for him, thanks to changing social equations. The BJP leadership offered him another seat, but he wanted to fight from Ghazipur which he did and lost.

For some time now, there has been some talk in the corridors of power in Delhi that Sinha would be given a suitable berth somewhere. But what he got last Thursday must certainly have exceeded all his expectations. In his trademark manner, despite being pushed into the background for a while, he has made a somewhat spectacular comeback. How effective will he be in his new post?

To arrive at an answer, one has to look at the unexpected departure of GC Murmu, the outgoing L-G of J&K. As the first L-G, he did a commendable job on the law and order front in the Valley. But his manner of functioning did not go down well with the bureaucracy in the Union Territory (UT). This is the reason he had to return to Delhi in 10 months. He will now take up the new constitutional responsibility as the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG). In a way, it can also be called a promotion. But there is a difference between Raj Bhavan in Srinagar and just another government bungalow in Delhi.

Murmu, a bureaucrat, was given a number of tasks to execute in J&K. But given the nature of the political and social initiatives he was required to undertake, it was clear that only a politician could have carried them out successfully. The situation in Kashmir is complex. Many people, including political leaders such as former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti, are still under house arrest or behind bars. Another former chief minister Omar Abdullah has announced that he will not contest the assembly elections until statehood is restored to J&K. These two families have so far dominated politics in Kashmir.

The Centre believes that the era of the Abdullah and Mufti dynasties is over, and that J&K needs a new brand of politics and politicians. Sinha now has the onerous task of giving opportunities to a new set of politicians who can connect with the elders and bring all sections of society together. He is a veteran politician and has been non-controversial till now. It will be interesting to see how effective his political style will be in the Valley.

Kashmir has been a victim of terrorism for years. The day Sinhas appointment was being celebrated by his supporters, a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) sarpanch was shot dead by terrorists in Kashmir. In the past, there have been frequent killings of democratic leaders in the Valley. The security forces have been caught up in a bloody war with terrorists there. So far this year, 206 people have been killed in Kashmir, including 34 security personnel.

The long curfew and shattering impact of the Covid-19 pandemic have also devastated the UT which is already facing a huge economic crisis. According to Sheikh Ashiq Ahmad, president of the Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industry, businessmen have suffered a loss of ~40,000 crores and over half-a-million people in the Valley have become unemployed. Recently, the business community met the home minister and the finance minister to apprise them of their demands and their distress. Given this dire situation, Sinha has his task cut out for him.

The new responsibility is, in effect, a crown of thorns for Sinha. All eyes are now on how he will deal with the fractious UT. Can he convert this crown of thorns into a feather in his cap?

Shashi Shekhar is editor-in-chief, Hindustan

The views expressed are personal
While negotiations over a Phase 4 bill stalled in Congress, President Trump moved to ameliorate some of the problems caused by the cessation of several relief programs.

On August 8, the president signed four executive orders that offer $400 in weekly federal assistance to unemployed workers--down from the $600 they were getting before the benefit phased out at the end of July--a continuation of student loan relief, and a moratorium on evictions. Another ordered a payroll tax holiday for Americans making less than $100,000.

While none of those measures contains direct support for small businesses, they create a minefield of tax issues.

In particular, the order that defers the employee portion of payroll taxes for the rest of the year. That's 6.2 percent for Social Security and 1.45 percent for Medicare for workers earning less than $100,000 a year. If workers forego the payroll tax, their incomes will increase--money they could spend, theoretically. But here's where the confusion starts. If their incomes increase, their tax liability could change, too--and that might affect how much employers should withhold from checks. What's more, the payroll tax holiday is temporary; workers will still be liable for the tax, just at a later date.

While the president has vowed to forgive the liability and eliminate the tax obligation entirely if he is reelected, that presumes he can get Congress to approve--which is putting a lot of faith in the GOP's ability to win big in November. And it assumes that voters don't want to fund Social Security and Medicare.

It's not clear that the president's executive orders are legal. "I don't see how he can make them permanent without legislation, and even the temporary suspension of collection of the tax is of dubious legality," says Robert Litan, an economist and nonresident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, a nonpartisan think tank in Washington. Litan suggests that the orders will face legal challenges, possibly from future Social Security recipients or Congress itself. "Congress has the power to tax, not the president, whose constitutional duty and power only extends to collecting taxes," he adds.

For businesses, the prudent thing is to hold tight and not change withholdings for either the payroll tax or income taxes, says Joe Manganelli, founder of the New York City-based strategic advisory and financial management firm Calculate. His advice? Employers should hang on to the employee portion of payroll taxes that would normally be paid to the government. "This obviously goes completely against the president's intention of putting more money in people's pockets," but, he adds, "it's a safer move when the result is unclear."

Here's why: The executive order defers the employee portion of payroll taxes. However, that cash comes directly from the employer's bank account through payroll distribution. So if businesses stopped collecting these funds with the expectation that they would be forgiven and they are not, they themselves might later be liable for the tax down the road. "Will it be the employer's job to set aside that cash to pay later or the employees?" he asks. That's an open question. "I could see a lot of unhappy employees, who don't realize they needed to be saving almost 8 percent of salary for four months," he adds.

He says that if the president eliminated the employer portion of the payroll taxes, businesses would get a hiring incentive. "If this holiday was applied to the employer, one in every 13 employees would essentially be paid for," says Manganelli. "That likely could encourage companies to reinvest that back into hiring."

There's also the question of where the president would get the money to fund an extension of federal unemployment insurance benefits. Trump has called for diverting other money, including federal disaster aid, to create a $400-a-week bonus payment. He is also asking states to chip in 25 percent of the outlay for the enhanced benefit. Does this mean he'll turn off the spigot on the federal disaster loan program that also benefits small business owners, known as Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDLs)? Would it involve redirecting leftover funds from the now defunct Paycheck Protection Program, which offered aid to beleaguered small businesses? And where are the already-struggling states going to get the funds to fulfill their end of the contributions?
Social media apps. Photo: Chesnot/Getty

Twitter (TWTR) is said to have held preliminary talks to acquire TikToks US operations, as the video-sharing app continues to hold talks about a sale with Microsoft.

It comes as US and Chinas tech war hit new lows after president Donald Trump banned US companies from doing any transactions with the owners of TikTok and WeChat.

According to a report by the Wall Street Journal, it is not yet clear whether Twitter will pursue a deal with TikTok.

Microsoft (MSFT) has been negotiating an acquisition for weeks with TikToks Beijing-based owner Bytedance. With the tech giant considered to be a front-runner for any deals TikTok agrees.

READ MORE: Microsoft reveals talks to buy TikTok US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand

The deal is thought to involve selling off TikToks operations in the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, to avert a ban of the app on American shores.

After initially saying he wouldnt support a deal, Trump set a deadline for TikTok to find a buyer for its US arm or face a ban, following a conversation with Microsofts chief executive Satya Nadella.

But, Twitter might run into troubles, as the social media company is much smaller than tech giant Microsoft  with a valuation of close to $30bn (23bn), almost as much as the valuation of Tiktoks assets to be divested. Microsoft on the other hand, had a market capitalisation of $1.6trn on Friday.

The company reasoned that due to its size it would face less antitrust scrutiny as Microsoft or other bidders, according to people close to the matter.

READ MORE: Trump steps up Chinese tech war with new TikTok and WeChat executive order

With Twitter having much less financial firepower, the social media platform would almost certainly need help from investors to raise funds for the sale. It would also likely struggle to outbid Microsoft and complete a deal within the 45-day deadline set by Trump.

On Friday, Trump singed executive orders against TikTok and Chinese messaging app WeChat, effectively banning US firms from working with them after 15 September, on grounds of national security fears.

In retaliation to the move, TikTok has threatened legal action against the order, saying it would pursue all remedies available to ensure the rule of law is not evaded.
A group of current and former Hamilton students say the public school boards investigation into allegations of racism among trustees is not genuine.

They also question how the ministry of education is going to ensure the investigation is fulsome.

We want to be clear: the actions of the school board are simply reactive, said the HWDSB Kids Need Help group in statement released Friday. In this moment where the world is reckoning with anti-Blackness, the board chose to protect their reputation instead of racialized students.

Their statement comes nearly a week after now-former Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board (HWDSB) student trustee Ahona Mehdi spoke out about allegations of racism she said she witnessed and was subjected to by board trustees during her year-long term, which ended July 31. Allegations include a trustee using the N-word in reference to Serena Williams and another saying Black leadership was too prevalent in the board.

Education Minister Stephen Lecce addressed Mehdis allegations Wednesday, calling them deeply distrubing.

I have asked my officials to watch closely to ensure a fulsome investigation is completed and actions are taken, Lecce said, noting the province has made anti-discrimination training mandatory for all elected trustees and board staff.

The Hamilton board, meanwhile, will launch a third-party investigation into Mehdis allegations.

HWDSB Kids Need Help, in their statement, called the provincial governments actions reactive and questioned how they will ensure the board takes action. They noted the Peel District School Board has come under fire for racism and say the issues are pervasive in other boards too.

When (the Peel boards problems with racism) eventually caught the eye of the media and the public, the government decided to focus on a single school board, rather than the widespread impacts of anti-Black racism in school boards across Ontario, the group said.

They issued a list of demands including that the government mandate an Ontario-wide review of racism in all school boards, conducted by a third-party investigator and informed by the community.

In response, a spokesperson for Lecce said: Students made serious allegations against the board. We expect a thorough investigation and serious commitment by the HWDSB to eradicate racism and discrimination in all of its forms.

The allegations made by these students against trustees and the board only underscore the need for anti-racism training, spokesperson Alexandra Adamo said. Clearly there is more to do, as every student should feel respected and included in their schools, irrespective of their heritage, faith, orientation, economic status or colour of skin.

A spokesperson for the HWDSB said the board will reserve comment until it has details on the upcoming investigation.
The National Research Fund is currently using a new form of advertising to showcase its work to the general public.

In order to make their research more accessible, the National Research Fund (FNR) is making use of an interactive campaign never seen before in Luxembourg.

According to Emily Iversen, in charge of communications at the FNR, the posters a part of the new "letzSCIENCE" campaign and meant to inform people about the different kinds of research that are being done in Luxembourg.

The advertisements feature three different pictures which at first glance prompt a "What the hell is that?" reaction, which is also the title of every poster. People can then use their phones to scan a QR code which triggers an Augmented Reality experience and makes the pictures "come to life". After that, people can read a short text about the project and the researchers behind it.

The posters will remain available until 10 August at every tramway station in Luxembourg City, offering a unique and educational experience for those waiting to catch their line.

In the context of the campaign a website has also been launched as well as a number of postcards, which people can order online for free.
In violation of their constitutional rights to a defence, he said, Judge Maximo Marquez never informed him of Friday nights proceedings at the headquarters of the SEBIN police, where the men are being held. They were represented instead by a public defender.

The two Americans arrested in a coastal fishing community have ever since been paraded by officials on Venezuelan state TV as proof of their long-held claims that the United States is set on violently overthrowing Maduro's socialist government.

The incident also prompted claims that US backed opposition leader Juan Guaido had authorised Goudreau through a signed agreement to carry out the attack, executed by two of Guaido's former political advisors in the US.

US officials have denied any role in the attack but have not said what knowledge they had about the clandestine camps in Colombia, details of which were made public by an AP investigation two days prior to the raid. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Washington would use all possible means to win the freedom of Denman and Berry.

Mark Denman, brother of Luke Denman, said in a statement that the families were very disappointed that the men were not represented by their private legal counsel.
Vodafone Idea working on a five-point strategy to help the company tide over its current challenges, which includes a potential fund raise post the outcome of its ongoing case in the supreme court over Adjusted Gross Revenue ( AGRD) dues, likely to come up for hearing again this week. In addition to the fundraise, according to the details of strategy, which the company shared with analysts recently, it has planned network rollout strategy across 16 key circles, aimed at driving ARPU growth through higher 4G upgrades, enterprise partnerships, digital revenue initiatives and cost optimisation measures that will help save around 4000 crores over next 18 months.

In the first quarter, Vodafone Idea suffered losses to the tune of 25460 crore due to exceptional costs in Q1 including 19,440 crore relating to total estimated AGR dues, 123 crore as one-time spectrum charge and 3.70 crore for integration and merger costs amounting to a total provision of 19923 crore. Despite the mounting challenges, the company said that it is in process of restructuring, which the management claimed will transform the company into a lean and agile workplace. The management also sees further optimisation opportunities from IT integration, digital initiatives and energy costs for towers.

Our business has always been divided across 22 circles from a licensing perspective. Historically we have replicated the organisation structure across the circles irrespective of their size and importance. As the industry has consolidated, the circle level activities have become centralised and there is no reason to have a certain number of people across network planning or customer services in each one of the circles," said Ravinder Takkar, CEO, Vodafone Idea.

The company has therefore consolidated a 10-cluster based approach instead of a 22-circle based approach now to optimize operations. The operator will also focus on 16 of the most profitable 22 circles for growth. These moves are likely to impact has about 11,000 odd employees of which around 1500 were arleady let go during the past quarter, according to reports.

The key consumer focused part of the strategy will be in terms of upgrading 2G subscribers to 4G . The company has already rolled out premium 4G plans for the same. The management added, similar to Bharti Airtels commentary, that their 2G user base will continue to exist as is the case even across top economies. However, instead of subsidizing the 4G device ecosystem as announced by rival Reliance Jio, the company will seek partnerships. Subsidising devices is not our play. We will work with original equipment manufacturers and non-banking financial companies to help people upgrade to smartphones through easy EMIs where people can choose what devices they want," said Akshaya Moondra, Chief Financial Officer, Vodafone Idea.

The company reiterated that their content strategy remains unchanged and they will focus only on partnerships rather than owning the value chain. They will also utilise their enterprise presence more effectively especially through their investments in Internet of things, metro fibre rings and enterprise connectivity.

While analysts are positive about the cluster level operational focus, they are still concerned about the operators ability to convert 4G subscribers effectively given their relative absence across digital acquisition channels. A report by Axis Capital said that while these cost optimization measures will result in margin benefits for the company, some of the (Q1) margin improvement due to lower gross additions and lower marketing costs may reverse in the coming quarters.

We see increasing case for (Vodafone Idea's business) continuity, if SC accepts 15 years or more payout period for AGR dues/penalties, as acceptance of staggered payment along with relief measures from government (floor pricing, reduction in levies, reduction in spectrum liability interest, etc.) and some steps by company itself like recapitalization or new investors/partners could improve its viability," said a report by Axis Capital.

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Striolan Bridge was built in 1958. Work commenced on January 1958 on the Limerick side, near Mountcollins.

A bulldozer was brought on site, the river was turned and ditched half ways in the river.

The foundations were dug out. There were no ready mix trucks at that time, only a big site mixer. Cork County Council were the main contractors. The land where the bridge is built was donated by Maurice Murphy of Meeng, Rockchapel, free of charge.

My father, the late Denis Curtin RIP, was the only person from County Limerick and the late Bernard Leahy RIP, of Ahane Cross was the only Kerry man employed there. Bernard was the night watchman. A Council caravan was on the site for the watchman. We used to call to Bernard every night playing cards. It was all manpower that time.

The Ganger was from Newmarket, Co Cork, John Cremin was his name. He was an engineer in his own rite. The engineers used to ask him for information on what to do. He was a great man at his job and a great boss to work for.

When the floors were being put in at least forty to fifty men were employed for the day. All of the cement was mixed in a site mixer. My father put the date into the wall of the bridge and he also cement dashed the bridge. 1958 was a very bad year raining every day. If there was a flood in the river the foreman used to let my father and another man Tade Murphy go fishing for white trout. There were plenty of fish there that time, not like now.

The bridge was finished, and the new bridge was opened on the July 13 1958. The day it was opened, a dancing stage was erected at Jimmy Curtins gate and open air dancing took place there.

Kegs of Guinness were in Bernard Leahys store house, Aeney OConnell played music for the dancers and the dancing went on for the whole night. The bridge was a great boost for the people of Meeng, Rockchapel and all of the people from the surrounding areas.

Before the bridge was built there was no access by road from Meeng, Rockchapel or Acres, Mountcollins to County Kerry. The only access to County Kerry was a horse ford across the river.

A road led to the river where the horse ford was through Maurice Murphys land, it was known as the Short Road. If there was a flood in the river the people from Meeng had to take the milk to Mountcollins creamery up Striolan hill. The only way across the river was a foot bridge and the ruins of that bridge are still there today.

On the day the bridge was opened a photograph was taken by Mary Casey, Meeng, Rockchapel. I

In more recent times my brother Bill and I turned the place into a beautiful scenic area.

We built a gazebo and thatched it. We cleared the site of scrub and rubbish which had been dumped there. All the work was carried out voluntarily and funded by ourselves.

We had crossroads dancing there again on the official opening day of the area on September 10 2000.

Norma Healy took photographs on the day and we got a photograph taken which was almost a copy of the original one taken in 1958 despite being over 42 years later.

Missing from the photo taken that day were Margaret Curtin (my mother) RIP, Chris Cahill RIP, and Breda Leahy RIP. In the newly taken photo Mary Casey who had taken the original photo in 1958 is standing the place of Breda Leahy.

A few years ago, we got a grant from IRD Duhallow to re thatch the gazebo and carry out other work in the area. A lot of couples come there on their wedding day to take photographs and videos. It is a unique location, with one foot you could stand in the Three Counties of Cork, Kerry, and Limerick.

In 2016, the two GAA Presidents paid a visit to the area with the launch of Feile Peile na nOg taking place there on the 9th of May that year. In 2018 the McCarthy Cup was brought to the area by members of the Limerick team who were the reigning All Ireland Senior Hurling Champions at the time.

To this day, I maintain the area on a voluntary basis.

For more Limerick news click here
Researchers at the Center for Smart and Connected Society at the University of Massachusetts Amherst recently released a new digital contact-tracing technique that is based on widely-deployed Wi-Fi technology. They intend the open-source software tool to help universities and colleges deploy campus contact tracing as students return under special pandemic management rules this fall.

The project is led by the center's director, Prashant Shenoy, a professor and associate dean of the College of Information and Computer Sciences, based on doctoral thesis work performed by his student Amee Trivedi. The project also had support from Peter Reinhart, director of UMass Amherst's Institute for Applied Life Sciences.

Public health planners at UMass Amherst are very interested in the software and they are exploring how it may be used in the future to enhance contact-tracing capabilities.

Unlike Bluetooth-based approaches that require a critical mass of adoption to be effective, WiFi-based contact tracing can be easily deployed by health professionals at universities using our software, without requiring students to install an app on their phone." Prashant Shenoy, Professor and Associate Dean of the College of Information and Computer Sciences

He and Trivedi say they paid very careful attention to privacy concerns during WiFiTrace's development, so data remains anonymous until people seeking health care provide consent for it to be used.

Shenoy explains that for security reasons such as countering cyberattacks or for network performance optimizations, many colleges and universities already gather monitoring data at their WiFi access points across campus. This data, when used with the WiFiTrace software, can be analyzed for contract tracing purposes by health professionals on campus, after receiving a student's permission. In combination with the standard contact tracing interview process, WiFiTrace can be used by health professionals to reconstruct locations visited across campus for a period leading up to their illness.

Shenoy points out, "Contact tracing has always been done with manual methods and interviews until now. We are offering health professionals an additional source of information, that is, what you can infer from WiFi logs. People must give permission to search those logs to trace them." The new software only applies to very specific situations and is entirely confidential and voluntary, he adds.

Trivedi recalls how this idea began in 2016 when she and Shenoy, began a project for her doctoral work exploring the use of WiFi data logs for building occupancy detection. The idea was to help managers program heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems to save energy and provide user comfort.

"Since then we've had a meningitis outbreak and a couple of flu seasons, so we began learning how to use WiFi log data for contact tracing during an outbreak," she notes. "As universities move forward with fall reopening this year, we hope WiFiTrace will be a useful tool for health professionals to add to their contact tracing efforts to manage the early spread of COVID-19 on college campuses."

Trivedi's ongoing research at UMass Amherst's College of Information and Computer Sciences focuses on understanding human and device mobility dynamics with applications to health.

She points out that WiFiTrace is complementary to Bluetooth-based contact tracing apps and not meant to replace them. WiFi systems "work on the network side," she explains, so users do not need to install apps or take any special actions. By contrast, Bluetooth-based apps must be installed on a user's phone and go through a series of approvals to be used, but can have an impact on battery life, she notes.
Vice President M on Sunday called for an intensified campaign for Knit India to enable a strong and emotionally integrated nation.

To mark the 78th anniversary of the Quit India movement, Naidu wrote a Facebook post recounting the series of foreign invasions and the colonial exploitation during the long period of 1000-1947.

During the second millennium, the country paid a very heavy price in the form of cultural subjugation and economic exploitation that enfeebled the once rich India, he said.

The vice president stressed that hard fought independence in 1947 was not just about ending the colonial rule of the preceding 200 years but also bringing down curtains on the 1000 year-long "dark age" during which the country was plundered at will by invaders, traders and colonialists, who took advantage of the lack of unity among Indians.

Lack of sense of belonging to each other and unity of purpose and action had led to long subjugation and exploitation of India. Learning from this, all Indians need to be bound by the shared sense of Indianness while pursuing their respective cultural values and ethos," Naidu said



He said a perception of divided India would make India an easy target for others for fishing in troubled waters.

"A strong, unified and emotionally integrated India is the best defence against those casting an evil eye on us with questionable intentions, the vice president said.

Naidu stressed on the need to Knit India into one single fabric by ensuring equality of all and equal opportunities for all and noted that a divided and iniquitous society does not enable the fullest development of all Indians to their capacity.

Elaborating on the adverse impacts of a stream of foreign invasions resulting in the loot of the country's wealth since the year 1000, Naidu referred to the destruction of the Somnath temple and the long period taken to rebuilt the same after independence and the gap of about 500 years taken to begin reconstruction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya.

Referring to the celebration of 75 years of independence in 2022, the vice president urged the people to take a pledge to drive out poverty, illiteracy, inequality, gender discrimination, corruption and all kinds of social evils.

(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.)
Egypts Minister of International Cooperation Rania Al-Mashat has revealed that Egypt is executing 34 projects, worth $3.3 billion, that tackle the gender equality issue and aim to help women engage more in the Egyptian economy.

The top targeted sectors through these projects are health, education, micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), constituting 20 percent, 14 percent, and 15 percent respectively. They represent direct investments in building human capital, where women are among the main beneficiaries, Al-Mashat said in a statement.

The minister added that the Closing the Gender Gap Accelerator, which the ministry launched in July in order to deal with gender inequality, saw the participation of over 80 participants from the World Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), Agence Francaise de Developpement (AFD), USAID, the United Nations and its agencies, in addition to the embassies of the UK, Canada, China, Korea, the US, Germany and France, among others.

The accelerator, which is a virtual platform, was launched in association with Egypts National Council for Women and the World Economic Forum as an action aimed at reinforcing Egypts sustainable development goals agenda, especially with the challenges of the COVID-19 crisis.

The platform brings together the international community and all stakeholders to ensure sustained commitment in achieving Goal 5 (Gender Equality) of the 17 Sustainable Developments Goals set by the UN, so that all efforts are upscaled and coordinated with the purpose of creating real impact on the lives of women through development cooperation, the ministry said in a statement.

Al-Mashat said that the accelerator is a public private collaboration platform that helps governments and businesses take decisive actions on closing economic gender gaps.

We want to achieve a real impact in the economic participation of women in the economy, consistent with the objectives of the accelerator. Though there are so many projects happening on ground, the accelerator program will act as an international benchmark to help ensure that all efforts are coordinated and upscaled, according to Al-Mashat.

To ensure better results, the accelerator creates a structure for all stakeholders to engage in three stages, including to initiate projects, facilitate discussions to prioritise actions according to key objectives, and measure impact according to defined targets and metrics before final approval. A key element is to support the private sector in playing a prominent role in formulating initiatives that can help increase womens inclusion in the sector, she added.

President of the National Council for Women Maya Morsy said that the accelerator adopts a full-fledged program that aims at engaging all development partners; helping understand shaping innovative pathways for growth towards gender parity.

The program includes legislation and culture as cross-cutting pillars, as well as social empowerment, protection, and political empowerment. While economic empowerment is considered to be the main pillar, creating a safe environment in the world of work for women is vital to help achieve this, she said.

Representatives of the World Economic Forum emphasised that Egypt provided a unique example that was provided within a knowledge network, adding that Egypt is the first country in the region to adopt such an action.

United Nations Resident Coordinator in Egypt Cristina Albertin stressed that UN Egypt is fully committed to supporting the Ministry of International Cooperation and the National Council for Women in the rollout of the first Gender Gap Accelerator in the Middle East and North Africa.

Egyptian women represent 50 percent of the population. Removing legal and social barriers, through partnerships under the accelerator, will have direct impact on womens active participation in the economy and hence growth and poverty reduction in Egypt, said Robert Bou Jaoude, World Bank Operations Manager for Egypt, Yemen and Djibouti.

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A 30-year-old woman lodged an FIR with Kondhwa police on Friday accusing her sister and the latters boyfriend of molesting the complainants 16-year-old daughter at their residence in Undri during lockdown in April. The police have arrested the maternal aunt and her boyfriend under IPC 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty) and Section 8 and 12 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) 2012.

Kondhwa police station incharge Vinayak Gaikwad said that the crime took place during the lockdown period in April.

The victims mother, who stayed at the citys suburb, had dropped four of her children, including the girl, at her sisters place in Undri in April. It was during this period that the maternal aunt was visited by her boyfriend. According to the complainant, the aunt and her boyfriend used to show the minor porn clips against her wish. The teenager narrated her ordeal to her mother when she returned home for Eid and the latter lodged a case, he said.

According to the police, the duo was arrested on Friday and they tested Covid-19 positive. The court issued a direct jail warrant as it is a serious crime, but jail authorities refused to take them. We are now in the process of admitting them to Sassoon hospital for medical treatment after which a final call will be taken. The duo confessed to their involvement in the crime, Gaikwad said.
Vietnams national high school exam has begun with the participation of more than 870,000 students across the country, despite the ongoing novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) epidemic.

Students are scheduled to take their literature and math tests on Sunday, and foreign language, natural sciences, and social sciences tests on Monday.

According to the Ministry of Education and Training, 900,079 students had signed up for the annual exam.

However, 32,229 students did not show up on Saturday to complete mandatory procedures prior to the tests.

Statistics show that 26,186 students in 20 provinces and cities were unable to attend the exam as they had come into close contact with COVID-19 patients or those living in COVID-19-hit localities.

The majority of these students come from central Da Nang City and Quang Nam Province, the countrys two coronavirus epicenters.

They will be able to attend the national high school exam on a later date when the epidemic is under control.

As part of COVID-19 prevention measures, test takers are required to fill out health declaration forms, detail their health status and travel history, have their body temperature measured, wash their hands regularly, and wear face masks.

All high school students in Vietnam are required to take the national high school exam at the end of grade 12 to obtain their high school diploma.

Results of the test also serve to help universities and colleges enroll students.

The exam includes five tests, namely math, literature, foreign languages, natural sciences, and social sciences.

Students in Thua Thien-Hue Province, central Vietnam are pictured before taking their literature test, part of the national high school exam, on August 9, 2020. Photo: Phuoc Tuan / Tuoi Tre

The foreign languages can be English, French, German, Chinese, Japanese, or Russian; natural sciences are a combination of physics, chemistry, and biology; and social sciences include history, geography, and civic education.

Students must complete at least four papers, with math, literature, and foreign languages being mandatory, while the fourth paper can be either natural or social sciences.

In some cases, students can take both the natural sciences and social sciences tests and will choose the paper with the higher result to be evaluated.

Since 2015, the exam often takes place annually in July.

Two students hug each other after completing their literature test at the national high school exam in Hanoi, August 9, 2020. Photo: Nguyen Khanh / Tuoi Tre

Following a large outbreak in Da Nang in late July, municipal authorities had asked the Ministry of Education and Training to halt the national exam.

This years exam was already delayed due to prolonged school breaks caused by the COVID-19 pandemic earlier this year.

Several experts also supported the idea, citing the complicated epidemic.

On August 3, the education ministry announced it would carry on with the exam following the decision of the prime minister.

Vietnams COVID-19 tally now stands at 812, of which 317 are imported cases, according to the Ministry of Health.

Ten have died while 395 have beaten the virus.

The number of local infections traced to Da Nang has amounted to 355 since July 25, when the central city documented Vietnam's first community-based case after 99 days.

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Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-10 06:33:28|Editor: huaxia

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A woman reacts in her flooded house after a heavy storm in Bourtzi, Evia island, Greece, on Aug. 9, 2020. The death toll from the extreme weather phenomena which swept through Evia island in central Greece on Sunday climbed to seven with two more people were found dead, according to the latest announcement by local authorities. (Xinhua/Marios Lolos)

BOURTZI, GREECE, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) -- The death toll from the extreme weather phenomena which swept through Evia island in central Greece on Sunday climbed to seven with two more people were found dead, according to the latest announcement by local authorities.

AMNA news agency reported that a 42-year-old man and his 37-year-old wife were found dead inside their house which was flooded.

Earlier, a missing woman was found alive and rescued by a helicopter near her house in Bourtzi. Rescue teams were still in operation to locate a second person missing in the same area.

The overnight strong storm that struck the central part of Evia island, the second-largest island after Crete, turned roads into raging rivers of mud, flooded houses and businesses, and carried away cars along with tons of debris. Two rivers burst their banks and filled roads with mud.

Rescue teams were going door to door to evacuate people. Helicopters were also involved in the operation.

"The water reached more than 1.5 meters. Damages are so many; we cannot start from zero again. We are not young... We have been destroyed completely," Elena from Bourtzi village told Xinhua as she was emptying her house from the mud.

For George, another citizen in Bourtzi, the damages in his house were severe. "Where should I go?" he kept asking.

Many local roads were destroyed, cutting the road connections to the island. Electricity and water supply were also cut off for many hours, making the rescue operations even harder.

"Total disaster in infrastructure. Roads, beaches, businesses, agricultural areas, all have been destroyed," Vassilis Gournis, vice mayor of Halkida city, told Xinhua.

The villages of Politika and Psaxna, north of Halkida city, about 100 km from Athens were the first areas that were hit by the flash floods.

After Halkida, the storm moved southward to the areas of Bourtzi and Lefkanti.

Two elderly people, an 86-year-old man and an 85-year-old woman, as well as an 8-month-old baby, were found dead in the area of Politika.

While two more, a 74-year-old man and a 73-year-old woman were swept away by the floodwaters in Bourtzi.

Deputy Minister for Civil Protection and Crisis Management at the Ministry of Citizen Protection Nikos Hardalias said that they lost their lives in their attempt to escape from the violent storm.

"It is a difficult day after a difficult night," Hardalias said. "Today many lives were saved but our thoughts are with those that did not make it," he added.

"The intensity of the weather phenomenon was so huge that affected the infrastructure sector. We had an estimation for 63 millimeters of rainfall in 24 hours, while the storm reached 350 millimeters within six hours. We did not have a correct estimation. We would have acted differently," Hardalias pointed out.

According to the latest update, the Fire Brigade received 664 calls, including 97 calls asking for help from people trapped in houses or cars.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis will visit the area on Monday.

"I express my deep sorrow for my compatriots who lost their lives and send my condolences to their families," Mitsotakis said in a post on his Twitter account.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-09 14:08:22|Editor: huaxia

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Photo take on Aug. 9, 2020 shows a flooded farmland in Gurye county, South Jeolla province of South Korea. South Korea's death toll from heavy rain, which continued over the past seven days, rose to 30, with 12 missing and eight wounded as of 10:30 a.m. local time Sunday, according to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters. (Photo by Lee Sang-ho/Xinhua)

SEOUL, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's death toll from heavy rain, which continued over the past seven days, rose to 30, with 12 missing and eight wounded as of 10:30 a.m. local time Sunday, according to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters.

The torrential rain spread from the country's central region, including Seoul and its surrounding metropolitan area, to the southern region Friday, leaving 13 more dead, two unaccounted for and one injured for the past three days.

Three people were found dead and three missing in the incidents of three boats capsizing in the eastern Gangwon province, but they were not included in the death toll as the cases were categorized as a marine accident.

The government has designated seven cities and counties in the central region as special disaster zones to provide rapid assistance of the central government.

A total of 5,971 people from 3,489 households were forced to evacuate homes across the country. Among the total, 4,617 residents still failed to come back home.

About 9,300 hectares of farm land were swamped or buried, while 9,491 cases of property damage were reported including 4,234 private assets and 5,257 public facilities.

Houses, cattle sheds, warehouses and agricultural plastic houses were flooded or destroyed, while roads, railways, bridges and water reservoirs were damaged.

About 73 percent of the damaged properties got restored in an emergency manner.
The government is ready for a big push to the Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative and would introduce import embargo on 101 items beyond a given timeline to boost indigenisation of defence production, defence minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday.

Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi has given a clarion call for a self-reliant India based on the five pillars, i.e., Economy, Infrastructure, System, Demography & Demand and announced a special economic package for Self-Reliant India named Atamnirbhar Bharat, Singh tweeted.

Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi has given a clarion call for a self-reliant India based on the five pillars, i.e., Economy, Infrastructure, System, Demography & Demand and announced a special economic package for Self-Reliant India named Atamnirbhar Bharat.  Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) August 9, 2020

Taking cue from that evocation, the Ministry of Defence has prepared a list of 101 items for which there would be an embargo on the import beyond the timeline indicated against them. This is a big step towards self-reliance in defence, Singh said.

The embargo on imports is planned to be progressively implemented between 2020 to 2024, he said.

This decision will offer a great opportunity to the Indian defence industry to manufacture the items in the negative list by using their own design and development capabilities or adopting the technologies designed & developed by DRDO to meet the requirements of the Armed Forces, he added.

The defence minister said the list of the embargoed items comprises of not just simple parts but also some high tech weapon systems like artillery guns, assault rifles, corvettes, sonar systems, transport aircraft, LCHs, radars & many other items to fulfil needs of our defence services.

He also said the list was made after several rounds of consultations with all stakeholders, including the armed forces, public and private industry to assess current and future capabilities of the Indian industry for manufacturing various ammunition & equipment within India.

All necessary steps would be taken to ensure that timelines for production of equipment as per the Negative Import List are met, which will include a co-ordinated mechanism for hand holding of the industry by the Defence Services, Singh tweeted.

The announcements made by Singh on Sunday are part of the governments recent emphasis on the Atmanirbhar Bharat mission after PM Modis push for self-reliant India during his address to the nation in May. Modi had in his address stressed the importance of promoting local products.
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP)  A traditional Afghan council concluded Sunday with hundreds of delegates agreeing to free 400 Taliban members, paving the way for an early start to negotiations between Afghanistan's warring sides.

The declaration calls for an immediate start to negotiations and a cease-fire. The move looks to bring the United States a little closer to bringing home its troops and ending its longest military engagement.

No date has been set for the release, but negotiations between Kabuls political leadership and the Taliban are expected to begin as early as next week, and will most likely be held in the Mideast state of Qatar, where the Taliban maintain a political office.

These Afghan negotiations were laid out in a peace deal signed by the U.S. and the Taliban in February. At the time of its signing it was touted as Afghanistans best chance at ending decades of war.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani praised delegates for their decision, urged the Taliban to stop fighting.

Taliban political spokesman Suhail Shaheen said the decision was a good step, a positive step. He said negotiations could start within one week of their prisoners being freed.

As for a cease-fire, Shaheen said the Taliban were committed to the deal it struck with the U.S., and according to that deal the cease-fire will be one of the items to be discussed during the intra-Afghan negotiations."

Later Sunday afternoon, an explosive devise hidden in a cart killed two people in Kabul. The spokesman for the capital's police, Firdus Faramarz, said policemen were trying to remove the device when it exploded. Five police were injured.

A recent spike in violence in Afghanistan has been mostly attributed to the Islamic State affiliate, whom the Taliban are fighting, as are the Afghan government and U.S. forces. Previously, a U.S. Defense Department official who spoke anonymously because of the sensitivity of the subject said Washington considered IS its biggest threat in Afghanistan, and wanted a deal that would recruit the Taliban in a coordinated fight against it.

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The council's decision to free the Taliban prisoners did not come as a surprise, as delegates were urged by the U.S. at the start of the council, or jirga, on Friday to take this difficult action so negotiations could begin to bring an end to the war.

The U.S.-Taliban deal in February called for the government to free 5,000 prisoners and for the Taliban to free 1,000 government and military personnel in its custody as a goodwill gesture ahead of the start of negotiations.

Kabul balked at the release, but eventually freed all but the last 400. President Ghani said he was not authorized to free these because of the seriousness of their crimes, and asked for the council to decide instead. He did not detail what the 400 were accused of.

Delegates were therefore given the stark choice of either freeing the prisoners or seeing a war that has killed tens of thousands continue. The delegates said they wanted international guarantees that the Taliban would not return to the battlefield.

Washington's peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad spent more than a year and a half negotiating the deal with the Taliban to provide for the withdrawal of American soldiers after more than 19 years in Afghanistan.

The withdrawal began earlier this year, but roughly 8,600 U.S. soldiers remain in Afghanistan. Their return will depend on the Taliban honoring its commitment to fight against other terrorist groups and ensure Afghanistan is not again used to attack America or its allies.

U.S. Defense Secretary Mike Esper on Saturday said Washington will bring home another 3,600 soldiers by November, leaving less than 5,000 in Afghanistan.

We think that we can do all the core missions, first and foremost being ensured the United States is not threatened by terrorists coming out of Afghanistan. We can do those at a lower level, Esper told the Fox News Channels Justice with Judge Jeanine program.

The withdrawal of U.S. and NATO troops is not dependent on the success of negotiations between Kabul's political leadership and the Taliban. But U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has made it clear that Washington wants a negotiated end to the conflict, including a cease-fire.

An attack against a military compound on Saturday killed seven military personnel and injured another 16, and served as a reminder that Afghanistan's war won't be over easily. No one took responsibility for the attack, but both the Taliban and Islamic State affiliate are active in the area.

_____

Gannon reported from Islamabad.
Gunmen on motorcycles killed six French tourists and their Nigerien guide and driver in a wildlife park today, a senior official and a security source said.

The group was attacked in a giraffe reserve in Niger's Koure area, the governor of Tillaberi region, Tidjani Ibrahim Katiella, said.

'They were intercepted and killed,' he added, confirming that six French people and two Nigeriens died. A Niger security source said the Nigeriens were a guide and a driver.

French President Emmanuel Macron's office confirmed that French nationals had been killed in Niger. It said Macron spoke on the phone with Niger's President Mahamadou Issoufou, but provided no further details.

There was no immediate comment from the government in Niger.

Pictured: The car where six French tourists, their local guide and the driver were killed by an unidentified gunmen riding motorcycles on August 9, 2020 in an area of southwestern Niger

The group was attacked in a giraffe reserve in the West African country's Koure area, the governor of Tillaberi region, Tidjani Ibrahim Katiella, said

The French government warns people against travelling to large parts of Niger where militant groups including Boko Haram and an affiliate of Islamic State operate.

The Koure Giraffe Reserve, around 40 miles southeast of the capital Niamey, is a popular attraction in Niger, a huge country that borders seven states in an unstable region including Libya, Mali, Chad, Algeria and Nigeria.

Militants linked to Islamic State killed four U.S. soldiers in an ambush in Niger in October 2017, an attack that increased scrutiny of U.S. counter-terrorism operations there.

France, a former colonial power in the region, also launched a coalition of West African and European allies in June to fight Islamist militants in the Sahel region that includes Niger.

It has deployed thousands of troops in the arid region south of the Sahara desert since 2013. But militant violence has been on the rise.
Flooded by complaints of exorbitant rates being charged from Covid-19 patients by private hospitals, the West Bengal Clinical Establishment Regulatory Commission has stated in an advisory that no hospital can charge more than Rs 50,000 as advance deposit during admission and patients families have to be given 12 hours to get the money. If a family cannot provide the money then it can take the patient to another hospital, the commission has said.

In another advisory issued on Saturday evening the commission has also said that sanction from patients families have to be taken for pathological tests if these cost more than Rs 2000 and necessity of the tests have to be explained to the families in advance. The commission has, however, said that if a test is considered urgent then it can be conducted but the attending doctor will bear the responsibility.

With these, the commission has issued 10 advisories to private hospitals. Eight advisories were issued last week.

Senior state health department officials said the Mamata Banerjee government may in the future fix the rates of treatment in intensive care unit (ICU), critical care unit (CCU) and ventilation facilities as well.

The chief minister (who is in charge of the health department as well) has taken note of numerous complaints. In one of these cases, a family had to pay Rs 1.5 lakh in one and a half days although the patient was not in critical state, said an official who did not want to be quoted.

While the governments decision to put a ceiling on advance deposit has not drawn any adverse reaction from hospitals, some have questioned the logic behind explaining the necessity of tests to a patients family during critical care.

Rupak Barua, president, Association of Hospitals of Eastern India, said, We have received two advisories. There are some aspects of advisory No 10 which need some clarification. We will request the commission to share some more clarity.

Saturdays advisories came a week after the commission issued seven advisories in one go, saying numerous anomalies have come to its notice. All hospitals and laboratories in the state are registered under the Clinical Establishment (Registration, Regulation and Transparency) Act

The government last week said most hospitals were charging patients for the most expensive antibiotics, antifungals, analgesics and other drugs although these are available in different price ranges. In one of the advisories, the commission said, Patients relatives shall be offered to choose which brand they would like to purchase.

The government has already fixed a sum of Rs 1,000 per day on account of PPE to be charged in the in-patient bill. However, some of the clinical establishments are charging additional amounts on account of sanitizer, additional gloves, head gear, etc, said an advisory issued last week.

It has come to the notice of the commission that the pathological laboratories authorized to conduct Covid-19 tests by way of home collection are charging additional amounts over and excess of Rs 2250 fixed by the government, said another advisory issued last Saturday.
C Shivakumar By

Express News Service

CHENNAI: Amid the Covid pandemic, Tamil Nadu has been a rare bright spot in the country, having shown robust economic recovery. Officials say the State continues to remain one of the most attractive investment destinations, thanks to the efficient manner in which it has handled the Covid crisis.

One of the most industrialised States, Tamil Nadu had clocked higher economic growth rate than the national average for three consecutive years. However, the States growth engines came to a halt when the lockdown was imposed in March. A top government official told Express that in April, the State managed to earn Rs 2,052 crore, a drop of 75 per cent (-75%) compared to last years revenue (Rs 8,544 crore). But the recovery has been rapid since then, said the official highlighting how the Covid strategy of conducting more tests paid off.

While Tamil Nadu showed the way by rapidly ramping up Covid testing, some industrialists were worried that the rise in cases would be detrimental to the States image. But policy makers, rather than heeding to the request, went ahead with the testing. We were the only State to do RT-PCR tests rather than going in for other tests, said the official. And this paid off in controlling the pandemic and ensuring the confidence of the international agencies like the World Bank.

Asian Development Bank, JICA and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. Even the investors vouched for the State as many MoUs were signed up. While the States share of Central taxes and grants from the Central government (which include a revenue deficit grant of Rs 40 billion, equivalent to 0.2 per cent of GSDP, awarded by the 15th Finance Commission) may be delayed due to Covid, the State hopes to manage the situation as it has been permitted to increase the borrowing.

We will be getting loans at a reasonable rate, said the official.Meanwhile, it is learnt that the State governments medium-term fiscal statement, presented in mid-February 2020, together with the States budget, contained an optimistic narrative at a time when the impact of Covid was expected to be modest and short-lived.

The fiscal deficit was expected to narrow gradually until financial year 2022-23 from just under 3.0 per cent of GSDP in financial year 2019-2020 to 2.8 per cent in FY 2020-2021 and further to 2.6 and 2.5 per cent in FY21/22 and FY22/23, respectively. But, the projections have been put in the backburner as the pandemic has been hovering for nearly five months.

Interestingly, the State constituted a high-level committee headed by former RBI Governor C Rangarajan to assess the overall immediate impact of the pandemic on different sectors of State economy. The committee will be able to able give a forecast about the state of economy, said the official.

High testing paid dividends
The Indian Air Forces rapid deployment Chinook helicopters have flown in the night over 16,000 feet Daulet Beg Oldi, Indian Armys last outpost near Karakoram Pass, after the deployment and road building activity of Chinas Peoples Liberation Army deployment increased in the area across the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

According to authoritative sources, the divisional commander level meeting at Teinweindien (TWD) post in occupied Aksai Chin was to lower the temperatures in the DBO sector with the Indian Army demanding that patrolling in Depsang Plains should be allowed unhindered. The DBO dialogue is separate from the military commanders on-going dialogue on Chushul-Moldo area with the specific task of disengagement and de-escalation of troops on the four friction points.

The decision to fly Chinook over DBO advance landing ground during night time was taken to test the Indian Armys capability of rapid insertion of special forces and infantry combat vehicles in case the situation deteriorates in the sub-sector north (SSN) area.  While Apache attack helicopters have been patrolling Chushul area, the US made Chinook flew over DBO to test its night fighting capabilities..we have already deployed T-90 tanks and artillery guns in the area, said a senior commander. The US built Chinook has a proven record of night flying in Afghan mountainous terrain and is used for rapid military retaliation by the special airborne forces. The twin rotor platform has two heavy calibre machine guns deployed at the front and back of the chopper to suppress ground fire.

While the Chinese have raised objections to the deployment of tanks and guns at DBO, the Indian Army have pointed to recent accretion of PLA troops in the area along with air activity across the SSN. Both sides are matching each others deployment in the area even as the PLA is indulging in fast paced construction of roads in the area for rapid deployment. The interesting part is that while China raises objections to India building border infrastructure, there is no slowing down of the same all along the LAC---from occupied Aksai Chin to Kibuthoo in Arunachal Pradesh.

At the divisional commander level meeting on Saturday, India has also raised the issue that both sides should be allowed to do unhindered patrolling of their respective claim lines in the area including the Depsang Bulge, south of DBO. This was a clear indication of the Indian intent that it is not going to back down from patrolling rights at the Bulge or at any other place on the LAC.

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As the race for a novel coronavirus vaccine continues, there's growing concern from scientists and economic experts that wealthy nations are prioritizing getting doses for their own citizens at the cost of poorer nations and thus failing to control the global pandemic.

Some countries -- including the U.S. and the U.K. -- are securing vast quantities of new coronavirus vaccine candidates in a phenomenon being dubbed "vaccine nationalism."

Now, a growing chorus of experts is sounding the alarm. They say that with a virus capable of quickly spreading from country to country, vaccinating one nation at a time will ultimately prolong the pandemic, lead to more lives lost and continue to devastate the world economy.

"The virus does not know and does not respect borders. An outbreak of the virus anywhere threatens people everywhere," Dr. Dan Barouch, professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, told ABC News.

MORE: Dems want expert panel to OK coronavirus vaccine before mass use

While it's understandable for each country's "health departments to have a primary responsibly to their country's citizens," Barouch said, "each country needs to have a dual goal -- a goal of protecting their citizens and also ... to do their part in solving the global pandemic."

Economists Thomas J. Bollyky and Chad P. Bown have said the fastest way to stop the pandemic is by breaking chains of transmission by allocating the vaccine to people who are the most likely to be infected -- no matter where they live.

"Global cooperation on vaccine allocation would be the most efficient way to disrupt the spread of the virus. It would also spur economies, avoid supply chain disruptions, and prevent unnecessary geopolitical conflict," they wrote in a recent editorial published in Foreign Affairs.

PHOTO: An employee is seen at the Reference Center for Special Immunobiologicals (CRIE) of the Federal University of Sao Paulo (Unifesp) where the trials of the Oxford/AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine are conducted, in Sao Paulo, Brazil, June 24, 2020. (Amanda Perobelli/Reuters, File)

Yet, even if global cooperation is the most efficient way to halt a virus in its tracks, it's a difficult political proposition.

Story continues

In the midst of this debate, wealthy countries have invested heavily in ensuring that their own citizens get the vaccine first.

"Prioritization of vaccine access can't be governed by political borders. This means health workers and the vulnerable deserve to be first in line regardless of nationality," said Dr. John Brownstein, an epidemiologist and ABC News contributor.

MORE: As vaccines move into phase 3 trials, diversity must be at top of agenda

The U.S. has Operation Warp Speed -- a government-funded initiative to turbocharge vaccine development and secure vaccine doses for the U.S. population. In total, almost $10 billion has been allocated by Congress for hundreds of millions of doses to be made available to U.S. citizens.

In Europe, there is the Inclusive Vaccines Alliance which has already agreed to buy 400 million doses of AstraZeneca's vaccine being co-developed with Oxford University.

The U.K. has made a deal with AstraZeneca and Wockhardt to secure and distribute 30 million vaccine doses by September, part of a broader push to get 100 million doses by the end of the year. A deal has also been made for the Sanofi/GlaxoSmithKline vaccine.

PHOTO: President Donald Trump delivers a speech during a visit to the Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies' Innovation Center, where components for a potential coronavirus vaccine candidate are being developed, in Morrrisville, N.C., July 27, 2020. (Carlos Barria/Reuters)

Some have compared the coronavirus vaccine buyouts to the 2009 swine flu pandemic, when wealthier countries bought up of most of the vaccine doses. The U.S. and many European countries donated some of their vaccines to poorer countries, but only when they were satisfied that they had enough doses for their own citizens.

That's important, because a strategy of vaccinating high-risk people first -- wherever they are -- is thought to be most effective at slowing viral transmission.

"Ensuring fair, equitable and transparent allocation is not just the right thing to do, it's in everyone's best interest," Brownstein said. "Placing certain wealthy countries at the top of this list will only serve to prolong the pandemic."

MORE: Vaccine companies searching for 1-shot dose of COVID-19 vaccine

There are also implications for vaccine cost. Countries "bidding" against each other could also increase the cost of vaccines for everyone.

Even countries that do secure large doses of vaccine candidates, the risk remains that the vaccine they bought simply doesn't work well enough. Some countries could be playing a potentially dangerous game by gambling on a small number of vaccines.

PHOTO: Nurse Jose Muniz prepares a COVID-19 vaccination at Research Centers of America on Aug. 7, 2020, in Hollywood, Fla. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Although the World Health Organization has set up a group called the COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access, with a mission statement to guarantee "fair and equitable access for every country in the world," its lofty goals will only be realized with a formal and tangible commitment by powerful nations.

But like other global scourges, the burden of supplying a coronavirus vaccine to low-income countries is likely to fall to nongovernmental organizations like the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and international vaccine collaborations it founded, such as the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations and Gavi.

According to Barouch, nothing short of a global strategy will work to control the virus. "For a global pandemic, if the virus is not brought under control globally ... we will not solve the problem."

Dr. Laith Alexander is an academic doctor at St. Thomas' Hospital in London and working with ABC News' Medical Unit. Sony Salzman is the unit's coordinating producer.

Vaccine nationalism: Experts warn countries against taking 'me-first' approach originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
KV Navya By

Express News Service

CHENNAI: R Subbiah was over the moon when he received a job offer in Singapore earlier this year. The new job meant an end to all his financial woes as the company promised him nearly 40 per cent hike. He resigned his job as the retail head of sales at a firm in Chennai and even visited Singapore in February. But then, Covid struck the world and the employment pass he had applied, got rejected.

I was still positive that the situation might return to normal soon and was in fact happy that I got more time to spend with my son. I was very happy and relaxed in the first month, but five months later, I am battling mental pressure as I am still jobless and the commitments are plenty, said 35-year-old Subbiah who is staying with his wife and son.

Armed with an MBA degree and 11 years of experience in the field, Subbiah is still searching all over the Internet and calling his friends and acquaintances for a job opportunity. I could not even go back to the company from which I resigned because they had already shut down their office in Chennai. Pay cuts and layoffs had begun and that clearly meant a no. I had saved some money but it lasted for not more than three months, said Subbiah.

By the beginning of July, he was scrambling to pay loans and his sons school fee. My son is in pre-KG and I always believed that I could pay his annual fee at once. Now, I am worried if I will be able to pay anything at all, he said.

Subbiah added that it has been over a month since he slept properly. I struggled to grow step by step for 11 years and when I finally bagged an offer that could change my life, the pandemic turned it upside down. Subbiah said the pandemic has taught him a lesson to save more. Post Covid, the rich may feel life is short and enjoy more, but the middle-class have learned the importance of savings. My 11 years of hard work hardly lasted for three months.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 9)  The rank-and-file employees of the embattled Philippine Health Insurance Corp. have called on President Rodrigo Duterte to appoint a "caretaker" who could temporarily take charge amid numerous controversies hounding the agency.

In a statement on Sunday, a group of employees from PhilHealth-WHITE cited the leave of absence and resignation of its top officials which could be compromising the operations of the agency, while congressional and other probes are ongoing.

"With the leave of absence of two of our most senior officers and the resignation of one, we nonetheless call for President Duterte to put in charge a caretaker who is an expert in the field of health insurance with proven integrity and incorruptibility  someone who is not himself or herself under investigation," the group said.

It added that putting someone else in charge would dispel "all doubts about whitewashing and cover-ups," while ensuring of an investigation that will "weed out" those who are guilty.

The group also called on their fellow employees to carefully scrutinize the issue, after last week's congressional probes uncovered alleged overpricing, manipulation of financial statements, and corruption involving the agency's top officials.

The group also welcomed the conduct of an external investigating body, referring to "Task Force PhilHealth," who could conduct audit and lifestyle checks on employees.

The Department of Justice earlier announced that it will convene top officials from the Office of the Ombudsman, Commission on Audit, Civil Service Commission, Office of the Executive Secretary, Office of the President, and the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission to perform the investigation.

On Saturday, PhilHealth president and CEO Ricardo Morales sent a medical certificate to the Senate Committee of the Whole informing it that he had been advised to take a leave of absence due to his lymphoma treatment, days before the second round of grilling from lawmakers. PhilHealth executive vice president Arnel de Jesus also asked to be excused due to an "unforeseen medical emergency."

During the House and Senate probe last Tuesday and Wednesday, PhilHealth officials were accused of stealing some 15 billion from the agency, apart from other fraudulent schemes.

Vice President Leni Robredo on Sunday sought the suspension of officials involved, to allow authorities to make room for a more in-depth investigation on the agency's long-standing issues of corruption.

The Senate panel will convene once again on Tuesday morning to continue its hearing on PhilHealth controversies.
Bengaluru Police often takes a creative path to put forth all sorts of information in front of people. They also frequently add an artistic touch to their posts to drive home essential messages. Case in point is their recent Instagram post which acts as a reminder for people to abide by specific safety measures during these perilous times. The tweet is complete with an image.

The image shared by the department has the words, Smart tactics to win this game, written on it. It also has a picture of a dice, three sides of which are visible. Whats interesting to notice is that all the sites have important messages for people. One of the sides has an image of a mask with the same word written on it. Similarly, the other two sides have pictures and words sanitizer and social distancing written on them.

A few days ago, the police department also shared a tweet stressing on the importance of wearing masks. They did so in quite a witty manner and in form of a crosswords puzzle. Oh, so you think youre too cool for masks? Tell us more, they tweeted and shared this image:

Oh, so you think youre too cool for masks? Tell us more. #ArrestCorona pic.twitter.com/hrXgckcG1v  BengaluruCityPolice (@BlrCityPolice) August 8, 2020

Bengaluru Police is not the only department which often takes to social media to spread awareness. Just a few days ago, Pune Police too shared their innovative post to remind people about the essential safety measures which they need to follow, always. With the caption Instant safety? Check, the department tweeted the post. They also shared an image along with the tweet.
Srinagar, Aug 9 : There has been a 50 per cent decline in incidents of security forces killed in Jammu & Kashmir during operations this year so far compared to last year's corresponding period, data has revealed.

As per the data compiled by the Jammu & Kashmir Police, a total of 36 security personnel were killed this year between January and July while the number was 76 last year during the same period. However, the data said, injuries to security forces have increased this year.

A total of 138 security force personnel were injured this year so far compared to last year's 107 cases during January to July, the data says, adding the number was more than 3,300 during the Burhan Wani incident in 2016.

More than 3,300 security personnel from Jammu & Kashmir Police and central paramilitary forces were injured while maintaining law and order in the valley in over 1,000 violent incidents in Kashmir since the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani in an encounter with security forces on July 8, 2016, the J&K Police said.

Speaking on the trend, Jammu & Kashmir Director General of Police Dilbag Singh told IANS that casualties of security forces during operations have been very low this year compared to previous years following strategic action against active anti-national groups and banning of several organisations like Jamaat-e-Islami by the Centre.

The officer said that 504 separatists have been freed after signing a 'Good Behaviour Bond' and they will be caught soon if they violate law and order and instigate youths to get involved in stone pelting and other anti-government activities. A total of 104 people of Jamaat and Hurriyat were booked last year and 13 this year under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), said the DGP, adding that "top separatist leaders like Ashraf Sehrai and Amir Hamza were arrested when we came to know that they are expected to succeed Syed Ali Shah Geelani as Chairman of the hardline faction of All Parties Hurriyat Conference." As per the data, overall law and order incidents have also declined to 102 this year compared to last year's 389 cases during January to July. There is 73 per cent decline this year compared to last year. The data further reveals that the J&K Police has so far registered 261 FIRs under UAPA and arrested 444 people.

Last year, the data says, 395 cases under UAPA were registered and 849 people were arrested. In terms of law and order incidents, following the abrogation of Article 370, incidents in Jammu & Kashmir below 50 per cent, says the data, adding it was not even 8 per cent in terms of violence.

In terms of intensity, the J&K Police chief said these cases are nowhere close to the Burhan Wani period as "no one was killed and not a single bullet was fired post abrogation". Post abrogation, the number of civilians injured during operations was around 70 while around 200 security personnel suffered injuries, reveals the data.

The police chief of the erstwhile state said this is due to the restraint of the security forces.

"The force injuries were more than three times the civilian injuries. Neither civilians nor security personnel were killed in the incidents." The officer said that the people here have cooperated and the police have tried to increase their cooperation level so far. "Under the current scenario, Jammu and Kashmir Police has one of the best relations with the public. The people and Kashmir might have 10 grievances against civil, service delivery and governance. But the grievances against the police will be limited and motivated," the DGP said.

"There may be issues on governance level but the situation on obedience level is better. Dande maar ke nahi karwaya hai (we did not do it by force). It all happened because of neat and clear actions of the police." According to the data, this year a total of 124 terrorist-related incidents were noted in Jammu & Kashmir compared to 198 reported last year during January to July. These incidents include shooting, hurling of grenades, kidnapping, burning of government property and raising TRF flags.

"There is 37 per cent decline in these incidents," he said.

(Rajnish Singh can be contacted at rajnish.s@ians.in)
ByteDance-owned TikTok is planning to sue the United States (US) government over an executive order signed by President Donald Trump that banned the app in the country. The China-based company is expected to file a lawsuit on Tuesday, August 11 according to US-based National Public Radio (NPR).

TikTok's lawsuit will oppose President Trump's executive order which the company believes is unconstitutional as it was not given any time to respond to the order. TikTok is also planning to sue the government over allegations accusing the social media app of providing US citizens data to the Chinese government. TikTok has termed all allegations against it as unsubstantiated and completely false.

"It's based on pure speculation and conjecture. The order has no findings of fact, just reiterates rhetoric about China that has been kicking around," a person involved in the matter told NPR. They also said that the executive order is completely baseless.

The White House has declined to comment on the expected lawsuit but it did give a statement defending President Trump's executive order. "The Administration is committed to protecting the American people from all cyber-related threats to critical infrastructure, public health and safety, and our economic and national security," said White House spokesman Judd Deere.

Earlier this month, Trump signed an executive order banning TikTok in the US. He said the app poses a threat to national security, foreign policy and economy of the US. The Chinese app is set to be banned from doing any business in the US beginning 45 days after the date of the executive order.

Trump signed the executive order a few weeks after India banned TikTok from the country.

Meanwhile, Microsoft is in talks with ByteDance to buy the global business of the Chinese video-sharing app. However, no deal has been signed yet.

Also Read: TikTok asks advertisers to prepare for possible ban in US

Also Read: Microsoft aims to buy TikTok's entire global business






She recently made headlines after being photographed holding a sex toy while being interviewed with media personality Danny Clayton in Bondi, Sydney.

And Bachelor In Paradise's Abbie Chatfield, 24, showed her playful side again while the pair were partying again together in Wooloomooloo, Sydney, on Saturday

Posting to Instagram Stories during the festivities, Abbie showed a throwback photo of Danny, 34, in high school.

Teasing: Bachelor in Paradise's Abbie Chatfield, 24, uploaded footage of this embarrassing photo of Danny Clayton, 34, in high school while the pair were partying together in Sydney on Saturday night

Rock on,' Abbie jokingly said, while aiming the camera at the photo of a fresh-faced Danny with long blonde hair.

Clearly mortified, Danny was then heard screaming: 'You're not looking at that photo!'

'Danny, Danny. Hey babe, rock on,' Abbie responded, as Danny screamed back: 'Don't do it!'

Embarrassing: Abbie (pictured) cheekily then gestured with a 'rock on' signal while continuing to film the embarrassing photo

Abbie cheekily then gestured with a 'rock on' signal while continuing to film the embarrassing photo.

It is not known whether the pair were spending time together as friends, or whether they are planning a new project together.

On Friday, it was revealed Abbie will expand her audio empire by launching a new show with co-star, Jessica Brody, titled Over Doing It To Em.

New project: It is not known if the pair were spending time together as friends, or whether they are planning a new project together

The twosome have yet to reveal the official concept of the podcast yet, but Jessica told her followers that she'll be using it to shed light on mental health issues.

'If you guys want to listen to the bulls**t that I have to say in the longer format, go follow my podcast,' she said.

'I'll talk more about self-love and positivity and confidence and s**t like that on there.'

Content queens: On Friday, Abbie (L) revealed she is teaming up with her Paradise co-star Jessica Brody (R) for a new podcast called Over Doing It To Em

Meanwhile, Abbie asked her followers if they knew anybody who could help with the audio production of the podcast by providing an opening song for the show.

The announcement has already sent Jessica and Abbie's fans into a frenzy, with many commenting that they can't wait for the show to launch.

'SO damn excited for this!' gushed one. 'Such a fan of how youre both so good at having a laugh at the dumb s**t (without it being at anyones expense) but discussing the deep/important shit with integrity and grace. A queen in each ear.'

Superstar: With over 310,000 Instagram followers, Jessica is one of the biggest social media stars to come out of The Bachelor franchise

Another wrote: 'I am aggressively excited about this.'

Abbie is currently one of Australia's most successful celebrity podcasters thanks to her popular podcast, It's a Lot.

In addition to discussing feminist issues, the 25-year-old has also made headlines with her frank and uncensored discussions on sex.
If I hear one more individual  be it on a political stage, in front of a network news camera or any other venue  talk about August 26, 1920 as the day women were given the vote, Im gonna scream.

While the certification of the 19th Amendment to the US. Constitution on that day guaranteed all American women the right to vote, women werent given anything. They fought and fought hard for that right.

We should honor the centennial of womens suffrage next month, even though COVID-19 has knocked out all the local events that were planned.

Kenosha had at least two groups working on womens suffrage in the 20th century: The Kenosha County Equal Suffrage League and the Political Equality League of Kenosha.

Here are the names of a just few of the local women who made the commitment to work toward the goal of full suffrage, taken from the roll of the Kenosha County Equal Suffrage League in 1915:

Chief Executive Officer: Miss Harriet F. Bain

First Vice President: Mrs. Mary D. Bradford

Second Vice President: Miss Florence Wells

Third Vice President: Mrs. Gerthie Robinson

Treasurer: Mrs. Mary Peterson

Secretary: Mrs. Harriet S. Maywood

Legislative Chairwoman: Mrs. Louise D. Cole

Social Chairwoman: Mrs. Edith W. Fox

Finance Chairwoman: Mrs. Millie G. McIntyre

Press Chairwoman: Mrs. Charlotte Jordan

Membership Chairwoman: Mrs. Effie O. Hatfield

Lecture Chairwoman: Miss Mary E. Langan

Some of the 170 members of that group stayed in Kenosha, while others moved away but still carried on working for the cause elsewhere.

State suffrage attempts shot down

These women were infuriated that men had trounced the two chances Wisconsin had to join the ranks of states with full womens suffrage.

Wisconsin Senate Bill 103, which would have allowed women to vote in all elections, passed the Wisconsin Legislature but was shot down in a statewide referendum bid on Nov. 5, 1912. The referendum was defeated, 227,024 to 135,546. (In Kenosha, it was defeated 2,651 to 2,144.)

The next year, Assembly Bill 520 was stalled when the vote on the floor was indefinitely postponed. Senate Bill 225 passed in both houses of the state legislature.

This time, Gov. Francis E. McGovern vetoed it in November of 1913, saying it was too soon after the 1912 vote to be placed on the 1916 ballot.

After the veto, the Kenosha County Equal Suffrage League received special recognition from Wisconsin Woman Suffrage Association President Theodora Youmans, who said, However able and active any suffrage workers may be, they cannot be superior to Kenosha.

On display until Dec. 1 at the Kenosha History Center is a colorful certificate from the National American Woman Suffrage Association. It was bestowed on Kenoshan Emma E. Robinson on Feb. 16, 1920. It is signed by the noted suffragist Carrie Chapman Catt, president of the National American Woman Suffrage Association. Note: The History Center remains closed due to COVID-19. For updates on reopening plans, go the the museums website, www.kenoshahistorycenter.org.

Tenacity in their veins

In the 20th century, the National American Woman Suffrage Associations aim was to work state by state for womens suffrage while the breakaway National Womans Party took on the national elected officials.

The latter, led by Alice Paul  who was blessed with a flair for the dramatic  hit the outside game with marches, peaceful demonstrations and tirelessly picketing the White House.

It was at this time that the women showed their true grit. Peaceful demonstrators were rounded up in Washington, D.C., in June of 1917 and arrested for obstructing traffic. They were jailed, and more picketers took their place in the line. It became a revolving door, with escalating jail time.

Summer turned to fall and still they kept coming. Their insistence on political prisoner status fell on deaf ears.

When the incarcerated Paul and Rose Winslow went on a hunger strike, the guards force fed them with rubber tubing.

Paul and 32 women protesters were taken to the Occoquan Workhouse  a filthy, deplorable Virginia jail  on the night of Nov. 14, 1917. For many days and nights, they endured contaminated water, wormy food, insect-infested bedding and brutality from the guards.

But they did not break.

Other incarcerated women joined the hunger strike. Federal leaders began to worry some of the women might die in in custody, and on Nov. 27-28 most were released.

It would be six weeks more before the 19th Amendment bill passed the House of Representatives on Jan. 10, 1918.

Kenoshan Harriet Bain worked non-stop with Catt and Wisconsin-born Anna Howard Shaw lobbying Congress.

When the suffrage bill passed in the lower house, Bain wasted no time telegraphing Robinson in Kenosha to give her the good news. Bain was credited with influencing several delegates from Wisconsin and Florida into supporting the bill.

World War I ended and the suffrage cause was gaining momentum. The Senate finally passed the Amendment on June 4, 1919.

Ratification painfully slow

Wisconsin was the first state to ratify the amendment at 11 a.m. on June 10, 1919, with votes of 24-1 in the Senate and 52-2 in the Assembly. Illinois likes to claim it was the first state to ratify the amendment, but because of a mistake in filing, it had to be re-ratified on June 17.

Two-thirds (36) of the states had to ratify the amendment in order to make it law.

Tennessee became the 36th state when it ratified on Aug. 18,1920.

The November presidential election of 1920 did not see a tsunami of womens votes. About 9 million women voted, which was a third of the women eligible to vote in the U.S. at that time. But those 9 million votes represented about three times the number of women who were active in the suffrage movements last phase.

Catt founded the League of Women Voters, a non-partisan, activist, grassroots organization that believes voters play a critical role in democracy.

And more and more women started to vote. According to the Center for American Women and Politics, Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers University, the number of women voting have exceeded the number of men in every presidential election since 1964.

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Former Naches Valley Elementary School campus still for sale

The former Naches Valley Elementary School campus at 2700 Old Naches Highway is for sale by Almon Commercial Real Estate for $995,000.

According to the listing, the property includes four buildings: a primary classroom structure, a combination classroom and auditorium/kitchen-oriented building, a gymnasium and a mechanical room. The purchase price also includes a pair of permanently attached portable improvements on separate foundations.

The property sits on 7.56 acres.
Lebanon Information Minister Resigns in Wake of Deadly Blast

BEIRUTLebanons information minister resigned Aug. 9 as the country grapples with the aftermath of a devastating blast that ripped through the capital and raised public anger to new levels.

The resignation comes as public anger is mounting against the ruling elite, blamed for the chronic mismanagement and corruption that is believed to be behind the explosion in a Beirut port warehouse.

Hundreds of tons of highly explosive material were stored in the waterfront hangar, and a blast sent a shock wave that killed at least 160 people, wounded nearly 6,000, and defaced the coastline of Beirutdestroying hundreds of buildings.

The scene of the explosion that hit the seaport of Beirut, Lebanon, on Aug. 5, 2020. (Hussein Malla/AP Photo)

Manal Abdel-Samad said in her resignation letter that change remains elusive and she regrets failing to fulfill the aspirations of the Lebanese people.

Given the magnitude of the catastrophe caused by the Beirut earthquake that shook the nation and hurt our hearts and minds, and in respect for the martyrs, and the pains of the wounded, missing and displaced, and in response to the public will for change, I resign from the government, she wrote.

In the country where civil war raged for 15 years, few, if any, have been held accountable for it and most of the warlords remain in power or leading powerful political factions.

On Aug. 9, Frances ambassador to Lebanon said his country is taking part in the investigation of the Aug. 4 blast. Bruno Foucher tweeted that 46 officers are operating as part of the judicial investigation. That probe was started by a French prosecutor after a French national, Jean-Marc Bonfils, was killed in the blast and others were injured.

It is a guarantee of impartiality and speed in the investigation, Foucher tweeted.

A general view shows the port warehouses destroyed by Tuesdays explosion that hit the seaport of Beirut, Lebanon on Aug. 7, 2020. (Hussein Malla/AP Photo)

The disaster fueled angry demonstrations Aug. 8, as protesters set up gallows and nooses in central Beirut and held mock hanging sessions of cut-out cardboard images of top Lebanese officials.

Demonstrators held signs that read resign or hang. The protests quickly turned violent when the demonstrators pelted stones at the security forces, who responded with heavy volleys of tear gas and rubber bullets. One police officer was killed and dozens of people were hurt in confrontations that lasted for hours.

Protesters also fanned out around the city, storming a couple of government ministries. They briefly took over the foreign ministry, saying it will be the headquarters of their movement. In the economy and energy ministries, the protesters ransacked offices and seized public documents claiming they would reveal how corruption has permeated successive governments.

Anti-government protesters clash with riot police officers during a protest against the political elites and the government after this weeks deadly explosion at Beirut port which devastated large parts of the capital and killed more than 160 people, in Beirut, Lebanon, on Aug. 8, 2020. (Hassan Ammar/AP Photo)

Five of the parliaments 128 members have also announced their resignation since Saturdayincluding three legislators of the Christian Kataeb party, a member of the Socialist Progressive Party, and an independent.

Abdel-Samads resignation comes amid reports that another government official the environment ministeris expected to resign, adding to the challenges facing Prime Minister Hassan Diab.

Diab, who took over in January, has since been beset by crises.

The government, backed by the powerful Hezbollah terrorist group and its allies, announced it is defaulting on Lebanons sovereign debt and has since been engaged in difficult, internally divisive talks with the International Monetary Fund for assistance. The coronavirus restrictions deepened the impact of the economic and financial crisis and fueled public anger against the new government. Lebanese have criticized Diabs government for being unable to tackle the challenges, saying it represents the deep-seated political class that has had a hold of the countrys politics since the end of the civil war in 1990.

Foreign Minister Nassif Hitti resigned even before the blast, citing an absence of effective will to achieve comprehensive structural reform and competing leadership.

In a televised speech late on Aug. 8, Diab said the only solution is to hold early elections. He called on all political parties to put aside their disagreements and said he was prepared to stay in the post for two months to allow time for politicians to work on structural reforms.

Hassan Diab talks to the media after being named Lebanons new prime minister, at the presidential palace in Baabda, Lebanon, on Dec. 19, 2019. (Mohamed Azakir/Reuters)

The offer is unlikely to soothe the escalating fury on the street. Its also expected to trigger lengthy discussions over the election law amid calls for introducing changes to the countrys sectarian-based representation system.

The information ministers resignation comes ahead of an international conference co-hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron and United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres aimed at bringing donors together to supply emergency aid and equipment to Lebanon. Previous offers of aid have been contingent on carrying out significant government reforms to tackle corruption.

By Sarah El Deeb
The Royal Navy should take charge of the migrant crisis in the Channel and deploy ships to patrol UK waters, says the former First Sea Lord.

Admiral Lord Wests comments to the Daily Mail support the plan by Home Secretary Priti Patel for military resources to be used to stop people trafficking.

The ex-head of the Navy said Britain currently lacked sufficient ships and air reconnaissance to ensure the security of the coastline.

He warned that hundreds of migrants could be arriving undetected because there are not enough patrol vessels.

Admiral Lord West, ex-head of the Navy, supported the plan by Home Secretary Priti Patel for military resources to be used to stop people trafficking

He said: We dont cover our waters properly. We need to sort it out.

Lord West said Navy command should be put in charge of the operation.

His intervention came as defence chiefs consider a request from the Home Office for help to deal with migrants trying to make the crossing from France.

Schools minister Nick Gibb said the Government was looking at using boats to prevent people from leaving.

In recent days, more than 500 migrants have been intercepted crossing the Channel. Large queues of migrants queuing for food in Brussels pictured

In recent days, more than 500 migrants have been intercepted crossing the Channel.

This includes 235 people on Thursday  the record for a day.

Four vessels carrying 65 migrants were brought to the UK yesterday.

Miss Patel has warned that the Government faces legislative, legal and operational barriers.

Yesterday she appointed a clandestine Channel threat commander  a new role she said would help end the heinous crime of people smuggling.

Lord West said Britain currently lacked sufficient ships and air reconnaissance to ensure the security of the coastline. HMC Speedwell, a coastal patrol vessel, pictured in the port of Dover, above

Ex-Royal Marine Dan OMahoney will be responsible for making the route unviable for small boat crossings.

Bemoaning the UKs lack of hardware to ensure the security of our 11,000 miles of coastline, Lord West said the different departments involved were not sufficiently operationally co-ordinated.

He added: The Royal Navy is, and needs to be, fully involved and should be in overall command.

He also warned that there were not enough assets to cover the huge coastline and that meant migrants, terrorists, and weapons could easily slip through undetected.

Priti Patel, pictured, appointed a clandestine Channel threat commander yesterday  a new role she said would help end the heinous crime of people smuggling

He said the UK needed more Border Force cutters and Navy vessels such as small fast boats out on the waters, but it must not come from the cash-strapped defence budget.

Home Office minister Chris Philp, who will visit Paris tomorrow in the latest round of negotiations, said Britain planned to return as many migrants as possible, adding: There are returns flights planned in the coming days.

And we will also continue to go after the heinous criminals and organised crime networks putting peoples lives at risk.

The French government is reported to be demanding an extra 30million from the UK to boost patrols.

A group of migrants are brought into Dover harbour by Border Patrol officers are trying to cross the Channel into the UK

Paris last night declined to comment on the potential payment but confirmed it was in the final stages of drawing up a joint plan with Britain.

It could see Royal Navy vessels and spotter planes deployed over the Channel as early as this week, The Sunday Telegraph reported.

Amnesty International UK hit out at plans to deploy the Navy, saying that doing so to prevent people crossing to seek asylum would be unlawful, reckless and dangerous.

COMMENTARY by Admiral Lord West

The rush of immigrants in small boats and dinghies across the Channel is a stark illustration of how Britain now lacks the capability to monitor and patrol its seas.

At least 235 migrants were detained last Thursday alone, with another 151 arriving to Britain on Saturday.

But these numbers are just a fraction of those who evade the Border Forces vessels to arrive unseen on English shores  or who are tragically drowned at sea.

This catastrophic situation will only escalate unless the Royal Navy becomes involved.

It is patently obvious that the Home Office cannot cope, despite the best efforts of the Border Force and the assistance of the coastguard and RNLI.

Home Secretary Priti Patel has appointed former Royal Marine Dan OMahoney as her clandestine Channel threat commander, with responsibility for making the cross-Channel route unviable for small boat crossings.

I despair at the thought of one individual, however experienced, being given a job  securing UK shores  that historically has been done by our nations great Navy.

We have a coastline that stretches for more than 11,000 miles of inlets and concealed harbours.

In addition, the Exclusive Economic Zone (which comprises our fishing waters, our oil beds and the other minerals at the bottom of the seas) covers 300,000 square miles.

Yet in recent years the Royal Navy has been depleted by savage funding cuts to the point where it can no longer monitor and guard these waters properly.

In fact, despite the current influx of migrants, there is not one Navy vessel currently patrolling the Channel.

But it could be done, quickly and at a comparatively low cost. There is no need to send a grand Task Force.

Britain already has ships known as Batch One offshore patrol vessels (OPV), such as HMS Tyne, Severn and Medway.

They were scheduled to be decommissioned but have been kept nominally in active service, though they would require full crews.

We ALSO have HMS Clyde, another OPV, which was taken out of service last December and is now in dock.

This gallant little ship, which helped guard the Falkland Islands for years, could be brought back to do the job she was built for.

Air capability would be needed too, but this wouldnt demand the latest maritime patrol aircraft, the Poseidon P8.

Much smaller aircraft could carry out reconnaissance: It might even be possible to use drones.

What would be essential is an agreement with the French government, so that migrants picked up at sea could be shipped straight back to the Continent.

At the moment, people smugglers charging 1,000 per person for a berth on an overcrowded dinghy  a floating deathtrap  know that the boats dont have to be able to cross the Channel safely.

All the migrants have to do is cling on until they are picked up by border patrols, coastguards or lifeboats.

Then they will be brought to Britain, where only one in 40 will be deported.

If this changed, and migrants could be turned around at sea, the traffickers would soon go out of business.

Thats the safest way of putting an end to their callous trade.

No one will pay to risk their lives in the busiest shipping lane in the world if they know they will be sent straight back to France.

That may sound callous, but we have to look at the bigger picture: This is about fighting the people smugglers, not about picking off individual boatloads.

And bigger still, we have to recognise that this crisis exposes how underfunded our Navy has become.

If we cannot adequately protect our borders, how can we hope to mobilise our vessels if, for instance, a confrontation over fishing rights were to develop?

The Royal Navy has for centuries ensured the security of the seas around our islands.

We forget this at our peril.
Agnes Chow, Anthony Wong Yiu Ming, Tiffany Yuen Ka-wai, Denise Ho Wan See, Lester Shum, Eddie Chu, Joshua Wong, and Gregory Wong pose for photo at a campaigning during primary elections aimed for selecting democracy candidates in Hong Kong on July 11, 2020. (Tyrone Siu/Reuters)

Five Eyes States Criticize Hong Kong Government for Disqualifying Candidates, Delaying Elections

The Five Eyes countries on Sunday urged the Hong Kong government to uphold Hong Kongs democratic process and hold the Legislative Council elections as soon as possible.

The foreign ministers of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom, and the U.S. Secretary of State issued a joint statement on Sunday, expressing concerns over the unjust disqualification of candidates and disproportionate postponement of Legislative Council elections.

These moves have undermined the democratic process that has been fundamental to Hong Kongs stability and prosperity, they said in a statement. We express deep concern at Beijings imposition of the new National Security Law, which is eroding the Hong Kong peoples fundamental rights and liberties.

The ministers urged the Hong Kong government to reinstate the eligibility of disqualified candidates and not delay the elections, which were scheduled to be held on Sept. 6 but have been postponed by Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam to Sept. 5, 2021.

We support the legitimate expectations of the people of Hong Kong to elect Legislative Council representatives via genuinely free, fair, and credible elections. We call on the Hong Kong government to reinstate the eligibility of disqualified candidates so that the elections can take place in an environment conducive to the exercise of democratic rights and freedoms as enshrined in the Basic Law. Beijing promised autonomy and freedoms under the One Country, Two Systems principle to the Hong Kong people in the Sino-British Joint Declaration, a U.N.-registered treaty, and must honor its commitments. We urge the Hong Kong government to hold the elections as soon as possible.

Hong Kong activist Nathan Law welcomed the statement.

Thanks for the statement @DominicRaab . Its time to sanction the infamous Carrie Lam under the Global Magnitsky Act and send a signal to the CCP that the freedom loving countries will hold them accountable.#UKsanctionCarrieLam https://t.co/IeKzngSISF  Nathan Law   (@nathanlawkc) August 9, 2020

On July 30, 12 pro-democracy candidates announced on their respective Facebook pages that they had been disqualified from running in Hong Kongs upcoming Legislative Council election. The Hong Kong government on the same day confirmed the disqualifications and issued a statement expressing adamant support for the decision.

On July 31, Lam announced the postponement of the 2020 Hong Kong Legislative Council election by a year, citing a local surge in CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus casesa decision she said was backed by Beijing.

The Legislative Council election of 2020 will come to an end as the emergency law takes effect, stated Erick Tsang, secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs.

After the Hong Kong government disqualified pro-democracy candidates and postponed the election date, the United States, the European Union, and the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, or IPAC, criticized the move as interfering with Hong Kongs democratic process.

Yinyin Liao contributed to this report.
Aluminium Bahrain (Alba) has reiterated its resolve to support Bahrains Covid-19 mitigation efforts by further strengthening its collaboration with the Bahrain Defence Force (BDF) Hospital.

Aluminium Bahrain (Alba) has been proactive in supporting Bahrain's Covid-19 mitigation efforts, developing and fostering its community engagement initiatives, which includes support to the Convalescent Plasma Donation Programme at the BDF Royal Medical Services (BDFRMS), led by Major General (Prof) Shaikh Khalid bin Ali Al-Khalifa, Director of the Royal Medical Services, a statement from Alba said.

Last week, Ali Al Baqali, CEO of Alba, and Mohd Khalil, Director of Safety, Health and Environment at Alba, met with Brigadier Dr Abdulla Darwish, Technical Assistant to the Director of the Royal Medical Services at the Bahrain Defence Force (BDF) Hospital to further strengthen collaboration on the coronavirus (Covid-19) response.

We are all in this together. It is a matter of great pride for Alba to contribute towards and support the efforts of Team Bahrain in overcoming the challenges of this Pandemic, Al Baqali said.

The Kingdom of Bahrain has been prudent in its approach towards combating Covid-19. We are pleased that Alba has demonstrated a strong initiative to support the BDFRMS by supporting the Convalescent Plasma Donation Programme, which has shown promising results in the management of Covid-19 patients, Brigadier Dr Abdulla Darwish noted.

The Convalescent Plasma Donation Programme helps facilitate recovery by transferring antibodies from the blood plasma of fully recovered Covid-19 patients who meet the required conditions to current patients.TradeArabia News Service
WASHINGTON, Aug 1 (Reuters) - The top Democrats in Congress were to meet Saturday with two top Trump aides to try to reach a deal to pump more money into the U.S. economy to ease the coronavirus' heavy toll, after an essential lifeline for millions of unemployed Americans expired.

Congress for the past several months has been unable to reach an accord for a next round of coronavirus relief, in a pandemic that has killed more than 150,000 Americans and brought on the sharpest economic collapse since the Great Depression.

U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer were to meet with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows beginning at about 9 a.m. EDT (1300 GMT) at the Capitol, according to an aide familiar with the planning.

Congress has so far agreed on about $3 trillion in coronavirus relief.

Pelosi on Friday said she rejected an offer by Republican President Donald Trump's administration to continue the $600 payments for another week, saying such a move would only make sense "if you are on a path" toward a deal.

"We're not," Pelosi told a news conference.

White House officials took their own hard line, accusing Democrats of refusing Trump's proposals to extend the jobless benefit and a moratorium on home evictions that expired last week.

"What we're seeing is politics as usual from Democrats on Capitol Hill," Meadows - a former Republican House member - told reporters.

The House in May passed a $3 trillion deal that addressed a wide range of coronavirus responses, including more money for testing, for elections and support to financially strapped state and local governments.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Monday unveiled his own $1 trillion package, which met immediate resistance both from Democrats, who called it too small, and from members of his own party, who said it was too costly.

Story continues

Trump, scrambling to prop up a struggling U.S. economy as he runs for re-election in November, has been pushing for another bill.

In a meeting on Thursday night between top White House officials and congressional Democratic leaders, negotiations focused on an extension of the $600 per week in federal unemployment benefits, which Americans who lost jobs because of the health crisis have been receiving in addition to state jobless payments.

According to a person familiar with the closed-door negotiations, the White House proposed continuing the $600 weekly unemployment payment for one week, which Pelosi and Schumer rejected. The White House then proposed reducing the $600 weekly payment to $400 for the next four months. While that was a move toward Democrats' demands, the source said they rejected it as insufficient.

The source, who asked not to be identified, said the White House also hinted it could embrace a deal without the legal protections from lawsuits for companies and schools that McConnell has said must be included.

On Thursday, Senate Republicans tried, without success, to pass a bill reducing the jobless benefit to $200 per week. (Reporting by Richard Cowan, Susan Heavey and Patricia Zengerle; Editing by Scott Malone and Tom Brown)
Tributes have been paid to former Labour TD and MEP Brendan Halligan, who has died at the age of 84.

President Michael D Higgins said the news of Mr Halligans passing will have been received with great sadness.

He recalled serving alongside Mr Halligan in Seanad Eireann in the 1970s, before he went on to become elected to the Dail and later the European Parliament.

The news of the death of Brendan Halligan will have been received with great sadness by all those with an interest in politics, economics and social justice, and particularly by his colleagues in the Labour Party."https://t.co/qYxToGFING  President of Ireland (@PresidentIRL) August 9, 2020

He was deeply respected in the socialist group of the European Parliament and as a representative of the Labour Party in the Socialist International, Mr Higgins said.

He bore his illness with great courage and patience. I last spoke to him after my video address on the future of Europe. His interest in European politics continued to that day.

Sabina and I send our sincere condolences to his family, and to all those who will have been deeply affected by his passing.

It is with deep sadness that I have learned of the passing of Brendan Halligan. He was a man who gave his life to politics and the public service with a deep commitment to the institutions of the state. I wish to extend my sympathies to his wife Margie and his family. RIP  Micheal Martin (@MichealMartinTD) August 9, 2020

Taoiseach Micheal Martin described Mr Halligan as a man who gave his life to politics and the public service with a deep commitment to the institutions of the state.

I wish to extend my sympathies to his wife Margie and his family, he said.

Mr Halligan was also a former general secretary of the Labour Party.

Labour leader Alan Kelly said he was a fascinating man with a formidable intellect and a leading light in the party.

Brendan was also an unrivalled political organiser and when he became General Secretary of the Party in 1967, he professionalised and politicised the role in a way that was never seen before, he said.

Through his time in Seanad Eireann, Dail Eireann and the European Parliament, Brendan fostered a deep belief in Socialism and in Europe and the European Union.

He is also remembered for having founded the influential policy think tank, The Institute of International and European Affairs. The IIEA has successfully shaped political discourse around Irelands engagement with the European Union and its endearing success is a testament to Brendan Halligans vision and tenacity.

I would like to extend my sympathies and those of my Labour colleagues to Brendans wife Margie, his family and friends at this difficult time.
French patrol boats on Saturday rescued dozens of migrants from makeshift boats in the Channel that were heading to England, maritime officials said.

British interior minister Priti Patel on Friday described the volume of migrants crossing the Channel as "appalling and unacceptably high" and called on France to help keep numbers down.

France's regional maritime monitoring and rescue operation said it acted "on several reports of small boats of migrants in difficulty in the straights" off Calais.

At around 8:00 am a French patrol boat saved 17 migrants aboard two separate vessels northeast of France's port city of Calais, said the operation said in a statement.

About an hour later another boat rescued 16 migrants from another vessel in trouble off Sangatte, which used to host a makeshift camp for migrants heading to England.

Border police serving the Calais region are looking after the 33 migrants, whose nationalities were not immediately disclosed, the statement said.

Since January 1, the French authorities have intercepted at least 810 migrants trying to cross the Channel to England, according to official figures tabulated by AFP.

Later French police reported finding eight migrants in the back of lorry from Spain driven by a Russian national, who they arrested.

The authorities were alerted by the sounds coming from the truck as it was parked at a motorway rest stop near the southeastern French city of Aix-en-Provence. They found five Bangladeshis and three Pakistanis in the back of the lorry.

British interior minister Patel's warning to France on Friday came with London under increasing pressure to tackle the migrant crossings.

During the 2016 referendum in which Britain voted to leave the European Union, Brexit supporters argued for the UK to "take back control" of its borders because of fears too many migrants were arriving.

Last month the interior ministers of France and Britain signed an agreement to create a new joint police intelligence unit to combat migrant traffickers and reduce the number of illegal Channel crossings.

British media reports claim more than 3,400 people have made the crossing so far this year.

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The U.S. Border Patrol agents in San Diego California seized an amount of $1 million in the California-Mexico border. The seizure occurred after the trained K-9 detected an odor coming from the gas tank.

The border patrol agents working near the California and Mexico border in San Diego stopped a Volkswagen Touareg on August 5. The vehicle is headed south on Interstate 15 in Escondido, California. However, a simple inspection leads to a surprising arrest.

According to a published report in the Breitbart, the agents identified the man as a Mexican national during the initial interview of the border patrol agent. Meanwhile, the second agent with a trained K-9 conducted a walk-around inspection of the vehicle.

During the inspection, the K-9 alerted the agent of a suspicious odor coming from the vehicle's gas tank. With this, the agents decided to conduct a physical search of the car, and they discovered 65 packages of plastic-wrapped with U.S. currency.

Officials reported that the 65 packages of bundles contained $967,460 in cash. Following this, the man was arrested while the vehicle and the money were seized by the border patrol agents. They immediately turned over the Mexican man to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations special agents for further investigation.

Chief Patrol Agent Aaron Heitke released a statement and said, "The U.S. Border Patrol works tirelessly to protect the Homeland from transnational criminal organizations- the same criminal enterprises that poison our communities with narcotics and smuggle human beings like cargo."

Moreover, the border patrol agents and officials did not yet give any comments and reports about the immigration status of the Mexican man arrested for an alleged smuggling operation.

Putting the smuggled money and drugs inside the interior part of the vehicle is just one of the tactics of the different organized crime groups to transport illegal drugs and smuggled money.

Check these out!
Local law enforcement agencies may be able to keep watch over their communities in more ways than one.

A slew of surveillance technologies are in the hands of dozens of law enforcement agencies across Massachusetts, a new online map shows.

According to the searchable database, called the Atlas of Surveillance, at least 18 police departments in the state have partnerships with Amazons home security company, Ring, and another 17 law enforcement agencies operate drones.

Only two police departments it appears, Attleboros and Westfields, have both partnerships with Ring and operate drones, the atlas shows.

After learning the city he lives in was on the Atlas of Surveillance, Westfield resident Trevor Eckhart filed a public records request with the communitys police department to see how the agency uses both drones and Ring.

As a software programmer, Eckhart argued he knows that certain surveillance technologies, although sometimes useful for law enforcements investigations, can pose potentially serious risks.

He pointed to facial recognition technology - a software that remains largely unrestricted - despite it being been widely criticized for its inaccuracies, its potential to violate individuals civil liberties and its racial biases.

For instance, earlier this year, police in Detroit arrested Robert Williams, a Black man living in a suburb of the Michigan city, based on a false identification provided by facial recognition software.

Williams was taken into custody on his front lawn in front of his family and jailed for nearly 30 hours, according to the ACLU.

However, facial recognition technology is largely not used in Massachusetts, and those working in public safety have argued Amazon Ring and drones, which are not weaponized, are far less of a threat to the public.

In Westfield, the citys two drones have provided aerial shots that have proven invaluable in understanding the nature and scope of particular incidents, according to the citys police chief, Lawrence Valliere.

From monitoring protests to keeping watch over forest fires, drones can be used for a range of tasks, the police chief pointed out.

They could be deployed, for example, during an active shooter situation, to document a crime scene or to assist with fires or hazardous material spills, he said.

It assists us in planning and coordinating an effective response to an ongoing situation or for future events. Better known as situational awareness, Valliere wrote in an email. Im sure you have looked at Google Earth and found the perspective to be amazing.

Still, Eckhart, who has lodged a complaint with the citys police department about its drone use, said there needs to be more accountability, more visibility in terms of how the agency deploys surveillance technologies.

Im a privacy advocate, and when I saw Westfield on the map here, it appears that Westfields overusing this technology, Eckhart told MassLive. Between Ring and Drones, that set me off.

Surveillance technologies in Massachusetts

The Atlas of Surveillance has been called the largest-ever repository of information on what surveillance technologies law enforcement agencies are using and where, according to the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a digital rights group.

The California-based nonprofit created the online map with the University of Nevada, Reno Reynolds School of Journalism, with the aim of allowing people to see what software is being used by police departments across the country.

Law enforcement surveillance isnt always secret, the foundation says on its website. These technologies can be discovered in news articles and government meeting agendas, in company press releases and social media posts. It just hasnt been aggregated before.

The organizations data was made public in July, as debates over the structure and role of law enforcement continue to rage across the U.S. in the wake of the killing of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man who died in May after a white Minneapolis police officer kneeled on his neck for nearly 9 minutes.

Floyds death sparked countless protests throughout the country and the world, calling for an end to racial violence and police brutality.

According to the Atlas of Surveillance, the full list of Massachusetts law enforcement agencies that operate drones includes municipal police departments in Andover, Attleboro, Barnstable, Boston, Franklin, Gardner, Oxford, Methuen, Natick, Northampton, Swansea, Tewksbury, Westborough, Westfield and Yarmouth as well as the Barnstable County Sheriffs Office and Massachusetts State Police.

Those who have partnerships with Ring include the Attleboro, Burlington, Chicopee, Dartmouth, Everette, Harwich, Haverhill, Hingham, Lowell, Malden, Mattapoisett, Needham, Norwood, Springfield, Quincy, Wellesley, Westfield and Worcester police departments.

In Massachusetts, a bill that aims to reform law enforcement practices and create systems of accountability for police wrongdoing may soon be finalized. Six state lawmakers, it was announced last month, will be drafting the final version of the piece of legislation.

Both the Massachusetts State House and Senates versions of the criminal justice reform package would create new commissions to certify police officers and decertify those who have committed misconduct, the State House News Service reported.

One of the major areas where the legislative bodies differ, though, is in their approaches to limiting qualified immunity, a U.S. Supreme Court-issued doctrine that protects police officers from civil lawsuits for wrongdoing.

Discussions about demilitarizing and reducing the surveillance capabilities of police departments are also occurring in some Massachusetts communities.

Facial recognition, a piece of software that uses artificial intelligence in conjunction with databases of photographs to identify individuals spotted in images, is one such technology that is being hotly debated in the commonwealth.

So far, the software remains largely unregulated at both the state and federal levels, so several communities in Massachusetts and other states have taken it upon themselves to restrict the use of the technology, which has been criticized for its racial biases and potential to violate civil liberties.

Seven towns or cities in the commonwealth have either fully or temporarily banned the software, the majority in collaboration with the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts, which has been running a campaign since last year that seeks to raise public awareness about the dangers of facial recognition.

EFFs online map shows a wide array of the most pervasive surveillance technologies police departments are using throughout the country. Among them: facial recognition.

In Massachusetts, use of the software is largely nonexistent among local police departments, though at the state and federal levels, thats a different story.

The state Registry of Motor Vehicles uses the technology to identify potential fraud when issuing drivers licenses, and Massachusetts State Police sometimes deploys the software in criminal investigations to help identify unknown suspects.

Any identifications made with the technology are then either confirmed or rejected through other investigative methods, according to David Procopio, spokesman for the agency.

Boston Logan International Airport also became one of 18 airports where U.S. Customs and Border Protection is able to use face recognition technology in March 2019, according to EFF.

A spokesperson for Amazon Ring noted the company does not use facial recognition technology in any of its devices or services and will not offer the biometric surveillance software to law enforcement.

Amazing Ring, Drones and facial recognition are only a few of the surveillance technologies mentioned on EFFs site.

The foundations database includes information about automated license plate readers as well as body-worn cameras, camera registries, cell-site simulators, predictive policing, gunshot detection and fusion centers, hubs that serve as focal points for states and major urban areas to share threat-related information, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

People can search for information on what surveillance technologies a law enforcement agency is using by clicking on cities, towns or regions in the United States. They can also look up the locations by name or search by specific technologies.

Some of the sites data is outdated, though.

For example, according to the database, Northamptons police department has only two drones, even though the Hampshire County law enforcement agency has four drones in its inventory.

EFF also says the Westfield Police Department operates a single drone, despite the public safety agency getting a second one last year that has more flight capabilities.

One was donated, and the other was part of an emergency management grant, Valliere said. Both can obviously be used outdoors, but the second can also be deployed inside of large buildings. It is a smaller drone and has different features that allow for it to be effective indoors.

Despite some outdated information on the online map, the database is expansive and provides and unprecedented look at law enforcements surveillance capabilities in the United States.

Around 500 students, teachers, volunteers, journalists and other researchers worked on the project, aggregating information from government websites, news outlets reporting and other sources to create their massive database.

More than 5,000 data points have been amassed across roughly 3,000 jurisdictions, EFF noted. The foundation claimed its crowdsourced information only reveals the tip of the iceberg.

[Our research] underlines the need for journalists and members of the public to continue demanding transparency from criminal justice agencies, EFF said.

Eyes from your doorstep: How Amazon Ring works

Eckhart told MassLive that he believes the use of Amazon Ring and drones by Westfield and other communities in Massachusetts falls into the ongoing national dialogue about what policing should look like in the U.S.

The Westfield resident said both technologies may have some effective uses. For example, drones, Eckhart said, could be used to assist law enforcement during a hostage situation.

However, the Westfield resident argued police departments need to be more transparent about how they use the surveillance technologies included on EFFs database.

There definitely needs some oversight on this. Its not perfect, Eckhart said.

The Westfield Police Department, according to EFFs map, signed an agreement with the Amazon home surveillance equipment company Ring last year to join the companys Neighbors Public Safety Service application.

Serving as another set of eyes that can look out from someones doorstep, Amazon Ring is a home security that offers a variety of products and services, including its well-known doorbell-security camera that sends surveillance footage to users phones.

The companys police partnerships are widespread as well, with more than 1,300 law enforcement agencies using the service, EFF reported in June.

The Neighbors application is a neighborhood watch service Amazon promotes in conjunction with its Ring devices that allows residents as well as law enforcement agencies to share videos and security concerns, though EFF claimed such systems can lead to racial profiling.

Ring, meanwhile, has posited that its technology allows public safety officials to connect, communicate and share hyper-local updates with their communities. On its website, the company also claims its services have helped local law enforcement agencies solve cases.

One Virginia Beach family was able to quickly recover stolen medical supplies for their diabetic child after sharing a video of the package theft on Neighbors, the company said. Thanks to the app, a neighbor spotted the suspect and alerted local law enforcement who then made an arrest and located the missing package.

In regard to concerns about racial profiling, Ring employs trained moderators to ensure all content on its Neighbors portal is reviewed before it goes public. The aim is to make sure no posts violate restrictions against hate speech, discrimination or racial profiling.

The Westfield Police Department joined Neighbors in November 2019 free of charge, and only members of WPD can use their access to the crime and safety app.

The portal must only be used for legitimate law enforcement purposes, the policy also notes.

According to officials, residents Ring devices are secure and their accounts private. Public safety officials will never access a persons security system and can only see what is shared with them by a user.

It is up to the subscriber to share their surveillance footage with police, Valliere noted, adding that the software can certainly be of great assistance to law enforcement.

The process for trying to obtain video from Ring devices is extensive as well, according to the Westfield police chief.

For example, if we have a number of car breaks in a particular area, there is a process where we contact Ring, Valliere said. We then provide them with the particulars of when, where and what we are looking for. Ring then contacts individuals in the problem area that subscribe to them. They then advise the subscribers as to what the police are investigating and that they are interested in any video related to the problem.

So far in 2020, eight requests for law enforcement assistance have been sent via Ring to the Westfield Police Department. The submissions have ranged from reports of packages being stolen and vandalism to cars being broken into.

For officers, the device provides a digital alternative to canvassing door to door.

This certainly can save a lot of man-hours by not having to canvas a neighborhood on foot, Valliere said. It also may provide the information that solves the crime and identifies the perpetrator.

A drone flies in Springfield. (Don Treeger/The Springfield Republican)

The restrictions and benefits of drones

While Amazon Ring can provide surveillance on the ground, drones give law enforcement eyes up above.

However, the technology comes with restrictions.

Westfield polices eight-page policy on manning drones, also called small unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS), requires that the Western Massachusetts police department get proper permitting and authorization from the Federal Aviation Administration before deploying any sUAS.

Like Northamptons police department, Westfield must also have individuals specially trained to use the aircraft.

Although the devices come with a slew of rules, the wide scope of their uses may be surprising.

In terms of what the department is allowed to surveil, WPD can use drones when responding to emergency incidents and exigent circumstances, which encompass a range of situations.

Appropriate uses may include searches and rescues, tactical deployments during incidents involving hostages or barricades and the documentation of a crime scene.

Drones also allowed to be used to help Westfield police officers manage traffic, provide perimeter security and inspect infrastructures, such as buildings, bridges and roadways.

The departments two unmanned aircraft are available to help other public agencies in the city as well.

The devices provide great value to Westfields conservation office when investigating complaints or illegal dumping that would normally not be readily seen, according to Valliere.

Akin to Amazon Ring, the police departments two drones can similarly cut down man-hours, particularly when being used to monitor the citys two reservoirs, which require constant oversight, according to the police chief.

The drone is also used to help our fire department when requested, he added. It can help them determine the scale and direction of forest fires, which helps with tactical decisions. It also provides information regarding the integrity of a roof during a fire as well as documenting the fire itself.

Put a drone up, you dont need to have any contact': Controversies surrounding the technology

According to logs of recorded sUAS flights by the Westfield Police Department, the law enforcement agency has deployed its unmanned aircrafts more than 30 times since June 2018.

One section of the departments drone policy prohibits Westfield police from collecting data with its drone solely for the purpose of monitoring activities protected by the U.S. Constitution, such as the First Amendments protections of freedom of religion, speech, press and assembly.

Eckhart believes the department violated this part of its sUAS policy when it deployed one of its drones on June 4 in response to a call from Park Square.

On the same day and at the same time the drone was deployed, a rally to protest racism and police brutality was held near Broad and Main Streets in proximity to Park Square, the Westfield resident noted.

The software programmer filed a complaint against WPD in late July when he saw that the dates and times lined up. Ekhart told MassLive that he was worried police used one of its drones to monitor the protest.

I am making a complaint that on June 4, 2020, from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., at Park Square, a local BLM protest was held, and per a FOIA request, the police used a drone at this exact same time and location, which is against hundreds of citizens civil rights, the documented Westfield policy and potentially the law, Eckhart wrote in his complaint.

Westfields police chief confirmed that the department put up one of its drones during the protest for situational awareness.

The drone was not used to identify protesters or any individual, he noted.

It allowed us to see the size of the crowd, detect and manage disturbances, gauge the stability of the event, track its movement and monitor traffic flow, Valliere said.

Monitoring large public gatherings like protests does not appear to be an uncommon use for drones in Massachusetts.

In Northampton, the citys police department has also deployed its unmanned aircraft during a recent demonstration in support of Black Lives Matter.

The law enforcement agency is allowed to use the technology to monitor protests, and it has been effective in avoiding potential conflict, Northampton Police Chief Jody Kasper explained.

Put a drone up, you dont need to have any contact between uniformed officers and protesters, Kasper said. Our goal with any protest is to provide a safe and secure spot.

She added, This is a way we can watch things from a distance. It has been very effective in monitoring these scenes.

Related Content:
Amazon Freedom Sale is now live. During the new online sale, you will be eligible for big discounts and bundled offers on phones across brands including Apple, Samsung, Xiaomi, and Oppo. Here is a brief roundup of all the offers.

After Prime Day, Amazon is back with another online sale. The latest Freedom Sale will run until August 11, 2020. During the sale, Amazon is hosting deals across categories including smartphones, consumer electronics, large appliances, TVs, daily essentials, and lots more.

Customers shopping during the Freedom Sale will be eligible for a 10% instant discount up to 1,500 with SBI credit cards on a minimum purchase of 5,000. Customers can also avail no-cost EMI offers on credit cards, Bajaj Finserv and Amazon Pay Later.

Here is a brief roundup of deals and offers on Amazon Freedom Sale.

On smartphones and accessories, customers can get up to 40% off on mobile from top brands. Schemes include exchange offers up to 13,500 and no-cost EMI starting 1,665 per month. Brands like Xiaomi, Samsung, Oppo, and Vivo are offering new deals on their select handsets.

Xiaomi is offering up to 5,000 off on its select handsets.

Samsung is giving up to six months of no-cost EMI on popular Galaxy M series phones. There are also deals on the newly launched Galaxy M31s. On flagship Samsung phones, you can get up to 25,000 off along with additional exchange offers up to 4,000.

Apple is giving up to 10,000 off on iPhone 11 and iPhone 8 Plus. You can purchase mobile accessories starting 99. Another highlight is 70% off on power banks, and Bluetooth and wired earphones.

B07XVLW7YK

Under consumer electronics, brands are offering up to 70% off on headphones, up to 70% off on camera accessories, and up to 60% off on speakers and home audio. Camera devices are available on Freedom Sale for a starting price of 2,416 per month.

If youre planning to buy a new laptop and related accessories, Amazon Freedom Sale has up to 30% off on laptops, up to 50% off on printers, up to 40% off on gaming accessories, up to 50% off on hard drives, and up to 70% off on pen drives and memory cards.

Other highlights of the Freedom Sale include up to 60% off on smartwatches, up to 45% off on tablets, up to 60% off on TVs, LED TVs starting from 5,555, up to 60% off on Smart TVs, starting from 7999, and up to 50% off on premium TVs from TCL and Sony.

At Hindustan Times, we help you stay up-to-date with latest trends and products. Hindustan Times has affiliate partnership, so we may get a part of the revenue when you make a purchase.
Nigerias Senator, Buruji Kashama, has reportedly died from the novel coronavirus.

Reports available to DGN Online suggest that he passed away on Saturday, August 8, 2020 at the First Cardiology Hospital, Lagos.

Senator Kashamu was aged 62 and his death was confirmed by Senator Ben Murray Bruce in a tweet that read: I have just lost my good friend of forever to #COVID19. Until his death, Sen. Buruji Kashamu and I were inseparable. He died today at First Cardiology Consultants, in Lagos. May his gentle soul rest in peace. I pray his family and loved ones the fortitude to bear this heavy loss.

The late Senator Kashamu between 2015 and 2019 was accused of being a drug lord.

During his four-year tenure as Senator of Ogun East Senatorial District, the businessman was accused of winning his elections with forged certificates and battled for years with the federal government following attempts to have him extradited to the United States to face allegations of drug trafficking.

Kashamu was also popular for leading an extravagant lifestyle and creating a faction in the Ogun States Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

----Daily Guide
Tyer Says State Spending Plans Holds Good News for Pittsfield

PITTSFIELD, Mass.  Mayor Linda Tyer gave a positive budget update during her regular address Friday on Pittsfield Community Television.

Tyer said with the state passing a three-month budget, the city finally has some solid state numbers for local and education aid  and its good news.

"With those two funding sources being restored, we are in a much better financial position then we anticipated we would be in when the City Council approved the budget in June," she said.

The school and city passed operating budgets in June based on level or reduced amounts of state aid and administrators are still prepared for this funding to come in lower.

The school will receive $48.1 million in Chapter 70 education funds and the city will receive $9.1 million in unrestricted local aid.

Included in the state spending plan was a joint resolution that established aid for cities and towns for the entire fiscal year.

"We can move forward with a better picture of our finances," Tyer said.

Tyer also gave an update on Springside Park and said it is still the citys position that the homeless who have camped at the park will be allowed to stay.

"The city's position will continue to be ... to treat our homeless brothers and sisters with dignity and respect while we continue to look for ways to provide safe, stable, secure housing. At the same time, we understand and recognize the concern of the use of this public space in this way," she said.

The mayor said her administration is working toward a solution with local agencies and will unveil plans to solve the problem in the near future.

In the interim, people can donate items to ServiceNet and arrange a drop off by calling 413-448-5353.

Tyer reminded residents that the state is still in Phase 3 of reopening and urged them to continue practicing social distancing and other health protocols.

She said infection numbers in the city remain low and that in the last two weeks, there have been only 15 new cases.

She asked the resident to be mindful of the new travel restrictions.

"Locally we need to remain vigilant ... by working together to address the challenges in these safety measures, we will do our best to prevent COVID-19 from setting us back," Tyer said.

She said she was happy to announce that city has distributed $464,157 in COVID-19 Recovery Funds and has helped 62 small businesses.

"I am pleased that these funds will help support the vitality and longevity of our cities small businesses that are an integral part of Pittsfields success," she said.

She said this money has kept many businesses afloat during the pandemic and has saved an estimated 286 jobs.

Tyer gave an update on the School Committee's decision to shift toward a hybrid education model for the fall and noted the resignation of Superintendent Jason McCandless.

"We were truly privileged to have had an outstanding and dedicated leader at the helm," she said. "Our school community and district reflect Dr. McCandless' steady and compassionate style of management. We will miss him and we wish him all the best."

McCandless was hired as the Mount Greylock Regional School District superintendent and will leave the district in three months.

She also lamented the passing of resident Alden "Elie" Hammerling.

"Elie loved Pittsfield and always sought out ways to bring out the best in our city," she said. "... Indeed his legacy lives on and we as a community are better because of him."

Hammerling was responsible for the Berkshire Landscapes Project that was illuminating the downtown with LED lighting.
Gunmen kill six French aid workers, their driver and guide in Niger, minister says Men rest on the banks of the Niger River in Niamey

NIAMEY (Reuters) - Gunmen on motorcycles killed six French aid workers, a Nigerien guide and a driver in a wildlife park in Niger on Sunday, officials said.

The group was attacked in a giraffe reserve just 65 km (40 miles) from the West African country's capital Niamey, the governor of Tillaberi region, Tidjani Ibrahim Katiella, told Reuters. "They were intercepted and killed," he said.

The six worked for an international aid group, Niger's Defence Minister Issoufou Katambe told Reuters. Officials had earlier described them as tourists.

Separately, a spokesman for French humanitarian aid group ACTED said its staff members were involved.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the assault. But France and other countries have warned people against travelling to parts of Niger where militants including Boko Haram and an affiliate of Islamic State operate.

French President Emmanuel Macron's office confirmed that French nationals had been killed in Niger. It said Macron spoke on the phone with Niger's President Mahamadou Issoufou, but provided no further details.

The Association of Koure Giraffe Reserve Guides issued a statement describing the attackers as a "unit of terrorists" and saying the dead included its president, Kadri Abdou.

France's TF1 television channel broadcast images that it said were taken from the scene showing the burnt-out remains of a 4x4 vehicle with bullet holes in the side.

The reserve southeast of the capital is a popular attraction in Niger, a huge country that borders seven states in an unstable region including Libya, Mali, Chad, Algeria and Nigeria.

Militants linked to Islamic State killed four U.S. soldiers in an ambush in Niger near the border with Mali in Oct. 2017, an attack that increased scrutiny of U.S. counter-terrorism operations there.

France, a former colonial power in the region, also launched a coalition of West African and European allies in June to fight Islamist militants in the Sahel region that includes Niger.

It has deployed thousands of troops in the arid region south of the Sahara desert since 2013. But militant violence has been on the rise.

(Reporting by Moussa Aksar and Boureima Balima in Niamey; Additional reporting by Bate Felix, Richard Lough and Michel Rose in Paris, David Lewis in Nairobi; Editing by Philippa Fletcher, Frances Kerry and Andrew Heavens)
Arshad Khan By

Express News Service

NEW DELHI: Homegrown electrical goods major Havells has seen a five-fold spike in beard trimmer sales after the Covid-19 pandemic broke out. Grooming products are high on the consumer shopping list, largely attributed to a need to self-groom since spas and salons have been shut for so long, said Ravindra Singh Negi, President, Electrical Consumer Durables, Havells India.

People are still wary about going to saloons. They are investing on this product since it is a permanent need, he added. Havells also claims that it has become the number two player in the three important grooming accessories sub-segmentshair straighteners, hair dryers, and trimmers.

According to market estimates, Indias self grooming industry is estimated to be worth Rs 1,100-1,200 crore. A large chunk of this market is led by Dutch brand Phillips, while other global brands such as Panasonic and Braun are also present. In recent times, many new players, including Chinese tech giant Xiaomi, have entered this segment.

Despite the growing market, almost all brands, including Havells, import trimmers and grooming products from other Asian markets. Currently, we are evaluating local manufacturing of these products, you will hear more from us on this in future. We are also evaluating extending our product portfolio, Negi said.

When asked about opportunities present for Havells in the rising trade barriers to Chinese goods, Negi said that with less dependency on external factors, local manufacturing will drive higher productivity and create an efficient value chain with more jobs.

While the government, both central and state are doing their bit to encourage domestic manufacturing, companies have to gradually become more self-reliant. Around 95 per cent of our products are manufactured in-house in 14 modern plants spread across the country, he said.
Neither Wes Bergmann or Jordan Wiseley won The Challenge: Total Madness. But the two had some seriously tense moments on the show. Bergmann has since talked about what its like with Wiseley as a fellow competitor  and its clear the two will never get along. Not only that, but Bergmann shared that Wiseleys fiancee whos incredibly well-liked, Tori Deal, had to scold Wiseley privately off-camera.

Wes Bergmann had personal beef with Jordan Wiseley on The Challenge: Total Madness

A conversation between Wes and Jordan about the biosphere's turf turns into a fight about respect.



See how it goes down TONIGHT on The Challenge: Total Madness at 8/7c on @mtv. #TheChallenge35 pic.twitter.com/No5pobdDm1  challengemtv (@ChallengeMTV) April 29, 2020

Bergmann and Wiseley have two ultra-strong personalities, so its no wonder they dont get along on The Challenge. The two competitors got in a verbal spat on Total Madness over the turf in the Challenge house gym. According to Bergmann, this resulted in Wiseley throwing a glass of orange juice at him.

I walked towards him and he threw a glass of orange juice in my face. But they missed it. Thats what he was cleaning up when I left, Bergmann originally tweeted. He followed that up with, I guess I forgot to mention that he TRIED to throw a glass of OJ in my face but I was too fast for him and punched it out of his hand.

Bergmann also spoke to the Bachelor Party podcast about Wiseleys behavior. Annoyings not the right word because hes not annoying, let me rephrase, Bergmann explained in reference to Wiseley. Hes an a**hole. To everyone. Like, everyone. Everyone on both sides of the camera. Everyone. And thats annoying.

Bergmann said Tori Deal had to scold Wiseley privately

It looks like Deal had to do some damage control on her partners behalf. While Wiseley is certainly a tough physical competitor, he rubbed a lot of people the wrong way in the Challenge house. While Deal is relatively well-liked, her game was also negatively affected by Wiseley because of her close association. And Bergmann told the Challenge Mania podcast that Deal actually had to pull Wiseley privately aside and away from the cameras to scold him.

Tori stood up for him, and she should. But then, in private, once everyone kind of left and the cameras left, she sits him down and shes like, God d*mnit, Jordan, you did it again. You were very wrong. You need to stop doing this, youre hurting both of our games,' Bergmann explained. And he said Wiseleys attitude majorly took a turn for the better after that. So, he picked his sh*t up and he was respectful to everyone, including me, from then on out.

Wiseley might not be back on The Challenge in the future

The Challenge: Rivals II final episode and reunion party with Marlon Williams and Jordan Wiseley | Mike Coppola/Getty Images

RELATED: The Challenge: Tori Deal Addresses Racism Allegations Surrounding Fiance Jordan Wiseley

While Bergmann and Wiseley will likely never have an alliance going forward, theres also a chance that Wiseley wont be on future seasons of the show. He didnt make an appearance on the virtual Total Madness reunion. While Deal didnt give a reason for his absence, its rumored that his past racist remarks on The Real World are coming back to bite him.

There are rumors going around, allegedly, that MTV execs had a meeting about Jordan, and they decided that they were just going to give him a warning, which means that they are going to suspend him from The Challenge for one to three or four seasons, the host of Afterbuzz TV said, according to Distractify.

Wiseley has talked about what happened on The Real World before, and it seems he learned from his past. But well have to wait and see if hes allowed back on the show. And, of course, were wondering how Bergmann feels about all of this, too.

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The Indian Ocean island of Mauritius has declared a state of environmental emergency after a Japanese-owned ship that ran aground offshore days ago began spilling tons of fuel.

Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth announced the development late Friday as satellite images showed a dark slick spreading in the turquoise waters near environmental areas that the government called very sensitive.

Mauritius has said the ship was carrying nearly 4,000 tons of fuel and cracks have appeared in its hull.

Jugnauth said his government had appealed to France for help, saying the spill represents a danger for the country of some 1.3 million people that relies heavily on tourism and has been been hit hard by the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.

Our country doesnt have the skills and expertise to refloat stranded ships, he said. Bad weather has made it impossible to act, and I worry what could happen Sunday when the weather deteriorates.

Jugnauth shared a photo of the vessel, the MV Wakashio, tilted precariously. Sea rough beyond the reefs with swells. Ventures in the open seas are not advised, according to the Mauritius Meteorological Services.

Videos posted online showed oily waters lapping at the shore, and a man running a stick across the waters surface and lifting it, dripping black goo.

The French island of Reunion is the closest neighbor to Mauritius, and Frances Foreign Ministry says France is Mauritiuss leading foreign investor and one of its largest trading partners.

When biodiversity is in peril, there is urgency to act, French President Emmanuel Macron tweeted Saturday. France is there. Alongside the people of Mauritius. You can count on our support dear Jugnauth.

A separate French statement from Reunion said a military transport aircraft would carry pollution control equipment to Mauritius and a navy vessel with additional material would set sail for the island nation.

We are in a situation of environmental crisis, the environment minister of Mauritius, Kavy Ramano, has said.

After the cracks in the hull were detected, a salvage team that had been working on the ship was evacuated, Ramano told reporters Thursday. Some 400 sea booms were deployed in an effort to contain the spill.

Government statements in recent days said the ship ran aground July 25 and the National Coast Guard received no distress call. The ships owners were listed as the Japanese companies Okiyo Maritime Corporation and Nagashiki Shipping Co. Ltd.

A police inquiry has been opened into issues such as possible negligence, one statement said. Online ship trackers showed the Panama-flagged bulk carrier had been en route from China to Brazil.

A statement by Nagashiki Shipping Co. Ltd. said that due to the bad weather and constant pounding over the past few days, the starboard side bunker tank of the vessel has been breached and an amount of fuel oil has escaped into the sea.

It added: Nagashiki Shipping takes its environmental responsibilities extremely seriously and will take every effort with partner agencies and contractors to protect the marine environment and prevent further pollution.

Tons of diesel and oil are now leaking into the water, environmental group Greenpeace Africas climate and energy manager Happy Khambule said in a statement.

Thousands of species around the pristine lagoons of Blue Bay, Pointe dEsny and Mahebourg are at risk of drowning in a sea of pollution, with dire consequences for Mauritius economy, food security and health, Khambule said.

A government environmental outlook released nearly a decade ago said Mauritius had a National Oil Spill Contingency Plan but equipment on hand was adequate to deal with oil spills of less than 10 metric tonnes.

In case of major spills, it said, assistance could be obtained from other Indian Ocean countries or from international oil spill response organizations.

(AP)
San Francisco, Aug 9 : Elon Musks Boring Company has received approval to begin expanding its electric transport system using Tesla vehicles in Las Vegas in the US.

Called 'Loop,' the new system of Boring Company tunnels in Las Vegas was kicked off last year that will allow autonomous Tesla cars to travel at high speed to transport people.

The Boring Company 'Loop' will be able to transport people from the Las Vegas convention centre to the Resorts World Las Vegas in Tesla vehicles in just 2 minutes, reports Electrek.

The company has received "approval by the Clark County Commission necessary to move forward with constructing the resort's passenger station and tunnel that will connect to the Las Vegas Convention Center campus via Elon Musk's innovative transportation system." "We are thrilled to receive approval from the County Commission to move forward with our proposed passenger station and tunnel and are eager to take the next steps in creating an innovative transportation solution for our convention guests and visitors," Scott Sibella, President of Resorts World Las Vegas, said in a statement.

The Boring Company in May finished excavating the second of two tunnels planned for the Las Vegas Convention Centre's underground loop transit system.

The first tunnel was finished back in February and the company will soon start working on above-ground passenger stations at either end of the tunnels, plus a third underground station in the middle of the loop.

The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) has said that the autonomous electric vehicles will ferry up to 4,400 passengers per hour at speeds of up to 249 kilometers per hour (155 miles per hour) inside two tunnels 40 feet below the surface.

Additionally, a pedestrian tunnel will also allow walkers to make the approximately 15-minute-long trek across the convention space, which spans 3.2 million square feet.

Las Vegas is one of five current cities where the Boring Company has projects either proposed, approved, or underway.
A man has been shot and another stabbed near London's Hyde Park on a weekend of bloodshed in the capital.

Emergency services were called to Upper Berkeley Street, a short distance from Marble Arch Tube station, shortly after 2am on Sunday.

Metropolitan Police officers found one man with a gunshot injury and another man with a stab and head injury. The men, aged in their 20s, were rushed to hospital.

It came just hours after a young man was stabbed to death in front of horrified shoppers on Oxford Street.

Also on Saturday, a man and a woman were found dead following a suspected murder-suicide in Dagenham, east London.

A spokesman for the force said the first victim's condition is serious but stable while the second man's injuries do not appear to be life-threatening.

He added: "Enquiries into the circumstances continue.

"One arrest was made at the scene for possession of class A drugs.

"A crime scene is in place."

Any witnesses or those with information are asked to call 101 ref CAD 1541/9 Aug.
NEW YORK, N.Y. -- New York City released its final reopening plan to the New York State Education Department Friday evening, detailing its protocols for screening students and staff before entering schools and how it will handle individuals returning to school after testing positive for the coronavirus.

The plan was released after Gov. Andrew Cuomo gave the go ahead on Friday for all schools across the state to reopen in the fall based on the states low coronavirus infection rate.

The 2020 to 2021 school year will look a lot different than usual come September.

Students will already only be allowed to return for staggered in-person learning two or three days of the week while working remotely the rest of the week.

When students and staff arrive each day to school they will be randomly selected for temperature checks every morning and will be required to check their own temperatures before going to school, according to the DOEs reopening plan.

Students and staff will not be allowed to go to school if they have a temperature greater than 100 degrees; have coronavirus symptoms; recently tested positive for the virus; or have traveled internationally or to a high-infection state in the last 14 days.

The Department of Education said it will purchase thermometers for any family that needs them.

In the event a student or staff member tests positive for the virus, they will be required to self-isolate for a minimum of 10 days and can only return back to school if they provide clearance from their doctor and have been symptom-free for 24 hours without the use of any medication.

The Department of Education said breakfast and lunch will likely be served in classrooms in an effort to minimize contact with other groups of students

Every school will need to ensure students and staff maintain a six feet social distance at all times.

Schools will also have to redesign movement protocols in school buildings by designating one-way direction stairwells, single file routes, and requiring students to stay on campus during lunch periods.

School staff and students will be required to wear face coverings throughout the day and parents will have the option to keep their children home for full remote learning if they choose.

The city has said it will prioritize free rapid COVID-19 testing for school staff and students and will encourage them to get tested on a monthly basis and also provide free face coverings to them and disinfect schools throughout the day.

But one positive COVID-19 test in a classroom would be enough to quarantine an entire classroom for two weeks, and two cases confirmed within a school would shut the entire school for two weeks.

Mayor Bill de Blasio has said that schools will not be able to reopen if the community transmission rate is above 3% on a seven-day rolling average, compared to the states 5% threshold.

Cuomo said Friday that school districts will still be required to tell parents how they plan to address remote learning and coronavirus testing and tracing for students and teachers and make those plans publicly available.

He said schools will also be required to hold a series of question-and-answer sessions with parents and teachers about their reopening plans before Aug. 21.

Whether its in-person or a hybrid model of learning in the fall, Cuomo said individual local school districts will make those decisions following strict Department of Health guidelines.

The United Federation of Teachers has been a vocal critic of the reopening plan.

The UFT argued that New York Citys plan did not meet the safety standards our children and school staff need.

As Governor Cuomo noted, parents and teachers must be confident that schools are safe before they can reopen. In New York City that is still an open question, UFT President Michael Mulgrew, said following Cuomos announcement on Friday.

FOLLOW SYDNEY KASHIWAGI ON TWITTER.
President Muhammadu Buhari on Saturday defended his endorsement of Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Edo State. The president surprisingly justified the exchange or corruption transition from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the APC while he has repeatedly portrayed his administration as taking anti-corruption war as one of the priority policies.

Responding to criticism of Ize-Iyamus endorsement who has pending case, being prosecuted in court by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for N700 million fraud allegation, President Buhari stoutly defended the APC governorship candidate, shifting focus from the substantive issue to recalling PDPs corruption allegations.

Accordingly, President Buhari in a statement on Saturday indicated that the PDP which has been struggling to clear its name from alleged deals with the underworld in Dubai and the United States has, to the presidents surprise, found the voice to attack the anti-corruption war of the his administration following the Presidents endorsement of Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, APCs dashing candidate for the governorship election in Edo State.

Buhari argued: forgetting its own history and antecedents, the PDP said in a garrulous statement that the President ought to have been aware that the Candidate is standing trial for corruption, and then went on rant against the governments war against corruption, alleging its failure.

The president ridiculously stated: let PDP first withdraw the governorship nominations it gave to Ahmadu Fintiri and Bala Mohammed of Adamawa and Bauchi States respectively, before it opens its mouth and talk on the efforts of this administration in fighting corruption. Or else, it should shut its mouth forever and leave us to do what it dares not attempt.

It was noted that both PDP governors were actually on bail from criminal trial on several counts of fraud and embezzlement.

The president narrated that Justice A. R. Mohammed of the Federal High Court, Abuja, on Friday, July 1, 2016 granted bail to the former acting Governor of Adamawa State, Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri. He noted that the acting governor was charged on June 30, 2016 by the EFCC alongside his company, Mayim Construction and Properties Limited, on a five-count charge of money laundering to the tune of N2.9 billion.

The president also narrated that in the case of Bala Mohammed, the PDP Governor of Bauchi State, the EFCC, on Wednesday, May 10, 2017, arraigned the former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, before Justice A. M. Talba of the Federal Capital Territory, High Court sitting in Gudu, Abuja, on a six-count charge bordering on abuse of office, false declaration of assets and fraud to the tune of N864 million.

The president highlighted: Bala, while in office as minister, allegedly received N550 million as bribe from Aso Savings and Loans Limited with respect to some properties in the Asokoro area of Abuja.

He is said to have corruptly abused his position as Board Chairman of Aso Savings by allocating four numbers fully detached duplexes and 11 numbers semi-detached duplexes valued at N314 million through the Presidential Taskforce on Sale of Government Houses, to himself.

The former minister is also accused of making false declaration of his assets.

President Buhari, therefore, defended that Pastor Ize-Iyamu is being prosecuted by the EFCC alongside Lucky Imasuen, former deputy governor of Edo State, Chief Dan Orbih, PDP Chairman in Edo State and other leaders of the party in the state, Tony Aziegbemi and Efe Erimuoghae.

Under the country s laws, only the courts can convict. A suspect remains a suspect until conviction. But, if in the view of the PDP, a suspect is guilty as charged, then, they must show examples by withdrawing the nomination of their governors and the partys numerous Senators and other legislators standing trial in various courts of the country.

A party which 16 years in office destroyed the countrys economy and infrastructure has no moral authority to criticize the accelerated infrastructure development drive, largely drawing its energy from the Buhari anti-corruption campaign.

A government that sees corruption in the past administration and sees corruption in its own administration, and fights it with equal gusto, cannot be placed on the same scale with those who, by their words and deeds said corruption is a way of life and Nigerians should learn to live with it.

This clean-up drive by the President Buhari administration will only speed up with the ongoing investigations and trials.

The current administrations cleansing exercise of the government, politics and economy in line with the zero tolerance for corruption, will not be distracted, the statement read.
The blast at Beiruts port, which killed at least 160 people, wounded thousands and left hundreds of thousands homeless, has fueled calls for a complete shake-up of Lebanons atrophied political system, dominated by family dynasties that have changed little in the decades since the countrys 15-year civil war. The explosion has triggered outrage at the official corruption, incompetence and negligence that allowed 2,750 metric tons of ammonium nitrate, a chemical used in bombmaking, to sit unattended and unsecured at the port for six years.
Daniel Dvoress Wins 2020 WSOP Online Event #48: $1,500 MILLIONAIRE MAKER ($1,489,289)

August 09 2020 Yori Epskamp

Daniel Dvoress has won Event #48: $1,500 MILLIONAIRE MAKER on GGPoker for a massive score of $1,489,289! The Canadian high roller, one of the most accomplished players without WSOP gold with over $15M in winnings on his Hendon Mob, defeated a 6,299-player field to capture his maiden bracelet.

Caio "Ez4ENCE" De Almeida of Brazil finished runner-up, making himself a millionaire in the process as well with $1,072,428. Russia's Anatoly "Mr_Deer" Filatov completed the podium and received $772,251 for finishing third.

Follow all the latest from the GGPoker 2020 WSOP - LIVE! The cards are in the air in the GGPoker WSOP Online. The PokerNews live reporting team is on top of all things WSOP. Don't miss a beat! FOLLOW HERE

2020 WSOP Online Event #48: $1,500 MILLIONAIRE MAKER Final Table Results

Place Player Country Prize 1 Daniel Dvoress Canada $1,489,289 2 Caio "Ez4ENCE" De Almeida Brazil $1,072,428 3 Anatoly "Mr_Deer" Filatov Russia $772,251 4 Michael "MrFabulous" Nugent Canada $556,095 5 Alejandro "pepealas" Caridad Argentina $400,412 6 Neville "NevSlater" Endo Costa Brazil $288,356 7 Ronny Kaiser Switzerland $207,644 8 Tomasz "SushiJanushi" Cybulski Poland $149,523 9 Aneris "TaiwanNumba1" Adomkevicius Lithuania $107,671

The final hand

For some of the elite, crossing their name off the infamous "best player without a bracelet" short list might mean getting a monkey off their back. However, it wasn't the case for Dvoress  a fixture in high rollers across the globe  as he hasn't put himself into that spot to begin with, instead shying away from the limelight in Sin City.

In an extensive feature with PokerNews leading up to the delayed MILLIONAIRE MAKER final table  the event was paused for six days to accommodate for live streaming on Saturday  Dvoress touched on never having traveled to Las Vegas to compete in the WSOP.

Check out the PokerNews feature on Daniel Dvoress

"I'm likely missing out on some EV, especially with the Main Event, but have been enjoying taking previous summers off and focusing on things outside poker," he said, also citing an unfavourable tax treaty between the US and Canada as a reason. "Between other live events and the usually packed online schedule right before the summer with SCOOP and everything surrounding it, I'm usually pretty burned out by the summer and welcome the time to focus on health, fitness, and doing things outdoors."

But in 2020, the world is different. With COVID-19 turning the tournament calendar on its head, the online WSOP on GGPoker suddenly provided a unique opportunity for Dvoress to capture a prize that wasn't on his radar to begin with. And while he generally stays away from short-term poker goals where variance rears its head all too often, the fact was he had a rare chance to add to an already splendid resume.

"While a bracelet wouldn't be the difference between success and failure, it would be a way to leave my mark in the WSOP forever," Dvoress said. Leave a mark he did, as his victory was nothing short of dominant. He maintained the chip lead start to finish and eliminated his final five opponents single-handedly  and in record fashion  to end the tournament in style.

Short Stacks Looking to Ladder

As a textbook example of how ICM affects final tables, the players competed into very shallow waters right off the bat with five out of nine stacks starting off below the 10 big blind mark. With each jump being worth at least $40,000, laddering up was on many a player's mind, which resulted in plays like Ronny Kaiser folding his blinds to leave himself half a big blind. Dvoress, meanwhile, put his chip lead to work, relentlessly flinging his chips around to put the pressure on the other finalists.

The blinds even moved up after the first hand, making it one of the shallowest final tables in recent memory. One of the shorties had to budge soon and it would be Aneris "TaiwanNumba1" Adomkevicius to break first, followed by Tomasz "SushiJanushi" Cybulski before Ronny Kaiser's short stack adventure would end. All three players busted out holding three or fewer big blinds.

While not being involved in the eliminations up to that point, Dvoress was active in every other hand, picking up tons of blinds and antes with his ubiquitous shoves to never see his chip lead come under threat at any stage. He'd go on to eliminate the remaining players starting with Neville "NevSlater" Endo Costa, who also had just three big blinds in his final hand.

Anatoly "Mr_Deer" Filatov finished in 3rd place ($772,251)

Dvoress Finishes It in Style

If there was a time at the final table where Dvoress' lead was slightly challenged, it would be after the hand where Caio "Ez4ENCE" De Almeida doubled through the chip leader. Not to be denied, Dvoress won the next four hands uncontested to distance himself from De Almeida and the others again.

After the break, the Canadian separated himself even further when Caridad would fall with queen-jack against his eights in the biggest pot of the tournament up until that point. Within mere minutes, the tournament was over as Dvoress also eliminated Nugent and Filatov in short order, before making quick work of De Almeida in two hands.

In the final hand, the Brazilian's crumbs went in with king-eight. Dvoress looked him up with the king-queen and held up to make good on his opportunity. Due to the massive prize pool of nearly $9 million, De Almeida also became a poker millionaire for his second-place finish.

In addition to his first-place prize, Dvoress also seemingly won $100,000 from GGPoker's Daniel Negreanu in a bracelet bet, pending Negreanu doesn't win a bracelet of his own this series, but Negreanu tweeted shortly after that after checking there apparently was no bet between the two in place at all.

Congrats! Looks like I need to get to work # https://t.co/wqrwWoTlJ6  Daniel Negreanu (@RealKidPoker)

I just found $100,000!  Daniel Negreanu (@RealKidPoker)

2020 WSOP Online Bracelet Winners on GGPoker

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The bonus releases into your account in $10 increments each time you earn 6,000 Fish Buffet Points, which is the equivalent of $60 in rake or tournament fees.
Citigroup said on Wednesday it had promoted the head of its wealth and retail banking business in Singapore to a newly created role overseeing its Citigold Private Client business focused on retail high-net-worth clients in Asia, Europe, Middle East and Africa.

San San Chan, head of wealth management and its client segments strategy, as well as acting retail banking head for Citi Singapore, will take the new role on October 1. She will report to Fabio Fontainha, Citi's head of retail banking for Asia-Pacific and Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA). She has been with the bank since 2003.

"Asia-Pacific remains one of the fastest-growing wealth regions globally, presenting opportunities for Citi to further support both existing and new clients," Fontainha said. "The newly created [Citigold Private Client] business head position underlines the strategic focus for Citi across this important retail wealth management segment."

As Citigold business head for Asia-Pacific and EMEA, Chan will be responsible for driving regional sales and advisory strategies for the segment, which caters to customers with US$1 million to US$10 million in investible assets and is available in 11 markets in Asia.

San San Chan has been named head of Citigroup's Citigold business for retail high-net-worth clients in Asia-Pacific and Europe, Middle East and Africa, beginning on October 1. Photo: Handout alt=San San Chan has been named head of Citigroup's Citigold business for retail high-net-worth clients in Asia-Pacific and Europe, Middle East and Africa, beginning on October 1. Photo: Handout

The Asian business is the fastest-growing among Citigold's operations globally and high-net-worth clients are an important segment for Citi's wealth management business globally, the bank said. Citi is targeting a 10 per cent increase in wealth management clients and assets this year.

The appointment comes as banks are increasingly making a big bet on wealth management as they seek to tap growing incomes in Asia and other emerging markets.

Story continues

This week, HSBC said it would add up to 3,000 wealth planners in China in the next four years as part of a wealth management push in the mainland. The hiring push comes as HSBC plans to cut 35,000 jobs globally and shift capital to growth markets in Asia as part of a restructuring under chief executive Noel Quinn.

Foreign wealth managers are looking to take advantage of regulatory changes in China that have further opened up the mainland financial services sector and led to a rash of acquisitions of controlling stakes by foreign companies in asset management, insurance and securities joint ventures, including deals involving JPMorgan Chase and Credit Suisse.

A new Wealth Management Connect pilot scheme also is expected to fuel wealth management growth in the Greater Bay Area in the coming year as it will allow Hong Kong and Macau residents to buy onshore wealth management products sold by Chinese banks, while mainland residents in the region will be able to invest in products sold by Hong Kong and Macau's banks.

Last year, PwC forecast assets under management for asset and wealth management businesses in the Asia-Pacific region will top US$29.6 trillion in 2025, nearly double the amount in 2017 and outpacing growth in Europe and North America.

Citi is seeking to double its wealth management clients in Singapore by 2025.

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.
Pull back from Dapsang-Daulat Beg Oldie sector, India tells China at military level talks

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, Aug 09: India has told China two pull back troops from the Dapsang-Daulat Beg Oldie sector of eastern Ladakh. During the talks between the two sides, India also told China to stop further construction activities in the area.

Sources tell OneIndia that during the talks, India once again stressed upon the importance of reducing tensions in the Depsang plains. This has been a major flash point for several years now, owing to the perceptions of the Line of Actual Control.

Top Indian military and strategic brass review situation in eastern Ladakh

The military level talks between the two sides was held on Saturday between 11 am and 7,30 pm. India stressed on the fact that the PLA troops who are camping near the Bottleneck area in the Depsang plains since May should not block Indian soldiers from going to their Patrolling Points-10, 11, 12 and 13.

Defence Ministry bans import of 101 Defence items: PM Modi's Atma Nirbhar Bharat | Oneindia News

The primary agenda of the meeting was to reduce tensions at the Depsang Plains, where there is a massive build up of troops of both sides. The meeting would discuss ways to de-escalate as well as disengage. India will also seek restoration of patrolling rights for its soldiers.

Following the meeting that was held last Sunday by the two sides, a high powered panel headed by National Security Advisor, Ajit Doval reviewed the Chinese response. Following the meeting, India conveyed to Beijing on hotline that it is in no hurry to de-escalate, unless and until the Chinese dis-engage as agreed by the military commanders.

During the meeting on August 2, China had suggested that India move back in order to break the deadlock. The west of Finger 4 was under India's control and the suggestion by China that India moves back here is not acceptable, officials familiar with the developments told OneIndia.

India-China hold Major General level talks at Daulat Beg Oldie

The high powered committee also known as the China Study Group held discussions on Tuesday and analysed the response by the Chinese. The meeting that lasted three hours was also attended by Defence Minister, Rajnath Singh, Foreign Minister, S Jaishankar and Army Chief General M M Naravane.

The fifth meeting of the commanders was held on August 2. The panel headed by NSA Doval is informally known as the China Study Group.

The source said that India reiterated to China for complete disengagement and de-escalation. India also sought for full restoration of peace and tranquility in the border areas as had been agreed upon during the earlier meetings.

The Indian side also sought for restoration of status quo ante along the Line of Actual Control, the source also added. The official cited above said that the Doval led panel would analyse China's response during the talks.

For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications

Story first published: Sunday, August 9, 2020, 8:43 [IST]
Tony Hetherington is Financial Mail on Sunday's ace investigator, fighting readers corners, revealing the truth that lies behind closed doors and winning victories for those who have been left out-of-pocket. Find out how to contact him below.

P.K. writes: My business was sent a booklet called 'Stay Safe' by the Children's Information Centre, with a letter thanking us for our involvement. We were then harassed for payment of 208, which would be reduced to 189 if we paid that same day. When we questioned this, we kept being told we had made a verbal contract. However, we would not agree to anything like this, verbal or otherwise. And when we asked to hear a recording of the verbal agreement, the invoice was immediately cancelled.

Claims: The booklet by the 'Children's Information Centre'

The first thing to understand about the Children's Information Centre is that despite its name, it is not a charity. It is a limited company, aiming to make a profit by sending booklets to schools after billing businesses for hundreds of pounds to pay for them.

The invoice you received demands 189 for booklets, plus 19 for 'storage and shipping'. There is no mention of how many booklets this covers. It could be a hundred or more, or it could be just one. Why you should be charged for the company's own storage of its booklets is not explained. And where the booklets would be shipped is unclear, too.

The booklet and invoice show the Children's Information Centre Limited (CIC) has a London telephone number and is based in Wenlock Road in North London.

But telephone numbers can be diverted to anywhere, and the address is one I see regularly. It belongs to a company formation agency, and literally hundreds of companies are registered there without having any physical presence.

CIC is actually run from Ashton-Under-Lyne in Greater Manchester, where its owner and director is 26-year-old Paul Chalmers.

His company claims to be 'a nationwide publisher of informative, educational material based around the issue affecting the lives and development of at-risk and vulnerable children across the UK', so I asked him what he publishes apart from the small Stay Safe booklet which is simply common sense advice about such things as how to cross the road and what to do if your home is on fire. He offered no details.

His website says: 'Our carefully curated publications are created by industry leaders in safeguarding and child welfare in line with the Government's curriculum and guidelines to ensure maximum impact with students and help support their welfare.' Who are these industry leaders? And who actually authored the Stay Safe booklet? Chalmers would not tell me.

There are some clues, though. CIC claims to be in partnership with the prestigious Royal Geographical Society. Unfortunately, the Society says this is simply not true.

The CIC website also carries an impressive article about lessons to be learned from seven successful schools. But the article has been copied from the work of the genuine and respectable organisation TeachFirst. It told me: 'We do not have any relationship with them and did not give permission to replicate the article.'

Much of the CIC website is similarly misleading. As well as using the logo of the Royal Geographical Society, it displays a range of names and logos including Google Earth, the Association for Education In Science, and even the United Nations World Food Programme. CIC claims to have 'partnered' with them all.

All that Paul Chalmers of CIC would say is that the invoice he sent you has been cancelled. He offered no evidence of any verbal contract, and explained: 'We normally book by e-signature with lockdown and people working remotely.'

I asked for a copy of any order he received from you, but he produced nothing. Chalmers refused to say how much his Stay Safe booklets cost to produce, or how many your 208 would have bought. But businesses that hear from him, or receive unexpected invoices, might like to ask the same questions. No answers, no deal.

If you believe you are the victim of financial wrongdoing, write to Tony Hetherington at Financial Mail, 2 Derry Street, London W8 5TS or email tony.hetherington@mailonsunday.co.uk.

Because of the high volume of enquiries, personal replies cannot be given. Please send only copies of original documents, which we regret cannot be returned.
Hearst Connecticut Media

Pete Hamill died last week. He was the consummate New Yorker. He grew up in Brooklyn, went to Regis High School in Manhattan. He was an old school journalist, hard drinking (See A Drinking Life) and heavy hitting.

Thats what I read about him, but what I remember about him is his kindness. It was 2002. All the big libraries in the country were hosting One Book community reads. The Day in New London published a column, What the area needs is one good read. We of the Eastern Connecticut Library Association responded. We had no money, too many communities, and we had never done anything like this before.
NEW YORK, N.Y. -- Staten Island artist Scott LoBaido has a lawyer and is ready to take on the de Blasio administration in court if the Department of Transportation continues to pressure him to remove his thin blue line outside of the 122 precinct.

LoBaido painted the blue line as a way to stand in solidarity with the NYPD after Mayor Bill de Blasio announced he would paint Black Lives Matter street murals across the five boroughs on the heels of nationwide racial injustice protests.
You should feel free to tell people on internal groups, or emails that you are on your period leave for the day, Zomato chief executive said

NEW DELHI: Indian food delivery company Zomato said on Saturday it would give female employees up to 10 days of period leave per year, as part of an effort to combat what it said was stigma around the issue.

Zomato is the most high profile organisation to institute the policy in India, a country where menstruation is still taboo to some.

There shouldnt be any shame or stigma attached to applying for a period leave, Zomato chief executive Deepinder Goyal said in an email to staff on Saturday.

You should feel free to tell people on internal groups, or emails that you are on your period leave for the day.

Founded in 2008, Gurugram-based Zomato is one of Indias best-known companies, with more than 5,000 employees.

Millions of women and girls in India still face discrimination and health issues due to a lack of awareness surrounding menstruation.

In 2018, Indias Supreme Court overturned a decades-long ban on women of menstrual age entering the Sabarimala temple in the southern state of Kerala, leading to a nationwide debate about womens rights.
The union environment ministry has received well over 100,000 comments and suggestions from people on the draft environment impact assessment (EIA) notification of 2020 that some green activists say could severely undermine environmental regulation in India.

The number of comments is way over a lakh. We are still compiling the submissions. We have been overwhelmed with the number of comments, said a senior environment ministry official who declined to be identified. The feedback was based on the count as of Friday. The deadline for submission of feedback is Tuesday.

Environmental activists have been critical of the draft EIA notification, which was published by the environment ministry in March, because of a number of contentious clauses that they say could weaken environmental regulation.

The government itself will turn its policy interventions into horror stories on the ground if projects are not put through rigourous, EIA procedures in an impartial manner, said Manju Menon, legal researcher at Centre for Policy Research

The notification became a potential issue for a political debate on Sunday when Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said the notification was not only disgraceful, it is dangerous.

#IndiaNotForSale was also trending on Twitter which had people drawing attention to concerns over the draft notification and demanding it be withdrawn. Not only does it have the potential to reverse many of the hard-fought-for gains that have been won over the years in the battle to protect Indias environment, it could potentially unleash widespread environmental destruction and mayhem across India, Gandhi wrote in a lengthy post on a social media platform.

He highlighted contentious clauses and said if a project is labelled strategic, highly polluting industries could be exempted from the environment impact assessment process and that an EIA can be conducted post facto, after a project has already violated the EIA notification by starting construction without getting an environmental clearance.

This EIA 2020 draft is a disaster. It seeks to silence the voice of communities who will be directly impacted by the environmental degradation it unleashes. I urge every Indian to rise up and protest against it. Our youth, who have always been at the forefront of every battle to protect our environment, must take up this cause and make it their own. A fight to protect our environment cuts across political and ideological beliefs, Gandhi wrote, adding: If nothing else, the recent Covid19 pandemic has shown us how fragile human life is. For millions of Indians already living on the edge, the environment isnt an abstract term, but a life and livelihood issue. If EIA 2020 is notified by the government, the long-term consequences of the widespread environmental degradation will be catastrophic for us and future generations of Indians.

Congress leader and former environment minister and chairman of the parliamentary committee on science, technology, environment and forests, Jairam Ramesh, wrote to Union environment minister Prakash Javadekar more than once last month, raising these concerns. Javadekar also responded in writing, suggesting that the concerns were unfounded and based on misrepresentation.

There was much controversy around the draft also because Delhi Police issued a notice to a youth climate group, Fridays For Future, under Section 79(3)(b) of the Information Technology Act, 2000, invoking section 18 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act on July 8 and said that their website depicts contents which are dangerous for the peace, tranquillity and sovereignty of India.

The notice was issued following a complaint by Javadekar against multiple emails sent to him on the subject of EIA 2020.

Delhi Police later clarified that the July 8 notice issued under UAPA was a clerical error which was withdrawn and that a fresh notice had been sent to the group.

Environment ministry officials in the EIA division said it will take a long time for the ministry to look into every comment before taking a call on notifying the draft.

The time for comments expires on August 11. But it will take us quite some time to go through the comments and discuss, said Geeta Menon, joint secretary, environment ministry. HT sought a response from Javadekar through the Press Information Bureau, but didnt receive a reply until late Sunday. Environment secretary RP Gupta also did not respond to HTs calls for a response on Sunday

On a petition to extend the deadline for public comments on the draft notification, the Delhi high court had extended the time for submission of feedback until August 11 from the June 30 date originally set by the ministry. The court also asked the Centre to publish the notification in all vernacular languages on websites.

We have been informed that the environment ministry has moved the Supreme Court against Delhi high courts order of translating the draft in all languages. We are a respondent in SC too, said Vikrant Tongad, the advocate who had filed the petition to extend the deadline in the Delhi high court.

Major concerns with draft EIA 2020:

 Post-facto clearances: Detailed protocol for appraisal of projects that have started operating without approval. Projects that have violated norms can be regularised based on appraisal and asked to furnish a bank guarantee.

 The draft exempts many projects seeking an expansion or modernisation with a capacity increase of up to 50% and even establishment of new projects from requiring a public consultation

 Extended time for reporting of compliance with environment clearance conditions

 Reduces public consultation period from 30 days to 20 days
This August marks the 150th anniversary of the oldest business in Columbus  the Gass Haney Funeral Home, 2109 14th St., and Aug. 9 also marks the 14th anniversary of when co-owners Gary Sharman and Brad Ramaekers bought it.

The two said they are carrying on the tradition of the business, and were mentored by a previous owner, Steve Haney, who Sharman noted was just a good guy.

(Haney) knew everybodyhe grew up in the community so he knew people, he knew where they lived, he knew who their parents were, Sharman said. And now, after being here for 20-plus years, we're starting to get to the same position, because we're starting to bury people that we know in the community and we know how they're related to so and so.

This career is not for everyone, the two said. You have to be called into it and realize its not a job, its a lifestyle, Sharman added.

The duo have degrees in Mortuary Science, as one requirement for the job is education. They learned a lot of science, but also psychology and religion.

We were both taught right away from our mentor Steve Haney that the answer to any question is 'no problem.' If they wanted something, no problem. You figured out how to try to make it work for them, Sharman said.

Ramaekers agreed.

If theyre asking it must mean something to them -- it might not mean anything to us. It might seem silly, goofy, whatever, but to them its important, Ramaekers said. Every church and every nationality and ethnic group do different things, so you've got to learn to accommodate them. You learn to put your own beliefs aside.

Ramaekers said much of helping families deal with grief is listening. Sharman added that sometimes dealing with grieving families is very difficult.

Especially if youre working with somebody that has lost a child and no matter what age, Sharman said. Because were parents also and so sometimes you feel like what would it feel like losing your own child and trying to put yourself into their shoes to see how they feel. You can kind of deal with it a little bit better that way.

The two met after they started working at Gass Haney in the late 1990s, and they bought the business in 2006. Although running a business is stressful, they said it gives them the freedom to make their own choices and decisions.

You work a lot of goofy hours, a lot of evenings, weekends, holidays, Ramaekers said. We miss a lot of family things, but its rewarding when you help a family and they tell you 'thanks.'

In 1870, the Swiss founder of the business, Henry Gass Sr., started out making furniture, coffins and offering funeral services after moving to Columbus. The funeral home was moved several times, once due to a fire.

Gass Sr.'s sons, Samuel and Henry Jr., took over the business in the early 20th century; their father passed away in 1926. Henry's daughter Marjorie and her husband, William Haney, bought the home after Henry died. Marjorie operated the business until 1960, after her husband died in 1952.

Steve Haney was William and Marjorie's son. He sold the business in the early 1990s to Equity Corporation International. Gass Haney changed hands to Service Corporation International before finally being purchased by Sharman and Ramaekers in 2006, four years before Steve Haney passed away.

I think it's just neat to know that you're part of history, the city's oldest continuous running business, Ramaekers said.

Gass Haney has also been a Columbus Area Chamber of Commerce member since 1948, said Membership & Community Engagement Director Sandie Fischer.

I mean just having them as a part of the community and supporting everything that the Chamber does (show) that they believe in Columbus and want to see Columbus continue to grow, Fischer said. Having a business like that in our community, were excited to have them celebrate their anniversary.

Fischer, who said Gass Haney handled her husbands funeral, said it is a unique business, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

I think that theyve been very creative as to how to deal with families that are going through a loss and how to accommodate their needs, Fischer said. Theyre very compassionate people in the career line that theyre in.

Their line of work is unlike many others  it all depends on how many people die and they have no control over that. It can be uneven year to year.

Its such a roller coaster, up and down, Ramaekers said. Sometimes were really busy and then youll go for weeks and you dont have a funeral.

This year, Ramaekers noted that they were grateful to not see a rise in funerals from COVID-related deaths, but they were sad families who lost a loved one couldnt have a funeral visitation.

We know the importance of a funeral, the grief process that we can provide, Ramaekers said. It brings people together so they can express their sympathies to a family. I think were seeing that more now with this COVID, how important those things are for people to get together.

It was about closure, Ramaekers added.

Everybody grieves differently and they need that camaraderie to pull themselves together, Sharman said.

In March, Gass Haney hosted a funeral at 10:30 a.m., Sharman said, and at 11, Gov. Pete Ricketts announced the state of Nebraska was shutting down. They ended up creating a Facebook page and live-streaming funerals.

Now Gass Haney is getting booked up in September for makeup memorial services.

You think about 150 years and all the things that have happened and for this business not to have ever closed or shut down, which is impressive, Ramaekers said. It clearly tells you that they did something right from the very beginning.

Carolyn Komatsoulis is a reporter for The Columbus Telegram. Reach her via email at carolyn.komatsoulis@lee.net

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Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday expressed gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for launching a Rs 1 lakh crore Agriculture Infrastructure Fund and said it will generate new employment opportunities and strengthen the rural economy.

In a series of tweets in Hindi, Shah said agriculture is the foundation of the Indian economy and the Modi government has been striving to strengthen it for the last six years.

Shah said many unprecedented steps have been taken to double the income of farmers and for the development of the agriculture sector.

"I am confident that due to the untiring efforts of PM Narendra Modi, Indian agriculture will become world class in the times to come," he said.

The home minister said the agriculture infrastructure fund will accelerate creation of many infrastructure projects such as cold storage, collection centres, processing units so that the hardworking farmers can get the true value for their produce.

Shah expressed his gratitude to the prime minister for launching the fund and transferring Rs 17,000 crore in the accounts of 8.5 crore farmers under 'PM-Kisan' for the development of agriculture sector and rural areas.

The prime minister on Sunday launched a financing facility of Rs 1 lakh crore under the Agri-Infra Fund that will help create post-harvest infrastructure in villages and generate jobs.
The magic is back at Disney World, but for fewer hours a day.

After lower-than-expected attendance amid the coronavirus pandemic, Disney is scaling back operating hours at the Magic Kingdom and several other Florida theme parks.

Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom will all lose an hour or two per day starting Sept. 8.

The revised park hours were shared over the weekend on Disney Worlds website.

Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios are ending their day an hour earlier. Epcot is cutting back by two hours. Animal Kingdom is shaving an hour off on both ends of the day.

COVID crisis: Is it safe for Disney World to reopen as coronavirus cases soar in Florida?

Disney earnings: Disney lost nearly $5 billion while theme parks were closed due to coronavirus

Guests wear masks as required to attend the official reopening day of the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., Saturday, July 11, 2020. Disney reopened two Florida parks, the Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom, Saturday, with limited capacity and safety protocols in place in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Disney's revised hours:

Magic Kingdom: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET.

Epcot: 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Hollywood Studios: 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Animal Kingdom: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The COVID-19 surge in Florida has resulted in more cancellations and fewer visitors than the company anticipated, with the park operating at lower capacity, Disney executives announced last week in an earnings webcast.

After being closed for nearly four months, Disney World reopened in July with restricted capacity and safety protocolssuch as mandatory masks and temperature checks upon arrival. But parks have experienced a falloff in visitors from out of state amid steep declines in long-distance travel.

The Walt Disney Co. lost nearly $5 billion in April, May and June, while its theme parks were shut down altogether. It cost the company $3.5 billion just to close the parks during the third quarter, on top of the $1 billion it cost to shut them down the second half of March.

Contributing: Curtis Tate

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Disney World to reduce hours in September as visits drop amid COVID
Tom Inskip advised the Duke and Duchess of Sussex to live together before marrying. (Getty Images)

The childhood friend of Prince Harry was punished for sharing doubts about Meghan Markle ahead of their marriage.

Tom Inskip advised the Duke and Duchess of Sussex to live together before doing anything more serious, according to upcoming biography Finding Freedom: Harry and Meghan and the Making of A Modern Family.

The book claims the royals close confidant  regularly nicknamed Skippy  revealed his reservations about the American actress ahead of their engagement in late 2017, The Daily Telegraph reported.

This meant that, at the 2018 wedding, Inskip and his wife Lara Hughes-Young were punished by not being invited to the evening wedding party at Frogmore House following the Windsor Castle ceremony.

The prince's confidant - regularly called "Skippy" - attended the 2018 nuptials with his wife Lara. (Getty Images)

According to the paper, a source close to the duke, 35, and duchess, 39, told the authors of Finding Freedom, Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand, that it caused the two close friends to grow apart.

They reportedly said that while Inskips advice came from a good place, the prince was really hurt him that someone he was so close to would not trust his judgment.

Read more: Meghan Markle didn't want to stop serving the Queen, according to new book

It has been widely suggested that sources who spoke to Scobie and Durand did so with the Los Angeles-based royal couples blessing.

Inskip formed a friendship with the royal while they were both pupils at Eton, and the pair were often pictured partying together in their younger years.

The prince and Inskip have been close since they were pupils at Eton. (Getty Images)

They remained close until spring 2017 when the duke served as usher at Inskips wedding in Montego Bay, Jamaica  accompanied by his then-girlfriend, the duchess.

It is unclear whether Harry has been made godfather to the couples son Albert, who was born earlier this year.

Similarly, the identities of the duke and duchess one-year-old son Archies godparents have remained a secret.

Read more:

Prince Harry issues social media warning

Queen, Prince William and Kate Middleton wish Meghan Markle happy birthday

Story continues

Also revealed by Finding Freedom  written with the participation of those closest to the couple  was the duchess devastation after the couple stepped back as senior royals earlier this year.

The book quotes her speaking to a friend, who she told: I gave up my entire life for this family. I was willing to do whatever it takes. But here we are. Its very sad.

The authors added that the duke long wanted distance from royal life, saying: Its why he gravitated toward the military, had always avoided the pomp as much as he could, and didnt give his child a title.

He long craved a life away from the prying eyes of the media.

Meghan simply emboldened him to make the change.

Watch the latest videos from Yahoo UK Lifestyle
Britain could be hit with another full lockdown unless Boris Johnson sorts out the country's test and trace 'disaster', a former top government advisor has warned.

Sir David King urged the Prime Minister to 'get it right' in August ahead of schools reopening  or face a second wave of coronavirus infections that would paralyse the economy and risk thousands more deaths.

There were 758 new coronavirus infections today, down 13 cases from last Saturday and the locked-down North West has seen no hospital deaths in the past 24 hours.

But as Britons flocked from beaches to bars on a scorching weekend, concerns were raised that the country is ill prepared to prevent another wave.

Sir David King urged the Prime Minister to 'get it right' in August ahead of schools reopening  or face a second wave of coronavirus infections that would paralyse the economy and risk thousands more deaths

'We need a proper test and trace system by September. Otherwise full school opening will put us right back,' Sir David told the Sunday Mirror.

The former chief scientific advisor to Tony Blair now heads the Independent Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies, shadowing the Prime Minister's scientific team.

'The Government has a month to deal with the level of infectivity as it stands now. Reopening schools should be a priority, but we believe we are nowhere near the point where it can be done safely,' he said.

There were 758 new coronavirus infections today, down 13 cases from last Saturday and the locked-down North West has seen no hospital deaths in the past 24 hours

He added that schools were 'nowhere near' having a safe reopening, and could cause a rise in the reproduction rate of about 0.5.

Latest government figures showed the national 'R' rate was between 0.8 and 1 - just below the point at which the virus starts to spread again.

He expects the government to continue backing lockdowns, but believes there could come a point when it could have to be applied nationally once again.

Sir David also hit out at the current privately-run test and trace system, which was basically 'one telephone call and no follow-up'.

Instead the contract saying it should taken off service provider Serco's hands and given to councils.

'The Serco contract is up for renewal this month. They've had roughly 100million so far. They'll get 300 million if it's extended. This is not working.'

Sir David added that schools were 'nowhere near' having a safe reopening, and could cause a rise in the reproduction rate of about 0.5

He added that councils and public health bodies would be more able to manage regional outbreaks if they became worse, rather than firms 'with no healthcare expertise'.

Official figures show UK cases have hit 309,763, with 46,566 deaths. WHO figures show 19,187,943 confirmed cases worldwide and 716,075 deaths..

Tighter lockdown restrictions and social distancing measures in the US, Hong Kong, the Philippines and other countries are being reimposed.

The Academy of Medical Sciences has estimated up to 120,000 people here could die of Covid-19 this winter.
Twitter has also privately made a case that its bid would face less regulatory scrutiny than Microsoft's, and will not face any pressure from China given that it is not active in that country.

Twitter Inc has approached TikTok's Chinese owner ByteDance to express interest in acquiring the US operations of the video-sharing app, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters, as experts raised doubts over Twitter's ability to put together financing for a potential deal.

It is far from certain that Twitter would be able to outbid Microsoft Corp and complete such a transformative deal in the 45 days that US President Donald Trump has given ByteDance to agree to a sale, the sources said on Saturday.

The news of Twitter and TikTok being in preliminary talks and Microsoft still being seen as the front-runner in bidding for the app's US operations was reported earlier by the Wall Street Journal.

Twitter has a market capitalization of close to $30 billion (23 billion pounds), almost as much as the valuation of TikTok's assets to be divested, and would need to raise additional capital to fund the deal, according to the sources.

"Twitter will have a hard time putting together enough financing to acquire even the US operations of TikTok. It doesn't have enough borrowing capacity", said Erik Gordon, a professor at the University of Michigan.

"If it (Twitter) tries to put together an investor group, the terms will be tough. Twitter's own shareholders might prefer that management focus on its existing business", he added.

ALSO READ: A ban on TikTok will set a really bad long-term precedent, says Zuckerberg

One of Twitter's shareholders, private equity firm Silver Lake, is interested in helping fund a potential deal, one of the sources added.

TikTok, ByteDance and Twitter declined to comment.

TikTok has come under fire from US lawmakers over national security concerns surrounding data collection.

ALSO READ: TikTok threatens legal action after Trump's order to ban transactions with ByteDance

Earlier this week, Trump unveiled bans on US transactions with the China-based owners of messaging app WeChat and TikTok, escalating tensions between the two countries.

Trump said this week he would support Microsoft's efforts to buy TikTok's US operations if the US government got a "substantial portion" of the proceeds. He nevertheless said he will ban the popular app on Sept. 15.

Microsoft said on Sunday it was aiming to conclude negotiations for a deal by mid-September.
SANAA, Yemen Yemens Houthi rebels said Sunday that floods have swept through rebel-held parts of the country since mid-July amid heavy seasonal rains, leaving more than 130 dead and damaging more than 260 homes.

The Houthi-run Health Ministry said at least 124 others were injured by the flooding in parts of northern Yemen controlled by the rebels, including the capital Sanaa and its historic Old City, which is on UNESCOs World Heritage List.

More than 160,000 people were forced to leave their homes amid heavy flooding and rainfall in the provinces of Hajjah and Hodeida, according to security officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the media.

At least 33,000 displaced people who were sheltering in camps in southern Yemen lost their tents and belongings in the floods, the International Committee of the Red Cross said last month.

The devastating floods in the Arab worlds poorest country have exacerbated a cholera outbreak, with 127,900 suspected cases across eight provinces since January, the World Health Organization said in July.

The Red Cross also warned the floods have accelerated the spread of dengue fever and malaria, as mosquitoes carrying the diseases breed in puddles.

Yemen is divided between the Houthi rebels in the north and an internationally recognized government in the south. Both sides have been at war since the Iran-backed Houthis swept across much of the north and seized Sanaa late in 2014, forcing the government of President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi into exile.

In Mach 2015, Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states formed a coalition to take on the Houthis in what they said was an effort to stop Irans growing sway in Yemen, which is located at the southern corner of the Arabian Peninsula, overlooking the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea.

Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor
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Report Description

A recent market intelligence report that is published by Data Insights Partner on White Oil Market makes an offering of in-depth analysis of segments and sub-segments in the regional and international White Oil Market. The research also emphasizes on the impact of restraints, drivers, and macro indicators on the basis of regional implications and the world. A detailed presentation of forecast, trends, and dollar values of international White Oil Market is offered. In accordance with the report, the White Oil Market is projected to expand at a CAGR of X.X% which is expected to reach US$ XX.X Mn in 2027.

Market Insight, Drivers, Restraints& Opportunity of the Market:

White Oil is highly refined mineral oil which is stable, pure, colourless, odourless, chemically inert and non-toxic. Due to its extreme features, it is widely used in pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and chemical processing. The demand for White Oil is significantly increasing due to its uses in topical ointment and capsule ointment in pharmaceuticals; application in egg coatings, coatings for fruit & vegetables and packaging in food products; and its application in baby oil, lotions and suntan oil in cosmetic products. It plays a vital role in the production of plastics and elastomers such as PVC external lubricants, plastic annealing and catalyst carriers. It is lightweight, inexpensive and it helps in reducing water loss from the skin. Moreover, it is also used as a brake fluid, principle fluid in scented candles, anti-rust agent for blades and honing oil for sharpening edge tools. Variety of applications of white oil in food and pharmaceutical industries is driving the white oil market, globally. However, there are bad presses regarding the side effects of the white oil usage in the cosmetic and personal care products. According to some sources, the use of white oil can clog the pores on the skin which increases the risk of blackheads and acne. The use of the oil without purifying in the cosmetic products can lead to many diseases. The side effects of the White Oil is acting as a restraint for the growth of the market. With the CAGR estimation of X.X%, the research report provides a detailed overview of the industry, classifications and application in White Oil Market. In the report, North America, South America, Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa and Europe are the major regions taken into consideration for the geographical analysis for micro and macro environment. This report also states import & export consumption, demand & supply figures, price, cost, revenue and gross margins.

Request for Report Sample: https://datainsightspartner.com/request-for-sample?ref=139

Segment Covered

This market intelligence report on the White Oil Market has been segmented by White Oil type; its segmentation based upon application; the key manufacturers; growing market size & region-wise market. In terms of the White Oil types, White Oil Market has been divided into Heavy Grade and Light Grade. On the basis of the application, White Oil Market has been classified into Pharmaceutical, Food Industrial and Personal Care. By major regions, the report is classified into North America, South America, Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa and Europe. Asia Pacific and Middle East & Africa are expected to report fastest growth rate for the white oil market, globally. Due to the higher demand for wire rope lubricants, aerosol lubricants and personal care products in the countries of APAC and MEA, the global market will be dominated by these two regions for the white oil consumption.

Profiling of Market Players:

There are many multinational companies are investing in the growing markets of White Oil. Most of the companies are focusing on the large chunk of potential consumers in APAC and MEA. The key players observed in the study are  Huntsman Corporation, BASF SE, Clarion Co., Chevron Corporation, Exxon Mobil Corporation, Sasol, Nippon Oil, Seojin Chem, Sonneborn, Moresco, KDOC, Atlas Setayesh Mehr, FPCC, Unicorn, Shell, Farabi Petrochem, CEPSA and Total SA among others.

Report Highlights

In-depth analysis of the micro and macro indicators, market trends, and forecasts of demand is offered by this business intelligence report. Furthermore, the report offers a vivid picture of the factors that are steering and restraining the growth of this market across all geographical segments. In addition to that, IGR-Growth Matrix analysis is alsoprovided in the report so as to share insight of the investment areas that new or existing market players can take into consideration. Various analytical tools such as DRO analysis, Porter's five forces analysis has been used in this report to present a clear picture of the market. The study focuses on the present market trends and provides market forecast from the year 2019-2027.Emerging trends that would shape the market demand in the years to come have been highlighted in this report. A competitive analysis in each of the geographical segments gives an insight into market share of the global players.

Get Request for Table of Contents: https://datainsightspartner.com/report/white-oil-market/139#content

Salient Features:

 This studyofferscomprehensive yet detailed analysis of the White Oil Market, size of the market (US$ Mn), and Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR (%)) for the period of forecast: 2019  2027, taking into account 2017 as the base year

 It explains upcoming revenue opportunities across various market segments and attractive matrix of investment proposition for the said market

 This market intelligence report also offers pivotal insights about various market opportunities, restraints, drivers, launch of new products, competitive market strategies of leading market players, emerging market trends, and regional outlook

 Profiling of key market players in the world of White Oil Market is done by taking into account various parameters such as company strategies, distribution strategies, product portfolio, financial performance, key developments, geographical presence, and company overview.

 Leading market players covered this report comprise names such as Huntsman Corporation, BASF SE, Clarion Co., Chevron Corporation, Exxon Mobil Corporation, Sasol, Nippon Oil, Seojin Chem, Sonneborn, Moresco, KDOC, Atlas Setayesh Mehr, FPCC, Unicorn, Shell, Farabi Petrochem, CEPSA and Total SA.

 The data of this report would allow management authorities and marketers of companies alike to take informed decision when it comes to launch of products, government initiatives, marketing tactics and expansion, and technical up gradation

 The world market for White Oil Market caters to the needs of various stakeholders pertaining to this industry, namely suppliers, product manufacturers, investors, and distributors for White Oil Market. The research also caters to the rising needs of consulting and research firms, financial analysts, and new market entrants

 Research methodologies that have been adopted for the purpose of this study have been clearly elaborated so as to facilitate better understanding of the reports

 Reports have been made based on the guidelines as mandated by General Data Protection Regulation

 Ample number of examples and case studies have been taken into consideration before coming to a conclusion

Reasons to buy:

v Identify opportunities and plan strategies by having a strong understanding of the investment opportunities in the White Oil Market

v Identification of key factors driving investment opportunities in the White Oil Market facilitate decision-making based on strong historic and forecast data

v Position yourself to gain the maximum advantage of the industrys growth potential

v Develop strategies based on the latest regulatory events. Identify key partners and business development avenues

v Respond to your competitors business structure, strategy and prospects. Identify key strengths and weaknesses of important market participants

Full View of Report Description: https://datainsightspartner.com/report/white-oil-market/139
The 73 per cent decline in quarterly profit of Saudi Aramco may force the oil giant to refrain from its promised investment in India for quiet sometime. The Saudi Kingdom-controlled company had announced two major investment plans in the country -- the strategic investment in the greenfield petroleum refinery in Maharashtra and the $15 billion worth stake acquisition in the refining and petrochemicals business of Reliance Industries (RIL). Aramco, which raised $25.6 billion from the world's biggest initial public offering in December last year, has also been expected to participate in the disinvestment bid for BPCL.

However, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Aramco Amin Nasser has said the company is 'still working on the deal to invest in RIL', Bloomberg reported. But the analysts see it quiet unlikely in the near future. At the Annual General Meeting of RIL on July 15, RIL's Chairman Mukesh Ambani had said the deal with Aramco did not progressed as per the earlier timeline due to unforeseen circumstances and the COVID-19 pandemic. "Nevertheless, we at Reliance value our over two-decade-long relationship with Saudi Aramco and are committed to a long-term partnership," Ambani had said.

Aramco's net profit has plunged a massive 73 per cent to $6.6 billion in the April-June quarter due to sharply lower oil prices as the coronavirus crisis undercuts global demand. "Strong headwinds from reduced demand and lower oil prices are reflected in our second quarter results," CEO Amin Nasser said in a statement.

Aramco has been in negotiations with RIL to pick up 20 per cent stake in the latter's oil to chemicals (O2C) business for $15 billion. The O2C business of RIL includes the twin refineries in Jamnagar, Gujarat and the adjacent petro chemicals complex. Aramco also plans to pick up 10 per cent stake in the petroleum retail joint venture of RIL-BP Plc. The two deals together will cost Aramco Rs 1.1 lakh crore.

The deal will open up a new market for Saudi Aramco. As part of the deal, RIL will sign to buy 500,000 barrels of crude oil every day (28 per cent of the company's Jamnagar refinery requirement) on a long-term basis from Aramco. Besides, the O2C business will be a value-creating proposition for both the giants as the chemical products fetches more earnings than fuels like petrol and diesel.

Aramco and Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) have been planning to jointly hold a 50 per cent stake in the $44 billion refinery in Maharashtra. Indian Oil Corp, BPCL and HPCL through Ratnagiri Refinery & Petrochemicals Ltd (RRPCL) have agreed to hold the rest of the stake. However, the analysts reported that the cost of the refinery has already escalated to $70 billion.

The refinery was initially proposed to be built at Nanar, a village in Ratnagiri district. According to the recent reports, the Maharashtra government is looking for alternate sites at the coast of Mumbai after the protests from farmers. The 1.2 million barrels a day refinery and associated petrochemical project has been projected as one of the biggest projects in the country that will bring large foreign direct investment (FDI).

The Indian government, which is staring at falling GDP and huge fiscal deficit, see the BPCL disinvestment as the major step to revive the economic activities. According to sources, Aramco has been approached by the government to participate in the sale programme. However, the bad news in the oil market has forced the government to extend the deadline for bids for the third time to September 30. Going by the present market value of BPCL, the buyer will have to spend at least Rs 50,000 crore to buy the government's 53 per cent stake.

The Saudi Ambassador to India, Saud bin Mohammed Al Sati said in September 2019 that Saudi Arabia is looking at making investments in India potentially worth $100 billion in the areas of energy, refining, petrochemicals, infrastructure, agriculture, minerals and mining. Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest crude oil exporter, has been hit hard by the low prices and sharp production cuts. The crude prices dropped to a two-decade low of below $20 a barrel in April and May as the coronavirus outbreak dampened demand, before recovering to around $44 a barrel after OPEC+ producers agreed to record output cuts. Saudi has cut its oil production to 7.5 million barrels per day (bpd) in June, compared to last year's average of 10 million bpd.

The US technology giant Apple has last week replaced Aramco as the world's most valuable company after its market capitalisation spiked to $1.9 trillion against $1.76 trillion for the oil and gas major.

Also Read: PM Modi launches Rs 1 lakh crore financing facility under agri-infra fund

Also Read: IndusInd Bank buys 7.82% stake in Eveready; invokes pledged shares
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She is currently enjoying the sun-soaked shores of Barbados with her family.

And Coleen Rooney looked breathtaking in a vibrant blue halterneck bikini as she enjoyed a beach day in Barbados, on Saturday.

The WAG, 34, enjoyed cocktails on the beach as she topped up her tan, and cooled down in the Caribbean sea as temperatures soared.

Wow! Coleen Rooney, 34, looked breathtaking in a vibrant blue halterneck bikini as she enjoyed a beach day in Barbados, on Saturday

The stunning swimwear set comprised low slung briefs and a tie-up bikini top, with both pieces boasting metallic gold accents.

The mother-of-four paraded her sensational physique in the two-piece as she strolled in and out of the sea.

Coleen accessorised with a trio of delicate gold necklaces, hoop earrings and designer shades.

The brunette beauty later slipped on a gorgeous light-blue, floor length cover-up, which gently billowed as she strolled along the sand.

Taking a quick dip: Coleen cooled down in the Caribbean sea as temperatures soared

Fabulous: The brunette beauty later slipped on a gorgeous light-blue, floor length cover-up

Pretty: The stunning swimwear set comprised low slung briefs and a tie-up bikini top, with both pieces boasting metallic gold accents

Feeling fruity: The WAG enjoyed cocktails on the beach as she topped up her tan

Coleen in away with husband Wayne, 34, and their four children Kai, 10, Klay, seven, Kit, four and Cass, two - although they were nowhere to be seen.

Instead, the Liverpudlian beauty enjoyed a girls' day with her mum Colette McLoughlin and her brother Joe's partner Amy Wilkinson.

At one point, the group were forced to grab their belongings and make a quick dash inside as the heavens opened.

Looking good: Coleen accessorised with a trio of delicate gold necklaces, hoop earrings and designer shades

Stylish: Coleen's pretty cover-up gently billowed as she strolled along the sand

Beautiful in blue: Coleen looked perfectly polished in her stylish attire

Scorching! Coleen ensured she cooled off in the sea as temperatures soared

Staying hydrated: The WAG sipped on drinks while lying on a sunlounger

Wayne and Coleen flocked to the Caribbean as soon as travel was permitted amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Barbados is not currently listed as a country that requires visitors quarantine when they return to the UK, due to its relatively low number of COVID-19 cases.

The holiday was no doubt needed for Coleen, who was accused of leaking stories to the press by Rebekah Vardy earlier this month.

Getting away: Wayne and Coleen flocked to the Caribbean as soon as travel was permitted amid the coronavirus pandemic

Layering up: Coleen put on a lightweight cover up before picking up some more cocktails

Splish splash: Coleen waded through the water, cooling off from the heat of the day

Girl time: The Liverpudlian beauty enjoyed a girls' day with her mum Colette McLoughlin and her brother Joe's partner Amy Wilkinson

Rebekah - who is the wife of Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy, 33 - told in a bombshell legal document how she had been left suicidal by the accusation that she had leaked stories about Coleen and her family.

She also claims in the document drawn up for her libel battle against Coleen that the stress of the scandal had left her fearful of losing her unborn baby and suffering panic attacks that made her too scared to leave her home.

The I'm A Celeb star complains of being made a 'scapegoat' by her rival seeking to blame her for stories appearing when in the past Coleen had approved of her friends leaking gossip about her.

The document says Rebekah believes she 'has deliberately been made a scapegoat (sic) by the Defendant (Coleen) for past 'leaked' stories.'

Stylish: Coleen's beach look was perfectly put together, with key blue pieces and hints of gold

Yikes! At one point, the group were forced to grab their belongings and make a quick dash inside as the heavens opened

It points to previous stories about Coleen and Wayne with some 'in particular about their marriage, which have in fact come from the Defendant's friends, at times even with the Defendant's approval.'

The paper states that Sun journalist Dan Wootton had said on talkRADIO on October 19 last year that Coleen had 'manipulated the media to tell stories about her own life'.

Wootton added that he had 'written many, many stories' about her marriage and 'lots of other things around the Rooneys' that had come directly from friends of Coleen including some told 'with her (Coleen's) approval', says the document

He went on to say on talkRADIO that nothing had ever come from 'any of the Vardys', it adds.

Sweet: Coleen facetimed brother Joe whilst sitting with his girlfriend, and turned the camera so that he could say hello to his mum

Loving life: The mother-of-four was clearly delighted to be on holiday with her family

Coleen made headlines around the world last October when she made her devastating claim that Rebekah had been leaking stories about her and her family to the Sun newspaper.

She released the statement: 'It's been tough keeping it to myself and not making any comment at all, especially when the stories have been leaked, however I had to. Now I know for certain which account / individual it's come from.

'I have saved and screenshotted all the original stories which clearly show just one person has viewed them. It's . Rebekah Vardy's account.'

Rebekah immediately denied the claims and has since been fighting to clear her name and demands Coleen withdraw the claims against her.
Some 45.33 percent of Belarusians cast their votes at the presidential election in Belarus as of 10.00 on 9 August, Chairwoman of the Central Election Commission of Belarus Lidia Yermoshina told the media, Trend reports citing BelTA.

A total of 40.49 percent of ballots were cast in Brest Oblast, with 45.79 percent cast in Vitebsk Oblast. Turnout made up 57.82% in Gomel Oblast, 42.47% in Grodno Oblast, 43.79% in Minsk Oblast, 53.87% in Mogilev Oblast, and 36.08% in Minsk.

Polling stations opened at 8.00 and will operate through 20.00. A total of 5,767 polling stations have been set up for the Belarus' presidential election, including 44 abroad. Precinct commissions may declare the voting over at the polling stations in military units (13), as well as sanatoriums, health resorts, hospitals and other inpatient healthcare facilities (231) before 20.00 if all the voters included in the list cast their votes.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe has come a long way since the first Iron Man movie which came out in 2008 and has enjoyed global fame since then.

One of their biggest fan-following comes from India so it is only obvious that the guys in the studios try to give us a shoutout from time to time.

Here are the five major Indian references made in The Avengers and other MCU Movies:

1. Bruce Banner In Kolkata - The Avengers (2012)

At the very beginning of The Avengers, Natasha Romanoff is given the task of locating Bruce Banner, who was trying to keep his calm in the slums of Kolkata and looking after the sick.

2. Terror Attack In Mumbai - Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)

At the near end of Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Alexander Pierce tries to explain his plan to the World Security Council and talks to Councilman Singh dirently. Pierce asks him if he will be willing to use the S.H.I.E.L.D.s resources to deal with a situation in which Pakistan attacks Mumbai.

3. Tony Stark Attends Indian Wedding - Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)

Although Robert Doney Jr. wasnt really in India, the moment in the very first Spidey movie as an MCU product in which Stark is in the middle of an Indian wedding, surely surprised a lot of Indian fans.

4. Glory To Hanuman - Black Panther (2018)





When MBaku makes his first appearance to challenge T'Challa for the throne, he says Glory To Hanuman signifying that the people of his Jabari tribe were the devotees of the Hindu god. However, the Indian Censor Board felt that this reference might hurt peoples religious sentiments and decided to bleep the gods name from the film.

5. Jhoom Jhoom Jhoom Baba - Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017)

This last ones a bit tricky. While Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol 2 didnt really have any Indian reference, one of their marketing campaigns involved redoing the movie trailer with 1980s superhit song Jhoom Jhoom Jhoom Baba. While this experiment received mixed reactions from the fans, the film did exceedingly well in India and it is safe to say that the marketing stunt paid off.

Also Read: 5 Times Iron Mans Helmet Showed How Obsessed Marvel Studios Is With Attention To Detail
(Natural News) As you may already know, The Lancet recently retracted a May 22 article it published claiming that the generic anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) is ineffective against the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19). Not only were the claims made in this now-retracted paper false, but it turns out that the very same people who put it together were also busy publishing other studies pushing the anti-viral drug remdesivir as the preferable alternative to HCQ.

A tiny U.S. based company named Surgisphere, we reported, had generated flawed data that led to the result that its hidden authors wanted to see, which is basically that HCQ is useless in terms of remedying the pandemic.

While it initially appeared as though Surgisphere was directly to blame for the fiasco, a closer look at the aforementioned hidden authors has revealed Brigham and Womens Hospital, under the guidance of Harvard University professor Mandeep Mehra, as the true culprit.

Mehra, who currently holds the Harvey Distinguished Chair of Medicine at Brigham and Womens Hospital, issued an apology for his involvement in the scam, which he claimed was a mistake. But it turns out that Mehra was quietly involved in an elaborate scheme designed to kill the legitimacy of HCQ as a cure for the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19).

At the very same time that Mehra was working on his fake study, another study, also out of Brigham and Womens Hospital, was also taking place at the direction of Dr. Francisco Marty, who was working on behalf of Gilead Sciences Inc., the manufacturer of remdesivir, to push its drug instead of HCQ.

Brigham and Womens Hospital began enrolling patients in two clinical trials for Gileads antiviral medication remdesivir, a report about the trial explains. The Brigham is one of multiple clinical trial sites for a Gilead-initiated study of the drug in 600 participants with moderate coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and a Gilead-initiated study of 400 participants with severe COVID-19.

If the results are promising, this could lead to FDA approval, and if they arent, it gives us critical information in the fight against COVID-19 and allows us to move on to other therapies.

Though Mehra was not directly involved with this latter study, his colleague Marty was, and they had to both know what was going on because Mehra had participated in a conference sponsored by Gilead back in early April as part of the Covid-19 debate.

Fauci has been a deep state traitor for DECADES

The rabbit hole goes deep on this one, but suffice it to say that it all happened from the top down, with none other than Anthony Fauci, Americas top infectious disease expert, rallying the troops, so to speak. Fauci has played a critical role in smearing HCQ from the beginning, and pushing remdesivir instead.

Keep in mind that Fauci has been heading up the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) since the Reagan administration. He has been a mouthpiece for Big Pharma this entire time, in other words, and only now has been exposed as the snake he truly is.

Dr. Fauci launched Remdesivir in late June, reports Professor Michel Chossudovsky, writing for Global Research (Canada). According to Fauci, Remdesevir is the corona wonder drug developed by Gilead Science Inc. Its a $1.6 billion dollar bonanza.

Gilead has been around for a while, by the way. It is currently backed by multiple major investment conglomerates including the Vanguard Group and Capital Research & Management Co., among various others. It is also directly tied to the U.S. government, having worked to develop the infamous Tamiflu drug for influenza that has been linked to serious adverse effects, especially in children.

Donald Rumsfeld, prior to serving as the Secretary of Defense under President George W. Bush, used to be the head of Gilead. This is before he helped coordinate the illegal and criminal wars on both Iraq and Afghanistan.

Even while working in the federal government under Bush, Rumsfeld still held shares in Gilead, which saw its shares skyrocket when it was announced that there was a high risk of a bird flu outbreak. This outbreak never actually materialized to the scale of the current Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, but it still resulted in windfall dividends for shareholders like Rumsfeld.

Fast-forward to today and the same Fauci who back then pulled the strings to help his deep state buddies like Rumsfeld rake in the dough is once again attempting the same thing by facilitating the publishing of fake studies that promote another blockbuster Gilead drug while maligning a safer and cheaper generic in the form of hydroxychloroquine.

In a Gilead-sponsored paper that appeared in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), the claim was made that remdesivier works for treating the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19). It was co-authored by 56 different medical doctors and scientists, all of whom just so happen to have received consulting fees from Gilead.

This is the type of corrupt nonsense that continues to happen under Faucis watch, which is why the guy is under increasing scrutiny. It remains to be seen whether the Trump administration will take action to dismantle such corruption, or leave it be to continue raking the general public over the coals when it comes to safe and effective treatments for the Wuhan coronavirus.

Be sure to read the rest of Prof. Chossudovskys analysis of the situation at this link.

To keep up with the latest news about the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19), be sure to check out Pandemic.news.

Sources for this article include:

GlobalResearch.ca

NaturalNews.com

NaturalNews.com

NaturalNews.com
Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi that the top post would not automatically fall vacant even though Gandhi's tenure as interim chief comes to an end on 10 August

New Delhi: The Congress on Sunday said Sonia Gandhi will continue as interim president till such time a "proper procedure" is implemented in the "not too distant future" to elect a party chief.

Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi, during an online media briefing, said it was true that Sonia Gandhi's tenure as interim chief comes to an end on 10 August, one year after she assumed the post, but it did not mean that the seat automatically falls vacant that day.

"Sonia Gandhi is the president, she will continue till such time as a proper procedure is implemented and it will be implemented in the not too distant future," he told reporters. "Yes, her tenure comes to an end on 10 August. But be rest assured that there is a process that goes through the CWC (Congress Working Committee). This will be followed in the near future and a result will emerge," he said.

The procedure is written in the Congress' constitution and the party is committed to follow it, Singhvi said, adding that it was being done and information will be shared on it soon.

Asked about the prevailing confusion over whether Sonia Gandhi's term ends tomorrow or there is no deadline for when the term of an interim president ends, he said it is very clear that neither nature nor politics, nor political parties, permit or tolerate a vacuum.

"Just like nature abhors a vacuum, political parties cannot function in a vacuum. It is true that the tenure is expiring tomorrow. There is a laid down procedure in the (party) constitution for elections. As you know it goes through the CWC etc.," Singhvi said.

"Now, in the meanwhile, if anybody is suggesting that the Congress will become headless on the stroke of midnight on 10 August you have to only ask yourself, is it possible, is that a fair interpretation of any constitution that on 10 August suddenly the seat becomes vacant," he said.

Sonia Gandhi had taken over as interim chief on 10 August last year after Rahul Gandhi resigned taking responsibility for the party's debacle in the Lok Sabha election.

There have been growing calls within the party for Rahul Gandhi to come back as party chief, but he seems to be unrelenting and has been sticking to his decision.

Several leaders have also voiced their opinions both on record and in private that the party needs to solve the leadership conundrum to take on the BJP more energetically.

The party has been facing severe infighting as well which took an ugly turn in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. In Madhya Pradesh, Jyotiraditya Scindia revolted against the party and crossed over to the BJP, bringing down the Congress government in the state.

In Rajasthan, the Congress government is on tenterhooks with Sachin Pilot declaring open rebellion against the Ashok Gehlot government. The fight has even gone to courts now and chances of reconciliation between the two sides are slim.

Close on the heels of the Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh crises, the Congress on Friday witnessed a fresh front opening in Punjab with the party's warring factions in the state seeking each other's removal.

Rajya Sabha MPs Partap Singh Bajwa and Shamsher Singh Dullo openly attacked the Chief Minister Amarinder Singh-led Punjab government. The state Congress unit on Friday wrote to the central high command recommending the duo's expulsion for anti-party activities.

Meanwhile, senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor said on Sunday said the Congress must expedite the process of finding a full-term president to arrest the growing public perception that the party is "adrift and rudderless".

Tharoor also said that he certainly thinks Rahul Gandhi has the "mettle, capability and aptitude to once again lead the party", but if he does not wish to do so then the party must "take action" to elect a new chief.
Were not basing it on what we see in the news or on TV. Were basing on what is best for our students and our families, he said.

The district has this flexibility because of the physical size of its facilities, according to Lambert. He added that the district installed plexiglass in a few locations.

Students with an individual education plan or 504 plan would also be eligible for remote learning, but only a few parents had opted for the option, according to Lambert.

Bayards plan is more transformative.

For one, the district will be moving to a modified version of the HyFlex model, or hybrid-flexible, which is being implemented at universities across the country.

In a college setting, the student would choose on a regular basis whether they attend in-person or virtually, Bayard Superintendent Travis Miller said. In a K-12 setting, Im not sure that much back and forth makes a lot of sense.

At Bayard, Miller said classrooms were equipped with cameras and speakers attached to livestream a lesson. Students at home can ask questions and interact virtually with their class through the equipment.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-09 15:48:33|Editor: huaxia

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WASHINGTON, Aug. 8 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump's orders to extend certain COVID-19 economic relief have sparked sharp criticism from Democrats, who might challenge the legality of the president's executive action.

As White House officials and Democratic lawmakers remain deadlocked over the new relief bill, Trump signed four actions on Saturday, trying to move around Congress and assert executive power.

One of the actions will extend extra unemployment benefits through the end of the year at a reduced level of 400 U.S. dollars per week, instead of the 600 dollars approved by Congress in late March, which expired at the end of July.

Trump said the reduced level of extra benefits will give people "a great incentive" to go back to work. The new order also demands states cover 25 percent of the 400-dollar weekly benefits.

"Instead of passing a bill, now President Trump is cutting families' unemployment benefits and pushing states further into budget crises, forcing them to make devastating cuts to life-or-death services," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a joint statement.

The Senate Republicans' 1-trillion-dollar COVID-19 relief proposal, unveiled in late July, would slash the federal benefits to 200 dollars through September, and then give an unemployed worker about 70 percent of previous wages when combined with state benefits, while Democrats want to maintain the 600-dollar benefits through January.

Another sticking point in the negotiation is direct aid to states and cities, as Democrats proposed a 1-trillion-dollar aid for struggling state and local governments in their previously unveiled 3-trillion-dollar relief proposal, while Republicans planned to offer no new money.

Earlier in the week, Democrats offered to cut their 3-trillion-dollar relief proposal by 1 trillion dollars if Republicans would agree to increase their roughly 1-trillion-dollar package by the same amount, but were rebuffed.

The other three actions Trump signed Saturday include a memorandum to defer certain payroll tax obligations, a memorandum to defer student loan payments and an executive order to reinstate the federal moratorium on evictions, which also expired at the end of July. The payroll tax deferment, which Trump repeatedly advocated, has met bipartisan opposition.

Trump's orders will likely face a legal challenge, as Congress has the constitutional authority to determine federal funding, according to U.S. media.

"Today's meager announcements show President Trump still does not comprehend the seriousness or the urgency of the health and economic crises facing working families. These policies provide little real help for families," Pelosi and Schumer said.

Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden also lashed out at Trump's executive actions, calling them "half-baked."

"These orders are not real solutions. They are just another cynical ploy designed to deflect responsibility. Some measures do far more harm than good," Biden said in a statement, noting that Trump is putting social security "at grave risk" with the payroll tax plan.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, however, welcomed the president's actions, blaming Democrats for sabotaging talks on the relief bill.

"Struggling Americans need action now. Since Democrats have sabotaged backroom talks with absurd demands that would not help working people, I support President Trump exploring his options to get unemployment benefits and other relief to the people who need them the most," McConnell said in a statement.

The Republican leader said before the jobless benefits expired that Senate Republicans "tried several times" to extend them while talks continued, but "Leader Schumer declared that nobody could get help unless all of Democrats' demands were met."

Pelosi and Schumer, meanwhile, argued that the country needs a comprehensive deal.

"The coronavirus is moving through our country like a runaway freight train and the economy is quickly running out of steam," they said. "The only solution to crush the virus and protect working families is to pass a comprehensive bill that is equal to the historic health and economic catastrophe facing our country." Enditem
The authorities in Malawi have ordered bars and churches to close.



This comes after the number of coronavirus cases doubled over the past month. There have so far been 4,624 cases of the virus in the country, according to Johns Hopkins University.



Malawi's attorney general said special enforcement officers had been hired to ensure people stuck to the new guidelines.



These include a ban on gatherings of more than 10 people and the mandatory wearing of face masks.



Correspondents say the country appeared to almost ignore the threat of the virus for months as it focused on the re-run of a presidential election which the opposition's Lazarus Chakwera won in June.



In April the courts stopped the government from imposing a lock-down due to concern that it would hit the poorest and most vulnerable the hardest.

Source: BBC









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The Rays announced several roster moves this morning (MLB.coms Juan Toribio was among those to tweet the full list), including the news that Manuel Margot has been activated from the COVID-19 injury list. The club also selected the contract of right-hander John Curtiss from its alternate training camp, and also called righty Ryan Thompson back up to the MLB roster. To create room, Oliver Drake has been placed on the 10-day injured list with right biceps tendinitis, while left-hander Sean Gilmartin and catcher Kevan Smith have been designated for assignment.

Margots placement on the COVID list as a matter of procedure, as he was away from the club for personal reasons and had to undergo mandatory intake screening upon returning. Thompson is also back with the team in pretty short order, as he started yesterdays game against the Yankees and was then optioned to the minor league training grounds. Continuing the trend of rapid-fire Rays transactions, Gilmartins contract was only selected two days ago, and he recorded one appearance of 3 1/3 innings (giving up three runs in an 8-4 loss to the Yankees in the first game of Saturdays doubleheader) before being sent into DFA limbo.

Smith was also a pretty new entry to the roster, as the Rays selected his contract back on July 30. Manager Kevin Cash told reporters (including Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times) that the Rays would ideally like to retain both Gilmartin and Smith if they arent claimed on waivers by another team.

Drake pitched the final inning of the first game of yesterdays doubleheader, and now has a 3.38 ERA in 5 1/3 innings this season. The well-traveled Drake has seemingly found some stability in Tampa Bay, with a 3.23 ERA, 3.36 K/BB rate, and 10.9 K/9 over 61 1/3 relief innings since the Rays acquired him prior to the 2019 season.

Curtiss signed a minor league deal with Tampa during the offseason and is now on pace to appear in his fourth big league season. The right-hander has a 6.75 ERA over 17 1/3 career innings scattered across the 2017-19 seasons, as a member of the Twins and Angels. Curtiss was also briefly in the Phillies organization last season but didnt receive any MLB playing time.
New Delhi: For close to a decade now, Bihar celebrates Bihar Prithvi Divas (Bihar Earth Day) on August 9 to create awareness about the effect of climate change on planet earth. It was conceptualised by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar in 2011. On this day, people are asked to plant saplings across the state to make them aware of its benefits on the environment. However, the plantation drive starts much in advance before the actual day.

Every year, programmes and functions are hosted for the people in educational institutions and at other places to create awareness. However, this year no such gathering has been planned owing to the coronavirus pandemic.

According to the Department of Environment, Forest & Climate Change, Government of Bihar, the goal of the state is to plant 2.51 crore trees to increase the green cover of India.

The no. of trees in the country is very low per capita.When it comes to the ratio of humans and trees,India comes at the bottom of the global list.

This #Biharearthday,let's plant a tree to achieve Bihar Govt's goal of 2.51cr tree plantation and increase green cover of our india. pic.twitter.com/ZiOQHBIVgu  Department of Environment, Forest & Climate Change (@DEFCCOfficial) August 8, 2020

Another tweet by the department read, "The natural world is changing. And we are totally dependent on that nature. It provides our food, water and air. It is the most precious thing we have and we need to protect it. Let's take a pledge to protect our environment and plant a tree."

The natural world is changing. And we are totally dependent on that nature. It provides our food, water and air. It is the most precious thing we have and we need to protect it. Let's take a pledge to protect our environment and plant a tree. #Biharearthday #PaudheWaliSelfie pic.twitter.com/JeTfdEEjhD  Department of Environment, Forest & Climate Change (@DEFCCOfficial) August 7, 2020

Meanwhile, the Jal-Jivan-Hariyali Abhiyan (JJHA) was also launched by CM Nitish Kumar in October 2019 to create awareness about the environment, primarily water conservation techniques.
New Delhi, Aug 9 (UNI) Newly-appointed Chairman of the Union Public Service Commission, Prof Pradeep Kumar Joshi on Sunday made a courtesy call to Union Minister of State for Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions Jitendra Singh.

This was Prof Joshi's first meeting with the Minister, after he assumed office as head of the prestigious Commission on Friday.

Prof Joshi is a noted academician with a distinguished career, during which he held a number of important assignments, including Director of National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration (NIEPA), Chairman of Chhattisgarh Public Service Commission and Chairman of Madhya Pradesh Public Service Commission.

An eminent academician and researcher, Dr Joshi has more than 28 years of teaching experience in various Universities and national institutes, after he obtained his PhD Degree in Commerce in 1981 from Kanpur University.

Wishing him a successful and productive tenure as Chairman of UPSC, Dr Singh expressed confidence that Prof Joshi's academic background and scholarly bent of mind will serve as a healthy influence on the working of the Commission.

UNI RSA RJ 2143
Around 12:20 p.m. on Saturday, a Montgomery County United volunteer walked up to Conroe resident Tina Collins, who was sitting in her car with her grandson.

Collins was waiting in line for a free bag full of school supplies and boxes of groceries when the gate at Spirit of Texas Bank off Texas 105 in Conroe closed behind her for the event that was scheduled to begin at noon.

But when Collins rolled down the window and received the news that all 13 pallets of food and 338 bags were already gone  she was unexpectedly handed cash.

I think that is amazing, and God bless them, Collins, who is unemployed, said. They have what they have. Its just so kind of them to give. I just had to have neck surgery two weeks ago. I havent been able to get work.

For five years, the Montgomery County United outreach organization has hosted annual back to school event at the Booker T. Washington Park, where they provided hot dogs and about 250 bags. This year, due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, the organization almost canceled the event.

But Chris Easley with Montgomery County United said that Spirit of Texas Bank and Conroe City Councilman Jody Czajkoski stepped in and offered to support this years back to school event. And the organizations team felt it was important to move forward for the community.

Even in a pandemic, youve still gotta serve your community, Montgomery County Uniteds Founder Arnette Easley said.

Event coordinators said cars began to line up at 10 a.m., possibly sooner, and began to wrap around to the Interstate 45 feeder road. The team decided to start handing the bags full of supplies and groceries early at about 11:30 a.m.

Around noon Conroe resident Laura Alvarez drove through the line and received a bag full of supplies and groceries. Shes a school bus driver who has felt the impact of the pandemic this year.

Its very helpful for everybody, Alvarez said. Our jobs are slow, but I think that is mostly everybody.

By 12:12 p.m., Ericka Easley stood on the back of a white Easley Enterprises of Texas, Inc. box truck. She began to wave cars away with all the bags  which included paper, pens, pencils, crayons, highlighters and more  distributed within about an hour. The cars were allowed up to four school bags.

Nearby, about 30 volunteers distributed about three boxes and one bag of meat, produce, canned goods, a loaf of bread, dessert and a gallon of milk provided by the Montgomery County Food Bank to each car. By 12:15 p.m., Ericka Easley walked over and looked at only a few boxes of meat remaining with a line that was still long.

I think we got it out into the community, Ericka Easley said. That means people know about our event, they need our help, they need the assistance, especially because of COVID.

Only a few minutes later, Conroe resident Maria Lopez, who lost her job in retail marketing due to the pandemic, began to drive away empty handed.

I came too late, I guess. There is nothing really left, Lopez said. A lot of people are in need; people are not working right now due to COVID.

Ericka Easley expressed apologies for those who were not able to receive food and bags.

Try to come as early as possible when we have these events, people were lining up at 10 oclock  maybe even before that. We are going to try to have even more food and more bags once we see what the need is, she said.

Behind her about 15-20 cars remained in line on the complex. A volunteer walked up and informed her that cash would be given to those still in line, including Collins and her grandson who received $40. Numerous drivers could be heard expressing gratitude.

Spirit of Texas Bank CEO Dean Bass, who helped make it possible to provide the cash, gave credit to and commended Montgomery County United for serving the community.

Different ones weve seen weve tried to help them a little bit more, Bass said. So, as we run out of boxes, we just want to give them some cash that we think will help them. We do what we can, but they are the eyes on the ground of knowing where people need things.

We come together, and it is a beautiful thing, he continued. Thats what is has got to be. It has to be those in the community who know the ones who are in need or hurting. These guys minister all the time. We are blessed, so we want to try to show a blessing to them, too.

By 12:22 p.m., the volunteers gathered for a photo outside the bank. Chris Easley gave thanks to the sponsors and those who helped support the event, which he said served 200 families on Saturday.

The group has held at least two other mobile food drives in Montgomery since the pandemic began, which have served an estimated 600 people.

It was the way we were raised, Chris Easley said, explaining the drive behind the familys outreach effort. It was instilled in us; weve been doing it forever, and we chose to step up as adults to get involved in it. Its just something that God put on our heart to do.

Im from Conroe, my wife is from Mobile, Alabama, and my sister is from Bryan, Texas, but we love working in our community together as a whole, he continued. Due to the fact that we are Montgomery County United, we chose to do this in Conroe because it has given to all three of us in some way.

Montgomery County United said more events are coming up and they ask that everyone stays safe and have a great school year.

God bless you, we will be back again in the coming months with more food banks, and, again, dont forget us around Christmas when we have our annual food and toy drive, and we will also have another food bank, Britiany Hayes with Montgomery County United said.

mellsworth@hcnonline.com
Bengaluru, Aug 9 : Karnataka Health Minister B. Sriramulu on Sunday said that he has tested positive for coronavirus.

He is the fourth minister in the state to be diagnosed for the disease, apart from Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa.

"In the wake of flu on Sunday, I have been tested for coronavirus and came positive," he said on social media.

Hospitalised in a state hospital in Shivajinagar, Sriramulu expressed confidence that he will get cured soon, and asked people not to worry.

From the beginning of the pandemic in March, the minister said that he has been extensively touring the state to review the Health Department's work and make arrangements to combat the virus.

Sriramulu said that he has prayed to God to heal him soon and bestow strength to serve more people during these hard times.

Meanwhile, all the people who came in contact with him recently have been requested to take precautionary measures.

State Ministers B.C. Patil, S.T. Somasekhara and C.T. Ravi have also tested positive for coronavirus.
Before Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended the ground-breaking ceremony of the Ram Temple at Ayodhya, Hindutva demagogue Sambhajirao Bhide Guruji, a man whom he is said to admire, made a strange demand.

The octogenarian, who leads Shivaprathisthan Hindustan and uses the imagery of Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj for mass mobilisation, sought that the idol of Lord Ram in the shrine must have a moustache.

Bhide, a militant Hindutva leader, demanded that the idols of Lord Ram and Lakshman must sport moustaches in keeping with the age-old martial convention among men from Kshatriya communities. Bhide said he had also spoken about this to Govind Giri Maharaj, a trustee of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teertha Kshetra trust, and added that if the idols did not have a moustache, the shrine would not be of any value to devotees like him.

Bhides supporters point to how idols of Lord Ram and Lakshman in temples like the Kalaram Mandir at the pilgrimage centre of Nashik, which is revered as another Kashi, have such moustaches. The depiction of the God sans facial hair was started in films and television serials, they claim, adding that hence, the idols at Ayodhya, which is revered as Rams birthplace, must set things right. Incidentally, Bhide has an ample crop of facial hair, with a Walrus-like moustache.

The demand has been dismissed by Mahant Satyendra Das, the chief priest of the Ram Lalla Temple at Ayodhya, who has claimed that those insisting on this were not familiar with the finer aspects of Hinduism. Das claimed that deities Rama, Krishna and Shiva were perpetually aged 16 years, and said there was no precedent for having such idols with moustaches.

This is not for the first time that Bhide, who is among those accused in the violence against Dalits who came to the Bhima-Koregaon war memorial near Pune on January 1, 2018, has made a controversial or bizarre statement. On Monday, Bhide also called on people to attend flag hoisting events on Independence Day regardless of the coronavirus pandemic, lockdown and social distancing norms.

In 2018, Bhide claimed that eating mangoes from his farm led to people conceiving children and begetting sons. This got him into trouble with public health authorities, who initiated action under the Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Regulation and Prevention of Misuse) Act, 1994 (PCPNDT). In the same year, he declared that Manu, the ancient law maker, was greater than saints.

He also claimed that Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar attended the inauguration of the statue of Manu in Rajasthan. This was debunked as Ambedkar had burnt the Manusmruti in 1927 to protest its codification of caste hegemony. The father of the Indian Constitution passed away in 1956, while this statue in the premises of Rajasthan High Court was inaugurated in 1989.

Like the Ram Temple, which is a project close to the heart of Hindutva activists, Bhide has launched a project to collect donations from people to erect a 144kg sinhasan (throne) of gold for Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj at his capital of Raigad.

The dharkaris (as members of Shivaprathisthan are called), who have rallied for the cause, are undeterred by the fort being a monument protected by the Archeological Survey of India (ASI), with construction and development being regulated.

Bhide, who shot to fame in 2008 after protesting against the movie Jodha Akbar in Sangli, is a man who invokes respect and criticism in equal measure. Hailing from Osmanabad (or Dharashiv as it is called by Hindutva adherents) from a family which was said to have substantial landed properties, he worked as a teacher and was an RSS pracharak before establishing his own outfit decades ago.

The sinewy Bhide, who is said to be around 87 years old, is reputed for performing over 100 suryanamaskars (sun salutations), jors (Hanuman push-ups) and sit ups daily. He does not use footwear, sleeps on the bare floor, shuns tea and coffee, fasts for several days a month, and goes around on a bicycle. His associates vouch for his elephantine memory and discipline and lack of material possessions except few clothes, books and a bicycle.

This emotional personality of its founder is used by the Shivaprathisthan to mobilise the youth for causes like curbing cow slaughter and for promoting a physical culture. Bhides supporters claim that the Shivaprathisthan has the support of around three to four lakh active workers in Maharashtra and parts of Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh.

The group has a strong following in parts of Western Maharashtra, especially Sangli, where Bhide is based. This has perhaps led to him being patronised by politicians across the spectrum, including the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Shiv Sena and even local leaders of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), including Satara royal family scion and BJP MP Udayanraje Bhosale, who was earlier with the NCP, and is the descendant of Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.

Bhides detractors accuse him of distorting and weaponising history to target the minorities, especially Muslims, and of deifying Shivaji Maharaj, which underplays the achievements of the 17th century warrior-king.

They accuse Bhide, a Brahmin, of inciting the Bahujan (non-Brahmin) youth by using Shivaji Maharajs imagery. This, they state is done through events like an annual trek for youth between forts and Dharmavir Balidan Maas in memory of Chatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj who was tortured and killed by Mughal king Aurangzeb. Shivaprathisthan activists have clashed with workers from the anti-Brahmin Sambhaji Brigade, and Dalit groups in the past.

But, regardless of the extreme reactions that his name invokes, fringe Hindutva groups like Shivaprathisthan pose a likely challenge for the Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government in Maharashtra. The Shiv Senas alliance with secular parties like the Congress and NCP, has forced it to walk the tightrope on the agenda of Hindutva.

In case of such organisations being mobilised by the Sangh Parivar to stir the pot on the issue of Hindutva, the Shiv Sena may be caught in a bind.
One of them was crying in the little box, Pacquette said. She sat on my shoulder for the whole drive home. Of course, my heart melted. I think I need her.

Now in Felius care, washed and wormed and settling in with a foster family, all five of their futures look bright.

They are going to be spoiled rotten, Hoien said. They are going to get all the vet care they need. And food, thanks to a generous a boutique cat and dog food retailer.

Felius has rescued and found homes for about 100 cats and kittens since the start of 2020. Foster families to help with babies like these are always needed.

Hoien wishes that if this group belonged to someone, which they believe is the case because the kittens are so tame, they would have called the Nebraska Humane Society or a rescue like Felius or Wag next door for help.

There are so many humane options locally if you dont want to keep a pet, said Eryn Swan, who owns Wag and is on the board at Felius.
(Natural News) Former vice president Joe Biden, the Democratic Partys presumptive presidential nominee, said in an interview that he has not taken a cognitive test and has no plans to do so, a sudden reversal from remarks he made last June stating that he would.

No, I havent taken a test. Why the hell would I take a test? said Biden during his virtual interview with CBS reporter Errol Barnett.

Come on, man. Thats like saying to you, Before you got on this program, did you take a test where youre taking cocaine or not? What do you think, huh? Are you a junkie?

Biden, at 77, tried to turn the interview around on his opponent, the 74-year-old President Donald Trump, by referring to his own clinical examinations that doctors have given him to identify if he has early signs of dementia.

Well if he cant figure out the difference between an elephant and a lion, I dont know what the hell hes talking about, said Biden, referring to the test Trump took.

Biden also said that he believes the American public should be the judge of how physically and mentally fit he was.

Why the hell would I take a test?@JoeBiden scoffs at idea of taking a cognitive test. Suggests @realDonaldTrump cant figure out the difference between an elephant and a lion. Full interview at @NABJ @NAHJ virtual convention Thursday 8am ET.@CBSNews pic.twitter.com/rGNJpjfbF6  errol barnett (@errolbarnett) August 5, 2020

Bidens refusal to take cognitive test sudden reversal from earlier claims

The statements made by Joe Biden about his refusal to get his cognitive abilities tested contradicts earlier statements he made back in June that suggested that he had already gotten his cognitive health checked.

During a press conference, one reporter  who was willing to share that, at 65, he can already feel his own mental acuity declining  asked if Biden had been tested to check if he has any degree of cognitive decline. To this, Biden responded: Ive been tested and Ive been constantly tested.

The former vice president further stated that he can hardly wait to compare his own cognitive capabilities with those of Trump, a reference to the fact that the two candidates will be squaring off in a presidential debate soon, with the first televised debate occurring on September 29.

Trump, for his part, stated in July that he has already taken a cognitive test and that he got a perfect score. This claim was confirmed by then-White House physician Ronny Jackson, as well as by Ziad Nasreddine, the doctor who created the test.

Jackson stated that Trump received a score of 30 out of 30 on the Montreal Cognitive Assessment exam back in 2018. Nasreddine backed up these claims in an interview by bragging that only 10 percent of normal individuals were able to get a score of 30 out of 30. Nasreddine further stated in a press release that the results of his test rule out any possibility of Trump experiencing any mild Alzheimers or dementia.

The American people deserve an answer

Fox News host Sean Hannity reacted to Bidens latest interview by insisting that the former vice president needs to get his cognitive abilities evaluated.

Biden loses his trend of thought often. He mixes up numbers often. He struggles to remember certain words, said Hannity during his show. At times, he doesnt even know what day of the week it is, what state he is in and what office he is even running for.

Hannity also said that Biden is prone to being irritable, confused and angry, and always seems to be very exhausted whenever he appears for interviews, which to the news anchor signifies that something is off, very off. While he did not outright say it, Hannity may have been strongly suggesting that Biden has the early stages of dementia.

Given all of these, Hannity asserted that the American people deserve an answer and that Biden needs to take both a cognitive test and a comprehensive physical exam to make sure that he truly is healthy enough to run for president.

The Fox News host compared the questions Republicans and conservatives alike are sharing about Bidens health to the questions Democrats posed when it came to former president Ronald Reagans health when he ran for a second term of office in 1984 at the age of 73, becoming the oldest person to be nominated for president before the upcoming election.

Panic has set in among Democrats in the media mob, said Hannity, claiming that the Democratic Party is avoiding questions concerning Bidens health like the plague and that they are scared to death for the truth about his cognitive decline to come out.

Sources include:

TheEpochTimes.com

APNews.com

FoxNews.com
Minsk: Belarusians are voting on whether to grant their authoritarian president a sixth term in office, following a campaign marked by unusually strong demonstrations by opposition supporters frustrated with the countrys stumbling economy, political repression and weak response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Incumbent Alexander Lukashenko, in office for 26 years, has made it clear he wont hesitate to quash any attempt by his opponents to protest the results of Sundays election.

The head of staff for main opposition candidate Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya was detained late Saturday for allegedly participating in authorized protests and is likely to be in jail until at least Monday. Tsikhanouskaya herself reportedly was so concerned about her own security that she left her residence to spend the night elsewhere.

Tsikhanouskaya, the wife of a jailed opposition blogger, became the main opposition candidate after two other prominent aspirants were denied places on the ballot. One of them was jailed and the other, a former ambassador to the United States, fled the country fearing imminent arrest.

As polls opened on Sunday, the countrys central elections commission said more than 40% of the electorate had cast ballots in early voting, a figure likely to heighten concerns about the results legitimacy because of the potential for manipulation. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, whose assessments of elections are widely regarded as authoritative, was not invited to send an observer mission.

Tsikhanouskaya had crisscrossed the country, tapping public frustration with Lukashenkos swaggering response to the pandemic and the countrys stagnating Soviet-style economy. One of her rallies in the capital Minsk attracted an estimated 60,000 people, an enormous turnout in the country where dissent is routinely suppressed.

Belarus, a country of 9.5 million people, has reported more than 68,500 confirmed coronavirus cases and 580 deaths in the pandemic. Critics have accused the authorities of manipulating the figures to downplay the death toll.

Lukashenko announced last month that he had been infected with the virus but had no COVID-19 symptoms and recovered quickly, allegedly thanks to doing sports. He defended his handling of the outbreak, saying that a lockdown would have doomed the nations weakened economy.

Belarus has sustained a severe economic blow after its leading exports customer, Russia, went into a pandemic-induced recession and other foreign markets shrank. Before the coronavirus, the countrys state-controlled economy already had been stalled for years, stoking public frustration.

Political observers say the election campaign also exposed divisions among the Belarusian elite as some of its members entered politics for the first time.

Belarusian authorities last week arrested 33 Russian military contractors and charged them with plans to stage mass riots. The political opposition and many independent observers saw the arrests as an attempt to shore up the incumbents sagging public support.

The arrest of the Russians marked an unprecedented spike in tensions between Belarus and Russia, which often have acrimonious disputes despite their close ties.

When Russia and Belarus signed a union agreement in 1996, Lukashenko aspired to use it as a vehicle to eventually lead a unified state as the successor to Russias ailing president, Boris Yeltsin. The tables turned after Vladimir Putin became Russian president in 2000, and the Belarusian leader began resisting what he saw as a Kremlin push for control over Belarus.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-09 17:05:08|Editor: huaxia

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HONG KONG, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) -- Senior officials of China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government opposed and condemned on Sunday the so-called U.S. sanctions against heads of Chinese government agencies responsible for Hong Kong affairs and officials of the HKSAR.

Chief Secretary for Administration of the HKSAR government Matthew Cheung said in his blog on Sunday that the HKSAR government will not be intimidated and will fully support the central government in taking countermeasures.

Hong Kong affairs are China's internal affairs and foreign interference will never be allowed, Cheung said.

Cheung condemned the United States for disclosing the personal information of related officials, which not only infringed upon privacy and threatened personal safety but also violated international laws and basic norms governing international relations.

Financial Secretary of the HKSAR government Paul Chan said in an online article that the so-called sanctions exposed the hegemonic and bullying mindset of the United States and stressed that there is no room for compromise in safeguarding national security.

After suffering from prolonged violence and separatism last year, Hong Kong was able to stabilize quickly in recent months thanks to the national security law enacted by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, Chan said.

However, while claiming to respect human rights, democracy and freedom, the United States imposed the so-called sanctions on the pretext of the law and doxxed related officials by publishing their personal information, including identity numbers and addresses.

Chan dismissed concerns about the so-called sanctions and said with the solid support of the country, Hong Kong will be stronger and more competitive.

Under "one country, two systems," Hong Kong's advantages will certainly continue to remain and Hong Kong will make great progress in the process of joining the national development, Chan said.

Cheung, the chief secretary for administration, said Hong Kong's unique advantages are not a gift from western countries and the so-called sanctions will not contain Hong Kong's long-term prosperity.

As long as the COVID-19 epidemic is controlled, Hong Kong's society and economy will return normal and Hong Kong's future will still be full of opportunities, Cheung said. Enditem
The Centres decision to hand the probe into the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) was made for political gain and a conspiracy against Maharashtra, senior Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut said on Sunday.

The executive editor of party mouthpiece Saamana, Raut said that Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) politicised the case by linking a state minister with it and said handing over the investigation was an attack on the states autonomy.

If one wants to indulge in politicisation and pressure tactics, anything can happen in our country. It looks like the script of Sushants case was already written. Whatever has happened behind the curtains is a conspiracy against Maharashtra, Raut said. He said the decision was taken for political gain. He also pointed at the misuse of central agencies and said the Centres intervention was an insult to Mumbai Police.

Rauts comments came days after the CBI filed an FIR the case, naming the actors former girlfriend, Rhea Chakraborty and her family members. The Enforcement Directorate, which investigates money laundering and foreign exchange violations, has also questioned Chakraborty and her brother, Showik.

Rajput, 34, was found dead in his flat in Mumbai on June 14. Mumbai Police initially headed the probe but it was handed over to the CBI after complaints from the actors family and the government of Bihar, where he hailed from.

Raut accused the BJP of defaming the state government. If you see the chronology of the incidents in the case, one will easily understand that somebody is writing the screenplay and the scenes take place according to it. We have firm information which will be revealed at the appropriate time that to save somebody from being exposed in the case and to put pressure on the police, the conspiracy is being hatched, Raut told reporters in Mumbai.

He defended state minister Aaditya Thackeray, who has already scotched allegations of having any links to the case. Raut also raised questions over delay in the investigation by Mumbai Police.

Responding to Rauts comments, BJP MLA and leader Atul Bhatkhalkar said, The entire Thackeray government is trying to save one person and it is sinking in the quicksand of lies. I only want to say that if they do not respect the Supreme Court order (to hand over the probe to CBI), then it is not going to take time to suspend the state government.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine (R) said on CNN's "State of the Union" Sunday that Americans shouldn't think testing for the coronavirus is "not reliable or doesn't work," after he received a false positive result from an antigen test last week.

Why it matters: DeWine is one of six governors who have agreed to pool their resources, along with the Rockefeller Foundation, in order to acquire 3 million antigen tests amid severe delays and the lack of a national testing strategy.

Antigen tests deliver results quickly, but they are less accurate than the standard PCR tests used most often.

DeWine noted that the governors working together on the testing initiative are "taking this one step at a time," and that the goal is to put their purchasing power together to obtain not just antigen tests, but other important coronavirus supplies.

What he's saying: "People should not take away from my experience that testing is not reliable or doesn't work. What I took, was as you pointed out, an antigen test, which really should be looked at as a screening test," DeWine said.
The niece of a British woman who was brutally raped and murdered in South Africa has revealed how she tracked down her aunt's 'killer'... using a Facebook honey trap.

Retired teacher Christine Robinson, 59, was brutally raped and murdered at a South African safari lodge in 2014.

Her niece Lehanne Sergison, 49, grew frustrated with the police investigation and the Foreign Office as her aunt's alleged killer remained at large six years after her death.

Using her iPad from her home in Kent - 6,000 miles away from the crime scene - she set up a fake Facebook profile to lure the prime suspect, Andrew Ndlovu, 30.

Posing as flirty air stewardess, Missy Falcao, she swapped hundreds of messages with her aunt's alleged killer.

Retired teacher Christine Robinson was brutally raped and murdered at a South African safari lodge in 2014

Her niece, Lehanne Sergison, 49, left, set up a fake Facebook profile and posed as a flirty air stewardess, Missy Falcao, to lure her aunt's suspected killer

Using her fake identity, she befriended Ndlovu on Facebook and lured him into her trap over a two-month period, telling him 'he was hot' and calling him 'sexy eyes'.

Speaking to The Mirror, Lehanne said she almost vomited after she flirted with him and had to have counselling to deal with the stress.

She said: 'The first time I contacted him I told him he had sexy eyes  it made me want to throw up.

'When the reply came, I didn't know what to say. I hadn't flirted with anyone for a long time. I asked friends what their teenage daughters would write.'

Their first exchange over private messages, pictured below, went:

Missy: Hello handsome

Suspect: Hey hw u doing

Missy: Better now I've heard from u... u have sexy eyes

Suspect: Thanx hey  you are one in a million.

Honey trap: Lehanne said she wanted to throw up after she had to flirt with him, calling him 'sexy eyes' in their first exchange

Lehanne said she tracked Ndlovu down on Facebook in 2019 after she discovered he was using a Facebook alibi and found he was also active on dating sites.

She set up a false Facebook identity and over time she befriended his friends and eventually began chatting to him.

The pair exchanged hundreds of late-night flirty messages over a two-month period until eventually Ndlovu took the bait.

He offered his number to 'Missy' and said that he would like to see her, writing: 'Wish I could see you even only once.'

Lehanne said: 'It made my skin crawl he wanted to see me. I felt I was betraying Christine but knew I might stand a chance of getting him.'

'Meanwhile I was having nightmares. The stress was unbelievable. I saw a counsellor and cried for an hour.'

Due to the stress it was causing her, her family, including her husband Simon, 49, advised her to stop but Lehanne felt she couldn't 'give up' in her quest to see justice.

'The pain of her [Christine's] murder never subsided,' she said.

Prime suspect Andrew Ndlovu, 30, was tracked down and was arrested by police in Johannesburg last week, with the help of Lehanne's online detective work

Using the fake account, Lehanne set up a date to meet Ndlovu in Johannesburg in June last year and tipped off detectives.

However, Ndlovu never showed up and his mobile, that was being tracked by police, went offline leaving Lehanne devastated after coming so close.

Thinking it was 'all over', on the anniversary of her aunt's death, Leanne shared a Facebook post that went viral leading to his arrest.

On July 30, she posted Ndlovu's photo on Facebook, appealing to South Africans to help her try and find him.

She wrote: 'Six years ago today this man raped and murdered my aunt Christine Robinson. Andrew Ndlovu is still a free man enjoying his life after taking hers.'

The post was shared 70,000 times and within hours Lehanne received a tip-off from a woman in Johannesburg.

The message read: 'WhatsApp me please. He's been working for my dad.'

Ndlovu is led away in handcuffs after a police swoop in Johannesburg. He is now in custody awaiting a bail hearing

Andrew Ndlovu, 30, was tracked down and was arrested by police in Johannesburg last week.

Ndlovu reportedly broke down in tears and still insists his link to the murder was 'a mistake'.

He is now in custody awaiting a bail hearing next week.

Retired teacher Christine Robinson, 59, was brutally murdered in 2014 at the 125 acre Rra-Ditau lodge she ran alone in South Africa after the death of her husband.

Police reports said she was raped and stabbed to death in her bedroom.

She was allegedly attacked after she had drawn out 3,500 to pay staff at the luxury 30 guest lodge.

The prime suspect Andrew Ndlovu, then 24, had vanished on the night of the killing and was thought to have slipped back over the border to his native Zimbabwe but then later returned to South Africa.

Christine Robinson and husband Robbie Robinson who died aged 63 two years before she was raped and killed

The 125 acre Rra-Ditau game lodge in the foothills of the Waterberg Mountain Range near Thabazimbi in South Africa where Christine, 59, was murdered in 2014
Communications Minister Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams is allegedly at war with the SA Post Office (SAPO) over the payment of the R350 COVID-19 relief grants and the appointment of a new CEO.

This is according to a City Press report, which said the SA Post Office board does not want the organisation to be involved in the distribution of grants.

Ndabeni-Abrahams, however, is in favour of the SA Post Office paying and distributing the R350 COVID-19 relief grants.

Former acting SAPO CEO Ivumile Nongogo went against the boards decision and signed a deal which linked the SA Post Office to the payment of the grants.

This, the City Press reported, was done with the ministers backing, but landed Nongogo in hot water.

The SAPO board asked Nongogo why he should not be disciplined for defying the board, and soon after this, he stepped down.

Despite this, Ndabeni-Abrahams disagreed with the SA Post Office boards recommendation of a new acting CEO and group COO.

Instead, she requested that the board ask Nongogo to continue acting as group CEO until a permanent CEO was confirmed.

SA Post Office spokesperson Bongani Diako dismissed the alleged rift between Ndabeni-Abrahams and the SAPO board as non-existent.

All the allegations by faceless individuals are denied and dismissed with the contempt they deserve, said Diako.

The SAPO board has a very sound and cordial working relationship with the minister and we can confirm that the minister has provided, and continues to provide, all the necessary support to the SAPO board and executive management.

Stella back with a bang

This is not the first time Ndabeni-Abrahams made headlines this year.

In April, the minister came under fire for flouting the COVID-19 regulations after visiting a friend for lunch during the national lockdown.

Ndabeni-Abrahams pleaded guilty to contravening the COVID-19 lockdown regulations and paid a R1,000 admission of guilt fine, which means she now has a criminal record.

She apologised for her actions, saying she hopes the President and South Africans will find it in their hearts to forgive me.

President Cyril Ramaphosa subsequently placed Ndabeni-Abrahams on special leave for two months, with one months leave being unpaid.

Shortly after her return, the City Press reported that the minister faced an unprecedented stand-off with Parliament over the appointment of new ICASA councillors.

According to the report, Parliaments portfolio committee on communications had provided a ranked list of 10 candidates for the ICASA positions.

What is unusual is that the list, from which Ndabeni-Abrahams must now select six names, is ranked according to preference.

The ranking of this list is seen by Ndabeni-Abrahams associates as an attempt to force her to align her choice with the views of the parliamentary committee.

According to the report, the minister was hot under the collar as she was also dealing with the suspicions that the ANCs communications subcommittee and the partys communications study group in Parliament appeared to have a different policy view from her on the roll-out of spectrum, which was handled by ICASA.

No stranger to controversy

Ndabeni-Abrahams is no stranger to controversies and has been making headlines for years.

In January, the Sunday Independent reported the minister and her husband enjoyed a wedding anniversary in the US and Switzerland on taxpayers money.

Ndabeni-Abrahams has also been accused of outsourcing departmental functions to her husband by allowing him to interview candidates for positions.

She refuted the unfounded allegations made against her and her husband, calling it a smear campaign.

In February 2019, the South African National Editors Forum (SANEF) also condemned Ndabeni-Abrahams decision to block an SABC journalist from covering a protest at an ANC manifesto launch.

The minister met with SANEF and took full responsibility for her actions, which undermined media freedom. She apologised unreservedly.

Now read: Stella is back with a bang
As a kid of the 80s my first memory of John Hume was that he was ever present on our TV screens.

After school and before dinner I would've routinely been at home playing with my toys on the floor of our living room, while in the background Scooby Doo or He-Man transitioned into the local evening news, inevitably filled with a queue of prominent politicians reacting to whatever shooting or bomb blast had happened that day.

As a mostly tuned-out child who was more interested in a galaxy far, far away, it was still impossible to avoid getting to know the main political players through repeated exposure to their finger-pointing rhetoric. The circus of Adams, Paisley and Molyneaux. The anger, bitterness, divisiveness, dismissiveness of the other side and the never ending talks-about-talks was an incessant noise.

And then amongst all that insanity there was also John Hume. He was different. Even to an apolitical primary school kid he came across as the adult in the room. Less partisan, no hyperbole. He spoke softer, eloquent, but with seriousness and gravitas, and when he did raise his voice, even a bit, you knew it wasn't posturing or for theatre. He also spoke a different language, not of blame and demonisation but of cohabitation, co-operation and peace. On those broadcasts, that's how many of us knew him.

Fast-forward through another grim blood-filled decade and a half of the Troubles to 1998 and the setting is outside Belfast's Waterfront Hall. I was a few feet taller and there with my bandmates in Ash to play our small part in a massive publicity campaign - to help try and persuade the public to vote for the Good Friday Agreement referendum, a hopeful cross-border framework for lasting peace after the nightmares of the conflict.

John Hume had been instrumental in crafting the agreement, bridging the divide and forming the coalition of political stakeholders that backed it. But in the weeks prior to the vote, polling projected that the No campaign's fear-mongering had put the agreement in serious jeopardy. The referendum needed a strong majority to pass. In the wake of that negativity John and U2's Bono came up with a last-ditch idea of staging a massive concert promoting the Yes campaign to drum up a tsunami of media attention and hopefully mobilize the youth vote, who had grown up only knowing the violence. We got the call from Bono and it was on.

As we arrived at the Waterfront, John met us outside with Ulster Unionist leader David Trimble in front of an army of international news cameras and photographers. It was an incredibly surreal moment and, as U2 arrived and an afternoon of press conferences began, the stage was set.

That night, U2, representing the Republic, and Ash, representing the North, played together in front of a packed Waterfront Hall full of cheering young voters from both communities across the province. To set some context, U2 was the biggest band on the planet and we were riding high on the back of our debut album going platinum and number one in the UK charts. Both bands were riding on the crest of a wave of popularity.

Then at a key moment between the music, political rivals John Hume and David Trimble walked out on stage, making history as Bono linked their arms, dramatically holding them aloft in solidarity to rapturous applause, symbolising the dawn of a new era of peace and hope. That moment captured and printed across millions of newspapers globally.

Straight after the show backstage a visibly emotional Hume was chatting with our drummer Rick, who said to him: "I hope this makes a difference." John replied: "It's going to happen." He was convinced we'd done what was needed and was moved by the positivity of the night and the feeling that monumental change had actually been set in motion. John was at total ease with us. He knew how to speak with us at our level, cracking a few jokes to put us at ease. He was very approachable and, unlike Trimble, who I felt was a bit outside his comfort zone, John was just hanging out and soaking up the moment.

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That night was the crescendo of years of his life's work. Days later the people spoke, the vote passed convincingly and history was made, setting Northern Ireland on a new course. Both the SDLP and UUP took hits and made way for Sinn Fein and the DUP to take the reins at Stormont, but it was a calculated price they selflessly paid for the common good and enduring peace. Both would go on to fittingly share the Nobel Peace Prize.

Since then we've definitely had our setbacks. The despair of Omagh and the shame of Holy Cross, to name a few, but over two decades later Northern Ireland maintains a lasting peace and is unrecognisable from those dark times. That is some legacy. Thankfully, in large part to John Hume's efforts, when a kid is playing with their toys and there's a knock on the door, their first instinct isn't that it could be a gunman looking for their father.

Rest in Peace, John. You walked the walk, led by example and paved the way for us and future generations to live through happier times.
Much like others, Manoj Muntashir took time to come to terms with Sushant Singh Rajputs sudden demise. The lyricist-writer, whos among those seeking justice for Rajput, is worried about the repercussion of this sad incident on those aspiring actors who come from smaller towns to make it big in the industry.

Im just looking at the larger picture here. People from small towns who come to Mumbai to do cinema have been the backbone of this industry. Somewhere theyre connecting themselves to this incident and worried that if this can happen to someone like him, it can happen to anyone, says the Teri Mitti writer.

Hailing from a small town in UP himself, Muntashir,44, understands the sentiment. Whatever is happening around his death, the investigation, the shortcomings etc, everything has taken a toll on people. I get several messages and some even told me theyre scared to pursue their dreams. Kahi talent ki koi kaami na padh jaaye. Mumbai needs talented people like them. I dont want them to feel that theyd be mistreated too and meet the same end as Sushant met, he shares concern.

Without commenting on the case much as CBI investigation is on, Muntashir rues the circus that has been happening. After his body was found, very quickly it was declared a suicide. Then came blaming the people he worked with, his mental health and later when more things started coming out it showed Mumbai Police somewhere didnt do their investigation correctly, he adds.

The lyricist feels the mental health issue was blown out of proportion. This industry is competitive and we all go through mental health issues. It has been said he was depressed and bipolar, may be was, but we cant only focus on that and pass judgement, he opines.

Having worked with Rajput in M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story (2016), Muntashir talks about his brilliant mind, and dedication and recounts, He was ready to listen and learn. Id always see him touching the feet of elders. He had this beautiful small town flavour in him intact.

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From Delish

Tourists visiting Chicago from out of state are violating the city's quarantine order implemented during the COVID-19 outbreak in order to visit attractions and get deep-dish pizza, according to a local report.

There are currently 22 states on Chicago's travel order list, according to a report by WBEZ. States are added to the list when they have an average of more than 15 new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people a day and anyone coming from those states, or coming back to Chicago after visiting those states, is required to quarantine for 14 days. Penalties for breaking this order are up to $500 per day they violate it. Places like New York and Hawaii have similar rules for out-of-state travelers.

But when the outlet asked around at Millennium Park last week, they said they found "around 10 people" in less than an hour who said they were violating this rule in order to visit the city. Two separate groups of friends said they had lunch at Lou Malnati's, a famous pizzeria known for its deep-dish pies. The chain operates 11 locations in Chicago, according to Food & Wine. In addition to their meal, tourists told WBEZ they had plans like visiting the Museum of Science and Industry and the Wrigleyville neighborhood.

We had this trip planned long before all of this stuff, so we werent going to back out of it just because of an order thats unenforceable," said an unnamed man visiting from Kansas.

Some people said they weren't aware of such a quarantine order and the report did note that the regulations can be a little confusing. The Chicago Department of Public Health rules state that these regulations do "not apply to any individual passing through designated states for less than 24 hours in the course of travel," but the agency clarified to the publication that this exception is only supposed to apply to those passing though on their way to another destination, not those visiting on day trips.

Story continues

"We're not trying to hurt anyone by being here," one unnamed tourist said, and added that they were wearing masks.

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Our best hope for ending the COVID-19 pandemic is a safe and effective vaccine, but faced with polls suggesting a large number of people will refuse to be immunised, governments must consider making it mandatory.

Its not just card-carrying anti-vaxxers that will refuse. Surveys in the United States and France indicate about one in four adults would refuse a vaccine, and one in six in Britain.

The first patient enrolled in Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine clinical trial at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore receives an injection. Credit:AP

If groups of this size refuse vaccination, they dont just put themselves at risk  they undermine efforts to end the pandemic. For a vaccine to end this, a large proportion of the global population will have to sign up for it. Experts agree that at a minimum, 60 per cent of the population will need to be immunised to achieve so-called "herd immunity".

Given the incredibly high costs of unnecessarily extending the COVID-19 crisis, it seems reasonable to consider whether governments should make vaccinations mandatory. In recent months, we have come to accept extraordinary government restrictions that would ordinarily be unconscionable in liberal democracies. If you think  as most of us do  that these constraints are an acceptable price to pay to help curb the pandemics damage, then a mandatory vaccination policy deserves serious consideration.
China described the visit as a threat to peace and stability, while the defence minister warned against US making any dangerous moves

Taipei: A senior member of US President Donald Trump's administration landed in Taiwan Sunday for Washington's highest-level visit since switching diplomatic recognition to China in 1979, a trip Beijing has condemned.

A delegation led by health chief Alex Azar landed at Taipei's Songshan airport, according to AFP reporters on the scene.

During the three-day visit Health Secretary Alex Azar will meet President Tsai Ing-wen, who advocates Taiwan being recognised as a sovereign nation and is loathed by China's leaders.

Azar is the most senior US cabinet member to visit Taiwan in decades and his visit comes as relations between the world's two biggest economic powers plunge to historic lows.

In recent days, Trump has ordered sweeping restrictions on popular Chinese apps TikTok and WeChat and the US Treasury Department slapped sanctions on Hong Kong's leader over a tough law that curbs dissent.

Washington has billed the Taiwan trip as an opportunity to learn from the island's fight against the coronavirus and to celebrate its progressive values.

"This trip is a recognition of Taiwan's success in combating COVID-19 and a testament to the shared beliefs that open and democratic societies are best equipped to combating disease threats like COVID-19," a health and human services department official told reporters ahead of the visit.

But Beijing balks at any recognition of self-ruled Taiwan, which it claims as its own territory and vows to one day seize, by force if necessary.

It has described Azar's visit as a threat to "peace and stability", while China's defence minister warned against Washington making any "dangerous moves".

As well as meeting Tsai, Azar will hold talks with his counterpart Chen Shih-chung and Foreign Minister Joseph Wu.

He will also meet coronavirus experts and give a speech to public health students as well as alumni of a training programme with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Taiwan has become a poster child for defeating the coronavirus thanks to a well-honed track and tracing programme as well as firm border controls.

Despite its proximity and economic links to China it has recorded fewer than 500 infections and seven deaths.

In contrast the US has recorded the most deaths in the world with more than 160,000 fatalities.

A cautious testing of China

The rapidly deteriorating relationship between Beijing and Washington comes as Trump seeks re-election in November.

He is trailing in the polls to rival Joe Biden and has begun campaigning hard on an increasingly strident anti-Beijing message.

As public disapproval has grown for his handling of the epidemic, Trump has pivoted from his previous focus on striking a trade deal with China to blaming the country for the coronavirus crisis.

The two countries have clashed on a range of issues, from trade to espionage allegations and Beijing's human rights record such as the mass incarceration of Uighur Muslims and the political crackdown in Hong Kong.

Washington remains the leading arms supplier to Taiwan but has historically been cautious in holding official contacts with it.

Under Trump, relations with Taiwan have warmed dramatically and he has approved a number of major military sales, including F-16 fighter jets.

Douglas Paal, a former head of the American Institute in Taiwan, Washington's de facto embassy, said the Trump administration was still paying heed to China's red line -- that no US official handling national security visit Taiwan.

Throughout the 1990s the United States sent trade officials to Taiwan with regularity.

The difference this time, he said, is the context, with Azar travelling at a time when relations between Washington and Beijing have hit a new low.

"Sending him to Taiwan shows respect for the old framework while putting a finger in China's eye at the same time," Paal said.

"The fact that they didn't choose to send a national security advisor or someone else suggests they are trying to come as close as possible to China's red line but don't want to cross it."

The last cabinet minister to visit Taiwan was in 2014 when the then head of the Environmental Protection Agency led a delegation.

Taiwan has also built broad, bipartisan support in Washington.

Tsai has been hailed not only for her decisive coronavirus response but also, among US Democrats, for her progressive views including advocacy of gay rights, unusual for an Asian leader.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-09 21:22:08|Editor: huaxia

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BEIJING, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) -- China remains a magnet for foreign investment as its doors open wider and business environment continues to improve, Commerce Minister Zhong Shan said in an interview with Xinhua.

Despite the fallout from the coronavirus epidemic and rising protectionist sentiment, foreign companies expanded their investment in the world's second-largest economy during the first half of the year.

The number of projects with investment above 100 million U.S. dollars hit 320 during the period, showing that the country still holds great appeal to foreign investors.

"I don't think smart foreign investors will give up on the Chinese market," said Zhong, citing the country's huge market, better business environment and complete industrial chain.

The minister pledges greater efforts to expand opening-up during the second half, and encourages more foreign investment in the central and western regions as well as the old industrial base in the northeast.

China will also continue to improve the business environment and protect intellectual property rights, he added.

STABILIZE FOREIGN TRADE

China's foreign trade companies will be faced with greater challenges during the second half, due to waning external demand and rising anti-globalization sentiment.

The ministry will step up its policy support for foreign trade firms, and introduce more measures such as export tax rebates, foreign trade credits and export credit insurance to help them overcome difficulties, Zhong said.

In addition to consolidating traditional markets, he stressed exploring emerging markets and deepening cooperation with countries along the Belt and Road in a bid to stabilize foreign trade.

The ministry will support companies building overseas marketing networks and warehouses, and encourage the development of new forms of business such as cross-border e-commerce, Zhong said.

Meanwhile, the country will expand imports to meet burgeoning domestic demand and lift global markets' confidence, he said.

BOOST DOMESTIC CONSUMPTION

As the country's economic recovery gathers momentum amid the further containment of COVID-19, China's consumption market has warmed up in recent months.

Retail sales of consumer goods, a major indicator of consumption growth, fell 3.9 percent in the second quarter, narrowing 15.1 percentage points from the decline registered in the first quarter.

To further boost domestic consumption, more efforts should be made to upgrade the consumption of urban residents, expand the coverage of e-commerce in rural areas and develop service consumption such as catering and housekeeping, according to Zhong. Enditem
Mogadishu, Aug 8 (UNI) At least eight people died and 14 others were injured, after a suicide bomber rammed a vehicle loaded with explosives into a military base in Wardhigley district here on Saturday, a medical charity confirmed.



Director of medical charity Aamin Ambulance Abdikadir Abdirrahman said that they have rushed the injured to the hospital.

Till now, the death of eight people has been confirmed, while 14 others have been injured due to the blast, Xinhua quoted Mr Abdirrahman as saying.

Police Spokesperson Dhame Sadik Adan confirmed this to be a terrorist strike at the military base, causing unknown casualties.

Though no group has claimed responsibility for the attack till now, but the al-Qaeda affiliated terrorist group, al-Shabab, has a record of staging such attacks in the past. The group has been fighting to overthrow the Western-backed government.

UNI XC RKM RJ 1618
Abu Dhabi National Energy Company(Taqa) has announced the appointment of Dr. Afif Saif Al Yafei as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at its subsidiary, Abu Dhabi Transmission and Despatch Company (Transco).



In his new role, effective today (August 9), Dr. Al Yafei will reinforce Transcos vital role in the transformation of Abu Dhabis power and water sector.



Jasim Husain Thabet, Group CEO & MD at Taqa, said: We are pleased to welcome Dr Afif on board as CEO of Transco. With a strong track record of achievements in the energy industry, substantial technical expertise and solid leadership experience, Dr Afif will further strengthen Transcos role in guaranteeing the security and stability of the sector to ensure it remains a reliable, efficient, sustainable and value-generating system that is fit for the future.



Commenting on his appointment, Dr Al Yafei said: I am excited to be taking on the leadership role at Transco. I look forward to supporting the sectors ongoing transformational efforts, and in achieving the companys vision and commitment to sustainability and operational excellence.



Dr Afif joins Transco from National Central Cooling Company PJSC (Tabreed), where he served in various roles, including Executive Vice President of Asset Management, Senior Vice President of Regional Businesses and Vice President of Operations. Prior to Tabreed, Afif spent more than a decade in the oil and gas industry, where he served in several leadership positions at ADNOC Group.



Dr Al Yafei has a strong track record of leading teams to achieve growth, operational excellence and performance optimization. He has been an instrumental player in several mergers and acquisitions and has held various board memberships at local and regional companies.  TradeArabia News Service
Health and Family Welfare Minister B Sriramulu tested positive for Covid-19 on Sunday and was admitted to Bowring Hospital in the city.

Sriramulu said in a tweet that he'd tested for Covid-19 after suffering from fever during the day. A statement issued by his office said that the minister had slight fever and cough. "Basic tests were conducted on the patient and doctors have started treatment," it said, adding Sriramulu would stick to a diet regimen prescribed by the doctors.

For latest updates on coronavirus outbreak, click here

The Health minister's move to get admitted at a government hospital for Covid-19 was welcomed in social media, as other leaders before him had preferred private facilities.

Sriramulu is the fifth minister in the state Cabinet to test positive for the virus. Among his Cabinet colleagues who have tested positive for the virus include Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa - admitted to a private hospital since last Sunday, Agriculture Minister BC Patil, Co-operation Minister S T Somashekar and Tourism Minister C T Ravi.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-09 01:29:41|Editor: huaxia

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A police officer wearing a face mask checks a motorcyclist in Rabat, Morocco, on Aug. 8, 2020. Morocco on Saturday reported 1,345 new COVID-19 cases, the biggest single-day increase so far, taking the number of infections in the country to 32,007. (Photo by Chadi/Xinhua)

RABAT, Aug. 8 (Xinhua) -- Morocco on Saturday reported 1,345 new COVID-19 cases, the biggest single-day increase so far, taking the number of infections in the country to 32,007.

The total recoveries increased by 642 to 22,190, while the death toll rose by 19 to 480 in the past 24 hours, said Mouad Mrabet, coordinator of the Moroccan Center for Public Health Operations of the Ministry of Health, at a press briefing.

The Moroccan government has extended the state of medical emergency for another month until Sept. 10 amid the recent surge of COVID-19 cases.

China has helped Morocco in its fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

A batch of medical supplies donated by the government of northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region was transported on June 8 to Casablanca-Settat in Morocco.

On May 14, China Development Bank sent a batch of donation, including respirators and medical protective masks, to help Morocco fight the COVID-19 pandemic.

China's Guizhou Province also donated 15,000 surgical gloves, 20,000 medical masks and 2,000 protective suits to help protect Moroccan medical workers fighting the pandemic.
MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 07th August, 2020) SpaceX's Crew Dragon reaching the International Space Station (ISS) does not prove that the Elon Musk's company is the industry leader, as Russian spacecraft are faster, Dmitry Rogozin, the head of Russia's Roscosmos State Space Corporation, told Sputnik on Friday.

"What made them [SpaceX] think that they are leaders in the world? They were absent for 10 years, and now they are flying the same way as we used to fly. Let them now fly as fast as we fly. I do not think that Crew Dragon can reach the ISS in three hours," Rogozin said.

According to the head of Roscosmos, Crew Dragon and the announced Starline spacecraft from Boeing are basically the same as Russia's Soyuz MS, despite having more space and being more comfortable.

Rogozin added that Russia does not need to create such spacecraft.

In July, Russia's Progress MS-15 set a record for the time of flight to the ISS  the cargo spacecraft reached the station in three hours, 18 minutes and 31 seconds. Roscosmos now aims to get the manned Soyuz MS spacecraft to the ISS as fast as possible.

SpaceX made history back in May when it flew people to the ISS on the world's first commercially-made spacecraft. The Crew Dragon flew back to Earth on August 2.
With climate change bearing down on the planet and the coronavirus upending the fossil fuel business, one of the world's biggest oil and gas companies Tuesday mapped out how it plans to navigate the next decade by radically cutting back on its oil and gas business.

The London-based BP said it will transform itself by halting oil and gas exploration in new countries, slashing oil and gas production by 40%, lowering carbon emissions by about a third, and boosting capital spending on low-carbon energy tenfold, to $5 billion a year.

"This makes the BP the first super-major to spell out, in detail, what the energy transition will actually entail, in practical terms," said Pavel Molchanov, senior energy analyst for the investment firm Raymond James.

BP announced this year its broad strategy shift to comply with the goals of the 2015 Paris climate accord, and Tuesday's earnings report specifically laid out for investors how much - and how soon - this would change the company. BP had in February - before the coronavirus was declared a pandemic - vowed to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 , but the new details show major impacts on its business by 2030.

"We believe our new strategy provides a comprehensive and coherent approach to turn our net zero ambition into action," BP chief executive Bernard Looney said in a statement Tuesday. "This coming decade is critical for the world in the fight against climate change, and to drive the necessary change in global energy systems will require action from everyone."

The earnings briefing on Tuesday also revealed more of the change in mind-set at the company once known as British Petroleum, which gobbled up big rivals such as Amoco and Standard Oil of Ohio to bolster its reserves.

For investors, that means an immediate 50% cut in dividends, a significant hit for the British pension funds that rely heavily on BP's quarterly payments to shareholders. But it will arm the company with more cash as the business reacts to climate change. And on Tuesday, investors applauded; at 10 a.m., BP's shares jumped more than 6%, outpacing smaller gains among other oil companies.

It is also an admission of how profound the change in the oil and gas business has been. A dozen years ago, Exxon Mobil set new profit records and was the envy of the market. Now, the company is no longer in the top tier. Microsoft is worth nine times as much, and Johnson & Johnson is worth twice as much in market value. Exxon Mobil, which supplies gasoline to automobiles, is worth $180 billion, not even two-thirds the market value of Tesla, the maker of electric vehicles.

"Ever since it discovered oil in Iran in 1908, BP has been among the world's leading oil companies," Daniel Yergin, author of "The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money, and Power," said in an email. "Now it aims to be something different - seeking to make an historic shift from being an IOC - an international oil company - to being an IEC - an integrated energy company. It will still produce oil, but with an increasing focus on renewables, electricity, and new technologies."

This isn't the first time BP has put significant sums into renewable energy. After the oil crises of the 1970s, the company sought to diversify. It became a leading producer of solar panels before selling its money-losing operations.

"But times change, and BP's new tack is a striking response to today's very different politics, policies, and technologies," Yergin said.

One aspect of the change in BP's outlook is that, like other big international oil and gas companies, it has strived to keep its oil and gas reserves stable or even increase them. These reserves have been the heart of such companies. And BP has spent the past decade in a merciless reorganization so it cans pay damages from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico while keeping the company's best production assets.

But now BP is changing again, and soon. Oil and gas production "is set to flatline through 2025 and then decline by 2030," said Molchanov, the Raymond James analyst. "Together with opportunistic asset sales, volumes in 2030 are expected to be 40 percent below 2019 levels."

Investment on low-carbon initiatives is set to jump to more than $3 billion by 2025 and $5 billion by 2030, "en route to 50 gigawatts of renewable generation capacity by 2030 alongside scale-up of other clean tech businesses," Molchanov added.

Other oil giants seem to be struggling to stand still. Reeling from the pandemic and the economic downturn, Exxon Mobil and Chevron last week reported sharp drops in earnings; in the second quarter, Exxon lost $1.1 billion and Chevron lost $8.3 billion. Production fell 7% at Exxon and 3% at Chevron.

But unlike BP, they still plan to forge ahead much as they have since the late 1800s. In a call with investors, Exxon Mobil highlighted its exploration and new production around the world, from Guyana to Abu Dhabi to the Permian Basin - even as big oil and gas companies are writing down the value of their oil and gas reserves while demand and prices swoon. And Exxon Mobil is defending its dividend despite price and production pressures.

BP is trying to get ahead of what climate change might force the industry to do anyway.

Even the company's critics have issued praise.

"BP is the first oil major that walks the walk instead of just offering ambitions for 2050, like its peers," responds Mark van Baal of Follow This, a group that supports oil majors to commit to the Paris climate agreement with shareholder resolutions.

Van Baal said "BP shows a sense of urgency and imagination beyond oil and gas."
* Mark Kolterman, who pitched a doubleheader, patiently gathering support and then waiting out the storm to win adoption of a new business development tax incentives package and a pledge of state funding support for the University of Nebraska Medical Center's exciting, game-changing project.

And now this struggling 2020 Legislature, plagued by a pandemic and sometimes veering off into some spectacular middle school moments, is set to go home with a bang.

They'll be back in five months with some new riders ready to saddle up and begin their adventures in this one-of-a-kind, nonpartisan, one-house Legislature where everyone counts.

* * *

This week may mark Ernie Chambers' last few days in a legislative session.

Maybe, maybe not. No one should ever, ever count this man out. And even if he leaves the Legislature, he is not done.

We'll have more to say about him later in the year, but for this moment:
A day after Lok Insaaf Party leader Gagandeep Singh was allegedly attacked by Congress workers near the residence of Ludhiana MP Ravneet Singh Bittu, LIP leader and MLA Balwinder Singh Bains demanded adding Section 295- A and 153- A of the IPC to the FIR for hurling racial slurs at the party workers.

He also demanded the inclusion of MP Ravneet Singh Bittus name in the FIR. Bains said if the cops fail to act, the LIP will gherao the office of Commissioner of Police on Tuesday.

The LIP workers led by Gagandeep Singh alias Sunny Kainth were staging a symbolic protest against the shortage of ventilators at the civil hospital. The LIP leader had collected money at Bharat Nagar Chowk and went to the MPs residence to hand over the collected amount when the clashes occurred.

Gagandeep Singh accused the Congress workers of tossing his turban as well as those of his aides.

While showing the audio and video recording of the incident, Balwinder Singh Bains said that Kainth had followed the government protocol and visited the MPs house after taking due permission.

It is sad that instead of addressing the issue, the goons of MP attacked Kainth and tossed the latters turban. Sadly, the police acted as a mute spectator to the incident and later booked Kainth in a cross FIR. It is a gross misuse of police power, said Bains.

The purpose of the attack was just to toss the turban of Sunny Kainth, It is a sin. We will not stop the agitation until we get justice, said Bains.

The absence of LIP supremo Simarjeet Singh Bains was conspicuous during the occasion who is stated to be unwell for the past couple of days.
Indian Army sources reported on Friday that the Major General-level talks in the Daulat Beg Oldi region had been successfully concluded between India and China, said to be focused on expedient disengagement process by the Chinese side in Ladakh Depsang's area after heightened tensions between the two countries during the Galwan crisis that occurred in June.

The Major General-level talks between India and China, being held at Daulat Beg Oldi area to discuss disengagement by the Chinese side along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh sector, concluded at around 7:30 pm on Saturday, said Indian Army sources.

Major general-level talks held today between India and China concluded around 7:30 pm. The two sides discussed disengagement by the Chinese side in the Ladakh sector including the Depsang Plains area and other friction points, the sources said.

During the talks, which was scheduled to start at 11 AM, the two sides focused on disengagement from Depsang Plains, where the Chinese have marched with over 17,000 troops along the LAC.

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India has also deployed more than 15,000 troops there along with heavy deployment of armoured regiments to counter any possible Chinese thrust. The Chinese have also come there in with several armoured regiments.

India and China have held five rounds of Lieutenant General-level talks between them for disengagement from the eastern Ladakh sector but not much success has been achieved in that direction.

The Chinese are sitting near the Finger 5 and Gogra post in Eastern Ladakh and are refusing to disengage completely from there.

The Chinese have created a similar build up all along the LAC opposite Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh but the Chinese troops there are in-depth areas. In the Ladakh sector, the Defence Ministry has now admitted that the Chinese troops have transgressed into Indian territory at multiple locations.

The Chinese had started the conflict with India on May 5 when they marched into the Galwan Valley in very high numbers and tried to change the status quo on the LAC but the Indian forces managed to handle the situation well.

Also read: Air India Kozhikode crash: All about Wing Commander Sathe
Following last weeks look at the formative years and family relationships of William Sydney Clements, 3rd Earl of Leitrim, Lord Leitrim, this week looks at his romantic relationships.



Lord Leitrim and women

Lord Leitrims lasting legacy has been as a tyrannical landlord who violated girls and young women on his estates.

He has been widely accused of exercising droit de seigneur and demanding sexual favours from young women in return for avoiding eviction. While the allegations can neither be proved nor disproved, there are no indicators that the earl had sexual relationships with local women.

Indeed the contemporary stories of ill-treatment of women were hardly known around Lough Rynn, and were largely limited to the Donegal estates where he had a much more fractious relationship with tenants.

One journalist investigating the earls assassination in 1878 wrote: even among those who hold the strongest views upon Lord Leitrims conduct as a landlord, the charge [of debauchery] is discredited and I did not meet a single person who regarded it as tenable.



Never married

Lord Leitrim never married, but not because he hated women. Strange as it may seem, as he reached marriageable age, he lacked the confidence to engage with women and felt unattractive to them.

As importantly, he lacked the security of income that he felt necessary to offer himself as a suitor. As a second son, Sydney had no real authority or focus until he took over the management of the Lough Rynn estate on the death of his brother Robert in 1839.

By that time, he was 33 years of age. Even then, he had to wait until he was 48 to inherit the earldom and gain full control over his income and estates.



First love

Sydneys first romantic love was his cousin, Lady Emily Caulfeild. Sydney and Emily has spent much time together as children, and a tentative romance blossomed after Sydney went away to school.

Sadly, the relationship was doomed: in December 1829, aged 21, Lady Emily died from what was probably tuberculosis.

She retained a place in Sydneys heart for the rest of his life, and decades after her death, he made significant efforts to secure mementoes and portraits of her from his aunts estate.

Sydneys tragedies continued the following year, with his mother suffering serious mental illness and being isolated at Killadoon; and he himself suffering a leg injury from which he never fully recovered.



Lady Jane

Having had to resign from the army due to his injury, Sydney accepted a position as aide-de-camp to the lord lieutenant in Dublin. From 1831, he enjoyed an active social life stealing the hearts of the fair ones in drawing rooms across the city.

It was not until he was approaching 30 that Sydney had his next serious romance.

In the summer of 1835, he became involved with Lady Jane Parsons of Birr Castle. Unfortunately, things did not run smoothly and the attraction seems to have been one-sided. In July, Sydney packed this bags and headed to Europe because I have nothing but disappointments at home.



Wondrous free and easy

On tour in Europe, Sydney decided to concentrate for a while on women who, in his own words, were wondrous free and easy. In Florence, he fell in love with more than one young lady  which had the desired effect. He wrote: I got up my spirits again, and when I lose them again, it shall not be for a woman.

By the start of 1836, Sydney was in Rome and having an affair with the provokingly pretty Marchesa di Francavilla, and settled into a comfortable exchange. It appears that the Marchesa became pregnant. Within months, she was facing a long confinement and had been removed to a convent.

Sydney reflected, if I am not stabbed before I leave Rome, I suppose I may think myself lucky. He left Rome on April 14th without ever seeing his poor dear Marchesa again.



Mary Woolley Gibbings

It wasnt until 1838, when he was 32, that Sydney reconsidered marriage. In February, the Freemans Journal announced that Sydney was soon to be allied to a lady of vast possessions, the 39 year old Mary Woolley Gibbings of Cork. Mary was educated and informed and accomplished in drawing, music, science, chemistry, and six languages.

Unfortunately the marriage was postponed in March after Sydneys brother George died. It was never revived, and later that year, Mary married Viscount Combermere as his third wife.



Engraving of the third Earl of Leitrim, The Illustrated London News, 3 April 1878



Taking over Lough Rynn

The ill-fated relationship with Miss Gibbings seems to have dissuaded Sydney from any romantic involvement for the next few years. As did the death of his brother Robert the following year.

He turned his attentions to Lough Rynn, and from the early 1840s, was preoccupied by the estates and the impact of the Famine.

His sister, Lady Elizabeth urged him to find a an eligible and suitable companion to turn his house into a comfortable home. But Sydney largely kept to himself when he was at Lough Rynn, restricting his circle to a few close friends and local acquaintances.



It took a decade before he acted on his sisters advice and considered marriage again. In 1848, after all the toil and labour of the Famine years, Sydney informed his father that it is most desirable for my happiness that I should marry.

At 42, Sydney met a Miss Stuart, and declared that he was caught at last.

All seemed to be going well until Sydney cried off. Still dependent on his father for funds, Sydney felt it impossible to enter into marriage without the security of a sufficient income to maintain a family. His father was not happy, but Sydney was resolute about feeling obliged to resign a connection which is in every respect most desirable and one which you would not fail to like.

Engraving of William Kincaid, The Illustrated London News, 3 April 1878

Rachel Irby

Six further years passed before Sydney, then 48, seriously considered marriage for the last time.

The cheerful and pleasant Rachel Irby was the eldest daughter of an old friend. Although she had no fortune, it appeared that Miss Irbys feelings were not in doubt. His sister Elizabeth reported that Rachel spoke of Sydney with the greatest of pleasure and affection and was looking forward to coming to Ireland.

Although the engagement was announced in the newspapers, Sydney again cried off, and again cited issues over income and money. His sister remonstrated him, writing that Miss Irby was considered to be a fortune in herself and that he was a very fortunate man in having engaged her affections. She finished: Your part should have been to lay yourself and your fortune at her feet.

There was to be no reconciliation and Sydney returned to his lone life at Lough Rynn.

As time passed, there are a number of references to relationships in Sydneys diaries but nothing that approached a serious alliance.

Around 1864/65, he wrote of a woman called J who lived in London and who gave birth to a girl on 29 December 1864. Sydney was concerned for the childs and Js health, so much so that he wrote to Dr Soden in Mohill for a second opinion.

Soden hurried to London but by mid-February things had settled, and Sydney reported that he had met J in the park and that Soden was on his way home.



Anne Fleming

Separate to his efforts to secure a marriage to a suitable wife, there is evidence that Sydney had a long relationship with his housekeeper at Killadoon. Anne Fleming was a very handsome, dark, woman of few words' and her relationship with Lord Leitrim lasted from as early as 1845 until the earls death in 1878.

The family seemed to be aware, not only of the relationship with Anne, but also of the connection between the earl and Annes son, William Kincaid.

Kincaid had entered service at Lough Rynn in 1858, around the age of 12. After the assassination, Lord Leitrims brother-in-law noted on a newspaper sketch of Kincaid that he was, Lord Leitrims groom and usual attendant wherever he went; very like him.

The earl left Anne 1,000 in his will, and 200 to William Kincaid, significantly more than other servants received.

About the Author

Fiona Slevin grew up and went to school in Mohill and currently lives in Dublin. She recently published a new, expanded edition of her book, By Hereditary Virtues: a history of Lough Rynn, described by Brendan Kennelly as a well-researched and beautifully written book; a marvellous read, and by Prof. Michael L. O'Rourke, TCD as the classic local history. It is available at www. loughrynn.net for 15.
KYODO NEWS - Aug 9, 2020 - 19:15 | All, World, Japan

Japan will send a disaster relief team to Mauritius in response to fuel leakage from a stranded Japanese-owned freighter that ran aground off the Indian Ocean island nation, the Foreign Ministry said Sunday.

The six-member expert team will leave Japan on Monday, the ministry said after Mauritius declared a state of environmental emergency over the fuel leakage on Friday.

Earlier Sunday, Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd., the operator of the Panama-flagged bulk carrier Wakashio, said more than 1,000 tons of fuel oil have leaked from the vessel.

"We're terribly sorry," Akihiko Ono, executive vice president of the major shipping company, said at a news conference in Tokyo.

The vessel was carrying a total of some 3,800 tons of fuel oil when it went aground on July 25. Leakage began Thursday when a fuel tank suffered a crack.

Ono vowed to make all-out efforts to resolve the case in cooperation with Nagashiki Shipping Co., an Okayama Prefecture-based company that owns the ship.

As of Sunday, a massive amount of heavy oil had washed ashore along the coast of Mauritius, sparking concerns about damage to the country's crucially important tourism industry and the impact to endangered animals such as indigenous wild birds and sea turtles.

Related coverage:

Mauritius declares emergency over oil leak from Japanese ship

As local residents strive to remove leaked fuel from the sea, the Mauritius government has sought assistance from France and the United Nations in coping with the disaster.

The Japanese disaster relief team, to be dispatched at the request of Mauritius, will start relief activities such as oil removal on site upon arrival, according to the Foreign Ministry.

"The accident could have a serious impact on the environment and the tourism industry of Mauritius," the ministry said in a statement. "We hope that this assistance will contribute to recovery of the environment of Mauritius and prevention of marine pollution."

The team consists of four experts from the Japan Coast Guard and one official each from the Foreign Ministry and the Japan International Cooperation Agency, according to government officials.

The freighter, which was en route to the Brazil area from China via Singapore, was grounded near Pointe d'Esny, an area designated as a wetland of international importance under the Ramsar Convention, which is close to Blue Bay Marine Park, another Ramsar site.

The approximately 300-meter-long ship designed to transport bulk cargo such as iron ore, built in 2007, was carrying no cargo at the time. All 20 members of the multinational crew evacuated safely and are unharmed.

Mauritius, with a population of around 1.3 million, is located around 2,000 kilometers east of Mozambique off the southeast coast of Africa.
Shakuntala Devi feels like a watershed moment. Vidya Balan is arguably the most gifted actress working in mainstream Bollywood right now, and Shakuntala Devi is her finest role till date.

Amidst the somewhat frenetic first ten minutes of Anu Menons Shakuntala Devi, released recently on Amazon Prime Video, theres a lovely little scene featuring young Shakuntala (no more than 6 or 7 years old) and her mother. Weve just seen how Shakuntalas father exploits her surreal mathematical skills, keeping her out of school so that she can do more (paid) math shows every week. When the little girl expresses her displeasure, her mother steps in and says she shouldnt speak ill of her appa (father). Hes not my appa, Im his appa, young Shakuntala declares. In other kids homes, appas the one who works and earns the money that runs the household. Soon after, Shakuntalas sister Sharada tells her, Tu bohot badi aadmi banegi (Youll become a big and powerful man), only for the former to retort that shell become a powerful woman (Sharada reminds her theres no such thing as a powerful woman).

Shakuntalas rebellion is notable not just because shes a child, but also because she quickly reaches a point in this conversation (namely, gender roles vis-a-vis economic heft, who gets to be the man of the house et cetera) which progressive Bollywood protagonists of yore wouldnt have reached before the interval, at least. Her genius is being exploited, her childhood sacrificed and she knows it.

The grown-up Shakuntala, of course, is played by Vidya Balan, which makes this scene even more significant. Because over the last decade or, Balans body of work  The Dirty Picture (2011), Kahaani (2012), Bobby Jasoos (2014), Tumhari Sulu (2017), Mission Mangal (2019) and now Shakuntala Devi (2020)  has been Bollywoods primary site of engagement with female genius (I use the word genius in a broad sense here, and not just for savants like Shakuntala Devi).

In these films, Balans characters happen to be very, very good at one thing apiece  spy to private detective to radio jockey to the proverbial rocket scientist, these characters are forever negotiating the terms and conditions of their genius with society. While this is prima facie a progressive project, not all of these films end up with progressive victories, as we shall see.

Level One: Genius, hidden in plain sight

Towards the beginning of the decade, Balan played two characters whose genius had to be hidden in plain sight, so to speak (from this point on, this piece has heavy spoilers for Balans movies).

First, in Kahaani (2012), she played Vidya Bagchi, a heavily pregnant London-based woman who comes to Kolkata in search of her missing husband, who appears to have been a lookalike for a dangerous terrorist called Milan Damji. Everybody, from the kindly Inspector Satyaki (Parambrata Chatterjee) to the grouchy Intelligence Bureau DIG Khan (Nawazuddin Siddiqui), underestimates her (harmless hai, Khan tells his boss on the phone at one point). By the end of the film, it is revealed that Vidya was never pregnant in the first place  she was using a prosthetic belly. She ditches the belly in a shocking moment during the films climax (which is scored to the sounds of a loud Durga Puja procession) and uses the ensuing confusion to kill Milan, who was her real target all along. She was a civilian spy, trained to infiltrate and take down the enemy, which she does rather easily in the end.

The film lays it on thick with the Durga Puja imagery, hammering home the point about motherhood and vengeance. For Kahaani, Vidyas genius (ie her spying skills) must be reinforced by the perfect cover  the social capital and vastly better-than-normal behaviour afforded to an expecting mother (the kind that most other women would never receive in a patriarchal society). Vidyas disguise, then, can be read as a strategic concession to patriarchy. By dragging along a fake belly for weeks, months on end, she has lost a small battle but will soon win the war.

The second character from this early phase is Reshma/Silk from The Dirty Picture, a kind of amalgam of the real-life actresses Disco Shanti and Silk Smitha, both of whom appeared in a string of erotic films in the 1980s and 90s. For obvious reasons, even when Reshma is at the height of her fame and financial success, she isnt a respectable figure. Critics, her colleagues and even the men who watch her late night shows, distance themselves from her in the morning  her films, her persona is thus hidden, tucked away far from polite society. Suryakant, the established superstar who helps her gain a foothold in the industry, even tells her, Youre everybodys dirty secret.

Its often said (with good reason) that Indian men are prisoners to the Madonna-whore complex  perceiving women either as debauched prostitutes or hallowed, capital-M Mothers. Well, Vidya and Reshma represent the Madonna and the whore, respectively. Damned if they do negotiate with patriarchy Vidya, despite the sympathy her belly generates, has to put up with a lot of patronising BS from Khan and company. And damned if they dont  Silk/Reshmas stardom fades soon after her powerful male allies cut the cord.

Level Two: Genius, interrupted by domesticity

A pair of films from the mid-2010s marks the second phase of Balans career Bobby Jasoos (2014) and my personal favourite among her films, Tumhari Sulu (2017).

In these films, the genius is no longer hidden  in the ghare/baire (home/outside) duality of Bollywood women, these women manage to carve a very public niche for themselves. Traditional gender roles are then weaponised against their careers, with varying degrees of success.

In Bobby Jasoos, Balan plays Bilqis Bobby Ahmed, the titular private detective. Bobby is a young woman from a middle-class Muslim family from Old Hyderabads Moghalpura area. Her folks are kind but largely orthodox, especially her father (Rajendra Gupta) who does not approve of her budding detective business. Throughout the film, her family pressurising her to quit being a private investigator is a major plot point  how will your sisters get married, they argue, if the boys family knows you are up to god-knows-what every night.

Bobby, therefore, is invested in covertness twice over: from her family, as well as the rest of the world, for shes a master of disguise. The films poster shows Balan in a variety of male disguises, including a Hindu fortune-teller (jyotish) and a Muslim beggar wearing a skullcap, and a fakir. These are societys equivalent of stock images, ever-present at the fringes but never someone you would know personally. By inhabiting these bodies, Bobby marks herself, a female private detective, one amongst their ranks  people who both exist and dont.

Tumhari Sulu sees Balan playing a housewife (Sulochana or Sulu to her husband Ashok) who becomes an RJ through pure chance  and realises that she is bloody good at it. However, her formerly genteel husband Ashok (Manav Kaul, superb) and her meddlesome, conservative twin sisters Aradhana and Kalapana, soon ask her to quit her job  they say its leading her to neglect her duties as a wife and a mother. Much of the narrative tension in the film derives from this.

Like with Bobby Jasoos, the genius here blossoms in the public eye  or the ear, for in Sulus case for people can hear but not see her. To further complicate matters, Sulus calling card as an RJ is her full-throated, seductive voice; a simple, sultry Hello is all it takes to identify her. And like with Bobby, domesticity almost catches up with her. By the end of Bobby Jasoos, we see that Bobbys marriage has been fixed, albeit to a kind man she already kinda likes (Ali Fazal).

Tumhari Sulu, however, is a fairly self-conscious fairytale, and so it has a bit of a deus ex machina ending. Sulu quits  but secures her offices nighttime tiffin contract for her husband Ashok. He now manages the couples tiffin business at night, driving their son around with him  and drops Sulu off at her RJ job at night. For me this was wish fulfilment par excellence, and the perfect way to resolve Sulus narrative dilemma.

Level Three: The public genius, unshackled

When you see Shakuntala Devi, you realise just how much of a fairytale Tumhari Sulu really was. Because Shakuntala faces many of the same parenting dilemmas as Sulu, only their resolutions are vastly different.

Shakuntalas fame, unlike Sulus, comes with facial recall  people know who she is, what this world-famous mathematician looks like. Strangers come up to her at restaurants and ask for autographs. And yet, their troubles are much the same: like Sulu, Shakuntala too is accused of being a bad mother repeatedly. Not just that, the diagnosis is the same in both cases: we are told that she is a bad mother because she devotes too much time and attention to her genius (ie her career).

The last scene in Tumhari Sulu sees Sulus new, on-the-move world inside of a carher husband with their new tiffins business driving, her young son doing his homework in the back seat. In the fairytale, the world bends to accommodate genius. In Shakuntala (which is based on a real-life story), however, the mathematician tries and fails to do exactly this several times  when she takes her daughter along for her globetrotting math shows, the teenager soon turns against her mother and runs away. Even her very progressive Bengali husband (Jisshu) tells her shes being a bad mother, in a fit of rage.

By the end of the film, this tension is never fully resolved, but Shakuntalas daughter acknowledges that her mother was a force of nature, and largely misunderstood in her time. I never saw her like a woman, the daughter tells her, only like a mother. There is a celebratory montage showing us Shakuntalas flamboyant ways, on and off the stage.

For me, this is the biggest takeaway from Shakuntala Devi. For so much of Balans career, her characters genius negotiated (often in vain) with patriarchy in different ways and in different settings, as weve seen. In Mission Mangal, we actually backslid a little, through that godawful scene where Balans character figures out a new formula for fuel efficiency while frying puris  genius not despite, but because of patriarchy, we are supposed to believe.

Shakuntala Devi, however, never loses, as Balan reminds us during the films climax. Shes an in-your-face genius; her triumphs are unabashedly loud and in-your-face  no quarter given. No surprises, then, that Shakuntala Devi feels like a watershed moment. This is arguably the most gifted actress working in mainstream Bollywood right now, and Shakuntala Devi is her finest role till date.
S Lalitha By

Express News Service

BENGALURU: The trial run of trains on the first stretch of Phase II of Namma Metro will be held this month-end. This 6.29 km stretch from Yelachenahalli to Anjanapura (Reach-4B line) is almost ready with some finishing works being completed, while the revised deadline to launch it is November-end.

Five elevated stations of Konankunte Cross (earlier Anjanapura Cross Road), Doddakallasandra, Vajrahalli, Thalaghattapura and Anjanapura are situated along this Line. Chief Public Relations Officer, Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL), B L Yashwanth Chavan told The New Sunday Express, Architectural finishing works like cladding are pending at a couple of stations. Traction and signalling works have begun and need to be completed. Over 90% of works have been completed.

He said, Trial runs are set to begin by August-end.

We will have two months to carry them out. The Commissioner of Metro Rail Safety needs to give the green signal for running trains along this stretch. This would be the first stretch to be declared open in the Phase-2 project, which is estimated to cost Rs 30,095 crore. It was initially supposed to be opened by 2018-end. But it missed several deadlines, including the one that was set for the August 15 launch, as the Covid pandemic struck and a good number of workers left for their hometowns.

According to M S Channappagoudar, General Manger, Land Acquisitions, BMRCL, 71,890 square metre was acquired for the stretch and a compensation of Rs 364.52 crore was paid to those whose lands were acquired. NCC Ltd had bagged the contract for civil works.
Most brands, when it comes to issues of racism, they work very hard to avoid controversy, he said. Trader Joes is doing the opposite. Trader Joes is inviting people to opine on whether these labels are appropriate in the world today.

The second statement may have been the companys attempt to set the record straight, particularly if it felt it was being criticized or misunderstood, said Fred Cook, director of the USC Center for Public Relations at the Annenberg School and chairman of public relations firm Golin.

I think of Trader Joes specifically as a very socially conscious company by nature, he said. However, there is a heightened sensitivity right now around all of these issues. Every company  needs to be very careful about the kinds of things theyre saying and the kinds of things theyre doing.

But the controversy isnt expected to cause the chain lasting damage.

There are still people out there that love Trader Joes, Calkins said. That will be the case as they work through this, during this and when they come out of this as well.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-09 17:54:44|Editor: huaxia

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Workers renovate a historic building in the Old City of Sanaa, Yemen, on Aug. 9, 2020. Rains and flash floods in Yemen completely destroyed four buildings and damaged 30 others in the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage site of the Old City of Sanaa, residents told Xinhua on Sunday. (Photo by Mohammed Mohammed/Xinhua)

SANAA, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) -- Rains and flash floods in Yemen completely destroyed four buildings and damaged 30 others in the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage site of the Old City of Sanaa, residents told Xinhua on Sunday.

Parts of the wall surrounding the city were collapsed during the week-long rains.

Several families fled their houses after they were partially collapsed.

There are no reports of casualties yet.

The old city of Sanaa was inscribed on the World Heritage List of the UNESCO in 1986.

The old city has been inhabited for more than 2,500 years. The 6,000 mud-brick tower houses are decorated with geometric patterns of white plaster and stained glass windows.

The city was added on the List of World Heritage in Danger in 2015 after the eruption of the civil war. Enditem
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Todays guest columnist is The Rev. Jon Chalmers. If youd like to be a guest columnist, please click here.

Judging from the license plates along the gravel road to Hargrove Shoals along the Cahaba River in Bibb County, my quarantine driven desire for a road trip was shared by many in our community.

I suspect the annual appearance of the Cahaba Lilies has rarely been more celebrated by more people than this year; and they did not disappoint.

Indulging my fondness for local history and travel off the beaten path, I returned to Birmingham using back roads in Bibb and Shelby County that I hoped would show me the southern end of the Birmingham Mineral Railroad route and the old mining communities like Marvel. I thought I would see continuity of landscape with where the Lilies are found. What I found startled me. Clear-cut tree farms, gas wells, and working coalmines created a landscape that seemed best described in the moment as apocalyptic. Blackened ground and piles of scrub wood competed for my attention along with warnings of trespass and blasting. I wanted to leave faster than my pickup could safely navigate the rutted roads. I know well Alabamas economic reliance on extractive industries but their juxtaposition with the Lilies and the proximity to Birmingham surprised me even when I know better.

Not that long ago, seeing such industrial scenes would not have required driving obscure roads in neighboring counties. Large swaths of Redmont and Mountain Brook are built, literally, in the remnants of extractive industry. The crown jewels of our natural quality of life, Ruffner Mountain and Red Mountain Park, were, not that long ago, similar apocalyptic landscapes that repelled rather than attracted. They are at the northern end of the same historic Mineral Railroad whose path I was looking for on the way back from seeing the Cahaba Lilies. Many of the trails we enjoy today in the middle of our community are literally the old railbed.

Walking the Ridge and Valley Trail at Ruffner shows a savvy hiker a fairly complete history of extractive mining technologies even while now being in nature. The Red Mountain trails are punctuated with evidence of the industrial past. The evidence of the past is there even as we treasure the beauty today. The former apocalyptic landscapes were in the middle of Birmingham but they now pull people toward them rather than pushing us away.

I love the two parks. They give us opportunities for recreation and rejuvenation. They are important elements of my quality of life. However, they also give me hope. Both parks are products of improbable public-private partnerships between corporate, non-profit, and government institutions. Both were created by a shared desire to heal the landscape and improve the common good. Both represent an integrated ecology that demonstrates the constructive interplay between nature and culture over time. Both have turned eyesore artifacts of the industrial past into gifts for the future. I am so impressed and appreciative of their presence in our community.

Our industrial legacy landscapes are healing through creative and shared work. Our industrial legacy neighborhoods remain far more challenged. As pastor of Holy Rosary Church in Gate City, literally in the shadow of Ruffner Mountain, I know that a few yards of physical distance separate the beauty of Ruffner with another landscape that few find attractive and appealing. As president of Holy Family Cristo Rey Catholic High School, I know that our students live in communities that are themselves legacies of Birminghams industrial past and mere blocks from the healthcare industries of Birminghams economic future.

My great-grandfather moved from the lowlands of Scotland to Birmingham in 1906 in search of economic opportunity. There were those who came here before him who did not have the same access to personal growth and progress that he experienced. Starting as a teenage bricklayer, he grew to lead a major industrial plant, ironically, perhaps, in the same Ensley community that hosted Holy Family Cristo Rey until last year.

Judging from the license plates found along 280 on any given morning, there are still those who come from afar to seek the opportunities of the Magic City. The irony, of course, is that people who grow up in the shadows of our industrial past rarely are prepared to take advantage of our economic futures. Birmingham has a long history of deciding who will win and who will lose before any personal effort or merit is put on the table. That has frustrated our development and enraged our communities and our people. It has lost us opportunities for a better future. Birmingham remains a place where those who grow up here dont always have the opportunities of those who arrive here. That should pose a moral challenge to us all.

Too often, we think of progress as a zero-sum game; that for some to win, others must lose. We see this time and again in the competition for scarce resources and even scarcer attention. Our history and our loyalties constrain our collaboration, who we will work with in our efforts to achieve a better future for ourselves and our neighbors. But we are better and stronger together than we are apart. We can look to the experience of our landscape, to Ruffner and to Red, for example of the great work that is done when we come together around shared work.

Recently, our conversations seem to be more aligned on what my theological tradition calls a preferential option, the idea that those whose life and flourishing are most at-risk deserve our focused attention. There seems to be more consensus in our area than I have experienced before around salient needs and opportunities. This is itself an opportunity for action.

A year before his assassination, the Rev. Dr. King wrote a small book titled Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community? It seems that the same question and the same options could be posed to us in this place and time. The mountain parks are good examples for us to recognize our shared quality of life and our shared destiny. They provide a pattern and an example for us to follow. We choose community over chaos, ecology over separation, and joy in the progress of all people.

The Rev. Jon Chalmers is president of Holy Family Cristo Rey Catholic High School and pastor of Holy Rosary Catholic Church. A graduate of the University of Alabama, Harvard, and Yale; he is a proud member of the Leadership Birmingham Class of 2020, the best and most viral class ever.
Thousands of demonstrators thronged the streets near the official residence of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in central Jerusalem on Saturday night, in a renewed show of strength as weeks of protests against the Israeli leader showed no signs of slowing.

Throughout the summer, thousands of Israelis have taken to the streets to call on Netanyahu to resign, protesting his handling of the country's coronavirus crisis and saying he should not remain in office while on trial for corruption charges. Self-employed workers whose businesses have been hurt by the economic crisis also joined Saturday's march.

Though Netanyahu has tried to downplay the protests, the gatherings only appear to be getting stronger.

In Jerusalem on Saturday, protesters held Israeli flags, blew horns and chanted slogans against Netanyahu. Some held posters that said ``Crime Minister'' or called him ``out of touch.'' A large banner projected onto a nearby building said ``Balfour is in our hands,'' a reference to the street where Netanyahu lives.

The demonstrators accuse Netanyahu of corruption and say that he and the country's bloated coalition government have failed to recognize the suffering of its citizens.

Israeli media estimated some 15,000 people at the Jerusalem demonstration. An estimated 1,000 also protested at an intersection near Netanyahu's beach house in the upscale coastal town of Caesaria, and smaller gatherings took place on bridges and at intersections across the country.

There was a heavy police presence at the demonstrations but no reports of violence in the loud but orderly protests.

The rallies against Netanyahu are the largest Israel has seen since 2011 protests over the country's high cost of living.

After moving quickly to contain the virus last spring, many believe Israel reopened its economy too quickly, leading to a surge in cases. The country is now coping with record levels of coronavirus, while unemployment has surged to over 20%.

Many of the demonstrators, including many young unemployed Israelis, accuse Netanyau of mishandling the coronavirus crisis and the economic damage it has caused.

Netanyahu's Likud Party announced that Sunday's weekly Cabinet meeting had been called off because of disagreements with the chief coalition partner, the rival Blue and White Party. The sides have been feuding over the country's national budget, and if they cannot reach a deal by late this month, Israel would be plunged into an early election.

Likud and Blue and White have repeatedly squabbled since forming a coalition government in May. While Blue and White leader Benny Gantz has defended the protesters, Netanyahu has dismissed them as ``leftists'' and ``anarchists'' and inciting violence against him. He also accuses the local media of strengthening the demonstrations by giving them heavy coverage.

Netanyahu's son, Yair, this week caused a public uproar when he described the protesters as ``aliens.'' Many protesters Saturday dressed up as visitors from outer space to mock the comments.

While the demonstrations have largely been peaceful, there have been signs of violence in previous weeks. Some protesters have clashed with police, accusing them of using excessive force, while small gangs of Netanyahu supporters affiliated with a far-right group have assaulted demonstrators. But recent gatherings have taken place without incident.

The demonstrations, taking place several times a week at locations around the country, are organized by a loose-knit network of activist groups. Some object to Netanyahu remaining in office while he is on trial. He has been charged with fraud, breach of trust and accepting bribes in a series of scandals. Many carry black flags, the name of one of the grassroots movements.

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Union defence minister Rajnath Singh announced on Sunday that the defence ministry will embargo 101 items to give a boost to indigenous defence production in a bid to strengthen the Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative taken by the PM Narendra Modi.

Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi has given a clarion call for a self-reliant India based on the five pillars, i.e., Economy, Infrastructure, System, Demography & Demand and announced a special economic package for Self-Reliant India named Atamnirbhar Bharat.  Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) August 9, 2020

Singh said that over the 6-7 years the Indian defence industry will get contracts worth almost four lakh crore. The current contract of items that were taken by the tri-services between 2015 and 2020 from the embargo list cost Rs 3.5 lakh crore.

The union defence minister said that the decision to achieve self-reliance in the defence manufacturing sector and said the announcement was made early to allow time for the armed forces to acclimatise and also to provide time to domestic industries for preparation.

 Rajnath Singh said that the decision to embargo 101 items will give a big boost to Indias self-reliant initiatives in the defence sector. Singh said that this presents an opportunity for the nations defence industry to manufacture the items in the embargoed list by using their own design or by adopting the technologies developed by the DRDO.

 Rajnath Singh highlighted that the domestic defence industry can expect defence contracts worth Rs 4 lakh crores to be given to them within the next 6-7 years.

Almost 260 schemes of such items were contracted by the Tri-Services at an approximate cost of Rs 3.5 lakh crore between April 2015 and August 2020. It is estimated that contracts worth almost Rs 4 lakh crore will be placed upon the domestic industry within the next 6 to 7 years.  Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) August 9, 2020

 Union minister says that the list of embargoed items was made after holding discussions with several stakeholders which included public & private industry members along with the armed forces. The exercise was conducted to assess the current capability and ability to handle demand in the future.

The list is prepared by MoD after several rounds of consultations with all stakeholders, including the Armed Forces, public & private industry to assess current and future capabilities of the Indian industry for manufacturing various ammunition & equipment within India.  Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) August 9, 2020

 The list of embargoed items include artillery guns, LCH, sonar weapons system, high-tech weapons systems, corvettes, assault rifles, transport aircrafts and armoured fighting vehicles. Check out the full list here.

The list of 101 embargoed items comprises of not just simple parts but also some high tech weapon systems like artillery guns, assault rifles, corvettes, sonar systems, transport aircraft, LCHs, radars & many other items to fulfil needs of our Defence Services: Defence Minister https://t.co/adSforDvW5 pic.twitter.com/TUBcfthOO6  ANI (@ANI) August 9, 2020

 The office of the defence minister said that the measures will be implemented within 2020 to 2024. The announcement was made early to apprise the Indian defence industry of the need and requirements for Indias armed forces.

The embargo on imports is planned to be progressively implemented between 2020 to 2024. Our aim is to apprise the Indian defence industry about the anticipated requirements of the Armed Forces so that they are better prepared to realise the goal of indigenisation.  Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) August 9, 2020

 The defence ministry also said that the Indian Navy and Air Force will receive items worth almost Rs 1,30,000 crore from the list of items and the Navy shall receive items worth almost Rs 1,40,000 crore. The Army is also expected to import wheeled 200 Armoured Fighting Vehicle worth Rs 5,000 crore each whose embargo date is December 2021.

Of these, items worth almost Rs 1,30,000 crore each are anticipated for the Army and the Air Force while items worth almost Rs 1,40,000 crore are anticipated by the Navy over the same period. #AtmanirbharBharat  Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) August 9, 2020

The list also includes, wheeled Armoured Fighting Vehicles (AFVs) with indicative import embargo date of December 2021, of which the Army is expected to contract almost 200 at an approximate cost of over Rs 5,000 crore. #AtmanirbharBharat  Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) August 9, 2020

 The defence minister also said that the ministry will hand hold the defence industry and co-ordinate a mechanism to make sure that timelines are met for domestic production of the items which are on the embargoed list.

All necessary steps would be taken to ensure that timelines for production of equipment as per the Negative Import List are met, which will include a co-ordinated mechanism for hand holding of the industry by the Defence Services.  Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) August 9, 2020

 Singh said the identification of further items which could be added to the embargoed list shall continue.

More such equipment for import embargo would be identified progressively by the DMA in consultation with all stakeholders. A due note of this will also be made in the DAP to ensure that no item in the negative list is processed for import in the future.  Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) August 9, 2020

 MoD says a capital procurement budget has been announced for the initiative. The capital procurement process is bifurcated between domestic and foreign capital procurement routes. A separate budget head has been created for domestic capital procurement in the current financial year with an outlay of Rs 52,000 crore.

MoD has also bifurcated the capital procurement budget for 2020-21 between domestic and foreign capital procurement routes. A separate budget head has been created with an outlay of nearly Rs 52,000 crore for domestic capital procurement in the current financial year.  Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) August 9, 2020
A Tanzanian cattle farmer became an overnight millionaire in June after finding two giant gemstones. One month later, his company found another.

The fortunate fellow, 52-year-old Saniniu Laizer, runs a small-scale mining company, and he sold two of the countrys largest-ever tanzanite gemstones for $3.3 million.

This third one, discovered in July, weighed 14 pounds (approx. 6 kg) and sold for $2 million. Laizer says he plans to use the funds to help develop his local community.

Laizer with two of Tanzanias biggest tanzanite gemstones, weighing 20 pounds and 11 pounds (approx. 9 and 5 kg respectively), in Manyara on June 24, 2020 (FILBERT RWEYEMAMU/AFP via Getty Images)

The cattle farmer, who has 4 wives and 30 children, encouraged his fellow small-scale miners and mining bosses to work in collaboration with the government after banking the $5.3 million.

Selling to the government means there are no shortcuts  they are transparent, Laizer said at the handover ceremony held at one of the Merelani mines in northern Tanzanias Manyara region, as quoted by the BBC. The Aug. 3 event was attended by hundreds.

Laizer poses with his enlarged check copy from the government after selling his first two gemstones in Manyara on June 24, 2020. (FILBERT RWEYEMAMU/AFP via Getty Images)

After selling his companys first two mammoth discoveries, weighing 20 pounds (approx. 9 kg) and 11 pounds (approx. 5 kg), Laizer celebrated by throwing a party at his home in the Simanjiro district of Manyara.

After the third violet-blue gemstone was unearthed, Laizer said the government check would be combined with the earnings from the first two stones and put toward building a school and health center in his hometown.

Tanzanite from the Merelani Hills, Lelatema Mountains, in the Arusha Region of Tanzania, weighing 33.61 carats (over 6 grams) (Rob Lavinsky, iRocks.com/CC BY-SA 3.0)

I want to build this school near my home, Laizer explained to the BBC. There are many poor people around here who cant afford to take their children to school. I am not educated but I like things run in a professional way, so I would like my children to run the business professionally.

In addition, Laizer earmarked 10 percent of his original $3.3 million check to be distributed among his workers.

In July, Laizer appeared on Tanzanian television with his oversized government check after the Bank of Tanzania officially purchased the first two gemstones. President John Magufuli phoned in to congratulate Laizer on his companys impressive find, telling minerals minister Doto Biteko that the valuable gemstones gave confirmation that Tanzania is rich, reports Reuters.

The northern Tanzanian mines have been protected by a wall since April 2018, built to deter illegal mining and cross-border smuggling of the coveted and increasingly rare gemstone. Magufuli claimed that 40 percent of the tanzanite produced by the mines was being lost before the wall went up.

African miners at work, searching for tanzanite beneath Mount Kilimanjaro (Africraigs/CC BY-SA 4.0)

Laizers artisanal mining company is funded by profits from farming his cattle farm, The Guardian reported. The miners dig by hand, and Laizer was not present when the three record-breaking gemstones were excavated.

Tanzanias Manyara region is the worlds only known source of tanzanite, a violet-blue gemstone that is rarer than diamond, according to the Gemological Institute of America. Tiffany & Co named the stone in honor of the country, where it was first discovered in 1967.

Tanzanite gained almost overnight popularity with jewelry designers, gem professionals, and discerning customers after coming onto the market. The dark gemstone has since been appropriated as a birthstone for people born in December and as the designated traditional gift for 24th wedding anniversaries.

We would love to hear your stories! You can share them with us at emg.inspired@epochtimes.nyc
Severe weather warning for Sydney as rising floodwaters trigger South Coast evacuations

by Josh Dye

August 09,2020 | Source: SMH

A severe weather warning has been issued for large parts of coastal NSW  including metropolitan Sydney  as heavy rain and wild winds lash the state, forcing some South Coast communities to evacuate.



On Sunday night the Bureau of Meteorology warned of damaging winds gusting up to 90km/h along coastal areas between the Hunter and the Illawarra overnight stretching into Monday.



Heavy rain will continue north towards the Mid North Coast on Monday.



Damaging surf conditions are also expected with large waves exceeding five metres to batter the coastline, with a warning the swell could lead to significant beach erosion along parts of the Sydney metropolitan, Illawarra, Central Coast and South Coast regions.



The wintry blast also brought snow to the Blue Mountains with Blackheath scoring a light dusting.



On Sunday night the State Emergency Service (SES) ordered some residents in Terara, East Nowra, Worrigee and North Nowra to evacuate as the Shoalhaven River rises.



"Properties in these areas are likely to become inundated by flood water. If you remain in the area after 10pm, you may be trapped and it may be too dangerous for SES to rescue you," the SES website said.



Shoalhaven Zoo is among the properties at risk of flooding.



Late on Sunday afternoon, residents in Moruya and Sussex Inlet on the South Coast were also ordered to evacuate by the SES after rising floodwaters threatened the towns following a deluge of rain.



Floodwaters are rising along the Moruya River which is expected to reach moderate flood levels and peak at 9pm on Sunday, the bureau said.



Residents in low-lying areas of the town  located between Batemans Bay and Narooma  were directed to move to higher ground by 5pm because they were at risk of becoming stranded.



"Further heavy rain is forecast which may result in increased water heights and flooding above floor levels," the SES said.



Bureau weather stations inland from Moruya recorded up to 181 millimetres of rain in the 24-hour period to 9am on Sunday.



A major flood warning is in place for the Deua River at Wamban. That river, which flows into the Moruya River, is at eight metres and rising.



Moruya was forecast to receive another 140 millimetres of rain on Sunday.



A man died at Point Hut in the ACT on Sunday afternoon after he became trapped under a bridge while kayaking.



He was with a group paddling the Murrumbidgee River south of Canberra.



Meanwhile, Sydney is expected to be windy and wet again on Monday after a soggy weekend.



On Monday the bureau expects up to 10 millimetres and southerly winds up to 45km/h. The forecast top is a chilly 15 degrees.



The rain will clear during the week with Thursday tipped to reach a sunny 22 degrees, before another wet weekend with up to 25 millimetres of rain on Saturday and up to 15 millimetres on Sunday.

Theme(s): Communities and Organisations.
Lincoln County commissioners will receive a first draft of the countys 2020-21 budget during their regular meeting Monday.

The meeting will begin at 9 a.m. in the commissioners room in the North Platte courthouse, 301 S. Jeffers St.

Accountant Susan Maline, who prepares the countys budget documents, will review the preliminary draft for County Board members.

Commissioners expect to hold their annual budget hearing Sept. 14, followed by a vote on whether to adopt it.

The countys new fiscal year started July 1, the same as the state of Nebraska. School district fiscal years start Sept. 1, and city and village budget years start Oct. 1.

In other business, commissioners will:

 Consider an annual resolution directing that tax sale certificates be issued for parcels that are two years delinquent on property tax or special assessment payments.

The County Board also will receive the annual delinquent tax report from County Treasurer Shelli Franzen.


Archie C. Gbessay, coordinator of the Active Case Finders and Awareness Team in West Point, a large slum in Monrovia, Liberia, discusses efforts to combat Ebola with his team in a school classroom in September. (Michel du Cille/The Washington Post)

The news out of West Africa in recent days  good and bad  has demonstrated a fundamental challenge in the fight against Ebola: The virus is more nimble than the human response to it. The landscape of infection and disease has changed dramatically in recent weeks, even as institutions have largely stuck to blueprints drafted months ago.

The looming question now is whether governments and other organizations can find a way to become as agile as the virus, which has vanished suddenly in some hard-hit places while erupting just as quickly in new locations.

The first Ebola treatment unit built in Liberia by the U.S. military is expected to open in the coming days, about two months after President Obama announced that he would send troops to supplement the civilian effort against the disease. But even before that first ETU has become operational, Liberia has seen a sharp drop in new infections and has empty beds in Ebola wards. The new ETUs, temporary structures that cant easily be used for anything else, may not treat many patients.

Up the coast of West Africa, Sierra Leone has made far less progress in the fight against Ebola. The country had three times as many new infections as Liberia in the most recent three-week monitoring period, according to the World Health Organization. The United States has sent troops to Liberia but not to Sierra Leone.

Thousands more U.S. troops are to join the American mission to fight Ebola in Liberia. (Reuters)

Guinea, the third West African country hit hard by the virus, is another landscape entirely. It is bigger than Liberia and Sierra Leone combined. There was a drop in cases in the capital, Conakry, over the summer, but the virus recently surfaced again in some neighborhoods. In addition, hot spots continue to pop up in remote places, and health workers still encounter community resistance.

As the epidemic enters this new phase, officials say the strategy must be more aggressive: looking for Ebola brush fires and recognizing that sparks are igniting all over, as Thomas Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said in an interview last week.

The contagion has to be tracked to the last patient and obliterated lest it flare anew.

We need the large U.N. aid agencies and bureaucracies to also work with a nimbleness, and adapt on the spot and on the fly and reroute resources, Samantha Power, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, who recently toured the affected region, said in an interview Friday. Nothing you achieve in Liberia is sustainable unless you contain and end the virus in Guinea and Sierra Leone.

More needs to be done to eradicate the deadly Ebola virus in West Africa, according to Samantha Power, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, who visited Ghana during a trip to West African countries hit by the disease. (Reuters)

In a speech in Brussels after her trip to West Africa, Power pointed out the inertial forces that often hamper big bureaucracies in situations like this: We tend to plot out static, long-term plans to respond to the outbreak and then stick to them, rather than developing fluid structures that can move with the virus.

Changing with the outbreak

Officials involved in the response want to push ahead with the existing plan to build many ETUs in Liberia, for one obvious reason: Ebola has been known to subside for a while and then come roaring back, as it did in the spring. Its a better-safe-than-sorry approach.

We dont want to take the foot off the gas pedal until were absolutely sure, said Jeremy Konyndyk, a top official with the U.S. Agency for International Development who joined Power on her tour.

At the same time, U.S. officials are looking for ways to adapt that plan, for example by opening units in new locations and with only a small number of beds. This approach would mimic the brush-fire pattern of the epidemic at the moment.



A Lofa County health department burial team rolls down a dirt road with the body of Gulu Mulbah, 45, in Voinjama, Liberia, on Friday. The team members took Mulbahs body to his home, where, wearing protective suits, gloves and goggles, they buried him in his back yard. (Michel du Cille/The Washington Post)

As were dealing with this devious, adaptive virus as it is moving out in the real world, we have come to realize that 17 100-bed units are less needed, Power said in the interview. Instead, what is needed is a large number of 10-bed treatment units geographically dispersed to where the epidemic is now and where contact tracing suggests the virus might move.

U.S. officials also recognize that Guinea has not received enough support, so the United States is funding three ETUs there through the U.N. World Food Program, she said.

Many major challenges remain, not least of which is staffing the health facilities. International aid groups continue to struggle to find the thousands of health-care workers needed for the effort. They are hard to come by, given the grueling work conditions, the unusually terrifying nature of Ebola and concerns that volunteers will be quarantined upon returning home. Adding to that is concern that the facilities wont be in the places theyre needed most, said Sophie Delaunay, executive director of the U.S. arm of Doctors Without Borders.

At the moment, our main concern is less about staffing those facilities and more about the necessity to adapt the response based on the development of the outbreak, she said.

The United States has historic ties with Liberia, which was founded by African Americans in the first half of the 19th century. Reflecting colonial-era connections, Britain is focused on Sierra Leone, and France is concentrating on Guinea.

The crisis is accelerating, said Sia Dean, a nurse who runs a company in Sierra Leone with her husband, Charles Dean II, and who spoke via Skype at an Ebola conference in Washington last week.

She said that five doctors and dozens of nurses have died in Sierra Leone and that there are not enough ambulances to pick up the dead in Freetown, the capital. The British are taking too long to build the ETUs, she said, adding, Time is against us.



Liberian health workers load the bodies of six Ebola victims into the back of a pickup truck outside Redemption Hospital in Monrovia, the capital. (Michel du Cille/The Washington Post)

The situation in Guinea also remains tenuous. The forested areas where the outbreak began late last year are still a challenge. They often are difficult to reach. And skepticism runs high, meaning health workers often must forge relationships with local leaders before they can earn the trust of residents.

The first people who show up cant be wearing spacesuits, said Michael Kinzer, the CDCs team leader in the country.

Mounting a major response

The Pentagons plan, announced in September, was largely crafted by the Armys Africa Command, based in Germany.

The ETU building process has taken longer than expected, in part because the rainy season and a lack of heavy-duty construction equipment and other infrastructure have slowed things down. The Army also has been hampered by the lack of a place to house soldiers. Some set up camp in hotel rooms pending the construction of living quarters at a Liberian military facility.

The Army in recent days finished its first field hospital, designed solely for health-care workers who become sick treating Ebola patients. That achievement reflects the step-by-step requirements of mounting a major response to an epidemic: Volunteers have to know that theyll be cared for if they contract the disease. The United States and Britain also have focused on creating medical-evacuation options for sick workers.

Obama on Wednesday asked Congress for $6 billion to supplement about $1 billion already committed by the United States to fight Ebola in West Africa and domestically. The United States has had only one Ebola case in recent days, and New Yorks Bellevue Hospital announced Monday that the patient, Craig Spencer, is free of the virus and will be released Tuesday.

The presidents request will be the subject of hearings this week on Capitol Hill, starting Wednesday afternoon, when top administration officials will testify before the Senate Appropriations Committee.

1 of 66 Full Screen Autoplay Close Nov. 7, 2014 Friday Nov. 5, 2014 Wednesday Nov. 4, 2014 Tuesday Oct. 29, 2014 Wednesday Oct. 28, 2014 Tuesday Oct. 18, 2014 Saturday Oct. 16, 2014 Thursday Oct. 15, 2014 Wednesday Oct. 13, 2014 Monday Oct. 8, 2014 Wednesday Skip Ad  Ebola epidemic View Photos The Ebola virus is killing 70 percent of those infected, and there could be as many as 10,000 new cases a week in West Africa by Dec. 1, a top official with the World Health Organization said in October. Caption The virus is killing 70 percent of those infected, and there could be 10,000 new cases a week in West Africa by Dec. 1. Nov. 8, 2014 Health care workers carry the body of a middle-aged man who may have died of Ebola in Monrovia, Liberia. Abbas Dulleh/AP Buy Photo Wait 1 second to continue.

The funding would be used to send more U.S. civilian teams and supplies to fight the outbreak in Guinea and Sierra Leone. A chunk of money also would go toward upgrading more than 50 hospitals in the United States to ensure that they have good infection-control measures if Ebola is brought to this country again. Many of those hospitals are located near the five U.S. airports where passengers from West Africa are required to arrive.

The CDC also will stockpile $2.7 million in personal protective equipment that it can deliver to U.S. hospitals caring for Ebola patients. That includes nearly 6,000 disposable gowns, more than 6,000 respirators and 55,000 pairs of gloves  enough gear for 250 days of treatment.





Outreach sees success

What has worked well in West Africa, officials say, has been communication  broadcasting the message over and over that Ebola is not a hoax or a scam, and that its spread can be contained through adjustments in behavior, particularly in funeral practices that included repeated washing of the body.

In Guinea, an Israeli cellphone company agreed to give free airtime to imams on Fridays so they could send text messages to congregants telling them about Ebola prevention.

A new public-awareness campaign in Sierra Leone will feature one big idea per week, starting this week with Safe Burials Save Lives. Targeting local media outlets and opinion leaders, the campaign is full of common-sense advice, such as not touching the bodily fluids of sick people and assuming that anyone who is sick could have Ebola.

Freetown has a new Ebola response call center, and residents are asked to call 117 when someone is suspected of having Ebola or when an infected person dies. On the wall of the call center is a map of Freetown. Red pins mark the spots where bodies have been reported. When teams bury a body, blue pins replace the red ones. When Power visited Oct. 28, the map showed one red pin surrounded by a sea of blue.



This is the largest outbreak of the Ebola virus in history.

A key effort is the enlistment of grass-roots womens groups. In Grand Bassa County, Liberia, the Bassa County Womens Development Association has been training women and religious leaders since August to spread the message.

We have been working here with them for a very long time, and they know what we tell them, said Martha Karnga, the groups executive director. The message is working, she said. They understand because we see them practice hand-washing in the buckets.

Power has called the Ebola epidemic the greatest public health crisis of our time, and in Fridays interview she said there is no time for traditional funding proposals or elaborately crafted plans.

Were building the airplane as we fly it, Power said. Were deciding how to allocate the spare parts depending on the signals on the control panel.
(Bloomberg Opinion) -- For the second time in three years, Saudi Arabia is slashing the volume of crude its sending to America in an attempt to force down stockpiles in the worlds most visible oil market and thereby hasten the rebalancing of supply and demand.

Weekly U.S. oil inventory data  usually published on a Wednesday and covering the period up to the previous Friday  is routinely pored over by oil analysts and traders alike. Despite their shortcomings, the figures give the most up-to-date picture of changes in the oil balance and influence trading decisions and crude prices around the world.

Shifts in the flow of crude into and out of American ports can have a big impact on the level of U.S. inventories. Riyadh has clearly decided its time to do its bit to bring them down from heights reached in May and June, when the coronavirus pandemic and the kingdoms own output hike combined to drive the fastest ever surge in U.S. commercial crude stockpiles. In the five weeks between March 20 and April 24, the inventories increased at a rate of 2.1 million barrels a day and by the first week of June it was hitting new highs.

Excess stockpiles act as a drag on oil prices and the most visible stockpiles are in the U.S. because the Department of Energys Energy Information Administration reports levels weekly. Thats in stark contrast to other places around the world where the data are much less timely, if they are published at all. China, for example, stopped divulging official data on inventory levels in 2017.

Its no wonder then that Saudi Arabia should focus on the U.S. This is precisely the same policy that it adopted three years ago, shortly after the wider OPEC+ alliance was formed and its first output deal was running into trouble.

At the time, members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and 10 non-OPEC allies, including Russia and Mexico, agreed to cut their production by 1.66 million barrels a day from the start of 2017 to bring down swollen global oil inventories built up as a result of the first U.S. shale boom. Poor implementation of the cuts and rising U.S. oil production meant inventories kept on growing, despite OPEC making its first output reduction in eight years.

Story continues

Fast forward to today and the reduction in the flow of Saudi oil to the U.S. is dramatic. In May and June tankers full of Saudi crude were arriving off the Gulf and West coasts of the U.S. almost daily, sometimes more than one a day. But in July and August that has dwindled to little more than one a week, as the chart below shows.

That surge in ships, which I wrote about here, briefly drove U.S. imports of Saudi crude close to a six-year high, adding to the upward push on stockpiles. But it was short-lived and imports in the last week of July were just 190,000 barrels a day, their second-lowest level in weekly data that extends back a decade.

The figure could fall even further in the coming weeks. There are only 6 tankers carrying 9 million barrels of Saudi crude currently showing a U.S. port as their destination, according to tanker-tracking data monitored by Bloomberg. With a journey time of about six weeks from the Persian Gulf to any of the major U.S. oil ports, thats all the Saudi crude thats likely to arrive by mid-September.

And things arent likely to improve much after that. In setting its official crude prices for September, Saudi Arabia has made significant cuts to prices for European customers, where its competing with Russia, and smaller ones for buyers in Asia. But the kingdom has kept prices for the U.S. unchanged from last month.

By doing so, Saudi Arabia is ensuring that its crude remains uncompetitive against domestic heavy sour grades from the Gulf of Mexico, or imports from Canada, in a market where the hoped-for recovery in demand has stalled.

The leaders of Saudi Arabia and the U.S. both want to see oil prices rising from current levels  the kingdoms budget still depends on oil revenues and the U.S. shale industry desperately needs higher prices to recover. President Donald Trump might be quite happy to see crude imports from Saudi Arabia curtailed  after all, it would feed in nicely to his rhetoric on U.S. energy dominance.

By once again focusing its output cuts on the U.S. market, Riyadh is hoping to repeat the success of the second half of 2017, when oil prices rose by 51% from a low of $44.82 in mid-June to $67.87 by the end of the year.

Unless the Covid-19 pandemic eases its grip on oil demand, Saudi Arabia may find 2020 more of a challenge.

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.

Julian Lee is an oil strategist for Bloomberg. Previously he worked as a senior analyst at the Centre for Global Energy Studies.

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

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Daril Cinquanta, a retired Denver police officer, never forgot the man who shot him while he was on duty in 1971. So when the man, Luis Archuleta, escaped from prison in 1974, Cinquanta made it his mission to track him down.

He spent years calling contacts hoping to develop leads on Archuletas whereabouts. In the 1980s, information led him to believe that Archuleta was in San Jose, California, but it was a dead end. Archuletas escape was even highlighted on the television show Americas Most Wanted.

Cinquantas persistence paid off after nearly 50 years when he got an anonymous call June 24 suggesting that he look up a name: Ramon Montoya.

The caller believed that the fugitive who shot Cinquanta was going by that name, and provided an address in Espanola, New Mexico, about 25 miles north of Santa Fe.

A search revealed that Montoya had been charged in 2011 with drunken driving. When Cinquanta searched the arrest, the person in the mug shot looking back at him was a considerably older Archuleta.

Acting on information Cinquanta shared with the Espanola Police Department and the FBI, authorities on Aug. 5 arrested Archuleta, 77, who was also known as Larry Pusateri.

Archuleta had been living under the alias Ramon Montoya for almost 40 years, the FBI said. He lived in a modest Espanola home that he shared with a woman, authorities said.

The Santa Fe New Mexican reported that many of the people in Archuletas neighborhood knew little about a Ramon Montoya.

I told people it was like a hobby, Cinquanta, 72, said of his efforts to find his assailant. I mean it kind of was. He shot me, he was dangerous and he was out there.

When Cinquanta and Archuletas paths first crossed on Oct. 2, 1971, Cinquanta  then a rookie officer  spotted Archuleta in a car with two women.

To him, Archuleta looked like a bad guy, he recalled.

Indeed, five months earlier, Archuleta had been serving a sentence for burglary and drug possession convictions but had escaped from a California Department of Corrections prison after putting dummies in the form of blankets and pillows in his bed, according to an FBI affidavit.

Cinquanta confronted Archuleta, requested his identification and asked him to get out of the vehicle.

The two walked to the back of Archuletas car, where Archuleta pulled a gun from his waistband. The officer tried to reach for it, and as the two men struggled, Archuleta shot Cinquanta in the stomach.

Archuleta fled.

Back in those days, we didnt have bulletproof vests, nor did we have radios that came out of the car, Cinquanta said. So I had to crawl to the car to call for help.

An FBI affidavit tells a sweeping story of Archuletas return to Colorado, and later, his second escape from confinement.

Authorities found Archuleta months later, after he was arrested in Mexico on drug-trafficking charges. As he was being booked, officials learned of his warrants in the United States. In 1973, he was convicted of assault with a deadly weapon of a police officer and sentenced to up to 14 years in prison.

Nearly 17 months later, Archuleta escaped from a state hospital in Pueblo, Colorado, with another inmate, Sidney Riley.

Archuleta and Riley, along with three other inmates, were transported to the hospital for medical appointments. Riley asked to go to the restroom multiple times when they arrived, the FBI affidavit said.

Archuleta was given permission to go to the restroom but never returned. A correctional officer who went to check on him was met by Archuleta, who pointed a gun at the officer. Riley threatened another officer with a gun, and the two inmates fled in a brown sedan.

This escape was like something out of a Hollywood movie, Cinquanta said.

Cinquanta said local and state authorities exhausted their resources in searching for Archuleta and eventually sought federal help. (Riley was apprehended four days after the escape.)

After Cinquantas tip in June, FBI agents interviewed a woman, who identified herself as Archuletas ex-wife, and Archuletas son. Both knew Archuleta as Ramon Montoya, according to the FBI affidavit.

Authorities showed them a picture of Archuleta on an FBI wanted poster from 1978, and the two confirmed it was the man they knew as Ramon Montoya.

His son, Mario Montoya, said his father told him that he was wanted and that his real last name was Pusateri, the affidavit said.

Archuleta appeared in federal court, and arrangements were being made for him to be taken into state custody in Colorado.

Cinquanta was a well-known Denver officer who chronicled his life in law enforcement in a book, The Blue Chameleon: The Life Story of a Supercop, but his career was not without controversy.

In 1989, Cinquanta and another officer were placed on unpaid leave after being charged with 17 counts for allegedly setting up crimes to entrap suspects, The Denver Post reported.

Cinquanta, who pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree misconduct, said the charges were garbage, and called the accusations untrue.

Those felonies never stuck, he said Sunday. It was ridiculous. It really was.

A short time later, Cinquanta retired and started his own private investigation firm, while also spending years hoping he would catch the man who shot him.

It was like unfinished business, he said. Cops and robbers. I felt it was worthy to try to get him, and I did.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.




CHINESE mining giant Anjin Diamonds return to full-scale operations in Chiadzwa is set to boost the countrys coffers as the company used to contribute up to US$200 million to the economy before stopping mining in 2016.





Speaking at a ceremony to launch Anjin Diamond Mining Companys official resumption of operations in Chiadzwa yesterday, President Mnangagwa said his Government was determined to restore productivity of diamonds for the development of the economy.





Through unity of purpose and hard, honest work, said the President, attainment of a US$12 billion mining industry economy and the countrys vision 2030, was possible. Further, he said, his Government would do all in its power to change the quality of life of our people in all parts of the country. President Mnangagwa also implored Anjin and other mining companies operating in Chiadzwa to prioritise employment of locals, especially women and youths.





I urge Anjin and other companies here to ensure that women and youths are the largest beneficiaries of employment opportunities being created. I urge mining firms to undertake relevant responsive corporate social responsibility programmes for the benefit of local communities. I am informed that there is a place in India where there is no diamond mine, but they have a US$5 billion diamond industry.





Im told Zimbabwe contributes a lot of diamonds there. I dont know how those diamonds get there.





We need that value addition done here in Zimbabwe, not elsewhere so that we extract maximum value of the minerals which we have. With unity of purpose, hard, honest work and greater determination, the realisation of the US$12 billion mining economy and the attainment of our national vision 2030 will soon become a reality.





In 2016, Anjin was among several companies that were affected by Governments decision to let the Zimbabwe Consolidated Diamond Company (ZCDC) become the sole diamond mining company allowed to operate in Chiadzwa. After being given the nod to resume operations early this year, Anjin has so far invested about US$38 million to resuscitate operations and about 500 people will be employed.





Our decision in 2016 affected the production of diamonds for the last four years. We are now determined to restore the productivity of diamonds for the development of our economy. I made a decision to personally travel around the country to inspect various development programmes and investments which are underway within all our provinces. As a servant leader, I am leading a Government which is people-orientated. We will do all that is possible to change the quality of life of our people in all parts of the country.





President Mnangagwa also revealed that exploitation of various diamond deposits outside Manicaland is set to begin. He said authorities were now aware of various deposits of diamonds outside Manicaland and soon some of these places will be exploited.





It is our desire that both local and foreign investors should come and take up investment opportunities in the diamond industry. We must look beyond the horizon and develop robust strategies to come up with a thriving mining sector to grow our economy. You will recall that at the advent of the Second Republic, my Government made a deliberate pronouncement to allow foreign owned companies, Anjin and Alrosa, to participate in the diamond mining sector. This strategic decision was informed by the long standing relationship between Zimbabwe and China as well as Russia, who stood by us during our bitter armed struggle to liberate this country, said President Mnangagwa.





He said Zimbabwe would soon be an exporter of electricity.





Those of you who do not have short memories will remember that three or four weeks ago I was in Hwange where I visited nine companies of which seven of them are Chinese, while two are locals. By 2023 these companies should be generating in excess of 6 900MW of power. That will make Zimbabwe energy sufficient and be able to export part of that energy.





It was a shame that in the immediate past we had begun to import coal from Botswana when we have abundant coal in this country. That will not happen again under the current administration. We are determined not only to produce adequate coal for ourselves, but enough to export and that is on course, said President Mnangagwa.





The commissioning ceremony was attended by Vice-President Dr Constantino Chiwenga, Mines and Mining Development Minister Winston Chitando, Defence and War Veterans Affairs Minister Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri, Finance and Economic Development Minister Mthuli Ncube and Minister of State for Manicaland Provincial Affairs and Devolution Ellen Gwaradzimba.





Yesterdays visit to Manicaland was the Presidents last stop in a whirlwind economic projects tour, which began in Victoria Falls on Thursday where he officially launched the National Tourism Recovery and Growth Strategy.





The President led the restart of the sector, whose contribution to the national economy has been heavily crippled by the outbreak of Covid-19.





The National Tourism Recovery and Growth Strategy seeks to provide increased funding to affected tourism businesses, including small to medium players within the tourism value chain through a Tourism Revolving Fund.





He also officially re-opened the Victoria Falls Rainforest, signalling the countrys readiness to welcome visitors to the prime resort destination. Earlier on President Mnangagwa had toured tourism facilities in the resort town before commissioning the 19-suite luxurious Mbano Manor Hotel, which was built using local funding. He also visited the massive 146-room Palm Lodge facility, which is still under construction and is estimated to cost close to US$24 million.





On Friday, the President commissioned a 32,2km stretch of the Harare-Masvingo-Beitbridge Highway under Phase One of the rehabilitation, upgrading and widening project. The work is being done by local contractors.




Prague: At least 11 people have been killed in a fire in an apartment building in north-eastern Czech Republic, police said on Saturday.

They said the fire hit the 11th floor of the 13-story building in the afternoon in the town of Bohumin. Firefighters said several people were trying to escape from the building by jumping from its windows.

Firefighters battle a fire in an apartment building in Bohumin, north-eastern Czech Republic, in which at least 11 people have been killed. Credit:AP

Interior Minister Jan Hamacek said one firefighter suffered a serious injury.

Police say authorities are investigating the cause of the fire.
HOLYOKE  Members of three downtown Roman Catholic churches are beginning the planning process to merge together as one parish.

Discussions began months ago among clergy and parish members of Our Lady of Guadalupe, St. Jeromes and Immaculate Conception churches. Leaders of the three churches met with Springfield Roman Catholic Diocese Bishop Mitchell T. Rozanski on July 29 to talk about their proposal, said Mark E. Dupont, spokesman for the diocese.

Rozanski, who will leave Springfield to become the archbishop of St. Louis, Missouri on Aug. 25, has given his blessing to the clergy and lay members of the three churches to continue the discussions to merge into one parish.

I am so happy to see these parishes take the initiative to develop a plan for their future, one which I am sure will lead to the creation of a new and dynamic faith community in Holyoke, Rozanski said in a written statement.

The Pastoral Planning Committee for the Diocese, which has closed more than 70 parishes across the four Western Massachusetts counties since 2000, looked at joining the churches a decade ago but did not pursue the process. This effort is different because it has been sparked by members of the churches instead of diocesan leaders, Dupont said.

Members began meeting together nearly a year ago to explore the idea of joining together. After a general consensus to merge was formed, the pastors then approached diocesan officials to talk about the possibility of combining the three parishes, Dupont said.

The COVID-19 pandemic slowed down talks and even if the three parishes quickly develop details to merge, they will not be able to formally do so until a new Springfield bishop is named for Springfield. After Rozanski leaves, an interim director will oversee the diocese until a permanent bishop is selected, Dupont said.

But Rozanski said the parishes are welcome to work toward their goal by collaborating and sharing space before any agreement is formalized, the statement said.

Most parishes across the region were forced to close and merged together for financial reasons and a lack of priests by diocesan officials. Few parishes have spearheaded their own discussions about joining together, Dupont said.

Financially it is a very difficult time, especially now because of the coronavirus, he said. For months the diocese suspended in-person church services to avoid spreading the disease.

Currently Our Lady of Guadalupe and Immaculate Conception, are yoked, or share the same pastor, Rev. Yerick Mendez. St. Jerome Parish, on Hampden Street, operates separately with Rev. Mark Stelzer as the pastor, he said.

With Archbishop Rozanskis blessing and encouragement we will continue to explore this wonderful opportunity to create a new dynamic and multi-cultural Catholic community where all are welcomed. There clearly are many details to be discussed and acted upon, but the consensus was that we should move ahead, the two pastors said in a joint statement released on Sunday.

All three churches are nearby. Our Lady of Guadalupe, on 427 Maple St., is about seven blocks from St. Jerome Church, on 181 Hampden Street in the citys downtown section. Immaculate Conception, on 54 N. Summer St., is about a mile from the two downtown churches.

I think the biggest challenge is ensuring everyone is equally welcome in the parish community, Dupont said.

The planning committee will continue to be led by members of the three parishes, but Rozanski has pledged the diocesan Pastoral Planning Committee under the leadership of Msgr. John Bonzagni will provide any technical assistance requested, Dupont said.

With Archbishop Rozanskis blessing and encouragement we will continue to explore this wonderful opportunity to create a new dynamic and multi-cultural Catholic community where all are welcomed. There clearly are many details to be discussed and acted upon, but the consensus was that we should move ahead, the two pastors said in a joint statement released on Sunday.

The church members will have a variety of spiritual and technical decisions to make. One of the most difficult is to decide which building to use for worship and what to do with the other property owned by the different parishes, which includes three rectories and the former Immaculate Conception School. Homework House, a tutoring program for Holyoke public school students started by the Sisters of St. Joseph, also operates out of Our Lady of Guadalupe and Immaculate Conception churches, he said.

Typically when parishes are merged the Diocese decides what church building will be used. Often members of the new parish adopt a new name, but there are cases where one of the original names is continued, Dupont said.

Our Lady of Guadalupe Church was the product of a church merger around 1999 after Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church was destroyed by a massive fire. It was joined with the former Sacred Heart Church.

The last church merger in Holyoke was nothing short of a disaster. When the Diocese declared Mater Dolorosa and Holy Cross would become one church, later named Our Lady of the Cross by the new parish, members of the ethnically-Polish Mater Dolorosa Church occupied the church around-the-clock for a year in protest of the closing.

Even after they gave up the vigil, members took extraordinary efforts to keep their church from being torn down and found experts to dispute Diocesan officials rulings that the steeple was structurally unsafe. The church was razed in 2018.

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A replica of the original Mayflower ship that brought the Pilgrims to America 400 year ago this year is returning home following extensive renovations.

The Mayflower II is slated to complete the final leg of its journey on Monday when it docks at Pilgrim Memorial State Park in Plymouth, Massachusetts.

The 64-year-old historic reproduction is also expected to travel from New Bedford to the Massachusetts Maritime Academy in Bourne this weekend.

The ship began the slow return home last month after spending the last three years in Mystic, Connecticut, getting $11.2 million worth of renovations.

The ship under restoration. (Instagram/@officialmayflower)

It stopped in New London, Connecticut, but had to scrub a planned visit to Newport, Rhode Island this week because of new travel restrictions required of people who visit the state.

The ship also made an unscheduled stop at New Bedfords State Pier to shelter during Tropical Storm Isaias. A cruise into Boston Harbor alongside the USS Constitution was previously cancelled because of the pandemic.

The original plan had called for a celebratory departure in late April with several stops at southern New England ports before a May arrival.

The Mayflower II has been a major tourist attraction and educational tool since it arrived in Plymouth as a gift from England in 1957.

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Kim Harrisberg

JOHANNESBURG (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - As a young girl growing up in northern Zimbabwes mining community of Mashonaland, Beatrice Savadye watched as her friends were forced into child marriages and early motherhood while many became sick with HIV.

Wanting a different life for herself and other girls, Savadye started the Zimbabwean womens movement Roots Africa seven years ago fighting for, among many things, legislation change to better protect womens rights in her region.

Under the lockdown, Savadye is one of a band of female activists in Africa pushing for stronger laws to protect women trapped indoors with abusers from a surge in violence, and also a spike in HIV infections.

I dont like seeing injustice. We work to build resilience among young girls, to say that even if you are poor, you can have a better life, said Savadye, 33, while driving through Bindura, a town in Mashonaland.

The United Nations in June warned of a surge in domestic violence under coronavirus lockdowns, with calls to helplines doubling or tripling in some countries, as restrictions on movement made it impossible for many women to flee abusers.

The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS)highlighted the risk of domestic violence and HIV infection for women and girls in sub-Saharan Africa, who already accounted for 59% of new HIV infections in the region in 2019.

While providing training, rescuing women from abusive homes in her own car, sheltering 30 women and their children and assisting them with antiretroviral (ARV) drugs to prevent full-blown AIDS, Savadye is also pushing for legal changes.

It is painful to become an adult at a young age. Young girls need role models to look up to, safe spaces to run to, and laws to protect them, said Savadye.

JUSTICE

In 2016 Roots Africa helped push for a constitutional court judgment that led to a ban of child marriage in Zimbabwe.

Savadye meets regularly with traditional leaders to make sure this legal protection translates into reality, particularly during the pandemic.

We have seen an increase in child marriages during the lockdown as economic meltdown is one of the key drivers of child marriage and exploitation, Savadye told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

She is now pushing for a review of the Zimbabwean Termination of Pregnancy Act to fully legalise abortion.

Currently it is only legal if the mother or childs health is at risk or the mother can prove she was raped, said Savadye.

We are fighting against backstreet abortions, she said, adding that she also has to help women access ARV medication secretly so that controlling partners in denial of their status wont banish them from taking the pills. Across the border from Zimbabwe, Roots Africas efforts are echoed by the South African womens rights charity Ilitha Labantu, that means bringing a sunbeam of hope to the people in a local isiXhosa language.

Violence against women has been a pandemic for a long time, said the charitys director, Ella Mangisa, 37.

We fight against the normalisation of gender-based violence, she said from her office in Gugulethu, a township in South Africas Western Cape province.

Founded in 1989, Ilitha Labantu shelters abused women, provides them with skills and uses educational workshops to teach school and university students about consent, sexual violence and communication.

During the lockdown, the organisation saw a spike in women fleeing abusive partners.

The Domestic Violence Act says a women should be offered a place of safety if she is abused. But why must she run around like a headless chicken looking for this safety? Mangisa asked.

The perpetrator should be removed from the house, not the other way around, she said, adding her organisation submitted a suggested amendment for the act to government during lockdown.

Laws and how they are enacted will better help women access justice, Mangisa said.

DREAM

Further east in southern Africa, 25-year-old Malawian activist Grace Ngulube has used her own experience of being born with HIV to educate and help women at risk of getting the virus.

I faced many challenges such as stigma and denial. Little by little I became more confident to help others, said Ngulube from her home in the city of Blantyre.

Ngulubes organisation, the National Association of Young People Living with HIV, organised support groups before the pandemic hit for youth living with HIV, educating them on their health rights and assisting them with accessing medication.

But when schools closed and movement was restricted, Ngulube heard reports of a rise in sexual violence against women and girls as well as teenage pregnancies.

Using Whatsapp to stay in touch with as many girls as she could, Ngulube also began meeting community leaders to ensure child marriages did not occur, even though they are illegal.

There are laws, but we are pushing for them to be enforced, she said, adding that young girls with HIV were stigmatised for having low immune systems and labelled as potential corona carriers.

This is why we need civic education, Ngulube said.

But Savadye in Zimbabwe said she was concerned education campaigns ran the risk of being drowned out by COVID-19.

With all efforts focused on fighting the coronavirus, we cannot forget about HIV, malaria, child marriages and gender-based violence, said Savadye, who often takes her 3-year-old son to her awareness workshops.

"I want him to be an ally to women one day, in a society where men and women can thrive with dignity. Whatever work we do now contributes to that dream." (Reporting by Kim Harrisberg @KimHarrisberg, Editing by Belinda Goldsmith)
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Linkedin Andrew Marszal (Agence France-Presse) Los Angeles, United States  Sun, August 9, 2020 14:04 528 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a4066c93d12 2 Lifestyle los-angeles,party,nightlife,coronavirus,COVID-19,Hollywood Free

With Los Angeles nightclubs closed, party promoters have turned to mansions in the Hollywood Hills to throw lavish, raucous and sometimes deadly gatherings that have enraged neighbors and local officials.

Starting this weekend, Mayor Eric Garcetti has granted emergency powers to utility workers to cut electricity and water at sprawling homes dotted around the famous Hollywood sign that have "essentially become nightclubs" during the coronavirus pandemic.

"The consequences of these large parties ripple far beyond just those parties -- they repeat throughout our entire community, because the virus can quickly and easily spread," he warned.

But infection is not the only fatal risk. Last Monday, beneath roaring TV news helicopters, police arrived at a mansion off the famous Mulholland Drive packed with young partygoers.

In the ensuing chaos, gunshots rang out and one person was killed.

"When I say party houses, I'm not talking about your neighborhood barbecue or your family gatherings," said Councilmember David Ryu, who is working on legislation to target offenders.

"I'm talking... literally parties that cost a million dollars to host, with caged lions and tigers and baby giraffes on red carpet," he told AFP. "It's an extravaganza."

Read also: Paris raves draw crowds as virus shutters nightclubs

'The Hills'

Under strict Los Angeles licensing laws that see nightlife close at 2 a.m., revelers have long headed for parties in "the Hills" after last call.

While the pandemic lockdown initially caused a lull in the house party scene, the past few weeks have seen gatherings soar.

Most are run not by the homeowners but by nightclub promoters who now rent mansions for the night, said LAPD Hollywood Captain Steve Lurie.

"The same promoters have figured out 'Well wait a second, I can jump on Airbnb, spend $10,000 a night for a Hollywood Hills mansion, and sell tickets and promote the party just like if it was a nightclub,'" he told AFP.

"It's exactly the same thing. Except now my nightclub has an unobstructed view of Los Angeles, a beautiful swimming pool."

Organizers often charge entrance fees and run cash bars for the events organized by secret mailing lists and word-of-mouth.

One invitation sent for an "underground" Prohibition era-themed party last weekend promised a "private, multi-level, 100 percent outdoor venue."

According to Hollywood United Neighborhood Council president and resident George Skarpelos, pre-pandemic there were 10 to 15 parties each weekend night but "now there's like 50".

"You think to yourself, 'Look, I understand that you guys feel cooped up and you want to hang out and have a good time.' We all do, right?" said Skarpelos.

"But I feel that there's a lot of people who kind of throw caution to the wind."

'$50,000 cash'

The lawlessness of an underground house party scene increases the danger of things going wrong.

"Noise is my last concern, believe it or not," said Ryu. "We've had major fires three years in a row... you have people on the balconies smoking. Where do you think those cigarette butts go?"

With cars illegally parked several vehicles deep on winding roads, emergency officials are often unable to reach the homes.

In some cases the homeowners may not even be aware of the parties, and most include clauses in rental contracts forbidding events.

But Skarpelos believes there is often "a wink and a nod" to such rental agreements.

"They're like, 'OK, maybe I'll rent it out to this shady guy who says he'll give me $50,000 cash,'" he said.

While the house involved in the deadly shooting is advertised as a retreat for feng shui and environmentalism, its social media accounts carry videos of Brazilian dancers and scantily clad waitresses serving champagne.

The property managers told AFP they had "absolutely no prior knowledge of this large mansion party."

Read also: US man, 30, dies from virus after attending 'COVID party'

'It's LA!'

With fines up to $8,000 simply absorbed by promoters as the cost of doing business, new legislation Ryu hopes to pass within three to six months would stiffen penalties for homeowners, including occupancy bans.

Nonetheless, Hills house parties have survived crackdowns in the past -- and the city's rich and powerful appear determined to play by their own rules.

"It's more pronounced in the Hills because you get the amazing view... whether it's the Hollywood sign, or you can see downtown LA," admitted Ryu.

"It's majestic, it's beautiful up there... I mean, it's LA!"
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-09 12:12:54|Editor: huaxia

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NEW YORK, Aug. 8 (Xinhua) -- As the Trump administration is threatening to ban popular apps including TikTok and WeChat, "the United States may lose in Trump's TikTok war," warned an expert.

Wei Shangjin, professor of finance and economics at Columbia University's Graduate School of Business and School of International and Public Affairs, said forcing TikTok to be sold cheaply to a "very American" buyer will endanger many U.S. firms in the Chinese market, according to an opinion published by Project Syndicate on Thursday.

"If China were to mimic Trump's gambit -- alleging, without providing evidence, that some U.S. multinationals are potential national-security threats -- it could force them to sell their operations to 'very Chinese' buyers. Although the Chinese government has not yet done so, the risk has become higher now," said Wei, who served as chief economist of Asian Development Bank during 2014-2016.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday issued an executive order banning any U.S. transactions with Chinese tech firm ByteDance, owner of TikTok, starting in 45 days.

TikTok has been downloaded over 175 million times in the United States and over 1 billion times globally, according to the executive order, which claims that the app automatically captures "vast swaths of information" from its users, posing risks to U.S. national security.

A similar executive order has also been issued for WeChat, a messaging and social media app owned by Chinese tech giant Tencent.

Although Trump's actions could yield a short-term gain for the United States, they have introduced severe potential risks to U.S. interests, not to mention international and domestic rules of commerce, Wei said.

"After all, what would happen to business confidence if governments assumed that they could extort private enterprises at will?" Wei added.

Trump is essentially doing what the United States has long accused China of doing: disrespecting private property, presuming guilt without evidence, eroding foreign firms' legitimate rights without compensation, and using arbitrary, opaque rules to block them from operating in the country, according to Wei.

"There is still time for the Trump administration to change course and avoid damaging U.S. interests. But the clock is running -- tick tock," Wei said. Enditem
Authorities said Sunday they would investigate the deaths of two teenagers at a Myanmar juvenile centre after the family of one victim alleged abuse, in a scandal plaguing the country's notorious detention system.

Myanmar's state-run juvenile centres, like its prisons, have faced long-running complaints of overcrowding, poor sanitation and a lack of food.

The two 17-year-old boys, Pyae Phyo Maung and Khaing Zaw Tun, were sentenced last month to two years at the Mandalay Community Rehabilitation Centre for robbery.

They arrived at the facility and escaped just days later, according to state-run newspaper Global New Light of Myanmar. Both died after being recaptured.

The regional government of Mandalay and the Social Welfare Ministry which oversees the country's juvenile detention centres both said Sunday they had launched investigations.

Pyae Phyo Maung's mother told AFP her heart was "broken" and demanded answers for her son's death.

"His face had bruises and injuries," Myo Myo Htwe, 42, said. "We want the truth."

The families were suspicious of the injuries found on the bodies of both boys.

The Myanmar National Human Rights Commission has already announced it will conduct an investigation into the causes of the deaths.

The centre houses almost 500 detainees, more than double its capacity, said Mandalay government minister Myo Thit.

"The children have to govern themselves and it has become like a prison," he told AFP.

The ministry's head, San San Aye said CCTV footage showed the boys "fighting in the compound" with older detainees, but did not say whether that led to the deaths of the two teenagers.

Myo Thit, who will chair the Mandalay government's investigation, said it was speculation to suggest fighting was the cause.

Instead, he said, the boys may have died because they dived into a creek near the juvenile centre when they escaped.

bur-dhc/tom/ecl
Lebanon's government was last night hanging by a thread as thousands of protesters took to the streets and clashed with police amid fury at the government over last week's explosion.

Beirut was rocked by an horrific ammonium nitrate blast on August 4, which killed 160, wounded 6,000 and destroyed 300,000 homes.

Two cabinet ministers resigned yesterday, including a top aid to the premier, amid signals that the government may unravel entirely.

As the political fallout continued, protesters converged again on the parliament area Sunday afternoon, setting off another night of violent demonstrations.

Lebanese anti-government protesters try to break through a barrier placed by Lebanese police to block a road leading to the parliament building during a protest in Beirut, Lebanon, 09 August

Protesters make their way past a fire lit by an Internal Security Forces tear gas canister during a protest near Martyrs Square on August 9, 2020 in Beirut, Lebanon

Demonstrators are seen during a protest following Tuesday's blast, in Beirut, Lebanon August 9, 2020

A demonstrator uses a slingshot in a protest following Tuesday's blast, in Beirut, Lebanon August 9, 2020

Hundreds of protesters clashed with security forces, attempting to breach the heavily-guarded parliament.

Security forces responded with tear gas and chased the protesters in the streets of downtown, in a smaller repeat of scenes from the night before.

Earlier Sunday, the resignation of Information Minister Manal Abdel-Samad, in which she cited failure to meet the people's aspirations and last week's blast, was followed by a swirl of reports that other ministers were also resigning.

Late Sunday, Environment Minister Demanios Kattar resigned, calling the ruling system 'flaccid and sterile.'

He stepped down despite closed-door meetings into the evening and a flurry of phone calls between Prime Minister Hassan Diab and several ministers following Abdel-Samad's announcement.

A demonstrator throws a rock during a protest following Tuesday's blast, in Beirut, Lebanon August 9, 2020

Protesters run from tear gas fired by police forces during an anti-government protest following Tuesday's massive explosion which devastated Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday

Riot police march toward demonstrators during an anti-government protest following Tuesday's massive explosion which devastated Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday

Lebanese army troops clash with anti-government protesters, enraged by a deadly explosion blamed on officials' negligence, during protests demanding accountability in central Beirut on August 9, 2020

The political haggling had appeared to put off more resignations, and a Cabinet meeting is planned Monday.

If seven of the 20 ministers resign, the Cabinet would effectively have to step down and remain in place as a caretaker government.

Maha Yahya, the director of the Beirut-based Carnegie Middle East Center, said the discussions clearly point to backroom deals that seek to put together a new government that's acceptable to domestic and international powers, as well as the angered public.

The current government 'really has been a lame duck,' she said, unable to undertake any reform or show independence in a highly divisive political atmosphere. 'Even the ministers are deserting the sinking ship.'

Meanwhile, four more lawmakers announced Sunday they were resigning from the 128-seat parliament, joining four others who declared it earlier. Parliament is also due to convene later this week.

The protesters blame the ruling elite for the chronic mismanagement and corruption that is believed to be behind the explosion in a Beirut Port warehouse.

Hundreds of tons of highly explosive material were stored in the waterfront hangar, and the blast sent a shock wave that defaced the coastline of Beirut - destroying hundreds of buildings.

Furious protesters in Lebanon have threatened further violence after a night of street clashes in which they stormed several ministries following the devastating explosion in Beirut on August 4

French experts working at the scene of the explosion say that the crater left by the explosion measures as large as 43-metre (141 foot) deep

It comes as new mobile phone footage emerged on social media showing the moment of the explosion in high definition slow motion.

Agoston Nemeth, 42, recorded the footage on the terrace of his home, only 850ft from the explosion site.

Loud rumbling can be heard in the video as black smoke engulfs the sky, before a huge mushroom cloud and visible blast wave blows out the windows, rushing towards the camera and knocking it over.

Describing his experience of the explosion, Nemeth said: 'It was something I could not get away from. I experienced this white-hot glass exploding.

One message circulated on social media by angry protesters said: 'Prepare the gallows because our anger doesn't end in one day'

Rescue teams search for missing people today near the site of the explosion that hit the seaport of Beirut, Lebanon

'I don't know if I jumped or the shock waves pushed me, and I found myself on the floor. I don't know how much time passed.

'I noticed shattering glass and people screaming. I looked around and saw this huge orange cloud above me

A security official who was citing French experts working at the site of the disaster said that a a 43-metre (141 foot) deep crater had been left at Beirut's port.

One message circulated on social media by angry protesters said: 'Prepare the gallows because our anger doesn't end in one day.'

The protesters's anger has re-ignited calls from demonstrations last year calling for the wholesale removal of Lebanon's leadership.

The army was forced to deploy tear gas and rubber bullets to try and clear the crowds of protesters from Martyrs' Square after street violence left 65 people injured, according to the Red Cross.

Demonstrators clash with police during a protest against the political elites and the government last night

Tear gas and rubber bullets were used by the Lebanese army to try and break up crowds of protesters last night

Demonstrates even occupied the foreign ministry's building temporarily before being forced out by the army after three hours. Pictured: protesters and riot police clash in Beirut yesterday

Information minister Manal Abdel Samad (pictured) has left office and apologised to the Lebanese people for having failed them

Demonstrates even occupied the foreign ministry's building temporarily before being forced out by the army after three hours.

The economy and energy ministries were also stormed this weekend by protesters brandishing nooses.

The head of Lebanon's Maronite church patriarch Beshara Rai joined the chorus of angry voices and said the blast could be 'described as a crime against humanity'.

And today has seen the first Lebanese minister resign from government in response to the public outcry.

Information minister Manal Abdel Samad left office and apologised to the Lebanese people for having failed them.

People ride past damaged cars earlier today in a neighbourhood near the scene of the explosion

A car drives past the site of the explosion earlier today. The explosion left as many as 6,000 people injured

Local media suggest that more ministers will also resign but the government will wait to see how many personnel depart before potentially announcing its own resignation.

Lebanon Prime Minister Hassan Diab said Saturday he would propose early elections to break the impasse that is plunging Lebanon ever deeper into political and economic crisis.

In a televised address he said: 'We can't exit the country's structural crisis without holding early parliamentary elections.'

Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron has overseen a UN'back conference to raise aid for Lebanon and said that the world mys respond 'quickly and effectively' to the disaster.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.-- Con Edison crews are addressing the 1,001 Staten Island customers who remain without power Sunday morning, after 3,025 outages were reported at about the same time Saturday.

The estimate restoration time is 11 p.m. Sunday, after the company on Saturday stated a vast majority of customers would have their power back by Sunday.

Tens of thousands of Staten Islanders were at one point in the dark after Tropical Storm Isaias damaged more than 1,000 trees and ripped through power lines Tuesday. Experts said the speed and power of the storms wind gusts were comparable to those of Hurricane Sandy.

Weve got a team of 3,800 works in the field today to make restorations to the 55,000 customers still without power. Click the link to read all updates regarding the restoration: https://t.co/vVFRho7v8h pic.twitter.com/inhKg4v0YN  Con Edison (@ConEdison) August 9, 2020

Tim Cawley, Consolidated Edison president, previously said additional crews were set to arrive in the area Saturday, after employees already working initially were instructed to focus on jobs that would restore a large number of customers.

The numbers will come down significantly, and it really depends on precisely what the damage is at each location, Cawley said Saturday. I would expect a number of customers to certainly go into Monday. The numbers will decrease significantly, but these will be smaller jobs involving lots of labor.

We are approaching under 1,000 Staten Islanders still without power.



As of 730am, 1002 SI customers still out.



More work to be done today.  Steven Matteo (@StevenMatteo) August 9, 2020

Con Edison has faced questions from local and federal politicians in regard to the rate at which power has been restored and the transparency with which the company has operated.

In Washington, the issue caught the attention of Sen. Charles Schumer, who made a personal call Friday to John McAvoy, president and chief executive officer of Con Edison. Schumer reportedly demanded answers about what is being done to address the outages.

Staten Islanders are rightfully frustrated with what is going on right now with these lasting outages, and quite frankly, so I am I, said Sen. Charles Schumer. Though crews on the ground are working hard, many Island customers are getting inaccurate, little, or no information at all about the ongoing situation and that needs to change.
Under a pilot program just launched through New Mexico state trust lands, hunters using the White Peak area near Angel Fire may have the opportunity to help open public land to more recreationists.

Through an easement signed in March with the New Mexico Game Commission, licensed hunters and fishermen opened up some State Land Office acreage for use. Under that easement, dispersed camping for hunters using the White Peak area is available for successful applicants, said Craig Johnson, outdoor recreation program manager for the state Land Office.

The free camping provision would coincide with the upcoming deer and elk hunting seasons, and would give hunters up to 14 days to camp near roads or in their vehicles in the areas of Ortega Mesa, White Peak Road, Spruce North and Spruce South.

The launch of these pilot programs is the culmination of a long, thoughtful process from our staff and the working groups aimed to increase access to state trust land, as well as to enhance the overall hunting experience for New Mexico sportspeople, said Stephanie Garcia Richard, commissioner of public lands.

It is the first step, she said, in expanding public access to up to 8.8 million acres the State Land Office holds.

After a season with the pilots in place, we will see where we were successful, as well as the areas where there is room for improvement. Our overall goal is to take what we learn and move forward next year with longer term options for camping and backpacking for sportspeople on state trust land.

A similar pilot program allows hunters access to backpack camping in the Luera Mountains southwest of Magdalena.

Prior to the easement, access did not exist, Johnson said.

But it has been Garcia Richards mandate to make state trust land open for adventure, Johnson said. Shes doing that by expanding recreation access so sportspeople can more easily enjoy some of the amazing places on state land.

The State Land Offices primary function is to generate revenue for schools and hospitals, with 98% of that coming from grazing leases.

So its a delicate balance for state trust lands, Johnson said. We are working with Game & Fish and (agricultural) lessees, so its also a partnership to open up these other lands.

With COVID-19 forcing many people into the outdoors, it has a negative impact on the lands. Many users have been unfamiliar with the proper etiquette of removing trash and maintaining the pristine nature of the forests.

So one of the aspects of these pilot trials is to see how the users care for land, Johnson said, adding that, in general, hunters have been solid caretakers of the land.

Our hope is the people who get these permits for hunting are responsible users of the land, and then we can expand beyond just the hunting community, he said. Its crucial to emphasize the behavior we expect people to comply with. Leave no trace land ethic, careful with campfires and respect for private property.

Campfires are, of course, a sensitive topic and are permitted only when allowed in the particular surrounding state forest.

And then you must use commonsense practice, Johnson said. Clearing areas of flammables and making sure the campfire is cold to the touch before you leave.

Additionally, users must adhere to other commonsense rules.

Those receiving permits are responsible for knowing their maps, staying on established roads, closing gates, not cutting fences, and not damaging structures and equipment, he said.

Those interested in taking advantage of the pilot program can fill out an application online at nmstatelands.org/hunting-pilot-programs-dispersed-camping-backpacking.

The applications and phone calls have been flooding in, Johnson said. Were thrilled with the level of interest because it is an indication of high demand. The initial results have been phenomenal. We think this will be success and, if it is, we can continue on.
Mayank Singh By

Express News Service

NEW DELHI: Aiming to realise the goal of indigenised defence production the Ministry of Defence (MoD) on Sunday released a list of 101 items including the arms and equipment which the country will stop importing in phased manner. The list prepared in consultation with all stake holders will lead to contracts worth almost Rs four lakh crore be placed upon the domestic industry within the next five to seven years.

Bharat Bhushan Babu, Spokesperson, MoD said, The list of 101 embargoed items also includes high technology weapon systems and is prepared after several rounds of consultations with all stakeholders, including Army, Air Force, Navy, DRDO, Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs), Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) and private industry to assess current and future capabilities of the Indian industry for manufacturing various ammunition/weapons/platforms/equipment within India, told Mr Babu.

The embargo on imports is planned to be progressively implemented between 2020 to 2024. The Department of Military Affairs (DMA), Ministry of Defence (MoD) has prepared the list. More such equipment for import embargo would be identified progressively by the DMA in consultation with all stakeholders.



The list of items incudes artillery guns, assault rifles, corvettes, sonar systems, transport aircrafts, light combat helicopters (LCHs), radars and many other items to fulfil the needs of our Defence Services. The list also includes, wheeled Armoured fighting vehicles (AFVs) with indicative import embargo date of December 2021, of which the Army is expected to contract almost 200 at an approximate cost of over Rs 5,000 crore.

Similarly, the Navy is likely to place demands for Submarines with indicative import embargo date of December 2021, of which it expects to contract about six at an approximate cost of almost Rs 42,000 crore. For the Air Force, it is decided to enlist the LCA MK 1A with an indicative embargo date of December 2020. Of these, 123 are anticipated at an approximate cost of over Rs 85,000 crore.

The Ministry of Defence is now ready for a big push to #AtmanirbharBharat initiative. MoD will introduce import embargo on 101 items beyond given timeline to boost indigenisation of defence production.  Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) August 9, 2020

This push came after PM Narendra Modis clarion call for self-reliance and is part of the special economic package for self-reliant India named Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative, added Mr Babu.



Mr Bharat Bhushan highlighted, This is a big step also offers a great opportunity to the Indian defence industry to rise to the occasion to manufacture the items in the negative list by using their own design and development capabilities or adopting the technologies designed and developed by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) to meet the requirements of the Armed Forces in the coming years.

Almost 260 schemes of such items were contracted by the Tri-Services at an approximate cost of Rs 3.5 lakh crore between April 2015 and August 2020. With latest embargo on import of 101 items, it is estimated that contracts worth almost Rs four lakh crore will be placed upon the domestic industry within the next five to seven years. Of these, items worth almost Rs 1,30,000 crore each are anticipated for the Army and the Air Force while items worth almost Rs 1,40,000 crore are anticipated by the Navy over the same period.



All necessary steps would be taken to ensure that timelines for production of equipment as per the Negative Import List are met, which will include a co-ordinated mechanism for hand holding of the industry by the Defence Services.



In another relevant step, the MoD has bifurcated the capital procurement budget for 2020-21 between domestic and foreign capital procurement routes. A separate budget head has been created with an outlay of nearly Rs 52,000 crore for domestic capital procurement in the current financial year.
Three women have been accused of an elaborate plot to steal more than $100,000 from the superannuation accounts of hardworking Australians by defrauding the COVID-19 early-access scheme.

Federal police claim Deanne Pamela Brock and Lenore Jennifer, both 41, and Herlihy Renee Parker, 36, conspired to submit several false applications in an attempt to access the superannuation payments of other Australians.

The federal government announced the scheme in March to allow Australians struggling during the pandemic to dip into their super tax-free.

But the three women allegedly collected identity data to make fraudulent applications to the program totaling $113,500.

Deanne Pamela Brock, 41, is among three women charged over a plot to steal more than $100,000 from the superannuation accounts of hardworking Australians

On Thursday, the Australian Federal Police arrested the three women after carrying out a series of raids at five addresses in south-east Queensland - across the suburbs of Morayfield, Worongary, Balmoral, Eagleby and Burpengary East.

Police said they seized a number of items, including electronic devices they allege are of crucial value to their investigation.

'Make no mistake. If you try to steal the nest eggs of hard-working Australians, we will find you and charge you,' AFP Deputy Commissioner Brett Pointing said.

'The AFP works around the clock to disrupt and charge offenders who are defrauding the public.

'These arrests are a timely reminder for Australians to make sure their personal financial details are secure - don't be an easy target for criminals.'

Brock was arrested a day after the Worongary raid and charged with conspiring to dishonestly obtain or deal in personal financial information and drug offences.

That raid had allegedly found chemicals used in the production of illicit drugs, the Sunday Mail reported.

She has been refused bail to reappear at the Southport Magistrates Court on August 7.

The Australian Federal Police's Taskforce Iris arrested the three women after five raids across Queensland's south-east

The other two women were charged with conspiring to dishonestly obtain or deal in personal financial information, to receiving a designated service using a false customer name and to giving false or misleading information to a Commonwealth entity.

Herlihy was granted bail to reappear in the Pine Rivers Magistrates Court on September 2, while Parker is expected to face Southport Magistrates Court on September 4.

The latest raids bring the number of people charged by the Australian Federal Police's Taskforce Iris to seven.

The taskforce was established in April to ensure money from the government's COVID-19 stimulus measures goes to where it is needed and to prosecute those who exploit the system.

Anyone who believes their identity has been compromised or misused can contact Services Australia's Scams and Identity Theft Helpdesk on 1800 941 126.
U.S. Drought Monitor data released Thursday show drought expanding in the West. (Paul Duginski / Los Angeles Times)

Hot and dry conditions pushed portions of Arizona, southern Nevada and Southern California either into drought or further into drought, data from the U.S. Drought monitor show.

The portion of California deemed abnormally dry grew by almost 7%, mainly in eastern San Bernardino County. Large portions of Arizona and parts of southern Nevada slipped from abnormally dry into moderate drought, and severe drought expanded in southern Arizona.

Northern California remained about the same, which is to say either in moderate or severe drought, with an area of extreme drought mostly confined to Siskiyou County up on the Oregon border.

The North American Monsoon, which provides about half of the annual rainfall in parts of the Southwest, has been a "nonsoon" this year.

"We thought last year's monsoon season was rough," said Rob Howlett of the National Weather Service office in Tucson, "but this year's is worse."

This is consequential for people living in Southern California because the Four Corners region of the Southwest is part of the Colorado River watershed, and the Colorado River is a major source of water for Los Angeles and Southern California.

July and early August are the peak of the monsoon season. Normal rainfall for July in Tucson is 2.25 inches. In 2019, Tucson got 1.07 inches in July, but this year it got only 0.46 inches. Last year's monsoon season total was about an inch less than normal. So far, this year is even drier.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's outlook for August is bleak. It favors below-average precipitation in Arizona and the Four Corners region.

During the summer, a strong ridge of high pressure over the northern Pacific has been forcing the jet stream farther inland over the Intermountain West, Howlett explained. "This has a cascading effect, because it then forces our monsoon ridge farther south."

The 2020 monsoon in the Southwest has been hampered by the weather pattern in June and July. (Paul Duginski / Los Angeles Times)

Under normal summer conditions, a high-pressure system develops over the Mexican Plateau and shifts northward into the U.S. southern Rockies or southern Plains by early July. Mid- and upper-level moisture is transported into Arizona and the Southwest from the Gulf of California and the Gulf of Mexico.

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But many times this summer, said Howlett, the high has been centered directly over Arizona, producing excessive heat. July was the hottest month on record for Tucson, he said.

July in Tucson was also the 10th driest on record, according to the National Weather Service, with the second-latest start of the monsoon season.

The location of the high-pressure ridge suppressed thunderstorm development. "We really depend on that ridge being farther north so we can tap into the southeast and east winds," Howlett said.

The jet stream's position in June and July fed dry westerly flow across Southern California and into the Southwest, keeping tropical moisture to the south and east.

NOAA's three-month outlook in the Southwest calls for equal chances of above- or below-normal precipitation. That could mean an active September and October, which usually is linked to tropical moisture sources, Howlett points out. "We'll see how that shakes out."

"The wild card as we move into late August and September is the latest prediction of an extremely active Atlantic hurricane season," said climatologist Bill Patzert.

The updated forecast released by Colorado State University on Aug. 5 calls for 24 named storms  twice the average  of which 12 will become hurricanes. Five are expected to be major hurricanes.

"Historically, 48% of these hurricanes will make landfall along the Gulf Coast. If any of these hurricanes come ashore in south Texas or northern Mexico, they could potentially give the Southwest monsoon season a late soaking," said Patzert.
Representative Image (Reuters)

Smartphone shipments in India slumped in the first half of 2020, primarily down to the coronavirus pandemic, which resulted in zero smartphone sales in the month of April. According to data from the International Data Corporation (IDC), the market saw a sharp decline of 50.6 percent in the second quarter of 2020.

The report also claimed that Samsung had dethroned Xiaomi as Indias number one mobile phone maker in Q2 2020. Samsung led the way with a 24 percent share in the overall mobile phone market, which includes smartphones and feature phones. However, Xiaomi continued to lead the smartphone market in India with a 29.4-percent market share.

Samsung also managed to retain its second spot on the smartphone ladder, after it had lost it to Vivo in Q4 2019. The South Korean tech giant managed a market share of 26.3 percent with Vivo following in third with a 17.5 percent share. Realme and Oppo followed in third (9.8 percent) and fourth (9.7 percent), respectively.

Navkendar Singh, Research Director, Client Devices & IPDS, IDC India said; The ongoing supply chain challenges forced the brands to go for direct imports to meet the pent-up demand post-lockdown, especially in June, adding extra cost pressures. Further, this surge in demand is expected to continue throughout the first half of Q3 2020 as well, requiring a steady supply of devices in the market. IDC expects the market to show signs of recovery in the second half of the year, as we approach the festive quarter with the majority of the consumers looking to buy low-end and mid-range devices.
New Delhi, Aug 9 : Quick thinking, coordination, and concerted efforts on part of the Delhi Police officials and their counterparts in Mumbai helped save the life of a man in Mumbai by reaching out to him as he was exhibiting suicidal tendencies.

It was 7.51 pm on Saturday when Delhi Police Cybercrime unit DCP Anyesh Roy got a call from an Ireland number. The caller, a Facebook official, informed him that their system had identified activity indicating suicidal thoughts on a Facebook account in the name of a Delhi woman. The official sent the details on Roy's email.

The DCP (CyPAD) found out that the Facebook report referred to an account of one Sumati Daas (name changed) along with a mobile phone number registered with the social media platform.

Since calling the number directly could have triggered a panic response from the person already psychologically stressed, the DCP said, he decided to get the exact address and location of the phone-user.

The details showed the address of Mandawali, East Delhi, and the phone location matched the address. The Cyber Cell DCP quickly shared the details with DCP, East, Jasmeet Singh.

"Acting with utmost alacrity, DCP East Delhi dispatched staff from the area police station to the said address. Within minutes the team was at Sumati's doorsteps but was much relieved to find her completely fine and oblivious of the inter-continental hue and cry that her Facebook account had caused.

"However, Sumati said that the phone number belongs to her but the Facebook account was operated by her husband Rajesh (name changed), who is presently in Mumbai. She told the police that he had left 14 days ago after a fight and is working as a cook at a small hotel. She gave Rajesh's mobile number but was not aware of his Mumbai address." The DCP, East Delhi then immediately got back to the DCP (CyPAD) on the case.

With the mobile number unreachable, the DCP (CyPAD) got in touch with his Mumbai counterpart Bal Singh Rajput, and Mubai DCP/Cyber Dr Rashmi Karandikar.

Racing against time, Dr Rashmi began making effrts to connect with Rajesh. Her efforts paid off when Rajesh switched on his phone for a brief period. She spoke to Rajesh, who was in a lot of psychological distress, and counselled him.

Simultaneously, police staff from Bhayandar area, a suburb of Mumbai, was dispatched to Rajesh's address. Within minutes, police reached Rajesh's place of stay and took charge of the situation.

Roy said the whole exercise involving multiple jurisdictions and some quick thinking and action on part of the officials involved helped save a man teetering on the edge.
The fight to stop gender-based violence shines the light on what is described as South Africas other pandemic.

Every three hours, a woman is killed in South Africa.

Gender-based violence is a huge problem, and the government is working on legislation to end it.

But activists say change is not happening fast enough, and it is still a long way off.

Al Jazeeras Fahmida Miller reports from Johannesburg, South Africa.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-09 17:25:25|Editor: huaxia

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A man prepares to vote at a polling station in Minsk, Belarus, Aug. 9, 2020. Belarusians are heading to polling stations around the country on Sunday, the main voting day for them to elect their president. (Photo by Henadz Zhinkov/Xinhua)

MINSK, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) -- Belarusians are heading to polling stations around the country on Sunday, the main voting day for them to elect their president.

The polling stations opened at 8:00 a.m. local time (0500 GMT) and will close at 8 p.m. local time (1700 GMT).

Co-chairman of the National Research and Education Association Govori Pravdu (Tell the Truth) Andrei Dmitriyev, entrepreneur Anna Kanopatskaya, incumbent President Alexander Lukashenko, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya and the director of OOO S58 Technologies Sergei Cherechen are running for the presidency.

Early voting for the country's presidential elections have taken place from Aug. 4 to Aug. 8.

The country's Central Election Commission said that 41.7 percent of voters came to the polling stations during the five-day early voting sessions, which were organized for those unable to vote on election day slated for Aug. 9.
MTV and Barclays Center have decided to no longer hold the 2020 MTV Video Music Awards at the Brooklyn arena, citing safety concerns, as Page Six reports. The event will now be held at various outdoor locations in New York City. In a statement to Pitchfork, spokespeople for MTV and the Barclays Center said the following:

The 2020 VMAs will be held on Sunday, August 30th and pay homage to the incredible resiliency of New York with several outdoor performances around the City with limited or no audience, adhering to all state and city guidelines. In close consultation with state and local health officials, it became clear at this time that outdoor performances with limited or no audience would be more feasible and safer than an indoor event. The VMAs will highlight the boroughs in an exciting show and return to Barclays Center in 2021. MTV will continue to work closely with the Department of Health, state and local officials, the medical community, and key stakeholders to ensure the safety of all involved.

At a June press conference announcing the event would take place at Barclays Center, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said that the event will follow all safety guidance, including limited or no audience. BTS, J Balvin, and Doja Cat are set to perform at this years ceremony. Check out the full list of MTV VMAs 2020 nominees.

Read Why the 2017 MTV VMAs Felt So Empty on the Pitch.

Originally Appeared on Pitchfork
Diageo plc (LON:DGE) stock is about to trade ex-dividend in three days. If you purchase the stock on or after the 13th of August, you won't be eligible to receive this dividend, when it is paid on the 8th of October.

Diageo's upcoming dividend is UK0.42 a share, following on from the last 12 months, when the company distributed a total of UK0.70 per share to shareholders. Last year's total dividend payments show that Diageo has a trailing yield of 2.7% on the current share price of 25.67. We love seeing companies pay a dividend, but it's also important to be sure that laying the golden eggs isn't going to kill our golden goose! We need to see whether the dividend is covered by earnings and if it's growing.

Check out our latest analysis for Diageo

Dividends are usually paid out of company profits, so if a company pays out more than it earned then its dividend is usually at greater risk of being cut. Diageo distributed an unsustainably high 116% of its profit as dividends to shareholders last year. Without more sustainable payment behaviour, the dividend looks precarious. That said, even highly profitable companies sometimes might not generate enough cash to pay the dividend, which is why we should always check if the dividend is covered by cash flow. The company paid out 102% of its free cash flow over the last year, which we think is outside the ideal range for most businesses. Cash flows are usually much more volatile than earnings, so this could be a temporary effect - but we'd generally want look more closely here.

Cash is slightly more important than profit from a dividend perspective, but given Diageo's payments were not well covered by either earnings or cash flow, we are concerned about the sustainability of this dividend.

Click here to see the company's payout ratio, plus analyst estimates of its future dividends.

Have Earnings And Dividends Been Growing?

Businesses with shrinking earnings are tricky from a dividend perspective. Investors love dividends, so if earnings fall and the dividend is reduced, expect a stock to be sold off heavily at the same time. Diageo's earnings per share have fallen at approximately 8.8% a year over the previous five years. When earnings per share fall, the maximum amount of dividends that can be paid also falls.

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Another key way to measure a company's dividend prospects is by measuring its historical rate of dividend growth. In the past 10 years, Diageo has increased its dividend at approximately 6.8% a year on average. The only way to pay higher dividends when earnings are shrinking is either to pay out a larger percentage of profits, spend cash from the balance sheet, or borrow the money. Diageo is already paying out a high percentage of its income, so without earnings growth, we're doubtful of whether this dividend will grow much in the future.

The Bottom Line

Is Diageo an attractive dividend stock, or better left on the shelf? It's looking like an unattractive opportunity, with its earnings per share declining, while, paying out an uncomfortably high percentage of both its profits (116%) and cash flow as dividends. This is a clearly suboptimal combination that usually suggests the dividend is at risk of being cut. If not now, then perhaps in the future. It's not that we think Diageo is a bad company, but these characteristics don't generally lead to outstanding dividend performance.

With that in mind though, if the poor dividend characteristics of Diageo don't faze you, it's worth being mindful of the risks involved with this business. To that end, you should learn about the 4 warning signs we've spotted with Diageo (including 1 which is potentially serious).

We wouldn't recommend just buying the first dividend stock you see, though. Here's a list of interesting dividend stocks with a greater than 2% yield and an upcoming dividend.

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.
Eric Metaxas responds to Bible burning: Freedom is impossible without values we got from the Bible

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Too many Americans have forgotten that freedom in the U.S. is "utterly impossible" without the values that come from the Bible, said Eric Metaxas in response to the rise in attacks on churches and Christian symbols.

In an interview with Fox News opinion host Tucker Carlson on Thursday, Metaxas stressed that he wasn't suggesting everyone living in the U.S. must identify as Christian. Instead, his point was that the Bible is more than a sacred book; it's "what led ... to freedom and self-government" that most Americans cherish.

Weve forgotten that freedom is utterly impossible on the American model without the values we got from the Bible, said Metaxas, a bestselling author and radio host, in response to images of rioters burning stacks of Bibles in Portland last Friday night.

All of the Founders understood that the Bible wasnt just a sacred book for some people. It was what gave us the West and what led to the idea of freedom and self-government, Metaxas said, asserting that those who are attacking the Bible and Christianity are attacking foundational ideas that built the nation.

In Carlson's segment on the topic of Christianity seemingly being under attack, he and Metaxas discussed the shutting down of churches and indifference toward the rise in vandalism and torching of churches and Catholic statues.

Carlson began the segment by noting that the U.S. has long been a beacon for those seeking religious freedom.

Since the day it was founded, the United States has been a refuge for people from around the world to worship their gods as they choose, Carlson said. Thats precisely why so many of our first European settlers came here. When they wrote our Constitution, in the First Amendment to the Bill of Rights, they explicitly protected religious freedom.

Carlson then compared the state of religious freedom in the U.S. today to religious persecution in China. America is becoming much more like what we say we hate. Many states have canceled in-person church services under the pretext of protecting the rest of us from the Wuhan coronavirus, he said, singling out Democrat-run states of California and New Jersey that designated churches as non-essential unlike abortion clinics or liquor stores that have been deemed essential.

Back in April, Carlson confronted Gov. Phil Murphy, D-N.J., over his decision to impose restrictions on church services as part of the state's response to the novel coronavirus. When Carlson asked Murphy what authority he used to nullify the Bill of Rights in issuing this order, Murphy responded that he wasnt thinking about the Bill of Rights when he did this.

Nearly four months after that exchange, Carlson shared his theory as to why some Democratic politicians have decided to continue to impose bans or restrictions on religious services while allowing secular businesses to operate without such restrictions. The restrictions are about punishing people they dont think vote for them, he asserted. Democratic leaders in Congress despise traditional Christians because they dont vote for them.

During the segment, Carlson also aired a clip of House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., saying in an earlier Fox News interview that he wasn't aware that rioters in Portland had burned Bibles last weekend. Nor was he aware that riots have been ongoing in the city and outside the Mark Hatfield Federal Courthouse for over 70 days.

According to Metaxas, people being unaware of what's going on Portland and other cities where churches are being vandalized and burned is the reason why many Americans fail to stand up for Christianity.

Christianity, among other things, limits the excesses of the state, Carlson remarked. This is why all authoritarian governments hate it because when your population worships an actual God, that suggests that you are not God and there are some things you cant do. So without it, theres nothing they cant do. Isnt that the whole point? he asked.

That is precisely the point, Metaxas responded.

In China, which was repeatedly mentioned throughout the segment, communist authorities have demolished churches, beat Christians, and ordered believers to renounce their faith and worship communist leaders instead of God.

Last year, authorities forced churches to replace traditional Christian hymns with songs praising the Chinese Communist Party. More recently, pastors have been ordered to extol President Xi Jinping and slander the U.S. in their sermons.

Metaxas warned that Americans' failure to stand up and push back against the idea that we can be a secular nation will basically lead to the U.S. becoming China.

He also slammed those who are burning Bibles and the American flag. These are the two things that have created more human flourishing, that have lifted human dignity on a level weve never seen in the history of the world, he said.
Campervans all booked up, too expensive or too unwieldy? Then why not try this summers DIY roadtrip alternative: campercars.

Who needs to drive around in a pricey, thirsty converted van when its quite possible to sleep in your normal car using the latest accessories and digital apps?

Its a chance for many of us to relive pre-health-and-safety childhood memories of sleeping in the boot of the family hatchback on holiday trips.

Park and go: Simon Heptinstall and his dog, Nellie, try a spot of car camping

Now were grown-up, of course, theres a limit to whats possible. Todays family of six might struggle to enjoy a holiday while crammed like sardines in a Mini Cooper, for example.

But a couple could easily have an adventurous escape in an average car, and a bigger family could use an estate, SUV or people-carrier as their road-trip holiday hub.

Cars offer a perfect portable bubble to explore less crowded seaside and countryside spots. You have more flexibility around moving sites, and if it rains or turns chilly, youll be grateful youre not in a tent.

Turning a humble hatchback into a holiday home does take a bit of planning, however  especially if you want to be comfortable. You may want to consider buying such campercar essentials as inflatable car beds and pillows, electric blankets and low-voltage lighting run from your cars cigarette lighter.

Simon asks: 'Who needs to drive around in a pricey, thirsty converted van when its quite possible to sleep in your normal car using the latest accessories and digital apps?'

And theres an increasingly wide selection of roof and tailgate tents, plus awnings and tarpaulin sheets to temporarily expand your living space. Cheap car sunblinds, meanwhile, provide night-time privacy  or you can simply peg towels over the windows.

The most important tip is to ignore neighbours weird looks and try lying down in your car at home before you set off. Experiment with reclining and sliding seats, removing headrests or taking out seats altogether. Try using airbeds, mattress toppers or duvets to smooth bumps.

Smaller children can sleep across a back seat with special sideways mattresses that cost only a few pounds. For couples, full car mattresses are about 20 online.

True campercar champions first make flat areas using plastic storage boxes (for spare clothes, shoes and food), then put mattresses on top. And heres a tip: when I experimented in my old banger I started off in my reclined drivers seat  however, after a lot of awkward fidgeting I discovered its far better to sleep the other way round, with pillows on folded back seats and feet in the boot.

Cars offer a perfect portable bubble to explore less crowded seaside and countryside spots, writes Simon

Simon's most important tip for first-timers? Take your trousers off outside the car

Rear wheel-arches are the cars narrowest part and, unless youre a very weird shape, your legs are your narrowest part, too.

Next you need to work out where you can park for a spot of safe, legal and uninterrupted sleep. There are dozens of smartphone apps that flag up potential locations. Try Park4night, a free app with user reviews of sites, or motorhomestopover.co.uk, where a 15 annual subscription allows you access to details of hundreds of pubs offering overnight parking if you buy a nightcap or two at the bar.

Wherever you go, try simply asking politely. A farm shop, pub or cafe may allow you to stay if you eat there or pay a small fee. And, unless youre after a truly wild experience, most campers need cafes, toilets and washing facilities, so its usually worth it.

I wake at sunrise in an airless, steamed-up car and make a mental note to leave the windows open a crack the next night. But for the sake of noise, fumes, fuel and your battery, you shouldnt run the engine, heater or electrical accessories while sleeping.

After suffering a series of contortions worthy of an Olympic gymnast, my most important tip to first-timers is: take your trousers off outside the car.
BJP workers have distributed more than 22.18 crore food packets among the needy people: JP Nadda

Current situation in Bihar not conducive for elections, says Cong

Vietnam has seen a spurt in coronavirus cases and deaths. Vietnam was among those countries who tackled Covid-19 consistently recorded 812 new cases most of which were related to Danang. Brazil surpassed 3 million coronavirus cases and 100,000 deaths. Major cities in Brazil as well as its rural areas have seen a spike in new Covid-19 cases.

Click here for the complete coverage of the Covid-19 pandemic

Districts in Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand, Kerala, West Bengal, Delhi, Odisha and Uttar Pradesh were told to address Covid-19 diagnosis delay and ramp up testing. 14% of the total deaths were reported from these districts. Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Karnataka have also been asked to address Covid-19 mortality rates higher than national and state averages.
The New Mexico Art League has gathered a bouquet of flowers wrapped in works on paper.

Launching its first regular online exhibits at newmexicoartleague.org, these works feature prints, watercolors, oil and acrylic on canvas, pastels and collage in two shows: Common Ground, comprised of 64 works on paper and In Bloom, a bevy of 78 florals.

The online exhibits substitute for the organizations annual show.

Executive Director Buffy Nelson said the show lured 180 submissions, a number comparable to its regular gallery shows.

Its like everyone was waiting for us to get online, she said.

In the monoprint Harbinger of Spring, Vicki Morgan captures a tangle of dandelions sprouting their frothy seeds. Morgan is a former Albuquerque Public Schools teacher, Nelson said. The artist took an art league printmaking class and ended up buying the press. Her art league teacher challenged her to produce 100 images of dandelions.

Girl with Red Hair reveals artist Betty Lehnus facility with watercolor through delicate shading. Lehnus is known for working in pastel or charcoal, Nelson said. Originally from Chicago, she now lives in the East Mountains.

Ruth Andrews-Vreeland turned a daffodil nodding in a Mason jar into an ode to photorealism. An art major in college, she spent a lengthy career in graphic design. She is a signature member of the New Mexico Watercolor Society and the Western Federation of Watercolor Societies.

She teaches for the art league, Nelson said. Watercolor is not typically a medium you use for photorealism. She teaches a layered approach with watercolor thats more in common with oil paints.

The jumbled, veined water lily leaves in Joseph La Fortes Los Poblanos impart a jungle-like stained glass effect. La Forte came to Albuquerque after spending 25 years in the New York advertising world. He studied with Mark Greenwald, an associate of famed photo realist Chuck Close.

He goes by the motto, Paint what you love,  Nelson said. The artist works from photographs and sketches done on site, she added.

Lynn Kearnys stunning pastel Frosty Heights captures a magnetic moment of shadow and light in the

mountains. Kearny grew up in Los Alamos; she says the mountains, cliffs and canyons of northern New Mexico are in her blood.

Its that light that happens underneath the storm clouds, Nelson said. Its hitting these lower hills in the foreground.

Carolyn Berry turned ledger pages into a collage abstraction in 1698. The number refers to a ledger page.

She started with the ledger page green and went with it, Nelson added.

Janny Pezaros acrylic From the Attic is a jumble of pattern and texture. The artist collected the vase from her grandmothers attic, framing it with textiles in a riot of design.

Founded in 1929, the New Mexico Art League is a non-profit art school and gallery located at 3409 Juan Tabo NE. Its next exhibition, Stormy Weather, will feature artist interpretations of storms in the New Mexico sky.
Iffath Fathima By

Express News Service

BENGALURU: Kunal Garna, a 21-year-old businessman from Bengaluru, has donated plasma twice and saved four precious lives. It was way back in March that Kunal was infected with Covid-19 when he returned from the UK after completing his studies. He was shifted to KC General Hospital, where he was cured and discharged. But in the first few months of the pandemic, the process of plasma donation had not begun and the number of COVID-19 cases too was low in the city.

In June, he got a call from HCG Hospital, asking if he would be willing to donate plasma, and he readily agreed. He donated his plasma on June 15 and also told the hospital authorities that he was willing to donate his plasma more number of times.

Kunal told The New Sunday Express, Years ago, I had donated platelets, and Im a regular blood donor. So, I was open to plasma donation too. Initially, my parents were a little scared, but I told them that it could help save lives of critical patients, and they agreed. I have B-positive plasma, and I felt good when I donated it the first time. It is painless and takes just about one hour.

I told HCG doctors that I was open to more plasma donations. The gap between two donations is minimum 15 days. In July, a senior cardiologist, Dr Natesh B H , from Jayadeva Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences, was diagnosed with Covid. Soon, his condition deteriorated and he was admitted to the ICU at a private hospital on Bannerghatta Road. Though he was administered high-flow nasal oxygen and Remdesivir drug, his condition deteriorated further, and that was when plasma therapy was considered. In July-end, Kunal donated his plasma again and it was given to Dr Natesh.

Miraculously, the doctor recovered within three days and was shifted to the ward after spending five days in the ICU. I had no clue who my plasma was given to. The doctor had a video-conference with me and thanked me profusely which made me feel good that it saved someones life. Even in future, Im open to more donations, and also, more people cured of Covid should come forward and donate plasma. I was told that my plasma has helped save more than four lives, he added.

Dr Natesh said, Plasma therapy is important for critical patients. We need more donors to come forward.

Dr Vishal Rao, who started the plasma bank and got a clearance from the Drug Control General of India for plasma therapy in the state, said, We have been telling people from the beginning that plasma therapy is important, and it is helping many patients. So far, 45 patients have donated their plasma and we have got 233 volunteers. He explained that 500 ml of plasma is taken from a donor and 200 ml is given to the recipient. Kunals plasma has been given to two patients and he has already enrolled for the third donation.
BEIRUT  The air over Beirut was thick again overnight, choking the Lebanese people, this time with smoke and tear gas, as a mourning nation engaged in a battle with security forces, demanding the fall of a regime they blame for Tuesday's devastating explosion.

"First they lied to the Lebanese people. Then they stole from the Lebanese people. Then they neglected the Lebanese people. Then they murdered the Lebanese people. And finally, today, they went to war against the Lebanese people," said protester Maher Khani, standing near the gallows and nooses that were hanging cardboard cutouts of the political elite Saturday.

"The Lebanese people are done with them," Khani said. "They have left us with nothing."

Image: Protester in Beirut (Anwar Amro / AFP - Getty Images)

Decades of corruption and financial engineering that had led to stark inequality drove Lebanese into the streets in their hundreds of thousands in October. Life since then has gotten exponentially worse. The people have faced near economic collapse, a pandemic and the third-largest nonnuclear explosion in the world, which killed almost 160 people.

Several thousand protesters marched through the destroyed areas of the city Saturday, with rubble piled on either side. The youth-led movement was supported by the elderly, children, women and men alike.

Throughout the evening the demonstrators managed to storm and occupy four government ministries.

Download the NBC News app for breaking news and alerts

By the time the security forces had forced all of the protesters off the streets in the early hours of Sunday, over 700 had been injured, according to figures from the Lebanese Red Cross and the Islamic Emergency and Relief Corps.

The Internal Security Force, Lebanon's domestic police and security force, said in a statement that one of its members died in the protests Saturday, while 70 others were injured.

Image: Protests in Beirut (AFP - Getty Images)

"The government didn't help us clean up, so we did it ourselves. Now we've come to protest to get them out. They blew us up and didn't even send anyone to clean it up," said an activist, Rawan Hijazi.

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By the time they got to the road leading to the Parliament building, carrying sweeping brushes with nooses hung around them, they were being tear-gassed by security forces.

Soon there were violent clashes and peaceful yet livid protests happening simultaneously.

Many who survived the explosion have seen their homes and livelihoods destroyed: Up to 300,000 were made homeless, and countless businesses are in ruins, in a country where so many already struggled to make ends meet.

Image: Protester in Beirut (Joseph Eid / AFP - Getty Images)

The combination of grief and anger has turned into a blazing white fury.

"You literally blew us up. We have nothing left to lose," a group of protesters screamed as they pushed toward the front line of the battle while tear-gas canisters were fired directly at them.

Protesters scrambled and fell over the rubble from the explosion as they dodged gas canisters, many protected by the hard hats they had been wearing to clean up the streets and people's homes over the last few days.

"We will keep fighting to the end," an injured protester shouted after being treated by the Red Cross.

Image: Antigovernment graffiti in Beirut (Hussein Malla / AP)

A researcher for Human Rights Watch reported seeing government forces firing tear gas directly at people's heads, firing rubber bullets at their upper bodies and indiscriminately beating unarmed protesters and the media.

After authorities were given new powers by the state of emergency, an NBC News journalist witnessed men in army uniforms viciously beating protesters, journalists and human rights workers throughout the night.

Live ammunition was fired into the air near Parliament, scattering young, unarmed and terrified protesters  it was unclear whether the army or the Internal Security Force fired the shots.

In response to a request for comment, the Lebanese army said in a statement: "While units of the army were carrying out policing operations and during the protests that took place in the Beirut area, the soldiers were pelted with stones, large fireworks, and Molotov cocktails, which resulted in 105 injuries, including 8 officers, two of whom were seriously injured."

The statement, which did not address allegations of violence against protesters, said four people were arrested for entering government buildings.

Image: Protests in Beirut (Getty Images)

The protesters quickly regrouped and re-entered the protests from another angle. Those who felt they had nothing to lose stood their ground in resilience and continued to clash with the security forces.

"They have started a war," several protesters said in response to the government's violent crackdown.

Related: Rescuers searched for survivors in Beirut in the morning after a cataclysmic explosion at the port sowed devastation across entire neighborhoods, killing more than 100 people, wounding thousands and plunging Lebanon deeper into crisis.

"They're tear gassing people live on TV in broad daylight after they detonated an ammonium nitrate bomb and buried the city alive. Help us topple them before they kill us all," Carmen Geha, a professor at the American University of Beirut, tweeted at the start of the demonstration.

The festive and overwhelmingly peaceful protests of Lebanon's "October Revolution" are gone, and dark times seem to lie ahead as protesters continue efforts to rid the country of its government.

"Resign or we'll hang," read placards around the demonstration.
GRAND RIVER WATERSHED  Gina MacVeigh holds out her hand. On it rest five unique mussels shining with river water, each a different shape and colour. One is a deep iridescent green-black. One is shaped like a hoof and speckled all over. Another is covered in pale green lines radiating from its centre.

Behind MacVeigh, a steady stream of cars is crossing the historic Argyle Street bridge in downtown Caledonia, a small community south of Hamilton. Underneath live tens of thousands of mussels. The ones in MacVeighs hand represent just a few of the native freshwater species she and her team have found over the past few weeks.

MacVeigh is a lead aquatic biologist and freshwater mussel specialist with Natural Resource Solutions Inc., a Waterloo-based environmental consulting firm subcontracted to carry out the relocation of mussels found near the soon-to-be replaced Argyle Street bridge over the Grand River in Caledonia.

I thought I was well prepared for the number we would see here, but Im blown away by the density, she says. It just bodes well for the Grand River that these species are able to survive and prosper.

Since the Department of Fisheries and Oceans has identified the area as critical habitat for at least one mussel species, the round pigtoe mussel, and that six other mussel species at risk could potentially be found in the area, all mussels must be relocated before construction can begin on the replacement bridge.

So far MacVeighs team has found 20,500 mussels. They expect to find up to 90,000 in total, within the 65-metre stretch of river near the bridge they will be searching.

Its a very mussel-dense area which is amazing to see, since theyre filter feeders and they represent decent water quality, says MacVeigh.

In addition, these native mussels do not seem to be competing with invasive mussel species. MacVeigh says her team has not yet found a single zebra mussel at the site.

The technique used to find them is called a tactile search, or racooning, says MacVeigh. The river is divided into one-metre by one-metre sections called quadrats, with one person in charge of thoroughly searching 10 centimetres into the riverbed of each feeling for any mussels with either hands, a trowel, or even an old mussel shell.

The mussels can be as large as a kids shoe, or smaller than a pinky fingernail.

From eight in the morning until four in the afternoon, rows of staff wearing waders and wetsuits can be seen from the bridge, crouching in the river, searching through the rocks and gravel under the surface.

Any found mussels are placed into flow-through buckets, which are orange Home Depot buckets with holes drilled into them.

Bucket after bucket full of mussels is walked from the search site to the processing tent set up in the water near the shore where every mussel is identified and sorted. If it meets certain criteria, it will be tagged, weighed and measured so it can be monitored for up to two years.

Then the mussels are put into another flow-through bucket where they are walked upstream and carefully placed at a new safe spot identified by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans.

Every day MacVeighs team must report the number and species of mussels found to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, which keeps track of the project to make sure the new location can handle the incoming number of mussels.

The mussels must be carefully placed in their new location in a way that lets them open and close their shells so water can flow through, and they can filter feed.

MacVeigh says there are more than 40 species of mussels in Ontario, and so far, 20 of them have been found in this small section of the Grand River.

Its exhilarating to see that mussels are still abundant and thriving when the majority of them are at risk or considered threatened, she says.

MacVeigh says many people ask her if the rivers mussels are edible. She notes that some species are known to live upwards of 100 years. They spend all those years filtering out bacteria and algae, keeping the river ecosystem clean, and would be unpleasant to eat.

Knowing the species that are here and being able to monitor their increase or decline will help determine stability of populations and indicate water quality, she says.

She says this work will help determine whether some mussel species should be considered at risk or if their populations are stable.

I remember growing up that I knew nothing about mussels, and I thought that they were just like skipping rocks. But being able to be immersed in the position that I am and become aware of what mussels do for the river  theyre amazing little creatures.
Ernest Owusu Bempah says because former President John Mahama is not a 'born leader' he doesn't know the value to handle 'position of trust'.



He mentioned other former Presidents like Jerry John Rawlings and John Agyekum Kufuor who worked hard and struggled to become President; saying "such people don't toy with leadership; compare them to John Mahama; he didn't go through any political struggle".



"It is very dangerous for someone who is not a born leader to be handed a position of trust..." he indicated further on Neat FM's 'Me Man Nti' programme.



Unwilling Mahama



The Director of Communications for Ghana Gas Company Limited further narrated how former First Lady, Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings convinced Mahama to become a leader.



"It was Nana Konadu who brought him in; he didn't even want to contest as MP . . . he never went there to campaign . . . he never wanted to become a running mate to Prof Mills (late) . . . he (Mahama) said I'm not interested and besides Northerners are tired of being second fiddle," he said, adding that he never wanted to be a leader.



Listen to him in the video below













Ernst Owusu Bempah added that the former President was a 'nobody' when Nana Konadu decided to "bring him in".



He further disclosed that because of his criticisms against the now flagbearer of the NDC he was tempted three times to collect bribe from former President John Mahama.



"They brought me money in a 'Ghana must go' bag and I rejected it three times," he told Mac Jerry on Neat FM's 'Me Man Nti' programme.



Listen to him in the video below





Source: Peacefmonline.com









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

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By PTI

MUMBAI: Actor Sanjay Dutt, who has been admitted to a city hospital here after he complained of breathlessness, on Saturday said that he is currently under "medical observation".

The 61-year-old star said at the Lilavati Hospital, he was tested for COVID-19 that turned out to be negative. He also assured his fans that he is "doing well".

"Just wanted to assure everyone that I'm doing well. I'm currently under medical observation and the COVID-19 report is negative as well," Sanjay said in a brief statement posted on Twitter and Instagram.

Just wanted to assure everyone that Im doing well. Im currently under medical observation & my COVID-19 report is negative. With the help & care of the doctors, nurses & staff at Lilavati hospital, I should be home in a day or two. Thank you for your well wishes & blessings  Sanjay Dutt (@duttsanjay) August 8, 2020

"With the help and care of the excellent doctors, nurses and staff at Lilavati hospital, I should be home in a day or two. Thank you for your well wishes and blessings. Please stay safe, everyone," he added.

His sister, Congress leader Priya Dutt said the actor was taken to the hospital in the evening for a "regular check-up".

"He was admitted to Lilavati Hospital around 4:30-5 pm for a regular check-up as he was feeling a little breathless. They did a COVID-19 test and the result was negative," she told PTI.

Priya added that the actor might get discharged on Monday.

"We have kept him in the hospital so that he gets all of his tests done. He has gone for a full check-up. I think he will come home on Monday," she said.

Sanjay is the eldest child of late actors Sunil Dutt and Nargis. He has two sisters -- Priya Dutt and Namrata Dutt. He is married to Manyata Dutt with whom he has two children, a son, and a daughter.

He also has a daughter, Trishala Dutt, from his first marriage to Richa Sharma. She died of a brain tumor in 1996.

On the work front, Sanjay is currently awaiting the release of "Sadak 2" and Ajay Devgn-starrer "Bhuj: The Pride of India", which will premiere on Disney+Hotstar.

He will also feature in the second installment of "KGF" and alongside Ranbir Kapoor in "Shamshera".

In 2019, the actor had starred in three movies -- Ashutosh Gowariker's period drama "Panipat", Karan Johar-produced "Kalank" and political drama "Prassthanam".
HOLYOKE  The College Democrats of Massachusetts said Sunday that no candidate, elected official, or staffer for either U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal Neal or his challenger in the upcoming Democratic primary, Mayor Alex B. Morse, had any role in drafting a letter that called out Morse for sexual relationships and other behavior involving college students.

To suggest that our decision to send the letter to Mayor Morse was a quid pro quo with Rep. Neal, his campaign, or anyone else is untrue, disingenuous, and harmful, the organization said Sunday in a statement released through its Twitter account.

Earlier this week, the organization and its affiliates at the University of Massachusetts Amherst released a letter outlining allegations that Morse used his position of power for romantic or sexual gain, including sexual relationships with students at UMass and other schools in the Five College Consortium. The allegations, like Morse candidacy against Neal  the high-profile chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee  has made national news.

Morse defended himself in a written statement Friday. He admitted to the relationships, but said they were consensual and that he was simply dating. He said he needs to be more aware of the power dynamics involved.

In the Sunday letter, the College Democrats of Massachusetts laid out those power dynamics in stark terms of academic ethics and access to political and professional opportunity:

Mayor Morse came to College Democrats of Massachusetts events and got to know our membership, and then sought out students that he met at our events privately on social media, in a manner widely understood by our generation to indicate intimacy. For the Mayor to pursue students he meets at College Democrats events is unacceptable. For an elected official who is also a lecturer at a university (a position that involves holding both academic and political power over students) to sleep with students at that university is unacceptable. In addition to being a Mayor and a lecturer, Mayor Morse is a widely-admired and well-connected gatekeeper to progressive politics in Massachusetts and nationally, which makes the task of refusing his advances fraught for college students who wish to enter progressive politics themselves. Cumulatively, the Mayors various positions of power create a significant and undeniable power imbalance between himself and the college students he sought out after meeting the at our events. We (including those affected by his behavior) recognize that where such a lopsided power dynamic exists, consent becomes complicated.

A statement from the College Democrats of Massachusetts regarding our letter to Alex Morse: pic.twitter.com/3nmhzmA7of  College Dems of MA (@CollegeDemsofMA) August 9, 2020

Morse taught a political science course at UMass Amherst for several years, most recently in 2019. It is not clear whether any of the relationships involved students who were in or had taken his classes.

The Sunday statement from the College Democrats said its members are not accepting Morse apology.

In his response to us, Mayor Morse did not deny any of these allegations, the letter reads. He specifically admitted to sleeping with college students. While he admitted to these actions, he did not fully acknowledge the harm that he had caused, nor did he indicate that he fully understood why his actions, were wrong.

The students also said Morses behavior harmed students who felt intimidated by his actions because he was a lecturer at UMass.

As we previously stated, CDMA feels that it is incumbent upon us to call out inappropriate behavior regardless of party affiliation or political ideology, the letter reads. Our decision to disinvite Mayor Morse from events was made solely to protect our members, and we made this decision and sent the letter as soon as those affected were comfortable sharing their stories anonymously. We extend our support to everyone affected by Mayor Morses actions. Accountability is necessary.

On Saturday, the University of Massachusetts Amherst said it is doing its own review of Morses behavior, and whether it might have violated federal Title IX protections against sex discrimination.

One Holyoke City Council member, Ward 5 Councilor Linda Vacon, has called for him to resign as mayor.

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New Delhi :

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday refused to entertain a PIL for directions to the Centre, RBI, police and the AAP government to make arrangements for prisoners, both convicted and undertrial, to go on parole to their respective banks for exchanging demonetised currency notes.

A bench of Chief Justice G Rohini and Justice Sangita Dhingra Sehgal dismissed the petition after the lawyer who moved the plea, failed to answer its query as to the number of parole applications filed for exchange of old notes after the demonetisation move.

The court said it will give reasons for its decision later.

Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Sanjay Jain, appearing for the Centre, told the court that as per the jail manual any cash recovered from an inmate when he is taken to prison is deposited in a bank and on his release it is returned to him, which now will be done in the new currency notes.

Regarding cash at an inmates residence, the ASG said family members of a prisoner can go to the bank and deposit the amount as without KYC (know your customer) information, a person can deposit upto Rs 49,000 at one time.

The petition was filed by a lawyer, Shashwat Bhardwaj, who had contended that in the interests of justice, inmates should be allowed to go on parole for a couple of days to exchange their old Rs 500 and Rs 1000 which were demonetised by the government on November 8 this year.

He had also sought directions to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to provide facilities or make arrangements for officials of respective banks, in which inmates have an account, to come to the jail and collect the demonetised currency from the prisoners.

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
Richmond, Va.

The death of George Floyd and widespread protests over racial injustice have prompted several states to move at a lightning pace to pass significant policing reform proposals that in some cases have languished for years.

The urgency is bipartisan, as both Democratic and Republican majorities in various legislatures have moved quickly to pass bills banning chokeholds, making it easier to hold officers legally accountable for their actions and other reforms. GOP-controlled Iowa took about a week to pass a series of policing bills in mid-June. A week later, the Colorado Legislature, where Democrats hold the majority, passed a sweeping police accountability bill that sped through the legislative process with bipartisan support.

Minnesota passed a broad slate of police accountability measures that include a ban on neck restraints like the one used on George Floyd before his death in Minneapolis. The state is one of only two in the country where partisan control of the legislature is split.

"This kind of rapid response from legislators, on this type of issue particularly, is not something I've ever seen previously," Amber Widgery, a program principal on criminal justice issues at the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Since Floyd's death in late May, there have been about 450 pieces of policing reform proposals introduced in 31 states, according to a count by the NCSL. Many states had finished their normal legislative session at the time of Floyd's death and are planning to address police accountability next year. But some states are having special sessions this year and others moved quickly to pass bills during the normal legislative calendar.

"The national protests that followed George Floyd's killing have shown that the nation is demanding stronger police accountability," said California state Sen. Steven Bradford.

California's legislature is in the final month of a session repeatedly interrupted by the pandemic and lawmakers are pushing to enact nearly a dozen police-related laws. One would require law enforcement officers to immediately intercede and report what they believe to be the use of excessive force. Another would allow criminal suspects to apply for victims' compensation if they were injured by police use of excessive force.

Another state expected to take action soon is Virginia, where a new Democratic majority disappointed some criminal justice reform advocates earlier this year with a go-slow approach. Now lawmakers are set to debate a wide range of policing and other reforms in a special session starting later this month. One proposal that has drawn pushback would downgrade the charge of assault on a police officer from a felony to a misdemeanor in cases where the officer is not injured.

State Del. Lamont Bagby, chairman of the Legislative Black Caucus, said it's unfortunate that Floyd's death was necessary to create a sense of urgency for policing reforms.

"But we won't pass up the opportunity," he said.

Pennsylvania lawmakers quickly approved two police oversight bills in June, legislation that included measures Black lawmakers and their mostly Democratic allies had tried to pass for years in the Republican-controlled General Assembly.

Law enforcement's reaction to the state-level push has been mixed, with police groups supporting some measures and opposing others. In Colorado, a new law that eliminated the qualified immunity defense that generally protects government workers from lawsuits was strongly opposed by some police. Officials say a handful of veteran officers in the state have since resigned, saying the financial risk isn't worth it.

The protests have not moved every state toward putting new limits on police powers. If anything, protests in Missouri have only fueled backlash and pro-police sentiment, primarily among Republican elected officials.

Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years.

With the state legislature in a special session, Republican Gov. Mike Parson, a former sheriff who is campaigning to keep his seat in November, directed lawmakers to focus on an uptick in violence in the state's largest cities. He dismissed bipartisan calls from Black legislators and activists for the legislature to address police accountability issues, saying those issues need to be debated next year.

In Oregon, where the most populous city, Portland, has experienced some of the country's fiercest clashes between law enforcement and protesters, lawmakers will return for a second special session starting next week to address the state's budget.

During a special session in June the Legislature passed several police reform bills, including a measure that limits the use of chokeholds and another creating a statewide police discipline database.

Now some are pushing for the Legislature, which Democrats control by large majorities, to be more aggressive and use the second special session for even more police-related action. Measures the Oregon Legislature might consider include a total ban on the use of tear gas, requirements that officers' display their last names and badge numbers, and a prohibition against chokeholds under all circumstances. Not all legislative leaders are onboard.

"COVID-19 upended our economy and put state services at risk," said Senate President Peter Courtney, a Democrat from Salem. "We have another long session coming in January. Now is the time for the budget."

Virginia state Sen. Scott Surovell, who is helping spearhead the criminal justice efforts in that state, said there is a sense of urgency to get as much done as possible during the special session and not put off items until next year's normal legislative session. He said he is worried the final stretch of the presidential election and its outcome could make it harder to maintain focus.
Another week, another rollercoaster for TikTok: while Ireland welcomed the Chinese tech giant building a European data centre here with open arms, Trump issued the executive order to have the app banned completely in the US, radicalising an entire generation of American teens in one fell swoop.

A couple of weeks ago Ireland was pretty sceptical about TikTok too - in fairness, its privacy and security problems aren't really up for debate at this point.

But I suppose we feel now that if TikTok has to mine absolutely all of our data, passwords, keystrokes and browsing history, isn't it as well that they store them in Ireland? Isn't that better than having them God-knows-where? At least we can keep an eye on it this way, and maybe get a heads up when the digital fascist revolution comes.

An animal howl of pain and vengeance rang out on Friday when the executive order was signed, and #SaveTikTok began trending.

Everyone's least favourite horseman of the apocalypse, Zuckerberg, rode in to save the day. 'Don't worry teens,' he didn't say, 'Ol' Mark has your back - you can do your TikTokking on Instagram Reels now, which is basically the same as TikTok except American and intrinsically less cool!'

The idea of Reels does not comfort the millions of US teens who feel that the potential ban is the real rock bottom of 2020 - Reels is like the oven chips your mum says you can have at home when you drive past a McDonald's.

Teens don't want Reels. But millennials might well move over, seeing as we're only tourists on TikTok anyway and most of our business is on Instagram. It's handier to have everything in the same place and we're less likely to be faced with teen memes about our own incompetence daily.

*******

Everyone knows there's nothing worse than being teased by teenagers: we hope to leave it behind when we stop being teenagers ourselves, but it doesn't always work that way.

It's millennial cultural tastes that seem to bother teens the most: why do we think Harry Potter is important? Why did we make Hamilton a Thing? Why brunch?

But, in fairness, although we may say we feel personally victimised by Gen Z memes, we have not been - unless we are Lin-Manuel Miranda.

Last week, teens noticed that the Hamilton creator has a disconcerting habit of biting his lip coquettishly for selfies. There's no doubt: it's disturbing and the more you look at it, the more disturbed you become. One was even available framed on his official merchandise shop. Teens turned the Pulitzer Prize winner into an unstoppable meme, Lin-Manuel-biting-his-lip content had hundreds of millions of views last week, all served with a helping of profound cringe - possibly the most powerful force on the internet.

TikTok is essentially a way for teens to tease anyone they want, and turn it into a form of collective action: Trump is eviscerated by 14-year-olds en masse every day, in ever more creative and surreal ways; and the story here is undoubtedly about how Lin-Manuel's 'progressive' hip-hop rendering of the founding fathers represents everything that is wrong with 'liberal' millennial politics according to Gen Z, and the sharp cultural incline we're at - but all I can think about is whether I'm currently doing something I think is innocuous that would appal teens if they knew.

I hope I find out what it is before they do.

*******

Hopes for a late-summer miracle were dashed last week as guest restrictions for weddings remained in place. This was difficult and sad for many couples who'd been planning their big day - but the consternation ran much deeper than that, right to the core of our national self-esteem.

What is Ireland without two-day weddings with hundreds of people? Who are we really if we're not sing-shouting directly into a tuxedoed stranger's ear at 3am? What is a wedding if not an opportunity to meet loads of your distant aunts for the first time because their presence is an absolute deal-breaker for your mother, though she hasn't seen them since someone else's wedding in the '90s?

This is the country of Posh Spice and David Beckham's wedding - with thrones. This is where a literal Beatle (admittedly, Paul McCartney) got married. For goodness sake: this is Ireland where not 10 years ago we hosted Brian and Amy Huberman's there's-no-recession-in-Leitrim festivus. Who could have imagined that not a decade later we'd be talking about 50-guest caps and salt shaker on request only?

However, many millennials are secretly thrilled at the news, which means they can have the anti-social wedding they always dreamed of, without their best friend's terrible boyfriend - and you, yes you - in attendance.

*******

If millennials can indeed be redeemed, our redeemer, our Messiah, would be Michelle Obama.

Michelle Obama has all the dreamy impressiveness of her husband, without the bummers, like (a) being a cis man (booooo say millennials), (b) presiding over the bombing of civilian children.

Millennials feel let down by our institutions and elders; it's kind of our whole thing. In a world of Karens and boomers, when it seems like no one understands us and Gen X has just left us out to dry, Michelle Obama is our safe space. She is the mother every 30-year-old woman furloughed from her marketing job needs. She is the aunt who knows what you mean, you don't need to explain: we trust Michelle Obama.

For years Michelle Obama has been saying: shoot for the moon! You never know the power of your own potential! I, Michelle Obama, believe in you.

She also told us, "it's not always enough to lean in, because that s--- doesn't work all the time", and we felt seen: Michelle knew it wasn't our fault. Michelle is on our side.

And last week Michelle said that she has been suffering with some 'low-grade depression', not just because of quarantine, but because of Trump and rife hypocrisy.

Said the millennials: same.

Anecdotally it seems last week a lot of us hit a wall: there was the dawning realisation that life really isn't going to get back to normal, not really, and the awareness of the number of people who aren't willing to help the collective effort against the virus. It has felt hopeless and demoralising in a new and more upsetting way.

And Michelle Obama feels it too; we're validated once again.

It may be a cliche to say 'you're not alone', but when the person you're 'not alone' with is Michelle Obama, you can at least let yourself off the hook.

If Michelle can't cope, like, you definitely can't.
As protests over the police killing of George Floyd spread across all 50 states, Black Lives Matter art popped up on walls, streets, signs and thousands of boarded up businesses that have been shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The murals and graffiti by protesters and professional artists tell a story of pain and resistance  expressions that will become historical artifacts from the largest civil rights movement in U.S. history.

But in some cases, the art has already been destroyed or taken down.

Protesters used black paint to deface a Black Lives Matter mural painted in front of Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue in New York City, marking the third time in a week the mural had been vandalized. https://t.co/XfdBy1LD4e pic.twitter.com/0srK5sKhSv  ABC News (@ABC) July 19, 2020

A Black Lives Matter painting calling for an end to racism was vandalized in Fayetteville, North Carolina; a Black Lives Matter painting outside Trump Tower in New York City was defaced with buckets of black paint as the vandals shouted all lives matter, a 140-foot colorful mural in Spokane, Washington was vandalized with splashes of white paint and in Lansing, Michigan and Brownsville, Texas artists worked to restore defaced murals of George Floyd. Moreover, as businesses opened up across the country, art-covered plywood started to disappear.

An 'eerie' parallel of two knees: George Floyd's death renews debate on Kaepernick protest

But in Minneapolis where Floyd was killed, local activists have launched efforts to preserve the art and keep it in the community.

PHOTO: Alongside other activists, Leesa Kelly is working to save the artwork created during the George Floyd protests. (Courtesy Leesa Kelly)

How art inspired a movement

As video of a police officer kneeling on Floyd's neck for nearly 8 minutes went viral, Minneapolis native and activist Kenda Zeller-Smith tried to avoid the images.

Story continues

I don't really watch those videos anymore only because I feel like they are very detrimental to my mental health and my emotional well-being, she told ABC News. I felt really afraid and scared, but at the same time, I wasn't processing my emotions  I just feel like I was numb and I wasn't I wasn't able to emotionally feel much."

Similarly, for activist Leesa Kelly, who has been working with Zellner-Smith on the save the boards effort, Floyds killing was a really intense, and a really devastating experience.

Protesting daily took a toll on her physical and mental health. I would have days where I couldn't get out of bed, Kelly told ABC News.

But a few days later as Zellner-Smith drove to work, a piece of new protest art caught her eye and the emotions it elicited allowed her to experience a really powerful and uplifting moment.

PHOTO: Minneapolis activist Kenda Zellner-Smith picks up plywood boards with Black Lives Matter art as part of her effort to preserve the boards. (Courtesy of Kenda Zellner-Smith)

It wasn't a big, colorful piece it was something more just straight to the point. And I remember that was like the first time, you know, in my car that I felt something -- like really felt something that wasn't these weird kind of gray area emotions, she said.

I felt like we've been hurt and I felt like people this time get it, like it's not just Black people that are watching this video and being like this has happened again and again and again, she added. "This time everyone has heard and it's our city is heard.

When Zellner-Smith got to work and shared her experience, one of her co-workers mentioned that she noticed that some new Black Lives Matter art created amid the protests had already been taken down.

It was then that she felt a sense of urgency and created an Instagram account to save the boards.

Bill de Blasio paints Black Lives Matter street mural outside Trump Tower

Meanwhile, seeking other ways to support the protest and keenly aware of the power of visual art, Kelly said that she also became intrigued by the idea of preserving the murals honoring Floyd.

Kelly launched her own project, Memorialize the Movement, and has since connected with Zellner-Smith to join efforts in saving the art.

[These] beautiful elaborate murals have been an expression of grief. It's been a way for Black people to cope with what's happening, and to express their pain, their anger and the hope that they have for a better America, for a better Minneapolis, Kelly said.

Keeping the art in the community

Over the past couple of months, Zellner-Smith has been working with other activists to track down artists and convince businesses to donate the art instead of getting rid of it. She has been picking up the plywood art in a truck and has so far, collected more than 40 pieces in a warehouse. Zellner-Smith hopes to find a home for the pieces  one that would keep them in Minneapolis and accessible to the citys Black community.

I feel like that art just deserves to be here and serve as a reminder of our power as a community, she said, adding that its important to preserve all forms of expression and not just the pretty art because the authentic messages of expression were the pieces that really started my healing process.

Meanwhile, Kelly said she has collected 30-40 boards, which make up six or seven large murals.

She said that she felt it was critical for history to be recorded and documented through these murals for people to be able to visualize what had happened, and thus gain a deeper and better understanding of these historically significant demonstrations against systemic racism.

DC mayor unveils 'Black Lives Matter' painted on streets of capital

The artwork speaks to the severity of the situation, Kelly continued, and therefore, we need the story told in a way that people will absorb it. But not in a way that makes them feel comfortable, they don't need to feel comfortable. They need to know what's happening.

Zellner-Smith and Kellys long-term plans for the plywood murals is still in the works. They, alongside several other organizations, and activists across Minneapolis, are working to find a long-term solution to exhibit and preserve the art permanently.

PHOTO: Activists are working so save the murals created by artists during the George Floyd protests. (Courtesy Leesa Kelly)

But both women stressed the importance of the art remaining accessible to the Black community in Minneapolis.

If all of a sudden this stuff disappears, and it goes into these spaces, you know, that are generally predominantly white spaces, or these institutions, it takes away from the people that don't have access to get over there, Zellner-Smith said.

Our pain, our suffering and our healing is not something to be bought, and it's not something to be put on display for others outside of the community, she added.  I didn't want people to be coming to pay or not pay, but to look at something that is a really raw, real and current representation of our pain and our trauma.

PHOTO: Activists are working so save the murals created by artists during the George Floyd protests. (Courtesy Leesa Kelly)

Kelly said that she reached out to the Minnesota African American Heritage Museum and Gallery, the only Black-owned and operated museum in Minnesota, to see if they would be willing to host an exhibit of the murals, and tell the story the way that it needs to be told, which is really honest and really raw and told by Black people.

This is something we're still facing every single day. And so we need to tell that story in a way that makes people understand that this is an ongoing issue, and it needs a solution, Kelly said.

Louisville's top cops refuse to answer questions on Breonna Taylor case

As Black Lives Matter murals are disposed of or defaced, Minneapolis activists launch effort to preserve the art originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
Amidst the increasing rage in the aftermath of the deadly Beirut blast, protesters have stormed Beirut's government buildings to rally against the country's ruling class.

On Saturday, as protesters attempted to get into Lebanon's parliament building, clashes against the country's Internal Security Forces (ISF). The site has been repeatedly targeted by protesters since October last year when the anti-establishment protests began.

According to Aljazeera, buildings that were already destroyed by the blast were set on fire by thousands of people who joined the riots. They also engaged in several encounters with the police and were answered with rubber bullets, tear gas, and even with live ammunition fired into the air.

In addition, a protester identified as Sandra Khoury stated that the government's ruling class has taken everything from her, including her youth, her money, and this time the lives of her people. During the interview, Khoury was holding a piece of onion on one hand which was being used by protesters to alleviate tear gas effects.

Meanwhile, the fire brigade of the city of Beirut did not leave their bases despite the calls to spray water on the protesters. According to them, their refusal to do so is their way of protesting for the lives of at least 10 of their colleagues who perished in the blast. In addition, Governor Marwan Aboud of Beirut put out an order that fire brigades should only respond to fires in order to formalize the matter.

Read also: Ammonium Nitrate: What is This Chemical Culprit Behind the Deadly Beirut Blast

The ISF also reported that one of their officers dies during one of the clashes against the protesters. In their report, it was stated that the protesters attacked the officer causing him to fall from a hotel located in central Beirut. Moreover, the Lebanese Red Cross/Crescent stated that around 175 people were treated on the scene of the protests while 63 were taken to hospitals.

On top of this, protesters also clashed with the army later on Saturday near the main ring road of Beirut just by the city's center. The soldiers who have been given more power by the declaration of a state of emergency in the nation's capital used sticks to stop the civilians who retaliated by throwing rocks.

Lebanon's Information Minister Resigns

Meanwhile, Mana Abdel Samad, the information minister of Lebanon has become the first government official to resign in the aftermath of the blast that took the lives of more than 150 people and reduced the capital into nothing more than a pile of debris, The Guardian reported.

During her announcement of her resignation, she apologized to the people of Lebanon for failing them, referring to the failures of the government that could have possibly led to the catastrophic incident.

Since the explosion has been widely seen by people as evidence that the core of the state is already rotting, the Maronite Church of Lebanon's head called the entire government to step down from their posts. Bechara Boutros al-Rahi, patriarch of the Maronite also joined the people who have been calling the cabinet members of prime minister Hassan to resign over the blast. He also added that the incident can be referred to as a "crime against humanity"



Related article: Beirut Blast: Lebanon Security Forces Fire Teargas at Protesters

@ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has said he would not support a northern candidate in the next Presidential election.

Speaking in an interview with the BBC Hausa Service on Saturday, as published by The Cable, El-Rufai said the idea of zoning the presidential seat is necessarily not constitutional, but is based on the countrys political arrangement which he believes should be respected.

According to the Governor, The southern part of the country is supposed to produce the president come 2023; I dont support a northerner to vie for the seat after President Muhammadu Buhari, based on Nigerias political arrangement.

That is why I came out and said that after President Buhari has been in office for eight years, no northerner should run for office. Let the southerners also have eight years.

If you look at how I am, I dont take anyone to work with me for the zone he came from. The eligibility I look at is if who is entrusted to the public will hold it properly.

El-Rufai, while stating that he had no interest in becoming the president in 2023, described the rumours as baseless.

It has been said that I have loved the presidency since I was a minister in the FCT. This is nonsense. I do not want the Nigerian presidency. God gives power, whether you like it or not, if He wants it, He will give it to you, but I have never sought the presidency of Nigeria, no one can say I have ever sought it, he added.
Photograph: Montinique Monroe/Getty Images

In mid-June the oil pipeline billionaire Kelcy Warren hosted a fundraising bash at his palatial Dallas, Texas, home that drew the presence of Donald Trump and raised $10m for the US presidents campaign coffers.

Warrens fundraising gusher for Trump occurred after he and his wife had donated a hefty $1.7m since 2019 to Trump Victory, a fundraising vehicle for Trumps re-election and the Republican National Committee, according to the non-partisan Open Secrets group.

All this campaign largesse comes after Warrens company Energy Transfer notched a major win soon after Trump took office, winning regulatory approval to move ahead with the controversial and legally embattled Dakota Access pipeline.

The Dallas billionaires ties with Trump were boosted when Trump in 2017 tapped Rick Perry to be energy secretary; a former Texas governor, Perry sat on the board of an Energy Transfer subsidiary before his energy post, and afterwards in early 2020 joined another Energy Transfer board.

Warrens fundraising skills, personal checks and access to top officials, underscore how fossil fuel billionaires and other energy moguls from Texas to New York to Oklahoma, have opened their wallets wide and raised cash to re-elect Trump, after three-plus years of enjoying Trumps sweeping energy deregulation and tax cuts.

Since Trump took office his favorite Super Pac, America First Action, has raked in millions of fossil fuel dollars. The Super Pac has received $1m from the shale oil billionaire Harold Hamm and his company Continental Resources, and another $1m from the coal mogul Robert Murray, who runs the eponymous Murray Energy, according to Open Secrets.

The Super Pac has also pulled in $500,000 from the coal billionaire Joe Craft of Alliance Resource Partners, $750,000 from the Texas oilman Syed Javaid Anwar of Midland Energy, and $500,000 from John Catsimatidis, a top investor in United Refining Co, as Open Secrets and news reports show.

Moreover, Trump tried to reassure his fossil fuel friends of his support in early April when the pandemic was causing them economic pain. Trump huddled at the White House with a select group of industry moguls including Hamm, Warren and the Texas oilman Jeff Hildebrand to solicit ideas for new federal relief.

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Afterwards, Trump pledged he would make funds available to these very important companies.

An oil drilling operation near New Town, North Dakota, on 1 July. Under Trump the Dakota Access pipeline received regulatory approval. Photograph: Tannen Maury/EPA

Like Warren and Hamm, Hildebrand has given big bucks to help Trump. Hildebrand, who runs the Hilcorp Oil, and his wife have given $775,000 to the Trump campaign and allied committees since 2017, campaign records show.

Energy analysts see ample reasons why fossil fuel honchos have been staunch Trump donors.

The fossil fuel industry and its leaders will continue to support Donald Trump because he will do anything he can to continue fossil fuel dominance of the American energy sector, said David Bookbinder, the general counsel for the non-partisan Niskanen Center, which has advocated for more alternative fuels.

To be sure, were the presumptive Democratic nominee, Joe Biden, to win the presidency it would be a sharp break with Trumps pro-fossil fuels agenda. Biden has endorsed a $2tn green energy plan and has indicated he would roll back many of Trumps regulatory breaks for fossil fuel companies.

Biden also has championed the Paris climate agreement of 2015 that aims to fight global warming by curbing fossil fuel emissions more aggressively. But Trump, who has called manmade climate change a hoax, denounced the accord as a total disaster for US competitiveness and withdrew the US from the agreement effective 4 November, the day after the election.

Biden has pledged that if he is elected, the US would rejoin.

Little wonder that Trump Victory, the joint fundraising committee of Trumps campaign and the RNC, has raked in $9.3m from fossil fuel donors in 2019-2020, while its counterpart Biden Victory has raised a meager $40,465 from fossil fuel donors in the same period, according to Open Secrets.

Still, Bidens consistent lead in recent national polls coupled with Trumps fears of losing any more ground to the challenger have kept him pressing fossil fuel allies for more funds, and reassuring them with new initiatives.

Donald Trump adjusts his jacket as he stands with Double Eagle Energy co-CEOs Cody Campbell, left, and John Sellers in Midland, Texas. Photograph: Evan Vucci/AP

On 29 July, Trump returned to Texas for more fundraisers in the fracking stronghold of Odessa which reportedly was expected to haul in $7m for Trump Victory.

Trumps visit also showcased his oil industry bona fides by visiting and getting a photo op with two CEOs at a leading fracking company, Double Eagle Energy Oil Rig, in Midland where he enthused there were a lot of big beautiful rights behind me.

Trumps latest Texas swing underscored its status as a must-win state that went heavily for Trump in 2016 but where some recent polls have shown him in a tight race with Biden.

Trump also let his Texas supporters talk policy in a more intimate setting: for $100,000 donors could join a roundtable policy discussion with Trump, and two top cabinet officials from energy and interior.

But perhaps to ensure that his fealty to fossil fuels cant be doubted, Trump in mid-July announced major changes to the landmark National Environmental Policy Act to help speed up reviews for large pipeline and infrastructure projects.

Bill Miller, a major industry lobbyist and consultant in Austin, told the Associated Press that while many fossil fuel companies were hurt by the pandemic, parts of the industry had begun to recover. Its the kind of industry that remembers their friends through thick and thin, and Trump is their friend.
(Newser)  A Louisiana man serving life for selling less than a gram of weed is about to see the light of day, CNN reports. Prosecutors have agreed to free Derek Harris, a military veteran who was arrested in 2008 for selling an officer less than $30 of marijuana. In a Louisiana Supreme Court hearing last month, Harris argued that his legal team fumbled the case by not challenging his sentence. Seems his original lawyer had failed to tell the judge, Durwood Conque, that he was obligated to hand down a shorter sentence if the mandatory minimum "shocks the conscience," per the Times-Picayune.

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But at the time, Conque said he felt compelled to sentence Harris to life under the state's habitual offender rulewhich took into account the man's prior convictions of drug-dealing, distribution, robbery, and burglary. "His prior offenses were nonviolent and related to his untreated dependency on drugs," Louisiana Supreme Court Justice John Weimer wrote in his opinion to free Harris, adding that he was "not a drug kingpin." Harris' lawyer added that his client suffered from a substance abuse problem after serving in Operating Desert Storm. Harris says he wants to resettle near his family in Kentucky and reconnect with his brother, Antoine. (A man who got life for stealing hedge clippers isn't so lucky.)
Rajesh Asnani By

Express News Service

JAIPUR: Days before the commencement of Rajasthan Assembly session, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has written a letter to all the 200 MLAs of the state and urged them to "stand with the truth" and help to save democracy.

Over the past four weeks, Gehlots government has been facing a huge crisis after rebel Congress leader Sachin Pilot revolted in mid-July.

In his letter, CM Gehlot wrote about the coronavirus pandemic and "attempts to topple his government". He also mentioned that ex-Prime Ministers like Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi and Atal Bihari Vajpayee faced defeats during elections "but they didn't let the institution of democracy weaken".

He further added, "I appeal to all of you that to save democracy, to ensure that voters continue to trust us and a wrong precedent is not set by us, you all should listen to the voice of people. While respecting the sentiment of your family members, your voters, please channelise your efforts in ensuring that the government - elected by the people - continues to deliver with all its strength".

READ|Six Rajasthan BJP MLAs leave Gujarat for unknown destination

This is the third major letter that CM Gehlot has written in the past fortnight during which he had even shot off two letters to PM Narendra Modi. The Chief Minister also used the opportunity to highlight the work done by his government since it came to power in 2018. He also listed out how his government successfully fought the COVID-19 pandemic and took crucial steps to strengthen the economy.

Despite the conciliatory tone of his letter, CM Gehlot clearly targeted the BJP and Sachin Pilot camp that triggered the current political crisis in Rajasthan. The Chief Minister lamented that just when his government was busy trying to fight the coronavirus in those circumstances, some of our own people along with the opposition leaders tried to indulge in a conspiracy to topple a democratically elected government, which is unfortunate".

He recalled in the letter that during 1993-96, horse-trading was done to topple the Bhairon Singh Shekhawat government. But he claims that  as a union minister and state party chief, I met Governor Baliram Bhagat, PM PV Narsimha Rao and protested against the toppling of an elected government which is against democratic values and I consider it as political enormity. he said.

CM Gehlot further remembers that in 1984, during Rajiv Gandhis tenure, the anti-defection law was brought and when Atal Bihari was the prime minister, a provision was made that two-third members of a political group can make a separate group or can merge in another group.

He further adds that to ensure a stable government, the six-BSP MLAs decided to merge with the Congress in Rajasthan, which is legal but destabilizing a government through horse-trading or other means is unjustified. It is against democratic values, asserts the chief minister and states, we respect the elected representatives, no matter which political parties they belong to, and ensure that their justified demands related to the constituency are fulfilled.

Finally, CM Gehlot concludes his letter with a final appeal - I hope you will stand by the truth and cooperate in fulfilling the promises made to the public for the states development and prosperity.

While the CM has repeatedly claimed that he has a majority in the 200-member House, he has avoided a clear mention of a trust vote in his public statements including in this letter.

This is primarily due to the fact that he currently enjoys a very slim majority given that the Pilot camp has pushed his government to the brink. As he heads towards the Assembly session, CM Gehlot seems to have written this letter to appeal to the conscience of individual MLAs in the hope that he will get a positive response across party lines.
When I first interviewed Om Puri in 1991, on the sets of City of Joy, he was an actor to reckon with for his mind-blowing performances. And when I asked him to what or whom he attributed this, he named two people: Richard Boleslawski, whose Acting: The First Six Lessons remained his acting bible; and Ebrahim Alkazi, who taught him those lessons practically and much more.

When a legend speaks so highly of his mentor, the mentor no doubt is a legend. So, I was already in awe of Ebrahim Alkazi long before I met him. With his passing, it is truly the end of a theatre era in India.

English vinglish

If it hadnt been for Alkazi saab, Om would have left the National School of Drama (NSD) and wouldnt have been an actor, and in that case I wouldnt have got to interview him or meet him. So, I remain indirectly grateful.

NSD was a transforming experience for Om Puri in 1970. But it did not begin with a bang. Coming from a small town near Patiala, he could not follow the lessons in English. Even his Hindi had a heavy Punjabi accent. This left him tongue-tied and he decided to return home after a painful six months, to become an overseer or a clerk. But the person responsible for averting this was Alkazi, who was then the director of NSD.

If it hadnt been for Alkazi, Om Puri would have left the National School of Drama (NSD)

Instead of asking him directly, he sent a senior student, M K Raina to befriend Om and learn the problem. When Raina reported to Alkazi, the latter called Om and said, You are hardworking and a good student and if at all you get stuck for words in English, just continue to speak in Hindi, dont hold back. But you must read the English paper aloud daily, listen to the English news and talk to friends in English.

That was Oms first lesson in acting.

And when his once tongue-tied non-English speaking student was awarded the OBE (Order of the British Empire) Queen Elizabeth II, in 2005, for his contribution to British cinema, Alkazi was over the moon. He sent Om a handwritten letter: I regard you as an actor of great emotional power and extraordinary range. You are an earnest individual, and with the searing intensity of your performances you have raised the dramatic skill in this country.

For Om, this was the best award.

Teacher by passion

Born to Saudi Arabian-Kuwaiti parents and growing up in Pune, Alkazis father was a wealthy merchant with houses in Mumbai and London. After the early days of English theatre with Mumbais Theatre Group and Sultan Padamsee in the 1940s, Alkazi was one of the earliest Indians to graduate from RADA (the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts) in London.

Passionate about theatre as an actor and director, Alkazi was even more passionate about teaching. His roll call of students reads like the whos who of Indian theatre and films. After taking up the directorship of NSD, he turned it around and Alkazi became synonymous with NSD at its best.

Ebrahim sitting with Om and Nandita Puri, along with his daughter Amal Allana and wife Roshan, sitting second from far right and left, respectively

Alkazi saab was a hardcore disciplinarian, authoritative and very serious about teaching, recalled Om Puri in his biography, Unlikely Hero: Om Puri. He never missed a class, was seldom late and ruled his students with an iron hand. Once when Indira Gandhi was a little late for the performance of Razia Sultan at NSD, Alkazi insisted the performance begin, notwithstanding the absence of the Prime Minister of India!

In his book, Om said: He taught Western and Absurdist theatre and his classes were the most popular. He invited Fritz Bennewitz and other international directors to work with us. He encouraged us to widen our horizons by attending music and dance performances at the Triveni Kala Sangam. He also introduced the concept of library period twice a week where we had to sit in the library and read whatever we wanted. There was a listening class where you could pick up your favourite music and listen to it with earphones on. These classes were Alkazi saabs contribution towards making the students well-rounded in their knowledge of the fine arts.

But most of all, he taught us the dignity of labour. Many a time he would pick up the broom and start to clean the classrooms and corridors if they were dirty, even though he would be impeccably dressed. I never saw him wear a bush shirt!

Ultimate praise

Om was specially touched when, during a rehearsal of Chekhovs Three Sisters, where he essayed the lead role of Vershanin, Alkazi stopped at a particular moment and asked Om to repeat the scene. He then announced to the class, This is the moment of truth in acting.

And that was also the moment of immense gratitude a student could have for his master. It is indeed Ebrahim Alkazi who proved formative in making Om Puri the actor.

The writer is an author and chairperson of the Om Puri Foundation. Portions of this piece were extracted from Unlikely Hero: Om Puri by Nandita Puri, published by Roli Books.

From HT Brunch, August 9, 2020

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Gettyimagesbank



By Jung Min-ho



Japanese rice cultivars such as Koshihikari have become increasingly popular among Koreans in recent years as more consumers seek new varieties of this staple food.



In a bid to compete with them in "the luxury rice market," a government research agency has recently developed and released two rice varieties  Haedeul and Alchanmi  which aim to overtake their Japanese rivals over the next few years.



"Japanese rice cultivars are overpriced and overrated," a senior researcher, surnamed Roh, at the Rural Development Administration (RDA), told The Korea Times Thursday. "Our task is to challenge the popular perception that Japanese rice is tastier, which is not true. Blindfolded, I bet you would choose Korean rice over Japanese."



In fact, in a blind test last year, 48 percent of participants picked Haedeul over Koshihikari  a Japonica rice cultivar internationally known for its good taste  which received 28 percent of votes.






The World Economic Forum (WEF) is planning to make a decision in September regarding the next year's annual meeting in Davos. According to reports, the annual meeting which takes place in the small town of Davos in Switzerland every year, where business and political leaders from all over the world join in to discuss global, regional and industry agendas, will happen next year in January as usual but with limited attendees. Media reports suggest that the next edition of the meet will also be held virtually, with delegates joining virtually due to coronavirus pandemic.

Read: UK Makes Face Masks Mandatory In Closed Spaces To Curb COVID-19 Spread

The World Economic Forum has not confirmed any of these plans yet but the organisation in June had informed that it still planned to hold some form of gathering next year. Davos 2020 conference happened between January 21 to January 24, when the coronavirus disease had not picked up pace as it did in February. As per estimates, some 3,000 delegates such as the head of states, business leaders, influencers joined in for the annual meeting, including climate activist Greta Thunberg, Bollywood actress Deepika Padukone. The theme for this year's meet was - Stakeholders for a Cohesive and Sustainable World.

Read: Fauci Says COVID-19 Vaccine With 98% Effectiveness Hard To Achieve

COVID-19 situation

The United States is currently the worst affected country in the world with over 5 million confirmed infections and at least 1,62,000 deaths to date. According to figures by Johns Hopkins University, the world has recorded more than 19 million cases as of August 8 and over 7,27,000 deaths. The United States is followed by Brazil, India, Russia, and South Africa in terms of cases, while in deaths, the US is above Brazil, Mexico, the United Kingdom, and India.

Read: Covid Outbreak Won't End Till 60-70% Of Humans Are Immune: WEF Shares Worrying Scenarios

Read: Horseshoe Crab Blood Essential In Making Coronavirus Vaccine: WEF

(Image Credit: AP)
ANN ARBOR, MI -- A 25-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly climbing through a window and sexually assaulting a 96-year-old woman in her home.

Ann Arbor police on Saturday, Aug. 8 announced that Dejon Dejor Lynn was arraigned on charges of first-degree criminal sexual conduct and first-degree home invasion.

Police said the assault happened about 3:40 a.m. Aug. 4 at a residence within the Colonial Square Cooperative in the 3200 block of Williamsburg Road.

Detectives determined that a man entered through a window and sexually assaulted the 96-year-old resident.

Ann Arbor police worked with the Michigan State Police crime lab to process evidence and quickly identified a suspect. Police said the victim and Lynn live in the same residential complex.

Police took a search warrant to Lynns residence on Aug. 5, but he was not there. Two days later, on Aug. 7, police learned of his location and took him into custody at a Belleville residence.

Lynn is held in the Washtenaw County Jail without bond.

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Discovering antiviral and anticancer drugs will soon be faster and cheaper thanks to new research from Simon Fraser University chemist Robert Britton and his international team.

For the past 50 years, scientists have used manmade, synthetic and nucleoside analogs to create drug therapies for diseases that involve the cellular division and/or the viral reproduction of infected cells. These diseases include hepatitis, herpes simplex, HIV and cancer.

That process has been intensive and challenging, limiting and preventing the discovery of new drug therapies." Robert Britton, Chemist, Simon Fraser University

Now, using the new process, scientists can create new nucleoside analogues months earlier than with the previous method, paving the way for quicker drug discoveries. A paper on this research was published today in the journal Science.

"The reduction in time and cost of synthesis will vary, depending on the individual nucleoside analogue, but we have examples where we cut a 20-plus step synthesis, which takes several months to complete at the very least, down to three or four steps, which would only take a week or so," says Britton.

"This is clearly a critical factor when it comes to treating newly evolved viruses like SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19)."

The team shortened the process by replacing naturally occurring carbohydrates typically used for synthesising these types of drugs.

"This entirely new approach builds in opportunities to diversify these drug scaffolds and should inspire new and unusual nucleoside analogue drug discoveries," says Britton.

The team also replaced naturally derived chiral materials with achiral materials since they are generally cheaper and more versatile.

L.-C. Campeau, Merck's head of process chemistry and discovery process chemistry says, "One of our priorities is identifying problems limiting the speed of drug discovery and development, especially regarding synthesizing custom nucleoside analogues. We are very excited to collaborate with Professor Britton in establishing new methods to access this therapeutically important class of molecules."

Britton is also an investigator with GlycoNet, a Canada-wide network of researchers working to further our understanding of the biological roles of sugars.

The three-year project was funded by GlycoNet and Merck, patent pending.
An activist who was arrested for an allegedly obscene video that depicted her children painting on her naked body has been denied anticipatory bail, causing outrage on social media.

A case was filed against activist Rehana Fathima in June after she posted a video of her minor son and daughter painting on her semi-nude body on YouTube. The video was intended to express the control and freedom women should be allowed to exert on their own bodies.

She used the hashtag BodyArt and Politics and wrote: No child who has seen his own mothers nakedness and body can abuse the female body."

Following the video that went viral and attracted widespread outrage, two complaints were filed at different police stations against and the Kerala State Commission for Protection of Child Rights had asked the police to register a case against her under POCSO.

Following the complaint, she had filed an anticipatory bail plea in the High Court which was rejected in July. Expressing shock at the video, the Court observed that Fathima should not have used her children to make her point.

Why do you do all this? You might be an activist but why do this? What kind of nonsense is this? It is obscenity clearly which you are spreading. It will leave the society in a very bad taste," Kerala HC said.

Fathima has since surrendered to cops. Following the incident, several voices have taken to social media to call out the Courts decision.

The interesting case of #RehanaFathima makes me question my own prejudices. If a father asked his children to paint his chest, that would be art! But if a mother does the same, thats obscene and is child abuse?" a user asked. When a mother goes semi nude to feed her baby, that is considered fine. But when she normalize going semi nude to become an art piece of their children, that is considered taboo," another added.

The interesting case of #RehanaFathima makes me question my own prejudices. If a father asked his children to paint his chest, that would be art! But if a mother does the same, thats obscene and is child abuse? Oh, the deep-seated dichotomies of our patriarchal minds. https://t.co/hovvQqUx9I mansi b  (@idli_idol) August 7, 2020

When a mother goes semi nude to feed her baby, that is considered fine. But when she normalize going semi nude to become an art piece of their children, that is considered taboo.#RehanaFathima Yash Panchal (@YashSilvery) August 7, 2020

Rehana Fathima, a woman arrested for letting her kids paint her semi nude body, meanwhile, men roam around in streets their underwear, while harassing underaged girls and go unpunished.  Kukkur-Daas (@aman_of_culture) August 9, 2020

lmao not surprised that a MALE judge denied Rehana Fathima bail because women please hide your bodies unless it is used for male gratification or as a birthing factory Anusha Subramanian (@Anusha0712) August 7, 2020

Despite the criticism, this is not the first time the activist has made headlines for controversial demonstrations.

A former BSNL employee, Fathima became a household name after she unsuccessfully tried to enter the Sabarimala temple in black clothes after the Kerala HC granted permission women of menstruating age entry into the temple premises, despite heavy local outrage. She was arrested in November for causing religious unrest, which she claimed was the reason BSNL used to fire her from her job.

READ: Activist Rehana Fathima, Who Attempted Sabarimala Trek, Arrested for Facebook Post

Before that, Fathima had gone viral on social media after she posted a photo of herself wearing nothing but two watermelon cups that she used to hide her torso. The image was intended to express outrage against a Kerala professors sexist comments when he compared a students breasts to sliced watermelons". The image went viral for all the wrong reasons and resulted in wide-scale slut-shaming.

Fathima has often challenged gender roles in Kerala, be it with her videos performing traditionally male dances such as Thrissur puli kali" and Tiger Onam. She was even part of the Kiss of Love movement in 2014 against moral policing in Kerala.

As of now, Fathima is facing charges under Sections 13, 14 and 15 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 and under Section 67B(d) of the Information Technology Act, 2000 as well as the Section 75 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015. The video has been deemed as having shown children in indecent or obscene light.

In her defence, the activist has said that the video was not pornographic and that her nudity did not represent the nudity of the children.

Read all the Latest News, Breaking News and Coronavirus News here
President Muhammadu Buhari just gave critics more reason to tear their hair out with his manner of endorsing the partys candidate for the Sept 19 guber election in the state.

He first did on Friday, provoking anti-corruption warriors in the opposition and the ruling APC to anger.

Buhari said his endorsement of Ize-Iyamu, whom he described as a dashing candidate, has angered the opposition party. That is the PDP grumbling Buhari supported candidate on trial for corruption.

But among those that will be cut to the marrow with Buharis latest defence of Osagie Ize-Iyamu and his campaign are the APC Governor Forum DG Salihu Lukman, Kaduna Gov Nasir el Rufai, all of the Adams Oshiomhole bashers, among others. These all share the PDP sentiment, and are brazenly in opposition to their own candidate.

Buhari wondered why the PDP, which, according to him, has been struggling to clear its name from alleged deals with the underworld in Dubai and the United States has found the voice to attack the anti-corruption war of his administration.

The president was referring to the PDP hammermenex-V.P Atiku Abubakar, ex-Sen. President Bukola Saraki, and otherscaught in a photo op with notorious cybercriminal Hushpuppi already caged in the US after his extradition from Dubai.

Let PDP first withdraw the governorship nominations it gave to Ahmadu Fintiri and Bala Mohammed of Adamawa and Bauchi States respectively, before it opens its mouth and talk on the efforts of this administration in fighting corruption. Or else, it should shut its mouth forever and leave us to do what it dares not attempt, Buhari said in a statement.

Both PDP governors were actually on bail from criminal trial on several counts of fraud and embezzlement.

The president listed others on corruption trial while they made effort to contest, including former Deputy Governor, Lucky Imasuen, PDP Chairman in the State, Chief Dan Orbih, and other leaders of the party in the state, Tony Aziegbemi and Efe Erimuoghae, insisting that only the courts can convict.

Whether the Buhari defense will cut it or not with el-Rufai, Lukman, others is not in doubt.

The Kaduna governor allegedly leaked the decision by SGF Mustapha Boss to push Buhari into welcoming Ize-Iyamu on Friday. El-Rufai has not hidden his disdain for the Ize-Iyamu, his major backer ex-chairman Oshiomole, and the campaign council chair and Kano Gov. Abdullahi Ganduje.

The two northern governors started their cold war when the Kano government knocked Kano Emir Sanuai Lamido Sanusi of the perch. El-Rufai has been skin-close to te deposed emir since thento the chagrin of Ganduje.

Lukman, too, has accused Oshiomhole of hogging the Ize-Iyamu campaign. The DG was among those who joined forces to kicked Oshiomole out of the national office two months ago.

Insider sources also leaked the decision AGF Abubakar Malami and IGP Mohammed Adamu made to provide police back up for the 14 APC lawmakers that impeached the Edo House Speaker Frank Okiye on Thursday.

With the glowing tributes Buhari just paid Ize-Iyamu and his campaign effort, one can only imagine how the enemies withi and outside the APC will be stewing.
A total of 332 evacuees arrived Murtala Mohammed Airport, Lagos, from London at 7:40 p.m. local time via Air Peace flight No. P47854 on Saturday.

Another 87 arrived from Sudan while 308 arrived from Ethiopia.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM) disclosed these on its Twitter handle, @nidcom_gov.

332 evacuees arrive Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos, from the Gatwick Airport, London UK, Aug. 8, at about 7:40p.m Local time via Air Peace @flyairpeace Flight No. P47854 operated by Air Europe.

Earlier, we announced the arrival of Sudan Airways from Sudan with 87 Nigerians landed at Abuja at about 0915HR and also Airpeace flight from the UAE arrived at about 1150HR with 311 Nigerians landed in Abuja and also proceeded to Lagos.

READ ALSO:

Ethiopian Air from Addis Ababa also arrived at about 1300HR with 308 Nigerians on board where 94 evacuees disembarked in Abuja and the rest proceeded to Lagos, the body stated.

NiDCOM also revealed that the evacuees have all proceeded on a 14-day self-isolation, as mandated by the Nigerian Centre for Diseases Control (NCDC) and the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19.

(NAN)
The Mankhurd police on Saturday arrested three persons accused of gang raping a minor. The accused kidnapped and allegedly sexually assaulted the 15-year-old survivor in a moving vehicle on July 29. The complaint was filed at Mankhurd police station after the survivor narrated her ordeal to her aunt.

According to the police, at around 11 am when the survivor was walking on the Ghatkopar Mankhurd link road, a silver coloured WagonR car intercepted her and the occupants forcefully grabbed her, pulled her inside and drove off.

In her statement, the survivor told the police that when she started struggling to get out of the car, the accused overpowered her and kept on driving. They touched her inappropriately and threatened her with dire consequences if she tried to oppose them.

The accused then allegedly sexually assaulted her in the moving car and later dropped her near the highway. Before letting her go, they warned her against disclosing the incident to anyone and also threatened her that if she did, they would kill her.

Prakash Chougule senior inspector from Mankhurd police said, The survivor shared her ordeal with her aunt and then they filed a complaint. Following her complaint, we registered the first information report and arrested three accused.

The survivor and accused are not known to each other. We are investigating the case thoroughly, Chougule added. Two of the arrested accused are 25-year-olds and the third one is a 24-year-old.

Police booked the accused under various sections of the IPC and POCSO.
On a sweltering afternoon on Oxford Street, many pedestrians are wearing face masks despite the heat. But few of those ambling along London's famous retail Mecca are carrying shopping bags.

Inside the stores, it is eerily quiet and staff at several retailers explain that few customers are actually coming in to make purchases despite huge discounts of 70 per cent or more.

Near Marble Arch tube station, a number of stores have shuttered completely, including Boux Avenue, Russell & Bromley, Links of London and Adidas.

Visitors to London's West End  which includes Oxford Street, Regent Street and Bond Street was down a scary 72 per cent last month compared with July 2019

Research prepared for The Mail on Sunday reveals the picture is similar across London's top shopping destinations, which are recovering at a much slower rate than other major cities.

The new figures show that the number of visitors to the West End  which includes Oxford Street, Regent Street and Bond Street  was down a scary 72 per cent last month compared with July 2019.

Outside the capital, the situation was not quite as bleak, but still frightening for retail chiefs.

The average fall in cities across the UK, including Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds, Liverpool and Cardiff, was 62 per cent  with the nation's high streets in general suffering a 50 per cent fall.

The figures from Springboard show pain across the board due to blanket restrictions in shops where masks are mandatory, changing rooms are closed and make-up counters out of action.

But they suggest smaller city and town centres are having more luck persuading shoppers to return  with the fear factor seemingly greatest in the biggest centres.

Ghostly: Debenhams' flagship store in London's Oxford Street has suffered hugely this year

The research will increase worries over the future of some of the country's most iconic shops.

Retailers said the situation is now so bad that swathes of Oxford Street  where retailers such as Selfridges, John Lewis, Marks & Spencer, Debenhams and House of Fraser operate flagship stores  could be boarded up within a year unless the Government takes radical action.

It is understood that lobby groups have warned Government Ministers that 200 of London's top shops will close over the next 12 months unless more action is taken to aid the sector.

Shopping: Grace Riley and Emma Beevers

One executive at a major retailer said: 'It's just not going to be viable for us to operate in London unless something is done soon. This is a really big issue.'

Bosses said the Government needs to draw up a more nuanced tax regime to allow for the changing landscape of demand and replace business rates  a property tax which amounts to about half the rent costs of a store.

'After the business rates holiday ends in April, Oxford Street is going to be boarded up from one end to the other if nothing is done about this,' the executive added.

Shoppers appear to prefer more convenient centres where it is possible to travel in quickly, park and visit a handful of shops in a short space of time  none of which is available in Central London.

Diane Wehrle, insights director of retail analyst Springboard, blamed caution among shoppers and the collapse in tourism. But she added: 'Many people continue to work from home which deprives city centres of daytime footfall that is so important as it accounts for two-thirds of all footfall.'

On Oxford Street, Grace Riley, 22, from Clapham, said she had decided to come shopping after her holiday in Portugal was cancelled. Her friend Emma Beevers, 22, added: 'It's normally packed in this part of Oxford Street [outside Selfridges] and you'd have to avoid people on the pavement but it's much quieter than usual.'

Janet Gilbert, 71, and Linda Lambert, 77, had travelled from Bexleyheath to Central London by train and then walked to the West End to avoid the Underground.

Deserted: Oxford street at the end of April, when shops were still shut

They did not mind wearing masks on the train and in shops but said they had sometimes been uncomfortable because some shops were warm inside, adding: 'We've been in four or five shops and it's quiet. Debenhams was very quiet  it was fine going in but there weren't many people.'

Rachel Cracknell, 29, who was with her friend Hilary, 28, said: 'Normally this would have been more of a browse and a chat but it's just not as much fun at the moment.'

Another shopper, Julia, 61, from Walthamstow, with her daughter Lucy, 16, said: 'We noticed straight away that three or four of the shops [near Marble Arch tube station] had closed. I used to work round here and it was really vibrant. But I feel very sorry for all the businesses now.'
VIRDEN, MAN.  A tornado that killed two teens when it threw their vehicle into a Manitoba field surprised even those in the area who are accustomed to violent weather, as well as a stormchaser, with its destructive strength.

A lot of people just cant comprehend how wind can pick up a piece of machinery in a yard that weighs thousands of pounds and throw it half a mile across the highway onto another piece of property, said Murray Wright, mayor of Virden, after visiting the farm where the twister touched down south of the community on Friday night.

Its a terrible thing.

Police said they arrived at the farm near Highway 83 south of Virden shortly after 8 p.m., local time. They said the property was extensively damaged and two vehicles had been thrown into a nearby field.

A search of the first vehicle, found closer to the highway, located a 54-year-old man from the Sioux Valley Dakota First Nation, who was taken to hospital with serious but non-life threatening injuries.

Officers located the second vehicle over a kilometre away, and they along with other first responders found a man and a woman, who were both 18 and from Melita, Man.

Police believed the pair were ejected from their vehicle, and they were pronounced dead at the scene.

Officers along with EMS continued to search the area for other possible victims but none were located.

Misheyla Iwasiuk, a local storm chaser, said it was the biggest storm shes seen in her life.

It was a pretty bad scene ... This storm was large, very violent and it wasnt anticipated, she said. We were assisting a gentleman whose vehicle unfortunately was flipped over and he was trapped inside of it.

She said multiple people stopped to help before emergency crews arrived and extracted the man from the car, which landed on top of downed power lines.

Iwasiuk said farm buildings in the area took extensive damage after taking a direct hit from the storm. She also said emergency responders were assisting people in the fields who were hit by the storm while in farm equipment.

The Wallace District Fire Department noted in a Facebook post that there were no injuries to anyone in the farmyard.

Environment and Climate Change Canada meteorologist Alysa Pederson described the twister as very large in size, and said preliminary findings from their investigation indicate wind speeds reached 190 kilometres per hour.

Pederson said a storm warning was issued at 6:30 p.m. local time Friday, and later at 7:43 p.m., a severe thunderstorm warning for the area was issued. At 7:49 p.m., a tornado warning was sent.

The government agency said a damage survey will be completed Saturday with the help of a team from the University of Manitoba.

Theres still people in the field and theyre still doing an assessment, Pederson said, noting that anyone with video or information about damage from the storm should reach out to Environment Canada.

In 2018, a 77-year-old man was killed when a powerful tornado touched down in Alonsa, west of Lake Manitoba, lifting several homes off their foundations and sweeping one vehicle into the lake. The RCMP said the man was found dead outside what remained of his wrecked home.

That tornado was estimated to have had wind speeds up to 280 km/h. Trailers in a campground disappeared, presumably into nearby Lake Manitoba.

Wright, meanwhile, said dozens of people came out to help clean up the area near Virden on Saturday, using machinery to move broken trees and grain bins scattered across the ground. Those who couldnt help with the physical labour were providing food to the workers.

With a farming community everybody helps out in a time of tragedy. This is whats going on today, he said.

The majority of people also have their power back on after Manitoba Hydro crews worked around the clock, the mayor said. The debris will be cleaned in the coming days.

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American technology giant Twitter reportedly had talks about an acquisition deal with Chinese video-sharing app TikTok. The Wall Street Journal reported that it remains to be seen whether Twitter would move ahead with its plan to acquire TikTok as it seems that any such deal would face serious obstacles.

The biggest challenge to any acquistion deal involving TikTok is the executive order passed by Trump administration from August 6, which bans TikTok parent company ByteDance from handling transactions in the US. The order, which has been strongly opposed by China, takes effect within 45 days. Notably, US President Donald Trump considers TikTok a potential security threat but the US government has failed to produce any evidence to prove that ByteDance or TikTok has ever shared the data of Americans with the Chinese government. TikTok has also opposed Trump's decision and is likely to challenge the Trump administrations order.

It may be recalled that few days ago Microsoft had announced that it was in talks with ByteDance for a possible acquisition. The WSJ report claimed that Microsoft is without doubt the front runner in this deal and Twitter should be seen as a long-shot in a bid for TikTok. Twitter is much smaller than Microsoft and it is highly unlikely that Twitter would be able to pay as much as as the software giant.

On August 2, Microsoft had said that its CEO Satya Nadella had spoken to President Trump about a possible TikTok acquisition, which would include TikTok operations in the US, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand. Microsoft is planning to wrap the talks by September 15th.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-10 00:08:35|Editor: huaxia

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LJUBLJANA, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) -- The Slovenian government has decided to allocate 200,000 euros (236,000 U.S. dollars) for emergency humanitarian aid to be sent to inhabitants of Beirut, the capital of Lebanon, via the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and Caritas Internationalis, the Slovenian Press Agency (STA) reported on Sunday.

Slovenia has deployed a logistics expert to Beirut who would work in the team of the EU Civil Protection Mechanism. The deployment was scheduled for 14 days, starting on Aug. 7, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Saturday.

According to the latest data, the two explosions in the port of Beirut on Aug. 4 had claimed at least 158 lives and injured 6,000 others.

Lebanese President Michel Aoun said on Sunday that rebuilding Beirut requires a lot of efforts and resources during a virtual International Support Conference for Beirut and the Lebanese People.

Representatives from Britain, Qatar, the United States, the EU, China, the World Bank and others attended the virtual donor conference. (1 euro = 1.18 U.S. dollars) Enditem
Waterloo Region  A heat warning lasting Sunday, Monday and possibly Tuesday for Waterloo Region and southern Wellington County has been issued by Environment Canada. Temperatures could reach up to 32 degrees Celsius, feeling like 38 to 40 degrees on Sunday and 33 degrees, feeling like 39 to 41 degrees on Monday.

Environment Canada advises the heat could affect young children, pregnant women, older adults, those with chronic illnesses and anyone working or exercising outside. Anyone working outside should take regularly scheduled breaks in a cool place. Environment Canada also reminds people not to leave anyone or any pets inside a parked vehicle.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-09 01:07:10|Editor: huaxia

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KHARTOUM, Aug. 8 (Xinhua) -- Sudan's Foreign Ministry on Saturday expressed "reservation" toward a U.S. warning against travelling to Sudan for its citizens.

The U.S. State Department's travel warning issued on Thursday rests "on the claim that crimes such as kidnapping, armed robbery, home invasion and carjacking can occur," the ministry said in a statement.

"The warning contained a negative signal about the possibility that the police and other security forces may respond violently to the peaceful demonstrations," it added.

The ministry reaffirmed Sudan's full cooperation with the United States and the international community to combat all forms of terrorism in Sudan and the region.

The Sudanese Foreign Ministry also urged its U.S. counterpart to push forward high-level constructive bilateral dialogue to normalize the relations of the two countries. Enditem
A 36-year-old man has been shot dead in front of his wife in the Bronx after he inadvertently flicked a cigarette butt into the direction of three strangers, police have revealed.

Curtis Holley was shot in the stomach around 8:45pm on Saturday near his home on East 165th Street and Prospect Avenue after becoming embroiled in an argument with the three men.

He flicked a cigarette, a police source told the NY Post. It just happened to be in the direction of three individuals. He didnt mean to do it.

Holley had been walking along the street with his wife at the time of the incident. The verbal confrontation that ensued quickly turned violent, with one of the men pulling out a gun and opening fire.

Curtis Holley was shot in the stomach around 8:45pm on Saturday near his home on East 165th Street and Prospect Avenue after becoming embroiled in an argument with the three men

Holley had been walking along the street with his wife at the time of the incident (scene of the shooting shown above in a Google Maps image)

When EMTs responded to the scene, Holley was found unresponsive and unconscious, lying on the pavement with a single gunshot wound to the abdomen.

He was rushed to Lincoln Hospital, where he was pronounced dead just hours later at 11:55pm.

So far there have been no arrests in relation to Holleys murder and the shooter has still not been identified.

Neighbors of Holley at his previous home, a city-run temporary housing unit in Harlem, told the NY Daily News that the 36-year-old was ousted from the residence in July after breaking a window on the first floor.

Occupant Philip Farrice, 67, said Holley had assaulted him and robbed him while at the shelter, the outlet reported.

I guess I dont have to look over my shoulder, Farrice said. Its sad though.

Other former neighbors of Holley remembered him as a kind man.

Every time Id see him he was on the elevator with his wife and we would talk, Donna Prophete, 55, told the Daily News. Hes a nice guy though. He was very friendly.

In total, two other men were killed and several others were injured in a series of overnight shootings in New York City between Saturday and Sunday.

Holley had been walking along the street with his wife at the time of the incident. The verbal confrontation that ensued quickly turned violent, with one of the men pulling out a gun and shooting him

Holley was rushed to Lincoln Hospital, where he was pronounced dead just hours later at 11:55pm

Within hours of Holley being pronounced dead, 23-year-old Madgey Saleh was shot and killed in a drive-by shooting on 40th Avenue near the Queensbridge Houses in Long Island City at around 3:20am Sunday.

Saleh was found shot in the abdomen and was rushed to Cornell Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Police say he was gunned down when an unknown suspect fired several shots from a moving car as he was stood on the sidewalk outside of a deli.

A 25-year-old man, Johnathan Distant, was shot and killed an hour laters on 183 street in Brookville, Queens, at 4:30am.

Distant was shot in the lower back and later pronounced dead at Jamaica Hospital, police said.

No arrests have been made in any of the deadly shootings.

Neighbors of Holley at his previous home, a city-run temporary housing unit in Harlem, told the NY Daily News that the 36-year-old was ousted from the residence in July after breaking a window on the first floor.

Several others were also shot and wounded across the city early Sunday, including a double shooting in Queens, when a 22-year-old man was shot in the shoulder, and a 24-year-old male was shot in both the shoulder at buttocks at 1:10am on Corona Avenue and 90th Street in Elmhurst.

Both victims were taken to Elmhurst hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, police said. A 23-year-old man was taken into custody for the incident, and a gun was found.

Two more people were shot in a second double shooting on University Avenue in The Bronx after 4am. A 51-year-old male was shot in the left hand and a second man, 48, was hit in his right leg.

Police say the shooting may have been the result of a gambling game gone violent.

At least one witness said that the men had been playing dice before the gun shots rang out, and dice were also found at the scene.

Both injured men were taken to St. Barnabas Hospital but refused to cooperate with investigators, police said.

A 29-year-old was also wounded by two gunshots to his buttock on West 137th Street in Harlem at 4:30am.

According to the NY Post, more than 50 people were injured in at least 38 shootings over the past week, well above the 16 shootings during the same period last year.

The spree has become the latest sign of escalating gun violence in the Big Apple, with the number of recorded shootings already exceeding the number reported in the whole of last year.
When close to half the companies in Canada have price-to-earnings ratios (or "P/E's") below 15x, you may consider Calian Group Ltd. (TSE:CGY) as a stock to potentially avoid with its 22.1x P/E ratio. However, the P/E might be high for a reason and it requires further investigation to determine if it's justified.

Calian Group certainly has been doing a good job lately as its earnings growth has been positive while most other companies have been seeing their earnings go backwards. The P/E is probably high because investors think the company will continue to navigate the broader market headwinds better than most. If not, then existing shareholders might be a little nervous about the viability of the share price.

See our latest analysis for Calian Group

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Keen to find out how analysts think Calian Group's future stacks up against the industry? In that case, our free report is a great place to start.

How Is Calian Group's Growth Trending?

The only time you'd be truly comfortable seeing a P/E as high as Calian Group's is when the company's growth is on track to outshine the market.

Taking a look back first, we see that the company grew earnings per share by an impressive 38% last year. The strong recent performance means it was also able to grow EPS by 39% in total over the last three years. Accordingly, shareholders would have probably welcomed those medium-term rates of earnings growth.

Shifting to the future, estimates from the seven analysts covering the company suggest earnings growth is heading into negative territory, declining 3.0% each year over the next three years. With the market predicted to deliver 25% growth per annum, that's a disappointing outcome.

With this information, we find it concerning that Calian Group is trading at a P/E higher than the market. It seems most investors are hoping for a turnaround in the company's business prospects, but the analyst cohort is not so confident this will happen. Only the boldest would assume these prices are sustainable as these declining earnings are likely to weigh heavily on the share price eventually.

Story continues

The Final Word

Typically, we'd caution against reading too much into price-to-earnings ratios when settling on investment decisions, though it can reveal plenty about what other market participants think about the company.

We've established that Calian Group currently trades on a much higher than expected P/E for a company whose earnings are forecast to decline. Right now we are increasingly uncomfortable with the high P/E as the predicted future earnings are highly unlikely to support such positive sentiment for long. This places shareholders' investments at significant risk and potential investors in danger of paying an excessive premium.

Don't forget that there may be other risks. For instance, we've identified 4 warning signs for Calian Group (1 is a bit unpleasant) you should be aware of.

If these risks are making you reconsider your opinion on Calian Group, explore our interactive list of high quality stocks to get an idea of what else is out there.

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.
US-based researcher says the armed group is regrouping and remains a persistent threat in the oil-rich nation.

The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL or ISIS) remains a persistent threat in Libya and could rise again unless the countrys long-running conflict is brought to an end, a new study has warned.

The study, conducted by the Strategic Studies Institute at the United States Army War College, says ISIL is regrouping, quietly expanding capacity  until [it] might once again be strong enough to be a challenger in Libya.

It said the armed group retained its capacity to launch small-scale attacks in Libya, which was a deviation from its earlier strategy of high-profile shock and awe raids.

They engage in small-scale attacks and skirmishes necessary to establish themselves in the criminal smuggling network that link sub-Saharan Africa to the Libyan coast in the north, according to the study conducted by Azeem Ibrahim.





Oil-rich Libya was plunged into chaos when a NATO-backed uprising in 2011 overthrew longtime ruler Muammar Gaddafi, who was later killed.

The country has since split between the internationally recognised Government of National Accord (GNA) in the west and renegade military commander Khalifa Haftars self-styled Libyan National Army (LNA) in the east.

Each faction is backed by militias and foreign governments. While the GNA is supported by Turkey, the LNA is backed by Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Russia.

In April last year, Haftar launched an offensive to seize the Libyan capital, Tripoli, from the GNA. But the 14-month campaign collapsed in June this year when the GNA gained the upper hand, driving his forces from the outskirts of Tripoli and other western towns.

After a months-long campaign by GNA forces, ISIL was expelled in May 2016 from the coastal city of Sirte, the biggest territory controlled by the armed group outside its then heartland in Syria and Iraq.

According to the study, after ISILs removal from Sirte, most of its activity moved to Fezzan in the southern Libyan desert, where the group has increasingly embedded themselves in the local human and illicit goods trafficking, particularly along the refugee migration routes through Libya.

ISIS [ISIL] in Libya is overwhelmingly composed of non-Libyan foreign fighters, further diminishing their capacity to embed themselves in the local political landscape, it said.

However, Ibrahim warned the situation could change if the Libyan civil war is prolonged, and called on the international community to ensure stability in the country.

[The] longer the instability persists, the longer we go without a central government that does not need to fight everyone else and can keep a closer eye on what ISIS and other groups like it are doing in the hinterlands, the higher the chance that ISIS [or someone similar] will stage a large-scale resurgence.
A childhood friend of Prince Harry expressed reservations about Meghan Markle before the couple became engaged, it has been claimed.

According to a forthcoming biography of the couple, Tom 'Skippy' Inskip advised Harry and Meghan to live together before "doing anything more serious".

A source close to the couple told the authors of Finding Freedom: Harry And Meghan And The Making Of A Modern Royal Family, which is due to be published on Tuesday, that although Inskip's advice "came from a good place", Harry "didn't totally see it that way".

The source, who is understood to have spoken to the authors with the permission of Harry and Meghan, added: "It really hurt him that someone he was so close to would not trust his judgment."

It has been previously revealed that Harry's brother, William, also advised him to slow the relationship down, leading to a rift between the two.

Inskip and Lara Hughes-Young, his wife, were reportedly "punished" for expressing reservations by being excluded from Harry and Meghan's evening wedding party at Frogmore House in May 2018.

According to reports last year, Harry and his childhood friend were reconciled after the death of Inskip's mother-in-law last year. It was Inskip who arranged the notorious 2012 Las Vegas party at which Prince Harry was caught playing naked billiards with showgirls in a hotel suite.

He was also with the prince when he was seen inhaling laughing gas - or "hippy crack" - at another party.

It has also been claimed that when Harry and Meghan began their relationship after a blind date in July 2016, William's wife Kate Middleton had not "shown much interest" in the American television and film actress.

A source told Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand, the authors of Finding Freedom: "Despite the fact that Harry was a regular guest in her household, Kate seemingly didn't care to get to know who this woman was who had made her brother-in-law so happy."

However, this may simply have been a reflection of the fact Kate was an "extremely guarded person". The source added: "Meghan was disappointed that she and Kate hadn't bonded over the unique position they shared" and that Kate felt they did not have much in common "other than the fact that they lived at Kensington Palace".

Harry and Meghan married at St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle in May 2018 and went on to have a son, Archie, who is now 15 months old.

The US celebrity magazine In Touch, which yesterday reported Inskip's reservations regarding Harry and Meghan's relationship, has previously claimed she has "no regrets" about her and her husband's decision to move to the US in March this year.

"She looks and feels amazing," said a source, adding that Meghan was particularly pleased to no longer have to abide by the royal dress code.

"Meghan's got used to dressing down," a source said. "On a day-to-day basis, she wears jeans or yoga pants, big sweaters and flats or sneakers, which she feels comfortable and relaxed in, and keeps her make-up minimal," said the source.

Although Meghan is said to enjoy getting "dolled up" from time to time, she "hated" the royal family's "old-fashioned rules and regulations like wearing dresses below the knee".

Buckingham Palace officials said they would not comment on the book.

Telegraph Media Group Limited [2021]
Kim Kardashian has been trying to salvage her marriage to Kanye West, after the strain in their relationship became public during his presidential campaign rally in South Carolina in late July

The spouses and their four children were seen exiting a private jet, which left early Sunday morning, after a seven-day trip to the Dominican Republic.

As she carried her youngest daughter, the 39-year-old reality star sported a skin-tight midi dress and kept her hair in two tight braids.

Looking good: Kim Kardashian and husband Kanye West touch down in Miami after their 'make or break' vacation in the Dominican Republic

West appeared at ease, holding his phone, and gliding down the plane's stairs wearing an oversized white hoodie and a pair of massive black sunglasses.

'Kim and Kanye are getting along. They both seem much happier.' a source told People, after they returned to the United States.

Earlier reports about their trip explained the pair are reporting on marital issues and chose to 'travel together, so they can be away in private.'

Looking healthy: West appeared at ease, holding his phone, and gliding down the plane's stairs with ease

Family first: As she carried her youngest daughter, the 39-year-old reality star sported a skin-tight midi dress and kept her hair in two braids

On Friday, Kanye gave a glimpse of their Caribbean getaway by sharing a video with his eldest child, who joined him for a viral dance craze on Twitter.

In their video, the father-of-four could be seen hopping out of their vehicle to shake a leg on the street.

As Kim laughed in the background, her seven-year-old daughter, North, followed Kanye and started dancing alongside him, beaming from ear to ear.

Up next: The pair are reportedly getting along much better

Making it work: Kim has reportedly been trying to find 'a way to save her marriage' to the 43-year-old Stronger hitmaker in the Dominican Republic, according to People

Kim has reportedly been trying to find 'a way to save her marriage' to the 43-year-old Stronger hitmaker with their Punta Cana vacation, according to People

However, she's 'exhausted' by the stress of dealing with her husband's bipolar episodes, as well as work and looking after the pair's children.

The source also said that Kanye has refused to give up his unlikely tilt at the country's highest office in the 2020 election.

'Kim is not happy about it, but this isn't her focus,' they added.

Tough times: Kardashian has been trying to salvage her marriage to Kanye West, after the strain in their relationship became public during his presidential campaign rally in South Carolina in late July

Struggling: Kim is 'exhausted' by the stress of dealing with her husband's bipolar episodes, as well as work and looking after the pair's children, a source told People

Instead the socialite just wants what's best for their children North, Saint, four, Chicago, two, and Psalm, one.

Meanwhile, on Thursday morning, Kanye tweeted out an image of daughter North West from when she made her debut rap performance on the stage at his Yeezy Paris Fashion Week 2020 show.

The rapper's tweet comes just weeks after his political campaign rally and Twitter meltdown, where he discussed how he and wife Kim Kardashian once considered having an abortion when she was pregnant with North, and hinted that she once had an affair with rapper Meek Mills - which Kanye has since publicly apologized for.

Looking after the kids: Kim just wants what's best for their children North, seven, Saint, four, Chicago, two, and Psalm, one

Fixing things: They were recently seen leaving Wyoming via private jet as they stay on the remote estate to try and rebuild their relationship before its 'beyond repair'

Just like dad: Four-year-old Saint West followed his parents off the private set

Kanye posted the image of North, adding a heart emoji along with the tweet.

His tweet came during a trip with wife Kim and their four children as what can only be described as a 'fortress' - as their relationship hangs by a thread following a series of public meltdowns, TMZ reported.

They were initially seen leaving Wyoming via private jet after staying on the remote estate to try and rebuild their relationship, before its 'beyond repair.'

Last straw: Prior to their trip, Kim and Kanye were seen together during an emotional reunion in the car after she jetted to their ranch in Wyoming, following his series of controversial statements about their marriage, which she attributed to his bipolar disorder

Prior to their trip, Kim and Kanye were seen together during an emotional reunion in the car after she jetted to their ranch in Wyoming, following his series of controversial statements about their marriage, which she attributed to his bipolar disorder.

During their trip to the Caribbean, they reportedly kept topics like Kanye's presidency campaign off the table and politics in general, as they appear to be at odds on topics, like being pro-life and pro-choice, according to TMZ.

After his presidential campaign rally on July 19, in which he tearfully revealed he and Kim had considered aborting North, Kanye launched into a days-long string of Twitter rants denouncing both his wife and his mother-in-law Kris Jenner.

Luxurious: During their trip to the Caribbean, they are reportedly keeping topics like Kanye's presidency campaign off the tale and politics in general, as they appear to be at odds on topics like pro-life and pro-choice, according to TMZ

Make or break trip: West can be seen at the luxurious Villa Tartaruga, where he and Kim were holed up for a week during their 'make or break' vacation in the Dominican Republic

Last month, Kim took to Instagram following Kanye's controversial behavior, admitting that she was 'powerless' amid his meltdown, calling her husband 'brilliant but complicated'.

She said: 'Those that understand mental illness or even compulsive behavior know that the family is powerless unless the member is a minor.'

The reality star said 'his words sometimes do not align with his intentions' after Kanye last night claimed he has been 'trying to get divorced' from Kim since she met his fellow rapper Meek Mill at a hotel.

Stunning views: The spouses worked on reconnecting with each other at the beautiful beachfront villa

Kanye said that Kim was 'out of line' to meet Meek Mill at a hotel in Los Angeles to talk about 'prison reform', and blasted her mother Kris Jenner as 'Kris Jong-Un' while accusing the pair of 'white supremacy.'

However, Kanye apologized to his wife in a tweet last week.

The rapper tweeted: 'I would like to apologize to my wife Kim for going public with something that was a private matter. I did not cover her like she has covered me.to [sic] Kim I want to say I know I hurt you. Please forgive me. Thank you for always being there for me.'
Joe Biden leads President Trump 48% to 42% in Wisconsin and 49% to 43% in Pennsylvania, according to the latest CBS/YouGov Battleground Tracker poll.

Why it matters: Trump's surprise wins in the two states, where many voters broke his way after deciding the week before the election, helped propel him to an Electoral College victory over Hillary Clinton. Trump won Wisconsin with 47% of the vote and Pennsylvania with 48% in 2016, according to the New York Times.

By the numbers: In both states, 47% of voters view Biden as better equipped to respond to the coronavirus pandemic. 37% of voters in Pennsylvania say Trump would better handle the pandemic, while only 32% of voters in Wisconsin said the same.

The big picture: 85 days from Election Day, the warning signs are flashing bright red for Trump's re-election prospects as voters look poised to reject his handling of the COVID-19 crisis. Anything can happen  but right now, every measurable trend is going against Trump.

What to watch: Nearly half of the voters who said they would pick Biden over Trump responded that Biden's choice for vice president could push them one way or another.

Methodology: The surveys were conducted for CBS News by YouGov. The margin of error in both Wisconsin and Pennsylvania is +/- 3.7. 1,009 registered voters were surveyed in Wisconsin and 1,225 were surveyed in Pennsylvania.

Go deeper: The blue wave threatening to crush Trump's re-election hopes
Onetime bikie boss and convicted gun runner Sam Ibrahim has been refused parole after repeatedly refusing to comply with drug tests in prison.

The 54-year-old, whose younger brother is retired Sydney night club boss John Ibrahim, was due for release from jail next month but will instead serve at least another year.

John has previously described Sam as his 'uglier, more heavy-set' brother - who carried 'the tattoos along with the bad attitude to match'.

Authorities confirmed Lebanese-born Sam, whose real name is Hassan, has been declared an unlawful non-citizen and will be deported once his jail time is finished.

He will be picked up from prison by Australian Border Force officers and taken to Villawood detention centre or put straight on a plane to Lebanon.

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Onetime bikie boss and gun runner Sam Ibrahim has been refused parole after repeatedly refusing to comply with drug tests in prison. He is pictured in June 2014 outside the NSW Supreme Court in Sydney

Sam Ibrahim, whose younger brother is retired Sydney night club boss John Ibrahim, was due for release from jail next month but will instead serve at least another year. Sam is pictured left, with John right and youngest brother Michael in the middle

Sam Ibrahim was involved in a conspiracy to supply prohibited firearms. Investigators recovered weapons including machine pistols, semi-automatic handguns and revolvers, pump-action shotguns and an M1 semi-automatic rifle (pictured)

Ibrahim, who is in Long Bay jail, was sentenced in 2018 to nine years with a non-parole period of six years and six months after pleading guilty to the unlawful supply of prohibited firearms.

He appealed against the severity of that sentence and it was reduced to a maximum term of eight and a half years, with a minimum of five years and nine months.

Ibrahim, who spent four years on remand before being sentenced, had an earliest release date of September 8 but on July 9 the State Parole Authority decided against letting him out.

If he does not make an application to review that decision his parole will considered again on July 15 next year.

Prison sources said that Ibrahim had likely been refused parole because of his failure to follow jail regulations.

Daily Mail Australia can reveal while the notoriously volatile Ibrahim has not been involved in an recent jailhouse violence he has faced multiple institutional charges while in custody.

Authorities confirmed Lebanese-born Sam, whose real name is Hassan, has been declared an illegal non-citizen and will be deported once his jail time is finished. He is pictured in 2011

Most significantly he has refused to comply with drug tests - refusals are considered failures - up to three times a year.

Ibrahim has had well-documented past problems with drugs, particular cocaine, as detailed in his brother John's 2017 memoir Last King of the Cross.

'Every bad decision, every catastrophe that had fallen upon him and our family, all started after his introduction to cocaine,' John wrote.

'My brother pressed the "f*** it" button that first line of cocaine he had.'

John, who looked up to Sam as a 'legend' and fearless leader when they were young men, had spent 'countless millions' of dollars on legal fees for his brother since then.

'He spent seventeen years on remand, never getting bail,' John wrote in his memoir. 'Who does seventeen years on remand? My brother, that's who.

'For the media and cops Sam is a circus. For me he's a time-consuming tragedy. The more he becomes a cartoonish criminal for the papers, the less he's the man I know.'

Ibrahim, who rose from feared bouncer to president of the Nomads chapter at Parramatta, has not been allowed to mix with outlaw motorcycle gang members while in prison.

Ibrahim has had well-documented past problems with drugs, particular cocaine, as detailed in his brother John's 2017 memoir Last King of the Cross. He is pictured right in 2013

He is the subject of non-association orders keeping him away from inmates with links to the Nomads, Hells Angels, Comanchero, Finks and Rebels.

John described Sam as having 'single-handedly ruined the Australian motorcycle club culture' after being recruited to the Nomads in July 1997.

Until Sam's arrival, Australian bikie gangs consisted mostly of 'beer-drinking Anglos watching strippers and riding their bikes', according to John. Sam let in Middle Eastern and Pacific Islander members.

'Sam brought a whole new level of intensity to those clubs, and they've expanded and changed because of it,' John wrote in his memoir.

'That's how into it he was. Then he got equally into drugs and gambling.'

Ibrahim was arrested in April 2014 along with his sister Jazz Dior - formerly known as Maha Sayour - her partner Elvis Mileski and Rose Tattoo drummer Paul DeMarco.

All were charged with conspiring to supply prohibited firearms after a five-month sting operation led to police raids in Sydney and the Illawarra region.

Investigators recovered weapons including machine pistols, semi-automatic handguns and revolvers, pump-action shotguns and an M1 semi-automatic rifle.

Ibrahim was arrested in April 2014 along with his sister Jazz Dior - formerly known as Maha Sayour - her partner Elvis Mileski and Rose Tattoo drummer Paul DeMarco. Dior is pictured

Ibrahim had been arranging for Dior and Mileski to supply DeMarco with five Glock pistols which were then to be sold to a buyer who turned out to be an undercover detective.

Intercepted phone calls revealed Ibrahim, Mileski and Dior 'actively planned' to supply guns to DeMarco, according to a statement of facts tendered to the News South Wales District Court.

In the calls Ibrahim repeatedly launched into foul-mouthed tirades at his sister Dior, mostly about her partner Mileski.

'Tell him I'm gonna cave his f***ing head in,' Ibrahim said in one conversation. 'Oh I swear to god I'm gonna do that.'

In another conversation about an upcoming meeting Ibrahim said of an unnamed person: 'F*** his sister and his dad with my d***'.'

In August 2017 Dior and Mileski were sentenced to 18-month intensive correction orders after pleading guilty to conspiring with each other to unlawfully supply firearms.

Ibrahim had been arranging for Dior and Mileski to supply DeMarco (right) with five Glock pistols which were then to be sold to a buyer who turned out to be an undercover detective

DeMarco, (pictured) who was dealing guns to fund a raging ice habit, also pleaded guilty over his role in the conspiracy and was sentenced to a minimum six years

DeMarco, who was dealing guns to fund a raging ice habit, also pleaded guilty over his role in the conspiracy and was sentenced to a minimum six years.

In August last year the Court of Criminal Appeal ruled Judge Anthony Blackmore had erred in finding Ibrahim was the 'essential beneficiary' of the gun conspiracy.

Chief Justice Tom Bathurst nonetheless described Ibrahim's offence as a 'serious one' and noted his 'extensive criminal history'.

Ibrahim was diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder after a 2011 drive-by shooting in which he was shot in the legs.

It was reported in 2015 that then Immigration Minister Peter Dutton had revoked Ibrahim's residency visa on the grounds he failed the federal government's character test for foreign nationals.

Siblings Sam, John, Maha (now Jazz), Fadi and Fifi Ibrahim were all born in Lebanon, while youngest brother Michael was born after the family came to Australia in the 1970s.
The State Security Service (SSS) has finally released Olawale Bakare, who was arrested alongside six others at #RevolutionNow protest in Osun State.

PREMIUM TIMES learnt that he was released on Sunday.

This newspaper reported how seven protesters were, on Wednesday, arrested by Nigerias notorious secret police in Osogbo during the protest against bad governance, lack of infrastructure, and corruption.

Three of the seven persons were released to their parents on Thursday. They are Olowolafe Dunsi, Martins Jesuloni and Gift Martins.

While Oguntola Samuel, was released on Friday, Abiodun Sanusi, and Olatokun Oyedele, were released on Saturday evening.

Meanwhile, Olawale Bakare, also known as Mandate, was released on Sunday afternoon.

Mr Sowore  Publisher of Sahara Reporters  confirmed the release on Twitter.

Dear Revolutionaries: Thank you all for standing firm against tyranny and lawlessness in our country, I can confirm that Olawale Adebayo Bakare @IamMandate is now out of DSS detention in Oshogbo. He is in high spirits and sends his revolutionary regards! Amandla! #RevolutionNow

Other protesters arrested on Wednesday in Lagos, Ogun and Abuja were released the same day.

Mr Bakare is a co-defendant in the treason charge against the founder of the movement, Mr Sowore.

Both men are being prosecuted for planning last years protest.

Before now, a court had ruled that the disruption of the 2019 protest by security agents was against the right to freedom of expression and assembly of affected persons.
It has been one year since the government launched a program offering Canadians with a criminal record for simple pot possession a fast, free pardon  but only 257 people have been granted one so far.

Critics say the low number proves the program is "unconscionable" and a "total failure." They're calling on the government to deliver an automatic removal of those criminal records.

According to figures provided by the Parole Board of Canada (PBC), 458 people have applied to the program. Of those, 259 were accepted for consideration, with 257 granted and two discontinued. Another 194 applications were returned because the person was ineligible or the file was incomplete, while five more are still in the works.

PBC spokesman Jon Schofield said the pandemic has slowed the process.

"Due to the COVID-19 situation, the PBC experienced limited capacity to process record suspension applications, which has resulted in delays in their processing," he said in an email.

The government had estimated that about 10,000 Canadians would be eligible for the pardons which, in this instance, are officially known as "record suspensions."

A government official, speaking on background, said numbers may be "lower than anticipated" because people with other criminal convictions apart from simple possession, whether drug-related or not, are ineligible. Others may have already sought a pardon before the program was brought in, the official suggested.

Fees eliminated, process accelerated

The Liberal government passed a law last year to eliminate the program's $631 application fee, waive its five-to-10-year waiting period and to speed up its application process; after it legalized and regulated the possession, cultivation and distribution of marijuana for recreational use in 2018.

At the time, the PBC sent letters to about 2,000 police and other justice partners, and several hundred organizations that deal with youth, mental health and addictions and Indigenous or Black Canadians, to raise awareness about the program and its eligibility criteria.

Story continues

It also produced an application guide with step-by-step instructions and set up a toll-free information line and email address to answer questions.

While the uptake remains low, Public Safety Minister Bill Blair's office said the pardons system supports the rehabilitation of people who are living crime free.

"Our government delivered on our promise to work toward removing the stigma of a criminal record for people who have shown themselves to be law-abiding citizens. We know that a criminal record for the simple possession of cannabis creates barriers to accessing employment, housing and education. That's why we passed legislation in the last Parliament to waive pardon wait times and application fees for those convicted of simple possession of cannabis," said spokesperson Mary-Liz Power.

Power said the streamlined process removes barriers so those people can "meaningfully participate in their communities, secure good and stable jobs and become fully contributing members of society."

Application process cumbersome, complex

NDP public safety critic Jack Harris said it's "inexcusable" that the government acknowledges the detrimental effects a criminal record for pot has on peoples' lives, yet designed a process that is inaccessible to many because it is cumbersome and complex.

"I think the whole program is a total failure by the Liberals, who promised that they were going to get rid of criminal records for people with simple possession of marijuana," he said.

Harris said the government has acknowledged that systemic racism has led to more marginalized people being convicted, including Indigenous and Black Canadians, yet failed to address it.

"I think the government has to put up on this and not claim to be concerned about systemic racism in our country, in our justice system, in our policing, and not do the right thing," he said.

Ted Dillon/CBC

The NDP has called for the automatic expungement of criminal records for pot possession, a measure many advocates and legal experts agree on.

Expungement is different from a record suspension or pardon because the individual is deemed to have never been convicted of the offence in the first place. It usually occurs when the government deems that law should not have been on the books.

All judicial records are destroyed through an expungement order, while a record suspension keeps those records separate without permanently removing them.

Barriers to housing, employment

Stephanie DiGiuseppe of the Criminal Lawyers Association called it "unconscionable" that the application process still puts up barriers such as ancillary costs and requirements to produce records.

"It basically means that a large number of Canadians continue to suffer barriers to housing, employment, volunteering and living a full and meaningful life in this country due to simple personal possession of cannabis," she said. "So that is not good for those individuals, it's not good for the health of our society generally."

University of Ottawa drug policy expert Eugene Oscapella says one of the reasons people may not be anxious to get a criminal record suspension is because the stigma of a conviction may be less severe now that cannabis has been quickly "normalized" through legalization. Still, he said there should be blanket amnesty instead of making people go through a difficult application process  especially during the global COVID-19 crisis.

"[Marijuana's] social acceptance is certainly much greater than it was before. It's not considered the enormous evil that it once was. Why not just go ahead and wipe these records off the books?" he said.
It's important to carve out some "me" time while we're all cooped up at home, so it helps to have a plan B when you cant commandeer the big screen in the lounge room.

These days we're spoiled for choice when it comes to personal entertainment devices, but sometimes it's great to lean back and relax in front of a larger screen.

A dongle or set top box can give your TV or monitor all the smarts it needs.

The lounge room couch is in high demand during the pandemic, so to keep the peace it helps to have a second television or monitor tucked away in the bedroom, spare room, garage or even a quiet corner of the living space. Of course, you'll need some way to get all your favourite content onto the screen.

My wife and I have a 32-inch Sony LCD television in the corner of our bedroom, with a little Sonos Beam soundbar, which our two teenagers dubbed "mummy cinema" when they were young and would pile onto the bed to watch a movie.
Vietnam documented two new cases of novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) on Sunday morning, raising the countrys total tally to 812.

Patient No. 811 is a 33-year-old woman in the northern province of Bac Giang.

She traveled to the central city of Da Nang, Vietnams epicenter at the moment, with five family members from July 21 to 24.

All of her five family members have already been diagnosed with COVID-19.

She tested positive for the novel coronavirus on August 8 and is being treated at the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases in Hanoi.

Patient No. 812, a 62-year-old Hanoi man, previously had direct contact with patient No. 447 on July 27.

He had such symptoms as fever, fatigue, and loss of appetite on August 3 and later tested positive for COVID-19.

He is receiving treatment at the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases in Hanoi.

Vietnams COVID-19 tally now stands at 812, of which 317 are imported cases.

The number of local infections traced to Da Nang has amounted to 355 since July 25, when the central city documented Vietnam's first community-based case after 99 days.

A total of 178,695 people in the country are being quarantined at local hospitals, isolation facilities, and at their home.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
Amid the Covid-19 pandemic, India on Sunday handed over 10 ventilators worth Rs 28 million to Nepal.

India hands over ten ventilators worth Rs 28 million to Nepal. It was handed over to Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Purna Chandra Thapa by Indian Ambassador to Nepal Vinay Mohan Kwatra in a ceremony at Grand Hall, Army Headquarters on Sunday, said Indian Embassy in Nepal.

Click here for full Covid-19 coverage

According to a statement issued by the Embassy, These ventilators are designed for a broad range of applications to include advanced invasive or non-invasive respiratory support. They can be used in support of secondary care in hospitals with ICU, tertiary multispecialty hospitals and dedicated ICUs. Further, due to their compact nature, they are portable and handy in the transportation of patients requiring intensive care.

The Indian army has a long record of extending support to the Nepali Army as a first responder for humanitarian assistance and relief. The gifting of ventilators is part of this continued humanitarian cooperation between the two Armies, the Embassy said.

During the handing over, Ambassador Kwatra reaffirmed Indias commitment to providing all necessary help to the people of Nepal in prevailing over the Covid-19 pandemic.

Nepal has recorded a total of 22,592 positive cases of coronavirus and 73 people have succumbed to the disease so far, according to Johns Hopkins University dashboard.
Copyright  2020 Albuquerque Journal

Those living in and around Taos all appear to be doing the same thing  examining the license plates of out-of-state tourists.

They come from all over, from as nearby as Arizona to as distant as Maryland. They include Georgians, Californians and Oklahomans.

And Texans, Taos County Commissioner Candyce ODonnell said. Lots of Texans.

Many states around the nation have seen their number of COVID-19 cases surge in recent weeks, including New Mexico. While numbers have started to decline in some areas, many tourists are still traveling across the country, having been cooped up in their homes for months.

Chris White of Little Rock, Arkansas, perused the famed Taos Plaza on Wednesday with his family. He said his family was on a cross-country trip and that they had only been in New Mexico for just over a day.

Its a neat little town, White said of Taos.

But as he took in the sights, White said he was not aware of the requirement for out-of-state tourists to self-isolate in a residence for 14 days, a rule issued by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham last month.

Had he known of the rule, he said, his family probably would have gone somewhere else.

Its the lack of knowledge  or willful defiance in some cases  of state-issued health codes that has angered many in Taos, a town heavily reliant on tourism for its local economy.

On a Facebook page titled Taos & Vicinity Coronavirus Action, many locals have voiced concerns about incoming travelers not abiding by local health regulations and authorities not enforcing them.

We are getting tired of the tourists and travelers not abiding by our state mandate and lack of enforcement, Neha Pant wrote.

Tourists, they say, are putting the rest of the town in danger.

While Taos Plaza was fairly deserted for a typical weekday in August, a smattering of visitors could be seen looking at different shops, some not obeying the local health ordinances.

Deryl Gotcher of Oklahoma said he had just arrived in Angel Fire and was visiting Taos for the day. He said he planned on quarantining in his Airbnb for two weeks, but still wanted to see the town. The public health order requires people to isolate within the confines of a residence.

Keith Washburn, also of Oklahoma, had traveled by recreational vehicle to Red River, which his family has visited for many years. He sat quietly in the middle of the Plaza, sporting no face covering.

When asked why he had no mask, Washburn sighed and pulled a crumpled black mask out of his overalls pocket.

Ive got it right here, he said, putting it over his mouth.

Go home

Its an issue local officials have been trying to address.

On nearly every street corner in Taos, theres a sign telling people to socially distance and wear masks. The town recently issued its first mask-related citation.

The Town Council recently passed a resolution authorizing the town to revoke permits of short-term rentals that dont enforce the two-week quarantine.

Taos Mayor Dan Barrone said most visitors abide by the rules, but that there are still a few holdouts.

Barrone, who is also the state representative for District 42, said he hasnt seen any locals express hostility to tourists, but he does hear about it.

There is somewhat of a divide, Barrone said.

In some cases, that frustration among locals has gone far beyond the walls of social media, especially as COVID-19 cases in Taos County have more than doubled over the past month. On July 6, there were 49 cases; on August 6, there were 106.

Residents and tourists have reported instances of cars with out-of-state plates getting keyed, people throwing rocks at visitors and people yelling at tourists to leave Taos.

Multiple times, someone has sprayed a message on the walls of buildings or shops in the Plaza: Go home.

One of those shops was Atiras Southwest, a high-end clothing store. Atira, who declined to give her last name, owns the store and said the message upset many of her out-of-state clients.

My customers are very unhappy with that, she said. They found it very offensive.

Others understand why some are frustrated. ODonnell said she doesnt approve of the graffiti, but gets why local Taosenos continue to be frustrated with the number of tourists.

We have seen an influx in tourists unlike anything I can recall, she said.

Business owners, on the other hand, say they need tourists to survive what is already an extremely difficult time.

Like many other parts of the state, Taos Countys economy has contracted sharply since the start of the pandemic, made worse by its reliance on tourism. State officials announced July 15 that the county had the highest unemployment rate in New Mexico, a whopping 30%.

Balancing the local economys need for tourists with keeping local residents safe has been a challenging task for many, one that Barrone said the town has had difficulty meeting.

Many business owners said they do not ask tourists if they have quarantined for two weeks.

If they come in, we assume theyre following the rules, said David Smith, who manages Taos Mountain Outfitters.

The owner of Atiras said that, for many tourists, where theyre from is a sensitive subject.

At least three businesses in and around the Plaza have had to close due to employees testing positive for COVID-19.

Little Texas

Taos is not alone in its high number of tourists. Locales across the Mountain West have reported above or near-normal levels of tourism, while other sectors of the economy tank.

However, enforcing health orders on those from out of state can be especially challenging in northern New Mexico.

A high percentage of residences are second homes for people living across the country, many of whom went to Taos at the onset of the pandemic.

It can, therefore, be hard to know how long someone from Texas has actually been in the area.

Theyre tough to enforce, Barrone said of the health orders.

All the tourists interviewed by the Journal said they did not quarantine for two weeks once they arrived in New Mexico.

Joseph and Deborah Schenk were visiting from Dayton, Ohio, and said they knew of the quarantine, but were being cautious about where they went. They said they planned on visiting Farmington and Gallup after leaving Taos.

That problem is exacerbated in neighboring towns, especially Red River, 36 miles northeast of Taos, where Mayor Linda Calhoun said more than 80% of homes are owned by those primarily living in another state.

The town typically has a full-time population of 400 residents, which can balloon to 10,000 during a good tourist season, Calhoun said. Many of those tourists come from Texas and Oklahoma.

Its the high influx of tourists from those states that gave rise to its less than endearing nickname  Little Texas.

Red River has become a source of consternation for many Taos locals, with many accusing the town of letting tourists ignore rules to wear masks and quarantine, who then travel to nearby towns. Barrone said he has talked to Calhoun about the issue on multiple occasions.

Calhoun said businesses and hotels are abiding by all the health codes, but admitted getting some tourists to wear masks has not been easy.

Some of the guests that dont want to (wear masks) are not always kind, she said.

Red River has a small police department, but Calhoun said no citations have been written, as she has told her police officers to instead give warnings and encourage people to wear face coverings.

Calhoun also said many tourists have taken notice of how many residents in Taos feel about those from out of state.

There were a few people that said they were uncomfortable going to Taos, because they do have Texas plates, she said.

And while tourism is still lower than in normal years, there appears to be a constant supply of tourists flocking to Taos, many of whom come for the small-town feel and expansive nature.

But it appears that the concern from local residents will persevere, at least while the pandemic continues.

Theyre not making it safer for us, ODonnell said. And thats why they need to stay home.
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer meet with Joe Biden last weekend

Gretchen Whitmer traveled to Delaware last weekend to meet with Joe Biden marking the first known in-person meeting the presumed Democratic nominee has held with a potential running mate.

The Michigan governor met with Biden in his home state on Sunday, two high ranking Michigan Democrats told the Associated Press.

Michigan, which Whitmer has represented for less than one term, is a battleground state.

Biden has been narrowing the field for months and is expected to announce this week who he will run with on the presidential ticket in November after putting off making a decision public for weeks.

The former vice president has vowed to make a woman his No. 2, and there have been pushes from within the party from his to also choose a woman of color for the spot, especially in the midst of months-long nationwide Black Lives Matter protests.

Biden is vastly popular among the black community.

Whitmer is one of the many on the short list of possible running mates, including Senator Kamala Harris and former National Security Advisor Susan Rice  both black women who were floated in reports last week as top contenders.

Flight records show a chartered plane left Lansing's Capital Region International Airport in Michigan for Delaware Coastal Airport at 5:33 p.m. last Sunday and returned at 11:16 p.m.

The meeting comes as Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee, continues to narrow his search for his running mate as he prepares to make the announcement this week on his decision

The governor's office declined to confirm or deny the trip.

'We don't discuss her personal schedule,' spokeswoman for Whitmer Tiffany Brown said.

Biden's campaign also declined to comment on the trip.

After Biden pledged to select a woman earlier this year, his began conducting several months of expansive research, interviews and background checks on potential candidates.

Other than Harris and Rice, the presumed candidate has also considered Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren and California Representative Karen Bass, among others.

Biden is facing calls to select a Black woman to acknowledge their crucial role in Democratic politics and in response to the nation's reckoning with systemic racism.

Whitmer has sought to address racism and racial inequity. In April, she created a task force to address the pandemic's racial disparities and later proposed police reforms in the wake of George Floyd's death. On Wednesday - days after visiting Biden - she declared racism a public health crisis, created an advisory council of Black leaders and required implicit bias training for all state employees.

Reports last week revealed that among the top contenders on the list are California Senator Kamala Harris (left) and former National Security Advisor Susan Rice (right) as there has been an external push from the party for Biden to choose a woman of color for his No. 2

If Whitmer is chosen to join the ticket and Biden wins, Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist II would become the country's only Black governor.

Biden and Whitmer formed a bond after he campaigned for her in the 2018 gubernatorial election. She is a co-chair on his campaign.

Her profile has grown since delivering the Democrats' response to President Donald Trump's State of the Union address and especially amid the pandemic. She has taken aggressive steps to curb the coronavirus in a state that was a hot spot nationally early on and - after she criticized the federal response - has drawn criticism from Trump, who in March urged Vice President Mike Pence not to call 'the woman in Michigan.'
Editors note: This story discusses sexual assault and PTSD and may not be suitable for all readers.

BURLINGTON  When facing confrontation, most people assume their first response will be either fight or flight. For some, particularly those who are survivors of sexual assault like Adrianne Melby, the response is to freeze.

Melby, a Burlington-native mother of five, has been freezing more lately.

Like many other survivors of trauma, she doesnt wear a mask. If I even try and put a mask on, I feel like Im going to hyperventilate.

That can be common for those who have experienced trauma, specifically sexual trauma.

Everyone reacts differently to trauma. People have different triggers, said Samantha Sustachek, program director at Sexual Assault Services of Racine County. For some survivors, they dont have an issue with masks  for others, it is a trigger.

But worse than that, Melbys freeze response kicks in when she sees others in masks. Unable to read concealed facial expressions and seeing men whose identities are unknown, panic sets in.

A common symptom of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is hypervigilance  a feeling of being constantly on guard, especially when in the presence of strangers. Even when there isnt a pandemic, when Melby checks out at the grocery store, she makes sure to stand in front of her cart, a guaranteed barrier between herself and others.

But now, as more people have begun wearing masks, Melby can feel judging eyes as she doesnt wear a mask.

I dont know whats happening behind the mask, she said.

Melby is not required to wear one under the governors order  which has a limited list of exceptions that includes those with medical conditions, like PTSD  but she is terrified of being confronted.

One of the documents from Gov. Tony Evers office regarding the mandate says directly that if you see someone else not wearing a mask indoors, you should leave them alone. The same goes for the reverse: dont confront others for wearing a mask, or for not wearing one.

But plenty of videos on social media and eyewitness accounts have shown people being verbally assaulted for their decisions, one way or the other.

In a Facebook post ahead of Evers order going into effect, Caledonia Police Chief Christopher Botsch pleaded with the public: Whatever your position is regarding the Governors Order, we implore civility towards one another ... While everyone may not agree on this topic, I am hopeful that tolerance and civility will rule the day.

Melby is terrified of what would happen if someone, particularly a man, ignored those pleas for civility.

Remembering

Melby was molested over the course of years by her grandfather when she was a child. She didnt report it, having been groomed to keep it a secret  a common tactic of abusers. According to research published in the Psychology, Public Policy, and Law peer-reviewed journal, fewer than 40% of children who experienced sexual abuse disclose the fact that they have been sexually abused.

But another person assaulted by Melbys grandfather did report it, landing him in prison.

Then, when she was 19, Melby was raped by a boyfriend. She described him as someone I thought I could trust.

Years later, Melby had found stability. She was married and became a mother. She had managed to maintain a relationship with her grandmother, even after her grandfather got out of prison.

One day, she took her daughter to her grandmothers. Her grandfather wasnt supposed to be there. He was. Melby froze. He assaulted her again.

This time, she reported it. He went back to prison for breaking his parole. He died there. But the damage was done.

The trauma imprisoned her. It became a struggle to leave the house. From 2009-2012, she barely left Burlington. Going to Union Grove with her husband was a monumental achievement.

It took two years of therapy and receiving continuous support from close friends and family, plus getting a medication for her anxiety and connecting with a wonderful, incredible counselor. On Saturday, she spoke in Madison at a rally protesting the mask mandate. Doing that would have been unthinkable a decade ago.

Fighting orders

Melby has been outspoken against the statewide mandates coming from Madison since the beginning. She co-organized the ReOpen Burlington rally in May, calling for an end to the Safer at Home order.

When someone else wears a mask, I dont hold that against them. Thats totally their choice, she said. I didnt get to choose what happened to my body when I was a child ... I should be able to choose whats happening to my body now ... I think I should be able to do it without fear of being assaulted physically or verbally now.

Dana Pellebon, the senior director of client services for Madison-based Rape Crisis Centers, told a Madison TV news station last month: With the proliferation of how shaming is working on the internet, it is a barrier for some to then go out to the store knowing that you may not be able to wear a mask in the same way, knowing that you may be confronted by people.

However, masks or otherwise, survivors of trauma are facing extra barriers right now. In Wisconsin, and in many other states, appointments with doctors or therapists or counselors can only be in person if both the medical professional and the patient are wearing masks. But a lot of survivors PTSD makes it functionally impossible for them to wear masks, especially not for any significant length of time.

I cant see my counselor even if I need to see my counselor, Melby said. Its a vortex type of thing, a Catch-22.

At Sexual Assault Services of Racine Countys locations in Racine and Burlington, in-person sessions can only be held if both the counselor and patient are wearing a mask. Otherwise, phone calls and HIPAA-compliant video chats are the only options.

The therapists at Sexual Assault Survivors of Racine County prefer to work on that trigger and get them past it, Sustachek said, but its more challenging to perform that therapy without in-person sessions.

On top of that, the feelings of isolation experienced by most people right now amid the pandemic are heightened for survivors, who typically experience feelings of isolation after an assault.

Sexual assault survivors often feel isolated to begin with  feeling like they cant talk about what happened, like they cant reach out to help, like no one will understand, Sustachek said.

The interpersonal distance created by the pandemic and peoples reaction to the coronavirus have only made those isolated feelings worse.

Sharing her story

After Melby made a Facebook post opening up about her assaults and how affected she was by so many covered faces during the pandemic, Melby said she received several messages from other survivors experiencing the same thing.

To get her message out, she reached out to a handful of local politicians. A couple of them responded. When Melby talked to those representatives, she felt unheard. One of them talked to her about poll numbers and how fighting the mask mandate wouldnt fly. Another talked to her for a few minutes on the phone but planned no action.

She was hurting. There was no help.

This large number of sexual assault survivors are being discriminated against. It feels like I have to fight to get into a grocery store to get food for my family.

The Journal Times does not name victims of crimes unless given permission. In this case, Adrianne Melby approached a reporter. She wanted to share her story. If I can help one other person feel more comfortable to be out in society, she said, or protect one other person from being victimized, then speaking out is worth it.

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Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-09 15:44:18|Editor: huaxia

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CANBERRA, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) -- Australia recorded its deadliest day of the coronavirus pandemic on Sunday with 17 deaths which is the highest number of people to die from the disease in a single day in the country.

The deaths, all of which were confirmed in the state of Victoria, takes the national death toll to 295 and that in Victoria to 210.

Nick Coatsworth, the Australian Government Deputy Chief Medical Officer, said in an update on Sunday afternoon that there had been 21,084 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Australia, and the number of new cases in last 24 hours was 404.

Of the new cases, 394 were in Victoria, the state's lowest tally since July 29.

"Within Victoria, 49 of the new cases are linked to outbreaks or complex cases and 345 are under investigation," said a statement from the Department of Health and Human Services in Victoria on Sunday.

The department also said that to date there are 994 active COVID-19 cases among healthcare workers in the state.

The Australian government escalated its calls for state and territory governments on Sunday to stimulate the economy even more.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison revealed on Friday that the federal government's emergency response to the pandemic has risen to 314 billion Australian dollars (224.7 billion U.S. dollars) compared to a combined 45 billion AUD (32.2 billion USD) from state governments.

David Littleproud, the Minister for Agriculture, said on Sunday that the federal government could not be used as an ATM.

"It's also up to the states. They can't just go back to their old business model of using the federal government as an ATM," he told Sky News. Enditem
At least five people were killed, 25 others injured Sunday after a passenger bus collided with an overpass in Istanbul, Trend reports citing Daily Sabah.

The bus was arriving in Istanbul from the northern province of Karabuk when it collided with an overpass in the North Marmara Highway.

The accident occurred at around 7 a.m. local time (0400 GMT) near the Ciftalan area of Istanbul.

The Istanbul Governorate in a statement said a large number of police and gendarmerie officers were dispatched to the scene. They were accompanied by rescue teams from 112 emergency services and Turkeys Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD).

The statement said injured people were rushed to nearby hospitals and 10 were in critical condition, including three children.

Speaking to the Demiroren News Agency (DHA), one of the passengers said the driver acted as if he was in a hurry and looked tired prior to the accident.

"The bus had a sort of mechanical problem before we arrived in Istanbul. He was acting like he was in a hurry and was driving rather fast," Aynur Akman said, who is among the injured.

"Everybody on the bus was asleep and it suddenly happened. The bus rocked violently and all the windows shattered. Some passengers flew out off the windows," she recounted the moment of the accident, saying that truck drivers passing by rushed to help.

Aynur said she had heard claims that the driver had a heart attack moments before the crash, while other passengers claimed he fell asleep.

A probe has been launched into the accident and a public prosecutor was sent to the scene to carry out a preliminary investigation.
With the Covid pandemic shattering the parameters of working life, increasing numbers of city dwellers are dreaming of decamping to the countryside.

Their desire for a fresh start, however, poses particular dilemmas. How easy will it be for those entrenched in office culture to earn a living out in the sticks? How much affordable housing is available in rural areas? And with so many seeking an escape to the country, how will society adapt?

Topical questions, then  but by no means unique to 2020. Indeed, they were being asked long before coronavirus wreaked havoc on our world  by the Daily Mail, more than a century ago. Back in 1907, this newspaper launched a 'social experiment' to discover how feasible it was for those living in cities and towns to start a new, happier, life in the countryside.

The brainchild of Daily Mail proprietor Alfred Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Northcliffe, the paper advertised an opportunity for one reader to live and work on a farm. Applicants had to be based in urban areas  the less experience of country life the better. If the winner made a success of their tenancy, this paper argued, anyone could  and the project could pave the way for others to 'help migration to the deserted places' and 'check the mad rush to the towns'.

The response was overwhelming. Of the 10,000 entrants, the Mail chose George Pougher, 31, a railway clerk from Grimsby, Lincs, as its winner. The married father-of-seven had longed for years to leave the monotony of his office job and the 'featureless streets' of Grimsby.

Lord Northcliffes project entitled George Pougher (pictured), 31, to live on a 14-acre farm for three years, with the opportunity to continue afterwards if he showed flair

But, as with so many of his generation, brought up in the aftermath of 'enclosure'  the division of communal rural areas into individually owned farms, driving increasing numbers from the countryside to towns  the dream was out of his reach.

Lord Northcliffe's project entitled George to live on a 14-acre farm for three years, with the opportunity to continue afterwards if he showed flair.

'I think I shall succeed,' George said. 'I take it what the Daily Mail wants to show is that if a man with as little experience as me can make a farm pay, then a countryman born and bred ought without doubt to make it pay.'

George named the land he worked and the house built for his family the Daily Mail Farm  and, we can reveal, the house still exists today. A smart redbrick home now known as the Daily Mail Cottage, it nestles down a quiet country lane two miles from Grantham in Lincolnshire.

Extended from a two-bedroom cottage to a four-bedroom house with indoor swimming pool, two stables and two acres of paddocks, it possesses every modern comfort  but is tellingly devoid of the rest of its original farmland.

Its present occupiers are Daniel and Celia Jones, a couple in their 60s with a son and daughter in their 30s, whose life trajectory shows that, while the instinct to search out a better life away from the hustle and bustle of the city lives on, society has changed beyond all recognition.

Like George, the Joneses were anxious to bring up their two children in the countryside, with Daniel citing 'security' as his main reason for leaving Croydon, South London. In 2004, aged 50, he and Celia bought Daily Mail Cottage when their daughter was still at school and their son had just left.

'London was getting rather turbulent. There were a lot of muggings. I had a young family and didn't want them subjected to any problems,' he says. 'The welfare of my children was my priority. That's why we moved.'

In fact, there were many advantages other than safety. For a start, instead of police sirens and cars beeping, they were surrounded by birdsong and the sound of breezes blowing through the trees.

Both Daniel and Celia felt drawn to the 'open sky and space' the house offered, with Daniel adding: 'It felt comfortable because I was away from the maddening crowd.'

Dan and Celia Jones, current owners of Daily Mail Cottage, a house and former 14 acre farm whose tenancy was given to a competition winner George Pougher and his wife Annie by Lord Northcliffe in 1907

Unlike George, however, Daniel  born in British Guyana and brought to the UK aged seven  wasn't tempted by a transition to farming, an industry under increasing jeopardy from soaring energy costs and lower food prices.

Instead, he continued to work for a telephone installation company in London, commuting from Grantham until he retired. Celia also commuted to London, where she worked for an accounts department.

Fortunately, they were also fans of the Daily Mail. 'We asked the estate agent why it was called the Daily Mail Cottage, but I don't think they were aware,' explains Daniel, who says visitors, on coming to the house for the first time, enquire about the pretty 'Daily Mail Cottage' sign on their front gate.

So who else has lived in the Daily Mail Cottage since it was built? And what do its residents reveal about the changing nature of rural living?

In 1907, Lord Northcliffe let the land for 1 an acre from Lincolnshire landowner Christopher Turnor. A man of impeccable social standing, Turnor's niece Rosemary would later marry Alastair McCorquodale and their son Neil married Lady Sarah Spencer, sister of Princess Diana.

Turnor's 14-acre plot was chosen on account of the unoccupied expanse of open land this area of the Midlands then offered, contrasting with its claustrophobic towns.

Then, as now, the chasm between urban and rural lifestyles risked polarising society. 'Must this contrast between town and country grow greater, or can it not be made to grow less?' the Mail asked, when launching its search.

The exodus from the countryside was compounded by the advent of manufacturing in urban areas that destroyed the viability of textiles, pottery and furniture-making as rural jobs.

Some enjoyed their new city lives. Countless didn't. Ageism appeared rife among those who applied to live in the cottage, with an 'astounding percentage' of responses from men who felt 'too old at 40' to find work in towns.

Almost all applicants said suitable countryside homes were scarce and they couldn't afford to move.

For years, George dared not follow his dreams. His wife Annie, ten years his senior, had been widowed with four sons when they met.

Pictured: The cottage, from the Daily Mail of 1911

George, who married at around 20, brought the boys up as his own, and he and Annie went on to have three daughters  their large family apparently anathema to rural living. Countryside houses available to rent were often so small that landlords stated 'no encumbrances'  i.e. children  were allowed.

But the fact that George had less experience than most of the applicants was part of his appeal, the Mail explained: 'We did not want an expert farmer who was by accident in temporary work in town. Doubtless, the expert would have found success easier, but it would not have been fair; it would not have justified the experiment.'

After the Mail built an extra room onto the cottage to accommodate George's family of nine, the Poughers moved in in July 1908.

'To me, George encapsulates what, 80 years later, Grantham's most famous figure, Margaret Thatcher, would champion  the entrepreneurial spirit, self-improvement,' his grandson John Pinchbeck, a local journalist from Grantham, told the Mail.

Two cows were installed for George's arrival with the idea that the land would be cultivated with green crops to support cattle.

Neil McCorquodale, whose great uncle was Christopher Turnor, and who took over the estate from his late mother Rosemary in 1987, says the land would have been used for barley and oats to feed the animals. Yet he adds: 'Fourteen acres is really not much upon which to make a living.'

But make a living George did. By March 1909, he had bought three more cows, hatched 60 chickens and made 79 from the sale of eight pigs, seven ducks and weekly sales of milk. Reporting on George's progress, the Mail praised his 'considerable' earnings  and the experiment was deemed a success.

But in 1912, George died of a brain tumour. A stricken Annie tried to run the farm with her older sons, but gave up in 1913, opening a boarding house next to a theatre in Grantham instead.

The house and the land appear to have been returned to the Turnors, who employed 31-year-old Danish farmer Christian Brix, a friend, though it is not known if he lived in the house. A colourful character who enjoyed cigars, whisky and wearing plus fours, he seemingly lacked George's work ethic.

Instead, he was, according to his grandson John Haley, 'quite a Jack the Lad'. Indeed, on one occasion he was fined 15 for having failed to 'keep crops harvested from agricultural lands in his occupation in good condition.'

Despite having three daughters with his wife, Maria, he went on to have two more with the girls' governess, known as 'Aunty Bobby' who was 30 years his junior.

From the 1930s, the house was occupied by William and Hilda Haydon. The couple apparently had little to do with the land  which had been transferred from Christopher Turnor to his brother Herbert on his death, and then to Herbert's daughter Rosemary McCorquodale in 1950.

But their arrival was reflective of an increasing movement between town and country in an ever more mobile population. Both had previous careers in London before they moved to Lincolnshire  William as a chauffeur and Hilda as a servant.

The Mail couldn't find any surviving relatives available to comment, although it appears two of the Haydons' four children lived there until the 1970s, when a plumber called Willie Broughton rented the property.

The house was bought around 1980 by Malcolm Corradine, who now runs a fishing and camping site near Grantham but at the time was nearing the end of an illustrious career as a racing driver.

Daily Mail Cottage, a house and former 14 acre farm whose tenancy was given to a competition winner George Pougher and his wife Annie by Lord Northcliffe in 1907

'When I bought it, it was just a two-bed cottage set in a third of an acre,' says Malcolm, who lived there with his former partner and son. 'I added the extension, the stables and the swimming pool.'

In 1992, it is thought Malcolm bought the paddock that now accompanies the Cottage back from the McCorquodale estate, before selling the property in 1999 to South African pilot John Power and his wife Kathryn.

Then, in 2004, the Jones family bought the house, attracted to the area not only because of the countryside but because Celia had relatives living nearby.

That the couple are mixed race, is, of course, a measure of encouraging social progress since their cottage's inception. Daniel, who spent his childhood in rural Guyana, says his desire to return to the countryside crept up as his children grew older. 'The kids loved the bright lights and noises of the city but I didn't miss it,' he says. 'It felt comfortable straight away.'

They were attracted by the 'seclusion' of the Daily Mail Cottage, which Celia's sister had seen advertised. Not that it didn't need work. 'Because we're high up and Lincolnshire is windy, the wind blew through the house. Every single window had to be ripped out,' says Daniel.

Meanwhile, the paddock  no longer kept short by a neighbour's horse  takes him four hours on a ride-on lawn mower to cut.

Across the road from the Daily Mail Cottage, Daniel says there are plans to build a housing complex and new school within the next five years  as much an inevitability if more are to move to the countryside. As the Mail wrote towards the end of its 1907 experiment: 'A great multiplication of houses is one of the most vital of national needs; and someone must face the fact.'

Tragically, George Pougher never realised his ambition long term. Before his death, however, when surmising the 'moral of the Daily Mail Farm' this paper remarked that 'the man and his family are healthier and happier working hard on the land than they were when engaged in perhaps equally hard work in the town'.

Food for thought, perhaps, for those now considering their own rural exodus.
- A tick-borne virus infected more than 60 individuals in China recently

- The SFTS Virus or Severe Fever with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome is not a new virus

- Since 2009, there have been several outbreaks of SFTS, with cases normally recorded in China

- Doctors warned that tick bite is the major transmission route of Severe Fever with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome

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Another type of virus is infecting people in China. The SFTS Virus or Severe Fever with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome has infected more than 60 people infected and killed at least seven according to reports.

According to a report by Global Times, 37 people in Jiangsu Province have been diagnosed with Severe Fever with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome this year.

Photo by Patrick Pleul/picture alliance via Getty Images

Source: Getty Images

23 more people were infected in the Anhui Province as reported by CNA news channel. The 7 recorded deaths were from Anhui Province (5) and Zhejiang Province (2).

Symptoms experienced by a woman in her 60s in Jiangsu Province include fever, coughing, and fatigue.

The said virus was first discovered in 2009 in the Henan and Anhui provinces and has a fatality rate among older people.

Novel bunyavirus infection can be transmitted from person to person. A Chinese expert warned the public with infected family members to take the necessary preventive and protective measures against the deadly virus.

Meanwhile, here are some of the netizens' reactions to this news:

Covid-19 came in and shut the whole world down, then we heard of something called the hantavirus, then came in the swine flu, then the bubonic plague and now theres a "tick-borne"virus that has killed 7 and infected 60 people in China.

Coronavirus wasnt bad enough, so now theres a new virus outbreak in China A tick-borne illness is rearing its head in China after first being discovered nearly a decade ago.

Is this tick borne virus real?

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Currently, a pandemic is experienced throughout the world caused by COVID-19 or Coronavirus Disease 2019.

The COVID-19 outbreak started out in Wuhan, Hubei Province of China. Scientists believed that the virus came from an animal at one of Wuhan's wet markets. The Philippines has slowly eased quarantine measures and Filipinos are starting to adapt to the new normal.

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The government faced problems when they imposed the initial community quarantine, which was elevated into enhanced community quarantine.

It also suspended transportation causing massive problems with commuters. Doctors have died after being infected by COVID-19. They are among the frontliners who attend to the patients rushing to hospitals amid pandemic.

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NEW HAVEN  Eight guns were seized and nine arrests made in areas of recent violence over the last week and a half as city police crack down on crime, according to police.

Two arrests made Aug. 2, police said, helped stop retaliation for the homicide earlier that morning.

The arrests and gun seizures spanned from July 26 through Wednesday. Between July 1 and July 25, police seized 12 guns.

These gun arrests helped stop violence and saved lives, Assistant Police Chief Karl Jacobson said. In many of these cases, community members called the police and officers were able to safely take people into custody and get the guns off the streets.

Police Chief Tony Reyes said the department will not tolerate gun violence.

We will continue to work in collaboration with our state and federal partners to arrest those responsible for violence in our city, he said.

Below is a breakdown of those arrests:

AUG. 5:

On Wednesday around 8 p.m., police were driving on Henry Street toward Dixwell Avenue behind an older model Chevrolet. A registration check showed that the plates belonged to a Chevrolet Impala, police said. The driver was later identified as 22-year-old Paul Witherspoon.

Witherspoon was previously charged in connection with a New Haven hit-and-run last August. He was in a vehicle with Stephanie Washington in April 2019 that was fired upon by Hamden and Yale police officers. Washington was wounded.

Also on Aug. 5, police served a search warrant at a Chapel Street home after a federal investigation and arrested 18-year-old Marquay Foster, who police said was found in possession of a loaded gun, ammunition and an empty high-capacity magazine. Foster was taken into custody on state charges.

AUG. 2:

Detectives and task force members were working on crime suppression in the Hill area, where there had been a homicide earlier that morning on Aug. 2.

Police got a tip about two men in a car on Greenwich Avenue with a shotgun. Police said officers canvassed the area, finding two men in a black sedan on Greenwich Avenue at Third Street.

The men, identified by police at 27-year-old Angel Viera and 27-year-old Joshwua Figueroa, had a 12-gauge shotgun loaded with seven shotgun shells on the floor of the passenger side with seven shotgun shells. Another three shotgun shells were found in Vieras pocket, police said.

The two are convicted felons. They were taken into custody and charged.

The same day, police got a tip about a man in an SUV with a gun inside it  again, in the area of Greenwich Avenue.

The car drove off, but police pulled the driver over at Howard Avenue and Second Street. Police identified the driver as 28-year-old Brandon Mendoza.

When police searched the car, they found a pistol with rounds n the magazine.

Mendoza was taken into custody and charged.

Police said he refused to cooperated when they tried to interview him, but did say that the recent homicide victim was a friend of his and that he had dropped him off the night prior to the homicide.

JULY 31:

On July 31, officers got information that there were several men from the Exit 8 group, carrying guns in the parking lot of the Essex Townhouses on Quinnipiac Avenue, according to police.

As officers drove into the housing complex, they spotted about 15 people. Some people in the group took off running when they saw police, prompting a foot pursuit.

Police detained 26-year-old Jaquan Gray and 26-year-old Denzel Suggs. He was found with a 9mm handgun, stolen out of Hamden, police said. Suggs had a 22-caliber handgun in his pocket when he was arrested, according to police.

Police said Gray and Suggs are convicted felons. They were taken to police headquarters and charged.

JULY 28:

Members of the Shooting Task Force saw a driver sitting in a car in the parking lot of the Valley Street Townhouses on July 28. The complex has no-trespassing signs.

When the driver, later identified as 18-year-old Antonio Allen, saw the police officers, he got out of his car with only one shoe on and started to quickly walk away, according to police. As he continued to walk, with officers asking him to stop, police said he reached into another car  which then left the area. Officers detained Allen.

In plain view of the parked car he had been sitting in earlier, police said, was a clear bag containing marijuana. There was also a black handgun with an obliterated serial number on the passenger side floor, police said. Allen did not have a valid pistol permit and was charged.

JULY 26:

On July 26, patrol officers responded to a Clinton Avenue home for a report of a domestic dispute where a weapon was used. The victim told police she argued with her 25-year-old husband and he stuck a gun in her mouth, according to police.

Officers later found the man, who fled before police got to the call, on Grand Avenue and took him into custody. They found a 9mm handgun in the truck of the car, police said.

Since the suspect was identified by police as the victims husband, Hearst Connecticut Media has withheld the individuals name to protect the identity of the victim.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-09 05:30:59|Editor: huaxia

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CAIRO, Aug. 8 (Xinhua) -- Egypt confirmed on Saturday 167 new COVID-19 cases, raising the total infections in the country to 95,314, said the Health Ministry.

It is the seventh consecutive day for the daily COVID-19 infections in Egypt to fall below 200. The daily count started to exceed 200 on April 23 before hitting a record 1,774 on June 19.

Meanwhile, 21 patients died from the coronavirus on Saturday, taking the death toll in Egypt to 4,992, while 1,119 more patients left hospitals, bringing the total recoveries to 51,672, the ministry's spokesman Khaled Megahed said in a statement.

Egypt decided last week to ban the entry into the country without a negative PCR test for COVID-19, except for tourists arriving on direct flights at the airports of Sharm el-Sheikh, Hurghada, Taba and Marsa Alam.

The most populous Arab country announced its first confirmed COVID-19 case on Feb. 14 and the first death from the highly infectious virus on March 8.

From the first week of July, the daily coronavirus infections and fatalities in Egypt started to gradually decline along with an increase in daily recoveries.

Egypt resumed international flights in early July, after it lifted a partial curfew imposed since late March, and reopened restaurants, cafes, theaters and cinemas, as well as hotels, museums and archeological sites, all with limited capacity.

Easing restrictions is part of a coexistence plan adopted by the government to maintain anti-coronavirus precautionary measures while resuming economic activities.

Egypt and China have been working together on 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. Enditem
French President Emmanuel Macron will host a donor conference for Lebanon via video-link on Sunday, his office said, as countries mobilise to help rebuild Beirut after this weeks massive blast.

The conference, which will be co-chaired by the United Nations, will seek pledges from participants including U.S. President Donald Trump. It is expected to decide how to distribute the aid so it benefits the people directly.

Macron, who visited Beirut on Thursday, promised angry Lebanese crowds that aid to rebuild the city ravaged by Tuesdays huge explosion would not fall into corrupt hands.

(RUETERS)
Kayla Adkins has worked closely with three other area high school students through the Bank of America Student Leaders summer internship program, studying civic engagement and workforce skills-building for the past few weeks.

And she cant wait until the day that she can actually meet them.

Adkins, who will be a senior at Roosevelt High School this fall, was among the 87 applicants for the Bank of America internship, an eight-week program that partners with the Communities In Schools program in a mentoring-focused project. Communities In Schools is a national organization working within public and charter schools that aims to empower students to stay in school and become high achievers academically.

Normally, the Student Leaders program features close mentoring, group discussion and work, and a trip to Washington, D.C., for a personal examination of civic and social programs. But all that changed this year, with the various lockdowns and adjustments necessary because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Rachell Hathaway, community relations manager for Bank of America San Antonio, spoke of the differences Adkins and her three fellow BOA Student leaders are experiencing in the program thats been in place since 2004.

As of right now, with the switch to virtual communication, weve made a switch to local programming, with several days of virtual learning on the national basis, Hathaway said.

Participants will engage in conversations focused on social justice, civil rights and how to build a more diverse and inclusive society, and have the opportunity to gain a better understanding of their personal finances, through BOAs Better Money Habits financial wellness and education platform.

Adkins and each of her fellow Student Leaders received a $5,000 stipend for their participation in the program.

I got a call saying I was chosen, and from there, we just had things we had to do, Adkins said. That call was really amazing, I was so happy.

Adkins was put in contact with Hathaway and other BOA officials, as well as the other Student Leaders. The group began to get a handle on what was expected of them  and the best way to go about getting that done without coming together in person.

I have learned a new way to communicate with people. Instead of communicating face-to-face, this is a new way of how to communicate, a new way of trying to adapt very quickly, Adkins said.

The Student Leaders have met virtually since the programs June 19 kickoff. All work and presentations have been completed through virtual communication.

We just finished a project where we survey our friends and families to see how they like virtual learning, what they would improve, and what they need, Adkins said. We just showed our final presentation. It was pretty great. I was a part of making the survey and analyzing the results and putting it all into a presentation.

Hathaway talked about taking the successful Communities In Schools (CIS) partnership and making it fit into a framework of virtual-only connectivity.

Weve taken some of those interactions and management factors they would experience in Washington, D.C., and made them online, she said. Kayla has connected with other student leaders in other cities. They have had weekly meetings, have been part of video meetings with various non-profit partners. For me, specifically, I really put a lot of effort into working with CIS, that we are encompassing a part of their mission.

Adkins said she eased into it at first,. But the last three weeks, we really started picking up the pace. Doing the project with CIS  we talked about the health care system in America, and the different social inequalities.

I have a better understanding on group discussions and group collaborations. Usually in school, it seemed like one person was always handling all the work. Everyone equally did the work and we were all helping each other out. So we got to see how a group really collaborates to get things done, she said.

While this is the first time the Student Leaders program has been solely virtual, Hathaway said the students picked it up without any problems.

We decided, We have this wonderful technology available, so lets make the best of it. They have a completely different mindset and were able to pivot really quickly, she added.

For Adkins, who hopes to attend either Clark Atlanta University or Spelman College to study psychology and business, the programs virtual format allowed her group to reach out to each other in a way that previous participants did not.

Doing it all virtually, its really like a community, even though weve never met in person, she said. But I am looking forward to meeting up with them.

jflinn@express-news.net
As cases of the new coronavirus have risen in recent weeks across Louisiana, hospitals and public health officials have nervously watched to see whether the rising number of cases in so many communities would impact the states nursing homes.

A number of the states hospitals, including the largest facility in Louisiana, are strained again by an influx of patients diagnosed since the state relaxed a stay-at-home order and started allowing businesses to reopen. Hospital managers fear a large outbreak at a nursing home could abruptly overwhelm healthcare systems, especially in hotspot cities.

It could be catastrophic, said Dr. Amy Giarrusso, associate medical director for hospital medicine at Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center in Baton Rouge, the states largest hospital. One of the bigger nursing homes, if they have a bad outbreak, could literally fill the hospital and take every bed we have.

Group homes catering to the elderly were hit hard early in the pandemic; the perils older adults face surfaced not long after the state found its first case. By late March, the virus had quickly sickened many residents of the Lambeth House, an upscale New Orleans retirement community, killing more than a dozen within a few weeks.

The virus spread, too, to other Louisiana group-living facilities: the Southeast Louisiana Veterans Home in St. John the Baptist Parish saw some of the deadliest outbreaks in late spring after more than 28 residents died by early May. The Reserve facility has reported 80 cases and 33 deaths since the beginning of the outbreak, but hasnt had any new cases or deaths since early July, according to state records.

In Baton Rouge early in the pandemic, about half of Our Lady of the Lakes patients came from nursing homes or institutions like prisons and jails, Giarrusso said. Recently, though, nursing home residents have only accounted for about 5% to 10% of patients at the flagship hospital.

Chief among the hospitals concerns is a scenario that sees nursing homes hit hard by the virus again. That would likely require admitting more patients who would be likely to have more severe symptoms. That in turn would require longer hospital stays and a need a greater level of care.

In Louisiana, high blood pressure continues to be the top underlying health condition in fatal coronavirus cases, followed by diabetes, obesity, and kidney and heart disease. Nursing home residents tend to be older and a large share of them have at least one of those conditions that make them especially vulnerable to the coronavirus-borne illness, COVID-19.

As coronavirus outbreaks persist in Louisiana prisons, more mass testing is being done for inmates The rapid spread of coronavirus through a Louisiana prison earlier this month prompted corrections officials to test all inmates and staff the

The human toll in nursing homes has hovered around 40% of fatal cases in Louisiana since May and surpassed more than 1,500 deaths last week, according to the Louisiana Department of Health.

Though overall coronavirus cases in Louisiana have appeared to plateau in the past week, state leaders and health officials say the per-capita prevalence of the virus is high in all 64 parishes.

The number of available hospital beds has also shrunk in nearly all parts of the state as cases grew since the start of Louisiana's reopening in May.

Hospitals in the area covering most of the Baton Rouge region had only about 30 available intensive care beds as of late last week, according to the health department. Recent hot spots, notably Acadiana and Lake Charles, had even fewer available beds, and have fewer overall space for patients than New Orleans and Baton Rouge.

+16 Despite a Phase 2 extension, John Bel Edwards says he's 'encouraged' by latest coronavirus data Louisiana is seeing encouraging trends with coronavirus cases and hospitalizations after a worrying spike over the past two months, Gov. John 

Long-term care facilities in the Acadiana and Lake Charles areas have seen cases rise more sharply in past recent weeks, according to health department data analyzed by The Advocate. Those areas were largely spared of significant outbreaks this spring when communities and nursing homes infections centered mainly in New Orleans and other population centers.

Acadia Parish saw the highest increase in new coronavirus cases with 74 infections reported among 767 nursing home residents in the latest health department figures spanning the last week of July to Aug. 4. The rise was mainly driven by Southwind Healthcare and Rehabilitation, which reported 50 new cases at the 112-bed facility in Crowley.

In the same period, nursing homes in East Baton Rouge Parish saw far fewer new cases and reported 74 new cases among roughly 2,175 residents, while nursing homes in Orleans Parish reported only 11 cases of late among nursing home residents, who numbered 1,603 at the latest census.

Like many facilities housing older adults and the infirm across the nation, Louisiana nursing homes took swift action in early March in an effort to keep the virus out. Among the steps still in practice included barring all outside visitors and regularly screening employees and residents for signs of infection  policies that are still in effect.

Giarrusso credited the lower number of nursing home patients needing hospitalizations to nursing homes being able to treat and isolate residents within their facilities and better contain outbreaks when they happen.

"A lot of those people didn't even need to be in hospitals," she said. "They just needed to get them out of the nursing homes before they infected anyone else."

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A bottleneck even now is still access to tests and protective equipment for workers, which wax and wane with inconsistent supply lines, she said.

Coronavirus tests were in such short supply from the onset of the state's outbreak, its difficult to tell how many nursing home residents contracted the virus and potentially developed some immunity to it.

New requirements for all certified nursing homes to test workers and residents have also allowed facilities to stamp out infections and isolate residents more than they were able early in the outbreak, she said.

As soon as they were able to access the tests, that changed the whole landscape, Giarrusso said.

Surge in Louisiana coronavirus cases creeping into nursing homes, numbers show The recent spike in coronavirus cases across Louisiana has brought a corresponding jump at nursing homes, once again putting the state's most 

In some cases, even older nursing home residents tested positive for the virus but never have symptoms, she said, which has vexed health care providers on why the virus spares certain people from serious illness.

It has, however, led to a greater understanding of how the virus transmits from people who don't seem to be impacted by it, underscoring the importance of wearing masks and taking other precautions while in close quarters.

Nursing homes  as well as places like jails and prisons  are especially vulnerable to outbreaks because people live close to one another and employees frequently interact with multiple residents.

Evidence of how quickly a virus can spread in these settings became more apparent after officials in May screened 200 inmates at Elayn Hunt Correctional Center and found 85% of inmates at the St. Gabriel prison had the virus but many didnt have symptoms.

Even for people who are medically vulnerable, not everybody gets sick, said Tulane epidemiologist Susan Hassig, who specializes in infectious diseases.

Understanding the scope of the coronavirus infections in nursing homes has been difficult to determine.

Just more than 23,880 people were living in nursing homes in May when the health department released data on individual facilities throughout Louisiana, including total case counts and deaths, as well as the number of workers who became infected.

Nursing home populations have dropped in the past four months, likely due to several factors, including facilities not taking in short-term patients needing post-surgery rehabilitation while hospitals werent performing certain operations.

The latest figures show 7,406 nursing home residents have tested positive for the virus, which by the earliest census counts from May would mean about 30% of Louisiana's nursing home residents tested positive for the virus at some point.

I wouldnt be surprised if its actually higher than that, Hassig said, adding that nursing homes didnt have the same regular testings for residents and employees this spring like they do now.

But accurate data on the scope and scale of infections is difficult to determine, and a comprehensive study hasnt been performed in Louisiana or even in a few parishes.

One potential option to understand the virus reach in a state would be to test all residents' blood for signs of antibodies, which indicates someones immune system had a response to the new virus.

But Hassig pointed to research suggesting antibodies potentially fade after a person contracts the coronavirus, making it difficult to track who may have had it it and whether someone they can get sick a second time.

Still, its not well-understood if thats the case and how long it takes for the defensive antibodies to fade, if they do.

The key to preventing a hospital surge, as it was since the onset of the pandemic, is for nursing homes to hold their lines against the virus until a highly effective treatment or a vaccine is developed, health experts say.

Keeping it out of nursing homes is really important, Giarrusso said. Now that nursing homes are more equipped and have come up with ways to isolate, I think were all better off.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-09 14:42:32|Editor: huaxia

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Photo taken on Aug. 9, 2020 shows a police center after an attack in Ghazni province, Afghanistan. Seven people have been confirmed dead and 16 others wounded as a car bombing targeted a police center in eastern Afghanistan's Ghazni province on Saturday, Interior Ministry spokesman Tareq Arian said Sunday. (Photo by Rohullah/Xinhua)

GHAZNI, Afghanistan, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) -- Seven people have been confirmed dead and 16 others wounded as a car bombing targeted a police center in eastern Afghanistan's Ghazni province on Saturday, Interior Ministry spokesman Tareq Arian said Sunday.

The armed insurgents detonated an explosive-laden car next to a unit of Civil Order Police in Kotal Rawa area outside Ghazni city, the capital of Ghazni province, at 07:45 p.m. local time Saturday, killing seven and wounding 16 others, Arian said.

Without providing more details, the official added that investigation had been initiated into the incident.

Confirming the incident, spokesman for provincial government Wahidullah Jumazada told Xinhua that the attackers, after detonating a car bomb, were attempting to enter the center but their attempts had been foiled.

The attack on the police center took place amid the ongoing Loya Jirga or grand assembly of elders and chieftains to decide the fate of 400 controversial Taliban detainees from government jails.

The government has already freed 5,100 Taliban inmates. However, the Taliban outfit demanded the release of 400 detainees who are involved in major offensives such as deadly truck bombings, kidnapping and killing civilians, as a precondition for talks with the Afghan administration.

Started on Friday, the grand assembly with the participation of more than 3,000 delegates from across the country is expected to advise the government for the release of Taliban prisoners on Sunday to pave the way for intra-Afghan dialogue and achieving peace in the conflict-battered country.
Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala government announced a solatium of Rs 5 lakh to the families of those killed in the tea plantation landslide in Idukki and Rs 10 lakh to the families of those who lost their lives in the plane crash at the Kozhikode airport.

The landslide victims are poor tea plantation workers from rural Tamil Nadu while the people who died in the air crash were relatively better-off people working in the Gulf countries.

The opposition in Kerala is pointing out the disparity in ex gratia payments and accusing chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan of disccrimination.

The Congress party said the disparity was also apparent from the fact that the chief minister rushed to Karipur on Saturday to meet those injured in the air crash but made no such gesture towards the landslide victims in Idukki.

Vijayan hid behind a technicality. The solatium announced for the landslide victims was only an interim, he said at a press meet on Saturday. Since the rescue operations were still going on for missing tea workers in Idukki district, the government was yet to make a final assessment of loss incurred, he said.

At Rajamala, we have declared an initial financial assistance. There the rescue operations are not over yet. We need to hold them together as we have the responsibility of taking care of those who lost everything. We also need to ensure their livelihood and rebuild their lives," Vijayan said in the press meet.

"The rescue operations are still on there at Rajamala and our ministers are there cordinationg the rescue and search operations. But the rescue operations at Karipur have finished," Vijayan said.

Revenue minister E Chandrashekaran and electricity minister M M Mani are camping in Idukki and coordinating the rescue operations. Forest minister K Raju also reached the location on Sunday morning.

The massive landslide flattened a row of 20 houses of workers at the Kanan Deval tea plantation. The tolls rose to to 28 today. The Air India Express crash resulted in the death of 18 on board and injuring 172, some seriously.
Congressman Michael McCaul makes a point to delegates during the evening session of the Republican National Convention at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio on July 18, 2016. (Dominick Reuter/AFP via Getty Images)

House Lawmaker Introduces Bill to Counter Chinas Influence at UN

Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) has introduced a new legislative proposal aimed at strengthening U.S. leadership at the United Nations, while countering malign influences from adversary countries such as China.

The bill, named the United Nations Transparency and Accountability Act of 2020 (H.R.7939), would empower the U.S. President to name countries found to engage in malign influence operations within the United Nations (UN) system as malign global actors.

The Secretary of the State would also be required to report on U.N. member states found to engage in these operations.

For years, the Chinese Communist Party and other malign actors have infiltrated the United Nations system in pursuit of their own goals, stated McCaul in an Aug. 7 press release.

He explained: This legislation would enact key reforms to increase transparency and to ensure the U.S. Government has the resources and personnel to better ensure accountability in the UN system.

The bill seeks to expand a current unit within the State Department that encourages Americans to take up jobs at international organizations, into a full-blown office. The new Office of American Citizens would support Americans to take up leadership or oversight roles at those organizations.

The bill would also mandate the expansion of a U.S.-sponsored Junior Professional Officer program, which allows Americans to train at several international organizations, such as the U.N., Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and International Atomic Energy Agency.

Finally, the bill would make U.S. contributions to the U.N. more transparent, such as requiring reports to be made publicly accessible after their submissions to Congress.

Its critical we have the right amount of U.S. engagement and leadership to counteract those who try to undermine the founding ideals of the United Nations so we can best solve international problems together, McCaul said in the press release.

China

As China has transformed from an agrarian economy into an economic juggernaut, it has also expanded its influence within the U.N. system.

China is interested in expanding its influence within the U.N., not because it supports the founding principles of the U.N., but in order to shift the values, programs, and policies of the U.N. in ways that benefit Chinese priorities and ideology, according to an April 2019 report by the Washington-based think tank The Heritage Foundation.

Among the 17 specialized agencies under the U.N., Chinese nationals currently head up four of them: the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the FAO, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO).

The World Health Organization has recently come under fire for repeating Beijings claims about the pandemic, which critics said exacerbated COVID-19s global spread.

Within the U.N. system, China has also sought to assert its sovereignty claims over self-ruled island Taiwan, which Beijing considers a renegade province.

The ICAO has blocked Taiwan, a major air traffic hub, from participating in its meetings since 2016. On Feb. 1, U.S. State Department spokesperson Morgan Ortagus expressed concerns, after ICAO blocked some Twitter users who criticized the agency for its continued exclusion of Taiwan.

Then, on Feb. 13, the ICAO issued a document titled Economic impact estimates due to COVID-19 travel bans, in which it addressed the island as Taiwan Province.

The United States sees Taiwan as one of its key partners in the Indo-Pacific region and has supplied the island with military hardware for its self-defense against Chinas threats of invasion.

McCauls bill is not the only proposal attempting to address Chinas influence at the world body.

In September 2019, Sens. Todd Young (R-Ind.) and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) introduced a bill (S.2528) requiring the U.S. Director of National Intelligence to provide a report on Chinas objectives, tactics, and influence at international organizations.
PARIS  President Emmanuel Macron of France called on world leaders to fast-track financial and humanitarian aid to Lebanon on Sunday after explosions last week decimated parts of Beirut and left more than 150 people dead.

A day after furious demonstrations against the Lebanese government threatened to spill into chaos, over 30 international leaders and government officials agreed to accelerate support in a video conference organized by Mr. Macron and the United Nations.

The objective today is to act quickly and effectively to coordinate our aid on the ground so that it goes as efficiently as possible to the Lebanese people, Mr. Macron told those gathered for the video call, including President Trump, King Abdullah II of Jordan, President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi of Egypt as well as representatives of the World Bank, the Red Cross, the International Monetary Fund, the European Union, China and the Arab League.

Michel Aoun, Lebanons president and a target of protests against the governments handling of the crisis, also participated.
Sydney's approach to its night-time economy needs a dramatic rethink in order to survive the COVID-19 pandemic, with councils being urged to close streets to traffic and permit more rooftop venues in a bid to encourage outdoor dining.

The state government's 24-hour economy strategy is due to go to cabinet this month, but it will need a further overhaul given the widespread changes to operating conditions since the coronavirus reached Australia.

Kensington Street, Chippendale is closed to traffic from Thursday to Sunday to allow outdoor dining.

The lobby group Committee for Sydney is leading the call for changes to the way cafes, restaurants and bars operate, saying people would feel safer attending outdoor venues that encouraged appropriate social distancing.

The renewed push comes as NSW recorded 10 new cases, with health concerns about a rising number of cases in Sydney's north-west. Sunday was also Australia's deadliest single day, with Victoria recording 17 new deaths in the previous 24 hours, and 394 new coronavirus cases. It takes the national death toll to 295.
The immediate past Governor of Ogun State and Senator representing Ogun Central, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, has expressed sadness over the...

The immediate past Governor of Ogun State and Senator representing Ogun Central, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, has expressed sadness over the death of Senator Buruji Kashamu, saying he fought myriads of wars for his personal freedom.

Amosun, in a statement by his media aide, Bola Adeyemi, said death has once again robbed us of the contribution of an enigmatic politician of the PDP, who represented Ogun East Senatorial District at the 8th Senate.

Amosun said, Although we belonged to different political persuasions, and disagreed on most issues, Senator Kashamu will nonetheless be remembered for his assertive presence in the political arena and uncommon doggedness.

The former Governor recalled that Kashamu fought myriad of wars with every breath in his soul in the defence of whatever he believed in and for his personal freedom, adding that hate him or love him, he could not be easily ignored

Amosun prayed that God will forgive Kashamus earthly sins and give him eternal rest.

He expressed condolences to the nuclear and political family members of the late founder and financier of the Omo Ilu Foundation, the Ijebu Igbo Community, and Ogun State as a whole.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-09 22:42:59|Editor: huaxia

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JAKARTA, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) -- Three policemen went missing as a patrol boat sank in the Pulau Tibi waters in Indonesia's North Kalimantan province's district of Tanah Tidung, local media reported on Sunday.

The accident occurred during a bad weather on Saturday evening when six policemen were conducting a patrol on the Pulau Tibi waters, Chief of the Waters and Air Police Corps of the Indonesian Police, Inspector General Lotharia Latif told Detiknews on Sunday.

At 11:00 p.m. local time on Saturday, the weather started to deteriorate and at midnight until 6:30 a.m. Sunday, the boat named Kepodang-5001 lost contact.

The police later managed to contact one of the six personnel onboard, who informed their condition, Latif said.

A police team then rushed to the scene and was able to rescue three policemen while three others remained missing, he said, adding the three rescued policemen were in good conditions.

The search and rescue team is searching for the three missing personnel. Enditem
One pretty good forecasting rule for the coronavirus era has been to take whatever Trump administration officials are saying and assume that the opposite will happen. When President Donald Trump declared in February that the number of cases would soon go close to zero, you knew that a huge pandemic was coming. When Vice President Mike Pence insisted in mid-June that there isnt a coronavirus second wave, a giant surge in new cases and deaths was clearly imminent.

And when Larry Kudlow, the administrations chief economist, declared just last week that a V-shaped recovery was still on track, it was predictable that the economy would stall.

A variety of private indicators, like the monthly report from the data-processing firm ADP, already suggest that the rapid employment gains of May and June were a dead-cat bounce and that job growth has at best slowed to a crawl.

ADPs number was at least positive  some other indicators suggest that employment is actually falling. But even if the small reported job gains were right, at this rate we wont be back to precoronavirus employment until ... 2027.

Also, both ADP and the official employment report will be old news  basically snapshots of the economy in the second week of July. Since then much of the country has either paused or reversed economic reopening, and there are indications that many workers rehired during the abortive recovery of May and June have been laid off again.

But things could get much worse. In fact, they probably will get much worse unless Republicans get serious about another economic relief package and do it very soon.

Im not sure how many people realize just how much deeper the coronavirus recession of 2020 could have been. Obviously it was terrible: Employment plunged, and real GDP fell by around 10%. Almost all of that, however, reflected the direct effects of the pandemic, which forced much of the economy into lockdown.

What didnt happen was a major second round of job losses driven by plunging consumer demand. Millions of workers lost their regular incomes; without federal aid, they would have been forced to slash spending, causing millions more to lose their jobs. Luckily Congress stepped up to the plate with special aid to the unemployed, which sustained consumer spending and kept the nonquarantined parts of the economy afloat.

Now that aid has expired. Democrats offered a plan months ago to maintain benefits, but Republicans cant even agree among themselves on a counteroffer. Even if an agreement is hammered out  and theres no sign that this is imminent  it will be weeks before the money is flowing again.

The suffering among cut-off families will be immense, but there will also be broad damage to the economy as a whole. How big will this damage be? Ive been doing the math, and its terrifying.

Unlike affluent Americans, the mostly low-wage workers whose benefits have just been terminated cant blunt the impact by drawing on savings or borrowing against assets. So their spending will fall by a lot. Evidence on the initial effects of emergency aid suggests that the end of benefits will push overall consumer spending  the main driver of the economy  down by more than 4%.

Furthermore, evidence from austerity policies a decade ago suggests a substantial multiplier effect, as spending cuts lead to falling incomes, leading to further spending cuts.

Put it all together and the expiration of emergency aid could produce a 4-5% fall in GDP. But wait, theres more. States and cities are in dire straits and are already planning harsh spending cuts; but Republicans refuse to provide aid, with Trump insisting, falsely, that local fiscal crises have nothing to do with COVID-19.

Bear in mind that the coronavirus itself  a shock that came out of the blue, although the United States mishandled it terribly  reduced GDP by only around 10%. What were looking at now may be another shock, a sort of economic second wave, almost as severe in monetary terms as the first. And unlike the pandemic, this shock will be entirely self-generated, brought on by the fecklessness of Trump and  lets give credit where its due  Mitch McConnell, the Senate majority leader.

The question is, how can this be happening? The 2008 financial crisis and the sluggish recovery that followed werent that long ago, and they taught us valuable lessons directly relevant to our current plight. Above all, experience in that slump demonstrated both that economic depressions are no time to obsess over debt and that slashing spending in the face of mass unemployment is a terrible mistake.

But nobody in the White House or on the GOP side of Capitol Hill seems to have learned anything from that experience. In fact, not having learned anything from the last crisis almost seems to be a requirement for Republican economic advisers.

So at the moment we seem to be headed for a Greater Recession  a worse slump than 2007-2009, overlaid on the coronavirus slump. MAGA!

Paul Krugman writes a syndicated column for the New York Times.

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Shane Ross, Finian McGrath and John Halligan were having their picture taken on the Leinster House plinth last Wednesday afternoon when one mischievous Fianna Fail TD shouted across from the car park: "Come back! All is forgiven!"

The three former Independent Alliance ministers had been for lunch and a catch-up across the road in Buswells Hotel. Mr Ross is putting the finishing touches to a book about his time in government that is likely to contain revelations that may make uncomfortable reading for Leo Varadkar and other Fine Gael ministers when it is published in October.

The Fianna Fail TD was joking, of course, but there are plenty around Leinster House who have noted in recent weeks that the chaotic Coalition stands in sharp contrast to the unlikely stability of the Fine Gael-Independent minority government that lasted four years.

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The summer break is supposed to afford the Coalition an opportunity to bed-in and ministers to read into their briefs but the growing number of Covid-19 cases is sparking alarm across Government about a second wave of the deadly virus.

The effective lockdown of Laois, Offaly and Kildare on Friday evening was just the start and more regional restrictions could follow. If the virus spirals out of control in the community then a return to nationwide lockdown cannot be ruled out.

Expand Close Taoiseach Micheal Martin. Photo: Gareth Chaney, Collins / Facebook

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"The only show in town now is to make sure this doesn't get into the community," said a senior minister. "If it gets into the community we're in a very, very bad way."

This stark reality became apparent on Friday when Micheal Martin delivered his first - and almost certainly not his last - address to the nation. In many ways it was the first time the Irish public was introduced to the idea that there is a new man in charge. There were no Heaney quotes or Mean Girls references, no expressive hand gestures, just a staid but impactful speech, underlining the seriousness of the situation. "We must protect public health to the greatest extent possible," Mr Martin said. "Everything else is secondary to that and if this requires difficult decisions then so be it."

Mr Martin decided to address the country in this way because restrictions were being imposed again and there was an awareness in Government that press conferences do not have the same impact as this style of address.

It landed well and Mr Martin needed it, given he has found himself repeatedly overshadowed and even undermined by Tanaiste Leo Varadkar.

Mr Varadkar's public pronouncements in recent weeks have undoubtedly left the impression among some people that he is still in charge - and if not that there are plenty who wish he still was. Just look at the polling data. By contrast, Mr Martin, as one senior Fine Gael source suggested last week, is like a "substitute teacher" filling in for a brief period before the real boss returns.

Mr Varadkar has done little to dispel this notion. The Fine Gael leader's decision on Tuesday to stop and speak to reporters at Dublin Castle and effectively confirm that pubs would not reopen - before the Cabinet had even decided this - did not go down well with those close to the Taoiseach. "No one should make announcements before the Cabinet makes a decision on anything," said a senior Fianna Fail source.

Publicly Mr Martin dismissed Mr Varadkar's latest intervention in a round of interviews on Friday, telling the Irish Independent he considered it an issue of "no great consequence".

But many Fianna Fail ministers are unhappy. "He [Mr Varadkar] knows what he's doing and it's not a coincidence so maybe it's part of his long-term plan," said one of them. "It's a bigger issue in terms of the stability of the Government than two Greens not voting with us he's going to start pissing off other ministers when he makes announcements beforehand."

A second Fianna Fail minister said: "Nobody is happy with that to be quite honest with you There is a trust that may have been broken by declaring everything before he goes in. The Taoiseach does trust the Tanaiste. There is no doubt about that. But the Tanaiste really needs to know his role."

Mr Varadkar is arguably still trying to define his exact role in this unique arrangement. Never before has it been the case that the Tanaiste is a former Taoiseach who will take up that office again at a date - December 15, 2022 - set in stone in a formal document, the programme for government.

Even those around Mr Varadkar appear keen for the day when he returns to the office. One of his special advisers, Philip O'Callaghan, has written on his Twitter biography that he works for a man who was the Taoiseach and "will be again very soon". A Government source said: "It's like they're deliberately goading Fianna Fail. It won't end well."

The public, the media, and even his own party are still adjusting to Mr Varadkar's effective demotion. "I called him Taoiseach the last day he rang," said one Fine Gael TD this week.

The Tanaiste also has his own and his party's priorities in Government to think about, he has repeatedly said he wants to focus on rebuilding Fine Gael after two bruising general elections where a combined 41 Dail seats have been lost.

Communication has been a big failing of the new administration so far and this does not sit well with Mr Varadkar, who has always been seen as a strong communicator.

There were a number of telling moments during the press conference at Dublin Castle that followed the Cabinet meeting on Tuesday. When Mr Martin was struggling to answer a question from this correspondent about when exactly the decision to postpone Phase Four would be reviewed again he glanced towards Mr Varadkar, almost looking for a bailout. The Tanaiste said nothing, although later in the press conference he, unprompted, interjected to provide clarity about when restaurants and pubs serving food should now be closing.

Mr Martin had improved his messaging by the time Friday came and he had to announce tough new measures for nearly 400,000 people in the midlands. But Fine Gael TDs and ministers are privately critical of his first few weeks in office, believing the old criticism of him as indecisive has rung true.

"Micheal is just so indecisive. You saw that with the rowbacks on everything in the first couple of weeks," said one Fine Gael TD. "Varadkar is the opposite. He tends to be decisive on issues that come up. He has presented himself as a contrast."

Party colleagues of Mr Varadkar believe he would have held the line on removing the pandemic payment from people travelling abroad and the pay rise for super junior ministers - or at the very least not allowed both issues to escalate in the way they had.

There is also considerable anger among ministers of state over what they believe is a U-turn on plans to allow them to appoint special advisers or so-called SpAds.

The Government decided this week that ministers of state would not be allowed special advisers unless they make a specific case for having one to the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform.

This is the same situation that applied to the previous government. However many junior ministers were able to secure approval for SpAds in the Fine Gael-Independent minority government.

"It is classic Micheal Martin. He signed off on that with other leaders. The very first waft of wind that came against him he decided to capitulate," a Fine Gael junior minister said. "They are not used to being in government a lot of the issues around the last few weeks and why the Government started to look the way it has is that the inexperience on the Fianna Fail side has started to show."

Some believe they are being made to pay for the controversy over perks afforded to senior ministers in recent weeks. Their anger is directed not just at Mr Martin, but also Foreign Affairs and Defence Minister Simon Coveney whose retention of a State car was another public relations debacle for the coalition.

Indeed Mr Coveney sparked anger within Fine Gael when he told a meeting of the party's ministers on July 28 that he did not think there should be special advisers for every junior member of the Government, according to three sources at the meeting in the Convention Centre.

Mr Coveney is said to have made reference to some junior ministers in the previous Fine Gael-led administration being more quiet or having a lighter workload.

"He said some ministers had light work loads and didn't have one [an adviser] last time," said one source. A second source said: "He definitely wasn't in favour of them, which annoyed quite a few of us as you can imagine because it's a bit rich for somebody who has retained trappings of office to be complaining about people having access to an adviser." A third source said: "Ministers of State do feel they are picking up the flak for the mistakes made by Cabinet ministers and the comment was tone-deaf in that regard."

The remarks are said to have prompted an angry reaction in particular from junior ministers Patrick O'Donovan and Damien English, neither of whom had special advisers in the last government. Mr English's response was all the more surprising to some, given he is a close ally of Mr Coveney's and ran his failed leadership bid three years ago. "Damien was just contesting it when the vote bell rang. Coveney didn't appear back after the vote so I'd say he was lucky," said an eyewitness.

Mr O'Donovan and Mr English did not respond to queries this weekend. A spokesman for Mr Coveney was unable to comment.

Rows over ministerial advisers are of no consequence to the public, but they do illustrate that the Government is still struggling to function properly in its early weeks.

Some members of the Cabinet were unhappy that a decision to lockdown three counties in the midlands was taken on Friday via a so-called incorporeal meeting over the phone rather than in person.

"It's not good to be making decisions without proper discussion," said one. A Cabinet source said: "Some ministers are deeply dissatisfied with the lack of engagement and discussion on the issue."

But a senior government source argued it was not possible in the short timeframe given some ministers were in their constituencies and others had taken annual leave.

The Taoiseach has signalled he won't be taking any holidays over the coming weeks, while the staycation plans of other ministers may have to be curtailed as the deadly virus threatens to dominate the Coalition's agenda for the foreseeable future.
A new week beckons and what do we have in store weather-wise?

Well, for Monday we have a southwesterly airflow, some cloud and the odd shower in the west and far south, mainly sunny and settled out east, says WeatherWatch analyst Aaron Wilkinson.

Meanwhile a low pressure system is brewing to the northwest in the Tasman Sea.

A bit of a ridge lies over most of the country on Tuesday, the low mentioned before tightens up and starts to affect the upper North Island bringing potentially heavy rain to some areas and strong winds later in the day.

This low quickly peels away to the east on Wednesday after one last lick of strong winds and heavy rain to some in the north, cloudy for the eastern South Island with the odd shower, sunnier out west, says Aaron.

The concentration of this heavy rain on late Tuesday and Wednesday will mainly be focused on Northland, Auckland - mainly in the east, Coromandel, Bay Of Plenty, East Cape / Gisborne and Hawkes Bay, says Aaron.

You can see this in the rain accumulation map below for the next seven days.

Thursday is mainly settled for many due to an anticyclone moving in but areas of cloud persist for some.

Friday and next weekend look mostly settled also, says Aaron.

Rain maps: https://www.weatherwatch.co.nz/maps-radars/rain/rain-forecast

Wind maps: https://www.weatherwatch.co.nz/maps-radars/wind/wind-forecast

Rural Weather: http://www.ruralweather.co.nz
Here are todays top news, analysis and opinion at this hour. Know all about the latest news and other news updates from Hindustan Times.

Centres move to ban import of 101 items will give major boost to defence sector: Amit Shah

Union home minister Amit Shah, who is recovering from the Covid-19 infection at a private hospital in Gurugram, on Sunday, lauded the Centres move to put 101 items on embargo to boost Prime Minister Narendra Modis Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan (self-reliant India movement) in defence production. Read more

Cornered by rivals, PM Oli is back with a ludicrous claim on Rams birthplace

Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli this week attempted to ignite a fresh row over Lord Rams birthplace, telling a delegation that he was convinced that Lord Ram was born in south Nepals Ayodhyapuri and not Uttar Pradeshs Ayodhya. Read more

Well-established, undeniable fact: Nepal disputes Jaishankars Buddha greatest Indians remark

Nepal on Sunday responded to external affairs minister S Jaishankars remarks that Gautam Buddha was one of the two greatest Indians for people around the world by saying historical and archaeological evidence shows the founder of Buddhism was born in Nepalese territory. Read more

Anil Kumble used to bowl bouncers, batsmen fended him like theyd do against Brett Lee: Sanjay Manjrekar

Sanjay Manjrekar said batsmen at times used to fend Anil Kumbles balls like they would do against Brett Lee, who was known for his express pace and often used to fight for the tag of being the fastest bowler of the world along with Pakistan Shoaib Akhtar. Read more

From Google Pixel 4a to Samsung Galaxy Note 20, top new phones launched this month

The month began with Google launching its much-awaited Pixel 4a smartphone after three months of delay owing to the pandemic. It was followed by Xiaomi introducing its Redmi 9 Prime smartphone in India. Read more

Kangana Ranaut now attacks Ayushmann Khurrana: Chaploos outsiders support mafia only for their mediocrity

Kangana Ranauts war with Bollywood actors--star kids or otherwise-- is far from over. The actor has now launched a mean attack at Ayushmann Khurrana, calling him a chaploos outsider. Read more

Travel plans coming soon? Make sure you pack these must-haves

While we are waiting with bated breath for the coronavirus pandemic to die down, all we can do is dream about the gorgeous landscapes that await us when we have the freedom to roam the corners of the world once again. Read more
The UAE's Emirates Post Group has signed a partnership agreement with the Ras Al Khaimah Department of Economic Development (RAK DED) to put in place processes to expedite the issuance of licenses for courier and delivery companies.

With the agreement, the service period for the license delivery process will be reduced to 1-2 working days, from the previous processing time of 10 working days, said Emirates Post.

The partnership reflects the ongoing move by UAEs leadership to streamline government processes and increase efficiencies across all government departments, it said.

The move is expected to help increase the ease of doing business in the Emirates by providing companies and entrepreneurs requisite licenses in a timely manner.

With this new collaboration, the customers looking to file for a courier delivery license in Ras Al Khaimah can submit all the paperwork with RAK DED online, omitting visits to Emirates Post Group. If all paperwork is in order, RAK DED will issue the necessary licenses.

At the signing, Abdulla Mohammed Al Ashram, Group CEO of Emirates Post Group Company, stressed the importance of continuously enhancing systems to keep pace with the rapid changes in the business sector. He emphasised the role the new partnership will have in bringing processes on par with global standards, elevating the customer experience and supporting a constantly evolving business sector.

He said: Our partnership with RAK DED is symbolic of the path the UAE is taking towards transitioning into a streamlined, digital economy. By joining forces with other government entities, we can collaboratively design solutions for key issues, roll out best practices across the board, and raise the standards of the service from start to finish.

Dr Abdulrahman Al Shayeb Al Naqbi, Director General of Ras Al-Khaimah Department of Economic Development, praised the institutional partnership with Emirates Post Group Company saying: This partnership will enhance the mutual services between the two sides for the good of their businesses, including the simplification of licensing procedures. This will raise the satisfaction of these (courier) companies with the mutual services provided and achieve the strategic directions in facilitating access to the services of both parties."

The agreement was signed by Abdulla Mohammed Al Ashram, and Dr Abdulrahman Al Shayeb Al Naqbi, in the presence of Sultan Al Midfa, Chief Regulatory and Licensing Officer, and Obaid Al Qatami, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer from Emirates Post Group, as well as Mohamed Al-Mahmoud, Deputy Director General and Director of Business Development Department at RAK DED. - TradeArabia News Service
Eleven sailors have tested positive for COVID-19.

A foreign ship where several crew members are infected with the COVID-19 coronavirus has entered the seaport of Pivdenny, Odesa region.

Ukrainian epidemiologists are now working on this case, Director of the Ukrainian Health Ministry's Labs Center for water transport Mykola Holubiatnikov said on social media, according to the local news portal yuzhny.info.

Read alsoUkraine's Health Ministry: Kyiv, eight regions not ready for lifting COVID-19 curbs

The sea motorship whose carrying capacity is 70,000 tonnes arrived in Ukraine with some of its crew members already being infected, and new tests confirmed eleven people are positive for COVID-19.

"At the moment, the ship is moored at the quarantine berth; we are solving issues related to hospitalization of the confirmed patients and the examination of potential COVID-19 patients," Holubiatnikov said.

According to him, a replacement crew is to arrive, the vessel will undergo deep cleaning. Over the past 30 days, according to the official, this is the second ship where sailors infected with the coronavirus were identified.

At the same time, the captains of both ships assured the Ukrainian authorities that the sailors had a common cold, but the examination showed that the crew members were COVID-19 infected.

"The ship has the common air conditioning system and the infection will spread to all crew members if one of them gets infected... We all need to think about how to prevent the virus from entering the territory [of Ukraine] through the international shipping system," Holubiatnikov wrote.

According to some reports, the ship where 11 tested positive for the coronavirus is the Greece-registered PATRA bulk carrier.
CLEVELAND, Ohio  It sounds simple enough to create a high-quality bike route from the Slavic Village neighborhood north to downtown Cleveland. On a clear day, the downtown skyline seems close enough to touch along most of the proposed 3.5-mile route for the Slavic Village Downtown Connector.

But the project has been stalled for more than a decade by slow-moving federal funding cycles and by the complexity of weaving a thin green line of public space around I-77, also known as the Willow Freeway, and the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authoritys rapid transit tracks.
Britains military said Saturday it has been asked by the government to help prevent people from reaching the U.K. from France in small boats, after a surge in the number of vessels making the dangerous journey.

The Ministry of Defense said it had received a request from the Home Office to "support U.K. Border Force operations in the Dover Straits. The department said it was working hard to identify how we can most effectively assist.

Britains Conservative government has talked tough after dozens of crossings by migrants during recent weeks of warm summer weather. On Thursday, 235 people landed or were brought ashore from boats in the English Channel, a record number for a single day. Britains Coastguard said it was responding to a number of incidents in the Channel on Saturday.

Home Secretary Priti Patel has said the Royal Navy could be called in to prevent boats reaching U.K. waters, though other senior officials and politicians say that could be impractical and potentially dangerous.

Jack Straw, who served as Home Secretary during a previous Labour government, said it will only take one of these dinghies to capsize and everybody to drown  for there to be a hullabaloo, including in the Conservative Party, and for the policy to have to be reversed.

Straw told the BBC that cooperation with France was the only way of reducing the number of people making the risky journey across one of the worlds busiest shipping lanes. The French and British immigration ministers are due to hold talks next week.

Roger Gough, head of the county council in Kent, where the majority of migrants arrive, said historically the best experience weve seen of reducing the inflows is when theres been a successful agreement, level of shared interest, between the British and French authorities.

Migrants have long used northern France as a launching point to reach Britain, either in trucks through the Channel tunnel or on ferries. Before the coronavirus pandemic, the U.K.s strong economy and need for farm and restaurant labor drew migrants from around the world who could speak some English.

Some have turned to small boats organized by smugglers because lockdowns have reduced opportunities to stow away on ferries and trucks. Fine summer weather is also prompting more people to make the risky sea crossing  about 20 miles (32 kilometers) at its narrowest point  in vessels as small as dinghies and kayaks.

The number of migrants crossing the Channel is small compared to the number who try to reach southern European countries across the Mediterranean and Aegean seas.

Human rights and refugee groups say many migrants are legitimate refugees or have good reasons to want to come to Britain, such as relatives in the country. They argue the British government should offer safe and legal routes for them to come.

(ABC NEWS)
Press Release

August 9, 2020 Bong Go describes MECQ as 'one step backward, two steps forward' ; urges public to strictly follow protocols as gov't distributes free face masks Senator Christopher "Bong" Go said the government is taking one step backward and two steps forward in its decision to revert Metro Manila and nearby provinces of Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna and Rizal to modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) in order to prevent the further spread of COVID-19 and, at the same time, strengthen testing, tracing and treating capabilities of the health sector. "Ang thrust po dito one step backward, two steps forward. Bahagi ito ng recalibration ng strategies. Maliban sa pagbibigay ng time out [para sa mga frontliners], ito ay para ma-intensify pa ang testing capacity natin and tracing capability and isolation capacity," the Senator said during an interview given on Saturday, August 8. Go, who serves as Chair of the Senate Committee on Health and Demography, expressed concern at the rising number of COVID-19 infections which he attributed to increased testing. On August 6, the Philippines overtook Indonesia and emerged as Southeast Asia's new coronavirus hot spot. There are 122,754 confirmed positive cases of COVID-19 infection in the country, as of August 7. However, Go noted that the Philippines also takes the top spot in terms of testing capacity in the region, having conducted a total of 1,643,539 tests with an average of 28,938 tests per day within the last seven days, as of August 4. By comparison, Indonesia conducted an estimated 908,000 tests with an average of 4,291 tests per day during the same period. "Hindi naman ito parang contest na padamihan ng medalya tulad ng SEA Games na nag-uunahan tayong makakuha ng gold medal. Siyempre, nalulungkot po ako na tumataas ang cases sa ngayon," he said. Go urged the public to continue adhering to the health and safety guidelines, such face mask-wearing and social distancing, in order to prevent more infections and avoid possible extension of strict community quarantine measures. According to health experts, properly wearing the right kind of mask decreases the risk of catching the virus by 85%. With social distancing and the use of face shields, this risk may be reduced by more than 90%. Go commended the government for initiating the provision of free face masks to the poor, following his appeal for a stronger mask-wearing policy. He noted that this initiative can create jobs for local makers of face masks and, at the same time, can save lives by distributing these free face masks to those who cannot afford to buy their own, particularly the beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) and other poor Filipinos. "Next week po, magkakaroon ng programa na (pamimigay ng) free masks. At the same time, makakapagbigay ito ng trabaho o livelihood sa mga gumagawa ng mask, local lang po ito, 'yung washable mask. Sabi ko sa kanila, unahin nila ang mga mahihirap. 'Yung 4Ps members kasi sinasabi natin wear mask, eh sabihin ng mga kababayan natin, wala naman kayong binibigay na mask kaya dapat lang na magkaroon po ng libreng face," shared Go. When asked about quarantine measures and procedures for COVID-19 cases, the Senator clarified that people with mild cases or are asymptomatic can be quarantined in their homes, provided they comply with the National Task Force on COVID-19's three new isolation requirements: (1) they must have a separate bedroom for the patient's exclusive use throughout the isolation period, (2) a separate bathroom, and (3) they must not be living with people at risk of severe illness from the virus. According to the NTF, if COVID-19 patients cannot fulfill any of the requirements, they will be transferred to a government quarantine facility with the assistance of local health workers. Meanwhile, Go also expressed his support for the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises (CREATE) Act and the Financial Institution Strategic Transfer (FIST) Act which will complement the proposed Bayanihan to Recover as One bill. Also called as Bayanihan 2 bill, it is the enhanced successor of the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act and will include measures to aid economic and social recovery of the country. Likewise, Go also vowed that the poorest and most vulnerable sectors who have been struggling most under the quarantine measures should be the first to receive the COVID-19 vaccine once it is available. "Ako naman, siguraduhin natin once available ang vaccine, unahin natin ang mahihirap, 'yung vulnerable. Sila po ang pinipilit nating manatili sa bahay. Ang problema, ito ang mga kailangang lumabas para magtrabaho. Vulnerable sila sa sakit dahil sila ang mahihirap nating kababayan. So unahin natin sila, tulungan natin sila. 'Wag kayong mag-aalala.... Kayo ang uunahin kapag may vaccine na, 'yun po ang sisiguraduhin ni Pangulong Duterte," said Go.
If Hoosiers are safely leaving their homes to go to work and school, shop in stores, and eat in restaurants amid the coronavirus pandemic, Gov. Eric Holcomb believes there's no reason they can't also vote in person on or before Election Day.

The Republican chief executive last week said he does not support making mail-in absentee balloting available to all registered voters for the general election due to COVID-19, even though a record 500,000 Hoosiers participated that way in the June 2 primary election.

"Folks need to understand that it is safe to vote," Holcomb said. "Indiana will have a safe and secure and healthy, in-person election on Nov. 3."

Holcomb said unlike the primary election, which was moved from May 5 due to the pandemic and took place while Hoosiers were living under a modified stay-at-home order, most of Indiana now is open for business and there's no need for expanded mail-in voting.

"There are a lot of people out and about, whether its working or going to the grocery or doing your lives, and they're doing it safely. And we can vote safely in person as well," Holcomb said.
Shifts in the flow of crude into and out of American ports can have a big impact on the level of U.S. inventories. Riyadh has clearly decided its time to do its bit to bring them down from heights reached in May and June, when the coronavirus pandemic and the kingdoms own output hike combined to drive the fastest ever surge in U.S. commercial crude stockpiles. In the five weeks between March 20 and April 24, the inventories increased at a rate of 2.1 million barrels a day and by the first week of June it was hitting new highs.
Brick-and-mortar retailers, whether mom-and-pop shops or giant chains, are held accountable if they sell defective products that result in serious injury or death. Online marketplace giants such as Amazon are not.

Its unfair as a business matter, unsafe as a public health issue, and it must change.

The California Senate can make that happen by passing Assembly Bill 3262 to extend the liability laws on dangerous and defective products to electronic marketplaces. The measure, authored by Assemblyman Mark Stone, D-Santa Cruz, cleared the Assembly on a bipartisan 54-14 vote.

But beneath that seemingly healthy margin was an ominous sign that the lobbying was intense: 14 members did not vote, an all-too-common practice known as taking a walk when our elected representatives in Sacramento are faced with standing up to a powerful interest. The opposition is coming from the technology sector and the California Chamber of Commerce.

The arguments against AB3262 are weak. The tech-industry lobbyists maintain that a Californian injured by a dangerous or defective product would have sufficient recourse under existing law. Its a decidedly disingenuous argument in view of the cases in which online marketers have been arguing in court that they are not accountable for damage from the products sold on their sites. As the nonpartisan analysis distributed to legislators noted, the courts have not definitively resolved the issue.

As Stone summed up the oppositions claim, Amazon and others insist they are merely a conduit between willing sellers and willing buyers and thus are qualitatively different from a brick-and-mortar store.

This is a loophole that allows the bringing of dangerous products into the state, he said.

The problem is not theoretical. A Wall Street Journal investigation last year found 4,152 items for sale on Amazon.com that had been declared unsafe by federal agencies, are deceptively labeled or are banned by federal regulators  items that big-box retailers policies would bar from their shelves.

Heres why you should care:

For starters, some of those products on Amazon and other sites are from overseas suppliers. Their manufacturers and distributors would technically be liable for dangerous or defective items  but good luck reaching them, let alone receiving compensation. Some of them may have even shut down or shifted to another name and web address before that package arrives on your doorstep.

How can you do that (hold them accountable) if the company is in China and has no presence here? said Stone, adding: There literally is no recourse.

The Childrens Advocacy Institute has lent its support to AB3262, expressing its particular concern about the impact on children. It cited the Wall Street Journal investigation that tested 10 childrens products purchased on Amazon: Four of them failed to meet federal safety standards.

One of the longstanding principles of California law  established in a landmark 1963 court case, Greenman vs. Yuba Power Prods Inc.  is that a manufacturer is strictly liable for product defects that cause injury to a human being. In other words, if a product is used as intended and a customer is injured, the manufacturer is responsible if its the result of a design or manufacturing defect. Period.

A year later, that doctrine was extended to retailers.

The relevance of the issue has only been amplified by the coronavirus pandemic. With retailers shuttered, consumers have become increasingly reliant on online sources for buying everything from essential goods to toys. Also, many of those retailers  especially those without online shopping  are hurting, with the jobs and benefits they provide to their communities in serious jeopardy.

The last thing our elected representatives should be doing is leaving them at a competitive disadvantage as they struggle to rebound from the shutdown orders.

The state Senate should strike a note for fair play and public health and safety by passing AB3262, and Gov. Gavin Newsom should sign it into law when it reaches his desk.

This commentary is from The Chronicles editorial board. We invite you to express your views in a letter to the editor. Please submit your letter via our online form: SFChronicle.com/letters.
The artist Shalom Neuman seems to have prevailed in his 8-year battle with infamous landlord Steven Croman. A state appeals court tossed out a lawsuit over Neumans building, 57 Stanton Street, freeing the longtime Lower East Side resident to do what he wants with the property. [Commercial Observer]

Editorial: The mayor has failed to make the city more resilient; The $1.45 billion East Side Coastal Resiliency project, intended to raise ground levels along the Lower East Side waterfront, was supposed to begin three years ago. The de Blasio administration dithered, and is now on its third major revision of a plan that wont be complete until 2025 at the earliest. [The Daily News]

The Associated Press finally declares Rep. Carolyn Maloney the victor in her June primary race against challenger Suraj Patel. Maloney has a lead of about 3700 votes. But because the courts have ordered the Board of Elections to count absentee ballots initially thrown out, probably less than 1200 of them, Patel is not conceding. [Politico]

A number of well-known Chinatown restaurants have been forced to close for good, including Golden Mandarin Court, Amazing 66 and Hope Shing. [Sing Tao Daily via City Limits]

Lan Zhou, the Chinatown pulled noodle destination, has decided to shut its doors for good. [Eater]

Pete Wells checks out the outdoor dining options in Chinatown. [The New York Times]

Same goes for Robert Sietsema, who sounded a note of optimism after his multi-day tour of the neighborhood: I felt like an excited kid again, marveling at Chinatown springing back to life. [Eater]

The Orchard Street restaurant, The Fat Radish, is closing after a decade on the Lower East Side. Owners of the once-sceney spot say they did not have enough outdoor space to make a go of it in the COVID-19 era. [Eater]

Seth Rogans new film, An American Pickle, provides an opportunity to revisit New Yorks pickle history. [Forward]
The predator you warn your children about is not always the stranger lurking in the shadows.

What a Niagara family didnt consider was the monsters who hide in plain sight.

A 66-year-old man was recently sentenced to three months behind bars in an Ontario Court of Justice in St. Catharines after he pleaded guilty to a charge of sexual interference involving an eight-year-old girl.

The parents of the victim are outraged by the sentence and says the time has come for Canada to reconsider penalties for sex offenders.

Its so frustrating, said the childs mother. He will serve his three months, which hell actually only serve probably two thirds of that, and then thats it he can continue to live his life. My daughter is going to have to live with the effects of this for the next 80 years.

James, his real name withheld in order to protect the identity of his daughter, said he would have liked to see the offender jailed for at least two years.

If they want to eradicate this from society, were going to need deterrent sentences, he said.

You need to throw the book at these people so the next one stops and thinks wow, if I get caught Im going away for years and will lose everything. This slap on the wrist (expletive) needs to stop.

Theresa, also not her real name, said she and her husband did everything right, took the proper precautions to protect their children.

Theyre both university educated. Theresa put her career on hold so her children would not be placed in a daycare. When she returned to the workforce, she only worked during school hours.

When she needed a few hours of after-school care, she left her children with people she could trust, an older couple who the kids thought of as their adopted grandparents  the defendant and his wife.

How could I allow this wolf in sheeps clothing to be an integral part of our loving family? Theresa said in court after the man pleaded guilty.

In his sentencing decision, Judge Joseph De Filippis told the parents not to be consumed by guilt.

The defendants moral culpability is high; he abused a young girl and violated the trust she and her parents placed in him. The parents understandably feel guilty about their faith in the defendant. However, they could not have known what would happen and are not at fault.

When the child disclosed she had been molested, Theresa said her family embarked on an excruciating and horrible roller-coaster ride that continues to this day.

There were agonizing interviews with police and Family and Childrens Services of Niagara. The court process was unfamiliar and intimidating.

The offender was arrested in March 2019. He pleaded guilty 11 months later and the sentencing was put over on several occasions due to COVID-19 restrictions.

The defendant cannot be named due to a publication ban put in place to protect the identity of the victim.

Nobody knows who he is, Theresa said. Its to protect her, I get it, but sometimes it feels like its protecting him more than her.

While the criminal case ended in late July, the family say their child remains locked in a prison she cannot escape from.

Theresa said her daughter disclosed additional inappropriate incidents by the man which were not included in the court proceedings.

Securing consistent aftercare counselling has been a challenge.

The government phased out the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board, which assessed financial compensation for victims and family members of victims of violent crimes committed in Ontario, in 2019.

Support and services for victims of crime are now provided through the Victim Quick Response Program, which only covers emergency and essential expenses, and short-term counselling.

The family quickly filled their quota, as well as limited counselling offered through FACS, and only a few sessions are available to them each year under their insurance.

Is that fair? the mother asked.

The family was supported through the court process by the Niagara chapter of Guardians of the Children Canada.

The non-profit organization is made up of volunteers, all motorcycle enthusiasts, who have a passion for helping children who have been abused.

We connected with the family, attended court hearings and provided them with comfort as well as information and connections throughout the community to help support them and get them through the process as comfortably and confidently as possible, said Storm, president of the local chapter.

Members hold adoption rides in honour of the children they help, and each receives a vest and road name to provide further support and to promote confidence.

In March 2019, court was told, the victim was having a sleepover at the St. Catharines home the man shares with his wife, when the man she called uncle molested her.

He told her not to tell anyone what happened because shed never be able to see him again. He later suggested the girls memory was a bad dream.

The retired plumber later confessed to police and said he is not a monster...this was a one-time thing...I have shattered this little girl.

His wife remains supportive of her husband.

Theresa says her daughter disclosed additional incidents of inappropriate behaviour, which she says was not included as a factor at sentencing.

Defence counsel David Protomanni said his client, who did not have a prior criminal record, accepts responsibility for his actions and is devastated by what he did.

Sentencing is an art and a judge uses many factors outlined in the Criminal Code to apply a just sentence, he said.

Ultimately, the decision is up to the judge regardless of submissions made by defence counsel and the Crown.

Protomanni said the man is undergoing counselling and will continue with counselling programs once he is released from custody.

Should he not continue counselling, he would be in breach of his court order and could face a further criminal charge, the lawyer said.

Upon his release, the offender will be on probation for two years and is banned from having any contact with anyone under the age of 16 unless his wife is present. His name will appear on the federal sex offender registry for 10 years.
An off-duty state trooper working part-time for the U.S. Postal Service was shot dead inside his mail truck in Mississippi.

Authorities discovered Mississippi Highway Patrolman Lt. Troy 'Rudy' Morris, of Natchez, dead inside his USPS truck on Friday around 4:30am.

Morris, 58, was a 27-year veteran of the Mississippi Highway Patrol and worked for USPS part-time for 16 years.

'He was a good man, a friend and a valuable member of this agency,' wrote Colonel Randy Ginn, Director of MHP, in a press release.

'He will be truly missed by the Mississippi Highway Patrol. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family.'

Mississippi Highway Patrolman Lt. Troy Morris (pictured) was shot dead on Friday morning while working his second job with the United States Postal Service

The disturbing incident happened while Morris was working an early shift with USPS near Jefferson County

The Clarion Ledger report that Morris called MHP and the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office after his mail truck got a flat tire on U.S. Route 61.

But while waiting for USPS to send another mail truck, Morris was gunned down at the scene and was later discovered by authorities who dispatched to meet him.

Authorities said it appeared nothing had been stolen from the mail truck.

Adams County Coroner James Lee told The Natchez Democrat said news of Morris' death has shocked his colleagues.

'Troopers from around this state were vehemently searching for clues and leads to direct them to a possible suspect. The State Crime Lab sent a team of forensic experts to work the crime scene,' said Lee.

Troy Morris (pictured) was with the Mississippi Highway Patrol for 27 years and worked part-time for USPS for 16 years

'This is a sad day, not only for law enforcement but family and friends of Lt. Morris. My deepest sympathy and prayers.'

Lee added that Morris' body was transferred to the Mississippi Crime Lab to undergo an autopsy.

'I cant believe someone would gun down a police officer like that,' he said.

'This is a sad day for law enforcement, the Mississippi Highway Patrol, and the State of Mississippi. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family of Lieutenant Troy Morris,' write Commissioner Sean Tindell in the press release.

'Local, state, and federal agents will work tirelessly to ensure justice.'

Pictured: a number of Mississippi law enforcement stand at the crime scene on Friday after Morris' body was discovered

Commissioner Sean Tindell: 'This is a sad day for law enforcement, the Mississippi Highway Patrol, and the State of Mississippi'. Pictured: police vehicles at the crime scene

As of Saturday, Damion Whittley, 25, Treyon Washington, 24, and 17-year-old Cdarrius Norman have all been charged with murder in connection to Morris' death.

Washington reportedly turned himself into the Jefferson County Sheriff's Department and is being held without bond in Jefferson County Jail.

Authorities tracked down Whittley and Norman to New Orleans, where they were captured and awaiting extradition to Mississippi.

USPS and Mississippi Crime Stopper previously said offered a $108,000 reward for any information leading to an arrest.

Since Morris' death, Congressman Steven Palazzo and Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves have shared their condolences on Facebook.

'My prayers are with the loved ones of Lt. Troy Morris who was senselessly shot and killed this morning in Jefferson County. I hope the individual responsible for such an unforgivable act is swiftly brought to justice,' wrote Palazzo.

'At 4:30 AM this morning, a member of the Mississippi Highway Patrol was killed in his vehicle. It is a somber reminder to pray for all of our law enforcement heroesand especially the family of Lieutenant Troy Morris. God bless him, and all of our law enforcement officers,' Gov. Reeves wrote.

Mississippi Congressman Steven Palazzo shared his condolences on Facebook

Gov. Reeves: 'It is a somber reminder to pray for all of our law enforcement heroesand especially the family of Lieutenant Troy Morris. God bless him, and all of our law enforcement officers'

A community group called 'Livesavers' shared a tribute to Morris on Friday

Operation Lifesavers, a community group that supports local officers and gifts them with packages of Life Savers, also posted a tribute to Morris.

'Rest In Peace, Lt. Troy "Rudy" Morris. Thank you for living a life of service, and for protecting us for all those years. Godspeed, sir,' wrote one member.

'This is a first for Operation Lifesaver. We met Lt. Morris on 4/7/2017.'

The investigation into Morris' death is ongoing.
China will accelerate the establishment of a "dual circulation" development pattern that takes the domestic market as the mainstay while domestic and foreign markets can boost each other.



Since May this year, the top leadership of the country has reaffirmed the dual-circulation development pattern on various occasions, indicating the strategic priority of China's economic development is accelerating the shift from an export-led to a domestic demand-driven growth model.

Active choice

It is not a hasty decision, but an active choice mulled for years.

China has actively participated in the global value chain since its reform and opening-up in the late 1970s, achieving rapid economic development through its low costs and export-oriented strategy. However, deficiencies have gradually emerged, such as excessive dependence on foreign trade, risks in economic security, restrictions in key technologies and pressure on industrial upgrading.

In fact, since the Asian financial crisis of 1998, China has shifted the foothold of its economic development to expanding domestic demand. In recent years, China has become increasingly reliant on the domestic market rather than exports.

From the perspective of the domestic situation, China is pushing for high-quality development and accelerating the transformation of its economic growth model.

In the current global landscape, the world is undergoing profound changes unseen in a century. COVID-19 is wreaking havoc across the world, trade protectionism is on the rise in some countries and the global industrial and supply chains may experience remarkable changes.

It is in this milieu that the new development pattern has been reaffirmed, based on China's long-term development strategy and changes in the global situation.

The new development pattern mulled by the top leadership is an active strategic choice for China's economy to nurture new opportunities and secure new advantages in global competition, said Huang Qunhui, director of the Institute of Economics at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

Deepen opening-up

While the potential of domestic circulation is being emphasized, it does not mean China will seek seclusion. Instead, it will utilize domestic and international resources more efficiently, ensuring robust and sustainable development.

"Economic activities never existed in isolation. They are dynamic and cyclic. Since China has deeply integrated itself into globalization, it cannot expand domestic demand without the smooth operation of the global industrial and supply chains," said Wei Jianguo, vice chairman of the China Center for International Economic Exchanges.

"The strategy to take domestic circulation as the mainstay and expand domestic demand as the strategic foundation does not mean closing doors to the outside world or active decoupling. On the contrary, it means further opening up to the outside world at a high level," said Guan Tao, an economist with BOC International.

A review of its major reforms this year reveals clues to the country's endeavors in boosting opening-up.

In late June, China shortened the negative list for foreign investment again, slashing the number of sectors that are off-limits for foreign investors.

In early June, China released the master plan on building the southern island province of Hainan into a globally influential free trade port.

Two guidelines were unveiled in April and May - one on the market-based allocation of resources, and the other on improving the socialist market economy. Both plans centered on protecting the market's role in the economy to nurture the growth of domestic and foreign-funded companies alike.

China needs to continue its pivot toward domestic demand-driven growth. The country is improving its domestic demand system in an open environment, so dual circulation - domestic and international - should not be severed.

China's development cannot be segregated from the world, while global development also needs China. In the future, China will only open its doors wider to share its development opportunities with the world.
Hes my version of a Superhero.

We need them these days.

He has a cool, calm demeanor.

He could be talking about the end of life as we know it, and I would still feel comforted and prepared to handle what comes next.

He stays positive, even as conditions around us may be signaling a perilous time ahead.

Most importantly, he talks facts and keeps thing real.

Dr. Mark A. Keroack, president and CEO of Baystate Health, laughed out loud this week, though, when I compared him to Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of allergy and infectious diseases for the National Institutes of Health. Im not ready yet for the rock-star status.

Be that as it may, Keroack provided our editorial board with a solemn wake-up call in as cool and calm a manner as weve come to expect. The COVID-19 coronavirus is not done with us yet here in Western Massachusetts. We need to remain vigilant to keep it at bay for ALL OF US  young, old, men, women, of all colors and from all walks of life. The virus does not discriminate, and were all susceptible.

It worries me a lot that we might be starting to see a resurgence of cases in our area, Keroack said, which is quite alarming.

Even in delivering this news, Keroacks voice stayed evenly modulated. He appears regularly at the weekly coronavirus updates organized by Springfield Mayor Domenic J. Sarno and has, as they say, a very kind bedside manner, not unsurprising for a second-generation medical doctor.

Baystate Health president and CEO Dr. Mark Keroack, right, speaks during Springfield's weekly update on the coronavirus pandemic Monday, April 13, 2020. Looking on are Dr. Robert Roose, chief medical officer for Mercy Medical Center, and Mayor Domenic J. Sarno.Focus Springfield

The regions testing capability for the virus has fallen off, in part due to a lack of supplies needed to complete those tests, and the positive test rate is starting to rise, he cautioned, from 1.7% to 2.2%. Thats heading in the wrong direction, Keroack said.

Our meeting was held via Zoom, the online platform being used for everything from family reunions and cocktail hours among friends to business meetings and press conferences.

Twenty weeks ago, Keroack and Dr. Andrew W. Artenstein, the health systems physician executive, visited in person on March 13 (a Friday, might you know) to tell us the coronavirus was very much present here in Western Massachusetts. It was not, to borrow a phrase tossed about these days without impunity, fake news. Baystate then was caring for two dozen patients in isolation with suspected COVID-19 infection and was taking steps to prepare for a rapid influx of patients needing care.

Back then, Keroacks advice was simple:

Wear a mask.

Wash your hands.

Keep your distance.

This week, his advice is the same. Think about it. Is there really any reason we shouldnt still be doing all those things?

When I found myself in a funeral home last week, I wore a mask, positioned myself in a back corner of the seating area, stayed away from other mourners, save those in the receiving line, and fretted every moment I was there.

I try not to worry about things that are out of my control, but, no kidding, I worry about this virus. There are too many wonderful things ahead in life to be missed, and I refuse to engage in any kind of risky behavior which might threaten my health and my life. It explains why Ive yet to meet my new grand-niece in person, why I havent gone out to eat a restaurant, nor gotten my annual physical.

I have, though, gotten my hair cut several times, received a cortisone shot in an ailing knee, been to the dentist to have my teeth cleaned, had blood drawn for testing and am scheduling my mammogram. In each case, there were procedures in place which calmed my nerves and made me feel safe from risk.

How many more stories need we read, though, about parties, weddings and other celebrations where that basic advice (mask, distance, hand washing) was put aside in favor of having a fleeting moment of fun? Keroack labels them thoughtless and selfish actions.

Since mid-March, Baystate Health has cared for over 1,000 coronavirus diagnosed patients and recorded 237 deaths. As of this week, there were 34 people receiving inpatient care for the virus, only the second time since July, Keroack noted, that the number was in the 30s. The patient number had previously dropped to the teens, he said.

Just a few weeks ago, Baystate faced its own cluster of virus cases, an outbreak which appeared to have resulted from an employee returned from a trip to a hotspot and infection spread by employees eating together in a break room. Since then, Baystate has updated its policies to minimize the chances it might happen again, adjusting its travel policy, monitoring social distancing and mask wearing.

Im worried were entering perilous new phase, Keroack told us on Wednesday morning. By Friday, Gov. Charlie Baker announced initiatives aimed at staving off a major resurgence, including reducing to 50 people the limit on outdoor gatherings and 25 for indoor. It was among the things Keroack said he feels can help in the days ahead.

The doctor also said he viewed the return of college and university students from across the country and around the world as the most serious threat right now, and, as if on cue, we watched as school after school this week reversed course and are now holding off on a return to in-person learning this fall.

Said Keroack of college-aged young people, They are in an age group less likely to follow rules, congregate and party. We need to be watching this like a hawk. In particular, he cited off-campus housing having the potential to become hotspots for virus resurgence. How can you prevent half dozen students from having friends over to have a kegger, (and) then the cats out of the bag.

Keroack says hes not immune from anxiety amid the pandemic. Im a little bit nervous everywhere I go, he said. At restaurants, for example, he scans the setting, cognizant that somewhere in this crowd, theres someone with COVID, he explained. Thus, he understands why some may find the wearing of masks and other restrictions difficult. Its hard for everyone to retain a little mindset of perpetual worry. I know its hard to commit month after month to something thats a pain in the neck, he said.

Its more risky not to, though, he stresses. Also risky is not getting the care you may need for a health condition because you are too afraid. Keroack cited the case of a young boy who had belly pain and was afraid to go to the hospital. It wound up being a ruptured appendix, which, had his family not insisted he get care, could have proven life-threatening.

And, as cool and calm as he may appear, Keroack says, There have been some dark moments in these last 20 weeks, where it looked like, oh my god, were not going to be able to fulfill our mission, (or) were going to run out of PPE ... I have a blown a gasket several times, but usually its been in private and over the phone to somebody who is able to help me or not.

He says he draws strength from the experiences of his life, having worked 20 years ago in the midst of the HIV pandemic, for instance. Its fair to say this is not my first rodeo. Ive been around the block a few times (and) seen horrible things from horrible infections diseases. I can see this in a historical context. For him, as the leader of the regions major health care organization, says Keroack, Its important for us as an organization to pull together, to remain steady and to continue to work as a team.

Well get through this together.

Cynthia G. Simison is executive editor of The Republican. She may be reached by email to csimison@repub.com.
TDT | Manama

The coronavirus (COVID-19) took the life of three men in Bahrain yesterday, the Ministry of Health announced. The deceased included two Bahrainis, aged 64 and 50, and a 57-year-old expatriate. Their passing brought the total number of virus-related deaths in the Kingdom to 154.

The Health Ministry expressed its condolences to the victims families. Meanwhile, the ministry announced early this morning that out of 9,285 COVID-19 tests conducted yesterday, 382 new cases were detected. These included 149 expatriate workers, 224 contacts of active cases, and nine travel-related cases.

The new active cases brought the overall number of confirmed registered cases in Bahrain to 42,514, dating back to when the first case was reported in February of this year. There were also 241 additional recoveries from the virus yesterday, bringing the Kingdoms total number of discharged individuals to 39,576.

Despite those recoveries, the total number of current active cases rose slightly to 2,784, with 41 in critical condition and 125 receiving treatment. The remaining 2,743 cases are stable. The total tests conducted in Bahrain increased to 867,534.
A senator has restated his stance that a Nigerian bank has a case to answer about a petition written to the Senate.

The chairman, Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions, Ayo Akinyelure, said the management of United Bank for Africa (UBA) has to explain the alleged withdrawals of N41 billion from accounts belonging to NITEL /MTEL domiciled with it by liquidators of the telecommunication firms.

This comes two weeks after the committee summoned the UBA Group Managing Director, Kennedy Uzoka, to appear before it and give necessary explanations.

The panel alleged that UBA defrauded NITEL of about N41 billion from N42 billion that liquidators of the telecommunications company deposited there after being sold to MTEL. The allegation was made on the grounds of petitions forwarded to it to that effect by J .U Ayogu and Co, on behalf of NITEL/MTEL.

Mr Akinyelure had told journalists that UBA made unauthorised withdrawals from the accounts of the liquidated telecommunications companies four times and technically stole N41 billion out of the N42 billion that liquidators of the firm deposited there.

However, a former Managing Director of UBA, Tony Elumelu, denied allegations of his involvement in the alleged fraud.

He gave Mr Akinyelure seven days to retract his comments linking him (Mr Elumelu) to the alleged fraud and threatened to sue the lawmaker should he fail to retract the statement and publicly apologise to Mr Elumelu over the allegation.

Alhough Mr Akinyelure said, last week, that he was not perturbed by the threat, his latest statement however, states that his comments were not meant to blackmail Mr Elumelu or cause malicious damage to the bank but to let the public know about the allegations and seek explanations to that regard.

The bank had also said the matter was in court and the Senate should allow the court rule on it.

In his statement entitled: Clarification of Allegations of false and malicious publication against Chief Tony Elumelu, Chairman/CEO of UBA Plc, the lawmaker said the press briefing became necessary having invited relevant parties for a closed-door meeting twice to resolve the issues amicably without success.

This is even as he emphasised the need for UBA to appear before the committee to answer to the two petitions filed against them by creditors and liquidators of NITEL and MTEL. He said there were two separate petitions and only one was before the court.

There are two separate petitions against UBA before the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions for consideration in respect of alleged unauthorised withdrawals of N41 billion out of N42 billion from NITEL and MTEL Accounts .

The first of such Petitions by Liquidators at NITEL & MTEL was from Messrs Otunba O. Sonbore against UBA tor N685,390,365,25 for refund to access bank charges against NITEL and MTEL account in Liquidation.

This case was brought before the High Court and Appeal Court and judgment was In favour of the Liquidators at NITEL/MTEL, which has however been appealed against by UBA in Supreme Court, the basis upon which the Committee stepped down further hearing on it in line with Senate rules, the statement read in part.

The second petition against the bank, he said, was referred to the committee on July 1 and was written by J. U. Ayogu Esq., a lawyer on behalf of the Creditors of the Liquidated NITEL and MTEL against the Managing Director at UBA Plc for alleged deliberate denial of payment of over N41.8 billion withdrawn from various accounts at NITEL without provision of tickets for withdrawals as follows:

*N29,882,868,204.17 on NITEL account 1142030000705 was withdrawn without authorisation and non-provision of tickets up till now.

*N11,672,467,105.19 withdrawn by UBA Plc without authorization from account 1003537230 which was the closing balance at the account an Liquidation.

*N169,128,039.24 withdrawn from NITEL Plc account 100729072 without authorisation and non provision of tickets up till now.

*N22,948,854.73 also withdrawn without authorisation and without provision at tickets till date.

*N6,866,171.71 transferred to the Office at the Accountant General of the Federation without authorisation to be reversed back to account.

The above transactions were not in anyway being litigated against by the UBA in the court of law and therefore the committee only call on UBA Plc Management to come and justify their actions for not providing tickets for unauthorised withdrawals from NITEL/MTEL accounts up till now and secondly to show court processes it has on any of the above that will convince the Committee not to order for reversal of outstanding amounts back to the xustomers account after seven years till date, he added.

No date has been announced for the meeting and the UBA is yet to respond to the latest invitation.
Zambia's intelligence chief, Samuel Nkhoma died Friday, August 7, 2020 from an undisclosed illness, state radio reported.



But medical sources said he died after testing positive for Coronavirus and was being treated at an isolation centre in the capital Lusaka.



Secretary to the Cabinet, Dr Simon Miti was quoted as saying Mr Nkhoma died after "being sick for some time and was being attended by medical personnel."



He was last seen publicly few days ago when President Edgar Lungu commissioned a flyover bridge as part of the Lusaka decongestion project.



The number of COVID-19 deaths in Zambia have now hit 200.



On Thursday, August 6, 2020, the country recorded 21 deaths of the Coronavirus with over 7,000 infections so far.



20 COVID-19 deaths were recorded at Lusaka's University Teaching Hospital while another was at the outpost in a populated slum of Kanyama west of the capital.



80 patients were currently admitted to health facilities and 37 were on oxygen support while six were in the Intensive Care Unit.



Health officials were concerned with the low levels of compliance to public health measures against COVID-19 among members of the public and that this is contributing to the increase in COVID-19 infections.



Several people in the capital seem to have gone back to the cavalier attitude of going into public places with much concern.

Source: allafrica.com









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

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The US Justice Department has scheduled two additional federal executions, an announcement that comes weeks after it fought off last-minute legal challenges and successfully resumed federal executions following a 17-year pause.

The executions of Christopher Andre Vialva and William Emmett LeCroy are both scheduled to be carried out in late September.

The government carried out three executions in July, and two other executions had been set previously for August.

Vialva, 40, was convicted along with a co-defendant in the 1999 kidnapping and killing of an Iowa couple at Fort Hood in Texas.

The youth ministers had stopped to use a payphone in Killeen, Texas, and agreed to give Vialva and two others a ride, authorities said.

Vialva pulled out a gun, forced the couple into the boot and drove around for several hours, stopping at ATMs to withdraw cash and attempting to pawn the womans wedding ring, according to prosecutors.

Executions Scheduled for Two Federal Inmates https://t.co/jttm5aViQz  Justice Department (@TheJusticeDept) July 31, 2020

The victims, Todd and Stacie Bagley, were both shot in head and placed in boot of their car, which then was set afire.

Vialva, who is the first black inmate to be scheduled to be executed since the federal government resumed the death penalty this year, is scheduled to be executed on September 24.

A co-defendant in the case, Brandon Bernard, also received death sentence, though his execution date has not yet been scheduled.

LeCroy, 50, of Georgia, was convicted of raping and killing Joann Lee Tiesler, a 30-year-old nurse, in 2001 and then stealing her car.

Prosecutors said he broke into her home and attacked her when she came home from a shopping trip, binding her hands behind her back before he strangled her with an electrical cord and raped her.

Story continues

They said he then slit Ms Tieslers throat and stabbed her repeatedly in the back.

At the time, one of LeCroys lawyers argued he should face state charges and not be tried in federal court under the federal carjacking statute.

LeCroys lawyers said he had no intention of stealing the car when he was burgling Ms Tieslers home.

He was arrested at the US-Canada border and was previously convicted of firearms and drug offences, burglary, aggravated assault and child sex abuse charges.

LeCroy is scheduled to be executed on September 26.

The resumption of federal executions by lethal injection at a prison in Terre Haute, Indiana, started on July 14, with the execution of former white supremacist Daniel Lewis Lee.

Two others, Wesley Purkey and Dustin Honken, were executed later the same week.
TV actor Himanshu Soni has said that his wife Sheetal Soni contracting the coronavirus has given him a reality check that he needs to take life more seriously. He also said that he would request everyone to be more cautious during these testing times.

The Ram Siya Ke Luv Kush actor told Times of India, It has reminded me to take life seriously. God has been kind enough and given this precious life, which we should not be taken lightly. Ek jhatke me jeewan haath se mitti ki tarah fisal sakta hai. I will request everyone to be more cautious during these testing times and stay healthy and safe.

Sheetal is recovering fast. She was in hospital for almost 20 days, and our lives had been so topsy-turvy. Considering the current situation, we had postponed our plans to travel to Mumbai and Jaipur. To be on the safer side, we had subdued Rakhi celebrations. I called my parents from Jaipur, who were restless to meet Sheetal. With Gods grace, everything is under control, he added.

About his wife contracting the virus, Himanshu had earlier told Hindustan Times in an interview, When the doctors told me she was critical, it took me two-three hours to come to terms with it. I was crying and didnt know how to handle the situation. I went blank for some time. I believe that my faith in God gave me the ability to make the right decisions.

Also read: Sushant Singh Rajputs brother-in-law dismisses toxic Bihari families comment: This FIR is anti-Rhea, not anti-women

He further told HT, Soni reveals Sheetal had travelled to Rishikesh for work and dont know how or where she got infected. He shares, At first, it was cold, flu and fever, but as she had tested negative before leaving, she didnt think it could be Covid-19. When she checked her oxygen level, it was low and she had trouble breathing. She was admitted to an isolation ward in Rishikesh on July 2. I reached the next day and the doctors told me that she is serious and has pneumonia, so will be shifted to ICU. When I consulted doctors in Mumbai, they told me to shift her to Delhi. On July 4, we shifted her to Delhi with help from her boss. He also helped get the medicine Remdesivir, which is low in stock. She felt good after two doses and recovered easily. She was out of the ICU on July 12, her birthday.

Follow @htshowbiz for more

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Presumptive Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden has accused President Donald Trump of waging 'reckless war' on Social Security with new executive action on coronavirus relief, while House Speaker Nancy Pelosi calls Trump's steps 'meager.'

The wave of criticism followed the four executive orders Trump signed on Saturday, which among other steps extend weekly unemployment benefits of $400 and suspend the payroll tax.

Payroll taxes are used to fund Medicare and Social Security, and Biden called the tax holiday 'Donald Trump's first shot in a new, reckless war on Social Security.'

'He is laying out his roadmap to cutting Social Security,' Biden said in a statement. 'Our seniors and millions of Americans with disabilities are under enough stress without Trump putting their hard-earned Social Security benefits in doubt.'

Trump signs executive orders for economic relief on Friday. Joe Biden and Nancy Pelosi blasted the measures as ineffective, after Trump circumvented Congress

Payroll taxes are used to fund Medicare and Social Security, and Biden called the tax holiday 'Donald Trump's first shot in a new, reckless war on Social Security'

Biden said that Trump had declared the payroll tax holiday, which extends from September 1 to December 31, 'with no protections or guarantees' to make up the lost revenue in the Social Security Trust Fund.

He called Trump's actions 'a series of half-baked measures.'

Pelosi, meanwhile, issued a joint statement with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, saying Trump's moves were 'unworkable, weak and narrow.'

'Today's meager announcements by the President show President Trump still does not comprehend the seriousness or the urgency of the health and economic crises facing working families,' the statement said.

The Congressional Democrats said that Trump's orders would 'provide little real help to families.'

Pelosi, meanwhile, issued a joint statement with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, saying Trump's moves were 'unworkable, weak and narrow'

Trump's four executive orders include:

A payroll tax holiday to December 31, for employees making less than $96,000

Federal unemployment benefits of $400 per week retroactive to August 1

Deferral of student loan payments and waiving of interest through December 31

A moratorium on evictions and foreclosures, for federally backed mortgages

At his private country club in Bedminster, New Jersey, Trump signed executive orders to act where Congress has not after negotiations fell apart.

Not only has the pandemic undermined the economy and upended American lives, it has imperiled the president's November reelection.

Perhaps most crucially, Trump moved to continue paying a supplemental federal unemployment benefit for millions of Americans out of work during the outbreak.

However, his order called for up to $400 payments each week, one-third less than the $600 people had been receiving. How many people would receive the benefit and how long it might take to arrive were open questions.

Congress had allowed the higher payments to lapse on August 1, and negotiations to extend them were mired in partisan gridlock, with the White House and Democrats miles apart.

The executive orders could face legal challenges questioning the president's authority to spend taxpayer dollars without the express approval of Congress.

Trump had largely stayed on the sidelines during the administrations negotiations with congressional leaders, leaving the talks on his side to chief of staff Mark Meadows and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.

Trump, who has not spoken with Pelosi since last year, sought to play the role of election-year savior, with the $400 weekly assistance, as well as a deferral of payroll tax and federal student loan payments and the continuation of a freeze on some evictions during the crisis.

'It's $400 a week, and we're doing it without the Democrats,' Trump said, asking states to cover 25 percent of the cost. Trump is seeking to set aside $44 billion in previously approved disaster aid to help states maintain supplemental pandemic jobless benefits, but Trump said it would be up to states to determine how much, if any of it, to fund, so the benefits could be smaller still.

Many states already faced budget shortfalls due to the coronavirus pandemic and would have difficulty assuming the new obligation. The previous unemployment benefit was fully funded by Washington.

Democrats had said they would lower their spending demands from $3.4 trillion to $2 trillion but said the White House needed to increase its offer. Republicans had proposed a $1 trillion plan.

White House aides watched the talks break down with apprehension, fearful that failure to close a deal could further damage an economic recovery already showing signs of slowing down. Fridays jobs report, though it beat expectations, was smaller than the past two months, in part because a resurgence of the virus led to states rolling back their reopenings.

The presidents team believes the economy needs to stabilize and show signs of growth for him to have any chance at winning reelection. Aides were hoping to frame the executive orders as a sign that Trump was taking action in a time of crisis. But it also would reinforce the view that the president, who took office declaring he was a dealmaker, was unable to steer the process to an agreement.

Trump said Saturday the orders 'will take care of pretty much this entire situation, as we know it.' But they are far smaller in scope than congressional legislation, and even aides acknowledged they didn't meet all needs.

'This is not a perfect answer - well be the first ones to say that,' Meadows said Friday as talks broke down and executive orders seemed a certainty. 'It's all that we can do and all the president can do within the confines of his executive power.'

Trump said the employee portion of the payroll tax would be deferred from Aug. 1 through the end of the year. The move would not directly aid unemployed workers, who do not pay the tax when they are jobless, and employees would need to repay the federal government eventually without an act of Congress.

In essence, the deferral is an interest-free loan that would have to be repaid. Trump said hell try to get lawmakers to extend it, and the timing would line up with a post-election lame-duck session in which Congress will try to pass government funding bills.

'If I win, I may extend and terminate,' Trump said, repeating a longtime goal but remaining silent on how he'd fund the Medicare and Social Security benefits that the 7% tax on employee income covers. Employers also pay 7.65% of their payrolls into the funds.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., issued a statement saying he supported Trump 'exploring his options to get unemployment benefits and other relief to the people who need them the most.' Like Trump, McConnell accused Democrats of using the coronavirus package negotiations to pursue other goals.

Democrats said they were not favorably impressed by Trump's orders. In a joint statement, Pelosi and Schumer said that 'these policy announcements provide little real help to families.' They added: 'Democrats repeat our call to Republicans to return to the table, meet us halfway and work together to deliver immediate relief to the American people. Lives are being lost, and time is of the essence.'

Playing off Trump's reputation as a dealmaker, Biden said: 'This is no art of the deal. This is not presidential leadership. These orders are not real solutions. They are just another cynical ploy designed to deflect responsibility. Some measures do far more harm than good.'

The Democratic chairman of the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee, Rep. Richard E. Neal of Massachusetts, accused Trump of 'brazenly circumventing Congress to institute tax policy that destabilizes Social Security.' He also cited a threat to Medicare funding.

The use of executive actions drew criticism from Republican Sen. Ben Sasse of Nebraska. 'The pen-and-phone theory of executive lawmaking is unconstitutional slop,' said Sasse, a member of the Senate's Judiciary and Finance panels. He added that Trump 'does not have the power to unilaterally rewrite the payroll tax law. Under the Constitution, that power belongs to the American people acting through their members of Congress.'

With no deal on virus relief in sight, lawmakers went home on instructions to be ready to return for a vote on an agreement. A stalemate that could stretch well into August and even September was possible, casting doubt on the ability of the Trump administration and Democrats to come together on a fifth COVID-19 response bill.

Often an impasse in Washington is of little consequence for the public - but this would mean more hardship for millions of people who are losing enhanced jobless benefits and cause further damage to the economy.

Schumer said the White House had rejected an offer by Pelosi to curb Democratic demands by about $1 trillion. Schumer urged the White House to 'negotiate with Democrats and meet us in the middle. Dont say its your way or no way.'

The breakdown in negotiations over the last several days was particularly distressing for schools trying to reopen . But other priorities were also languishing, including a fresh round of $1,200 direct payments to most people, a cash infusion for the struggling Postal Service and money to help states hold elections in November.

Senate Republicans were split, with roughly half of McConnell's rank and file opposed to another rescue bill.
Philippine communist guerrillas march in formation during the release of a military sergeant from their custody in Butuan, Agusan Del Norte province, southern Philippines, Dec. 31, 2015.

At least six suspected communist guerrillas and a government soldier were killed during a firefight in the northern Philippines that also left a bystander dead, the military confirmed on Sunday.

Five soldiers from the Philippine Armys 702nd Infantry Brigade were wounded in the clash with members of the New Peoples Army (NPA) on Saturday near Santa Lucia town in Ilocos Sur, a northwestern province on the main Philippine island of Luzon, the military said in a report.

The exchange of gunfire claimed the lives of six rebels, one soldier and a civilian, the report from the militarys Northern Luzon Command said without elaborating. It identified the rebel unit as part of the NPAs Ilocos front under the command of a certain leader called Nero.

The clash was the deadliest between government forces and suspected members of the NPA  the military wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP)  since June 18, when a military unit killed five communist guerrillas during a shootout on Negros Island in the central Philippines.

The NPA has been waging a rebellion against the Philippine government since 1969  Asias longest running insurgency. The strength of the guerrilla force is estimated to be around 5,000 troops divided among 80 fronts, which stretch from north to south across the Philippine archipelago.

Saturdays clash broke out on in the afternoon, while the infantry unit was patrolling near Santa Lucia, and lasted into the night, the regional command said in its report.

A civilian died after being struck by crossfire, while at least two other civilians were being treated at a local hospital after being wounded as well, the municipalitys disaster risk monitoring unit said.

About 200 other people had to be evacuated during the firefight, it said.

The clash was the third to take place in the area between government forces and NPA rebels in less than a month. A soldier was killed in of the earlier clashes, the military said.

President Rodrigo Duterte, once a student of CPP founder Jose Maria Sison, had initially sought peace talks with the group when he took office as the Philippine chief executive in mid-2016. But he subsequently called off that effort after accusing the guerrillas of not stopping attacks against government forces.

This past April, Duterte rejected the possibility of reviving peace talks with the CPP-NPA. At the time, he accused the guerrillas of attacking soldiers involved in humanitarian work as the country struggled to contain the novel coronavirus pandemic.

It is a sad thing to know that my soldiers are being slain even when doing the most honorable work of accompanying government workers delivering money and food, the president said then.

He also warned the rebels that theres always a time for reckoning.

Theres no more peace talks to talk about, Duterte said.
She's left her 20s behind and entered a brand new decade.

And 30 certainly looks good on Ferne McCann as she looked sensational in a lime green slip dress in a sizzling new video shared to Instagram on Saturday.

The First Time Mum star revealed she had jetted to the South of France for just one day and told how she had to cancel her birthday party due to covid-19 restrictions.

Green Goddess: 30 certainly looks good on Ferne McCann as she looked sensational in a lime green slip dress in a sizzling new video shared to Instagram on Saturday

Putting on a confident display, Ferne strutted in the lobby of a hotel as she displayed her figure in the sexy satin dress.

The green number featured a cowl neckline and a daringly low back, allowing the beauty to showcase plenty of sun-kissed skin.

The star added a simple black handbag to her look, while she boosted her height with simple gold heels.

The former TOWIE star looked radiant as she turned this way and that for the video, showing off her newly cropped locks in the process.

Flying visit: The First Time Mum star revealed she had jetted to the South of France for just one day and told how she had to cancel her birthday party due to covid-19 restrictions

Captioning the video, Ferne revealed that she had just arrived back in London following a short stay in the South of France, adding that she scrapped plans for a birthday bash.

She wrote: '30 never felt so good.

'Woweeee just touched down in London Town after a quick pit stop in SOF. I had to cancel my 30th birthday party this wkend due to covid, but I can safely say I have THE best friends who have spoilt me rotten! So god dam.' [sic]

Stunning: Putting on a confident display, Ferne strutted in the lobby of a hotel as she displayed her figure in the sexy satin dress

Work it: The green number featured a cowl neckline and a daringly low back, allowing the beauty to showcase plenty of sun-kissed skin

Details: Captioning the video, Ferne revealed that she had just arrived back in London following a short stay in the South of France, adding that she scrapped plans for a birthday bash

The reality star also took to Instagram stories where she told her fans she was back in Brentwood after a flying visit to France, telling the camera she was in the country for just one day.

She then uploaded clips from a birthday dinner where she was presented with a cake with sparklers , while her loved ones sang happy birthday.

Ferne's birthday trip comes after she posed in a plunging cut-out metallic gown to mark her milestone 30th birthday on Thursday.

Taking to Instagram with the stunning snap, the First Time Mum star revealed that she was 'Beyond overwhelmed' by the birthday love she's received as she remarked that she was '30, flirty & thriving'.

Quick trip: The reality star also took to Instagram stories where she told her fans she was back in Brentwood after a flying visit to France, telling the camera she was in the country for just one day

Oozing confidence, Ferne shone in the striking silver dress which featured a perilously low neckline, a cut-out detail and a seriously high split.

She boosted her height with a pair of chunky, white sandals, while adding a touch of bling with a gold chain necklace.

Captioning her birthday post, Ferne penned: '30, flirty & thriving.

Celebrations: She then uploaded clips from a birthday dinner where she was presented with a cake with sparklers , while her loved ones sang happy birthday

'They say the 30s are the best years & oh my I am excited. Beyond overwhelmed and grateful to all of the birthday wishes.

'I feel incredibly reflective, thankful & so incredibly blessed. Love to all of my friends who have spoilt me. My family. And the rest.'

Several of her showbiz pals took to Instagram on the day to send their well wishes on her birthday including Sam and Billie Faiers, Danielle Armstrong and Vicky Pattison.

Birthday girl: Ferne looked sensational as she posed in a plunging cut-out metallic gown to mark her milestone 30th birthday on Thursday
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-09 19:56:43|Editor: huaxia

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MINSK, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) -- The turnout in Belarus' presidential election has reached 54 percent, chairman of the Belarusian Central Election Commission (CEC) Lidia Yermoshina said on Sunday.

All regions, except Minsk, have overcome the 50-percent turnout barrier. In Gomel and Mogilev regions, more than 60 percent of voters have cast their votes, Yermoshina said.

A total of 41.7 percent of voters turned up at the polling stations during five days of early voting from Aug. 4 to Aug. 8, the CEC said. Enditem
PARIS French President Emmanuel Macron will host U.S. President Donald Trump and other political leaders on Sunday for a U.N.-endorsed donors conference by video to raise emergency relief for Lebanon following this weeks massive explosion in Beirut.

Lebanon was already mired in deep political and economic crisis when the blast ripped through its main port on Tuesday, killing 158 people, injuring more than 6,000 and destroying a swathe of the city.

Rebuilding Beirut could run into the billions of dollars. Economists forecast the blast could wipe up to 25% off of the countrys GDP.

Many Lebanese are angry at the governments response and say the disaster highlighted the negligence of a corrupt political elite. Protesters stormed government ministries in Beirut and trashed the offices of the Association of Lebanese Banks on Saturday.

Macron visited Beirut on Thursday, the first world leader to do so after the explosion, and promised the Lebanese people humanitarian aid would come but that profound political reform was needed to resolve the countrys problems and secure longer term support.

I guarantee you, this (reconstruction) aid will not go to corrupt hands," Macron told the throngs who greeted him.

There has been an outpouring of sympathy for Lebanon from around the world this week and many countries have sent immediate humanitarian support such as a medical supplies, but there has been an absence of aid commitments so far.

Trump will participate in the video-link conference.

Everyone wants to help!" he tweeted.

Germany will commit an additional 10 million euros ($11.79 million) in emergency aid on top of the rescue contributions already underway, its foreign minister said.

A Macron aide declined on Saturday to set a target for the conference. Emergency aid was needed for reconstruction, food aid, medical equipment and schools and hospitals, the official said.

Representatives of Britain, the European Union, China, Russia, Egypt and Jordan are expected to join the conference, hosted by Macron from his summer retreat on the French Riviera. Israel and Iran will not take part, the Elysee Palace official said.

($1 = 0.8485 euros)

Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor
400 [Failed to load instagram embed]https://instagr.am/p/CDq_MX6AHkG&maxwidth=1000&hidecaption=1

Results:



Men:



1st. Loris Vergier: 3:27.98

2nd. Angel Suarez: +1.23

3rd. Thomas Estaque: +1.61

4th. Benoit Coulanges: +2.18

5th. Luca Shaw: +2.39





Women:



1st. Melanie Chappaz: 4:07.65

2nd. Mariana Salazar: +6.10

3rd. Estelle Charles: +10.71

4th. Mathilde Bernard: +10.72

5th. Agnes Delest: +11.14





Women:

Men:

With some of the world's fastest riders in attendance, the results are in from the French Cup DH at Alpe d'Huez. In the Women's racing, it was Melanie Chappaz who took the top step of the podium with a six-second lead over the closest rider, Mariana Salazar. In the men's racing, Loris Vergier set the fastest time of the day beating out his fifth-place teammate Luca Shaw and first place Qualifier Amaury Pierron, who did not finish his run. Check out the full results below.
Secretary of Defense Mark Esper testifies to the Senate Armed Services Committee about the budget, on Capitol Hill in Washington on March 4, 2020. (Jacquelyn Martin/AP Photo)

Esper Says US Troop Levels in Afghanistan to Go Below 5,000 by End of November

The United States plans to cut its troop levels in Afghanistan to a number less than 5,000 by the end of November, Defense Secretary Mark Esper said in an interview broadcast on Saturday, adding detail to drawdown plans U.S. President Donald Trump announced earlier this week.

The United States currently has about 8,600 troops in Afghanistan. Trump said in an interview released Monday by Axios that the United States planned to lower that number to about 4,000.

Washingtons peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad spent more than a year and a half negotiating the deal with the Taliban to provide for the withdrawal of American soldiers after more than 19 years in Afghanistan.

The withdrawal began earlier this year. The withdrawal of the American soldiers depends on the Taliban honoring its commitment to fight against other terrorist groups and ensure Afghanistan is not again used to attack America and its allies.

We think that we can do all the core missions, first and foremost being ensured the United States is not threatened by terrorists coming out of Afghanistan. We can do those at a lower level, Esper told the Fox News Channels Justice with Judge Jeanine program.

The withdrawal of U.S. and NATO troops is not dependent on the success of negotiations between Kabuls political leadership and the Taliban. But U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has made it clear that Washington wants a negotiated end to the conflict, including a cease-fire.

Reuters contributed to this report
Late on election night 2016, it was Wisconsin and Pennsylvania that put Donald Trump over the top and into the White House, thanks to late-deciding voters who went his way, and big margins among people who wanted change.

Today, the vast majority of voters in these two states say things in the U.S. are going badly. They think Joe Biden would do a better job of handling coronavirus by significant margins, washing out any edge Mr. Trump has on the economy. And looking back now, relatively few voters in these states say the Trump presidency has been going as they expected  more say it's gone worse than gone better.

And so Biden leads both Pennsylvania and Wisconsin today by six points in each. He's cutting into Mr. Trump's margins with the White, non-college voters who've been a key part of the Trump base. He's leading among independents  a group that went for Mr. Trump last time  and even peeling off a few Republicans who think things in the U.S. aren't going well.

But voters in these states have changed their minds before, and the outcome is anything but certain. For one, Biden's forthcoming vice presidential pick has the potential to move things, as nearly half of his voters say it's important to them.

The president gets negative marks for handling the coronavirus outbreak in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, as in the other battleground states we've polled so far. While most parents in each think schools should not fully reopen, most don't think the president is doing all he can to fight the outbreak.

Biden leads on being seen as better able to handle the virus.

Two-thirds dislike how the president handles himself personally, and he's losing them by more than four to one.

And Biden is seen by more as understanding of their needs and concerns.

Among both candidates' supporters, most say their support is very strong, and they express enthusiasm about voting this year. Those who didn't vote in 2016 are more likely to now support Biden than Mr. Trump. Each state's race would be closer without these new voters.

Story continues

Economy vs. COVID

Here, as in other states, it's not the economy so much as it's the coronavirus: views on the pandemic are more strongly connected with vote than economic views are. Biden is winning three in four voters who are very concerned about getting coronavirus; Mr. Trump is winning nine in 10 voters who are not at all concerned. The issue for the president is that more voters are very concerned about the virus than not.

Those who say Wisconsin's outbreak is a crisis are voting for Biden in even larger numbers than those who say the economy is very bad. The small group who think the outbreak is not much of a problem back Mr. Trump in larger numbers than voters who say the state's economy is good.

In fact, among Wisconsin voters who say Mr. Trump would do a better job than Biden in handling the economy, 87% currently support Mr. Trump. That may seem like a lot, but the 13% he's missing out on is important, given that the race is competitive and his campaign stresses handling the economy. By contrast, Biden is winning 98% of voters who say he'd do better than Mr. Trump on the economy.

Biden's running mate

Biden is expected to announce his running mate soon, and it could have an impact on the race, since about half of those voting for him or thinking about doing so say the choice is important. It appears to be a bit more important to those who are less strong in their support of him than it is to the most committed part of his base. Of those not voting for but who say they could consider him, seven in 10 say the vice presidential pick is important.

Campaign events

Biden announced that he won't be going to Milwaukee to receive the Democratic nomination, and his backers agree that he shouldn't be holding public campaign events there. Nearly nine in 10 Biden supporters in Wisconsin say it's too risky for him to hold events in their state because of the coronavirus outbreak.

Trump voters, who are less concerned about the coronavirus, feel quite differently about their candidate campaigning in public. In both states, about two-thirds of Mr. Trump's supporters say their candidate should be holding public events.

In Wisconsin, the more enthusiastic Trump voters are about voting this November, the more likely they are to want Mr. Trump to hold campaign events: eight in 10 Trump voters who are very enthusiastic about voting want him to hold events. For Biden, that's not the case. Most of his supporters, regardless of their enthusiasm level about voting, don't think he should be holding events.

The bulk of each candidates' backers think their candidate is campaigning the right amount at the moment.

Rating the president

In these two states that flipped to Republicans for years ago, how do people feel looking back on Mr. Trump's presidency  is it going better or worse than they expected, or about as they thought it would?

We find striking polarization in these evaluations, as most voters land at either extreme of the scale. Few say it's going about as they expected. In Pennsylvania, nearly half of voters say it's going worse than expected, including 34% who say it's going much worse. At the other end, 35% say it's going better than expected, including 23% who say much better. Only 20% say it's going about as expected.

For those saying it's going better, it's all about the economy in both states: nine in 10 of these voters cite his handling of the economy as a major factor that made it better. In Pennsylvania, the second most common factor cited, at six in 10, is the way Mr. Trump talks and communicates.

And therein we find another example of polarization. When we asked voters who said it's going worse than expected why they felt that way, their top factors included the same item: the way he talks and communicates. The way he's handled coronavirus and race relations are also cited by about nine in 10.

Mail

As the president continues to raise concerns about mail-in voting and Democrats raise concerns about the Postal Service, Pennsylvanians by three to one, and Wisconsinites by four to one, think it should be easier, rather than harder, to vote by mail. But the president's voters may be getting his message: Republicans are generally opposed to making it easier to vote by mail and instead prefer keeping the system as it is. (These states have absentee voting with no excuse required.)

What may really impact the way ballots are tabulated is that Democrats are far more likely to say they'd prefer to vote by mail than Republicans are.

If  and it's a big if  people follow through with their preference, the in-person vote count will be older, more conservative and Republican and have more non-college voters; the mail count in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin will be younger, and have more Democrats. It might take longer to count the latter, and we could see large shifts in the vote as returns come in.

A closer look at the horse race

Biden is doing better in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania than Democrats did in 2016 with White men and White women. In Pennsylvania, he's doing better than Hillary Clinton among White voters with a college degree  he leads by double digits.

In Wisconsin, Biden is doing better among White voters without college degrees than Clinton did, cutting into Mr. Trump's lead with them and trailing Mr. Trump by 10 points, whereas Mr. Trump won them by 28 points in 2016.

In both states, independent voters are breaking for Biden. In 2016, Hillary Clinton lost among independent voters in both Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

Although a majority of Republicans think things are going badly in America, they are the least likely partisan group to feel this way, as about four in 10 of them in each state say things are going at least somewhat well.

And while there isn't a lot of crossover voting in this very partisan race, this view seems related to whatever small edge Biden does gain from it. In Wisconsin, 8% of Republicans are voting for him, with just 2% of Democrats going to Mr. Trump. And it is Republicans who say things are going badly where Biden is getting some of this crossover support: 10% in Pennsylvania and 14% in Wisconsin are voting for Biden.

Schools

Few in these states want schools to reopen as normal. In Pennsylvania, most parents of school-age children do not favor schools returning to normal full classrooms, instead wanting to stay closed or have limited reopenings at best, and three-quarters of them say the Trump administration is pressuring schools to reopen.

In Pennsylvania, fracking is a divisive issue. Pennsylvania voters are evenly split on support or opposition to it, largely along party lines. Republicans are widely in favor and Democrats are largely opposed. The two candidates run nearly even on who would do a better job on oil and gas exploration, including fracking: 45% say Mr. Trump will and 42% say Biden, also closely tied to partisanship.

And there's a classic old poll question of which candidate you'd rather have dinner or a drink with. Given the circumstances of the outbreak and social distancing, we asked it differently this week: which candidate would you rather have a video conference with? The breakdown cuts closely with the vote. But 19% in Pennsylvania said neither one, including a third of independents.

These surveys were conducted on behalf of CBS News by YouGov between August 4-7 2020. They are based on representative samples of 1,009 registered voters in Wisconsin and 1,225 in Pennsylvania. Margins of error for registered voters: Wisconsin +/- 3.7 points, Pennsylvania +/- 3.7 points.

Pennsylvania

Wisconsin

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Epic Systems delays return to in-person work amid pressure from employees, public health officials

2 Georgia police officers on leave for shooting at minors during a traffic stop
HISTORY

Under Fire: How Australias Violent History led to Gun Control

Nick Brodie

Hardie Grant, $29.99

An almost immediate effect of the coronavirus pandemic in Australia was the re-emergence of gun control, an issue more or less dormant in this country since the 1990s. A reported spike in demand for guns in reaction to COVID-19 was swiftly met with a total ban on sales by governments in states such as Victoria, Queensland and Western Australia.

As historian Nick Brodie demonstrates in this fascinating book, gun control has been an area of unresolved tension in Australian history going back to European settlement. Founded as a penal colony on what was perceived by the colonists as a wild frontier, the Australian authorities have always had a twofold attitude towards firearms.

Prime Minister John Howard addresses a gun rally wearing a bulletproof vest. Nick Brodie says the move to limit gun ownership following the Port Arthur massacre was hugely important. Credit:Colin Murty

On the one hand, individual settlers found plenty of uses for guns in their efforts to bend the landscape to their will, including ruthless dispossession of the Indigenous people. On the other hand, governments have long been wary of allowing too many weapons to circulate without restriction among Australians, or at least certain groups within society, lest they become a threat to public safety and political stability.
<! Akin Abayomi, Lagos State Commissioner for Health >

By Kazeem Ugbodaga

The Lagos State Government has said that 1,455 Lagosians who tested positive for the deadly Coronavirus pandemic are yet to turn up for admission at the various isolation centres.

Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi disclosed this on his Twitter handle, saying that the affected Lagosians were still active and could spread the virus within the community.

Abayomi said 72 Coronavirus patients were currently at public and private isolation centres across the state.

He said as at August 7, the state recorded three more Coronavirus deaths, bringing the total number of deaths so far to 198.

1,455 active cases in communities are yet to turn up for admission in #COVID19Lagos care centres.

Three COVID19 related deaths were recorded. Total number of COVID19 related deaths now stands at 198, he tweeted.

According to the NCDC, Lagos now has 15,768 confirmed cases of Coronavirus, out of which 13,122 survivors have been discharged.

Related
One of the world's largest studies of its kind is expected to conclude that there is little evidence that is transmitted in schools, according to a UK media report on Sunday, giving a boost to their proposed reopening next month.

Professor Russell Viner, President of the UK's Royal College of Paediatrics and a member of the government's Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE), told The Sunday Times' that a forthcoming report by Public Health England (PHE) would help put parents' minds at rest as the UK prepares for a full reopening of schools after lockdown and the current summer holiday period in Britain.

A new study that has been done in UK schools confirms there is very little evidence that the virus is transmitted in schools, Viner told the newspaper.

This is some of the largest data you will find on schools anywhere. Britain has done very well in terms of thinking of collecting data in schools, he said.

The study was carried out in 100 institutions in the UK and is expected to be published later this year. About 20,000 pupils and teachers in 100 schools across England were tested to monitor the spread of the disease up to the end of the summer term which runs from April-July in Britain.

It is absolutely essential for schools to reopen in September. The risks to children from Covid are very low and the risks of school closures we know are very serious, he said.

The intervention comes as UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson is said to be focussing on getting all children back to school from the September term as a matter of priority.

The pandemic lockdown resulted in schools closing on March 20 and many would have been closed for more than five months by the start of what marks a new academic year in England next month.

On June 1, some schools began a limited reopening for early years and primary pupils. Under the government's plans, most children across the country should be back in class by next month.

The Prime Minister confirmed that children's education must be the country's top priority over the coming months and that in the event of a local lockdown, his expectation would be that schools would be the absolute last sector to be asked to close and unprecedented steps would be taken to avoid this happening anywhere in the country, a Downing Street spokesperson said.

In the event of a more severe local lockdown where strong measures are needed in an entire town or city, the PM has been clear that businesses including shops, pubs and restaurants should be forced to close first, with schools remaining open for as long as possible."



However, teaching unions have warned that the government's plans to bring all school years back to class at once through so-called bubbles of student groupings and classes and staggered drop off times may be unworkable.

Earlier this week, UK schools minister Nick Gibb said that the government cannot decree that classroom education would be prioritised because decisions would have to be made by local health chiefs.

On Saturday, the UK reported a further 55 people had died after testing positive for coronavirus, taking the total to 46,566. The figures come as the UK tries to gradually emerge from lockdown in phases, with brakes applied to wider public gatherings and sporting events at the end of last month.

(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.)
Q: My husband and I each received absentee ballot request forms from the Center for Voter Information. The forms include a postage paid envelope to return the request. The envelope is addressed to the Forsyth County Board of Elections. We did not request these and want to know if this is legitimate.

A.A.

Answer: SAM has heard from numerous voters concerned about the legitimacy of such solicitations. The North Carolina Board of Elections says that election officials statewide are responding to many voters questions and concerns about mass mailings, text messages, phone calls and home visits by political and advocacy groups.

Many of these outreach efforts by third parties urge residents to request absentee by-mail ballots, or to register to vote ahead of the Nov. 3 general election.

Some, including the letter from the Center for Voter Information  which SAM also got a copy of  also include an absentee ballot request form or voter registration application. The form in the letter SAM got is legitimate and the address on the enclosed envelope, to the Forsyth County Board of Elections on 201 N. Chestnut St., is accurate.
Sharon Stone has revealed how she cheated death three times after being struck by lightning, throttled and suffering a stroke.

The Hollywood actress, 62, says she is lucky to be alive after the freak accidents and hospitalisations.

The Basic Instinct star, who grew up in Pennsylvania, says her life has been 'crazy'.

Survivor: Sharon Stone has revealed how she cheated death three times after being struck by lightning, throttled and suffering a stroke

She told The Sun: 'I had my neck cut to a sixteenth of an inch from my jugular vein when I was 14 on a clothesline.

'I've been hit by lightning and, wow, that was really intense.

'It's like, "How am I going to die next time?" Probably something super dramatic and nuts.'

Close: The Hollywood actress, 62, says she is lucky to be alive after the freak accidents and hospitalisations

Lucky: The Basic Instinct star, who grew up in Pennsylvania, says her life has been 'crazy' after her near death experiences

The star also suffered a huge stroke in 2001, leaving her hospitalised with a haemorrhage for nine days.

She was given one per cent chance of surviving and said it felt like she had been shot in the head.

Sharon was in and out of a coma and had to undergo seven-hour surgery where 22 coils were inserted into her brain.

Scary: The star suffered a huge stroke in 2001, leaving her hospitalised with a haemorrhage for nine days

Painful: She was given one per cent chance of surviving her stroke and said it felt like she had been shot in the head

She previously told Brett Goldstein on the Films To Be Buried With podcast about her lightning ordeal.

The mother of three said: ' was at home. We had our own well.

'I was filling the iron with water, and I had one hand on the faucet, one hand on the iron and the well got hit with lightning and the lighting came up through the water.

'I got picked up and thrown across the kitchen, and I hit the refrigerator,' Stone recalled. 'I was like, "Woah!"

'My mother was standing there, And my mother just belted me across the face and brought me to.'

Sharon was married to her second husband, journalist Phil Bronstein, at the time of her stroke.

She had to learn to walk and talk again as well as endure a divorce and a child custody battle.

It comes after the star took part in an emotional conversation with Syrian refugee and doctor, Dr. Heval Kelli.

Speaking as part of the Liberatum initative Lifesaving Conversations, the award-winning actress talked to Dr Kelli about the effects of the global COVID-19 pandemic on refugees and society's most vulnerable.

The conversation series, which also features Michael Douglas and Zoe Saldana, aims to shine a light on extraordinary human beings from the front lines helping communities.

In conversation: Sharon recently took part in an emotional conversation with Syrian refugee and doctor, Dr. Heval Kelli about the effects of the global COVID-19 pandemic on refugees and society's most vulnerable

Sharon's conversation for the series was with Dr. Kelli, a Syrian refugee turned doctor and activist saving lives in Atlanta.

Sharon broke down in tears as Dr. Kelli described his early life as a refugee, when he was forced to flee Syria as a child, live in refugee camps in Germany before coming to the US within weeks of 9/11.

Explaining how there are 70 million displaced refugees in the world, Dr. Kelli told Sharon: 'There is a sentiment of "we don't want refugees in America" but I was that refugee. I came here in 2001, I was welcomed by Christian church members, even after 9/11 I was still welcomed'.

'So what happened? You say you don't want Syrian refugees but I am that rufugee. How do you think that makes me feel? Because I am a doctor, you want me here? What about when I was 18 and washing dishes? I just don't understand how we can forget that people start from somewhere.'

Emotional: Sharon and Dr. Kelli were speaking as part of the Liberatum initative Lifesaving Conversations, which aims to shine a light on extraordinary human beings on the frontline

'During this time, one third of the doctors in America are immigrants or refugees,' he continued, describing his and his doctor wife's work with community leaders on educating them on what 'the simple terms of COVID is.'

The doctor told Sharon he has never before experienced the scale of a pandemic like COVID, explaining: 'The pressure of being a physician is to protect your patient and protect yourself, but we don't really worry about ourself because we want to do the best job.'

'We have an additional pressure now. I come home, I have two elderly parents, god forbid one of them gets it from me because I'm a carrier or I don't have any symptoms. Whose going to take care of them? And I have a baby.'

Extraordinary life: Sharon's conversation for the series was with Dr Heval Kelli, a Syrian refugee and doctor saving lives in Atlanta

Saving lives: Sharon broke down in tears as Dr. Kelli described his early life as a refugee, when he was forced to flee Syria as a child, live in refugee camps in Germany before coming to the US within weeks of 9/11.

'People ask me how serious is COVID? And I say to them, never in my lifetime have I had to go into my garage, strip down down to my underwear and take a shower before I can see anyone of my family, I've never had to do that.'

'It's a very humbling experience, We live in one of the most advanced countries in the world, think about people who don't have access to hospitals.'

Sharon went on to describe her experience of seeing the devastating HIV/AIDScrisis in the 1980s during her trips to Africa, comparing the overrun hospitals and lack of treatment available to 'being on the frontline for COVID, with no ability to help anybody.'
SERGEI GAPON/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

MOSCOWRiots erupted in Belarus on election night as a crowd of thousands protested the apparent victory of Europes last dictator, Alexander Lukashenko, and authorities fired tear gas, rubber bullets, water cannons and grenades at the crowd.

Natalia Vasilyva, The Telegraph's correspondent on the ground in Minsk, told The Daily Beast, Things look really bad here; my ex-colleague, an AP photographer Mstislav Chernov, has been hospitalized after riot police beat him severely.

Earlier this evening, witnesses also saw a heavy army vehicle run through the crowd on the Masherova Avenue; it is unclear how many people got injured in the incident. Belarusian journalists have been publishing photographs of severely injured people at the protests.

Lukashenko lead official exit polls in Belarus presidential election around 8pm local time with almost 80 percent of the vote, with only 6.8 percent of the vote going to the main opposition candidate, 37-year-old Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, who joined politics after her husbands arrest earlier this year.

On the morning of election day, at least 28 observers were detained and eight more people were missing, including seven team members of Tikhanovskaya, who by various accounts was either in hiding or planning to vote in public later in the day. (She eventually emerged at a polling station surrounded by staffers and journalists, with her press secretary telling The Guardian, We cant defend ourselves physically against armed people or the security services  This is the most trustworthy defense we have.)

Story continues

Was Belarus Arrest of Russian Wagner Soldiers Staged in a Ploy to Postpone Elections?

For millions of Belarusians, the election represented the best chance in the past 26 years to finally end the long, authoritarian rule of Lukashenko. The opposition blames Lukashenko for political repressions and for serious human-rights violations, including allegedly ordering the murder of four people long ago. Lukashenkos critics want to see him in court.

For Lukashenko, Sunday was the day that his long-running political machine needed to work to keep him in power. Aware of the dark ramifications of any disgraceful defeat in an actual election, Lukashenko has clearly turned once more to repression of opponents and independent observers.

Belarusians complained about problems with the Internet on election day. First, accessing YouTube, Viber and Telegram appeared to be difficult, then the entire country was left without internet; cell phones did not work either. But that was only after more than one million people voted online in a parallel, unofficial vote run by the independent Golos platform.

This is the closest weve ever been to victory, film director Yury Khashevatsky told The Daily Beast. Lukashenko does not have enough money to pay all his KGB agents [in Belarus, the domestic intelligence agency is still called the KGB], police and army officers to stay loyal, cover up for him, provide him with rigged elections. Change is coming close, so are the investigations for members of Lukashenkos death squad, who remain unpunished, he said, referencing the murders of four opposition figures in the 1990s. (A man claiming to be a former elite police officer emerged in 2019 to say that he helped assassinate Lukashenkos enemies.)

Khashevatsky warned the world about the newly emerging dictatorship back in 1996 with a film called An Ordinary President. A year later, he was attacked, and police broke both of his legs and destroyed his video equipment. Khashevatsky, now a member of Tikhonovskayas campaign, is full of hope that justice and democracy might prevail in Belarus. But the diverging interests of millions of Belarusians and one authoritarian over his retirement plans is hard to bridge.

There is no plan for Lukashenkos peaceful retirement, he sometimes says it is only China he could run to, but knowing his character, we realize he would not trust Chinese authorities for giving him a shelter, either, Khashevatsky said on the phone from Minsk. So the scenario of repressions and violence will repeatthat is the only solution he knows; as one of my characters said in the end of Ordinary President, we live in a fairy tale, the further, the scarier, the film director laughed. But on Sunday, he said he believed his country was one step away from winning freedom.

This violent scenario has played out for years in the country: anti-Lukashenko protests in Minsk in 2010 were followed by the arrests of four presidential candidates, Lukashenkos key opponents. Police beat those who participated in the opposition. Lukashenko filled prisons with his critics. Anger simmered. Andrei Sannikov, the key opposition candidate at the time, told The Daily Beast that his interrogators in prison threatened to kill his wife, a well-known Belarusian journalist, Irina Khalip. The population of political prisoners, dissidents, and exiles grew larger. All of those, whose lives were ruined, blamed Lukashenko for human-rights violations and crimes. Today more than a million Belarusian abroad and millions at home dream to see Lukashenko on trial, punished for violating our state Constitution, taking over the power with help of police and army, Pavel Marinich, another opposition leader, told The Daily Beast in a telephone interview from Lithuania, where he lives in exile.

As history shows, when most authoritarian leaders and dictators fall, they have ended up in prison, or executed; the lucky ones have found shelter in a friendly country. Lukashenko has been obviously thinking of his retirement plan; his eldest son, who works as a presidential aid, has traveled to Dubai a lot, Khalip told The Daily Beast. We dont want him to escape justice, there are plenty of reasons for international courts to charge him with crimes.

While Belarusian police detained journalists and activists all over the country on Sunday night, hundreds of people wearing Belarusian traditional shirts gathered in front of Belarusian embassy in Moscow. Go away, go away, Lukashenko! people chanted.

There is no easy way out for an authoritarian in this situation. We hear about European experts discussing a safe retirement with Lukashenko, but that doesnt seem very likely, Marinich added. And yet, Marinich said, Belarus opposition has never been as inspired as this year: every tiny village and town protested against Lukashenko during the last two months of the presidential campaign. This is incredible, 1,000 people came out even in Gancevitchi village with a population of 1,900 people, he said. But of course he is going to rig the election and draw in 70 percent for himself. It is not going to help him win peoples trust.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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The Tauranga Astronomical Society have advised that, weather permitting, the Starlink 9 satellite train will be visible in the sky over New Zealand tomorrow night.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 launched the latest set of the SpaceXs Starlink satellites, along with two BlackSky imaging satellites on August 7 after weeks of delay.

This latest group of satellites will be passing up the length of New Zealand on Monday evening August 10, says the societys president Dave Gregg.

As seen from Tauranga, the Starlink9 satellite train will rise in the South West, visible from about 6.44pm, says Dave.

It will pass below the Southern Cross and Pointer stars as it crosses the south eastern sky, before passing just above Jupiter - the very bright star-like object in the East.

The first satellites in the train are predicted to pass into the shadow of the Earth in the East North East at almost 6.50pm. The rest of the satellites will follow.

SpaceX successfully launched the 57 Starlink internet satellites and two small Earth-imaging satellites into orbit on August 7 in the second of what's expected to be a series of Starlink rideshare missions.

Report by Amy Thompson, Space.com:

Amy Thompson reported on the launch rocket landing at sea and the continuing growth of the internet megaconstellation, on Space.com following the SpaceX launch on Friday.

A two-stage Falcon 9 rocket carrying 57 SpaceX Starlink satellites, along with two BlackSky Global Earth-observation satellites, lifted off at 1.12am EDT from Pad 39A at NASAs Kennedy Space Center.

It was the fifth launch for this Falcon 9's first stage. And the booster pulled off yet another landing, settling softly onto the deck of SpaceX's "Of Course I Still Love You" droneship in the Atlantic Ocean about eight minutes after liftoff.

This is SpaceX's 10th Starlink mission since 2019, and the company's 12th overall mission for 2020. SpaceX has been relying on its fleet of used, flight-proven boosters to sustain a rapid launch cadence. The company has had a stellar summer, with the launch and landing of two NASA astronauts on the Demo-2 mission to the International Space Station  a first for a private company  and isnt slowing down anytime soon.

Tucked inside the Falcon 9's nose cone was a stack of 57 internet-beaming satellites. Part of SpaceXs Starlink megaconstellation, the satellites will join hundreds already in orbit. To date, the company has launched 595 Starlink satellites as it works to complete the huge constellation.

SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk has said that SpaceX needs between 400 and 800 Starlink satellites in orbit to begin to roll out minimal coverage. As that goal draws nearer, SpaceX has been teasing the arrival of a beta program, which will help the company test the service for eventual worldwide consumption.

SpaceX is also taking other steps to make Starlink service a reality. For example, the company has gained approval from the U.S. Federal Communications Commission for up to one million user terminals.

Musk has said that he wants the terminals to be easy to operate. Resembling a "UFO on a stick," as Musk calls it, each terminal is equipped with actuators to ensure that it points at the sky at all times. All a user has to do is plug it in and point it at the sky.

Hitching a ride with the Starlink stack were two small, Earth-observing satellites for BlackSky. The rideshare was arranged by another company called Spaceflight, which finds rides to space for smaller satellites. SpaceX also has its own rideshare program, which books small satellites directly instead of going through a third-party service.

Satellite sunshades

The Starlink satellites on this mission are a bit different than the ones that have launched previously. That's because they're outfitted with a special visor that will help reduce their apparent brightness.

The sunshade, as SpaceX is calling it, is a deployable visor designed to prevent sunlight from reflecting off the shiniest parts of the satellites, such as the antennas. The company  as well as astronomers and dark-sky advocates around the world  are hoping to decrease the Starlink fleet's overall brightness. This will enable them to appear as dark as possible in the night sky, thus minimizing their impact on night sky observations.

When the very first set of Starlink satellites launched, it caught the astronomy community off guard as the satellites appeared brighter in the sky than SpaceX intended. Scientists around the globe voiced their disapproval, concerned that the bright satellites would inhibit scientific observations.

A previous Starlink launch back in June featured one satellite outfitted with the experimental visor; today's mission is the first in which all 57 sport it.

More on Amy Thompsons report can be read here

Across NZ on Monday night

For observers further south on Monday night, Dave Gregg says to be ready two to three minutes earlier than the Tauranga times.

For observers in the South Island, Wellington, and lower North Island, Starlink will be at its highest in your north western sky.

Please note that the sky charts show East on the left and West on the right because it is meant to correspond to the sky over your head, and not the ground under your feet like a map of the earth. You have to imagine holding the chart above your head to use it, and then the directions are correct.

The info and charts shown here are from the Heavens-Above website. The observing location is set to Tauranga / BOP.

You might want to set a reminder alarm on your phone, says Dave.
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A total of 1,062 people have tested positive for coronavirus today bringing Britain's case load to 310,825 in the biggest daily rise in six weeks

The country has not seen an increase this large since June 25 - when 1,118 cases were reported in a single day.

The numbers come almost exactly a fortnight after Boris Johnson predicted a second wave in two weeks.

On July 28, a senior government source said Prime Minister Boris Johnson was 'extremely concerned' by outbreaks 'bubbling up', both at home and abroad.

Scotland has reported 48 new cases today, while Wales has reported a further 26.

The drastic rise in figures - up from 758 yesterday - may come as a shock to lockdown-sceptic revelers who flocked to Britain's beaches today.

Swathes of beachgoers were pictured dotted along the coast this weekend - with many ignoring social distancing rules.

While case figures have shot up today, the country's daily death toll remains low after a further eight people who tested positive for Covid-19 died in Britain. Both Scotland and Wales reported no further deaths.

Britain's total coronavirus cases have jumped by 1,062 in the biggest daily rise in six weeks. The country has not seen an increase this large since June 25 - when 1,118 cases were reported in a single day

On July 28, a senior government source said Prime Minister Boris Johnson was 'extremely concerned' by outbreaks 'bubbling up', both at home and abroad

Holidaymakers and sunbathers flock to the beach at the seaside in Bournemouth on a scorching hot sunny day

Beaches were seen packed with holidaymakers and sunbathers as people pitched up picnics and umbrellas during the scorching weather

Eager holidaymakers queued to get a spot on busy Bournemouth beach this morning, as some eager people even camped out the night before to claim their sunbathing patch

The patients who died in England were aged between 45 and 89 and all had known underlying health conditions.

The region with the highest number of deaths was the Midlands with four.

Minister rejects Children's Commissioner's calls for regular testing in schools The government's schools minister has slapped down calls from England's Children's Commissioner to introduce routine testing when schools reopen in September. Nick Gibb today said students and staff would only be tested if they displayed symptoms. But Anne Longfield earlier called for checks to become 'part and parcel' of school life and suggested they should be done weekly. She told Times Radio: 'I think it needs to be as regular as it needs to be for the infection to be caught... certainly not one-offs but regular occurrences so they're part and parcel of the running of a school.' But speaking on the same programme, Mr Gibb later said: 'Anybody who shows symptoms in schools will be tested, not routine testing, the advice we have is it's better when people show symptoms. 'If they test positive the people that pupil has been in contact with will be self-isolating. Everything we do is led by the science, the priority for the new 90-minute tests has to be the new hospitals and laboratories, the measures we are putting in place, the hierarchy of controls is the most effective measures of the virus.' Advertisement

There were three deaths in the North East and Yorkshire, two in the East of England and one in London.

There were no deaths reported in the North West, where local lockdown measures in place in Greater Manchester and parts of east Lancashire were extended on Friday to include Preston.

Figures released on Sunday are usually smaller due to a delay in processing over the weekend.

The figures came as a landmark coronavirus study found the risk of transmission in classrooms is minimal, ratcheting up pressure on the Education Secretary to fully reopen schools in September.

Boris Johnson is understood to have warned that Gavin Williamson's 'head will be on the chopping block' if pupils are not back in lessons next month.

The Prime Minister has declared resuming classes a 'national priority' and is planning an advertising blitz to urge anxious parents to send their child back to school.

His campaign was yesterday bolstered by encouraging scientific evidence which found a low threat of catching infection in schools.

Government Sage adviser Professor Russell Viner outlined the forthcoming Public Health England study and stressed that reopening schools was 'imperative'.

As the reopening of schools was bumped to the top of ministers' agenda:

Children's Commissioner Anne Longfield called on the government to introduce regular testing for all students and staff in schools;

Labour's shadow education secretary Kate Green said she supports getting children back to school in September, but said the government needs to ramp up its track and trace system;

New research laid bare the damaging educational impact on pupils who have missed schooling during the lockdown;

The coronavirus death toll rose by 55 yesterday, to 46,556, compared to a rise of 74 last Saturday, while 758 new infections were reported, 13 fewer than a week ago;

Scientific advisers warned that the UK-wide reproduction rate, R, is between 0.8 and 1.0, the point at which the virus starts spreading exponentially again;

Oxford University researchers developing a vaccine were embroiled in an ethics row about whether to deliberately infect human volunteers  and warned that although there was a 50 per cent chance of a jab being available next year, it was likely to be only partially effective and carry side-effects;

A survey found that barely half of the adult population is committed to being immunised against Covid-19;

France is on the brink of joining the list of countries from where British travellers will have to go into quarantine upon their return;

Young people in Preston were being urged 'don't kill Granny' as the city was subjected to new lockdown measures following a spike in infections;

Up to 16 children and staff were forced to isolate at home after a coronavirus outbreak at a nursery in Bury, which has also been put into local lockdown.

Boris Johnson (right) is understood to have warned that Gavin Williamson's (left) 'head will be on the chopping block' if pupils are not back in lessons next month

'A new study that has been done in UK schools confirms there is very little evidence that the virus is transmitted in schools,' he told the Sunday Times.

'This is some of the largest data you will find on schools anywhere. Britain has done very well in terms of thinking of collecting data in schools.'

Labour, the unions, and the Children's Commissioner have all today voiced support for the principle of schools reopening in September.

But thorny issues such as routine testing and the wearing of masks remain - which were both today slapped down by the schools minister.

Leading scientist Professor Russell Viner, president of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health and a member of Sage said: 'A new study that has been done in UK schools confirms there is very little evidence that the virus is transmitted in schools

Prof Viner, also president of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, said keeping schools shut would take a further toll on both young people's academic attainment and mental health.

Mr Johnson outlined similar concerns in an article for today's Mail on Sunday where he heralded the resuming of lessons a 'moral duty' and 'crucial' for pupils' 'welfare, their health and for their future.'

He wrote: 'The education of our children is crucial for their welfare, their health and for their future. That is why it is a national priority to get all pupils back into school in September.

'The message I have given to Ministers and civil servants is this: we can do it  and we will do it. Social justice demands it.'

He spoke of the 'uplifting sight as millions of parents rose to the challenge of educating their children' amid the added pressures of lockdown, but said that had to end.

The PHE study, which tested more than 20,000 pupils and 100 teachers, is hoped to allay the concerns of wary teacher unions, which thwarted ministers' initial attempts to resume classes for fears of staff catching the virus.

Ministers are poised to lock horns with union bosses who have unveiled a list of demands if teachers are to go back next month. Mary Bousted, head of the National Education Union, (left) urged schools to ignore 'threatening noises' from the Government and refuse to reopen if they feel it is unsafe

Obese people could be told to stay at home in Covid hotspots if virus cases surge amid second wave this autumn By Kate Dennett For Mailonline Obese people could be among those told to stay home in coronavirus hotspots if there is a second wave of cases this autumn. The Government is said to be looking at plans for a 'more sophisticated model' of shielding to avoid another mass lockdown. Officials are considering how NHS data could target vulnerable groups, including those who are obese, so they can be told to stay indoors if there is a second coronavirus wave, the Sunday Telegraph reported. Obese people could reportedly be among vulnerable groups told to stay at home if there is a second coronavirus wave this autumn (file photo) One Cabinet minister reportedly described the plan to tell those who are especially vulnerable to shield as a 'stiletto not a sledgehammer' method. Those who are over-50 could also be among vulnerable groups contacted and told to stay indoors if there is a second coronavirus spike this autumn. A Cabinet minister told the Telegraph: 'They are understanding that age does come into it. The shielding cohort is way too broad - you can't say that every fat person has to shield. It will be more subtle.' This comes after stricter lockdown rules were imposed in Preston, following other northern towns, and young people were urged to follow the new regulations. It was revealed half of the 61 new coronavirus cases in the newly-locked down city are under the age of 30, as fears rise that 'bold' young people are ignoring social distancing. Council chiefs in Preston also launched a powerful 'don't kill granny' message to encourage youngsters to follow the rules. Bradford has also seen its tightened measures extended for another week, as other towns, including Aberdeen and Leicester, are also adhering to local lockdowns. Over-50s could also be told to shield if there is a second wave, as the Government is said to be looking at plans for a 'more sophisticated model' of shielding (file photo) Local Government Association also called for councils to be given more powers to shut down rule-breaking pubs nationwide, as revellers continue to pack into venues up and down the country. Experts warned that being in a busy pub carries more risk of spreading coronavirus than being on an aeroplane, as aircrafts have better ventilation. Dr Julian W Tang, honorary associate professor of respiratory sciences at the University of Leicester, said the most common method of transmission in the UK is probably 'conversational exposure'. The spike in Preston was blamed on households mixing in pubs and homes and the spike in Aberdeen's lockdown came after an outbreak of cases linked to a number of bars emerged. Local lockdowns will continue to be based on council boundaries, while rural areas could see it only applying to market down in villages. The Department of Health and Social Care have declined to comment. Advertisement

Union bosses were last night accused of 'nit-picking' after releasing an exhaustive list of 200 safety demands.

The National Education Union has urged its 450,000 teachers to 'escalate' action if their schools do not adhere to their 200-strong Covid-secure checklist.

The demands included assurances the working day will not be lengthened, children waiting to be picked up to be kept isolated, and support for staff suffering workload anxiety.

Education select committee chair Robert Halfon MP last night hit out at the demands and told the Sun on Sunday: 'It is incredible not one of these 200 nitpicking questions asks the most important thing of all - what's best for the kids?'

But today Amanda Martin, co-president of the NEU, said there is no price on safety, and pointed out that they had been urging their members to plan for the reopening in September.

She told Times Radio: 'I think the NEU right from the beginning has been on the right side of history by saying schools should remain open to key worker kids and the most vulnerable.

'We have half a million members, we have had schools open all the way through lockdown and we have been supporting them with checklists... We have said schools should be ready to open in September.'

She said her union has requested information from Sage and the government for a risk assessment about reopening schools in September.

Prof Viner, a member of Sage, insisted reopening schools was a non-negotiable, even if it meant sacrificing other freedoms as a trade-off.

The desperate need to prioritse education was endorsed by Children's Commissioner Anne Longfield, who said in the event of future lockdowns schools should not be closed as a default to save 'disruption to the lives of adults'.

She today threw her weight behind Mr Johnson's bullishness to reopen schools, even if it meant pubs were sacrificed.

Speaking to Times Radio, she said: 'Children have been out of schools for five months... There was a moment I thought children have been forgotten in the relaxation.

'They must reopen and they must stay open so if there are future lockdowns they are the last to close and first to reopen.'

Quizzed if that meant people should be restricted from indoor drinking in pubs, she said: 'I've talked about that when decisions need to be made in future lockdowns, it makes absolute sense if there's a limited amount of social interactions before infections are raised.'

She said she was 'dismayed' that theme parks and even zoos were opened before schools, but said she is pleased that the PM has bumped resuming lessons to the top of the government's agenda.

Ms Longfield said that regular testing should become 'part and parcel' of school life from next month.

She said: 'I think it needs to be as regular as it needs to be for the infection to be caught... certainly not one-offs but regular occurrences so they're part and parcel of the running of a school.'

But this was slapped down by schools minister Nick Gibb, who said only those who developed symptoms would be tested.

The minister this morning told Times Radio: 'Anybody who shows symptoms in schools will be tested, it won't be routine testing... the advice we have is it's better when people show symptoms.

If they test positive the people that pupil has been in contact with will be self-isolating... Everything we do is led by the science... the priority for the new 90-minute tests has to be the new hospitals and laboraties, the measures we are putting in place, the hierarchy of controls is the most effective measures of the virus.'

On masks, he added: 'These kind of issues will be up to head teachers, but there's no need for masks to be worn within schools if the hierarchy of controls, the measures I have outlines, are in place.'

Labour expressed support for the reopening of schools in September, but surged the government to support teachers by bolstering the test and trace infrastructure.

Shadow education secretary Kate Green said: 'I think it's essential that schools open in September and that all pupils are expected to be back in the classrooms.

'I do think the Government could be doing more to support them (teachers) particularly, for example, making sure we've got a really robust Test and Trace system in place.

'The work is being done to make schools safe but more is needed to support those schools, they may need extra resources for example for extra clearing or to stagger the school day or to make sure children can travel to and fro safely.

'The Government has a window between now and the beginning of September to get that right and it absolutely must do so.

'It's really, really important that we don't write off a generation of Covid children - they need to be back in class, the whole of our futures depend on this.'

Boris Johnson has said that getting children back to school is a national priority (pictured during a visit to The Discovery School in Kings Hill last month)

Not a single confirmed case of a school pupil passing on coronavirus to their teacher exists anywhere in the world, says a leading expert

By Stephen Adams, Medical Editor for The Mail on Sunday

No confirmed cases exist anywhere in the world of school pupils passing on Covid to their teachers, an expert has said.

All the available evidence points to children being poor spreaders of the virus, said Professor Mark Woolhouse, who cast doubt on the theory that reopening schools will trigger a deadly second wave.

Last week, a modelling forecast published in The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health warned that opening schools across the UK in September could lead to a tsunami of new cases, more than twice the size of the first wave.

But Prof Woolhouse said a second study published in the medical journal the same day, which found infected children in Australian schools had passed the virus on to hardly anyone, had been largely ignored.

During the first wave, 15 schools and ten nurseries in the state of New South Wales reported 27 cases where children or staff had attended while infectious with Covid-19.

Fifteen of these 'index' cases were staff and 12 were children.

Class pledge: Boris Johnson on a visit to a Kent school last month

These 12 children were in close contact with 103 staff, found contact tracers.

Only one of them was discovered to have passed the virus on to a member of staff in a single instance, although this is understood to have occurred in a nursery.

Nor did infected children pass the virus on to their classmates to any great degree, with that happening in only two of 649 close contacts  a virus 'attack rate' of just 0.3 per cent.

By contrast, the 15 infected staff members passed it on to 4.4 per cent of colleagues who were close contacts (to seven out of 160).

Prof Woolhouse, head of infectious disease epidemiology at Edinburgh University, said: 'Science progresses by people publishing research. So what we do as carefully as we possibly can is scan what's been published in the literature to see if there are any reported cases, in this case of a child transmitting to a teacher in the classroom.

'The fact that there aren't any that we can find, and there still aren't, doesn't mean that it's not possible in principle and doesn't mean that it won't happen on occasion.

Prof Woolhouse, head of infectious disease epidemiology at Edinburgh University, said: 'Science progresses by people publishing research.'

'But it does suggest that out of all the ways that we see and have found this virus to transmit  and remember, there are thousands and thousands of transmission events that have been inferred [from contact tracing]  out of all those thousands, still we can't find a single one involving a child transmitting to a teacher in a classroom.'

He added: 'Even if this virus doesn't spread easily among the children, it certainly will spread among staff if it gets the opportunity.

'The evidence so far is that the most dangerous room in the school is not the classroom, it's the staff room. So schools need to pay attention to that, and not take their eye off the right ball.'

Prof Woolhouse advises the Government on coronavirus as a member of the Scientific Pandemic Group on Modelling (SPI-M), although he stressed he was speaking in a personal capacity.

Academics concluded reopening schools without improving contact tracing could trigger a second wave up to 2.3 times the size of the first, leading to 250,000 more deaths

His comments come amid renewed calls for caution by teaching unions, with the National Education Union urging schools to ignore 'threatening noises' from the Government and to refuse to reopen if they feel it is unsafe.

The unions will have felt emboldened to speak out by last week's modelling study, by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) and University College London (UCL).

Academics concluded reopening schools without improving contact tracing could trigger a second wave up to 2.3 times the size of the first, leading to 250,000 more deaths.

Prof Woolhouse said that apocalyptic outcome was 'highly unlikely given the current evidence'.

He added: 'I'm slightly worried that, just through an accident of timing, schools will get blamed for pushing the R number over 1. But all activity can contribute to R rising, not just schools.'

Missing out on school is disaster that lasts forever - as the huge damage inflicted on youngsters by a long break from the classroom is laid bare by several new studies

By Julie Henry for The Mail On Sunday

The huge damage inflicted on youngsters by a long break from school has been laid bare by several new studies.

Interrupted schooling has deep and long-lasting effects on children, according to Oxford University researchers who used data from school closures in a disaster zone. They said the study 'has relevance for other disasters, including the Covid-19 pandemic'.

The study found that children's test scores in areas of Pakistan hit by a 2005 earthquake were between one- and-a-half and two years behind their peers in untouched areas.

Those affected face losing 15 per cent of their earnings every year for the rest of their lives.

In another study, US researchers looked at the effects of the 'summer slide'  when children forget over the long holidays what they have previously learned  to estimate the impact of school closures caused by the coronavirus.

It said students are likely to return to the classroom with less than 50 per cent of the knowledge and skills they had in maths.

Meanwhile, a major UK study into the long-term consequences of the Covid crisis on the younger generation is being undertaken by Exeter University.

In another study, US researchers looked at the effects of the 'summer slide'  when children forget over the long holidays what they have previously learned  to estimate the impact of school closures caused by the coronavirus (file photo)

Dr Lee Elliot Major, the university's professor of social mobility, said: 'What is already clear is that the drastic losses in learning will have profound impacts on the lives of many children and young people.

'Every extra week away from face-to-face teaching adds to the cumulative damage over a lifetime. We need to assess the short-term risks of containing the virus against the longer-term, but in many ways more profound, risks of damaging the prospects for a whole generation.'

Natalie Perera, executive director of the independent Education Policy Institute (EPI), said: 'Pupils across the country have suffered huge learning loss since the lockdown began, with the most disadvantaged and vulnerable pupils hit the hardest by school closures.

'The period of disruption faced by schools is likely to have increased the achievement gap between the poorest pupils and the rest, which is already 18 months of learning by the end of compulsory education.

'The Government must offer maximum support to schools so that they are able to continue with pupils' education in a safe and secure environment.'

Maura Regan, chief executive officer of Bishop Hogarth Catholic Education Trust, which runs 18 academies in the North-East, told The Mail on Sunday that schools 'owe it to society' to have staff back working so that children's education can get back on track and parents can return to work.

Interrupted schooling has deep and long-lasting effects on children, according to Oxford University researchers (file photo)

'In essence we need to get children in school in September. I'd like to see us back full time and back permanently full time,' she said.

'There is a balance to be struck between the risk and the priority of getting children back and the economy going.

'But the detrimental impact on children, especially the most vulnerable who might not have the drive or the parental support, is huge.'

Other research shows that the least well-off children have suffered the most from being out of school.

An Institute for Fiscal Studies report found children from better-off households are spending 30 per cent more time each day on educational activities than children from the poorest fifth of homes.

BORIS JOHNSON: Keeping our schools closed a moment longer than is absolutely necessary is socially intolerable, economically unsustainable and morally indefensible

The education of our children is crucial for their welfare, their health and for their future. That is why it is a national priority to get all pupils back into school in September.

The message I have given to Ministers and civil servants is this: we can do it  and we will do it. Social justice demands it.

Back in March, we had no option but to close schools to all but vulnerable children and those of critical workers, as part of our wider effort to protect the NHS and save lives.

One of the most uplifting sights as our country came together during the lockdown was the transformation of living rooms and kitchens into classrooms, as millions of parents rose to the challenge of educating their children.

'The message I have given to Ministers and civil servants is this: we can do it  and we will do it. Social justice demands it'

Pictured: Prime Minister Boris Johnson visiting the Discovery School in West Malling, Kent, in July this year

For many, this was achieved while juggling the pressures of work and childcare, compounded by the mounting toll of the restrictions necessarily imposed by our fight against coronavirus  swings and slides locked up, playdates banned, grandparents unable to help.

It was  and for many families continues to be  a truly Herculean effort of which I will always be in awe. It was also supported by many brilliant teachers providing remote learning for their pupils, the thousands of laptops and tablets we bought and shipped to the children who needed them to access online resources, and the stunning creation of Oak National Academy, which developed an entire online curriculum in just a matter of weeks.

But we are in a different situation now to the one we faced earlier this year.

Thanks to the enormous sacrifices made by the British people, we have made very significant progress in our fight against the virus. The number of infections has been forced down from an estimated 157,000 in early May to around 28,000 at the start of this month.

Scientists have learned more about how the virus spreads and how we can control it.

Crucially, studies have shown that children face a much lower risk than adults.

This pandemic isn't over, and the last thing any of us can afford to do is become complacent.

But now that we know enough to reopen schools to all pupils safely, we have a moral duty to do so.

Because there is ultimately no substitute for a child learning at school to give them the knowledge, skills and wherewithal to succeed in life.

It's why we've had compulsory schooling in this country for 140 years, and the evidence is incontrovertible.

Time spent out of class means lower average academic attainment, with a lasting effect on future life chances. The less children are in school, the worse it is for their health. Sport England reports one in three children has done less physical activity in lockdown, with many suffering from poorer mental health, including through reduced access to vital support.

'Time spent out of class means lower average academic attainment, with a lasting effect on future life chances. The less children are in school, the worse it is for their health'

Most painfully of all, the costs of school closure have fallen disproportionately on the most disadvantaged, the very children who need school the most. Surveys estimate that while the majority of pupils have been learning at home, as many as a quarter of pupils were doing less than two hours of school work a day.

Children in the richest families spent over 75 minutes more per day on home-schooling than those in the poorest, and one study predicted that the attainment gap between children from economically deprived households and their peers could widen by more than a third.

The Children's Commissioner has reported increased risk of exposure to domestic violence, exploitation and addiction, both at home and on the streets.

The longer this continues, the more likely it is that some will tumble out of education, employment or training altogether, never to return. On top of all this, there are the spiralling economic costs of parents and carers unable to work without the school or wraparound childcare they depend on; and the devastating long-term cost looming from the stunting of our children's future productivity.

This damage is taking place all over the world, with the United Nations Secretary General last week warning of a 'generational catastrophe that could waste untold human potential, undermine decades of progress and exacerbate entrenched inequalities'.

We simply cannot allow this to continue.

Keeping our schools closed a moment longer than absolutely necessary is socially intolerable, economically unsustainable and morally indefensible.

I have always believed that talent is uniformly distributed but opportunity is not, and the first step to changing that is by helping those who have fallen behind to catch up.

So we are investing 1 billion in catch-up support, including a new 350 million National Tutoring Programme. We have announced 14 billion extra for schools and a new ten-year school building programme, as part of the Government's mission to build back better.

But first of all we must open the school gates to all pupils once again.

The Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies has advised that the risk to children themselves of becoming severely ill from coronavirus is low.

Our test and trace system is up and running  already, it has identified almost 200,000 people who might otherwise inadvertently spread the virus, and advised them to self-isolate  and we have worked closely with teaching unions and school leaders on measures to ensure that our schools are Covid secure.

Grouping children into bubbles, staggered drop-off times, regular handwashing and providing schools and colleges with a number of home-testing kits for those who would be unable to access a testing centre.

It is a detailed plan for getting all of our children back to school in a way that is safe.

In June, we began the phased return of Reception, Year 1 and Year 6 and, after some initial apprehension, many parents reported how much happier their children were and what a relief it was to be back.

Now we must all work together to bring this best practice to the task of reopening schools to all pupils in September.

Nothing will have a greater effect on the life chances of our children and nothing is more important for the future of our country.

Britains coronavirus wards stand empty as number of people dying of Covid plummets by 99% since height of pandemic

By James Robinson for MailOnline

Many of Britain's coronavirus wards are standing empty as new figures have today revealed that the number of people in hospital and dying from Covid-19 has plummeted by 99 per cent since the height of the pandemic.

Coronavirus death figures in hospitals have plummeted from 866 people a day at the height on April 10 of the pandemic to five last Thursday.

The number of people in hospital with Covid-19 has also plummeted by 96 per cent since the peak of the coronavirus pandemic, according to official data.

Under pressure hospital staff were treating more than 17,000 patients a day for coronavirus in England at the height of the pandemic in mid-April.

But as of August 6, official NHS England data shows staff were treating 700 Covid-19 patients.

It comes as it has been revealed some hospitals did not have a single coronavirus patient on their wards last week, with one top doctor suggesting that Britain is 'almost reaching herd immunity', according to The Sunday Times.

Under pressure hospital staff were treating more than 17,000 patients a day for coronavirus in England at the height of the pandemic in mid-April. Pictured: Nurses care for a patient in an intensive care ward

One doctor also described the downturn as 'huge' and said he did not expect a future increase in hospital admissions.

Doctor Ron Daniels, an intensive care consultant in Birmingham, told the Times: 'I think that's highly unlikely, because the pubs have been open for over a month, people have been interacting heavily during that time and the natural history of the disease is that and you are going to end up in hospital you are pretty much in hospital within 15 days of contracting it.

He also suggested the downturn could be due to the most vulnerable in the UK having contracted the virus in 'March and April' and that the virus may have become 'less virulent'.

It comes as preliminary figures today reveal a further ten people who tested positive for Covid-19 have died in Britain.

The latest figures - which only cover deaths in hospital - bring the UK's total death toll during the pandemic to 46,576.

However as of August 6, official NHS England data shows staff were treating 700 Covid-19 patients. Pictured: Clinical staff wear Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)

Coronavirus death figures in hospitals have also plummeted, from 866 people a day at the height on April 10 of the pandemic to five last Thursday. Pictured: A nurse at an intensive care unit wears PPE

The numbers are likely to be higher when figures for deaths across all settings - including in care homes and the wider community - are revealed.

Both Scotland and Wales reported no further deaths.

Figures released on Sunday are usually smaller due to a delay in processing over the weekend.

Scotland has reported 48 new cases today, while Wales has reported a further 26.

England has not released its case figures yet.

Northern Ireland stopped reporting its data on the virus at weekends so the daily figures for positive cases are for Britain only.

The figures came as a landmark coronavirus study found the risk of transmission in classrooms is minimal, ratcheting up pressure on the Education Secretary to fully reopen schools in September.

Boris Johnson is understood to have warned that Gavin Williamson's 'head will be on the chopping block' if pupils are not back in lessons next month.

The Prime Minister has declared resuming classes a 'national priority' and is planning an advertising blitz to urge anxious parents to send their child back to school.

His campaign was yesterday bolstered by encouraging scientific evidence which found a low threat of catching infection in schools.

Boris Johnson (pictured left) is understood to have warned that Gavin Williamson's (pictured right) 'head will be on the chopping block' if pupils are not back in lessons next month

Government Sage adviser Professor Russell Viner outlined the forthcoming Public Health England study and stressed that reopening schools was 'imperative'.

'A new study that has been done in UK schools confirms there is very little evidence that the virus is transmitted in schools,' he told the Sunday Times.

'This is some of the largest data you will find on schools anywhere. Britain has done very well in terms of thinking of collecting data in schools.'

Labour, the unions, and the Children's Commissioner have all today voiced support for the principle of schools reopening in September.

But thorny issues such as routine testing and the wearing of masks remain - which were both today slapped down by the schools minister.

Prof Viner, also president of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, said keeping schools shut would take a further toll on both young people's academic attainment and mental health.

Mr Johnson outlined similar concerns in an article for today's Mail on Sunday where he heralded the resuming of lessons a 'moral duty' and 'crucial' for pupils' 'welfare, their health and for their future.'

He wrote: 'The education of our children is crucial for their welfare, their health and for their future. That is why it is a national priority to get all pupils back into school in September.

'The message I have given to Ministers and civil servants is this: we can do it  and we will do it. Social justice demands it.'

He spoke of the 'uplifting sight as millions of parents rose to the challenge of educating their children' amid the added pressures of lockdown, but said that had to end.

The PHE study, which tested more than 20,000 pupils and 100 teachers, is hoped to allay the concerns of wary teacher unions, which thwarted ministers' initial attempts to resume classes for fears of staff catching the virus.
(Reuters) - Iranian teams have cleaned up an oil slick near field in the northern region of the Gulf that had extended over a six-square-km (2.3 square mile) area, an Iranian maritime official said on Saturday.

The cause of the spill, which occurred on Wednesday, was being investigated, the director general of ports and maritime in Iran's Bushehr Province, Siavash Arjomandzadeh, told the official IRNA news agency.

The cleanup took place near the Abuzar field, Iran's main production area in the Gulf.

An Iranian official had told IRNA on Thursday that it was difficult to determine the cause of the spill because there were several fields belonging to Iran and other countries in the region. He said oil could have leaked from underwater pipelines.

Abuzar oil field, about 75 km (46 miles) west of Iran's Kharg Island, has three main platforms producing between 195,000 to 220,000 barrels per day of oil, IRNA reported, adding 107 wells had been drilled in the field of which 67 still operated.

(Editing by Edmund Blair)
Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-09 16:07:36|Editor: huaxia

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by Xinhua writer Zhang Xin

BEIJING, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) -- Citing so-called national security concerns, Washington announced Thursday an upcoming ban on dealings with the Chinese owners of popular apps TikTok and WeChat, while on the same day, it reimposed a 10-percent tariff on Canadian aluminum exports into the United States.

It has become increasingly clear that each time Washington abused the national security pretext to attack foreign industries or companies, it actually reveals the government's indulgence in protectionism, hegemonism and bullyism, which is akin to "modern piracy," as a German official has said.

Whenever it seeks to contain China's increasing tech influence or defend the U.S. industry from competition, the present U.S. administration has cited national security concerns without concrete evidence, unscrupulously putting any competitor or challenger into the crosshairs for punishment like a fine, ban or sanction.

In most cases, the so-called U.S. national security concerns are ordinary economic or trade disputes which can be reasonably solved through bilateral or multilateral negotiations. However, Washington is now obsessed with flexing its muscles, regardless of hurting partnerships or violating market principles and international norms.

From China and Japan in Asia, Germany in Europe, to Brazil and Argentina in Latin America, a bunch of U.S. trade partners have suffered from tariff sanctions or unfair agreements skewed towards some short-term American interests.

A group of Washington politicians have time and again proved that the spirit of free enterprise and fair competition they claim to espouse is no more than a lie.

The international community won't be fooled by the pirate-like bullyism under the guise of national security. Even the U.S. allies have protested against the brazen tricks.

Canadian Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland called the U.S. tariff decision on national security grounds "unnecessary, unwarranted and entirely unacceptable." "That is a ludicrous notion," she said.

As a matter of fact, U.S. allies, including Canada and European countries, have become jittery over the recent U.S. protectionism.

In May 2019, when Washington lifted tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum, Freeland said, "The reality is that this U.S. administration is openly, explicitly, and proudly protectionist," reminding the domestic industry to remain vigilant about the neighboring super power.

In October 2019, when Washington slapped 7.5 billion U.S. dollars in tariffs on EU cheeses, olives, and whiskey, as well as planes, helicopters and aircraft parts under the pretext of national security, the Europeans said it was protectionism and broke global trade rules.

The repeated use of national security by the United States to cover its "modern piracy" not only diminishes its credibility in the eyes of other countries, including its allies, but also hampers its own interests.

"These tariffs will raise costs for American manufacturers, are opposed by most U.S. aluminum producers, and will draw retaliation against U.S. exports -- just as they did before," Myron Brilliant, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's executive vice president, said in a statement.

Meanwhile, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said that "Canada will impose countermeasures that will include dollar-for-dollar retaliatory tariffs."

ByteDance, TikTok's parent company, said Friday in a statement that Washington's ban on the popular app has started a dangerous precedent violating the freedom of expression and the open-market principle, and it will "pursue all remedies available ... if not by the Administration, then by the U.S. courts."

Decision-makers in Washington must realize that indulging in pirate-like bullyism will only distance the country from international norms and partners, deteriorate its business environment and keep away foreign investment. At long last, these trust-breaking actions are doomed to boomerang. Enditem
WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT

A woman who gouged out both of her own eyes during a meth-induced psychotic frenzy has received her first pair of prosthetic eyeballs.

Two years ago, Kaylee Muthart, then aged 21, ripped out her eyes while a horrified bystander struggled to restrain her.

She was rushed to hospital, where doctors told her that she would be blind for the rest of her life.

Kaylee Muthart was aged 21 when she gouged out her own eyes during a drug-induced frenzy

Kaylee, pictured just after the incident in 2018, was told she would be blind for life

But the appalling incident served as a catalyst for positive change in Kaylee's life - she entered rehab and committed to quitting drugs for good.

Now the South Carolina native is clean and healthy, and on Wednesday she received her first pair of prosthetic eyes, thanks to Dr Joseph Gorrin, of Gorrin's Clinic in Greenville, South Carolina.

Kaylee, pictured while recovering in hospital, says her ordeal was a catalyst for change

'I was so excited to get them,' said Kaylee, 22, who is currently enrolled in blind school.

'I just wanted to appear more normal to the outside world.'

Earlier this week, Kaylee received her first set of prosthetic eyeballs since she was blinded

'I just wanted to appear more normal to the outside world': Kaylee with her new prosthetic eyes

Kaylee and her boyfriend Alex George are all smiles after she received her new prosthetic eyes

Her finance executive boyfriend Alex George, 42, was there to witness the profound moment.

'It melted my heart,' said Alex, who lives with Kaylee in Central, South Carolina.

'She was never any different to me, but I know she's wanted this for a very long time and I'm so happy she has this now.

'I felt so much joy, love, appreciation and thanks to God.

'Seeing Kaylee happy makes me happy.

'She is always an upbeat and positive person, but this made her extra happy. It was incredible to be able to look in her eyes.'

Kaylee added: 'I said that, 'I feel like I'm Kaylee again' and Alex said 'you've always been Kaylee to me. He cried when he saw me.'

Once her new eyes were fitted, Kaylee spoke with her mother, Katy Tompkins, 58, over FaceTime to show her the result.

'She cried with happiness too,' said Kaylee.

'She is so excited for me and this next chapter in my life.'

Kaylee pictured with her mother, Katy Tompkins, after being fitted with her new prostethics

Kaylee and Alex, who have known each other for five years, celebrated with a dinner at Applebees.

'That's where we had our first date, so it's a meaningful place for us,' said Kaylee.

'Before we had dinner I put on my own makeup for the first time since I lost my sight, that felt very special.'

Attending blind school has taught Kaylee how to be self-sufficient and she will soon receive a guide dog to assist her in her daily life.

'I've learned a decent amount of brail and I can cook, use a stove, wash clothes, make the bed and look after pets now,' said Kaylee.

'I'm planning to go back to school to get my high school diploma, and then an associates degree. I want to get up as high as I can.

'I've come such a long way from two years ago.

'Coming off meth was awful, physically and mentally, there were hallucinations and psychosis, but I overcame it, thanks to God.'

Kaylee added that she has started writing a book about her experience.
The Victorian government is investing $60 (US$42.9) million to keep people suffering from acute mental illness at home to avoid the stress of emergency departments during the COVID-19 pandemic.

There has been a 33 percent increase in hospital presentations for self-harm among people under the age of 18 over the past year.

Minister for Mental Health Martin Foley announced a $59.7 million package to focus on acute, clinical services in both hospitals and the community.

We know that particularly at the moment, we want to keep those people with mental illness away from emergency departments, he told reporters on Aug. 9.

That is better in terms of treatment for those people, and more importantly, it frees up the resources in our emergency departments as well.

Part of the funding will go to extending community mental health programs to seven days a week, rather than Monday to Friday, and with longer opening hours to provide psychiatric, allied healthcare and data support.

It will also pay for outreach programs run by Melbournes 15 Headspace centres, which can identify those at the acute end of the mental health spectrum and deliver help within their neighbourhood.

Premier Daniel Andrews said the government had put $250,000 towards a counselling service for nurses, midwives and personal care workers.

Its a very small amount of money in the overall scheme of things.

We know Victorians are resilient, but we have never faced a crisis quite like this one and I know there are a lot of people out there doing it tough right now. We want them to know that they are not alone.

The funds will also fast-track two recommendations of the interim report from the royal commission into mental health, Andrews said.

An extra 144 acute mental health beds will be rolled out at Box Hill, The Royal Melbourne Hospital, Monash Clayton, Heidelberg and Broadmeadows, Warrnambool and Mildura.

The remainder will be spent on Orygens Hospital in the Home and post-hospital suicide prevention program, HOPE.

Currently up and running in 16 of the states 23 mental health regions, they have accelerated the roll-out in the remaining seven areas to help young people and their families get back on track as soon as possible, Foley said.

We know that the greatest indicator  to prevent someones suicide is to deal with that person in the community  when theyve expressed suicide ideas or attempted suicide in the past.

By Sophie Moore
To the Times,

Everyone should feel safe at work. And everyone should feel listened to if theyre not. Yet at Rejuvenations at Fair Acres, the Crozer-Keystone geriatric psychiatric facility where we work as nurses and techs, we do not feel safe, and our voices have not been heard.

Our patient population at Rejuvenations can often become aggressive, which can create unsafe situations for both workers and other patients. We need more in-the-unit protections. This should come as no surprise to management: According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, 75 percent of all workplace assaults happen to health care workers. Yet they have not acted on our pleas for help.

This spring, we voted unanimously to form a union and join PASNAP. We needed a way to be heard and taken seriously by management. We deserve the same rights and protections that workers across the Crozer Keystone system enjoy. We are mostly women, and last month, for the first time, we had a seat at the table. Literally, we sat at the same table and began negotiations where we are on a level playing field.

We are just getting started, and we dont know how it will go. But we want our voices to go somewhere. Thats why were writing this letter. If management wont hear us, were betting that the community will.

On behalf of the Rejuvenations Nursing Staff from:

Mabinty Sesay, RN, Lorpu Vankpanah, RN, LaTasha LeBue, LPN, Melody Marks, PCT, Jessica Brady, LPN
Obese people could be among those told to stay home in coronavirus hotspots if there is a second wave of cases this autumn.

The Government is said to be looking at plans for a 'more sophisticated model' of shielding to avoid another mass lockdown.

Officials are considering how NHS data could target vulnerable groups, including those who are obese, so they can be told to stay indoors if there is a second coronavirus wave, the Sunday Telegraph reported.

Obese people could reportedly be among vulnerable groups told to stay at home if there is a second coronavirus wave this autumn (file photo)

One Cabinet minister reportedly described the plan to tell those who are especially vulnerable to shield as a 'stiletto not a sledgehammer' method.

Those who are over-50 could also be among vulnerable groups contacted and told to stay indoors if there is a second coronavirus spike this autumn.

A Cabinet minister told the Telegraph: 'They are understanding that age does come into it. The shielding cohort is way too broad - you can't say that every fat person has to shield. It will be more subtle.'

This comes after stricter lockdown rules were imposed in Preston, following other northern towns, and young people were urged to follow the new regulations.

It was revealed half of the 61 new coronavirus cases in the newly-locked down city are under the age of 30, as fears rise that 'bold' young people are ignoring social distancing.

Council chiefs in Preston also launched a powerful 'don't kill granny' message to encourage youngsters to follow the rules.

Bradford has also seen its tightened measures extended for another week, as other towns, including Aberdeen and Leicester, are also adhering to local lockdowns.

Over-50s could also be told to shield if there is a second wave, as the Government is said to be looking at plans for a 'more sophisticated model' of shielding (file photo)

Local Government Association also called for councils to be given more powers to shut down rule-breaking pubs nationwide, as revellers continue to pack into venues up and down the country.

Experts warned that being in a busy pub carries more risk of spreading coronavirus than being on an aeroplane, as aircrafts have better ventilation.

Dr Julian W Tang, honorary associate professor of respiratory sciences at the University of Leicester, said the most common method of transmission in the UK is probably 'conversational exposure'.

The spike in Preston was blamed on households mixing in pubs and homes and the spike in Aberdeen's lockdown came after an outbreak of cases linked to a number of bars emerged.

Local lockdowns will continue to be based on council boundaries, while rural areas could see it only applying to market down in villages.

The Department of Health and Social Care have declined to comment.
August 9, 2020 - Ottawa, Ontario - Global Affairs Canada

We, the foreign ministers of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States Secretary of State, are gravely concerned by the Hong Kong governments unjust disqualification of candidates and disproportionate postponement of Legislative Council elections. These moves have undermined the democratic process that has been fundamental to Hong Kongs stability and prosperity.

We express deep concern at Beijings imposition of the new National Security Law, which is eroding the Hong Kong peoples fundamental rights and liberties.

We support the legitimate expectations of the people of Hong Kong to elect Legislative Council representatives via genuinely free, fair and credible elections. We call on the Hong Kong government to reinstate the eligibility of disqualified candidates so that the elections can take place in an environment conducive to the exercise of democratic rights and freedoms as enshrined in the Basic Law. Beijing promised autonomy and freedoms under the one country, two systems principle to the Hong Kong people in the Sino-British Joint Declaration, a United Nations-registered treaty, and must honour its commitments. We urge the Hong Kong government to hold the elections as soon as possible.
B oris Johnson has called getting all children back in class a "moral duty" amid indications he would force pubs, restaurants and shops to close ahead of schools if there are severe coronavirus flare-ups.

The Prime Minister is understood to favour only closing schools as the last resort after scientific advisers warned more restrictions may be needed to reopen classrooms in England next month.

Childrens commissioner for England Anne Longfield had said the reopening of schools should be prioritised, insisting they must be first to reopen and last to close during any reintroduction of restrictions.

But schools minister Nick Gibb said this week that the Government cannot decree that classroom education would be prioritised, instead saying decisions would be made by local health chiefs.

However, a No 10 source said on Saturday that Mr Johnsons expectation is that schools would be the last sector to close, with firms being shut first in the event of severe local lockdowns.

The PM has been clear that businesses including shops, pubs and restaurants should be forced to close first, with schools remaining open for as long as possible, the source said.

Boris Johnson announces lockdown relaxation delay: the key points

Mr Johnson, writing in the Mail on Sunday, said it is the national priority to get all pupils back into classrooms in September after months without in-person education.

This pandemic isnt over, and the last thing any of us can afford to do is become complacent, he wrote.

But now that we know enough to reopen schools to all pupils safely, we have a moral duty to do so."

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He warned of the spiralling economic costs of parents and carers being unable to work, adding: Keeping our schools closed a moment longer than absolutely necessary is socially intolerable, economically unsustainable and morally indefensible.

This was echoed by Wellcome Trust director Jeremy Farrar who wrote in The Observer: As we head into autumn we will be forced to make tough choices in order to keep transmission down while restarting the economy, increasing employment and protecting public health.

There are no easy answers, but one thing is clear: reopening schools must be the priority.

Coronavirus hits the UK - In pictures 1 /81 Coronavirus hits the UK - In pictures A deserted Westminster Bridge PA A man wearing a face mask or covering due to the COVID-19 pandemic, walks past customers sat outside a restaurant AFP via Getty Images Boris Johnson addresses the nation on the Coronavirus lockdown Andrew Parsons Runners pass cardboard cutouts of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II and Prince William during the London Marathon in London AP An empty escalator at Charing Coss London Underground tube station Jeremy Selwyn Electronic bilboards displays a message warning people to stay home in Sheffield PA A sign is displayed in the window of a student accommodation building following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Mancheste Reuters People take part in a 'We Do Not Consent' rally at Trafalgar Square, organised by Stop New Normal, to protest against coronavirus restrictions, in Londo AP People sing and dance in Leicester Square on the eve on the 10PM curfew Reuters Hearts painted by a team of artists from Upfest are seen in the grass at Queen Square, following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Bristol Reuters Graffiti reads 'good luck and stay safe', as the number of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases grow around the world, under a bridge in London Reuters A sign is pictured in Soho, amid the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in London Reuters Prime Minister Boris Johnson gestures, during a coronavirus briefing in Downing Street, London AP A person runs past posters with a message of hope, as the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues in Manchester REUTERS Riot police face protesters who took part in a 'We Do Not Consent' rally at Trafalgar Square, organised by Stop New Normal, to protest against coronavirus restrictions in London AP An image of The Queen eith quotes from her broadcast to the UK and the Commonwealth in relation to the Coronavirus epidemic are displayed on lights in London's Piccadilly Circus PA Military vehicles cross Westminster Bridge after members of the 101 Logistic Brigade delivered a consignment of medical masks to St Thomas' hospital Getty Images Durdle Door in Dorset Reuters Captain Tom Moore via Reuters Mia, aged 8, and Jack, aged 5, take part in "PE with Joe" a daily live workout with Joe Wicks on Youtube to help kids stay fit who have to stay indoors due to the Coronavirus outbreak PA An NHS worker reacts at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital during the Clap for our Carers campaign in support of the NHS Reuters Goats which have taken over the deserted streets of Llandudno @AndrewStuart via PA Tobias Weller PA Novikov restaurant in London with its shutters pulled down while the restaurant is closed London Landscapes: Hyde Park and the Serpentine, central London. Matt Writtle A newspaper vendor in Manchester city centre giving away free toilet rolls with every paper bought as shops run low on supplies due to fears over the spread of the coronavirus PA Theo Clay looks out of his window next to his hand-drawn picture of a rainbow in Liverpool, as the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continue Reuters A young man cuts another man's hair on top of a closed hairdresser in Oxford Reuters General view of the new NHS Nightingale Hospital, built to fight against the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in London via Reuters Jason Baird is seen dressed as Spiderman during his daily exercise to cheer up local children in Stockport, as the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues Reuters A woman wearing a face mask walks past Buckingham Palace Getty Images A man holds mobile phone displaying a text message alert sent by the government warning that new rules are in force across the UK and people must stay at home PA Medical staff on the Covid-19 ward at the Neath Port Talbot Hospital, in Wales, as the health services continue their response to the coronavirus outbreak. PA Prime Minister Boris Johnson taking part in a virtual Cabinet meeting with his top team of ministers PA A shopper walks past empty shelves in a Lidl store on in Wallington. After spates of "panic buying" cleared supermarket shelves of items like toilet paper and cleaning products, stores across the UK have introduced limits on purchases during the COVID-19 pandemic. Some have also created special time slots for the elderly and other shoppers vulnerable to the new coronavirus. Getty Images People on a busy tube train in London at rush hour PA Mia, aged 8 and her brother Jack, aged 5 from Essex, continue their school work at home, after being sent home due to the coronavirus PA Children are painting 'Chase the rainbows' artwork and springing up in windows across the country Reuters Social distancing in Primrose Hill Jeremy Selwyn A general view of a locked gate at Anfield, Liverpool as The Premier League has been suspended PA Homeless people in London AFP via Getty Images A piece of art by the artist, known as the Rebel Bear has appeared on a wall on Bank Street in Glasgow. The new addition to Glasgow's street art is capturing the global Coronavirus crisis. The piece features a woman and a man pulling back to give each other a kiss PA The Queen leaves Buckingham Palace, London, for Windsor Castle to socially distance herself amid the coronavirus pandemic PA A general view on Grey street, Newcastle as coronavirus cases grow around the world Reuters Matt Raw, a British national who returned from the coronavirus-hit city of Wuhan in China, leaves quaratine at Arrowe Park Hospital on Merseyside PA Britain's Chief Medical Officer Professor Chris Whitty (L) and Chief Scientific Adviser Patrick Vallance look on as British Prime Minister Boris Johnson gestures as he speaks during a coronavirus disease (COVID-19) news conference inside 10 Downing Street Reuters The ticket-validation terminals at the tram stop on Edinburgh's Princes Street are cleaned following the coronavirus outbreak. PA Locked school gates at Rockcliffe First School in Whitley Bay, Tyne and Wear PA A sign at a Sainsbury's supermarket informs customers that limits have been set on a small number of products as the number of coronavirus (COVID-19) cases grow around the world Reuters Jawad Javed delivers coronavirus protection kits that he and his wife have put together to the vulnerable people of their community of Stenhousemuir, between Glasgow and Edinburgh AFP via Getty Images A sign advertising a book titled "How Will We Survive On Earth?" Getty Images A man who appears to be homeless sleeping wearing a mask today in Victoria Jeremy Selwyn A pedestrian walks past graffiti that reads "Diseases are in the City" in Edinburgh AFP via Getty Images Staff from The Lyric Theatre, London inform patrons, as it shuts its doors PA A quiet looking George IV Bridge in Edinburgh PA A quieter than usual British Museum Getty Images A racegoer attends Cheltenham in a fashionable face mask SplashNews.com A commuter wears a face mask at London Bridge Station Jeremy Selwyn A empty restaurant in the Bull Ring Shopping Centre Getty Images A deserted Trafalgar Square in London PA Passengers determined to avoid the coronavirus before leaving the UK arrive at Gatwick Airport Getty Images

The Prime Minister was also keen to stress the potential damage to childrens mental health if they do not return and that the virus presents only a very low threat of making them seriously ill.

The Downing Street source said: The PM has stressed that the harm done to childrens education prospects by not attending school as well as to their mental health is far more damaging than the low risk posed, which schools will be carefully managing, and that those from disadvantaged backgrounds are suffering the most.

The developments came as experts suggested pubs, with their typically poor ventilation, noise necessitating loud voices, and social environments, could carry a greater transmission risk than planes.

It is a perfect storm aided and abetted by alcohol the enabler, one the scientists, Dr Bharat Pankhania, a senior clinical lecturer at the University of Exeter, said.

Mixing in pubs and homes was blamed for a rise in Covid-19 cases in Preston, the latest area to have restrictions reimposed.

Additional reporting by PA Media
BEIJING, Aug. 8 (Xinhua) -- General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and Chinese President Xi Jinping sent a message of condolence on Saturday to his Vietnamese counterpart, Nguyen Phu Trong, over the passing of Le Kha Phieu, former general secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee (CPVCC).

Xi said he was shocked to hear the passing of Comrade Le Kha Phieu, adding that he, on behalf of the CPC, the Chinese government and the Chinese people, as well as in his own name, extends deep condolences through Trong to the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV), the Vietnamese government, and Vietnamese people over the passing of comrade Le Kha Phieu, and expresses sincere sympathies to his family.

Comrade Le Kha Phieu is an outstanding leader of the older generation of the CPV and Vietnam, said Xi, adding that he had led the Vietnamese people in achieving great accomplishments in Vietnam's socialist construction and renovation enterprises.

Xi also said that Comrade Le Kha Phieu was a close comrade and friend for the CPC and the Chinese people, adding that he had made outstanding contributions to the development of China-Vietnam relations featuring "long-term stability, future orientation, good-neighborly friendship and all-round cooperation."

The Chinese side attaches great importance to consolidating and developing the traditional friendship between the two countries, and is willing to work with Vietnam in enhancing political mutual trust and strengthening unity and cooperation so as to push forward the relationship of the two parties and two countries, as well as their respective socialist causes for new and greater development, Xi said.

He believes that under the strong leadership of the CPVCC with General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong as the head, the socialist cause in Vietnam is bound to yield new achievements, Xi added.
By PTI

SINGAPORE: Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Sunday said that the COVID-19 crisis is "far from over" and it will take a year or two before a vaccine is widely available as the country is celebrating the 55 years of independence.

Singapore's National Day is celebrated on August 9 every year in commemoration of the country's independence from Malaysia in 1965.

Lee, in his National Day speech, said that Singaporeans are understandably anxious and worried due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Business closures, retrenchments and unemployment are all likely to go up in the coming months, he said.

The COVID-19 crisis is "far from over" and it will take a year or two before a vaccine is widely available, Lee said.

"Until then, we have to maintain our vigilance and resolve, to keep ourselves, our loved ones and our neighbours all safe," the prime minister said.

However, this is not Singapore's first economic crisis, he said, citing the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis, the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 terror attacks in the US and the global financial crisis of 2007 to 2009.

"Each time the outlook was ominous and we feared the worst, but each time we worked hard to secure our position, gritted our teeth and came through together.

"I am confident we will get through this current crisis too, though it may take longer. All of us must do our part, but none of us will be alone," Lee said.

He said that the government is "actively helping" people find jobs and acquire new skills.

The job support scheme and self-employed person income relief scheme will ease the burden on employers and individuals.

The prime minister urged the employers to "make every effort" to keep their workers and "not drop them at the first sign of trouble. This will build loyalty and encourage the employees to help their employers rebuild when conditions improve."

Singapore's experience in fighting COVID-19 has brought people closer together.

"The shared ordeal will toughen a whole population and bond us together as one united people.

"Just like how the Pioneer and Merdeka Generations were tempered by Separation and Independence, and economic crises in our early years as a nation," Lee said.

The premier also acknowledged the contributions of Singaporeans and migrant workers who participated in services and activities in the fight against the COVID-19.

"Migrant workers too played their part to support these operations. Their help was deeply appreciated by our SAF (Singapore Armed Forces), Home Team and public officers.

"Let us brace ourselves for the trials ahead, so that many years from now, when our grandchildren celebrate the National Day, they will look back on these times and say yes, this generation stood together, sacrificed for one another and built Singapore for us," he said.

As of Saturday, Singapore's COVID-19 tally stands at 54,929, out of whom 48,312 have recovered, 124 are in hospitals while 6,334 being cared for in community facilities for mild symptoms, according to health officials.
Belgrade, 8 August 2020 (SPS) - Algerias ambassador to Serbia Abdelhamid Chebchoub reaffirmed that the appellation of Western Sahara is enshrined in all the resolutions of the international organizations, dubbing deceptive the term Moroccan Sahara used by Rabat.



In a clarification, published by the Serbian newspaper Politika, Chebchoub denounced the misleading statements of Moroccos ambassador to Belgrade who strayed from the diplomatic practices that his position requires, to participate in an interview to the same paper, published on 24 July, in a propaganda campaign against Algeria, using lies and untruths to mislead the Serbian public opinion.



In his reply to these fallacious statements, notably the issue of Western Sahara, Chebchoub underlined that by using a deceptive term of Moroccan Sahara contrary to the enshrined appellation of Western Sahara, stipulated in all the United Nations resolutions, the Moroccan ambassador to Belgrade tries to lead the reader to a wrong track.



Western Sahara is the appellation enshrined in all the resolutions of the international organizations, including the resolution 2468, underlined the Algerian diplomat.



The right of the people of Western Sahara to self-determination that the ambassador avoids citing is enshrined in the resolution 2468. It constitutes an inalienable right of the peoples under colonial domination and the basis for the search of a solution to this conflict, he added. (SPS)



062/SPS/700
The dislocations could be worse than last time. Even before the pandemic, the nation was facing a housing crisis. Years of residential underbuilding have driven up prices, particularly in the areas where jobs are concentrated. Tens of millions of lower-income families already were struggling to afford a place to live. Millions already were evicted each year. And many more Americans have lost jobs this time around.

In a policy memo published Friday, a group of housing policy experts and affordable housing advocates said, The United States may be facing the most severe housing crisis in its history.

Some state and local governments are trying to help.

In 2008, Aisha Wahab was a 19-year-old college student living in her parents longtime home in Fremont, Calif. She watched as they lost their clothing store in nearby Oakland, and then their home. She watched as their marriage fell apart. By 2012, Ms. Wahab and her father were sharing an apartment in Hayward, a nearby city with cheaper housing.

Ms. Wahab said her family has never recovered. I can 100 percent attest to the fact that my family is nowhere near where they were prior to 2008, she said. Now, at 32, she is the youngest member of the Hayward City Council, and she is doing what she can to prevent another crisis. Hayward has prohibited evictions until the end of September. Alameda County, which includes Hayward, has prohibited evictions at least until the end of the year. Tenants will then have a year to catch up on any missed rental payments. Homeowners, however, must negotiate separately with their lenders. And its not clear where renters or homeowners will find the money without federal aid.

Local officials are simply postponing the day of reckoning. Sooner or later, in Hayward and across the country, the eviction moratoriums will end.

What happens on the next day? Ms. Wahab said.

The Princeton sociologist Matthew Desmond has argued compellingly that eviction is not just a result of poverty  it is also a cause of poverty. The downward trajectory, well documented in research on the last crisis, is the same for homeowners and renters. People who lose their homes also lose their communities. Studies show they generally move to less expensive neighborhoods, and their children end up enrolling in lower-quality schools. Eviction strains the ability to keep a job. People who are evicted suffer from higher rates of mental and physical health problems. If they are married, they are more likely to get divorced. They are more likely to end up homeless.

This new crisis builds on the last one. During the last recession, Renee Matthew lost her job at a New Orleans law firm, and then she lost her home to foreclosure. She didnt find a new job until 2015, working as a parking lot supervisor at the citys cruise terminal.
The Bloordale Beach is Torontos newest hot summer destination, and it isnt crowded. That could be because theres no water, but thats beside the point. Its a beach: the signs say so.

Located on the former site of Brockton High School at the corner of Brock Avenue and Croatia Street, just southwest of the Bloor and Dufferin intersection, the school was torn down last year and a big vacant lot is in its place. The fence surrounding the lot has been cut open a number of times since, allowing people to pass through, and in May, deep in lockdown, beach signs appeared, some the work of artist Shari Kasman.

The site has real sand and Id seen sandpipers there, says Kasman. Then I saw someone lying down on the lot, suntanning, and my friend said maybe making a beach could work. I said we should call it Bloordale Beach and he said lets make signs.

As a beach, it sounds like a very desirable place to be. Plus, its hilarious. The lot has become much more popular since it turned into a beach.

On top of signs declaring it a beach, there are some advertising the Beach Water Quality Hotline and another that marks it as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. A Danger: No Trespassing sign has been changed to Linger: So Relaxing and there are others that warn beach-goers of sharks and swift currents.

Kasman recently arranged old lawn chairs on the beach in pairs, allowing for physical distancing. They say Property of Bloordale Beach on them, so ideally people will leave them on the beach, she says. Kasman has more ideas and is looking for funding from wealthy, beach-loving patrons.

The signs are a kind of deadpan humour that some people will get, but likely leave a few confused. The Bloordale Beach is in the tradition of the Situationists, a French avant garde movement of artists and intellectuals in postwar France who are associated with the slogan, Sous les paves, la plage! (Under the cobblestones, the beach!) used during the 1968 protests.

Like Situationist activities, the beach is symbolic and has a bigger message. One is the scarcity of good public space in this crowded city.

Kasman points out that before the school was torn down there was a well-used public right of way here that led from Bloor to Dufferin Mall. Though the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) has repeatedly sent crews to close the fence due to overly litigious concerns, it is regularly reopened soon after and used like the former pathway was.

When the fence was open Id walk through, taking the shortcut, but I started to use the space more after the pandemic started, says Kasman. Id walk around in circles and talk on the phone or collect artifacts, interesting stones and things. Its close to home and I could stay distant from everyone. A friend started calling it the Social Distancing Compound.

The empty lot also hints at other question of public space and resources. Brockton High was part of a cluster of three schools at the corner of Bloor and Dufferin along with the Kent Public School and Bloor Collegiate Institute, both handsome buildings designed by in-house school board architects. These latter two schools have been sold to developers who plan to keep just bits and pieces of them while developing the site for commercial and residential uses. A new Bloor Collegiate will be built on the Brockton site, where the beach is now.

New housing by a subway station is a good thing, but TDSB and its trustees have been terrible stewards of our great architectural heritage, letting so many buildings decline to the point where razing seems the only solution. (Bloor Collegiate was initially intended to move into a renovated Brockton.)

Provincial funding is certainly one culprit, but theres seemingly nobody raising environmental and public heritage concerns within. Nothing is as wasteful as tearing down a building just to rebuild it. What kind of sustainability message does that send to students?

Local residents and businesses have formed an alliance called Build a Better Bloor Dufferin. Groups like this often attempt to keep new people out, obsessed with building heights and using words like luxury to describe any new development. Hyped up, hot air condo marketing doesnt help perceptions, but the only true luxury in neighbourhoods like this are houses with yards. In apartment-scorning Toronto, thats never recognized.

Instead, the Bloor Dufferin group puts much of its effort into pushing for more affordable housing, more community space and more open public space  a model for how other organizations should act to make inevitable development, allowing new people into the neighbourhood and city, better and more inclusive. They even supported the recent modular affordable housing project on nearby Dovercourt.

Keeping a closer eye on what our school boards are up to is another lesson here, but for now, theres the beautiful beach. Just bring your own water if you visit.




THE re-opening of schools this year hangs in the balance with officials saying they are continuing to monitor the Covid-19 pandemic trends in the country, especially relating to local transmissions before committing themselves to a particular position.





Last month Government deferred the re-opening of schools to a later date from the initial 28 July citing the rising number of local transmissions. As of Friday, the country had recorded 4 451 confirmed Covid-19 cases with 3 353 being local transmissions.





In an interview with Sunday News, Deputy Minister of Primary and Secondary Education, Cde Edgar Moyo said they could not commit themselves to when schools will eventually open or on the sitting of the November public examinations. He, however, revealed that the Ministry was taking advantage of the uncertainty of the actual re-opening dates to gather the required Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) so that by the time schools eventually open they will be ready.





We are presently monitoring trends particularly Covid-19 local infections, if they continue escalating as they are doing now, we will have to defer re-opening further, mainly as a means of protecting our learners and teachers. As a Ministry, however, we have continued readying ourselves for the eventual re-opening through the purchasing of PPEs and perfecting our modules. We have also been fine tuning our radio lessons and to communities that do not get radio signals we are also in the process of producing physical modules related to the radio lessons, said Deputy Minister Moyo.





On the sitting of November public examinations, the Deputy Minister revealed that it will be directly related to the re-opening of schools, noting that since those sitting for the examinations were predominantly school candidates there was a need for them to get adequate learning time before writing the exams.





For June examinations you should note that most of those writing were private candidates but for the November examinations we mainly have school candidates hence for them to be ready to sit for the exams. They need adequate learning time so that they are able to complete the syllabus. So, at the moment the only time we can talk of November examinations is when we have a set date for the re-opening of schools, he said.





Zimbabwe School Examinations Council (Zimsec) chairperson Professor Eddie Mwenje is on record as saying examinations will only be written when students have completed the syllabus and when it is safe to do so, even if it means pushing the examinations to December this year or January next year. He said Zimsec understands that there was little time for students to prepare for examinations given that schools closed in March this year.




Researchers in the UK have warned that it will be essential to carry out community-based sampling in addition to symptomatic testing if the ongoing transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is going to be properly understood and controlled.

Both types of testing will be needed to accurately inform the test, trace, and isolate practices designed to monitor and control the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, they say.

The teams study found that since lockdown was eased in England at the end of May, the number of people who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 did continue to fall.

On comparing two rounds of sample collection  one carried out during May and one in June/early July the number of positive samples was significantly lower in the second round, although the decline in infection rate was not rapid.

However, the real-time assessment of community transmission antigens study (REACT) also showed that as the prevalence of infection continued to decline, there was an age-and occupation-associated shift in patterns of infection.

The results also suggested that people of Black and Asian ethnicities and people who lived in London were at an increased risk of being infected.

The researchers, from Imperial College London, Lancaster University and the University of Oxford, said the study highlights the importance of conducting community-based, as well as symptomatic testing.

A pre-print version of the paper is available in the server bioRxiv*, while the article undergoes peer review.

Swab positivity by day with fitted exponential decay models. A Observed daily prevalence of swab-positivity for rounds 1 and 2 with an exponential model of decay fit to both rounds as a single dataset. Red shows best fit for constant decay rate (points) with 95% prediction intervals (vertical lines). B as A, with models fit separately to rounds 1 and 2. C Bivariate posterior density for the three decay models shown in A: red, fit to rounds 1 and 2 (as shown in A); green, fit to only to round 1 (as shown in B, LHS); blue, single round fit to round 2 (as shown in B, RHS).

Implementation and relaxation of lockdown

Since the first cases of SARS-C0V-2 infection were first identified in Wuhan, China, late last year, the virus has infected approximately 19.73 million people and killed more than 728,000 worldwide.

Many governments responded to the rapid transmission rates by implementing lockdown measures and social distancing and isolation policies.

In some countries, such measures have successfully prevented the overloading of healthcare services and reduced rates of clinically-confirmed cases.

The full lockdown was imposed in the UK on 23rd March, which was followed by an initial peak in estimated infection rates and then a sustained decline in cases, hospital admissions, and mortality. The government started to ease lockdown in England at the end of May.

To accurately assess the effects of lockdown and its relaxation, surveillance needs to be independent of care-seeking and testing capacities, say Steven Riley (Imperial College London) and colleagues.

Case-based surveillance is necessarily biased towards symptomatic individuals and sensitive to varying patterns of reporting in space and time, writes the team.

Overcoming the limitations of case-based surveillance

The REACT study was designed to overcome these problems by acquiring data on nose and throat swab testing, as well as personal, demographic, and symptom data among a representative community-based sample that included asymptomatic people. The study was carried out across 315 lower tier local authority areas.

The first round of sample collection, which was conducted between 1st May and 1st June, identified 159 positive samples among 120,610 swabs tested. The second round, which was carried out in mid-June/early July, identified 123 positive samples among 159,199 swabs tested.

This suggested a downward trend in SARS-CoV-2 prevalence, from 0.13% to 0.077%, corresponding to an average halving time in the growth rate of 38 days and yielding a reproduction number (R) of 0.89.

Many asymptomatic people tested positive

The proportion of people who tested positive and were asymptomatic when samples were collected increased from 69% in the first round to 81% in the second round.

The high proportion of swab-positive individuals not reporting recent symptoms in both rounds 1 and 2 would be missed by symptom-based surveillance and therefore are a potential source of ongoing transmission that would escape case-based interventions, writes the team.

The situation improved for healthcare staff, care home workers and 18-24 year-olds

The number of healthcare staff and care home workers who tested swab-positive during round one was much higher than among other groups of workers. However, the odds of these workers being at an increased likelihood of infection over other groups was significantly reduced in round two.

This result most likely reflects improvements in infection control in health care and care home settings, suggests the team.

Age patterns of infection shifted between the rounds of sample collection, with the prevalence among 18 to 24 year-olds decreasing five-fold in round two, compared with round one.

Compared with people aged 35 to 44 years, people aged 18 to 24 were at a 96% greater likelihood of infection in round one and a 64% greater likelihood in round two.

Increased risk among Blacks, Asians and people living in London

The study also identified an increased risk of infection among people of Black and Asian ethnicities at the end of lockdown, which the authors say is consistent with other studies showing that these groups are at a higher risk for adverse outcomes.

Riley and the team say further studies are needed to establish the extent to which this increased risk of adverse health outcomes can be explained by differential rates of infection.

Of the nine English regions included in the study, the greatest risk for infection was observed for London.

Although the epidemic was geographically diffuse at the time of our study, SARS-CoV-2 transmission first took off in London, writes the team. Therefore, higher prevalence in London at the end of lockdown suggests that regional rates of decline were similar.

The researchers emphasize that the current primary control strategy in the UK is to test, trace and isolate cases and to carefully monitor the incidence of local cases so that any further restrictions on social interactions are applied at a local level.

Community-based, as well as symptomatic testing, is essential to inform these strategies, concludes the team.

*Important Notice

medRxiv publishes preliminary scientific reports that are not peer-reviewed and, therefore, should not be regarded as conclusive, guide clinical practice/health-related behavior, or treated as established information.
Baton Rougepolice investigate in front of condominiums on Congress Blvd. Sunday, Aug. 9, 2020, after a reported shooting that resulted in a person being struck in the lower body by a bullet, according to BRPD. Officers responded around 2 p.m., police spokesman Sgt. Don Coppola Jr. said. The injured person arrived at a local hospital with injuries, Coppoloa said.
Close to 45% of Central funds meant for ensuring rural employment and subsidised rations, the two schemes that have helped deal with the economic distress caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown, have been spent in just the first four months of the 2020-21 financial year, according to government data.

While the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) enabled 90 million households find work between April and July, subsidised rations under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) were provided to an average 720 million people every month during April-July, the data shows

The 68-day lockdown enforced on March 25, shutting all manufacturing and services units barring those deemed essential, triggered an exodus of migrant workers, mainly daily wage-earners, from the cities to their homes in the villages of states such as Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Odisha, Jharkhand and West Bengal.

Demand for work and food under two of the worlds biggest social welfare programmes dropped in July after peaking in June, indicating that many of those who had left for their villages may be migrating back to the cities in search of work as lockdown restrictions are gradually eased.

Also read| Covid-19 in India: Daily tests up to 700k, 1 million target in sight

Under MGNREGS, 24.2 million households were provided work in July, compared to 38.9 million in June (the highest ever monthly figure under the scheme month) and 33.1 million in May. At least one member of rural household is guaranteed 100 days of work a year under the programme.

The employment in July was less because migrant workers returned to cities and labourers got engaged in sowing work that started in July after a good spell of rains, said Nikhil Dey, a former member of MGNREGSs Central Advisory Council and an activist working in rural areas of Rajasthan.

This year, the employment provided under the scheme is almost 50% more than in 2019 and 2018, he said. The number of people provided 100 days of employment during the period is almost three times the number in 2019.

Himanshu, an associate professor in the department of labour studies in Jawaharlal Nehru University, who uses only his first name, said MGNREGS has provided a social security net to the rural poor, and this is amply clear from the data.

Similarly, the disbursement of subsidised rations peaked in June with 94% of the 800 million identified beneficiaries under the National Food Security Act receiving foodgrains. In July, the disbursement came down to 91%, which was about seven percentage points less than the number in June and July of 2019.

In terms of foodgrains disbursed, 2.8 million tonnes of rice and 21 million tonnes of wheat was given to the needy in June, which went down to 2.44 million tonnes of rice and 1.99 million tonnes of wheat in July. Still, the quantity was about 20% more compared to June and July 2019, the data showed.

The employment generated under MGNREGS and rations disbursed under NFSA in July was still higher than the pre-lockdown period. Officials expect the offtake to remain high under these two schemes and other rural development programmes until the end of this year.

Four months of Covid-19 have weighed heavily on the exchequer.

According to central government data, between April and July, around 45% of the Rs 1.01 lakh crore allocated for MNREGS and 44% of Rs. 1.15 lakh crore for NFSA this financial year had already been spent .

MGNREGS funds are given to states to pay wages to workers and buying raw material for asset creation. The NFSA money is given to the Food Corporation of India for supplying foodgrains from its stocks to different states for their Public Distribution System.

We are left with very less money under MGNREGS for the current financial year, said a rural development ministry official while briefing the Parliamentary standing committee on labour on Friday. At this pace, the official said, the NREGA funds would be exhausted by early December.

He, however, added that as NREGA is a demand-driven scheme, the Central government has to pay the states and the finance ministry has held out an assurance that there would be no shortage of funds. s

The RD ministry official said the government has been taking steps to transfer 100% wages to the bank accounts of the rural jobs guarantee scheme and emphasised the need for a on social audit of the public works built with the funds. We have been able to plug leakages by weeding out fake jobs cards and it meant more people getting work for same amount of government expenditure, he said.

He said that the Centre had sought a report on high MGNREGS expenditure from states such as Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, which traditionally spend relatively less under the programme. The two states, along with Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand, have generated the most work under the programme this year.

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The Alberta Legislature in a file photo. A revamp of Albertas school curriculum puts the focus on literacy and numeracy and removes discovery/inquiry learning. (The Canadian Press/Jason Franson)

Albertas Curriculum Announcement Is a Step in the Right Direction

Commentary

Big curriculum changes are coming in Alberta. On Aug. 6, Alberta Education Minister Adriana LaGrange held a press conference to announce her ministerial order for the department of education to rewrite the provinces curriculum.

Some of the upcoming changes include a stronger focus on literacy and numeracy, an emphasis on knowledge acquisition, and the removal of discovery/inquiry learning from the curriculum. These were a few of the recommendations made by an advisory panel chaired by former Edmonton school superintendent Angus McBeath.

These changes will take place soon, but not immediately. Because of the ongoing disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, no curriculum changes will be implemented in the upcoming school year. Some teachers are expected to begin piloting the new curriculum in the fall of 2021. Subsequent years will see the new curriculum outcomes implemented across the province at all grade levels.

Predictably, the ministers announcement came under fire from education professors and teacher union activists. One social studies education professor at the University of Alberta went so far as to claim that the proposed changes contradict years of education research. In addition, Alberta Teachers Association President Jason Schilling argued that there is no such thing as discovery/inquiry learning in the existing curriculum since it does not tell teachers how they must teach.

These claims are misleading.

While the curriculum does not explicitly tell teachers how to deliver their lessons, it does so implicitly. For example, a social studies curriculum that focuses on thematic instruction of broad-based topics such as colonialism, genocide, and diversity lends itself naturally to the discovery approach because students are not expected to memorize a lot of historical facts.

In contrast, a rigorous history curriculum that prescribes the study of specific people, events, and dates and expects that all students will know the material is most effectively taught by teachers with considerable expertise in the subject matter. The most efficient way to cover this material is for the teacher to engage in direct instruction. To ensure students master the content, teachers must hold them accountable with regular assignments and tests. This leads to a more traditional form of instruction.

Simply put, the content, or lack of content, in a curriculum heavily influences the type of instruction and assessment that students will experience in the classroom.

The same is true in other subject areas such as math. A curriculum that doesnt require students to memorize times tables but encourages them to come up with their own ways of solving basic problems is tailor-made for the discovery/inquiry approach. In contrast, a content-rich curriculum that sequentially lays out the skills students must master at each grade level requires a more traditional approach to instruction and assessment.

One of the most common arguments against putting knowledge acquisition at the centre of the curriculum is that there is no need for students to memorize basic facts because they can simply look information up on the internet. These critics argue that it is more useful for students to apply knowledge to new problems than it is for them to commit specific knowledge to memory. They suggest that its more important to help students become critical thinkers than it is to make them mindlessly regurgitate information.

However, this argument overlooks the important connection between general knowledge in students minds and their reading comprehension. Give students an article to read on a topic they know nothing about, and they will struggle to understand it. But students will have little difficulty reading an article or book when they possess background knowledge about the topic. The more they already know, the more effectively they can read and understand new material. In other words, reading comprehension depends on background knowledge.

In addition, knowledge makes critical thinking possible. Students cannot think critically about something they know nothing about. When asking a friend for advice, you first need to fill him or her in on the details behind your question. Otherwise the advice you will receive is unlikely to be helpful, no matter how intelligent your friend is. We know that critical thinking skills are largely useless unless they are situated in the context of subject-specific content knowledge. For this reason, school must ensure that students memorize facts and data in all subjects.

Far from being irrelevant pieces of trivia, factual knowledge provides students with the essential building blocks that makes higher-level learning possible. It is not hard to see why this is true.

Take two students, one who knows many facts about the Metis leader Louis Riel and the other student who has never heard about him. It shouldnt take long to figure out which student is more likely to develop a deep understanding of the historical grievances of the Metis people.

Instead of fighting against Albertas education minister, education professors and teacher union leaders should lay down their arms and work with the province to develop a solid, knowledge-rich curriculum. This would result in a better education for virtually all students, and it would provide a model that other provinces could follow.

Alberta now has a prime opportunity to make some much-needed changes to the provincial curriculum. Hopefully, the education minister follows through with this positive direction.

Michael Zwaagstra is a public high school teacher, a senior fellow with the Frontier Centre for Public Policy, and author of A Sage on the Stage: Common Sense Reflections on Teaching and Learning.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
New research on measures to spur growth across all sectors of the Ghanaian economy was presented by economists in Accra on Saturday, August 8, 2020.



The findings were submitted as part of the "Ghana Priorities" project, an initiative being spearheaded by the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC), in collaboration with the Copenhagen Consensus Centre, an award-winning international think tank.



The project seeks to prioritise the best policies for the country's future based on cost-benefit analysis.



Prof. Robert Darko Osei from the University of Ghana explained that agriculture is a significant contributor to the Ghanaian economy and an important source of employment, with over 40% of all workers engaged in farming. With growth and development, the country is gradually shifting away from this sector towards industry and services, but agriculture is still key for the economy, and a necessary vehicle for reducing poverty and food insecurity.



Increasing agricultural output can be achieved through three main mechanisms, he said: increasing area under cultivation, improving the yield, and reducing post-harvest losses.



Prof. Oseis team therefore analysed the cost and benefits of improved seeds and fertilizer, irrigation and mechanization to increase yields, and warehouses to reduce post-harvest losses. They found the most cost-effective solution to be a fertiliser subsidy that would yield benefits over 4 times greater than its cost.



Prof. Wisdom Akpalu, Dean of the School of Research and Graduate Studies at the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA), highlighted that fishing also makes a substantial contribution to Ghanas economy and employment, sustaining the livelihoods of at least 3 million people. However, the marine fish stock in Ghana is biologically over-exploited and at risk of collapsing, which requires urgent solutions to avoid ecological collapse and guarantee a sustainable income to the artisanal fishers and the entire value chain.



To address the overfishing problem, Prof. Akpalu discussed three policy interventions: replacing illegal fishing nets, limiting the number of boats while providing training and subsidies for fish farming, and installing video devices in trawl vessels to monitor harmful illegal activities. All these policies would produce positive returns on investment.



With regard to industries, Prof. Peter Quartey, Director of the Institute of Statistical Social and Economic Research at the University of Ghana pointed to several studies showing that government support for management consulting services can significantly improve factory operations and processes in areas such as quality control, human resources, inventory, and sales. Every cedi spent on improving management practices would bring a return 6 times higher than the original investment for large enterprises, and almost 10 times higher for medium-sized companies.



He also highlighted that access to credit is another crucial factor for private businesses and economies. Financing for companies could be promoted in Ghana by ensuring better surveillance of the credit referencing system, better address systems, improving the quality of information available to lenders and enforcing a rewards and sanctions regime. These measures would create nearly 12 cedis worth of benefits to society for every cedi spent.



Providing capital grants to selected microenterprises was estimated to generate a benefit 7 times higher than the investment.



Multiple teams of researchers also presented new studies on education at different stages of life such as primary school, senior high school and job training. Among these measures that seek to strengthen the working population of the future, quality primary education has the highest impact.



Dr. Festus Ebo Turkson and Dr. Priscilla Twumasi Baffour from the University of Ghana introduced the pedagogical approach of Teaching at the Right Level, which targets instruction to the specific learning needs of children by splitting them into class groups based on learning levels rather than age, for one or two hours per day. The better learning outcomes resulting from this would be worth 1.5% of earnings over students lives, with every cedi spent generating social benefits worth Ghs 8.



The Ghana Priorities conference will resume at 9:00am on Sunday, 9th August at the Kempinski Hotel, Accra, with research presentations on subjects including poverty, nutrition, land records, transport and sanitation.



After hearing presentations from 28 teams of economists from Ghana and abroad over the course of three days, an eminent panel including Nobel Prize recipient Finn Kydland and six distinguished national economists will rank all interventions and establish priorities for a prosperous future. Their findings will be presented on Monday.







Source: Graphic.com.gh









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Tania Maduro and Syngin Colchester celebrated their union in an unconventional wedding ceremony in 2019 on the seventh season of TLCs 90 Day Fiance.

Although Tania and Syngin had their problems, their joint bachelor/ette party, matching tattoos, and rowdy nuptials (with Syngin in suspenders and Tania in a black dress) seemed to fit their free-spirited relationship perfectly.

But Syngin and Tanias newly wedded bliss was short-lived. Tania got multiple debilitating injuries in a car accident just a few months after she married her South African husband.

The couple, both 30, had planned to move out of Tanias home state of Connecticut. Instead, they had to stay put while Tania recovered from her injuries and went to physical therapy. Meanwhile, Syngin struggled to find work and to feel at home in the U.S.

In a new sneak peek of an upcoming episode of the fifth season of 90 Day Fiance: Happily Ever After, Tania and Syngin headed back to South Africa to visit Syngins brother, who had recently been in an accident of his own and experienced a potentially life-threatening blood clot. On their way to visit Syngins brother, Tania revealed that she still sometimes experiences panic attacks as a result of her trauma from the car accident.

Syngin Colchester and Tania Maduro | Syngin Colchester via Instagram

Syngin and Tania had a minor near-fender bender when they arrived in South Africa

In the 90 Day Fiance preview, Tania and Syngin landed in South Africa and headed over to his brother Dylans apartment. Syngin explained that he and his brother had a close bond, and he was just grateful that hed made it out of his health predicament alive.

Luckily, hes just been discharged from the hospital, Syngin told 90 Day Fiance producers in anticipation of their reunion. Hes home. So I just cant wait to go and see him.

Syngin and Tania got into their car, with Syngin in the drivers seat. After the engine started, the car lurched forward, nearly causing a fender bender.

Tania shrieked in what looked like terror, while Syngin reacted with a jittery laugh. Relax, relax, he told her, backing the car out more smoothly.

RELATED: 90 Day Fiance: Syngin Colchester Calls Out Fellow Cast Members For Being Rude and CondescendingYou Are Not a Movie Star

RELATED: 90 Day Fiance: Syngin Colchester Admits He Wouldnt Have Married Tania Maduro If Not For the K-1 Visa Process

Tania talked about her post-traumatic stress symptoms after her car accident

Tania appeared visibly shaken and panicked as she exclaimed, Dont laugh at me, Syngin. Turning to the side so Syngin couldnt see, the 90 Day Fiance star looked crestfallen as tears filled her eyes.

You okay, my baby? Syngin asked, stroking his wifes arm comfortingly. Whats wrong? I just went a little bit forward.

Syngins wife explained that she was hurt by his laughter, which she took as a dismissal of her fears.

It wasnt a little bit, baby. It was a lot, the 90 Day Fiance star objected. I just saw all these cars in front of us. It was scary, and then you laughed.

Recognition seemed to dawn on Syngin, and he explained that hed laughed out of nervousness and surprise.

I just got a little nervous there, he told Tania. I havent driven in South Africa for a while, I havent driven stick for a while.

Okay, I didnt know it was a nervous laugh, Tania agreed, seeming to accept Syngins explanation. I felt like you were laughing at me.

Syngin apologized and said he hadnt meant to be that guy.

Tania told 90 Day Fiance producers that shed had panic attacks and nightmares about car accidents, driving, and traffic ever since her traumatic collision and injuries.

Since my car accident months ago, I still have panic attacks, and its really bad, Tania explained. At the very beginning, when it first happened, I wasnt sleeping, and its really affected even how safe I feel when other people are driving me now. Its really hard for me. It gives me such bad anxiety.

Syngin opened up about how hed changed since marrying Tania and moving to the U.S.

After the incident, Syngin and Tania appeared to come to an understanding. The 90 Day Fiance couple had a tearful reunion with Dylan, and Syngins brother seemed relieved to reunite with his sibling at last.

With you here and seeing you now, Im more happy than anything else, Dylan told his brother after recounting his harrowing few weeks in the hospital.

Syngin agreed, beginning to cry as he admitted just how much the reunion had affected him.

It makes me super emotional, the 90 Day Fiance star said, hugging his brother tightly. Its the love we have. Its f*cking real, man.

Its brotherhood, Dylan agreed, embracing Syngin in return.

Syngin told 90 Day Fiance producers that he wouldnt have been so open with his emotions before marrying Tania and moving to the U.S. Cultural expectations, as well as his own personal history, had often left him afraid to be vulnerable. Now, Syngin said, he wasnt as afraid to wear his heart on his sleeve.

In the past, I used to shy away from showing my feelings, the 90 Day Fiance star said. Especially in South Africa, thats how you grow up. You grow up showing your hard side, not your soft side. But yeah, I cry now. Ive become a much more open man.

Poking fun at himself, Syngin added a self-deprecating quip, laughing, Ugh, dont f*cking say that s*it. Im a crier.
US Defense Secretary Mark Esper said that the United States plans to cut down its troop level in Afghanistan to less than 5,000 by the end of November. In a Fox News interview broadcast on August 8, Esper provided details on the withdrawal plan that US President Donald Trump had announced last week.

In an interview with Axios, Trump had said that the troops number in Afghanistan will go down to 4,000, undercutting the assertions of US diplomats that troop reductions would be based on the Talibans commitment to peace agreement signed in February. Trump has been advocating for a maximum US troops withdrawal from war zones and even called the US involvement in the Middle East the single biggest mistake in the history of our country.

Trump and State Department have been loggerheads over the troop withdrawal plan as diplomats and military officials have been trying to keep the peace process on track. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had said the United States will calibrate the pace of its withdrawal from Afghanistan according to the actions of the Taliban.

Read: Mark Esper: China Became More Aggressive, Trying To Use COVID-19 For Propaganda Purposes

Read: Esper Says US Considering Troop adjustments In South Korea

Condition-based agreement

Speaking in Doha ahead of the signing of a peace deal, Pompeo said that the US will closely watch the Taliban for their compliance with their commitments and calibrate the pace of our withdrawal with their actions. Washington and Kabul, in a joint declaration, had said that the US will reduce the number of its military forces in Afghanistan to 8,600 and implement other commitments of the agreement within 135 days of the declaration and the US-Taliban agreement.

It had aid that reduction in the number of Coalition forces is subject to the Talibans fulfilment of its commitments under the US-Taliban agreement. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani had also emphasised that all contents in the agreement are conditions-based, adding that the withdrawal of the foreign forces from the region will depend on the Taliban's fulfilment of their commitments.

Read: US: Esper Order Aims To Expand Diversity, Skirts Major Decisions

Read: India, US Reiterate Working Towards Secure Indo-Pacific & Advance Peace In Afghanistan
By Wini Austin

austinwi@grinnell.edu

Case numbers, testing rates, death counts  data is ubiquitous during the COVID-19 pandemic. Since its creation in March, Grinnells COVID-19 dashboard has been helping College leadership make informed decisions about campus operations, disease control and community health. And now you can use it too.

While the administration has been using various iterations of the dashboard since March, the College recently made the dashboard available to the public as well. The online data collection tool was created by Kaitlin Wilcox, associate director of analytic support and institutional research for the College, and Patrick Hansen, an independent consultant working with the College to make local COVID-19 information and guidance transparent for campus stakeholders.

The tool provides COVID-19 data at three levels: the state of Iowa, the I-80 corridor (which includes Dallas, Polk, Jasper, Poweshiek, Iowa and Johnson counties) and Poweshiek County.

Considering virus conditions on local, regional and state levels is crucial for public health and safety, as the COVID-19 pandemic has emerged at different times across the U.S. over the past five months. Given the Colleges rural location between two metro areas, having a clear, multi-faceted assessment of local infections in Grinnell is necessary for the administrations decision-making processes, according to Wilcox and Hansen.

If we were to make decisions on national or even state-level trends, we may miss some very important shifts in local infection, they wrote in an email to The S&B.

The dashboard also provides users with multiple variable frameworks on each geographic level. Those frameworks are Leading Indicators, Severity Indicators and Lagging Indicators.

Leading Indicators include the number of new tests and the test positivity rate at each level, which can help predict the occurrence of an outbreak. Severity Indicators include the number of new cases and new cases per population of 100,000. Lagging Indicators include new deaths and the case fatality rate. The dashboard also shows the number of total confirmed cases and the number of active cases in each county along the I-80 corridor.

The dashboard also visualizes aspects of the COVID-19 public policy environment, monitoring the status of physical distancing guidelines and mask mandates. While physical distancing and hygiene mandates are in place in Iowa, the state lacks a mask mandate as well as restrictions on indoor venue and gathering size capacities.

In creating the dashboard, Wilcox and Hansen sought to streamline multiple data sources into a singular easily accessible space. The final product aggregates data from The New York Times, iowacovid19tracker.org and the Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH) state dashboard.

The creators wrote that this aggregation of data is critical for understanding emerging trends in testing, infection and severity in our community and helping the College make data-informed decisions that reflect the most current information available.

The information provided by the data dashboard is used by members of the Colleges senior staff and emergency operations team. It informs decisions about campus operations and the demands of public safety and health as the Colleges priority.

In communications with the College community, leadership has cited the dashboard as a key factor in decision-making. When President Anne Harris announced on July 20 that Fall Term 1 would be fully remote, the dashboard showed rising infection rates in the region. An increased infection rate could potentially strain healthcare infrastructure along the I-80 corridor, necessitating a shift in public health guidance and campus density recommendations.

Hansen and Wilcox noted that the data presented by the dashboard is just one factor considered by the College in decision-making processes. In addition to the dashboard, they wrote, College leadership reviews timely data, local and national policy, case and resource use projections and community behavior to make decisions as they navigate the ongoing crisis.

And, although it serves a key institutional purpose, Hansen and Wilcox emphasized that the dashboard can be a useful tool for all members of the community.
Staff and parents at a Meath creche are anxiously awaiting test results after two staff members proved positive for Covid-19 earlier this week.

The results at An Daoine Oga Community Childcare Centre in Navan have been described by its CEO Marie Daly as 'extremely devastating', especially after an investment of 10,000 in protective personal equipment and other Covid-19 measures at the facility.

One of the eight rooms at the popular centre was immediately closed after a staff member complained of a sore throat and subsequently tested positive for illness last Wednesday.

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Children at the facility have been split into pods of up to eight with two staff members in each as part of Covid-19 response measures.

The second staff member in the same pod of eight children aged between one and two years old has tested negative.

However due to a 'floating' staff member between two units, decisive action by the management closed a second room containing seven children aged between two and three years old.

That member tested negative but her co-worker in the pod unfortunately was also confirmed with having the virus.

Neither of the two staff who tested positive were in contact with each other either inside or outside of work

Thankfully since then, results of testing on all seven staff and most of the children have returned negative but the facility is awaiting the results of the remaining children.

"All our staff's temperatures are taken three times every day and none of the two staff who tested positive had a temperature," said Ms Daly who is one of the top childcare educators in her field.

"The first employee complained of a sore throat and the second had a runny nose and aches and pains.

"We immediately shut the first room down when the case was confirmed last Wednesday and all the parents and the relevant statutory bodies were informed.

"Since reopening in June, all rooms were divided into pods of up to eight children with two members of staff per pod. There is also an additional employee who works between two rooms

"Because of this, I took the decision to also close that room immediately. This employee proved negative but another staff member in this pod of seven children was a confirmed case.

"Both cases showed very mild symptoms and didn't need any hospital treatment and neither staff members had any contact with each other either in work or outside it.

"Six rooms at the facility remain open. Everyone is worried but the parents and pre-school inspectors have been extremely supportive to us.

"It's extremely devastating, disappointing and frustrating but despite all our efforts, unfortunately we can't control outside circumstances.

"During lockdown, our senior staff completed a Level 5 course in Infectious Control and the other employees were all giving a briefing.

"We spent 10,000 on PPE gear and adaptations to the building. Our Covid-19 document record was second to none, so much so that it was rolled out to a lot of other services around Ireland.

"So far every other test is coming back negative and no-one else has reported any symptoms so we can only wait anxiously and hope that we have managed to contain the virus here."
Guwahati/Agartala/Aizawl, Aug 10 : As coronavirus spreads across the northeast, nearly 3,800 central security force personnel have so far infected by the disease in almost all the states in the region, officials said on Sunday.

According to the health officials, the eight northeastern states have so far recorded around 75,000 Covid-19 cases, including 57,714 in Assam.

Of the 3,800 Covid cases among the central armed forces personnel, the highest number are in Nagaland, at 1,226, followed by 823 in Manipur, 738 in Arunachal Pradesh, 360 in Tripura, 350 in Mizoram and 300 in Meghalaya. Many of their family members, including children, were also infected.

A significant chunk of the coronavirus patients among the central forces are from the Border Security Force (BSF). Two BSF jawans in Tripura and one in Meghalaya also succumbed to the highly infectious virus.

Many Indian Army, Indian Air Force, and National Disaster Response Force personnel have also tested positive for coronavirus.

Mizoram Chief Minister Zoramthanga even made a plea to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to ensure suspension of Central Paramilitary Forces (CPMF) movement into the state till August 31, noting that around 70 per cent of Covid-19 positive cases in the state are from the military and paramilitary forces.

A senior BSF official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told IANS that the BSF men and other central force personnel, after completion of their leave period or when they are transferred, have to move by train or by air for their destinations from different parts of the country. "During transit or in their hazardous duties along the borders or various vulnerable places, the jawans come in contact with the dreaded virus," the official said.

As the eight northeastern states share over 5,000 km of borders with China, Myanmar Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal and some are also battling against terrorism, there is a heavy deployment of armed forces as well as central paramilitary forces in the region.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
The Ghana Police Service says its officers who were recorded cavorting in a video were dancing to Tingasa a song by Nigerian musician Naira Marley and not a political campaign song, as has been suggested by some social media users.



The Police in a Facebook video said the clip which has been widely circulated on social media was recorded while the officers were waiting for their vehicles to be refueled for patrol duties at the Police Headquarters on April 2.



According to the Police, the song was being played at a shop opposite the Police Fitness and Social Centre which is adjacent to the Police Headquarters.







Hawa Koomson must be cooling off. 14 #WASSCE students (kids) 've been dismissed with alacrity 4 going haywire regardless of their remorsefulness. I hope nothing happens to these service personnel for dancing #MahamaAfa

Akufo-Addo, John Mahama, #thebigissue, #Newsfile #4More4Nana pic.twitter.com/YbnQN4GpU5

 nalimbey, . Chris (@analimbeychris) August 8, 2020

ControversyAnother version of the video which captures about a dozen officers dancing went viral after it was used in the #MahamaAfa challenge on Twitter. The #MahamaAfa challenge is in support of the Presidential bid of opposition National Democratic Congress flagbearer John Dramani Mahama.The Police statement suggests that that video has been edited with Kojo Bee's Mahama Afa replacing Naira Marley's song.In Kojo Bee's song, he raps about how former President Mahama would win the 2020 Presidential elections easily.

Source: Graphiconline.com









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

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Coronavirus FAQ

What is the coronavirus?

The coronavirus outbreak started in Wuhan, China, in late 2019 and has spread worldwide. The new virus causes a disease known as COVID-19. The virus is part of a larger family of coronaviruses, which can lead to illnesses ranging from a mild common cold to more severe respiratory diseases such as SARS and MERS.

Who is at risk and what are the symptoms?

Public health experts say the new coronavirus is more contagious than the seasonal flu. The majority of people who become sick experience mild symptoms, but some become more seriously ill. People who contract the virus can develop pneumonia, and some have died. People who are elderly or have underlying medical issues are at greater risk of becoming more severely sick. Symptoms of the virus include a cough, fever and shortness of breath.

What should I do if I develop symptoms?

The North Dakota Department of Health advises that people call their health care provider to tell them about recent travel or exposure, and to follow their guidance. Try to avoid contact with other people in the meantime.

What can I do to prevent the virus from spreading?

The health department advises that people wash their hands with soap and water or an alcohol-based hand sanitizer for at least 20 seconds. People who are sick should stay home from work or school, both to protect themselves and others with whom they would come in contact. Avoid touching your face, cover a cough or sneeze with a tissue or an elbow, clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces, and avoid contact with people who are sick.

Where can I find more information?

People with coronavirus-related questions can call the state health department hotline at 866-207-2880. Those who need medical advice should contact their health care provider.

The health department's online coronavirus page: www.health.nd.gov/coronavirus

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's online coronavirus page: www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov
There has been an 85 per cent decline in the use of stents, implants and optical devices from April to June 2020.

Hyderabad: The medical device industry has taken a major hit from the coronavirus pandemic. There has been an 85 per cent decline in the use of stents, implants and optical devices from April to June.

The industry has seen a major drop in the use of stents as elective procedures are not being carried out. Most of the management of heart blockages has been been through medicines.

Meanwhile, there has been an increase in heart attacks and sudden deaths.

A senior cardiologist, speaking on condition of anonymity, said, We have no data on people who have died due to non-Covid reasons during this pandemic. Only the emergency room profile shows that there have been many patients who have come to hospital too late and died or were brought dead. During the lockdown most treatments were by using medicines while post-lockdown, there have been a few surgeries.

Similarly, orthopaedic implants have seen a 90 per cent dip as patients are not coming forward for knee replacements, which is an elective procedure and has come to a halt. Only emergency orthopedic treatments are being carried out.

The worst hit industry is the optical sector, which has seen its lowest phase during the lockdown. Many ophthalmologists state that they have absolutely no work as people could not come forward due to the risk of infection.

In the optical sector, the biggest problem was in transporting goods from the manufacturing unit to the retailer. With states having lockdown specifications of varying kinds, transporting had become a major challenge to the industry.

A senior government ophthalmologist said, We can only take up emergency cases and even those are few. Till there is a decline in Covid infection rate, there will not be much scope for elective surgeries.

Pavan Choudary, chairman and director general of Medical Technology Association of India said, The medical device industry is facing a challenge and only government intervention can bail it out of the situation. The cost of freight movement has increased by almost seven times. Health cess on imported products is adding to the woes.
TDT | Manama

Police patrols deployed in various areas of the Kingdom during Eid Al Adha were able to successfully enforce precautionary measures against the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, according to Public Security for Operations and Training Affairs assistant chief Brigadier Dr Shaikh Hamad bin Mohammed Al Khalifa.

Dr Shaikh Mohammed asserted that the Interior Ministry had taken all the required steps to ensure the safety of citizens and residents during the Eid holidays. He hailed the cooperation of the public with the police in carrying out their security-related duties.

Dr Shaikh Mohammed revealed that during the Eid holiday, the police directorates had taken 106 procedures to ensure social distancing and registered 900 violations of not wearing masks at public places. They also organised 23 awareness campaigns about the importance of following precautionary measures.

Northern Governorate Police deployed 25 patrols to take the required steps to prevent gatherings of more than five persons at public places, such as beaches, parks and markets. It reported 253 mask-related violations, took 20 steps to ensure social distancing and four awareness campaigns.

Capital Governorate Police took specific procedures to protect security and public orders, along with assisting people. It registered 161 masked related violations and took eight procedures to ensure social distancing. Muharraq Governorate Police took four steps to protect social distancing between people in public and reported 162 mask-related violations.

It also conducted 11 field awareness campaigns, including distributing masks among people and gifts for children. Southern Governorate Police carried out eight awareness campaigns and reported 73 mask-related violations. It took 34 steps to ensure social distancing.

The Public Security presidency registered 251 violations related to not wearing masks at public places and 40 steps to ensure social distancing in all parts of Bahrain. The Operations Directorate deployed Najda (Rescue) patrols, while the Ports Security General Directorate evacuated 171 travellers and facilitated the testing of 840 individuals who arrived in Bahrain. The National Ambulance Centre dealt with 52 cases of carrying confirmed and suspected coronavirus cases.
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday said the COVID-19 situation in Delhi is under control and the recovery rate is improving. Speaking at the inauguration of a hospital in Ambedkar Nagar, he said in case the situation takes a turn for the worse, the government is fully prepared to deal with it.

"The hospital was conceived in 2013. It is a 600-bed hospital. We are inaugurating the first 200 beds which will be used for the treatment of COVID-19 patients," Kejriwal said at the launch event. On the COVID-19 situation in Delhi, the chief minister said, "The situation is under control, all parameters good, recovery rate is improving, positivity ratio reducing and deaths have reduced."

"I hope these 200 beds remain unoccupied we never get to a situation where we have to use these beds. But even if the situation becomes bad again, we are fully prepared to deal with it," he added. Kejriwal said the inauguration of the hospital is a step towards strengthening the health infrastructure in the city.

"We have gradually increased the number of COVID-19 beds," he said. On July 25, Kejriwal had inaugurated a 450-bed hospital in Burari. The hospital will eventually have a total of 700 beds.
India reported more than 60,000 new COVID-19 cases for the third consecutive day. The country's case count had crossed 20 lakh on Friday.

India's COVID-19 case count surged to over 21 lakh on Sunday with 64,399 new cases while the toll climbed to 43,379 with 861 more fatalities, said the Union health ministry in its morning update.

However, the number of recoveries also went up to 14,80,884 with a record number of 53,879 more people recuperating in the past 24 hours, it said. With this, the recovery rate has climbed to 68.78 percent while the case fatality rate has dropped 2.01 percent, according to the ministry's data.

India reports more than 60,000 cases for third consecutive day

India reported more than 60,000 new cases for the third consecutive day. The country's case count had crossed the 20 lakh on Friday.

The nationwide total of coronavirus cases mounted to 21,53,010, including 43,379 deaths, said the health ministry in its morning update.

Of the 861 more deaths reported in the 24 hours between 8 am on Saturday and 8 am on Sunday, 275 are from Maharashtra, 118 from Tamil Nadu, 97 from Andhra Pradesh and 93 from Karnataka.

Of the total 43,379 deaths, Maharashtra has reported the highest with 17,367, followed by 4,808 in Tamil Nadu, 4,098 in Delhi and 3,091 in Karnataka. There have been 2,628 fatalities in Gujarat, 2,028 in Uttar Pradesh, 2,005 in West Bengal, 1,939 in Andhra Pradesh and 977 in Madhya Pradesh.

The health ministry stressed that more than 70 percent of the deaths occurred due to comorbidities.

Recovery rate at 68.78%, says health ministry

There are 6,28,747 active cases of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), which comes up to 29.20 percent of the total cases recorded in the country. Recoveries are over twice the number of active cases at present, the ministry said in a statement issued separately.

"The number of recovered cases has touched another high of 2.36 times the active cases. All patients are all under medical attention either in home isolation or in hospitals," the ministry said.

From 7.69 percent on 5 April, the recovery rate improved to 26.59 percent on 3 May, 48.37 percent on 7 June, and further to 68.78 percent as on date, it said.

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) said that a record 7,19,364 samples were tested on Saturday. A total of 2,41,06,535 samples have been tested so far, it said.

"India is performing around 500 tests for detection of COVID-19 per minute and the per-day testing capacity has increased over five lakhs," scientist and ICMR media coordinator Lokesh Sharma said.

Many states and Union Territories in their daily updates reported new cases and fatalities due to the viral infection.

Goa reports highest daily spike in cases

Goa witnessed its highest single-day spike with 506 COVID-19 cases being detected, said state Health Minister Vishwajit Rane. "The increase in the number of cases by 506 on Sunday is the highest spike in a single day in the state. We are discussing the issue with the chief minister, who has already announced that Goa will get a second COVID-19 hospital," Rane said.

Odisha recorded the highest single-day spike of 13 COVID-19 fatalities, which pushed the toll in the coastal state to 272 on Sunday, a health department official told news agency PTI. At least 1,734 fresh cases were registered in 29 districts of the state, raising the coronavirus case count to 45,927, he said.

Khurda district, where the state capital Bhubaneswar is located, reported the maximum number of new cases at 342, followed by Ganjam at 222, Cuttack at 177, Sundergarh at 126 and Nayagarh at 106.

Gujarat reported 1,078 new coronavirus positive cases, taking the total in the state to 71,064, the health department said. The total number of patients, who succumbed to COVID-19, rose to 2,654 with 25 new fatalities on Sunday, it said.

Neighbouring Maharashtra reported its second-highest single-day spike of 12,248 new COVID-19 cases, taking the total count to 5,15,332, the state health department said. At 12,822, the state had reported the highest one-day rise in cases a day before.

With 390 fatalities reported on Sunday, the toll in the state went up to 17,757, while a record 13,348 patients were discharged in the day, taking the count of recoveries to 3,51,710.

The active cases in the state came down to 1,45,558 from 1,47,048 of Saturday.

Andhra Pradesh sees record spike, Karnataka health minister tests positive

In the south, Tamil Nadu registered 5,994 new patients and 119 deaths while Karnataka saw an increase of 5,985 new cases and 107 deaths. Karnataka health Minister B Sriramulu said he has tested positive for coronavirus and has been hospitalised at the state-owned Bowring hospital in Bengaluru.

"Following fever, I got myself tested and found to be infected by coronavirus," Sriramulu tweeted in Kannada.

Sriramulu is the fifth minister in Karnataka to have tested positive for coronavirus. Prior to him, Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa, Forest Minister Anand Singh, Tourism Minister CT Ravi and BC Patil were found to have been infected by the virus.

Andhra Pradesh, where a fire at a COVID care centre in Vijaywada claimed at least 10 lives, saw a record jump of 10,820 new fresh infections and 97 deaths. The statewide case count zoomed past 2.27 lakh while the toll mounted to 2,036. Special Chief Secretary (Health) KS Jawahar Reddy said the state was witnessing a 'peak curve' as the positivity rate over the past few days had climbed to about 16.24 percent.

"Our infection positivity rate was less than one percent till May (during lockdown), which increased to 2.16 percent in June and 12.33 percent in July (post-lockdown). Now it is about 16.24 percent," he said.

Telangana reported 1,982 new COVID-19 cases, taking the overall infection count to 79,495, while the toll mounted to 627 with 12 more fatalities. State Municipal Administration Minister KT Rama Rao said the state government was planning to ramp up testing to 40,000 samples per day from the current 23,000.

"We are testing nearly 23,000 samples per day and it will soon go upto 40,000. Tests are being carried out in 1,200 plus centres. Our fatality rate is less than one percent and recovery rate one of the best in the country at 72 percentage. Of course there is more to do," he noted.

Situation under control in Delhi, claims Kejriwal

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal asserted that the COVID-19 situation was under control as the state reported 1,300 new cases and 13 fresh deaths. Even as the active cases in the National Capital increased marginally to 10,729 on Sunday from 10,667 on the previous day, Kejriwal put up a strong front, claiming that the AAP government was ready to handle a crisis if it arose.

Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain attributed the rise in cases to "patients from outside getting tested here". Jain said that hospital admissions have also increased due to the patients coming from outside Delhi.

In June, Delhi Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal had overruled the AAP government's decision to reserve hospital beds in city-run and private hospitals only for residents of the National Capital afflicted with the coronavirus infection.

COVID-19 cases in US cross 50 lakh

Globally, the dreaded viral infection has affected over 1.96 crore people and claimed over 7.27 lakh lives, shows data compiled the John Hopkins University. According to its coronvirus tracker, COVID-19 cases in the US crossed 50 lakh, the highest from any country so far, while the toll in the country rose to over 1.62 lakh on Sunday.

According to news agency The Associated Press, health officials, however, believe the actual number is perhaps 10 times higher, given testing limitations and the fact that as many as 40 percent of those who are infected don't show any symptoms. Many Americans have resisted wearing masks and social distancing.

With inputs from agencies


In the United States, only about one-fourth of college graduates strongly believe their former schools would investigate claims of discrimination as best they can.

That is a finding from an opinion study by Gallup, an American company known for its public opinion research. The study was published in May.

Gallup questioned more than 1,600 graduates of over 700 colleges and universities across the country. Each person completed a four-year study program between 2010 and 2019.

The graduates were asked to base their answer on a five-point rating system, with five meaning strongly agree and one being strongly disagree.

The survey found that just 27 percent of those questioned strongly agreed that their school would fully investigate claims of discrimination.



John Clark is an education expert with Gallup. He says it is important to note which graduates were more likely to believe school officials would take necessary action against discrimination.

Nearly 30 percent of white graduates strongly agreed that their school would fully investigate claims of discrimination. Yet only 19 percent of Black graduates, 21 percent of Asians and 23 percent of Hispanic graduates gave the same answer.

Gallup did not say if its researchers questioned graduates belonging to other ethnic or racial groups.

Clark suggests the differences are likely linked to the small numbers of Blacks, Asians and Hispanics in college faculty and administration positions. He noted that over the past 30 years, the U.S. college student population has grown more and more diverse. But many professors and school administrators are white, and largely male.

If students do not see people who share their life experiences in such positions, they are less likely to believe their school will take their issues seriously, Clark said.

Raechele Pope says she is not at all surprised by the studys findings. Pope is a professor of higher education studies at the University of Buffalo in New York. She is also the universitys chief diversity officer.

She notes that as far back as the 1970s, when she went to college, students were calling for more diverse faculty positions. But little has changed, even as colleges and universities have increased efforts to diversify the student body.

One study published in January found that the number of full-time black faculty at Pennsylvania State University actually fell by about two percent over a 15-year period.

Pope argues the root of the problem is that many Americans do not believe discrimination is a real problem. Yet a growing body of research provides evidence of racial inequality in many areas of American society, including policing, education and finance.

Colleges and universities are microcosms of the United States, Pope said. Its a microcosm of the big problems that we face. And so, if you dont deal with racism, with anti-black  structures in your system  in the United States, then youre not dealing with them in the campuses any differently.



Pope said another issue is that higher education, in general, is slow to change, no matter what issue it is facing. Michigan State University and Ohio State University, for example, have only recently had to answer for years-old claims of sexual wrongdoing on their campuses.

Shane Windemeyer is executive director of Campus Pride, a group that works in support of LGBTQ students. LGBTQ is short for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer or questioning.

Windemeyer agrees that the speed at which colleges and universities deal with these issues is a problem. He told VOA Often times, colleges  play the waiting game with students, where they know that theyll be gone in four years or five years. And so its like . Oh, well we lost that student, so what are we supposed to do? And colleges need to be held responsible on their own to create a safer, more inclusive campus community, he said.

Windemeyer added that the issue is not limited to just racial discrimination. After all, only 24 percent of LGBTQ students strongly agreed their schools would fully investigate discrimination claims. That compares to 28 percent of non-LGBTQ students.

Windemeyer noted a rising number of cases of students and faculty members claiming academic freedom and freedom of speech in defense of what he calls hateful statements. But he argues this not about a difference in opinions or beliefs. It is about making all students feel welcome on campus.

Windemeyer, Pope and Clark agree U.S. colleges and universities must do more to gain the trust of their students. They say this starts with re-examining and strengthening discrimination policies, especially those related to employment and the admissions process. And it may lead to more schools making classes on discrimination and diversity a requirement for students, as the California State University system decided to do in July.

Im Pete Musto.

Pete Musto reported on this story for VOA Learning English. George Grow was the editor.

Quiz - Few US College Graduates Feel Their Schools Fully Investigate Discrimination Start the Quiz to find out Start Quiz

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Words in This Story

graduate(s)  n. a person who has earned a degree or diploma from a school, college, or university

faculty  n. the group of teachers in a school or college

diverse  adj. made up of people or things that are different from each other

microcosm(s)  n. something, such as a place or an event, that is seen as a small version of something much larger

campus(es)  n. the area and buildings around a university, college, school

lesbian  n. a woman who is sexually attracted to other women

gay  n. a man who is sexually attracted to other men

bisexual  adj. a person who is sexually attracted to both men and women

transgender  adj. a person whose sexual identity differs from the sex the person had at birth

academic  adj. of or relating to schools and education

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NIAMEY (Reuters) - Gunmen on motorcycles killed six French aid workers, a Nigerien guide and a driver in a wildlife park in Niger on Sunday, officials said.

The group was attacked in a giraffe reserve just 65 km (40 miles) from the West African country's capital Niamey, the governor of Tillaberi region, Tidjani Ibrahim Katiella, told Reuters. "They were intercepted and killed," he said.

The six worked for an international aid group, Niger's Defence Minister Issoufou Katambe told Reuters. Officials had earlier described them as tourists.

Separately, a spokesman for French humanitarian aid group ACTED said its staff members were involved.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the assault. But France and other countries have warned people against travelling to parts of Niger where militants including Boko Haram and an affiliate of Islamic State operate.

French President Emmanuel Macron's office confirmed that French nationals had been killed in Niger. It said Macron spoke on the phone with Niger's President Mahamadou Issoufou, but provided no further details.

The Association of Koure Giraffe Reserve Guides issued a statement describing the attackers as a "unit of terrorists" and saying the dead included its president, Kadri Abdou.

France's TF1 television channel broadcast images that it said were taken from the scene showing the burnt-out remains of a 4x4 vehicle with bullet holes in the side.

The reserve southeast of the capital is a popular attraction in Niger, a huge country that borders seven states in an unstable region including Libya, Mali, Chad, Algeria and Nigeria.

Militants linked to Islamic State killed four U.S. soldiers in an ambush in Niger near the border with Mali in Oct. 2017, an attack that increased scrutiny of U.S. counter-terrorism operations there.

France, a former colonial power in the region, also launched a coalition of West African and European allies in June to fight Islamist militants in the Sahel region that includes Niger.

It has deployed thousands of troops in the arid region south of the Sahara desert since 2013. But militant violence has been on the rise.

(Reporting by Moussa Aksar and Boureima Balima in Niamey; Additional reporting by Bate Felix, Richard Lough and Michel Rose in Paris, David Lewis in Nairobi; Editing by Philippa Fletcher, Frances Kerry and Andrew Heavens)
Fuel spilling from a Japanese bulk carrier that ran aground on a reef in Mauritius two weeks ago is creating an ecological disaster, endangering corals, fish and other marine life around the Indian Ocean island, officials and environmentalists say. The MV Wakashio, owned by the Nagashiki Shipping Company, struck the reef on Mauritius' southeast coast on July 25. On Thursday, the government said fuel was leaking from a crack in the vessel's hull and Prime Minister Pravind Kumar Jugnauth declared a state of environmental emergency, pleading for international ...
A medical staff tests human samples for the novel coronavirus in Quang Ngai Province on August 1, 2020. Photo by VnExpress/Van Phong.

Vietnam confirmed two new Covid-19 cases Sunday morning, taking the national tally to 812 and active infections to 407.

One of the cases was in Hanoi and the other in the northern province of Bac Giang.

"Patient 811" is a 33-year old woman in Bac Giang's Son Dong District. She and five other family members traveled to Da Nang City on July 21-24. She tested positive for the novel coronavirus on August 8. The five relatives had already tested positive earlier.

"Patient 812" is a 63-year old man from Hanoi's Bac Tu Liem District. He'd had direct contact with a 23-year-old man working for a pizza restaurant in Hanoi who had returned from Da Nang and later become "Patient 447" . "Patient 812" developed a fever on August 3.

Both patients are being treated at the National Hospital of Tropical Diseases in Hanoi.

Vietnam now has 407 active Covid-19 patients after 395 recoveries. Since July 25, the country has recorded 355 domestic cases in 13 localities, all linked to current epicenter Da Nang, a top tourist attraction. Ten patients have died since, mostly elderly with multiple previous comorbidities.

There are 178,000 people isolated at present - over 27,000 in quarantine facilities, 5,000 in hospitals and the rest at home.

The reported Covid-19 death toll has reached 722,000 worldwide.
Corporate branding on the headquarter buildings of Barclays at day in London. Photo: Getty

The UKs privacy watchdog, the Information Commissioners Office (ICO) is probing Barclays (BARC.L) over allegations the bank is spying on its staff, the regulator said on Sunday.

Critical media reports emerged earlier this year of the bank using software, which it was piloting, to monitor how employees spend their time at work.

News of the subsequent probe, first appeared in the Sunday Telegraph.

The ICO hasnt yet said when its investigation will conclude, but confirmed a formal probe is ongoing.

An ICO spokesman said: People expect that they can keep their personal lives private and that they are also entitled to a degree of privacy in the workplace.

If organisations wish to monitor their employees, they should be clear about its purpose and that it brings real benefits. Organisations also need to make employees aware of the nature, extent and reasons for any monitoring, he added.

In February, when the news of the new system emerged, a Barclays spokeswoman said it was changing how it used the Sapience software so it would now track only anonymised data, in response to staff feedback that the system was intrusive.

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The system gives companies insights into work patterns and tracks employee productivity by monitoring their computer usage.

Barclays has form for trying out productivity-tracking software. In 2017 it rolled out, and was criticised for, a system called OccupEye, which tracked the amount of time people spent at their desks.

Barclays declined to comment.